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Searching for new anime advice(evangelion+rahxephon+matrix)




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Dhantes



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:22 am Reply with quote
Hi im rather new to this website been using it to look up potential anime im intrested in and via searching these forums i recently found Rahxephon and absolutely loved it. Anyways i devoured that series in one sitting and im now seeking a new anime and would appreciate it if any of you wiser anime fans could assist me.

I absolutely crave what i view as a good serious story the likes of evangelion (one of my first real anime experiences and favorite), rahxephon, and maybe the animatrix (not sure about that one heh) i felt all 3 had deep meanings and loved the use of human emotions and thoughts in both evangelion and rahxephon. I enjoy a little bit of comedy but I dont want a funny child oriented anime the likes of say gundam or rurouni kenshin ( i watch both animes but not what i need right now). Not sure if i made it apparent but i enjoy warlike anime, mecha and sword fighting is my favorite form. The message its trying to send across can be anti-war but at the same time i want an anime that shows the atrocities of war and isn't just power rangers style hero saving the day yadayada.

Anyways i appreciate any advice you guys have to offer, and if this post is lacking in some way i apologize.


Some further info a few animes i watch and why i enjoy and dislike them so you can have an idea if you care...

1.Evangelion (loved the demonic design of the eva's, hated the alien like design of the angels but loved the story especially the end. I didn't necessarily like the battles so much because alot of time was just punching, using the knife, or long range shot. I enjoy sword play or how i view dance like fighting more and hate the 1 shot kill thing.)

2. Rahxephon (loved the design of the enemies, felt so so about rahxephons look though, enjoyed the support fighters and other suits to me that made it realistic especially all the deaths in the end. Loved the stories for alot of the same reasons i enjoyed evangelion. Deaths were well done in my opinion and im glad not everyone lived. The battles were pretty well done but there was alot of one shot kill superhero type stuff i prefer more war like realistic damage.)

3. Escaflowne (hated how all the badguys looked the same, loved the badguys look the first time but it grew boring the story was good but seemed kinda rushed in the middle-end and didn't explain enough. Loved the fighting especially the sword play, the mecha combat i enjoyed in the beginning but towards the middle-end it was superhero invincinble you know he's gonna win kinda situation and that turned me off. In the end it seemed too childish for my tastes and the way the anti-war came about turned me off.)

4. animetrix (this kinda depended on which story was playing but liked the serious aspect of it and the whole philosphical idea i enjoy philosphy in my anime)

5. Rurouni Kenshi (I like this but its not what im looking for the not killing anyone thing is a big turn off for me, its a great anime though and enjoy it when i want a comedy but too kiddy oriented for me.)

6. Initial D (Older sister makes fun of me for liking this show but i enjoy it. Its not all comedy, i enjoy the racing alot, and the serious attitude. I like the symbolism present, though sport oriented anime are not what im looking for really. Normally not serious enough for me + i like war.)

7. Gundam (I like this series in theory, but it has that whole power ranger thing going on. It doesn't feel so much like war to me, its not brutal and most kills by the hero are one hit type akin to power ranger finishing moves. I think its a good setting but just too kiddie and not serious enough for me i guess.)

Anyways i hope those 7 refrences provide some insight into what im looking for in a perfect anime or close enough i guess heh Smile. I appreciate any suggestions.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11446
Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 10:53 am Reply with quote
Dhantes wrote:
7. Gundam (I like this series in theory, but it has that whole power ranger thing going on. It doesn't feel so much like war to me, its not brutal and most kills by the hero are one hit type akin to power ranger finishing moves. I think its a good setting but just too kiddie and not serious enough for me i guess.)

I'm going to assume you mean "G Gundam," right? If that's the case, then you really need to do more research into the Gundam franchise. Razz

Another excellent anime I'd suggest is X (TV), if you like the whole "impending Apocolypse" theme. It's very high on emotions, as would be expected by a CLAMP creation. Awesome animation for a TV series (some of the best I've ever seen) with a very fitting soundtrack make it worth watching at least once. It also has an excellent dub. Wink

And though it's nothing near the war or fighting anime you're looking for, if you're looking for just human emotion and drama in general, I must highly recommend Great Teacher Onizuka. But if you watch it, please do me a favor and watch it subbed first, as the dub isn't very good (as seen by the user ratings in the Encylopedia).

It's my 2nd favorite anime all time, and the mix of comedy and drama are perfect, in my opinion. If you watch it in Japanese at least once, I guarantee you'll like it. Smile
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18459
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 11:13 am Reply with quote
Given the titles you have mentioned and what you did and didn't like about them, I'd recommend Gasaraki, a really hard-core near-future mecha series laced with elements of Eastern mysticism. This is a very serious, mature, and densely-plotted 26-episode series which stresses realistic battle tactics and a high level of technical detail in its machine operations, which results in it having mecha battle sequences that are a very different style than you'll see in most other mecha series. The intricacies of the plot are much too complicated to get into here, but it basically centers on two pilots from opposing conglomerates who are being used as pawns in their respective side's efforts not only to develop bipedal weapons platforms, but also to summon back to Earth an ancient demon. The catch is that the two pilots are reincarnated soulmates with a connection running back centuries, which throws plans on both sides for a loop.

Full Metal Panic! is a much more light-hearted teen-oriented mecha series which also might be worth a look for you. It features superb visuals and a mix of great comedy, action, and drama (though the main complaint against it is that it seems to have trouble finding a balance between those elements) and is a little bit on the racy side at times. Its plot is a more straightforward one about a teenage girl who must be protected by members of a secret paramilitary organization because the girl unknowingly has an ability to intuit hyper-advanced technology, which makes her highly valuable to the "wrong" side.
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Rendart



Joined: 13 Jan 2004
Posts: 111
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:11 am Reply with quote
I suggest you look into Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen, it's the kenshin ova and is alot better then the tv series (this is when he is actually the man slayer) it's rather bloody and even-paced.

Another title you may want to look into is Crest of the stars, it's a futuristic war type anime and is heavily plot based.

Berserk is another one of those bloody sword swingers that people seem to enjoy.

Full Metal Panic! is a great series if you like mecha.

There are pleanty more titles you can look into.

-Rendart
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BakaNekoDain



Joined: 29 Dec 2003
Posts: 118
Location: Yokosuka
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 12:44 pm Reply with quote
Tony K. wrote:
Another excellent anime I'd suggest is X (TV), if you like the whole "impending Apocolypse" theme. It's very high on emotions, as would be expected by a CLAMP creation. Awesome animation for a TV series (some of the best I've ever seen) with a very fitting soundtrack make it worth watching at least once. It also has an excellent dub. Wink


I'd second looking into X(TV), emotions run high as the battle for the fate of the world draws near. Great music, beautiful animation, and a great story.

If you're just looking for an anime with alot of strong emotions thats namely story driven, I'd recommend checking out His and Her Circumstances. Another work by Anno and yet another delve into the human psyche, a teen romance to be sure, but excellent none the less.
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Iria51



Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 138
Location: San Antonio, Tx
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 1:17 pm Reply with quote
Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex sound like something that you might like. The movie is sort of a cyberpunk story that touches on social an philosophical questions and has a good ammount of action to boot. The series goes just as deep and has a much more character driven story than the movie. There is a good ammount of action and mecha in that one too. If you want to see one of the movies that inspired The Matrix then you may want to see Megazone 23. This is an '80's anime that has a lot in common with that movie. The character designs are dated though so that may be a turn off. And, if you haven't seen them yet, the Evangelion movies are definitely a must if you are a fan of the TV series. They run very deep and really made me look at Evangelion diferently. Listen to the commentary track too, it was pretty enlightening to me.
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Iria51



Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 138
Location: San Antonio, Tx
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 1:18 pm Reply with quote
Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex sound like something that you might like. The movie is sort of a cyberpunk story that touches on social an philosophical questions and has a good ammount of action to boot. The series goes just as deep and has a much more character driven story than the movie. There is a good ammount of action and mecha in that one too. If you want to see one of the movies that inspired The Matrix then you may want to see Megazone 23. This is an '80's anime that has a lot in common with that movie. The character designs are dated though so that may be a turn off. And, if you haven't seen them yet, the Evangelion movies are definitely a must if you are a fan of the TV series. They run very deep and really made me look at Evangelion diferently. Listen to the commentary track too, it was pretty enlightening to me.
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Pathfinder



Joined: 20 Oct 2004
Posts: 40
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 1:35 pm Reply with quote
I hope you're not referring to G Gundam - that's probably the worst PoS ever created (Mermaid Gundam? Viking Gundam? ARGH!), but then, Gundams are supposed to be superior to "normal" mobile suits, hence them usually offing those easily enough - if you don't like the idea of extremely powerful suits, but still want some mecha action, you could try Blue Gender, one of my personal favourites and a mecha series which pits the remnants of humanity versus a breed of monsters called Blue - more mature than the Gundam series, for example, and no invincible robots in bright colours either Wink

FMP is another good mecha series - if you appreciate the humour in it it's great, even if the actual action-based episodes can be something of a letdown.
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Kazuki-san



Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2251
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 2:04 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Given the titles you have mentioned and what you did and didn't like about them, I'd recommend Gasaraki, a really hard-core near-future mecha series laced with elements of Eastern mysticism.


I have to second this. Gasarki is a great series, that is normally way underrated. (ask Bamboo) The mecha are more based on what technology we have today as far as armament and targeting systems go. Much like Eva, this series won't make much sense until the end, which is a plus for me.
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Dhantes



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 3:58 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for all the wonderful feedback i really appreciated it. I was already looking into gasrakia i actually saw that tip in the same thread i saw rahxephon in hehe Smile.

I've only so far seen 2 ghost in the shells the 1st one (was one of the first anime i saw my older sister owned it) was cool looking and seemed really serious unlike other anime just i had a hard time understanding what was going on. But besides that i liked the tone and style of it. I just recently saw innocence and while i liked the style and drawing the subtitles were really terrrible, i mean i understood what the story was saying but because of the poor subtitles it didn't hit home.

Though to be honest i prefer dubbed since i feel more immersed when its in english. /prepares to be flamed hehe.

Umm Gundamn so far i've seen part of what i think was seed that looked okay but i never got a hold of more of it. I've seen some of the cartoon network gundamn with a friend who liked it but not much and that seemed rather kiddie. Umm okay though the main gundamn i site is actually gundamnX. That was one of the first anime i really started watching recently when i started to get back into anime and while it did the job for awhile gundamnX actually was too kiddy for my personal tastes heh. Same with escaflowne. I have up to like show number 22 for gundamnX. Never heard of G Gundamn btw heh Smile.

I do like the setting of GundamnX btw, one of my favorite games of all time is Fallout series so love post-apocylapcitic. I just kinda dont like some of the Gundamn traits i guess as mentioned previously the super robot 1 shot kill aspect, and the comedy actually in gundamn is a real turn off for me. Actually my favorite part of gundamnX would have to be spoiler[when they were beaten by the newtype gundamn, that had the series self reflection i crave.]

Anyways hope i addressed everything Smile i really appreciate all the advice given and will definetly look into the mentioned titles. Thanks alot.
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Alchemist449



Joined: 04 Aug 2004
Posts: 341
Location: LED ZEPPELIN! nuf said
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 4:10 pm Reply with quote
Well if your looking for action shows I would suggest Fullmatal Alchemist, which will be running on adult swim in a few weeks.
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Bruce Lee



Joined: 04 Feb 2003
Posts: 715
Location: Seattle, Washington
PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 5:51 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
...too kiddy for my personal tastes heh. Same with escaflowne.

That was my problem with this series, also, I've got the whole series sitting next to my tv, but can't get past the first few episodes.

I too like more of the adult-ish type shows. The ones I've finished recently are Hellsing, Noir and Dai-gard. Hellsing has lots of action and vampires, but stops abruptly before it gets much of a story arc. Noir was also pretty good and action packed. I really liked it's story, and how it came together in the end. Dai-gard was good too, but it's story isn't too deep. It's very straight forward, however, has some mecha action, and also it's funny parts. Since it's about office workers, or "salary men", and most of its humor is office/work related, this show is deffinately aimed at adults. I'm a big EVA fan, too, so maybe one of these shows will be interesting to you.
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Maclam



Joined: 01 Oct 2004
Posts: 104
PostPosted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 12:37 pm Reply with quote
If you like evangelion.... i could suggest try out ARGENTOSOMA.... the main story is a little like Eva where the earth is attacked by alien from outer space and there this one alien that keep protecting the eart... or a certain girl...

Why?
how?
what for?

I'll let you find it out... it's a little mixe or Eva and the iron giant...the story is a little slow as well... but if you actually get into it... it's kinda nice Smile

And I also notice you like war movies.... maybe try Graves of the fireflies.... it's not a mecha anime but an anime about WW2 in japan.... it's one of the most touching anime out there Smile

Full metal panic is great if you like mecha anime and a little of romatic comedy here and there Smile

Hmmm and although you dislike Kenshin Serie... i still wanna suggest you try SamuraiX... which is the OVA of kenshin.... it's a lot more serious and the swordfight way better than the serie.

As for funny Anime... GTO (great teacher Onizuka) is great very funny...it's about a hardcore Teacher in middle school... watch and see how stupid he can be and how good he actually is Smile

Golden Boy is another excellent comedy.... although it's perverted and stupid at time.... but it's one of the funnest out there, and beside it's only 2 DVD

And although it's not really related to any of the anime you've seen.... I strongly recommand Vampire Hunter D bloodlust.... the quality of that anime will pop you eyes out...and the story very entertaining Smile
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