Battlemouth

There’s a lot of public opinion that most of the shows and comics coming out of Japan, or even just Asia, are rather badly scripted and for little kids. Much of this opinion seems to be based on whatever was aired on Adult Swim or even Toonami, which really isn’t a good sample of what has been made. Ever since my introduction to the internet and a much wider variety of opinions, however, I’ve come to appreciate that much of the ill-reputed medium is actually quite good and that any lover of a good story and quality work would enjoy it. So I compiled a list of all the series I think deserve a mention. This will be an ongoing irregular series until I run out of good recommendations.

1. Darker than Black

I’m going to start with probably my most favorite of shows, period. Darker than Black is set in world that has been dramatically altered by the introduction of people called Contractors and Dolls. Contractors are people with special powers (electricity, water, and some other really amazing abilities) that act on pure rational thought. Agencies like to hire them to do work but the general public is totally unaware of their existence. However, in exchange for their amazing powers, they must complete a task after using their powers, e.g. eating something and throwing it up, arranging pebbles in a grid, composing a poem. Dolls, on the other hand, are more like tools; they are people that have lost everything but basic understanding and are gifted with the ability to observe everything via particular mediums. So a Doll able to communicate with glass would be able to observe anything near a piece of glass. The first season (25 episodes, just titled Darker than Black) plays itself as a supernatural spy thriller with a small story arc lasting only 2 episodes that only allude to the greater plot. The story is great, the characters are great, the soundtrack fits perfectly, and I cannot stress how much I enjoyed everything. A second season, Gemini of the Meteor, just finished airing that adds much more to the story but it has a totally different feel to it and I suggest you skip it unless you really enjoyed the first season.

2. Fullmetal Alchemist

Sure, you saw FMA when it aired on Adult Swim years and years ago. But that was first series. There’s a second series, but more importantly there’s been a manga (graphic novel/comic) since the very start. Everyone knows the original source is always better than the spin-off productions. Hollywood has always worked this way–why not everything else? I am telling you to go and find the manga of Fullmetal Alchemist and read it. Approximately after episode 10 of the first show, the story is DRASTICALLY different. How so? Although the manga hasn’t even finished yet, the show’s nearing the end. The sins in particular are different; Pride, Wrath and Sloth have a totally different character. The entire theory behind all the science also has major differences. It’s a much better story than the show writers came up with when they learned the author hadn’t finished yet.

For those of you out of the know, FMA takes place in ~1940 where alchemy, the magic of equivalent exchange, has taken the place of science. Two brothers, Edward and Alphonse, lost their mother and tried to revive her using alchemy. Instead, they got a slap in the face and now they’re on a mission to recover what they lost in the process. It really is a good story and spoiling all the awesome bits would be bad of me.

3. Akira

I’m going back to the roots, back when Japanese animation was introduced to America. Akira is one of the first movies to make it to America and it actually has a decent translation. Compare it to any American-made animated movies of the time and let your jaw drop. Akira is set in a post-WWIII Japan where a massive explosion occurred that triggered the war. The explosion wasn’t caused by another country, however, but actually from a human test experiment gaining abilities beyond his control and essentially going supernova. A biker gang has a run-in with one of the test subjects from the era and one of their own is taken away for experimentation. The movie is excellent and kudos to anyone who has seen it. But once again, there was a manga before the movie. It’s particularly hard to find but if you can find it, it’s a good read. It expands on a lot of the story and actually progresses past where the movie left off. But if you can only find the movie (on Blu-Ray too), I still think you should watch it. It’s well worth your time.

4. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

If you haven’t heard of TTGL, you should probably forget reading the rest of this and go get it on DVD already (watch the subtitled version, the dubbed version pales in comparison). This is a show that got such amazing reviews that the Sci-Fi channel aired it. That’s right; Sci-Fi got the rights to air it over Adult Swim. TTGL is another totally original series from Gainax (FLCL and Neon Genesis Evangelion, watch those too) and incorporates the “WTF” theme from most of their previous work.

Simon lives in an underground village. The village leaders forbid people from going to the surface for inexplicable reasons and shun those with alternative ideas. Simon’s self-proclaimed soul-brother Kamina, however, ignores all these rules because his father once made it to the surface many years ago. The rest of the story is pretty much GIANT ROBOTS, DRILLS, EXPLOSIONS, OMG WTF in no particular order. I won’t say it’s for everyone but if you delight in the awesome-without-reason genre, I suggest you go find the show. Movie recaps have been made but I’m afraid none have made their way state-side short of fan-made subtitles (check BSS)

5. Eden: It’s an Endless World

Now this is something totally out of left field; I doubt you’ve read Eden, much less even heard of it. It is available in the states by Dark House but I haven’t actually seen it any stores near me (Amazon is a good source). The story follows a virus that kills 15% of the world population and leaves the global social quota in shambles. The manga focuses on political interactions and the turmoil that results from the total upset and reallocation of power. It’s rather well-written and progresses for a few volumes before the author throws a major twist into the story that pushes it from well-written drama to religious reflection. That’s when you may start recognizing some of the Gnostic influences and really begin to ponder some of the author’s posited questions. On top of all that, the drawings put a lot of mainstream stuff to shame. Eden is something I’m doing my best to actively follow. It actually finished in 2008 but the final volumes have yet to make it over here and thankfully there haven’t been any spoilers.