Mahoromatic is a pretty good show if you do not watch the last episode of the 2nd season.Originally Posted by Death BOO Z
It's pretty much a Gainax style bullshit ending that will piss you off, not to mention that it feel entirely inappropriate for a romance/comedy.
no idea what you're talking about. (following rumbel uncut episodes, by the way)
thing is, that after a few episodes of soul eater. it hit me.
this is not going to end well. they'll finish the arc and call it season 1, and continue doing a season once every two years, and each season will have more 'junk' episodes (no idea if the episodes were in the manga or not, they're still junk) to fodder between episodes regarding the plot.
there is no way that soul eater will end well in 26 episodes, we won't see all sorts of storylines reaching a decent conclusion, we won't see any character 'growing' into something. it's a tease anime that will leave me with another manga that I'll have to read to 'get' all the story.
it's awesome, sure, but it's a cocktease.
edit: it seems that I was wrong, I falsely assumed that SE will end after 26 episodes, Ryllharu corrected me, so everything I said earlier (highlight for super-rant) is no longer valid.
god dammit.
(note: didn't start the manga yet, waiting to finish anime first)
Last edited by Death BOO Z; Thu, 09-25-2008 at 06:02 PM.
sig made by Itachi-y2k5, thanks, dude!
Currently Watching: probably a show directed at 9 years old girls, lets be honest.
You know the important distinction between Batman and me? Batman is fictional. In real life, there isn't always an alternative.
They are still most likely going to catch up to the manga by the end of the 51 eps, so there will not be a wealth of material for them to use.
By the sound of things on other forums (not that I can give any details because I simply didn't recognize any of the names they were throwing out) there is a spot that Soul Eater will end at that will make for a sufficient conclusion.
That's why they will end up creating a FMA-style ending (slightly original ending or truncated to make it look like an ending). This is the cause of Death Boo Z's request. He wants to see something that decisively concludes.
EDIT:
@Lelouch:
Go back to my suggestions, and check out Higurashi and RD Sennou Chosashitsu. There are also no literal "game" series in my list, because I don't really find the majority of them all that interesting. The former of this short list will keep you guessing for nearly 36 episodes of 48, and the latter is a mindfuck and a half because it's almost all techno-philosophical.
@Lelouch - Try the anime Spiral - Bond of Inference. It actually got released before Death Note, so when I was starting to read the Death Note manga, I found myself comparing it a lot to this anime. It is around 25 episodes, and focuses on the main characters solving mysteries. There are also several one on one strategical matches in this show, which I believe is what you are looking for. Death note still has more mind games, but this has its own appeal. Unfortunately, it does not have a "real" ending, and just ends with most of the main plot points unanswered.
Peace.
Is there anything out there that is similar to Kaiji or Akagi? Other than that I'm looking for anime with strong lead characters. Or an anime with great plot twists. No comedy or romance. There can of course be some comedy and romance, but not as the main plot..
Some of my favorite series:
Kaiji
Akagi
Legend of The Galactic Heroes
Major
Death Note
Hajime no Ippo
Gantz
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Paranoia Agent
Gungrave
I'm also looking for a good sports anime. Already watched Ookiku Furikabutte, Whistle!, Hikaru no Go and Shion no Ou.
Slam Dunk.
it's a tad long, and gets carried away with the pacing of each game, but you can't get much better than it. strong lead, quite funny.
that's all I can say for sports.
sig made by Itachi-y2k5, thanks, dude!
Currently Watching: probably a show directed at 9 years old girls, lets be honest.
You know the important distinction between Batman and me? Batman is fictional. In real life, there isn't always an alternative.
Toward the Terra
Code Geass (Plot twists galore)
Ergo Proxy (might not be your cup of tea)
You have most of the more recent, popular sports watched.
For sports off the top of my head
Maybe Overdrive, it's a bicycle racing anime.
Capeta (Heard good things, haven't watched it myself)
Bamboo Blade (It's about Kendo, haven't watched it either beyond the first 2 episodes)
Strong lead characters and big plot twists:
Kiddy Grade - strong female leads, no romance, super powers and space combat. Plenty of plot twists too boot.
Arc the Lad - A decent lead character, stronger side characters, and some very nice plot twists midway.
Scrapped Princess - Strong male lead character, stronger female side characters, weaker (but certainly well developed) female lead character. Quite a bit of plot twists here and there, in a fantasy setting that is far from what it seems. A tiny bit of romance, but far more action.
R.O.D. (OVA and TV) - Predominantly strong female lead characters, but tons of plot twists, even between the two series. OVA goes first.
Outlaw Star - Headstrong male lead character, close combat spaceship dogfights, strong side characters, and enough twists (but not nearly as many as Kiddy Grade) to keep you interested.
Rozen Maiden - One moderately weak male lead, 4-5 strong female leads in one very strange, living-doll fight to the death. (RM:Traumend and RM:Ouvertuere follow).
Claymore - While the manga is better, the series in no way disappoints. Strong female leads, twists galore in an ever expanding awareness of a world rife with monsters and the warriors that slay them.
Iria: Zeiram the Animation - Short OVA series following the exploits of the bounty hunter apprentice Iria as she tracks down the merciless killer Zieram.
Pumpkin Scissors - Again, strong female lead. Now, Postwar recovery period, where the shadows of war still linger over the country. One military squad, the Pumpkin Scissors, works to alleviate the suffering of the common people.
Berserk - So there's a little bit of romance in this series, but for once on this list, there are more strong male leads than female ones. Medieval war series following the life of Gutts, perhaps the greatest warrior of his time. A classic series that should not be missed by any anime fan. Twisted plot beyond measure.
Strong characters, less plot twists:
Golgo 13 - Series following an infamous assassin of uber-manliness.
Murder Princess - Two strong (in different ways) female leads in a short, 6 episode OVA that's at least amusing, and has some pretty nice combat sequences. Body-swap one Bounty Hunter with one deposed Princess.
Cowboy Bebop - Another space opera of sorts, with an incredibly laid back, but harsh beyond measure when he needs to be protagonist. Another must see in the catalog of anime.
Plot twists, weak characters:
School Days - Yes, outwardly it is a romance series, but I assure you, there are few series as deep and twisted as this.
While I apologize for creating a list of overwhelmingly strong female leads, it is a trend that has been fairly steady in anime. They put strong female leads in the series without a heavy focus on romance, and put either the wishy-washy weaklings or otherwise indecisive strong male leads in the romance series.
I've been meaning to redownload the rest of Dennou Coil after episode 4 I guess/, but it kinda just didn't happen since I was a bit underwhelmed. I've heard some good things about it though, does it really get that much better?
And I've never watched Princes Mononoke, which ends up on a good amount of best of lists. How is it?
If I had to rate Dennou Coil according to its progression, it starts at around 6, then slows down to 5, then slowly builds up to 10 (climax) during the latter half, 10 being the highest. This show is quite underrated, mainly because people don't get past the first few episodes. I definitely recommend it.
Princess Mononoke is very good, with great art, imagination and premise. Whether you will like it or not will probably be decided by the plot and its brevity, but you should give it a try.
I've been meaning to watch the ARIA series, but I couldn't get past the first few episodes. Does it get much better? Why is it worth watching?
Peace.
Quoting shinta because I can address all three questions.
As for Dennou Coil, I actually think it's closer to the opposite. Starts very strong and goes weaker. It starts around 8, moves down to 6, goes up again to 10 much earlier, and then settles down around 6 through the climax of the series. Part of this may have been because the show was released very slowly, and I simply lost interest in it, but I was expecting something a little more out of the main character, and I never really got it. It is worth watching, but it's not a series I will ever think about watching again.
Mononoke is a Miyazaki film. It's certainly not my favorite (maybe my third or fourth favorite of his films) but as usual, it has that hidden message of some sort or another buried in all his films. Mononoke's message (like Nausicaa's) is just a lot more overt than the other ones. I'm sure everyone ranks Miyazaki films differently.
Kraco answered it very well. ARIA is a special case, as are all slice of life series. You will either love it beyond measure, or wonder how the hell it was given funding and airtime for 52 episodes and an OVA. I might say that if you happened to get through the first season, you just might become attached to the characters enough to want to watch the whole thing. But ARIA is certainly not for everyone, and you shouldn't force yourself to watch something that doesn't really interest you.
There is a manga series often quoted as being incredibly similar to ARIA, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. But for the life of me, as much as I loved ARIA and love cyberpunk series, I can't get into it. At all. The Slice of Life genre has always been a case-by-case basis.
Last edited by Ryllharu; Tue, 09-30-2008 at 03:57 AM.
i just finished Kanon (2006 series), and i wonder if there is more from the same producers. I already saw Clannad and am watching season 2.
AIR - If you want KEY stories produced by Kyoto Animation (same story and visual style) the only one left for you to watch. AniDB
Munto: Toki no Kabe o Koete - Another similar series produced by KyoAni with at least a similar feel (I can't say I've seen it though). You'll notice the similiarities to Misuzu from AIR. AniDB
For a full list of KyoAni series, see this list:
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...oducer&prid=20
However, you might notice that a lot of the series are not quite in the same...vein as the KEY series. Lucky Star and Fumoffu aren't quite the same...
As for the same type of series, there are a few more options.
Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito - a light yuri series, but very much the same supernatural elements to the series that KEY series have. Lots of intertwined stories leading toward each other and back to a single individual. Good animation too.
sola - demons instead of schoolgirls, has a writer from one of the KEY series
ef - a tale of memories (or now airing but neglectfully subbed ef - a tale of melodies)
Uta~kata - similar feel, supernatural air to the series, emphasis on art styles, etc
Okusama was Mahou Shoujo - magical girls grow up to be 25-30 eventually.
Onegai Teacher - aliens and strange diseases
Onegai Twins - same style as above, but less sci-fi vibe
Aishiteruze Baby - somewhat more down to earth issues addressed in this series, but I found it has a similar vibe to the KEY series
I also neglected to mention Claymore, about an organization of women who fight demons. It's a good one.
"They call it 'The American Dream' because you have to be asleep to believe it" - George Carlin
Aria is a bit special case. My sig probably reveals already whether I liked it or not personally, but it's certainly not a series for everybody. It's entirely driven by a quite a limited cast of characters, offering little greater plot, no action whatsoever, kind of repeating humour, very little in the way of romance... What it does offer is positive attitude, solid friendship between the characters, everyday adventures and exploring, quite a few funny moments, believable character development, and above all strange kind of warmth.
However, if you were totally disgusted after watching a few episodes from the beginning, I'd guess you won't like it, because the pace of the series won't change that much at all.
I'll probably try Toward the Terra, Slam Dunk, Rozen Maiden, Pumpkin Scissors, Outlaw Star, Golgo 13 and Capeta.(already watched Code Geass, Berserk, School Days and Claymore, forgot to put a list).
Thanks a lot, I have a lot to watch now.
I loved Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, but in its manga form, since I can speed through parts that are less interesting.
I watched Dennou Coil in a batch. so I may have had a different experience from Ryllharu.
Peace.
I'm just going to throw this out there, since we brought up Miyazaki (and therefore Studio Ghibli) films as well as the slice of life genre.
If you've enjoyed some of Miyazaki's films, and have enjoyed at least one slice of life series in the past, I cannot more strongly recommend you see Omoide Poro-poro (Only Yesterday).
Written and directed by Isao Takahata, one of Miyazaki's peers in Studio Ghibli, it focuses on a series of flashbacks of a woman who has returned to the rural hometown of her relatives. It's an excellent film that doesn't always get the credit it deserves because Miyazaki's name isn't on the title. Very much slice of life, but I caught it during a film "festival" of sorts featuring Studio Ghibli movies. Definitely worth the watch.
Death Note
Great Anime. Man the ending is so sad on a scale to 1-10 I would give it a 8.9. Death Gods love apples lol.
And also what about Afro Samurai! Samuel L. Jackson ftw. Even tho its only 5 epis its a good 5 worth your time and bandwith.
I just finished D. Gray-Man, and i'm looking for something else along the same lines as that anime. Anything comes to mind?
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