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New to Anime & Manga? Just looking for some recommendations? Search no further!

  • 14-07-2010 4:21pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭


    Threads for Anime/Manga recommendations for newbies and fans alike are always popping up on this forum, so I thought I'd make one handy thread that contains all this information.

    First off, for the newbies:

    What is Anime?

    Anime is, quite simply, animation that originates in Japan. Anime is generally considered to be a medium that is made up of many genres. Anime is very easily distinguished from other types of animation due to it's visual characteristics.
    The most common misconception of anime is that it is "just for kids". This is simply not true. Yes, there are plenty of series aimed solely at kids but the great thing about anime is there is something for everyone. Many series contain much darker, adult themes.

    What is the difference between a "dub" and a "sub"?

    Anime series are either dubbed or subbed for English speaking viewers. Dubbed means that the original Japanese dialogue has been replaced with English dialogue by English speaking voice actors. Subbed refers to anime that retains it's original Japanese dialogue and is subtitled in English.

    What is Manga?

    Manga are the Japanese version of comics. Like anime, there are many genres of manga and all age groups and interests are catered for. Manga are often adopted into anime series and less often, anime is adopted into a manga series.



    Recommendations

    A common question that arises in this forum is: "I'm new to anime, what would you recommend me to watch as an introduction to the medium?"

    Well this all depends on what you're into of course. However, there are some series/films that many people recommend to newbies. Have a look at the articles I've linked to (they contain a synopsis and reviews of the series) and pick one your interested in.

    Series:
    - Dragonball Z/ Dragonball Kai
    - Bleach
    - Naruto
    - Death Note
    - Neon Genesis Evangelion
    - Cowboy Bebop

    Films:
    - Any of the Studio Ghibli films
    - Akira
    - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
    - Rebuild of Evangelion films


    So you've found an anime you love and are interested in watching something similiar or in the same genre. Well, make sure you check out this site as it lists anime by genre and is very useful (NOTE: After clicking on the genre you are interested in make sure you click on the ANIME tab to see the list - there is also a manga tab).
    Another incredibly useful site is MyAnimeList. Here you can keep track of anime that you have watched/ are watching, read reviews, check out personalized recommendations and view high scoring animes.

    Finally, here's a quick run down of anime/manga that are commonly recommended by users of this forum:

    - Clannad
    - Ghost in the Shell: SAC
    - Elfen Lied
    - Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood
    - Gundam
    - Tenchi Muyo
    - Ouran High School Host Club
    - Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
    - Baccano
    - Sailor Moon
    - Code Geass
    - FLCL
    - Haruhi Suziyama

    Remember, there are many, many different anime series and films out there so if you don't like one - try another! :)

    Also, if anyone would like to add to this or has any other information to share please feel free to do so!

    Another excellent resource site is the Anime & Manga Portal on Wikipedia. Very concise!


«13456

Comments

  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 17,129 Mod ✭✭✭✭cherryghost


    Nice simple beginners guide. Would be handy to sticky this


  • Moderators Posts: 8,678 ✭✭✭D4RK ONION


    That's a great guide, Hotaru recommended Akira to me recently, and as a first time Anime watcher, I freaking loved it! I'll take a look at that recommendation site, thanks for the link!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,241 ✭✭✭Vanolder


    D4RK ONION wrote: »
    That's a great guide, Hotaru recommended Akira to me recently, and as a first time Anime watcher, I freaking loved it! I'll take a look at that recommendation site, thanks for the link!


    I am surprised you have time to be watching this inbetween bouts of street fighter.. have you not cv's to be sending off :P


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,713 ✭✭✭✭Novella


    Great thread, Hotaru. :) I love The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, my absolute favourite. <3


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,498 ✭✭✭Jamie Starr


    D4RK ONION wrote: »
    That's a great guide, Hotaru recommended Akira to me recently, and as a first time Anime watcher, I freaking loved it! I'll take a look at that recommendation site, thanks for the link!

    :o

    And to think I used to talk to you...

    Cowboy Bebop - amazing. There's some nice remastered/PAL versions out at the mo which I must get my mits on. Also, seeing Dragonball Z up there makes me all nostalgic.

    I didn't see Macross Plus or Patlabor on the list, they're pretty accessible serieseseses/movies. Also, there's a movie called Metropolis, released in 2001, which I thought was excellent.

    It's a pity Cartoon Network doesn't show its late-night anime anymore, that's what started me off.

    This list will definately get the ball rolling for people new to the stuff, good job!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 84 ✭✭Et3rnalMo0nlite


    Excellent thread/sticky :D Death Note forever <3


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,986 ✭✭✭Craguls


    Excellent thread! About time someone decided to put some time into this forum!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,986 ✭✭✭Craguls


    Allow me to recommend Outlaw Star. It was one of the first series I ever watched back when Toonami used to show anime at night. Link provides a much better synopsis than I can presently give :P
    Opening music kicks serious ass too


    The Big O is also worth a look in. Think Batman meets Gigantor meets the Truman Show in terms of concept. It wins on style alone.


    .Hack//SIGN as well as the other entries in .Hack franchise as a whole are another bunch of series that are worth getting into but often suffer pacing issues despite their merits. All deal with a MMORPG called the World and a suspicious incident leading to the players ending up in comas and suffering from physical and psychological truama as a result.
    Also has pretty catchy music

    Timeline Anime wise it goes SIGN-> DUSK-> ROOTS
    ROOTS wins on style. Manages to capture what the series is like best through atmosphere the best too


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,986 ✭✭✭Craguls


    Oh! 5 cm per second is so very very pretty it merits watching.

    /hates self for posting an amv


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,473 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    For anyone who took Craguls suggestion and wants to watch .hack here is the order to watch them chronologically as there seems to be a lot of confusion on this that i found when trying to move on from //SIGN. this include the ova and the official name of dusk.

    1) .hack//SIGN
    2) .hack//INFECTION / .hack//LIMINALITY OVA1
    3) .hack//MUTATION / .hack//LIMINALITY OVA2
    4) .hack//OUTBREAK / .hack//LIMINALITY OVA3
    5) .hack//QUARANTINE / .hack//LIMINALITY OVA4
    6) .hack//LEGEND OF THE TWILIGHT (dusk)
    7) .hack//ROOTS


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27 BmanHamo


    Nice tread. i recomened Inital D but you will be waiting for the last sage if you get into it.
    The best suspence one i wached was Perfect Blue really messed with my head.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,798 ✭✭✭Funky


    Doesn't seem to be many manga recommendations here so I'll suggest a few of my favourites:

    Berserk - dark medieval/fantasy story, awesome art and characters. Not for the faint of heart. Only bad thing about it is it's not finished and the releases are pretty slow these days.

    Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer - Seems a generic heroes chosen to save the world story but it has a twist to it. Some of the best characters I've read in a manga. Don't let the weird name put you off 8)

    20th Century Boys - mystery story full of twists and turns. Hard to explain what it's all about without writing an essay on it but it's a great read.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,473 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    yankee-kun to megane-chan (manga) it's the manga i look forward to.
    230px-Yankee-kun_to_Megane-chan_vol01_Cover.jpg


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14 reccakeys


    I like most of your choice. I would like also to add a recommendation:... This is one of my favorite anime in the present. I really like it

    Hope you like it also
    You can watch the preview here:

    1221255761490.jpg


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,130 ✭✭✭ussjtrunks


    looking for an anime in the same style as clannad and toradora.


  • Registered Users Posts: 945 ✭✭✭gearoidof


    Yo, Kanon and Air are very similar to Clannad (All by Key), so if you like one, you like all.

    If you're just looking for a bit of rom-com, try:
    Honey and Clover Which is about Art school students
    Nodame Cantibile Which is about Music school students

    Edit: Surely he's better off asking in a specific topic seeing as he's not looking for an introduction to anime, but for specific anime similar to anime he's already seen and like?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,798 ✭✭✭Funky


    Not exactly the same but similar in drama would be ef - a tale of memories too. Great show in my opinion, especially if you like SHAFT's style of animation.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,258 ✭✭✭Numina


    Funky wrote: »
    Not exactly the same but similar in drama would be ef - a tale of memories too. Great show in my opinion, especially if you like SHAFT's style of animation.

    Exactly this. It's styled as a dream world just like Clannad was, the vibrancy of background colours used reminds me of Makoto Shinkai's (5cm Per Second, Voices of a Distant Star) work. The music is done by Tenmon, who has also done the music for Shinkai's works. Also the innovation of design in some scenes really does remind me of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but it's Shaft, so it makes sense that it would.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    Hey ussjtrunks!

    If you're looking for anime recommendations please use the sticky at the top of the forum :)

    I'm merging this thread with the sticky cause there are some more great recommendations here.

    Happy watching!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,130 ✭✭✭ussjtrunks


    I started watching kanon and plan to watch ef, air and school rumble in the future.

    I like kanon very much despite how much of a clannad feeling I get from it which is a good thing :), ~uguu~


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5 kneesandghouls


    Has anyone seen The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya? I haven't gotten into any series for a while and I was wondering if it's worth watching?


  • Registered Users Posts: 773 ✭✭✭Cy_Revenant


    I watched the original and thought it was great at the time. Best when seen in it's airing sequence.

    Haven't seen the new season. I gather it caused some amount of pain and misery.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,473 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    anyone seen Origin: Spirits Of The Past i saw it for €10 on bluray so was curious.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,130 ✭✭✭ussjtrunks


    Origin is quite a good film , Its amazing on bluray though the pq and animation are fantastic.. for €10 you cant really go wrong :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 773 ✭✭✭Cy_Revenant


    Origin?

    Great animation and music.

    Story is alright, I guess? Feels like Nausica, similar to King of Thorn in ways. It's an alright film overall. Nothing special.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 117 ✭✭UnionOfV


    First off, please don't flame me, I hate these kinds of threads as much as you do! :pac: I discovered manga about 2 weeks ago and fell in love with GG, so I'm looking for something similar - a serious thought-out manga exploring deeper issues. Anime-Planet didn't give me any help and I'm leaving Paris in a few days so I don't have an amazing amount of time to both research and buy! I haven't watched much animé but that would be cool too :)

    Thanks in advance.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,164 ✭✭✭Konata


    Hey UnionOfV! Great to hear you're getting into manga :D

    We have a sticky for recommendations so I'm merging your post with that thread which can be found here.

    I've never read Gunslinger Girls but hopefully someone else will be able to assist you!


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,473 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    Didn't think it was worth making thread for this but i have forgotten the name of a manga i intended to buy while away, it's not out here yet and need the name soon.

    The Mangaka is not Japanese he's American or Latin American or both, and he's done other stuff too but don't know the names.

    the manga is about a young guy who goes to Japan thinking it'll be like manga and anime with the manga itself named after the fictional anime he's likes that no one there seems to know, the manga also is about a young Japanese model who think America is the best place in the world and it turns out she's obviously wrong.

    Any help be good.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,473 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    Just seen the first of six of the Broken blade movie(Break Blade is the original name and it's more feature length ova), it's good. Plan on watching the second movie and the third when it comes out in November/October.

    it's starts out kinda like Gurren Lagann in that there was advanced ancient people and now there's not, the people now only use their magic power to control quarts and as this advanced all other technology disappeared or had done already. The quarts move vehicles, the golems(mechs) and powers all weapons. The current steam punk with out the steam world is similar to The Vision of Escaflowne and it's mechs.

    The main character
    The main character is rare in that he's unable to use magic but that does mean he's similar to the ancients and can use their technology, which is more Gundam than Golem.

    Enemy captain
    The story has a similarity to code geass in that the main character and one of the enemy captains were friends before the war, and in so far as they don't know the other is there.

    brokenbladepreview.jpg


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  • Registered Users Posts: 773 ✭✭✭Cy_Revenant


    I'm enjoying Broken Blade. Sometimes it feels like it's setting out to subvert common tropes though.

    Several times we see a typical set up, but the outcome is the opposite of what you would normally expect.
    A lone woman in a unique golden mech faces off against a group of boring looking inferior mechs piloted by faceless goons.

    The goons are the good guys.


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