Best (new) Anime Series You´ve seen lately

[Aegis!]

So , apart from Aquarion and Eureka 7 , what else you´ve seen this couple of months ?

I remember when we would talk about Yukikaze and FMP and whathaveyou so I decided it would be good idea to open a dedicated thread for new and upcoming anime series , since this IS the Other Anime and Science Fiction section.

Anyway , If I could talk of a good promising series recentely released is Basilisk - Koga Ninpo Cho - ; if I could resume it in one phrase it would be Ninja Scroll meets Naruto meets Kenshin/Samurai X , best of all it´s a GONZO production and the weird thing is : they got it RIGHT ! , can you believe that ? for once in their life they managed to take a good story ( the series is based off the Manga of same name) and merge it with their awesome animation. The OST is really nice and the whole show has a old school feel when anime was good.

some pics :

Just realized there are no good space opera shows being aired lately.

It seems Full Metal Panic 2nd Raid is gonna be a decent sequel to FMP , I liked the humorous take of Fomofu but I was really missing the good old militaristic side of the original , what do you guys think ?

[NSJ23]

I have not been watching much anime besides macross lately, but for kinda' recent stuff I really like Ghost in the shell SAC 1st and 2nd GIG.

[Graham]

Best anime series I've watched recently (within the last 3 months) would be GITS SAC 2nd GIG and Planetes (sp?).

Most overated series IMO was Samurai Champloo. I know many people here liked it, but I found it just average.

I've been watching more live series recently than anime. Just finished both old and new Battlestar Galactica TV series and soon to start rewatching Babylon 5 seasons 4 & 5.

Graham

[wolfx]

Mai Hime was pretty good in the last season. There is a 2nd season slated. And last last season, there was Elfenlied which was da bomb!

[NERV]

havent seen it yet but madlax looks like itll be good, from the makers of noir/dot hack

[Renato]

So , apart from Aquarion and Eureka 7 , what else you´ve seen this couple of months ?

I remember when we would talk about Yukikaze and FMP and whathaveyou so I decided it would be good idea to open a dedicated thread for new and upcoming anime series , since this IS the Other Anime and Science Fiction section.

Anyway , If I could talk of a good promising series recentely released is Basilisk - Koga Ninpo Cho - ; if I could resume it in one phrase it would be Ninja Scroll meets Naruto meets Kenshin/Samurai X , best of all it´s a GONZO production and the weird thing is : they got it RIGHT ! , can you believe that ? for once in their life they managed to take a good story ( the series is based off the Manga of same name) and merge it with their awesome animation. The OST is really nice and the whole show has a old school feel when anime was good.

some pics :

Just realized there are no good space opera shows being aired lately.

It seems Full Metal Panic 2nd Raid is gonna be a decent sequel to FMP , I liked the humorous take of Fomofu but I was really missing the good old militaristic side of the original , what do you guys think ?

Thanks for the pics. Now I know what it was I saw the other night. I thought it was kind of silly, though I liked the animation.

And I'm still working my way through Samurai Champloo. It's one of those series that non-anime fans can also enjoy which is why I like it, as does my girlfriend. I don't like most of the new anime because of this tendency to go for only the niche market. The wider the target audience, the better the product.

[Effect]

I've really enjoying the following so far and can't wait to see more.

Kyou Kara Maou - season 2 just started several weeks ago with episode 40(start of season 2 having being subbed)(though not for everyone I think).

Tsukuyomi Moon Phase - a little on the loli side but still really enjoyable vampire anime. Can't wait to see the end since only up to episode 16 has been subbed and it's now over in Japan I think with 26 episodes.

Aquarion - Cool robot action with a mystical touch.

Erementar Gerad - Very interesting adventure show where there are human like beings that merge with other humans and become weapons for these humans to use.

Edited May 12, 2005 by Effect

[Anubis]

I just finished Full Metal Alchemist. That was a great show.

[Jawjaw]

Monster has been running for some time now and is really good. Bleach is pretty good as well with decent humor and action. The new series Speed Grapher is looking decent so far as well as Aquarion.

I thought Samurai Shamploo was pretty good. Some episodes were pretty weird and the overall story was kinda lame but it had style. Mai Hime was pretty good until the end where it sucked soo bad.

I recently got into watching Nurato. It took a while to watch 100 and some episodes to catch up but it goes by fast when you fast forward through all the repeated flashbacks.

[bsu legato]

Bleach.

[Radd]

There's not really much that's caught my interest recently. I'm going to check out Monster soon. Been downloading plenty of first episodes, but most of them have been pretty bleh. The best I've seen is a series called Trinity Blood, and even that couldn't keep my attention enough to finish the episode.

Been watching Bleach. It's a good show, but very "tournament-shonen" in style. No actual tournament, but it's got the same feel and pacing. It pulls this off better than most shows. I'd say it deserves popularity quite a bit more than DBZ Jr., Naruto. Still, it always seems to be on the edge of falling into the tournament-shonen trap. It hasn't yet, though.

Been holding off on GitS:SAC 2nd Gig until some decent subtitles are out. I've no problem waiting until it's on DVD here. Loved the first season.

About to finish up Last Exile, Giant Robo, and Karekano. All good shows, though not that new. Last Exile being the newest is already a year or two old. I've seen Robo and Karekano before. Robo is one of my alltime favourite OVAs. Looking forward to Geneon releasing the new Tetsujin 28. Seen a fansubbed episode and it was excellent.

Eureka 7 looks like it could become good, but it's riding on too many cliches at the moment. Once the story kicks in a bit more I hope things pick up. I love the designs and the characters, and can appreciate the themes.

[Fort Max]

I was only watching Destiny, Aquarion, Eureka 7 and Bleach but now I am defintaley going to check out Basilisk. Also looking forward to FMP TSR, I was really dissapointed by Fumuffos crinimal lack of robots.

Finally there is a super robot wars OVA, the first ep of which is out fairly soon to look forward to.

[chrono]

I've not been following to much of anything for several months now. Basically because most of the newer stuff is just so generic in story and art style.

The intial Bleach, the first 50 chapters of it, story arc will be(ie IS) pretty sweet and it well balanced story and art-wise with solid and fairly goo music. The rest is straight DragonBall Z shiznit though.

Wasn't too impressed with Mai-Hime because it's abit too cliche driven. The art style is OK but it's a little lifeless sometimes.

GitS:SAC is so poor in quality that it's gagging and insulting to it's creator and his audience.

EMMA isn't too bad, but you've got to have a slight maid fetish to enjoy it. (is gulity) Speaking of maids the He Is My Master title is rock solid and pretty funny for the most part. Call it a low brow comedy, but it's at less enjoyable for what it is.

Tsukuyomi Moon Phase is another fun little title, gotta love the style and who ever thought up the mini-vapire neko SHOULD be praised! Tengo (ala TEN TEN) is very good and I totally can't wait for the second season. Even though it's story is slightly different from the manga it still grabs you somewhat because of it's drama.

[JELEINEN]

Just finished Gankutsuou last month and it was excellent. A great take on a classic story.

Watching School Rumble as it gets subbed. Easily one of the funniest shows to come out in a while.

Speed Graffer is pretty good, so far. It's also fun seeing a show with a Duran Duran opening song.

Finished Beck a while back and thoroughly enjoyed it. Excellent character development and the music isn't half bad (not as good as it's made out to be in the show, but then what is?).

Zipang is good, and I highly recommend it to all the military fetishists on this site.

Mai Hime turned out to be a lot better than I expected it to be. I really should finish watching it.

[treatment]

hmm. let's see.

on my A-list finished-series that ain't licensed, yet:

• Air-TV
  
• School Rumble
  
• Tsukuyomi ~Moon Phase~
  

On currently-running shows, only

Ichigo 100% TV and
UG Ultimate Girl

are still holding up my interest.

Bummer that it's kinda tough to find Akane Maniax nowadays without ordering the R2.

[Aegis!]

yeah , the premised behind Samurai Champloo was good but it seemed like nothing great happened in the show really , I stopped watching it after the few episodes.

Tenjou Tenge is great , my only critique would be that the anime versions resembles little of the non-school trournament side of Ten Ten , thus , leaving the impression of being yet another school-tournament/who´s stronger kinda series when the manga actually makes a point about this and stands it apart from the crowd.

The other anime I watched recently was Samurai 7 , a retelling of the classic , somehow the characters never grew on me so i didn´t continue watching it anymore.

[Yohsho]

Just finished watching Jinki Extend hoping for more of that, watching Aquarion right now. Not really watching much else right now.

[wolfx]

Wow...looks like this thread is stagnating due to the lack of new good anime.

w00ts. Mai Otome!! Throw in fan service....rape...urhh...wrap scenes, good action, and throw in Yuki Kajiura moosik. I have high hopes for this and expect it to follow in its predecessor's footsteps.

[areaseven]

Yeah, I've been reading nothing but good reviews on Basilisk. I will check this series out later this year.

BTW, Renato, was it necessary to quote all of the pics Aegis! posted?

[JELEINEN]

Yeah, I've been reading nothing but good reviews on Basilisk. I will check this series out later this year.

BTW, Renato, was it necessary to quote all of the pics Aegis! posted?

345249[/snapback]

Personally, I found Basilisk to be lame and predictable. It's your typical action porn.

[Fort Max]

Eureaka Seven is absolutely tops for me and complementaing that is GunXSword.

I've also recentley started watching Noein, which is certainly pretty. Seems to be a time travel drama, plot has been mostly fairly standard paradox stuff. But it hasn't really made a lot clear in the 3 episodes I've seen.

Still keeping up with Bleach, Aquarion and I've dipped into Black Cat, that's it for me.

Anyone watching anything really good that's yet to gain any recognition?

[Nightbat]

Currently checking out:

Mai Otome (My Hime S2)

-probably won't be as good as MH, but lets see how it develops

Rozen Maiden S2

-Already starts off good

Shuffle

-Missed out on the whole Love Hina craze, so I can view this as fun and original

Shakugan no Shana

-HMMMM,...? This may turn out awesome, or crash and burn halfway

Bleach

-Crap, I feel like a Narutard, caught my eye now it won't let go

I will probably keep watching it (and be entertained) 'till it's licenced

(which, I guess- won't be long now)

[VF-1James]

Anybody watching the new Guyver anime? It's not too new for those people that have read the manga, but it's still pretty cool (a lot better than the early 90's one).

[uminoken]

Anyone heard anything about Cluster Edge? Saw some pics and the aviation designs are reminiscent of Last Exile in that European steampunk-ish kinda way... Gonna d/l the first couple of eps tonight methinks.

[Radd]

Wow...looks like this thread is stagnating due to the lack of new good anime.

Well, only so many shows come out a season, not like every week there's a brand new show coming out of somewhere. Also, usually there's few really exceptional shows out there, you can't even count on one coming out every season.

Been watching Bleach. It's a good show, but very "tournament-shonen" in style. No actual tournament, but it's got the same feel and pacing. It pulls this off better than most shows. I'd say it deserves popularity quite a bit more than DBZ Jr., Naruto. Still, it always seems to be on the edge of falling into the tournament-shonen trap. It hasn't yet, though.

Still watching this show almost every week, but not because I want to anymore. Most of our weekly anime group agrees that the show has gonw down the crapper, caving in entirely to the DBZ trap of tournament shonen. It's even more dissapointing in this case because it started so promising.

I'm also still watching Monster, and that has only gotten better. I look forward to watching two more episodes every week.

Other than those, most of the anime I've been watching hasn't been new. I've started watching Revolutionary Girl Utena again, with the fiancee. I'd never been able to see past the first volume or two of the series before (due to either time or simply not having the episodes handy). I absolutely love this show, just watched the 'Onion Prince' episode, and felt it was some of the best anime I've seen in a while.

Slowly, but surely, Gao Gai Gar Final and Grand Glorious Gathering are being released from fansub groups. The original GGG was one of my alltime favourite anime series, and these follow-ups do not dissapoint, except rather than a remix of Final, I'd rather Grand Glorious Gathering had been something entirely new. Take what you can get, I s'pose. I'm having fun, and that's what counts.

Also been watching the original Captain Herlock tv series, whenever a new episode comes out. You can never have too much Herlock.

I'm looking forward to grabbing the Galaxy Railways and Tetsujin 28 DVDs that just came out. Both are simply excellent shows, from what I've seen.

I really need to catch up on Eureaka 7. The first couple episodes were kind of a let down in some regards, but I was interested enough to keep going. The next couple episodes really started to get interesting, and I'd like to see more.

[JELEINEN]

I've been mainly playing catch up on a backlog of shows to watch. Right now it's GauGaiGar, and so far I'm really enjoying it. Not sure what I'll go with after that.

As to newer shows to recomend, for those who liked the cute, fun and innocence of AzuDai, check out Kamichu and Strawberry Marshmallow. Or, go with Pani Poni Dash for cute, fun and not so innocent.

[Oihan]

GitS:SAC is so poor in quality that it's gagging and insulting to it's creator and his audience.

294183[/snapback]

Poor quality? What have you been smoking? GitS:SAC is probably one of the better animes out there right now, if not one of the best. To each their own I suppose....

[Dendrobius]

For those who think Bleach has fallen into the tournament shonen series...don't worry. The Soul Society arc which we're currently in and almost finishing is nothing but the very start of the overarching story. I suspect Bleach is going to do like FMP though, take a big break and come back as Season 2, because the manga which Bleach is based on has only really just started on the big story and the anime's almost done with the Soul Society arc, which means the anime will overtake the manga given about a month or two.

Lots of surprises have already been popped in the beginning of this second arc, which I won't spoil for those who watch Bleach but haven't read the manga. Go to Animesuki's forums or download the scanlated manga to catch up on it, but yeah, seriously cool stuff has and is happening. DBZ it ain't.

Apart from Bleach and Mai Otome, not much good new anime that people haven't already mentioned like FMP:TSR and Sousei no Aquarion. I'm looking forward to the Zeta II movie being put out on DVD soon though.

[Keith]

Also been watching the original Captain Herlock tv series, whenever a new episode comes out. You can never have too much Herlock.

Hey can someone clarify the Herlock thing for me.

Ok, when I was a kid, I used to watch Captain Harlock and The Queen Of A Thousand Years. Violent, good characters, big spaceships. It was great.

Confused though, whenever I look at any DVDs for sale, I only see Harlock described as Herlock and his search for the little girl ( Maya?) However the story arc with the three blonde queen sisters and the scientists son is nowhere to be seen.

Just so I know, is there a better version of DVD Herlock to pick up versus another? I.E. is there a definitive version. And was I watching a chop shop version of the show as a kid or am I not looking in the right place? And if the DVDs aren't out or hard to find, are there alternative options just to watch the series again ( i.e. where should I look if its very arcane?)?

Thanks in advance.

345920[/snapback]

You were watching another one of HG's projects, this time they took 2 Matsumoto shows & meshed them together.

I think it was the original Harlock series, mixed in with Queen Millenium (series telling the background of events that would lead into Galaxy Express 999).

Unfortunately, neither show is available in the U.S. And I think both Japanese DVD box sets for the shows are now out of production too. The only Harlock available in the U.S. is:

-Arcadia of My Youth - Go buy that right now, what the hell are you waiting for.

-Harlock Saga: The Ring of Nibelung - 6 episode OVA (all on 1 disc) with Matsumoto's retelling of the Reingold story done in a Harlock setting.

-Space Pirate Captain Herlock Endless Odyssey: Outside Legend - 13 episode OVA, I believe that's the one you came across. It's also the most recent OVA.

-Gun Frontier: 13 episode Western themed series featuring Harlock & Tochiro's ancestor's.

-Cosmo Warrior Zero - 15 episode series, Harlock isn't a main character, but he makes more than a few appearances.

If you enjoy that "style" of show, then I'd also pick up Galaxy Railways which is currently in release, the Galaxy Express 999 movies (which do have Harlock in a small role) which you can get with English subtitles from an R3 Korean release, Space Cruiser Yamato, all 3 shows available in 3 HK box sets, the HK release of Galaxy Express: Eternal Fantasy, and the 5 Yamato movies, which you can get in an R1 box set. If that's still not enough for you, there was an incomplete release of the 90's Queen Emerelda's OVA from ADV, the disc is out of production, but should still be findable used. And there's Interstella 5555, all music but still very Matsumoto in theme.

Edited November 18, 2005 by Keith

[wolfx]

Keith: Maybe you could tell the chronology of the whole Harlock Saga including Space Battleship Yamato? I understand Yamato is supposed to be part of Harlock's universe? So what am i supposed to watch 1s?

[chrono]

Hmmm......

*opens up his video folder*

Trinity Blood - meh it's a dark brooding goth fun show(fundentmentally Trigun 2)

Pslams of the Planets: Eureaka 7 - a good drama that keeps getting better

Shuffle! - surprisingly good, but that's not highly unusal for a game>anime show

Mushishi - damned good little mystic drama show

Mai Otome(My Maid) - it's one of those fun shows that tends to grow on you, another drama with a little lesbian action hinted at

Karin - I was hesitant about the show after I saw the first episode but by the second one I was reassured enough to continue watching it

KamChu - straight-up Ghibli awsomeness!

ON DISC

Godannar - laugh and scoff all you want this is one of those shows that you can just kinda laugh with(and at) and turn your brain off for 22 minutes, the fan service and characters always agruing helps alot with this odd Getter Robo clone with horrible dubs in some spots(kinda-like a SAK reunion with all of the VA's)(and whoever made that damned box should be take out back and switched!)

Tenjho Tenge - it's another one of those fun, drama, highschool shows that nicely marry history with the modern era.

OMG - when it gets a boxset release

WISHLIST with an OVA production level

Zetman - hey it's a japanese batman clone!

Pluto! - by the author of Monster, 'nuff said!

PuchiMon(petit monster) - a fun little manga with cute little characters

AirGear - by Oh Great T&A, another just fun manga

Eden - hardcore SF by Hiroki Endo

Deathnote - ummmm dark mature semi-goth

Chikyu Misaki - starts out very cute but gets darkly mature quickly by Iwahara Yuji(this author has more that I'd also like to see made anime)

BLAME! - sure it's matrix styled SF, but damn if they go with what they had in Ver.0.11: Salvaged disc by Cibo it'll rock hard

[CoryHolmes]

Anybody watching the new Guyver anime?  It's not too new for those people that have read the manga, but it's still pretty cool (a lot better than the early 90's one).

345304[/snapback]

I'm watching it and finding myself strangely prefering the original anime. The battles in the original are far more dramatic and involving, especially Guyver I vs Enzyme. I was very disappointed by the new anime in that respect.

Otherwise, the plot and pacing is better than the original, and the animation is generally better (though lacking in a few places).

[Noriko Takaya]

Only thing new I have watched lately is GITS SAC 2nd GIG. The last thing I watched before that was the second and third episodes of Top O Nerae! 2, and even though I still dislike the show, it has its moments. My final thoughts on this show will be made known when episode 6 is released.

[Mr March]

I'm curious what people think of Samurai Seven. I've heard plenty of good things about it and I'm considering buying the first DVD release.

[Keith]

Keith: Maybe you could tell the chronology of the whole Harlock Saga including Space Battleship Yamato? I understand Yamato is supposed to be part of Harlock's universe? So what am i supposed to watch 1s?

345957[/snapback]

There is no real one true chronology, just many congruencies & shared characters between series. Best thing to do is just jump in feet first. Yamato is a great show, Harlock Saga is a bit weak, but Arcadia of My Youth & Endless Odyssey are both awesome.

The connection between Harlock & Yamato was originally going to be that Kodai's brother Mamaru after being captured by the Gamilus Empire would escape & become Harlock, but that was never implemented (likely due to Nishizaki's influence, and incessant need to kill off every character), but may again appaer as a story element if Matsumoto can ever get his new Yamato series out of legal limbo.

A loose chronology (if all series were to be connected) would probably be:

-Gun Frontier

-The Cockpit

-Queen Millenium

-Yamato

-Maetel Legend

-Harlock TV

-Arcadia of My Youth

-Harlock SSX

-Cosmo Warrior Zero

-Harlock Saga

-Galaxy Express 999

-Herlock Endless Odyssey: Outside Legend

-Galaxy Express Eternal Fantasy

-Galaxy Railways

But again, that's very loose, requiring some give & take from all series.

Edited November 21, 2005 by Keith