Looking for a change of pace type of show

[tstidm1]

I am looking for something other than a Giant Robot show or Science Fiction. The series I am currently watching are Macross, Armored Trooper Votoms, Gatchaman and the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig. I am looking for the opposite or a change of pace from those series.

[ThomasBellman]

In no particular order:

Koi Kaze
Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Whisper of the Heart
Mononoke-hime
Requiem from the Darkness
Ai yori aoshi
Kino's Journey
His and Her Circumstances (Kare Kano)
Super Gals!
Kaleido Star
Princess Nine
Cat Soup
Maison Ikkoku
Fruits Basket
Revolutionary Girl Utena

I think those are fairly opposite of what you are watching now.

[ThomasBellman]

And if buying from Japan is not a problem, a couple more recommendations are:

Umi ga kikoeru ("I Can Hear the Sea", aka "The Ocean Waves")
Omohide poroporo ("Only Yesterday")
Versailles no bara ("Rose of Versailles", aka "Lady Oscar")

The Japanese DVDs of "Umi ga kikoeru" and "Omohide poroporo" are subtitled in English, but "Versailles no bara" isn't.

[DKL]

Check the avatar and the sig...

[Vicserr]

[ QUOTE ]
Redneck Otaku said:
I am looking for something other than a Giant Robot show or Science Fiction. The series I am currently watching are Macross, Armored Trooper Votoms, Gatchaman and the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig. I am looking for the opposite or a change of pace from those series.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why change pace?, those are good choices /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[tstidm1]

I am looking at diversifying my choices of series. Anime is a medium and not a genre. I just want to try something outside of the Science Fiction or Giant Robot Genre to keep things interesting as an Anime fan.

[jejune]

Watch Fighting Spirit. Watch Fighting Spirit. Watch Fighting Spirit.

It's a sports show about boxing. Don't let that dissuade you if you're not a boxing fan. Fun, dramatic, with fantastic characters. Best anime I have ever seen.

It will become your favorite show.
It will become an addiction.
It will become an obsession.

Watch Fighting Spirit. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

(Back me up, people!)

[Vicserr]

[ QUOTE ]
Redneck Otaku said:
I am looking at diversifying my choices of series. Anime is a medium and not a genre. I just want to try something outside of the Science Fiction or Giant Robot Genre to keep things interesting as an Anime fan.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know, I was just joking /images/graemlins/tongue.gif <---that's why this guy was on my post

althought I wouldn't mind Always watching Giant Robot & Sci-fi anime, but that's just me /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[Puppet Master]

Baki the Grappler if you don't mind fighting animes and Fighting Spirit. Also Yugo the Negotiators really good.

[remo]

Master Keaton

[mattsh]

They were already mentioned (man you guys are fast), but I second:

Ghibli movies, if you want just some nice one shot purchases
Princess Tutu (don't judge it by it's cover or it's ballet motif, it's awesome), if you want a standard 26 episode TV series
Fighting Spirit or Maison Ikkoku if you don't mind a large investment (75 and 96 episodes, respectively)

All those are A+ stuff, every anime fan should at least try them out.

[treatment]

[ QUOTE ]
Redneck Otaku said:
I am looking for something other than a Giant Robot show or Science Fiction. The series I am currently watching are Macross, Armored Trooper Votoms, Gatchaman and the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig. I am looking for the opposite or a change of pace from those series.

[/ QUOTE ]

hmmm.

Girls Bravo /images/graemlins/tongue.gif
DearS /images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Jubei Chan 2 /images/graemlins/cool.gif
Samurai Champloo /images/graemlins/cool.gif
Bible Black /images/graemlins/devil.gif

[JackProton]

You need a shot of Azumanga Daioh, stat! If you've already seen it then try Rumiko Takahashi: Anthology, Midori Days and Kodocha twice a day for two weeks.

[Chloe]

[ QUOTE ]
remo said:
Master Keaton

[/ QUOTE ]

A man of few words. But he hits it on the button. MK is a really nice 'slice of life/ detective/ action/ whatever it wanted to be that episode'. Not a strong continuous storyline, but excellent stories, and they had good pacing and changed up the tempo quite a bit. You would get a dead serious episode, then one with a lighter touch, then maybe a mystery, etc... It worked really well for me.

Kino's Journey is something like that, so far as being episodic. Very different in overall feel though; much more philosophical, and sometimes much darker. Definitely not a Giant Robot show, though a couple episodes might qualify as sci-fi; not sure on that. Kino's is worth going through once just for the experience.

You're Under Arrest!- Nice police drama with likeable characters, and a lot of variety. I would have also recommended Patlabor, but that does qualify for science fiction unfortunately.

Maybe a romance show? Love Hina, Kare Kano, or something like that? Now if you are truly desperate to kick that Robot/Sci-fi habit cold turkey might I suggest Sugar? Now that's shock therapy! /images/graemlins/devil.gif

Edit: If you are looking for a one-shot/movie to cleanse the pallette then perhaps Night on the Galactic Railroad would do....it is very slow moving, and requires attention, but is very interesting. Also, vastly differnet from your usual GR/sci-fi show for a certainty.

[Kellory]

His and Her Circumstances: Gainax and high school romance at its best. Generally I'm not a big fan of Gainax anymore, but their artsy style really works well in this show with its long moments of personal introspection and monologues. Unlike most high school shows, you get a real feel for the characters who feel more like real people to me than normal high school anime characters. You see their moods swing quickly from moment to moment and your never quite sure which way they'll go. Not to mention the opening song is addictive.

Great Teacher Onizuka: The teacher we all wish we had and are glad we didnt. Join Ekichi Onizuka as he rides the perils and pitfalls of teaching students even roudier than he was while attempting to avoid getting fired or arrested, and trying to lose his virginity all that the same time. Sometimes all in the same episode too. Check the live action film too. We really need the live action TV series brought over.

Gravitation: Two guys. A rockstar wanna be and a well known author. It was a match made in Heaven. Or possibly Hell. I'd have a hard time finding something more on the opposite side of a Giant Robot show than Gravitation.

Utena: The girl who would be a Prince. Join the director of Sailor Moon on a trip through the lands of abstract imagry and symbolism as he charts a course to win the hand of the Rose Bride. Again, a bit of the beaten path and certainly not science fiction or giant robot related. I found the show to be heavy on the symbolism (especially the movie which is one giant homage to symbolism) and light on substance, but I'm also sure there are Utena fans who would disagree with me. And thats the joy of a show like Utena. There is so much there that one can always make an argument one way or another. There's no right answer other than the one you draw. But will even the right answer win the Rose Bride?

Slayers: Nothing fancy, nothing new. An idiot swordsman and a small breasted sorceress embark on a journey of mayhem and catastrophy as they attempt to destroy the world before the demons and monsters can. Slayers is such a franchise that I'm sure you've seen it, or heard of it, or read countless reviews of it. But what the heck, its not giant robot related.

Marmalade Boy: Love quadrangles at its greatest. Everyone loves everyone else who is in love with someone else other than the person that really loves them. Marmalade Boy is a great example of 9 degrees of seperation, except in this case its more like 2 degrees. The show has its great and bad moments as does any long show, but its one of the most fun romcom's I've seen recently. You really get to see the characters change and mature over the course of the series. And even make some life changing decisions that go counter to what is normal all in the name of love. Oh yes, and MB has Arimi in it. You must get it for Arimi. And listen to Arimi's english dub. The voice actress who did Arimi will set every ductless gland in your body off. Really.

Samurai 7: 7 warriors, brought together by fate to defend a small village against evil bandits. But will they get more than they bargined for? Based off Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai we have a tale of love and hatred, friendship and deception, honor and betrayal. Who is using who and for what purposes? Things are not always what they appear to be in this great adaptation.

Scrapped Princess: What if your sister was the poison that would destroy the world? What would you do? Join Pacifica and her brother Shannon and sister Raquel as they journey through the land looking for the answers behind her birth. But the clock is ticking and the enemies are mounting as Pacifica's 16th birthday approches rapidly. Set in a fantasy world, but with a twist. A big twist, Scrapped Princess was my vote for best of 2005.

Chrono Crusade: Nuns with guns. Yeah, I still love saying that. Chrono Crusade is a trip down a dark path where the lines between good and evil, darkness and light, right and wrong become shaded and grayed out. What is good and what is evil? Can one truly cancel the other out? Or must they exist, ying to yang? And does any of that really matter as long as you have faith? Set in 20's (the 1920's that is) Chrono Crusade takes a look at a cataclysmic fight between good and evil with humanity either caught in the middle or actually orchestrating the entire thing.

Well, there are a bunch of fairly recent titles that are pretty opposite of the giant robot/Sci Fi setting. Doubtless you've seen some, but if you havent strayed out much from the giant robot genre then I'm sure you'll find something interesting in there.

My personal top 3 picks would be:

His and Her Circumstances
Scrapped Princess
Samurai 7

[machineger4]

Koi Kaze
Super Gals!
Fighting Spirit
Planetes
Princess Tutu
Maison Ikkoku
Kimagure Orange Road
the Ghibli movies
Princess Nine
Master Keaton
Twelve Kingdoms
Utena
His and Her Circumstances
Kaleido Star
Madlax
Midori Days
Kodocha
GTO
Yugo the Negotiator

Most have been mentioned by the others but they deserve being mentioned again. Out of those listed, I would give the highest recommendation to Super Gals, Koi Kaze, Princess Tutu, Princess Nine, and Fighting Spirit (though the other titles are also great).

[GanChan]

Hare+Guu. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Hunter Sopko]

Revolutionary Girl Utena
Hare + Guu
Urusei Yatsura
Kimagure Orange Road
Lupin the Third
Dokkoida!?
Munto 1 and 2

If you're maybe up for a parody of the mecha genre, I recommend Dai-Guard as well<G>

[Otakufan]

Princess Nine (This is soooo underrated!)
Twelve Kingdoms (Fantasy at it's best.)
Kare Kano (His & Her Circumstances) (Again, vastly underated)
Fruit's Basket (ditto)

Or anything from Hayao Miyazki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, or my favourite - Kiki's Delivery Service!)

J.A.

[LimePie]

Go watch Princess Tutu. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[Sekiraku Bunchou]

[ QUOTE ]
otakufan said:
Princess Nine (This is soooo underrated!)
Twelve Kingdoms (Fantasy at it's best.)
Kare Kano (His & Her Circumstances) (Again, vastly underated)
Fruit's Basket (ditto)

Or anything from Hayao Miyazki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, or my favourite - Kiki's Delivery Service!)

J.A.

[/ QUOTE ]
I've seen and loved all of those except for Princess Nine, so I have to say you piqued my curiosity on that one. I mean, wow, a baseball anime? /images/graemlins/happy.gif That's a show I definitely have to check out now. Thanks for mentioning it.

Just one question though: is the complete collection for that a thinpak? From the looks of it includes all of the extras from the singles, so I'm guessing it's one of the early exceptions to ADV's stripping extras from their thinpaks policy then?

[Otakufan]

[ QUOTE ]
Sekiraku Bunchou said:
[ QUOTE ]
otakufan said:
Princess Nine (This is soooo underrated!)
Twelve Kingdoms (Fantasy at it's best.)
Kare Kano (His & Her Circumstances) (Again, vastly underated)
Fruit's Basket (ditto)

Or anything from Hayao Miyazki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, or my favourite - Kiki's Delivery Service!)

J.A.

[/ QUOTE ]
I've seen and loved all of those except for Princess Nine, so I have to say you piqued my curiosity on that one. I mean, wow, a baseball anime? /images/graemlins/happy.gif That's a show I definitely have to check out now. Thanks for mentioning it.

Just one question though: is the complete collection for that a thinpak? From the looks of it includes all of the extras from the singles, so I'm guessing it's one of the early exceptions to ADV's stripping extras from their thinpaks policy then?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's NOT a thinpack. It came out a couple of years ago. It's a brick! So some folks might not like that. But hey, it's got all the extras!

Not everybody likes it as much as I do. But all I can say is, it's one of the few series that I've ever seen where I found it impossible to stop after watching one episode. And my nephew who doesn't always have the same taste as me in anime, also found it so interesting, that it's the only series other than Devil Lady that he's ever listed on his birthday wish list.

You judge from there......

J.A.

[DKL]

[ QUOTE ]
Ojamajo LimePie said:
Go watch Princess Tutu. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, just in case my initial post wasn't clear enough /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Anyway, Tutu has such a great story, like... so many twists and turns, you won't know what hit you!...

Man, I wanna expand on this... but... uhh... it's late... maybe tomorrow... yeah

Okay... what about... Paranoia Agent? Now and Then, Here and There? Gungrave?

... err... the last two are sorta science fiction, but not really the focus... wonder if that made sense?

What about Super Gals? Everyone wants to be a gal! *har har har*

But yeah, it's like antiquated manliness and trendy fashion tossed all into the same show *or... something*