Anime and Manga Recommendations

Originally Posted by zzeroparticle

It might be worth taking a look at Seirei no Moribito. The action is extremely brilliant with a well-developed cast of characters and a rather serious plot. It also helps that the lead, a spearwoman named Balsa, is an extremely strong character and that the story doesn't feel contrived. The brilliantly-done animation and artwork as well as the soundtrack helps draw you into the setting and the story. If you're looking for a well-written story, I'd have to toss Seirei no Moribito your way for you to give it a shot. It easily gets my vote for the best fantasy series of 2007.

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Agh, late reply... sorry. Looks like just what I was looking for much thanks to you!!

But err... any fansub group reccomended? It's just that I have only been able to find torrents of it in french

X (the movie)
it's anime

genre - It think it would be classified as action and gory flick.
about - The story takes place in 1999, the Year of Destiny, and the beginning of the end of the world. The future of the universe rests on one young man, Kamui Shiro, who must destroy either the Dragons of Earth or the Dragons of Heaven - two opposing armies. He alone must decide whether humanity should be destroyed to create a purified universe, or whether it should be protected to preserve civilization. Two oracles, the sisters Hinoto and Kanoe foresee the coming of the Dragons and predict opposite outcomes. Each sister gathers strength and ammunition to insure her own vision for the future. However, neither sister realizes that there is one man who has an even greater power than the Dragons, and that ultimately he will determine the fate of the earth. Which sister will prevail and how does Kamui fit into their struggle? The answer to this question will forever affect humanity.

voice our thoughts - This is an intriguing anime. It should be in everyone's collection. It may start slow at first but it's very in depth and complex, but as the movie goes on, it has an amazing story line that is a jaw dropper.

our rating - 75%/100%

Based on appearances alone, X/1999 would seem to be a promising anime. However, this film really drops the ball and never lives up to the quality of the animation. There really are not too many positive things to say except that it's easy on the eyes.

Gonna throw in a manga recommendation. I've got a ton to add, but I won't do them all today. Maybe one a day or so. First off...

Chun Rhang Yhur Jhun

Holy shit, say that three times fast. No images since I can't find any decent ones, and they're all a fair bit large. Google Image search or visit the publisher's website for images, which I'd recommend because the art is nothing short of spectacular. Anyway ~

Publisher: Infinity Studios Infinity Studios
Length: Currently up to Volume 5 out of 10, I believe.

CRYJ, as I'll refer to it from now on, is an amazing manhwa drawn and written by Sung-Woo Park, who also has a sequel to this called NOW, which has actually been available longer, if I'm not mistaken. Might be more accurate to call CRYJ a prequel to NOW. Anywho, CRYJ is the story of a young man called O'Rhang Yhun sets out on a journey to find his sah-hyung (something of a "brother" who's been training alongside him) who left mysteriously. It's an incredible manhwa that adds a political, dramatic flare to a heavy-on-action story. This is a series about a powerful, highly sought after martial art, so if martial arts, action manga/manhwa aren't your thing, then you've read far enough.

If you're still interested, CRYJ, as I said, combines the martial arts action with a bit of romance, politically motivated drama, and well-developed characters to give you a real sense of what's going on. It's a constant thrill to read each volume over and over again.

It doesn't help that the volumes themselves are fantastic. Each comes with a colored cover sleeve and inside each volume is a really cool colored, folded print of one or two of the characters. It's a very nice touch that makes this set stand out from the usual manga collection, besides the fact that they also stand nearly an inch taller than typical volumes.

To keep this short and sweet, CRYJ is an excellent manhwa. It's only downside is the lack of volumes out there right now, and since it's a short series the volumes aren't released too often. But they're great to read more than once, which helps to some degree. Volume 5 was released recently and mine should arrive this week.

Gonna go ahead and move into another one that I touched on already...

NOW

That's not my declaration of action, but rather the title to the sequel of CRYJ. NOW, which as far as I know doesn't stand for anything, takes place after CRYJ, but not too far since the protagonists from CRYJ are present in NOW.

The main character here is Bi Ryu, a disciple of the same martial art that O'Rhang uses in CRYJ; a fighting style known as Sa Shin Mu. It's infamously well-known due to its extreme killing power, and many fighters have come after the manual that Bi Ryu protects; a manual that will unlock the secrets of Sa Shin Mu.

In the first volume, we're introduced to Bi Ryu, Ah Rin (one of two daughters of the protagonists from CRYJ, which for spoiler reasons I won't mention names), and Cho Ryung, a strange girl who sits and moves on all fours. As you might guess, the three of them decide to set out on a journey that they all just happen to be going the same direction, and thus the story begins.

Again, it's also published by Infinity Studios, and this is where things for this particular manhwa start to turn sour. This series was published a while back, but the previous published dropped it for unknown reasons and since then, Infinity's picked it up and has re-released volumes 1 through 3 in paperback form, again with a nice colored dust sleeve much like CRYJ. It gets a little strange after that. Follow me here for a sec --

Volume 6 was Infinity's first volume of NOW they published but...
...they went back to re-release 1 through 5, because the original prints were mostly out of stock...
...however, they've decided, as of Volume 4, to release as (!)e-books of all damn things.

There's no telling what will happen with Volume 7; whether they'll stick with physical paperback releases or e-books, but I only hope they choose paperback. So far, this e-book crap hasn't hit CRYJ, but it has hit NOW and another series published by them I like a lot, called Zero: Beginning of the Coffin.

I still highly recommend NOW, and if you don't mind the e-book stuff, definitely give it a read.

Woah, it's been quite some time. Anyways, I updated the index but left out the shorter posts that were more "just throwing it out there" recommendations/follow-ups rather than reviews. (Yeah, I do realize the title thread does say "recommendations." ='D)

So I might as well throw in a review for Gankutsuou!




(DVD 1 of 6) This is pretty much the style of art you'll be seeing in the series

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Type: Anime
Genre: Drama, suspense, revenge, romance
Length: 24 episodes
Setting: Sci-Fi kinda...horses, carriages, swords, and grand balls plus spaceships. But mostly France.

(Click here for the ANN page.)

Plot
Basically, the story is based off the novel, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, but the directors definitely took many liberties with interpretation and artistic representation. But this aside, the anime follows the story of Albert, an innocent aristocrat, who meets a mysteriously fascinating traveler--the Count of Monte Cristo. Unbeknownst to Albert is the Count's quickly unfolding scheme of vengeance, which will soon change the lives of Paris' most renowned aristocrats as families are destroyed and lovers torn apart.
Throughout the series, the story touches upon many common themes. For example, what justification is there for revenge? How far is too far? Does cruelty and love come from the same source?


My Thoughts
Visuals: 10/10
First off, one of the most striking and unique aspects of Gankutsuou is the art. I'm not even going to explain it. Just look at the screenshots; they'll speak for themselves. The cover art for the DVDs (like the one at the top of this post) is entirely accurate to what's actually in the series. =D At first, I wasn't particularly fond of the busy layers and general "chaos," if you will. However, I soon came to appreciate the art, which was much more interesting to look at than pretty much any other series I've seen. There's never a boring frame with a plain background and just a mouth moving. Rich details and layers upon layers of art really do complement the story, which is as deep and complicated (well, if you can really say that, since the Count's intentions are pretty clear from the start) as the plot. Just try watching this on your TV in a dark room. I highly encourage it. ^_~ Simply gorgeous, rich, and vibrant. The DVD art is also to die for. Argh! I almost forgot to mention the random CG scenes. Yes, there are random 3-D CG scenes. They're pretty neat, and they really do wonders in some of the battle scenes.





Music: 9/10
Honestly, I heard the music before I even bought the series. In fact, I only bought the series after hearing the music, which prompted me to read up on the anime. Basically, the composer really captured the mood quite well. Epic. Dark. Parisian. Great stuff. The opening theme especially captured my attention with its gorgeous melody and restless feel. And then there's that one ZOMG EPICNESS piece--you'll know it when you hear it. ='D


OST Cover


Plot: 9/10
Hey. It's interesting. Yeah, I knew the Count reeaallly wanted revenge from the start, but the unfolding of events was so skilfully directed that I couldn't even complain if I wanted to. The pacing is just right, and the story really does keep your interest. The themes aren't too bad either. Pride, greed, etc. clash head-on in the conclusion of the series without being overly preachy or cheesy, which is really awesome. And then there's the whole idea of revenge and all the burdens that come with it. Gankutsuou takes an interesting point of view on this topic and fairly illustrates its consequences from all angles.

Unfortunately, this anime starts out a bit slow--especially the first episode, so don't let that discourage you!

Voices! J: 7.8/10 E: 8/10
So each episode in the Japanese version starts with a quick prologue-ish type thing in FRENCH, which is quite a neat touch. *tips hat* The English dub doesn't have the French, but this isn't too much of a problem, despite the fact that I really did like the French. From there, the Japanese voice actors did a pretty good job, so I can't quite complain. Strangely enough, though, I felt that the English voice actor for the count did a better job. There was a turning point somewhere in the series where I actually enjoyed the English dub more than the Japanese one, but honestly speaking, the Japanese VAs were better in the first part of the series. After a while, I guess the English ones stepped it up a notch. AND the maybe-cheesy expressions actually worked, since most of the speech was EXTREMELY formal, considering the fact that the story does focus on aristocrats. And the last episode was tooons better in English. I watched both several times, and I found that I felt more towards the English than the Japanese. But watch it yourself and decide. But yeah. Back to the Japanese VAs...nothing spectacular, but good. =]

Characters: 8/10
With almost any series, you get some of those characters that you just can't stand. In Gankutsuou's case, the main character, Albert, is one of these GRRR people. He's hard-headed, naive, and, at times, unrealistic in his obsession with the count. Regardless, if Albert were any different, the series wouldn't be as good as it is. Aside from Albert, the rest of the characters are pretty well-rounded and agreeable. Good character depth, realism, and development are definitely a plus here. The Count definitely steals the show.



Overall Score: 9.5/10
Go watch it! Don't let the first few episodes turn you away!!! This really is a GORGEOUS, moving series, although it is a bit dark. No episodes are wasted on filler garbage, since this series screams quality from the start. And do yourself a favor and stay away from Youtube/Veoh--try to find the DVDs and watch it on a TV in order to get the full experience. Seriously, this was money well-spent.
Hey, Gankutsuou won some anime of the year award or something. Good choice =] It's a shame that Gankutsuou isn't as well-known as it should be, but then again, I can't stand rabid fanbases.

Saiunkoku Monogatari: Season One
Type: Anime
Genre: Romance, comedy, shoujo, drama
Length: 39 Episodes
Setting: Past, Chinese-ish influence



So basically, take Twelve Kingdoms, slow it down some, add some bishounen fanservice, take out some of the epicness, and you have Saiunkoku Monogatari. Essentially, you have a tale focusing on the struggles of a stubborn female in a political world dominated by men and the various guys interested in this young lady. In terms of plot, I guess Saiunkoku has some pretty interesting points, especially near the end, but for the most part, there's nothing epic that hooks you in. And each episode moves rather slowly, consisting of various pan ups and silent scenes. Also, while there are swordfights in the series, don't expect too much. There's not much movement to look at in the series as a whole. As for the art style, which utilized a lot of pastel-themed colors, I wasn't particularly impressed, although I can see why the fangirls are squealing over the male leads. The characters, also stereotypical, still manage to be charming, and my favorite, surprisingly, is the villain, who, despite his perverse and twisted ways, somehow elicited quite a bit of sympathy from me by the end of the series.

So from what I'm saying, it really does seem like Saiunkoku is pretty bad. On the contrary, it's actually not. I guess you could call it a guilty pleasure type of series that you just watch and enjoy and then forget about. So if you're bored, you just might find some charm in Saiunkoku, or at least the male leads. I'm not going to lie. By the end of the series, I was going crazy waiting for season two. At least Saiunkoku really picked up near the end, so meh~

Overall: 6/10.
Good if you don't have anything else to watch, but nothing too memorable. Light, but a bit slow.