Anime Recommendations Requested!

[browngirl]

So thanks to treacle_well's kindness and generosity I'm going to Anime Boston this weekend. Obviously, this is a good chance to watch some anime I might not otherwise get to see, so I thought I'd request recommendations!

Comments

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Series: Kids on the Slope (slice of life, jazz); Maoyu (fantasy heroics with macroeconomics); The Pet Girl of Sakurasou (slice of life, talent vs hard work vs both); SAO aka Sword Art Online (cross-genre, quests and fighting); Campione! (pacifist becomes a god-slayer, harem, magical combat); Un-Go (post-apocalyptic, detective, supernatural forces)

All of the above are excellent examples of their genres and should be considered standard bearers in their way.

You might want to look at some fluffier things as well, especially since there's no way you'd have time to watch all of these shows all the way through, but I suggest giving each of them a look.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

There is in fact, a showing of some episodes of Kids on the Slope, but sadly it's the dubbed version, which I hear is horrible. If it hadn't been for that, it would definitely be on my list of things bg should sample at the con (and I'd happily sit by her side for this one.) I think the new dub of SAO is also going to be there, but I haven't closely checked the schedule, and again, based on the dub preview, I'm not convinced it's not going to be bad-saturday-morning-cartoonish schlocky in in dub form. I don't think Pet Girl is going to be there--but it's awesome.

I know that what I'm going to be looking for, aside from anything that I think bg would find especially appealing, is what I can't already get on Crunchy--which all of the above are. (And Campione!? Seriously? I dropped after the first three episodes because it seemed pretty much crap. I could be wrong.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Just how much of Anime Boston is devoted to dubs vs. subs?

I seldom pay much attention to dubs as they can seriously mess with the original emotional cues and storyline of the original acting. The various dubbed iterations of Ninja Science Team Gatchaman are proof enough of that.

Very few dubs seem to get it done right. Naruto, recent Gundam series and old Lupin the 3rd do pretty well, but things like Slayers and Yuyu Hakusho are only so-so (and things like Tenchi Muyo are basically unwatchable). Kids on the Slope timed the music to the animation perfectly. If the dub house in the US was sloppy and wasn't allowed to use the original music from the sub, that would make the show decidedly unwatchable in dub.

The first episode of Campione was definitely confusing, but the series ran more cleanly than a number of other fighting shows out there. Besides, the hero's pacifist streak is a major plot point throughout, and makes the show more distinctive. I admit I am more partial to the pacifism and mysticism in Natsume Yujin-cho, but I wasn't going to give a laundry list of shows. (And hey, it's not like I recommended Vividred Operation)

I'm quite fond of Crunchyroll--so much to see, practically everything subbed.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

For Slope they did keep the original music. This is good for the reasons you state, but apparently a little odd in some of the songs due to the Japanese-accented vocals--which they kept from the original rather than having those redubbed by English dub talent. My source is ANNCast.

I adore Crunchyroll--but I highly recommend wandering over to Funimation for the simulcast of "The Devil is a Part-Timer" which is incredibly better than any synopsis can convey.