Recommendations by René Walling, made to accompany his presentation to the MonSFFA meeting of March 22, 2015.
Show is a series (S), film (F) or Original Video Animation (OVA) (animation released directly to video. An asterisk indicates a preview was shown during presentation.
Giant Robots
The Vision of Escaflowne (S 1996, F 2000) A young girl is transported to another world and is embroiled in a war. The robots in this series are powered by psychic powers/magic.
Gunbuster (S 1988) Young pilots train to fight a war against giant insectoid aliens. This show is probably the first time Relativistic effects are used in a film or TV show
Gundam F, OVA, 1979-) A war drama with giant robots, one of the most popular franchises in existence, with over a dozen series, features and OVAs.
Knights of Sidonia (S 2014) The crew of a starship must fight an alien force that destroyed the earth
Neon Genesis Evangelion (S 1995-96, F 2007-)
Three teenagers pilot giant robots to fight alien “Angels” that attack the earth.
Patlabor (S, F, OVA 1988-2002) In a near future where “Patlabor” (robots) are used for construction and other work, new crimes bring about the need for a new kind of police force
*Starship Troopers (OVA 1988)Based on the book by Robert A. Heinlein
Hard SF
Geneshaft (S 2001) In a future where genetic engineering has completely changed society, a crew of astronauts investigate a giant 500 km ring that appeared near the Earth. Every episode title of this series references a classic SF book.
*Planets (S 2014) Ai Tanabe has just joined the Space Debris Section of Technora Corporation. Their job: remove debris from orbit to prevent accidents. The Japanese space agency served as technical consultant on the series.
Moonlight Mile (S 2007) Two mountain climbers dream of going higher and decide to go into space. One as a member of the military, the other as a construction specialist.
*Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 (S 2009) After a terrible earthquake, two children try to make their way home to find their parents.
Twin Spica (S 2003-2004) A young girl dreams of going to space and joins a newly formed space academy.
Voices of a Distant Star (OVA 2002) A young couple text each other, she is sent further and further away into space to fight aliens while he remains on Earth. Relativistic time effects cause them to be separated not only in space but also in age.
*Wings of Honneamise (F 1987) Another earth, another cold war and another space race. A young man joins the Space Force and comes of age as he trains to be an astronaut. One of the best SF films ever made.
Space Opera
Bodacious Space Pirates (S 2012-2012, FÂ 2014) A young girl inherits a Letter of Marque from the father she never met. The crew of the ship convinces her to captain the ship as new letters are not issued and can only be transferred to descendants of the recipient.
*Cowboy Bebop (S 1998) The adventures of a crew of bounty hunter in a future where the solar system has been colonized by humanity.
Galaxy Railways (S 2003-2007, OVA 2007) In a future where trains are capable of interplanetary travel. The Galaxy Railways are protected by the Space Defence Force against intergalactic terrorists, meteor storms and alien life.
Starship Operators (S 2005) After their planet is conquered while they were away on training, a group of cadets decide to keep their ship and fight on. To finance their endeavour, they get the Galaxy Network to fund them in exchange for them broadcast their adventures as a reality TV show.
Cyberpunk
Chobits (S 2002) In a near future where “Persocoms” (android personal assistants), are common place, a broke student find a discarded one in the trash and brings it home
Eve no jikan (The Time of Eve) (OVAÂ 2008-2009) In a near future where androids have become commonplace, two teenagers
discover a café where discrimination between humans and androids is forbidden.
Ghost in the Shell (S, F OVA 1995-) A show that follows the members of Public Security Section 9, an anti-terrorist group made up of former military operatives and police detectives. Set in a near future where most people are cyborgs and can be targeted by hackers.
*Kaiba (S 2008) In a future where minds can be digitized and downloaded to different bodies, a boy wakes up in a ruined room with no memories.
Serial Experiment Lain (S 2014) A teenage girl receives an e-mail from a recently dead classmate and starts to explore “The Wired”.
Steam Punk
*Last Exile (S 2014) The delivery job of two young vanship (flying vehicles) couriers may change the course of an ongoing war between two superpowers.
*Nadia: the Secret of Blue Water (S 1990-1991) A young inventor meet an acrobat with a mysterious past while in Paris where he hopes to attract attention with his flying machine.
Steam Detectives (S 1998-1999) A young detective fights crime in Steam City, a place where steam power in the dominant technology.
*Steamboy (S 2004) The adventures of a young boy in an alternate England where steam power has reached levels never seen in our version of history.
Fantastic
*A Certain Scientific Railgun (S, OVA 2009-) Follows the life of Mikoto Mikasa, a high lever esper able to control electricity as she pursues her studies in Academy City. A spinoff of A Certain Magical Index.
*A Certain Magical Index (S, F 2008-) A young man with the ability to negate any supernatural power meet Index, a young girl in whose mind contains over 100,000 forbidden books of magic. Putting him in the middle of the conflict between espers and magicians
*Baccano! (S 2007) Set during the prohibition era, thieves, gamblers and mafiosi come into conflict with one another and a group of alchemists with dark secrets and strange powers.
Hotarubi no mori e (Into the Forest of Fireflies) (OVA 2011) A young girl befriends a spirit who will disappear if any human touches him.
Kino’s Journey (S 2003) Kino travels accompanied by Hermes, a talking motorcycle. Together they visit many strange places with unusual customs.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (SÂ 2001-2002) Two childhood friends accidentally end up in an alternate reality and must make their way home. Fast paced, and hilarious.
Paprika (F 2006) A psychologist uses a device that allows therapists to enter their patients’ dreams
*Read or Die (F 2001, S 2003-2004) The adventures of agents for the Special Operations Division of the British Library.
ED Trial packs can come in many sizes and combinations. cialis sale uk But if you are looking for inexpensive anti-impotency medicine then you should order sildenafil viagra de pfizer check that drugstore. This is purchase generic cialis appalachianmagazine.com very distinct surgery that is performed to enhance the outer appearance and beauty. The viagra levitra also does the same work in the similar way. *Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (S, F, OVA 2005 -2008) The princess of the Kingdom of Clow loses all her memories and a young
archaeologist who is her childhood friend must go on a quest to save her.
Slice of Life
Aria the Animation (S 2005-2008) A young woman travels to the city of Neo-Venezia on Mars to train as a gondolier.
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Yokohama Shopping Log) (OVA 1998, 2003) An android runs a small country café while the owner is away.
School Life
Angel Beats! (S 2010) Enrolled in the afterlife school a boy meet meets a girl named Yuri who invites him to join the Afterlife Battlefront, to fight against the student council president, a girl with supernatural powers.
Blue Exorcist (S 2011) This series follows the adventures of a group of students in an exorcism school, one of whom is a half-demon, son of the strongest demon of all: Satan.
Full Metal Panic (S 2002-2006) A soldier is sent undercover to protect a teenage girl. His vast military experience leaves him totally unprepared for life as a high school student.
Midori Days (S 2004) A teenager who often gets into fights wakes up one day to find his right hand trasnformed into a girl.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (F 2006) A girl discovers she has the ability to travel in time.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (SÂ 2009Â 2011) An excentric teenage girl obsessed with espers, time travelers, sliders and aliens, starts a club in her school and recruits four students, three of whom are, respectively, an esper, a time traveller and an alien. The fourth is the long suffering narrator.
Magical Girl
Cardcaptor Sakura (S, F 1998-2000) A young girl must recapture magic cards she accidentally released.
Little Witch Academia (OVA 2013) A girl studies to become a witch, but her ability to study isn’t matched b her enthusiasm.
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (S 2004, F 2010) A young girl helps a magician from another world collect Jewel Seeds, dangerous artifacts that can change living beings into monsters.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica (S, F 2011-2014) Middle school students become magical girls and must battle surreal enemies called witches. But their choice carries heavy penalties.
Revolutionary Girl Utena (S 1996-1997, F 1999) A tomboyish teenage girl meets a girl who is in an abusive relationship with another student. She fights to protect her and is pulled into a series of sword duels with the members of the Student Council.
Venus vs Virus (S 2007) A teenage girl joins the Venus Vanguard, a group that fights demons called “Virus”.
Fantasy
*Full Metal Alchemist (S, F 2003-2011) The adventures of two brothers who are searching for a philosopher’s stone to restore their bodies after a failed attempt to bring their mother back to life using alchemy.
Haibane Renmei (Ailes Grises) (S 2002) The series follows a newly hatched Haibane (a being resembling an angel), and other characters in the city of Glie a walled town with a single gate through which only a mysterious group, the Toga, are allowed to enter or exit.
Makai Senki Disgaea (S 2006) An angel apprentice is sent to the netherworld to assassinate the (already dead) king. After being woken by the angel, and learning that his father has died, the king’s son sets out to claim the title of overlord for himself. Based on a video game.
Sword and Sorcery
*Archenemy and Hero (S 2013) Hoping to conclude a century long war with the demons the hero enters the demon lord’s castle to kill him, only to be offfered a chance to really change the world. But to do so he must work with the demon king.
Berserk (S 1997-1998, F 2012-2013) An orphaned mercenary joins a mercenary band called the Band of the Hawk who hunts demon like creatures called Apostles,
Claymore (S 2007) Set on a fictional medieval island where people are plagued by humanoid shape-shifters that feed on humans. A mysterious group, known as The Organization, creates human-Yoma hybrids to kill Yoma for a fee. These female warriors wear armoured uniforms. The public refer to them as Claymores, alluding to their swords
Scrapped Princess (S 2003) The story revolves around a girl born to the royal family. She is abandoned at birth due to a prophecy that she is “poison that will destroy the world” if she reaches her sixteenth birthday.
Sword Art Online (S 2012) The players of a virtual reality fantasy MMORP find themselves trapped in the game.
Supernatural
Bleach (S, F 2004-2012) About the adventures of a teenager after he obtains the powers of a Shinigami (Death God). His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Boogiepop Phantom (S 2000) In an unnamed city, a month after a pillar of light appeared in the night sky and five years after a string of serial killings, high school students have started to disappear and the blame is placed on urban legend Boogiepop.
*Death Note (S 2006-2007) A teenage boy comes across a note book that grants the power to end the life of anyone provided you know their name and what they look like.
Kamisama Kiss (Kamisama Hajimemashita) (S, OVA 2012-2015) A homeless girl rescues a man from a dog and is offered his house as
thanks, only to discover that said house is a spirit shrine and she has now become the land god for the shrine
*Mononoke (S 2007) A travelling medicine salesman exorcises mononoke (evil spirits)
XXXHolic (S, OVA 2006-2011) A high-school student disturbed by his ability to see the supernatural asks a witch, who owns a wish-granting shop, to remove his ability to see spirits, she grants it on the condition that he pay by working for her.
Horror
Attack on Titan (S 2013-) A future where humanity lives in cities surrounded by huge walls to protect themselves from titans, giants that now walk the earth.
Blood+ (S 2005-2006) A young girl learns that she is the only one who can defeat bat-like creature that feed on human blood, as her blood causes their bodies to crystallize and shatter. Armed with her special katana, she embarks on a journey with her family and allies, to rid the world of the Chiropteran threat
Dance in the Vampire Bund (S 2010) The existence of vampires is revealed to the world and their leader desires both races to live together. However, tensions run high as fearful humans and extremist vampire factions begin to interfere with her wish for peace with the human world.
Deadman Wonderland (S 2011) A teenage boy, only survivor of a massacre that killed his entire class is subjected to a kangaroo court and is sentenced to death at Deadman Wonderland, a massive theme park-like prison.
Hellsing (S, OVA 2001-2012) The chronicles of the mysterious and secret Hellsing Organization as it combats vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural foes who threaten England..
High School of the Dead (S, OVA 2010-2011) A group of high school students try to survive the zombie apocalypse.
Parasite (S 2014-) Alien parasites try to infiltrate the Earth by taking over the brains of their human hosts. The story follows the strange symbiosis of a teenage boy who managed to retain control of his brain, but the parasite is in his right arm.