Help me start an Anime collection

[Flangepart]

Anyone mention Patlabor?Oh, i just did.

[tuck]

There is an animated film ,not japaneese though, called heavy metal (nothing to do with music) it's well worth watching!

[Cullen]

Flangepart mentioned Patlabor and I just wanted to second that.

Also, on Evangelion - I have a feeling that's an aquired taste.  I haven't seen the movies yet, so I can't say anything on them, but I can say that the last two episodes of the series was some of the strangest episodes I have ever seen.  It ruined the series for my brother - I'm still not sure what I think of it.
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[AndyC]

Evangelion is very addictive. I very much enjoyed the various mysteries and conspiracies, and all of the work that went into creating the whole prophecy with real religious references. The best thing is that it gives very little information to start, then gives you a little at a time, until things start making sense. I will, however, agree that the two final episodes were a disappointment. On the other hand, End of Evangelion pulls out all the stops to wrap the series up in a more satisfying way. Pretty disturbing in spots.

I also agree with Patlabor. I haven't seen the series, but I enjoyed the two movies. Giant robots as police cars - gotta like it.

Metropolis is great for it's scope alone. The huge and complex world, and the stunning imagery.

I agree that Akira is also a classic.

Dragonball Z would be fun if it were much tighter. Way too much padding in that show. I like it, but it can be frustrating at times.

One of my all-time favourites is Star Blazers. Watched it as a kid, and still enjoy it, particularly the Quest for Iscandar. The Comet Empire series is good too, but the Bolar Wars are disappointing in some ways. The Yamato movies make a nice addition to Star Blazers, as long as you understand where they fit in, relative to everything else.

[NiGHTS]

I missed a few:  

I'm going to throw in Serial Experiments Lain--Slow paced, but creepy and thought provoking, as well as an OK dub.  Also, Gasaraki.  Gasaraki is similar to Evangelion as it has both giant robots, odd religious imagery, and such, though there is a stronger protagonist and the emphasis is on tactics and politics rather than plot.  Eva is better, but if you're thirsty for more..

Finally, ignore most of what Tuck posted.  About half of those are either hentai (i.e.. porn) anime and should be avoided (Well..maybe not Legend of the Overfiend.  That has a little bit of artistic merit), or mindless bloodfests that should never have seen the light of day, for example, Violence Jack.  Don't even bother.

NiGHTS

[Grumpy Guy]

I've gotta go with Andrew, here - he's given you the best of the best to choose from.  I'm down with everything on his list except Fist of the North Star.  I have never understood the facination with that movie.

You're gonna hear a lot of stuff, but Anime is like anything else - your taste will be different that anyone else's.

I've looked over the posts here, and I have some general advice for you.

1.)  Unless you're into porn, avoid Legend of the Overfiend.  There's really no other point to it.  Wait, let me rephrase.  Unless you're into graphic depictions of women being raped by tenticled demons, avoid it.  I hate this film, and I hate it more for it's senseless popularity.  People talk about it like it's high art, and it's just not.  There's about 5 minutes of plot in the 90 minute mess, so if you're into that...

2.)  Castle Cagliostro is Stephen Spielburg's favorite movie, animated or otherwise.  There's a reason.  It's a lot of fun, and the final ten minutes of the film are like nothing else.  It is just plain awesome.

3.)  Graveyard of the Fireflies is the saddest movie I've ever seen.  It's also one of the best.

4.)  If you're looking for a series to collect, try Vision of Escaflowne.  Don't let the movie ruin it for you - the unedited television series is incredible.  Beautiful animation, thrilling story, and giant robots.  What more could you want.

5.)  If you want to see some old school stuff that will a.)teach you a lot about Japanese culture, and b.) make you laugh until you throw up, try Urusei Yatsura.  The series is LONG, but it's not like you have to get it all right away.  The series is funny as hell, and it is used today in the teaching of the Japanese language.  Every DVD comes with liner notes, so it's a good collector's thingy -item - whatever.

6.)  Anyone with an Anime collection who doesn't have Akira isn't trying.  Akira is very cool.

Anime is a passion of mine, in case you couldn't tell.
There's a lot more, if you're interested.  Everyting from Ranma 1/2 to F3 to My Neighbor Totoro.  Try whatever you can get your hands one - variety is the spice of life.

Maybe I should start an Anime website...

[Dolph Lundgren]

It really just depends on what you're looking for in an anime movie Burgo, what type of genre you prefer, etc.  Everyone's had awesome suggestions, so I won't even bother replicating them.  I do, however, suggest that you research Fist of the North Star if you decide to get it.  A TON of people hate the movie, although I love it, since is was the first movie I watched, and practically got me into anime.  It's a great mindless action-fest, but nothing more.  It's nothing on the same level as Grave of the Fireflies or Akira or anything like that as far as prestigious titles go.  It's the equivalent of a Van Damme/Seagal/Dolph action movie, only with tons of gore.  It's essentially a love-it-or-hate-it movie.

I have to agree with Guy, be on the lookout for movies that deal with graphic sexual situations, unless you're into those type of movies, of course.  There's nothing wrong with them, I'm just giving you a general warning.

Everyone else pretty much hit the nail on the head with their suggestions, especially Andrew and Freep.

Nick

[Grumpy Guy]

NiGHTS wrote:


> Finally, ignore most of what Tuck posted.  About half of those
> are either hentai (i.e.. porn) anime and should be avoided
> (Well..maybe not Legend of the Overfiend.  That has a little
> bit of artistic merit), or mindless bloodfests that should
> never have seen the light of day, for example, Violence Jack.
> Don't even bother.
>
> NiGHTS

I love this post.  Gotta agree with everything except the artistic value of Legend of the Overdone.

[NiGHTS]

Well, hey, c'mon, at least there was an (admittedly halfassed) attempt at inserting plot into it.  Its still porn, but it's disturbing and..heh.  Think of watching Overfiend as sortof like reading a children's book written by H.R. Geiger.

[Brother Ragnarok]

As Robert Z'Dar once said via Crow T Robot,  oops.

Brother R

[yaddo42]

So excellent suggestions in here, and a few of questionable seriousness. But I'd just like to add:

"The Wings Of Honneamise" - a great film about the birth of space flight on an Earth-like planet during a time of political tension. It draws comparisons to "2001" and "The Right Stuff". Definitely a must.

"WXIII:Patlabor" - the third Patlabor movie. Although the main characters from the TV series and earlier films are really supporting players in the story. It's a good bio-techno-thriller and worth a look.

"El-Hazard" - the first OVA series more than the others. A fun fantasy/action/comedy series about a group of humans transported to a mystical world wher they gain fantastic powers. Probably a little too sexist for some, but nowhere near the level of hentai or even an episode of "The man Show". Besides, Mr. Fujisawa is one of the funniest characters in anime  that I've ever seen.

[the tuck]

If those films i suggested were not animie and were live movies they would no doubt be on this site and most of you clowns would love them.

You act as if you have standards or something, remember where you are!

There's nothing wrong with hentai, i bet most of you watch real porn-i know i do.

God can't create a perfect woman but the people at manga can draw one.

They're good to have in a collection because they have 's**t value'

If you want to watch something entertainning but don't want to commit your brain Violence Jack is perfect!

[AndyC]

Probably would have been good to give a little heads up on the hentai though. Tentacle sex would be a bit of a surprise for most people.

I checked out a couple of these, out of curiosity. My local independent video store has an extensive selection of anime (a whole room), with a big rack (no pun intended) of hentai. Can't say I got too much out of the Overfiend movies, although that Nazi contraption in Demon Womb was fascinating, in a perverse sort of way. Things I learned from this movie: In 1944, Nazi scientists attempted to summon a demon by constructing the ultimate sex toy.

[Grumpy Guy]

Look, the artistic value may or may not be present, but if it is, it isn't worth sitting through the rest of it.

Like I said in an earlier post - 90 minutes of women being raped by tentecles and mutant dicks, 5 minutes of plot.

[Grumpy Guy]

I do have standards, actually.  I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't bring me down to your level.

See, I have very specific issues with your list.  Demons forcefully and violently raping women offends me.  I don't like rape in general, but this demon rape as entertainment disturbs me.  Overfiend has a special place in filth hell with it's "become a super-powerful rape monster by eating demon spooge" themes.

I watch bad movies.  True.  I watch a little porn every now and again.  Also true.  Do I derive enjoyment from graphic rape?

No.  I'm not that sick.  More power to you if you are.