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[Shounen series suggestions].




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Lightbulb



Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:12 am Reply with quote
Heya.

First off; I've searched the forums, and googled, but have not so far found any list or similiar concerning this. If there is a thread or such about this, then please, post the URL Laughing

Anyway. I'm kind of new to the world of anime compared to some of you, but have so far developed a grave liking for the (as a friend of mine so nicely put it) "evolve and beat the crap out of shit with my newly learned ability"-type of anime. This does by no means limit it to fighting (like Naruto or Bleach), Hikaru no Go is a perfect example of that. Masterpiece Wink

The thing is, it has proven me to be a great difficulty finding these oh-so-lovely series. The best ones - in my opinion - start up from scratch. The maincharacter is very weak but something drastic happends and suddenly he's showing some huge potential. From there he's propelled upwards towards fame and money. Maybe not, but you get the idea.

Anywho. I understand that because of this (starting from scratch) it's very hard to make something in this sort of story on just 26~ eps, which narrows the number down by a fair bit.

A good example of a serie that might have fitted in here would be Rurouni Kenshin. spoiler[He evolves, AND he beats the crap out of things with his lovely new attack. He does not, however, start out from scratch.] You can therefore never experience that crucial moment when he leaves the masses of the weak and enters the group of the strong. He's a legend to begin with, how can he possibly rise beyond that? (Metaphorically speaking. He does indeed grow stronger >.>)

Series like Samurai Deeper Kyo, where the maincharacter gets one new almighty attack (again, methaphorically speaking. spoiler[It isn't very almighty after all Mad]) but apart from that, is practically the same guy throughout all the series would be nice if you could leave out. You surely understood that though Smile

One last thing. Battles (be it on a board, with a pen or a sword) should preferably be kind of active. Good examples would be: Samurai Champloo, Naruto, Berserk (I think? Been a while since I saw that). I hate the "first strike we're even oooh feels so good grinding our katanas together and standing completely still" fights. It's more interesting to watch my food get heated in the microwave :O

Series I've been suggested is:
Fate/Stay night.
Initial D

Can anyone with a little experience on these comment on if you think they would fit my taste?

MyAnime1
MyAnime2
Thanks in advance Very Happy

[EDIT: Removed all those hyphens so the screen wouldn't stretch and changed your topic name because it was too long-winded. -TK]


Last edited by Lightbulb on Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
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ironwarrior



Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 151
Location: Under Clare's armor, Lewisburg, WV
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:30 am Reply with quote
Good topic! Fate Stay Night definitely fits the description.

Since I prefer (ie: lust after) bad-ass female leads in anime, one you may consider is Blood+. At last count, the series was up to 45 episodes, and you see quite the evolution into the second season. Saya (the lead) will make you scream at the TV at times, but when she decides to "throwdown," you'll be salivating.

A recent one that I may post a review on is TOKKO.You definitely see an evolution from clueless to killing machine for the lead (a male). As an added bonus, excellent violence and a bad-ass anime chick: Rokujo, whose sexy sword-wielding self made it to my desktop background.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11440
Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 10:49 am Reply with quote
Those of you who post lists, DON'T DO IT. I will delete your post if I catch it (ryokoalways and v1cious being the first two I already did).

By the way, these are called shounen series.

Not all of them should involve "starting from scratch," but "evolution" is the key to plot/character development for most, if not all of them.

If you want something a little different, I'd suggest Yakitate!! Japan. Instead of fisticuffs and violence, the "weapon" of choice is bread or other forms of cooking. It sounds silly, I know, but it's a damn hilarious series with a lot of underrated aspects, given the premise. You can read my review at the bottom of this page.
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Daemonblue



Joined: 05 Jul 2006
Posts: 701
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 11:00 am Reply with quote
You might like Hunter x hunter, I've personally only seen the first 10 or so episodes, b ut even in that little amount of time there was a good amount of action as well as storyline. What can go wrong with a little kid you won't raise an eyebrow when killing his opponent, as some people describe it. You might also like Elfen Lied, it's not exactly "start off from scratch," but because of certain circumstances she loses her will to fight, unless something triggers it (don't wanna give away too much of the plot). I'll agree with the person that told you Fate/Stay Night. I'll also add in Kiba, it's still airing, but so far it has a decent amount of action, maybe not as much as you might be looking for, but you would have to see for yourself.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6227
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 11:34 am Reply with quote
sorry too early to type.

anyways Scryed might be a good choice as it has pretty much everything you're looking for. the main characters have alter powers and run around beating each other up, but then as the series moves along, their alter powers reach new levels. unforunately though, the dialogue in this series is pretty stupid, almost to the point of laughable.

i'd hardly consider Fate Stay Night Shounen. the characters evolve in power, but there's a lot more drama than action. Blood+ also unfortunately has been going down this route lately.


Last edited by v1cious on Tue Aug 15, 2006 1:49 pm; edited 2 times in total
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ironwarrior



Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 151
Location: Under Clare's armor, Lewisburg, WV
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 11:44 am Reply with quote
Here's one that may possibly fit your description: Jyu Oh Sei.

I saw the HDTV broadcast of this, and it had lovely violence, so I remembered it.

Jyu Oh Sei in some ways is a loose interpretative adaption of William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" from a geographic and sociological standpoint. Evolution of the male lead occurs physically and politically with substantial devolopment of prowess in both areas.

Unfortunately, the series cuts itself short and should have been far more than 11 episodes. Definitely worth a watch though, especially in HD.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6227
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:10 pm Reply with quote
ironwarrior wrote:
Here's one that may possibly fit your description: Jyu Oh Sei.

I saw the HDTV broadcast of this, and it had lovely violence, so I remembered it.

Jyu Oh Sei in some ways is a loose interpretative adaption of William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" from a geographic and sociological standpoint. Evolution of the male lead occurs physically and politically with substantial devolopment of prowess in both areas.

Unfortunately, the series cuts itself short and should have been far more than 11 episodes. Definitely worth a watch though, especially in HD.


so does it actually have an ending? or does it just end abruptly. i've been meaning to check this one out.
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ironwarrior



Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 151
Location: Under Clare's armor, Lewisburg, WV
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:36 pm Reply with quote
Ending in anime...do they truly ever end (excepting a few)? (ha-ha)

Honestly, I thought all the episodes endings were forced and abrupt, as if they knew they only had enough money for 11. I don't want to give anything away, but since it is short, I'd recommend it, if only for the evolutionary aspects of the lead and the violence.
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Lightbulb



Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 12:55 pm Reply with quote
Thanks all for all the answers Smile

As for the genre Shounen: I'm sorry to have misunderstood that. Read the native translation at wikipedia and got an explanation saying "An genre made for guys simply summarized as violent and geeky. A typical shounen-anime would involve the maincharacter being very kind and geeky, where he would get huge attention from all the beautiful women in the script."

Should teach me not to trust everything I read on the net :p

I realized too that I hadn't made MyAnime-lists publicly available, which was very clumsy of me. Edited and done now though. Can be viewed at:

MyaAnime1
Myanime2

Will check out Blood+, Fate/Stay Night, Hunter x Hunter and Jyu Oh Sei. Thanks for the suggestions Very Happy

Sorry for the long name too ^^;
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undeadben



Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 1212
Location: West Texas
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 1:26 pm Reply with quote
Lightbulb wrote:
Thanks all for all the answers Smile

As for the genre Shounen: I'm sorry to have misunderstood that. Read the native translation at wikipedia and got an explanation saying "An genre made for guys simply summarized as violent and geeky. A typical shounen-anime would involve the maincharacter being very kind and geeky, where he would get huge attention from all the beautiful women in the script."

Should teach me not to trust everything I read on the net :p

Did you read the correct wiki entry? Shounen from Wikipedia

And yet actually, it can sort of mean those other things too; here is a link to the Lexicon here: Shounen. (the last two paragraphs explain the other types of shounen aside from fighting and mecha.)

But from your openning post I doubt anyone will be recommending harem like comedies in this thread.
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Lightbulb



Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 2:59 pm Reply with quote
undeadben wrote:
Did you read the correct wiki entry? Shounen from Wikipedia

And yet actually, it can sort of mean those other things too; here is a link to the Lexicon here: Shounen. (the last two paragraphs explain the other types of shounen aside from fighting and mecha.)

But from your openning post I doubt anyone will be recommending harem like comedies in this thread.


Unfortunately, I read it from my native language (Swedish), didn't think of using the english one :/

Didn't even know there was a Lexion in here, guess you learn from your mistakes, eh? Surprised

All in all, it has proven that I'm still a complete newb in the world of anime Embarassed
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