Yes, another suggestion thread

[Jeikobu]

I tried asking about several in one thread and that didn't do as well as I had hoped. Then I made a thread simply for Inu Yasha suggestions and that went well. So I'll just ask about two anime for now.

Fushigi Yuugi-Sounds good, but what's this thing about the "Universe of the Four Gods"? Are they really supposed to be "gods"? If so, how many times does this come up, and how involved is this in the series? And is there any other bad material in it (primarily in the false religion department)?

RahXephon-Let's face it, the animation and appearance look simply awesome. And it sounds like a good, deep, dramatic series. Except a couple thing bother me. For one, I've heard some people say that it is alot like Evangelion (yes I know Evangelion is on the do not discuss list, but I'm discussing RahXephon ). One reviewer on Netflix even said "if you liked Evangelion, you'll like RahXephon". Evangelion happens to be my least liked anime of what I have ever seen, and I never want to see another anime that's as loaded with filth as that one. Also, I heard [SPOILER]the main mecha-thing gets turned into a "god" at the end[/SPOILER]. That of course bothers me. I also heard this series involves alot of Egyptian mythology and such. Heck, even the name RahXephon sounds like it was derived from the Egyptian false god "Rah". And finally, I saw the first couple eps dubbed on TV of this and it seemed to have a real dark side to it, in the spiritual sense. I have my doubts about this one, but I wanted to make sure of all of this before I drop it, because if it isn't too full of material that's bad for Christians, I'd love to try it. However if this one is too full of bad material, does anyone have any suggestions of a series to "fill it's spot" (one I could try that has the same good appeal but is better for Christians)?

Good, detailed opinions and suggestions would be very much appreciated. Arigatou gozaimasu. ^^

[Nate]

Fushigi Yugi is my favorite anime series in a tie with Ai Yori Aoshi.

Yes, the gods in Fushigi Yugi are really supposed to be gods...but, they're in a book! Yes, the gods are only in the book, meaning they are fictional. They have total control over their domain in the book. Without spoiling too much, they do have a little bit of power in the real world, but they're not really "gods" in that sense because by that point they're just misplaced characters.

However, Fushigi Yugi has a lot of other stuff that you probably won't like.

Two characters in the series are gay. The second half deals with the fact that to be a miko, you have to be a virgin, and the bad guys decide to try and disqualify her, if you catch my drift. There is quite a bit of violence too, one character's death in particular being very bloody by my memory.

I like it a lot, but I think it probably wouldn't be for you, from what I know of your preferences.

[Jeikobu]

Yes, the gods in Fushigi Yugi are really supposed to be gods...but, they're in a book! Yes, the gods are only in the book, meaning they are fictional. They have total control over their domain in the book. Without spoiling too much, they do have a little bit of power in the real world, but they're not really "gods" in that sense because by that point they're just misplaced characters.

Two characters in the series are gay. The second half deals with the fact that to be a miko, you have to be a virgin, and the bad guys decide to try and disqualify her, if you catch my drift. There is quite a bit of violence too, one character's death in particular being very bloody by my memory.

How much are the "gods", the gay characters, and the virgin thing used? Are they a big part of the series and do you think they would ruin it for me?

[CDLviking]

What follows is pretty much a spoiler for the end of RahXephon.

[spoiler] The show has to do with something called the "Tuning of the World." the assumption is that if it happens, the human world will end and the Mu will control the world. To do this the Mu create a "god" that can recreate the world. This is a metaphysically sticky issue. Can you really consider it a god if it was created? Yet it also has power over time and space to recreate the world as it sees fit, which does seem to belong to the domain of a god. The ending does appear to be very dark and the creators will try to make you think that's the case up until the very end, but they actually create an "ideal" world where everything turns out for the best.

There are some sort of sexual things that are implied through the series, but never actually stated. It's nothing like Evangelion in that regard. If you watch the movie, there is a sexual scene that was not even implied in the series and seems completely out of place in the story. There's a bit of fanservice, but again, nothing like Evangelion.[/spoiler]

There's also a pretty good love story in the show that is kind of similar in nature to Voices of a Distant Star.

It's a questionable anime, but if you can consider it like a mythology then it takes off a bit of the edge.

[Nate]

How much are the "gods", the gay characters, and the virgin thing used? Are they a big part of the series and do you think they would ruin it for me?

Well, after Miaka gets sucked into the book, she immediately gets sent on a quest to gather the "seven stars of Suzaku" (the god of the area) and summon Suzaku to grant her wishes. So the whole series revolves around her finding these seven people, and summoning Suzaku at the end.

The gay characters...one of them is one of Suzaku's seven stars, and he shows up pretty early, so he's a big part of the series. The second is one of the bad guys, and he's around some in the latter half of the second "season."

The virgin thing is mostly in the second "season." It's actually fairly prominent.

If you weren't even sure about Inuyasha, I really don't think you'd like this one.

[Jeikobu]

CDLviking: I don't like the sound of that at all. So in light of this all, I'm just going to drop RahXephon. Any idea of a good series to "replace" this one for me?

kaemmerite: I really want to see Inuyasha, but I'm really not liking the sound Fushigi Yuugi so far. :-/

[Rocketshipper]

Fushigi Yugi ROCKS!!! Shoujo forever! It's one of the funniest animes of all time, and it has a great dub. Wendee Lee, Ruby Marlowe, David Hayter, Zan, Steve Cannon, Mona Marshal, YAY! But it does have a lot of violence and blood, and some sexual content and nudity. The nudity in the TV series is drawn undetailed, but the OVA has realistic nudity. I'd say the TV show and OVA would both get an R if they were MPAAed, (Eikoden would get like PG or PG-13, there wasn't much bad stuff in it)

About the two gay characters. I assume you are referring to Noriko and Tomo?? Although there are a lot of gay joke and stuff about Noriko up till season 2, in reality...

Spoilers..... (I forgot how to do the spoiler tags again ^_^)









Noriko isn't really gay, he just took up the identity of his dead sister, who he loved and missed very much. At the beginning of season 2 he decides to start acting more like a boy, and even admits that he has a crush on Miaka












Although I guess you could also just interpret it as him being bi (which is what all the yaoi fan girls I know do). The other gay guy, Tomo, isn't featured nearly as much, and I think there were only a few lines that refrenced his prefrence.

[CDLviking]

CDLviking: I don't like the sound of that at all. So in light of this all, I'm just going to drop RahXephon. Any idea of a good series to "replace" this one for me?

Do you want another mecha anime? Macross is a classic with little to no religious content whatsoever. Of course Now and Then, Here and There is my perennial recommendation. Voices of a Distant Star is short but good. If you like comedy and sci-fi, you may want to try The Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

[termyt]

I doubt either of these titles is up your alley, which I believe is the conclusion your drawing.

There is no mistaking that Fushigi Yugi is shojo. The primary focus of the story is the relationships between the characters including sexual innuendo, sometimes between people of the same sex. My guess is, as Kae surmised, you would also find the four gods completely unacceptable. On the whole, I believe these situations were handled very well and I enjoyed the series and I'm glad I watched it through to the end, but there were moments I was uncomfortable with and I nearly stopped watching it several times. As a matter of fact, since bad religion seems to be a big hot-button issue for you, I’d recommend you stay away from the fantasy genre all together, as it tends to be rife with false gods and bad religion. Stick to sci-fi and historical fiction.

I did not enjoy RahXephon. I found the plot full of holes making it somewhat difficult to follow. I only really enjoyed the show when one character was on screen - Megumi I think her name was - but she didn't have nearly enough screen time to rescue the series. I think you are better off with some different sci-fi shows that have much less in the way of religious content like Macross/Robotech and, one of my favorites, Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

[Jeikobu]

Do you want another mecha anime? Macross is a classic with little to no religious content whatsoever. Of course Now and Then, Here and There is my perennial recommendation. Voices of a Distant Star is short but good. If you like comedy and sci-fi, you may want to try The Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try seeing those in the near future (but first I must see Inu Yasha, Ranma, Fruits Basket (if Netflix ever gets it), etc.)(I already saw Voices of a Distant Star).

I doubt either of these titles is up your alley, which I believe is the conclusion your drawing.

There is no mistaking that Fushigi Yugi is shojo. The primary focus of the story is the relationships between the characters including sexual innuendo, sometimes between people of the same sex. My guess is, as Kae surmised, you would also find the four gods completely unacceptable. On the whole, I believe these situations were handled very well and I enjoyed the series and I'm glad I watched it through to the end, but there were moments I was uncomfortable with and I nearly stopped watching it several times. As a matter of fact, since bad religion seems to be a big hot-button issue for you, I’d recommend you stay away from the fantasy genre all together, as it tends to be rife with false gods and bad religion. Stick to sci-fi and historical fiction.

I did not enjoy RahXephon. I found the plot full of holes making it somewhat difficult to follow. I only really enjoyed the show when one character was on screen - Megumi I think her name was - but she didn't have nearly enough screen time to rescue the series. I think you are better off with some different sci-fi shows that have much less in the way of religious content like Macross/Robotech and, one of my favorites, Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

Thanks for the advice. I still like the fantasy aspect, and I can take some false religion, etc. but it depends on how much there is and if it would ruin the experience.

Based on the advice, I'm going to just pass up Fushigi Yuugi as well. It's not sounding good to me and I won't take my chances with it. Thanks to everyone who helped me out. ^^