Recent Anime Adventures (series)
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Dustin
C-C-Cool Beans!!!
Actually, I do like to dable in the black arts from time to time, with the occasional incatation when I get hungry, craving for souls. However, it always ends in total failure I end up with some nasty tasting leftovers from the black plauge.
I'm glad you pointed this out, I thought is was a second series too. Does it really matter which version I were to go with? I suppose if the latter that followed the manga was better, I'd swing that, but being that you loved the first rendition, I guess I'm safe to try that one out if I run across a cheap version of it on eBay.
I agree 100%! 2nd Gig is very well written, drawn and voiced I hope they do another season. But alas, it would be hard to top the latter.
I still have not watch this one I've had several opportunities to, and my younger brother has this series and swears by it, but I always had the feeling it would result in the same experiance for me as what you described, so I've always put in on the back burner as a "watch it if nothing else is on" series.
wow interesting you brought this one up. I saw a preview of this as while watching another series and it got my attention. However, it seemed pretty dated and silly, but at the same time, interesting enough to check out.
I get hesitant with most anime series that were produced pre-1995. I just started watching the PATLABOR TV series, and it . is slow . It has the potential to be something massive, but fails heavily on the plot and voice over dept. I got the whole series for, cheap brand spankin' new (gotta love FYE blowout sales!), but still feel obligated to finish it. I've only watched 8 episodes so far 38 more to go. I might have to try watching a non-dub version and see if it changes things. or it could just be a U.S. Manga Corp. issue. I applaude that company for paving the way for Anime in the U.S. in the early 90's, but everytime I see their logo on something these days, I just cringe. Their choice of voice acting/dialouge/translations are just horrible compared to what is out there now.
AngraRULES
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kureno
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- Aug 23, 2010
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Heeeey, fellow anime fans! Awesome~
Wow, that is quite a recommendation. I've seen all of the first series + movie and thought it was incredible. Heard "Brotherhood" was a remake of the original series and gave the first ep a try but it didn't really catch my interest, so I put it on the back burner. But then I started hearing a lot of buzz when the last ep aired, and since ppl seemed enthusiastic about it, I figured it picked up later. With your rec, I'll definitely check it out soon. The story of the Brothers Elric is definitely one of the most compelling I've seen in anime or any medium in years!
Yes, Death Note does rock. And Saint Seiya, I was crazy about when I was in junior high. Something about Greek mythology + anime + cool-looking armors/cloths that actually could be assembled to resemble the constellation it was representing... so friggin cool. *__* But while the concepts rocked and I liked all the dramatic fights at first, I kind of felt like the story fizzled out. I didn't really get what Seiya and company were really fighting and striving for (Athena? But why? She doesn't seem to be doing much for the earth, etc). Plus the old 80's artwork was a little meh...
That's why I was interested in the 2 new spin-off StS manga series that are written by Kurumada (the original manga artist) but drawn by more contemporary young artists. One series is like a prequel, starring a young Leo Aiolia as he trains to get up to Gold Saint level strength, and deals with all the crap concerning his brother being a traitor, etc.
The second one, called "The Lost Canvas," has really nice artwork and takes place about 280 years before the original StS. It details what happened during the previous "Holy War" between the previous incarnations of Athena and Hades--they were a brother and sister pair named Alone and Sasha, and their best friend Tenma was the Pegasus Saint of the time. The drama, of course, comes in when Hades awakens and possesses the body that houses the purest soul in the world (Alone), and turns him against his sister, Sasha (who was always Athena). So Tenma is kind of stuck in the middle between his two best friends and is trying to find a way to save Alone from having to live and die as Hades. Only read the first 3 volumes so far, but it's pretty exciting--I love the incarnations of the Gold Saints in this series!
Trigun is a classic, but the animation is starting to look a bit dated too (better watch it before it gets too far dated-looking). If you've never read the Rurouni Kenshin manga, I suggest you do that first--like Trigun, it's a shounen/action-adventure kind of series and has a protagonist who, like Vash, has vowed not to kill. I think Vash/Trigun drew some inspiration from Kenshin, but turned the story in a more realistic/dramatic direction. But it's good to see both approaches to the "hero who has vowed not to kill" idea.
As for me, at the moment, I'm really enjoying a baseball anime called "Big Windup." It's streaming for free on Funimation.com (the whole first season! It's amazing how much free + legal anime you can find streaming online these days). If anyone's interested, check it out here: http://www4.funimation.com/video/?page=show&b=217 The dub is kind of shockingly good!
Wow, that is quite a recommendation. I've seen all of the first series + movie and thought it was incredible. Heard "Brotherhood" was a remake of the original series and gave the first ep a try but it didn't really catch my interest, so I put it on the back burner. But then I started hearing a lot of buzz when the last ep aired, and since ppl seemed enthusiastic about it, I figured it picked up later. With your rec, I'll definitely check it out soon. The story of the Brothers Elric is definitely one of the most compelling I've seen in anime or any medium in years!
Yes, Death Note does rock. And Saint Seiya, I was crazy about when I was in junior high. Something about Greek mythology + anime + cool-looking armors/cloths that actually could be assembled to resemble the constellation it was representing... so friggin cool. *__* But while the concepts rocked and I liked all the dramatic fights at first, I kind of felt like the story fizzled out. I didn't really get what Seiya and company were really fighting and striving for (Athena? But why? She doesn't seem to be doing much for the earth, etc). Plus the old 80's artwork was a little meh...
That's why I was interested in the 2 new spin-off StS manga series that are written by Kurumada (the original manga artist) but drawn by more contemporary young artists. One series is like a prequel, starring a young Leo Aiolia as he trains to get up to Gold Saint level strength, and deals with all the crap concerning his brother being a traitor, etc.
The second one, called "The Lost Canvas," has really nice artwork and takes place about 280 years before the original StS. It details what happened during the previous "Holy War" between the previous incarnations of Athena and Hades--they were a brother and sister pair named Alone and Sasha, and their best friend Tenma was the Pegasus Saint of the time. The drama, of course, comes in when Hades awakens and possesses the body that houses the purest soul in the world (Alone), and turns him against his sister, Sasha (who was always Athena). So Tenma is kind of stuck in the middle between his two best friends and is trying to find a way to save Alone from having to live and die as Hades. Only read the first 3 volumes so far, but it's pretty exciting--I love the incarnations of the Gold Saints in this series!
Trigun is a classic, but the animation is starting to look a bit dated too (better watch it before it gets too far dated-looking). If you've never read the Rurouni Kenshin manga, I suggest you do that first--like Trigun, it's a shounen/action-adventure kind of series and has a protagonist who, like Vash, has vowed not to kill. I think Vash/Trigun drew some inspiration from Kenshin, but turned the story in a more realistic/dramatic direction. But it's good to see both approaches to the "hero who has vowed not to kill" idea.
As for me, at the moment, I'm really enjoying a baseball anime called "Big Windup." It's streaming for free on Funimation.com (the whole first season! It's amazing how much free + legal anime you can find streaming online these days). If anyone's interested, check it out here: http://www4.funimation.com/video/?page=show&b=217 The dub is kind of shockingly good!
AngraRULES
Member
I used to be crazy about it in Junior High also. Back then, the show was hugely popular in Brazil, but I never had the chance to finish watching it since I moved to the States. It was not until recently that I downloaded the rest of the series that I had missed.
Kureno said:
I love the fact that you're excited about it, but don't spoil what the saga is about for us who haven't gotten to it yet.
Still finishing up the Poseidon saga here. :lol
So far, FMA: Brotherhood is equal in quality to the first FMA. I've been watching both dubbed, since the voice acting in the English is outstanding. (In fact, the whole "dubbed vs. subtitled" issue is, to me, irrelevant in anime since even the original voices in an animated show are dubs to begin with. So what matters is the quality of the voice acting.) Anyhow, Adult Swim just started into reruns of FMA:B after showing the first 26 episodes; that may mean that the English language versions of the second half are not available yet. But the Japanese language versions are completed, as far as I know:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fullmetal_Alchemist:_Brotherhood_episodes
So, if you want to watch Japanese language / English subtitled, go ahead and start with FMA:B. If you like the English language versions, you may want to start with the original FMA while FMA:B is completed in English. You can't go wrong either way, IMO.
If you want to experiment with these shows or others, there is a site - seems legit - called "Justdubs" that streams dubbed episodes of tons of anime shows.
http://justdubs.net/
Ken
Considering that they are just about to release the DVDs for the second part of FMA: Brotherhood, it is probably accurate that the dub isn't done yet.
That's OK, Bleach starts back up next weekend. It is about time.
In sad news, Satoshi Kon passed away. I'm seriously bummed out by that now. I highly recommend everything he's done, including Paranoia Agent.
Dustin
C-C-Cool Beans!!!
True True With that being said, I'm going to tackle Saint Seiya!
Thanks for the tip Ken! I'll probably go after the original version first, but if they get Brotherhood finished up before I get around to getting the original, I'll get that instead.
That does suck! I loved Millenium Actress, Roujin Z, Perfect Blue and Magentic Rose. His directing/animation style was very much geared at bringing the animation to life, up to a point where you completely forgot you were watching someting animated. He will be missed. However, I did just get Paranoia Agent a few weeks ago for me and the wife to watch. We saw a preview and thought it looked pretty interesting. I spent over a year trying to track this down since it's been out of print for years. I finally caved in a just got an asian import/bootleg of it.
kureno
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- Aug 23, 2010
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I used to be crazy about it in Junior High also. Back then, the show was hugely popular in Brazil, but I never had the chance to finish watching it since I moved to the States. It was not until recently that I downloaded the rest of the series that I had missed.
I love the fact that you're excited about it, but don't spoil what the saga is about for us who haven't gotten to it yet.
Still finishing up the Poseidon saga here. :lol
Lol, no worries--everything I mentioned happens in the first 2 chapters of the manga. There's an animated OVA out, but I haven't seen it so I can't vouch for it. Looks good though--seeing StS in high-quality, newer animation is awesome.
Speaking of which, have you seen the recently animated Hades Saga OVA yet? (original StS, not "Lost Canvas") The animation is gorgeous, especially in the first third ("Hades-Sanctuary" Arc), which stars the Gold Saints. *__*
Yeah, I heard yesterday on Anime News Net... what a shame. It seems he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May of this year and told he had half a year at most. Looks like he made the most of it--he continued working on his current film until almost the end, it seemed. He will definitely be missed... what a shame, I'm sure he had so many more amazing movies in him. "Tokyo Godfathers" continues to be one of my favorite movies of all time (and definitely one of the funniest). RIP, Director Kon...
AngraRULES
Member
Good to know. As for the Hades Saga OVA, I have it downloaded, but have yet to get to it. It does look pretty impressive though!!!
cslebn
The Duck of Doom
- Dec 22, 2008
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Some of what I've watched in the past:
Neon Genises Evangelion - classic series
Robotech - classic american remake of macross
Macross - there was Gundam and Macross in the beginning
Lain - great techno thriller
FMA - enough has been said here already, it rocks
Witch Hunter Robin - entertaining but nothing overly special
Martian Succesor Nadesico - hands done must see if you like mecha anime; simply one of the funniest series ever
Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, Mobile Suit Gundam - it's gundam lol though seed was somewhat of a disappointment
FLCL - strange, cool and hilarious; lil slugger is awesome
Samuari X (Kenshin) - great show but the second half never lived up the first; the OVAs are killer
Trigin & Cowboy Bebop - classic must see
Trinity Blood - Trigun with vampires
Death Note - nice twists in the story and great concept though left osme people unsatisfied
Bleach - great show, watch the subtitled ones. Epi 285 came out Tuesday night and was killer. Can you say Kurusaki-kun?
Gasaraki - for anyone who enjoys mecha and a little political satire and religion; a more in depth series that attempts to use mecha in a real world application (Gulf War)
Akira - classic movie some consider the banner film some call it overhyped; ver enjoyable either way
Tenchi Muyo - great series, very funny and light with a nice scifi edge
Ghost in the Shell - The movies and the show should be the standards for the industry this stuff is great!
Code Geass - entertaining twist on the world; a political and warish series that has individuals who have special powers and some awesome mecha - interestingly the main character isn't a mecha pilot!
Outlaw Star - Fun series, a different perspective on space combat - great scifi
Samuari Champaloo - great sword fighting, crazy characters
Yu Yu Hakasho - the spirit detective, pretty cool evolution of characters and epic battles with spirit powers
.Hack/Sign - another great cyber series, trapped in an mmo definitely different
Sigh now I want to go watch Thundercats, Transformers Gen 1 and Voltron because of all the fond memories this thread conjures. I know this isn't everything either sadly, have to check the collection at home.
Neon Genises Evangelion - classic series
Robotech - classic american remake of macross
Macross - there was Gundam and Macross in the beginning
Lain - great techno thriller
FMA - enough has been said here already, it rocks
Witch Hunter Robin - entertaining but nothing overly special
Martian Succesor Nadesico - hands done must see if you like mecha anime; simply one of the funniest series ever
Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, Mobile Suit Gundam - it's gundam lol though seed was somewhat of a disappointment
FLCL - strange, cool and hilarious; lil slugger is awesome
Samuari X (Kenshin) - great show but the second half never lived up the first; the OVAs are killer
Trigin & Cowboy Bebop - classic must see
Trinity Blood - Trigun with vampires
Death Note - nice twists in the story and great concept though left osme people unsatisfied
Bleach - great show, watch the subtitled ones. Epi 285 came out Tuesday night and was killer. Can you say Kurusaki-kun?
Gasaraki - for anyone who enjoys mecha and a little political satire and religion; a more in depth series that attempts to use mecha in a real world application (Gulf War)
Akira - classic movie some consider the banner film some call it overhyped; ver enjoyable either way
Tenchi Muyo - great series, very funny and light with a nice scifi edge
Ghost in the Shell - The movies and the show should be the standards for the industry this stuff is great!
Code Geass - entertaining twist on the world; a political and warish series that has individuals who have special powers and some awesome mecha - interestingly the main character isn't a mecha pilot!
Outlaw Star - Fun series, a different perspective on space combat - great scifi
Samuari Champaloo - great sword fighting, crazy characters
Yu Yu Hakasho - the spirit detective, pretty cool evolution of characters and epic battles with spirit powers
.Hack/Sign - another great cyber series, trapped in an mmo definitely different
Sigh now I want to go watch Thundercats, Transformers Gen 1 and Voltron because of all the fond memories this thread conjures. I know this isn't everything either sadly, have to check the collection at home.
Dustin
C-C-Cool Beans!!!
I just finished watching Mezzo-DSA last night. Not too bad really, I haven't seen the actual OVA it's based on, but I'm to understand that the series is less dramatic and much more toned down concerning the obligatory violence of it's OVA predecessor. The good thing about Mezzo-DSA is that it's well paced, the animation is above average and the voice acting is rather good. However, it tries to be a comedy from beginning to end, and when it hits a few dramatic road bumps, it takes away from the story. Overall, I would call this 12 episode series, "fun" to watch if anything
the Patlabor series is starting to get better… The movies (1 & 2) were okay, which is why I decided to try the series, but I recently watched Patlabor WXIII which really has NOTHING to do with Patlabor until the last 10 minutes of the movie. None of the same characters (except for one of the detectives that pops up in the TV series once in a while) appear in it and it is practically a stand-alone movie unrelated to Patlabor, and is a slight crime/drama with a sci-fi twist. The Mecha do to come into play, but not until the very end for a VERY brief moment. However, once I separated the Patlabor title from it and watched it again, I found WXIII was actually a really, really good movie!
as far as current releases that had what Ken called the "WTF!?" ending, was a series called Samurai Gun. Something tells me that this was intended to be longer than 12 episodes, and it lost funding, or was shelved for lack of interest. It wasn't really that bad of a series, and had good voice acting, and a decent plot that moved well, albeit the premise and historical references were really hard to swallow. It got rather weak in the middle up until the last two Episodes where it really picked up, Then… on the last episode - a cliff hanger! I HATE that!!! last I check, there are no plans to resurrect or finish the series.
the Patlabor series is starting to get better… The movies (1 & 2) were okay, which is why I decided to try the series, but I recently watched Patlabor WXIII which really has NOTHING to do with Patlabor until the last 10 minutes of the movie. None of the same characters (except for one of the detectives that pops up in the TV series once in a while) appear in it and it is practically a stand-alone movie unrelated to Patlabor, and is a slight crime/drama with a sci-fi twist. The Mecha do to come into play, but not until the very end for a VERY brief moment. However, once I separated the Patlabor title from it and watched it again, I found WXIII was actually a really, really good movie!
as far as current releases that had what Ken called the "WTF!?" ending, was a series called Samurai Gun. Something tells me that this was intended to be longer than 12 episodes, and it lost funding, or was shelved for lack of interest. It wasn't really that bad of a series, and had good voice acting, and a decent plot that moved well, albeit the premise and historical references were really hard to swallow. It got rather weak in the middle up until the last two Episodes where it really picked up, Then… on the last episode - a cliff hanger! I HATE that!!! last I check, there are no plans to resurrect or finish the series.
kureno
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- Aug 23, 2010
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I don't know if you know what happens during Hades-Sanctuary (or care if you're spoiled), but there is an EPIC AMV for it to Nightwish's "Ghost Love Score." Seriously, it's like that song was made for the epic bombasticness that is Saint Seiya. ^^ Check it out:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_vidpreview.php?v=79768
Unfortunately, you have to sign up for a free account on amvs.org or else it'll say "your streaming capabilities are disabled," but the video quality is so much higher than on youtube and dailymotion, etc, it's worth it!
Dustin
C-C-Cool Beans!!!
This was the platform anime series that started my addiction back when I was 8 years old. This was running alongside most of the other popular "cartoons" like Transformers, G.I. Joe ect. ect. and there was something that I found more substaNtial then, and even now with this series an actual PLOT. From this point forward (including Starblazers and to a lesser extent, Voltron), it set the bar for animation. Most cartoons of that time, and even now, try to solve a problem in 25 minutes or less independantly with no underlining pplot, and comes off shallow. I feel this is why Anime has become huge in the U.S., it's not just the actual animation, but the stories as well.
I've been curious about this one but the two episodes I watched seemed to be geared toward a pre-teen/female audience, and I lost interest. Maybe I jumped in at the wrong point?
Great series! I loved this one, and I would certainly watch it again. I think it's only downfall was it's pacing, but other than that - worth watching.
A cross post from my reply in another forum - Fairly entertaining, but a little too goofy for what the plot entailed. The Mecha design is pretty cool, and the voice over's are decent, but the story-line is pretty predictable. Not sure If I could watch it again, but it wasn't too bad. The movie itself (not the series) that came with it was much more dramatic with little or no slapstick/comedy like the series, which was more palatable, but made the characters seem unlikable and cold at the same time.
I've always wanted to catch this series, but it's been difficult to track down. However, I have OVA's as thought they were killer as well!
Got this one and am going to be checking it out here very soon.
Much like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto, it seems everyone LOVES this series, but I just can't sink my teeth into it.
This sound like something I would totally like! I'll have to check this one out
I agree 100%
I've been curious about this one, and have wanted to check it out. I've kept my eye out for a sale or cheap version on ebay for the last year, but this series never goes for less than $60. For that price, I better watch a few episodes first and make sure I like it. ;-)
This was a pretty good series. I agree, definately unique on the space combat idea, and it kept my interest. Not sure if I would watch it again, but I recall it was a fun series as well.
I swear I am the only anime fan that has never seen even one episode of this! LOL! It's had a lot of hype on it for a long time I'm sure I'll get around to this one at some point.
Yet another series that I've been curious to check out
AngraRULES
Member
I'll check that out. I really have a hard time picturing Nightwish and SS though. I mean, some of the parts of the saga would actually look awesome with some real brutal music in the background. Behemoth comes to mind.
I should probably ask you guys, since this just came to my mind while posting on the other thread... Am I the only one who only likes 3 or 4 anime series, while thinks the rest is all pure garbage?
Not really. Lain is pretty mind bending. It is the only series that I marathoned at a con because I was hooked from the beginning.
Just as a warning, Gasaraki is a bit dry and talky. I've only managed to watch half the series.
kureno
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- Aug 23, 2010
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I should probably ask you guys, since this just came to my mind while posting on the other thread... Am I the only one who only likes 3 or 4 anime series, while thinks the rest is all pure garbage?
There's a lot of junk out there, but there's junk and gems in any form of entertainment. No offense, but since we've been discussing a lot of 10 or 20-year-old series in this thread, I'm guessing a lot of folks here haven't seen too wide a range of stuff. I don't know what your exact cup of tea would be, but here are a few more current recs I'd like you to take a look at before writing off the majority of anime as crap:
Action + great animation:
Black Lagoon - highly recommended for anyone who liked Cowboy Bebop; has better action and a similarly cool, ragtag group of protags. Great dub, too.
Karas - action movie; conspiracy; great swordfights
Sword of the Stranger - samurai film; incredible sword fight at end
Moribito - TV series; has great spear fights but is more elegiac & character-oriented in pace. Stars a spear-wielding woman warrior
Great Story:
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - TV series; dystopian; nice animation/gun fights, thought-provoking story
Le Chevalier D'eon - TV series; murder mystery in 18th C France WITH ZOMBIES; amazing fencing sword fights
Gankutsuou - TV series; "Count of Monte Cristo" re-imagined as a space opera; really unusual and gorgeous animation style
Tokyo Godfathers - art film & comedy; three homeless people find a baby abandoned in a dumpster on Xmas Eve and go on a hilarious adventure to find its mom and run into the mob, homicidal maniacs, a gay bar and their estranged loved ones along the way.
Code Geass - TV series; a Machiavellian hero you can ACTUALLY root for; in other words, Light Yagami except more fleshed out, and a huge story that spans the whole world and really can't be described as anything but "epic." Everything from huge philosophical issues to trivial-seeming school stories are mixed in masterfully.
All these recs are more guy-oriented, so if there are any lady skeptics out there who want some non-insipidly stupid for-girls anime recs, I can give some of those too.
AngraRULES
Member
I will be checking these out, especially Tokyo Godfathers. Sounds like it's something I would enjoy.
By any chance, would you happen to know if there have been animes made out of videogame stories? (Some older RPGs come to mind). I was just wondering...
Unfortunately, after a certain event that Lelouch accidentally caused, I couldn't watch the series anymore. But, it is a good series about asking the questions, "How far are you willing to go to get what you want?"
I recommend everything under your "great story" list. I've seen them all and they are all great series.
For those who are musically inclined, "Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad" is a pretty solid series.
AngraRULES said:
Well, certainly FF VII: Advent Children comes to mind, but that probably isn't what you are asking about. I know Xenosaga was made into an anime, covering the plot of the first game.
Dustin
C-C-Cool Beans!!!
Yeah, probably...
Just kidding!
I think you might be getting exposed to some bad shonen-style anime. However keep in mind that a good portion of any anime Series requires more than 3 or 4 episodes to gather a good plot development, assuming the writers are good. Some of the best anime out there doesnt kick in until 6-8 episodes through where you finally say, ooohhh I get it now!
Even though the artwork is rather strange and childish, and some of the characters are a bit in the shonen-style, XXXholic was one of the best series Ive seen a in a long time! If I passed on that because the animation was so awkward, I would have missed out on a great series with great pacing and excellent writting.
On the other side though, I watched a series called Gantz that had absolutely fantastic animation, and a good plot idea with great characters, but the pacing was absolutely terrible. I struggled to get through that series, the characters were literally yelling at each other all the time trying to solve a problem that would take almost 4-5 episodes to get through. I understand story and character development is important, but this one went way overboard.
So depending on what you find more important, or what youve be exposed to, might be why you have a hard time with most anime out there.
Most of Kurenos recommendations Id agree with, especially ghost in the shell. If you havent seen this series, you are doing yourself a disservice, and honestly, if you have high expectations, this one will raise the bar even higher.
As far as video games made into animes? the first one that comes to mind is Zone of Enders. I was to understand that anime based on games are usually terrible, (i.e. the finally fantasy series) However, Z.O.E. was actually a great series! Ive never seen Xenosaga, but loved the game when I was in high school.
