Official Anime Recommendation Thread

It's only 3 episodes in, but I'm really liking the new Lupin, Lupin the Third - The Woman Called Fujiko Mine. It's animated by Madhouse, directed by Sayo Yamamoto and the character designs are by Takeshi Koike (Redline). Sayo did Michiko to Hatchin, but I haven't seen that. She did background art for Redline though, most of her work is doing storyboards.

Be warned though, there's a lot of nakedness in it (not including the OP and ED, which has a lot). Except for the 3rd episode. Fujiko manages to wear her clothes for most of it. Then Goemon shreds them to pieces in the last minute.

Rosario + Vampire...my word. The fanservice is off the charts. Nicely animated and the sound Moka makes when chomping Tsukune is unbelievably cute. Also, two words...Ririko-sensei. Where were teachers like that when I was in school?!?

Some new spring animes I've been checking out...

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia - I thought this'd be like "Another" (which I loved) but it's far more light-hearted, and far less gory. Still fun, and there's a creepy subtext to it all. Creepy in a good way. It's about a ghost girl who is trapped in a strangely large and labrynth-like school, and the "paranormal investigation" club that springs up around her.

Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos - Do you love the Cthulhu mythos? Are you an H.P. Lovecraft fanboy/girl? Then you might hate this. Nyarlathotep is a cute teenaged girl (as are several other Cthulhuian beings) working for the Space Police to protect Earth from... stuff. Nyarko is also in love with a Japanese boy and wants to marry him and have his babies... while Cthuga is a lesbian who wants to marry Nyarko and have her babies, but otherwise wastes her time playing video games all day. It's a comedy, and a pretty funny one.

Mysterious Girlfriend X - Ummmm... boy meets girl, boy tastes girl's drool, boy becomes addicted to girl's drool, they form a relationship. If you can ignore the drool fetish (which is really more of a metaphor for sex), it's really a rather sweet story of a boy and his weirdo girlfriend.

Haven't been watching much lately, but got around to finally watching the director's cut of Afro Samurai. Very good. I've got AS: Resurrection to watch soonish.

Also, the Hetalia movie, "Paint It, White". My word that movie is surreal. Shame that Ukraine and Belarus only show up in one scene though. I think my two favorite bits where Russia's battlecry as he jumps out of the plane ("VODKA!") and the telling of that Italian Heaven/Hell joke. Good movie, if, as I said, a bit surreal.

Yeah finished watching Excell Saga a while back...and in a show of sad geekiness the phrase "My Tears flow like watefalls!" and "I must return to my hot sexy wife" have entered our catchphrase lexicon.

Once again I'm waaay behind the curve here and watching Angelic Layer and really enjoying it.

Especially since I could see that if such a technology takes off that games companies switching from the traditional video game fighting format to Angelic Layer and selling 'official' characters to use at official tournaments like EVO (under the guise that since they're not the custom ones it's all fair).

I actually found it quite funny that in order to fully customise and Angel you had to be a decent hairstylist and a decent tailor in order to get good looking costumes. At first I was like, "Really, no male Angels..none?" and then one turns up.

Also another thing I liked is the face an Angel controller is called a Deus, the latin name for God, don't know why but thought that was kind of awesome.

I've been kinda slacking off on any recommendations here, but I have been watching a fair amount in my spare time...and when I'm not watching Gintama. >.>

I haven't purchased anything new in awhile and have been mainly watching streams from Funimation, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.

Fate Zero pt. 2:
Doesn't need much explanation. It picks up where the first part left off and the pieces are falling in place as to how it will/ would tie into the original. The back story for Saber's Master just finished and now we know why he is like he is. (Crunchyroll)

Eureka 7 A.O. :
I'm still a little behind on this one, but it's been as good as Eureka 7, so far. There are ties to the original show showing up, but it's still unclear as to how or if they'll play out. If you liked the original, this one is worth checking out (streaming on Funimation)

Kids on the Slope :
Ok, I approached this one not expecting much, but have been pleasantly surprised with each episode. It's a Drama/ slice of life set in the late '60's and is set around some High school friends that play/ enjoy Jazz music. There are some of the standard Jazz songs played, but the 'jam' sessions are produced by Yoko Kanno and used directly in the anime. (Episode 7 has the best jam session so far) (Crunchyroll)

Jormungand :
It's an action series based around a weapons dealer, her crew, and a child soldier. This show reminds me a lot of Black Lagoon with it's art style, action (which is pretty good) and pacing. The underlying story is just starting to take shape, but this show is going to be a two part (like B L), so once we're left hanging in a few weeks, we'll have to wait until this fall for the 2nd part.
(streaming on Funimation)

There are a few more, but these are the top ones off of my head at the moment.

Oh by the way for all us fans of RahXephon.

2012 is the year Tokyo gets subsumed into Mu Space to become Tokyo-Jupiter.

Hmmm...what have I been watching...

Afro Samurai: Ressurrection - Sequel to Afro Samurai. Decent show, but somehow, it just didn't have the same...magic...as the original. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm kinda ambivalent about it. Still good animation/soundtrack/VA'ing though.

He Is My Master - Very much a fanservice show. Definitely had some funny bits. Mitsuki is pretty much the devil. Let's be honest...if we were in Yoshitaka's position (rich, young, no parents), most of us would be exactly like him.

Queen's Blade - Just this side of porn, IMO. The fighters definitely take the trope of "Less Is More" when it comes to armoring. Funny though, especially how Melona is dealt with. I think it's the first anime I've seen that has included mud and oil wrestling as well as someone who uses a snake for bikini bottoms. The animation though, is extremely good.

Humanity has Declined, over on crunchroll. You will watch it, then go WTF then watch it again, STILL go wtf but enjoy it nonetheless.

For all of you old School Anime Fans I will recommend

Yamato: 2199

HD remake of Space Battleship Yamato season 1.

The series is being released as a series of Movies, followed by Home Video release. The series will be broadcast on TV in Japan in 2013.

-I've caught the first 6 episodes (7-10 won't be out til October) and it's well worth your time to see.

-Minor plot changes to the original, some clean up the now disproven Sci-Fi elements. If you've seen Star Blazers this totally blows it out of the water imo. It's that good.

Oh, if anyone is buying/interested in Bandai titles, they'd best get them sooner rather than later. Bandai is ceasing production/closing up shop at the end of November.

Yet another anime house is done.

Frell