Anime/Manga Recommendations?

[FaelenLeigh]

My boyfriend is a fan of multiple genres of anime and manga, and often tells me I might like this one or that one.... but he's a guy, and while he doesn't seem to notice or have a problem with the way these characters are drawn, I think they're a bit sexist with the greatly exaggerated chests and often "dumb blonde" personalities... For example, Desert Punk, if you've seen this, you know what I mean....

I don't want to watch/read something that was written for 12 year old boys (raunchy humor, big boobs, things that make little boys giggle), you know?

So my question to you gals is: Are there animes/mangas out there that are not so exaggerated? How about some with some awesome story lines?

I own and enjoy: The Count of Monte Cristo: Gankutsuou, but it's the only one I've found, and finished.... Back to Desert Punk, my boyfriends finds it hilarious (the main character calling one woman Tits McGee is his favorite), and thought I would enjoy it.... I watched one episode, not knowing what I was getting into, and told him he could watch it when I wasn't home....

I've seen a small amount of Soul Eater, just what I've caught among the seasons, and I enjoy what I saw of it. But my boyfriend and his friend have recently rewatched all that they have in their possession, and now want nothing to do with it, meaning I can't watch it unless they're not home.

I want to be able to watch anime with my boyfriend, so help me out gals! What can the two of us watch together, that won't make me cringe and won't be boring to him?  

[Zephyrkitty]

I can completely understand. I'm not a fan of a lot of anime fanservice and how some shows treat the female characters in general, so I hope I can be of some help!

I'll tentatively throw out a recommendation for Tiger & Bunny. Blue Rose's costume is kind of revealing, but within the context of the show (superheroes' feats are aired on a game show and the most important thing is making the sponsors happy) I'd argue her costume makes sense. Blue Rose herself (and Dragon Kid, the other female hero) are both pretty decent characters in general (and she's a lot more conservatively dressed when she's not fighting crime), although they're also younger than most of the rest of the main cast.

Fullmetal Alchemist has enough female characters and personalities that I'm willing to forgive the couple that fall more towards what you're complaining about. Both series are very good but completely different; the 2003 anime diverges from the manga about halfway through and makes up its own second half, while Brotherhood is completely faithful to the manga. Both have plenty of action, although you might prefer Brotherhood if you're more into shounen series like Soul Eater.

Fate/Zero is about a bunch of mages summoning historical figures to fight for the Holy Grail, which can grant wishes. I'll specifically single out Saber since the story in this show is that King Arthur was a girl and hid this fact during her lifetime, but there are a couple of other girls in the show as well and I don't remember it doing much in the way of sexualizing them. The show is a prequel to Fate/Stay Night, but I haven't actually watched that so I can't say anything regarding its quality.

Baccano! is about a bunch of immortals in 1930's America. The show switches between several different storylines and protagonists pretty frequently so it's really confusing for a while, but it starts making sense as it goes on. Nice wears a revealing outfit, but she's definitely not a dumb blonde and the rest of the girls in the show are generally pretty good. The show is very gory at times, though. The author also wrote Durarara!!, which is considerably more straight-forward and also has some pretty good characters, but I like less overall. Both are worth a look if you enjoy the other, though.

Seirei no Moribito is really slow, but is a really fantastic fantasy series if that isn't a problem. It's about a female bodyguard who is hired to protect the prince after the emperor orders his execution. Balsa is amazing and one of my favorite characters ever, but pretty much everyone in the show has a brain and is willing to rethink things if they realize there's a problem with their current goals.  

[FaelenLeigh]

You are awesome!

I'll check out all of these, and discuss with the b/f and see what he'd be interested in. I'll still probably watch without him, if he doesn't like them.

Thanks so much! emotion_bigheart  

[Sweet Peppermint Tea]

yum_tea If you're looking for an anime with multifaceted, nuanced female characters, then you might want to try looking into Revolutionary Girl Utena. The manga, t.v. series, and movie are all somewhat different from one another, but they all follow the same basic premise: A girl named Utena meets a prince when she's at her lowest point as a child, and is so impressed by him that she decides to be a prince herself. The show deals with the themes of adolescence and growing up, gender roles, sexuality, and morality; the t.v. series and movie can be a bit dense at times, with the multiple layers of symbolism, but they're both very good. The manga presents the story in a more straightfoward format, and is closer to being a traditional magical girl shojo series, making it a good introduction to the story.

Studio Ghibli has consistently produced movies with strong (or at least interesting) female protagonists. You might want to check out Kiki's Delivery Service, Nausica of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Ponyo.

If you're into sci-fi with spaghetti western elements, Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star might be something you'd like. Being that both are shonen series, there is some fanservice, but the emphasis in both series is on the storyline, characterization, and action. Cowboy Bebop has an excellent soundtrack by Yoko Kanno, as a bonus.

If you like ghost stories, you might want to check out Le Portrait de Petit Cossette. It is a haunting three episode miniseries detailing the life of a young man after he encounters the ghost of a young girl inside an antique glass. It is moody and atmospheric, with stylish animation and a great soundtrack. The emphasis is on the protagonist, Eri, and the ghost girl Cossette; however, the series makes it clear that Eri lives in a very female-centric world, as the other characters he interacts with are almost exclusively women with very different personalities.

Wolf's Rain is an excellent series, though I have to warn you that if you watch that one you should have a box of tissues handy. The last few episodes are one emotional gut-punch after another, but the end wraps everything up nicely and is very satisfying. Cheza might be a little too delicate for your tastes, but since she's made from flowers that is perhaps intentional; the other female characters are much stronger. I think you'll really like Blue.

Battle Angel Alita is an excellent post-apocalyptic sci-fi series. Stick to the manga to get the full impact of the storyline; the OVA didn't do it any justice. The line between man and machine is explored in various ways through the female protagonist, Alita, and is done so quite well. In a similar vein, Ghost in the Shell also explores the boundary between humanity and technology through the eyes of a female protagonist, though with some very different angles.

Damn, I'm trying to recommend some good series to you, but since most of what I watch and read is shonen there's just a whole lot of fanservice to deal with. :<  

[spiffy jesus]

►If you're looking for a manga, Bloody Monday is one of the most superb, plot twist-filled, "holy-s**t-what-even" ones out there.
Anime-wise, Nabari No Ou has a pretty good plot and the art is pretty nice too. It's about ninja, but it is in no way similar to Naruto at all. (It's a galaxy times better.)
Also, if you're looking for an anime full of comedy, GokuSen is the one to watch.

 

[Meister Sierra]

Just started Fullmetal Alchemist, I really like it. I recommend Angel Beats with all my hearts, just because of the plot. (Episode 7 will make you question life in of itself) I love Soul Eater. If you want something a little more serious, I recommend Black Butler. If you want cutesy-funny, perhaps try Ouran Host Club.  

[Mord Alushar]

Black Lagoon is a good read.  

[xKiklala]

Well, I can recommend a few I personally enjoyed! ^^

~Vampire Knight & Vampire Knight Guilty
~Clannad
~Code Geass
~Inuyasha
~Death Note

Some of these may include a little bit of the females acting a bit on the bimbo side, but I think they're very nice. ^^ There's also a manga or two I absolutely love, which isn't that way.

+Dengeki Daisy
+Fruits Basket

Yupperz. c: That's all I got.. >w<

 

[Violet Waltz]

I just recently watched a few. You could try watching:

Shinsekai Yori - Based off of the Japanese novel.
Psycho Pass - Kinda bloody but really good.
Fairy Tale.
Sword Art Online.
Another - A bit like final destination; horror/ mystery.
Guilty Crown - Have heard that it's really good but haven't watched it myself yet (on my list to watch next).
Ouran Highschool Hostclub - Comedy mixed with a bit of romance - very funny.
D. Gray Man.
Darker than Black.
Kuroshitsuji.

 

[Zephyrkitty]

Violet Waltz

I just recently watched a few. You could try watching:

Psycho Pass - Kinda bloody but really good.
Guilty Crown - Have heard that it's really good but haven't watched it myself yet (on my list to watch next).

I'm going to go ahead and comment on both of these since I've watched them both and think there are some notable things worth mentioning in line with what the OP was asking for.

Psycho-Pass is simultaneously very good and very bad in terms of the handling of the female cast. The protagonist, Akane, has a lot of character development over the course of the show and was easily my favorite character in the series. She's not sexualized a lot and while she starts out as a newbie she grows out of it and by the end of the series she's very competent in her own right. Yayoi and Shion (the two enforcers in the show) are also pretty decent; Shion's outfit shows some cleavage and there's some lesbian fanservice involving both of them, but I wasn't particularly bothered by any of this (although I am sort of biased in this regard >_>). There's also a lot of fanservice for the girls, so it balances out somewhat.

On the other hand, the show has some really creepy violence against women in it. One serial killer the team is looking for murders teenage girls and uses their bodies to make bizarre statues, and there's another case where a woman is attacked and brutally murdered in public and the scene is replayed several times over the next couple of episodes. I don't know how you feel about this type of content, but I don't feel entirely comfortable recommending the show without mentioning this. If this doesn't bother you, I thought the show was pretty good and worth a watch.


Guilty Crown: Lots of fanservice. Inori's outfit isn't remotely practical, and there are quite a few boob and butt shots. Inori especially needs to be singled out since she doesn't have much of a personality (she has a purpose in the story, but most of the time her role is to be in love with Shu and to let him pull swords out of her), but I remember most of the girls being written as 'IN LOVE WITH SHU and also a couple of other things maybe'. I also have... less than kind things to say about the story and show in general, but I'll limit it to saying that it would definitely appeal to twelve-year-old boys. It's not a show I'd recommend based on what the OP is looking for.  

[Violet Waltz]

Zephyrkitty

When watching psycho pass, it really depends on what an individual finds as disturbing. If you go look at shows these days on TV, you will find that most mystery shows are even worse for violence than this anime. Take criminal minds for example, some of the introductions of episodes can be even worse that what happens in the series and in the show they also have some pretty disturbing flashbacks. So really it depends on what the OP's opinion of disturbing is.

The good thing about reconsiderations is that the OP doesn't have to watch everything someone says. If its too much for them they can just skip over it. I am just giving my honest opinion about anime. What I think of as being good could be different from other people.

*Edit* btw, my friend coplays as Inori and from what I have seen, not all her outfits are like that, so you can't solely base opinion on that one outfit.

 

[Starchan13]

Claymore has an entire army of awesome female characters. Fate/stay night is pretty good from what I've heard. And it's got some fanservice in the form of sorta revealing outfits, but [C]-The Money of Soul and Possibility of Control is a really good show. For something with a good plot, try the movie Summer Wars.  

[Dreams Collide]

Okay so here are a few of my favorite anime, i highly recommend them.

One Piece, A anime about a guy named luffy who wants to be king of the pirates and who is a little air headed but incredibly strong, and kind. he goes around making friends who join his pirate crew and fight battles with him. its basically an adventure anime, and the women are the more intelligent ones. the boobs are a little over done, but if you over look that it is a great show.

D-Grey man. is about a boy named Allan walker who fights demons and has a anti demon weapon in his hand. he joins the black order and fights with them. its got strong bonds of friendship and a lot of fighting, but nothing bloody.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn. is about a slightly air headed boy named Tsuna who is called no good at everything. one day he is told he will become the tenth generation mafia boss of the largest famillia in italy. needless to say he is pretty shocked, but soon friends start appearing before him who help him grow stronger. oh and did i mention that his home tutor is a talking baby with super human abilities?

psychic detective yakumo. is about a girl named haruka who seeks help from yakumo a psychic who can speak to ghosts. its only 12 episodes but they build a relationship and become very close, like family, and there is of course fighting and detective stuff.

Detective Conan. is about a high schooler jimmy who is a detective helping the police when one day he is caught by bad guys and is forced to take a drug that was supposed to kill him, instead he changed into a child of no more then 8. he seeks help from a old scientist who lives by him and the doctor tells him that he will have to remain a child until he can catch the bad guys who poisoned him. its a very long on going show but worth the watch.