I enjoy a bit of anime, but I don’t follow all the news and shows - I just pick up stuff by recommendations or a bit of searching.
So, people who actually know what they’re talking about - are any of these actually good? Are any so bad they’re worth completely avoiding? Any of them have particularly off-putting / offensive “fan service”?
Teppen!!!,
Akudama Drive,
Black Lagoon,
Akatsuki no Yona,
Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna,
Appleseed
Only one I’m familiar with is Black Lagoon. Great show, high recommend. It gets pretty dark, particularly in the latter half, so just be aware of that if that tone is off-putting. Absolutely watch in the English dub–one of the best dubs out there, and it feels like the dubbed version is really the intended version rather than the other way around. Just be aware the dub is filthy.
Cool, I’ll give the dub a go on that then!
(It might be blasphemy, but the dub of Spirited Away is far better than the original IMO, so I’m not morally opposed to the idea)
If I can blaspheme with you I honestly generally prefer dubbed to subbed across the board. Bias aside, Black Lagoon really is a special case where you’re really watching two different shows in dubbed vs. subbed. The dubbed voices are so excellent and the English dialogue is so ingrained with the show’s identity that you’re really missing a large part of the show without them. It’s kind of an interesting case where it actually fits the substance of the story better anyway–the characters are canonically speaking English, and the fact that most of them don’t speak Japanese is actually an essential plot point through one of the arcs.
Cool, I’ll give it a twirl for sure … I can’t stand the dubbed Akira though, so it’s not a blanket ban for me, lol
I will also add in support for Black Lagoon dub. I normally opt for subs, but Black Lagoon really shines with the dub with how it takes full advantage of the diverse backgrounds of the cast and setting. It was a very Western feeling show to me compared to other anime with the violence and crassness of the characters.
It does draw a lot of influence from Western media moreso than it does other anime or eastern sources. The original manga author has said he was heavily influenced by directors like Robert Rodriguez, Quinten Tarantino, and (I think particularly) John Woo and other Hong Kong Cinema/Heroic Bloodshed style filmmakers. It definitely shows. It’s in anime style, but a lot of the time feels more like a “John Woo Cartoon” than it does anime.