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Okay so after reading Airborn and Skybreaker, watching Kyou Kara Maoh, and similar animes, and re-reading the Deltora Quest books several times over, I start to think that I have an interest in adventures and fantasy. Hee hee hee.

So yeah, anything that's nice and long, in a different world, DRAGONS<3, and so on. That'd be nice, and if there's romance too, I'd love it.

Obviously Kyou Kara Maoh is just something I'm going to tell you about. Kyou Kara Maoh is about Yuuri Shibuya. Yuuri thought he had an ordinary life which was balanced around school and baseball. One day, however, he saw this guy, Murata, being bullied and decided to help him. That didn't work out too well because they then gave him a swirly. Yuuri instead of just coming out wet, was pitched into a different world (portal toilet hee hee) and declared king. It's a non-stop hilarious adventure that's just soooo great. Also, it's chock FULL of bishies. . . . . .YUURI IS MINE. . . . . . .
. . .ahem yeah so have fun recommending. . . . . . hee hee

Dan42 wrote:

fantasy (other worlds, swords & sorcery, fantastic beings)
Story set in a different world where the physical laws differ from our own but are internally consistent. Therefore magic in such a setting is not unnatural as long as it follows a certain internal logic, including limits to the use of magic. In addition to magic, fantasy worlds often contain mythical-medieval elements such as knights, castles, princesses, dragons, etc.

[We're trying to stick to one topic recommendation threads, and "fantasy adventure" is a slightly redundant to begin with. It should really just be "fantasy", so I changed the title accordingly. -selenta]

[EDIT: Added the definition Dan is using. -TK]

Well one fantasy show I'd suggest to everyone would be 12 Kingdoms. I would dare to say you'd be hard pressed to find a better fantasy anime from the past decade. This show just sucks you in with it's rich and intriguing plot and characters. The animation and scenery is lush and crisp and gorgeous on it's own. The story, while long, is rich and definitely not some cheesy throw a fireball and save the world kind of gimmick. The characters deep and complex (most of them anyway) and their interactions and growth is one of the show's best strengths. Plus the backgrounds and actual landscapes are gorgeous and really something to look at. Definitely a title worth checking out. Here's the actual plot summary for the show;

Yoko Nakajima, an unhappy high school student, is one day suddenly faced with a strange man who swears allegiance to her. After a battle with demon-like beasts, he then takes her to another world along with two of her classmates. There, her appearance has changed and she can understand the language even though her classmates cannot. But their status as "Kaikyaku" (people who come from Earth) makes them hunted fugitives, so they wander the land of the 12 countries, simply trying to survive and to figure out the reason why they were brought to this world.

Well, I'm not terribly well-versed in this genre, but one of my absolute favorite shows is Record of Lodoss War- which happens to be a famous member of this genre.
It takes place in a different world, there's a lot of dragons- and there just so happens to be a great love story as well (one of my favorites in all of anime, in fact.) The only down-side is that it's a mere 12 or 13 episodes. There is a sequel series that's 26 episodes long, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to get ahold of it.
Anywho, Record of Lodoss War (OVA)- I highly reccomend it.
Here's a link to its ANN entry:
anime#394

Fullmetal Alchemist

Set in a completely different world where the science of Alchemy has flourished instead of machinery. They present alchemy in an extremely intricate manner, providing theories, laws, and even philosophies with it. It seems like a realistic portrayal of the question "what if alchemy was real?" and how it was integrated into an actual society.

If you like your fantasy a little on the silly side, I recommend Slayers. Sillier, as far as premise, is Those who Hunt Elves. But this one is not suitable for the young'uns.

I liked 12 Kingdoms too. I haven't bought any DVDs yet, but I did buy the hardcover novel, volume 1. My bedtime reading.

I suppose Utawarerumono should be in the fantasy category, as it is set in a feudal Japan-like world. I liked this show a lot too.

There are two recent very impressive fantasy series that I feel are in the class of 12 Kingdoms. Those two being Guardian of the Sacred Spirit aka Seirei No Moribito and The Story of Saiunkoku. Both shows like The 12 Kingdoms feature one of the better female lead characters in anime as well as having a rich world and great cast. Seirei no Moribito contains some of the most stunning fight sequences in an animated tv series, though the ifght scenes are limited the animation for moving around and talking is still a sight to behold compared to nearly every other tv series. Saiunkoku is just a delight to watch and I'll love to watch more than just the 10 episodes I've seen.

Jaded anime fans can say that anime this decade has been poor all they like but I'll take Seirei no Moribito, The 12 Kindgoms and Story of Saiunkoku against any other 3 fantasy titles from any other decade.

I've already seen Juuni Kokki. I've seen the first season and intend to watch the second season of Saiunkoku Monogatari. Loved both of them. And no I do not mind silliness. I love silliness. I've watched silly shows such as Azumanga Daioh (have the dvds) and Shugo Chara (some of it).
I lurrvveee fantasy and adventure. Very Happy

To throw in one that hasn't been mentioned, Scrapped Princess. It may not have the depth of a series like Twelve Kingdoms, but is still a good fantasy series to watch and has some amusing little touches like a lot of the characters are named after firearm companies.

The Shadow Skill TV series is another interesting and fun series that while it may have a heavy focus on martial arts, it also takes time to establish a pretty neat world where its events occur in.

On the lighter side of things, Gokudo, Dragon Half, and Rune Soldier Louie are fantasy comedy series worth a veiwing/consideration.

I would say:

Claymore is an excellent recent fantasy title. It's also got some roots in the shounen genre but the setting of the series is definitely fantasy. Plenty of sword combat and demon exterminating action, an interesting setting, and plenty of good characters. It's also animated quite well from Madhouse and has a great soundtrack. It revolves arround Claire, who already considered trouble for toting arround an orphaned kid she rescued, is a half human half Yoma (demon) woman under the Employ of an organization that renders it's services to villages exterminating their demon problems, known as Claymores for the large swords they carry. However, durring a mission Claire comes very close to awakening as a full demon and so the Organization sends her and others on increasing dangerous missions in an attempt to get rid of unwanted trouble.

Fate/Stay Night revolves arround Shirou Emiya who after witnessing a battle between two magical beings becomes a target himself and ends up getting involved in secret war taking place in his city between seven mages and their servants who are historical or mythical figures as they all vie for the chance to wish from the Holy Grail. After summoning a servent himself after being attacked he finds himself in a unwanted role of her master with little tallent as a mage himself. It's a modern day fantasy title though that takes place in out world, current time.

Berserk - If you enjoy dark, dramatic, and violently gruesome epics, Berserk is the way to go. Plot twists and high emotions abound when we experience the tragic life and circumstances of "Guts the Black Swordsman" through his trials/tribulations dating back to his days in The Band of the Hawk.

The artwork is pretty good given the cheap production of the anime studio and their not-so-fluid animation, but that (the art), soundtrack, voice acting, and plot all make up for it. This probably won't be the prettiest/coolest artwork you've seen, but once you get a feel for the story and characters, you'll.. want more.

InuYasha - Yes, as much as the ending blows, I'd still recommend this for people wanting a lengthy series that immerses them in a feudal Japanese setting filled with magic and the supernatural. On top of that, there's a good balance of action, comedy, drama, and subtle romance.

In particular, I especially like the soundtrack. Wada Kaoru is best known to me for his particular affinity to composing a mix of orchestral scores accompanied with traditional Japanese instruments. The art and animation are very consistent, the music has a lot of variation in action, drama, and romance themes, and the dub is okay (they could've worked a little more on pronunciations and translation of proper nouns, but its gets most of the same feeling across).

Hm.. to sum up the story, girl gets transported back in time, finds half-demon boy arrowed to a tree, pulls the arrow out, discovers a magic stone, the stone splits, then they have to find all the pieces and kill the villain. The only real problem is the lack of continuity, but I think most people find it fun (it's guilty pleasure for myself Razz

).

Mushi-Shi - Read the first post.

Ninja Scroll - More feudal Japan (sometime in the Edo period, 1603-1868). It's a movie and a very action-packed one at that. Not recommended for kids or immature audiences. There's a lot of gore and sexual themes, so try not get caught by your parents if they're uppity about that kind of content. There's also a decent romantic relationship that develops between the main characters towards the end.

Overall, it's nostalgia trip to a lot of veteran anime fans. But if you're new to medium, this would make a nice watch for a quick action flick. Great artwork and animation for a film made in the early-mid '90s, the soundtrack also feels very authentic (more Wada Kaoru), and even the dub is decent.

Vision of Escaflowne - Easily one of my favorite all-time fantasy anime. It's about a girl named Kanzaki Hitomi who, after living a normal high school girl's life, meets a boy who saves her from a dragon (yes, a dragon!), but in the process gets transported with the boy back to a magical land called Gaea.

Here, Van Fannel (the boy), who is supposed heir and last lineage of his royal blood, is trying to stop his brother from carrying out a scheme to take over the kingdom. Uh.. there's way too much for me not to spoil, but it's definitely an excellent series.

It mixes feudal fantasy with a little mecha (big robots), but it's actually quite well done. There's a lot of romance between Hitomi, Van, and another man named Allen (love triangle, again). The soundtrack is amazing; composed by Kanno Youko and Mizoguchi Hajime and performed by the Poland Warsaw Philharmonic. The only thing is you may have to get used to the art, as everyone has these really pointy noses.

I actually thought the English dub was really good, too, but I'm a big fan of Ocean Vancouver, so that's just my bias. There's also a movie, but it's more of a retelling than a sequel or something like that.

Why are there so many fighting ones?
I prefer only a little bit of violence...
Kind of like Yuuri from Kyou Kara Maoh.

Mushi-Shi is a great fantasy anime, though my opinion of it may not be as insightful as Tony K's. Anyway, it's about Ginko who is a mushi master (mushi-shi), mushi being creatures not like plants or animals, kind of the things that began life, Ginko travels the country searching for mushi to study, also because he can't stay in one place or he'll attract too much mushi, every episode is a fantasy buffet, and each episode has such interesting mushi, that i feel like every episode is like a mini-movie

I think Slayers is still the standard by which all others are judged. I know I can personally recommend the first season, but it can be hard to find- check eBay or convention rooms, though. I got it the box set for $40 about a year ago.

Escaflowne is a must to try out.

Other ones I haven't seen listed:

Princess Tutu: It's labled as a kids show, but it's so well thought out and so interesting that anyone over the age of 12 can enjoy it just as much. I personally think everyone should give it a try.
13-year-old ballet student Ahiru is clumsy, good-hearted and sweet... and has a big secret. The mysterious Drosselmayer morphed a young duck into a girl to give her a mission: help a Prince to get the parts of his heart back. With that in mind, she morphs into Princess Tutu, whose magical dances ease the pain and purifies the bad feelings.

Sorcerer Hunters: Gread comedy oldie (oh god, can't believe it's considered OLD now)
In the continent of spooner, sorcerers, who are the continent's aristocrats, have begun to abuse their powers. Under the guidance of Big Momma (their boss) Carrot (who turns into a giant monster every time he's placed under a magic spell), Gateau (a bodybuilder), Marron (a mage), Chocolate and Tira (who can transform into dominatrix's at will) must stop the evil sorcerers from picking on the weak. However, none of them (except maybe Marron) have a clue to what’s going on.

Magic Knight Rayearth: Even older, but it's a CLAMP classic.
Three young girls, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu, are transported to a magical world called Cephiro during a field trip to Tokyo Tower. They are soon greeted by Master Mage Clef, who explains to them that they have been summoned to become the Legendary Magic Knights and save Cephiro.

Good Witch of the West: If you like shoujo, or fairy tales in general, try this. Not so great of a summary, but it has knights, fights, and dragons in a sense...
On Filiel's 15th birthday, she received her mother’s necklace as a memento from an obstinate astronomer. Her common and tedious life was turned into a life of conspiracies. With her new life, many adventures await.

And it's not quite otherworldly, but still chocked full of fantasy: Shamanic Princess - From the Guardian World, home of mages, Tiara has been sent on a mission: recover the stolen Throne of Yord, the most powerful magic artifact of all. But Tiara finds herself in a dilemma - the Throne has been taken by her former lover, and there is more to the situation than meets the eye...

Its a bit more off the beaten track, but The Diary of Tortov Roddle is a very unique and charmin Burton-esque fantasy, concerning the journeys of a tall young man and his horse-pig.

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Fantasy anime recommendations.