Favourites & Recommendations: Anime and Cartoons

This is the official thread for people to let others know about their favourite anime shows and films, as well as animated television shows. More than that, it is a place for people to recommend some of their favourite anime and cartoons to others.

While simply listing favourites is welcome, it is encouraged that you spend some time explaining why it is that you like these particular shows so much. A few sentences would be nice, but more is also very welcome. Heck, feel free to write a whole essay on Cowboy Bebop or Batman: The Animated Series, if you feel that passionate about it. This is especially encouraged if you are looking to recommend others get into the series that you love so much, as people are far more likely to look into something if they know more about it rather than just knowing its name.

Finally, a note on why I decided to group anime series and western cartoons together, rather than keep the anime together with manga. I am hoping that fans of one will also become fans of the other by promoting cross-discussion on the subjects. While I am very aware there are differences between the two, they also undeniably have things and common, and I'd rather have an anime fan exposed to a great cartoon (or vice-versa) than have people live in these separate spheres. Plus, this way you get to post in two threads and get an extra post out of it. And everyone knows post count is all that matters.

Have fun!

Right, I'll start off here by recommending a few shows/movies that you may not have heard of, despite them being awesome.

Top of my list for "Awesome animated shows that no one has ever heard of" is RahXephon. Now, I've got a big long review of it posted elsewhere, so I won't repeat that, I'll just summarize why I love this show so much:
It's Neon Genesis Evangelion, only with far less depression. It's got a similar sort of mind-bending plot (albiet more understandable) it has above-average animation, and is just generally amazing. Definitely watch it if you liked Eva, or if you like shows that don't spell everything out for you.

Next is Kino's Journey. This one is, alas, short. Only 13 episodes, but they're very good. The basic idea behind the show is this:
Kino is a young traveller. She goes from "country" to "country" (More towns, really) but never staying for more than three days.

She also never judges the countries she goes to. Some of them are brutal totalitarian dictatorships, others have tyranny of the majority taken to a ludicrous extent. Some are futuristic utopias, others are medieval slums. She treats all these places alike, and rarely interferes with internal politics. She watches the stories of others, but tries to not get involved.

It's a rather quiet show, with very little action (a few episodes show off Kino's remarkable marksmanship, but mostly her guns and excessive number of knives stay holstered.) but still very interesting, since it always leaves you thinking. Perhaps you agree with the laws of a certain country, perhaps you hate them, but you always get to see both sides of the issue and have to come to your own conclusions, 'cause Kino certainly won't tell you what to believe.

In a similar vein is Mushi-Shi. The premise here is pretty simple: We commonly accept that life has two forms: Plants and Animals. Mushi are a third form, apparently the closest to pure life out of the three. Like all living things they strive to find a niche to live in, preying off of (and being preyed on by) other mushi, plants, and animals.

Ginko is a Mushi-Shi ("Mushi master"); a person who wanders around studying Mushi and helping people deal with them when they start causing trouble. Since Mushi aren't life as we know it, the problems caused by them tend to be unusual: from a girl who cannot bear to look at any light due to Mushi living in her eyes, to a man who cannot leave a bamboo forest due to the influence of the Mushi living in it.

The show is set in ancient Japan (I couldn't tell you the specific era, 18th century, perhaps?) and has a simple aesthetic look. It's also absolutely gorgeous. The art in Mushi-Shi is astounding on every level. It is beyond description, and looks better than almost any animated movie, despite being a TV show. You could watch it for the artwork alone and come away satisfied.


For anime movies: Anything by Satoshi Kon. Most of his movies get releases over here, but they tend to be low budget affairs with little publicity and small print runs. This is a shame, because the man is a genius. Effortlessly weaving fantasy and reality and blurring the line between them to astounding effect.

I would highly, highly, highly recommend his movie Paprika, which is the most alive looking piece of animation I have ever seen. The plot of it isn't all that important, it involves abuse of technology that allows people to enter the dreams of others, but it mostly serves as a framework for Satoshi Kon to play with our perception of what is dream and what isn't, and for him to show off gorgeous dreamscapes that will seem hauntingly familiar to everyone.

It also doesn't hold your hand, leaving a few things to your imagination or conjecture, and not explaining things more than it needs to.

Paprika is what you'd get if someone extracted the essence of dreams and put them in a movie. It simply must be watched to be appreciated.

His other movies (which are also extremely good, and often just as mind-bending) are:
Perfect Blue (Alas, I have not seen this one, but it sounds like the sort of plot he's good at.)
Millennium Actress which is a fictionalised "making of" for a documentary about a fictional famous Japanese actress. As she is interviewed about her life the present-day, her memories, and the movies she's stared in all start to blend together. Truly an excellent film.
Tokyo Godfathers a very straightforward movie by Satoshi Kon. It's a Christmas story, but much more serious than most. Also quite recommended.


Right, I think that's it for my list of anime that you should have heard of, but haven't.

I don't have a similar list for western animation, since most of the really good stuff is known about. However, I feel a need to mention the DC Animated Universe (Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited) why? Because Bruce Timm and Paul Dini are geniuses.

The DCAU is a distillation of the DC universe into one of its best forms. The characters have more depth than your average live-action, prime-time, mega-hit dramas. The plots are darker than a fair number of other "mature" shows, and the acting is excellent. Kevin Conroy's Batman and Mark Hamill's Joker are simply beyond compare.

There's a reason that I plan on buying Batman: Arkham Asylum at launch, and that's because they got quite a few of the cast members and writers from the DCAU to do work on it. Paul Dini wrote the script, Kevin Conroy is reprising his role as Batman, Mark Hamill is back as the Joker, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. Incidentally, the Harley Quinn character was created for Batman: The Animated Series and proved to be so popular and well-written that she got added into the main Batman comics. That should tell you something about the quality of the show.)

I saw this movie yesterday, and I can't recommend it enough. It's a fun, lighthearted film about a girl who discovers that she has the ability to leap through time, and learns to deal with the consequences that come from it.

The animation is very well done, and the musical score is great.

Originally Posted by Eternal Paradox

I saw this movie yesterday, and I can't recommend it enough. It's a fun, lighthearted film about a girl who discovers that she has the ability to leap through time, and learns to deal with the consequences that come from it.

The animation is very well done, and the musical score is great.

Hah, I got this when it came out over here, and quite enjoyed it.

It's not deep and, while it has its serious moments, it's generally light-hearted.

And yeah, it has very nice animation and a solid musical score. Definitely something that needs more attention outside of the anime fan community.

This tale follows the monotone title character, a smart yet overly cynical social outcast, on her journey through high school. And since the inhabitants of said school are all stereotypes, headcases or both, hilarity is often the result of their interactions.

There's a lot of love to be had for this show. The laughs come like rain in a thunderstorm, and they hit you with just the right timing. Hell, it plays the irony card just as well the Simpsons did back in its prime, if not more so - it's that good.

At 5 seasons, 2 TV movies and a musical, this show is worth the legally questionable search (MTV needs to come out with the DVDs pronto).



Birdy the Mighty: Decode (Tetsuwan Birdy Decode).
Two seasons, 12 eps each (2008-09).

The plot goes like this: Birdy (alien babe/galactic officer/pinup girl) and Tsutomu (Earthling dude), find themselves sharing one body after a freak accident. And since there's a doomsday device smuggled onto earth by alien bodysnatchers, the pair must juggle Tsutomu's school life and Birdy's modeling career, all while trying to save the planet.

As fun as the plot is, and as classy as the music is, the real selling point of the series is the animation (especially in the second season). The fights are mesmerizing, yet unconventional. They mostly focus on full-body movement and dynamic/sweeping camera angles, but the choreography of every battle therein is brutal and raw - they will make you feel every single bone crunching blow.
And honestly, you should see how well they animated wet hair, it's gorgeous.

Originally Posted by Eternal Paradox

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

The same guy who directed that is coming out with a new movie this summer, aptly called Summer Wars.

Originally Posted by John

Right, I'll start off here by recommending a few shows/movies that you may not have heard of, despite them being awesome.

Top of my list for "Awesome animated shows that no one has ever heard of" is RahXephon. Now, I've got a big long review of it posted elsewhere, so I won't repeat that, I'll just summarize why I love this show so much:
It's Neon Genesis Evangelion, only with far less depression. It's got a similar sort of mind-bending plot (albiet more understandable) it has above-average animation, and is just generally amazing. Definitely watch it if you liked Eva, or if you like shows that don't spell everything out for you.

Next is Kino's Journey. This one is, alas, short. Only 13 episodes, but they're very good. The basic idea behind the show is this:
Kino is a young traveller. She goes from "country" to "country" (More towns, really) but never staying for more than three days.

She also never judges the countries she goes to. Some of them are brutal totalitarian dictatorships, others have tyranny of the majority taken to a ludicrous extent. Some are futuristic utopias, others are medieval slums. She treats all these places alike, and rarely interferes with internal politics. She watches the stories of others, but tries to not get involved.

It's a rather quiet show, with very little action (a few episodes show off Kino's remarkable marksmanship, but mostly her guns and excessive number of knives stay holstered.) but still very interesting, since it always leaves you thinking. Perhaps you agree with the laws of a certain country, perhaps you hate them, but you always get to see both sides of the issue and have to come to your own conclusions, 'cause Kino certainly won't tell you what to believe.

In a similar vein is Mushi-Shi. The premise here is pretty simple: We commonly accept that life has two forms: Plants and Animals. Mushi are a third form, apparently the closest to pure life out of the three. Like all living things they strive to find a niche to live in, preying off of (and being preyed on by) other mushi, plants, and animals.

Ginko is a Mushi-Shi ("Mushi master"); a person who wanders around studying Mushi and helping people deal with them when they start causing trouble. Since Mushi aren't life as we know it, the problems caused by them tend to be unusual: from a girl who cannot bear to look at any light due to Mushi living in her eyes, to a man who cannot leave a bamboo forest due to the influence of the Mushi living in it.

The show is set in ancient Japan (I couldn't tell you the specific era, 18th century, perhaps?) and has a simple aesthetic look. It's also absolutely gorgeous. The art in Mushi-Shi is astounding on every level. It is beyond description, and looks better than almost any animated movie, despite being a TV show. You could watch it for the artwork alone and come away satisfied.


For anime movies: Anything by Satoshi Kon. Most of his movies get releases over here, but they tend to be low budget affairs with little publicity and small print runs. This is a shame, because the man is a genius. Effortlessly weaving fantasy and reality and blurring the line between them to astounding effect.

I would highly, highly, highly recommend his movie Paprika, which is the most alive looking piece of animation I have ever seen. The plot of it isn't all that important, it involves abuse of technology that allows people to enter the dreams of others, but it mostly serves as a framework for Satoshi Kon to play with our perception of what is dream and what isn't, and for him to show off gorgeous dreamscapes that will seem hauntingly familiar to everyone.

It also doesn't hold your hand, leaving a few things to your imagination or conjecture, and not explaining things more than it needs to.

Paprika is what you'd get if someone extracted the essence of dreams and put them in a movie. It simply must be watched to be appreciated.

His other movies (which are also extremely good, and often just as mind-bending) are:
Perfect Blue (Alas, I have not seen this one, but it sounds like the sort of plot he's good at.)
Millennium Actress which is a fictionalised "making of" for a documentary about a fictional famous Japanese actress. As she is interviewed about her life the present-day, her memories, and the movies she's stared in all start to blend together. Truly an excellent film.
Tokyo Godfathers a very straightforward movie by Satoshi Kon. It's a Christmas story, but much more serious than most. Also quite recommended.


Right, I think that's it for my list of anime that you should have heard of, but haven't.

I don't have a similar list for western animation, since most of the really good stuff is known about. However, I feel a need to mention the DC Animated Universe (Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited) why? Because Bruce Timm and Paul Dini are geniuses.

The DCAU is a distillation of the DC universe into one of its best forms. The characters have more depth than your average live-action, prime-time, mega-hit dramas. The plots are darker than a fair number of other "mature" shows, and the acting is excellent. Kevin Conroy's Batman and Mark Hamill's Joker are simply beyond compare.

There's a reason that I plan on buying Batman: Arkham Asylum at launch, and that's because they got quite a few of the cast members and writers from the DCAU to do work on it. Paul Dini wrote the script, Kevin Conroy is reprising his role as Batman, Mark Hamill is back as the Joker, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. Incidentally, the Harley Quinn character was created for Batman: The Animated Series and proved to be so popular and well-written that she got added into the main Batman comics. That should tell you something about the quality of the show.)

I agree that!

Alright, well, I'll try not to post anything that's been posted before. I'm going to start off with feature length stuff that's more artistic and then talk about some episodic shows that I think are awesome.

1. 5 Centimeters Per Second

This is a three-part film about the life of Takaki Touno. It's a very, VERY pretty film, and is quite touching as well. I would suggest finding it in HD quality and watching it on a large screen. I don't want to say much about the plot other than it's melancholic and really good. I recommend this to ANYONE.

2. Memories

This is another three-part film, although these three have no real connection to one another. The first part, Magnetic Rose, is about a junk freighter in space that responds to a distress signal. It turns out that the signal is coming from a deserted space station. Two guys go in and try to figure out what is causing the distress signal and find haunted <3<3<3<3. The second part is more comical in tone than Magnetic Rose. "Stink Bomb" concerns a young man who shows up to work at a bioresearch facility whilst flu-ridden. At a colleague's insistence, he takes some pills. These turn out to be part of a biological weapon program—the young man soon acquires a (literally) deadly body odor and becomes a walking weapon of mass destruction. The third part, Cannon Fodder, is about a walled in society which exists primarily for the firing of cannons, ranging in size from about the size of one's hand to one that dwarves humongous buildings. One interesting thing about Cannon Fodder is that the entire thing is one continuous shot, there are no broken transitions from scenes. As a whole, Memories is very interesting. I'd suggest it if you're looking for a movie to watch.

3. Studio Ghibli Films. If you haven't seen any of these, you should. Included are Spiritied Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Grave of the Fireflies, The Cat Returns, and Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind.

4. Akira

Somewhat dystopian future story involving mutations, lasers, and motorcycles. Interesting characters, wonderful art styles, and an intriguing, though somewhat confusing if you don't read the manga, storyline, I would also suggest this to anybody.

5. Cat Soup (Nekojiru-sou)

A very strange little story about a cat trying to find his sibling's soul in order to make her not sick anymore. Sounds strange, is strange, but is also VERY good.

Now onto series.

6. Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san

So this is pretty much the best thing ever. It's a comedy show about a martial arts club based on a fighting style called Sexy Commando. The chief goal of the Sexy Commando is to distract your opponent to the point of leaving them wide open for attack. It's just hilarious. Trust me.

7. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

This is also very funny. It's about an easily depressed teacher and his homeroom class. Often a commentary on societal faults in both Japan and the world in general. Fairly lighthearted, yet intelligent humor, I think would be the best way to describe this.

8. Cromartie High School
Funny again. Nothing really intelligent about this one though. This is pretty much straight up slapstick comedy. I would recommend this for just sitting around wanting something to crack you up.

9. Azumanga Daioh

I know everyone and their mom has seen Azumanga at this point, but I would feel wrong not suggesting it. A nice slice of life that is lighthearted and funny. Based around some high school girls and their friendship with one another.

10. Onegai Teacher

The semi-inappropriate () story of a high school student who is forced to enter a relationship with his hot teacher from outer space. Not that he struggles much. While I admittedly am a sucker for romance anime, this was probably my favorite of that genre. I would suggest this to anyone that is a dude that is kind of a woman. If you like it, you can check out the related Onegai Twins, although it isn't nearly as good.

11. Gundam Wing

While generic, I can't help but love mechas. Gundam Wing is a mixture of nice mecha fighting along with some political strife thrown in. Don't watch this if you want nothing but action though. There's a lot of talking and things of the sort.

12. Genshiken

The Genshiken is a college club dedicated to video games, anime, and manga. Sounds kinda generic, probably, but I enjoyed this series more than 75% of the anime that I've watched. And that's quite a bit.

13. Golden Boy

Golden Boy is a jewel of a show. It mixes comedy along with a good storyline every episode in a manner that makes me watch it again and again. I like the english dubbing in this show, and would actually suggest it over subs (this is like, the only case ever.). It's the story of Kentaro Oue, a man who finished all of the requirements for a law degree from Tokyo University, but left before receiving his diploma. He roams the world, yearning to learn new things.

14. Maison Ikkoku

This is the best romantic comedy ever written. It's long, though, so if you're interested, keep in mind that it's a whopping 92 episodes with an OVA. It's the story of Godai, a student with terrible luck, and how he falls in love with a recently widowed boarding house manager, Kyoko. WATCH THIS.

15. Welcome to the NHK

The story of a hikikomori and a girl's attempt to reform him. This is a show that is sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but pretty much 100% good.

16. Vandread

A little known show that doesn't get the praise it's worthy of. It's a little cheesy, to be sure, and the 3d animation looks exceptionally old now, but it's got a good story, and certainly makes for some funny bits.

Alright, I think that I'm spent for now. Have fun. <3

I can second the recommendation of Genshiken.

I've not seen all of it (only the first four or so episodes, truth be told) but what I've seen was pitch-perfect and hilarious.

I don't know anyone like the members of the Genshiken club, but I see bits and pieces of myself and my friends in them, which makes the jokes all the better, because they're utterly believable. These are things that could happen, but are at the same time so ludicrous that you have to laugh.

THIS.
Higurashi no naku koro ni(When The Cicadas Cry)
Rated 16+ due to blood.and gore
If you are into psychological thrillers,this is the anime for you,it might seem like a gore fest at first but is truly an amazing anime and has a tragic,beautiful back-story to it.Its pretty funny too ^_^
Oh,and the Second Season is better than the first.Just throwing that out there.


Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
An awesome anime.
The first season might seem kinda to magical girlish at first but the plot develops and it turns freaking awesome. Plus,it has cute magical girls,explosions,a good plot,and did I mention the magical blasts already?Seriously,whats not to love?

Let's get some Western (kinda) animation up in this piece.



This is, as far as I'm concerned, a classic. This 1982 animated feature tells the story of what appears to be the last unicorn in the world trying to find out what has happened to her kind, with only a few words to guide her journey, "They passed down all the roads long ago, and the Red Bull ran close behind them and covered their footprints," given to her by a singing, fast-talking nonsensical butterfly.

The animation was done by a studio that went by the name of Topcraft, which later collaborated with the famous Hayao Miyazaki and eventually most of the core team became the core of Studio Ghibli. The music for the film (score and otherwise) was composed by Jimmy Webb, and performed by folk group America, with one or two other musical numbers going to the cast.

The cast itself is a grouping of greats, who really bring the characters to life. Mia Farrow provides the voice for the titular Unicorn, performed with a gentle sadness. Alan Arkin provides the voice for one of my favourite animated characters, Shmendrick the Magician. Jeff Bridges, Angela Lansbury and Christopher Lee also lend their voices to the cast.

The characters are fun and varied. Along with Shmendrick there's Molly Grue, the hard-lived wife of a bandit; Mommy Fortuna, an old witch of sorts who runs a traveling zoo of false mythical creatures; King Haggard, the man who is never happy except when he looks upon unicorns; and perhaps most importantly, the aforementioned butterfly, a talking skull and a pirate cat.

Maybe its because I used to watch this movie every time I got sick when I was younger, but I just watched it earlier tonight and it holds up very well. The writing is mostly lifted straight from the book it is based on, and it reads like some of the best classic fairy tales out there. The voice acting is mostly incredible, the music fits the tone of the film perfectly, even though they used a contemporary recording act, and the animation is a fairly unique style that holds up quite well, all things considered.

A great fairy tale/fantasy flick, to be sure.

Transformers: Beast Wars, and the newer sequel series, Beast Machines. These were probably the only shows in the Transformer line that did not try to rewrite the original series. They were simply a continuation of it, showing the future of the Autobots and Decepticons. The story was excellent and it developed into something far beyond its original roots as a Transformers show.

^I came back and rewatched Beast Machines recently. I pretty much forgot about a lot of the stuff so I was pretty suprised at it. They got into some pretty heavy stuff. Rattrap especially got some much needed development.

---

So yeah, here's a healthy batch of wholesome stuff.

For those who want an epic:


Xam'd: Lost Memories - BONES 08-09 (26 eps)
Trailer

The first thing you have to know: it's from BONES (FMA, Eureka 7, RahXephon), so you can jump in knowing you'll get some high quality stuff. As per the usual from the studio, the animation ranges from solid to amazing. And you'll hear this alot but its true: the music is just sublime.

Now, the beginning is fun in that you can treat it as a game of Spot-the-Homage (the female lead is an obvious sendup to Miyazaki's Nausicaa, she even has a sweet glider), but it still quickly establishes its story and characters. The plot revolves around Akiyuki, a guy who is given a mysterious power (the Xam'd monster seen in the pic) and must journey to find a way to control it. Though the main character's setup is lacking, thankfully he's not of the same ilk as Renton and Shinji. And as a bonus, the supporting cast is more than enough to carry the show. There are plenty of complex and memorable people here, including Akiyuki's mother, the crew of the Postal Airship, the Tessik tribe, and the insane commander of the Sentan Island military.

This anime's biggest strength is that it delivers with these small scale character relationships. It fleshes out these characters so much, that one can argue that it does it too much. Endgame comes a bit too quickly, and even by then, there are a lot of questions left to be answered.

Even so, it currently stands as my favorite BONES work.

------

For those who want a conspiracy/comedy


Eden of the East - Production I.G. 09 (11 eps, 2 forthcoming movies)
Ending theme (BEST)

First episode starts out like this: We begin by meeting a japanese tourist chick infront of the White House. She then befriends a guy with no memory. And no clothes.

From there it's all gravy. Like a Japanese Bourne Identity, but with a touch of a Sci-Fi Aladdin. The last episode was particularly memorable. I didn't think it'd be possible to one-up Spike's ending BANG from Bebop, but this just about did it.

------

For those who want 60 Minutes of Not So Wholesome


Dead Leaves - Production I.G. (1 movie)

This can be labeled, "If Michael Bay did Anime." There are explosions. Lots of them. There are crude jokes. Lots of them. There also isn't a plot. None. Weird and illogical things happen all the time, and yet you quickly develop a habit of just shrugging them off. Hell, after five minutes, your disbelief will no longer be suspended, it'll have already flown away.

This comes from the guy who directed Gurren Lagann (yes, there is a drill here) and who also worked on FLCL. It'll be pretty obvious right away. And unlike Bay, this guy doesn't let the pacing drag: the movie moves like a pinball, getting bounced around the table at lightning quick speed.

- - - -

Originally Posted by Crimson Moon

For those who want an epic:Xam'd: Lost Memories - BONES 08-09 (26 eps)
Trailer

I'm intrigued, if only because the PSN version of it has an opening song called "SHUT UP AND EXPLODE" (Which sounds deliciously Black Lagoon-esque. Or maybe the Nextwave comic.)

Being a huge BONES fan, I'm intrigued, but it doesn't seem to have a North American release outside of the PSN video download, which is US only. :/.

Chrno Crusade: Is placed in the late 1920's in the wake of the first world war where satanists are summoning demons all over the place. The Magdalene Order is a branch of the church that uses exorcists to kill the demons. The story is about Sister Rosette Christopher and her demon partner Chrno as they kill demons and search for her lost brother, Joshua.

Off the top of my head, I'd recommend Appleseed, Appleseed: Ex Machina, and Paprika to anybody out there who wants to see some anime that's a little more mature than Studio Ghibli's stuff (but with equally impressive art).

Originally Posted by Eternal Paradox

I saw this movie yesterday, and I can't recommend it enough. It's a fun, lighthearted film about a girl who discovers that she has the ability to leap through time, and learns to deal with the consequences that come from it.

Originally Posted by John

It's not deep and, while it has its serious moments, it's generally light-hearted.

Oi! You two thought it was light-hearted? It's been a while since I watched it, but I really thought it was bittersweet... maybe almost heart-wrenching.



I cried, dude.

Nonetheless, I love that one.

Originally Posted by Jehanne

Appleseed: Ex Machina

That one isn't bad, but the Borg Queen being the final villain was a bit odd.


Actually, I'm rather incredulous that Paramount didn't sue. I mean, she's a cyborg that assimilates others, lives in a giant grey cube with green lights, has grey skin, even talks the same way. No way was it a coincidence.

Really, you should just watch all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies if you haven't seen them, but the following are my favorites.

Kiki's Delivery Service: I have a soft spot for Miyazaki and this is one of his best. I watch all kinds of movies and T.V. shows and have read many, many books, and throughout it all I've noticed how many people litter their list of favorites with thought provoking masterpieces and as such many great films don't get noticed. The story follows Kiki, a thirteen year old witch, who is out to train on her own for a year. While it might not bend your mind or force you to look at the world differently, this film is enjoyable. You watch it, you love every minute, your day is happier. Highly recommended.

Princess Monokoke: Princess Monokoke is a different experience when compared to Kiki. Where Kiki has no antagonist Princess Monokoke gives you three sides, all with flaws, and tells you the story of their interaction. Some scenes are truly gorgeous, the opening shot of the woods is one of my favorites. It is a more serious film when compared to some of Miyazaki's other works, but it still isn't overly complex or boring at any point during its relatively long runtime. Watch it

Castle in the Sky: My favorite Miyazaki film. Great characters, beautiful sequences, interesting story, this film has everything it needs. Seriously, watch it.

All of Miyazaki's films have wonderful characters, and while I found Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind to have stilted dialogue the problem doesn't exist in these films.

Originally Posted by Bradapalooza

Really, you should just watch all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies if you haven't seen them, but the following are my favorites.

Kiki's Delivery Service: I have a soft spot for Miyazaki and this is one of his best. I watch all kinds of movies and T.V. shows and have read many, many books, and throughout it all I've noticed how many people litter their list of favorites with thought provoking masterpieces and as such many great films don't get noticed. The story follows Kiki, a thirteen year old witch, who is out to train on her own for a year. While it might not bend your mind or force you to look at the world differently, this film is enjoyable. You watch it, you love every minute, your day is happier. Highly recommended.

Oh, definitely agreed.

Kiki's delivery service is just excellent, easily my favourite Miyazaki movie. It even avoids the dreaded "Miyazaki ending", where the movie drags for the last twenty minutes or so. I think it pulls it off because it claims to just be watching a random part of Kiki's life. So it starts and then, when it realizes its time is up, it stops following her. There's a fair amount of resolution, but it doesn't spend 20 minutes trying to tie up every plot point, it just neatly closes one or two, and then implies that the others will sort themselves out, or not, as is the case in real life.

Originally Posted by John

Oh, definitely agreed.

Kiki's delivery service is just excellent, easily my favourite Miyazaki movie. It even avoids the dreaded "Miyazaki ending", where the movie drags for the last twenty minutes or so. I think it pulls it off because it claims to just be watching a random part of Kiki's life. So it starts and then, when it realizes its time is up, it stops following her. There's a fair amount of resolution, but it doesn't spend 20 minutes trying to tie up every plot point, it just neatly closes one or two, and then implies that the others will sort themselves out, or not, as is the case in real life.

I agree as well; I really loved that movie.
It was really well-done. It's hard to decide which is my favorite between Kiki's, the Cat Returns, Laputa, and Spirited Away, but those four are my favorite Ghibli films (not necessarily Miyazaki). I also found Whisper of the Heart enjoyable, if really corny.

Originally Posted by John

I would highly, highly, highly recommend his movie Paprika, which is the most alive looking piece of animation I have ever seen. The plot of it isn't all that important, it involves abuse of technology that allows people to enter the dreams of others, but it mostly serves as a framework for Satoshi Kon to play with our perception of what is dream and what isn't, and for him to show off gorgeous dreamscapes that will seem hauntingly familiar to everyone.

It also doesn't hold your hand, leaving a few things to your imagination or conjecture, and not explaining things more than it needs to.

Paprika is what you'd get if someone extracted the essence of dreams and put them in a movie. It simply must be watched to be appreciated.

Just watched this, really good movie. It wasn't particularly my favorite but it definitely deserves the praise it gets, the dream sequences are very cool.