What Anime are you Currently Watching?/Anime Recommendations

[johnblade]

Synopsis

The year is 1999 and Tokyo's Mobile Police have a new weapon in the war on crime—advanced robots called Labors are used to combat criminals who would use the new technology for illegal means. The suicide of a mysterious man on the massive Babylon Project construction site sets off a cascade of events that may signal the destruction of Tokyo.

Just finish watching the 1st movie from this franchise and have to say it's actually a well done movie with a very good story to back it up. Some of this is the OVA have already release before the movie came out in the market which flesh out all the characters in the show and the movie just continue where it left off. Even so, the Patlabor movie is well scripted and you notice this a lot in the storyline it's telling you as you're watching the movie. You got to thank this a bit toward the work of Oshii Mamoru and Headgear as they generally well known to written and directed extremely well from their work.

As for the storyline, You saw someone commit suicide from a location. After this incident, a notice spike of mysterious malfunction labor just go out of control, and it's up to the members of the Special Vehicle Division 2 to try to found out what is causing the problems. At first you found out it might be something wrong with the new operating system upgrade but it actually go deeper and they is quite a bit of a connection between the suicide victim and the labor and how it was trigger from the operating system he produce. All of this are told gradually between the dialogue with the characters in and incident happen in the movie. It's very well done and you don't feel like the director is trying to pump this into you right upfront but in a pace when you start to understand the situation naturally as you follow the characters in the movie. Think like a slow burning fuse, with many twists and turns throwing events in a new direction as you follow the story.

As this movie tone is more serious, you don't tend to see the light humor from the OVA where you start to know the characters. It's more dialogue and plot heavy. I didn't feel this as a negative as it actually keep me interested of the situation the Special Vehicle Division 2 of trying to found of the issue. They is battle scene of labor fighting but it's far few and it's only there to push the story forward and for the big climax at the end which is expected.

As for the animation side, it still look amazing for an almost 30 years old movie. The hand animation design sill look amazing and if you own the Blu Ray set, it look much nicer to watch in HD. As for the music soundtrack, it work quite well to push the tone of the scene quite well. The big one is the final battle climax which push the tension quite a bit.

They're many more I can discuss of this movie which I think you have already heard about. All I can say this movie give me a very positive impression of Patlabor and if you want more of the serious tone like you see in the 2nd half of the OVA, you will love this quite a bit.

Love Patlabor and love Kanuka! The OVA and TV series are definitely different and unique, I'd compare them to Planetes. It's kind of fun and fascinating to watch a show based around mundane job work though haha, I dig them. The Patlabor movies are much more serious and different. The third one wasn't directed by Oshii and is pretty bad...

I'm not sure which portion I like most, but the TV series is in the same vein as the OVA with its fun charm and tone. And yeah the art/animation is excellent.

I am actually going though the movie timeline right now and heard positive and negative from the movie as you say. I will try to keep an open mind when watching the other two movie which I am watching the 3rd movie next later this week and then the 2nd. After I finish the movie timeline then I will go to the TV series timeline. Now, I need to go back and watch Phantom Memory Kurau which I put on hold for a while now.

[Gunstar Green]

I love all of Patlabor. My opinion probably isn't popular but I enjoy the TV timeline more. I really like the characters of SV2 and the TV timeline spends more time developing them and showing us their crazy antics. From the first movie onward the movie timeline progressively focuses less and less on SV2 and more on philosophy and politics (and breathtaking animation in the case of Patlabor 2). The second movie's plot is also kind of a more intense retread of the final arc of the original OVA which I thought was pretty lame.

I also enjoyed the main Griffin plot of the TV timeline and the wider variety of mecha (I really like the Pythons, they look like mecha-riot gear cops and are a convincing previous-generation Patlabor).

Anyway I was introduced to Patlabor through the movie timeline and I enjoyed it, but I fell completely in love with the franchise through the TV series.

Also I don't think WXIII is a terrible movie, it's a decent monster mystery movie, but it's more of a movie that takes place in the same universe with cameos from Patlabor characters than it is a Patlabor movie.

[Forlorn Drifter]

So, I'm going to try watching some anime. It's not really something I've touched much, because from the outside looking in there's a whole lot of stuff that doesn't appeal to me, though after watching the Berserk Golden Arc movie trilogy, I'm interested in trying again (Berserk being one of the few mangas I was interested in. Other than it, there was like... Lone Wolf and Cub.)

Other stuff I've watched- Cowboy Bepop, Netflix Castlevania (if it counts?),some Dragon Ball stuff, a handful of Naruto. Really want to avoid stuff like the last two, or anything else that's the Japanese equivalent of YA fiction.

Stuff I've been suggested: Samurai Champloo, Akira, GiTS, Bahamut something or other. I'm interested in suggestions, high levels of violence and low/no amounts of harem/save the world/Senpai/school/etc stuff.

[SamuraiMegas]

Trigun, Afro Samurai, Psycho Pass, Gurren Lagaan (very over the top to the point of near parody), Black Lagoon, FLCL, Evangelion, Attack on Titan, Kill La Kill (you may not enjoy this one, but it's still awesome. Same vein as Gurren Lagaan) and lastly, IGPX. All worth checking out at least an episode.

Naruto isn't that bad, if you watch it a certain way. Skip all filler (there are guides) and watch it dubbed in the background. Just start watching when cool stuff happens, it's what I do

[Arenegeth]

I second Attack on Titan. Though the last season started to smell a bit of 'Lost', but I can't elaborate more without touching on spoilers.

I'm not big on anime these days either, but Akira is a classic, I re-wacthed it in late 2017 and it still holds up as it did in the late 80's.

Perfect Blue and Paprika are also both very interesting trippy anime films, I haven't watched them yet, but they have being highly recommended to me and have been stuck on my movie backlog for years.

Berserk is great but the new CGI anime is crap by all accounts, the old 1997 one is amazing, is just sad that it doesn't go through the whole story (at least what was released at the time) and only the Golden Age Arc, I'm not sure if there's anything similar, though I heard the recent Goblin Slayer flirts with some similar concepts.

Black Lagoon is highly recommended but it didn't quite click with me, I'm sure my 15 year old self would have loved it though. You may want to look into it to see if you are interested.

There's a a lot of anime series and movies that wouldn't qualify as 'Shōnen' (or some that are borderline but still enjoyable from adults, like Death Note) you gotta be more specific to give out more suggestions.

[bmoc]

It is hard to go wrong with anything by Mamoru Oshii, Satoshi Kon, or Hayao Miyazaki.

The best anime I've seen recently is Megalo Box. It definitely has a Cowboy Bebop feel to it.

[Michi]

So, I'm going to try watching some anime......

Based on what little I know of your tastes, what you've watched and the stuff I've seen suggested so far:

Samurai Champloo - If you liked Cowboy Bebop, than this is very similar. Just swap the space setting and gun slingers with feudal Japan and samurai.
Akira - Classic action anime. Very violent. It has remained well loved for a reason.
GiTS - Good action. But also has a lot of dialogue and existential type questions. Watch the movie first. If you like it well enough give the show a try.
Bahamut - have not seen yet, so can not comment.
Trigun - Plenty of action. Another one that is very similar to Bebop. You might like this one.
Afro Samurai - Action and blood galore. Might be something you'd like. If not, it's short enough to not be a huge time waster.
Psycho Pass - Action, violence and death. Plus a bit of thought provoking discussion and psychological drama, but not enough that it completely overshadows the action like GiTS sometime likes to do.
Gurren Lagaan - Lots of mech action, but also very over-the-top goofy. I honestly can't see you enjoying this.
Black Lagoon - Bunch of rag-tag mercenaries go on action-packed adventures. Kind of similar to Bebop, except most of the characters are willing to kill whatever and have loose morals. So it's kind of like if Bebop was aimed at a much more mature audience.
FLCL - An action-packed, yet goofy six-episode OVA. It's fun, but I'm not sure it really fits your criteria. You could always give the first episode a go and see what you think, though.
Evangelion - Lot's of action, but also can kind of be full of itself. Not sure this is what you want.
Attack on Titan - Plenty of action. Lots of violence. This you may like. It's got some pacing issues, but overall it's pretty fun.
Kill La Kill - A cornucopia of action and complete insanity. It can be fun, but also completely over the top. Not sure if you'd like it. This is another one I'd suggest you check out the first episode before committing to.
IGPX - Lots of racing action. It kind of bored me to tears. Your milage may vary.
Perfect Blue - Have not seen. I am ashamed.
Paprika - Lots of action. Very colorful. But it also involves going through people's dreams, so it's also very crazy. But it's a film and thus short, so it might be worth it to you to check out.
Death Note - Based on a Shounen comic, but very different from the likes of Dragon Ball and Naruto. Not a lot of action, though. More of a psychological thriller.
Megalo Box - I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but so far I concur with bmoc. Very Cowboy Bebop-ish show involving overpowered boxers.

My own suggestion:

Outlaw Star - This is usually a name that gets thrown out a lot along with Bebop and Trigun. Another space opera involving a rag-tag team of misfits who get themselves into a lot of trouble.

Also, how do you feel about comedies? Because I initially thought of suggesting One-Punch Man, but while it is filled to the brim with action and violence it's also falls heavily into the comedy category.

[Forlorn Drifter]

Thanks for the recs y'all.

I'm fine with comedies overall, and I actually really liked the bits of One Punch Man I saw. Anything that isn't heavily leaned towards jokes referencing other anime or heavily dependent on Japanese culture are fine.

I'm also cool with existential stuff and dialogue, as long as it's at an above high school level. I probably sounded more restrictive than I meant to, I've been asking multiple places and I kept getting suggestions like My Dragon Maid Cafe, SAO, My Hero Academia, various Magical Girl amines, iseki stuff, ecchi (I'd rather just watch Hebraic with elves in it), slice of life, more, etc. Maybe that list will give some help if anyone else wants examples of what I don't want.

I did see Claymore, which looks like one I might like.

[isiolia]

I did see Claymore, which looks like one I might like.

Probably so if you enjoyed Berserk. The anime more or less sticks to the manga until a few episodes from the end, where it diverges and sorta tacks on an ending. The manga continues on for quite a bit longer if you end up enjoying the anime.

You may want to make a magical girl exception for Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It's a tad subversive of the genre and really not long. IMO some of the better slice of life are also a good watch.

Some other suggestions in line with things already mentioned...

Hellsing Ultimate - The "second" Hellsing series, but basically the go back and remake it true to the manga version a la Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (which you should also consider). The original one is also not bad, but if you're just gonna watch one, Ultimate is the better pick.
Kurozuka
The Book of Bantorra
Blade of the Immortal (fairly short relative to manga, not sure on how close it skews)
Blood: The Last Vampire - The original OVA is a short watch, it's a one-off 45 minute thing which then had spinoff media, to include a couple TV shows. Blood+ was good, I haven't watched the later Blood-C. There was also a live action movie adaptation over here which was...less good.

Some less violent but still perhaps thematically appealing ones...
Wolf's Rain
Ergo Proxy
Mushishi
Kino's Journey (there is also a remake of this from 2017)
Steins;Gate
Serial Experiments Lain
Welcome to the NHK
Martian Successor Nadesico Much like Slayers (another consideration!) this succeeds in being both a genre parody and quite good in its own right

[Michi]

Thanks for the recs y'all.

I'm fine with comedies overall, and I actually really liked the bits of One Punch Man I saw. Anything that isn't heavily leaned towards jokes referencing other anime or heavily dependent on Japanese culture are fine.

In that case, One Punch Man should be perfect. I mean, there are some Japanese references, but, hey, the shows made in Japan. It's sort of unavoidable. But it isn't anything that deflects from the enjoyment of the show.

I'm also cool with existential stuff and dialogue, as long as it's at an above high school level.

Ah, good. So Ghost in the Shell and Psycho Pass should probably go up higher on your 'possible' list.

I probably sounded more restrictive than I meant to, I've been asking multiple places and I kept getting suggestions like My Dragon Maid Cafe, SAO, My Hero Academia, various Magical Girl amines, iseki stuff, ecchi (I'd rather just watch Hebraic with elves in it), slice of life, more, etc. Maybe that list will give some help if anyone else wants examples of what I don't want.

Yeah, I hear ya. I don't really care for much of that stuff myself. I mean, I like My Hero Academia well enough, but it skews way to far into your 'not school related' category.

SAO, though, is sort of a mixed bag. I really liked the first half of the first season, which depicted the initial premise of a bunch of people getting trapped in a VR game where if they died in the game, they died in real life. I felt that part was actually pretty strong. But after that arc was concluded they started down a more...tropey path that I didn't really care for. I felt there were some good episode in there, but it's not something I'd actively seek to watch on my own.

Oh, and isiolia posted some good considerations. Hellsing (how the hell did I forget Hellsing?) and Blood definitely fit your initial criteria. I'll also second the consideration of Madoka Magica. Yeah, it's a magical girls show, but it's also dark as all hell. The show's short enough, but if you feel 12 eps is too long, you could always try out the movie version, which is basically the entire show condensed into two films.