[Anime] Suggest something to a non-watcher

[Kwickslash]

Buccanno!, Code Geass or Darker than Black.

if you want to get something to bridge you into more "traditional" anime give Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood a try. The first episode gives you an idea of the theme behind it.

[Zeriphal]

Baccano! is great, I wouldn't say it's particularly dark though.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - it is shounen, but it does get dark, and it does get deep
Death Note, already been covered
Cowboy Bebop, it's a classic
Akira. Now this is dark.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It's not the deepest or darkest anything, (not to say it doesn't get deep or dark, especially as it approaches the end), but it is damn fun and I absolutely recommend watching it some time.

[Digglett]

The anime I always suggest;

Puella Magi Madoka Magica


Don't let the cake or name or opening fool you, this anime is very dark. Bah photobucket fail

[lizon]

I'm a little surprised that I haven't seen anyone recommend Eureka 7. I'm aware that it isn't quite part of the OP's criteria since it's a little weak with the plot and later episodes that tie up the story. It's not particulary dark aswell but I would say that Eureka 7 is a fairly easy anime to watch if you were to introduce someone to anime.

I thought about Eureka 7, but it's a bit to much on the light side. It gets darker towards the second half of the series but the first half is really more of a Mecha/Action series. This would be a good second choice series though once the OP gets his feet wet with some of the stuff already mentioned.

The anime I always suggest;

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Don't let the cake or name or opening fool you, this anime is very dark.

Image fail

And already mentioned on the first page. ^.^

SHAFT is also making a revamped version of this series set in an alternate universe. Same characters but a much lighter storyline.

[Digglett]

Image fail

And already mentioned on the first page. ^.^

SHAFT is also making a revamped version of this series set in an alternate universe. Same characters but a much lighter storyline.

Really? I heard that the director wanted to do that, but is it official now?

[Niyari]

Uhh off the top of my head the realllly mainstream stuff without superpowers/big-eyed characters etc would be Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Death Note, Samurai Champloo and maybe Code Geass (my personal favorite, but it has mechs and unorthodox char design).

[Deleted]

I suggested Death Note and Monster earlier, but I'll have to second (third, fourth, whatever) Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood as well. A captivating story (with some deep themes as mentioned earlier) and not too much of the things that generally can turn a newcomer off.

As for Code Geass, the story was great but I'm afraid the style of storytelling and of course the animation style/look of the series might be too much for a newcomer.

[Sinuviel]

I also enjoyed RahXephon, liking this thread though as I haven't seen too many series myself yet, I might pick some of these up

[georgevonfranken]

Akira. Now this is dark.

This is a must watch

[Deleted]

Another vote for Death Note. I think it's a great gate way anime for people who aren't really fans of the genre, it's what got me interested.
I am also a huge Naruto fan (I know I know!), I find the story line great and they are not afraid to kill off major characters, although there is a lot of episodes that are not relevant to the main story line or include a lot of flashbacks.
Gin Tama is great for a more comedy based one, even though you are looking for a serious one I would still recommend checking this one out, you can pretty much watch any episode because it doesn't really have a story line.

[AetherMcLoud]

For movies instead of series, Ghost in the Shell, and Jin-Roh also are rather dark and make you think.

And of course, Akira. But that is a cult classic even outside of the anime subculture.

[kckttk]

Afro Samurai

[Pendulous]

I also enjoyed RahXephon, liking this thread though as I haven't seen too many series myself yet, I might pick some of these up

It's been awhile since I've seen it, can't remember the overall tone of Rah Xephon. I think it was rather dramatic, but had a somewhat lighter tone in the ending.

[Oerba Yun Fang]

Fullmetal Alchemist, both the original and Brotherhood. The original strayed from the manga quite a bit, and brotherhood sticks to it, but both of them were good and it's worth watching both. To this day it is my favorite anime. Well-written, a good balance of comedy, drama, and action.

[AckBrak]

Try One Piece. Though it has almost has all the things you listed but give it a try, it gets better and better the longer you watch them. Trust me. It has quite a lot of potential even if you hate these specific points.

I watched episode one to 500, over the course of the past month, loved every minute of it. By far one of the best anime I've watched. Would recommend

Also Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood are worth watching.

[Eroe]

I've seen about 30-40 full anime series, and the best anime by far is "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood". It has an insanely deep story with twists and action and drama and about everything you would want from a good anime. I highly recommend it.

If you want a good anime to start off with though, try "Gundam 00". If you're starting to watch anime for the first time, this is always a good series to start with. (Gundam 00 has about all the qualities you're looking for; good animations, smaller eyes, physically holdable weapons [depsite the giant mecha suits] nd a very good story). Another anime I would really recommend watching.

Out of the two animes though, I think Gundam 00 has about everything you're looking for in an anime. When I read through your list, I couldn't think of anything in this anime that wouldn't "suit your fancy". I really hope you give it a shot.

[lizon]

I was just thinking that I should probably include Spice and Wolf as a series that would meet your criteria. Mainly because it doesn't have a lot of the mainstream anime attributes that would turn off a non-avid anime viewer. Be warned though, some episodes make you feel like your sitting in an Economics Lecture. But in a good way.

Spice and Wolf

Season 1 OP


Season 2 OP


Spice and Wolf's story revolves around Kraft Lawrence, a 25-year-old traveling merchant who peddles various goods from town to town to make a living in a stylized historical setting with European influences. His main goal in life is to gather enough money to start his own shop, and he already has been traveling for seven years while gaining experience in the trade. One night when stopped at the town of Pasloe, he finds in his wagon a pagan wolf-deity girl named Holo who is over 600 years old. She appears to be a 15-year-old girl, except for a wolf's tail and ears. She introduces herself as the town's goddess of harvest, who has kept it blessed with good harvests of wheat for many years. Despite her responsibility to watch over the town, she wants to go back to her homeland in the north called Yoitsu; she believes the people have already forsaken her and that she has kept her promise to maintain the good harvests. Holo wants also to travel to see how the world has changed while she has remained in one place for years. She manages to bargain her way out of the village by making a deal with Lawrence to take her with him. As they travel, her wisdom helps increase his profits, but at the same time, her true nature draws unwanted attention from the church.

[Sorrior]

Gundam 00[/B]". If you're starting to watch anime for the first time, this is always a good series to start with. (Gundam 00 has about all the qualities you're looking for; good animations, smaller eyes, physically holdable weapons [depsite the giant mecha suits] nd a very good story). Another anime I would really recommend watching.

Out of the two animes though, I think Gundam 00 has about everything you're looking for in an anime. When I read through your list, I couldn't think of anything in this anime that wouldn't "suit your fancy". I really hope you give it a shot.

NO NO NO Gundam 00 is the second to third worst match out of the gundam series for what he wants. It has Super Mechs beyond anything any other gundam series has even come close to the animation will most likely not suit his taste and the story is a rehash of Wing which TBH has alot of what he want(seriously one of the most common complaints i;ve heard is of it making no sense after missing just 1 or 2 episodes in a row) and even though the titular mecha are nigh invulnerable it is explained(not by anything too nuts basically they;re made out of a special alloy that can only be refined in space and is nigh indestructible) and they CAN be destroyed just takes ALOT. The characters develop the plot is intricate and TBH while it starts off slow it develops intoa great series that seems to almost perfectly match what the OP wants(this include non classic anime animation no overly long legs and the eyes are not oversized). It also deals with the concepts of war and peace as well as adolescence and MANY MANY other things.

In short AVOID GUNDAM 00 OP save it for later but it s a letdown compared to wing which should suit you're aesthetic taste at least alot more(gundams starting with seed started going for the eyes big tits and other stereotypes you seem to dislike while older ones or those with their style like Unicorn do not and have more realistic proportions). So yeah go Wing or other older series and avoid 00 at least for now.

Oh and i swapped straight to my computer the moment i read this. So yeah this would have caused soda spewing had i been drinking it IMO that bad of a recommendation.

Oh and i've seen over half the gundam series made and all but 1-3 that have made it stateside(only ones i havn;t that have made it stateside were specials in japan like Igloo) so i know what i'm saying. Just glad you didn't say G Gundam.

[Neichus]

Oh and i've seen over half the gundam series made and all but 1-3 that have made it stateside(only ones i havn;t that have made it stateside were specials in japan like Igloo) so i know what i'm saying. Just glad you didn't say G Gundam.

Oh jeeze, I watched G Gundam years ago as a kid and thought it was okay. I tried to watch it like a year ago and was appalled at how bad it was; I couldn't make it past the second episode.

I also watched Gundam Wing years ago when it was on Toonami. It's one of those series I hope against hope they'd do a remake of. The special scenes have fine animation, but their generic battle scenes blatantly reuse the same animations and backgrounds. It's painful to watch Heavyarms surrounded by ground-based Leos and then do the standard "fire to the left, arc up and fire 45º into the air to the right" like he's got a particular murderous hatred for the local birds. I do have fond memories of that series though.

[Sorrior]

Oh jeeze, I watched G Gundam years ago as a kid and thought it was okay. I tried to watch it like a year ago and was appalled at how bad it was; I couldn't make it past the second episode.



I also watched Gundam Wing years ago when it was on Toonami. It's one of those series I hope against hope they'd do a remake of. The special scenes have fine animation, but their generic battle scenes blatantly reuse the same animations and backgrounds. It's painful to watch Heavyarms surrounded by ground-based Leos and then do the standard "fire to the left, arc up and fire 45º into the air to the right" like he's got a particular murderous hatred for the local birds. I do have fond memories of that series though.

Yeah I know man I own both wing and G on DVD and have seen them each recently wing suits what this guy seems to want quite well. And yeah G gundam is pretty bad at least by normal gundam standards.

Oh and 00 was supposed to be a remake/spiritual successor of wing(like seed was for the UC timeline) and yeah they messed up bigtime IMO.