Looking for Recommendations

[magicmaximus]

Hit a spot where I don't know what to watch next and there is tons to choose from.

My top anime series that I have seen are Code Geass, Death Note, Full Metal Alchemist, Eureka Seven and several others to a slightly lesser extent. Movies pretty much the miyazaki films. I typically like to watch anime straight through so ongoing series I don't tend to watch till their finished. Only exceptions being Naruto and Bleach although bleach has went way downhill since the soul society arc and I find it really hard to watch now.

I'm waiting a little longer for the Dub's of moribito to finish then I will probably watch it. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, I've watch a lot of anime but there is several times more that I haven't so most likely any suggestions will lead to something I haven't seen.

[Zanzibak]

Some direction of what you prefer or what you don't like would be helpful in making some suggestions on what to view next. For example in my experience, I've considered Akira a must-watch anime, but can be a turn off for people who were raised on US dubs of Voltron and Macross. (gah I feel old now)

Anyhow, you seem to list a lot of anime thats been English dubbed. An example of a series with superior english voice work is Ghost In the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Not to say the original Japanese actors were not good but the English ensemble provide a broader range of voices. Batou feels more natural with an actor from Colorado playing him and you'll likely recognize one of the voice actors from Code Geass.

Recommended viewing order:
Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex and then GITS:SAC 2nd GIG then the GITS:SAC movie Solid State Society. You can skip the Laughing Man and Individual 11 boxsets, they are only specific parts of the series. You can skip the original Ghost In Shell movie (still a good watch though, try the 2.0 version) and its (not as good) sequel GITS: Innocence. They do not follow the series continuity.

[magicmaximus]

Thanks for the suggestions though turns out you reminded me of the one on my list I was forgetting, final one of my top five was Ghost in the Shell SAC, however I haven't seen solid state society yet, will have to look that up.

I mostly prefer serious anime or really involved stories, complexity really isn't an issue for me. I've seen most of the gundams, they are hit or miss, think Seed and the original 0079 were my favorites. I've seen ones like tengou tenge, sekirei, kenichi and ikkitousen, all ok but didn't really stand out. I have seen AKira as well as the Ghost in the Shell movies, Ninja Scroll and Armitage III.

Worst anime I remember are probably S-Cry-Ed, didn't care much for fooly cooly, or abenobashi other than some good animation at times.

I'm also waiting on watching FMA brotherhood till it gets completed, on edge with it since the original FMA for a while was my top choice so I'm hoping brotherhood doesn't hurt the other version for me.

[Zanzibak]

I'm interpreting from your reply that you are looking for series with a bit more gravitas. Even a series like Pokemon can get deep with the environmental themes, but its harder to take it seriously with all the fluffy merchandising on screen.

SERIES
Cowboy Bebop
(Recommended ->Cowboy Bebop: Remix Collection followed by the OVA Knocking on Heavens Door)
Samurai 7

Cowboy Bebop has one of the finest anime soundtracks ever made and the Remix DVD's remastered all 26 episodes' audio and video with extras. Samurai 7, on the other hand, has the most consistently intricate animation I've seen on a series yet. Cowboy Bebop episodes have a standalone feel compared to the tighter storyline of Samurai 7.

MOVIES( from personal really good to best):
Sky Crawlers
Blood: The Last Vampire (NOT The live action one)
Sword of the Stranger

All these movies have amazing animation and explore thought provoking themes.I enjoyed Sword of the Stranger the most because it balanced the intellectual storytelling, character development (love that dog) and visceral action the best out of the three, while doing each element very well.

Not to say I don't enjoy more light hearted fare. I just finished and liked Zero no Tsukaima (The Familiar of Zero). Sometimes I want steak, sometimes I want candy.

ps. Look in the Fullmetal Alchemist 2 thread on this forum to see my writeup on Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood

[welovehina]

samurai 7 and cowboy bebop are great choices.

ken akamatsu has several romantic comedies if that so intrigues you

as a starter, read (there is no anime for this) A.I. Love You. His shortest work (only 8 books).
after that, Love Hina, the anime and manga are both fantastic, and by far my favorite series ever.
then negima, a great (albiet somewhat long and incomplete at the moment). the manga is far better then the anime, but the anime is also good.

if romantic comidies are not your style, try gunslinger girl. good action and builds characters that one truly begins to care about.

another one to try is samurai shamploo. i own all the manga and the dvd box set. the anime is better, but the manga is also good. great action in 1700's japan, with a hip hop beat.

and before i go, do not read the cowboy bebop manga, it is horrible...

[albac]

your taste is close to mine I think

I would say try samurai 7 like all the above said and
-Gurren Lagann(must see!!)
-bounen no xamdou (it's from the creator of eureka seven)
-bakemonogatari (ongoing, but if you like tsunderes you might want to try it out)
-bokurano(great story, a little dark, but still good)
-macross frontier
-basilisk
-bakumatsu

[magicmaximus]

I've seen Cowboy Bebop but it didn't quite hook me the same as others, probably more by theme than anything, I just couldn't associate myself with the general feel of the anime somehow. Still I thought it was good and definitely was impressed with some of the directing during certain scenes, was very unique views at times.

I'm currently watching Samurai 7, pretty good so far, very odd theme, mech and samurai is something I never thought could mix but someone found a way to make it happen.

Gurren Lagann, I seen a episode or two but there seem to be quite a bit of sillyness in it, kind of turned me away, might you tell me the real draw of the anime, is it worth looking past the sillyness, same kinda thing turned me a way from one piece.

Seen part of samurai shamploo while it was airing on adult swim, never seen the rest of it, may pick it back up at some point. Also watched a few episode of Love HIna but didn't grab me right away, I've heard a lot about it just sometimes anime don't start off too strong and I second guess watching it.

I'll have to look up some of the others as I don't recognize them, thanks for the suggestions.

[Zanzibak]

@magicmaximus

Take a whole bunch of anime conventions - giant robots, anime babes, unassuming hero, brash tough guys, cartoon humor , tragic misunderstood bad guys, etc etc - and put it all together in an eventually epic in scale story with top notch animation. Thats Gurren Lagann. Definitely watch this series in episode order or you lose out on the story progression and the evolution of the characters. I think this is also better watched in Japanese because the original voices are better caricatures of anime tropes. Its an anime stereotype stew with suprising depth in its themes and symbolism. If you are a fan of all different types of anime, then Gurren Lagann is a well crafted mash-up treat.

There is some silly stuff especially early on but its tempered with poignant sequences and heartbreaking moments. Gurren Lagann is a little bit of everything so the pieces you don't like can affect your appreciation for the series as a whole. Wacky anime humor or Japanese "slice-of-life" stuff probably isn't your thing. Nothing wrong with that - you know what you like. But I think you won't appreciate The Familiar of Zero and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya as much as I did.

So add to your list of "serious" anime, I'm thinking I'd also throw in
Golgo 13 The TV Series (I didn't really enjoy any of the movies)
Gantz
The Last Exile

[magicmaximus]

I did watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and liked it, not sure I could rate it in my favorites though I am kinda on the fence with it. I liked the animation, story had good points, directing was top notch for many episodes, I think real problem came down to linearity. The original episodes could actually be watched in two different sequences, it's a very odd thing. To me that anime can't be compared to any other really, it is unique all the way so I haven't any idea where to place it among my favorites. I've not heard good things about the expanded series though, endless 8 seems be a trouble point for people. I haven't watched the epsidoes yet though so I can't judge them.

It isn't that I don't like funny stuff in anime, I mean FMA has it's joke moments, but I tend to like it contained a bit and actually funny not just annoying. Example of silliness I don't care for is say Team Rocket in Pokemon, or the 2 oddball arrancar in Bleach that seemed to ruin every serious moment for an entire season or more, or Hercule "Mr. Satan" in Dragonball Z, etc. they ruin serious scenes, they aren't funny just in the way and unrealistically place and full of pointless japanese humor such as Ichigo chasing those arrancar around when we know good and well he could of used shinpo at any time and caught them at that moment.

[hyper_shadow]

Here's one for you matey if you fancy an old classic.

Outlaw Star. Have to say that this is one of my all time favourites. I don't think it's everyones cup of tea, but then again that doesn't take from the fact that it is a classic. The story starts fairly lightly and within a short time allows you to warm to the core characters and general plot. It's got everything you want. Space ships, gun fighting, magic, massive integalactic power struggles, hot samurai chicks and the obligatory hot springs episode.

If you haven't seen it, give it a try.