The Total Anime and Manga Recommendation/Suggestion Topic!

[LordKefka]

Alright, I guess this would be a good time to start one of these things. Feel free to ask, suggest or comment on what someone plans to watch/read or the likes. You don't NEED to rely on this topic for choosing where you should go next, but it's a pit stop for people who can't think of anything in general, looking for insights, or just browsing for ideas. There is just one rule outside of common sense for some that I have to mention: no unwarranted spoilers. It's not hard, so be considerate. If you want to discussion something with spoilers that could potentially ruin a series for someone, mark it or hide it somehow (somehow..?). Other than that, respect everyone who post. Opinions count only when it something other than " you're an idiot for wanting to watch/read <blank>". I don't even know what that would accomplish in helping someone decide where to go next anyways other a "NO" for some unknown reason. Well, I don't need to keep explaining common sense stuff because I'm pretty sure everyone is wishing I would stop ranting... which I will do now..-_-;

I hope it'll also encourage lurkers to realize this is an anime board where one can expand those curiosities. So yeah, go for it.   

EDIT: This topic will be revised in the future. Please stay tuned and keeping posting. Thanks.

[Chewie]

Repost from another thread since it was locked. e_e

Hey, guys! 
      My sister has finally relented on her Geek ban and is allowing my nephew to read Naruto.  I also talked her into letting me have him for Con in 2009.  I want to get him into more anime, but I have lost the pulse of the G-PG-13 series.  He's 12.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I'm open to both dubs and subs.
                             Thanks!

[lalalandla]

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me :o

[G.I.R]

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me :o

Then May I suggest Elfen Leid (if you don't mind the violence).

[LordKefka]

Does it have to fit in the category of Eva's genre? Or did you simply mention Eva cause it's a depressing and confusing anime you've seen.

[lalalandla]

Does it have to fit in the category of Eva's genre? Or did you simply mention Eva cause it's a depressing and confusing anime you've seen.

Just depressing/confusing in general is what I meant, doesn't have to be mecha.

[Hakaru_chan]

TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN! (i cried)  :'(

[RaddaX2]

Welcome to NHK.

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me :o

Welcome to the NHK, I dunno about confusing but I'd say it's a pretty depressing anime.  Depressing in the sense that the main character lives a very pitiful life style.

[LordKefka]

There are a few ones I can think of. You can read the synopsis at ANN ( at least they are useful for that).

Kaiba - It's a very unique work by Madhouse which is confusing and only gets more confusing towards the end. Though I can't say I was a big fan of the structure, it does have certain good stand alone episodes to get you thinking. It's really not for everyone and you really have to see the value in an anime with art style like this one.

Kino's Journey - Well, it's not THAT confusing or so extremely depressing, but it's a very good, thought provoking episodic anime. The title is really what it says. I mean, not to sound stale but it's about Kino and all the journey to follow that person. Read more in the synopsis.

Denno Coil -  Another great work by Madhouse. It's as thought provoking as any and leaves you with a bitter sad yet sweet feeling in the end. With this anime, I think the biggest task was keeping the surprise from the audience and keep them wondering what's going on till the very end. Check this out if you haven't.

Melody of Oblivion - I never thought I would be recommending this, but here is one of those no-titles that never really took off even after Geneon licensed it. I think it's one of those lower Gainax's work, but it does its job in keeping you thinking " wtf is this ****" and leaves you some what teary in the end. Not really depressing as opposed to being GAINAX'D all over the place. Again, read the synopsis.

Noein - Another one of those thought provoking anime is bitter sweet until the very end. It's confusing because they go into quantum mechanics (yeah I know... what the hell). I mean, it doesn't have complete mind blowing concepts but it leaves you guessing. Has some pretty depressing moments too.

Shigofumi - It has a mysterious premise from start and has probably the most depressing first arc I have seen in a long while (since then of course). If anything, that first arc will get you rolling (if not the rest of the series).

Anyways, that's a few you should check out for now. They aren't confusing to the point where it's stupid and they certainly don't ALL get insanely depressing with each advancing episode. Enjoy!

[PyronIkari]

Welcome to NHK.

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me :o

Welcome to the NHK, I dunno about confusing but I'd say it's a pretty depressing anime.  Depressing in the sense that the main character lives a very pitiful life style.

NHK wasn't depressing because the main character lives a very pitiful life style... and if you found NHK depressing in that sense, you completely missed the point of the entire series. The main character in NHK CHOSE to live that life style and MADE DECISIONS to live that life style. Within the series alone he had multiple opportunities to exit his choices, he had multiple opportunities to better himself, and he chose not to.

TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN! (i cried)  Cry

Besides it being one of the most straight forward series' ever created... it wasn't depressing, it was inspiring(which was the main theme of the series).

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me Shocked

But the inherent problem is in the first post. Eva wasn't confusing... and the ed. wasn't depressing. The ED was supposed to be anything but depressing. LOLOL SHINJI FINALLY GROWS BALLS AND GROWS UP... YAY HAPPY.  Sure the mankind dies minus two people, but Shinji grows up, and that's the entire point of the series.

But I will ignore the "like eva" part and suggest series.

Paranoia Agent- Despite most people disliking the series, it is a rather in depth look at Japan's mentality of rumors, events, what actually happens, and what people say happens. It's very misleading in that whose perspective you're really supposed to see this series in. I'll give you a hint though(not that this hint will spoil anything because it's really meaningless) it's not any of the main characters at all. The ED is depressing in the sense that, it's really a jab at humanity and how we really are, in a very realistic sense. It's not some over bearing generic message, but a proof of every day life that is witnessed.

Noein, although it was a series I love, doesn't really fit the "thought provoking/depressing". The series itself isn't thought provoking at all. It wasn't confusing, it was just told in a way where you had to wait for the next episode to understand what happened. There's a lot of quantum physics stuff mentioned, but it can realistically all be ignored and dumbed down into three simple phrases, of which I won't spoil. So I do suggest people watch it(if you can get pass the unique art style), but it doesn't fit the criteria really.

Boogiepop Phantom- Really, there's not much for me to say about this series. It's good, watch it.

Haibane Renmei- Another great series. This one actually isn't confusing, more than it is about self discovery. It's not open ended but allows the viewer to imagine a great deal of things for themselves. It's a series I usually suggest for people that want to get into a series that really makes them think and try to figure out what each message really means.

Perfect Blue- Which is considered a classic in hundreds of senses. You can easily look it up for yourself.

Chaos;Head- which is still airing. I don't know exactly which path it's following so I can't tell you exactly if it's depressing or not. But it is very confusing and thought provoking in a sense of trying to differentiate between reality and delusions.

I'm totally blanking right now, so I'll just leave it with those.

[koji]

I'd recommend Psyren for those who enjoy supernatural action manga. If you're reading HunterxHunter you'll feel pretty much at home. When I first looked at it I found the character designs similar to Bleach, but that's just me.

For those who like ecchi harem situations and have no problem with the stereotypical plots that come with them check out To Love-Ru. The embarassing situations have me laughing and the constant skin exposure pushes the limits with censorship in this man. There are even well placed work arounds for the censors that expose things that shouldn't.  :o

Then there's No Bra. This is a gender-bender, ecchi, romance comedy that will confuse most people deep down inside. My girlfriend curses me for making her read it.  :P

For martial arts comedy there's History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. This had an anime release, but I still prefer the manga. Starts off less serious and progresses quite a bit while retaining its humor.

[mDuo13]

The main character in NHK CHOSE to live that life style and MADE DECISIONS to live that life style. Within the series alone he had multiple opportunities to exit his choices, he had multiple opportunities to better himself, and he chose not to.

Y'know, a lot of people would consider that depressing in and of itself. Maybe that's not the point of the series, but it stands.

But aside from that... I guess I can contribute to this thread.
Monster is a classic that more people should watch. Sometimes it's a thriller, sometimes it's slice-of-life... but it all comes together, amazingly enough.  It has one of the most carefully-woven, mentally interesting plots I've seen, ever. The characters are all well-established and fascinating.

Scrapped Princess is my idea of a good, thought-provoking action series. The ending may be a little questionable, but in general, the series is well-conceived and the animation is really top-notch.

Midori no Hibi is a somewhat overlooked but very entertaining ecchi show. It's about a delinquent whose hand gets replaced by a girl from a neighboring school who has a crush on him... but it's not nearly as pornographic as you're probably thinking right now. Yes, there's fanservice all over the place, but there are also some of the most inventive gags to come out of such a show in the last several years.

As for things that are more current, Kara no Kyoukai is probably the thing that I'm most excited about at the moment. It's a series of movies based on light novels by Kinoko Nasu (writer) and Takeuchi Takashi (artist) of TYPE-MOON (Tsukihime, Fate/stay night). There's mystery, romance, bloody violence, particularly messed-up characters... and a soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura (Noir, .hack//SIGN). They found my favorite writer and my favorite composer and put them together. Oh yeah, and Ufotable's animation is generally just beautiful.

[Ska_Kitti]

Is Higurashi worth it? I'm not sure if I'm prepared for the mindf**k my classmates and friends claim it is.

[LordKefka]

It's not really a mind **** anime...

But go check it out though. I liked it.

[Jun-Watarase]

Yeah, really... it isn't a mindf*ck anime, as it doesn't really require much thinking. I appreciated the setting and plot they attempted at creating, but in all truth, the series wasn't very well-constructed. Still, doesn't hurt to watch, and is still mildly entertaining given what it is and how graphic scenes can be. The characters are either bland or endearing, depending on your tastes. I still enjoyed it, but it's hugely overrated. It isn't an intuitive work of art as people describe it to be-- it's only considered profound because of its horror elements and the fact that people within the series are insane, and well... the audience eats that sort of stuff up, as to most "insanity = profound".

[PyronIkari]

Is Higurashi worth it? I'm not sure if I'm prepared for the mindf**k my classmates and friends claim it is.

It was a retarded pile of stupid. The entire premise is... a bunch of people are crazy for no real good reason. Everyone that deals with them is incredibly stupid... for no real reason.

I.E. HEY THIS CHICK IS CRAZY AND TRIED TO KILL ME... When I see her at school, I will hang out with her and talk to her and be friendly and pretend like nothing happened. wwwwwwwwwww THAT'S GENIUS!

Then they kill each other, for no real good reason and it's bloody.

Then an attempt at a little bit of story that isn't important, really doesn't apply, and really doesn't mean anything, before they start killing each other again.

If you want something incredibly retarded but pretends to be something that isn't, with a lot of violence and horrible art, then watch it.

It's not even the "meant to be retarded but is entertaining in a mindless way" ala... Dragon Ball Z...

[Ska_Kitti]

Ah thanks then! I mentioned to the same group about Elfen Lied in comparison to it... they said it was much better... ANYWAYS. Aside from that, I can add Higurashi to my list of things to see. ^_^

[Mizuki]

Only reason why I watched is to count how many times Rika said Nipah.

[xXunyuuXx]

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me :o

Here one that I recommend. Its still on going though but it should be okay. And a link to what the anime is about.

-Xamd Lost Memories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xamd

[oc3anofdr3ams]

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me :o

I found Chrono Crusade to be extremely depressing at the end.  Made me question life for a good 3 days.  x____x;;  But it's kind of fluffy.