Fenxy

I love the soundtrack to Hellsing. It was perfect for the series and it's also great "mood" music, i.e. creep people out music. However, I like to listen to it when I clean the house...

I also really like the music for Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell SAC.

It's a movie not a series, but Tekkon Kinkreet was the best anime I've seen in a very, very long time. Absolutely fantastic. Great story, awesome visuals, amazing voice work, inventive camera angles; an overall amazing anime.

@ Micheal, I know! What the heck do people see in that series? That and Karas. Dear lord, I was bombarded with nasty comments after I gave Karas a lousy review. I would have put Karas up there with the other three, but it was too confusing for me to feel too punished for having watched it.

Gankutsuo, aka, the Count of Monte Cristo, had loads of well written drama. But perhaps that's not the best example of drama in anime since it was based off A. Dumas' work of the same name.

Wolf's Rain had drama. Basilisk had drama. But I don't consider either of those strictly drama. Elfen Lied was dramatic because it had so many scarring and emotional moments but I'd consider Elfen Lied a sci-fi anime.

I would almost tend to agree with Griffith that most anime dramas are directed at women since there's where the most emotion is going to be. Emotion and how people handle difficult circumstances is what drama's all about.

To that end, I think I'll stick with Gankutsuo as my vote for most dramatic anime; adaptation or not, it still rocked out the drama.

@Scrivs, too true, too true. I actually can't name one random or slice-of-life anime, besides the two I listed, that I enjoy.

@ fusiongtdotcom, Aren't many anime timeless? I get that perhaps it's a matter of timing, but wouldn't two action series released at the same time still be classics if they have those things that make 'em shine?

@Scrivs, plots are good and all but some anime is random. Would random anime, like Cromartie High School or Azumanga Diaoh not be able to make it to the Anime Hall of Fame for lack of plot? It's not as if they're earth-shattering in their awesomeness but they are pretty memorable. Is a concrete plot a must? I think most great anime do have solid plots, but is having a plot a requisite? Just throwing that out there...

@fusiongtdotcom, to be good, anime must be entertaining, but what does it need to achieve the status of anime godhood? The movie, Anchor Man, was entertaining as hell, but I'm doubting it will be classic. What gives anime that extra push that makes it classic, in your opinion?

@Shadeofgray, I think anime recommendations depend on how involved you want to get with the medium. Do want to be really pulled in? Do you want to think about it? Should it be something that you need to connect to? Or do you just want to be entertained? Nothing wrong with that. I like a good popcorn anime every now and again.

I think all anime connects with us to some extent, but there are anime which have heavy concepts behind them that go the extra mile in terms of connecting with you.

Wolf's Rain was an excellent anime (except for that utter waste of five, count 'em five, re-cap episodes). Scryed was an OK anime with lots of over the top action. It was actually pretty entertaining. Did I mention it had lots of action?

There seems to be a handful of anime that established fans recommend for people who want to get deeper into the medium. Those would be the aforementioned Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and the not mentioned Neon Genesis Evangelion.

The former two I would say, watch now. The last one I would wait on until you're used to being disappointed with anime. Then there are the classic anime that have made many folks the fanboys they are today. I won't touch the classics since I'm not so familiar with them.

Recommending anime can be tricky. Good luck!

@Ozone24, excellent requisites. I would have to append that last one with "good". It would definitely need a good ending to be a great anime.

@Micheal, would the voice acting need to be good in English and Japanese, one or the other, or just Japanese?

I disagree that the characters need to be likable in a good anime. I think a good anime can also elicit hate or loathing towards a character. I don't necessarily need to like a character as much as I need to connect on some level or be able to feel something towards them or with them.

@Cappuccino, if you like good ninja/ magical anime check out Basilisk. It kicks Ninja Scroll (the series and the movies) square in the nunchucks.

@Kabitzin, yeah, something like an animated Cooking Mama, but with dishes either featured in anime or dishes that somehow tie into anime. For example, takoyaki, a dish from Osaka could be tied in by an anime that takes place in Osaka, an anime that mentions Osaka or takoyaki, or an anime director/creator/producer/seiyuu from Osaka. Yatsuhashi, a souvenir wagashi from Kyoto would be likewise tied in. There's so many fun ways to entertain while educating!

@Scrivs, I would have to agree with you about Afro-Samurai. Don't know if this counts, but in my fan-girl heart, I think the fight scenes in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children were phenomenal.

We just finished Red Garden, Volume One, and it's kinda bad. I don't recommend it unless the idea of a really slow paced, female version of Gantz gets your juices going.

@Gnorb, really? You never heard of Pocky before anime? I would see it in the international store and pass it by with a, meh. So are you hooked on it now? What's your opinion of it and which is your fave if you like it?

@Scrivs, narutomaki is gooooood in udon too! That stuff is tasty but can be pricey around here-i.e., in the Midwest.

@Micheal, glad you like our snack section! I thoroughly enjoy testing out new foods.

@Ozone42, oohhhhh I love umeboshi in onigiri! I could eat umeboshi every meal. The good variety is really expensive, though. Something like $13-$17 for a 1/4 lb.

I've read about "Yakitate!". Will it teach me to make better wagashi? That's what's needed; a series that will teach fans how to make the foods featured in anime.

Just finished Red Garden volume one. Starting Haruhi volumes two and three!

Wolfsheim via iTunes.

Death Note looks really cool! I'm currently watching Black Lagoon.

Gnorb - That's a great way to put it all in perspective. Thanks!

I really, really don't like this 'grotesque' look at all. The Joker has never, ever looked like this during his entire comic-book history (that I know of). Yes, the Joker should be dangerous - but not disgusting. Just because he has a huge scar across his mouth doesn't make him more of a threat. His core character is that he's essentially a clown whose jokes aren't funny - they're deadly. This new version looks more like a scary hobo clown crossed with 'The Crow' or something (no offense).

I wasn't so crazy about 'Begins'. And the cheesy rubber nipple Batman movies were worse LOL. It seems like everyone is still missing the mark with live-action Batman. Except for Tim Burton's Batman Returns. That is one perfect Batman film to me! :)

PS - Yes, Penguin was pretty grotesque in 'Returns', but in a cool, gothic, 'Tim Burton' style.

I originally hated the new designs when they were initially leaked because they seemed to stray so far from the original. No 'boxy truck cab' Optimus Prime? Where's the trailer? Starscream is tan? Where are his red/blue/grey colors?

But you know what? I loved the movie. They were able to keep the characters true to the 'toon while with the necessities of telling an 'origin' story. Maybe you'll like Transformers: Two better! :)

I was never into 'Highlander', but perhaps the 'anime twist' will make it more interesting!

At Anime Expo last week, this was a BIG TOPIC in the industry. We talked to anime producers, marketing teams and a few others - there were some really interesting panels, especially this one:

Anime Expo 2007: Anime in America

"Some of these fans think they’re helping the industry, speculates Lance Heiskell. They want to expose more people to anime, but in fact, they’re hurting the industry. Matt Greenfield, however, feels “…that’s a pile of sh*t.”

The people who are doing the uploading - they know what they’re doing, he says. Mr. Greenfield says the fans who organize these downloading sites are well aware of the effect they’re having."

I think this is similar to what the music industry went through a few years back, except that anime is a much smaller industry (thus the delay of impact). They are well aware of their very vocal fan base though. So I think the good news is that people are talking about legal digital distribution along with other alternatives (cable), rather than prosecuting everyone.

With the success of iTunes for music, hopefully we'll see the anime industry survive in the same way!

Kamigoroshi - Since you didn't like the original Hellsing anime but adore the manga, I highly recommend the new OVAs. The DVDs for Hellsing: Ultimate. Volumes I & II are out in both Japan and North America. Volume III is currently out in Japan. I bet you'll like them!!!

Regarding Trigun Maximum, when I participated in a panel interview with Yasuhiro Nightow (creator of Trigun) at Anime Central this year, he 'let slip' that he's working on a new Trigun anime.

Ugh yeah Trinity Blood was terrible. Rachel gave it a beating in her review too!

My favorite quote of hers:

"Wow, doesn’t that sound like such an awesome concept? Vampires, the future, the Church, fearsome creatures that eat vampires, beautiful nuns with huge racks, space ships, intrigue, awesome character designs… this series has it all! But does it really? Hell no! There’s absolutely no substantial plot, no character development, no consistency, no pacing, no background, nothing that makes it past the visual aspect of anime."

Regarding the iTunes thing - I don't know if it's because of how reviews are moderated, but I usually don't use them. The best aspect of their reviewing system is the 'customers also liked...' feature!

The 'Ministry of Magic' battle in 'Order of the Phoenix' was pretty amazing in the book. I also liked the undersea challenge in 'Goblet of Fire'. Lots of tension in both of those scenes and I really felt like the main characters were all in danger!

The first Ghost In The Shell was a landmark film. It was technically groundbreaking and it's impact was almost as strong as Akira. The action was relentless, and addressed all sorts of interesting philosophical ideas related to AI, the net, etc.

SAC really doesn't do anything for me. Compared to the first film, it's spirit seems rather...different.

Ghost In The Shell: Innocence was a very poetic film, but it was a stark opposite to the first movie. I really respect Innocence though - it made a pretty powerful statement on the value of artificial life, etc.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not really eager to see this new one.

I haven't watched any long series in years...I prefer 13 to 26 episodes per series, with an occasional 'season 2'.

The longest series I can think of that I'll be watching soon would be Blood+, which has 52 episodes.