What's new

New to Anime/manga. Your recommendations

I'd recommend Vampire Game by Judal. It's not a vampire manga, per se, the main character is a vampire and it's about his search for the reincarnation of his enemy who killed him 100 years ago. He ends up reincarnated as a wild cat who is adopted by the great-grandaughter of his enemy and when she discovers his true identity, she decides to help him find the reincarnation of his enemy. It's a comedy and it's romantic, hilarious, poignant and had me hooked from the first volume. It has everything; romance, action, comedy, adventure, fantasy. It also has a little shonen-ai for those who like it but it's not overwhelming and mainly hinted (nothing sexual or anything) so you don't have to be into it.

I'd also recommend A.I. Love You by Ken Akamatsu. It's about a nerdy teenage boy who creates A.I. Programs in his spare time and a freak thunder storm brings his favourite to life. It's a comedy and follows them as they fall in love and the A.I. program adapts to human life, and as two more programs are accidentally brought to life (the third one as a result of a fight between the first two). It's really funny, and is similar to the likes of Weird Science.
 
Fullmetal alchemist is the best anime ever so you really have to watch it. It makes me laugh my head of, cry like baby and just stick to the screen for the whole day. The storyline is amazing! There is also Conqueror of Shamballa, also great!

Hellsing. Alucard is one of the most amazing and the coolest characters I've ever seen. His amazing abilities just sweap me off my feat! The storyline is also great! You must watch it!
 
Elfen Lied: This is one of the best ones I've seen so far. Has lots of nudity and excessive violence, but is one heck of a series. The end was so touching I cried. Not suitable for children (and THAT came out from the mouth of a 14 year old)
Death Note: The first 25 episodes are awesome! This is for fans of awesome masterplans and genius criminals.
Karin: Also known as 'Chibi Vampire'. A romantic series about a unusually functioning vampire, Karin, and her life among normal people. Touching.
Azumanga Daioh: One of the funniest, gotta love Ayumu-chan. If you haven't done it already, WATCH IT. Chiyo-chan is so freggin' cute! 😍
 
Actually, I think Bottle Fairy is a good one. It's 13 episodes long and they are all 10 minutes. It's meant as an educational series to teach people about Japanese Culture and traditions but it is so sweet it'll give your eyes cavities.
 
could someone suggest a manga that does not require a lot of kanji knowledge. I am basically around the level 4JLPT. Would really like to see if there was some interesting manga based around that level I could use for practice.
 
Zeruda no densetsu (The Legend of Zelda):
Mangas based on the 'Legend of Zelda' video game series. They are a must read! 👍
Chocobo no fushigi monogatari:
Really humorous and interesting. Has themes from the Final Fantasy video games. Unfortunately, it may be hard to find since it's out of print. :(
Zipang
A manga in which the Pacific War happened differently. A JMSDF Aegis cruiser, Mirai, is time-slipped from 200X to 1942, just before the Battle of Midway. What should and would it's crew do? How would history be affected?
In some parts of the manga, the Mirai had to respond to threats with it's combat system (which is unimaginable during the Pacific War) - with devastating results.
The only problem is that this manga does not contain furigana, making it hard to understand if your Japanese isn't advanced enough. Also, many historical and political terms are used - which can make this manga quite complicated.
 
I'm probably mentioning ones that others already have, but I'd say for funny and clever anime, I'd go with Azumanga, and Hare Nochi Guu. For serious anime, I'd go with Death Note, and Lain.
 
I've recently bought Excel Saga. It is probably one of the most manic anime I have seen and well worth watching. I would give a synopsis, but wouldn't know where or how to start. 26 episodes of mayhem.
"Oh God, make it stop..." Dave Bradley, Editor, SFX magazine
Quote from the back of the boxset I have
 
I've recently bought Excel Saga. It is probably one of the most manic anime I have seen and well worth watching. I would give a synopsis, but wouldn't know where or how to start. 26 episodes of mayhem.
Quote from the back of the boxset I have



Lol i love Excel Saga, but i would say it isn't everyone's cup of tea, its difficult to keep track of what senior Excel is saying sometimes 'cos she talks so fast, but i just love the random manic humor of the anime so much!
If you like Excel Saga, then i'd definately recommended Puni Puni Poemy, its made by the same guy and is more recent, the humor and pace of the anime is just as manic as Excel Saga except even more perverted 👍 .


With the recommendations thing though in general, i'd definately give my thumbs up to many already numerously mentioned animes here like Azumanga, FullMetal Alchemist, Love Hina etc etc, but i would also like to add a couple more of my own recommendations like;

Rune Solidier: I love this anime, it is very funny and if you've ever played RPG video/computer games you'll find this anime even funnier (but its still very funny even if you haven't played such games).
It basically follows the story of Louie, an all brawn but no brains guy, whose dream is to become an "adventurer", after giving a group of adventurer girls no choice but to allow him to join them, the anime follows the incredibly funny episodes in the travelling adventurers team story as the plotline unfolds 👍 .

Peach Girl: IMHO this is a very under-rated anime and in my definate honest opinion deserves a lot more credit over here- its amazing how few people have heard about it. Anyhoo, i totally recommend this anime, although i am afraid my description of it doesn't give it anywhere near enough the credit it deserves in my short description of it.
It is a typical highschool anime in many respects but what makes it stand out is its very involving, intelligent and emotional storylines which really get you involved in the anime and leaving you wanting more after every episode. This anime has many humourous moments, but more than anything its about the very real feeling story of a girl called Momo Adachi revolving around her love life and her problems at school with backstabbing "friends", sex-obsessed guys and the general ever present pressures and good points about highschool in general etc :) .
 
Okay let us begin:
First, don't watch Dragonball... people say its good, but they're wrong.
Second, the same applies to InuYasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Sailor Moon.
Third, when people say Shinji is an annoying whiner they probably don't take into consideration that he was abandoned by his father, is seriously afraid of him, has something that could be described as a minority complex.
Fourth, RahXephon is a NGE ripoff no matter what people say, although its not bad.
Now:
Utawarerumono - The One being sung
The story is about a mysterious person, wearing a mask he cannot take off. One day he wakes up in a village, saved by a young native girl. (Native here means she has a tail :D)
As the story goes on more mysterious and mysterious things start to happen, and as you might have guessed in the end our protagonists true identity is revealed both to us, the audience and himself.
Busou Renkin - Arms Alchemy
The young protagonist happens to die in the very beginning of the story. Although it is so shocking that he does not believe it at all, the fact that he was brought back to life by a young schoolgirl with unfamiliar uniform. Later on he comes to believe what happened, after seeing a teacher turn into a snake probably 10 or so meters tall... who wouldn't lol.
Gantz
This anime is a simple and very obvious gorefest for those that like such things, it has no real substance except for moralising through the whole anime. Elfen Lied style violence but without a story.
Gungrave
Now this one is damn good, its a mob story in the near future. In a city ruled by the organisation Millenion. Our protagonists, a bunch of lowlifes try to survive the waves of crime as they can... but somehow they get involved with the above mentioned Millenion, ruled by Big Daddy, the righteous head of the local mafia, very much Vito Corleone style. Although it doesn't sound like it, its a very serious and touching anime. You might say it isn't, that there's no romance almost. It doesn't really have a happy or sad ending.
But please note: Gungrave is the MOST heroic anime ever made in the whole existence of multiplication i swear. Those who seen the anime can tell you all. Its probably the one and only anime that ever made me shed tears in bigger numbers. And before you start asking weird questions after watching it, no im not gay, nor are the characters in the anime, there's no such thing involved.
D Gray Man
Okay, now this world is a bit grotesque. Our hero Allen Walker is an exorcist, exorcists in this world are members of a weird clerical order, namely The Black Order, which hunts down evil beings created from the Dark Matter once brought back to a false life by their suffering loved ones they left behind. Our exorcists must also collect shattered pieces of Innocence which is said to hold the power to defeat the evil itself, the Millenium Earl.
Very intersting i must say, although its ongoing at the very moment.
I will continue these later.
As for what i think about longer series:
Well you see Bleach and Naruto really aren't that bad, but please keep in mind, that they aren't very meaningful at most times, and the emotions the characters have are often unrealistic as well, compared to other anime that is. Also, they never stop to get stronger, somehow there always will be a new type of spell, technique, hidden power or something among these lines that will make them uber strong compared to everyone for a couple of episodes, and this never stops. There often will be fillers, so they won't leave the manga behind. Don't get me wrong, im watching them as well, but if you don't have the time for them, to start watching like 350 or so episodes if you're gonna watch both, than don't.
 
I recommend:
Death Note (which was already recommended):
It's about a really bored person who finds a magical book. Except the book can kill people, and the person isn't afraid to use it... (Oddly interesting)
Tactics:
Tactics is about this money-hungry excorcist, Kantarou, and his two "pet" demons, Youko, the cleverly named fox demon, and Haruka, who eats demons.

Random shoujo things:

Skip Beat (the art style is a bit weird, and the storyline is okay, but Kyouko is hilarious when she's mad): Skip Beat's main character is a girl who wants to be a celebrity. However, she doesn't know what her talent is, and her reason for becoming a celebrity is because she is bent on revenge...

Pita-Ten Only the manga:
It's cute, has lighthearted comedy, and was the first manga to ever make me cry. It features an almost-normal boy, his stalker next-door neighbor that's an angel, and her roommate who, despite being the most gentle of all the characters, is a demon.

Random shounen things:

Yakitate!! Japan (it's shounen, right?):
Imagine your typical shounen manga. Now replace all the fighting with cooking. The result is Yakitate!! Japan...
 
Let's see...

Bleach manga I think everyone has already seen XD.

Skip Beat!: MORE PEOPLE NEED TO READ THIS!! It is one of the best current Shoujo mangas, other than Ouran High School Host Club XD.

King of Thorns: Insanely exciting, and the art is great. This really should be more popular. It's kind of a survivalist - esque manga, with some mystery behind it all~.

Gyagu Manga Biyori 1 & 2 (anime): Absolutely hilarious. Especially the episode about Usami-chan in Gyagu Manga Biyori 2 XD. I couldn't stop laughing.

Katekyou Hitman Reborn (manga): when it starts getting more serious, with an actual plot, it's good XD. The art also gets a whole lot better later on, too 0__0~.
 
Eureka 7:
A very good anime/manga about mecha robots and a surfing sport where you fly on particles in the air [trapar], called reffing.
Im not a big fan of mecha animes but Eureka 7 is very good!

👍
 
アンデルセン物語 Anderusen (or Andersen) Monogatari.

This was a popular TV series back in the early 70s and is now available on DVD.

Two adorable fairies, Canty and Zukko, find themselves in the famous children's stories by Hans Christian Andersen and interact with the characters within. The premise is that Canty is collecting something called "Magic Cards" of which one needs 101 in order to enter the Magic School, where Canty plans to study to be a wizard. The cards can be obtained by performing good deeds helping out the characters in the stories. However, the two are not yet very skilled in the ways of Magic they end up making things worse from time to time.

The main characters, Canty & Zukko were voiced by two of the great voice actors of the era, Eiko Masuda & Yasuo Yamada, who later would immortalise the characters of Fujiko & Lupin in the series, Lupin III.

I recommend this series to everyone from children to adults. It also has one of the best ending theme songs of all time, キャンティーの歌 Canty's Song. It is absolutely beautiful.

Here is a YouTube video of the up-beat Opening theme song, above mentioned ending theme plus an alternative ending theme titled ズッコの歌 Zukko's Song.
 
Last edited:
Love Hina is a pretty good watch, although gets a bit repetitive. Went out of control with the OVAs (fan service upskirts everywhere - lame)
Chobits had an interesting idea, but there's constant sexual references.

Rumbling Hearts is a great adult romance/drama. Some incidental nudity in one or two episodes, but mostly clean.

School Rumble - now this is funny. Perhaps a little repetitive, but there's a lot of clever jokes and it's pretty clean.
 
I suggest Monster for anime or manga, since they did the anime spot on with the manga. I recently watched all and read a bit (not all, since it literally is the same both ways) of it.

Also another manga (no anime) by the same mangaka that I really liked is called 20th Century Boys, while not as good as Monster in my opinion it's still good.

Sorry if someone may have already posted it, but it's that good anyways. :)

Edit: Sigh.. I don't have enough posts yet to add links so I can't post the link to the wiki. Just search Monster or Naoki Urasawa in wikipedia.
 
i quite like Full Metal Alchemist and Honey and Clover. Tsubasa Chronicle is also very good as manga, i can,t say anime version impressed me that much. Favourite ones are InuYasha and La Corda Doro😍
 
I have recently started on The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. I'm up to book seven and it is a well written and engaging. Well recommended.
 
My list (FWIW):

hayate-no-gotoku - I find this side-splittingly funny (very /British/ humour!).

Uninhabited Planet Survive - Lost in Space/Swiss Family Robinson/Robinson Crusoe sort of ripp-off but the characters are well developed.

Minami-Ke - funny and cute.

Azumanga Daioh - on every one's list, and rightly so.

Stellvia - I love this: Sci-fi, strong story/plot, good characters

Sky Girls - cute, good characters.

It probably does not count but W.I.T.C.H. is also very good (nothing to do with witches, though).

TBH I'm an amime addict...
 
Just started watching some new anime.
Pet Shop of Horrors: It's based in the US but is about a pet shop in Chinatown which specializes in rare and exotic pets. All the pets seem to be human but Count D insists that they are animals. The count makes all his clients sign contracts that they must obey when purchasing the animals, if the contract is broken in any way he says that he can not be held responsible for the consequences. This is of the horror genre.
Next is Seven Samurai based loosely on the movie but ends the same way. Miko goes to find 4 samurai to help the farmers of Kanna defeat bandits. The bandits happen to be machines and they steal rice and womaen from the farmers.
Hell Girl: Want revenge for something someone did to you? Go to this web site at midnight and write to hell girl. She will make everything right but there is a price to pay: Your Soul.
 
I have returned, and with my homecoming I bring newly found anime recommendations. 🙂

Eureka Seven - wiki Perhaps my favorite of all anime, Eureka Seven is a story of love between an overeager boy and an apathetic girl in a futuristic world that is strikingly similar to our own. However, there are a few major differences. For example, there are energy fields called "Trapar Waves" that can allow skilled persons, and mechs, to "surf" through the air. Despite the relatively narrow scope of the beginning, the show gradually grows to encompass the entire world as the story becomes more and more serious. This anime stands on the belief that true love can overcome any obstacle and withstand any trial.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - wiki Have you ever felt like you were living in an underground cave? Well Simon, a young boy, actually is. Gurren Lagann tells the coming of age story of Simon in a world where humans are second class citizens and are confined to subterranean caverns while "beastmen," a bizarre mix of animal and man, reign on the surface. With the discovery of a tiny mech and an abundance of a special kind of power, Simon and his friends attempt to liberate all of humanity. This anime was a refreshing turn from the multitude of depressingly realistic anime, and I suggest it to anyone who roots for the underdog or fights the power.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo - wiki This anime is a stunning mix of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel and a futuristic world. The tale begins in the middle of the novel, and the main character Albert de Morcerf, the son of an esteemed general, is enjoying the festivities on Luna-a city on the moon with his best friend Franz d'Epinay. The two become acquainted with a mysterious blue skinned man of unimaginable wealth who goes only by the name the Count of Monte Cristo. From their first meeting, Albert and the Count's fates seem to be inertwined and slowly, secrets from the distant past begin emerging and a hidden story of love and betrayal is thrust out from the shadows in one of the most visually elegant anime I have ever seen. This anime is great if one wants to be drawn into a twisting plot where surprise lies around every corner.

And that's all for now, but hopefully I'll be able to add more soon. 😊
 
Back
Top Bottom