Anime Recommendation and Suggestion Query

[Ryllharu]

O Gotwoot sages - I am calling upon you for suggestions !

I am looking for something that will sooth my needs for quality.
I need something with good action citing as a reference REDLINE
I need depth, Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex depth
I need caracters I can like and a noire setting, Mardock Scramble Noire

Obviously Baccano! if you have not yet had the chance to see it. No way you won't like at least some of the cast. Baccano has enough style to share the wealth with the rest of this list.

Cowboy Bebop, also obviously.

Darker than Black, the first series only, again if you haven't yet seen it.

Black Lagoon, if you haven't seen it.

Gosick, but it is more about the noir and the depth, and less about the action.

Mawaru Penguin Drum, a bit light on the action, but stylistically interesting, good characters, and a deep plot that still somewhat eludes exact description.

Katanagatari, but that's not really a noir style. Every other part is covered though.

Mnemosyne, while short, but probably close to what you're looking for. No guarantee you'll like the characters though.

Witch Hunter Robin might be what you're looking for, but I can't say the cast is particularly likable.

Tegami Bachi if you can handle the constant crybaby nature of the main character (it does get to the point where you can't help but laugh at it every time). You'll likely pass on this one, but I'm still throwing it out there.

I guess there is always Noir, but that's highly overrated.

[Kraco]

I guess there is always Noir, but that's highly overrated.

How about Noein?

[MFauli]

How about Noein?

I thought about including that one, too, but it´s way different from stuff like GitS, so, no idea. It also features a non-typical artstyle, so depending on what his "quality" requirement is supposed to mean, that could be an obstacle, too.

Though, yes, if you haven´t seen Noein, absolutely watch it. One of my favorite anime.

[Inazuma]

Thank you for the suggestions - now allow me to flip the hard mode switch.
I have seen previous recommendations - is there anything else - old anime is fine too.
After all I'm the kind of guy who can marathon Legends of Galatics Heroes

[Ryllharu]

If you want quality, you're out of luck.

[Uchiha Barles]

I'm normally a shounen-fag of sorts when it comes to anime, so recently (relatively) I've been making an effort to watch stuff from other genres, but handn't really organized the effort. My plan is to check out 4 series that are completed for each genre that I'm looking into. Starting with Romance, I've done Clannad, and I've done Nazo no Kanojo. So I guess I'm asking for 2 more representatives of the genre. Preferably exceptional series. I'm currently considering Bokura Ga Ita, but really if there's anything better that might serve to make me appreciate the genre more, kindly let me here of them here. Thanks.

[shinta|hikari]

Do you have any sub genres that you want with romance (i.e. comedy, drama, mystery, adventure)? It will make it easier to make suggestions, and also pinpoint what you really want to watch.

[Uchiha Barles]

I suppose any subgenre would do, since I plan on doing this again for comedy, drama, mystery, etc. The main requisites are that romance be the *overwhelming* influence on the anime, and that the quality of the anime be as superb and representative of the romance genre as possible. I don't want to say "I'm partial to the comedy sub-genre" but then miss out a superior Romance/mystery anime on account of that.

[shinta|hikari]

I am not sure how heavy you want the romance to be. I find that the best romance stories are also part of a larger story that makes it less tedious to watch, like Clannad with it's alternation between comedy and drama.

Anyway, here are some of my suggestions:

Anime:
Ef - A tale of memories and Ef - A tale of melodies
Honey and Clover I and II
Ano hi mita hana no namae wa mada shiranai
Cross Game (but this has heavy focus on sports too)
Kannazuki no Miko (has yuri)
Kanon 2006 (if you liked Clannad)
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (if you like soap operas)
Sakamichi no Apollon (if you like Jazz)

Movies:
Bungaku Shoujo
5 Centimeters per Second

I think the first two titles in the Anime list are must watches even if they don't fit in your 4 per genre limit.

Bokura ga Ita is pretty good if you are fine with lots of crying (not you, the characters) and relationship drama. It is pretty realistic though. It is one of the most realistically voiced (as in real people talk that way) anime I have seen.

[Munsu]

I barely watch romance, but here are some that in some shape or another have strong romance implications (though some will not be considered romance obviously):

Kimagure Orange Road
DNA²
Saikano
Hoshi no Koe
Beck
Shufle!
Suzuka
Koi Kaze
Marmalade Boy
Touch
Lovely Complex
Maison Ikkoku
Allison to Lillia
Aishiteruze Baby
Nodame Cantabile
Planetes
School Rumble
Saiunkoku Monogatari
Maria-sama ga Miteru
Kodomo no Omocha
Stellvia of the Universe?
Yawara (still incomplete)
Ayashi no Ceres?
Chobits
Onegai Teacher
DearS
Kurogane Communication?

Something of the above should grab your interest, but I think Kimagure Orange Road is a must as far as good story, romance, and some comedy with some good characters. The watching order can be a bit complicated though.

[MFauli]

Watch True Tears and School Days. Then you´re done with romantic comedy.

[shinta|hikari]

How is School Days romantic comedy? It isn't even really romantic. It isn't even good really, just surprising.

True Tears is a good choice.

[Ryllharu]

If you could only watch two more, it should be True Tears and Bokura ga Ita, mostly for the realistic approach that both take. True Tears is a partially-forgotten gem.

If you want a more comedy-centric one, try Itazura na Kiss. It's got a bit of a dated feel to it (the manga is from the 90s, the anime was 2008), but it goes past high school, which is rare.

ef - a tale of memories is great...but more in terms of animation than in storytelling.
Kimagure Orange Road is amazing, really great female lead, but I've only read the manga.
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien was ground-breaking when it came out, but I'm afraid it has gotten a bit overshadowed thanks to other series like Clannad outdoing it in terms of the melodrama. I would still recommend it if you're looking for that sort of thing. It's certainly hits harder than Clannad because it is a bit more believable. Just don't watch the KgNE: Next Season alternate ending, it was not anywhere near as well done.
Honey and Clover is way too thick on the melodramatics. It suffers a great deal from that.

Disclosure: I prominently dislike Clannad, vastly preferring Kanon (2006) and AIR.

[shinta|hikari]

IIRC, Kimagure Orange Road does not really end in the anime. I watched the anime and continued the story with the manga. That is probably the best way to enjoy it.

[Dark Dragon]

I am looking for a Comedy.

Just plain old stupid comedy, the only requirement is that the show was hilarious to you.

I generally watch most shows, but I've been really lazy at watching anime in general since i got close to finishing my undergrad. I really haven't watch more than a glimpse of most shows in the past year or so.
It'll be great if i can get some recommendations for gold that I might have miss in the piles of mediocrity.
Generally anything from the last 5 years are good choices since that was when i started to watch less and less anime.

[Munsu]

IIRC, Kimagure Orange Road does not really end in the anime. I watched the anime and continued the story with the manga. That is probably the best way to enjoy it.

I'm pretty sure the anime goes further than the manga, particularly with the sequel movies. Hope someone can confirm.

[Dark Dragon]

I'm pretty sure the anime goes further than the manga, particularly with the sequel movies. Hope someone can confirm.

This is partially true, but it's kinda complicated.

The manga is 18 volumes long, so the anime had to skip a lot of the content and went for an incomplete ending.

However, the movie takes places several years after the end of the manga and was confirmed to be canon by the author. There is also a novel version of the series which more closely relate to the movie, but ended differently from the manga.

So the best course of action is still to watch the anime and continue in the manga. You can watch the movie as a nice "after story" if you wish, but it serves as more of a side story than anything concrete.

[Uchiha Barles]

True Tears seems to be coming in unanimously, so I'm definitely watching that. I'd say I'd prefer less crying in my anime, but I'm not able to see how I'm going to avoid teary eyed characters in a romance story so...Bokura ga Ita it is. I did enjoy Clannad, but then again I have seen Clannad, so Kanon is definitely on backlog, along with Honey and Clover which other sources are telling is great as well. Thanks again for the recommendations xD.

I am looking for a Comedy.

Just plain old stupid comedy, the only requirement is that the show was hilarious to you.

I'm not really an expert on this, but last season had a comedy I thought was particularly excellent in Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita. Comedic timing and depth was just excellent in that show, and the anime engages your noggin a bit. I still giggle a little any time I run into a picture of the main character. I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it even more if I knew at least a little japanese. Like, relevant to the 2nd episode, the words for "god" and "hair" are the same.

[MFauli]

How is School Days romantic comedy? It isn't even really romantic. It isn't even good really, just surprising.

True Tears is a good choice.

School Days is thin on comedy, yeah. It definitely is a romantic anime, though. OR IS IT!!!!?

I recommended if because for someone who´s trying to get a varied complete-package of romance-focused anime, School Days needs to be part of that "library". There´s nothing like it.

[shinta|hikari]

If you want original comedy, watch Hare nochi Guu. It resembles Jinrui suitai shimashita a lot, but with more likable and varied characters. It is probably one of the most underrated anime comedies ever made.