Manga & Anime Recommendations

I'd definitely recommend Blame. Depending on your definition of 'epic', Oyasumi Punpun might also be an option.

Could be epic battles, epic drama, epic scale, epic shitstorm...

Vagabond, which is loosely based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi, draws a lot of interest from people who visit my blog. If you're familiar with his story, you know where the epic comes in.

I know he supposedly defeated Sasaki Kojirou in a Single-Stroke Battle by using a boat oar, and that he's the subject of a Iron Maiden song (Sun and Steel). But I might check it out.

If that avatar is truly Yuuno Scrya, I'd say you already beat me to that suggestion.

Seriously though, I think From the New World is Seinen because it reminded me too much of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (which I know for fact is Seinen). Both have major plot twisting in interesting and unique ways. Plus, they are very engaging Deconstructor Fleets, so check them both out if you haven't already.

There is always the obligatory Kanon and CLANNAD if you're in the mood for funny, yet deeply touching stories in the realm of romance. More obscure in this regard would be Nogizaka Haruka No Himitsu whose eponymous character is practically a love letter to us, the anime fans — assuming you don't mind the shameless fanservice. I find it epic how the male lead tackles the biggest issues Otaku tend to face in society despite looking and acting like genuine well-established members of society (because most of us really are despite our unusual hobbies ).

Perhaps you want a more unique Slice of Life experience? For that, I point to Hidamari Sketch and Gingitsune. The former features those "eccentrically loving touches" Studio Shaft is known for (minus the Deranged Animation) while the latter has excellent character chemistry along with a surprising amount of visual variety. One is cutesy while the other is fairly realistic despite its use of Fantasy (take a guess as to which one is which ).

Edit: so many red holes... Fixed.

edited 25th Apr '15 8:21:15 PM by aNinjaWithAIDS

Yes, my current avatar is Yuuno Scrya.

Slice of Life isn't really what I'm looking for, though. Maybe as an accasional breather or limelight episode.

seinen is my jam. here's stuff that's worth looking into:

- blade of the immortal

- eden it's an endless world

- bokurano

- me and the devil blues

- oyasumi punpun

- sun-ken rock

- pluto

- 20th century boys

- sidooh

- homunculus

Of those, Bokurano is the only one I've heard of (and I got a couple of volumes through it, too). Unless Pluto is an Astro Boy-related thing, in which case I think I've heard of it too.

it's a reimagining of an astro boy story, yes, but it doesn't require much knowledge of astro boy to enjoy on a base level since it can be appreciated on its own merits. it's honestly one of the greatest comics i've ever read, east or west.

Stepping aside of seinen for a bit, I'd like to go ahead and recommend Full Contact. It's a short-ish (6 volumes) series, which basically starts with the protagonist getting dumped by his crush "because she likes strong men", so his mom goes and enrolls him in a karate dojo. Which kind of leads into a "Come to get stronk for the ladies, stay because karate is legitimately awesome and anybody can learn it with hard work and guts."

I'm only a little ways into the second volume, but I'm really liking it for what it is: a nice, fun, down-to-earth, slice-of-martial-arts-life series. There's no bizarre Training from Hell, what Ship Tease I've seen thus far doesn't involve anything that could be construed as domestic abuse... it's a very, very, veeeeery rare thing for me to find a series where, for the most part, there aren't any fantastic/unrealistic elements, but the series still grabs my interest anyway.

....aaaaand it doesn't have a trope article. ...gimme a few weeks, and I'll get to work on that.

edited 28th Apr '15 10:39:39 PM by EvaUnit01

So, it's like Slam Dunk but for Karate. I guess it's worth a watch...er, read.

EDIT: I don't know if this is the place to ask this but...is it necessary for the plot of Rah Xephon to watch the OVA and the movie? Or rather, would you recommend watching it?

edited 29th Apr '15 6:48:06 AM by Elfhunter

I'm told that The Movie is an Alternate Continuity to the anime series, although I haven't seen the series myself yet.

So, if you only want to watch the series, I don't think you're missing out on too much if you don't do The Movie other than Ayato getting it on with Haruka offscreen.

If you only want to watch the movie, then you should probably be okay without watching the series.

Thanks, I think I'll watch it if I end up liking the main series.

So, I've been aching for a certain kind of series that I haven't seen in a real long time; actually, I've never seen it ever since I finished Legend Of Galactic Heroes. What I'm looking for is, essentially, a big epic war story with a large scope that still keeps its' characters at the center of that story. Now, it doesn't have to be Sci-Fi; for example, Romance Of The Three Kingdoms was anything but Sci-Fi, but it still had what I was looking for, and I still loved it.

Of course, I understand that a series like this might be hard to come by; for all I know, when it comes to anime and manga, Legend Of Galactic Heroes could be one of a kind. (Mind you, Basara comes close, but I've never finished it.) But if anyone knows of a anime or manga like that, please let me know.

(Also, in case someone suggests Gundam, I've already seen most of it; I also feel that it doesn't have the same scope as something like Lo GH or Ro TK. So there's that.)

edited 1st May '15 11:03:18 AM by kkhohoho

How about Macross?

EDIT: And I also see that I made a boo-boo in my original post, which I've corrected. What I meant to say was that Gundam did not have the scope I'm looking for; similar shows like Macross don't have it either, unfortunately. Anyway...

Already seen it, and as much as I love it, it also doesn't have that scope I'm looking for; heck, it's not really about the war at all, and is instead more about the characters personal lives during the war. Let me put it this way; I want something that's still character driven, but isn't necessarily like Soap Opera either, and as much as I like Macross, parts of it were basically Soap. I'm knocking it or anything, as I LOVE Macross, but Soap Opera is a part of its' DNA.

edited 1st May '15 11:04:43 AM by kkhohoho

Okay, fair enough.

....yeah, Gundam's pretty much all I got, and you said you've already seen most of it.

I got nuthin'.

And again, Gundam-like isn't what I'm looking for. (I made a typo in my original post, which I've since corrected.) But thanks anyway.

Wait, what about Berserk? You should check out that series.

I've heard about it, and it seems like a very interesting series, and I'll probably check it out at some point, but... let me try and give you a better example of just what I'm looking for. Legend Of Galactic Heroes was a 100 episode epic which showcased both sides of the war roughly equally. Rather than, say, Gundam, where Zeon is unmistakably the bad guys and the Federation is largely the good guys, with the majority of the focus being on the Federation, both sides have clear pros and cons, and neither is truly heroic or villainous.

On top of that, rather than just mostly just following one single group throughout the war, like Gundam or Macross, Lo GH covers not only 2 different such groups — one for each side — but also takes the time to cover the larger picture, switching over to other characters and plot-lines when need be. There's also more of a focus on politics alongside the battles. Romance Of The Three Kingdoms also does all of this, only with at least three sides by the end as opposed to just two. I guess the best way to put this is that they're more than just war stories; they're war chronicles, giving you the big picture and having plenty of political machinations while still remaining character driven, and of course having war battles. Whereas something like Gundam or Macross has a more limited selection of veiwpoints of the war, and it's scope is more limited as a result.

I'm wondering if I should just look more into books. I'm pretty sure books have tons of these types of stories. (Lo GH even started off as books!) It just takes more time for me to read books as opposed to reading/watching manga and anime, is all.

edited 4th May '15 4:51:40 PM by kkhohoho

For showcasing multiple sides to a conflict and keeping some degree of moral ambiguity, off the top of my head I know of Rinne no Lagrange and The Tower of Druaga. Neither of them are epic war tales, though.

edited 3rd May '15 11:42:13 PM by GlennMagusHarvey

Are there any other anime with female protagonists like Ryuko Matoi?

I don't really care about the genre I just want a female-centered anime that isn't full of moe characters. *Not that I really have anything against stuff like that- I'm currently watching K-On! and enjoying it, but I just want some variety

I also prefer it not have as much male gaze as Kill la Kill, and be dubbed, if possible.

Like Ryuuko in what way, exactly?

Ghost in the Shell?

The way that she's really short-tempered and lacks a lot of "traditional feminine traits"

The comparison doesn't have to be exact, just, like, it should be possible to convince yourself that the character doesn't exist to pander to a specific demographic of men, basically (Not that that really applies to Ryuko, considering she spends most of the show undressed, but whatever)

I should have clarified that I prefer stuff that's lighthearted, and from what I know of Ghost in the Shell it takes itself really seriously. Correct me if I'm wrong, though.

edited 4th May '15 4:48:07 PM by Mukora