With a huge amount of anime series produced each year in Japan, it’s easy to be lost! If you’re wondering what you should watch, this should help you out:
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# GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX
• Plot: Female cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi and her fellow police officers of Section 9 hunt down a host of criminals in both the real and online worlds.
• Why? The easiest way to understand what Ghost is the Shell is all about. It brings together entertainment and philosophy, asking questions like what makes people unique in a world where differences between human & machines tend to disappear.
• Episodes/Length: 25 X 23 min
• Free HD streaming: Youtube (Manga Ent., English Dub)
• Available on: Amazon
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# BACCANO!
• Plot: Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control.
• Why? Playing with narrative codes & chronology, successfully mixing genres (gangsters, fantasy, drama…) & tones (comedy, horror), treating each characters as the main one… A great piece of entertainment!
• Episodes/Length: 13 X 23 min
• Free HD streaming: Youtube (Funimation, English Dub/Sub, US ONLY), Hulu (English Dub/Sub, US ONLY)
• Available on: Amazon
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# WELCOME TO THE NHK
• Plot: Satou, a 22 years old hikikomori (meaning acute social withdrawal), meets Misaki; she claims she will cure him of his hikikomori ways.
• Why? Discover some social problems of Japan; hikikomori, lolicon, suicide, social & family pressure, loneliness, online video games addiction… Funny from time to time but it’s not a light-hearted show.
• Episodes/Length: 24 X 23 min
• Free HD streaming: Funimation (English Dub, US Only),
• Available on: Amazon
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# ERGO PROXY
• Plot: In a future where the world has been ravaged by a nuclear apocalyse, there exists salvation in a domed city named “Romdeau”, where humans and their android servants, the autoreivs, live in.
• Why? Fans of Philip K. Dick, it’s for you! Inspired by mythology, philosophy, sci fi and more, this anime is about the very existence of a Utopia, and its limits. With differences between reality/dream, humanity/robots… At its core, the story deals with loneliness & the meaning of life. A mature, yet entertaining story.
• Episodes/Length: 23 X 25 min
• Free HD streaming: Youtube (Funimation, English Dub/Sub, US Only), Hulu (English Sub, US Only)
• Available on: Amazon
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# KAIBA
• Plot: A man wakes up in a broken room with no memories. Suddenly assaulted, he escapes into space and travels to various planets, encountering various people and retrieving his memories.
• Why? A retro looking anime created by Mind Game director Masaaki Yuasa, and as expected, each episode is pure gold: a superb mix of magnificent ideas & emotions. In a world where bodies can be replaced, and memories erased. Deep & beautiful.
• Episodes/Length: 12 X 23 min
• Available on: Amazon (Australian DVDs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVPsA21XrYI
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# MUSHI-SHI
• Plot: Ginko is a “Mushi-shi” who travels around to investigate and find out more about the “Mushi”; neither plants nor animals, they resemble the primeval body of life.
• Why? An enthralling journey into the world of magic and strange phenomenons. A “slice of life” type of anime, slow-paced, beautiful, filled with touching stories.
• Episodes/Length: 26 X 23 min
• Free HD streaming: Youtube (Funimation, English Dub/Sub, US Only), Hulu (English Dub/Sub, US Only)
• Available on: Amazon
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# SAMURAI CHAMPLOO
• Plot: A waitress convinces two warriors to come with her in search of a mysterious samurai that smells like sunflowers.
• Why? A beautiful tale of friendship, combining modernity/hip hop with classical japanese elements, comedy & drama as well. The result is quite unique, each episode brings new ideas & different (memorable) moods. A must-see!
• Episodes/Length: 26 X 23 min
• Free HD streaming: Youtube (Funimation, English Dub/Sub, US Only), Hulu (English Dub/Sub, US Only)
• Available on: Amazon
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# KAIJI
• Plot: Kaiji is offered to board the gambling ship Espoir for one night to clear the debt. He accepts, knowing he may never come back.
• Why? Like Death Note, you’re still wondering what’s going to happen, what Kaiji is planning to do. A fast-paced story where you enjoy the permanent thrill of gambling. And, you’ve never seen a japanese main character crying that much. Zawa Zawa…
• Episodes/Length: 26 X 23 min
• Available on: Still Not Yet Licensed?
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# PARANOIA AGENT
• Plot: An elementary school kid dubbed with the title “shounen bat” has been going around attacking people with his bent, golden bat. Two detectives are investigating.
• Why? Paprika director Satoshi Kon revealing once again the weaknesses of the Japanese Society in this thematically rich story, where people run away from reality. Of course, expect some astonishing visual ideas!
• Episodes/Length: 13 X 25 min
• Available on: Amazon
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# HAIBANE RENMEI
• Plot: Rakka, a newly born Haibane (Angel) awakens into an unfamiliar world with only a strange dream of falling from the sky as her only memory.
• Why? A seemingly joyful & peaceful world, where one can enjoy sympathy from unknown people. But gradually, rules appear and existential questions arise.
• Episodes/Length: 13 X 25 min
• Free HD streaming: Youtube (Funimation, English Dub/Sub, US Only), Hulu (English Dub/Sub, US Only)
• Available on: Amazon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFRN8Q4IYhg
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