it’s pretty annoying for sure.
thanks for all the help! I guess the rumors about anime fans are true after all 
I didn’t know it was only anime fans that hated stupid people doing stupid things.
stay gold ponyboy.
I don’t know what you mean honestly, but the title of this thread says “FAQ in first post”, you YOURSELF acknowledged that it exists, and then you tell us that you completely disregarded it despite knowing it. Then I decide to just link you some stuff anyway, and you still respond this way?
I wasn’t aware clicking links and reading a synopsis was hard.
Stay a mouth breathing, lazy, egotistical, piece of shit. I hope you get colon cancer and your internal organs catch on fire while a pack of wild wolves devour you alive. Of course this is after your entire friends and family die slow, agonizing deaths right in front of you due to the efforts of a serial murderer that gets sexual pleasure from gutting and slowly bleeding out human beings like a bunch of pigs.
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just ignore him.
Man juice, that is intense.
lol
There are genres mentioned in the 1st three posts; so for example, if you’re in the mood for comedy, you could check out the comedy section and see what’s there alongside a link to Wikipedia for a synopsis. Certainly there are a lot of series which breach into other genres, but a generally, they are listed with the defining category for the most part. Reminds me I should continue with the sub-genre brackets for each title, but that’ll come at another time.
A few minutes will hopefully not be a major issue.
i actually read the whole first post. and the synopsis for several anime. however, none of them said “if you liked ____ then you will probably like this one too”, which is what i was hoping i might hear from people.
something like, “oh hey if you liked cowboy bebop and outlaw star you should definitely check out _____, its really good and has some similarities in ___ and ___”
I do appreciate that you linked me to more lists, but really i was hoping for some discussion of WHY the particular shows were being recommended. I see you recommending legend of the galactic heroes to lots of people, but maybe i missed where you explained why? if i had said my favorite show was FLCL and i HATED macross and neon genesis, would you still say LotGH is the one i should definitely go watch next?
(note, i have not seen macross, or LotGH, so maybe the answer is “yes”, im just pointing out that showing a list to someone is not anymore helpful than me just reading lists from other places. i thought a forum was about discussion, but this is srk… soo yeah i don’t know what i was thinking)
anyway tl;dr, thanks gasaraki for trying. everyone else, well, i hope you interact with people differently in real life… I almost wish spirit juice would meet me someday so he could see how insane i must think his impression of me is. although, actually, i AM very egotistical, so I’ll give him that one.
well, I am legitimately sorry for interfering with the fun you all were having before i rudely attacked your thread. I’ll see myself out.
See, you could have just explained yourself from the beginning and then no one would have had to blow you up. 
Don’t worry, he’ll just money match you in Bible Black.
But yeah, as mentioned earlier. You should focus on the genres more than anything. With future posts, you’ll see things more fleshed out for each title and it’s sub-genres which will likely be more clearer than before.
You can see the WHY in the synopsis I only gave shorter lists so people could have a place to start. Considering how many people come in here asking for recommendations that are not willing to do ANY research on their own, I try to post in a way that will get them to actually do a little bit of the work themselves. I don’t mind helping out, but I’m not going to spell everything out for you. This isn’t a matter of us not helping, it’s a matter of you not helping yourself, trying things out yourself.
Of course, you say you did read some synopsis, and I thank you for that, but you need to say all of that then.
Also if you like GitS and Last Exile, depending on the parts you like, there ARE aspects of LoGH that you would like, but you didn’t even give us any detail. If you want US to give detail, then YOU have to explain WHAT about a show you liked. Did you only like GitS cause of action? did you like the philosophy talk? That maybe some parts made you think? the dialog?
How can we give a detailed recommendation when you don’t give reasons why you like something.
You have to be reasonable if you want someone to be reasonable with you.
lol alright fair enough, i can see how my first post would have sounded, thats the difficulty coming into a place where people already have certain expectations of where people are coming from when they ask questions etc.
but yeah, i like shows like cowboy bebop, outlaw star, and GiTS because they tend to feature an interesting cast of characters that you learn more about as the show progresses (for GiTS this is even more in the second gig), while also featuring an interesting overarching plot with a real sense of drama, AND still contain some standalone episodes which provide humor, or just serve as interesting “short stories” if you will. obviously some shows feature more of these side episodes (cowboy bebop for example is primarily what i would call “side episodes”) and others none at all (last exile was pretty much the main plot the whole way through.
another big thing i like about most of my favorite anime is that they tend to be paced well. like a good comic book, each individual episode is strong, and they all tie together well. some shows which i have seen a few episodes here and there, but not wanted to continue watching, (like say, inuyasha) have real pacing problems, with encounters that either seem to add little to the overall story, while also taking multiple episodes to complete.
the classic example is (from what i can tell) a show like dragon ball z, where you might have a single fight scene take place over multiple episodes?! that kind of pacing just seems crazy to me, and would never fly in most other mediums of media entertainment.
so i tend to shy away from shows that take more the 26 episodes to complete, because i assume they have lots of filler or are not tightly written enough to tell a good compelling, and concise narrative. but i could easily be wrong on any of these points, because i haven’t ever watched a show like inuyasha or DBZ for more than 3-4 episodes.
and as for why i didn’t like hellsing… it was just too corny and melodramatic for my taste. i can handle a certain level of melodrama, but i prefer things to a little less… bombastic… as far as character interaction and development go.
characters like spike and jet and faye from cowboy bebop feel like full fledged humans to me, with compete with well drawn tragic flaws and interests that come from classical fiction, but done with the settings unique flair. the same can be said to a lesser degree about major kusanagi and boto (sp?) from GiTS, the interactions between them, and the rest of the team (especially the tachkomas (sp?) really does a great job of slowly illuminating them as fleshed out characters.
i’m probably just rambling now, im not much of an anime expert as it must be clear. but i come from an extensive background in literature, film, and theater, and simply view anime as a great way to get stories and characters. in large part because of the format, 26 episodes gives more time than a book or a film or a play, and yet is not so long as to outstay their welcome or feel like its all filler (hello american tv, LOST im looking at you). if LOST had been a 26 episode show, it probably would have been great, but instead was meandering and lifeless and clearly had no “beginning middle and end” planned from the time it was concieved.
anyway, LOST is a whole nother can of worms. and not what this is about, so try not to focus on that part of this wall of text if any of you are big fans of that show
tldr: i like shows with thoughtful characterization and likeable/interesting characters, that also have a good dramatic plot with a satisfying arc and conclusion. i hope that doesn’t sound like everything…
im less interested in points like “this show has good action scenes, or this one has lots of philosophy”. I’m more interested in characters and intriguing story arcs.
Ok, with that, I can definitely recommend to you specifically:
Baccano
Katanagatari
Toshokan Sensou (plot is kinda extra ridiculous)
Kurenai
LoGH (minus the humor and length part)
Kaiji
Seirei no Moribito
These are all shows where their biggest strengths are GOOD characters and sometimes plot in addition to that. Also even though LoGH is 110 episodes, every single episode is used well. Even if you don’t watch it now, keep it on your mind at least.
thanks gasaraki, i actually had baccano already at the top of my “to watch” list (and berserk too, is that show good?) so i’ll definitely watch that soon. and, while you are the first person i’ve heard mention LoGH, you seem to really favor it so I’ll definitely keep it in mind after going through some of the shorter ones first.
edit: uh - possibly a stupid question: where would i find LoGH, it shows up neither on amazon nor netflix? i don’t pirate anything, is there a way to buy a legit copy of this, i also dont speak japanese, so it’d have to have subtitles…
I just started watching Steins;Gate I’m 6 eps in. So far so good!
In this case, strike out Toshokan Sensou, Kurenai, LoGH, and Kaiji.
LoGH will never be available in the states, legally, in English ever. It is way too expensive to license for anyone, and too old of a show to really be viable in the US market probably. Kaiji anime is certainly a possible license, but no news of that or anything. As for the other two, I’m doubting they will ever get licensed, but I’m still holding onto a sliver of hope.