Anime Recommendations Thread

[Atria35]

^ I'd personally avoid Kenichi, because it is a shounen with lots of fanservice. It's not enouch to make it an ecchi title, but it's definitely there a lot. Even in Soul Eater, the fanservice died out after 6 eps....

Rideback is a great title, though!

My recommendation would be Natsume's Book of Friends. It's a sweet little title, not that dark, and pretty clean.

Mushishi - this is a bit of a darker, more sober title, but still enjoys bits of comedy and action here and there.

Hotarubi no Mori e - a lovely title, short movie, and really a very nice.

[Panda4christ:3]

Mushi-shi and hotarubi no mori e are both ones i've seen and enjoyed

Rideback...hummmm, i dunno, i'm not that into robots, i'll still try to give it a shot...but i'm slowly realizing i am a very picky anime person >.<

Natsume's book of friends-saw some of it once. Never sparked much interest. Again, sorry i'm being so picky about this >.<

[Atria35]

^ You wouldn't happen to have a Myanimelist account, would you? That would probably make recommending a lot easier.

Rideback does have robots, but they're not as large part of the story as you'd think. It's mostly about the main trying to find her own place and stregnth.

Since you've seen two of what I was thinking of,
Seirei no Moribito
Ano Hana
Kamichu!
Kobato
Earth Maiden Arjuna

I suspect Kamichu and Kobato might be ones that aren't too up your alley, since they are more lighthearted. Earth Maiden Arjuna has some very heavy environmentalism, but unlike Captain Planet, has a solid story to back it up.

[skreyola]

^ I'd personally avoid Kenichi, because it is a shounen with lots of fanservice.

Well, there is a bit of fanservice, but it seemed to me to be more of a lampshade than fanservice in earnest. But it's good you pointed it out, as it may be worse than I remembered.

And yes, Rideback is not so much about robots as it is about rediscovery. It's really about Liberty.

[Michael Lance]

I'd like to get into a good mecha series - something like Gundam, or Infinite Stratos - but without fanservice, if it can be helped.

Any suggestions?

[FllMtl Novelist]

^Giant Robo.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Giant Robo isn't really like Gundam at all but it is fantastic and well-worth any time or money you spend on it. Other suggestions for more real robot (the genre Gundam is famous for essentially creating) would include:

Various Macross series (Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (and its compilation movie, Macross: Do You Remember Love), Macross Plus, Macross Seven, Macross Zero, and Macross Frontier (and its compilation movies The False Songstress and The Wings of Goodbye). All of these come highly recommended except for 7 (because I haven't seen it) and Zero (which is terrible).

Eureka Seven straddles the line between real and super but it's a really fantastic show anyways, with an incredible world and intricate plot and fantastic characters.

Patlabor: The Movie, is an excellent place to start in the Patlabor franchise, which is pretty well known for being the most realistic application of giant robots (most of them are construction units, the main characters are a police team, Patrol Labors becomes Patlabor).

You probably already know about Full Metal Panic!, but in case you don't it's a pretty decent mix of comedy and military mecha action, especially The Second Raid.

I haven't finished it yet because I'm watching it with Doc, but RideBack has been pretty interesting so far, though the robots are pretty different in terms of design.

If you're interested in branching out more into super robots, I have a few more things I can list that are excellent.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Why settle for an imitation when you can have more of the real thing? Depending on how much Gundam you've seen, you could always watch more Gundam. Zeta Gundam is a direct sequel to the first show and is one of my favorite robot series. Gundam 0080 is a sidestory hat takes place as the first series is ending. Both are outstanding and recommended, though Zeta has a bit of nudity. After War: Gundam X is a great series that doesn't get much love.

I second the recommendations of Macross. Excellent stuff.

Galaxy Drifter Vifam is a very underrated robot show abut a group of kids who get lost in space and have to find their parents again.

Now, Infinite Stratos is less mecha and more powersuits. I haven;t seen many of these kinds of shows, and a lot of what I have seen isn't great. However I can recommend Detonator Orgun. It isn't as good as anything I mention above, but it might surprise you with a few plot twists.

[Mouse2010]

I'm asking about a REALLY obscure series here, so I know that no one may be familiar with it. But has anyone seen the 1990s Daddy Long Legs series? Is it any good?

I read that book when I was pretty young and have loved it for years, so I am curious about the anime, but I'm also afraid that I'll hate it precisely because I love the book so much. (This is what happened to me with Howl's Moving Castle, which was very different from the DWJ novel.) Already, I'm kind of uncomfortable with the fact that Judy has been aged down from an 18-year-old freshman college student to a high school student. (If you know the story, you know why that age change might bother me. If not, I don't want to give anything away.)

But still, I'd hate to judge a series just on one thing without watching it. Anyone seen it?

[Neane]

I'm asking about a REALLY obscure series here, so I know that no one may be familiar with it. But has anyone seen the 1990s Daddy Long Legs series? Is it any good?

I read that book when I was pretty young and have loved it for years, so I am curious about the anime, but I'm also afraid that I'll hate it precisely because I love the book so much. (This is what happened to me with Howl's Moving Castle, which was very different from the DWJ novel.) Already, I'm kind of uncomfortable with the fact that Judy has been aged down from an 18-year-old freshman college student to a high school student. (If you know the story, you know why that age change might bother me. If not, I don't want to give anything away.)

But still, I'd hate to judge a series just on one thing without watching it. Anyone seen it?

I have seen it and read the book. It takes liberties with the original story, but I feel it's a good adaptation overall as it takes the themes and important things from the original work and works it in a way a younger audience can understand and relate to. Also the thing you might be worried about changing is not changed.

It's not a direct adaptation but it is a good series in it's own right and I would recommend it and other shows I've seen in and related to the World Masterpiece Theater Meta series. Particularly Dezaki's Remi.

Also if you're not familiar with it you my want to read Dear Enemy which is the sequel to the original novel. Sally is the main character in it and it's quite a bit different from the book first book.

[Mouse2010]

Wow . . . the upgrade takes some getting used to! It took me awhile to find the reply button, hah!

Anyway, thanks, Neane! You convinced me to give the anime a try. I watched the first two episodes and I think I'll watch a few more. I kinda like it, although it is very different in tone from the book.

[impact777]

I'm back and I've searched for good anime for a long time. So they are pretty many. Sumimasen. Could you please write if those anime are recommenable and if there is bad religious content or nudity in it? Only if you have time. I'm also glad when only a few of these anime are getting rated. Thank you very much!
Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
Moyashimon
Bokurano
Himitsu: The Revelation
One Outs
Genius Party
Toshokan Sensou
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Tsumiki no Ie
Kurenai
Mouryou no Hako
Peach Girl
The Ultimate Weapon
Koi Kaze
Sensei no Ojikan
Tantei Gakuen Q
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Café
Stellvia of the Universe
Nichijou
Kaze no Yojimbo
Eve no Jikan

[spark300c]

I going to recommend Fafner: Heaven and Earth and . Violence I would say on pg-13 level and the mechs do leak red collor hydraulic fuild when limb is rip off. nudity is in it but is not detailed. Same can be said for series, Fafner of the Azure. series is not just about robot fighting alleins but alsothat war is not all won on the battle feild but Diplomacy is important too.

[Neane]

Mouryou no Hako is a brilliant fine murder mystery surrounding a series of dismemberment murders. Contains a lesbian couple if I remember correctly.
Also contains a huge amount of Japanese Spiritism.

Bokurano is made by Kitoh, the man who created the wonderful and happy tale of Pokemon adventures that is Shadow Star.
This is completed like the manga but it has it's own ending to make it slightly "happier." Still doesn't change that you're watching 15 kids die over 24 episodes for the sake of the world. And each kid has problems by kid, I mean KID (raped by a school teacher, someone's mom is a prostitute, and so on).

Sick stuff but you just can't help but watch it because overall, the story line is original and compelling.

[impact777]

Thank you Neane!

[Atria35]

I'm back and I've searched for good anime for a long time. So they are pretty many. Sumimasen. Could you please write if those anime are recommenable and if there is bad religious content or nudity in it? Only if you have time. I'm also glad when only a few of these anime are getting rated. Thank you very much!
Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
Moyashimon
Himitsu: The Revelation
One Outs
Toshokan Sensou
Kurenai
Koi Kaze
Tantei Gakuen Q
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Café
Eve no Jikan

Rainbow: Nisha - It's a FABULOUS anime. It's a look at how children were disenfranchised in Japan after WW2, and how they overcome that and try to reach their dreams. However, it earned it's 'R' rating for a reason. They are emotionally, mentally, physically, and sexually abused along the way. There are three scenes total where there is brief (non-graphic) but blatant sexual abuse with a child. It never goes into total nudity and it doesn't linger, but it really gets the point across on how terrible the circumstances are. The other issue might be the violence. One boy has his hand smashed with a rock, there are regular beatings given at the institution, one boy is stabbed and then gunned down, and a few other more minor things. It's not horrifically gorey, but it still can be brutal.

Himitsu: The Revelation - Very good anime. Not perfect, but I do highly recommend it.
Moyashimon - This is a fun story about a kid that can see bacteria. I HIGHLY recommend it. No nudity. However, there are some religious issues that might put you off, such as the implication that two girls *might* have had sex (I don't believe that they did, just that they were drunk and ended up in the same bed because they partied to hard). And one of the side characters is sexually ambiguous - he starts out as a boy, but feels more comfortable as a girl, and is romantically interested in the main. This is in no way, shape, or form a main storyline, though.

One Outs - Baseball all the way. I don't remember any nudity at all, and there is NOTHING religiously questionable here.

Toshoukan Senshou- I really did like this anime. It's not in my top picks, but it's a really fun title. No nudity, violence is minimal, and there is nothing religiously questionable.

Kurenai - I will be a naysayer on this one. I didn't care for the ending at all. There are a few others on the board who disagree with me, though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. There is no nudity, but the girl was going to be forced into an incesutous, abusive marriage at a VERY young age. The guy does have some sort of supernatural power, but it's completely unexplained what it is and what caused it.

Koi Kaze - I only read the manga, but it's a beautiful story and I would recommend it if you're comfortable with the plot. No nudity. However, it deals with incest, and some of the ideas/emotions do deal with sex because this deals with all the issues concerning incest. It's not there for the fanservice giggles - it's there because the siblings are old enough to be dealing with sex.

Tantei Gakuen Q - It's a fun ride while it lasts. Even with an incomplete ending, this is perhaps my favorite mystery anime. There is no nudity - you don't even see the pantyshots (another character does and comments on the girl's underwear, but the person watching the show doesn't). The boys do occasionally make slightly perverted comments, though. It's a mystery anime, so while the cases *appear* to be supernatural, they aren't.

YKK- I don't recommend the anime for the reason that it's a very incomplete adaptation of the manga. The anime is okay, and I mean okay, but it's not that great of a story in and of itself. It's a fabulous manga, though.

Eve no Jikan - FABULOUS anime. It's also as clean as a whistle.

[Falx]

I'm back and I've searched for good anime for a long time. So they are pretty many. Sumimasen. Could you please write if those anime are recommenable and if there is bad religious content or nudity in it? Only if you have time. I'm also glad when only a few of these anime are getting rated. Thank you very much!
Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
Moyashimon
Bokurano
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Kurenai
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Café
Nichijou
Eve no Jikan

In the same order you listed them:

Very violent and dark prison drama, with terribly overblown drama. Do not recommend.
Pretty much safe, kind of gross in a "biology class/observe as I dissect this frog" way, one character is a cross-dresser.
What Neane said, but whatever you're imagining... it's ten times worse. I read Shadow Star from start to finish years ago and thinking about it still makes me sick.
Very crude, dark, gallows humor with occasional overdone fanservice. It's funny, but only if you love extremely cynical jokes.
A cute story with almost no fanservice apart from some dirty jokes... that said the actual plot is a little... disturbing, but nothing is shown of it visually.
An extremely well done adaptation of the THE slice of life manga of the same name. It's a hauntingly beautiful story set in the distant future of the twilight of man. Two human looking female robots kiss, but thats it.
Nichijou is fantastic and completely clean of the things you mentioned as disliking. Watch it and laugh your self silly.
Eve no Jikan, no bad content and an extremely well done sci-fi film.

[impact777]

WOW! Thank you so much Atria and Falx! (^_^)/

[Atria35]

What Neane said, but whatever you're imagining... it's ten times worse. I read Shadow Star from start to finish years ago and thinking about it still makes me sick.
Very crude, dark, gallows humor with occasional overdone fanservice. It's funny, but only if you love extremely cynical jokes.

What you're talking about is Shadow Star, and what OP asked about was Bokurano. Neane only referenced Shadow Star to say that they were made by the same person.
Bokurano has the dark, grim atmosphere but none of the humor (and really no fanservice to boot). It delves into the psychology of the children who have to sacrifice their lives to save the world. It's a deconstruction of the mecha genre in a similar way to NGE, but without the religious themes that NGE has.

Also, Kurenai has 13 episodes. 7 of them were cute and funny. That leaves just under half of it dark and sad. So not as cute as Falx would lead you to believe. I enjoyed the first 7 episodes. Then it went downhill for me.

Also, forgot to clarify:
Himitsu: The Revelation - While I do enjoy it, it does delve a bit into the darker side of humans and their secrets. The main is implied to have incestuous feelings for his sister for the first four eps, and then is dropped completely and never brought up again. One of the cases involves a man who is having a homosexual love affair even though he's married. None of this is ever explored graphically and there is little to no graphic violence.

[Falx]

What Neane said, but whatever you're imagining... it's ten times worse. I read Shadow Star from start to finish years ago and thinking about it still makes me sick.
Very crude, dark, gallows humor with occasional overdone fanservice. It's funny, but only if you love extremely cynical jokes.

What you're talking about is Shadow Star, and what OP asked about was Bokurano. Neane only referenced Shadow Star to say that they were made by the same person.
Bokurano has the dark, grim atmosphere but none of the humor (and really no fanservice to boot). It delves into the psychology of the children who have to sacrifice their lives to save the world. It's a deconstruction of the mecha genre in a similar way to NGE, but without the religious themes that NGE has.

Also, Kurenai has 13 episodes. 7 of them were cute and funny. That leaves just under half of it dark and sad. So not as cute as Falx would lead you to believe. I enjoyed the first 7 episodes. Then it went downhill for me.

Also, forgot to clarify:
Himitsu: The Revelation - While I do enjoy it, it does delve a bit into the darker side of humans and their secrets. The main is implied to have incestuous feelings for his sister for the first four eps, and then is dropped completely and never brought up again. One of the cases involves a man who is having a homosexual love affair even though he's married. None of this is ever explored graphically and there is little to no graphic violence.

I was referencing Shadow Star because it's the only measuring stick I have, I haven't seen Bokurano. Everything I've seen and everybody I've talked to that has seen/read both has told me that it is just as bad or worse.

And as for Kurenai... uh yeah sure ok. I was giving my opinion of the show. Let's not use phrases like "would lead you to believe" when talking about giving opinions.

[impact777]

@Atria and Falx: Thanks again. Hmm... I think I'll take a look at Bokurano.

[Atria35]

And as for Kurenai... uh yeah sure ok. I was giving my opinion of the show. Let's not use phrases like "would lead you to believe" when talking about giving opinions.

Sorry - I meant to word that "so how cute and happy it is is subjective."

[Falx]

And as for Kurenai... uh yeah sure ok. I was giving my opinion of the show. Let's not use phrases like "would lead you to believe" when talking about giving opinions.

Sorry - I meant to word that "so how cute and happy it is is subjective."

No I'm sorry I've been sick so I'm very touchy.

[LastLfan]

I'm looking for a nice short series to watch once I finish one outs. I enjoy shonun but am open to other genres, preferably dubbed but if its really good I'll watch it subbed. No extreme gore or sexual content. TV-14 at the highest. Thanks in advance

[Atria35]

Madoka Magica 13 eps of amazingness. Voted Most Epic Anime Of The Year. Deconstructs the Magical Girl genre into something much darker (but that ending... so amazing and wonderful).

.... Okay, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. Awesome survival about two kids trying to get through earthquake-ravaged Tokyo. Very good.

[LastLfan]

Thanks

[LastLfan]

What's a good 26 ep tv-14 or below series I could watch, preferably dubbed. Nothing too supernatural though, I'm working through shaman king and bleach so im good on fighting spirits

[Cianter]

Heyya guys, I was wondering if ya'll knew of any good vampire animes? No Yuri or Yaoi as always, and not too much fanservice or gore. So yea, that's all

[Atria35]

What's a good 26 ep tv-14 or below series I could watch, preferably dubbed. Nothing too supernatural though, I'm working through shaman king and bleach so im good on fighting spirits

Chihayafuru. Because the second season will start airing soon, and you need to see the first season to catch up! ^.^

Or Dennou Coil, which is also pretty fun.

Escaflowne (tv series) is also fantastic - it's an older series, but the animation is great (art is a little funky, but you get used to it)

[Atria35]

Heyya guys, I was wondering if ya'll knew of any good vampire animes? No Yuri or Yaoi as always, and not too much fanservice or gore. So yea, that's all

There are *veryvery* few vampire anime out there.

Karin - romcom, running joke about nosebleeds but nothing beyond that (I actually don't recommend this - I didn't think it was that good, but I adore the manga)
Shiki - horror, true to actual vampires, but because of that is pretty gorey at the end
Moonphase - comedy/romcom, not terribly gorey but plot is... lacking.
Hellsing Ultimate - very gorey but good

....... And those are it in terms of actual, recommendable vampire anime, this is it. Seriously. This is it.