Dan

I'm looking for some more anime that I'll (hopefully) enjoy.

So far, I've seen, and thoroughly enjoyed:
Appleseed
Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex
the short anime sequence in Kill Bill

what would you recommend, based on the above?

thanks.

dhmac

I think an obvious one would be:
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Also:
Cowboy Bebop (26 episode limited series)
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (aka "Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heavens Door")

mifuneral

For best results, I would suggest you visit the "Recommendations and Must-Buy Suggestions" messageboard at AnimeonDVD's forum. Those boards specialize in anime whereas DVDTalk only dabbles in it.

Ford Prefect

Here are some of my recent favorites:

Get Backers (this is my #1 recommendation right now)
Full Metal Panic
Saiyuki
Wolf's Rain

And for others I would recommend:

Love Hina (read the manga for this one too, it adds more)
Cowboy Bebop
Outlaw Star
Trigun
Kaze No Yojimbo (this one is not for everyone, it is very slow moving and character driven without much action, but it is well worth the time)

kakihara1

Okay I'll suggest a few that are fantastic

Gunslinger Girl (My Favorite)
Elfen Lied (Excellent Series that gets better and better as it goes on)
Witch Hunter Robin (love it)
Love Hina (Funniest Anime there is)
Serial Experiments: Lain (Extremely Cool Series)

of course I started out with Ghost in the Shell as well but I think each of the series I listed here are easily better; that's not to say that "Ghost in the Shell" isn't good because it's excellent anime, but once you get the taste in your mouth you'll find that there is more out there that's suited to your individual tastes; god knows there is an absolute shitload of anime to be seen and there is every imaginable genre.

*EDIT* I also really enjoyed Appleseed but man I really thought that story was lacking big time.

Maxflier

That is a limited base to supply recommendations from,so i would just go for some of the must-watch ones like:

Cowboy Bebop
Evangelion
RahXephon

Dan

all the the Cowboy Bebop sets are no longer available here in Canada. The only thing still available is the movie, but I assume it would be better to watch the series first. Are there plans to re-release the entire series, or should I buy them used?

Elfen Lied looks pretty good, so I think that may be my next purchase. I may also buy Steamboy, but it might be better to pick up Akira first (which is the best R1 version of Akira, in terms of audio/video quality? Special features don't mean much to me)

Thanks for the recommendations.

mifuneral: while that may be a good idea, I decided to ask here specifically because I didn't want tons of recommendations from major anime fans (too many suggestions, and you're stuck with nowhere to really start). I was only hoping for a few stand-out titles, and that's what I got here. In the future, when I'm itching for more, I'll probably go there.

Ben86

You need to get Golden Boy. It is hilarious.

GHackmann

The series will be re-released volume-by-volume in the upcoming months with improved A/V quality (including 5.1 sound) and extras.

The movie actually stands apart from the series fairly well (a rarity in the anime industry, it seems, which likes to put out movies that assume the viewer has seen the series). There's a few in jokes for fans of the series, but you won't miss anything big by watching it before the series.

If you have a DTS decoder and want to watch in the original Japanese, you'll probably want the 1-disc DTS edition. It's barebones but includes a Japanese DTS track, whereas the 2-disc SE and standard 1-disc editions only include a 2.0 track. Otherwise go for the cheap 1-disc edition if you don't care about extras (which the 2-disc SE is loaded with). Video quality should be essentially the same in all the editions: a great restoration marred by excessive edge enhancement.

Newfrd

Paranoia Agent (earlier this month they released a box set with the entire series on 4 dvds)

kakihara1

I agree with that statement, and I think it's a huge problem for people who are trying to get into anime...........they release a series then release a movie then more series or they release a movie then a series and blah blah blah

sometimes it's nearly impossible to know what the hell your supposed to watch as far as chronilogical order is concerned Take Inu-Yashi for example, I've never watched it because they have released an entire series and Four movies, and I can't seem to figure out where the hell to start.

In regards to picking up Elfen Lied..........Great Choice the series is absolutely bad-ass I rank it right behind Gunslinger Girl on my list of favorites. But you definatly need to see Love Hina as well; that series has given me abs of steel from laughing so hard.

brainee

I'd highly recommend "Metropolis". It's a feature movie, so you also get the bonus of not having to deal with multiple/lengthy series. It got a great R1 DVD release, which is sold at a really low price too.

Though there are many releases in the "Macross/Robotech" world, I recommend "Macross Plus". I saw it without knowing anything about the others in the series, and not particularly being a "Mecha" fan -- I ended up really liking it. It's a mix of spaceship battles (often referred to as the anime "Top Gun"), relationship drama, and trippy computerized musical numbers -- which built to a great dramatic ending. I'm talking about the 4 episode version, not the movie edit.

A lesser known sci-fi anime series that I recently saw and liked was "Now and Then, Here and There". It's a self-contained 13-part series (and also available relatively cheaply on DVD). It has a standard story set-up: young boy from our world thrown into another world, dealing with an alien war. But it takes the theme of war, corruption, and abuse quite seriously, and actually ends up being quite a disturbing, emotionally powerful piece.

Although they're not in the genre of what you've listed, my favorite anime filmmakers are Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon. Anything with their names on it can be guaranteed to be top-notch.

Eric F

I just picked up the Infinite Ryvius set which I'm enjoying alot. Sort of a futuristic take on Lord of the Flies.

Ford Prefect

I'll give another nod to Elfen Lied. I've seen the first two volumes already and it is great so far. Thinking about it I would also recommend Chobits, and both seasons of Magic Knight Rayearth (season 1 is now available for ~$30 for the entire season if you don't mind the cheap packaging). Yesterday I picked up volume one of Tenjho Tenge which was better than I expected (good enough for me to recommend), and volume one of Girld Bravo (very funny and worth watching, but I would recommend watching Love Hina first).

Houstondon

You can also look at the bi-weekly Anime Talk column for some great ideas on what's worth a look.

kakihara1

Oh wow man yeah I have to agree with you there, I just watched the first volume of Chobits last night and it's excellent. The show is visually stunning and I found myself laughing out loud a number of times.........now if only I could find a persocom of my very own

bareva

I also recommend Steamboy--just finished watching it and I liked it very much.

animalmother

not really a fan of anime, but perfect blue was pretty good

Maxflier

Speaking of Elfen Lied and Chobits,are these two series connected and is the girl on the cover of Elfen Lied a persocom?If not she looks exactly like one.

kakihara1

man I'm sorry I didn't see this post earlier, the answer to your question is No not even close.........it's been a while since I saw the fansubs for Elfen lied and I haven't been watching the DVDs I've bought but the main character in elfen lied is a type of mutant so she's part human with horns actually, but I can't remember what the name of the race is, but they have special powers, anyhow it's cool as hell and I definately recommend it.

Maxflier

I decided to go ahead and start collecting the series since i have heard nothing but good things about it.Thanks.

Kevin M. Dean

Diclonus

Sweet Baby James

Some that I think that you would like that nobody's mentioned yet-
Full Metal Alchemist
Hellsing
Gungrave
Heat Guy J
Last Exile
ROD the TV(and the OVA)
Samurai Champloo
Texhnolyze(might be too strange for you)
X the TV(NOT the movie)

I also really dig Elfen Lied.

BTW, Cowboy Bebop Remix Volume 1 comes out on September 13.

kakihara1

hell yes! Diclonius thank you. Shit the series was cool now I'm gonna watch it again.

Oh by the way I don't think I've said enough good things about Gunslinger Girl on here yet...........watch gunslinger girl it's fucking magnificent!!!!

Ralph Jenkins

I would highly recommend the following titles, all of which are currently available in region 1:

- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
- Spirited Away (an Academy Award winner)
- Princess Mononoke
- Kiki's Delivery Service
- Memories (no dub, but the first 46 mins. of this anthology is superb)
- Macross Plus
- Perfect Blue (even though the region 1 DVD is lackluster)
- Castle of Cagliostro (ditto)
- Patlabor the Movie & Patlabor the Movie 2 (same director as Ghost in the Shell)
- Ninja Scroll (Jubei Nimpucho)
- Serial Experiments Lain ("deep" SF, so if you like GiTS this may also appeal to you)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Revolutionary Girl Utena (maybe a little later, after you've seen more anime)
- FLCL (ditto)
- Bubblegum Crisis (the OVA, or made-for-video series)
- Giant Robo (a great superhero/mecha adventure series)