Anime for Science fiction nerds

[sqbr]

I used to think I didn't like anime and refused to watch any, but then realised I was just watching the wrong stuff and found lots I adore, and in general think there's something in anime for pretty much everyone: "Anime" just means "animated films made in japan" after all, and covers a huge range of styles and genres. So I decided to put together a Swancon panel about anime series/movies I think would appeal to people at the con who don't consider themselves anime fans, and being me am making a post about it first. The aim is not to convert people into becoming anime fans, just to give them a chance to watch some stuff they might like even if anime in general is not for them. The panel may not end up happening but hey, chances are more people will read this than would have come anyway :)

In my opinion, the three main reasons you might not like an anime:
1) It's just not very good. Sturgeons Law applies to anime as much as anything else;
2) It relies on lots of specifically japanese tropes and tastes, and you're neither japanese nor very into japanese culture (it's important not to mix this up with (1): anime is made for japanese people, not australians, there's no reason they should try to aim for our tastes)
3) It's just not your sort of story.

So all of the following anime are (imo) good, don't rely on too much knowledge of japanese culture, avoid some of the tropes which people can find off-putting, and are kind of science fiction/fantasy-ish. EDIT: Also I've avoided stuff which provokes strong hatred in some people, even if everyone else loves it, to avoid someone watching one, hating it, and deciding this proves they really do hate all anime.

I did a poll to find out (a)What put people off anime and (b) What anime non-fans liked, and there are the resulting recommendations. Feel free to suggest more/rant about how these ones suck, especially if you're not a fan of the genre in general but have a few pet favourites. My personal taste has informed the reviews quite a bit :) Keep in mind that this post was made with Swancon attendees (ie west australian sf nerds) in mind, though other people's opinions are welcome.

Nb: an "OAV" is a telemovie.

I'll try to warn for any of things people found off-putting (nb Fanservice=gratiutous shots of large breasted women in skimpy clothes and compromising positions) None of these are about schoolgirls or giant robots :) I've also mentioned those that I know have a good english dub, since I know some people don't like subtitles.

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First, and most significantly, we have the work of Hiyoa Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli. Everything he creates is great, and if you like his stuff there's a large catalogue to work through. They're all engaging, beautiful, and inventive, and most have a strong connection to nature and the environment (also young girls who can fly :D). The recent films (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle) all have very professional english dubs with big name hollywood actors.

Here are some highlights (I'm assuming that if you like these you'll be motivated enough to look up the rest on your own):

• Princess Mononoke (movie) (trailer): A young man in medieval Japan goes on a quest to rid himself of a curse, and encounters various factions fighting over forest, including the forest itself.
  
• My Neighbour Totoro (movie) (trailer): A family moves to a new town in postwar rural Japan and the girls discover new friends in the forest. Very sweet.
  
• Spirited Away (movie) (trailer): Like "Alice in Wonderland", but awesome in a very different way :D Very weird and a bit slow to start.
  

And now the rest:

• Cowboy bebop (tv series + movie) (trailer for the movie (watch the tv series first!)): Gritty but entertaining story of bounty hunters in space. Did the space western before "Firefly" :) Lotsa fanservice, but not in an overly creepy way. Fairly violent.
  
• Witchhunter Robin (tv series) (opening): Quiet melancholy story of a young woman with supernatural abilities recruited to hunt down others like her who have gone rogue. A bit slow, and I didn't really like the ending.
  
• Haibane Renmai (tv series) (opening): Sweet strange story of a girl who wakes up as an angel in purgatory... or something. Slow, not much happens, but very sweet and atmospheric.
  
• Mushi Shi (tv series) (trailer plus live action movie trailer because it looks interesting :)): Very atmospheric tales of a man who deals with nature spirits in ancient Japan. Slow and sedate, and no continuing plot. Has scary elements.
  
• Planetes (tv series) (trailer): Garbage collectors in space! Genuine hard sf portrayal of what it might be like living in space in the future, including the effects of free fall etc. The main downside is it's realism: not much exciting happens :) Probably the most patchy anime here quality wise, but also the most science fictiony.
  
• Full Metal Alchemist (tv series) (trailer):Set in an alternate 19th century Germany with alchemy. Two brothers go on a quest to undo a horrible accident. My main problem has been that it goes from cheerfully silly to rip-your-heart-out angst/gore with no warning. The most stereotypically anime-ish show here, and does have a large suit of sentient armour (not technically a robot :)) Apparently the movie is terrible.
  
• Hellsing (tv series) (opening): Very violent but cool secret-english-vampire-hunter-organisation story. Also there's "Hellsing Ultimate" which is apprently also good. Has a lot of anime horror tropes if that sort of thing bugs you. Has a quite good dub, they even gave them english accents.
  
• Paprika (movie) (trailer): Dream researchers find that someone is messing with the boundaries between dreams and reality. Very surreal. I LOVE the work of the director Satoishi Kon, all his stuff is amazing.
  
• Vexille (movie) (No trailer because it has spoilers :)) Japan cut itself off from the world to explore human-like cybernetics. Ten years later an american special forces agent breaks through to find out what Japan has become. This really feels more like a western sf movie than an anime, with realistic 3D graphics, great action, a (mostly) plausible future and an emotionally complex exploration of the self in a technological world.
  

I'm a bit torn about:

• Ghost in the Shell (tv series + 2 movies) (Trailer for the movie): It's very good for what it is, and I really liked the movie (I found the tv series hard to get into) but it inspires very divided opinions. Relatively realistic near-future cyberpunk from the POV of a cyborg police woman in Tokyo. Has lots of robots and nudity/scantily clad women but both played fairly straight and seriously. Can be a bit confusing.
  
• El Hazard (short tv series) (opening): Schoolkids and teacher find themselves suddenly transported to a far away magical kingdom and are drawn into an epic battle taking place. A lot better (and funnier) than that makes it sound (eg main male character has to impersonate a princess for a chunk of the episodes :)), but does have a bit of fanservice and is sometimes cheesy (the end credits have all the female characters naked for no apparent reason!) Has a great english dub. Apparently the later tv series etc terrible.
  
• Samurai Champloo (tv series) (opening) I only got one disc in and then remembered I find samurai REALLY BORING. But I enjoyed it as much as is possible given the genre, it's remarkably cool and quite entertaining. About two samurai who would kill each other (on principle, for the challenge) but are honour bound to help a young girl so have to settle for fighting those they encounter on the way (and maybe helping a few innocent people while they're at it) Violent, as you'd expect :)
  
• Appleseed (trailer) I accidentally watched the sequel (Ex Machina), which was pretty good but still definitely in the mech anime genre. Nicely rendered 3D robots and explosions etc if you like that sort of thing :)
  

Other people rec but I didn't like, partly because they hit my "I don't like it in anime" buttons (ie giant robots and schoolgirls)

• The Vision of Escaflowne (opening) Given that it's about a schoolgirl who gets magically transported to a mystical kingdom which fights with giant robots, and uses very dated and imo ugly animation ...it's not bad :)
  
• RahXephon (opening) I tried this a few years ago and decided it a was a bland, nonsensical knock off of Evangelion. But other people seem to like it :) Note that it is about a teenager and his giant robot.
  

I haven't seen but other people recommend:

• Noir (tv series) (opening)
  
• The Sky Crawlers (trailer)
  
• Vampire Princess Miyu OAVs (opening to tv series) I found the tv series of this unwatchably dull and stupid, but apparently these are better.
  
• Last Exile (opening)
  
• Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (opening)
  
• Aria (opening)
  
• Wings of Honneamise (trailer)
  

And finally, for contrast, Neon Genesis Evangelion (opening): It's a dated surreal violent show with lots of fanservice about schoolkids in giant robots fighting angels :D Not recommended for the faint at heart or those intolerant of anime tropes, but it has a special spot in the heart of many anime fans, myself included :)

Watching all those trailers has made me want to go watch these all again...

EDIT: Post I made to the swancon lj.

Comments

[nico-wolfwood.livejournal.com]

Hayao Miyazaki - Personally I didn't like Princess Mononoke and felt that Spirited away was rather commercialised. My personal favourite film of his is Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

A recomendation for people who don't mind slow pacing would be The Sky Crawlers directed by Mamoru Oshii (he and Hayao Miyazaki have some sort of artistic disagrement going apparently) which is Science Fiction in concept even though it doesn't look obviously sci-fi.

I second Haibane Renmai for a multitude of reasons and am totally willing to explain the deeper meaning of the show to anyone who will listen (and some who won't)!

From your description of FMA it sounds like you're talking about the movie - is that right?

Ghost in the Shell - I personally feel the TV series is much better than the movie but that's only my opinion. I do think that Ghost in the Shell, Vexille and Appleseed are all good sci-fi anime although they do contain scantily clad women and cyborgs.

If you're going to include Noir which is not strictly Sci-fi can I suggest Samurai Champloo?

[alias_sqbr]

Personally I didn't like Princess Mononoke and felt that Spirited away was rather commercialised

Well you're WRONG.

By which I mean: most people seem to like 'em :) I liked Nausicaa but found it very flawed, the manga was better (and I don't say that often).

*watches trailer for Sky Crawlers*

Seems kinda..WW2ish. Would it appeal to your average sf nerd? (Knowing it's sf in theory doesn't make the plot any more exciting) Then again, some sf nerds are also war nerds...

I must say, Haibana Renmai was very sweet and unobjectionable but So Dull. But everyone else seems to like it...

Nope, talking about FMA tv series, I've heard the movie is terrible.

Appleseed! I should have mentioned that.

Yes, it occurred to me after posting that I didn't include any samurai anime, and Samurai Champloo is a pretty good one.

[nico-wolfwood.livejournal.com]

I quite enjoyed Sky Crowlers. I know it looks like it's set in WWII but it's actually set in the near future and is about war being integral to human society. I think the SF part is less in the visuals and more in the way the characters act and talk. But no, it doesn't look like a SF anime.

If you found Haibane Renmei dull you might not like Sky Crawlers. they share a certain unhurried story telling for much the same reasons (the characters live lives in which nothing mostly changes and every day blends into the next)

[alias_sqbr]

Hmm, ok. *ponders* *adds to "other people like this" section*

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

I didn't really like Princess Mononoke.

[alias_sqbr]

YOU ARE ALSO WRONG

*note to self: make sure that before we actually run the panel, arcadiagt5 and myself make a vow not to tell anyone they are wrong. no matter how...unexpected their tastes*

[arcadiagt5.livejournal.com]

Hey! I've been politely agreeing to disagree. :)

[penchaft.livejournal.com]

Now see, if you had decent taste, that wouldn't be an issue.

[alias_sqbr]

No, we'd still need everyone else in the audience to have decent taste as well :P