Watching Vash the Stampede, I came to think of him as sort of an Objectivist, …
Vash accepts guilt for many things which are not his fault.
Vash tries to avoid hurting (let alone killing) even the most evil people.
These are not the attributes of an Objectivist.
Also he is hyper-excitable and just bizarre.
Vash accepts guilt for many things which are not his fault.
Vash tries to avoid hurting (let alone killing) even the most evil people.
These are not the attributes of an Objectivist.
Also he is hyper-excitable and just bizarre.
May contain spoilers
Near the beginning of the series, I would agree with you. But I think near the end he comes to realize some of his mistakes. He doesn’t accept as much guilt as he did before. He also makes the right decision when he kills Legato before Legato can kill Meryl and Milly.
And personally, I don’t think there is anything wrong with being a little bizarre 
I’d like to recommend Kino’s Journey
It’s a collection of loosely tied together short stories that covers a lot of philosophy and sociology and the like. There is a good episode that illustrates how free a Democracy can be, too. Interesting stuff.
I’d have other recomendations as I’m a big anime fan, but this one is at least somewhat relevant to this site.
Tim.
Vash accepts guilt for many things which are not his fault.
Vash tries to avoid hurting (let alone killing) even the most evil people.
These are not the attributes of an Objectivist.
Also he is hyper-excitable and just bizarre.
I haven’t seen each and every episode but I did catch quite a few on Adult Swim. One thing about Vash was that he was engineered to be nothing but a killing machine so he was filled with a constant struggle about killing, hence his reluctance to kill even evil people that deserved it. So in order to suppress the veritable genie in the bottle (ie he didn’t want to tear another hole in the moon) he attempted to not fight at all for fear of not being able to stop the chain reaction of death and destruction. It’s a bit like being equipped with only a nuke. Sure you can kick ultimate but however you risk doing a whole lot of collateral damage to the ones you value ie Merril and Milly.
Plus, his guilt was a subconscious struggle with overcoming what he had done in his past life so-to-speak. His journey was a walkabout trying to come to terms with who he was and what he had done in the past. Once he did come to terms with it, defined Merril and Milly as his top values and realized they were at risk, then he got off his duff and started the killing that needed to be done. As for being bizzre, yes he is but then this is Anime and that comes with the territory. It’s like finding a sublte kabuki character.
I’d say Vash was late to the game but I wouldn’t say we was necessarily contrary to Objectivism. Mind you, I’m not saying he was an Objectivist. If anything, his realization at the end of the series may be akin to the Wet Nurse in AS. The Wet Nurse was late to the game grasping and concretizing what was right and wrong but in the end he did the right thing. In fact, the Wet Nurse is one of the only if not the only example of “salvation” (and yes I hate that word as much as everyone else does but it’s what I can think of right now) that Rand presented in AS.
Something I have noticed about Japanese Anime is that the philosophy at times is rather ducky. Whereas western cinema focuses on good vs evil, I find that Japanese movies focus, in general, on hate vs love. It’s something I noticed in Princess Mononoke, Appleseed, Vampire Hunter D, among the others I have seen. Acts of hatred are bad because they are acts of hatred, and acts of love are good because they are acts of love. The Atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were, of course, acts of hatred, thus evil actions.
And of course, everyone here is well aware of the phrase “the age of love.”
Appleseed in particular disgusted me, philosophically. When it showed a communist utopia where everyone’s desires are taken care of, and the only thing that was still wrong was the prejudice against the “bioroids.” The bioroids were these genetically engineered people designed to offset human hatred, but in the process lost the ability to love. So of course they played them out as an oppressed minority, who at the happy ending gained the ability to experience emotion, and stop being so logical all the time…
There are some Animes that I like. Dragon Ball Z, in particular, had a wonderful philosophy. And do disregard the fact that the american dubbers targetted 11 year old boys, im refering to the original manga, which was targetted at young adults and late teens. My favorite example was Vegeta’s soliloquy at the end of the series, when he realizes why Goku was always stronger than he. He realizes that the reason Goku fights was because he enjoyed pushing himself, and that was what it was all about, compared to Vegeta, who pushed himself because he wanted to beat others. If that doesn’t scream Howard Roark vs. Gail Wynard, I don’t know what does.
The Ghost in the Shell series is one of the most deeply philosophic movies I have ever seen. I have been fascinated with it since I first saw it many years ago, and have seen every one of the series and sequel. I would love to do an intense study of the movie to iron out its philosophy better.
It’s a great example of lengthy philosophic dialogue incorporated into an engrossing movie without becoming boring.
Something we should consider if ever A.S. out T.F. Our even Anthem are taken to film.
Has anyone here studied it? Any opinions?
I’d do the same to the Vampire Hunter D series and Blood: the last vampire (wheres my sequel!!) and Battle
Angel Alita -(will be movie soon!).
Appleseed in particular disgusted me, philosophically. When it showed a communist utopia where everyone’s desires are taken care of, and the only thing that was still wrong was the prejudice against the “bioroids.”
Read the manga. That “communist utopia” was described as “A zoo for those wierd animals that build their own cages and hide inside of them.” I always liked that line. The only way the “utopia” could work is if humans were “stabalized”, ie. no longer human. And Ghia, the computer setup to protect Man from the bioroids, knew that was wrong and tried to destroy the bioroids. There is no bioroid virus or whatever it was, in the manga story. The manga is far superior to the movie.
Ghost in the Shell is a great series. Written by the same author as Appleseed. I don’t care for the GitS movies much, either. But the manga and the series are amazing.
Also interesting are the works of Mohiro Kiho. Narutaro (aka Shadow Star) is an interesting look at psycology. What would children do with limitless power? The anime series only covers the first half of the manga story so I don’t know how it ends yet (manga translations have been extremely slow). The anime was really good but Kito doesn’t pull any punches with graphic violence. It contains some of the most horrific scenes I’ve ever seen. And that was after it was toned down for TV.
Whether I can agree with a story’s philosophy or not, I like when they at least give you something to think about.
On the otherhand, there are a lot of stereotypes that I don’t like. I’m not a real big fan of giant mecha anime because it militarily doesn’t make sense to me. I also don’t like that male figures are typically effeminate and full of angst (which in my eyes turns the protagonist from hero to whiny teenager.)
No one has mentioned it yet but I highly recommend one to everyone. The anime that had me hooked for life was the first OAV I ever saw: Gunbuster It was made by Gainax and is, in some ways, the granddaddy of shows like FLCL (Not just because they’re both made by Gainax, but because they represent a “blowing off of animation steam” by the creators). Gainax originally wanted to make a series that made fun of all the stereotypes being pumped out, but eventually the project took on a bigger scope. The result is a six movie set that begins somewhat light-heartedly and ends with an astoundingly emotional finale. If you like comedy, sci-fi, great animation, a heart-wrenching plot, lots of techy details… you must see this OAV.
To respond directly to The Tortured One, the mecha in this movie actually does make military sense. The plot premise is that Earth is under attack by aliens that are much *much* larger than most human built ships, and thus, something very large is needed.
Two special side notes about Gunbuster. It hosts the *largest* mecha ever featured in any anime. It is also the originator of the “Gainax bounce”. (You know, that thing girls do all the time? ;p)
If you’re tired of the Shinji types [coward] (Evangelion) and the Yuki [unemotional] types (Fruits Basket), or even the Kamui types [angsty] (“X” by Clamp), I’d suggest going back to the 70’s. Series that have become watered down because of lame stereotypes sometimes have earlier incarnations with strong characters. A noteable example of this is the Gundam series. I was first introduced to Gundam Wing, which is too close to watching a boy band with mechas. At some point later, Toonami showed Mobile Suit Gundam 0080. Much to my surprise, the main characters are all over the age of 20 and seem to have their head together. It was entirely refreshing.
Purple titles are those not previously listed in this thread.
More modern series that I have enjoyed include:
Vandread (Space battle of the sexes with bonus aliens)
Full Metal Panic! (Secret organization becomes bodyguard for school girl)
Read or Die (The movie/OAV, not the series - Bookworm saves the world)
Favorite quote from the fansub version (it came out differently in the dub) “I think true love (i.e. real life) is much more wonderful (than the stories in books). Although there may be painful things, no matter what kind of love it is, you can be the heroine.” Readman Yomiko
GITS:SAC (Already mentioned, but was very engrossing after the first two or so episodes. Animation is somewhat lacking.)
Earlier series of note:
InuYasha (Gotta love the tension between Kagome and InuYasha! Still, I’m more curious to see what will happen between Sashomarou and Rin)
Kodomo no Omocha (Extremely hyper animation, very happy people)
Golden Boy (Not for kids but totally hilarious! - College dropout finds random work)
Ranma 1/2 (Very old and only good subtitled, but sweet story like InuYasha)
Movies I enjoyed:
Princess Mononoke (The soundtrack is fantastic too!)
Spirited Away
New Dominion Tank Police (not the series - movie is hilarious, wonderfully animated)
Vampire Hunter D (Both old and new versions and the (finally) translated novels)
Escaflowne (Although the story is ridiculously condensed to the point of a few things not making sense to the uninitiated, I really liked the animation and music.)
End of Evangelion (The series left me hating Shinji but the “end” movie was fascinating to watch. As one observer put it, when told of a possible live-action version for this movie, it would be incredibly difficult to show the true-to-story pathos of so many deaths [i’ll leave further details out for spoilers reasons])
Read the manga. That “communist utopia” was described as “A zoo for those wierd animals that build their own cages and hide inside of them.” I always liked that line. The only way the “utopia” could work is if humans were “stabalized”, ie. no longer human. And Ghia, the computer setup to protect Man from the bioroids, knew that was wrong and tried to destroy the bioroids. There is no bioroid virus or whatever it was, in the manga story. The manga is far superior to the movie.
For some reason, I hear and understand the “read the manga” line alot. Ghost in the Shell, DragonBall Z, Akira, and apparently Appleseed were far superior in Manga form than anime form.
To respond directly to The Tortured One, the mecha in this movie actually does make military sense. The plot premise is that Earth is under attack by aliens that are much *much* larger than most human built ships, and thus, something very large is needed.
I like it when anime has reasons like these. It annoys me in show like Gasaraki, when it shows big mechas fighting each other and I can’t help but wonder “why not just take it out with a HEAT round? or a MOAB if aiming is an issue?” Of course, I realize that these are only plot devices, thus it’s not like I loose sleep if it is an issue. It made for some badass special effects and fight scenes in Appleseed.
Of course, Gasaraki bugged me with it’s “America is old and weak, Japan is new and Strong” approach to military might. Apparently someone ain’t been reading on Japanese economics.
oh, and for the record, I found FL_CL to be fantastically funny.
I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but I liked Metropolis. I like Ozamu, as his works (Astro Boy, Kimba the white Lion, and Metropolis) all have great themes to them.
While I am ranting, has anyone ever noticed that anime women usually fall into two distinct personality archetypes? They are either fiery, wild, freespirited, and headstrong, or they are quiet, reserved, polite, and headstrong. Maybe that is a cultural thing that should be overlooked, but I wonder if there are any heroines out there who have more depth than this.
Like I said, I treat anime as neither always good, nor always bad, it is a genre of cinema, with both great aspects, and poor ones.
While I am ranting, has anyone ever noticed that anime women usually fall into two distinct personality archetypes? They are either fiery, wild, freespirited, and headstrong, or they are quiet, reserved, polite, and headstrong. Maybe that is a cultural thing that should be overlooked, but I wonder if there are any heroines out there who have more depth than this.
One of my favorite female characters is Kaname Chidori from Full Metal Panic. I was delighted to see a strong willed female lead that’s still quite realistically human. How she approaches situations is a very nice blend between heroine and attractive lead. There are other female characters (and male) around her that fit more snugly into the traditional stereotypes. (The little synopsis on the website posted is a tad too short to reveal her wonderful character development across 24 episodes.)
If you want to go completely off the handle for interesting females, check out Golden Boy. I guarantee they’ll leave a distinct impression 
Very “well-rounded”.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Great Teacher Onizuka. A funny and heartwarming series. Onizuka is a rebelious type of guy who wants to be come a teacher, originally, to be around 16 year old girls. He ends up teaching the “problem” class in a junior high and is able to win them over because he refuses to give up on them and consider them garbage like the other faculty have.
A few of my favorite shows are:
Gunslinger Girls - An interesting illustration of emotion and ethics. Young girls who, for one reason or another, are abandoned or near death, are “saved” by a secret government group that rebuilds their bodies with artificial parts, “conditions” their minds so they will work willingly and then use them as assassins. You see what it is these girls go through and how they say they feel about it and it makes you wonder if they were better off dying or not.
Elfen Lied - This show has a lot of nudity and gory violence. People with extreme physical power vs. normal people. Who are the monsters? That’s what I got out of that series, anyway.
Now and Then, Here and There - A young boy, Shu, get’s pulled into another world where a crazy dictator is trying to conquer the world. Horrible things happen to people. There is also a being, Lalaru, who can conjure water from her pendant. Water is needed, not only for the people, but to power the war machine. They try to force Lalaru to give them water. The series is a good illustration of corrupt power, exploitation of those who are productive, and that, despite the bad events in history, people are generally good.
"Because ten billion
years time is so fragile,
so ephemeral…
it arouses such a
bittersweet,
almost heartbreaking fondness."
I have read graphic novels and watched anime. And my impression is that graphic novels (which are closer to the author’s original intention) are superior. Why do animators mess up the stories? They change the sequence of events; add and subtract events; etc.. I have noticed this in both “InuYasha” and “Full Metal Alchemist”.
It could be due to a third party arbitrarily changing the storyline to something more preferable for them. However, I think it is mostly due to the technical aspect of translating mediums.
Also, there are more commercial aspects to think about when you are entering a medium that costs more to produce. If producers and editors think that something is wrong with a story, they are more inclined to change it if more money is at stake.
I find the American (and western) obssession of anime somewhat pathetic. There are certainly high quality films that could be classified as anime. For example, most of Miyazaki’s work. However, most anime is of little substance. Even more disconcerting is the idea of anime being the center of Japanese culture. Such an attitude is similar to a foriegner thinking star trek is all America is about. An “otaku” attitude will not get you very far with the Japanese.
In my opinion, the capitalistic stregnths, value of education, and achievement in the arts are a much more representative of Japanese culture.
The Ghost in the Shell series is one of the most deeply philosophic movies I have ever seen. I have been fascinated with it since I first saw it many years ago, and have seen every one of the series and sequel. I would love to do an intense study of the movie to iron out its philosophy better.
It’s a great example of lengthy philosophic dialogue incorporated into an engrossing movie without becoming boring.
Something we should consider if ever A.S. out T.F. Our even Anthem are taken to film.
Has anyone here studied it? Any opinions?
I’d do the same to the Vampire Hunter D series and Blood: the last vampire (wheres my sequel!!) and Battle
Angel Alita -(will be movie soon!).
I’ve never watched all of the Ghost in the Shell series, but it’s definitely an awesome movie.
I especially liked it’s sequel. The way the robots moved was fascinating.
[Watch as I prove necromancy to be true!]
I’m glad I found this thread. My anime addiction just came about this year. Last year, my freshman year in college, I began watching anime alot on Adult Swim and I always had a problem because I would miss alot of episode or come into series late. I didn’t have the money to buy them either. But this school year, a new friend of mine was really into anime and said he only watches the japanese version.
He gets his anime from www.national-anime.com and downloads it. You can get all the anime you ever wanted, almost every anime ever made!
He reopened his account and gave me his password so I could begin downloading and sharing the account with him (we worked out alot of deals for “repayment” ie-- I bought him alot of meals!). But he got me into alot of anime. The one I originally asked him to download for me was Eureka Seven.
Eureka Seven does have the whole “love-hate” thing but it’s also sort of an anti-facist series as well. I noticed from the start that the japanese version was a hell of alot better then the American version. You get attached to the characters and their struggle to save their planet and stop their facist government.
Anyways, the series i’m watching right now are my two favorite animes and shows ive ever seen and I recommend them to anyone.
The first, and my favorite is Bleach! It’s on Adult Swim right now, but the English dubbing is not that great. It’s epic and serious and has alot of comical moments. Why it’s my favorite is because it develops it’s characters really well, it’s plot and storylines and executed incredibly and i’m almost convinced that the main character is base off Howard Roark. Ichigo Kurowsaki is the main character and he looks like Roark and even acts like him. He’s serious, smart and totally selfish.
The basic plot of the serious is that throughout Ichigo entire life he has been able to see ghosts. He’s 14 now and in highschool and it’s never been a problem until one day, walking downtown he sees this little girls ghost being chased down by a huge monster. Then a young girl dressed like a samurai comes and slays the monster. Ichigo is the only one who even notices this. That night he sees the samurai girl again briefly and figures out that she either can’t see him or is ignoring him. Then in the middle of the night, he wakes to the sound of his younger sister screaming, he goes to find out that both of his sisters (he has two young sisters and a father, his mother is died) are being attack by a monster like the one he saw earlier. Then the samurai girl shows up and fights the monster, but gets defeated. The monster can speak and tells Ichigo that he is going to kill and eat him and his entire family. At this point Ichigo is desperate for a way to save himself and his family. So he goes and tries to take the sword from the Samurai who explains that her name is Rukia and she is a Shinigami, a Death God. She tells him to save himself and he says I can save myself and the people he loves if he had her weapon and he powers. So she gives him his powers and then he becomes a Death God and slays the monster. The next morning his family doesn’t recall what happened to them the night before and even discovers Rukia is in his classrom as a “transfer student” she explains that she is wearing a false body because, obviously, shes a spirit and because of the new body people can see her so she has to have “a real life” so to speak and she wants to stick to Ichigo because he has her powers and now he has to fight the Hollows (the big monsters) for her.
The reason I say he is like Roark is because when Rukia asks him to take her place, she says he has to be prepared to be “totally selfless” and put everyone else befor himself. He says he can never do that and that he wont. Later, Ichigo saves someone from a Hollow and Rukia tells him that he is finally prepared to give up his live for others. Ichigo says it’s nothing “like that” and that he doesn’t live for others, but he doesn’t want to live in a world where people are killed because of monsters he has the power to stop. He says it has nothing to do with “selflessness.”
That’s why Bleach is my favorite, it’s the closet thing to Objectivism i’ve seen in a show.
My second favorite is Death Note. This show is so incredibly intelligient that it will blow you away. The entire show, every episode, is pure 100% genius.
The premise of the show is about a boy named Light, he’s smart, real genius, top of class, women want him men want to be him etc etc. It starts in the year 2006(the anime does, the manga starts in 2004) and Light is studying to become a detective one day because he sees the world around him “decaying and dying.” Everday on Japanese T.V. and in the papers it’s nothing but criminals and the crimes they commit, hundreds of people get beaten, mugged, raped or killed, and yet the world does not do enough to stop it.
One day as Light is in class he looks out the window and sees a notebook falling from the sky. After class he goes to check it and sees the front of the notebook read “Death Note” in english. Light thinks it’s a joke and opens up the notebook to read, “How to Use” with a list of rules:
"The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person’s face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person’s name, it will happen. If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.
After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds."
Light brings the note home with him and tests it out as a joke, wondering if it’s true. The name he writes in the Death Note is a man who, at the moment is holding up a group of school kids in a school. It’s all over the news, and on every channel, they show the mans picture and say his name and Light writes in down. A minute later the kids come running out of the school saying the man suddenly died…
Light realizes the Death Note is real and he has the power to kill anyone, as long as he knows their face and name. Light sets out to judge all the people in the world and to cleanse the earth of criminals and scum – thus becoming the new God of this world. However, he runs into problems.
At the very beginning of the anime, the first scene takes place in “Death God’s world” with a Death God named Ryuk. Ryuk is bored with Death God world and tells the King of the Death God’s he lost his Death Note… so he gets a new one, but really, he never lost his, and now he has two. He goes and drops the second one into the Human world, then Light finds it.
After several days of killing criminals Ryuk appears before Light, who is shocked but he expected something like this to happen. He think’s Ryuk is coming to stop him, but Ryuk explains that he is merely there to watch and that this is all just fun and games for him.
So Light proceeds… but not without opposition. The killing of thousands of criminals has not gone unnoticed. Every police and military system in the world has noticed it and is trying to find an answer to the strange killings. All they know is that someone by the name of “Kira” is actually behind it. This attracts the attention of the worlds best detective, a man known only as “L.” The FBI and CIA have worked with him, so has Japanese police and every other agency…
This begins the struggle between Light and L, who both see what they are doing as being “justice” and the right thing to do. L says that no one should have the power Kira has, and judgement is in the hands of the law and law enforcement…
It’s an interesting show that will seriously “mind-fuck” you. It will tingle your reasoning abilities for sure.
That’s all for now, this post is already getting long.
That’s why Bleach is my favorite, it’s the closet thing to Objectivism i’ve seen in a show.
Ye, Bleach is the best thing I’ve ever seen on a television. It grabbed me like nothing else, the main character, the comedy, the music.
I loved it before I knew Miss Rand’s view of art, and for the same reasons as when I did learn it. Check out the end credit sequences they change them every couple of months, there’s just a “feeling” they give off that I can’t put my finger on.
Ichigo: uncompromising, independent, determined and has orange hair hmmm…
Currently there are no series that really capture my curiosity. I tend to go for full-fledged features, and of those a very select number:
I enjoy the movies made by Satoshi Kon, in particular:
Paprika : This was a very interesting movie. Very unique in its approach, with an underlying theme of Science and opposition to science (the villain opposes the use of science to explore the human subconscious). It does have a mystical element in that it posits that the sub-conscious is interlinked (dreams are connected together), and so goes for a Jungian tangent- but this is mostly a plot element to give the villain a foothold, as he wants to become the lord of the realm. It acts as a metaphor for knowledge, and the ultimate fate of those who think they can stop others from acquiring knowledge. Despite the epic scope, it’s rather cheerful and good-humored.
Perfect Blue : An interesting psychological thriller that explores the difference between the public persona of a celebrity and their actual identity.
Tokyo Godfathers : I liked this movie because although the characters are essentially vagabonds, there is something tremendously noble within each one of them. They begin the story at their most hopeless and despairing, but the circumstance of the baby brings out the best of each individual (with a couple of stumbles along the way). And when things get really rough, they perform quite a few heroic feats.
Millennium Actress : An ode to the actresses of the past, I would call it (and inspired by a specific Japanese actress of the golden age of cinema). The movie plays with the element of memory very well, integrating scenes that the actress has played in her movies with scenes of her real life-- there is a slight blurred edge between which is which at times, but that serves as a metaphor for what every good actor knows: Every scene performed well must have a background of experience from your own life. Even when the situations aren’t exactly the same, there must be a core of memory, or of feeling, that has to be evoked in order to make the fiction believable. The ending is one of the few in an animated feature that has gotten me misty-eyed. Kiyoko, the actress in the film, acknowledges that what she has loved most about her life was the pursuit of a specific goal (always the same one), no matter how unattainable it may have seemed.
I’m also a HUGE fan of Hayao Miyazaki because of the element of wonder he invokes with his fable-like stories. The only story I didn’t really like was Princess Mononoke , for its environmentalist bend, but was enchanted with Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My neighbor Totoro and many of his other movies.
Outside of that? Maybe Excel Saga because of the absurdist and irreverent humor (a lot of it poking fun at Anime series tropes). At one point I started watching Fruits Basket , but I couldn’t really finish it because the Ultra-Submissive Girl Stereotype that rears its head in a lot of Anime drives me up the bloody wall! – Tohru has no self-esteem, no initiative, is completely subservient and is glad to play the rug and get stepped on and quietly cry to herself afterwards. Most of the time I wanted to grab her and shake her until something clicked inside her skull. Actually, The Tohru Trope is a reason why I don’t watch a LOT of Anime.
I usually like anything with a more or less Steampunk bent (For instance, worlds where the main technology is Steam, as opposed to electricity and such). One example is Castle in the Sky, a Hayao Miyazaki masterpiece about two kids who search for the legendary flying-city of Laputa (Or at least I think… it’s been a while since I’ve seen it). The shear amount of wonder and creativity present in a simple two-hour feature is simply incredible, and that doesn’t even address the lovable characters and the absolutely beautiful animation (Something apparent in all Miyazaki films).
I don’t watch too many series-specific Anime, but among them I must say that I enjoyed the shows Last Exile, though it’s ending wasn’t very memorable; Full Metal Alchemist, which is a fun show with admirable characters that even gets a bit philosophical every once in a while; and I’ve recently watched Rahxephon, which is one of those “giant mecha” shows with many Surrealist Art themes.
Also, while I’m here, I’d like to ask a question regarding the previously discussed Bleach. Since it apparently has a few fans here, I’d like to know if anyone could give their opinion as to whether the Manga is any better (Or as good) as the Anime version? I ask because time and money limits me from getting into any super-long series right now (I believe Bleach has something like 200 episodes?), and Manga are a lesser commitment.
Also, while I’m here, I’d like to ask a question regarding the previously discussed Bleach. Since it apparently has a few fans here, I’d like to know if anyone could give their opinion as to whether the Manga is any better (Or as good) as the Anime version? I ask because time and money limits me from getting into any super-long series right now (I believe Bleach has something like 200 episodes?), and Manga are a lesser commitment.
Go with the manga if you don’t want to invest in the anime. Bleach anime is good when it is on the manga story arcs, but as the anime catches up to the manga they will leave the manga story arc and do 50 episodes of filler that is boring and dreadful to watch.
Other anime series that are great are:
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Deep, surreal, and philosophical
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - Blow your mind
Ergo Proxy - Surreal
D. Gray Man - if you like bleach
Hajime no Ippo - about a kid that decides to become a boxer, and his unrelenting pursuit of his goal, any objectivist would love this series.
I have watched a ton of anime and can give many more suggestions if anyone is interested.