HELP…! Look for some recommendations…

[Renegade Zentradi]

Hi, I’m new here… I’m a long time anime fan…I was fan of anime before I even knew what anime was... Grew up on Speed Racer, Battle of the Planets, Starblazers, Captain Harlock, Astroboy, and Robotech (don’t hate lol)…

In the late 80’s / early 90’s, with Akira, I really discovered manga and anime and on and off ever since then I’ve been a devotee…

Now I’m a family man in my mid 30’s and recently my wife, son, and I have gotten into Macross BIG time… Together this summer we’ve watched Robotech (don’t hate lol), Macross Plus, Macross II, Macross Zero, and Macross Frontier (which my wife and son just LOVE), we haven’t decided if we’re going to watch Macross 7……

Anyways… Here’s our problem… Now that we’ve watch almost all of the Macross series…we are running out of Macross…and we want more dangit…!

So I’m hoping I can get some recommendations for other shows that are like Macross or enjoyed by Macross fans… So other the Gundam…what are some good “Macross-like” dub or subtitled series…? Anything out there with high quality animation, cool transforming mecha, space opera drama, music, cute girls, and love triangles…?

Thanks for reading this and any suggestions are most appreciated…!

[the white drew carey]

Patlabor doesn't have tranformations, but the series as whole runs the gamut from outrageous humor to serious political thriller. Something to please everyone.

If you've got the time, and your son is mature enough in his understanding, Ranma 1/2 is fun for the whole family, both the manga and anime.

Too be honest, I haven't had a chance to watch much new stuff lately that isn't Macross. =(

[RD Blade]

• Robotech: New Generation (if you haven't already watched it)
• Megazone 23 (consists of 3 OAVs)
• Gatchaman (consists of 3 OAVs)
• Super Robot Wars
• Evangelion

[Renegade Zentradi]

Patlabor doesn't have tranformations, but the series as whole runs the gamut from outrageous humor to serious political thriller. Something to please everyone.

If you've got the time, and your son is mature enough in his understanding, Ranma 1/2 is fun for the whole family, both the manga and anime.

Too be honest, I haven't had a chance to watch much new stuff lately that isn't Macross. =(

Patlabor...! Oh man...I forgot about that one... Ranma... Yes I think I've heard of it...but for whatever reason never saw it...

THANK YOU, I'm gonna look those ones up and see if the family is interested...

[Renegade Zentradi]

• Robotech: New Generation (if you haven't already watched it)
• Megazone 23 (consists of 3 OAVs)
• Gatchaman (consists of 3 OAVs)
• Super Robot Wars
• Evangelion

Yup... We've watch Mospeada / Robotech: New Generation...

But those other ones sound interesting... And I like the OAV format...because we can sit down and see something in its entirety in an afternoon... I'll look them up I'm and see if the family is interested in giving them a try...

THANK YOU...

[EXO]

Last Exile

[eugimon]

Eureka 7

[Renegade Zentradi]

Last Exile

Thank you.

[Renegade Zentradi]

Eureka 7

Thank you.

[eugimon]

Oh and if you like super robot type shows, gunbuster and gurren lagann are excellent.

For a slightly more realistic take on a space opera try Planetes. Planetes can seem a little slow for the first few episodes but stick with it, it's superb.

[-Snowblind-]

I'll be happy to second Eureka 7 and Planetes. Two of my favourites.

I'll add RahXephon, too...

[VFTF1]

I would highly recommend that the three of you watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

It's a wonderful anime, and a perfect compliment to super-robot anime. A good family show too.

Oh - and HAVEN'T YOU WATCHED TOPPA TENGEN GURREN LAGANN YET?!??!

IF NOT! YOU MUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT START FROM THAT! RIGHT NOW! ALL EPISODES STRAIGHT THROUGH ALL NIGHTER!! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!

Gurren Lagann is the greatest anime ever made in the history of the universe

Pete

[Akilae]

Most of what I'm suggesting you've probably seen, but I'll throw it out all the same:

The Full Metal Panic series. Hilarious humor, transforming super robots, cute schoolgirls, AND a love triangle. Fumoffu for over the top humor. FMP and Second Raid for more super robots.

Detonator Orgun. I, and many others I believe, consider this to be one of the best anime from the early 90s. It's also short, a 3-ep OVA.

El Hazard: The Magnificent World OVA (NOT the TV series!). This is my favorite anime from the late 90s. High quality animation sci-fi-ish/fantasy love story. I don't know an anime lover who wasn't touched in the last few seconds of the last ep.

Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVA. I liked it better than the TV series, that and the Soyokaze gets a terrific send-off.

[Morpheus]

My recommendations:

Eureka 7, Escafowne, LoGH for the long run

[Keith]

-MACROSS 7

-Macross Porper, to get the nasty taste of robotech out of everyoen's mouth

-Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

-Giant Robo: The Animation

-GAOGAIGAR!

-School Rumble

-The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

-Megazne 23

-Mospeada

-Gankutsuou

-Scrapped Princess

-Overman King Gainer

-Slayers

-As much Gundam as you can find (0079, Zeta, ZZ, F-91, Victory, Turn A, etc)

-Nadesico

-Votoms

-Ah My Goddess seaons 1 & 2

-Romeo x Juliet

-Godannar

And somewhere along this point everyone should be ready for shows like Genshiken & Luck Star. Are all the above shows mecha/super robot? Nope, you're gonna burn out your family if you stick with only those.

Edited September 9, 2009 by Keith

[nugundamII]

-MACROSS 7

-Macross Porper, to get the nasty taste of robotech out of everyoen's mouth

-Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

-Giant Robo: The Animation

-GAOGAIGAR!

-School Rumble

-The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

-Megazne 23

-Mospeada

-Gankutsuou

-Scrapped Princess

-Overman King Gainer

-Slayers

-As much Gundam as you can find (0079, Zeta, ZZ, F-91, Victory, Turn A, etc)

-Nadesico

-Votoms

-Ah My Goddess seaons 1 & 2

-Romeo x Juliet

-Godannar

And somewhere along this point everyone should be ready for shows like Genshiken & Luck Star. Are all the above shows mecha/super robot? Nope, you're gonna burn out your family if you stick with only those.

Xam'd

Death Note (for the intelligent Gent)

X

Gin-iro No Kami no Agito

Final Fantasy Advent Children

Karas Vol 1 and 2

Berserk

Samurai Champloo

Ideon

Gundam MS 08 team from what I saw 2 episodes in italian and already kick ASS!!!

Higashi No Eden

Cowboy bebop

Appleseed Movie

Patlabor

Armored Trooper Votoms

Aqaurion

Now some in that list have robots and others dont but its not always about the bots

as mentioned already Escaflowne has some pretty kick ass scenes robot ala robot but it has a pretty involved story too

Evangelion for robot fighting if your into convuloted stories

[nugundamII]

-MACROSS 7

-Macross Porper, to get the nasty taste of robotech out of everyoen's mouth

-Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

-Giant Robo: The Animation

-GAOGAIGAR!

-School Rumble

-The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

-Megazne 23

-Mospeada

-Gankutsuou

-Scrapped Princess

-Overman King Gainer

-Slayers

-As much Gundam as you can find (0079, Zeta, ZZ, F-91, Victory, Turn A, etc)

-Nadesico

-Votoms

-Ah My Goddess seaons 1 & 2

-Romeo x Juliet

-Godannar

And somewhere along this point everyone should be ready for shows like Genshiken & Luck Star. Are all the above shows mecha/super robot? Nope, you're gonna burn out your family if you stick with only those.

good luck finding Turn A i cant find it anywhere on the net or in the stores as well as Zeta MS 08!!!!

[F-ZeroOne]

You don't mention how old your son is; some of the series listed will be unsuitable for younger children and possibly also for younger teens as well.

Turn-A Gundam is currently not available through legal sources in the West (as also some of the shows also listed above won't be), but if you can find a source its well worth tracking down. "Gundam" carries a lot of connotations for a lot of people, and the genius of Turn-A is that avoids most of them whilst also being absolutely true to the name.

Other personal picks:

Gundam 8th MS Team, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket: have the advantage of being essentially encapsulated stories that can be enjoyed by themselves without needing too much foreknowledge of Gundam continuity (though it helps with 0083 to understand just what lead bad guy Gato is so annoyed about).

Gundam SEED: essentially a 21st Century re-run of the original Gundam series for a modern audience, Gundam SEED is a little like a brilliantly packaged Easter egg: extremely pretty to look at and nice to eat, but as soon as its finished you'll still feel a bit empty. Its good for giving new audiences a flavour of Gundam without being weighed down by 30 years of back story, but as a great many will be the first to tell you - its the New Coke of Gundam.

Martian Successor Nadesico: best enjoyed after you've put yourself through Evangelion, Nadesico is sort of not quite the "Meet The Spartans" to Evangelions "300". Its much better than that analogy would imply, though.

Full Metal Panic! Mecha pilots are well known for being unable to handle normal everyday situations, so when one is put into a normal everyday Japanese high school on a body guard assignment, hi-jinks ensue.

Armoured Trooper VOTOMs: a mecha show for grown-ups, VOTOMs somewhat dated animation is much offset by the magnetic attraction of lead character Chirico Cuvie, the Hardest Mecha Pilot of All Time. Essentially the Vietnam film of 80s mecha shows.

The Vision of Escaflowne: Mecha and science fiction have often intertwined; mecha and fantasy is a less obvious mix that works astoundingly well in this well regarded series from many of the same creators of Macross Plus. Also features noses from the "ski down 'em" school of character design.

Patlabor on TV: another one for the grown-ups, Patlabor is best short-hand described as Hill Street Blues in Japan with Giant Robots. Relies less on the flash-bang-pyrotechnics and more on clever, quiet wit, excellent writing and one of the best conceived cast of characters ever.

Edited September 9, 2009 by F-ZeroOne

[nugundamII]

You don't mention how old your son is; some of the series listed will be unsuitable for younger children and possibly also for younger teens as well.

Turn-A Gundam is currently not available through legal sources in the West (as also some of the shows also listed above won't be), but if you can find a source its well worth tracking down. "Gundam" carries a lot of connotations for a lot of people, and the genius of Turn-A is that avoids most of them whilst also being absolutely true to the name.

Yeah but you have to remember that in europe and japan they are not prone to pick up a gun and shoot someone. They seem to be matured by the age of 13

not like in north america where 13 is the new 2.

I was 12 when I started watching robotech with people exploding in planes. soooo

[Ghost Train]

Tough question to answer, but I agree with a lot of the previous picks (except Gurren Lagan lol). I would add any work by Makoto Shinkai. They tend to be somewhat family friendly in a PG-13 kind of way:

-5 centimeters per second - no scifi / giant mecha here, just an interesting story about human relationships and the concept of loss and time.

-Voices of a Distant Star - sci/fi, allegorically at least

-The Place Promised in Our Early Days - kinda sci/fi

[Dangaioh]

Welcome aboard. While other members have posted anime that I recommend... here's to adding more to the list (I may end up repeating from previous posters).

• Coyote Ragtime
• Samurai 7
• Bubble Gum Crisis and Crash
• Bubble Gum Crisis 2040
• Goddannar
• New Getter Robo
• Shin Getter Robo
• Appleseed
• Karas Prophecy
• Karas Revelation
• Sakura Wars
• Silent Mobius
• Galaxy Angel
• Steel Angel Kurumi
• Galaxy Girl Fraulein Yuna
• Rahxephon
• Burst Angel
• Black Lagoon

Edited September 9, 2009 by Dangaioh

[eugimon]

Ill add my support for cowboy bebop and Escaflowne. 5cm per second starts off strong but fizzles out at the end. I think a much better story that hits similar things is The Girl Who Leaps Through Time.

If your kids are younger or still young at heart, anything by Miyazaki (studio ghibli, totoro) though his earlier works are his best, imo.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Yeah but you have to remember that in europe and japan they are not prone to pick up a gun and shoot someone. They seem to be matured by the age of 13

not like in north america where 13 is the new 2.

So true.

Cowboy bebop

R.O.D. (Read or Die) ova and series

FLCL (Fooly Cooly)

Beck Mongolian Chop Squad.

Ghost in the shell stand alone complex- Starts slow then builds up takes a while to get into

Ghost in the shell stand alone complex 2nd gig- same as above.

They don't have giant robots in them but there good.

IGPX season 1 &2

Linebarrels of Iron - Has Giant robots people dying and then coming back to life and a Love Trapezoid.

Zegapian - like a watered down macross.

G Gundam - Due to the fact it has the old kung fu flick aura going for it.

Mars daybreak- a good "filler" series.

Heat Guy J

Chobits- your wife may like this one more.

honorable mention:

SpeedGrapher- Its pure cracked out but unique story. Not for children.

[Excillon]

Aquarion, trust me, you'll love it.

[David Hingtgen]

Evangelion is so NOT for the family.

Escaflowne rocks though, and has just about everything you asked for.

Cowboy Bebop--also awesome, but again, not for the family (though better than Eva).

Any Miyazaki movie is great for anyone.

[Dangaioh]

You may want to check out this thread as well: "What anime series are you watching V2." http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=28027 (will contain some spoliers and personal reviews from forum members.)

Edited September 9, 2009 by Dangaioh

[nugundamII]

Evangelion is so NOT for the family.

Escaflowne rocks though, and has just about everything you asked for.

Cowboy Bebop--also awesome, but again, not for the family (though better than Eva).

Any Miyazaki movie is great for anyone.

Um not every Miyazaki

Princess Mononoke has a guys head lobbed of buy a arrow as welll as an arm

Lepers and such

Nausicca Nah not that one either

Neither Castle in the sky

My 3 year old was ok watching Howls Moving castle - Not sure if they are all from him but its from his studio Ghilibi

Totoro, the cat returns, Kiki's delivery Service, My Neighbors the Yamamdas and Spirited away are alright. Hell My Daughter even watched Kung Fu Panda and she seemed ok only pretended to eat like the panda hahaha

Hey F z1 im surprised you didnt mention Wing and espeically Waltz Those were great and what got me into gundam. Seed I felt like taking a pillow and cutting my throat and Gundam 00 first season was acceptable second season the animation got worse and reminded me of a wing ripoff. Cant Wait for Unicorn and get back to the basics.

Macross Frontier is visually stunning but the story just blew near the end. Mindless Space bugs has been done to death. Zentradi are the mainstay and I like them as baddies!!!! It would have been nice to have a new threat to the macross line that even the Zentradi were afraid of and entered into an uneasy alliance with the humans to defeat the new foe. It just seems kawamori is left high and dry each time he comes up with a new design and he is the filler for a story.

[F-ZeroOne]

Yeah but you have to remember that in europe and japan they are not prone to pick up a gun and shoot someone. They seem to be matured by the age of 13

not like in north america where 13 is the new 2.

I was 12 when I started watching robotech with people exploding in planes. soooo

No, in Europe we much prefer cricket bats, the elegant weapon of a more civilised age... or was that light sabres?

I totally get where you're coming from - I was introduced to Hammer Horror films at quite a young age and first watched "Aliens" when I was several years under the British Board of Film Certification rating, but its always wise to be a little careful, people always have different levels of what they find acceptable.

[RD Blade]

THANK YOU...

No prob. Judging by all the responses, you have your work cut out for you.

[Tober]

Hi Renegade Zentradi, welcome to MW.

Your Macross list doesn't mention 'Macross: Do You Remember Love?' or 'Macross Flash Back 2012'. The former is an OVA version of the origional Macross series, while 2012 is a tribute/conclusion of sorts. I would recommend watching them before tackling 'Macross 7'.

'Macross:DYRL?' may not be suitable for under 12s tho, best to watch it first maybe.

Anything else I can think of has already been mentioned... well, except for the 'Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles' OVA. I'll let you guess why...

Edited September 10, 2009 by Tober

[Renegade Zentradi]

WOW…! Thanks everybody… This thread is getting a little big for me to thank every personally…but I have read everyone’s suggested and I’m very thankful for all the help…

Because a few have wondered… Are son is a little over 10-years-old… I guess we’re sort of liberal at times what we would watch with him… I think the violence and brief nudity of Macross Zero and Frontier are about as far as we go… Any worse then that then only my wife and myself would watch…

So yeah…I am looking mostly for stuff the three of us can watch together… But I’m also down for some more mature stuff for my wife and I….

And yes we have watched 'Macross: Do You Remember Love?' and 'Macross Flash Back 2012'… We may go back and watch the original SDF Macross…but not right away cause we recently watched the Robotech version………

Keep the suggestions coming… And once again THANK YOU EVERYBODY…! I think I just may have to become a regular poster on here…seems like a lot of cool folks post on here…

[BeyondTheGrave]

no problem.

Since your son is 10 then cowboy bebop may be too much for him. Has nudity in a freaky plot development way.

Flcl will take a minimum of two times to watch in order to fully understand what's happening.

Martian Successor Nadesico should be fine. Has fan service.

Beck:Mongolian chop squad. The language could deter you from it.On the plus side he may want to learn to play the guitar.

R.o.D. has gratuitous nudity.

G GUndam . Has Gratuitous nudity.

08 th MS team. Think M*A*S*H with Gundams

But most of the stuff should be fine unless stated otherwise.

Edited September 10, 2009 by BeyondTheGrave

[Akilae]

10 huh.. depends on how precocious he is, lol.

Definitely El Hazard and Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

Tenchi Muyo OVA... the original harem anime, lol.

Miyazaki's Sen to Chihiro (Spirited Away) is great, and also teaches some great values without going all out like Mononoke Hime. I would actually recommend Castle in the Sky... I watched it when I was barely 7 myself. Nausicca works as well, but I found it confusing as a kid...

Azumanga Daioh is a slice of life Japanese high school anime. Funny as heck if you get the humor, and quite short.

Personally I also recommend Hajime no Ippo, boxing anime extraordinaire.

For you and the missus, I'd also suggest Ergo Proxy for a mental workout in pseudo-philosophy.

[jenius]

I don't know if it's a hated anime but I watched it on Stars and thought it was alright (some bad animation): Vandread. It seems to have some very Macross themes to it. Beyond that, Votoms... friggin' great show but I think adults might appreciate it more than children as it is pretty bleak.

[VFTF1]

WOW…! Thanks everybody… This thread is getting a little big for me to thank every personally…but I have read everyone’s suggested and I’m very thankful for all the help…

Because a few have wondered… Are son is a little over 10-years-old… I guess we’re sort of liberal at times what we would watch with him… I think the violence and brief nudity of Macross Zero and Frontier are about as far as we go… Any worse then that then only my wife and myself would watch…

So yeah…I am looking mostly for stuff the three of us can watch together… But I’m also down for some more mature stuff for my wife and I….

And yes we have watched 'Macross: Do You Remember Love?' and 'Macross Flash Back 2012'… We may go back and watch the original SDF Macross…but not right away cause we recently watched the Robotech version………

Keep the suggestions coming… And once again THANK YOU EVERYBODY…! I think I just may have to become a regular poster on here…seems like a lot of cool folks post on here…

What? You STILL haven't watched Toppa Tengenn Gurren Lagann? Life is short! Sieze it! This could be the greatest night in your family's life! Get four pizzas and six bottles of coke and watch the whole series through tonight!

Pete