Animes That Have Blown You Away

[mParadox]

Spoiler: This one obviously

Seriously, Spice and Wolf looks deceptively like a premise for an ecchi centric show but no! It's actually very educational. Teaching you about medieval economics and the culture of the time. It's amazing and the show's protagonists(Kraft Lawrence and Holo) are one of the best and most adorable couples I've seen. The way their relationship builds over the course of the series, it's... beautiful man. T^T

[sub]Also, season 3. I'm slightly bitter that there might be no season 3. >~>[/sub]

There's also:

Higurashi (for the craziness. )
Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate(the gore and Crispin Freeman's voice, come on)
Another (loved the premise, execution was slightly wobbly though)
Full Metal Alchemist (is it bad that I haven't watched Brotherhood? Probably. >.>)
Clannad (no tears were shed, but my heart was broken regardless.)

And that's it, I think... I'll update this list accordingly if and when I remember some more awesome anime.

 

[Talaris]

Whilst I've seen a lot of anime that I absolutely love, only one show (or in this a film based on a series) that the term "blow you away" applies to is The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya film.

Spoiler: Big poster here but this film deserves it.

At 2 hours 43 min it's one of the longest anime films in history, yet not once did I feel it was dragged out, every second I was fully engrossed in the story and emotionally involved with the characters. When the credits rolled, I was simply stunned; I didn't want to get up or even move for fearing that I would lose this feeling of satisfaction from watching such a good film.

My journey through anime started high with Cowboy Bebop, and it reached that peak again with The Disappearance. I've said to myself I'll never watch it again for fearing that it won't live up to my memories, but the Blu Ray release may make me change my mind. To those who haven't seen it, it's highly recommended that you watch both seasons of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzamiya first, as the film references events that happen in the series, and familiarity with the main cast is also important for emotional engagement with the plot.

Spoiler: My favourite AMV for the film that fits the tone really well, spoilers inside however

 

[uchytjes]

snip

This is completely off topic, but I love your avatar! It said I'd die slipping on a banana peel, a way to go that I'd find both comical and slightly ironic.

OT: Anime that blew me away? Well OP already won with his mention of Attack on Titan

Spoiler: For those of you who need (more) convincing

Spoiler: And for those who need even MORE convincing, heres a overview of the fifth epic episode

But since I, as a fan of most things anime, must contribute to this I will make a short list of anime that is (IMO) must-see and/or amazing.

1. Accel World

I'll admit that I absolutely enjoyed Sword Art Online despite its.. uhm. "characters" and "plot" (trust me, the quotations are necessary) but when I learned that there was a pseudo sequal series that came out before SAO I was curious as to if it was better or not. I was pretty damn surprised. It had a pretty similar plot and setup to SAO, but was executed BRILLIANTLY as opposed to the rather poor execution of SAO. I really hope the thing gets another season because, DAMN.

2. FMA: Brotherhood

This is what got me into anime and actually realize that it was anime (I watched anime as a kid (DBZ, Naruto, etc.) but never saw it as "anime"). It was definitely epic, definitely good, and definitely blew me away. I should really finish it someday...

Also, while on the topic of FMA, is anyone else getting some vibes from Attack on Titan that they got from FMA? I swear they seem to be so similar for some reason... And it isn't for what happened at the end of episode five.

3. The Unlimited Hyoubou Kyousuke

Basically, it is X-men the anime where you are on Magneto's side. I absolutely love this thing for not piddling around and having the EPIC FINAL CONFRONTATION in the middle of the series. Seriously, the final showdown between our main character and villain (or at least the start of) is in episode 6.

 

[Nickolai77]

I love all the acclaim that Baccano's getting, i really enjoyed that anime.

Black Lagoon's is my favourite animated series, and features my favourite fictional character. Revy alone makes this show worth watching but of course there's so much else as well that makes it good.

 

[Gone Rampant]

Steins;Gate, without question. One of the best dubs I've ever heard, a fantastic story and great twists, and it's friggin Funimation. Can you go wrong with that?

When I started this series, I was just planning on watching the start of it. Six hours later and I was still watching and had just downloaded the VN. What a ride.

Concerning more classic anime, I'd go with Bebop. Great movie too.

 

[Talshere]

I really really enjoyed Karas

Spoiler: Karas images

My biggest wtf animes are probably Mnemosyne and School Days.

 

[Mr. Q]

I grew up during the era of Toonami/Adult Swim (long before the masses began worshipping the golden calf of Seth MacFarlane) and it introduced me to some wild shows plus the rise of anime on DVD got me looking for anything that tickled my fancy. Out of all that I've seen, four tend to stand out as the ones that blew me away.

[HEADING=2]Cowboy Bebop[/HEADING]

Cowboy Bebop had a fantastic group of characters and engaging stories that spoke of the human condition while taking place in a far flung future. As each episode unfolded, we got to see bits and pieces of how the future got this way plus certain episodes pealed back the layers of their main characters. This was one of the first animes that made me want to own it on DVD.

[HEADING=2]FLCL[/HEADING]

To best describe FLCL, I'd call it an ABC After School Special on acid. Its the story of a young boy dealing with the trails and tribulations of growing up with an insane wild woman riding on a Vespa and armed with a ripcord guitar thrown in the mix. Toss in dimensional portals inside human heads, robot monsters, and an alien conspiracy to destroy the planet with the use of a giant iron for good measure. For a series that lasted six episodes, it definitely left an impression on me... without the need of massive blunt trauma.

[HEADING=2]Dead Leaves[/HEADING]

Dead Leaves was a shot in the dark purchase for me in the anime section and I'm glad I picked it up. I'd rather not go into too much details so not to spoil the whole story. It's a weird "one and done" short film where it involves a prison planet, evil experiments, pregnancy, revenge, and two main characters where one has a TV for a head.

[HEADING=2]Hellsing Ultimate[/HEADING]

Hellsing Ultimate is what I call the best cure for anyone who's tired of the Twilight era of vampires. I got into the original OVA and moved onto the manga that was released by Dark Horse. I enjoyed the manga better since the first OVA deviated from the source material but thats because said source material was still in production. Thank god they came back with Hellsing Ultimate that stuck with the completed manga in all its gory detail. I only got as far as 4 volumes in the anime due to its production company going out of business and had to track down subtitled versions online. Thank god Funimation is releasing the whole series in Blu-ray at long last. Now if only I had the cash to purchase them. ^^;

 

[TobiasMP]

There are alot of animes I really enjoyed; Spice and Wolf, Naruto, One piece, Fairy tail, Sword Art Online, Code geass, but there is one that really blew me away...unfortunately i cannot remember how it was called. I actually have been looking for it, but cannot seem to find it anywhere. Though I have to admit it was a couple years ago I have watched it, I can remember it as the only anime that ever made me drop a tear. Maybe anyone here can help me find it?

The main characters where 2 guys and 2 girls. One of the girls was really shy but started to date the main character (one of the guys). When the guy was late for their date, he found her surrounded by a crowd and by police; she was hit by a car or something and would be in a coma for a long time. While she was in a coma, the guy would fall in love with the other girl and you are on the edge of your seat while the story portrays human emotions as love, sadness, jealousy, friendship and many more in beautiful way.

If anyone here recognizes this story, I would really appreciate it! Can't wait to watch this again after such a long time

 

[TobiasMP]

Just now I checked another forum on which I asked the same question a while ago; apparently someone found it for me yesterday: Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien

Sorry for not checking earlier! I do recommend this anime to everyone!

 

[Legion]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica instantly comes to mind, as far as I am concerned it's damn near perfect. I love the art style, the music, the characters and the fact that it is completely and utterly different to what I was expecting when I started watching it. For anybody who considers it, make sure to finish at least episode 3 before deciding it's not for you.

Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex. Like the two above, the animation is gorgeous, the music is as well, and I love the cast and the story. There are very few things I'd change about it, and I was hooked on it from the first episode. I pretty much watched 2-4 episodes a day until I had gone through both series.

Mardock Scramble. I couldn't say exactly what made me choose to watch it in the first place; Amazon kept on recommending it to me as I bought GitS:SAC and one day I decided to just give it a shot. I thought it was amazing. I loved the gritty style, the voice acting, the main character and the fact that it was so unlike any other anime I had seen before. It gets a little crazy at parts, but I think it just adds to the charm. It also has it's share of flaws, but I can happily ignore them, which is very rare for me.

 

[Drauger]

Its been almost 20 years since Evangelion blew my mind XD:


P&S


Right now im really impress at attack on the titan:

 

[Korten12]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica instantly comes to mind, as far as I am concerned it's damn near perfect. I love the art style, the music, the characters and the fact that it is completely and utterly different to what I was expecting when I started watching it. For anybody who considers it, make sure to finish at least episode 3 before deciding it's not for you.

I have been hearing about Madoka and I am confused, is it a serious show or mostly comedic?

 

[SajuukKhar]

I have been hearing about Madoka and I am confused, is it a serious show or mostly comedic?

Madoka is like the anti-magical girl show, it gets dark, really dark.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Cowboy Bebop remains my favorite mindblowing anime. A lot of people put it down for being popular but to hell, I decided I liked it for myself.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

Heyooooo all you fellow Escapists. I, The Great and Narcissistic Powerful Madara would like to discuss with you all the topic of Anime.

[HEADING=2]Fate/Zero[/HEADING]

This anime was by far one of the best animes I've ever seen. A prequel to the absolute mediocre anime, Fate Stay/Night (I don't recommend seeing it) that took place 10 years before Stay/Night. The anime is about Mages summoning famous heroes and figures throughout history to wage a war on one another for the Holy Grail that will grant their wishes. However this anime has so many twists and turns along with so many mature themes that can't be presented in a simple Protagonist vs Antagonist format. There is no right or wrong side in this Holy Grail War. It is the simple clash of ideals from different time periods and exactly how far people are willing to go to pursue their dreams and what they're willing to throw away. The Anime is top notch and one of the best stories ever told as historic figures like King Arthur, Diramuid, Alexander the Great and Gilgamesh wage war on one another in hopes for their own ideals and visions of the world.

[/HEADING]

You really should read the fate stay night book or read the VN if you want to see how good it is. I can't say it's fate Zero but if u want more(it's so close to being as good), it's a awesome story.

But yeah Fate zero leaves me with shiver's. I mean when Excalibur is used for the first time....shivers. And Iskander is tied as my favorite anime character of all time(with Kira Yamato).

The there is Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a anime that's hard to explain but I'd say it's a deconstruction of the magical girl anime and it has just a fantastical story.

 

[VoidWanderer]

Baki the Grappler while it does have an average storyline, the fight scenes and the sheer badassery of Teenage Baki and Yojiro is a glory to behold.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

My second would be a manga and this is the best story I have ever read it is called Berserk it is a fantasy horror series about the struggles of life and fighting against fate.

OMFG YES!

Someone finally mentioned Berserk. Thank you. God that series was so dark.

don't watch Berserk read it, for the love of god read it.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

REDLINE. RRRRRRREEEEEDDDDLINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Peaople go watch the movie known as Redline. It's the best anime movie of all time.

 

[Cpu46]

Eureka Seven.

I went into it mostly due to boredom, I had exhausted all the other mecha options I had available to me at the time. Even a few episodes into it I was unsure I was going to complete it due to a dislike of the main male lead. Then next thing I know I am watching the final episode with so much emotional investment into this anime that the fact that it ended threw me into a micro depression... which I fixed by rewatching FLCL.

Honestly anyone who hasn't watched E7 from start to finish has missed out on one hell of an anime.

 

[Gatx]

Changed my life, really made me realize what anime could be. Of course the actual show wasn't that great but it's what got me into Gundam and mecha in general (I didn't have cable while I was growing up in the 90s and early 2000s so I missed the Wing bandwagon).