anime to watch?

Didn't want to hijack a thread, but there was a question about what people are watching....

My underappreciated anime of the moment is Texhnolyze (sp?). I really liked the *way* Haibane Renmei was made (pacing, exposition) but it really seemed like the ending was tacked on, much like the ending to Spielberg's AI.

I wanted a Usual Suspects type ending. Or, at least, for most of the pieces to fit into some clever singular vision. Such an intricate setup was totally wasted on a crappy "anime" ending.

What's really *really* disturbing is that a good number of reviews on that AnimeNfo site praise Haibane for having a great ending and mark Texhnolyze down for "not making any sense".

I'm starting to think most anime people are smacktards. Keep in mind, I've seen at least a part of most shows made in the past ten years and been to half a dozen conventions (and I collect cels, after all) so this isn't an entirely uninformed observation.

Oh, the first episode of Texhnolyze no one talks for nearly the whole episode. I was very impressed they had the bravery to start a show that way, knowing they'd probably turn off a lot of people. If you're interested, the show is like a creepy hybrid between the Six Million Dollar Man and an old undergroud crime serial. I'm guessing that the reason Haibane seemed "cut-off" was because Yasuyuki Ueda had to start working on this instead, but that's a totally random guess.

Other things:

Ghost in the Shell is much like a sci-fi themed Outer Limits or Twilight Zone. Wow, they can draw.

Hikaru no Go may just be the best boy-genius formula show ever. It's amazing how many twists they can put on a cartoon about a board game. Think "Searching for Bobby Fischer, the ANIME!" (I used to play competitive chess -- poorly -- so maybe that's why I like this and no one else does.)

Gundam Seed is Jerry Springer in space. Like the above, it's some of the best tasting junk food ever! There's some insane plot twist in every episode and they kill civilians by the shipload. Then they agonize about it and try to sleep around.

Everyone else like Wolf's Rain. I don't, but they have a lot of important Escaflowe people on it (?).

Gunparade March is good until about episode 5, where it is pretty clear some corporate feedback of some kind kicked in and made the director (guy who made one of the Patlabor movies) be a little more cheery and less moody.

Macross Zero has Phantom Menace dialogue but very spiffy looking (although very CG) airplanes.

Inuyasha is at 110+ episodes of Saturday Morning goodness. I like watching this with a big bowl of Corn Pops. Reminds of when I was 8 and woke up early to watch cartoons.

Stellvia, Naruto, Narue no Sekai, and Scrapped Princess are all reasonably likable bubble gum. I keep downloading those four only because I'm out of things that I do like.

Can anyone suggest old things that I should watch? My knowledge of anime pre 1990 or so is pretty slim. (KOR and a few other select romantic comedy types)

jn

Some new anime I'm watching:

Ninja Scroll TV - Entertaining, but nothing like the movie. Everyone should watch the series simply for the fact its Ninja Scroll :D I'm on episode 6 and the series runs to 13.

Sonic X - Fun and entertaining series. This is the anime that reminds me of when I was younger, waking up early and flipping the switch to USA to try and catch a Sonic episode along with the Mario Brothers.

Inu Yasha - I love this series. I'm up to episode 55 and it keeps getting better.

Ghost in the Shell:Stand Alone Complex- Have many episodes downloaded, but haven't had time to watch them.

I'm subscribed to the magazine 'Shonen Jump,' and that's where I was introduced to 'Naruto,' 'YYH,' and 'Shaman King.' I haven't gotten 'Naruto' yet, but after Fanime, I plan to set aside some dough for the series. YYH maybe as well, since I'm content to read it at this point.

Shaman King- My newest obsession! Too bad it's CGI, the cels would've been a nice addition to my collection!

I've ordered a few series that I know will be good. X/1999, Chobits, Anyashi no Ceres, and Da! Da! Da!. I guess those titles would be considered old news, but to me, they'll be rather new.

At Fanime, I plan to check out the latest titles available- I hope to have money left over for them. (Darn those cels!)

Like Rhey, I watch a lot of things that aren't really "new" anymore, but are new to me. I cannot download new stuff, nor do I have the connections for fansubs through friends.. so I just catch up on everything I've missed.

Recent shows I've watched have been:

Berserk. I just finished watching this show, and overall I have to say it was pretty good! I *never* thought I would enjoy this type of show, but like a friend of mine says "it has incredible dialog".

Fruits Basket. I know what you're thinking: "Isn't that a girl's anime?". It is, however it's VERY good. Definatly one of the funniest and most creative shows I've seen. A must see, IMHO. (I know guys that like it too ;)

MKR OVA. It was, ok. I expected more. The art fantastic... but I didn't really "feel" it like I might have supposed to? I guess i'm not prone to "warm fuzzies from being friends" type plots.

Saiyuki. I haven't watched any of it. I did rent the first disk, but I didn't feel like actually putting it into the dvd player. Does that mean something? (I did that with Orphen too...)

RK "Reflections". Blech. I didn't like the art, and the story was..... .blech.

CCS. Yeah, i'm really REALLY slow. I'm watching this in small doses, so as not to become numb from episodicism.

Kare Kano. I'm torn on this show. I like it, but then I don't. When i'm watching it, I get really hooked and excited. When i'm not watching it, I have no interest in seeing it. Does THAT make sense?? My recommendation? Watch it, but then.. don't.

That's all for now. That I can remember. :)

Hey, Fruits Basket (love that weird Engrish title) is a great show! I'm plenty secure and can say with confidence that I really like this.

Cardcaptor is a well-made show for the target. Reminds me of being a kid again, which is the only reason I like it. Impersonal favoritism? Again, I'm secure enough to say I like the girlie shows too.

Karekano is a show of dubious production quality wrapped around (sometimes) excellent writing. I always snicker when I watch this show because I dated a smirky little smarty-pants girl with some serious personality issues in high school. The episode that has all puppets is some seriously bad weed.

Thank goodness I wasn't nearly such an overachiever, or else I would have pinned this one as "predictable".

Dang, that's three kinda girlie shows. Um, I like rifles. And hard liquor.