I liked both Iroduku and Devilman Crybaby. One is sweet and I could watch it with kids present. The other is on that former bleeding edge from the crazier days of the industry. I don’t like fan culture much though in general for this reason. Everyone always thinks anyone else having experiences with the art is ruining their precious when in reality we are all just getting old.
Right? Just… like what you like, and stop shitting on others…
I have not seen Irodoku… looks interesting. I did just recently finish up the first season of Dorohedoro, which was… violent, bloody, and pretty weird…
And some of my daughter’s favorite when she was little were pretty good, A little Snow Fairy Sugar, Hamtaro, and of course Ground Defense Force Mao-Chan!
Yeah, this. It’s what got me into anime but probably far too young to be watching it and the subsequent stuff they would show on C4. Really was mind blowing though, having grown up on more conventional animation this was like a rocket to the synapses. The anime they showed weekly would vary wildly in quality with some truly horrendous dubbed dialogue (Cyber City Oedo 808) but i still loved it all. The Legend of the Four Kings had the best intro music…
Back when I was first getting interested in anime, Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Evangelion were probably THE most widely known and available anime. Sure; Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and ‘Robotech’ started up on Cartoon Network somewhere around that time as well, but Akira was an intro to the genre for many of us. As for Evangelion… I think a lot of its worse aspects (Shinji) get ignored in favor of the giant robot action, and even then for teens with a high angst factor (most of them) the daddy, mommy, self-worth, identity and personal agency issues might just have a familiar ring to them. Me? I’ve watched it once in its entirety and never looked back.
You know what’s a good girly anime with mecha in the post-apocalyptic future?
Macross.
Through the power of cute girl idols singing, the mechas get spiritually boosted. Good stuff.
Also: Nichijou is perhaps the best-produced anime I’ve seen in serial format.
Late night C4 used to be the best!
Funnily enough one of the more spot on cyberpunk predictions was the world of Mirrors Edge (the original, not the new sequel, which I haven’t played and can’t comment on).
Empty corporate cities in the aftermath of massive protests.
Some would say it isn’t cyberpunk because there is always bright sunshine and there is little technology involved but it hits the spot for me.
I’m glad you put “girly” in quotes. I got into Madoka at the insistence of my eldest, who’d watched it when she was about 12 on the assumption it was a Glitter Force/Pretty Cure sort of a thing, and got the shock of her life when it took a turn.
Reminds me, I need to finish watching the side story.
Yeah, that’s the point.
Bubblegum Crisis was another good one
I love anime threads on BBS. I find the sheer quantity of anime out there to be daunting, but I know I’ll always get solid recommendos from you all. Of course, it bitter-sweet because it also just means my list of things-I’ll-never-find-time-to-watch gets longer. My older daughter (5) is flat out obsessed with storytelling and magical girl powers, but has an incredible curiosity for complex relationships and the darker side of things, so this feels like a goldmine. I can’t wait until she’s ready for some of this stuff, right now she’s in a “any angry face / skeleton / dinosaur will give me nightmares” phase
For me, my favorite film of all time is Porco Rosso. Light, relaxing landscapes. Beautiful historical-adjacent planes. Grumpy protagonist. Young, brilliant, underappreciated female engineer, Parody of Idiot American. Edith-paif-alike world-weary female lead. Essentially harmless clownish antagonists, all set against a dead-serious undercurrent of creeping fascism.
Akira, Ghost in the Shell and the like are amazing (those soundtracks tho…soooo good) but I can’t watch Ninja Scroll anymore. The sheer amount of sexual violence is too much.
Sounds like your daughter would love the new She-Ra on Netflix.
Don’t forget Kipo…
Its the 2nd remake (1st Anime version)
A follow up story proposed but never done in either case would deal with the Japanese diaspora.
For comfort food anime, I like “March Comes in Like a Lion.” Chess prodigy who is suffering in grief is pulled out of shell by 3 sisters. Lots of Japanese culture and chess action sequences,
Oh totally - stay up late, have some sugary snacks and watch Devilman, Legend of the Four Kings, Roujin Z, Patlabor, Wings of Honneamise, Cyber City Oedo 808… good times. I need to find a broadcast list, i’m sure there’s plenty i’m forgetting.
ETA: Nice little nostalgia article here about it…
Steins;Gate is probably my favourite anime of the last decade:
It’s a modern-day science fiction mystery with a compelling storyline, good voice acting (in the English dub, at least – the bits I’ve heard of the Japanese suggest it’s at least as good in the original), humour and tension nicely balanced, not much fan service, little enough violence that when it does occur it’s a genuine shock, and a banging soundtrack.
One potentially uncomfortable element: there’s an AMAB character who presents as female (and is invariably taken as female by new acquantances) but who refers to themselves, and is referred to by their friends, as male. I’m not qualified to say whether this is ignorance of/insensitivity towards trans issues, or a valid depiction of a character whose gender identity doesn’t match their gender expression. But they are, at least, portrayed entirely sympathetically.
Thouse where the good old days, i remember i had some how managed to get my dads portable tv, from van, that also had vcr built in, so i did not even have to stay up half the time, i would run that thing in my bed room an tape it all night, on long play so as to get a full 8 hours!
Thou i still stayed up, i ened up with an odd sleeping pattern that i still have to day, of coming home from school and going to bed, so i could stay up all night, something i still do now, get in from work and i am like bed, then up till 12 or 1 and back to bed, lol
People like that do exist. I mean, cis AMABs who identify as male but present in very feminine ways. The more respectful term I know of is Femboy. There’s much less respectful transphobic terms for them as well.