| For someone who wants to sincerely and intelligently judge and compare anime series, what are the series that you need to have under your belt to have a good perspective/understanding? I.e., what are the series that you think are essential to see? Try and limit your response to 5 or so if possible... |
| http://www.anime4649.com Getting caught up on anime. |
| Well... your list is very small. This thread is going to explode from people listing their favs, but I'll try make legit recs: Legend of the Galactic Heroes Ghost in the Shell Texhnolyze Serial Experiments Lain Mawaru Penguindrum Might as well watch Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion to complete the series. |
I'm also filled with pure-hearted ulterior motives. |
| ... Well, shoot. That's a toughie. I suppose you'd need to go with the classics - Neon Genesis Evangelion (including the movies - at least End of Evangelion if nothing else) Monster Rose of Versaille Cowboy Bebop Some of (or heck, all) the Ghibli/Miyazaki But I'd also say you'd want to go to some of the anime (or at least the manga) of some of Ozuma Tezuka's works, since he's really the person who made it mainstream. Manga, especially, since some of his best works weren't made into anime (ex. Buddha) THe problem with this question is that you have classics which set standards, but also newer series that changed the ballgame a bit. For instance, CCS is the magical girl series that kind of codified what a magical girl series is all about and is considered really the best - but wasn't the first one. Then you have the recent Madoka Magica, which subverted a whole lot of ideas and tropes associated with the genre. It's *almost* the anti-CCS. I don't think you can narrow it down to just 5 series. And, of course, you'll get lots of people that will just give you their favorites. |
 |
| The issue is, as a large medium, the only way you could be considered as someone with a good understanding or perspective is out of pure QUANTITY. If you only look at quality you're focusing on the popularity and only on good stuff - you can't accurately look at and compare something without knowing the good, the bad, and the mediocre of each and every genre at that. To really "know" something, you need to know all of it - or a good amount. As for great stuff to help round one of your edges - see Nodame and Nana. People will just end up listing their favorites, and I'm part of that in a way but I also believe they are important to see. They are pretty much the top of their respective genres and do something unique and/or helped define or popularize certain things. Nodame is not only a classic, but really defined what a true romance-comedy series should be. Nana showcases what truly should define "mature" anime and is also usually accepted as being a classic, it goes places that even to this day no other series has. They are both romance, both mature, and both have a focus on music too - which would pretty much give you the top-tier of those types of shows to compare with other similar ones. Another one would be Azumanga, as it helped cement the slice of life high school series as a successful idea - which helped in turn lead to the explosion of school life, sol comedy, and moe. It's jokes, character designs, and overall feel are still copied to this day. |
TallonKarrde23Jan 7, 2013 9:57 PM
 |
| Quite honestly I don't think it matters. Every Anime should be judged on it's own. Recurrences, then again, that lead to unoriginality can be easily found anyway. One such example is the High School setting, or maybe the main hero gains special ridiculous powers. Things like that happen a lot in anime. Also the person's perception of the respective anime and genre. The anime's genre should be taken into account. You don't really need to see the "Anime Classics" to judge. You just need experience with the genre. I guess is my main point. |
RyanPenguinJan 7, 2013 11:07 PM
| Thanks for the replies. I understand the difficulty of listing the "fundamental" series, and Tallon I agree that it does seem to be an issue of quantity in the end. But I do think there are some series that are considered classics/gamechangers that you see a lot of other series building off of or emulating. I have a limited idea of what these are, hence the thread, but some appear to be: Cowboy Bebop Ghost in the Shell Neon Genesis Evangelion It is tough to distinguish between favorites and what you think are truly important. I think of NGE in that way though - it's not one that I'm a huge fan of, although I consider it pretty good, but if someone asked me what anime they needed to start out with to have a good foundation, I'd definitely include it up there. |
| http://www.anime4649.com Getting caught up on anime. |
| really jack? anyway op should watch boku no pico. totally essential or whatever. |
| Welcome to the NHK! Steins;Gate Anohana Shiki I just put up my top 4. |
| ??????? |
| I'll go with the animes even my friends who aren't exactly anime fans watched: 1 Toradora 2 AnoHana 3 Angel Beats 4 Clannad ... also these pretty much have bring out the same emotions so I have to add: 5 Death Note 6 Hunter x Hunter 7 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood And I have to agree with Sweetpea said: Some of (or heck, all) the Ghibli/Miyazaki |
jackjohn said: hajime no ippo - one of the best shounen anime i have ever watched, along with some of the funniest charcters in all of anime. claymore - blood, guts, and one of the most unique plots around. (simply a one of a kind anime) kimi ni todoke - my all time favorite romance anime. (no bull shirts moe) naruto - one of the standard never ending shouned (got to have one of them) Yu yu hakusho - one of my personal favorite fantasy fighting anime. honorable mention : sword art online( had to put this in somehow) no. no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. NO. |
| Grave of the Fireflies Mushishi Akira Millennium Actress Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion Barefoot Gen Harenchi Gakuen (or just about any of the early Go Nagai works such as Mazinger Z or Devilman) Anything by Tezuka These titles had great impact on the anime and manga industry and should be essential for ANY fan. Lol @ people just recommending their favourites or generic shit like Naruto or SAO. How about you actually read what the OP wants? |
| Steel Ball Run anime when? |
| 5 are probably too few, considering the various genres and sub-genres. For sci-fi anime i'd say: Evangelion (for the focus on characters and their psyche, just make sure u dont get distracted by the eccessive symbolism). Ghost in the shell (for the focus on the depiction of a futuristic/steampunk society). One between Serial experiments Lain/Tehxnolyze/Haibane Renmei. One between Gunbuster-Diebuster/Gurren lagann for a lighter and more comedic take on mecha/sci-fi genre. The latter works as a parody of older mecha shows too. Fantasy: Berserk is probably the best choice (it's adapted from the manga and doesnt tell a complete story though) Romance: Toradora (lighthearted shounen-ish comedy/romance) Clannad is good too if u can stand the first series...but then the second one is more slice of life than romance. Nana (more mature romance, adapted from a josei manga). Love Hina (a not so great harem series but it can definitely help if u want to get used to anime archetypes both in terms of characters and plot) Ashita no Joe (sports/drama) one of the best choices as far as sports anime are concerned. Cross game isnt bad either (also newer) and is a good mix between sports and romance. Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood as a fighting shounen (one of, if not the best, in its genre) As someone else pointed out u should also check some of the Ghibli movies. |
| Most people that are long-term watchers say usually Akira(for sci-fi), Evangelion, Sailor moon(for mahou shojo), Dragon ball(for shounen) Visions of escaflowne,for romance Legend of galactic heroes(space opera), Gundam wing(for mecha), Berzerk(for fantasy, the kind with knights), Ghibli movies, (stories for all ages) Lucky star (moe) Urotsukidouji (for hentai) Ghost in the shell -there is more that you requested, but i've wrote this wiewed from the point of the genres and is highly discutabile. |
grshJan 8, 2013 12:23 PM
jackjohn said: hajime no ippo - one of the best shounen anime i have ever watched, along with some of the funniest charcters in all of anime. claymore - blood, guts, and one of the most unique plots around. (simply a one of a kind anime) kimi ni todoke - my all time favorite romance anime. (no bull shirts moe) naruto - one of the standard never ending shouned (got to have one of them) Yu yu hakusho - one of my personal favorite fantasy fighting anime. honorable mention : sword art online( had to put this in somehow) Just ignore this kid.... Anyway evangelion is #1 |
| I am important. I have a girlfriend. Check out my podcast |
| Thanks. I appreciate the genre-focus in a lot of the responses. I think that's a good way to do it - like there are certain anime that sort of define or highly impact different genres. Those are definitely things I want to see. |
| http://www.anime4649.com Getting caught up on anime. |
| To keep it short and simple, Code Geass Death Note Baccano Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Berserk |
 |
Not_Biased said: Dude, normally I wouldn't care about you recommending the same old shit in every thread, but in no way are Shounen battle series or ecchi anime fundamental. You have to aim at classics and revolutionary, new age anime. Maybe Dragon Ball, if anything, because it set a new age to Shounen battle series. Not Dragon Ball Z though.You have to watch the masterpieces first, to see how mediocre everything else is. Look my anime list and watch anything that I've rated 9 or 10 |
| I'm also filled with pure-hearted ulterior motives. |
Not_Biased said: Holybaptiser said: Not_Biased said: Dude, normally I wouldn't care about you recommending the same old shit in every thread, but in no way are Shounen battle series or ecchi anime fundamental. You have to aim at classics and revolutionary, new age anime. Maybe Dragon Ball, if anything, because it set a new age to Shounen battle series. Not Dragon Ball Z though.You have to watch the masterpieces first, to see how mediocre everything else is. Look my anime list and watch anything that I've rated 9 or 10 Wait, what? Dragon Ball Z is the godfather of today's shonen. Even Highschool DxD is revolutionary, it's very hard to find ecchi that has substance and plot. If they are masterpieces, they are fundamental. People must learn to appreciate true art. ....Fist Of The North Star |
Not_Biased said: Highschool DxD follows the same old format that many, many, many other ecchi series follow. It is overfilled with cliches. There is no substance, but it does have a notable plot. It isn't the only series out there with a notable plot, like Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Maybe if you looked at my list, you would see that I rated both DBZ and DxD as 7's (good), therefore, I do appreciate both series. DBZ was nothing more than a cash cow. It lost all substance after the Frieza saga and became nothing more than poorly drawn fight scenes and 5 minute power up scenes.Holybaptiser said: Not_Biased said: Dude, normally I wouldn't care about you recommending the same old shit in every thread, but in no way are Shounen battle series or ecchi anime fundamental. You have to aim at classics and revolutionary, new age anime. Maybe Dragon Ball, if anything, because it set a new age to Shounen battle series. Not Dragon Ball Z though.You have to watch the masterpieces first, to see how mediocre everything else is. Look my anime list and watch anything that I've rated 9 or 10 Wait, what? Dragon Ball Z is the godfather of today's shonen. Even Highschool DxD is revolutionary, it's very hard to find ecchi that has substance and plot. If they are masterpieces, they are fundamental. People must learn to appreciate true art. |
| I'm also filled with pure-hearted ulterior motives. |
| The fact that some people only know the Dragonball Z series when talking about and praising it as a masterpiece is so saddening... is it so hard for people to actually look up a few facts before spouting shit? |
| Steel Ball Run anime when? |
| Some classic and highly influential anime: Mobile Suit Gundam Hokuto No Ken Dragonball/Z Any Miyazaki film |
| Salmon is delicious. |
| Toradora Cowboy Bebop Evangelion Yu Yu Hakusho Death Note |
 |
Holybaptiser said: You are losing your time.If you arent praising his 9-10 anime then you havent watched them at all.Not_Biased said: Highschool DxD follows the same old format that many, many, many other ecchi series follow. It is overfilled with cliches. There is no substance, but it does have a notable plot. It isn't the only series out there with a notable plot, like Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? Maybe if you looked at my list, you would see that I rated both DBZ and DxD as 7's (good), therefore, I do appreciate both series. DBZ was nothing more than a cash cow. It lost all substance after the Frieza saga and became nothing more than poorly drawn fight scenes and 5 minute power up scenes.Holybaptiser said: Not_Biased said: Dude, normally I wouldn't care about you recommending the same old shit in every thread, but in no way are Shounen battle series or ecchi anime fundamental. You have to aim at classics and revolutionary, new age anime. Maybe Dragon Ball, if anything, because it set a new age to Shounen battle series. Not Dragon Ball Z though.You have to watch the masterpieces first, to see how mediocre everything else is. Look my anime list and watch anything that I've rated 9 or 10 Wait, what? Dragon Ball Z is the godfather of today's shonen. Even Highschool DxD is revolutionary, it's very hard to find ecchi that has substance and plot. If they are masterpieces, they are fundamental. People must learn to appreciate true art. |
MaedhrostheTall said: BTW something can be fundamental and influential even if it ISN'T a masterpiece. I swear I hear the word "masterpiece" so fucking often on this site it's driving me crazy. Exactly, a lot of people would cite NGE as an example. |
| Steel Ball Run anime when? |
VivaLaGin said: guess i need to remind you guys of what the wise charles darwin once said "a man who dares to waste one hour of time watching dbz has not discovered the value of life" -charles darwin HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... no |
More topics from this board
» New(ish) Manga Reader in Need of Recommendations!Wakarimas-en - Yesterday |
8 |
by Wakarimas-en
»»
1 hour ago |
|
» Anime recommendations pleaseMeZaDefined - 1 hour ago |
0 |
by MeZaDefined
»»
1 hour ago |
|
» Anime that have all female guilds/clubs/groups/living places, etcGakutoDeathGlare - Today |
3 |
by GakutoDeathGlare
»»
1 hour ago |
|
» Similar animes to Tengoku Daimakyou ( 1 2 )Salvaged - Apr 21 |
70 |
by Meline0102
»»
2 hours ago |
|
» 150 Chapters Manhwa/ManhuaNizalich - Apr 21 |
3 |
by duchessliz87
»»
Today, 5:28 AM |