Animes That Have Blown You Away

[templar1138a]

I've only seen one anime that blew me away (don't get me wrong, I've liked most of the anime I watched, but not even my favorites did more than simply entertain me). That anime is Shuffle!

I usually enjoy this kind of seinen, but Shuffle! was remarkable because it had strong character reasons for some of the typical harem comedy tropes (it certainly had a unique take on the Childhood Friend character). The show also took a turn for the morbid at times, but it worked. Not to mention the changes in tone between story arcs allowed the show to continue for longer than most other anime of its kind and remain interesting.

My only complaint is that the characters who are supposed to be gods are just elves with short ears, and the demons are elves with long ears. The designs could've used more creativity while falling into the realm of sexy humanoid females. But that's just a minor personal gripe. Overall, it's still awesome, funny, and engaging.

 

[Madara XIII]

Time for a little history lesson. Fate/Zero is not a prequel to the Fate/Stay Night anime, but for the original visual novel. The original F/SN is an almost 100 hours long, well-written epic story in three distinct arcs. The Fate route which focuses on Saber and sets up the Grail War and its rules, the Unlimited Blade Works route which focuses on Rin and Archer and is deconstructing the protagonist's ideals, and the Heaven's Feel route, which focuses on Sakura and the machinations and intents behind the forming of the Grail War and its final conclusion. That is three completely different stories branching from the same start, with completely different events, confrontations and endings and each about thirty to forty hours long... and they tried to cram all of it into one 24 episode anime series. Do you see the problem yet?
The only reason Fate/Zero does any better is because it is based on the prequel novels written by the same author, so it could be adapted straight and true to the original without having to mix the elements of different routes (which more often than not leads to horrible results).

That said, the one thing I can agree with you about is that one should not go out their way to see the F/SN anime. They should read the visual novel (it has been translated for years).

I will admit, my friend knew alot of the bullshit that happened with Fate Stay/Night and the failed attempt to try and incorporate all three endings into one so yeah I figured that would be a definite reason.

Honestly though, the only way it could ever be good is if it stuck with the Heaven's Feel route which I really felt was an appropriate end to that story with Shirou and Kirei both fist fighting to the death and Shirou's body eventually giving out due to his body healing over his wounds with swords.

(Also UBW was decent but Gilgamesh lost to some serious bullshit reasons)

 

[hazabaza1]

[HEADING=2]Baccano![/HEADING]

Yes.
This is good, yes.

Though the first series that I saw that I really "couldn't stop watching" would probably be Cowboy Bebop. Goddamn that's a good anime.

Also Gurren Lagann because fuck me do they never stop raising the stakes. If you watch the movies, stuff only stops getting bigger ONCE THEY START STANDING ON UNIVERSES.

 

[Kyrian007]

There've been several animes that I've been "pleasanlty surprised" by, but I would not call it "blown away." Blown away... the only one that qualifies is (like others have said) Cowboy Bebop.

I've been surprised by the quality of a few. SE Lain, Trigun, Speed Grapher, and Gungrave. Others have been right up my alley because of plotlines or gimmics like Outlaw Star and Last Exile. But blown away... only Bebop.

 

[Madara XIII]

Tiger and Bunny- Sure the animation were great and all but thanks to the characters, the setting and aswell the script/ story/ plot aspect of it. I never knew they can pulled off the Western aspect of superheroes so well!


PS (By the way OP, what is your Gundam collection as I'm into Gundam models too).

Sweetness! Glad to see you like Tiger and Bunny as well. Definitely one of my all time favorite Hero Animes.
The only thing that pissed me off about the anime was where it left off at the very end when the Stern Dollar Bills all appeared to have the Uroboros Watermark on them.

THEY LEFT IT AT THAT!

And concerning my Gundam models.
So far I have:

- A high grade Gale Strike Gundam from Seed vs Astray
- A Master Grade Death Scythe Gundam, The Endless Waltz Version
and a Master Grade Wing Gundam (EW version as well)


Right now, Im thinking of getting the Master Grade Sinanju Mobile Suit KA Version since I'd prefer painting it instead of using stickers like the OVA version.

Or possibly might get the Master Grade Epyon

 

[Daft Time]

Cowboy Bebop is the only anime that?s ever been anymore than a half-decent way to pass my time. In fact, in a genre (sub-genre?) that I typically make a point of avoiding it really astounded me. I've even watched it through its entirety multiple times - the number of series I've done that for is minute.

Sporting impressive visuals, a fantastic soundtrack, brilliant world building and a cogent, enjoyable story in spite of the occasional lost-in-translation moment? That?s about as close as it gets to blowing me away.

 

[King of Asgaard]

[HEADING=2]Cowboy Bebop[/HEADING]

Regarded by many to be an all time classic, and for good reason. Even the two or three bum episodes have some semblance of effort put into them.

Oh, and most things by Studio Ghibli.

 

[Epicspoon]

Hataraku Maou-sama! (Aka The Devil Is a Part Timer)

It's still on going and so far this has been one of the most wildly amusing animes I have seen in my entire life.

Also Nichijou and Daily Lives of High School Boys. Both of those need to be seen to be believed so I'm not even going to bother explaining, If you haven't watched the last two go watch them. NOW.

 

[Yuno Gasai]

[HEADING=2]Fairy Tail[/HEADING]

I don't know what I was expecting when I first started watching it, but I definitely wasn't expecting a heartfelt series which wasn't afraid to mock itself and/or play up to a lot of typical anime tropes.

I genuinely adore that show. <3

 

[SckizoBoy]

The series is definitely good, but I highly recommend the movie above all else.
Heck the second movie was one hell of a trip itself.

Which film? Granted, the first one had horrid character design but was otherwise brilliant. The second, to me, was very 'eh' as its visuals gave me a bit of a headache (says the massive fan of Gankutsuou... ¬_¬ ) and some of it detracted from the plot. As for SSS, it felt like an extended episode, but then again, that may be the way it was produced. *shrug*

OT: Not really sure...

Can't really say what's 'blown me away', only what I enjoy or think is really good. For 'blown away' I can only point to really really really depressing stuff... like Grave of the Fireflies, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, aspects of Gunslinger Girl, Haibane Renmei (not particularly depressing, but still 'deep' stuff). *shrug*

 

[hazabaza1]

[HEADING=2]Baccano![/HEADING]

Yes.
This is good, yes.

Though the first series that I saw that I really "couldn't stop watching" would probably be Cowboy Bebop. Goddamn that's a good anime.

Also Gurren Lagann because fuck me do they never stop raising the stakes. If you watch the movies, stuff only stops getting bigger ONCE THEY START STANDING ON UNIVERSES.

Actually, I am planning to watch Gurren Lagann soon (have the DVDs here) I might as well start now if what you said is true.

What do you suggest, dub or sub?

Subs all the way. From what I've seen of the dub it's kind of... awful? Yeah, awful is good.

 

[Madara XIII]

[HEADING=2]Baccano![/HEADING]

Yes.
This is good, yes.

Though the first series that I saw that I really "couldn't stop watching" would probably be Cowboy Bebop. Goddamn that's a good anime.

Also Gurren Lagann because fuck me do they never stop raising the stakes. If you watch the movies, stuff only stops getting bigger ONCE THEY START STANDING ON UNIVERSES.

Actually, I am planning to watch Gurren Lagann soon (have the DVDs here) I might as well start now if what you said is true.

What do you suggest, dub or sub?

Go with Dub. Both the Dub and the Sub are exceptionally well done, but to me the English really sells it.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I caught this on its original airing in Australia in 1996 (I think) and I was blown away. It presented me with themes, art direction, character arcs and even music that I had considered possible in an animation. It got me into anime fully, a process started by honorable mention to this concept, Tekkaman Blade and as a whole it started my love affair with animation and comics. Without it as a formative influence, I would never have discovered Justice League (the series) and through that, comics in general. No Superman, no Batman, no Wonder Woman, no Watchman, no Sin City, none of that and God knows what else. Hell, without NGE I'd never have gotten into classical music; although pieces like Ode to Joy, Pachabel's Canon, and the Hallelujah Chorus mean very different things to me as they might most fans of the music.

Neon Genesis Evangelion has, for better or for worse informed everything I look for in entertainment, and how I look at it. I regard it highly, flaws and all.

 

[Richardplex]

Well, I suppose Higurashi no Naku Koro ni back when I first began watching anime, and later on Baccano! and Spice & Wolf.

...
The only reason Fate/Zero does any better is because it is based on the prequel novels written by the same author, so it could be adapted straight and true to the original without having to mix the elements of different routes (which more often than not leads to horrible results).
...

As far as I know, Fate/Zero isn't written by Kinoko Nasu, but by Gen Urobuchi. Another reason it, and the anime derived from it, is of superior quality.

From what I understand, it was essentially a joint creation. Nasu gave Urobuchi the storyboard and the characters, Urobuchi wrote it, and then Nasu also filled in as the role of editor. Which is what Urobuchi needed, given he was in a writing slump at that point.

I agree with your Urobuchi v Nasu in terms of how they translate to anime though. Nasu's way of writing demands a lot of space and time, it can't be contracted into a time-limited anime. Hell, Emiya and Archer talking as he walks down the steps in UBW is as long as a single episode. Urobuchi's writing doesn't focus on things that have to be spoken out, so he can do intelligent anime as well.

OT: Jormungand up until the last episode. That blew me away in a different way. In the how-could-you-fuck-up-this-bad kind of way.

 

[Ultress]

Time of Eve and Usagi Drop, They are what slice of life shows should aspire to be. Both surprised me with how good they where and how well the tackle their respective themes.Also I'm full aware of how Usagi Drop truly ends but I'm only talking about those 11 episodes of pure magic.

Speaking of magicrincess Tutu. I do not care who you are,what gender you are or if you like the magical girl genre,watch this.It's about a girl who's also a duck that is also the titular character(not as confusing as it sounds) who saves people by dancing. The series is bittersweet on the whole and like Baccano! sets to play with the idea of the story though in a decidedly different way. It draws from classic plays and ballets and infuses their style into the show via music and characters.


Glass Mask(2005): It's great and blew me away that I actually sat through the entity of the series(51 episodes). It's simply following around a young acting prodigy through the ups and downs of her life. Her acting is amazing,the story can genuinely surprise and all the relationships,romantic and non, are great. It stays calm never resorting to bombastic resumes to make it seem "epic",it tells this girl's story and we're just along for the ride.

 

[Owlslayer]

Well, firstly, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Words cannot describe how much i love this anime, and how absurdly over-the top awesome it is. Kicking common sense in the curb has never been so fun. The movies also blew me away. I'm pretty sure I'd say that the second movie had the best fight scene I've ever seen. Loved it, loved it so very much. Every time someone mentioned TTGL in this thread, i wanted to head-bump them, in a good way. Or throw my fist up and scream something manly. You get the point, i think.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I enjoyed the first FMA, but it was just "okay". I was not expecting a ride like FMA:B. The fight scenes blew me away, the music was spectacular, and well, i loved the whole plot as well.

Also, Kino's Journey kinda blew me away. i was just expecting some random adventures of someone called Kino, who had a talking bike. But damn, the very first episode already dared to show how wretched humans can be, and made me think quite a bit. And it was one helluva thought-provoking ride, this anime.

And Usagi Drop, as a poster has already said. A really heart-warming anime, that also showed how difficult growing a child really is as a single parent. And yeah... I really wish i didn't read the manga, it kinda ruined the whole thing. Did not like that ending. But the anime, blew me away. Was expecting just some heart-warming stuff, but it was quite a bit deeper.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Tiger and Bunny- Sure the animation were great and all but thanks to the characters, the setting and aswell the script/ story/ plot aspect of it. I never knew they can pulled off the Western aspect of superheroes so well!


PS (By the way OP, what is your Gundam collection as I'm into Gundam models too).

Sweetness! Glad to see you like Tiger and Bunny as well. Definitely one of my all time favorite Hero Animes.
The only thing that pissed me off about the anime was where it left off at the very end when the Stern Dollar Bills all appeared to have the Uroboros Watermark on them.

THEY LEFT IT AT THAT!

And concerning my Gundam models.
So far I have:

- A high grade Gale Strike Gundam from Seed vs Astray
- A Master Grade Death Scythe Gundam, The Endless Waltz Version
and a Master Grade Wing Gundam (EW version as well)


Right now, Im thinking of getting the Master Grade Sinanju Mobile Suit KA Version since I'd prefer painting it instead of using stickers like the OVA version.

Or possibly might get the Master Grade Epyon

I think there suppose to be another season/ series to Tiger and Bunny as it is a popular anime over there I think.

Ah right, you're into Master Grade models, I'm more into High Grade models (Master grade are cool and all but they're more expensice and time comsuing to paint and build but I do own a couple like the Gundam MK2 Titan version and Strike Noir Gundam).

I got too many to list (and I tend to put my older models into storage) so I only mention the lastest three I got from my parent when they went to Hong Kong/ China.

They are pretty much from the AGE series-
Gundam AGE 1 Titus (It actually pretty cool eventhought I don't like bulky melee mechs.)
Gundam FX (While it is nice looking but I just hate the fact it was never utalize properly thanks to the lame protagonist plioting it.)
Clanche Custom (My favourite out of the three despite the back part is weak.)

 

[ToastedCorpser4Lunch]

Inuyasha when I watched it as a kid was just so...adult? It felt action it was bloody it was awesome and I loved it. Watching it now however...ew.
Ghost in the Shell, was on adult swim with inuyasha and I liked it for much the same reason but didn't see it as much most likely due to just missing it.
Death Note, brilliant.
Spirited Away needs no words.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

When I first got into anime, I went from Sailor Moon to Pokemon to Dragon Ball Z. Then a friend from school showed me 4 titles that completely changed everything; 2 movies and 2 series:

Spoiler: Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D is likely what made me favor the dark, Gothic aesthetic and style as I turned Teen. This was also the first anime that I've seen that showed off graphic violence and naked boobs. That alone is enough to blow my mind as a teen but watching it again as I grew up, I can still appreciate it...even though the animation is dated compared to Bloodlust and the plot itself is pretty basic. Oh well, my inner adolescent says Boobs = win so there we go.

Spoiler: Devilman

Once again; graphic violence and naked boobs blew my mind. There was also a spark of Satanism though not really traditional Satanism as it was more like...well Pokemon only instead of catching the Demons who escaped from Hell you just had to murder them all and to do so, the main character had to bind his soul to one. That one turned out to be the most powerful of the lot which is great luck! I don't know how long the series ran for but it was actually rebooted from a series that ran in (I believe) 1972. There is a live action film which was released in Japan back in 2004. The IMDB score for the film is really low but I liked it as it seemed to be a great summation of the series I was familiar with. The demon fights looked like they came from a PS3 cutscene but that just endeared the film to me. The more I look back at it, Devilman was really, really fucking dark. It's no wonder I went Gothic!

Spoiler: Ninja Scroll

Ninjas, Naked-Boobs and, EXTREMELY Graphic death scenes. More importantly though are some of the most awesome characters I'd seen up to that point in my life. Not everyone is completely psychotic, not everyone is completely homicidal but Jyubei is a complete bad-ass. This is one of my favorite anime films of all time but I haven't seen the series yet. I should probably fix that...

Spoiler: Fist of the North Star

Dragon Ball Z is awesome but it takes episodes upon episodes to get through exposition, powering up, failed attacks all before a stalemate and narrow victory. In Fist of the North Star, there is one overarching villain per season (Shin then Raoh then, Raoh some more). Each episode though they introduce a new enemy who is killed off before the credits roll with very few exceptions. They didn't die easy either...this is one of the most violent anime series I have ever, EVER seen. Sure, the blood and really nasty stuff gets whited-out but it leaves nothing to the imagination...


my favorite character by the way is Rei who does stuff like this:


This show is made out of violence and manly tears. It's my all-time favorite anime series and I'm still kinda miffed the Wii U didn't get Ken's Rage 2 as a physical release...

 

[Angie7F]

Jojo has been my latest favorite.
But I am now working my way through Steins Gate.

I also enjoy Aku no hana in a totally different way from the other standard stuff