Ok i need help.

[Ultimate Charizard]

Ive never been much of an Anime collector since alot of the Anime's ive seen have been shown on TV so many times even if i like them i just dont see the point in buying them

I want some suggestions from you Anime Anoraks out there. I want to pick something i will enjoy without having seen it before to start off my collection.

Im into any Genre and my favourites range from the Streetfighter Anime to Gunbuster and Rayearth although lately i find myself in the mood for something either Violent or Mecha style rather than the mysticism side.
Im over 18 so dont worry about the gore levels warping my fragile little mind just gimmie a few titles i hould probably look out for.....oh and hopefully a movie of a decent length...cant stand those that call themselves films and are under an hour long lol.

[Roarkiller]

For movies, most ghibli films r more than above standard. Also recommended by me is JinRoh.

Im no expert on series, so ill pass, and id say u prolly watched all the series worth watching. But for violent or mecha, Hellsing maybe?

[Azura Stardust]

I wonder if you've watched Neon Genesis Evangelion? That's cool too. (Though I've never watched it... --; )

And as Roarkiller said, Ghibli movies are above average. While they may seem as if quite a number are directed to younger kids, they put more effort into these compared to some so-called more mature films. Some of these seem to have a facade of simplicity, but if you have brains, look under the surface and they really make you think about something.

Even My Neighbour Totoro, which has been the most "kiddie" Ghibli film I've ever watched, makes you think about the innocence of children (and compare it to what they're growing up with now), and also the merits of living in the countryside (compared to the city). It also has a Cat Bus which owns everything.

They are visually and aurally beautiful... ok, enough Ghibli plugging...

You might like Cowboy Bebop or Trigun, I dunno they're very popular and such.

[KaptainSarcasm]

Vision of Escaflowne! Vision of Escaflowne!!

The series, not the movie. Get it. It's bloody brilliant.

[Elemental Seribii]

I haven't seen NGE either. *many fans attack* I'm currently reading the manga. I'm much more of a manga fan, so don't hurt me. ^-^; Some people are likely to disagree with me, but here it goes;

Metropolis: Yes, the style is cutesy and rounded, but it is based on Osamu Tezuka's work. But there is destruction and stuff, but it's not there just for show. I personally like the view it takes on a human/robot society.

Akira: I haven't seen it, but I really want to. You know, the whole milestone in anime thing. Apparently it's a masterpiece. ^-^;

Escaflowne: Like KS, this has to be one of my fave anime. The movie is probably more violent than the series if I remember correctly, but I could be wrong. I recommend both, but whichever you see first will change your judgement of the other. But both have Dilandau, who just is one of the best characters in anime ever. The series has a lot of more 'magic', tarot cards and premonitions, but there are a good amount mecha to keep you happy. Moero! Oo;

The Animatrix: Don't hurt me. ;-; Some people liked it, and some didn't. I personally did, my favorite had to be Kid's Story. Has one-shot stories (except the Second Renaissance) that give you a bit more depth to the Matrix triology. There're ones in there by Square, by people who did Cowboy Bebop, Ninja Scroll and more. Some are in a more traditonal anime style than others, but it's all about your preferences, and some stories are stronger than others.

Mecha Series: Gundam Wing? Sorry, it's the only Gundam I liked. *is attacked by fans again* The movie (Endless Waltz) is very nice, some people have even called the dub better, but I'm not sure. However, you'd have to have seen the series to understand. Escaflowne has mecha...NGE (thought they're not strictly mecha), Gundam, and I can't think of any others, my brain is dead.

One manga by CLAMP, X/1999 (or X), is one of my favorite manga series by them. There's both a movie and a series, but I haven't seen either, so I'm judging this by the manga. From what I've read, most people prefer the series to the one-shot movie. The manga was gory, but I'm not sure about the anime.

I started to rant, didn't I? --; I hope I helped. ^-^;

[Ultimate Charizard]

Well ive already seen the entire NGE series. Also Nadesico and Blue Gender.

Ive seen Akira so many times im almost sick of seeing it.
Ive already seen the animatrix and apart from a couple of them i wasnt impressed.
Ive never been bothered with Escaflowne, mainly because it was on CNX (UK 'Mature Cartoon Network') right after Gundam Wing so i kinda grouped it in the more Kiddie side of Action Anime. Maybe ill give it a chance from now on.

Late night Outlaw Star was a favourite though..
Ive heard of Hellsing though never seen it, been put off from Vampires and Demons after the Overfiend Series.

[kalad1]

Kiddy Grade is good, but you'll probably have to get it off the net to see it.
Rockman EXE(the japanese version of "Megaman NT Warrior") Is A HELLUVA lot better than the dub, so I suggest you find some subs.

[Azura Stardust]

Ur... well people say that Ghost in the Shell was not bad, particularly the newer TV series called Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex..

[Dark Scizor]

Originally posted by Ultimate Charizard

Ive never been bothered with Escaflowne, mainly because it was on CNX (UK 'Mature Cartoon Network') right after Gundam Wing so i kinda grouped it in the more Kiddie side of Action Anime. Maybe ill give it a chance from now on.

I dont think that Escaflowne was ever on CNX, i remember it being on Fox Kids But you can buy the series on DVD which is one true pain in the arse to pay for =/

If you see Escaflowne on fox kids, then i suggest you watch it straight away since they seem to go thrgouh stages of airing it and then notairing it for about 999 months

[Ultimate Charizard]

Yeah my mistake, it probably was on Fox Kids...

Ghost in the Shell is another ive already seen, the Movie not the series.
Its the older stuff ive seen multiple times, Akira, Ghost, Appleseed, Patlabor etc....

[KaptainSarcasm]

The Fox Kids version was TERRIBLE!!! They RUINED it.

If you've seen Cowboy Bebop and liked the music, the same girl, Yoko Kanno, does the music. It's bloody brilliant.

[Last Exile]

Get hold of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. I've seen episodes 12-20, and they are just awesome! Plenty of action, and the Major is always in the thick of it.

As for an anime movie, try Saiyuki. It's got a fair bit of gore and plenty of action/violence. In fact, that is pretty much what it is, full stop.

If you're into mecha type stuff, you might wanna try Macros. That was pretty full on. Maybe even Metropolis would be your thing.

Have you seen the Ninja Scroll movie? That's R18+, and people that have seen it tell me it's way psycho! Plus apparently the Ninja Scroll 13 episode series will be out next year, and apparently that's gonna be very fuill on too.

EDIT: Get hold of Japanese dubs if you can.

Japanese dubs >>>>>>> English dubs

[Mewtwo-D2]

Vision of Escaflowne shouldn't be missed by any anime fans... though the dub is terrible, so try for the subbed version.

For action-adventure fantasy, Arc the Lad is always worth it: semi-futuristic battles mixed with magic, monsters, Guardian Spirits, and a great plot.

Hellsing is great, and considering that Legend of the Overfiend is classed as hentai, and Hellsing is not, I suggest you give it a chance.

For action/comedy, you might want to try Bastard!!. If you like late 80's-early 90's heavy metal or D&D, it's a must have.

For horror movies, try Rumic World Theater, the creepy stuff Rumiko Takahashi did before Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, and Ranma (also all highly recommended).

For fantasy/comedy, Slayers is probably one of the best out there, and the dub isn't half bad.

Since you liked Rayearth, you might also enjoy Sakura Wars, which is a bit more upbeat, but still has cool mechs.

There are a lot more... but you might want to try anime.mikomi.org/reviews for more titles and more in-depth recommendations.

[EngiMatikul]

Depending on your internet connection, I could either be a big help or no help at all. State your internet status (connection, patience, and willingness to download huge files) and I'll get back more titles to you after that.

As for a starter that no one else mentioned yet, Noir seems to be the latest Anime fad these days. I myself find it interesting and plan to watch it if I ever get my hands on it.

Though in general, I usually watch more pointless comedy anime rather than mech or gore, so I probably can't help you too much.

[Ultimate Charizard]

Overfiend is hentai? hmm. I knew it had some rather adult scenes but i didnt realise it was classed that far, especially since the UK Censors are pretty strict on anything like that.

Ive seen the Macross Movie...i know there are multiple Robotech/Macross films but the one thats always on TV is the one with the Valkyries...if that helps..the one about the Songs lol.

As for my Internet connection at the moment its just a 56K. Im downloading a few episodes at the moment from shows that u have suggested but im looking at something like 40 hours for one episode, and that is one of the smaller filesizes. Hopefully soon ill be upgrading to broadband.

[Roarkiller]

Originally posted by Ultimate Charizard
As for my Internet connection at the moment its just a 56K. Im downloading a few episodes at the moment from shows that u have suggested but im looking at something like 40 hours for one episode, and that is one of the smaller filesizes. Hopefully soon ill be upgrading to broadband.

Ouch. I mean OUCH. I feel ur pain man, i only got broadband a few mths ago, but damn am i making up for it. Tho it seems that if im gonna get the older animes, im better off with kazaa than BT. BT sux for older releases, so much so that ud think u were back on a 56k modem.

[Dark-San]

Maybe try the anime 'Project Arms' It is hell violence but not bloodly *The most you can see is the blood and not the body parts* It is a old anime and like wat rk has say, it is better to get this anime through kazza rather than bit torrent!

[Ultimate Charizard]

Thats the thing, i Do use Kazaa...i use nothing else...its Kazaa thats giving me the 40 hour downloads.

[Dark-San]

lolz then wat I suggest is that you will hav to wait until you get your broadband b4 you start downloading... Meantime you can get your animes by borrowing from friends who hav them!

[Azura Stardust]

I agree, use Kazaa for downloading. :> The quality may not be as guaranteed as bittorrent and stuff, however it is faster.

If you have a 56k though, its probably not going to make a difference ;x

My fastest speed for one ~25 minute .avi download via BitTorrent was 45 minutes. :| I dont know whats the longest but my Princess Tutu is taking ages.

EDIT: Now all of a sudden it starts going at 25-31 kbps. Huge improvement from the previous 1-3 kbps -_o (The fastest I ever got was near 80kbps... which is.... whoaness)

Also try mIRC. If you don't know how to use it, ask people who know. (I'm sure there are people in this form who know how to use it) As long as you don't get too close to the more shady people/channels... (I think you can block everything but .avis to be sent to you)

Oh yeah, I believe M2D2 recommmended Sakura Wars. Watch the OVAs, please... don't watch the TV show, it's not very good . The movie was pretty but also not that good content-wise (IMO)...

Agree with EM, I've seen some reviews of Noir, seems good and apparently very modern and artistic too. I really watn to watch that, but I think it's licensed. >_>; And I expect it to be very expen$ive.. Gunslinger Girls, which has a similar theme if I'm not wrong, is nice, though it's only at 4 episodes so far (and if you do download that, I warn you about episode 2, it has a huge recap of the first episode. The rest of it is generally more slow-paced than average, but I don't mind it)

EDIT2: Almost forgot to mention, Furi Kuri! (Aka Fooly Cooly or FLCL.) This is not violent or sad or anything, it is pure craziness in 6 great episodes. I will assure you you have no idea whats going on, but unlike almost all other anime, you're not supposed to have any idae... Plot and sensibility takes a back seat, just enjoy the parodies and puns (I believe when you buy the DVDs released by Synchpoint, they come with a booklet explaining all the hidden jokes.) and the very nice animation + music.

You know when I saw Raz browsing this forum a while earlier I thought he'd be posting a nice big post on FLCL, but yeah...

[Mewtwo-D2]

Forgot a couple of comedies ^^;

One terrific parody that's actually better dubbed is Shinesman.... if you liked Power Rangers, you'll probably love it. Only thing is, it's only two episodes.

Another hilarious two-episode anime is Dragon Half. Just make sure you get Dragon Half and not Dragon Knight or Dragon Pink (unless it's Dragon Knights the manga which is very good).

For complete weirdness, there's always Excel Saga, though avoid the dub like the plague.

If you're interested in manga you can download easily, try Violinist of Hameln, a comedy/drama that is especially good for music lovers. Also good manga that aren't too hard to find are Chrono Crusade, which is cute and funny, and KaMiKaZe, which is just really cool... KaMiKaZe is a little like X/1999 actually... only more violent.
I'd post more about everything, but my computer has been messing up, so I don't have time to. PM me if you want more info.

[Roarkiller]

On kazaa and BT: the difference between them is that kazaa can be run the moment u boot up ur PC and files r transferred in one single program. BT tho, u have to click the link to resume and each download has its own window AND may prove to be a prob with server and ports stuff. At least unlike kazaa, u know where to start a download from and not wait for someone with the file to pop their head and their files displayed in the search.

mIRC IMO is worse; u have to manually search for a file every time u want to download or resume, if u can resume at all, wait in a queue most of the time, only one download at time AND there r rules to abide with in the chatroom 90% of the time.

Snail mail trades? U really want me to tell u? Please.

[Azura Stardust]

But on Kazaa even if you know where to download from don't you still have to wait for those persons to be online? Same for everything else really, though Kazaa (and mirc) you're downloading all from one person.. so you don't get anywhere if that person isn't online... and other persons might be having different versions (like a different fansubber or something) so if you want to get it you then ahve to restart all over again...

For BT I use an add-on sort of client which lets you minimize to the task tray... you can immediately see whether it's done or not based on the logo, and the % finished + dl/ul rate can be checked by hovering over the thingy. It also lets you see, if you maximise it, the number of seeds and peers connected to you specifically, and some other stuff. o_o

To each his own I suppose. As long as you get the anime >D

(Oh, and Roarkiller, was that shop you were telling me about LaserFlair? I peeked a little around City Hall today and there was a shop on streetlevel that sold anime VCDs so I got myself Mimi o Sumaseba and Arjuna. ;x)

[EngiMatikul]

Originally posted by Roarkiller

mIRC IMO is worse; u have to manually search for a file every time u want to download or resume, if u can resume at all, wait in a queue most of the time, only one download at time AND there r rules to abide with in the chatroom 90% of the time.

Aye, but RK only portrays one side of the mirc world. Sure, several rules you may have to go by in some chatrooms, but if you have nice reliable comrades in your chatroom who are on 24 hours, or you just goto a distributor chatroom with a load of bots that can run off the maximum amount of bw you still have... Less frustrating than the frequent fluctuations of kazaa or bittorrent. Of course, I'm a "download right now in 20 minutes then gotta go can't leave the comp on" person, so those who are rather lazy and prefer to just click and leave their comp overnight, I can't help you.

RK just has bad luck with mirc.

EDIT: Multiple bots or Multiple friends = multiple downloads.

EDIT2: *is now downloading at max bw his DSL connection can hold (80 kb/sec)* sorry for my spamtastic edit but I just wanted to say I really really like mirc.

[Azura Stardust]

I think Ultimate Charizard will have to really decide between mIRC and Kazaa (OK!! and bittorrent) to download from now, won't he

Best: Go buy the DVD when ti comes out. Who cares about the money. You'll feel so good after that. Muahahahaha

EDIT: WHoa. BitTorrent can be REALLY scarily fast sometimes. (uh, for me) O___O Correction: My fastest bittorrent speed is now 112 kbps. It's been hovering around that speed for quite some time, occasionaly dropping to 96. When I increase my upload the download decreases, so I'm going to wait for this to finish downloading and then upload to help all the.. 61 nice peers I have here. I guess maybe none of them are on their computers and the people on this part of the planet are asleep too... so the thing probably uses up more bandwidth or something.

2h 48 minutes plus about 35 minutes at this rate, and it would be finished. Guess what I'm downloading?

[squirtlemaster]

ultimate charizard, i'm on 56K and i've been downloading anime for the last year or so, it is painful =_=;;;
Though on 56K my recommendation for you is to use Bit Torrent, purely because its easier to find files in my opinion and generally lots of seeds for new anime compared to kazaa which is a pain to connect to.
It should take about 9 to 11 hours per 25 minute avi episode (around 170 MB depending on codec used in encoding)
as many have said, animesuki and anime.mircx.com have most anime out anywayz

[Roarkiller]

Every method of download has its pros and cons. I juz dont like mIRC because its too troublesome for me to search, queue and resume.

Right now, BT is my method simply cuz the anime or version im after is hard to find in kazaa. And if ur wondering, the version Azura is using is prolly Shadow experimental client (used it before).

And Azura, i dont have a good memory for names, so no idea if its LaserFair or not. In any case, when ur done watching Arjuna, maybe u could lend me? I dont wanna spend $30 cuz im saving for a Kurosawa Akira DVD boxset right now, which costs !@#$ dollars, and hoping to get Nausicaa's collectors edition (30,000yen )