howl's is more for kids. as in, it's not very SATISFYING to an adult like Spirited Away is. it's a fairytale. looks really good tho

there's a new miyazaki coming out in the US this august btw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponyo_on_the_Cliff_by_the_Sea

man you've got to at least admit all anime titles are epic

Howl's Moving Castle - what a moving castle that's impossible oh wait it belongs to Howl that makes everything clear now (also wasn't it a FLYING castle or something)

yeah I do think there needs to be a universal list of anime worth caring about even if you don't like anime - I'm kind of nostalgic for like 15 years ago when anime was this underground thing and the only things that any western person heard about was always interesting if not good stuff like Akira now it's like ridiculously mainstream, wasn't it like impossible to even find anime during that time period except by like ordering from Time/Life or having some friend who went to Japan now you can go to Borders or FYE or some other gay anime vendor

that Thief and the Cobbler cartoon looks pretty awesome, what's the story behind that? I'm guessing it's not some Disney thing but it seems REALLY FAMILIAR from somewhere else, but I don't think I've ever actually seen it either, just bits of it

howl's is more for kids. as in, it's not very SATISFYING to an adult like Spirited Away is. it's a fairytale. looks really good tho

there's a new miyazaki coming out in the US this august btw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponyo_on_the_Cliff_by_the_Sea

That's because nothing that happens is even remotely relatable and it doesn't have a real ending.

It was so pretty though.

has no one seen this Howl's Moving Castle thing btw? I haven't either but I thought one of you must have.

also in your attempt to find HEH ANIMES: do NOT watch Steamboy. oh my god that was a genuinely attractive but HORRIBLY PACED piece of shit.

the book was my favorite book while i was younger so i hated it because it wasn't close enough to the book.

that Thief and the Cobbler cartoon looks pretty awesome, what's the story behind that? I'm guessing it's not some Disney thing but it seems REALLY FAMILIAR from somewhere else, but I don't think I've ever actually seen it either, just bits of it

so richard williams is this genius animator, right (he wrote the highly popular Animator's Survival Kit). well, he was animating this masterpiece called "the thief and the cobbler" and it took him like 30 years. then wb decided he needs to finish the damn thing and they took his project and sent it off to some cheap animators in korea to finish up. well in the process the korean animators decided to either discard all of willams's hard work or put it in some obscure vault or something. it took a while but people have been able to recover most of williams's original animation (and there's a LOT) and it's up on youtube now. it's pretty cool. this is a generalization though and some parts are probably wrong. also it's not anime but this topic hasn't been really specific, we've all just been listing animes

Night on the Galactic Railroad

Night on the Galactic Railroad (銀河鉄道の夜, Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru?), sometimes translated as Milky Way Railroad, Night Train to the Stars, or Fantasy Railroad In The Stars,[2] is a classic Japanese novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. The nine-chapter novel was posthumously published in 1934 as part of Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa Vol. 3 (『宮沢賢治全集』第三巻?) published by Bunpodō (文圃堂?).[3] Four versions are known to be in existence, with the last one being the most famous among Japanese readers.[4]

The novel was adapted as an 1985 anime film of the same title, as well as various stage musicals and plays.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni ("When the Cicadas Cry").
it's an amazing anime series. i have seen the entire thing twice because i liked it so much and wanted to watch it with my best friend. basically, it's about little kids killing each other. but it's got a great story. at first you'll be reaaaally confused and freaked out. there's quite a few torture scenes, but rest assured, the violence is all justified and is not like Elfen Lied or anything, where they have gore just for the sake of gore. anyways, it's ridiculously confusing at first. but as it goes on, you start to form ideas of how things work and exactly what really is happening, etc... it has a somewhat conclusive ending to the first season, and then there are 24 more episodes in the 2nd one, titled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. that provides answers to unresolved questions. introduces new characters, and finishes off the series. it's great. You should DEFINITELY watch Higurashi-- both seasons.
also, a third season (starring different characters and situations and everything, yet still somehow related it seems) will start airing (in Japan) in July. it's called Umineko no Naku Koro ni, or, "When the Seagulls Cry".
so yeah, watch Higurashi because it's amazing~

oh god i just looked it up and you're right that does look terrible

also now and then, here and there is actually p. good. i mean it's like sci-fi time travel lol generic protagonist but then it becomes all serious and unforgiving and is more realistic about war than any other anime that exists. but it's really sad. it's very very sad. it's the only anime i've cried at. i know it sounds pathetic but i couldn't help it. nobody cries at animes. but this one? i think people cry. it's sad. animation-wise, though, it definitely isn't the best.

to her credit it sounds awful too. ninjapirate had the blue haired one as his avatar for a while. but look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shirakawa,_Gifu_image.jpg what is that, rice? man look at that.

gankutsuou borrows liberally from dumas, but its not as much a plagiat as it is a pastich! of course theres japanese confusion and the following adapation doesnt ring as true as it could've, but it's different.

viewed as a stand-alone story with some monte cristo cameos and analogies, however, it's a treat! and man oh man, the animation style might just be one of the better eye candies i've ever feasted on.