I'm watching a bunch of new series right now, but I'll just mention them, and won't give you any synopsis because that's your job... One that sticks in my head is "Wooser's Hand to Mouth Life". Another is "Humanity Has Declined". And just to make it an even three, "Squid Girl".
I generally don't go for horror, but Dusk Maiden of Amnesia was captivating with more twists than a roller coaster. Who's dead? Who isn't (it DOES matter)?
Trigun, the story of Vash the Stampede, a great fighter, coward, and general center of chaos, and like the Dirty Pair, it's not really his fault that mass destruction follows him.
First Squad, a movie, has amazing graphics. group of "special" people struggle to save Russia from the Nazis.
I am not a car person, but I loved Project D. Car race excitement and psychological growth make this one a no brainer. Just fun to watch as well.
I can't watch Hell Girl again. Blown away the first time. Too emotionally painful to watch again.
The description of Hataraku Maō-sama/The Devil Is a Part-Timer sounds a lot like "Squid Girl", in which a girl/squid from the ocean decides to make war on mankind. She gets as far as a beachfront restaurant, but she has to start somewhere.
The first anime that I really liked was Ranma 1/2, which is very funny. In particular, I like how it pokes fun at the conventions of many martial arts manga by creating silly 'ultimate techniques'. Of particular note is the "Saotome Final Attack".
For sheer randomness, be sure to watch "Ordinary Life" (aka Nichijou). It is hard to describe, but is really fun.
There is a category of anime called "slice-of-life", in which the details of daily living receive a lot of focus. These can be vey boring to some people, but I rather like their gentle nature. Three come to mind: "Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip" (Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko), which is a science fiction story set around a robot named Alpha, who runs a coffee shop. She is in a Japan that has suffered some catastrophe in which the oceans have risen and Mt. Fuji erupted. Humanity is entering the twilight of its life with a gentle retirement. "Aria" is also a science fiction story set 300 years in the future. Centered in the city of "Neo Venezia" on the planet Aqua (formerly Mars), a terraforming miscalculation resulted in the surface of Mars being largely covered with water. The characters are girls training to enter the profession of gondola tour guides around the city, which is a replica of Venice. It is a delightful story, and is sumptuously drawn. "Tamayura: Hitotose" and its sequel "Tamayura: More Aggressive" are both beautifully drawn anime set in the Seto Inland Sea. They center around a girl who loves to take pictures, and her friends who have their own hobbies and talents. The friendship of the characters is very sweet, as the normally shy girl named Fu gains confidence and develops her talent for photography.
For a tear-jerker, see "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai", lit. "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day." The series is usually referred to as "Ano Hana", and is a ghost story. A group of children break apart after a tragic accident in which one of their members dies, but her ghost comes back after some years. Your eyes will ache from too many tears, although it has a pretty happy ending.
An epic fantasy story can be found in "Seirei no Moribito" (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit), which features one of the most admirable heroines: Balsa the Spear Woman. Set in a world much like medieval Japan, Balsa has agreed to be the bodyguard for the Emperor's second son, who is fated to either save the world or destroy it, depending on how you interpret the prophecy. This story has some memorable characters, and the political intrigues are fascinating.
"Taisho Yakyu Musume" (Taisho Baseball Girls) is set in 1925 Japan. The early 20th century was a period of transition and modernization for Japan, which shocked the world at the turn of the century by defeating the "western" nation of Russia in a naval dispute over the Kuril Islands (I may have this wrong. I mention it because these islands are still disputed territory). Students at a girls' school decide to learn how to play baseball, a game that is both male and western, in order to challenge the team from a boys' school. The story itself is fun to watch, but it also illustrates the transition of Japan into a modern, westernized nation.
"Silver Spoon" is about a boy who decides to leave the city and attend a boarding high school that specializes in agriculture. He now has to get up at 4 am to feed the chickens, etc. It's better than it sounds, but what gets me about this is the feeling that Japan is trying to encourage its young people to consider farm life. Japan, like America, is losing population in rural towns as young people gravitate to urban, technical careers. I wonder if this anime is designed to make some of them reconsider.
I was disappointed the site didn't auotplay the AC/DC song "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", but then, they aren't cheap. Maybe Steely Dan's "Dirty Work" with some altered lyrics...
"You're a fool to do your own Dirty Work, oh no... Let us do all of your Dirty Work, oh yeah..."
I do jingles for all kinds of semi-legal businesses...
You can disagree, but there's a "be nice" commenting policy on this blog.
That commenting policy is not willy nilly - when we started way back in 2005, this blog's commenting was the wild, wild west. We tolerated almost all kind of expressions of opinions - from supportive comment to pejorative put downs, all in the name of free speech.
The result, however, was clear: people got discouraged from engaging in conversations after other people - under the cloak of Internet anonymity - leave disparaging comments.
We've lost good readers and contributors because some people get their kicks by tearing other people down. Hence our comment policy:
The first rule of commenting on Neatorama is "Don't be a jerk." The second rule of commenting on Neatorama is "See rule number 1."
Barbara Bush was always one of my favorite people that I would have liked to sit down and have a cup of coffee with. Near the end of his Presidency, George declared a National Broccoli Day. When asked he said "no, I do not like broccoli and I am President and do not have to eat broccoli." I wished that on his first morning as First Citizen, Barbara would have made him a broccoli and cheese omelet telling him "Your no longer President, eat your broccoli."
I generally don't go for horror, but Dusk Maiden of Amnesia was captivating with more twists than a roller coaster. Who's dead? Who isn't (it DOES matter)?
Trigun, the story of Vash the Stampede, a great fighter, coward, and general center of chaos, and like the Dirty Pair, it's not really his fault that mass destruction follows him.
First Squad, a movie, has amazing graphics. group of "special" people struggle to save Russia from the Nazis.
I am not a car person, but I loved Project D. Car race excitement and psychological growth make this one a no brainer. Just fun to watch as well.
I can't watch Hell Girl again. Blown away the first time. Too emotionally painful to watch again.
Captain Harlock. Classic.
The first anime that I really liked was Ranma 1/2, which is very funny. In particular, I like how it pokes fun at the conventions of many martial arts manga by creating silly 'ultimate techniques'. Of particular note is the "Saotome Final Attack".
For sheer randomness, be sure to watch "Ordinary Life" (aka Nichijou). It is hard to describe, but is really fun.
There is a category of anime called "slice-of-life", in which the details of daily living receive a lot of focus. These can be vey boring to some people, but I rather like their gentle nature. Three come to mind:
"Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip" (Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko), which is a science fiction story set around a robot named Alpha, who runs a coffee shop. She is in a Japan that has suffered some catastrophe in which the oceans have risen and Mt. Fuji erupted. Humanity is entering the twilight of its life with a gentle retirement.
"Aria" is also a science fiction story set 300 years in the future. Centered in the city of "Neo Venezia" on the planet Aqua (formerly Mars), a terraforming miscalculation resulted in the surface of Mars being largely covered with water. The characters are girls training to enter the profession of gondola tour guides around the city, which is a replica of Venice. It is a delightful story, and is sumptuously drawn.
"Tamayura: Hitotose" and its sequel "Tamayura: More Aggressive" are both beautifully drawn anime set in the Seto Inland Sea. They center around a girl who loves to take pictures, and her friends who have their own hobbies and talents. The friendship of the characters is very sweet, as the normally shy girl named Fu gains confidence and develops her talent for photography.
For a tear-jerker, see "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai", lit. "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day." The series is usually referred to as "Ano Hana", and is a ghost story. A group of children break apart after a tragic accident in which one of their members dies, but her ghost comes back after some years. Your eyes will ache from too many tears, although it has a pretty happy ending.
An epic fantasy story can be found in "Seirei no Moribito" (Guardian of the Sacred Spirit), which features one of the most admirable heroines: Balsa the Spear Woman. Set in a world much like medieval Japan, Balsa has agreed to be the bodyguard for the Emperor's second son, who is fated to either save the world or destroy it, depending on how you interpret the prophecy. This story has some memorable characters, and the political intrigues are fascinating.
"Taisho Yakyu Musume" (Taisho Baseball Girls) is set in 1925 Japan. The early 20th century was a period of transition and modernization for Japan, which shocked the world at the turn of the century by defeating the "western" nation of Russia in a naval dispute over the Kuril Islands (I may have this wrong. I mention it because these islands are still disputed territory). Students at a girls' school decide to learn how to play baseball, a game that is both male and western, in order to challenge the team from a boys' school. The story itself is fun to watch, but it also illustrates the transition of Japan into a modern, westernized nation.
"Silver Spoon" is about a boy who decides to leave the city and attend a boarding high school that specializes in agriculture. He now has to get up at 4 am to feed the chickens, etc. It's better than it sounds, but what gets me about this is the feeling that Japan is trying to encourage its young people to consider farm life. Japan, like America, is losing population in rural towns as young people gravitate to urban, technical careers. I wonder if this anime is designed to make some of them reconsider.
*Someone* had to do it....
"You're a fool to do your own Dirty Work, oh no...
Let us do all of your Dirty Work, oh yeah..."
I do jingles for all kinds of semi-legal businesses...
That commenting policy is not willy nilly - when we started way back in 2005, this blog's commenting was the wild, wild west. We tolerated almost all kind of expressions of opinions - from supportive comment to pejorative put downs, all in the name of free speech.
The result, however, was clear: people got discouraged from engaging in conversations after other people - under the cloak of Internet anonymity - leave disparaging comments.
We've lost good readers and contributors because some people get their kicks by tearing other people down. Hence our comment policy:
The first rule of commenting on Neatorama is "Don't be a jerk."
The second rule of commenting on Neatorama is "See rule number 1."