What Anime are you Currently Watching?/Anime Recommendations

[Xeogred]

Haha dude, I hear that about all of Rumiko's longer shows... Ranma, Inuyasha, and Urusei Yatsura are all really drawn out and not that conclusive or something.

Maison is probably her only series that had a clear focus and ending. Even though I know some people hate how indecisive the characters are for drama sake, but I'm a big fan. I plan to watch Ranma and Urusei Yatsura someday, but my friend tells me to take huge breaks in between chunks or else... as you've experienced you'll get burned out.

[marurun]

Ranma is really great up to season 3. That's when the TV series starts getting a bit repetitive and when Happosai takes over every episode he appears in. There are still many great characters and showdowns to come, but the show can't seem to stop over using Happosai.

[Exhuminator]

I've been watching the Golgo 13 TV series. I think there's 50 episodes, and I'm on episode 16. I have mixed feelings about it. It's definitely a well produced show. But when the protagonist is basically Terminator and can never lose, any sense of heightened tension or palpable drama kind of goes by the wayside. Golgo is huge, muscular, psychotically smart, and always outsmarts the gaijins while banging all their girls. It's basically a young Japanese man's wet dream.

[CFFJR]

As a Ranma nut, I must weigh in.

The issue with the Ranma anime is that it's the anime.

No seriously. Read the manga. Skip the anime. I cannot stress this enough.

The manga is already very episodic by nature. And yet an absurd number of the anime's 160+ episodes are filler. And a lot of said filler is bad. And it repeats itself. And the characters become caricatures of themselves when they didn't have a lot of depth in the first place. And the further in to the series you get, the worse the animation gets (OVAs aside) as the studio's budget tanked.

It also ends before they animated the manga's best story arcs, so you miss out on some really great stuff.

All this probably makes it sound like I hate the show. I don't. It's alright in a vacuum. But when you compare it to the vastly superior manga, I feel it just falls apart.

So yeah, if you're interested in Ranma, go for the manga.

I know nobody asked, but I can't help myself on this.

[Xeogred]

I've been watching the Golgo 13 TV series. I think there's 50 episodes, and I'm on episode 16. I have mixed feelings about it. It's definitely a well produced show. But when the protagonist is basically Terminator and can never lose, any sense of heightened tension or palpable drama kind of goes by the wayside. Golgo is huge, muscular, psychotically smart, and always outsmarts the gaijins while banging all their girls. It's basically a young Japanese man's wet dream.

Golgo is Golgo. He assassinates people, gets his paycheck, bangs girls.

City Hunter has more variety and comedy in comparison, awesome recurring characters too.

[MrPopo]

Yeah, Inuyasha has lots of filler. When the manga arcs pick up it gets fun, but then it gets to a filler arc and it feels like "ugh, more of the same."

I will say, Inuyasah The Final Chapter is 100% manga with no filler. If anything it felt like it went just a little too fast.

[marurun]

I think the Ranma manga stays fresh longer, but it, too has a lot of repetition and filler. And the ending is a total cop out.

[CFFJR]

I think the Ranma manga stays fresh longer, but it, too has a lot of repetition and filler. And the ending is a total cop out.

Fair enough. Though I do feel there's a difference between source material filler and adaptation filler.

A viewer of the anime still misses out on the Musk Dynasty, Ryu Kumon, and Phoenix Mountain, among others, which is really sad because they're stellar story arcs.

As for the ending, I understand why people say that, but I'm in the camp that prefers the open ended nature of it. I'm not much of an Akane fan.

[MrPopo]

Complete Miyazaki Blu Ray for $150 for another hour or so.

[darsparx]

Ugh...of course when I'm flat broke....maybe they'll do it again next year? I've seen a few of those movies but there's a larger chunk I've never saw and I love the idea of the collection. Hayao Miyazaki is by far one of my favorite producers/directors/etc. Kiki's, mononoke, and spirited away are all great movies....