Anime, like any human endeavor, follows Sturgeon's Law: "90% of everything is crap." Though there are some folks who say Theodore Sturgeon was an optimist.
For a sampling of Anime with better stories, characters, and plots, try some of the following:
Cowboy Bebop Don't be put off by the silly name. It's a very thoughtful series, though it does have somewhat silly episodes interspersed with the serious. Good stories, good characters, very good series overall. Watch it from episode one. Some characters may seem shallow at first glance, but they are all rather complex people. Though Ed is a silly psycho. :)
Ghost in the Shell A near-future hard sci-fi set in a time when human bodies -- and minds -- can be replaced with better cybernetic equivalents. Hacking the mind is a grim possibility. This can be a bit confusing of a story at times, and very violent in spots, but the amount of story detail is incredible, and a second or third viewing is well worth it. There is an underlying philosophical story beneath the main plot that is in the best tradition of reality questioning writers like Phillip K. Dick. Well, okay, so maybe the strong female lead is a device, technically, being a cyborg with the police, but at least she has her memory. :)
Oh! My Goddess For anime of a much more lighthearted nature. Though yes, the male lead is somewhat of a 'regular joe' who has a girlfriend -- the female lead -- who happens to be a goddess. The point of the story is the characters, though. Hmm. I don't know if I can really explain why I like it. It's just... nice.
Kiki's Delivery Service A young witch sets off to make a life of her own in the city. Another in the "it's just nice" category.
Spirited Away A very odd, but good story, wherein a somewhat spoiled girl has to become a strong protagonist to save her parents and escape from a shinto-esque spirit world.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2003-03-19 02:15 pm (UTC)"90% of everything is crap."
Though there are some folks who say Theodore Sturgeon was an optimist.
For a sampling of Anime with better stories, characters, and plots, try some of the following:
Cowboy Bebop
Don't be put off by the silly name. It's a very thoughtful series,
though it does have somewhat silly episodes interspersed with the serious.
Good stories, good characters, very good series overall. Watch it from
episode one. Some characters may seem shallow at first glance, but they
are all rather complex people. Though Ed is a silly psycho. :)
Ghost in the Shell
A near-future hard sci-fi set in a time when human bodies -- and minds
-- can be replaced with better cybernetic equivalents. Hacking the
mind is a grim possibility. This can be a bit confusing of a story at
times, and very violent in spots, but the amount of story detail is
incredible, and a second or third viewing is well worth it. There is an
underlying philosophical story beneath the main plot that is in the best
tradition of reality questioning writers like Phillip K. Dick. Well,
okay, so maybe the strong female lead is a device, technically, being a
cyborg with the police, but at least she has her memory. :)
Oh! My Goddess
For anime of a much more lighthearted nature. Though yes, the male lead
is somewhat of a 'regular joe' who has a girlfriend -- the female lead --
who happens to be a goddess. The point of the story is the characters,
though. Hmm. I don't know if I can really explain why I like it. It's
just... nice.
Kiki's Delivery Service
A young witch sets off to make a life of her own in the city. Another in
the "it's just nice" category.
Spirited Away
A very odd, but good story, wherein a somewhat spoiled girl has to become
a strong protagonist to save her parents and escape from a shinto-esque
spirit world.