Whats a good, short anime I should watch?

[I-n-j-i-n]

ef a tale of memories is a good one.

It's one of the few romantic anime I can recommend to just about anyone because of how well it's made. Lots of visual tricks and one of the best soundtrack I've ever heard.

[Raziellink]

Short anime? And you liked Street Fighter? King of Fighters: Another Day.

Oh, and if you watch the english version, i'll kill you in your sleep.

[TheBeav]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Death Note yet. I began watching it about a year ago on a friend's suggestion, but dropped it after the first episode because I hated the main character so much. I tried it again a week ago and finished all of it (35ish episodes) the other day. The story is well told, and the huge battle of wits between the two main characters is wonderful to watch unfold.

[Torzelan]

Anyway, check out Black Lagoon. It's 26 episodes, but it's a whole bunch of smaller arcs thrown together without a huge overarching plotline. You can stop after any of the story arcs (though I don't know why you'd want to, it's very good).

Yes! +1 warm recommendation. One of my absolute favs.

[Bummer]

FLCL is short and good.

Well there we go.

[sephfire]

I watch very little anime, but my wife and I found The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya extremely enjoyable. Other than Miyazaki's feature films (if they count), I'd say Haruhi was the most fun I've had watching anime. But then, I'm not a hardcore anime fan by any means, so take that suggestion however you like.

[Zeklan]

I'd also say "Higurashi No Naku Ni".

Though, It's not exactly short with 2 seasons.

[The Author]

Chobits.

It's a bit weird, but I really loved it, and I wanna watch it again actually...

[Palpable]

Read or Die OVA! Only three 30-minute episodes, but fantastic storyline and action.

[MisterBiggler]

Well, there's REC for starters. It's only 9 episodes, and those eps are only 11-12 minutes to boot. Fun show about voice acting of all things.

Midori no Hibi. It's 13 episodes I believe. It's a school romance/comedy, not quite a harem show though. Hilarious voice acting and a pretty funny story.

Baccano. This one is 12 episodes long, and is more on the serious side. It's action based, but there's plenty of funny shit that happens along the way. There's lots of characters to keep track of who all have their own intentions, so there's a web of a plot being spun which gets cleared up as you watch. If nothing else, the ending theme is great; Oda Kaori has mad skills.

Other folks have mentioned Golden Boy (the english version is great) and Suzumiya Haruhi; those ones are great too.

[xRisingForce]

HELL YES, I'll second Golden Boy. You might enjoy some of Kyoto Animation's (the studio behind Melancholy) other animes, like Lucky Star. If you haven't checked out "Grave of the Fireflies," it's another movie by Studio Ghibli (albeit, no Miyazaki involvement) and it's fantastic. Not nearly enough light has been shed on that movie.

"Bastard!". It's short, and I really can't summarize it in a sentence. You should just watch it.

Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad.

Mobile Suit: Zeta Gundam (This one's pretty long though.. so I guess it doesn't meet your criteria).

[masterchen]

I definitely second at least one of Zeklan's sugggestions: Full Metal Alchemist.

I loved the series and the movie.

Full Metal Alchemist is by no means short. Its 50eps.

I'd recommend Baccano. Awesome anime and its only 13 episodes.

[DarkeSword]

Except Baccano's got a second season with more eps coming out.

And yeah, FMA is a long series. Let's try to stay on topic people. This is not generic-anime-recommendation thread. This is specifically for short series. Let's try to not recommend anything over 24-26 episodes (and even that is pushing it).

[Hawkwing]

OK ill contribute more than my last post did this time around.

The short anime's i have actually downloaded and kept on my computer:

Black Lagoon

Claymore

Darker Than Black

Death Note

S-cry-ed

Big O

Wolf's Rain

Zombie Loan

[I-n-j-i-n]

Except Baccano's got a second season with more eps coming out.

Is it though? The three new episodes were basically the DVD special episodes. A true second season seems unlikely since the Japanese viewers typically aren't into something so complicated and western-centric.

[DarkeSword]

Is it though? The three new episodes were basically the DVD special episodes. A true second season seems unlikely since the Japanese viewers typically aren't into something so complicated and western-centric.

My mistake then.

[Nohbody]

We do have an anime thread, so you really should post there...

http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14009

On the other hand, this is kind of a specific topic, so I'll let it slide. I'm thinking about killing the Anime thread though, it's just too general.

Anyway, check out Black Lagoon. It's 26 episodes, but it's a whole bunch of smaller arcs thrown together without a huge overarching plotline. You can stop after any of the story arcs (though I don't know why you'd want to, it's very good).

Thank you but no thank you. Ive already seen that and its pretty badass.

[OutLander]

I'm gonna second Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Hilarious anime. Plus it's got a chick in it wearing a flame bikini and carries what I would guess to be a .50 cal sniper rifle.

[djpretzel]

If you liked The Big O, as I do, I suggest the sub of Giant Robo... not exactly the same, sure, but some similar aesthetics and story elements. Giant Robo also has one of the best anime OSTs EVER, recorded by the Warsaw Philharmonic. Plus, its creator is a huge fan of Rocky Horror, so can you really go wrong?

[Master_Yoshi]

I would recommend the following 2 myself:

Afro Samurai

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (I know there is a second season coming out but even if you only watch a couple episodes it's awesome.)

[Triad Orion]

All the mentions of The BIG O in here make me feel warm and fuzzy. I loved that one too. It comes as highly recommended from me.

If you're looking for short, FLCL isn't a bad choice, as mentioned several times before. But, if you don't like offbeat and generally weird humor, probably better to go with something else.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Read or Die OVA! Only three 30-minute episodes, but fantastic storyline and action.

Fuckin approved!

Read or Die is awesome.

As for Cowboy Bebop and FLCL, I have never been able to figure out what the appeal of those is. I mean, they aren't bad; I just don't see anything special about them that justifies the massive amounts of praise they get (though I did like the Bebop movie). Same goes for Evangelion (though I admit I never watched it all the way through -- it didn't hold my interest)

Wolf's Rain and Ghost in the Shell: SAC are both better, imo.

[Aninymouse]

Fuckin approved!

Read or Die is awesome.

As for Cowboy Bebop and FLCL, I have never been able to figure out what the appeal of those is. I mean, they aren't bad; I just don't see anything special about them that justifies the massive amounts of praise they get (though I did like the Bebop movie). Same goes for Evangelion (though I admit I never watched it all the way through -- it didn't hold my interest)

Wolf's Rain and Ghost in the Shell: SAC are both better, imo.

Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. is great, sure, but it's not especially short, even if you JUST count one season. I don't think either movie counts, really... If we were just suggesting feature-length anime then I'd have plugged Akira by now. Everyone needs to see Akira just once to really appreciate where anime as an art form took it's big step into the modern day future.

Anyway.

I COULD ONLY HOPE the reason you didn't "get" Eva was because you never finished it. Even the people who just watch the movie won't understand... in fact, I'd imagine if you only JUST saw the movie you'd probably hate it. Maybe. It'd ruin the experience, at least.

I've met people who've seen Eva but were generally disinterested, though. Basically... there are anime that seem to appeal to cerebral individuals much more than the casual thrill-seeker. Eva is one of them. You watch it to be entertained, of course, but also to kind of soak up all these complex relationships between the characters, the spiritual philosophy, and then just let the action or sexual tension wash over it all from time to time. It's considered a masterpiece because the depth is multifaceted, not just because it was a landmark foray into mecha anime in general. The show was designed from the ground up to make people think as a direct "kick in the balls" to the prevailing mecha shows of the day.

But, you have to remember Ideon! Evangelion got a lot of it's ideas from that show. And what a show it was!

The "Cute" or "Harem" anime are fine, too. They have their place. But, now that I'm getting older and the harsh reality of life is finally starting to settle into my adult mind, I can't stomach these things anymore unless they've got another tier to their appeal. Tenchi Muyo had the sci-fi high drama as a generic backdrop to fall back on (and an excuse for some cool effects). Love Hina, though, was just an endless Tsundere circlejerk. The underlying plot wasn't very original, nor were the characters deep. Most of the appeal lay with the incessant teasing of the nerdy sex-deprived male protagonist.

EDIT: Giant Robo and Read of Die are great, yes.

[Zeklan]

FLCL is a wonderful tale of love, loss, betrayal, friendship and a boy's journey into adulthood.

Most people see the sight gags and interesting visuals so they laugh and pay no mind to the underlying story.

[Maco70]

They've been said but:

Cowboy bebop and Paranoia agent are both short, and well written.

Whoever suggested Full Metal Alchemist gtfo.