What non-Tezuka anime/manga do you recommend?

[putrocca]

If we're adding Western comic authors to the list:

Beanworld, by Larry Marder
Astro City, by Kurt Busiek
Marvels, by Kurt Busiek
Watchmen, by Alan Moore
From Hell, by Alan Moore

[Ataru Moroboshi]

Urusawa's 20th Century Boys and Pluto... The rest of my collection is normal shonen (except for Berserk, Crying Freeman, The Rose of Versailles and Lupin the 3rd) which, I think, will not appeal to not-tezuka fans (Dragon Ball, City Hunter, Keroro, Urusei Yatsura, etc.).

[putrocca]

Absolutely, Urasawa's 20th Century Boys and Pluto are a must for all Tezuka fans. If anyone wants help getting a hold of them, e-mail me. They are NOT out in English.

[EnRiN]

I would have recommended Monster but it has already been done. Both the manga and the anime are brilliant and very different from other books or series. While I was watching the series, I forgot it was an anime. It reminded me of series like Twin peaks or even The X Files.

What could I suggest?
- The 3 Galaxy Express 999 movies. The series is too long and although I really enjoy Matsumoto works, I find it a bit boring. Moreover, the manga isn't finished so the films would be a better choice.

- Uchu kaizoku Captain Harlock (Matsumoto again) because it's the best series about Captain Harlock. He's one of my favourite characters (with BJ)

- Haibane Renmei / Ailes grises.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo ... hp?id=1871
It's mysterious, poetical and the music is gorgeous.

- Fantastic Children.
I started the series a few weeks ago so I haven't watched all the episodes yet. However the beginning is very mysterious and original. The "children of Befort" are travelling through centuries and through Europe trying to find a girl named Tina. I can't tell more without spoiling. (Besides it's difficult to explain in French, so it's even more in English )

[putrocca]

I've now read vols. 1-20 of Urasawa's 20th Century Boys and I must say I don't think I've ever read a better manga.

As for other recommendations among recent things I've seen, Mushishi seems like it may be all it's cracked up to be (which given that it's rated up there with Monster in the ANN poles is saying something). No more great recent finds, though I must recommend the (now hard to find) They Were Eleven movie, a grand old sci-fi classic with some very interesting variations on older manga themes. And the Excel Saga manga continues to be impressively entertaining, though it certainly can't be called deep.

And speaking of more Tezuka-ish things, has anyone seen or read the end of Ray? I've begun both the manga and the anime but they're poor enough that I'm trying to decide if the hope of another BJ cameo is enough to make it worth it to keep going. Does anyone know if it picks up toward the end?

[UnluckyLukeGR]

[David]

[putrocca]

[WarriorKalia]

Err... sorry, double post...

[WarriorKalia]

Interruption!


Not really though.

Let's see. Uzumaki I watched over and over, because I recall reading snippets of the manga a few years back when it was in Pulp [that's also why I picked up what I have of Voyeurs Inc and Strain, which are both good, though different.] I think that led me to the non-animated movie Tomie, which is a silly premise, and didn't scare me at all [I'm a horror buff] but was interesting nonetheless.

Haibane Renmei is one of the anime I have given to my friend, who looks to me as a source merely because I manage to get ahold of the stuff so easily. It is beautiful, with lovely music. I found myself singing the ending song to myself a few weeks ago when I was waking up. Then I switched to 'Yuunagi' [RAY the Animation] which seemed quite in step with the first song.

In a similar vein with Haibane Renmei [I have fallen for Yoshitoshi ABe because of that, by the way] is Gunslinger Girl. If you don't know what it's about, it would be difficult to explain. I suppose the simplest way is to call it a series about little girls who are also cyborg assassins. It sound like a dumb shonenesque anime, but it's really quite realistic. The smattering of Italian and other european languages throughout makes a beautiful touch. For those who didn't know, the girls show up in Nana's Everyday Life as well, a Dan Kim series that ended a while ago. Rico was a fair approximation of herself in that too.

Yoshitoshi ABe also satrted working on Robot, a conpilation artbook-style manga series that... well, personally I reccommend it highly- the art is beautiful, the stories always good, especially since they're often oneshots. Some don't even have stories, and are just pictures. A favorite artist of mine tells a story in a series of watercolor pictures each volume with no dialogue or text at all.

At least half of you have to have seen Shoujo Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena), which is a series that still influences my writing today [Irina knows this!]. Three episodes in and you can see the influences Princess Knight and the Takarazuka culture had on the story, but it's also very unique, original. It starts out lighthearted, like many good anime, and becomes more serious over time, though it still occasionally smattered with cheerful, comedic episodes [The super-hot curry, anyone?]. However, it deals with complex issues of sexuality, seduciveness, power, gender, friendship, and what it truly means to be a 'prince'. The last two or so episodes have exceptional artwork as well, and though the storyline never comes to an official 'close' [much like Monster, which I actually still have- Ada's right, it is fantastic, though good luck trying to convince others to watch a 74 episode anime] it still gives you a sense of closure. Recommended if only for the fact that it's a shoujo staple, for crying out loud...

Azumanga Daioh Is a good series, though it's hard to come up with anything of Tezuka's to compare it with off the top of my head. It's more just a real-life-ish take on high school life and a class full of slightly crazy people. [Well, to be fair, it's only really Yukari-sensei and Tomo who are crazy.]

I have about 30 series' on my harddrive... let me try to remember what they are...

Haibane Renmei
Black Jack 1-32
Black Jack 21
RAY the Animation
Saber Marionette J/J Again/J to X
Excel Saga
Puni Puni Poemi
Ranma 1/2
Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Rose of Versailles [Unwatched so far]
[In the process of obtaining Fancy Lala]
Hime-chan no Ribbon [only watched a few episodes]
Boogiepop Phantom [this is highly recommended too, but you kinda have to read the first book to get the series]
Monster
Negima [haven't watched it yet]
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon 178-200 [Approximately]
Inu Yasha 85-90 [Also approx.]
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi [I prefer the manga, but it's a really good anime too. Just a lot different.]
Samurai Champloo [got before it was dubbed. Another hallmark good anime, especially if you watched Cowboy Bebop]
Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne [Best magical girl anime EVER. Bar none. Go watch it.]

Aww man, I never remember them all, and now I have to leave. The rest when I get a chance to look it up...

[cmoon]

Well I just finished volume 1 of To Terra, and I'm curious about other's thoughts.

I'm giving a SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER warning here, though I'm going to try to be very vague.









I enjoyed it, but found the narrative rather jumpy. There were definitely points I was confused because of this jumpiness. The first book is split into three parts, and the third is the most scatter shot. Seemingly, every page is doing something different. In one, Jomy deals with a child-hood friend who is now on 'the other side', but it hardly seems resolved and before I've had a chance to take it in, it is dealing with the first 'mu' birth and the potential of terra-farming this other planet they are on. All of these things just sort of come up and are abandoned. This also is not limited to the thrid part, but is problematic through the whole book--it just seems most extreme in the third.

I wonder if I'm missing something. Maybe this is a language or cultural issue, or maybe there's some part of the story telling I'm just not getting. I definitely enjoyed reading it, but I don't get the way the author is chosing to tell this story.

[UnluckyLukeGR]

[cmoon]

Well if you read carefully on Vertical's page, it seems that To Terra may have been completed pre-1980 (in '80) the author is being awarded for it, so I can only assume...

Perhaps volume 1 is very early for her, and this strange narrative flow is fixed in other volumes? Either way it is a bit weird, but doesn't ruin it.

I haven't heard anything about an anime...do you have a link for that?
edit: Maybe this is it? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0985492/

[Lamp]

Here is the Japanese website for the upcoming To Terra/Terra E anime in case anyone is interested:

http://terra-e.com/

There is also a 15 second or so trailer out there somewhere.

There was also a anime movie version that was released in the United States on VHS and laserdisc during the middle '90s (the movie itself is early '80s), but I've never seen it. I don't know if it was dubbed or subbed or what, though I have seen clips of a subtitled version (but maybe that was just a fansub or something).

--
Its good to see recommendations for Revolutionary Girl Utena and Urasawa's works.

Here are some of my manga recommendations. I don't know if everyone would like these, but I think most people who like Tezuka's works might:

I don't really think the following counts as Spoilers, because I'm just going to describe the basic plot lines along with a couple of my own observations:




Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou by Hitoshi Ashinano
- Its really hard for me to write a sypnosis about YKK because it doesn't really have much in the way of a structured plot, but that is what makes it so relaxing to read. Sometimes a whole chapter will be dedicated to, say, a character walking back from town and taking in all the sites along the way, or watching the stars, etc. There is a lot of contemplation, and not even that much dialogue.

Its interesting to note that the series takes place after some sort of huge catastrophe has depleted much of Earth's human population (not spoilers, this is mentioned from the start of the series...and its also quite evident just by looking at the landscape), but it isn't your typical post-apocalyptic storyline. Instead, it has a very peaceful atmosphere. Nature (particularly living in harmony with nature and such) plays a big part in the series...perhaps people who enjoy this aspect in Tezuka's works, like in Buddha or The Phoenix, might want to seek the series out.

One of my hopes is for the series to get licensed by Dark Horse (since they have a lot of Afternoon magazine stuff like A!MG, Eden, and BotI and so on) or Vertical or something - but I'm not sure how well it would sell due to its premise (which probably just sounds plain boring to some people).

Glass Mask by Suzue Miuchi
- A classic. I'm sure most of you here have read or heard of this series in some capacity, but just in case...

This series is about a young girl who is, according to the narration and numerous characters in the series, not pretty, popular, or smart, with seemingly no special talents. She lives with her mother in a low income household, and she works as a delivery girl for a restaraunt. However, she seems more interested in watching TV dramas than making a delivery on time, which only reinforces her mother and others' feelings about her character. Being poor, she can't afford to see many theatre productions, but everytime she gets a chance to see a new drama she likes to act it out to other children. After a chain of events, she gets a chance at studying to be an actress - and thus the series begins. The title refers to how many "masks" an actor must be able to wear, and just how easily the masks can break during a performance (as they are fragile like glass).

This series is very dramatic, but not really in a soap opera-ish way. Characters go to the extreme in the name of acting...the training the main character goes through is sometimes downright scary, but its also one of the reasons Glass Mask is so interesting, to see just how dedicated she is in doing what she does. Even though the series began in the middle '70s (its still ongoing, but at a very slow rate), it feels modern regardless (except for the occasional minor throwback, like how a character sharpens a pencil and whatnot).

Here are two more manga I would like to recommend, but I don't have time to type about them for now. Maybe I will edit my post later to:
Real by Takehiko Inoue
Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki

The anime I always recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in animation:
Giant Robo - directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa, and based on the many works of Mitsuteru Yokoyama (of Gigantor fame).
Whisper of the Heart - I like all Studio Ghibli movies, and especially Miyazaki's, but my favorite is actually this one - the only movie directed by Yoshifumi Kondo before his death.

[CrazyCanuck]

Well, the initial question is a bit vague. The problem is that while Tezuka's work is all of the same quality, it is not all thematically consistant and is aimed at a variety of target audiences. It really depends on which Tezuka titles are your favorites. Someone who really loves Kimba or Astroboy might not be such a big fan of Kirihito or Buddha, while fans of either extreme might enjoy Black Jack.

As such I've found some of the suggested titles amusing. They would likely appeal to one subset of Tezuka fan's or another, but none struck me as having the range to apply to the whole range of Tezuka fans.

The best I can recommend are the works of Shotaro Ishinomori (or Ishimori). His art style and storytelling method is quite similar to Tezuka's. It would be easy to mistake Cyborg 009 for a Tezuka title if you didn't know better. His darker works, while never as dark as some of Tezuka's, are still in the same vein. His works include Cyborg 009 (Tokyopop), 009-1 (anime coming soon from ADV), The Skull Man (Tokyopop), Kikaider (Bandai) and the well known and long running Kamen Rider (totally unlicenced as far as I am aware).