Obscure Anime You Should Watch
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Astronomical girl
- Banned
- Posts: 3438
- Joined: 15 years ago
@Astronomical: I'm very familiar with Ghibli, and got my siblings into it. However, I'm trying to bring attention to things that don't have worldwide recognition.
@Jeffbert: It's been thirteen years since the last VHS tape was issued in America, so that's more than understandable.
Now, I want to talk about something that isn't an anime...
3. From Eroica With Love
Year: 1978-present
Span: Fifteen english volumes, thirty-six Japanese volumes
Rating: light T
Summary: By day a flamboyant English earl and by night an elusive art thief, Earl Dorian of Red AKA Eroica travels the world, constantly in search of new things to add to his collection, or clients who need his assistance. Dorian finds himself in love with the stoic, cold German NATO officer Major Klaus von Eberbach, whom never ceases to turn Dorian's affection away. While either man travels the world on his own affairs, the two constantly cross paths in all sorts of dangerous situations, including throughout Klaus's rivalry with the KGB.
Review: The art is gorgeous, Yasuko Aoike has her facts about NATO, the KGB and current events very well researched, and there's plenty of humour (such as when Eroica stole Pope John Paul II just to say he could). The one thing that will rip you out of anything is the real-world homophobia demonstrated singlehandedly by Klaus. Fairly often he'll be a strong character, but his genuinely awful treatment of Dorian almost made me cry once. Aside from that, the manga is quite enjoyable, and worth a look just to see how Aoike puts her characters around then-current events (references to the Moscow Olympics are in volume three), the action, and how she can draw her men absolutely beautifully while still making them look like men. Be warned that at its core it is still a boy's love story.
(Interesting note...Aoike actually based Dorian's hair on that of Robert Plant of Led Zepplin, and named Dorian's accountant James after another member of the band. She admits she's a big fan of the band.)
Availability: The fifteen available volumes are very well in print, but unfortunately North American licensor CMX shut down this past summer. It's very common in Japan, though.
@Jeffbert: It's been thirteen years since the last VHS tape was issued in America, so that's more than understandable.
Now, I want to talk about something that isn't an anime...
3. From Eroica With Love
Year: 1978-present
Span: Fifteen english volumes, thirty-six Japanese volumes
Rating: light T
Summary: By day a flamboyant English earl and by night an elusive art thief, Earl Dorian of Red AKA Eroica travels the world, constantly in search of new things to add to his collection, or clients who need his assistance. Dorian finds himself in love with the stoic, cold German NATO officer Major Klaus von Eberbach, whom never ceases to turn Dorian's affection away. While either man travels the world on his own affairs, the two constantly cross paths in all sorts of dangerous situations, including throughout Klaus's rivalry with the KGB.
Review: The art is gorgeous, Yasuko Aoike has her facts about NATO, the KGB and current events very well researched, and there's plenty of humour (such as when Eroica stole Pope John Paul II just to say he could). The one thing that will rip you out of anything is the real-world homophobia demonstrated singlehandedly by Klaus. Fairly often he'll be a strong character, but his genuinely awful treatment of Dorian almost made me cry once. Aside from that, the manga is quite enjoyable, and worth a look just to see how Aoike puts her characters around then-current events (references to the Moscow Olympics are in volume three), the action, and how she can draw her men absolutely beautifully while still making them look like men. Be warned that at its core it is still a boy's love story.
(Interesting note...Aoike actually based Dorian's hair on that of Robert Plant of Led Zepplin, and named Dorian's accountant James after another member of the band. She admits she's a big fan of the band.)
Availability: The fifteen available volumes are very well in print, but unfortunately North American licensor CMX shut down this past summer. It's very common in Japan, though.
Dr. Tenma lover and aficionado since 2006!
Now featuring the Sad Old Dad Squad (The S.O.D.S.)
@F-Man: Darn, you beat me to it.
@Astronomical: I mentioned it quite a few times, but it's more than that! More time is spent on globetrotting and action than any kind of graphic scenes. Dorian is a fairly realistic depiction of a gay man, which really won me over. (Keep in mind that it's hard to find a character like this in Japanese media, and that I actually am gay, so Dorian is quite dear to me. I just wish he could let Klaus go...)
@Dr. Jerk: I'll have to look those up. I remember just being a dumb thirteen-year-old and wondering why it hadn't magically appeared on Youtube or a DVD.
@Astronomical: I mentioned it quite a few times, but it's more than that!
More time is spent on globetrotting and action than any kind of graphic scenes. Dorian is a fairly realistic depiction of a gay man, which really won me over. (Keep in mind that it's hard to find a character like this in Japanese media, and that I actually am gay, so Dorian is quite dear to me. I just wish he could let Klaus go...)
@Dr. Jerk: I'll have to look those up. I remember just being a dumb thirteen-year-old and wondering why it hadn't magically appeared on Youtube or a DVD.
Last edited by Fauna on Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dr. Tenma lover and aficionado since 2006!
Now featuring the Sad Old Dad Squad (The S.O.D.S.)
Okay! Awkward. Let's continue...
4. Tetsujin 28
Year: 2004
Span: 26 episodes
Rating: E
Summary: Ten years after World War II, the boy detective Shotaro Kaneda watches as a stray missile lands on Tokyo Tower, only to discover an enormous robot his late father built a decade ago. Shotaro must learn to control Tetsujin and keep him out of the hands of the various criminal groups coming into Japan. But soon, he must decipher what's going on when the PX Syndicate appears in Tokyo, taking control of the police station and robot industries at the same time his friends and family begin to disappear...
Review: When I discovered Tetsujin, I saw the DVD cover, noted the art style and thought, "Hey, this must be just like something Tezuka would make." And it is; it's like Astro Boy with more questioning of the good of man and the worth of war, while Astro is a human kid in bicycle shorts. I love the animation style of the show, as it's soft and pastel, like faded photographs. This was a children's show in Japan, and it is an extremely sophisticated kid's show. There are some incredible moments throughout, and tons of likeable characters (such as the cloud-haired, pink-suited former spy Kenji Murasame) but some of them meet untimely ends. The show is slow, soft, sometimes beautifully-crafted, and for the most part, quite enjoyable. The dub must be commended for being both true to the original and well-performed.
There is a brick of four episodes in the centre of the series in which you can clearly tell are just filler adventures, and can be skipped unless you really like watching Shotaro. This series has the same creator and same director as Giant Robo, but this time it's kind of fun to see the director turn 1955 Japan into a giant robot-producing metropolis commonly inhabited by mafia with four members, teleporting thieves and German men who look like Saiyans*.
This is the updated remake of the first giant robot anime ever, which was renamed "Gigantor" in 1963 with a plethora of wacky new Fred Ladd names. There's huge handfuls of Tetsujin remakes up until the 2004 series, but this series and the original are all that have been properly-released in North America, and this series may be easier for modern fans to get into.
Availability: The entire series was put out on DVD in 2005-2006 by Geneon, but anyone familiar with the anime market knows what happened to Geneon. The DVDs are still floating around the internet for okay prices, and in some discount DVD bins at anime shops (which is how I found the show). The first episode is in English on Youtube.
*I'm not kidding. I'll come up with a picture later today.
4. Tetsujin 28
Year: 2004
Span: 26 episodes
Rating: E
Summary: Ten years after World War II, the boy detective Shotaro Kaneda watches as a stray missile lands on Tokyo Tower, only to discover an enormous robot his late father built a decade ago. Shotaro must learn to control Tetsujin and keep him out of the hands of the various criminal groups coming into Japan. But soon, he must decipher what's going on when the PX Syndicate appears in Tokyo, taking control of the police station and robot industries at the same time his friends and family begin to disappear...
Review: When I discovered Tetsujin, I saw the DVD cover, noted the art style and thought, "Hey, this must be just like something Tezuka would make." And it is; it's like Astro Boy with more questioning of the good of man and the worth of war, while Astro is a human kid in bicycle shorts. I love the animation style of the show, as it's soft and pastel, like faded photographs. This was a children's show in Japan, and it is an extremely sophisticated kid's show. There are some incredible moments throughout, and tons of likeable characters (such as the cloud-haired, pink-suited former spy Kenji Murasame) but some of them meet untimely ends. The show is slow, soft, sometimes beautifully-crafted, and for the most part, quite enjoyable. The dub must be commended for being both true to the original and well-performed.
There is a brick of four episodes in the centre of the series in which you can clearly tell are just filler adventures, and can be skipped unless you really like watching Shotaro. This series has the same creator and same director as Giant Robo, but this time it's kind of fun to see the director turn 1955 Japan into a giant robot-producing metropolis commonly inhabited by mafia with four members, teleporting thieves and German men who look like Saiyans*.
This is the updated remake of the first giant robot anime ever, which was renamed "Gigantor" in 1963 with a plethora of wacky new Fred Ladd names. There's huge handfuls of Tetsujin remakes up until the 2004 series, but this series and the original are all that have been properly-released in North America, and this series may be easier for modern fans to get into.
Availability: The entire series was put out on DVD in 2005-2006 by Geneon, but anyone familiar with the anime market knows what happened to Geneon. The DVDs are still floating around the internet for okay prices, and in some discount DVD bins at anime shops (which is how I found the show). The first episode is in English on Youtube.
*I'm not kidding. I'll come up with a picture later today.
Dr. Tenma lover and aficionado since 2006!
Now featuring the Sad Old Dad Squad (The S.O.D.S.)
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Androids101
- Cosmic Ranger
- Posts: 3254
- Joined: 15 years ago
- Location: Castelia City
- Contact:
Tesukin 28 certainly looks interesting -
Androids101
- Cosmic Ranger
- Posts: 3254
- Joined: 15 years ago
- Location: Castelia City
- Contact:
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