Obscure Anime You Should Watch
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Androids101
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Astronomical girl
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Astronomical girl
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>log on at lunch
>post blurb about Tetsujin
>go to Interior Design 30 and History
>take bus home
>log on and find thread has turned into the Ghibli Power Hour
>facepalm
For the record, my favourites are Ponyo and Spirited Away, although I admire the style and quality of each of each of Miyazaki's films. But you know, Miyazaki actually directed a film staring the titular character of our next installment...
5. Lupin III
Year: 1971-present
Span: 228 episodes over three seasons, five direct-to-video specials, six movies, 21 TV specials...and there's more every year.
Rating: T
Summary: The grandson of Arsene Lupin, Lupin III, is a talented your master thief who travels the world, in constant pursuit of art, women or treasure he likes. He travels only with his close companions Daisuke Jigen the grizzled gunman, and Goemon Ishikawa XIII the samurai, and occasionally the shapely yet devious Fujiko Mine. All the while the group is in pursuit of treasure, they have to avoid capture by the persistant Inspector Zenigata.
Review: Lupin III is so much fun to watch. It's hard not to like Lupin or his friends, and you can pick up the series from any episode, movie or special and get through it with only a basic understanding of the main characters. Some of the things in the show are absolutely insane - such as Lupin & co. lifting the giant Jesus statue of Brazil with only a helicopter - but be warned some of the spinoffs of the TV series aren't safe for kids, especially the original manga.
You know what the best part of being a Lupin fan is? You have absolute and total right to make people who've never heard of it feel guilty. Lupin's been known on-and-off in North America since the eighties - Lupin was first renamed and featured in a laserdisc arcade game - but I've seen his popularity fade on and off today. This was the first anime I got into that was directed at an older audience, and French and Italian eighties kids know Lupin very well. If you can find it, Geneon's English dub is awesome.
Availability: Funimation has a good deal of the TV specials and movies licensed, and a few other companies have access to Episode 0: First Contact (also the first Lupin-ey thing I ever watched) and Ghibli's Castle of Cagliostro (which is a huge classic, kidlets). Geneon licensed the second season with 155 episodes in all, but I don't think they dubbed them all and the DVDs are hard to find today. That series and Castle of Cagliostro are pretty safe for youth, however.
>post blurb about Tetsujin
>go to Interior Design 30 and History
>take bus home
>log on and find thread has turned into the Ghibli Power Hour
>facepalm
For the record, my favourites are Ponyo and Spirited Away, although I admire the style and quality of each of each of Miyazaki's films. But you know, Miyazaki actually directed a film staring the titular character of our next installment...
5. Lupin III
Year: 1971-present
Span: 228 episodes over three seasons, five direct-to-video specials, six movies, 21 TV specials...and there's more every year.
Rating: T
Summary: The grandson of Arsene Lupin, Lupin III, is a talented your master thief who travels the world, in constant pursuit of art, women or treasure he likes. He travels only with his close companions Daisuke Jigen the grizzled gunman, and Goemon Ishikawa XIII the samurai, and occasionally the shapely yet devious Fujiko Mine. All the while the group is in pursuit of treasure, they have to avoid capture by the persistant Inspector Zenigata.
Review: Lupin III is so much fun to watch. It's hard not to like Lupin or his friends, and you can pick up the series from any episode, movie or special and get through it with only a basic understanding of the main characters. Some of the things in the show are absolutely insane - such as Lupin & co. lifting the giant Jesus statue of Brazil with only a helicopter - but be warned some of the spinoffs of the TV series aren't safe for kids, especially the original manga.
You know what the best part of being a Lupin fan is? You have absolute and total right to make people who've never heard of it feel guilty. Lupin's been known on-and-off in North America since the eighties - Lupin was first renamed and featured in a laserdisc arcade game - but I've seen his popularity fade on and off today. This was the first anime I got into that was directed at an older audience, and French and Italian eighties kids know Lupin very well. If you can find it, Geneon's English dub is awesome.
Availability: Funimation has a good deal of the TV specials and movies licensed, and a few other companies have access to Episode 0: First Contact (also the first Lupin-ey thing I ever watched) and Ghibli's Castle of Cagliostro (which is a huge classic, kidlets). Geneon licensed the second season with 155 episodes in all, but I don't think they dubbed them all and the DVDs are hard to find today. That series and Castle of Cagliostro are pretty safe for youth, however.
Dr. Tenma lover and aficionado since 2006!
Now featuring the Sad Old Dad Squad (The S.O.D.S.)
Castle of Gagliostro is my favorite Miyazaki film. 
And one of the best comedy adventure films I've seen all around, up there with Princess Bride. I'm just not convinced I'd be able to get into the rest of the series though. But I'm sure it's good.
And one of the best comedy adventure films I've seen all around, up there with Princess Bride. I'm just not convinced I'd be able to get into the rest of the series though. But I'm sure it's good.I'm on Twitter.
I love the Lupin III TV series; it is only 1 of a few anime that I actually prefer the English dubs. I think the various references to cultural things and Clichés & such made this so. While I do enjoy the Japanese version, just running the subtitles with the dub is enough to justify my preference.
In regards to Lupin III, TCM has shown films about L I; I have seen 2, maybe 3 of them; they are not as much fun as the anime, but do put III in perspective.
In regards to Lupin III, TCM has shown films about L I; I have seen 2, maybe 3 of them; they are not as much fun as the anime, but do put III in perspective.
Today, I've got something that's both in animated and print form, but horribly exclusive...
6. Kyukyoku Choujin R
Year: manga 1985-1989, TV special 1991
Span: nine manga volumes, 114-minute TV special
Rating: E
Summary: The mysterious dopey android boy, R Ichirou Tanaka, enrolls himself in a local high school and joins the Photography Club. From there he must deal with its wrathful but cool leader Tosaka-senpai, the motley members of the club, the insane school events, his delusional creator, and the club's long-standing feud with school council leader Marii. The TV special has Tosaka taking the entire group on a Stamp Tour, but it turns out Marii's rigged it to ensure if they don't get all the stamps by 6:00 PM in three days, their club must shut down.
Review: From Masami Yuuki, the creator of Birdy the Mighty and Patlabor, beloved yet virtually unknown outside of Japan, this series isn't hard to get into and pretty fun. Yuuki takes a variety of robot anime cliches and tears them apart, even referencing Astro Boy in R's origin (his creator lies that his son who looked like R was hit by a car, but then his son walks by right after). I actually wrote a column about it in an attempt to bring attention to the series (scroll down to Reader's Choice), and it's not often an obscure anime or manga grows on me as much as KCR has. The TV special is worth looking at just to see how good its animation is, and for the climatic ten-person bike scene near the end.
R is sort of a hybrid of Key Mima, whom I mentioned before, and Arale Norimaki. He's doofy, rides his bicycle haphazardly through anything, always sounds soft and monotone and he can only eat rice. If he eats anything else, he throws up bolts and spacers. It's hard to describe him, but he was popular enough to actually get put in a video game.
Availability: The manga is in the process of being scanlated, and while I do advise you to look it up, I won't link to it here. The entire TV special was put up (currently) unsubbed on Youtube by me. For those of you looking for something more tangible, R and four of the Photography Club members appear in Assemble Insert which has been put on North American DVD, but R is the only one with a speaking role.
6. Kyukyoku Choujin R
Year: manga 1985-1989, TV special 1991
Span: nine manga volumes, 114-minute TV special
Rating: E
Summary: The mysterious dopey android boy, R Ichirou Tanaka, enrolls himself in a local high school and joins the Photography Club. From there he must deal with its wrathful but cool leader Tosaka-senpai, the motley members of the club, the insane school events, his delusional creator, and the club's long-standing feud with school council leader Marii. The TV special has Tosaka taking the entire group on a Stamp Tour, but it turns out Marii's rigged it to ensure if they don't get all the stamps by 6:00 PM in three days, their club must shut down.
Review: From Masami Yuuki, the creator of Birdy the Mighty and Patlabor, beloved yet virtually unknown outside of Japan, this series isn't hard to get into and pretty fun. Yuuki takes a variety of robot anime cliches and tears them apart, even referencing Astro Boy in R's origin (his creator lies that his son who looked like R was hit by a car, but then his son walks by right after). I actually wrote a column about it in an attempt to bring attention to the series (scroll down to Reader's Choice), and it's not often an obscure anime or manga grows on me as much as KCR has. The TV special is worth looking at just to see how good its animation is, and for the climatic ten-person bike scene near the end.
R is sort of a hybrid of Key Mima, whom I mentioned before, and Arale Norimaki. He's doofy, rides his bicycle haphazardly through anything, always sounds soft and monotone and he can only eat rice. If he eats anything else, he throws up bolts and spacers. It's hard to describe him, but he was popular enough to actually get put in a video game.
Availability: The manga is in the process of being scanlated, and while I do advise you to look it up, I won't link to it here. The entire TV special was put up (currently) unsubbed on Youtube by me. For those of you looking for something more tangible, R and four of the Photography Club members appear in Assemble Insert which has been put on North American DVD, but R is the only one with a speaking role.
Dr. Tenma lover and aficionado since 2006!
Now featuring the Sad Old Dad Squad (The S.O.D.S.)
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