I did a quick search and found various threads I thought it a good idea to have one single thread. As the topic is set forth, what are some of your favorite martial art-themed anime? A lot of it is unreal and sometimes ridiculous but those of us who are anime fans just can’t seem to get enough.
Please, let me remind everyone that this is a forum meant for discussion. Each one of us has our own personal opinions.
History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi
My personal favorite. Every once in awhile, it’ll get into “supernatural” stuff, but that’s mostly because it’s from the main character’s perspective, who’s a total noob in Martial Arts (so anything the Masters do will seem supernatural.)
Fighting Spirit/Hajime No Ippo
Because Boxing IS a martial art. I like this one because it approaches boxing from a very interesting angle. Again, some of it gets into unrealistic effects, but mostly for the purpose of hyperbole.
Ranma 1/2
Because even though it has fake MA styles, it’s still funny and entertaining. For an anime, especially one so old, the fight scenes are very creative, and of good quality. I’m particularly fond of the “Gymnastics Battle.”
Those are my personal favorites, though I’m also fond of Avatar, though some people tend to dispute its status as Anime.
i started a thread like this but had to erase it. do to an idiot.
[QUOTE=BlueTravesty;824772]1. History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi
My personal favorite. Every once in awhile, it’ll get into “supernatural” stuff, but that’s mostly because it’s from the main character’s perspective, who’s a total noob in Martial Arts (so anything the Masters do will seem supernatural.)
Fighting Spirit/Hajime No Ippo
Because Boxing IS a martial art. I like this one because it approaches boxing from a very interesting angle. Again, some of it gets into unrealistic effects, but mostly for the purpose of hyperbole.
Ranma 1/2
Because even though it has fake MA styles, it’s still funny and entertaining. For an anime, especially one so old, the fight scenes are very creative, and of good quality. I’m particularly fond of the “Gymnastics Battle.”
Those are my personal favorites, though I’m also fond of Avatar, though some people tend to dispute its status as Anime.[/QUOTE]
I’ve heard of boxing (are you referring to Western) being described as a martial art before. Being the sport that it has evolved into today, it is difficult for me to look at it from that point-of-view. It sounds correct though, what you said.
I’ve yet to see Hajime No Ippo. It is def on my list.
Avatar is a good series from what I saw. I’ve not been able to keep up with the story. It was deeply influenced by anime, so we can let it slide.
Fake, over-the-top, realistic…it’s all good here. I was just curious about what seems to be the favorites among martial artists.
Here are some of mine;
Street Fighter IIV
Street Fighter Alpha and Generations
SF II Animated movie
Shootfighter Tekken (High School Stories)
Tekken
Toshinden
Ninja Scroll
Rurouni Kenshin (especially the KYOTO story arc)
G-Gundam
Grappler Baki (original movie)
Hokuto No Ken is a classic
Virtua Fighter was amusing but I had to see it just once
[QUOTE=doug maverick;824778]i started a thread like this but had to erase it. do to an idiot.[/QUOTE]
Sorry to hear about that. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again (whatever it was that transpired). What are your thoughts?
i’ve been a fan of anime since 93, when my father showed me akira and dragon ball all with no subs just in plain japanese and i ****ing loved i didn;t know what the story was about and i didn’t care, i just loved it. dragon ball i pretty much got its simple any nimrod can understand it. as of right now i’m more into reading the mangas of some anime like tenjo tenge which is an amazing peice of work. other anime i like is battle vixens naruto(like the manga better) bleach(they lost me a little with the bonto and then with the other fillers but i still love it), cowboy bebop is an anime i would love to make into a live action film(the killer meets blade runner meets bruce lee). i’ve always loved anime and i will continue too. people say they don;t like it now because its so popular and i’m like what you don;t like something because its popular thats the stupidest sh!t i ever heard of.
Akira and Dragonball Z
Akira I first saw in '97. It was the old dubbed version but it was a great story and the animation (for an 80’s anime) was top-notch (comparable to others made in the same time. Still a classic I watch it every now and then (subbed on DVD of course).
*Doing that helps a little to reinforce my Japanese training.
DBZ…what can I say? I was a fan when it was first released in NA. Now, obviously the fights are ridiculously unrealistic and the story is simple, but it is one of those action-packed animes that are just cool.
What I thought was better though, was the original DragonBall. Syndicated for a short time before DBZ’s mega blitz, it had a small following. I was able to catch some of it on all Spanish channels (helped to reinforce my espanol and it was shown UNCUT. I had bought some of the dvds, and the things leading up to the events in Dragonball Z are comical, interesting and somewhat action-packed (since i’m sure you know that they had a better storyline in lieu of over-the-top fights).
I can’t believe I forgot to mention this one. Thank you for reminding me.
Anyone else got any favorites?
Akira I first saw in '97. It was the old dubbed version but it was a great story and the animation (for an 80’s anime) was top-notch (comparable to others made in the same time. Still a classic I watch it every now and then (subbed on DVD of course).
the animation for akira has lasted and is good even by today’s standards. and is better then alot of the **** out now. the animation that came out recently that had saome amazing art is claymore.
Why does this type of thread keep popping up?
[QUOTE=NJM;824913]Why does this type of thread keep popping up?[/QUOTE]
Because people want to discuss it?
[QUOTE=doug maverick;824873]the animation for akira has lasted and is good even by today’s standards. and is better then alot of the **** out now..[/QUOTE]
I still about once a week enjoy the soundtrack during training and sometimes at work. Akira was the best.
I for one prefer the manga to most anime(because it is cheaper) but I suppose that one of the best martial arts anie I have ever seen was the original Dragonball. Z and GT were good but for my taste the original was the best for me.
In manga, Tenjho Tenge is one of the best martial arts manga out there today. If you havent read it I strongly recommend. There is also one called Kenji which is based on the author’s experience with Bajiquan. There is a lot of TMA in that one but you can only get it from Japan. No translation though. Shootfight Tekken(tough) was another great one but one day it just stopped coming out in america. I cant read kanji so I was pretty much screwed. The same for Fist of the Blue Sky(the prequel to Fist of the North Star). It was a great book but unfortunately it seems like only a handful of people wanted it.
[QUOTE=ittokaos;824927]I for one prefer the manga to most anime(because it is cheaper) but I suppose that one of the best martial arts anie I have ever seen was the original Dragonball. Z and GT were good but for my taste the original was the best for me.
In manga, Tenjho Tenge is one of the best martial arts manga out there today. If you havent read it I strongly recommend. There is also one called Kenji which is based on the author’s experience with Bajiquan. There is a lot of TMA in that one but you can only get it from Japan. No translation though. Shootfight Tekken(tough) was another great one but one day it just stopped coming out in america. I cant read kanji so I was pretty much screwed. The same for Fist of the Blue Sky(the prequel to Fist of the North Star). It was a great book but unfortunately it seems like only a handful of people wanted it.[/QUOTE]
yeah tenjo tenge is the best manga out.
[QUOTE=NJM;824913]Why does this type of thread keep popping up?[/QUOTE]
because people like talking about. anime is a mainstay here in the states and those of us who have been watching before it was popular are happy. you don’t like find you don’t have to post.
[QUOTE=NJM;824913]Why does this type of thread keep popping up?[/QUOTE]
Well, this is the martial media forum. And this thread is titled “Martial Arts in Anime.” Martial Arts is pretty self-explanatory, and Anime is a type of Media. Seems like a good fit to me.
doug, aren’t Tenjho Tenge and Battle Vixens pretty much just fan service mangas?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Upskirts and what not.
My favorite anime with martial arts is Ninja Scroll by far. Nothing traditional, just fun.
As far an manga, when I lived in Taiwan, I bought a whole series of the Japanese manga Chuan-Erh (the Chinese translation; I think it’s actually “Kenji” in Japanese). Written by Matsuda, who was a student of Liu Yun-Qiao in Taiwan. The kid is a Baji stylist from Japan who eventually travels to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and ends in China. His arch-nemesis is a Chinese gangster in Japan who originally practices Hung Gar, eventually switching to Xinyi Liuhequan in China. There were “guest appearances” during the series of Liu Yun-Qiao, Adam Hsu, Lau Kar-Leung, and many other real-life masters. That manga was definitely my favorite.
[QUOTE=Zenshiite;825119]doug, aren’t Tenjho Tenge and Battle Vixens pretty much just fan service mangas?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Upskirts and what not.[/QUOTE]
battle vixens yes. tenjo tenge although it apears that way it is not its a FIGHTER ANIME WITH FAN SERVICE IN IT.sorry for the caps
Hajime No Ippo is my favorite anime and manga. The Anime was discontinued but the manga is still going and still good.
I still read Naruto also. Both from scanslations, although if I’m impatient, I’ll occasionally check out the raws first.
Grappler Baki was cool in a bloodsport sort of way, and played on perpetuated characteristics of some martial arts. There was another, I think called Shadow Fist or something like that too.
[QUOTE=doug maverick;824873]the animation for akira has lasted and is good even by today’s standards. and is better then alot of the **** out now. the animation that came out recently that had saome amazing art is claymore.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I do agree with that wholeheartedly about Akira. Katsuhiro Otomo’s work always looks good. Steamboy looked great as well. I’ve heard a lot about Claymore. Must give it a go.
[QUOTE=HOKPAIWES;824916]I still about once a week enjoy the soundtrack during training and sometimes at work. Akira was the best.[/QUOTE]
Yeah. I think I bought the CD a while back. Haven’t listened to it yet. Only when I watch the anime. The Afro-Japanese beat (what it sounds like). I might add it to my '“tunes for cruising.” It would go great with my Initial D music. Classic.
[QUOTE=ittokaos;824927]I for one prefer the manga to most anime(because it is cheaper) but I suppose that one of the best martial arts anie I have ever seen was the original Dragonball. Z and GT were good but for my taste the original was the best for me.
In manga, Tenjho Tenge is one of the best martial arts manga out there today. If you havent read it I strongly recommend. There is also one called Kenji which is based on the author’s experience with Bajiquan. There is a lot of TMA in that one but you can only get it from Japan. No translation though. Shootfight Tekken(tough) was another great one but one day it just stopped coming out in america. I cant read kanji so I was pretty much screwed. The same for Fist of the Blue Sky(the prequel to Fist of the North Star). It was a great book but unfortunately it seems like only a handful of people wanted it.[/QUOTE]
Another anime i forgot to mention. Unfortunately, I have not read the manga yet. I hear that the anime left a lot out, which is usually common. Still a great story but I got confused during all the flashbacks and whatnot. I need to review it again later on.