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Best fantasy/Medievil animes


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tysinsaint



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:42 pm Reply with quote
hey does anyone know the best fantasy or medievil animes
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jousha



Joined: 16 Jan 2006
Posts: 205
Location: the floating world
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:53 pm Reply with quote
There are very few, but I'll give the two that I know of: Berserk and Record of Lodoss War.

Berserk is set in a fantasy/"Middle Ages"-type era and the action in it is awesome. The characters in it aren't exactly stereotypical (for the most part), and it has plenty of battles and gore. If you get to watching the series, though, I suggest reaidng the manga as well because the anime itself is incomplete. If you don't want to read the manga, I suggest watching only up to episode 21--or you will be greatly disappointed in the ending.

Record of Lodoss War is also set in its own fantasy/"Middle Ages"-type era, but it is very stereotypical (Imagine almost an anime for "Dungeons and Dragons"). But it's old school and fun.
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Fui



Joined: 12 Dec 2005
Posts: 339
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:59 pm Reply with quote
The Twelve Kingdoms is supposed to be a really good one. It's ranked #32 on ANN and a lot of people recommended it to me. I bought both premium boxes/seasons a few days ago but haven't got around to watching them yet. Maybe someone can give some more insight...I just know it's a really good series.
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Kelly



Joined: 17 Nov 2003
Posts: 868
Location: New York City
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:20 pm Reply with quote
I absolutely love The Twelve Kingdoms. It's only drawbacks are a few too many recap episodes and the fact that it was cut short reportedly because of health issues among the staff - so don't expect everything to be wrapped up. Great story, great art and great characters. I was also quite happy with the dub too.

I also love .hack//SIGN, about a child trapped in a medieval-style online roleplaying game (didn't care for the lighter, younger-oriented sequel .hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet though). It's a prequel to the video games, but I think it ended at a good point if you don't want to go on with the games.

I'd also include Princess Mononoke for a medieval fantasy with a more Japanese atmosphere. From what I've read it's based on Japanese folklore. Good story and stunning art.
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rajamitsu



Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 172
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:20 pm Reply with quote
There's also Slayers and all it's movies, OAVs and sequels if you're looking for something lighter. It's mostly comedy, but there's a good deal of sword and sorcery.
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ShadrachAnki



Joined: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 180
Location: New England
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:56 pm Reply with quote
jousha wrote:
Record of Lodoss War is also set in its own fantasy/"Middle Ages"-type era, but it is very stereotypical (Imagine almost an anime for "Dungeons and Dragons"). But it's old school and fun.

If what I've heard is accurate, Record of Lodoss War actually is based on the creator's college D&D campaigns....

Anyway, back on the topic at hand. I'm assuming that you're looking for anime that is based on the western European concept of medieval/fantasy settings. As for what the "best" of these series would be; that's entirely based on personal interpretation.

The Twelve Kingdoms is definitely high on my list of excellent fantasy/medieval anime. It has a complex world and a group of captivating characters to move through that world. The pacing is similar to a book (or series of books), which really does fit as it is based on a series of Japanese novels.

I would also include Escaflowne and Fushigi Yugi in the ranks of fantasy/medieval anime, and while they may not be the most original series I enjoy them a fair deal.

~Shadrach Anki
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flamegirl88



Joined: 17 Nov 2005
Posts: 26
Location: somewhere in the USA
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:40 pm Reply with quote
Record of Loduss War is the best, even the second series is good, but dead charachters and destroyed objects tend to re-appear in the second season. I've heard the same about the third and fourth season.
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Greennunu



Joined: 23 Jan 2006
Posts: 145
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:34 pm Reply with quote
Whoa, no one even mention Scrapped Princess yet? Anyways Scrapped Princess would be my #3 Fantasy Anime great story and character development(cept for one). Then I would have to say Twelve Kingdoms although it was unfinished the finished work did it great justice, It's a wonderful storyline and multitudes of character, kinda hard to remember all the names/titles though, took me quite a while to remember each of the title's meanings. My favorite would hands down be Fushigi Yuugi though, they got some of the most memorable character in any anime, even villains.

Other Honorable mentions are El Hazard(not really fantasy fully), Berserk, and I haven't seen but plan on doing it soon, Otogi Zoushi(sp?).
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Nani?



Joined: 20 Jul 2003
Posts: 632
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:20 am Reply with quote
Otogi Zoshi is awesome, but only the first half could be considered medievel style fantasy because after episode 13, most spoiler[of the characters die. The second half takes place with thier reincarnations in modern Tokyo and gets even better actually.] It also has the best set of extras, hands down, of any series I've seen.

I second Twelve Kingdoms as awesome as is Escaflowne. Scrapped Princess is O.K as is Fushigi Yuugi and Record of Loduss War


All the Best,

Nani?
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Luminal



Joined: 26 Mar 2005
Posts: 179
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 4:35 pm Reply with quote
I don't think the Record of the Lodoss War was good. The story was ok but the graphics were really crappy. They would just slide the immovable characters towards each other while the voice actors screamed and then add a sword sound and call it a sword fight.

I recommend however 12 Kingdoms. It was an amazing story with plenty of interesting sub stories, great character depth, great animation and music. I recommend this anime to everyone who likes fantasy stories. The degree of mythological involvement in this anime is very impressive and it keeps you in wonder during the whole series. It only has one flaw... it was never finished. I don't know if they ran out of money or time but only one of the sub stories (the main one) has enough closure to be considered complete. In spite of that, it is still a wonderful series and you all should see it.

Luminal
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opaquescum



Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 235
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:38 pm Reply with quote
You might want to try wrath of the ninja. You get to see a war politics assasination and cities razed to the ground. You get dragons magical weapons and demons. I am not sure if your looking for like medievil europe kind of fealing or the whole fighting with melee weapons thing.

Anyway its a good fantasy movie, and has alot of nice action.
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kittycatgirl2k



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 3:16 pm Reply with quote
Here is a few more, they might not be *the best* but are surely pretty entertaining:

Bastard!!! A short series with a pretty cool lead character, who is a lecherous warlock.
Those Who Hunt Elves I & II - two seperate series but the first run was the best. II is kind of the same thing all over again and just not as interesting or entertaining
Sorcerer Hunters - a real fun series in the vein of Slayers. Great characters and alot of comedy. There is a brick and also a seperate OVA release.
Sorcerer On the Rocks - Loosely ties into Sorcerer Hunters. Its OK, nothing great.
Rune Soldier - Its been thinpaked and is another fun series in the same kind of sword and sorcerer comedy genre as Slayers.
Dragon Half - Two eps but a whole lot of fun. Zany, crazy and definitely medieval. Dragons, slimes, the whole nine.
Legend of Lemnear -
One ep OVA that has boobies I think. I love the character designs and not much else.
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demon01



Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:39 pm Reply with quote
[Why did you like these shows? It's required on ANN that you provide reasons instead of simply saying "I like ____," or otherwise mindlessly listing a bunch of anime titles. It's called our "listing rule." -Nagi]
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opaquescum



Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Posts: 235
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:56 pm Reply with quote
I beleive kitty is referring to Bastardy. By all means it does fit the medevil thing that the OP is asking for. Though this falls more into a dragonball kind of theme actually. Since like most of the combat is really magic contests. This is more of a comedy.

Those who hunt elves haveing never seen series 1 series 2 is the ones I have seen. This is such a stretch for medievil fantasy it really is. This is basically a series of sitcom like episodes where the main characters try to strip elves naked looking for spell fragments. Once again this is more of a comedy.

I personally think kitty went out on a limb with these 2 they shouldnt be in the ball park. Never the less I do recommend both these series. From what I have watched they are good value for money. Usually being cheaper and haveing a good number of episodes to a disk. There are basically comedy fair. Good if you just feal like mellowing out for a bit.

I just thought I should chime in about the bastardy, because I think their is another series named bastard, and I was kind of messed up for the first few days I started comeing here. Everyone referring to EVA which I take to be evangelion. The gag is there is actually a series called just EVA. I actually gave that series a good hard look at my local video store thats going out of business. Man I felt like I had egg on my face. Seeing as I have the series its just on VHS well a good chunk of it anyway.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18175
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:49 pm Reply with quote
opaquescum wrote:
I beleive kitty is referring to Bastardy. By all means it does fit the medevil thing that the OP is asking for. Though this falls more into a dragonball kind of theme actually. Since like most of the combat is really magic contests. This is more of a comedy.

<Snip>

I personally think kitty went out on a limb with these 2 they shouldnt be in the ball park. Never the less I do recommend both these series. From what I have watched they are good value for money. Usually being cheaper and haveing a good number of episodes to a disk. There are basically comedy fair. Good if you just feal like mellowing out for a bit.

I just thought I should chime in about the bastardy, because I think their is another series named bastard, and I was kind of messed up for the first few days I started comeing here.


No, kittycatgirl2k was correctly referring to Bastard!!, which is a post-apocalyptic fantasy series featuring a powerful, lecherous, and utterly arrogant warlock called Dark Schneider. (One of his lines goes something like, "if anyone is going to be worshiped as a god, it's going to be me!) Although it has a lot of humor in it, it is an even blend of action, humor, and sometimes very potent drama. A great series to watch in one sitting with a big group (the bigger the better), especially with the original fansubs, which didn't edit out all the '80s heavy metal music references which made the series such a blast. (The most powerful spells originally bore names like Stryper, Helloween, and Black Sabbath, for instance, and many countries and characters were named after other heavy metal bands.)

Most other fantasy series worth mentioning have already been mentioned, but I'll also throw in Ruin Explorers, a 4-episode OVA which carries a distinct fantasy RPG flavor. Another good one is Weathering Continent, a long one-episode OVA about three individuals trying to survive on a fantasy-styled continent that's become an ecological disaster. A grim but ultimately satisfying story.
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