My Obscure Taste in Anime

[gerwalk25]

I've been wanting to see the late 80's anime OVA Ariel. Is it any good and did it ever have a US DVD release?

Edited March 19, 2007 by gerwalk25

[gerwalk25]

Akira is overated IMO. The animation is excellent, but the story leaves something to be desired. Never felt any connection with the characters either.

Graham

I felt the same way after reading all six volumes of the recently reprinted Dark Horse adaptation of the Akira manga which was first adapted in the US by Epic/Marvel.

[chrono]

Anyone here watch or like Detonator Orgun?

So how many times goes toward 'liking' something.

DO, is great even if the plot gets a little wonky at one one. It had one of the best endings in an mecha anime. It didn't make you sad or happy, but it was along the lines of fulfilling. Top noche animation design(takes you back to the detail in the later 80's Macross shows) and a very nice music theme, even if they were to cheap and played it to death(LOL!).

Perfect Blue easily ranks in the top 5 of 90's animation, and that's partially due to Katsuhiro Otomo being the special advisor to Satoshi Kon. By the time PB rolled around Katsuhiro had plenty of experience with this genre of film and his guidance show!

Every once in away 4chan's /m/ section gives up something 'good'.

Dragon's Heaven by Makoto Kobayashi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw_aU-IAN0Y...ted&search=

[Area88]

I've been wanting to see the late 80's anime OVA Ariel. Is it any good and did it ever have a US DVD release?

It's yet another title bashed by the critics however don't let this disuade you it might actually be good. I havn't seen it myself but i do know Central Park Media released it on dvd. It's out of print so it's geting hard to find however you can get it cheap from here - Ariel DVD (Click Here)

[Black Valkyrie]

Love the Anime from that era. You know I`ve seen so many anime from late 70`s through the 80`s and the 90`s and even as sci-fi anime fan my fave of all time till today is the original Vampire Hunter D .

Edited March 19, 2007 by Black Valkyrie

[Knight26]

How about another underrated and little known good anime They Were 11. Very good OVA IMHO and not well known, wish it would come out on DVD.

[kung flu]

My most favorite animes are mostly real robot shows from the 80s and 90s. The shows that i enjoyed most would be:-

1)Gundam (all universal century shows, i've not seen any AU shows except Turn A)

2)Patlabor

3)Votoms

4)Macross (All of them except mac 2 & 7 though i don't hate those shows)

[Capt Hungry]

First true anime I ever saw was Madox 01 - Metal Skin Panic. I really liked the armored suits and the detail of the animation. Followed that up with Gunbuster, Dangaioh, Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force, Appleseed and Dominion Tank Police.

I know I've seen at least one Dirty Pair OVA, but can't remember which one. Something to do with a mining facility I think..........quite entertaining though. I did own A Wind Named Amnesia once, didn't really dig it much. I have seen Akira, and while it was wonderfully animated, it was one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen.

I did pick up the Crusher Joe DVD that Animego had available, couldn't pass up the $5.00 price. Gotta like those clearance items! Crusher Joe is pretty cool and just a bit gritty. My local cable provider has a reasonable anime selection available through On Demand. I finally saw an episode of Iczer 1, something called DNA2 that looked very 80's and one other one that escapes me.

I guess I could count watching the Americanized versions of Speed Racer, Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman), Starblazers (Space Cruiser Yamato) and Voltron as my introduction to anime back in the 70's. Think I can also remember Tranzor Z (Mazinger Z) being on at some point. Of course, I had no concept of the word "Anime" until the late 1980's.

Edited March 19, 2007 by Capt Hungry

[Doryu2025]

How about another underrated and little known good anime They Were 11. Very good OVA IMHO and not well known, wish it would come out on DVD.

Believe it or not, They Were 11 was released on R1 DVD by CPM! As I recall, it was discounted pretty soon after it's release; an all-too typical sign of how lesser-known 80s anime fares in the current market. So naturally, you can chalk me up as another fan of 70s/80s/early 90s anime too. For the 80s, OVAs were fantastic at telling short stories where literally anything and everything could happen, with no concessions needed for broadcast.

And even on that point, 80s anime series in particular seem to have had a certain sensibility about them that to this day makes them far more appealing to me than newer series. Most 80s shows had so many different and engaging elements to them that there was always something interesting for someone watching almost any given series. Most latter-day TV anime is clearly being made for a far more fragmented market, with some shows being only uber-serious and others consisting of little more than heavy fanservice. Once upon a time, you'd almost be able to find series that had all of this stuff and more!

Looking at things from a more historical perspective, in this respect it does seem as if anime might have been a little more 'mainstream' in the 80s, explaining why any given series could be incredibly diverse. At least, that's my humble take on it!

[JELEINEN]

Believe it or not, They Were 11 was released on R1 DVD by CPM! As I recall, it was discounted pretty soon after it's release; an all-too typical sign of how lesser-known 80s anime fares in the current market. So naturally, you can chalk me up as another fan of 70s/80s/early 90s anime too. For the 80s, OVAs were fantastic at telling short stories where literally anything and everything could happen, with no concessions needed for broadcast.

IIRC, they used a tape master for that DVD like they did with a lot of their other older titles.

As for something along the same lines as They Were 11, Toward the Terra is pretty good as is Please Save My Earth (basically shoujo science fiction).

Wings of Honneamise is my all time favorite film and I'm happy to finally be getting a good DVD release of it.

One that few I've met have seen, but I really enjoy, is the Time Stranger movie (not Goshogun).

I'm also partial to Future Boy Conan, which is from all the way back in the 70's and a work of Miyazaki.

A more recent title that I really like, but seems to have gone under the RADAR, is Violinist Hamelin. Don't let the cartoonish designs fool you; it's a very dark and gritty fantasy show.

[gerwalk25]

It's yet another title bashed by the critics however don't let this disuade you it might actually be good. I havn't seen it myself but i do know Central Park Media released it on dvd. It's out of print so it's geting hard to find however you can get it cheap from here - Ariel DVD (Click Here)

I went ahead and ordered it. Thanks for the link.

[danth]

I went ahead and ordered it. Thanks for the link.

Man, EVERY review of Ariel I've seen totally slams it. If it's bad, hopefully it's so bad that it's funny.

EDIT: Oh yeah, you should write a little review in this thread after you watch it.

Edited March 20, 2007 by danth

[mpchi]

May I ask why is that? GGG is one of the most energetic and enjoyable robot action series I've watched so far. Come to think of it, it's very much the '300' of anime! Fighters SHOUTING!!!! all the time, few against many, brave against the unrelentless, sacrifice, over-the-top fighting, even... babes!! ;-)

Thats a pretty good comparison on the GGG. One of my favorite robot show as well. Don't quite understand why some robot anime fans can't really get into it. Very few robot shows can come close to draw as much emotional impact on the viewer as GGG/GGG Final does on those big fight moments. Its as hot blood as robot anime can get.

[Graham]

Can't get into GGG as it has horrible kiddified mecha designs IMO. I mean c'mon, robots with trains for shoulders, lions on their chest, wielding big screwdrivers, and giant childrens squeaky hammers.......yuck.

Plus the GGG opening song is one of the most annoying ever.

Give me more serious real robot designs anyday, like Macross, Mospeda, Patlabor, Votoms, UC Gundam etc.

Graham

[CoryHolmes]

Give me more serious real robot designs anyday, like Macross, Mospeda, Patlabor, Votoms, UC Gundam etc.

Patlabor and Gasaraki have the best "real" robot designs, I think.

[Graham]

If we are talking about what would be the most realistic and practical mecha and could possible work in the real world given moderate advances in technology, I'd have to give the nod to Gasaraki & Votoms (both by the same director ) and MADOX-01 from Metal Skin Panic. Any other mecha, including labors are a bit too large to be truely practical.

Graham

[CoryHolmes]

If we are talking about what would be the most realistic and practical mecha and could possible work in the real world given moderate advances in technology, I'd have to give the nod to Gasaraki & Votoms (both by the same director ) and MADOX-01 from Metal Skin Panic. Any other mecha, including labors are a bit too large to be truely practical.

Graham

True, true. MADOX rocks in so many ways.

[Area88]

True, true. MADOX rocks in so many ways.

It's one of my favourite mech shows as well. The detail in the animation is amazing, if you watch the credits your also see Hideaki Anno did some of the key animation, bless him.

[gerwalk25]

I forgot about MADOX 01, that also rocked. I forgot I had it in my DVD collection! Guy finds a Powered Suit and tries to convince his girfriend not to leave Tokyo for the US. Kinda reminded me (slightly) of Megazone 23.

[F-ZeroOne]

It's one of my favourite mech shows as well. The detail in the animation is amazing, if you watch the credits your also see Hideaki Anno did some of the key animation, bless him.

Dammit, he gets everywhere!

[MangledMess]

Hey, new guy here.

Hmm, let's see...(I'm listing old shows that I've seen, and partially seen. Not all of them are from the '80s)

1. Macross

-I love this series. Obviously, Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross was a God-send. Never caught a glimpse of Macross II(which is considered an alternate storyline), loved M+, even more for those kick-ass prototype Valkyries. Macross 7 is the ugly duckling in my opinion. That red Basara VF-19 valkyrie... irritates me.

2. El-Hazard: The Magnificent World

- How I LOVE this OAV. The only pseudo-harem anime that I like(I hate harem animes with a passion), which also became obscure. Pity.

3. 3X3 Eyes

- Never read the manga, but found the first and second OAV interesting enough to have me glued to the idiot box a little more.

4. Key the Metal Idol

- This, in my view, is one of the more obscure animes around. I have not heard anyone talk about this one. Maybe because it's so dialogue-heavy. Who knows? :/

5. Ariel

Found it pretty ok. Thought that giant chick-mecha was sorta funny(Anyone remembers the end credits of the last episode, where Ariel(I believe that's the chick-mecha's name) took a 'bath'? lol)

6. MADOX

Thought it was sorta short, but what do ya expect from an OAV, especially an obscure one? That powered suit... so cool. Wish I had one.

And that's about it. The shows that I really loved are either the original Macross, Macross Plus(Macross Zero is okay, but I think the mystical parts of the story was a bit overboard), and El-Hazard. Guess my taste is too darn high, as today's anime has become... repetitive. Ok, maybe only the Read or Die OAV I like, but the rest? With so many emphasis on invisible bishie mecha pilots, colorfully dressed kid ninjas, and ghost-hunting samurais, I feel like as if the magic has... gone.

Guess it really is a matter of taste after all.

[CoryHolmes]

Riding Bean is also a perennial favourite of mine.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

So many great things mentioned here. I'll have to post again later to respond to it all (I'm in a rather uncomfortable postion to type).

I love obscure anime. My favorite is a title most people haven't heard of until recently, Gunbuster. Though I do enjoy several recent shows too. I hooked on Code Geass at the moment.

Gerwalk25, Ariel is actually quite a fun little show. Nothing too grand, but highly enjoyable. I'm still trying to get ahold of the rest of Deluxe Ariel.

Knight26, props for mentioning They Were 11. I love that one, though most haven't heard of it. I second Toward The Terra. I can't wait for the new series.

MangledMess, Key is indeed awesome. Shame the DVDs suck so much. As is MADOX-01.

Here are a few I enjoyed that I don't remember being mentioned:

Moldiver - A fun, six part OAV. Superhero hijinks galore. Too bad the DVD is messed up (overcompressed, and misssing actual subtitles).

Sol Bianca OAV - Great designs and just fun to rewatch. Shame they never finished it.

Moble Battleship Nadesico - comedy, action, adventure, sci-fi, commentary on fandom, and a parody of The Enemy Below/Balance of Terror. What's not to love (besides the horrid dub)?

El Hazard OAV - Brillent storytelling and characters, with a perfect ending.

Master of Mosquiton - another show I've rarely heard people talk about.

Birdy the Mighty - Great concept here. I look foward to the new anime.

Ping Pong Club - So wrong, yet so funny.

Bastard! - Gara! Give me back My Woman!! Need I say more? Excellent manga too.

Eatman/Eatman '98 - another great concept.

Haunted Junction - great paranormal comedy, a rare shouta complex character, and Toilet Hanako-san. Welcome!

YouGenKaiSya - More paranormal comedy goodness.

Ghost Sweeper Mikami - An obvious heavy influence on the previous title (right down to the lead being a strong, atractive, money-minded redhead with a wand). Same concept, equally as good, and a lot longer.

Space Adventure Cobra - reminds me of Lupin III, but in space. Great sci-fi adventure series.

Combustable Campus Guardress - a really fun OAV. I'm really surprised this was never licensed. Something of a parody of sci-fi/superhero shows. Lot;s of great tongue in cheek humor.

Edited March 28, 2007 by Mercurial Morpheus

[F-ZeroOne]

Hey, new guy here.

Hmm, let's see...(I'm listing old shows that I've seen, and partially seen. Not all of them are from the '80s)

4. Key the Metal Idol

- This, in my view, is one of the more obscure animes around. I have not heard anyone talk about this one. Maybe because it's so dialogue-heavy. Who knows? :/

Oh, I've seen it. I've just been waiting for someone to explain to me what the hell actually happened.

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but Space Runaway Ideon really deserves to be better known, especially the movie "Be Invoked". I think if a few Evangelion fans saw this, they'd have little speech bubbles above their heads all going "Ah... "