Anime recs. Also VM time?

[dangermousie]

After I finish FMP (granted, I still have 7 eps of FMP, plus FUMOFFU and The Second Raid to get through, which is over 30 eps total) and the rest of Kenshin, I am out of anime.

I am thinking GetBackers or Trinity Blood, but am also curious about Gungrave (what is that about, anyway). I do have 12th Kingdom lying around as well, but it has no romance at all and no ending, which are both big minuses (the no ending is a bigger one than no romance).

But what I want are more recs, actually (yeah, yeah, I keep asking). I know, I know, I am a pest. With endings that are not too unresolved (e.g. Samurai Deeper Kyo sounds cool but it's supposed to have a completely WTF ending), some love story that has a cool OTP (it can be as central and overt as Miaka/Tamahome or as understated as Vash/Meryl), and nice visuals. Also, hopefully, no preting. Cool male characters, angst, fighting and some neat plot or dialogue is good. Nothing too freaky though.

Also, I am rather interested in anime that is sort of girly fluffy kind (only with oodles of angst). Cool male characters are a must, and I will like a heroine if she isn't weak (I am fine with Miaka who isn't a Nobel Laureate, but I hate Yui, who is weak and wimpy). What kind do I like? I liked Peach Girl, Hana Yori Dango (though I still think it had bizarre animation) and Mars (well, the manga and the live action). Hated Marmalade Boy. I guess it means an anime that, if girly, is not too long, has a decent pace, and some nice angst.

Fave anime so far is Trigun. I've also loved with varying degrees of love: Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne, Rurouni Kenshin, Full Metal Panic, RahXephon, Peacemaker Kurogane, Hana Yori Dango and Peach Girl. Ayashi No Ceres was cool (except for the ending) and Cowboy Beebop was neat, with some brilliant eps, but not arched enough for me.

I was indifferent to Last Exile (beautiful visuals, but the story lost me), amused (not in a way makers intended) by Pretear and loathed Marmalade Boy.

ETA: When does Veronica Mars shift to Tuesdays? Is it this week or the next? Don't want to miss it.

Comments

[ilanala]

Well, if you liked Fushigi Yuugi, have you seen Harukanaru? It's got a vaguely similar premise, but not so similar as to be annoying. It has interesting characters and lots of angsty backstory and whatnot. The ending's a little weird, but most things are resolved. And if nothing else, it's awfully pretty.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What is Harukanaru about? And angsty backstory is always good. And pretty is definitely paramount. Will check it out, thanks!

[ilanala]

It's the typical "Girl gets transported to a strange land where it turns out she's something special and a bunch of guys who are all a little bit in love with her guard her" storyline, but it's well done. It took me a while to get into it, but I liked it once it got going. And it's definitely pretty. ;-) (I think it's kind of hard to find, so let me know if you can't get it and I can give it to you.)

[redrogue9.livejournal.com]

When does Veronica Mars shift to Tuesdays? Is it this week or the next? Don't want to miss it.

VM shifts back to Tuesdays? I thought those were just repeats. But I do know the new ep "Plan B" is showing on Weds., but I'm in California, don't know if your area is changing the schedule.

GetBackers is an awesome anime, Gungrave is good too. I didn't find the ending for Samurai Deeper Kyo WTF!!, but that's my opinion because it's suppose to be based on actual events of that time (somewhat), that's why it's open-ended. I would rec Witch Hunter Robin, because Amon is cool and Robin isn't weak. It's action, mystery, and some other things in between, it's a good series overall.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

No, VM overall is switching to Tuesday nights sometime in April. Something to do with the ratings (not good news, sez I).

I thought the WTF with SDK was the question which one of the split personalities ended up winning was left to the viewer's interpretation. Which is a big WTF, IMO.

Re: WHR. I've heard very good things about it, but isn't it yet another one with no ending? I don't mind the somewhat open ending like Trigun, but there is no question that Trigun was concluded i.e. Vash found and fought Knives blah blah. Am I making any sense about the distinction?

[redrogue9.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, I really need to pay attention to the VM news. Thanks.

I thought it was clear on who won at the end of SDK. With the way the character was acting I thought it was clear. Damn I'll have to watch it again.....

I think WHR is somewhat open ended, it's a question of how the characters are at the end of the series. Does that make sense?

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

hich one of the split personalities ended up winning was left to the viewer's interpretation

Frankly, I thought that that particular aspect of the ending was awesome. There were some fighting scenes that were very WTF though...

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

I second the rec for Witch Hunter Robin. Some people find it slow, but I thought it was captivating.

[randirien.livejournal.com]

I'm going to second SDK, Getbackers, etc. and add Spiral, Yu Yu Hakusho, Kyou Kara Maou, umm...if I think of more I'll post again. ^_^ I'm not sure what else you've seen though, and that's the problem.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The ones I listed in the message are the sum total of what I've seen. Thanks for the recs!

[randirien.livejournal.com]

O_O *sputters and digs out list*
You might have to write these down...lol

Samurai Champloo, Saiyuki, Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist, His and Her Circumstances, InuYasha, Kiddy Grade, Burst Angel, Slayers (Slayers Next, especially), Star Ocean EX, Scrapped Princess, Gundam Wing, Kodocha, Kingd of Bandits Jing, Ai Yori Aoshi, Chobits...should I stop there...? lol Also, any Miyazaki film, if you haven't seen them. ^_^
You might want to check out www.rentanime.com - it's like Netflix for Anime only!

[redrogue9.livejournal.com]

I'm in the middle of KKM and I am loving it so far, and I just got all of YYH in dvds and it's the next series that I'll watch. What is it (YYH) about anyways?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

And what is KKM about?

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

YYH! I love Hiei. He has some of the best dead pan lines in anime. YYH makes me laugh out loud sometimes and I want a personal Hiei to cuddle.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

I'll suggest WHR too. I loved it. A little slow but I loved it.

On the girly show front, I'm gonna suggest Love Hina too :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Good Slow or Bad Slow? I do like the show to have a healthy pace (Marmalade Boy killed me with its moribund pace). How many eps is it?

What is Love Hina about?

[autumnflame.livejournal.com]

Twelve Kingdoms is actually pretty good about not ending, if you know what I mean--there are several arcs within the 46-ep series, and each one is resolved fairly successfully within itself, with the exception of one, which actually didn't bug me too much. But maybe that was just because I didn't really care that much about Taiki and Gyousou. If you /really/ don't want to finish watching a relatively unfinished series, I'd tell you to just watch the first and third arc (first one is about 13 episodes, the third one is... crap... I think it ends at 33 or thereabouts) which deal with Youko, and while it leaves room for more to happen, also wraps things up well.

(And honestly, perhaps I was exaggerating a little when I said no romance at all. XD; It's certainly not on the level of FY, but my central OTP feels--to shippy me, at least--about as much as Vash/Meryl, or more. --then again, I didn't see Vash/Meryl at all, at least not both ways, so take that as you will?)

Let's see. I keep coming back to Princess Tutu, but it really is a brilliant and underappreciated anime, with several really cool characters and an OTP that seems contrary to the original premise, but is so perfect. ._. Also, Honey and Clover is really, really cute, and really, really funny. As is Fruits Basket--though they're lighter on the angst, although Fruits Basket gets rather angsty later (especially in the manga).

Chrono Crusade seems closest to all of that, though. The anime is especially angsty, and Rosette is the furthest thing from a wimpy heroine, and Chrono is definitely cool and hot (at least in demon form). ~_~ Close runners-up are Record of Lodoss War (either one) and Magic Knights Rayearth.

[redrogue9.livejournal.com]

I second Princess Tutu, the anime is brilliant. And Fruits Basket, except I like the manga better.

Chrono Crusade is angsty and action packed, except the last episode was such a let down that I cringe every time I think about it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Re: Vash/Meryl. I definitely saw Vash liking her back, what with the way he interacted with her, and the scene where they were watching the stars and the hugging and the fact that she has replaced Rem. But then, I am a hopeless Trigun slave :P

I am afraid I am bad at just watching bits (re: 12th Kingdom). I am obsessive and must watch in a row :P

Honey and Clover sounds really cute. How about Kare Kano? I keep hearing about it. Is it any good?

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

*shuffles through her notes*

My recs for the moment (I honestly could rec until the cows come home since there so much anime out there).

Samurai Champloo- By the creator of Cowboy Bebop, it intentionally uses anochonism sometimes. I ADORE Jin, the quiet but really messed up samurai. Two samurai join a girl in an attempt to find the samurai who killed her parents.

GetBackers- I still can't say enough about this series. Funny, angsty, good characters. Ban is one of my favorite anime characters period. Two guys with no family and special powers claim they can "get back" anything you've lost or had stolen.

Inuyasha- Over hyped but still really good. A girl finds herself in the world's more complicated love triangle when she falls into feudal Japan and is paired up with a half dog demon in an attempt to get the broken fragments of a sacred jewel.

Samurai Deeper Kyo- A little like RK only the samurai in question DEFINITELY has a split personality as in he's two people trapped in one body. The ending, while a little open, I completely loved.

Gungrave- A sweeper for the mob is resurrected to protect the child of the woman he was in love with and kill his best friend. The Godfather meets Resident Evil. By the creator of Trigun.

Vandread- One of the best underrated anime of all time. A group of men living in a future where men and women live on different planets and are enemies, are taken captive and must work with their captors to save everyone from a far greater evil.

Magic Knights Rayearth- Have I mentioned loving Ferio? Anyway, three girls have to save a world threatened by evil. Of course they get bishies to help them. Smart story. Works really well and I adore Ferio.

Generator Gawl- Another underrated series. Three men from the future go back in time to stop WW3, not knowing whether their messing with time will kill them or not.

I can give you plenty more.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee. Sounds like a cool list. I am definitely interested in Gungrave and GetBackers, and also maybe Generator Gawl (I keep thinking "Gawp" for some reason. I want to check out the visuals to see if I like). For some odd reason, Vandread makes me think of all those 50s scifi movies and is kinda scaring me for that reason.

[muffinkath7.livejournal.com]

Veronica Mars is new on Wednesday again this week, then moves to being new on Tuesday next week.

Kath :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am deathly afraid to miss it.

[cosmicviolet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, VM moves next week, then repeats the following day (Wednesday) for a little while. So the reverse of what's happening now. I wasn't crazy about the move, but this does get it away from Lost, so maybe it will be okay. I hope so.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Glad they are repeating on Wednesday so people won't get lost.