Bethel Anime Club

Here is another suggestion if you want to do a fansub: The Good Witch of the West.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Witch_of_the_West

You can preview it here:

http://sky7anime.net/anime/the-good-witch-of-the-west/episodes

but I have a better quality video file if we decide to watch it. It seems to track quite closely with the novels. I would list it as a plot and character driven series. Watch it for the well-done story, not for any life-changing revelations.

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I have dvd sets for Aria, Emma (both really nice shows), Kino and Haibane Renmei (which really lives up to Matt’s hype) and the fansubs for Rose of Versaille, Windy Tales, and Sketchbook (which gets quoted in lots of other anime).

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If you really want to do something a bit different for Bethel – you might investigate Maria Watches Over Us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria-sama_ga_Miteru

This will introduce you to some very non-western sociology. Many of the characters are quite charming. It certainly a far cry from spiky-haired guys fighting each other.

Here is a bit of the Wikipedia description:

Maria-sama ga Miteru’s story revolves around the students of the Lillian Girls’ Academy (a Catholic school), and can be considered character-driven, focusing on interactions between the characters rather than any sort of ongoing plot or goal to attain. At Lillian Girls’ School, there is a tradition known as the sœur system (sœur being French for “sister”), in which a second, or third-year student, the grande sœur (“big sister”), will give her rosary to a junior student, the petite sœur (“little sister”), and promise to look after them and guide them.

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The Bethel Anime Club Fall Semester Meetings Saturdays, AC 337, 7:00pm

Well, I still use my Bethel e-mail three years after graduating, so how pathetic does that make me?

Excellent suggestions here. I’d like to mention that “Kimi ni Todoke” is unconditionally outstanding; it has an earnest wholesomeness to it that is all too rare in the anime medium, its protagonist is intensely appealing, and it can be loved by almost every demographic (the exception is people who only watch shounen fighting shows). Also, “Last Exile” is an old Anime Club battlehorse, and it’s a great story very well-told (and with appealing Range Murata character designs!) that should be one of your first go-to series for getting people into anime. Although it does have some big, evil breasts… bigger at least, and certainly more evil, than any in the shows I’m about to suggest.

What follows is a very small selection from my standing list of recommendations. What all of these shows have in common is that 1) they are a little bit off the beaten track, but represent some of the most outstanding “hidden gems” in the field 2) have no fanservice whatsoever 3) add some kind of historical or artistic value to the medium 4) are some of my personal favorites (obviously), and give me great joy when someone else enjoys them 5) can be enjoyed by both genders equally—I don’t care whether a show objectifies women or men, I just hate objectification and I really hate the fact that shows aimed at fangirls or fanboys are almost invariably lazy hack jobs with no appeal beyond the sexual one and absolutely no artistic quality and I apologize for going into a rant in the middle of a list and 6) did I mention that they have no ****ing fanservice or needless gore or horrible derivative tsundere or meganekko or rori character types? (Some, especially “Kaiba,” deal with v ery heavy themes, and certainly there is no shortage of drama and bishounen in “Rose of Versailles,” but there is nothing here you couldn’t show to a 12-year-old. I mean, 12-year-olds would probably hate most of this stuff, but still.)

I’m going to be heading back off to Japan pretty soon, but it’d warm the cockles of my hoary old heart if I knew that Bethel students were still watching really high-quality, thought-provoking, redemptive, challenging anime. Let me know if you do pick up anything off this list.

(The only shows here that have been licensed are “Aria” and “Emma”—for goodness’ sakes buy them from Nozomi Entertainment!)

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“Aria” OP is different every time ED (3rd season, my favorite): http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj296/Natsu-chan82/?action=view&current=AriaTheOriginationED.flv (awful video quality, but I can’t find any better streaming…)

If you’ve seen any of this delightful, relaxing slice-of-life you’ll know that it earns the title The Happiest Anime Ever Made. Providing a perfect counterpoint to the high drama “Rose of Versailles,” “Aria” is also a good option for replacing “Mushishi;” its creators refer to it as a “spiritual healing anime” and darned if it doesn’t make you feel FANTASTIC. Let the violent, oversexed, self-absorbed filth of most modern anime wash off of you as you immerse yourself in the paradise of Neo-Venice, where apprentice gondolier Akari and her friends explore the city, have miraculous new encounters, utter many really sappy lines, and generally enjoy their lives and enrich yours. Your total suspension of disbelief is required, but will be repaid in shovel-fulls of clean, warm, glittering, smile-inducing euphoria.

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“Emma: A Victorian Romance” OP: (Sorry, I can’t find the ED anywhere… frankly it’s not very interesting anyway)

I’d be surprised if no one else has seen this charming, scrupulously accurate period piece, but it’s still so good that it must be mentioned. There have been many tales of forbidden love between the classes, but none quite so sensitively and honestly told as this romance of William, an idealistic and impulsive (but good-hearted) child of the gentry, and Emma, a maid whose plain demeanor and judicious silence hide a compassionate and wise heart. Crap. I’m making this show sound all sappy, when in fact it is an admirably practical and entirely pragmatic examination of two fascinating people and the strange Victorian world they inhabit. (This has no relationship to the Austen novel, but will most certainly be enjoyed by Austen fans.)

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“Kaiba” OP (with introductory narration): ED:

I’m well aware that this is a very long shot, but I won’t forgive myself if I don’t recommend at least one series of genuine technical innovation and genius. In this mesmerizing, metamorphic sci-fi—his early-period masterwork—Masaaki Yuasa (who is apart from K