Don't know quite how this one slipped by me for so long...

Anime Films
Love everything by Hayao Miyazaki. "Tonari no Totoro" (My Neighbour Totoro) especially so. I even have my own ickle Totoro sat on my Sky box. I enjoyed "Perfect Blue" a lot - it's a great psycho-thriller.

Anime OAV (Original Animated Video)
"El Hazard" was a firm favourite for ages... and of course "Gunsmith Cats" deserves a special mention (though you'd have to have seen it to know why I say that). I really enjoyed Geobreeders for general high jynks. "You're Under Arrest" has one of my favourite cars in "Slayers" is always a hoot. But top favourite has to be "Serial Experiments Lain" just for sheer wierdness and original animation style.

TV Series
"Escaflowne" was simply fantastic, though I did catch the English dub on Nick and thought they had managed to ruin it! "Kodomo no Omocha" (Child's Toy) is just nuts! "Magic Knight Rayearth" ran to hundreds of episodes but you really got into the characters. The ending of "Evangelion" ruined what was otherwise a fine series. But my very favourite thing is "Cowboy Beebop" which is so cool it makes your teeth hurt!

Manga
The Rumiko Takahashi output is always a giggle, especially "Ranma 1/2" though I probably prefer "Maison Ikkoku". I prefer the books of "Oh My Goddess" over the animated series (except perhaps the "Mini Goddess" series). But top of the list has to be Kenichi Sonoda's "Gunsmith Cats" series. The books are much darker than the anime and much more... erm... involved!

Hates
"Legend of the Overfiend" is one of my pet hates. It is single handedly (along with Manky Ents for releasing it) responcible for tainting anime as "That smutty cartoon porn" in the public's eye. A film without any redeaming features whatsoever imho. "Guyver"... I mean, really... "Legend of the 4 Kings" zzzzzzzz "X - the Movie" looks great - plot sucks. Worst case of "you will have had to read the entire 4 year history in manga before you can understand this film". And everyone dies. Ooops, what that a spoiler?? I mean almost everyone dies

BTW... I may be pursuaded to loan out some of the above if you are interested. (as long as you're not like Inc and keep hold of stuff for over a year )

---

by Rally
(as long as you're not like Inc and keep hold of stuff for over a year )

---

Yeah, it's a pain when people won't give you your stuff back.



{edited for language - Stoo}

(Edited by Stoo 03/05/2002 19:07)

The trouble with Manga is that is is darn expensive.

The final part of the Akira Manga has just been released & at a cost of around £25 per voulume it has set me back about £150 for one blinking book!

Battle Angel Alita worked out at about £100 for the whole thing.

Perfect Blue is probably the most progressive and enthralling anime film for me over the last century. The depth and emotion portrayed is nothing short of the highest calibre in the genre right now. Akira on the other hand is quite the grandfather of modern anime, yet i'd bet the "overrated" aspect is just down to the unwitting need to critique it's success and to (albeit understandable) by-pass the complexity of it's production due to it... well due to it being the "grandfather of modern anime."

Personally i don't like Akira either, but (not pointing) you can't slate it didn't have it's timing in the industry just right and the animation *was* (still is!?) ground-breaking at the time of production.

(Edited by Birdbrain 06/05/2002 20:10)

I would have to go along with the "Akira is over rated" thing. It's good... and is responsible for a good number of westerners tuning into the whole anime thing... but today it looks dated and always was a bit inscrutable.