Not sure how many will respond to this, but what the hell.

I haven't sat down and watched anime like I've been doing lately in a long time, and I'm not entirely sure what to attribute this to. Certainly modern stuff has what it takes to keep an ADHD-riddled man like myself occupied: Kinetic action scenes, flashy HD animation, crisp character designs . . .

But for some reason, I can never really fully invest myself in some of the newer stuff, with the sole exceptions being anything related to Gundam.

Recently, I've been perusing Anime News Network's "Buried Treasure" articles by Justin Sevakis, wherein he discusses anime that is, as the title might imply, obscure to say the least.

Taking picks from his articles, I've rediscovered the side of anime that I fell in love with, works that don't really need to rely on bombastic, hollywood-style flashiness. Usually, these are one shot OVAs that just tell a small story.

While I still deeply love works like Gundam, Macross and almost everything by Gainax, I've fallen in love with the smaller, more personal productions that usually pass by unseen by the common anime fan because the subject matter isn't directed at the mainstream audience that the medium now commands in the west.

With that said, what are you watching? What are some favorites, and why?

I try to act like I'm into anime but the truth is I'm really not. That being said, the only anime I can probably say I've seen from beginning to end is Neon Genesis Evangelion. I really liked it for the most part because I think most people can relate to the characters (the pilots) because, in a sense, we're all screwed up - just in different ways and levels.

Still, what gets my goat is when I hear or read someone going on how they hate how juvenille the characters are. Are you kidding me? Without any reservations and conflicts there is no point and/or story! If Shinji was a badass who entered battle with no personal or internal conflict it would be boring. Another news flash: Asuka is meant to be an annoying little twit who you want to reach through the TV and strangle.

I really need to nab one of the box sets for this, I've been craving to see it again lately.

Agreed on Eva's characters. While the pilots are whiny, and the rest of the cast are, at the very tamest, neurotic, I felt they were incredibly well rounded. By the end, Shinji was basically a destroyed human being, completely paralyzed by fear. I like that sort of storytelling.

Gainax consistently does good work, in my opinion.

Y'know, I was going to start an "Anime Journal" thread myself, but somehow never got around to it...

I've watched anime released in the U.S. on TV and DVD, and stuff that's been fansubbed through University clubs, from about 1999-2004. When 2004 hit, I stopped watching it, since I didn't feel like spending $$$ on the stuff (back when it was standard at $30 per DVD), I really stopped following TV altogether, and I stopped going to University anime clubs.

But now, I've been trying to catch up on a lot of stuff that's been released in the past 6 years, mostly starting with stuff released in the U.S. on DVD in 2004; I'm consulting mostly stuff that's been on Cartoon Network, has been done by studios or artists that I recognize from other anime, and stuff I've actually referred to via U.S. anime magazines:

...

Azu Manga Daioh!

I had to refer to some anime magazine for this one; watched it LAST Summer (2009).

The magazine pretty much had it right: Japanese school girls acting stupid. Each episode is essentially a series of small skits, in which some sort of joke(s) occurs. It's difficult to explain, because it's so random! But this's definitely what I think of, when I think comedy anime; a sure stress-reliever! Unless, of course, you're stressed beyond being able to find humor in anything.

...

Eureka Seven

I thought the concept of giant robots with giant surfboards was pretty gimmicky at first, but I got over; every anime has to have something quirky in it, and that was this anime's quirky thing.

I liked it when it was just about a group of bandits/mercenaries trying to pull illegal odd jobs, in spite of the government and military. Bandits versus oppressive government? I can buy into that!

I liked it when I thought it was set in fantasy/sci-fi world, in which the desolate, earthquake-prone world was humanity's original home, not something that they came to from EARTH; juxtaposing all three of (1) contemporary buildings and society, (2) sci-fi buildings and technology, versus (3) primitive, clay and adobe buildings you might find in third world countries, was interesting.

But then they eventually go Evangelion with the whole damn thing, and turn it into something about the history and future of the human race. Then they actually talk about the history of SURFING, and that whole quirk about the anime becomes REALLY de-mystified. They basically took something I thought was just supposed to be a "FUN!" anime, and turn it into a serious, realistic anime, which...just didn't compute with me.

I liked the ending, but there were plenty of things I wish they HADN'T told me, and which hadn't even been part of the story. Some characters were left pretty undeveloped, even though they started delving into their backgrounds, and the other characters they tried to develop, I still don't fully understand their backgrounds. As many characters, especially regular extras, they tried to cram into the series, it shouldn't be any surprise.

...

Hare+Guu

I'd say it's this generation's Excel Saga. Another comedy anime, this time, but it's based IN THE JUNGLE! Hare is a normal eleven year-old boy, and Guu, is an eleven year-old girl...who's not so normal; she's able to swallow ANYTHING, but not only that, her stomach is a portal to a POCKET DIMENSION! And it's a two-way portal, too, so things can come OUT of her tummy!

Other than that, random characters pop onto the scene, who're supposed to be parodies of classic, and not-so-classic character archetypes, but you can expect most, if not ALL of them to be flaky!

And, of course, Hare's the only one who's able to point out the strangeness of the situation at hand, and he's the only one willing to acknowledge it; his mother's wise to what's going on, but she always threatens to "Take him down!" when he won't stop his rightfully anxious fits. All the other characters are pretty much blind to their own eccentricity.

...

Negima!

It's the Ken Akamatsu, the guy who made Love Hina, so that's why I hit this one up.

Take Love Hina, take the protagonist, Keitaro, as nerdy and awkward around girls as he is, make him an 11 year-old wizard from Wales, and you get Negima's protagonist, Negi, who's in training to be a wizard. But in order to become a full-fledged wizard, the young genius that he is, he must teach at an all girls school (don't ask why they made this a prerequisite to becoming a full-fledged wizard, they never answer this question, so just roll with it)!

Wrap your mind around this one more time: An 11 year-old child prodigy and wizard, teaching at an all-girls middle-school level academy. Ah, can you imagine the sexually awkward shenanigans that'll ensue?!

Enter Asuna, this series's Naru; he's got the same red-hair, and the violent temper to match, not to mention a wide range of martial arts moves! And then there's all the other girls, which provide other companions, rivals, and enemies, some within the academic realm, and others, in the wizardly realm.

The ending's stupid, but it's pretty enjoyable until the last 8 episodes. Some of the villains they add near the end, are just kind of too little, too late, poorly developed, no real motives, etc.

But if you're coming to this just looking for the humor, you won't be disappointed! As an action anime? Not really.

Evangelion's characters, the ones they developed, were all developed VERY WELL. Characters that were just there to be extras, they didn't try to develop, and made sure they stayed extras, as opposed to feeling like they had to give them SOME sort of background, no matter how half-baked or contrived it might be.

Evangelion is THEE one anime I'd show to someone who's never watched anime before, or doesn't really care for the anime style. It's just so well written and developed! The characters are both very vivid, and realistic; they behave just like real people would given those circumstances! When they finally decide to reach the "5#!7 hits the fan" part of the series, it still feels on track!

I've watched plenty of anime in my time, probably got into it around '96 or so, tho I had seen some off and on before then, as when I was way young I just thought it was regular cartoons.

Some of the great early stuff I saw as a kid:
Astroboy, Les Mysterieuses Cites D'or, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Samurai Pizza Cats

This is the stuff that drew me in.

Head on to later: (these are only samplings of the myriad of stuff I've watched)
Sailor Moon (the gateway drug), Fushigi Yuugi, Saber Marionette J, Evangelion, Magic Knight Rayearth, Dragon Ball/Z/GT, Ah! Megami-sama OVA, Macross Plus, Marmalade Boy, Martian Successor Nadesico, Roujin Z

University Days:
Excel Saga, Patlabor, Rurouni Kenshin, Hare/Guu, Detective Conan, X TV, Gundam Wing, Macross 7, Tennis no Ouji-sama, Hikaru no Go, FF:U, Noir, .hack//SIGN/Liminality, Cowboy Bebop, Figure 17, Inu-Yasha, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Abenobashi Shotengai, Azumanga Daioh, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar, Digimon, Dual!! Parallel Trouble Adventure, El Hazard, Flame of Recca, Full Moon o Sagashite, Ghost in the Shell, Juuni Kokki, Kare Kano, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress, Princess Tutu, Rah Xephon, Rockman.EXE, Scrapped Princess, Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Vandread, Escaflowne, Witch Hunter Robin

Later on:
Slayers, Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei, Tsubasa Chronicle, xxxHolic, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Turn A Gundam, Gundam Seed/Destiny/OO, Macross Frontier, Pretty Cure, Ah! Megami-sama TV series, D.Gray-Man, Natsume Yuujinchou, Soul Eater, Gatekeepers, Gatekeepers 21 OVA, Hajime no Ippo, various Lupin III, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Paprika, Death Note, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, Kekkaishi, Nodame Cantabile, Keroro Gunsou, Fate/Stay Night, Romeo X Juliet, Oh! Edo Rocket, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann,

Nowadays not so much but some still:
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Dragon Ball Kai, Senkou no Night Raid, Bakemonogatari, Katanagatari, Tentai Senshi Sunred, Ojamajo Doremi, Eden of the East, Gundam Unicorn, Hetalia! Axis Powers, K-ON!

heh, now that I look back on it, I guess half the time I spent at U of A was watching anime. =p  Made some good friends during that time in the anime club (when anime clubs were still thriving due to scarcity).  Now that anime is readily available at the click of a link, there's almost no need for them anymore these days.  Lot of those people have moved away tho - while I also moved on from the anime club, I stayed in Edmonton as that's where my job/career is currently. 

I'm definitely watching less anime these days than I used to as a lot of the new series coming out these days tend to be the moe/ecchi kind more and more (Kiss X Sis anyone? ugh... B Gata H Kei??? really??? aiya), and there's less of the gag style comedy that appealed to me when I was younger (Arakawa Under the Bridge is a little too far OTT for me this season).  The genre/magical/fantasy type of anime has always been my preference.

Watching the first Rebuild of Evangelion Movie was pretty nostalgic... can't wait to see the 2nd movie.

Most of these picks are gonna be pretty dated as my anime boom came during college.  Since graduating and coming to Japan my involvement has been limited to Studio Ghibli's recent releases - which were varying degrees of good - and a couple big-name sci-fi features (Patlabor 3 and Appleseed 2004) - which were both boring.  I tried the first couple episodes of Macross Frontier but called it quits when the silly character designs and their similarly silly behavior began tarnishing my image of the excellent soundtrack.

Anyway, among the oldies that I fondly remember are:
Giant Robo (the original series) - episodes 1-4 are brilliant, with a moving story, fantastically framed animation and of course amazing music.  The remaining three episodes are average.
Macross Plus - even coming in unacquainted with the series I loved the story and the music.  Gave the movie version a single viewing but I preferred the original four-episode OVA version.
Patlabor 1, 2, and OVA series - I'm inclined to remember the first film being my favorite, with the second while still good being perhaps a bit too cerebral.  I only saw the OVA part-way through but it was fun, if somewhat less serious than the films.
Akira - until the turn of the century at least there was hardly an article to discuss anime in the West that didn't bring up this film.  It's convoluted and pretty weird (especially towards the end) but some of those scenes are unforgettable.

Among the Ghibli films my favorites would be My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle.  Spirited Away impressed me as well after eventually seeing it with subtitles and having some small idea WTF was going on.

Since coming to Japan I've spent more time (although still not so much) with manga than anime, of which Naoki Urasawa's works are my favorites by far.  21st Century Boys and Pluto were both excellent (even if they ended a bit weak, and the movie version of the former was horrible).  Monster is next on my list.

Monster is an excellent anime series but it can drag on in the middle as the story diverges somewhat, but overall a great series to get into.

Patlabor 3 was an exercise in futility to keep me awake.  Completely agree it was one of the most boring movies ever.

Are you referring to the OVA directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa? He's pretty much a legend in the mech anime fandom.

The series that got me into anime full-force was Fushigi Yuugi, a shojo fantasy manga turned anime series.

Other anime I liked were probably from the late 90's-early 2000's.
These were: Card Captor Sakura, Detective Conan, Inuyasha, Ranma, You're under Arrest, Rurouni Kenshin, Cowboy Bebop, Sailor Moon, Kare Kano, Slayers.

I've been watching less lately.
I've avoided One piece, Bleach, Naruto, and Melancholy of Harumi. S.
I know they're really popular and probably good.  But if I did watch them, I'd never stop and I'd end up buying their related goods at Animate.  ^_^;

The most recent anime (2003-now) I've watched and liked are
Victorian Romance Emma, Tsubasa Chronicle, xxxHolic, Nodame Cantabile

Yeah, according to Wikipedia and IMDB that's the one.  I consider the human characters far more central to the story and more appealing than the mecha in that series, though.

So many people I've talked to in Japan talk about how good One Piece is.  Girls, guys, kids, twenty-somethings... it's seriously mega, mega popular.  I gave the first volume of the manga a shot and didn't really catch onto it (I've heard it gets much better as it progresses), but Shiro Hamaguchi's involvement scoring some of the series and movies might entice me to look into it again.

^ Attempting to download Giant Robo. Last time I tried, I ended up with Portuguese dubs. No way am I listening to epic robot anime when everyone sounds like they're working in a pizzeria or some shit.

There are two English dubs for Giant Robo, the one for the original Western release and then one for when it was re-licensed (by Media Blasters, I think).  I prefer the original - some of the voices are awfully juvenile and stereotypical but a couple are actually over the top in a good way; the second English dub was pretty bleh all around from what I remember (I turned it off partially into the first episode I think).  If you can get a subtitled version then the Japanese dub is preferable - one or two characters sound a bit dull compared to the first English dub but there aren't any altogether awful performances to detract from the drama later in the series.

I can't comment on the Portuguese dub, but I doubt any Portuguese visitors would appreciate being assimilated as pizza parlor workers.

As long as I can find solid, professional subtitle efforts, I'll be happy. Many modern fansubbers do horrible jobs on translating, which is what turned me off from new shows for so long. Otaking77077 did an awesome set of videos regarding that point. As pompous as he comes off as, I agree with everything he says.

EDIT: As I type this, I am currently watching the newest Eva movie, Rebuild 2.0. I was fine with the first movie, but they're changing a lot around with this one. I'm not sure I'm liking it. The TV series and EoE is still the definitive version of the story in my opinion.

Man, Azumanga Daioh!...I'm gonna miss those girls...well, I guess they'll always remain with me in spirit (T_T)

Finished watching the whole series about 2-3 weeks ago.

The first 8 episodes, I'd watched about a year or two ago, and I didn't pick it up again until then; it was an anime I never wanted to end. It was just so carefree and innocent.

Interesting thing was, the cast was essentially entirely male, aside from The Cat Spirit (or whatever you want to call him); any male students were just extras who were part of the backgrounds. New love or romance sub plots or anything, which is strange, considering that we're talking about high school girls, here. No mention of, "Hey, aren't there any guys you're interested in?" or "You padding your bra to attract boys, aren't you?"

No. These girls are/were pure like snow; I guess I've just come to expect certain things after watching other anime; AMD was just really refreshing...

You're entirely right. I didn't expect to enjoy that show. I fully was thinking I was gonna hate it utterly, but I was busting a gut within minutes of the show starting. Ms. Yukari's antics were a joy to behold.

After seeing anime, another thing that I became interested in were voice actors/actresses (seiyuu).

One of the more famous VAs in the mid 90's was Megumi Hayashibara, who did the voice of Girl Ranma, Ayanami Rei, and Ai Haibara.

The Japanese VAs of Nodame Cantabile for Chiaki, Nodame, and Milch,are perfect.  And they're better than the actors in the NC live-action drama.

But sometimes J-voices don't work too.
For instance, Japanese VA for Solid Snake didn't seem to fit right.  His voice was too deep for me and made SS seem older than he looks.
David Hayter's voice work is so much better. His voice for SS was so nasal, sarcastic, and yet menacing under the surface, which fits to SS, I think.

I'll second that. I refuse to watch Goldenboy in anything other than the English dub, only because Doug Smith did an infinitely better job of making Kintaro sound like the raucous pervert he is than the Japanese seiyuu did.

For similar reasons, I'm very partial to the dub of Evangelion. Tiffany Grant = Asuka. No ifs, ands or buts.

Angel Beats!

Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drJSU2FZqjw

I've got bad news, and good news, guys!

Purgatory DOES in fact exist, it's just that...well, it's high school all over again.

At least, it's high school IF you died when you were still a teenager. I don't know about people who died earlier or later in life...

The student council president at the academy in purgatory is actually an angel, whose purpose it is to guide souls on the path of redemption and atonement of their sins, by making them be good little boys and girls, study hard, participate in clubs and athletics, and generally make them conform to school life.

Those who conform to school life are eventually reincarnated, after they've purged all their sins; problem is, one might still be reincarnated into something like a barnacle or sea crab, besides just being reincarnated into a human body.

Of course, there're some people who have a problem with this; the kind of people who lived unfair lives, and died hideous, morbid deaths, and blame God for having stricken them with such a fate, so they fight the angel (student council president), much to their own futility.

And when you fight the angel, she has to lay down the law...by shoving a sword through you!

Thing about purgatory, you're already dead, so you can't die again; in other words, getting impaled is little more than a slap-on-the-wrist in terms of punishment, but DAMN, it still hurts!

So, yeah, purgatory's not all that bad, actually; you might actually end up meeting people you get along with there!

A while ago, I mentioned Justin Sevakis' excellent articles on obscure, artistic anime that can be read here. His stuff is very well written and definitely worth a look to those looking for anime outside the norm. Most of that shit you won't find at HMV; indeed, many haven't even gotten VHS releases in Japan, much less Blu-Ray or DVD.

Of them all, two particularly stuck out for me, Nineteen19 and Bobby's Girl.

As enthusiastic as I am about these titles, there's no way I can give a better, more detailed or thoroughly written analysis of them than the linked articles above. They're obscure and probably for a very good reason; little dialogue, very few instances of action (they're both largely non-kinetic) and emphasis on minimalism means that they're better relegated to private showings at anime conventions than to the shelves of major retailers. Art house pieces if I ever saw one.

If you can find torrents of them, they come highly recommended if you can handle that kind of storytelling.

Sounds like the Japanese equivalent of European indie films...of which I'm quite fond of, myself!

I don't squat about how to work torrents, though...

I never really got into anime, so I haven't seen much, but I absolutely adore Utena. The series. The movie was just weird. I mean, the series was weird, too, but in a fun way. Quirky. I made the mistake of watching the movie with my quasi-girlfriend without pre-screening it and without her having seen the series. She never let me live that one down.

I'm also rather fond of Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road.

Utena, I dug for the chivalry - it was also one of those anime that was just free-spirited and fun, even if it was a lot girly. Also, can't tell if the lesbian overtones were just meant to be awkward jokes, or if it was really meant for a lesbian audience. That's probably the part that made me feel weird for watching it.

Granted, I saw it before they packaged the series in the pink, girly, pseudo, rose-scented DVD cases.

Rock on, Utena is my absolute favorite anime of all time.  It's positively brilliant, and the soundtrack equally so.  The newly-remastered version is being released on these shores pretty soon, so hopefully it'll find a whole bunch of new fans, too.

If you enjoy Utena, I'd also recommend Princess Tutu.  The title is off-putting, I know, but it has that same dark fairy tale vibe that makes Utena so interesting.

Utena was one anime I swore I was going to hate. It just looked so damn girly. By the time I finished it, I was impressed though. For what was essentially a European-style fairy tale for women in anime form, it was pretty dark. There were layers of meaning there I couldn't even begin to interpret.

I wouldn't say it's a favorite of mine, but it definitely left a lasting impression.

Kirin Lemon, I recall seeing an amazingly well-done AMV set to Princess Tutu, which you can watch here. The song is "Hall Om Mig" by Nanne Grönvall. It brought Tutu into my periphery. I still have to check it out.

Edit: Listening to Yoko Kanno's score for Turn-A Gundam. Absolutely divine. "Moon" is by my estimation the most beautiful song ever committed compact disc, though I admit a large part of that is experiencing it in-show.

Thanks for sharing!  I usually don't care much for AMVs, but that was very well done.

Nor do I. They're usually pretty bad. Dragonball Z doesn't sync up to Linkin Park nearly as well as some people think.

So according to Anime News Network, Berserk will be getting a full-length theatrical film sometime this year, with what I assume will be a new TV series to follow.

It needs to be said: Berserk might just one of the best manga series ever published. I was no fan of the first TV adaptation by Oriental Light and Magic; between several characters and scenes from the manga being cut, and the blood, violence, gore, sex and torture being heavily diluted, it felt woefully inadequate and watered down.

I'm hoping nothing gets cut from this release; much of Berserk's impact came from how explicitly it handled its' subject matter.

I also seriously hope Susumu Hirasawa returns for composing duties.

Same here, and this time let FORCES be the opening and ending themes for the series, even if tv-series would probably be censored. Maybe perhaps OVA in style of Hellsing Ultimate?

But can't wait for that movie.

Most definitely. I would love to hear a new song, though. For every OST that has come out for Berserk and games related to it, Forces seems to almost always be represented in some way. As awesome as it is, I fear that it is losing much of its' inital impact due to overuse. I admit that maybe it's just me, though.

Still, hell of a song.