Anime on a Grand Scale

[AndyC]

I've seen a fair bit of anime, and any of the titles that usually come up (Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Evangelion, etc.), even a couple of weird hentai titles, but generally haven't delved too deep so far.

Part of it is that I developed my taste for anime in the 70s and 80s, with Star Blazers, Force Five, Voltron, G-Force and the like. Really, the only anime I have a taste for is the kind with futuristic settings, huge spaceships, giant robots and monsters, vast futuristic cities. Sci-fi action on a big scale. This is still what I like best. I've found a few titles I liked, but I know I've probably overlooked a lot that weren't obvious from the box art.

So, who can suggest some titles that fit? My local video store has an extensive selection (a whole room downstairs), so there's a good chance I can find a few. I tend to prefer features, although they carry a lot of series. I just don't want to rent that much.

[Prophet Tenebrae]

I saw the first 4 Evangelion... I don't really see the lure, unless the rest of the show had more giant robots fighting giant aliens, instead of whiney kid going "I can't fight giant aliens with my giant robot."

[Ed]

I am the same way.  I'm an old-school Bubblegum Crisis kind of guy.  That and Macross are still my favorite Anime.  I sorely dislike hentai, but give me the giant robots and fighting suits any day.  
-Ed

[Mr_Vindictive]

AndyC,

When it comes to Anime, I'm a HUGE fan of Chobits.  I own about 300.00 worth of the series (every episode) on DVD.  Check out one episode of that and you'll love it, I'm sure.  Not huge SF action in anyway, but it does involve robots.

As for action titles, I would recommend Angelic Layer and Ghost In The Shell: Standalone Project.  Both are pretty interesting and certainly fall in your genre.

[Yaddo42]

"Outlaw Star" was a kind of futuristic western series, centering around a ragtag group of heroes' quest for something involving galactic "ley lines", a sinister group of criminals (who also use sorcery of some sort) chasing after a young girl in the heroic group who holds an important secret to finding the "ley lines" . Some decent space battles between small groups of ships and spaces races spanning solar systems, plus some cool fights and shoot-outs. I'm convinced it was one of the minor influences for Joss Whedon's series "Firefly".

I've only purchased the first disc of the series "Last Exile" but I'm hooked already and want to see the rest. It's a kind of steampunk/young aviator adventure series set on a world where two vast cultures clash while a mysterious scientific guild hordes all technological advances to manipulate the two sides. Just on the first disc there was a massive, beautifully done animated (with computer assistance) aerial battle between the two sides that reminded me of the epic naval battles of old swashbuckling adventures. It's not outer space adventure, but defintiely has an epic scope. It also airs sometimes on G4/TechTV (which I wish I had) so you might be able to catch it there.

I would also suggest some of the more recent Gundam series for epic space battles and giant fighting mecha. "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team", "Gundam Wing" (there is also a spinoff movie of this one called Endless Waltz), "MSG 0083: Stardust Memory", and the series currently airing on Cartoon Network "Gundam Seed".

I've only seen clips, but the series "Gasaraki" is considered an "Evangelion" clone of sorts.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Yaddo,

I agree on Last Exile being a great show.  I've caught it a few times late at night on G4/Tech.