CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

yeah. i was just thinking of a random topic for an anime/manga thread and i finally came up with one. what are some surprising animes you've seen or mangas you've read. and what i mean when i say this is, what are some animes or mangas that you were skeptical about at first but you ended up enjoying when you finished? OR, what are some animes or mangas that you thought you would end up enjoying, but didn't really end up liking when you finished? here are some of mine:

skeptical at first. enjoyed when finished:
the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya
monster
20th century boys
hunter x hunter
cowboy bebop
bleach

thought i would like but didn't:
fruits basket
death note
busou renkin
rurouni kenshin
naruto
trigun
hikaru no go

I went in skeptical to Ouran HS Host Club and Eyeshield 21 and ended up liking both quite a bit.

I already did this thread, jon_jinn. But what the hey?
Here's mine:
Hikaru No Go
Prince of Tennis
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Berserk

Ok, here's a list of the ones that come to mind. XD


I wasn't expecting a whole lot from these, but I love them now:

Full Moon wo Sagashite
Pretear
Haibane Renmei
Death Note
Busou Renkin


I was expecting too much from these:

Princess Mononoke
Final Fantasy VII: AC
InuYasha


That's all I can think of for now, but if I remember a few more, I'll be sure to post 'em!

Bleach and Trinity Blood both surprised me.On the other hand I still think Eureka 7
even though it is a good show could be a bit better at times.

rocklobster wrote:I already did this thread, jon_jinn. But what the hey?

oh. sorry. i didn't know there was a thread already for this subject.
anyways, let me add some to my list:

skeptical at first, but ended up liking:
yu yu hakusho
spirited away (i didn't even know what anime was back then)

expected too much from but ended up not liking that much:
final fantasy advent children (forgot that one. thanks radical dreamer)

jon_jinn wrote:yeah. i was just thinking of a random topic for an anime/manga thread and i finally came up with one. what are some surprising animes you've seen or mangas you've read. and what i mean when i say this is, what are some animes or mangas that you were skeptical about at first but you ended up enjoying when you finished? OR, what are some animes or mangas that you thought you would end up enjoying, but didn't really end up liking when you finished? here are some of mine:

skeptical at first. enjoyed when finished:
the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya
monster
20th century boys
hunter x hunter
cowboy bebop
bleach

thought i would like but didn't:
fruits basket
death note
busou renkin
rurouni kenshin
naruto
trigun
hikaru no go

Why didn't you like Fruits Basket? The anime or the manga? The anime I can understand (not as good as manga) but the manga that confuse me. I love the manga (and the anime but still not as good as the manga).

Shaman King surprised me. I thought it was just some crappy kid's anime with bad dubbing. Now I realize it's a good anime with bad dubbing.

Scrapped Princess kinda surprised me. I had heard people singing its praises up and down, but thought it would be girly. It's actually quite good.

I was hoping Digimon Savers would be good, but alas.

I thought Princess Mononoke was going to be good, but I disliked it.

I was afraid Howl's Moving Castle wasn't going to be very good because it was a movie based on a book, but I loved it.

This isn't anime, but I thought Tsubaasa Resevoir Chronicles was going to be really awesome, but I found it to be quite boring and the art to be quite cluttery. *hides from fangirls*

memmer66 wrote:Why didn't you like Fruits Basket? The anime or the manga? The anime I can understand (not as good as manga) but the manga that confuse me. I love the manga (and the anime but still not as good as the manga).

i'm one of the very few people who DON'T like fruits basket. i could go on and on about why i don't like the manga and why too many of the characters are annoying and tick me off but i will refrain from doing so. my friend made me read the first volume when i lost a bet with him so yeah. at that time, i found the manga to actually be pretty good. as i continued to progress through the series, i began to really dislike the characters. some of the things they did were really pointless and idiotic and once i reached volume 8, i stopped. let's just say i didn't really have high expectations for this manga when i started but i began to like it and then it started getting stupid and boring.

KBMaster wrote:
This isn't anime, but I thought Tsubaasa Resevoir Chronicles was going to be really awesome, but I found it to be quite boring and the art to be quite cluttery. *hides from fangirls*

Oh yeah, I forgot about that one. I agree with you 100% there; it does bore me (which is why I stopped buying it at vol. 4--the story just didn't seem to be going anywhere fast! XD; ).

I was skeptical about Death Note - it had so much hype, and the last time I had tried a really "hyped" series (FMA) I didn't enjoy it that much. But in my opinion, I think Death Note deserves the praise. It was MUCH better than I thought it would be.

Deathnote for me as well. I loved the manga and i was very afraid that the anime wouldn't do it justice but it did. Also Bleach i though it would be like naruto and i wouldn't like it much but it is better than naruto (IMO) and it is quiet good.

jon_jinn wrote:i'm one of the very few people who DON'T like fruits basket. i could go on and on about why i don't like the manga and why too many of the characters are annoying and tick me off but i will refrain from doing so. my friend made me read the first volume when i lost a bet with him so yeah. at that time, i found the manga to actually be pretty good. as i continued to progress through the series, i began to really dislike the characters. some of the things they did were really pointless and idiotic and once i reached volume 8, i stopped. let's just say i didn't really have high expectations for this manga when i started but i began to like it and then it started getting stupid and boring.

I understand, I've met multiple people who have not liked things because of TONS of characters among other things.

At first I wondered what I got myself into when I started watching the first episode of Giant Robo.But the more I got into it the more I realized just how good it was.

I expected Trigun to be great. .....It wasn't.

I thought Midori no Hibi would be completely perverted.... it's actually enjoyable.

>.>

Back on topic...

The most pleasant surprise of an anime I've had thus far was Futakoi Alternative. While the original was a bland and utterly boring slice-of-life harem anime, the AU sequel gave the show a dollop of squid-flavored weirdness, gunfire, and a very unique day-to-day life in which the most mundane activities were the most significant. The second half especially caught me off-guard for being as incredibly heartfelt and moving as it was crazy and bizarre. And the complex, intricate, and loving relationship of Rentaro and the Shirogane sisters was just so well done it still baffles me.

Watched Nightwalker: Midnight Detective expecting not to like it because lots of reviews said it sucked. Really enjoyed it. It still sucked, though.

Thought I would enjoy but didn't:
-Witch Hunter Robin

Let down by:
-the ending to Gankutsuou

What I have found is that you can't always tell by the animation what type of anime it is going to end up being.

yeah. some older animes that don't have as good quality animation are still excellent animes.

What surprised me was the story depth.