Anime Recommendation and Suggestion Query

[Ryllharu]

Very specific request so I'm aware that this might be impossible to find

You mean like Hellsing OVA, or Gai-rei Zero, or Darker Than Black, or Claymore, or Chrono Crusade, or Busou Renkin (I guess this one isn't too dark).

The shorter series are the better ones.

[Shinji Ikari]

Yeshu, like those series (and gantz if that could be considered power-up)! seen everyone except darker than black, gonna check it out, after all, if the music is done by Yoko Kanno the series can't be bad.

Claymore a personal favourite, just wish they'd finish the manga and remake the anime :P So damn cool that it's freakish!

Thanks again for more good advice.

[Lucifus]

Anyone know any decent shows I could watch with my girlfriend? Her tastes include but are not limited to: Tiger & Bunny, Hetalia, Fruits Basket, Durarara.

I tried watching Hetalia with her but its so...ugh. Anything that would appeal to both of us?

[Ryllharu]

Baccano for sure, just because you mentioned DRRR and it has universal appeal.

Chihayafuru is another good option, currently airing. Humor, tension from the matches, and a little bit of romance hints here and there. Very well animated. Should keep you both interested.

Gosick possibly. It's got mystery enough to keep you both interested, and a good mix of humor and drama.

Mawaru Penguindrum If the both of you like visual style, this series has it, and plenty to share with all the series around that lack it. Toward the end it gets a little heavy, but where it stands out is each episode leaves you wondering about the truth you're not quite getting told. I'm not even sure how to categorize it.

Hanasaku Iroha - Slice of life/Coming of age series. Good mix of humor and romance, with energetic characters that don't usually get to the point of being annoying.

Kamichu! - Another slice of life coming of age story. It's got a cute childhood romance thing going on, but the interesting visuals of the world of the gods/spirits intersecting with a seaside town are what appeals to everyone.

Kamisama Dolls - In a similar vein to DRRR, but with more action. The characters really stand out, and there are fights to keep you both entertained while you find more about the truth and the pasts of the characters.

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka for a more straight-up comedy. It's got the same kind of nonsense she might like out of Hetalia (but I'm guessing she likes it for the bishonen?), but it should be a little more palatable to you.

Moyashimon - Universal appeal series about a guy who can see bacteria (in cartoonish forms) and the classmates and seniors at the agricultural university. Intelligent series, good humor, only light hints of romance. A strong personality-driven series.

bakuman Good humor, an interesting way to ruin the mystique of writing manga if you're Kraco. It's impressive how they manage to get the audience worked up about the process, and they even pull off some cliffhangers.

[Xelbair]

Baccano for sure, just because you mentioned DRRR and it has universal appeal.

Chihayafuru is another good option, currently airing. Humor, tension from the matches, and a little bit of romance hints here and there. Very well animated. Should keep you both interested.

Gosick possibly. It's got mystery enough to keep you both interested, and a good mix of humor and drama.

Mawaru Penguindrum If the both of you like visual style, this series has it, and plenty to share with all the series around that lack it. Toward the end it gets a little heavy, but where it stands out is each episode leaves you wondering about the truth you're not quite getting told. I'm not even sure how to categorize it.

Hanasaku Iroha - Slice of life/Coming of age series. Good mix of humor and romance, with energetic characters that don't usually get to the point of being annoying.

Kamichu! - Another slice of life coming of age story. It's got a cute childhood romance thing going on, but the interesting visuals of the world of the gods/spirits intersecting with a seaside town are what appeals to everyone.

Kamisama Dolls - In a similar vein to DRRR, but with more action. The characters really stand out, and there are fights to keep you both entertained while you find more about the truth and the pasts of the characters.

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka for a more straight-up comedy. It's got the same kind of nonsense she might like out of Hetalia (but I'm guessing she likes it for the bishonen?), but it should be a little more palatable to you.

Moyashimon - Universal appeal series about a guy who can see bacteria (in cartoonish forms) and the classmates and seniors at the agricultural university. Intelligent series, good humor, only light hints of romance. A strong personality-driven series.

bakuman Good humor, an interesting way to ruin the mystique of writing manga if you're Kraco. It's impressive how they manage to get the audience worked up about the process, and they even pull off some cliffhangers.

'some' cliffhangers, yeah right.
Dantalian no Shoka is good too - mystery with some supernatural stuff that hooks you up at 1st episode.

[Lucifus]

Appreciate the tips Ryllharu & Xelbair; I'll give a couple of those a shot and see we like em, thanks.

[knifecrew]

I've been out of the anime loop for a few years and I've always got it on my mind that I want to get back into it; however, I am not certain if there are any new shows I want to bother giving a chance. I'm very picky. I will watch one or two episodes of something if I like it enough, but it has to really catch my interest in the first or second episode.

So, what do I like? Well, here's an idea:

Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood
Monster
Samurai Champloo
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Cowboy Bebop
Welcome to the NHK
Paranoia Agent
Ergo Proxy
House of Five Leaves
-Wit
-Cleverness
-Psychological thriller
-Crime drama
-Comedy (when done right)
-Sci-fi

What I don't like?

-Cute (too much anyway)
-Romance (God, kill me; I'd prefer slim to none--not in the focus at all)
-Moe
-Big titties + guns
-Harem
-School
-Younger kids (although FMA was done well)
-Too much gore
-Medieval

*sigh* I know that is a lot to ask, but I thought I would try anyway, see if there was something new or even old that I've missed and haven't seen yet. Any suggestions?

[Buffalobiian]

Shiki - Supernatural, Crime drama, thriller. The first 6 or 7 episodes will bore you. Then it kicks off.
Darker Than Black (1st season and OVAs, in that order) - Action, crime.. don't touch S2.

Steins;Gate (maybe.., it does have some romance and a bit of harem. Maybe you'll brush it off as "comedy" since it has all your Do-Likes)

Thermae Romae (for the "comedy just right" section. Hit or miss.)

That should keep you busy until a bigger list eventually pops up. ;p

[Kraco]

You could initially check out (if you haven't already): Code Geass, Darker than Black, Black Lagoon, Katanagatari, Baccano, Casshern Sins, Chrome Shelled Regios. Maybe Kara no Kyoukai and Steins Gate as well, though they could go against a couple of your dislikes.

I'm not much of a recommender, so I'll leave it at that.

[knifecrew]

I've seen Darker Than Black (it was good in the beginning, but then it just went downhill), seen Black Lagoon, Baccano, Steins Gate, and Shiki. The others don't look like they would be interesting, but I suppose I'm willing to give them a try. It seems, however, that anime has truly taken a downward spiral route in that the quantity of quality series being released lately has dropped severely.

[Ryllharu]

It seems, however, that anime has truly taken a downward spiral route in that the quantity of quality series being released lately has dropped severely.

That's just selective memory and nostalgia. I really loathe statements like this.

Everyone remembers Bebop, Trigun, and Card Captor Sakura from Spring of 1998. But how many people remember Lost Universe? Brain Powerd? Neoranga? Android Ana Maico 2010? None of those?

Overall quality hasn't dropped. Everyone just remembers the gems and forgets all the mediocre series and the cruft.

------------

Anyway, recommendation time (since you've already responded, I'm not going to repeat what's been said even if I agreed with it):

Nijuu-Mensou no Musume (The Daughter of Twenty Faces) - Conspiracy/Adventure series. Sickly girl gets taken by an infamous thief, and finds herself. From there, she gets caught up in the legacy of that man's past and legend. Comedy, wit, clever tricks, no romance to speak of, not particularly violent, and it's got that 1960s retro-scifi that borders on steampunk.

City Hunter and/or Angel Heart - The former a semi-serious private detective series. The latter is similar, but with a reformed assassin. The two series are directly related, so if you do want to watch both, start with City Hunter. It's got a little slapstick, but none of your negatives.

Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku (Now and Then, Here and There) - Boy gets sent to a post-apocalyptic alternate world(or is it?), by mysterious machine/circumstances. Angst, minor hints at romance, brutal psychological scifi. Certainly a must-see for what you're looking for.

RD Sennou Chousashitsu (Real Drive) - You like GitS:SAC. You will likely enjoy this. It's GitS with an old man (former scuba-diver), a high school girl, her older brother, and an android. Private detectives contracted for government work instead of military police. I view it as a 5/10-year prequel of sorts to GitS level technology, and they do share a large number of similar technology and issues (cyberbrains and cyberbrain sclerosis, etc.).

Perfect Blue - One of the best psychological thriller anime movies ever made. A member of an idol girl-group wants to become an actress, starts to slip into madness.

Paprika - Same director as Perfect Blue, but involves the inventor of a dream machine for therapy, a detective with issues he was solving with that therapy, a conspiracy, and a serial killer with access to one of these machines. It's kind of like The Cell or Inception. Visually stunning.

Witch Hunter Robin - Witch hunters, main character is a witch. It's more of an episodic detective sort of series before you get into the meat of the second half, and then it has a lot of the same feel that Ergo Proxy had early on. Conspiracy, none of your negative aspects, and the animation was pretty good for its time (2002).

Ga-rei Zero - Shouldn't feature any of your negatives, though I don't know how much gore is too much. It's a bit of a thriller toward the beginning and the end, and it's got a little of the fantasy/sci-fi without leaving the modern era too much.

Mnemosyne - Sci-fi, some thriller, nice wit, but it's got a fair amount of gore (again, not sure how much is too much, it's on par with Ga-Rei Zero). On the downside, it does in fact, feature big tits + guns. We're not talking High School of the Dead though. It's done tastefully.

Kurau Phantom Memory - Sci-fi superpowers. It starts strong, but slows down a bit as the series goes on. Conspiracy, family drama, more of a journey/fleeing series than anything else.

[knifecrew]

I stand by my statement, but I will somewhat agree and say that it is subjective (not so much selective if we're going to get specific). In any case, I love Satoshi Kon/Perfect Blue and Paprika. I'll give the other ones a looksee.

[6Zabuza9]

Hey, I haven't watched anime for awhile and then started again. These past 3 days i watched kamisama dolls, steins;gate, and bakemonogateri. I am looking for anime which have already been completed so I can chain watch them. I like anything with a good story to it and would get me hooked. Maybe something mysterious but anything is good. Thanks!

[Buffalobiian]

How long's "a while"?

6 months?
1 yr? 3?

[KrayZ33]

try Kara no Kyoukai

or Fate/zero (only first season though)

[6Zabuza9]

How long's "a while"?

6 months?
1 yr? 3?

Not sure how long ago. Last couple of animes I remember watching was probably Darker than black Baccano and Durarara.

try Kara no Kyoukai

or Fate/zero (only first season though)

i'll try kara no kyoukai

I watched fate/stay night and am really interested for fate/zero. I'll probably wait untill second season is over untill I watch it though. I really hating week after week for episodes lol.

thanks!

[MFauli]

Alright, I need some recommendations again.

This time, I´m looking for anime series that feature a group of people/friends that act within a rather realistic environment, meaining: No uber-comedy, no fantasy elements as part of the basic setup, no shallow harem bs. Which is not to say that they cannot be traces of what I just mentioned, as you´ll see when i name some examples of what I´d like to see more of. As for the plot, it´d be best if it was simply about this group of people interacting with each other, experiencing an interesting time.

Examples:

- Ano hi mita hana no namae o bokutachi wa mada shiranai (ghost girl, but the characters felt believable, relatable)
- Genshiken
- Clannad
- Bokurano (very crazy scifi, buuut it didn´t hurt the realism of the characters. If anything, it enhanced it)

Anything else out there that´s like that?

[Inazuma]

It's my first time asking for Reccommendations but Gotwoot is a limitless pool of knowledge when it comes to this kind of stuff. I am calling on you elders of the Woot.

As for the genre I'm looking for I would call it 90' Space-Mecha Retro.
Which contains to me :
Blue Gender
Patlabor
You are under Arrest
Blue Submarine N°6
Spriggan
Cowboy Bebop
Trava Fist Planet

[Ryllharu]

This time, I´m looking for anime series that feature a group of people/friends that act within a rather realistic environment, meaining: No uber-comedy, no fantasy elements as part of the basic setup, no shallow harem bs. As for the plot, it´d be best if it was simply about this group of people interacting with each other, experiencing an interesting time.
- Ano hi mita hana no namae o bokutachi wa mada shiranai (ghost girl, but the characters felt believable, relatable)
- Genshiken
- Clannad
- Bokurano (very crazy scifi, buuut it didn´t hurt the realism of the characters. If anything, it enhanced it)

So...slice of life, daily life, specific genre doesn't matter. Just as an FYI, you're going to end up with a lot of shoujo/josei, since those genres have the appeal you're looking for.

Bokura ga Ita - Realistic, messy, high-school romance series.
Itazura na Kiss - Happier, long-term romance series, light comedy/drama, classic 90s feel.
Kanon (2006) - If you really think Clannad doesn't have fantasy elements as part of the basic setup...then you should have absolutely no problem with the Kanon remake. (hint: clannad does, so does Kanon)
Planetes - Yes it is in space, but it is done very realistically with technology we more or less have today.
True Tears - Romance-ish series (it's sort of complicated), very realistic characters and natural emotional responses (not the rampant melodrama of KEY series, it's nicely subdued).
Paradise Kiss - Again, a sort of pseudo-romance series. High School and [fashion] College students. Disheartened girl seeks excitement, finds some.
NANA - Coming of age story about two young women, both named Nana, who couldn't be more different, moving in together after going to the city to seek their dreams. Lots of drama, otherwise realistic.
Honey & Clover - Art school students, coming of age story.
Candy Boy - Twin sisters living together for high school. Yeah...not going to spoil from there. It's a very short series.
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee - Young Japanese girl goes to 19th Century France. Really good animation.

It's my first time asking for Reccommendations but Gotwoot is a limitless pool of knowledge when it comes to this kind of stuff. I am calling on you elders of the Woot.

As for the genre I'm looking for I would call it 90' Space-Mecha Retro.
Which contains to me :
Blue Gender
Patlabor
You are under Arrest
Blue Submarine N°6
Spriggan
Cowboy Bebop
Trava Fist Planet

A fun topic!

Hyper Police - Post-apocalyptic (for humans at least, they're endangered) beastmen/youkai police show. Good cast, funny and entertaining. It's like YUA with beastmen/youkai. Protagonist is a nekomata half-breed.
Dominion Tank Police Policewoman transferred from the motorcycle division to the tank division ruins a state of the art tank. Cobbles it back together into a mini-tank and goes to fight crime!
Kiddy Grade - Slightly more recent, but still close enough. Special agents working for the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs. Don't watch the 2009 sequel, it's crap.
Scryed - The trailer speaks for itself.
Tiger & Bunny - 2011, but perfectly retro feel to it. If you haven't seen it, you really should. Nevermind, you watched it.
Witch Hunter Robin - Not really all that retro, but kind of grungy. Special equipment, and a squad that hunts down witches. Protagonist is a witch and a new recruit, interestingly enough.
Martian Successor Nadesico - Classic mecha anime obsessed fan and cook becomes mecha pilot aboard his childhood friend's private corporation...space battleship.
Mazinkaizer SKL - Others love the hell out of this (sadly short) 2010 OVA remake of the classic series. Can't say much else because I haven't watched it.
Zoids Chaotic Century - ZOIDS! Because it's zoids, and it's awesome.
VanDread - Civil war between planets entirely populated by men, and entirely populated by women. Three low-ranking men get marooned aboard a female pirate ship. Hot-blooded protagonist, ditzy female lead. What more could you ask for?
IRIA - Bounty hunters! Bio-weapons! Corporate conspiracies! Unique design style (kinda neo-future chinese/southeast asian). One of my favorite OVAs of all time.

edit:
Forgot the obvious ones: Gunbuster (OVA), Diebuster (OVA), TTGL

[Kraco]

As for the genre I'm looking for I would call it 90' Space-Mecha Retro.

When you run out of Ryll's suggestions, you could have a look at Heat Guy J. It's from 2002/2003, but might work for you.