Animes That Have Blown You Away

[Terratina.]

-Quote drama-rama snip-

Time to play devil's advocate to a devil's advocate. That's the main problem with .hack//SIGN, if that's the one you are referring to, .hack//Quantum has much better pacing and requires no prior knowledge of the series to watch, the pacing is outright terrible. It does start off weak and but ends strongly. The main problem is getting through all of the weak stuff. However, I would say that it's worth it. As for the eternal SAO vs .hack debate, they are two very different animes. SAO focuses on action and romance while .hack is more of a mystery drama.

It just depends which genre you like more, which would probably help you overlook the issues. SAO loves its timeskips a bit too much, Kirito is a wish-fulfillment character and one of the romance subplots is just... ick. .hack on the other hand is very slow paced, Tsukasa makes Shinji look the happiest person in the world and the franchise as whole loves focusing on one cast of characters only to then focus on an entirely different one, with recycled character designs. All in all, I'm tired of the SAO vs .hack debate, it's like the whole Naruto vs. One Piece debate, so I'll end it here.

 

[Talshere]

[HEADING=2]Future Diary[/HEADING]

For years I wanted an anime that was akin to Death Note and lo and behold Future Diary from out of nowhere blew away all my expectations and impressed me with it's twists and turns and sometimes unpredictable characters. The 2nd opening song is by far a personal favourite.

This, I was watching it in uni while it was still airing with a housemate. Every time we finished watching a new episode we just walked out of our room onto the landing and were just "WTF just happened"

So go, though Ive never see stalking and harassing someone justified so neatly in my life. Its just scary the sort of power she has over him.

 

[Madara XIII]

[HEADING=2]Future Diary[/HEADING]

For years I wanted an anime that was akin to Death Note and lo and behold Future Diary from out of nowhere blew away all my expectations and impressed me with it's twists and turns and sometimes unpredictable characters. The 2nd opening song is by far a personal favourite.

This, I was watching it in uni while it was still airing with a housemate. Every time we finished watching a new episode we just walked out of our room onto the landing and were just "WTF just happened"

So go, though Ive never see stalking and harassing someone justified so neatly in my life. Its just scary the sort of power she has over him.

Yeah I freaking love this anime too.
IMO though, I started hating Yuno pretty hard, seeing how 9, Both 7s and 12 were my absolute fave.

Funnily enough, if 12 didn't die he more than likely could have won seeing how he has power over 6's clairvoyance and 11th's power can't work on him as 12th's Diary is purely sound based.
On top of that Yuno was technically still God when she killed him. So my theory stands.
12 was right. NO MORTAL CAN KILL HIM!

<youtube=98rPvXWHQJk>

 

[Ikasury]

Kara no Kyoukai: Garden of Sinners

Ohmigawd Shiki... the movie series is amazing, visually, and the depth of the stories, and for what really surprised me especially for its overall tone of 'F*CKED!' was this is one of those rare instances that there actually IS a happy ending... yay~! not to mention the characters and the everything 'unsaid' with the possibilities, i know this is Nasuverse so loosely related to FATE/series and Tsukihime, but as the one before all those... *squees* so much more love~

Blue Gender

now, i suppose most people won't think of much of this, as just another bug-kill-gorefest (which i will NOT deny is one of its perks) but since this is for 'WHAT ANIME SURPRISED YOU!!' this one is DEFINITELY one of the ones that surprised me, I F*CKING HATED IT!! at the beginning, but by the end i was crying and absolutely LOVING the character, whom i originally HATED... why? Blue Gender is probably the BEST example of CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT i have EVER seen in a series, PERIOD! why? you literally CAN'T watch the last episode then start over again immediately, IT HURTS!! the differences between Marlene/Yuji at the beginning and at the end is so AMAZING if they didn't look pretty much the same you wouldn't recognize them... and i didn't even REALIZE THIS until for fun i actually tried the above and hurt my brain... the character change is so gradual, well-paced, and REAL you don't even notice it until you try to compare the two...

ookami-san to shichinin no nakama-tachi
(or relatively: Wolf and Seven Companions)

this REALLY surprised me, i started reading the manga (which is HILARIOUS and follows some other details) and got hooked immediately, when i got caught up, i wanted more, so found the anime to watch... I LOVE IT! and its not just for the Female Lead having allusions to wolves, but just how intricately they play 'old stories' like fairy tales and fables, both western and eastern, into daily 'life' stories, some are so subtle the only way i noticed was the 'character design', which is AMAZING!! just the little details that make each character 'look' like who they're 'supposed' to be, but its not so overt, obvious, or stupid looking, its done really, really GOOD!! plus the stories, and the characters are just 'good' in my opinion... but what probably SURPRISED me the most (other then good art style and usage of 'stories') is the obvious and totally 'normal' role-reversals, 'Gender-norms? what are those?' i felt myself giggling at the complete ignoring of them as the Male-lead did the typical Shoujo-esque 'confessing' (even sounding like one) to the Female Lead... *snorts out soda laughing so hard* XD and none of it came off as 'weird' or 'forced' just an extension of how they are who they are~ (plus the manga... oh the manga XD)

i got a lot of other loves: Berserk, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell (all incarnations) and others that would be considered under the 'big banner of awesome!' but these were the ones i truly love because yea, they SURPRISED ME!! XD i don't even remember how i 'found' Kara no Kyoukai, but i love it, Blue Gender i originally hated and ended up LOVING!! and Ookami-san i thought was just another shoujou-bs-cute-manga and for WHATEVER REASON i decided to actually read, and realized it TOTALLY WASN'T... and LOVE!

so yea, all that jazz~

 

[Ikasury]

[HEADING=2]Future Diary[/HEADING]

For years I wanted an anime that was akin to Death Note and lo and behold Future Diary from out of nowhere blew away all my expectations and impressed me with it's twists and turns and sometimes unpredictable characters. The 2nd opening song is by far a personal favourite.

This, I was watching it in uni while it was still airing with a housemate. Every time we finished watching a new episode we just walked out of our room onto the landing and were just "WTF just happened"

So go, though Ive never see stalking and harassing someone justified so neatly in my life. Its just scary the sort of power she has over him.

Yeah I freaking love this anime too.
IMO though, I started hating Yuno pretty hard, seeing how 9, Both 7s and 12 were my absolute fave.

Funnily enough, if 12 didn't die he more than likely could have won seeing how he has power over 6's clairvoyance and 11th's power can't work on him as 12th's Diary is purely sound based.
On top of that Yuno was technically still God when she killed him. So my theory stands.
12 was right. NO MORTAL CAN KILL HIM!

<youtube=98rPvXWHQJk>

12 and Minene, gods among men XD

 

[Ikasury]

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.

first watching ep1: oh this is cute, i love the art style and the new mahou shoujo thing~

ep2: okay, this is still bubble-gum and sundrops aw- *RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH-CRASH* *twitch*

by the end of episode 2 you realize this isn't a normal 'happy and sunshine' Mahou Shoujo deal... AND IT JUST GETS BETTER FROM THERE!! XD the mind screw is my particularly favorite part of the whole d*mn thing... like Mirai Nikki, the mind screw makes it all make sense... AND MAKES IT AWESOME!! XD

 

[Ikasury]

There can only be one answer to this in my book: Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt.

Any anime where THIS:


...is actually one of the LESS crazy things that happens is off to an excellent start.

The final episode? Blew my brains out all over the back of my chair, and proceeded to skull-fuck me in the brain-hole. Some people have issues with the final episode, but personally? I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

as awesome as P&S is... its Gainax, after FLCL i was EXPECTING this kind of shenanigans XD not that its not AWESOME!! and totally ballz-trippy... just... i dunno... i was waiting for it honestly XD

 

[Ikasury]

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.

no, no, no... no... no... no.... the anime is like, and 'introduction' for those that are 'curious' *snorts* i don't know how many people i've seen watch it and go 'THAT WAS BLOODY AWESOME!! WANT MOAR!!' so i point them to the manga... and they get scared, hehehe... the end of the anime should literally have a big box that says 'THIS IS WHERE YOU GO READ THE MANGA, YOU PANSIES!!' XD

course the new movies are shaping to live up to the 'heart' of Berserk, i can't really make any full assumptions other then i've liked the 1st and 2nd, but DESCENT is the one that will make or break it... and by all that is UNHOLY!! it better be the full-on uncut-of-uncuts -.- i've been waiting a long time for something to top Genocyber on the gore-scale, BERSERK don't fail me now!!

 

[Ikasury]

Sword Art Online

I find that to be such an overrated anime. The concept it nice. But I find it frustrating how so many people think it is better than .hack.

Sword Art Online is an interesting concept. But it quickly turned into some of the worst pandering garbage I have ever seen. It is like they took a lot of nice possible exercise in thinking about the possible future of technology in a Kurzweilian fashion and used it as nothing more as a pretty coating for a bland, generic, obnoxious harem anime.

Some of the most obnoxious harem anime tropes in the world with a thin coating of Ray Kurzweil thrown on top does not "blow me away."

Thank all that us gratuitously gravy in the world for your comment.
What makes it worse is that BOTH the villain and protagonist are god modded wish fulfillment characters. Plus I've yet to find a clear indication as to WHY Kayaba trapped everyone in there. Not to mention the legal precautions that should have taken place in the real world given that THOUSANDS of people are in a cyber induced coma.

I refuse to believe anyone is dumb enough to say SAO is better than .Hack by any extension

every time someone mentions SAO i just b*tchslap them and point them towards DOT//:hack. cause honestly, the whole deal with video game world sucking you in? hmm? that sounds awfully familiar -.- plus the characters are a lot better, both in the dynamic of who they are IN 'The World' and who they are 'outside' it... SAO just felt shallow all around... plus no Helba *glomps* you're my favorite hacker, no matter what the Major says~

 

[kayo of the Well]

.

 

[Korten12]

-Quote drama-rama snip-

Time to play devil's advocate to a devil's advocate. That's the main problem with .hack//SIGN, if that's the one you are referring to, .hack//Quantum has much better pacing and requires no prior knowledge of the series to watch, the pacing is outright terrible. It does start off weak and but ends strongly. The main problem is getting through all of the weak stuff. However, I would say that it's worth it. As for the eternal SAO vs .hack debate, they are two very different animes. SAO focuses on action and romance while .hack is more of a mystery drama.

It just depends which genre you like more, which would probably help you overlook the issues. SAO loves its timeskips a bit too much, Kirito is a wish-fulfillment character and one of the romance subplots is just... ick. .hack on the other hand is very slow paced, Tsukasa makes Shinji look the happiest person in the world and the franchise as whole loves focusing on one cast of characters only to then focus on an entirely different one, with recycled character designs. All in all, I'm tired of the SAO vs .hack debate, it's like the whole Naruto vs. One Piece debate, so I'll end it here.

I think with .hack though you could say that the anime series may have possibly pad pacing due to the games, since .hack//sign and roots were both made to tie in to their games series, the original .hack saga and the G.U. trilogy. Since most of the meat of the series takes place in the games.

Also .hack//link doesn't exist. Nope, it doesn't exist... Please say it doesn't exist...

 

[Dr. Cakey]

Alright, I'm distinguishing between anime I really liked and anime that quote blew me away unquote, because those are different things. Now, let's begin:

Death Note
The timeless tale of a genius college student eating potato chips, Death Note showcases a roller coaster ride of a mind game plot, but just as importantly, it's Studio Madhouse doing what they do best. No, not boob physics, the other thing they do best. Yeah, melodrama. In a show about people sitting around talking, the camera zips around like crazy and the Ominous Latin Choir does its thing. In short, it is...JUSTICE!

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
If Death Note and Gundam had a child, and that child was on crack, it would be Code Geass. Mech combat! Intricate schemes! Anti-hero protagonist! High school hijinks! CLAMP! Holy hell, Code Geass has everything, for good and for bad.

Fate/Zero
When gigguk reviewed this show, he paused for a moment, searching for the right word, and described it as "mature". And that's a good way to describe it. Other ways to describe it might be "gorgeous beyond belief" and "OMG RIDER SO AWSUM" (I'm more partial to Gilgamesh myself, but everyone likes Rider). Here, you know what? Just listen to this:

And oh, if you were wondering, Fate/stay night really is as bad as you've heard. The Fate/stay night anime cannot even hold a candle to how incredibly awful the first two routes of the visual novel are. Heaven's Feel, the third route, is apparently...well, I was going to say "the Holy Grail of the Fate series", but that seems inappropriate given the context, so I guess I'll say it's the Valve of the Fate series or something, but I have not read it yet, so I will reserve judgment for the moment.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica
If you've already seen Madoka, you know what I mean. If you haven't, please stop what you are doing and go watch it right now. I'm not going to say anything about it. Don't go read reviews, or see what people have to say about it. Don't read any of the other posts in this thread about it. Just watch it. Please.

"Don't forget. Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember her, you are not alone."

Bleach
I know, I know, but this isn't a thread about good anime, this a thread about anime that blew you away. Now sure, I was young and not as wise as I am now, but somewhere around episode 40 I realized, "hey wait a minute...this show is AWESOME!" Because it kind of is. Kind of.

Kokoro Connect
This show blew me away in a way a bit different from the others. It's a great show, though not on the level of everything else (except Bleach, of course), but it blew me away in two respects. One, it was the show that made me realize I could like things other than action shows (everything else on this list is an action show, after all). Two, and this is really a personal thing, but at the time I was freshly disappointed by SAO, but at the same time I was forced to admit it was the best series of the Summer 2012 season. Then I was recommended Kokoro Connect, and after that I was forced to admit nothing. Take that, SAO, take that! Your grand sword-fighting adventure doesn't hold a candle to Kokoroco's heart-wrenching, body-swapping comedic romance melodrama!

every time someone mentions SAO i just b*tchslap them and point them towards DOT//:hack. cause honestly, the whole deal with video game world sucking you in? hmm? that sounds awfully familiar -.- plus the characters are a lot better, both in the dynamic of who they are IN 'The World' and who they are 'outside' it... SAO just felt shallow all around... plus no Helba *glomps* you're my favorite hacker, no matter what the Major says~

Bla bla bla. Look, there's only one reason to not like SAO: because it's bad. I hate the "X is similar to Y, and Y is good, therefore X sucks" argument to begin with, and in this case it's doubly infuriating because SAO very obviously is not derivative of .hack. SAO sucks for its own, very personal reasons. On the other hand, unlike .hack//SIGN at least, SAO is always...well, exciting might be too strong a word, but at least always in motion. Whereas when I watched .hack//SIGN I was more bored than I'd been since I watched Elfen Lied. Yes, I was bored watching Elfen Lied.

 

[vercardo]

Animes that have blown me away...
Well, besides the obvious Death Note and Cowboy Bebop I'm gonna have to say, One Outs.
It's one of the best I've ever watched, and it was certainly the most mind-blowing, because I didn't expect how bloody awesome it would be.
One reason for that: sports. It's about sports (baseball) and I hate sports.

It's basically Death Note, but on a smaller scale. The stakes aren't that high, nobody dies, there are no shinigami or any of that stuff, but it's every bit as intense as the mental chess battles between L and Light.
Now if this thread were about best anime, it would be a tie between Death Note and One Outs for me. Animes that have blown me away; One Outs is a winner, just because I still can't get over how bloody awesome an anime about baseball can be...

Death Note fans, watch One Outs, and I promise you, at the end of the series Tokuchi (the main character) will stand proudly in the hall of fame of most badass, strategic, manipulating geniuses, next to L and Light.

 

[MrsBloo]

ONE PIECE!!!!!!! ya know a few years ago when it first came out on tv i saw one episode and i passed judgement only to change the channel after about 10 min. Here i stand today a fan and ashamed i did not appreciate the art. Because of my bf i watched it and as soon as we started to date, him and i always watch it, read the manga and collect most of if not all of the franchise til this day. the story is freaking awesome and they dont lack on action. This is why One piece blew me away its art and story line<3


But honestly, there are alot of animes out there that blow my mind. I just have seen some already listed, but not this one in particular. <3

does anyone remember bubblegum crisis? 0_0


*****Has anyone read Sun-Ken rock? warning: mature content

 

[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.

no, no, no... no... no... no.... the anime is like, and 'introduction' for those that are 'curious' *snorts* i don't know how many people i've seen watch it and go 'THAT WAS BLOODY AWESOME!! WANT MOAR!!' so i point them to the manga... and they get scared, hehehe... the end of the anime should literally have a big box that says 'THIS IS WHERE YOU GO READ THE MANGA, YOU PANSIES!!' XD

course the new movies are shaping to live up to the 'heart' of Berserk, i can't really make any full assumptions other then i've liked the 1st and 2nd, but DESCENT is the one that will make or break it... and by all that is UNHOLY!! it better be the full-on uncut-of-uncuts -.- i've been waiting a long time for something to top Genocyber on the gore-scale, BERSERK don't fail me now!!

But the golden age arc of the anime completely screwed itself by leaving out a lead character, so they can't really continue the story.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

Would Balsa the Spear wielder count as anime? I was really surprised by Moribito.

 

[Ikasury]

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.

no, no, no... no... no... no.... the anime is like, and 'introduction' for those that are 'curious' *snorts* i don't know how many people i've seen watch it and go 'THAT WAS BLOODY AWESOME!! WANT MOAR!!' so i point them to the manga... and they get scared, hehehe... the end of the anime should literally have a big box that says 'THIS IS WHERE YOU GO READ THE MANGA, YOU PANSIES!!' XD

course the new movies are shaping to live up to the 'heart' of Berserk, i can't really make any full assumptions other then i've liked the 1st and 2nd, but DESCENT is the one that will make or break it... and by all that is UNHOLY!! it better be the full-on uncut-of-uncuts -.- i've been waiting a long time for something to top Genocyber on the gore-scale, BERSERK don't fail me now!!

But the golden age arc of the anime completely screwed itself by leaving out a lead character, so they can't really continue the story.

really? who'd they leave out? i know in the anime they didn't mention Puck but they and the end was a 'fade to black' kind of thing, with the movies (1 and 2 that i've seen) they had cameos of the future crew which i thought was hilarious~ but even then, like i said, its an 'introduction', you really can't enjoy BERSERK without reading the manga in its entirety... just because i seen a series, doesn't mean i'm going to start EXACTLY where it left off, that's silly because anime typically leaves out a lot if it came out afterwards, but if its one of those cases of anime-first-manga-second they still alter the story between the mediums where you have to read/watch both in their entirety...

Berserk Manga is OHMIGODWTFAAKJGLAJKGB!! Amazing! story and art wise, that and Miura doesn't skimp on realistic fanservice while at the same time horrifying his readers to just how f*cked the world really and can truly be... the Anime is 'shallow' by comparison, but that makes sense because it has different standards to achieve, its just there to give out an action-packed 'thing' for those who don't know about the Manga, anime spreads faster as a visual medium then Manga, which is why i treat the anime as a tool to get others interested, if they REALLY like the story, they'll read the manga afterwards, if they just want the visuals of big-guy with sword in f*cked-up-dark-fantasy, then the anime may suffice for them... i'm not saying the anime is 'bad', its good on its own, its just NOT the Manga, its a stripped version of the manga because of parental-codes or whatever and censorship, blah blah blah... but as a whole and on its own it really is a GOOD ANIME, even with its 'fade-to-black' ending... its like its designed for that little text box of 'GO READ THE MANGA NOW YOU PANSIES!!' XD

this is a reverse case of say Neon Genesis Evangelion, where the manga was just fluffed out advertisement for the Anime, because the Anime actually came 'first' even if the manga was released like a month before... just advertisement for the original... it think the anime of Ghost in the Shell can be seen the same too~ needs a big tagline 'NOW GO WATCH THE ORIGINAL MOVIES!! ... YOU PANSIES!!' XD with a following of 'go read the manga... you pansies~' XD still all good series in their own rights, though GITS is more of a 'each is its own story' while the other two kinda make my point *shrugs* if you like a series, you just take it in every adaptation XD

 

[Username Redacted]

does anyone remember bubblegum crisis? 0_0

Bubblegum Crisis is good in that it started with a good idea (let's rip off Blade Runner) and evolved from there. Good characters, interesting villains and a soundtrack that oozes 80s. Unless of course you're referring to Bubblegum Crisis 2040 in which case I may have to hurt you =p. That series was not so good.

 

[MrsBloo]

Bubblegum Crisis is good in that it started with a good idea (let's rip off Blade Runner) and evolved from there. Good characters, interesting villains and a soundtrack that oozes 80s. Unless of course you're referring to Bubblegum Crisis 2040 in which case I may have to hurt you =p. That series was not so good.

I was talking about Bubble Gum crisis, you can say whatever you like about 2040, though i can appreciate what they tried to do with it. :}

 

[Madara XIII]

Would Balsa the Spear wielder count as anime? I was really surprised by Moribito.

Ooooh what's this anime about?