general Got Questions? Anime Q & A still continues - Page 7

Okay, the Mysterious Tokyo theme was from a show called Blue Seed. Fairly straight forward.

Shadow Skill. The link there leads to the 1998 full TV series version of the 1996 short series you probably own. These series were both sequels to an OVA (Original Video Animation) which was released in 1995. If you want even more back story, you'd need to check out the manga I'm guessing. Though I hear the adaptations are pretty thorough. A similar anime to check out might be Slayers. It's more adventure comedy, but it was really fun. You might also consider some of the classic shounen adventure dramas like Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun or Cowboy Bebop (though I'm sure you already have).

One that I really enjoyed that had an almost video game feel to it was Utawarerumono (mouthful, I know). It's a fantasy set-up with lots of cool fights and a fantastic plot. Some times it can be a bit heavy on the boobs, but if you don't mind that, the characters are fun, and plot is never dull. Check it out.

Haha. Your very welcome. miragedres, I'm always happy to recommend anime. ^^ Come back after you've watched it. I'm pretty sure there's a thread somewhere around here. Thanks for stopping by.

quote p123

Is Xerxes as big as Amestris size wise? I know population wise Xerxes is about 1.1 million and Amestris is 50 million , but actual size of the country. Is Xerxes the former Ishvael ?

FMA Question.

Xerxes was merely a city-state. It was far smaller than Amestris. Probably only a little larger than Central. It wasn't the former Ishval though. It was located in the desert between Amestris and Xing.

p123, Ishbal was actually within Amestris. If it weren't, it wouldn't have been usable as a blood seal, remember? They had to cause mass murder at five point on the circle of Amestris' border. Ishval was located in the south east of Amestris.

First of all, can I just say you've got a great selection there? Excellent starting line-up. Nodame is a personal favorite. I liked Black Cat as well. Definitely thumbs up.

Alright, blue_cat, I guess up front a good option already is Fullmetal Alchemist and/or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Two popular anime with (obviously) the same characters that most people have heard of and liked.

But going off the more common options. The most recent must see anime everyone has raved about for its dark interpretation of the magical girl genre is Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. I highly recommend it. It only aired this past winter, but it's dark enough that the last episode got delayed because the makers were afraid it would be in poor taste after the earthquake that hit Japan. Fantastically thoughtful and insightful. It's a good choice.

Monster is another one that's classically dark. I recommend looking it up. It's about a rising young doctor renowned for his talent, who is one day forced to choose between saving a rich upper-class patient who will pay solidly, or a young boy with a severe head injury. But when he does what he feels is the right thing, and saves the boy, it turns out there were reasons someone tried to kill the little monster. Confronted with moral responsibility for saving the devil, Dr.Tenma plunges into a world of darkness, psychological insight into the human condition, and a quest to redeem himself. The manga is what really got me into this series, but the anime is no worse.

Haibane Renmei is a definite yes on my list. It's one of my personal top 5 favorite anime. It's got no action or anything, but it's got a philosophical allegorical setting. The plot follows a girl with no name or memories, born suddenly fully grown from a cocoon-like egg in an unfamiliar world. She's greeted by a older girl with grey angel-like wings and a halo. Confronted with this new world, she finds out she too will grow grey wings, because she's what's called a Haibane (meaning Charcoal Feathers). During the anime, she must ask herself what her meaning and purpose is in this world, how she should fulfill herself while she's there and asks herself what circumstances led her to it. It also asks questions about forgiveness and sin. It's a must watch in my book.

From the same original creator you've also got Serial Experiments Lain, but if you decide to watch it, be aware it will blow your mind.

This is getting wordy, so here are some I can list for you:

• Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (very psychological but also bloody murder of little girls - not for the faint of heart, 3 seasons)
• Casshern Sins - contains robots but not mecha, if that means anything
• xxxHolic - dark paranormal stuff
• Elfen Lied - dark horrible murder (Also not for the faint of heart)
• Paranoia Agent
• Canaan
• Mouryou no Hako (lots and lots and lots of talking, but beautiful animation)
• Jigoku Shoujo - will make you sad though.
• Kino's Journey - philosophical wanderer, human nature and all that
• Mushishi

I'm going to stop right there and let you pick some of those. They're all good to varying degrees. Hope that was helpful.

mastix, supernova1332, thank you for your help. both of you seem to know quite a lot.

i will be frequenting this forum for the next couple weeks while following some of your suggestions listed above. thank you once again.

Kanon, that was Animalover's contribution to the list. I was hesitant as well.

blue_cat, I know way more than I care to divulge publically. But you're very welcome.

So Animalover is posting through Mastix now instead of directly?

We should save Mastix's walls of recommendations until we have enough for every genre and can copy and paste them for new people.