G&Ysnumber1fan wrote:

Er, Strawberry Panic is a good one. Mai Hime and that something no Miko are both good ones as well.

Kannazuki no Miko perhaps?

I did get an Utena vibe from the beginning of that series, mainly due to the setting... a european style academy.

Eh, if we're going the yuri route, there aren't many good ones. The only one I'd really reccomend to fans of Utena would be Simoun. (and that's because I'm recommending it to EVERYONE) The only real difference is the first half of Simoun is more slice of life than Utena, but I think they touch on some similar themes.

None of the other shoujo-ai really cut it. They're all ridiculous girl's school romances trying desparately to emulate Oniisama E.

On that note, yeah, anything by Riyoko Ikeda (Of Rose of Versailles/OE). Utena was pretty obviously based on her work. I think Utena fans might dig the manga version of Yume Tsukai (and possibly the 9th episode of the anime. The whole thing is pretty stand alone so you can easily just watch that one. It's pretty good.) And Portrait de Petite Cossette if you like SKU for the art. And as far as shoujo with a brain goes, some of you might like Natsumi Itsuki.

That's all I can really think of for now. o:

Last edited by Hinotori (10-26-2006 04:56:49 PM)

Maria-sama Ga Miteru ("The Virgin Mary Is Watching") is pretty good.  It's not fucked up like Utena in any way, and it's kind of more slice of life, but it's a good shoujo-ai type anime if you like that kind of thing.

Lillicious wrote:

Based on the novel series by Konno Oyuki. The setting is Lillian Academy, a private Catholic all-girls school where the student council is known as the Yamayurikai (Mountain Lily Council) and younger students are taken under the wing of older students through a system known as the "soeur system" ("soeur" is French for "sister"). The main character, Yumi, who is basically a nobody, suddenly finds herself interacting with the members of the Yamayurikai and their soeurs, most notably her crush, the talented, beautiful, and withdrawn Sachiko...

http://www.hactar.net/lily/projectDet.php?id=8

Last edited by Perfect Verse (10-26-2006 05:57:42 PM)

Giovanna wrote:

G&Ysnumber1fan wrote:

Strawberry Panic

Lesbian parade anime, right? I hear there's an Akio and Touga in that show but they have vaginas. Also there's a shot in the opening that's almost an exact replica of a shot from the opening of SKU. (Where Utena's walking away and you see the school and ocean and Akio's coc-er tower in the background.)

And there's a [female, obviously] prince named Ohtori who rides a white horse.

I'll second the recommendations on Serial Experiments Lain, Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, Maria-sama ga Miteru, and Simoun . . . and now that I think about it, on Strawberry Panic, too. The thing is, you'll either love it, or you'll hate it. (You might also feel indifferent towards it, but whatever.) If you love it, then all's well and good. And if you hate it, you can always point and laugh! I can honestly say that I didn't make it through a single episode of Strawberry Panic without laughing out loud. In fact, a couple of times ("You are the chosen one!") I literally Rolled On the Floor Laughing! Just grab a few alcoholic beverages, switch your brain into MST3K mode, and enjoy!

Other recommendations:

Angel's Egg
And you thought the Utena movie was weird? I mean, at least it had a plot.

Avenger
Bee Train's gorgeous animation, Ali Project's magnificent music, and an intentionally confusing sci-fi story with possible symbolism set on a post-apocalyptic Mars, featuring the most kick-ass female protagonist ever. Seriously underrated.

Noir
Yes, I am a Bee Train fan. A beautiful Corsican assassin teams up with a Japanese teenager of the same profession, on a quest to find out about their shady past and uncover an ancient conspiracy (I'm a fan of ancient conspiracies, too), and she's promised to kill her after they're done. Also, a brilliant soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura.

Madlax
Even more Bee Train! Some people complain that Madlax and Noir are too similiar, but I find the similarities to be entirely superficial. (Well, not entirely, but there are more than enough differences in the areas where itreally counts.) There's a mysterious assassin/mercenary going by the codename "Madlax", earning her living in a country engaged in a perpetual civil war; there's an evil conspiracy pulling all the strings; there's a young amnesiac girl with a mysterious connection to Madlax; there's magical books that drive people insane; and there's another brilliant soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura. Good stuff, good stuff.

Haibane Renmei
I don't know what Yoshitoshi ABe is smoking, but I want some of it. The series starts out slice-of-lifey enough, though the setting is blatantly weird (a small town enclosed by a huge wall, populated not only by normal humans but also by kids with gray wings on their backs and haloes over their heads, born from cocoons), but towards the end it gets awesomely psychological and weird. It's all probably an allegory, but good luck trying to figure out of what.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (manga)
Nothing much to do with SKU, it's just so awesome that I always recommend it when people are asking for recommendations on anything. Just how awesome is YKK? So awesome that, due to the general unfairness of the world, it'll never get licenced. Therefore, go read the scanlations at http://ykk.misago.org and http://www.cafealpha.org. Set in a post-apocalyptic Japan, the main character is a green-haired android who... keeps a café. Not many customers pass by, though. And occasionally she goes to Yokohama to buy more coffee beans. That's about all that ever happens. And it's the bestest manga ever!

Edit: I can't believe I forgot this...

Ouran High School Host Club
A perpetual Nanami filler episode! Well, except for the few moments when it gets melodramatic, which is when it kinda sucks. But most of the time it's some grade A hilarity and weirdness. The usage of visual metaphors really reminds me of SKU, except that here they're used mostly for jokes. No surfing elephants, but plenty of apes and banana peels, high-power motors, lightbulbs, and Mikage-esque flickering arrows that go "beep! beep! beep!" The themes of gender-bending and shoujo clichés are also slightly similiar to SKU.

EditEdit: And another one I forgot...

Mushishi
Mushi are strange little beings, invisible to most human eyes. Not quite bacteria, not quite insects, not quite spirits, not quite plants, not quite animals... The thing is, some of them can cause trouble to humans. One might latch inside your ear and eat all the sound you hear. One might make you grow old and then young again on a daily basis. One might live in your eyes and make you see really far, then through things, then to the future... Ginko, the Mushishi, travels around the world (which consists mostly of forests and mountains), helping people out with their Mushi problems. All the episodes are one-shots, detailing a bizarre, atmospheric, often quite morbid tale of a mushi and the troubles it causes.

Last edited by Joku_Krypfto (10-27-2006 01:55:20 AM)

Joku_Krypfto wrote:

Haibane Renmei
I don't know what Yoshitoshi ABe is smoking, but I want some of it. The series starts out slice-of-lifey enough, though the setting is blatantly weird (a small town enclosed by a huge wall, populated not only by normal humans but also by kids with gray wings on their backs and haloes over their heads, born from cocoons), but towards the end it gets awesomely psychological and weird. It's all probably an allegory, but good luck trying to figure out of what.

Haibane Renmei is a straight narrative compared to Lain.   Both are, of course, phenomenal series and desert island picks any day.  Haibane Renmei is a wonderful philosophical piece that really pulls you in.  Rakka's ( ) journey of self-discovery is a great story.  She's so innocent and just wants to know why things are the way they are, without realizing how radical a line of thought this is in Glie.

Texhnolyze. Another great work by ABe and Ueda, although rather different from Lain or Haibane Renmei, at least on the surface. Lots of middle aged men and very few bishies or even teenagers. Some angry young men, though.
Psychological and philosophical to the extremes, like all their previous works save for NieA_7. And an opening episode with about ten lines of dialogue, done almost completely with emotional visuals.

Wewt, lots of recommendations. Okay, what can anyone tell me about Serial Experiments Lain? :3

Cerise wrote:

I never noticed that Amane's last name was Ohtori.  That explains why she was the only character I liked (and I sick of her by the end too...stupid 'plot twist' crap) aside from Chikara who was just weird (think of her as a shadow girl, perhaps).  ^_- SP! was one of the worst anime series I've watched.  I'd say it was obviously made for men to

Yeah it's definitely marketed to males in Japan, Marimite is apparently the yuri show this season meant for the actual yuri girls.

Also whatevering Lain, god Lain rocked. The mood, style, and just about everything else is completely different from SKU, but if you love SKU for the way it gets in your head and then stomps your brains out of your nose like an old school wine pressing, then Lain should also hold your attention for the same reason.

satyreyes wrote:

Also on the noir side is Kino no Tabi, another of my faves.  If you like trying to puzzle out the personalities of Utena characters, I guarantee you'll love doing the same with Kino, a traveler through the "beautiful world" (the ironic title of the ending song).  Each episode takes Kino to a new dysfunctional country.  I love watching how Kino responds to what's there.

Oh yes! I highly recommend Kino to Utena fans. The series' premise is simple enough, but like Utena, things are not ever what they seem in any of the places Kino visits.

Utena first caught my attention on an aesthetic level (I'm a very basic person that way): It. Has. Pretty. People.

If you're into pretty people, and lovely design elements, I'd check out Paradise Kiss.

It's not even in the same hemisphere as SKU if you're looking for depth, but if you are looking for: attractive characters, interesting clothes, buildings, interior design etc + interesting/unconventional pairings and a lot of sexuality + high-school settings with snotty rich kids + ass-hole-ish bisexual cads/dandies/playboys that dress sharp and manipulate   This may be of interest to you. Akio and George tie for first in my heart as the sexiest characters ever. And be sure to take note of the butterfly themes in ParaKiss, in rings, clothes, patterns, and there's even a framed butterfly in George's room. Mikage elevator/Chida residence parallel anyone?

Even though I was drawn into SKU because of its pretty style, the sociological aspects really stole my heart. The relations between the characters in ParaKiss are fun to observe as well, with its various love/lust conflicts and love triangles.

[Edit]: And I -do- mean the manga, of which there are five beautiful volumes (Ai Yazawa's style is very fresh and contemporary). The anime was stylish, but the animation lacked the sharpness of the manga and that of the SKU character designs. The manga, in my opinion, is much more worth your time. However, the entire anime is viewable for free at YouTube.com If you're interested.

Last edited by Rebel Prince (10-27-2006 10:03:48 PM)

I'll admit I don't watch a lot of anime and of the other three shows I'm into to, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Rose of Versailles, and Wolf's Rain the first two seem to be regular favorites around here.

I'll admit while Wolf's Rain works on the same basic concept as Utena (Destroy the world through a major event) it is very different in plot. However it does have beautiful animation and a great english dub and it is a short series, I think it has twenty-six episodes, so it can be enjoyed in a decent amount of time.

The basic plot line is that in the future (probably in America) there is a myth circulating that Wolves came from Paradise, and taught humans how to be civilized. These wolves can trick the human mind into seeing them as human though they never assume human forms. The wolves are hunted down by the aristocrats of the future simply called "Nobles". One wolf named Kiba had his entire pack killed by Nobles and was saved by a human. Later when he is an adult he sets out on a journey to find the "Lunar Flower" which will open paradise to Wolves and they can finally live in peace though this will destroy the world of the humans.

The main conflict in the story is the Lunar Flower is actually a young girl grown through alchemy from lunar flowers by a noble and a noble named Darcia wants her to create his own Paradise to save his dying wife while the wolves need her to open their Paradise and fullfill the world's destiny.

Its not nearly as surreal as Utena but it touches on many of the same topics; peace of mind, peace with the past, and the end of the world. Of course it lacks almost any sexual content but it features plenty of gory fight scenes near the end. And like I said its pretty to look at character wise and back ground wise and manages to carry an eloquent plot well.

Will you like it for sure if you liked Utena? Off hand I say it depends on the person, it has the same ultimate goals for the characters invovled but it gets there in a very different way.