The You Must Watch this Anime/Read This Manga LIST!

[Nekomata-sensei]

This thread is intended to be a sort of recommended viewing/reading list for us to recommend different anime series to our fellow fukuficers. It is for both anime and manga. The main areas to pay attention to are _theme_ and _quality_. This isn't a thread for 'that third rate, yet another harem comedy', or 'yet another mediocre magical girl show'. This is a thread for anime that are _epic win_! Something that you believe any true anime lover shouldn't go without, at least if it is within the genres they like. Try to include a short synopsis about what sort of show/comic it is, and any plot you can give away without ruining it, about a paragraph's worth, and a 2nd short paragraph on why you recommended it, without giving away things that ruin it. An extra requirement is that it must be a completed series (or at least they aren't still making it), and _YOU_ the recommender, has seen all of it.

To start off with, I'll give some to start us off.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki(anime):

Tenchi seems to be an average everyday teen boy, with an annoying grandfather who runs a family shrine and trains him in martial arts. Tenchi accidentally unleashes a demon sealed in his family shrine while exposing the cave it is kept in out of curiosity, against his grandfather's wishes, and unleashes a beautiful and dangerous girl with amazing and terribly destructive powers. Soon she isn't the only one after him, and it seems that the gods have decided to give Tenchi an interesting life, but at least it is filled with hot girls. This series is one of the great classics of the comedy harem genre, and puts DBZ to shame in terms of epic powered battles.

Tenchi may be rather generic, and use a lot of cliche archetypes, as well as have a cast full of mary sues, but it makes up for this with it's characters being truly memorable, and all drawing, and deserving, their own large fanbases. It is also rather unique compared to more recent harem shows in that the main male isn't a complete weenie, but is possibly the most powerful anime character of all time (at least if you get to the end of the third OVA), clever, a nice guy, and isn't constantly being beaten on for 'accident's' that the writing teams might try to poorly script in for added ecchi value in other shows. It is also a must see for anyone into sci-fi, as despite how old it is, the science behind it is good enough that Stargate is still using many of the same types of tech ideas, Washuu just does it better and all together, and if you read some of the translated notes and Q&A from the writers after seeing it you'll realize that the writers are some major sci-fi geniuses, especially considering their sci-fi concepts remain cool to this day, rather than having become campy and ridiculous like a lot of things in Star Trek and other old series and cheap sci-fi films.


The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi(anime):

Our narrator Kyon's world becomes much less boring after he meets the so genki she warps reality Haruhi, soon followed by an alien spellcaster, a cute time traveling girl, and an esper who is part of a secret organization. Of course, Kyon is a normal guy, stuck in extraordinary circumstances largely the fault of Haruhi, who remains oblivious to it all, (and reality as we know it could end if she became aware of it), armed only with a razor sharp wit and sense of sarcasm, and becomes a victim to Haruhi's enthusiastic attempts to combat boredom and end any sense of normal, everyday life.

Haruhi is an epic masterpiece, easily underestimated given the concepts behind it, it stands far above it's base components thanks largely to the quality, and well developed and engaging characters, and Kyon's entertaining narration, which even through translation rivals some of the world's best stand-up comedians. It deals with many of the concepts that make sci-fi/fantasy buffs love stuff like the Matrix, .Hack//SIGN and Neon Genesis Evangelion, and has a quality of writing and narration comparable to timeless classics like Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and appeals both to intellectuals who enjoy the very heady philosophical sci-fi/fantasy bents, and the average viewer who loves the engaging characters, Kyon's wonderful narration, excellent character development, and occasional fanservice.


.Hack//SIGN(anime):

A young sorcerer of a video game MMO RPG, without the capability to log out, or memories of a life prior to or outside the game, and the dangerous mysteries that revolve around his presence in this world, which could endanger other players in real life. A drama sci-fi thriller with fantasy-video-game like elements that takes predicted and remained loyal to the future appeal of MMO RPGs. Questions of another world, what reality means, and why it is important to have friends and care about others, without being campy.

This is a surprisingly serious series with memorable characters that deals well with a lot of serious issues, including transsexuality, homosexuality, comas, depression, mob mentality, corrupt government, child abuse, and other serious themes. It has it's entertaining light-hearted moments and exciting action as well to spice things up, but mostly revolves around a wonderfully complex web of intrigue and secrets. It also is possibly _the best_ example of well written character development I have ever seen, following a large cast of characters and developing them all well.


Stellvia of the Universe(anime):

In a post apocalyptic world, humanity has recovered, and is preparing for the next stage of the disaster that nearly destroyed the world. A space station school teaches young children how to operate the technology of tomorrow, and prepares for the upcoming final test of mankind, and their future spread through the stars. Our heroine is Katase Shima, a young girl with issues with her mother, heading out into space to follow her dreams, and see the stars head on. While she starts out a little bit clumsy, she soon shows herself to be a true genius at programming and mathematics, and uses her unique and incredible skills in order to improve her position at school, and perhaps, help save mankind.

Stellvia is one of my biggest personal favorites. I'm not sure what exactly makes it most appeal to me, but it is well made, and has the sort of elements that have drawn me to shows like Azumanga Daioh and Stargate, as well as avoiding the normal traps and pitfalls of the 'bad excuse child pilot syndrome' of so many meccha anime, mostly by not having the kids in out there alone, or even supposed to be at first, when world engage stuff is going on, and afterwards keeping them on for their unique skill sets and prior proven experience, without leaving them alone out there. It is a show about the true potential of humanity when we work together, and holds many moral lessons without being campy or preachy. It also takes the dangers of what the characters are doing quite seriously, and has very good quality sci-fi, along with great writing, and an excellent cast of flawed characters, and plenty of character development for our main heroine, and even many of the others.


Magic Knight Rayearth(manga):

3 young girls are transported from Tokyo Tower to another world, and discover magical powers as they learn to overcome their emotional weaknesses and save this other world. A typical, but high quality magical girl series, light and entertaining, with nice comedic moments, but surprisingly deep, with quality and memorable characters who you can't help but love. Also, thankfully, quite short, thus avoiding the 'monster of the week' syndrome that plagues so many similar series, with real solid, clear reasons behind the problems of the world.

I love the characters, I love the concepts, and they remain light and simple and avoid so many of the pitfalls of similar magical girl manga. They avoid monster of the week, 'destroy the world evil' bad-guys, and have a surprisingly clear and stable magic system and cosmology that would fascinate even sci-fi buffs. It is very character driven, and the plot and power ups revolve directly around character development, which makes an interesting concept, but it is short enough a series to avoid it getting campy with that. The world is also bizarrely entertaining in a way that can remind of the Phantom Tollbooth or the Wizard of Oz, yet is also unique and original. It really shows some of CLAMP group's mastery of writing and the manga medium.


These are just some of my favorites that I'd recommend to others. There is of course more, but I'd limit your number per post, and wait till the next page worth of other people posting before posting another set. Limit it to between 3 and 6 or so series to a post/page I'd say.

[Knight of L-sama]

Crest of the Stars (anime/manga/light novels)

Space Opera par excellence.
The story is mostly told from the point of view of Jinto Lin, only child of the President of the planet Martine. When he is ten years old his planet is invaded by the enigmatic Abh, genetically modified humans who live solely in artificial habitats in space. In exchange for disabling the (totally outclassed) planetary defence system Jinto's father makes a deal that the noble who will rule over them be picked from the planets populace. The Abh Crown Prince, who is leading the invasion force, promptly turns around and makes Jinto's father that noble. Fearing for Jinto's safety in the face of a very angry populace his father sends him away to another planet until he is old enough to undergo the mandatory period of military service required of all Abh nobles. Fast forward eight years and Jinto is on his way to the Academy and meeting his first Abh. Turns out it's the Empress's granddaughter and fate will throw them together just as war breaks out between the Abh empire and the other major powers in space.

A bare bones description cannot do this series justice. Morioka-sensei creates an incredibly detailed society in the Abh, complete with their own language and explores it in depth through Jinto's eyes and his interactions with Lafiel. The story is also incredibly engaging, exploring the complexities of an interstellar war and the engrossing relationships between the characters, especially as Lafiel and Jinto grow from those thrown together by hardship and circumstance to inseparable companions. The anime does a good job of translating the details from the written word to the small screen, with the first three novels (Crest) adapted as a 13 episode series while Banner I and Banner II adapted as TV series and Banner III as a two episode OAV.

[Spokavriel]

So this is a place to post allot of spoilers in hopes it will make people want to look at series? I think it might work a bit better if less detailed but still accurate and fun descriptions were used. I'm still trying to find anyone that might have Betamax archived copies of Go-Lion from before it fell to the Hack and Slash that made it Voltron. I really like Voltron but I want to see what it was like originally.

[KonokoHasano]

So this is a place to post allot of spoilers in hopes it will make people want to look at series? I think it might work a bit better if less detailed but still accurate and fun descriptions were used. I'm still trying to find anyone that might have Betamax archived copies of Go-Lion from before it fell to the Hack and Slash that made it Voltron. I really like Voltron but I want to see what it was like originally.

I didn't really see any spoilers posted. At least in Nekomata's post. Knight of L-sama's post seemed to have a little to much detail, but maybe I'm looking at it wrong.

[Spokavriel]

Sorry about that. Just kinda ended up finding myself with a poor attitude for a good sized slice of yesterday and it came back when I woke up this morning.

[Crescent Pulsar]

You need to get richer, that's why.

Anyway, I'm not much for words when it comes to telling people about something. I'm the "you've just got to see it for yourself" kind of person. It saves me time, and it saves them any expectations based on my perspective rather than their own.

Galaxy Angel (anime):

The episodes are little more than ten minutes long, so they're easy to digest. There's next to no continuity. Each of the episodes, which are comedic more often than not (and if not, usually having some kind of punchline at the end), explore various genres and situations. It's not ecchi, and there's no fan-service.

Dragon Half (manga):

It's a short, but silly, and (somewhat) ecchi series following the adventures of Mink. She's a dragon half, which is the result of one parent being a dragon and the other being a human. She falls in love with an idol that also happens to be a dragon slayer, so she goes on a quest to get a potion that will transform her into a human. This inevitably leads to defeating the leader of the demons. I recommend it because it's epic silly, and because Mink is epic cute. ;p

[Knight of L-sama]

Knight of L-sama's post seemed to have a little to much detail, but maybe I'm looking at it wrong.

Apart from the outbreak of the war there's nothing referenced in the my post that's not revealed in the first two episodes of the anime or corresponding chapters of the novesl and most of it in the first. As I said, it's crazy detailed.

Next Recommendation!

El-Hazard the Magnificent World (OAV)

By the same creative team behind Tenchi. Mysterious ruins are uncovered Shinonome High School after an earthquake. One evening ordinary high school student Mizuhara Makoto wanders down there and discovers a mysterious woman who transports him, two other students who were on campus and his homeroom teacher to another world known as El-Hazard.

Yes in some ways the premise is even more cliched and generic than Tenchi but like Tenchi the fun is in the execution. The entire affair proceeds with it's tongue planted firmly in its cheek most of the time which is what makes the entire affair work. It also makes the dramatic sections all the more powerful. Despite several female members of the cast having crushes on Makoto it also sidesteps most of the harem cliches. This is also one of the few shows where the English dub (IMNSHO) far and away outstrips the Japanese version. The main props go to Jinnai and Fujisawa's VAs, the first for his mad, completely over the top laugh and the second for what one suspects are adlibs.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

I'd say Utena is the must-see anime. Not the movie (that barely makes sense even after you've watched 39 episodes of TV) but the television series. It has a certain amount of the filler you'll see in the average magical-girl series - but the filler doesn't happen to the magical girl, and it slowly alters and morphs as the show goes on. And I was absolutely gobstruck by the multitudes of betrayal in the last two episodes.

There's a lot of fanfiction and AMVs built around Utena, and deservedly so.

On the other hand, if you don't want to spend that much money, buy the manga. Utena has more variant canons than even Tenchi, so there's the short manga or the long manga ....

[EdenB]

.Hack//SIGN(anime):

This is number one on my list of anime to recommend, but I'll just leave it as another mention here, since it's already been said.

I'm not particularly good at these, but I'll try one.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

Nanoha is an average elementary school girl, with no particular talents or goals in life. She lives with her father and mother who run a coffee shop, and her older brother and older sister who are training in a family sword style. Nanoha rescues an injured ferret, who's actually a mage, injured while trying to collect certain dangerous items. These items need to be sealed and often end up affecting living creatures in various ways. Nanoha agrees to help him and he gives her an intelligent device, basically a magical staff with an A.I. and she turns out to be extremely talented with it. She goes on collecting these until finding another mage, who has their own reasons for collecting them. This is where the story really begins.

The major reason I like this is the characters and the growing bonds between them. It always seems to have the right balance of seriousness and humour. A lot of the later battles are great and even the earlier ones aren't bad. I like the music too and it always seems to suit the scene. It sounds like just another Mahou Shoujo anime, but it seems closer to Shounen in the main characters personality, actions and attacks sometimes and it just seems to be higher quality in story and characters. There are quite a few interesting sci-fi concepts throughout it and it deals with some serious issues. This review is referring to the first season only (2nd being Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's and 3rd being Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS), but another good point is that it's short, only 13 episodes, so there isn't much in the way of filler, but in the next seasons there's more to watch.

-----

The followers up would be:

Zero no Tsukaima,
The first half of Death Note,
Clannad,
& Hayate no Gotoku.