Well, since you asked, japanese anime are the
funniest cartoons that I have ever seen. My tastes range from Ranma
1/2 to Slayers. The drawing aren't spectacular, but it what it lacks in,
it makes up in plot. American cartoon and Japanese anime are two totally
different categories; if you think that all cartoons are childish, well
watch something like Ninja Scroll. Here are some that I've seen.
The
Slayers has a humorous background to it. The main characters
(as of the first 4 tapes, I have yet to see tape 6 because it just came
out) are Lina Inverse, a sorceress, Gourry, a warrior, Amelia, an apprentice
sorceress and an annoying bitch, Zelgadis, the Golem Shaman, Rezo, the
Red Priest, and Shabranidgo, the evil one. The first three tapes
are devoted to the Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis trying to save the world
from Shabranidgo. The 4th tape deals with Amelia and her father,
and Lina and Gourry have a bounty for their deaths. The 5th tape
is more comedic than the first four, which lowered the quality of the show
because there wasn't enough action. The next series was called Slayers
Next, and there was a movie that came out called Slayers Royal,
which are all in Japanese. Hey, comedy and magic makes the best combo.
Record of Lodoss War deals with a band of adventurers out to save
the world. In all honesty, Calvin told me that I would like it, but
when I bought the first episode, I though it sucked badly. Now that
I think about it though, it reall wasn't that bad. Then again, the
6 tape set costs around $100, so I don't know when I will have the time
to see all of them. I don't remember much about the plot, but there
is (I think?) an elf, a cleric, and mage, a swordsman, an axe-wielder,
and a thief. If you like it, the same creator made The Heroic
Legend of Arislan.
A hilarious series that I don't have pictures for
are Ranma 1/2. It's a popular series; it's been running for at least
6 seasons. The main plot deals with Ranma Saotome and his father
Genma Saotome. Both went to the cursed springs in China and fell
into one of the pools. When wetted with cold water, some of the characters
turn into their counterparts:
Ranma: female version
Genma: Panda
Shampoo: Cat
Ryoga: Pig
When placed into warm water, they turn back into themselves.
There are other counterparts, but I can't remember them now. Ranma
has an arranged marriage with Akane Tendo, the tomboy of the three sisters.
The series revolves around these and many other characters, such as Tattiwaki
Kuno, who only speaks in verse. Needless to say, the series is well
worth watching.
Another good japanese series was Tenchi Muyo.
The story revolved around the character Tenchi Muyo, and his lineage to
the house of Jurai. The characters were Aieka and Sasami, sisters
also from the house of Jurai; Ryoko, a space pirate; Washu, Ryoko's mother
and a scientist; Ryo-Oki, a cabbit (1/2 rabbit, 1/2 cat) who turned into
a spaceship (???); Mihoshi and her partner (uhhh......forgot her name);
and Tenchi's father. Some of the episodes are really funny, while
some are very serious. A good combination of both. Tenchi
Muyo: The Movie is probably the best one that I've seen.
There are a lot of other ones that are good that
I have left out because I haven't seen much of it, but here are some: Neon
Genesis Evangelion, El Hazard and its second season The Wanderers, Vision
of Escaflowne, etc, etc. Now here goes the summary of the first japanese
anime I have ever seen:
Sailor Moon (ok don't laugh now) was the first japanese
series that I saw, and I admit now, I must have been crazy to watch it,
but now and again, it still has its good episodes. The series started
with this talking female cat called Luna and her counterpart Artemis.
The main character is called Serena, who transforms in Sailor Moon.
The first season dealed with the 5 inner senshi (scouts): Amy (Sailor Mercury,
control of water), Raye (Sailor Mars, control of fire), Lita (Sailor Jupiter,
control of lightning), and Mina (Sailor Venus, control of uhh....love?).
They battled Queen Beryl and their warriors to retrieve the crystals.
They did have the help of Darien, who was Tuxedo Mask.
The second season dealt with the same characters,
so I'll save you the boredom. It wasn't until the third series did
it start getting good. Apparently Renee was teleported from the future
to save Sailor Moon. Renee was the daughter of Serena and Darien,
and she held the crystal that changed her into Sailor Chibi Moon (most
annoying bitch I've ever seen.) The series ended abruptly right here,
so everything else I've watched has been in japanese or subtitled, so I'll
try to fill in the gaps. Apparently there was another set of enemy,
called the Dark Moon, that tried to stop the creation of New Tokyo that
was to happen in the future. Renee comes from the future to help
stop them; she was teleported by Sailor Pluto (I'll explain later.)
Well, they save the world yet again, but I haven't see the episodes.
The fourth season was probably the greatest because
it introduced the outer senshi: Haruka (Sailor Uranus, control of earth),
Michiru (Sailor Neptune, control of water), and Setsuna (Sailor Pluto,
control of time; she was the timekeeper) -- they never translated the names
to english. The plot dealt with the transformation of these new scouts,
the Witches 5, and how each of them held part of a 3-pieced talisman which
had the power to destroy the world. The 2 different scouts were at
war with each othe runtil the end, where they had to pull together.
Oh, and in the japanese version, Sailor Uranus was more than a tomboy;
I think she was going out with Sailor Neptune. They had a kickass
violin tranformation for the outer
senshi.
The fifth season was also good. It deals with
the last "real" senshi: Hotaru (Sailor Saturn, control of death).
Well, apparently this was the scout you didn't want around, because she
was the scout of death. Her glaive had the power to destroy anything
it came in touch with. Towards the end of the season, she turned
into Mistress Nine, which almost destroyed everything on earth. She
did eventually come to her senses and killed herself. In the end,
she was reborn as a child, with very little memory of her being Sailor
Saturn.
Ok, here is were it starts getting REALLY REALLY
cheesy. I think the sixth season was devoted to Renee, da bitch,
so I think I saw one episode. I don't even think they had the outer
senshi. The seventh season deals with more cheesy shit, but I think
Sailor Saturn regains her memory and helps fight with the Sailor Scouts.
And the finale, the eighth season, where there are these three guys who
turn into (!!!) females when they transform (how sick is that): Sailor
Starfighter, Sailor Starhealer, and Sailor Starmaker. I think that
was it, but I don't remember. Anyhow, that's more Sailor Moon than
you'll ever need to know!!!!!