/anime/

I just finished watching Neon Genesis and have mixed feelings. I liked the visual style, themes, etc. and the exploration of identity and purpose. That being said, the execution was sloppy in some parts and didn't reach the full potential it could have. A lot of filler episodes too and sometimes too obnoxious/crude for my taste. Dub was annoying too, specifically the kids voices. The point is, I need a new series to start watching. Something with good story and atmosphere. Here's some animus I like to give you an idea of what I'm into Paranoia Agent Aku No Hana Cowboy Bebop Ghost in the Shell feel free to discuss. How do you feel about NGE? What anime have you been watching? :>

I watched NGE some years ago, when I was getting into anime. Since then I've rewatched my favourite parts dozens of times (the whole tumbling down especially), and thus those memories completely overshadow anything I could have disliked from my first watch. Everyone always mention the original ending as disappointing or even bad, while it's probably the most emotional sequence for me, I cried a few time during the whole omedetou. >dub You brought this upon yourself. As to recommendation, I'm not sure where to go from those few shows you mention, as they are pretty different. (I only read the first volume of Aku no Hana, not sure about it.) Something serious and a bit of mind-fuarrrkery I guess ? Maybe try Shin Sekai Yori. I didn't like it much myself, but it is praised by many people and definitely beautiful and interesting. Also Psychopass. Obviously Serial Experiment Lain if you didn't watch it, and Texhnolyze. If you want to try something different, lately I really, really enjoyed Princess Tutu. You know how sometime you hear about a show for years and think you would enjoy it but never get around to actually watch it ? And when you do watch it you want to punch yourself for not having done so years ago ? Well Princess Tutu was one of those for me. And I'm going to shut up now before I start dumping the list of all the series I ever liked.

>>1763 I also liked the last two episodes of NGE more than a lot of other parts of the show. the existential ruminations on purpose, identity, meaning, hit pretty hard. I still need to watch the movie. I've been meaning to watch texhnolyze. I'll look up the other ones you mentioned.

I'm not sure what I'm going to recommend has the same atmosphere per say, but based on the anime you recommended, I think they have the same sort of feel (i.e. take the viewer seriously, more mature). Psycho Pass - Great cyberpunk detective anime. Samurai Champloo - Most often compared to Cowboy Bebop, similar episodic style, fictional interpretation of the age of the samurai. Perfect Blue - It's Satoshi Kon, and not a timesink at all. One of the best anime ever made. Tatami Galaxy - not at all like the others here, but fuarrrking amazing, worth the slight step out of your comfort zone.

The first time I watched NGE I thought it was boring and pretty average, but then I came back to it more recently now that I'm more acquainted with the medium of anime and I thought it was a work of genius. Not only is it amazingly directed, even basic things like shot composition are just a level above everything else at the time. It's certainly not without flaws, but I think it's positives outweigh the negatives. Not only is it a deconstruction of the mecha genre, not only does it comment on the nature of otaku, not does it have the best written characters in anything (they're all terrible, broken people especially shinji and I love it) but on top of all that it manages to pull off an insightful and actually meaningful commentary on depression. I would highly suggest subs over dubs for this I've seen both and the japanese voice acting is way better for example in EOE when shinji is arguing with asuka in the room the japanese has shinji sounding spiteful towards her, really driving in how much of a piece of soykaf he is; where as the english is more symapthetic towards his character making him seem more pitiful. That subtle difference completely changes the nature of the scene. As for recommendations I say texhnolyze, haibane renmei, bakemonogatari, psychopass, tatami galaxy, space dandy and ping pong. >What anime have you been watching? a bunch of seasonal stuff, katanagatari and kiniro mosaic. The elevator scene is unironically pure genius

>>1765 Already two people recommending psycho-pass, I'll have to check it out. Perfect blue is the only satoshi kon movie I've seen other than Magnetic Rose, both of which I loved. Tatami galaxy seems interesting, definitely seems to be in its own element. It'll be good to watch that when I want to take a break from scifi/cyberpunk. >>1766 You're absolutely right. Despite my complaints, NGE was really far ahead of its time and pushed the genre forward, along with some other staples at the time like Bebop. I do love that NGE is a deconstruction of the mecha genre. My favorite thing about NGE was the exploration of depression and existentialism. It actually resonates heavily with things I felt at Shinji's age- as silly as that feels to say. Looking forward to watching EofE.

>>1767 >It actually resonates heavily with things I felt at Shinji's age- as silly as that feels to say. it's not silly, it's quite common that people feel that way although it is like kicking dead whales down the beach because it forces you to look at a more dark side of yourself.

Neon Genesis: End of Evangelion is more satisfying - I've been enjoying the reboots too Kaiba - a world where bodies are interchangeable and your memories are in this cone thing that goes ontop of the head. Explores identity, purpose, and love. My favorite anime. Shinsekai yori - summary from myanimelist: Following a sudden outbreak of psychokinesis in 0.1% of the population, a rapid transformation swept the world. The godlike ability to manipulate matter remotely turned many power wielders to violence, inciting a long period of upheaval. Finally, after a chaotic era shaped by the rise and fall of oppressive regimes, the psychic humans were able to achieve a fragile peace by isolating their society, creating a new world bound by complex rules.

I recommend Le Portrait de Petit Cossette (コゼットの肖像). If you like kind of stream of consciousness, you will not disappointed.

Mawaru Penguindrum is probably one you would like

>>1801 Holy hell Penguidrum was a weird one for me. I watched the first half in an afternoon, thoroughly enjoying it. Then there was that near-rape scene and I had to stop right there. I finished it a month later, but I wasn't enjoying myself nearly as much, and I couldn't say if the story wasn't as good, if I had been traumatized by that scene, or if time just had passed. I would definitely recommend Utena over it.

I am going to probably start watchin pic related when I get a break from school work. The artwork and style is done by the same person for both this and SEL >A young woman quietly falls to the earth, escorted by a solitary crow. This sort of dream, as many other before have dreamed, comes just before being reborn as a Haibane, a charcoal-winged angel. On the outskirts of the walled-in city lies Old Home, a haven for Haibane to study, live, and learn, while waiting for their chance to ascend to the heavens and escape the confines of their new world. Rakka is the newest inhabitant of Old Home who wants nothing more than to remember her past and discover the secrets of her kind. Together with Reki, Kuu and plenty of other new friends, Rakka will laugh, explore, and search for the meaning of their existence in the process.

>>1803 ABe didn't just do the design, the whole story is actually taken from his doujin, which I believe he dropped after the anime adaptation. Note that the show changes quite a bit after the first few episodes, so do stick through the initial slice-of-life even if it's not your cup of tea. Speaking of ABe, I was wondering what he was up to apart from Despera ;_;, but his twitter seems to be nothing but pictures of his kid and of various camera. I wonder if he has enough money to only work on his hobbies, or if he is doing some illustration work that he doesn't mention ...

>>1804 Haibane Renmei was one of ABe's best works in my opinion. The whole Despera situation is a bit sad though. I really like his art. There's some art here an there if you look at his blog: https://abflyblog.wordpress.com/2017/12/16/2017-12-15-01/ The rest really is like 95% photography.

>>1802 utena is boring and only has the aesthetic of meaningfulness it's the kate bush of anime

>>1807 > only has the aesthetic of meaningfulness Either that or it flew over your head and mine. >utena is boring What the hell are you talking about Jim ? There is constantly something going on, be it funny, beautiful, puzzling, tragic. I can understand if it's not your thing, but don't go talking like it's something people agree on.

>>1761 I'm a huge NGE fanboy... as such I'm a little disappointed with your characterization of the series. Did you watch EoE as well or did you just watch the television series? If you haven't watched End of Evangelion you need to watch it now, and you need to watch the subbed version. I think generally we have the same taste in anime, I've never seen Aku No Hana mentioned on this board. This is what made me re-evaluate you as a man of taste and not some fuarrrking retard. I'll give you a few titles that I've enjoyed in the past. 1. Welcome to the NHK : best NEET anime ever, watched it when I was a NEET now I am no longer a NEET. 2. Made In Abyss : Visually engrossing and somewhat tragic. 3. Patlabor 2 : same director as GITS

Ergo Proxy: Dystopic sci-fi with cyberpunk elements. Female protagonist, check. Sad? Check. Ambiance? For days. It's quite existential, too. Just don't read up on it before watching it--you don't want the "big" stuff spoiled.

>>1809 I'm devastated that Aku No Hana isn't getting a second season after that cliffhanger. Does the manga tell the events that the second season of the anime was supposed to? If so, I need to read it.

Anyone seen Dead Leaves? It's one of the more bizarre animes I've seen. It's pretty awesome. If you liked Cat Soup then you may enjoy this.

>>1781 Kaiba is the soykaf. The art style is kinda werd, but the story is 10/10 the art also grows on you.

>>1767 > NGE was really far ahead of its time Maybe this is where I went wrong. I really didn't care for it and I didn't find the existential explorations to be particularly thought provoking. I also thought there was way too much padding, like it should have been a miniseries and not the full season. I can't stand slice-of-life anime in general though, plus I was a lot older than the target audience by the time I saw it so I guess it wasn't meant for me to begin with.

>>1812 Although not a series, but a really good movie, with probably as many existentialist messages in a semi sci-fi world, jin roh is a definite consideration for movies, sky crawlers also has a definite existentialist undertone: children who are bred to be fighter pilots in a corporations for profit war game like sports teams

calling nge a deconstruction of the mecha genre is lazy, watch EoE first, then read Hegel madoka is the nge of mahou shoujo >>1814 fuarrrk yes, dead leaves and cat soup are among my favorites my recc: ninja slayer >>1781 check out kemonozume, same director as kaiba, ping pong, tatami galaxy etc. but a little more mature >>1801 penguindrum goat yuri kuma is beautiful if you are ok with pure love

>>1813 Yeah the manga definitely goes into the events that the second season hinted at. You'll like it a lot.

>>1781 Kaiba is underrated and of the few anime that have affected my personality completely.

>>1761 I recently watched Ajin. It was great. The man in the hat was based.

>>1781 Shin Sekai Yori is the ultimate pleb filter. I highly recommend it.

>>1813 I haven't seen the anime, but the manga's story is complete so I assume it's the finish.

>>1809 If you liked the Welcome to the NHK anime I'd strongly recommend reading the light novel and then the manga. They're all similar, but with I believe they all branch off after a point. The light novel is my favorite version, since I feel it has the most heavy stuff, most likely since it was easier for more stuff to get past censorship. Admittedly I haven't finished the anime and maybe not even the manga (it's been a while), but maybe that speaks to its quality as I finished it without a problem.

>>1928 I second this, the LN is great

>>1761 Youve seen lain..right anon?

This was brought to my attention about a week ago. Despera isn't dead, but it has to fight through the bogged down anime industry to get started again. there are a few News network articles about his tweet as well https://twitter.com/yamaki_nyx/status/976433207607373825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.animenewsnetwork.com%2Finterest%2F2018-03-21%2Fyosoykafoshi-abe-despera-anime-project-isnt-dead%2F.129307

>>1935 image is unrelated btw

>Dub was annoying too, specifically the kids voices. Watching dubbed anime is a terrible thing to do and especially American dubs are horrible. They try to mimic the original with high pitched voices but it sounds very wrong and ridiculous.

>>1966 Watching anime dubbed is like listening to a kidz bop version of a song.

Finally got around to watching Akira. Deeply disturbing... I feel different. Enjoyed it thoroughly! What should I watch next?

>>2518 Dennou Coil, mind you that the middle of it gets a little boring but it picks up after

>FLCL >darker than black(season 1) >Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust >roujin z only for it's visuals Also consider reading manga, not because it's the cool thing to do.Sometimes there are really brilliant stories that never make it into becoming an anime.

>>2543 >darker than black(season 1) I don't know why people recommend watching the first season only. For me, it was a pain. I actually enjoyed a lot more the second season even though it still was mediocre at best.

>>2519 Not him, but I tried watching it up to episode 18 but couldn't finish, the whole glasses thing seemed to just an excuse to turn a sort of generic shinto coming of age ghost story into a sci-fi flick. When it comes to merging Shinto beliefs, coming of age, and modern science I much preferred Ghost hound. Does Dennou get any better after episode 18 or is it just more of the same? >>2544 Most people prefer the first season because the second season completely changed the formula and characters. First season was pretty a-typical as it had adult characters, Hei and the gang, serving as the plot impetus to explore the characters of various contractors and the mystery of the Zone. Pretty much everyone got their time in the spotlight, time to explore their humanity. The second season instead decided instead to revolve mainly around a completely new character who happens to be a young girl while mostly forgetting about or messing up older characters. The second season wasn't totally bad taken only by itself, but it threw away almost all the good things about the first season, so most fans hated it. But if you didn't like what S1 did, then you'll probably have a better view of S2.

Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight is my pick for best show of the season. It's kind of like a combination of Utena, Madoka and Symphogear. Especially Madoka (but don't expect it to get "dark"). It's got some really impressive fight scenes and storyboards/layouts. https://animethemes.moe/video/ShoujoKagekiRevueStarlight-OP1.webm It's also very deeply connected to the Takarazuka Revue, which means that to really understand it you need to be familiar with the topic: https://twitter.com/andrearitsu/status/1018943007922507776 https://formeinfullbloom.wordpress.com/2018/07/27/position-zero-this-is-tendou-maya-establishing-the-takarazuka-status-quo-in-shoujo-%e2%98%86-kageki-revue-starlight/

watched Monogatari recently and it's my latest obsession. Bakemonogatari specifically was bloody brilliant. Highly reccomend only to those who are aware of some of animes more weird and unpleasent tropes

>>2631 I think Owari S2 made the biggest impact on me. Ougi is my favorite character. I should really rewatch the entire series though.

>>2633 Ougi was fuarrrking great

Most recently, I saw Re:Zero with English dub and loved it more than when I saw the English sub version. The voice actors for Subaru and Petelgeuse did amazing. Also, I saw both season of Psycho Pass and loved it. I thought the theme was very fitting in this day and age of "red flag" policies and accusations of mental illnesses. A couple of months ago, I got to finally see the Heaven's Feel part 1 movie for Fate/Stay and Iiked it. I am going to see Heaven's Feel part 2 ASAP.

There was a version of Serial Experiments Lain uploaded to youtube, before the official, without opening or closing sequences, just straight episode, which was sped up and seemed slightly off color, with cuts of the episode shown again after the end of the episode, with some such cuts overlapping with other such cuts. I liked those cuts, because they simultaneously emphasized parts of the episode by reminding me of those parts. The initial impression (being my first watchthrough of the series), was that this was all author intentional, making this an interesting anime for it's story and form, despite it's seeming lackluster frames and animation. When I got the official version, I was disappointed. Though I love the official version, too, the official and bootleg versions remain, to me, seperate, both superlative, works of art. Does anyone here recall this bootleg upload? It seems to no longer exist on youtube, and I (how silly of me) haven't saved a copy or the name of the uploader.

>>3168 strike "simultaneously"

>>2631 Did you watch all the seasons? I liked the early ones a lot but got bored and haven't kept up with the newer seasons.

>>1802 You must be one intricate snowflake butterfly. The only traumatic thing in penguindrum was the secondary shame you can feel when some character does very silly/embarassing stuff. The whole show is definitely full of warm vibes, and you totally missed them over some insignificant scene I can't even remember. >>1812 It's not really cyberpunk, but has nice feels. Come and save me. >>1815 I dropped halfway because some person hyped it a lot to me, and it wasn't delivering In the first 6-7 eps. Pretty funky, that one.

>>1808 >don't go talking like it's something people agree on the boringness of a thing is an objective quality for which it is almost always only possible to have an opinion; ones boredom is a subjective quality, for which there are, by definition, no possible disagreements, for there is only one authority for any given subjective quality--the subjector (that is to say, the one who is doing the perceiving of the thing (the subjected (the reason for these strange terms is because "subject" though having only one reasonable meaning, has been used to represent both the one who is doing the perceiving and the one who is perceived. this confusion stems from the use of "subject" in linguistics to refer to a [i]term[\i] (in the active voice) representing a person (though sometimes an inanimate thing) that is the doer (e.g. he saw her, "he" is the subject, but he is not (unless somehow we find out more about him, and it turns out he, though a person, [i]is[\i] a term (because he is being used as a term. think of how in some films some characters are used, in addition to as people in the story, as representing some ideas, which may be interacting with each other in ways where it may make sense to think of that idea as being represented by an active term (recall oppenheimer's quote of a mistranslation of a part of hindu scripture where vishnu, as krishna, revealing his 'true' many-armed form, says to arjuna "now i am become death, the destroyer of worlds", which is better rendered as "now i am become time, the destroyer of all things" (this many-armed form has been interpreted to be a projection into the moment of the being through a short time, where it is not that he has many arms, but that his arms are merely moving and stopping at a few places for long enough that their projection will not be merely a blur (think of, in sufficiently dim light, against a black backdrop, sitting, having the aperture to a frame of film open, moving arms quickly to a new position, holding the new position for a while, repeated multiple times, then having the aperture close. what would the photograph show? do you have multiple arms?), showing the temporal nature of the world), whose meaning could be rendered as "time destroys everything", where "time" is the subject, "time" is in the active voice, whereas time just destroys all things. if you then paint a person, who represents time, choking another person, who represents evil, you have a person used as a term in the active voice, and another person as a term in the passive voice, regardless of whether you agree with the message.)) and he, as a term, is being used as an active participle) a subject), so to speak, in the sentence, and the (terribly common) signifier-signified confusion))). to say something (e.g. this post) is boring (as opposed to saying that one is bored by it) is an objective opinion (and a wrong one (the one about this post, not the one about utena), at that, and i'll argue my point in another post if you dare challenge me) (as opposed to the subjective fact of being bored by it (which maybe you will be, but only if you've have read it all before, or haven't fully understood it.)). so you see, since there's nothing stating it's something everyone agrees on, there's no reason you should assume that. of course, your statement is much less reaosnable if, as taken literally, it means there are no people in the world that agree on it. i agree on it, that's that. >>1818 >then read Hegel i've never heard of that manga, and i can't seem to find any data about it anywhere on the net, i keep hitting stuff about that weird philosopher, and hoards of sophomoric communists misinterpreting him. could you maybe tell the name of the author? or why we should bother reading it in the first place?.. >>2519 >the middle of it gets a little boring but it picks up after when does it get boring? when does it pick up? all you have succeeded at doing was preventing people who value their time from watching it, because they know that at some point it will be not worth watching. if there are parts that are salvageable, then, by jove, tell us. don't just wave your taste around like this is a dick measuring contest, it's not like we can know you, anyway. >>2628 i wish more people would link things instead of copy-pasting them, or, much worse, rewriting them poorly. kudos. >>3168 >anticopyright remixed SEL i think i saw a few episodes (out of order, i wanna say they were 7, then 3, then 11) of that, before it was removed. the original version was so hard to get myself into, but i can't not finish something i already started, and, though i'm not a fan of the original version as it stood, i made myself imagine it remixed as it was. if i recall correctly, the uploader had some other series on his channel, which is how i found it. it would be nice if anyone saved a copy, or knows an easy way to recreate it from the original version. i suppose it could be done by playing with the coloration, speed, and the what cuts go where, and then go with whatever feels right, but that remix was just soo good, i'd like to see the rest of it as it was.