Does anyone here watch anime?

[athenian200]

If so, what series have you enjoyed?

The first anime I really got into (if you don't count the Pokémon anime I grew up with) was Neon Genesis Evangelion. From there, I got into Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Serial Experiments Lain. More recently, I was introduced to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Those would be the main ones that have made a big impression on me.

There's other stuff I like of course, such as Steins;Gate, and I also enjoy a lot of Studio Ghibli films, but the ones above would be my favorite ones and it's harder to say which ones I like better among the rest of what I've seen.

[moonbat]

Didn't get into the bigger series, but my all time favorite remains Cowboy Bebop. (And not the botched unwanted live action remake on Netflix either). Watched Evangelion 20 years ago and again recently, found it too weird both times, especially towards the end.
And I'm a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, will take them over Disney any day.

[vannilla]

I prefer reading, so I consider animations as indicators for how likely the comics are going to be published in my country.

[BenFenner]

I'm a huge closeted anime fan. I started with Ranma ½ and quickly grew to watching most good stuff that came out in the 1980s and 1990s. I've not seen as much good stuff since, but there is some.
I too have enjoyed Evangelion the most. So much so I think it might be the greatest piece of art humans have ever created.
I've been waiting for all of the rebuild DVDs to come out before I watched through them, so I've been waiting ~14 years or whatever. I finally gave up hope that the 4th movie will be released on DVD in the US any time soon, so I ordered a bootleg copy from Malaysia and will finally be able to watch through the rebuild when I find time with my wife (infant makes it hard).

I've seen everything Miyazaki has done along with plenty of other Ghibli stuff. I recommend Naussica to those who are interested, or Princess Mononoke if you want something with newer animation.
Oh yah, I watch exclusively subtitled, but admit Disney did a great job with the Miyazaki dubs.

The best thing I've seen in a long time was a newer movie called Your Name. which I would recommend to just about anyone.

Then of course there is FLCL, and other great favorites. I loved what little Gunsmith Cats there was. I did not enjoy Cowboy Bebop, and a buddy says it's because I did not watch it dubbed. I find that hard to believe. I did not enjoy Trigun, Ghost in the Shell, Escaflone, or Akira either. Lots of stuff people like that is just not my speed.

[BenFenner]

Oh yah, back in 2003 I made an Eva music video to test out my new computer setup. It could be better, it could be worse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5mvu3U89KY

[micwoj92]

I used to watch みつばちマーヤの冒険

[moonbat]

I did not enjoy Cowboy Bebop, and a buddy says it's because I did not watch it dubbed

I cannot stand anime dubs with their jarring American accent when looking at something quintessentially Japanese. I have the dual audio version of Cowboy Bebop as MKVs, couldn't stand the dubbed version for more than half a minute.

[athenian200]

I'm a huge closeted anime fan. I started with Ranma ½ and quickly grew to watching most good stuff that came out in the 1980s and 1990s. I've not seen as much good stuff since, but there is some.

Oh, Ranma ½ was a lot of fun to watch, it was hilarious. One of the funnier anime I've seen.

I too have enjoyed Evangelion the most. So much so I think it might be the greatest piece of art humans have ever created.
I've been waiting for all of the rebuild DVDs to come out before I watched through them, so I've been waiting ~14 years or whatever. I finally gave up hope that the 4th movie will be released on DVD in the US any time soon, so I ordered a bootleg copy from Malaysia and will finally be able to watch through the rebuild when I find time with my wife (infant makes it hard).

I've just been watching the rebuild movies as they come out. It's amazing how long it's taken to get them done, but they are an interesting take on Evangelion.

I've seen everything Miyazaki has done along with plenty of other Ghibli stuff. I recommend Naussica to those who are interested, or Princess Mononoke if you want something with newer animation.
Oh yah, I watch exclusively subtitled, but admit Disney did a great job with the Miyazaki dubs.

I haven't seen Naussica yet, but I have seen Princess Mononoke. It was a pretty interesting film. I could relate to both sides of the conflict in that film... the human/technology side and the nature side. I know Lady Eboshi is supposed to be the antagonist technically, but she was an extremely sympathetic character who seemed to have good reasons for her convictions and choices given her life experiences.

The best thing I've seen in a long time was a newer movie called Your Name. which I would recommend to just about anyone.

I watched that recently too, it was an extremely moving anime.

Then of course there is FLCL, and other great favorites. I loved what little Gunsmith Cats there was. I did not enjoy Cowboy Bebop, and a buddy says it's because I did not watch it dubbed. I find that hard to believe. I did not enjoy Trigun, Ghost in the Shell, Escaflone, or Akira either. Lots of stuff people like that is just not my speed.

I don't know if I've seen most of that, although I did see Akira and I thought it was one of the worst anime I'd ever seen. So we have that in common... honestly after I watched Akira, I wished I could wipe my memory of it because it kinda made me want to forget all the imagery.

[Tharthan]

I cannot stand anime dubs with their jarring American accent when looking at something quintessentially Japanese.

I know that this is a hotly contested thing amongst those who watch anime (whether that be only rarely, casually, or heavily), but I am actually on the other side of the argument on this subject. I am not someone who watches anime regularly. Indeed these days, on average, I might watch a single anime series once every two or three years or so. That's not a hard and fast rule or anything, but just generally speaking, that's how it is.

But when I do watch anime, I almost always watch it dubbed. I've watched a number of subtitled anime series, but I opt for dubbed versions of anime nine times out of ten.

With that said, I can understand why a person might personally find it more... authentic to watch a series that is set in Japan in Japanese. On its face, it makes perfect sense for obvious reasons.

But, on the other hand, that logic is not applied to a whole lot of other situations where I think it would be equally warranted.

Just one example off of the top of my head: for all of the Viking films and television series out there, a whole lot of them (including some of the more recent ones) have the Vikings speaking English (or whatever the language is that is spoken in the place the film comes from). If we applied the aforementioned attitude to such films, it would be sensible for a person to be bothered by the Vikings not speaking Old Norse.

...

When it comes to anime series that are not set in Japan, I have a harder time comprehending why someone would object to a viewer of the series not wanting to watch it in Japanese. If it does not take place in Japan, why does everyone need to be speaking Japanese?

I guess part of it might depend upon how you look at fictional television shows, films etc. in general.

A lot of people view at such things first and foremost, at the core, as a performance. It is with that lens that they view every film, television show, etc.

But not everyone uses that lens.

I, for one, adopt an approach more along the lines of a person hearing a story being told over a campfire. Not a ghost story or anything like that. But, rather, the kind of story that you're not quite sure if it happened or not (and, if it did, not sure what degree it did happen).

In other words, when I watch a fictional show, I thoroughly suspend disbelief and just experience it like someone telling me a story that I am not sure if it happened or not.

FLCL

I think that I watched that at some point last decade, and I personally was disappointed when I finished it. If I recall correctly, it seemed to me to be kind of all over the place and not especially cogent. On the other hand, a friend of mine really liked the series.

[moonbat]

Vikings speaking English

I daresay Norse has a lot more in common with English than Japanese does. And it's not about being set in Japan or not. Anime/manga has an entire aesthetic that is uniquely Japanese. A different style of animation, character faces, artwork would be better appreciated in other languages, for example 80s superhero cartoons.

[athenian200]

I know that this is a hotly contested thing amongst those who watch anime (whether that be only rarely, casually, or heavily), but I am actually on the other side of the argument on this subject. I am not someone who watches anime regularly. Indeed these days, on average, I might watch a single anime series once every two or three years or so. That's not a hard and fast rule or anything, but just generally speaking, that's how it is.

But when I do watch anime, I almost always watch it dubbed. I've watched a number of subtitled anime series, but I opt for dubbed versions of anime nine times out of ten.

I don't really have a strong preference there. I kind of like comparing the dubbed version to the subbed version and seeing what was lost or modified in translation, especially since I am somewhat interested in the language. But I don't have the mentality that there is anything wrong with watching dubbed anime, it's just I have an interest in the language anyway and I would worry I was missing out if I didn't hear it in Japanese to compare with the dubbed version. I would say I liked dubs before I started learning Japanese, and then I started to appreciate subs, but I can still go back and forth and enjoy comparing them. Essentially, I only like subs now because I can actually understand some of the original language. And maybe one day I'd like to be able to listen in Japanese without subtitles and understand everything. I don't have much interest in listening to a language I can't understand at all, though. That's an appeal I don't get.

[moonbat]

I don't have much interest in listening to a language I can't understand at all, though

Usually one can get a few phrases and terms after watching a few episodes so I haven't seen that as much of a problem. Even European languages have similar words and phrases for the most part, many being already loanwords in English, so subtitled movies from there have a similar experience.

[Tharthan]

Off-topic:

Vikings speaking English

I daresay Norse has a lot more in common with English than Japanese does

Well, yes. Old Norse and English are both Germanic languages. In contrast, the Japonic languages (Japanese, the historical Ryukyuan languages, etc.) are not in any way related to the Indo-European languages (of which the Germanic languages are a subgroup) as far as I am aware.

But, I mean...

If a show set in Haiti had everyone speaking Romanian, would that be in any way justifiable simply because Haitian Creole (which is mostly a derivative of French) and Romanian both have Romance roots?

[Marcus]

Just one example off of the top of my head: for all of the Viking films and television series out there, a whole lot of them (including some of the more recent ones) have the Vikings speaking English (or whatever the language is that is spoken in the place the film comes from). If we applied the aforementioned attitude to such films, it would be sensible for a person to be bothered by the Vikings not speaking Old Norse.

Those "Viking" films/series are mostly Anglo-Saxon produced/acted.
What moonbat is referring is a local production with local actors/language being adulterated. I agree with him. Same with French or German or Russian movies; the language is part of the essence.
Heck, I even dislike when an American or Australian actor plays a British character.

[José Labán]

My favorite series when I were a child are Captain Tsubasa (Supercampeones), Saint Seiya (Caballeros del zodiaco), Sailor Moon and Dai no daibouken (Las aventuras de Fly), but I think those were not popular in USA. Do you know them?

[Mæstro]

For about a year now, I have watched an anime or read a visual novel about every other month. They, with fan art and fan fiction, are my main entertainment. My last series was The Quintessential Quintuplets, which I had quite liked: slice of life at secondary school is common for me, but this is my first approach to anything like a harem anime. Other series dear to me include BanG Dream!, Clannad (my profile picture gives it away) and Angel Beats. Konosuba was a delight when I saw it in 2019. I have seen some series before then, but of these, only Cells at Work stands out.
Among visual novels, Planetarian has moved me the most; I have also read and enjoyed Analogue: A Hate Story, Katawa Shoujo, Narcissu and Lucy: The Eternity She Wished For. My backlog of azayaka (anime, visual novels, manga &c with the vibrant XXIth century style, taken together and from any country, set apart from other works with different aesthetics) from friends’ suggestions has bloated over the years. I like to devote myself two hours a night without any distractions, in total isolation when I watch or play. I also spend lots of free time daydreaming about the dangos, quins, bandoris and others.

I cannot stand anime dubs with their jarring American accent

Same! German dubs are hard to find in time, and I hear enough Yankees already at uni. I read English subs mentally in RP.

[Moonraker]

I am nearly 50 years old so probably not.

[athenian200]

My favorite series when I were a child are Captain Tsubasa (Supercampeones), Saint Seiya (Caballeros del zodiaco), Sailor Moon and Dai no daibouken (Las aventuras de Fly), but I think those were not popular in USA. Do you know them?

I've watched Sailor Moon and Saint Seiya (interestingly, Sailor Moon was influenced by Saint Seiya). I kind of appreciated both of them for references to mythology and astrological/planetary symbolism. I would definitely say I liked them.

[Bendy_Demon]

I watch it when I can and I AM 50+
I have trouble finding it but I loved FullMetal Alchemist and when I was younger it was Sailor Moon, Card Captors and a few others.
However I haven't watched any tv for two years because of all the stupidity BUT when I can find new episodes on YouTube I like Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel..I know it is not anime but it isn't too bad.

Also Princess Mononoke is my favorite Miyazaki movie aside from Spirited Away..(and others)

[athenian200]

I watch it when I can and I AM 50+
I have trouble finding it but I loved FullMetal Alchemist and when I was younger it was Sailor Moon, Card Captors and a few others.
However I haven't watched any tv for two years because of all the stupidity BUT when I can find new episodes on YouTube I like Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel..I know it is not anime but it isn't too bad.

Also Princess Mononoke is my favorite Miyazaki movie aside from Spirited Away..(and others)

You have pretty good taste. I definitely enjoy Spirited Away as well, that is another good Ghibli film. It's rather haunting and the animation is beautiful.