What Anime are you Currently Watching?/Anime Recommendations

[BoringSupreez]

I don't know if this counts as "currently watching," since I started and finished in one sitting, but I watched through FLCL. Weird, a bit hard to follow, but fascinating and funny. I really appreciate that it's only six episodes long, and not based on some epic-length manga that includes far more story. It's rare to see anime (or heck, anything story-driven that's produced by Japan) that is anywhere in the neighborhood of concise.

[ZenErik]

Never watched any other concise series? Try Gunbuster or Diebuster, both also from GAINAX. They are each 6 episodes. A lot of great series are 12 episodes or less.

[AppleQueso]

Anything that was OVA only is probably going to be pretty lean. Gunsmith Cats: Bulletproof is another good one, only 3 episodes.

FLCL is kinda a strange show to call "concise" though.

[ZenErik]

FLCL, I honestly did not like. But I do like other GAINAX works like Gunbuster, The Wings of Honneamise, Diebuster, Evangelion. Still haven't gotten in the mood to finally give Nadia a go. And Gurren Lagann, I fear, may be a little too abrasive for my tastes.

Time of Eve is another short series I really enjoyed. You could sort of consider 5 CM Per Second to be another. Though it is considered one work. It's divided into 3 separate parts and is only a few minutes over an hour.

[BoringSupreez]

Never watched any other concise series? Try Gunbuster or Diebuster, both also from GAINAX. They are each 6 episodes. A lot of great series are 12 episodes or less.

I was drawn to FLCL initially because it was made by Gainax, who made Panty & Stocking. I'll definitely be checking out some more of their shows, I like their style.

Anything that was OVA only is probably going to be pretty lean. Gunsmith Cats: Bulletproof is another good one, only 3 episodes.

FLCL is kinda a strange show to call "concise" though.

Well, I mean if you compare it to some of the bigger names in anime, like DBZ, Pokemon, Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, you know, the ones that take thousands of hours to tell a story. Whereas FLCL is in the neighborhood of three hours long.

[AppleQueso]

Never watched any other concise series? Try Gunbuster or Diebuster, both also from GAINAX. They are each 6 episodes. A lot of great series are 12 episodes or less.

I was drawn to FLCL initially because it was made by Gainax, who made Panty & Stocking. I'll definitely be checking out some more of their shows, I like their style.

Anything that was OVA only is probably going to be pretty lean. Gunsmith Cats: Bulletproof is another good one, only 3 episodes.

FLCL is kinda a strange show to call "concise" though.

Well, I mean if you compare it to some of the bigger names in anime, like DBZ, Pokemon, Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, you know, the ones that take thousands of hours to tell a story. Whereas FLCL is in the neighborhood of three hours long.

I'd say the vast majority of anime that gets produced actually hits into the 13-26 episode range (Cowboy Bebop is only 26 episodes as well IIRC and even that aside, a purely episodic show feels like a bit of an odd man out in that list.) The massive 1000 episode shows take a huge budget and some really long term commitment from producers, so they only get made every once in a while. The catch is that when they ARE made, they're usually pretty huge and you hear about them all over the place.

[ZenErik]

You named a few long running shonen action series and a kid's series in there. That's why. They're meant to go on and on forever. Successful shonen series that are published in weeklies like Shonen Jump are pushed to keep their manga going on and on even if the writer didn't originally intend it that way. Gotta keep making money.

[Dylan]

Never watched any other concise series? Try Gunbuster or Diebuster, both also from GAINAX. They are each 6 episodes. A lot of great series are 12 episodes or less.

I was drawn to FLCL initially because it was made by Gainax, who made Panty & Stocking. I'll definitely be checking out some more of their shows, I like their style.

It sounds like you're more drawn to productions with heavy influence from Hiroyuki Imaishi than you are to Gainax itself. The style you're referring to based on PSG and FLCL is largely his. If you're looking for more of his animation style and highly energetic sense of humor, you should consider seeing something like Dead Leaves (a 52 minute OVA), Gurren Lagann, and Kill La Kill.

However, I definitely don't want to dissuade you from seeing other (good) Gainax productions like the ones ZenErik suggested. Just realize that you're stepping into different territory with them.

[BoringSupreez]

Never watched any other concise series? Try Gunbuster or Diebuster, both also from GAINAX. They are each 6 episodes. A lot of great series are 12 episodes or less.

I was drawn to FLCL initially because it was made by Gainax, who made Panty & Stocking. I'll definitely be checking out some more of their shows, I like their style.

It sounds like you're more drawn to productions with heavy influence from Hiroyuki Imaishi than you are to Gainax itself. The style you're referring to based on PSG and FLCL is largely his. If you're looking for more of his animation style and highly energetic sense of humor, you should consider seeing something like Dead Leaves (a 52 minute OVA), Gurren Lagann, and Kill La Kill.

However, I definitely don't want to dissuade you from seeing other (good) Gainax productions like the ones ZenErik suggested. Just realize that you're stepping into different territory with them.

I'll do that. I've already been watching some Kill La Kill, which I've liked as well, but I didn't realize it was the same guy behind those three shows. I just figured it was the studio's style.

[isiolia]

I'd say the vast majority of anime that gets produced actually hits into the 13-26 episode range (Cowboy Bebop is only 26 episodes as well IIRC and even that aside, a purely episodic show feels like a bit of an odd man out in that list.)

You do get some of them where the anime is only a 26 episode run or something, but the manga/light novels/whatever it's based on is more substantial.

That said, I largely agree with the sentiment. It's something I tend to like about the medium.