Newbie to Anime: suggestions
 

I've seen some anime :

Ghost in the Shell
Cowboy Bebop
Ninja Scroll
Vampire Hunter D


and I liked it. The thing is, there is so much, I don't know where to start.

Can you recommend some more quality anime ?

Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Kiki's Delivery Service
My Neighbor Totoro
Escaflowne--get the subtitled version, the dub blows
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Neon Crisis Evangelion

Those are some basics. Evangelion an Escaflowne are multi-episode deals and take much more time and money commitment.

Ok the first anime set you will want to get is Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is still one of my favorite animes of all time.

Next are a couple that I really likes that I think are licensed.



.Hack//Sign -- An anime about a MMORPG
Scryed -- I don't know if this is licensed but it is an awesome anime.



Since anime is so costly to get on DVD I will stop there.

Just a couple words of advice.

One -- Watch it with subtitles if at all possible. The japanese voice actors are almost always better than the american ones. The animation is also matched to their voices.

Two -- If you have a fast internet connection then you can download anime that has not been licensed yet. If you want a good place to get subtitled, unlicensed anime go to www.animesuki.com

Three -- If you don't like one series then try another. There are a lot of different types of anime out there.

Hope some of this has helped. If you want any more suggestions then just ask again :)

Doraemon!

http://pal.doranet.ne.jp/img/doraemon.gif

Metropolis
X
Grave of the Fireflies
Here & There, Now & Then
Berserk

In addition to some of the movies/series allready mentioned

based on what you've seen and liked:

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Akira


doh i just got stupid. my memory went blank when itcomes to anime movies.

i strongly suggest you watch the Loddoss Wars subed, Escaflowne subbed and Trigun.

the Lain series is great, too!

grave of the firefliesi s great but be prepared. its _sad_ ..

here & there, now & then..... bored me. but that's me. -shrug-

check out A Wind Named Amnesia..

oh DO NOT rent/watch ninja ressurection, the 'sequel' to Ninja Scroll
it sucks. sucksucksucks

Great Teacher Onizuka
Trigun
Love Hina
Onegai Teacher
./hack series

Those are my favorites so far.

I've got more to add to your list marco..

NARUTO - Currently on air in Japan and unliscenced. It's a comming of age story about a boy and his struggle to be accepted and become the greatest ninja in his village.

Jin Roh: Wolf Brigade Liscenced by Viz. The story is set in an alternative past, where martial law rules, and Tokyo is devastated by war and military occupation. There is a revolt against the authorities and war is breaking out This story focuses on a member of the "wolf brigade", an elite force of the military meant to fight the rebels. The main character is haunted by visons after he confronts a young rebel girl who blows herself up rather than be helped by him. Thsi starts him questioning his action, his job, his way of thinking. Very intellectual movie, kinda long. So well done you will forget it is animated.


Gatekeepers- Lisceneced by Pioneer. Alien Invaders are revealing themselves among humans and trying to take over the world. Secret government organization AEGIS gathering young people with special powers to help them fulfill their objective. Pretty lighthearted and fun, has a nice scifi element to it, and is well done.

Fruits Basket- Liscenced by Funimation. A story about a girl who is taken in by the Souma family after her parents die. This would be all well and good until she discovers the Souma's are all curesed and change into memebers of the chinese Zodiac when touched by a memeber of the opposite sex. Pretty interesting, lots of interpersonal action between characters.

Saishuu Heiki Kanojo (SaiKano) Not sure if liscneced yet. A love story between high schoolers, but with a twist. The female lead of this story is also a weapon of mass destruction and is called "the angel of death". Be warned. This one is saad.. I cried at the end of ever episode.

Kareshi Kanojyo no Jijyo (KareKano) Liscenced by Right Stuf. A love story between 2 teens that have similar issues with their own identity and learning to be close to other people.

If any of these pique your intrests i'll post more suggestions later on . :)

How can Akira not get mentioned.... sure it makes absolutly no sense whats so ever but it is a classic.

Has anyone seen KITE? or the part two of the series ... can't remember the name.

I think you are talking about Mezzo Forte.. but alas i cant say i've seen either of them. I tend to shy away from the stuff w/ graphic sex and violence.

yes, jin roh is awesome.

try wicked city, also.

Not a big cartoon sex fan myself, but i like em violent.

a bit warped too, oh and dark.... nothing I'd let my kids watch.

Castle of Caligrisosto (Very funny. Stars Lupin and a laserdisk game like Dragons Lair was based off of it.)
A second vote for Lodoss War.
Battle Angel

rahXephon is good...although it gets compared to Eva a lot.

Chobits is interesting from what I've seen so far.

Those two are just licensed recently.

I'll cosign on Chobits. I've seen teh whole series recently, and it is VERY cute and good. Reminds me a lot of Mahoromatic and Hand Maid May, but only because the main female lead is an android/robot. P.S. you should check out those series as well.. ^_^

Berserk is really good. I'd have to add rahxephon is good and doesn't really seem like eva. I actually like the characters in this one.

You could also try Generator Gawl and Samurai X (NOT the movie or that crap series Rurouni Kenshin that's on Cartoon Network right now, just the original, 4 episodes).
Also, drewg, when you mention X, do you mean the movie or the series? Because I found the movie ultimately disappointing (something that a LOT of anime seems to suffer from, strong opening, weak ending) but I haven't seen the series yet.

since we're getting general thoughts, what was yoru guys' take on spriggan? i enjoyed very much...

ganguro hit another winner with jin-roh.. and blood: the last vampire was a great short one, but i was expecting a full-length feature, so don't have too many expectations.

I'll second the vote on Trigun made earlier.

Hellsing. It's a bit short and dark but it kicks major ass.

Gundam Wing. There might be some hate out there for this since there are like 5 gajillion different gundam series but this one has a great story arc. Zechs owns you.

Animatrix. These shorts are just fucking amazing. Go the link at the matrix site, I believe a DVD is coming out later this year with them all. 3 are released so far.

I don't know much about Anime, but what I've seen, I can certainly appreciate the talent behind it.

I was in a store last night and I saw an Anime Soundtrack section. Are these movies known for the music as well??

I was so disappointed with Blood: First it was Waaaaayyyy to short. And the CGI/Animation combo was just not to my liking. And what was up with the Agent/soldier guys, their mouths and faces and bodies were so stiff and not the fluid animation that has become known with Anime

Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
DBZ (I love it, can't help it)
Blood (Good but short)
Gundam Wing or G Gundam
Berserk
Lodoss War Kicked ass, just get the first season, 2nd season sucked IMHO
Akira (A classic, a good start if you want the best)

a lot of you guys who are watching anime made from 1995 on have really gotten spoiled with all your "fluid animation" and whatnot. Anime can be crappy too..just like regular television. We only make a big deal of it over here in the states because it is not our regular programming. Sometimes people forget that.

Marco.. you have to deceide what genre best suits your personality. A lot of the titles mentioned here I have seen, or heard of.. but don't really like because i'm not big into Bishonen(boy anime)/Beat em Up anime.. Most of the storylines just arent terribly thought out, and this is really evident from titles such as Beserk, and Fist of the North Star . I'm not knocking these things if that is what you like, but personally I like more adult stories, or things that depect everyday life, or love stories. I like bishojo(girl's anime) and i'm not ashamed to like it. A lot of newcommers to anime have their preferences though, and it's good to try and see a little bit of both to be more balanced.

Speaking for everyone who's read this thread ... Thanks ! There are some great suggestions here for anyone who wants to get their feet wet with Anime .

I just added Spirited Away and Metropolis to my little collection .
Keep the suggestions flowing . Marco

There should be a warning on the box for Neon Genesis. It's a great story line that starts out okay, but hoo boy, is it ever depressing near the end.

Cowboy Bebop was great, but another series you might want to give a shot is Bubblegum Crisis. Or, if you're able to stomach a more childish theme, and aren't bother by seeing the same scenes repeated over and over, then Final Fantasy: Unlimited is a good entertaining series, although, I don't think it's been released in North America. You might have to order overseas, or find some fansubs.

But the best, and I mean the BEST anime you can probably get (at least in my humble opinion) is Furikuri ( also called FLCL). Made by the same people who made Neon Genesis, that show was just completely out there. It only has six shows in the series, but it can only best be described as wacky, and off the scales of reality. Give it a try, if you're interested.

I didn't think NGE was depressing near the end, exactly. How would I put it...whacked out of its theoretical skull, i guess. The ending was bizarre and unsatisfying.
And then you don't talk about the depressing ending of Cowboy Bebop? Well, I didn't find it as sad as my friends did, but I'm weird.

Definitely gotta see....

Ghost in the shell
Nausicaa of the valley of the wind
Spirited Away
Kiki's Delivery Service
Akira
Vampire Hunter D
Kite
Ninja Scroll
Wicked City
Sword for Truth
Blood
Princess Mononoke
Perfect Blue

hmm...can't think of any others right now...

More from Gainax (guys who did Eva)...Seek out Wings of Honnemaise, and Gunbuster.

Wings...serious movie about the space program on a planet similar to earth, fantastic.

Gunbuster...old school anime that is serious, but at the same time parodies Giant Robot anime, and sports anime of the '80s. 6 eps only.

And one more from Gainax...Otaku no Video (Video of the fans) Parody movie that delves into the lives of Otaku (Japanese for "Fanboy"). Mixed animated and live action.

If you're looking for an anime series, I would suggest:
Rurouni Kenshin (only up to the second season)
Cowboy Bebop
Trigun

However, if you're looking for a movie, I would suggest:
Vampire hunter D - Bloodlust
Ninja Scroll
Spriggan

- Get Backers
- Hellsing
- Chobits

I started with Outlaw Star series, that got mee hooked up ...
then I saw Trigun, oh boy I was selled :)

Escaflowne really kicks ass, NGE is good but the end is so damn weird. Cowboy Bebop is very nice too.

and if you can get Noir, it's pretty nice also :-)

Hellsing
Cowboy bebop
Trigun
and um alot of other ones i cant rember

As said before, if you've ever seen any giant robot anime, then watch FLCL to see one of the funniest series ever.

The original Record of the Lodoss war is fantastic, the TV series (Chronicles of the Heroic Knight) was nice, but often had painful dialogue.

Stay away from most of the mainstream anime. It's crap.

Cowboy Bebop
FLCL
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Naruto
Hellsing
Anything by Studio Ghibli

How do I get stuff from animesuki to work?

Nevermind. I'm a moron. -_-*

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.. IF YOU USE BIT TORRENT KEEP YOUR TORRENT WINDOWS OPEN AT LEAST 5-8 HOURS!

people are dirty leeching bastards, and they take what they can and leave.. this screws the entire community.. not just 1 guy. IF you dont believe me.. try getting some of the earlier eps of any series. Unless they are being rereleased.. it's damn near impossible.

*ahem*

okay.. go back to discussing series..


Oh and don't listen to anyone about Rurunoi Kenshin.. Just watch the second series for yourself.. :D

i dont think his name has been mentioned here specifically, but many of these films are made by hayao miyazakiu through studi ghibli. im not much of an anime aficionado either but from what i can tell everything with his name on it is excellext. for example, spirited away, princess mononoke, castle in the sky, etc..

I loved the Street Fighter animated movie, also the series is very well done.

Wicked City is a strange but good one too

I know. But I did manage to get the first ep. of Naruto. Which is a wonderful series. I've still got the window open on naruto.
Does anyone else here read shonen jump?

Serial Experiments: Lain just blew me away, it's incredible

I read shonen jump because my friend got a 2 year subscription and i go to his place and read it. I used to read Raijin comics, and Smile and TokyoPop when they had a magazine (woo im dating myself a bit now) The fansubbers rereleased Naruto1-5 as one torrent.. so now is a great time to get into the series if you have been riding the fence about it. Though the manga in Jump is possibly much furthur ahead than the anime.

Wow, it's cool to see people that like good shows gathered in one place.. and thanks to the guy who brought up animesuki..

A few favorites of mine (that's haven't already been covered)...
Martian Successor Nadesico
Saber Marionette J (avoid the dub at all costs)
Excel Saga
Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl (this one's a weird twist on typical samurai stuff, it's pretty wacky as well)
Ai Yori Aoshi.. good love story, good romantic comedy, if you like that type of thing.

I'm a huge fan of "Hakkenden: The Legend of the Dog Warriors." It's a multi-volume series containing 14 episodes (2 episodes per tape). The animation is beautiful, although the artwork is passed along to other animators on a few occasions, which makes for an interesting (if sometimes odd, viewing). Character development is done expertly and the plot has many twists and turns. It's set in feudal Japan and deals with the birth and eventual meeting of 7 bastard children conceived by a human female and a canine male. Interesting stuff.

I also heartily second "Jin-Roh: Wolf Brigade" and "Wings of Honneamise." Both have excellent animation and deal with a broad range of human emotion/thinking.

On the lighter side, I recommend "Gunsmith Cats" and "New Dominion Tank Police" (both cop related), for good ol' fashioned, uncomplicated fun.

On the heavier side, check out "Twilight of the Dark Master" (evil, evil shit) or "Biohunter" (less bloody, but still pretty raw). "Wicked City" is also very good, as is "Doomed Megalopolis" (multi-volume series).

Well, that's it for now...

The english version of Jump is much behind actually

that's what i thought too.. but then he showed me some other manga that was waaay ahead of the anime so far. Maybe it's fansubbed as well.

no one like the GUYVER i thought was awesome though im not a huge anime BUFF, ive seen vampire hunter D, nija scroll, Tank police LOL, and Doomed MEgalopilis, Anyway GuyverAND nija scroll are good for me anyway!

No hate...it was a good series if you watched them all....never got to watch the last couple of episodes :(
Do they have them on DVD? I'd probably buy the whole set.

for my money Noir, trigun, and FLCL and Please Teacher, are all good.

I didn't read the whole thread so this is probably all repetition. But anyway

Patlabor (even though lots of people don't like it)
Akira
Perfect Blue
Blood the Last Vampire (rent it, I felt robbed, it's so short)
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away (although I havent seen it, everyone seems to be creaming themselves over it. :))
Ninja Scroll is pretty good.

For series'

Hellsing
Cowboy Bebop
At least one of the Gundams (most people dislike Gundam Wing but I like it)
NGE

I'm kinda new to Anime (well let's just say I'm a longtime fan who doesn't spend cash) but I really, REALLY love Tenchi Muyo! It's funny, romantic, hilarious, funny, and it has a plot. The character characters are spot on Argh! I can't explain it! Also Gundam Wing is high on my list. I like war based Anime, and I like deep plots and storylines.

Alot of which anime you're going to like depends on your own personal preferences. But some of my comments (and as far as genres go, I'm a pretty broad-minded guy):

Akira and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Are they the best anime ever? Not in my opinion. In both the plot is extraordinarily convoluted, to be kind. NGE also throws in quite a bit of religious imagery (mostly Christian and Kabbalistic), in what seems to me to be a failed attempt to appear 'deep'. But my opinions seem not to be all that common, they're not all that bad, either, and they're classics. Dickens isn't that good either, but you should probably read him anyway.

Martian Successor Nadesico and Shinesmen. These are both very, very funny parodies of other well known shows, and IMHO, Nadesico is quite a bit more than this. FWIW, Nadesico is my favorite anime. Hilarious, and with an intricately woven plot that, while never loosing its comedic edge, manages to grow more serious as the serious goes on. As a watched it, it got better with every episode.

Rurouni Kenshin. Very good classic swordfighting anime. Many historical touches, which add to the depth of an already great show. I'm only a few episodes into the second season, but I've heard it goes downhill after that.

Cowboy Bebop. What's not to love?

KareKano (In english, "His and Hers Circumstances"). An anime from the director of Evangelion that couldn't be more different, KareKano centers around the love life of two high school students. More than any other anime I've seen, Anno uses the medium to amazing effect in showing the moods of the characters. If the quality keeps up until the end, it might replace Nadesico as my favorite. But if you don't like watching things that focus on relationships, you might find it a bit boring.

Bubblecrisis 2040. I haven't seen the original series, which appears to be a bit of a cult favorite, but this is a fun series, especially for the first half. In the second half, the attempt at a more overarching plot (over and against a 'monster of the week') falls short, and it ends up being really cheesy. Still, quite a fun series.

*sniff* im soo proud to be an Otaku right now :)

I'm kind of an anime amateur as well, but here's my thoughts:

Movies:

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust: Awesome movie. 10 times better than Vampire Hunter D. It blew me away.

Akira: People say it's a classic, I hated it. Good animation, sure, but I hated the movie.

Princess Mononoke: Not a great movie. Not bad either. It's at least easy to find, since it had a major American release, unlike most anime.


Series:

Gundam Wing: Giant Robots rock. The characters are interesting, and the fighting is cool.

Dragonball Z: Make sure you can fast forward if you watch this. The storyline is awful (at least to me) but the combat is awesome.

mm. I'll add Memories (something of a hard to find movie) and Full Metal Panic to the growing list or repetitiveness in this thread, as well as Gundam 0083, Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (movie), Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (movie), and Love Hina... also, I highly recommend the movie Perfect Blue (if you have the guts to sit through it.)

I knew someone was going to say this. Please, if you're still an anime newbie, don't watch Evangelion just yet. If you're a true-blue hardcore fan of anime that can honestly say you watch anime for everything that it's worth, and not just because 99.99% of all the anime girls are drop-dead gorgeous, then wait. I mean, you really gotta love anime for what it's really worth. I've met only... zero people who actually enjoy all the philosophy and such that has a strong connection with the good animes, other than myself. YES, I know you people do exist, but most people I know just want to watch anime for the babes and for the action. If you're the kind who wants babes and action, then go ahead and watch Evangelion and ruin everything for yourself. If you're the type like me who likes everything about anime, save Evangelion for later, because you'll be left gasping for something better than Evangelion but won't find it.

Oh, yeah, recommendations:

-Battle Angel Alita (or Gunnm, whatever its called in the video release)
Really great anime. Honestly I think it comes close to being as good as Evangelion. The graphic novel version produces what may easily be called "the best god damned fucking badass non-Evangelion story ever told, god fucking damn it!" Buy the graphic novel series and love it, god damn it! ;)

-Cowboy Bebop (yeah I know you already watched it. Good job ;))
Spike Spiegel is a good role model for kids. No, really, he is. I convinced myself that I was Spike before riding my very first roller coaster. I convinced myself that I was so relaxed and cool that I actually wanted the damn ride to start going faster and higher as I rode it. Spike rules! :D

-Dragon Ball & Dragon Ball Z
Yes, story depth in anime is good, but c'mon, we need at least one anime thats straight up. Good vs. bad. Baddies getting pounded, period. Its the most straight-up good vs. evil story ever. Simplicity is sometimes a good thing. Dragon Ball GT was ok. Don't let people force their opinions onto you. I decided that GT was ok by watching it, before I ever read the masses of reviews bashing it for its poor quality. Decide for yourself, please.

Watch the stuff on Cartoon Network. Granted its cencored so badly you can hardly tell it's the same anime as the original, but it still gives you an idea of what anime (artwork) is like... ;) Just watch stuff dude, but keep Evangelion for the last, or much later. Much much later.

I'm like you Stiltzkin. This is why I am so picky with my Anime. Ok, so I've only seen a handful, but I watch Anime deeply.

So I'll lay in with some more mainstream "crap" hehe

I enjoyed 3x3 Eyes, maybe because it's the first Anime I ever watched. Nostalgia and what not.

Bastard - If you find the one with the 80's Heavy Metal band names dubbed in, it's worth it hehehe

Tenchi Muyo - light hearted, entertaining Animae. Has all the usual comidic anime elements. Weird looking guy, hot babes all fall for him, giant sci-fi space ships and magic, oh and a small furry animal that's not what it seems to be.

Serial Experiment Lain - this is on my "want to see" list, I've never gotten to see the whole series, or even a complete episode. just snatches here and there.

Ebichu is a must see if you have any sense of humor. There's no way this could have been done in the u.s., and no way it will ever be licensed. Gainax's best work alongside FLCL, way better than that overrated Evangelion crap.

if you can find it, rent:
"Fist of the North Star" (the first movie)
"Violence Jack"
"Lili Cat"
I liked some of the "Patlabor" series too.

rent first to see if you like it, but the Fist of the North Star is my fave anime !
have fun !

DB, DBZ, DBGT, Gundam, Ruroni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakisho, and Guyver

Bubblegum crisis is fun. Evangelion is THE series.

What you should watch when your new to anime is really a question of how your tastes run. Heres the lowdown of my favorites and what there about:

Movies:
My neighbor Totoro ... cute, uplifting, and not stomach turning at all. I normally hate cute but this is good stuff. (kids in rural japan)
Princess Monnonoke ... Man vs Nature vs Balance. Good action, Great animation ( heroes in mythical ancient japan)
Akira ... Creepy metaphysics, cool lasers, great psychic powers and good animation. (punk kids in urban japan)
Ninja Scroll ... Kick-ass over the top combat. ok plot great action. (heroes/ninjas in mythical ancient japan)
Ghost in the Shell ... Good action, great animation, cool world (Gov agents in near future cyberpunk japan)
Spirited away ... a modern western fairy tale, executed flawlessly in Japanese culture. good stuff. (little girl from modern japan in fairy land)

As for animated series:

Neon Genisis Evongelion ... Great, Incredible story, great giant "robots" (normally I hate giant robots but these are cool) and some nifty religion and philosophy. Also very depressing. (kids, near future)
Visions of the Escaflown ... great steam-punk Mechas , a cool fantasy flavor, all quite well done. I'm surprised no one else mentioned it. (young adults in a high fantasy steam-punk world)
Cowboy Bebop ... far future space cowboy action. Great music, great animation style and really cool characters. Probably my personal favorite (poor bounty hunters in space)
Trigun ... future cowboys trapped on a hostel desert world (sort of like Texas) Good morality, fun characters. fun action. (wanted criminal dedicated to love and peace running around in a future like the old west)

Ignorance always deeply saddens me *removes hat and places it over chest to observe moment of silence*

Gainax doesn't produce crap-- you must be confusing them with some other American company. You simply have a strong inclination to go with the "underdog". I bet you also think "underground" music is the best thing in the world, right? Well it isn't. I have a whole slew of friends who think "underground" music rocks, and I've listened for many hours, and I agree a lot of it is ok, some of it good, but the majority of it sucks major ass. Being open-minded is a good thing. Just because Evangelion is Gainax's most "mainstream" anime doesn't mean it is crap-- they actually put a lot of thought into the creation of that anime, like all their animes, so back off. If you fail to like Neon Genesis, it is only your fault for not wanting to understand the plot simply because it isn't "underground". Oh, and please read some Heinlein; it'll do you good :thumbsup:

So why does everyone dislike DBZ so much? Come on, its got like 500 episodes if you include DB and DBGT 20-something movies, dozens of video games and a fan base that rivals that of trekkies.
How can you not like Goku, Vegeta and Trunks(american spelling)? They represent the three most common forms of the "hero-istic" idealism in literature. Plus just about everyone in the show could kick the SH#T out of other characters like superman or the Gundam-ers. Sure its got bad points, probably more then most actually but what it does right, it does better then anyone else out there, period. O and I can't forget to mention the DBZ reference in the southpark movie. All im saying is give it a chance. Almost everyone is a closet DBZ fan. Everyone is just to ashamed to talk about it publicly :)

Ghost In The Shell - Stand Alone Complex is looking like quite a nice series.
Well I've only seen two episodes, but they were good.

As for DBZ, from the little bits I've seen it just hasnt held my attention at all.

Do not watch "Crying Freeman." It is old school and goes from good to terrible in the space of three episodes. Sitting on our table to watch are the movies "Spriggan" and the Cowboy Bebop movie, when we get time. Stupid responsibilities...
And fugue_life, I resent being called a closet DBZ fan. :) DBZ is not for everyone. It is a mindless "action" cartoon with little story or character development, and I feel as though people watch it as more of a rite of passage (regarding there being 500 episodes) than out of any love for the show. There's plenty of good anime out there, and I have precious little time as it is. :)

i disagree.. Dragonball, DBZ, heck even GT all in all are good series. The story is loosly based on Journey to the East, and it's a pivotal anime. Just as important as watching Akira, Ghost in the Shell, or Evangaleon. Also.. just because crying Freeman is old school doesnt mean it should be discarded.

Let us agree to disagree on the merits of DBZ. As for "Crying Freeman," if you read carefully, by which I mean in entirety, you will see that I discarded not due to the fact that it was old school, but that the series tanks harder than a drunken sumo wrestler. The first two episodes (all these "episodes" seem to be double original eps) are strong. The third episode is painfully bad. The fourth is nothing more than laughable, and we watched it on fast forward. The animation and, more importantly, the entire ethos or ænima of the show changes in that short a span. It goes from mildly clever and tragic to mindless and sex-driven. Watch it yourself. See if it's discardable. It's only three hours you'll never get back.

Some good ones are Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Ninja Scroll. Hiyao Miyazaki movies are good, and I thought Escaflowne had a good story.

Kadath.. i've watched the series before. I see what you are talking about regarding the series getting progressivly worse as time goes on. I was referring to the first two eps that were released in the late 80's because that's when i saw them. I'll agree with you that it gets worse as it goes along, but notice that there are almost 10 years time difference between eps 1/2 and 3/4. I think someone was just trying to cash in on the popularity of the manga (which incidently is much better than the anime anyway).

try Escaflowne