Didn't notice your new location, but I'm guessing you're back home now. When did you depart from Nippon, sir? And what SFW souvenirs did you get you are comfortable to share?
Yeah, I've been back home for months. Left Japan early January. Pretty sure I've already shared most of the cool stuff I got there, SFW or otherwise... didn't really make souvenir acquisition a priority towards the end, mostly just focused on re-visiting my favorite places and eating all the things. I failed spectacularly in this mission, as I am already dying for some Matsuya or CoCo Ichibanya. Although there are apparently some CoCo's in California, so I guess that's where I'm moving to eventually.
First time posting in this thread. Since it was rated so highly by fans, I decided to give Akira a go, just to see the hype. I couldn't understand a single thing that happened in it. Unfortunately, the version I saw also had a crappy dub. I will say that the visuals were awesome, though.
Could you guys recommend some good films that are free to watch online? I haven't watched any other anime shows/movies before, so I'm new to the genre.
Define "free". As in... available on a streaming service you subscribe to (i.e. Netflix)? Just plain "free" doesn't usually exist legally, and thus can't
really be discussed here. Besides, if we were gonna go down that rabbit hole... just about anything can be found for free online, right?
But in any case, some good films I'd recommend:
Tokyo Godfathers - A bit Forrest Gump-y in the sense that you just have to accept some comically absurd scenarios and strings of unlikely coincidences, but if you're able to do that... you'll be able to enjoy what is possibly one of the best Christmas movies of all-time. As such though, you might wanna save it for... y'know... Christmas time.
Princess Mononoke - When a friend introduced me to this one when I was 13, I wasn't interested in watching it at first. C'mon, princesses? I'll pass. But don't let your machismo sneer at the title... it doesn't even
really have a princess in it, anyway. It's a great, dramatic action-filled film with a good (if somewhat overbearing, in some people's opinons) message. Gorgeous animation to boot. My only criticism is that the ending drags on a bit. Not Return of the King-level, but it's a bit annoying if you're impatient like I am.
Summer Wars - This is an extremely well rounded film... it's really got it all: Action, comedy, drama, romance and more. And it's not just a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none either... It's expertly executed from start to finish, and my enjoyment of this film has only increased with every subsequent re-watch.
5 Centimeters Per Second - Consider skipping this one if romance isn't really your cup of tea, but really it's worth watching for the gorgeous visuals alone. And it's not a sappy Hollywood-esque girly romcom or anything like that, it's short, sweet and realistically subdued (Until they nail you with a beautiful montage ending that'll just wreck you if you have even just a single sappy bone in your body)... So consider giving it a shot if you've got an open mind, even if you don't usually do romance.
Sword of the Stranger - This one's got a simple, straightforward plot that's bolstered by likeable characters. Great for when you need a rest from more heady stuff, or if you just like your stories that way. The real draw here is the sweet gorgeously animated action on display.
Ghost in the Shell - Speaking of heady, this one is just that. Great animation for its time, and still holds up well today. So basically... it's got a lot in common with Akira in that regard. It is a lot less trippy than Akira though, so that might make its flavor of headiness more to your liking than the "wth did I just watch?" nature of Akira. The sequel, Innocence, is also really good too.
