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.

[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?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

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

[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?

[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!

[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?

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

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

[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...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

And what is KKM about?

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

I think it's about dead boy ghosts... O_O

[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?

[redrogue9.livejournal.com]

Quick plot synopsis: Boy (Yuri)is flushed down the toilet by bullies, wakes up in demon world, and is crowned king.

The anime itself deals with somewhat serious undertones but it's funny enough to keep going.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Sounds really odd. But might be good, as a lot of these synopses sound odd and turn out good.

[redrogue9.livejournal.com]

I feel the need to clarify so I'll just keep going.

The anime pokes fun at itself, I didn't really have much expectation for this, but it proved me wrong. People compared to Gravitation which I didn't really like. Um, the females in the anime smart and kickass, which is why I like the anime.

[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.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a good kind of slow, because I was never bored. There was a healthy dose of character development and background info in the episodes before the real drama starts. This is why I'm hesitantly reccing the anime to you, I know you like your drama with a brisk pace. The show is only 26 episodes long though, which is why you may enjoy it. Then again, the ending is rather... open ended. Eeek, I know I'm not helping my cause here *headdesk*

Brief synopsis of Love Hina: 19-year old Keitaro is desperately trying to get accepted at Tokyo University in order to keep a childhood promise. His obsessive bent of doing so is one of the few shining spots of optimism in an otherwise unlucky life. He becomes manager of the Hinata House, property of his Aunt and now an all-girls' dormitory. At first, all the girls are rather hostile towards him but as time goes on they warm up to him, especially Naru, who may be the "promised girl" of his past.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I second (or third?) Princess Tutu and Fruits Basket.

Chrono Crusade FILLS ME WITH RAGE over the last episode. HOW COULD THEY SCREW AN ENDING UP SO MUCH! NYAAAH!

*cough* Anyway, yes on the first two and fists of fury at CC.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

So did you think Kyo? I thought Kyo, but I thought that just might be my projection since I liked him so much. I know I definitely wanted it to be Kyo.

[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.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Poking fun at itself is always good. Love it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Dead pan is VERY promising...Hmmmm.