Where can I find better anime?

[TheFeniX]

So, this Seven Deadly Sins anime is on Netflix and I gave a go because the premise of "get bad guys to fight badder guys" seemed ok. There's parts to the first episode I liked. I actually do enjoy the whole "swing a sword" = "EXPLOSIONS" shtick, so I'm not beating that up. I've come to terms with "anime/chibi face" because you just have to sometimes. I can get over the princess having huge knockers and generally being the damsel because: what are you going to do? Though yes, it being TV-14 should have tipped me off early, but you just never know with Netflix.

But what the Hell is with the pervy shit? Within like 15 minutes a character is groping the breast of an unconscious woman. Just... ignoring the "WTFBBQ" date rape angle and fully understanding the differences between cultures: I still don't get how this adds anything to the series. How is "I have to make sure she's a woman, I'll fondle her boob, and continue to do so after she wakes up" supposed to get laughs? Then he does it again at another key point when they're facing death. I'm not a fan of censorship, but I wouldn't cry if that was cut because, at least as far as I can see, the ability to nonchalantly fondle women is not important character development.

Out of anything the Japanese insistence that women are these weird alien beings and just acting normal around them being next to impossible kills me. Shiris in Record of Lodoss War might have wanted some action from Parn, but there was nothing awkward and pervy about it even though he turned her down.

Whatever, Casca in Berserk dealt with the realities of being a woman on the battle-field or just in general. Hell, even Guts was raped. This was an adult anime tackling some adult content and still delivering in the violence department. Is there even anything like this now-days? My DVDs are looking like shit and I've already seen some series multiple times. I'm talking stuff in the vein or Record of Lodoss War and Escaflowne. Jesus, even in the vein of The Last Unicorn or.... oh my God... whatthe.... ok, the animated movie where some scientist guy gets whisked into a Dragon's body and beats the evil wizard by explaining science to him. But still, I'd like to avoid the "pulled into another world" shtick if possible. It being on Netflix or Hulu would be awesome.

Is there any good recent animes that avoids the just.... cringy anime bullshit? At least Full Metal Alchemist was willing to go weapons-grade Nightmare Fuel: "Can we play now... can we play now?" It made some of the outlandish animation bearable.

Or am I just screwed that the last 20 years have pretty much delivered nothing but sanitized violence even in "adult" media, much less animation. Because I got like... Samurai Champloo and Afro Samurai for more recent stuff. There just has to be a few more gems out there and more recent.

[Jub]

You might like Youjo Senki, but it's a series that's still airing so you probably won't find it on either of your preferred platforms for a bit. Though it is on Crunchy Roll, so you don't have to go anywhere sketchy to watch it. It's also subtitles only for the time being, which can be an issue for some.

[Vendetta]

The last decade or so has definitely had a trend of increasingly blatant and trashy fanservice. I mean sure, '80s and '90s OVAs might have put tits in because they were allowed to, but they at least didn't usually interrupt the show for tits. They were just there whilst other stuff was happening.


Anyway, the latest thing everyone appears to be creaming themselves over is Yuri on Ice. Which is a figure skating sports anime, so at least the premise is novel. Haven't seen it though.

Mob Psycho 100 was fun too. Original manga/webcomic was by the same guy as One Punch Man (and of course if you haven't seen it then One Punch Man).

[General Zod]

A lot of it depends on what you're into. For the fantasy stuff I'm a big fan of Type Moon's work. They have a lot of series from Fate/zero, Tsukihime and Garden of Sinners with minimal fan service. Mostly I've given up on anime though. It just doesn't have as much appeal as it used to.

[TheFeniX]

You might like Youjo Senki, but it's a series that's still airing so you probably won't find it on either of your preferred platforms for a bit. Though it is on Crunchy Roll, so you don't have to go anywhere sketchy to watch it. It's also subtitles only for the time being, which can be an issue for some.

Magical moe anime girls fighting in WWI....... the Japanese can come up with some premises, I'll give them that.

The last decade or so has definitely had a trend of increasingly blatant and trashy fanservice. I mean sure, '80s and '90s OVAs might have put tits in because they were allowed to, but they at least didn't usually interrupt the show for tits. They were just there whilst other stuff was happening.

Thank you. Yea, Faye from Cowboy Beebop had a lot of fanservice, but I felt it rarely went too far. She is after-all an attractive woman who knows it and is a con-artist at heart. My ex-roomate's GF used to prowl around our apartment in tank-tops and hot-pants to the point I said "you need to stop that, my boner can't take anymore." I'm no stranger to attractive women acting like it and it was great having someone like that to shoot the shit with who was also easy on the eyes.

And I'm totally fine with fanservice. But this new stuff makes me cringe hard. It's like modern porno where everything is all "you dirty bitch. Take it you fucking slut." When I even bother with the stuff, it's no wonder I just go with lesbo porn: they aren't treating each other like filthy fuck-holes who slap the shit out of each other. And that's the vibe I've been getting from a lot of newer anime: "Ew, chics are gross: but dem titties, right?"

Why is entertainment the only place I can say "it was better when I was growing up."? That's dumb. I don't NEED constant reminders women are women: I have eyes gdamnit.

Mob Psycho 100 was fun too. Original manga/webcomic was by the same guy as One Punch Man (and of course if you haven't seen it then One Punch Man).

Possibly a little to... undetailed? I love me some Beserk because the artists just tried harder. We got CGI and all this shit and everyone looks like stick drawings and animated like it's 2000 CGI. Though I have heard good things about both even if I am looking for something less episodic and more serial. I like how Lodoss War, etc END at a given point. I even gave Inuyasha more chances than I should* have because when they wanted to try, they succeeded. Those episodes that are part of the overarcing plot were actually good TV. But there were way too many Bottle Episodes. Same problem with DBZ, though that also had the problem of terrible voice-acting. I would watch a "serious" DBZ dub with the Abridged voice actors.

And yes I know the issues with DBZ is waiting on manga releases. One of (my other) roommates was a "face-punch tier" DBZ fan.

*Miroku? Hole in hand guy: "Oh, I'm totally a ladies man, but I act like a moronic virgin because this is a kids show and awkward posturing with a boomerang throwing ninja is good TV."? Casey Jones in God damn ninja turtles was smoother than this guy.

A lot of it depends on what you're into. For the fantasy stuff I'm a big fan of Type Moon's work. They have a lot of series from Fate/zero, Tsukihime and Garden of Sinners with minimal fan service. Mostly I've given up on anime though. It just doesn't have as much appeal as it used to.

Swords and Sorcery mostly, but I love the old homages to the Japanese Bushido stuff or just general Katana wankery like Afro Samurai or Champloo. In this vein, the Animatrix stuff. I just prefer better animated stuff that doesn't realy on shit like Stupid Anime Face for comedy. If Full Metal Alchemist had dropped it, it would probably be my favorite series off all time. That show was fucking grim when it wanted to be.

I also like Ghost in the Shell, but it's a show I think would do much better on something like HBO where the adult themes can come out fully. Much like Spawn on HBO.

I like "adult" themes. Not "lol gore / lol titties." And fanservice isn't terrible. I laughed HARD even as a kid about the Zentradi watching a swimsuit competition broadcast and assuming that female humans were only vulnerable in the genitals region. But "aw man, isn't sexual assault FUNNY!" is not fanservice. It's just stupid.

And it's not just anime I'm looking for: I absolutely love Futurama and (later) Archer. And Archer is 150% farce and is awesome. While I don't consider a lot of the humor "adult" it's based around adult concepts such as sex: no kid is going to understand 90% of the comedy. This would be fine. But it's also supported heavily by the writing and that there's certain things that animation is just better at than live action.

Berserk is a pretty good start, but Lodoss War is a great example of the PG-13 variety. The only reason I limited the topic to anime was because, there was a pretty long time where, American animation did not touch this area. Until like.... ExoSquad or Starship Troopers. Man, even Korgath the Barbarian was pretty awesome: fanservice and all.

I'd take about anything at this point, but the Lord of the Rings movies seem to have (hilariously) killed Tolkien-style copy-cats that could make you a couple bucks in the 80s and 90s.

Imagine a world where the mid-2000's Dragonlance movie wasn't a flaming pile of shit trying to win the "worst movie ever" title from Dungeons and Dragons: that's the world I want to live in.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Mob Psycho 100 is about a 14 (I think) year old kid with immensely powerful psychic powers, but he hates using them against people and represses his emotions hardcore. The 100 refers to what happens when an emotion reaches "100% intensity"... Namely, he lets loose with his full psychic might. Which usually results in some cocky bastard getting completely flattened.

One Punch Man is a parody of the shonen genre. The main character, Saitama, underwent three years of training. He went bald from said training, but has now become so far above everyone else in physical prowess that fighting is zero challenge. Quite simply, he's bored out of his skull. All of his fights are a forgone conclusion, and explicitly so. The title derives from his penchant for defeating his enemies in a single (usually casual) punch. That isn't to say that it lacks fights where a good guy is guaranteed to win. There are many other characters, and most of them actually have to put in serious efforts for fights. Fun bit of trivia: In One Punch Man, there's just one supercontinent in the shape of the Saitama prefecture in Japan.

One Punch Man is available on Netflix now, so it's pretty easy to catch the dub. Sub is available there, too. The dub is pretty solid, so there's not a strong need to go with a dub unless you prefer sub. I doubt Mob Psycho 100 is on Netflix, though. I'm not sure if the dub has even finished the first season.

[Dominus Atheos]

You aren't being specific enough. So far I've got "If you like grim action comedies, try Angel Beats."

[Dominus Atheos]

Mob Psycho 100 is about a 14 (I think) year old kid with immensely powerful psychic powers, but he hates using them against people and represses his emotions hardcore. The 100 refers to what happens when an emotion reaches "100% intensity"... Namely, he lets loose with his full psychic might. Which usually results in some cocky bastard getting completely flattened.

One Punch Man is a parody of the shonen genre. The main character, Saitama, underwent three years of training. He went bald from said training, but has now become so far above everyone else in physical prowess that fighting is zero challenge. Quite simply, he's bored out of his skull. All of his fights are a forgone conclusion, and explicitly so. The title derives from his penchant for defeating his enemies in a single (usually casual) punch. That isn't to say that it lacks fights where a good guy is guaranteed to win. There are many other characters, and most of them actually have to put in serious efforts for fights. Fun bit of trivia: In One Punch Man, there's just one supercontinent in the shape of the Saitama prefecture in Japan.

One Punch Man is available on Netflix now, so it's pretty easy to catch the dub. Sub is available there, too. The dub is pretty solid, so there's not a strong need to go with a dub unless you prefer sub. I doubt Mob Psycho 100 is on Netflix, though. I'm not sure if the dub has even finished the first season.

I think he means "undetailed" like he doesn't like the art style.

Still give One Punch Man a try, it's a running gag that the character models switch between "bad" and "gorgous" depending on how serious the character is being:



watch the bald guys face right at the three minute mark and you'll see his "detailed face", also seen here:



It's literally a joke for most of the series.

[Dominus Atheos]

Better example.

[TheFeniX]

Mob Psycho 100 is about a 14 (I think) year old kid with immensely powerful psychic powers, but he hates using them against people and represses his emotions hardcore. The 100 refers to what happens when an emotion reaches "100% intensity"... Namely, he lets loose with his full psychic might. Which usually results in some cocky bastard getting completely flattened.

Sounds promising. I'll keep an eye out.

One Punch Man is available on Netflix now, so it's pretty easy to catch the dub. Sub is available there, too. The dub is pretty solid, so there's not a strong need to go with a dub unless you prefer sub. I doubt Mob Psycho 100 is on Netflix, though. I'm not sure if the dub has even finished the first season.

Shit seriously? Wow, it is on Netflix. Added. Wait, so is Wakfu? Damn man. I am... slacking hard. Also, sub/dub doesn't matter. Well, it does. But it's based on the Sub. Something like Crouching Tiger is terrible in English.

You aren't being specific enough. So far I've got "If you like grim action comedies, try Angel Beats."

Yea, it's hard to peg down because I'm a jaded asshole.

To tie it back into my OP: I was just watching Egg of the king. It's a condensed version of the series. Casca is totally unconcerned being nude around Guts, a man she doesn't know and just tried to murder. It's because even though she's an attractive woman, her lady parts aren't all that useful to her, especially since Griffith doesn't have eyes for her. She's a soldier. It's this small scene in both the series and the movie(s?), but it tells a whole heap about her character outside the dialog of the scene. And it's all of like 3 seconds. That's just good "writing."

But that's just me bitching about "adult" content being co-opted near totally for fanservice. I hate that A LOT. I hate characters acting way outside the genre they are in and the experience they have because the writers wanted cheap comedy or tension. I find, in the anime over the last decade or so I have tried to get into, that's about the main-thrust.

Parn doesn't loose his shit when Deedlit shows some interest in him or is forward (in a non-sexual way) with him because he's not a fucking moron. He is confused an Elf cares at all about helping him, but that's about it and it passes quickly. But if Lodoss was made in 2010 or something, he'd go postal every time she touched his arm, even 30 episodes later. Because anime just got stupid at some point in the past.

NOTE: I have possibly just been watching/finding the wrong anime. I fully admit it. And that, my friend, is why I made this thread.

Still give One Punch Man a try, it's a running gag that the character models switch between "bad" and "gorgous" depending on how serious the character is being:

So, it's basically the Unreal engine in anime format? No joke: that sounds awesome and a clever animating ploy. I'm sold, especially since it's on Netflix.

[ray245]

Oh I agree with you. I detest the rise of fan-service fans taking over the fandom as if this is something to be celebrated. Apparently one anime artists got into an argument with a BBC interviewer over the issue with fan-service.

If you want to avoid that, I think only big budget anime movies are "safe"? Your Name, Summer Wars, The Girl who Lept through time are some anime that tells a pretty good story while avoiding the need to appeal to those who demand fan-service everywhere.

[TheFeniX]

Oh I agree with you. I detest the rise of fan-service fans taking over the fandom as if this is something to be celebrated. Apparently one anime artists got into an argument with a BBC interviewer over the issue with fan-service.

I try not to judge: if you want your fan-service and fap-bait, more power to you. I've never liked the DOA series and I find the Beach Volley Ball games useless because porn exists.... Hell, SFM porn exists. But I have no problems with those games existing either.

But I feel more like DOA is the baseline with anime these days and they just really stopped making anything else.

If you want to avoid that, I think only big budget anime movies are "safe"? Your Name, Summer Wars, The Girl who Lept through time are some anime that tells a pretty good story while avoiding the need to appeal to those who demand fan-service everywhere.

Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle were pretty solid. Actually, that's not fair. Those movies were awesome. I even liked uh... the one with the fish girl who the boy takes back under the sea because a magician banged a sea goddess or something. EDIT: Also, Liam Neeson was in it.[/edit]

God damn, the Japanese write stories that make my dreams look sane. And that's saying something.

But I generally avoid most anime that starts with "an awkward high-school X" in principal. This may have cost me some good views, but I'm just done with it. And it wasn't even anime that did this to me: fucking AVP2 did. What. the. fuck did an Alien vs the God Damn Predator movie need with that high-school "nerd gets bullied" and "nerd meets girl, nerd wins girl, girl gets murder-disc'd" angle?

[ray245]

I try not to judge: if you want your fan-service and fap-bait, more power to you. I've never liked the DOA series and I find the Beach Volley Ball games useless because porn exists.... Hell, SFM porn exists. But I have no problems with those games existing either.

But I feel more like DOA is the baseline with anime these days and they just really stopped making anything else.

Thanks to the rise of otaku as the only demographics anime industry can make a profit from.

God damn, the Japanese write stories that make my dreams look sane. And that's saying something.

But I generally avoid most anime that starts with "an awkward high-school X" in principal. This may have cost me some good views, but I'm just done with it. And it wasn't even anime that did this to me: fucking AVP2 did. What. the. fuck did an Alien vs the God Damn Predator movie need with that high-school "nerd gets bullied" and "nerd meets girl, nerd wins girl, girl gets murder-disc'd" angle?

I'm generally annoyed with the Japanese obsession with high schools. Although movies like Your Name doesn't make High School life a big deal.

[K. A. Pital]

Drifters is funny and relatively interesting at the same time.

Psycho-Pass is a solid cyberpunk story.

Attack on Titan.

[General Zod]

Have a trailer. It's modern fantasy and a bit on the esoteric side but it might be what you're looking for. You might have to look for fansubs though.

https://youtu.be/4i3SuIYVBB4

[Jub]

You might like Youjo Senki, but it's a series that's still airing so you probably won't find it on either of your preferred platforms for a bit. Though it is on Crunchy Roll, so you don't have to go anywhere sketchy to watch it. It's also subtitles only for the time being, which can be an issue for some.

Magical moe anime girls fighting in WWI....... the Japanese can come up with some premises, I'll give them that.

There's a major twist, and consequently huge spoiler, that happens very early into the series that makes the show much more interesting than me magic WW1. The art, especially the backgrounds, is also nicer than a lot of recent anime. It's a show that should be given at least three episodes, because a lot gets added to the plot in that short span.

[LadyTevar]

This doesn't belong here, it should be in Fantasy. OFF YOU GO!

[TheFeniX]

Sorry, since Sci-Fi based anime wasn't off the table, I didn't know where to put this.

Good call on One Punch Man. That show is pretty good all around and hilarious. A shame there's only 12 episodes up right now, so I'll have to take it slow.

Thanks for the other suggestions. I'll see about giving them a shot. My Niece has also found some other shows, but some of them are..... well, credit for her not dealing with being as jaded as me. And it's nice to have someone to watch these with as my wife hates anime. Actually, she's just weird in general: when we first started dating, she wouldn't watch Futurama because "cartoons are for kids." Now it's one of her favorite shows because "you don't have to sit here, but I'm watching some damn Futurama."

[General Zod]

Sorry, since Sci-Fi based anime wasn't off the table, I didn't know where to put this.

Good call on One Punch Man. That show is pretty good all around and hilarious. A shame there's only 12 episodes up right now, so I'll have to take it slow.

Thanks for the other suggestions. I'll see about giving them a shot. My Niece has also found some other shows, but some of them are..... well, credit for her not dealing with being as jaded as me. And it's nice to have someone to watch these with as my wife hates anime. Actually, she's just weird in general: when we first started dating, she wouldn't watch Futurama because "cartoons are for kids." Now it's one of her favorite shows because "you don't have to sit here, but I'm watching some damn Futurama."

She's clearly unfamiliar with Archer, the Venture Bros. and Bojack Horseman.

[TheFeniX]

She's clearly unfamiliar with Archer, the Venture Bros. and Bojack Horseman.

I had to drag her kicking and screaming into...... ARCHERRRRRRRRRRR! By season 2, she dropped the bullshit and let herself enjoy it because the show is really good.

And she didn't have enough of the background to find Venture Bros. all that funny. There were parts, but I could tell she wasn't getting 90% of the references and just general bullshit, which is a large part of the comedy. Here's how bad she is: she didn't get the Fantastic Four reference until I explicitly explained it to her. And she's seen the movies (dude, Chris Evans). EDIT: pretty sure the movies came out after, but I'm talking re-runs.

She gets references and inside jokes CONSTANTLY in other media, but something about cartoons shuts her brain down. I just... I really don't get it. She's physically watched some of the best writing ever done in animation and she still defaults to "it's kids bullshit" whenever I seem interested in something new. You should have seen her body language when we first started Futurama: arms crossed/ "let just get this over with" (that's what... wait, doesn't work there). Then she started laughing and catching herself and trying to cover it up.

God forbid, right? Though this was years and years ago.

And is Bojack Horseman any good? I've been wanting to give it a go, but I have enough problems with dirty looks from the wife from weird premises and I don't want to get burned. I took a shot with Ugly Americans and scored though. A shame it ended.

[General Zod]

And is Bojack Horseman any good? I've been wanting to give it a go, but I have enough problems with dirty looks from the wife from weird premises and I don't want to get burned. I took a shot with Ugly Americans and scored though. A shame it ended.

I enjoyed it. It's basically a dark parody about actors and Hollywood in general. There's lots of esoteric humor that might go over peoples heads but enough general stuff that it's enjoyable even if you miss the more subtle jokes.

[Napoleon the Clown]

FLCL is short, I don't remember there being an excess of "WTF Japan?" moments, and utterly bizarre. Pink-haired woman rides around on a Vespa smacking people with a bass guitar with a lawnmower/chainsaw engine on it in hopes it will create a portal to summon giant mecha. And she's not delusional about summoning giant mecha through these means.

It's a six episode miniseries and worth a watch. Plenty of moments where you say "What the fuck?" but not out of disgust... More because it's just that weird.

[TheFeniX]

I enjoyed it. It's basically a dark parody about actors and Hollywood in general. There's lots of esoteric humor that might go over peoples heads but enough general stuff that it's enjoyable even if you miss the more subtle jokes.

So, something in the vein of an animated "Life's too Short" or "Extras"?

FLCL is short, I don't remember there being an excess of "WTF Japan?" moments, and utterly bizarre. Pink-haired woman rides around on a Vespa smacking people with a bass guitar with a lawnmower/chainsaw engine on it in hopes it will create a portal to summon giant mecha. And she's not delusional about summoning giant mecha through these means.

Seen it like 6 times and I barely know what the fuck is going on. And you and I are going to have to agree to disagree with the "WTF Japan?" comment because only in a Japanese anime would hitting a kid in the head with a guitar to open rifts into "WTFSpace" be a thing.

When an American author drops LSD you get Alice in Wonderland.
When a Japanese author drops LSD you get FLCL.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind watching it again, but my wife thinks I'm weird enough as it is. And my copies are DVD quality which is near unwatchable these days.

EDIT: Yes, I know the author of Alice wasn't American, but I was trying to make a point and it was the first "weird shit" example that popped into my head.

[General Zod]

So, something in the vein of an animated "Life's too Short" or "Extras"?

I've never seen either one, so I don't have a basis for comparison. But imagine if they started making a TV show about Charlie Sheen's life after he left network TV, but throw in talking animals that live alongside humans and lots of surrealism.

[TheFeniX]

I've never seen either one, so I don't have a basis for comparison. But imagine if they started making a TV show about Charlie Sheen's life after he left network TV, but throw in talking animals that live alongside humans and lots of surrealism.

That's sounds pretty hilarious. For just an example of how far just Life's Too Short is willing to go: Here's a scene where Helana Carter is so disgusted working with Davis (because he's a little person): they humour her by putting Davis in a trashcan with a smiley face drawn on it.

The British do have some odd humor.