This post is an entry to the 30 Week Anime Challenge series of posts.
You should know…
Oh my. It’s still the first week of the challenge, but I am already having difficulty in answering the question. Hmmm. But what’s a challenge if it isn’t even difficult?
First of all, the supply of my unwatched anime is endless. We will have those anime in the future seasons which we are sure to look forward to. To add to this list of plan-to-watch goods are the anime in the past that I didn’t give a try. Yet.
I have many bases with which to determine which anime to watch at any moment. Is the synopsis interesting enough? Are the character designs and the art style beautiful? Or are they just like the generic anime art? Which studio is doing it? Which professionals form the production staff? Were their previous works highly entertaining or well-received by viewers? How was it rated in anime database sites? Were the ratings of the anime from the different sites highly inconsistent? Was it just overrated or underrated? How was it received by the public? Were there positive feedbacks? Negative comments? Did the love for the show outweigh the hatred for it? Or is it the other way around? Will I actually learn something from it? Will I ever remember it for the rest of my life? Or will it be just another item in my “watched” collection?
But in the end, those are just the opinions of other watchers plus my own perceptions. Unless I experience the anime itself, I can never truly give my own answers to those questions. It’s primarily my interest in any anime, partly influenced by my friends’ recommendations, at a particular moment chooses which anime to download next and put in my immediately-to-watch queue.
Recently, I have taken a bigger interest in the older series, like those in the 1970s and 1980s (e.g. Urusei Yatsura, Lupin III, Rose of Versailles, Ashita no Joe), but never really got to watch them in a continuous fashion. First and last, they’re difficult to obtain. Only a tiny percent in this generation’s watchers are actually interested in tracking back the history of anime and the industry or in caring how anime started at all. Thus, we only have few and occasionally inaccessible resources.
As much as I would like to answer One Piece or Detective Conan, VERY long series that I have started watching, but stopped a few episodes in due to scarcity, I would have to lay out another answer. It’s not that I will not resume watching the two series. But for now, since I still have a long way to catch up but no materials to start picking up, I will just temporarily leave them in my shelves.
So the most valid answer is all Gundam series but primarily the first one, Mobile Suit Gundam, the origin of all other sequels and Gundam spin-off series.
Let’s say I’m just really curious what is in the material that made fans all over the world love it. I’m not exactly planning to become one of the franchise’s fans, but since I also am planning to explore the genre of mecha, why not emphasize the need to watch the most popular among the mecha geeks?
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Wow, ‘Gundam’ is exactly what I answered to this part of the anime challenge, as well O.o
Wow. Such coincidence. 🙂
Thanks for the follow. ^_^ May I ask how come you chose to follow my other blog, and not the one about Japan? It’s just that that one really doesn’t have many followers at all, what with my being rather inactive there, lately, so it was a real surprise for me to find out you followed it O.o
On another note, I am really – and I mean REALLY – looking forward to your future answers to this challenge 😀
Hello and thanks for the follow back! I actually don’t remember how I ended up on your other blog. LOL. Anyway, I followed you on your otaku stuff blog now. 🙂
Thanks! It will take a long time for me to finish this challenge, so I hope you can still read my answers until I finish it. 😀
As long as I’m alive, there’s no way I wouldn’t read them ^_^ I love ‘connecting’ with other people who love Japan and ‘stuff’ (for short) related to it.
Thank you!!! I’ll look forward to your answers as well. Wait, I hope this correspondence isn’t only limited to the 30-day anime challenge. 🙂
it’s most definitely not a 30-day-only correspondence 😀
That’s reassuring to know. 🙂
Ohh sheet! I just noticed that it is 30-week challenge and not 30 days. Hahahaha are you supposed to finish an anime per week?
It’s originally 30-day challenge, but since I can’t answer the questions in exactly 30 days (or, let’s say, any number of consecutive days), I just modified the challenge a little bit. And, no, the challenge is not about watching an anime per day/week, but it’s a challenge where the challenger must answer specific questions assigned per day. You may refer to this post: https://animeraifu.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/30-day-anime-challenge-start/
You might notice that my version is a little bit different from the ones taken by arriacross. 😀
Ohh I see, I thought you need to finish all the episodes of an anime. hahahaha kamusta naman yun di ba? hahaha
Why don’t you take on the challenge? XD
hahaha maybe next time.. arriacross knew the reason.. 😀
I’ve actually really wanted to start Mobile Gundam myself because a really good friend of mine is into it and I want in all the jokes and memes! I mean, some of them are really funny even if I don’t fully understand it but… Hmmmm. I hope you’ll be able to finish it! I wonder if there’s a list on which Gundam series you should watch (in order) and which ones to avoid….
Oh my, I didn’t know there were Gundam memes? Which cave have I been staying in? O_O
Yeah, I actually have a copy of the first series. Got it from a senpai and friend. But never really got around to watching it. Hehehe. Maybe coz I’m just lazy or I just don’t want to watch it now. Yep. I have those times when I know what I want to watch, but not in the mood to watch it.
I saw a list of Gundam series (My, there’s a ton of them!). Here it is: http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/Gundam_Wiki:Series
It’s neatly organized to the universes and chronology of events, so I think this is the best list you can use as reference.
But regarding Gundam series to avoid, I don’t know. It’s a matter of personal opinion. But if I have to recommend you one that I have watched, it’s Gundam 00.
I frequent Tumblr a lot and I just look at the stuff she reblogs haha ^^; And then there’s always 4Chan (I’m sorry if you don’t like it). Ahh, I hate those moods! It’s so particular and annoying but at least you have it on something you can reach for whenever the mood strikes you!
Oh, thanks a lot. 😀 And my friend also recommended me Gundam 00 but I just wasn’t sure which one to actually start with (I’m a completionist so it’s an annoying habit).
Oh. I see. XD I haven’t been on tumblr for months, so I’m quite oblivious to all those memes and trends.
You’re welcome! Oh, I know that. I try to watch all the anime (be it OVA, specials, spin-offs, sequels/prequels) of an anime that I like. But now, I’m kind of getting used to dropping shows that I genuinely feel that they are not for me.
Gundam 00 was my first Gundam series and it’s a spin-off, so I wasn’t really bothered if I didn’t really watch the franchise in chronological order. Hehehe. But now, I really feel the need to watch these Gundam series starting from the first ones.
Sometimes I have the same feeling about Gundam. I watched a bit of Seed when it use to come on TV, but I can’t handle mechs. Sometimes they are okay, but I dunno. If you do end up watching any of the Gundam series, let me know what you think and I’ll give it a try then.
Uh, yep, I actually have mixed feelings with Gundam since I have watched a few of them: 00, Seed (planning to watch Destiny soon), Unicorn (maybe I’ll rewatch this coz I have a lot of questions about the story, but every episode doesn’t answer these–they only add a lot more questions, so…), and Wing (which was kinda pointless; characters swaying here and there, it wasn’t even clear what they really were fighting for or what their convictions were). I liked Seed and 00, but I think 00 is my favorite so far among the Gundam series. Seed was enjoyable enough to keep me glued to my screen, but it wasn’t anything really memorable. So if I have to recommend you a Gundam title, you may give 00 a try. 🙂
I know a lot of “Gundam maniacs” (I mean that in a good way). I can’t really relate to them, but I can see that they’re very passionate about the series. So most of the titles that you want you want to watch are the “oldies”?
I don’t personally know the Gundam geeks I’ve met online, but, yeah, just like you said they are very passionate about Gundam that I’m now really curious. 🙂 And hey, I like mecha anime in general, not that I like them all. Mech designs are sooo cool, too, y’know. So much time, effort, and love can be seen in the designs. 😀
Yep. I wanna watch the “oldies”. 😀
Well, I personally have friends that are Gundam “maniacs”, not just on the Internet.
I like mecha, too, but only if the story has substance. Yes, the “oldies” are great. You get used to the “oldish” animation pretty soon, too, so it’s not really that big of an issue. The most important thing is the story.
I don’t have a problem with the classics’ animation because I was already used to them when I was younger (Princess Sara, Daddy Long Legs, Voltes V, etc etc). The animation quality back then was kind of primitive because they were done traditionally, with minimum computer assistance. And yet, they were enjoyable to watch. 😀 I really want to watch the classics (though now in Japanese dub) because I want to “go back” to my childhood days. 😀
That’s good. Same here. I don’t have a problem with the animation back in the day. In fact, I think of them as more artistic because they’re able to do that kind of animation with minimum computer technology, unlike the more polished animation today. Oh gosh! I remember Voltes V, too! And the other mecha anime, Daimos, I think. Aaah. So nostalgic.
Yes, it’s good to watch those anime shows that you watched during childhood. Makes you feel good inside. Have fun!