Anime suggestions

I just finished watching Full Metal Alchemist. I haven't seen the movie, but the show was excellent. The campy humor of the early episodes didn't do much for me, but things generally matured as the show went on, and it was very much for the best. The show also did an excellent job of balancing the light with the dark - a rather high body count, even/especially among the good guys, and an ending that was by no means happily ever after that also didn't wallow in bittersweet misery, but also a very strong element of forgiveness, acceptance, love and friendship throughout the series. The horror aspects of the show were well played, character development was excellent, the animation was wonderful.

I'm still finding more misses than hits in anime, but gems like Full Metal Alchemist made me glad I've been giving anime a chance.

 

Coincidentally a new FMA series has just started, it resets the franchise and it will be following the manga more closely (the first series stopped following the manga at episode 26 IIRC)

 

I heard that. I also heard that the first series diverging from the manga was due to the request of the person who wrote the original manga. Either way, I'll probably pick up the new series when it shows up on DVD. I don't read the manga, but then, I don't read any manga or manhwa - it's expensive enough buying North American comics and Japanese anime on DVD.

And yes, I do buy the DVDs. I believe that paying actual real life money for them, rather than just downloading them, encourages higher quality in translations and great variety of anime available on shelves. Plus, it's the morally right thing to do.


Also, the sub vs. dub debate: I'll take dub, thank you. I've tried sub, and I find I gain nothing compared to dub. I'd rather listen to the characters speak, and understand what they're saying.

 

How many episodes are in Gundam Seed? How many seasons, and spinoff movies for Seed as well?

 

I'd take subs over dubs any day With a lot of things, I usually prefer the original. I really hate dubs due to the fact that they mispronounce the name of characters who have kept their Japanese names. Also, a lot of things are lost or twisted around when translated. No one can describe(not even myself) the hate I have for dubs.....

 

I, and I suspect many fans do both, I also watch the streams, which is getting more common these days (you can watch FMA2 this way, if you so desire) besides you miss out some excellent non licensed series such as Monster and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Personally I'm against any form of alteration, which seems like a form of cultural arrogance to me, and the only medium where such alteration is a necessary evil is literature, still reading Shakespeare in German would not be as effective as reading it in original English.

1. Gundam SEED (50 episodes)
- Gundam SEED Special Edition (which is a compilation of SEED)
2. Gundam SEED Destiny (50 episodes)
- Gundam SEED Destiny Special Edition (a compilation of SEED Destiny)
- Stargazer, a side story taking place in timeframe of SEED Destiny (6 episodes)

The entire Gundam franchise is much, much bigger than this though.

 

Holy hell that is going to take a long time to watch! I will try it out though. Is it as good as 00 S1&2?

 

Personally I like 00 better then SEED but that of course depends on the taste of the individual. ;p

 

I think I have watched 5 epi of Seed now and it looks almost like 00. Exia and X-105 look the same, Kira, and Setsuna as well, plus Coordinators/Innovators.

 

Both mechas are based on the original Gundam and same with the concept of innovator/coordinator which are based on newtypes.

 

I've been watching a lot of Anime recently, here's some that I liked.

Clannad
Last Exile
.hack/sign
Cowboy Bebop
S-cry-ed
Genshiken
Visions of Escaflowne
Fushigi Yuugi
DragonBall
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya
Final Fantasy Unlimited
Fate/Stay Night
Chrono Crusade

I can't remember any others right now, but all of the above were awesome.

 

While it may seem that the Japanese track is "generic" or "plain" without nuances, I've spoken with a number of people who are either fluent or nearly so, who tell me that there are actually a great many differences and subtle nuances that reflect the different backgrounds that non-japanese speakers miss. It may not translate easily, or even properly, but a great deal of work and effort was involved.

One thing I wish the dubbers or the vocal casting agents in charge would do is learn that just because the Japanese track has women with high-pitched childish voices doesn't mean the English dub should have child-voices. Please adjust for culture values. Then again, we end up with Ryoko in Tenchi Muyo having an attrocious bronx accent, so I'm not sure that would work either...

 

Firstly, Shakespeare is best read in the original Klingon.

Secondly, I think that using subs rather than dubs is greater cultural arrogance - it swings both ways. I think that being able to experience a show by being able to listen to spoken deliveries of lines and understand what is being said is closer to the original intent of the production. Certainly, if I were ever to make a movie or television show, it would be in English - but I'd hope for it to be dubbed if it were going to non-English nation. Listening to the dialog is how I expect a show to go - if I wanted people to read off the screen, the English version would also have subtitles.

 

Yes, but whoever cast the dubbing actors should have a very solid understanding of both cultures and languages so that appropriate casting decisions could be made.
For the most part, this does not happen. Any that do work are rare, and far between.

 

You're basically saying "only a good translation is a good translation." A translation can be good or bad, subbed or dubbed. Further, good voice acting can even go so far as to make up for a bad translation. To use a non-anime example, I found the subtitles on Let the Right One In (Swedish vampire film) to be absolutely terrible, but the dubs were generally excellent.

 

Yeah, I guess that's a reasonable paraphrase. It also explains why it is so rare.

Occasionally I'll watch movies with the German tracks on, just to see what happens. Flash Gordon (the 80s flick) was pretty funny, because the audio track was a straight coloquial translation, while the subtitles seemed as if written by someone who'd taken a class in high-school and was doing the simple, basic, least-effort-possible job.
Even funnier, though, is watching the original SW trilogy in other languages. In German, the Imps are all Nazis, and Aunt Beru is a Base-throated Bavarian 200lb "Looooooo-UUUuuuooooke!" that just sounds so, so, German Nanny stereotype.

Good actors aren't enough, however. For example, Christopher Lee is an excellent actor, with a great voice talent. On the other hand, when he provided the voice of Death (with a capital 'D') for the Colour of Magic cartoons, it was such a bad audio recording or effect distortion and horrid animation that the whole project of both cartoons should have been scrapped. Better all of nothing than a 1/2-ascii-ed something.

 

I tried Cowboy Bepop and didnt like it.

Could someone recommand me an anime series with a historical theme?

 

Space Battleship Yamato?
Got all the classic WWII themes: totalitarian Nazis, Fighter pilots, WMDs, fighting to save piece, freedome and the ameri--um--Human way of life.

Studio Ghilbi had a cute one about a city woman who grew up in the 60s who was taking her vacation working on a farm in the country. Don't remember the name, but I'm sure someone will smack me with a flounder to remind me.

Wings of Honomiese (something like that) was an alternate history of the Japanese Space Program.

 

I was hoping for a more mediaval setting.

 

goraq: the older the time setting the least likely is going to take place outside of East Asia. How many western movies/literature/series take place during the era of the Three Kingdoms? Exactly, none.

There are however anime that take place in a fictional medieval setting such as: Spice and Wolf, and the high fantasies, Berserk and Guin Saga.

I think I understand your point I mean, completely removing a voice track, changing it with a language you understand, that uses cultural nuisances you understand simply because you refuse to understand a different culture and cultural nuisances is certainly less arrogant then adding subtitles under the screen so that people can both hear and understand. Or maybe not.

Honestly Raven I don't think we can change each other's opinion. Let's just end this.

 

Thanks.

 

Medieval...

Well, sort of. More Dungeons&Dragons fantasy stuff:

Record of the Lodoss War (both versions, though the OVA is better)
Bastard (has some silly humor and gross stuff)

 

Thanks again, i am goraq.

 

Thanks for sugesting Berserk, its a fine show.

 

Whaaa?! That series was awesome...and the only Anime I enjoyed.