CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Ok at the Abhnation I have been challenged to get out of my mainstream anime watching rut.So I'd like to challenge people to come up with some
good non-mainstream anime to look for.

Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu. :] It's great for a laugh.

Saber Marionette J is a good one.

Full Moon wo Sagashite is good, as is Utawarerumono. Both are licensed. Air is another fantastic series (it's unlicensed), and Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a good series, though there are some content issues that I could PM to you if you want them. I'm drawing a blank on the rest, but that'll do for now, I guess. XD

I was going to suggest Full Moon, but considering its enormous amounts of popularity I didn't know if it would be considered mainstream or not. Still, it's a good show.

kaemmerite wrote:I was going to suggest Full Moon, but considering its enormous amounts of popularity I didn't know if it would be considered mainstream or not. Still, it's a good show.

Well, it's not on TV. XD I guess that's what I would consider mainstream. But yeah, there are a lot of people who at least know about it, though it's far from being as popular as something like Bleach or Naruto (thank God). XD

I'd like to know some out of the mainstream too.

getbackers and samurai 7. they're both excellent animes and they're both pretty clean. you could also try: hunter x hunter, hajime no ippo, slam dunk, eyeshield 21, and the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya.

mitsuki lover wrote:Ok at the Abhnation I have been challenged to get out of my mainstream anime watching rut.So I'd like to challenge people to come up with some
good non-mainstream anime to look for.

It sort of depends on what "mainstream" is. If you simply mean stuff that's not found in Blockbuster or on television, then that's a pretty big list. It also includes a lot that's really pretty conventional. If you want something that's actually different you might try checking out:

Catsup
Kakurenbo (Hide and Seek)
Paranoia Agent
Boogiepop Phantom
Death Note

The first two are short films rather than series, but are well worth watchingI've also heard good things about "The Melancholy of Haruhi", but haven't yet seen it.

I second the Paranoia Agent reccomendation. A series that's really off the beaten path. I've enjoyed what I've seen of it. ^^

Well, I guess it just matters what people define as 'mainstream'...

I have no idea what shows you have seen, or what kind of shows you prefer, but here are some of my personal recommendations:

I My Me! Strawberry Eggs
Haibane Renmei
Someday's Dreamers
Kino's Journey

I found all four series to be quite thought provoking. Brief descriptions and warnings follow -- Trying to keep all bases covered here.

Strawberry Eggs really stands out as a show that examines sexism, gender roles, the role of educators, and the student-teacher relationship. It doesn't take itself too seriously, mixing a lot of rather absurd comedy with it's dramatic elements, but the plot is decent and I found the ending satisfactory. The major plot element in the show involves the relationship between a female student (Fuko Kuzuka) and her teacher who is a cross-dressing male (with Fuko and the other students unaware that he is actually a male), which does bother quite a few people who cite the mildly homosexual and somewhat blatant pedophilic nature of the relationship as improper. This doesn't bother me personally, mostly because the relationship never reaches a sexual level. The dub contains mild foul language, with the s-word dropped once later in the series. I've not watched the entire show subtitled.

Haibane Renmei dabbles with questions about existence, sin, guilt, and forgiveness, among other things. The tone of the show is rather dark, and while certainly not based on biblical principles, I found the show to have some interesting insights. Aside from thematic elements, the show is very clean with almost no foul language (a couple of d-words here and there, but not frequent), and no fanservice outside of the ED animation, which consists of full-body nudity of Rakka in a fetal position, handled artistically and isn't revealing. There are a couple of slightly graphic bloody scenes, but they are handled tastefully and will likely only bother people who are hyper-sensitive to violent imagery.

Someday's Dreamers deals with hypothetical legal and ethical questions about supernatural power. There are a couple of hints that one of the characters in the show is homosexual, but there are no homosexual relationships portrayed within the series itself. Of course, the main character, as well as several others, are capable of using 'magic', but it is handled as an innate ability, not as a ritual. Fanservice essentially doesn't exist here, unless you are bothered by shirtless males. The most revealing outfit in the show is worn by a minor character who works in a bar, and even that outfit is quite conservative compared to a lot of other shows.

Kino's Journey is a sort of socio-political commentary with no real overall plot. It is a fascinating piece of work. It's been a while since I've seen it, so I don't know if I can comment with any accuracy about possible language/fanservice issues, however I don't recall anything particularly blatant. Some episodes do deal with religious themes, so be aware of that.


I do know that Haibane Renmei and Kino's Journey are available in boxed sets, not certain on the other two.

Puguni wrote:Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu. :] It's great for a laugh.

Yes! It's quite funny

Paranoia Agent, Monster, and Catsoup are my votes.

Oh, I second Haibane Renmei. It really is an excellent series.

Also, The Place Promised In Our Early Days is quite good, as well.

Well I have already seen both Boogiepop Phantom(when it was on Anime Unleashed)and Paranoia Agent(currently being rerun on Adult Swim Saturdays)
so I'm looking for something that hasn't been aired on Basic Cable.

Scrapped Princess isn't on cable. I haven't finished it yet but I'm enjoying it.

I read about it and would love to see it.I have seen the manga.It's 26 episodes from what I have read.

Petshop of Horrors--four nice little episodes on one disc
Gankutsuou--don't know if this one is THAT popular yet
Noein--First disc out. Really cheap. Totally screwy story. Get it now.
Giant Robo--yes, all of us who love it plug it.
Heat Guy J--used to be aired on MTV, very good show otherwise.

What about Tsubasa Chronicle? I don't know if its mainstream. I'm not enough of an anime fan to know that. ^^;; But I DO know that its really good and I definitly don't have my elementary school students coming in wearing t-shirts of it like Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon.

I recommend Utawareumono as well, and I'll add Mushishi. Mushishi is fascinating or boring depending on your tastes. It's a low-key, understated, sci-fi show that follows an investgator looking into supernatural events caused by a unique lifeform called Mushi. The show has been called The X-files done Miyazaki style, which I think is mildly insulting and inaccurate. I never cared for the X-files and I absolutely love this show. Mushishi wipes the floor with X-files.

Haibane Renmei
Kaleido Star
Air
Full Moon wo Sagashite
Elfen Lied (IF, and ONLY if you can handle it)

I thought Abenobashi magical shopping arcade was kinda a funny and interesting even though the dub voices are interesting

Yet maybe you could get a few movies too like
Fatal Fury the motion picture
or Ran Green Legend
maybe also Galaxy Express 999 (good luck finding this one though)
I really cant say much about series butmaybe Project arms
as well as Ai yori aoshi I enjoyed those
Maburaho is also funny

Mi-Ru-Me wrote:I thought Abenobashi magical shopping arcade was kinda a funny and interesting even though the dub voices are interesting

Yet maybe you could get a few movies too like
Fatal Fury the motion picture
or Ran Green Legend
maybe also Galaxy Express 999 (good luck finding this one though)
I really cant say much about series butmaybe Project arms
as well as Ai yori aoshi I enjoyed those
Maburaho is also funny

Fatal fury is sorta mainstrean see as its made after a game with a huge cult following. Actually not really cut but its considered a classic

I highly recommend The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Ouran High Host Club is fun from what I've seen of it, as is Utawareuromono (or as my boyfriend and I refer to it, "Utawhatever". Air and FMWS may be licensed, but I wouldn't consider them mainstream, and both are well worth it, as is the supremely superb Honey and Clover.

I like Sci Fi,Fantasy,Comedy and Lite Horror.
As far as the dubs of anime goes I like shows that have the following female
VAs in them:
Kelly Sheridan
Moneca Stori
Kari Wahlgren
Lara Jill Miller
Monica Rial
Wendee Lee
Janyse Jaud
Michelle Ruff(aka Georgette Rose)
Kate Higgins
Rachael Lillis

I don't have a list of favorite Japanese seiyuus yet.

ADV has the license for Utawarerumono and the first vol will came out in Jan.

Air hasn't been pick up by anyone.

FMWS

I have to ask. What is FMWS?



Also, you may want to check out The Twelve Kingdoms. I haven't seen it yet, but its on my list to watch.


Wingzero22

Wingzero22 wrote:ADV has the license for Utawarerumono and the first vol will came out in Jan.

Air hasn't been pick up by anyway.



I have to ask. What is FMWS?



Also, you may want to check out The Twelve Kingdoms. I haven't seen it yet, but its on my list to watch.


Wingzero22

Full Moon Wo Shagshite
is what FMWS is Wing XD

GrubbTheFragger wrote:Full Moon Wo Shagshite
is what FMWS is Wing XD

Ah, okay.

Yes, FMWS has been license by Viz and 3rd vol will come out in Dec 5.

BTW: If you go looking for the dvd's. Don't ask or look for Full Moon wo Sagashite, because they drop part of the name.

Title that they went with is Full Moon.

Wingzero22

Ah, ginger snaps! Ash beat me to it! Oh well, I'll second the recommendation of the ever delightful Honey and Clover! Hurrah for Morita-san!

Now And Then, Here And There (one of the most gripping anime's out there.)
Nadesico.
Serial Expiriments Lain. (If you study the background to this show and some now declassified information you'll see that they did their fair share of studying for this show.)

What's the difference between "mainstream" and "non-mainstream" anime? How do you classify them?

.rai//