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I'd never say Ergo Proxy is an action series, thought there is some action there (a good example why almost anything could be appropriate in this thread).
I generally prefer series that have action but not for action's sake; just as with movies, you don't get anywhere if you don't tell a story. The only exception could be when the action is so stylish that you don't need anything else (like 300). Most series mentioned in the thread are like that. Claymore probably comes closest to being a full action series, it's a pity Madhouse screwed it up (the fights suck, especially at the end), although it's still very enjoyable; it's the only time I'd recommend reading the manga, if only for the art of the Awakened.
I haven't seen Shikabane Hime mentioned anywhere here, I thought it was great. There was action, an interesting twist on the old zombie formula, and the main characters didn't disappoint, either. It had an open ending (but then most anime does), but not to the point of being annoyingly unexplained. I would describe it as the older sister of Shana.
Ga-Rei Zero is also pretty good. Certainly an... imaginative use of different methods of killing, which is always good in my book (even though it's sometimes unintentionally hilarious). The emotional part is, well... not to everyone's liking, but as far as action series go, it's somewhat unusual, at the very least.

...Which brings me to my question: I'm looking for an action series that's marked by its stylisation, sort of like Gurren Lagann. I'm not interested in the "manly men shouting at each other" type, but stylish action (I'm alright with mecha, although arguably nothing better than Macross Zero has been made afaik). Preferably with a nice story Smile

Oh and not long, 13-26 eps.

The ones I haven't seen (but have heard of) out of all mentioned in this thread are: Read or Die, Eureka7, Scryed, Basilisk.
Blassreiter caught my eye just now, because of the ANN review. Any good?

Ghost in the Shell would be one that i would say is a great anime with lots of action great gun play. the first movie and the series and the movie realted to the series are all really good. Evangelion is another great one big robots large expolsitons tons of action, Black Lagoon of course everyone recommends that so i won't say anymore on that. Code Geass has a great story lots of action and it will really draw you in. My-Hime is another one with lots of action although its kinda of silly in parts you just have to get past that. Ninja Scroll is full of action but the violence is brutal to say the least, but a really good anime in my oppion. Outlaw Star if you looking for something with space and a main charater that just screams i am cool. Samurai Champloo is one of my favs it has aswome sword fights and it has Mugen and Jean. If your a major newbie Cowboy Bebop. Darker than Black is another great one i really liked it. Lots of action and a great story that sucks you in. I am going to go ahead and also say I would reccomend Dead Leaves its kinda of crazy but it is most defiently full of action and the charaters are really cool. My final one would be Baccano is full of action a great story charaters that you come to really like because of their uniqueness. it get a little silly at the end.
those would be anime that i would say are some really great action titles. Sorry for any bad spelling i am a little dislexic. [/b]

Mister V wrote:

The ones I haven't seen (but have heard of) out of all mentioned in this thread are: Read or Die, Eureka7, Scryed, Basilisk.
Blassreiter caught my eye just now, because of the ANN review. Any good?

I'd say Eureka 7 is more about adventure, rather than action. I wouldn't watch Eureka 7 just because of its action, since it's very few and quite rare compared to shows like Basilisk.
Scryed and Basilisk on the other hand, could be considered good action recommendations. Scryed mostly because the protagonist is simplistic, which results in many fighting scenes.
Blassreiter also could be considered a decent action recommendation, but I didn't particularly enjoy its action as much. There are plenty of fights, oh yes, but they all slow down past episode 12, where they start focusing on the story/plot.

Fist of the North Star (1986 anime movie and show): Both are fantastic and ultraviolent Sci-fi action animes set in the far future where barbarians and other mutant savages including tyrants are having control of the world as one Superman-esque messiah with superhuman strength and powers fights against them to heal the world back to it's roots. It's extremely violent stuff like Elfen Lied and set the standard for ultraviolent anime movies and shows.

egoist, thanks for the recommendations, I'll put them in my list... However, I won't watch any action now, my appetite has been completely sated by Kurozuka. As I wrote in the "now watching" thread, it's an excellent series that I'd recommend to anyone who likes stylish action because of its atmosphere, weirdness and gory fights. It's really unique.

Mister V wrote:

I'd never say Ergo Proxy is an action series, thought there is some action there (a good example why almost anything could be appropriate in this thread)

LOL if someone went into Ergo Proxy thinking it's an action series they'd be bored to tears. I feel sorry them. I love that show to death, but action series it is not. I can count on one hand how many fight scenes there are. That show is incredbly slow most of the time, and falls into rutts where it's even slower at other times. Still it's an excellent cyberpunk/thriller, that delves into philosophy, and is a great character study. But any action in the show is used primarily as suspense.

Anyway here are a few more suggestions.

Birdy the Mighty (the original OVAs) -

Tsutomu, some middle school kid, is minding his own buisness when he gets thrown into an alien fight, in which he dies. To save his life, the alien girl who won, Birdy joins bodies with him. Now, together, they must put a stop the other aleisn who are plotting something big on Earth. Kawajiri really knows how to handle the action scenes well.

It's a solid action show, with some well choreographed fight scenes, and a style all of it's one. It's also quite funny at times. It's a more lighthearted, cute, and funny show, but the action is very well done. Madhouse did wonders for the animation, and the artwork is really top notch for late 90's. It's not a "must see" or some timeless classic, but it's a nice little gem. Worth a watch. CPM released it on 2 DVDs.

Cyber City (Cyber City Oedo 808) -

Intense, over the top sci-fi/action series about 3 convicts who must go on "Escape of New York" style missions, killing bad guys, fighting crime, and other odd jobs, for the city. For each mission they complete, a few years are knocked off their humorously large sentences.

Another title from Kawajiri, and perhaps my favorite. No one can handle action scenes like him. Intense, over the top, exciting, and well choreographed . This is some ultraviolent stuff however, much darker and grimmer then Birdy the Mighty. Still it manages to be a fun show. It's very gloomy at times, and almost nihilistic in it's tone. However the dark humor, keeps this from becoming depressing. A listen to Manga Video UK's English Dub (produced in London and directed by the great Michael Bakewell) is a must. They curse more times then you can count (all your favorite curse words!), and it really makes the show much edgier. It's an incredbly witty, funny, and well written script. And it's cast perfectly, and the actors are at their best. Not an awkward line to be found. It was produced in the mid 90's but you'd think this was a post 2000 dub if you heard it. It's really something else.

A recent closed thread made me search this thread out and I'm a bit surprised how short this topic is.

I'll make a quick recommendation for a oddly under-exposed show.

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari / Sait Knights Tale
aka the Tenchi Spin-off from last year.

As it is part of the Tenchi franchise this show is also a comedy harem and a huge part of the first half is dedicated to funny harem hijinks involving girls in states of undress it is also probably the best action show of any of the related shows when it tries. Other Tenchi series have more powerful characters but they're usually of the grand and cosmic sort. Whether in hand to hand combat or in the show's mecha this one has the most physical battles, although they don't completely do away with characters shooting energy balls that have to overpower the other characters energy balls this show more often features fights that are won with a punch, or a slice, or a simple barrage. And while Kenshi is usually an adorable, humble, clueless, peace-loving man-child, when he fights he kicks serious butt, thanks given to being brought up he grandfather, brother, and his many sisters- some of the most powerful beings in his galaxy.

I am shocked that the title I will say has not even been mentioned once, in all these years of the thread. Of all the anime, when action is a criterion for selecting a title, this is the one title that truly defines the genre. It is nothing but action for almost the whole time - and the preferred method of conflict resolution is more overwhelming firepower or skilled combative techniques. It's the anime equivalent of Die Hard meets Jason Bourne... it is called spoiler[Spriggan.]

And for a new action title, there is one that kind of feels like Black Lagoon, but is better assembled and well rounded while being 1/2 the length. It's biological warfare and political tension with some insanity thrown in and is known by the title of Canaan.

I really enjoyed the dromedy/magical girl series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Its not "pure action," but I would argue that such a thing is incredibly rare (see http://xkcd.com/311/ for an interesting take on the subject). MGLN has a lot of really cool, almost meck-like action scenes. It also redefined the term befriend (v): to use mecha-class beam weaponry to inflict grievous bodily harm on a target in the process of proving the validity of your belief system.
Soul Eater, from Bones (one of my favorite studios), is a great action romp. It has a great Halloween-ish art design, lots of cool characters, and very neat combat (the weapons are people).

I'll second Full Metal Panic!, Full Metal Panic, The Second Raid, and Soul Eater. All three may have a substantial amount of comedy, but the action never disappoints.

The fluid animation, creative Tim Burton-eque characters and atmosphere definitely compliment the action in Soul Eater.

Another must see action... Shakugan no Shana. Although it's got quite a bit of romance in the second season and feels a little monster of the week-ish, it's definitely packed with great fight scenes and nail biting moments.

Last edited by rizvfe00 on Wed Nov 03, 2010 5:29 pm; edited 1 time in total

I've been watching anime since I was a kid so, I've seen quite a bit. I started when I was 12 and now I'm 24 and nothing kills some boredom like anime. Anyway, I listed all the anime I remembered watching while I wrote this so, I may have missed a few.

I didn't go into details on plot and such because there are a thousand websites you can get information from, one place being anime-planet. I am not sure if I can include links here or not so just search for it on google. It was a great help when I needed to find new anime. I only put my reviews for my favorites cause there are far too many anime listed here but, I may come back later add to it. Also, I may have spelled some of the anime names wrong so, once again google is your friend, I did this all from memory cut me some slack.

I broke it up into 4 parts favorites, liked a lot, just good enough, and started watching but dropped. Plus a currently watching.

Favorites = Would watch again or watched more than once already. It had all the elements that I liked in an anime story, action, suspense, concept or made up for it by having excess in one category. Also, it kept it interested and entertained almost throughout the whole anime exclusions being super long animes 100+ eps.

Liked a lot = I may watch it again if in the mood or really liked that particular anime. It excelled in most of my categories but I may have lost a bit of interest here and there or the ending wasn't to my liking etc but I would still say it's definitely worth a watch and recommend for people to watch.

Just Good Enough = I would probably not watch any of them again but they were worth a once through and were for the most part entertaining. They must have lacked in more than one area of what I like or had a really crap ending or too much filler or plot holes etc. They are pretty much anime I would suggest if you have seen so many like me and need something to watch.

Dropped = The reason I even have this section is because the ones I listed are mostly popularly recommended by people. If I actually listed all the anime I dropped or didn't like, I think I would crash the forums lol. I wouldn't be completely opposed to picking up one of these anime so, if you think I would like it based on my list please feel free to recommend it to me but with a reason why please. These are anime I have seen less than 7 eps from because I decided to give them a chance but they didn't really do it for me.

FAVORITES (Not in any particular order)

Dragonball + Z + GT
First anime I ever watched. Holds a great deal of sentimental value. I've watched the entire Z series 3 times and the movies twice. If you have never seen this anime and like action there is currently Dragonball Kai out which removes a lot fillers from DBZ and it's also better quality. Highly Recommend it. Tons of anime have taken from DBZ and it's a formula for a good anime. Great storyline, great action. Overall Great Anime.

Samurai Champloo
I am a huge fan of the samurai and ninja genres. The fight sequences in this anime are serious eyecandy some, very fluid fight scenes. The storyline also keeps you interested and waiting for more. There is good character development and it is an addicting anime. It has a hip-hopish feel. A must watch for any action junkies or fans of this genre.

Fullmetal Alchemist
So many good things about this anime. I haven't watched Brotherhood but, the original is amazing. The storyline and thought that went into creating this anime is worthy of respect. There are no holes in the storyline! The anime answers all your questions by the end and leaves you wanting more. The action scenes are wonderful as well, the animation is superb, and the concept of the anime is also original and great. Highly Recommended.

Naruto + Shippuden + OVA's
Despite all the hype and haters. It is an awesome show that I've been watching since I was a teenager. I like the genre in general so, that may be some bias. I shouldn't have to talk too much aboutit since it's popular. Lots of fillers, dragged out fights, nonsense lines but very well done fight scenes, and addicting. Overall great anime.

Bleach + OVA's
Same as Naruto people hate it blah blah. I've also been watching this since I was a teen and I love this anime. Great fight scenes although they are dragged out with too much talking. I also like the storyline because it is suspensful and somewhat original. However, I really hated the fillers at the end. It's very popular so once again won't go into depth. Overall Great Anime and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Serei no Moribito
There aren't tooo many fights in this anime but there are enough to keep you interested. The animation is superb with fluid fight scenes and the lack of fighting is made up with a great storyline. One of the few anime with spear fighting. Recommended.

Highschool of the Dead
This is a very new anime that I stumbled upon. Violence, gore, zombies, ecchi. What more can you want? This anime is highly addicting and the action scenes are great with lots of blood. The character development is also very well done. Storyline is good but it's been done several times in different ways. Still interesting though. Awesome anime and I recommend it to anyone who likes violent anime.

Soul Eater
I just watched this anime after seeing a fight scene in an AMV and I'm very glad I did. Tons of action, funny at times, and you grow to love the characters. The fight scenes are very well done especially in the first few episodes in regards to fluidity. Don't get me wrong still tons of great fights later in the series they just lack the details of the first fight. Don't let that steer you away though. Storyline is fairly good but it keeps you interested in other ways because it's a fairly light hearted anime. Highly Recommended.

Kenshin TV + OVA's
Another one of the first animes, I ever watched. Everyone knows the OVA's fight scenes are way better than the tv series but still the action scenes in the TV series still keep you entertained. I really love this anime it along with dragonball z got me addicted to anime. The storyline is great and original at the end. Keep in mind it's an older anime but the animation quality was very good for it's time. Definitely recommend it if you have not seen it already. Also, a note the last 2 OVA's take place after the series is over.

Sword of the Stranger (Movie)
Fighting masterpiece. Great fluid motion and animation is great quality. Storyline is also very good and a bit unique. It's not all fighting there is a lot of plot build up but it'll keep you interested that's for sure. A must watch plus it's a movie so it's not too long.

Princess Mononoke
I watched this much later than most who started watching anime around the same time as me. Anyway, I still liked it a lot. It had fluid action and beautiful visuals. The storyline is also uniqueish and overall was a very well made movie by a great director.

Blood+
Just finished watching this anime. Interesting storyline, a bit darker anime, lots of blood and fights. Very good anime and you grow to like and dislike some of the characters. Should keep any action lover occupied for the entire series. 52 eps i think.

Nabari No Ou
Ninja genre anime. Fights are very well done. Storyline is unique and slightly addicting. Characters are likeable and have hidden secrets. There are several comedic moments from the main characters. I Wish the series was longer, I think they went a little overboard with the ending which could have been better.

Black Lagoon + OVA's
Awesome gun slinging anime. I really liked this one. I liked the characters, even the annoying guy, and the anime concept was very well implemented. You felt like you were following them around on all their missions. Action scenes were great and I would highly recommend this anime to anyone. I will definitely watch the whole series again. The OVA's are still coming out but they are also great so far.

Elfen Lied
Watched this short anime a long time ago but, I remember it so obviously it was good. It is short only 13 episodes. Extremely gorey and violent. The shortness I think is what makes this anime so good. It was the right number of episodes to keep you interested and pack the anime with action. Would recommend it to any violent anime lover.

Darker than Black + Ryuu Sei Gemma + Movies
Another great great anime. Storyline is very well made and implemented. I love the characters in this one especially the main character. Superb fight scenes and this is a highly addicting anime. Highly Recommended.

Samurai 7
This anime had a lot of good fight scenes and good characters along with bad ones. There ups and downs to this anime but overall it's still one of my favorites. I think if it was shorter and they took out some comedic and non plot related scenes it would have been much better. It's based on the original movie/book and I would recommend the anime to action lovers. It is slightly long I think around 50 eps.

Noien
My type of anime. Futuristic, sci fi, action. It is very well done and they do a pretty good job with filling in all the viewers questions. I liked the concept a lot and the fight scenes are amazing. Highly Recommended.

Scryed
Watched this one a long time ago. It had unique super powers and a unique storyline although ofcourse similar animes are out there. The main character is great. THe fight scenes are well done. It is a bit of an older anime but it was great for it's time period. It's not too old though still looks good. Keeps you interested definitely worth a watch.

Canaan
Female heroine in this one. Great fight scenes and plot. It is slightly addicting and I would definitely recommend it to action lovers.

Baccano
Very unique story telling in this one. Focused more on characters than an actual plot. Very addicting and very good action sequenes as well as obviously character development. Highly Recommended even for non action lovers.

Eureka 7
Recently watched this one. Loved the concept with the air surf boards and mecha. Characters are good. The anime is funny at times and other times emotional. Action scenes are very good although sometimes they loop certain scenes but what anime doesn't. Overall visuals are very good since it's a newer anime. It is definitely interesting, I remember watching many episodes at a time.

Cowboy Bebop
Another classic anime that I watched later than most. For some reason I thought I wouldn't like it but, I was very wrong. This anime is highly addicting and actually has good fight scenes. It is not very plot centric, more episodic but still has a plot as a whole. Highly recommend it if you have not watched it. There's a reason why so many anime lovers recommend this anime.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
Really liked the suspense and drama in this one. Feel kinda emotional for the characters. Action sequences are very good and so are the characteres. Storyline is well done. Highly recommended for action lovers.

Hakouki
Another one in the samurai genre. Very new anime so visuals are great. Action sequences are definitely fun to watch. I wish there were more action scenes but there are enough to keep you interested. The anime is based on the shinsengumi so it is a bit historical which I also like. Recommended.

Peace Maker Kurogane
Watched this one twice I believe. There are some dull parts and the little main character sometimes pisses you off but the action scenes are great and the story is interesting enough. It is kind of like hakouki. Overall I don't think you can go wrong watching this one though. Despite the negatives I said before I still like this anime a lot. Oh and it's historical because it's also based on the shinsengumi.

Full Metal Panic + 2 other seasons
I was really surprised that I liked this anime so much. It is a fairly light hearted anime. I even liked the side story FFMOFU. The anime actually made me laugh and I liked the characters. This anime actually got me into a mecha little bit which caused me to watch eureka 7, xamd, vandread, a few others. The action scenes in the anime are actually very good and it's overall a really awesome anime. Highly recommended.

Black Blood Brothers
Recently watched this one. Not sure if there will be a second season but, I really liked the first one. It's a vampire story but it's done differently and the action sequences are well done. The humor is also pretty good to me and so is the plot. Recommended.

Gun Grave
One of the first five anime I watched. Very very good story line. About the mafia and best friends opposing each other. A bit of futuristic stuff in the name but not too much. It is an older anime but I would highly recommend watching this if you have not. It is very addicting and very well made.

Death Note
Veryyy Unique anime. Superbly done. It is a battle of the minds. I was originally skeptical after reading the description a few years back but I watched it recently and boy was I surprised. Don't worry about the synopsis, if you liked any of the anime I listed above just go and watch this. Highly Recommended at least for people who like thinking.

Kara No Kyouki
OVA series. Too short leaves you wanting more. Visuals are stunning. Good character development and storyline. Action scenes are great but too few in my opinion.

Tenjou Tenge
Action and Ecchi. Jam pack combo. Some fight scenes are very fluid while others are so so. Full of panty shots etc a little excessive IMO but nonetheless an enjoyable series. Typical fighting tourney style anime shame it was never really finished.

LIKED ALOT (Not in any particular order)
[EDIT: The rest of this violates the "no listing" provision of forum rules. It needs to be annotated or it isn't allowed. - Key]

[EDIT: Changed the title to take out the word "list" and to fit the context of your addiction. -TK]

Oh wow... your gonna make it real hard for a Mod to lock this thread down just because you put so much freaking effort into this... there has to be a way to salvage this one.

The reason why this is grounds for a thread lock is because ANN does not allow recommendation threads. They tend to get repetitive and colt the forums. There are genre specific threads already but I would have to argue for this thread just because of sheer effort and love of anime.

Maybe a change of theme to "I love anime and I just wanna express that love" type of approach. Rather then a list of recommendations, just a list why you really enjoyed them. Or a argument in why you so enjoy so many genres and why you feel you shouldn't automatically exclude a series just because of genre. If a mod can suggest a good work around that would nice. Hate to see this get locked.

well I appreciate the heads up, thanks. I hope maybe you found an anime that you might like on the list you haven't seen. I didn't know you can't have recommendation threads here. I'll try to think of a better way to put this one in I guess.

It's your first post so I'm sure alot of people are aware of your situation. I did enjoy reading it though and even though you don't go into details, I really got a sense of your love for the stuff. Depending on what our Mods do, I think you can easily salvage the thread if you add a different introduction on top of this and open it up to more of a "discussion" rather then just a list or asking for recommendations. Like opening a discussion in why you feel it feels like Anime fans tends to shift to a specific genre and turn their nose to other genres. Make a case of "Look at all of the anime series I've watched and love. Why is it that there is so much in-fighting in the Anime fandom even though it's such a board medium?" That kind of deal. Odds are "recommendations" would crop up naturally as people discuss.

Personally I really do enjoy a broad spectrum of animes so it's nice getting to look at another person's range of animes. Alot of time you only get to look at a person's thought on related series or specific genres. People with board taste don't get to or tend to speak out more even though there are a good number of them.

Although I'm kinda surprised you like Gantz. I just finished it recently and I just could not stand it but was so invested that I could not NOT finish it. Such a slow and frustrating series... Like, I would say I liked Seikon no Qwaser more then I like Gantz and I never got past ep. 7 for Qwaser. I dislike Gantz that much and I know its not really fair for Gantz fans or people who did find enjoyment from the series. Also a bit surprised at all of the older series you've seen too. And you liked GT?! Ohh...man... nah just kidding.

Oh! I know it's a lot to ask but I would totally recommend sticking with One Piece more. It has a slow start to it but alot of people and fans will say it gets better when you get into the Arlong or Nami arc. I think that's around episode 15 - 20+ or something. I actually started liking the series during the Sanji arc which was just before that Arlong arc. But the Arlong arc shows you just how cool Luffy's powers can be even though they are rather silly. And I'm curious about how far you got into Gurren Lagaan. I think episode 3 or 4 is where I really got into the series.

I share TatsuGero23's sentiment and I hope we can pull some discussion out of this but honestly you should just make and share a "my anime" list. Your favorites list is interesting tbh you have a ton of things a snobby viewer like me would scoff at while I enjoy my undeserved sense of superiority, but at the same time you have such a good variety of mindless action w/ bad writing and some superbly written shows with good action so I actually find my self jealous of your ability to look past the things that bugged me about shows like naruto and phantom requiem for a phantom (how could I not being this up?) and just enjoy them for what they do well.

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