Forum - View topic"Fantastic Anime That you Cannot Recommend."
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nobahn
 Subscriber Posts: 5190 |
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So the essay, "Our Favorite Isekai Titles Are..." reminded me of "10 Anime That Are Fantastic But Hard To Recommend" by Jake Buchalter.
So I will begin this thread by briefly discussing The Great Passage 
Episdode reviews by LiA So this absolutely is seinen. Not only that, but it's about the trials and tribulations of a group of workers at a publisher who are trying to compile a new Japanese language dictionary. If this description doesn't have you running away screaming, then I don't know what will. It is the opposite of shounen and shoujo. And speaking of seinen..... 
Haibane Renmei Glie is a town surrounded by mystery. When Rakka hatches from a cocoon she spends the next six episodes (of a thirteen episode series!) learning about Glie and its residents. These six episodes are all slice of life and the plot doesn't kick in until halfway through episode number seven. When Zac Bertschy first reviewed it he was impressed; but he later changed his mind. Neither shounen nor shoujo. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24582 |
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I remember The Great Passage very well. I would never have thought I'd find a story about writing a Japanese dictionary so interesting. I've never see Haibane Renmei, but I've heard very good things about it over the years. I own the DVD singles so I'll find out for myself one of these days. I have a feeling that three other shows that Yoshitoshi ABe was a part of: Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze and NieA_7 would fall into the same category. I can't say if any of those are fantastic because although I watched Serial over 20 years ago, I remember none of it and I've only seen an episode or two of NieA and only a few minutes of Texhnolyze.
Out of shows I am familiar with and think are fantastic but cannot recommend, the one that pops immediately to mind is Made in Abyss. I adore the show, love its visuals, characters and creativity but it is a tough watch for certain things that happen to characters you will come to love. The label "misery porn" doesn't seem out of place for it. So if you haven't seen it and decide to check it out... you have been warned. I suppose I could also add Paranoia Agent from the died way too early genius Satoshi Kon. I certainly think the series is fantastic but I can see how some viewers might find it a bit too obtuse for their liking. |
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AsleepBySunset
Posts: 247 |
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I would recommend Haibane Renmei to literally anyone, it's very approachable, so long as you don't mind "cozy" slice of life.
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RupanSansei
 Posts: 175 |
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MD Geist it is the best Schlock anime you can watch. It sold so well incredibly well in America that they released both the Director's Cut & the sequel Death Force in America first. By the way if you ever wondered where the mascot comes from in Central Park Media a.k.a. U.S. Manga Corps. logo it comes from the main character in armo(u)r. I don't want to spoil any further as it will ruin your experience with it.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24582 |
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Not that I want to speak for the OP of this thread but I'm guessing that when he asked for "fantastic anime" I doubt he meant "Best Schlock." So to stay on topic, can you think of anime you find fantastic (in a non-schlocky way) but for some reason are reluctant to recommend it?
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5533 Location: Mexico |
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Heike Monogatari (2021) would be it for me I think. I'd go as far to say that it wasn't just the best show to come out that year, but easily one of the best of the decade. It's such a mindblowingly beautiful show, both in pure visual terms and also narrative ones, masterfully managing to cover the entirety of its source material in a really low episode count without feeling rushed in the least; but most people will find it challenging to follow without at least some more-than-basic knowledge of the Genpei War, which even average anime fans are likely to not know much about. I still remember it being completely snubbed for the Anime awards. And yes, yes I know the Anime Awards are a joke and no one should take them as a serious recognition of the best of the medium, but I think it still speaks to the show's high entry barrier that even so-called professional anime critics/fans/journalists completely skipped it
I also second The Great Passage, it's truly an excellent show but really hard to pitch given its subject matter |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24582 |
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I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated Heike Monogatari without knowing squat about the Genpei War. However, I agree that this show has been criminally overlooked.
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nobahn
Subscriber Posts: 5190 |
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RupanSansei-- I provided a link to this article to provide an example of what I mean. It's a good read. |
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Piglet the Grate
 Posts: 1033 Location: North America |
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Re: OP Question: Anything I like made by GoHands.
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RupanSansei
Posts: 175 |
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Crayon shin chan because of the constant dick jokes |
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nobahn
Subscriber Posts: 5190 |
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I hesitate to ask.....but was the localization accurate?  I never watched it because of its reputation. 
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10126 Location: Virginia |
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Neon Genesis Evangelion The original TV series and its follow up films.
I don't think anyone questions that it is a "fantastic anime". But if you stop to think about it, the show is a hot mess. Apparently Anno wanted to make a deep, psychology based show about depression, parental abandonment and the inability of people to connect except at the most superficial levels. He knew that even if his friends let him make such a show he couldn't sell it. So he wrote a post apocalyptic action based show and grafted the two together. If you are in it for the action, which included most of his viewers, it is a fantastic ride that stops in places and does nothing. The story has plot holes you could drive truck-kun through and the mysteries are just something added for kicks and giggles with no resolution. At least one episode is pure filler (the runaway robot). And then there is the "ending". It is fairly obvious that no ending was planned when they started the thing. They (probably Anno) dithered around until they ran out of time and money. At that point a poorly animated ending to the psychology story was made and no resolution of the action story was provided. (Not) surprisingly, the fans of the show were a tad upset, up to and including death threats. A director's recut of the final couple of episodes didn't help much so a final film was provided. The End of Evangelion certainly provided an ending to the action show. The most nihilistic unsatisfactory FU to the fans that could have been conceived. I'll admit the Japanese seem to have a thing about "and everyone died" endings (see Cowboy Bebop) but this was to a whole new level. Two people left alive, they hate each other, but it doesn't matter since they will probably die in the wasteland in a week or so anyway. Nah, there is no way I can recommend this to anyone without so many warnings they won't touch it anyway. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24582 |
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I view NGE much the same way you do, Alan45, but the difference is I would still recommend it. My snappy recommendation would be, "This series is well worth watching but it has some flaws that may drive you nuts. You've been warned."
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10126 Location: Virginia |
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I will give them credit, they were very good at what they did. Once the story sucks you in it is hard to let go. In this day and age of binge watching/streaming I can easily see someone watching the whole thing in a weekend. It would be like white water rafting. Everything is exciting as hell and all of a sudden you hit something, the raft turns over and if you are lucky everyone ends up on a sandbar wandering what the hell just happened. I don't think I would recommend it but I wouldn't discourage someone unless they were completely new to anime.
As best I can tell, the first commercial (legal) release in the U.S. was August 1997 the same month I watched my very first anime. I bought and watched the VHS tapes as they came out. It was about the fifth or sixth anime series I ever watched. I can still remember trying to understand the arcane symbolism that showed up which I have since found out was from Jewish/early Christian mythology. Later I read an interview in Animerica magazine where some of the staffers said they put it in to seem "deep" and that they didn't understand it either.  It is a great ride if you don't mind the horse throwing you in the muddy pool instead of jumping the last fence.
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