We're just about to start our new Book Club selection, The Skull Man, which means it's time to pick the lucky series that will follow it. I have a few of my own suggestions, but by all means, feel free to suggest others in the comments section. These are all shows I've seen, but I'd be willing to seek out one I haven't if that's what others would like to do. We'll most likely start watching this series right after the new year (so that we can have a break over the Winter holidays).
Ghost Hound
22 Episodes
Genres: Horror, Psychological, Supernatural, Mystery
Availability: DVD, The Anime Network, Youtube, Hulu
This series takes place in a small town, and follows three boys who have all experienced some form of past trauma. Strange things begin happening in the town, and the boys learn that they can leave their bodies and travel in spirit form.
Pros: Excellent sound design, compelling concept, spooky without being gross.
Cons: Ends relatively abruptly. Similar genre-wise to Skull Man.
The episodes are relatively slow-moving, so we'd tackle this one two episodes at a time.
Sora no Woto (Sound of the Sky)
13 Episodes (plus two DVD-exclusive episodes which are optional)
Genres: Slice-of-life, Sci-Fi
Availability: DVD, Crunchyroll
After an apocalyptic event, the world is nearly uninhabitable. In the one place left that still brims with the last bastions of humanity, a young girl joins the military in order to become a bugle player. There she and her fellow soldiers see the joy and pain of their fellow humans, and discover the mysteries of the world in which they live.
Pros: More light-hearted, primarily episodic (for those who may only pop in for the discussion a few times here and there), there are lots of mysterious elements to discuss.
Cons: The series isn't available in as many places, has a couple of lackluster episodes, some may find it too cutesy at times.
This series would be one episode per week.
Xam'd: Lost Memories
26 Episodes
Genres: Sci-fi, Fantasy, Drama
Availability: DVD, Blu-ray, Youtube, Hulu, The Anime Network
Akiyuki lives on Sentan Island, a quiet enclave in a world plagued by warring factions. One day he's hurt in a terrorist attack, and gains the ability to become a being known as Xam'd. As the military closes in on his home, he must choose whether to follow the enigmatic Nakiami, or attempt to control Xam'd on his own.
Pros: Great animation, large cast of interesting characters, creative fantasy world, avoids a lot of stupid tropes.
Cons: Things get complicated near the end. Yup, that's about it.
This would be two episodes per week.
So, do any of these sound appealing to you? Do you have something else that would be a good fit? Let me know in the comments!
Sorry that I kind of fell off the face of the Earth towards the end of Gankutsuou! Travels/getting stuff set up for the school year kind of got in the way.
My vote's Sora no Woto since it hasn't been shown at MAS (second is Ghost Hound since I wasn't around at that time). I'm gonna throw out there Daughter of Twenty Faces (I didn't give the second half a fair chance, so I don't remember much of it) and Towards the Terra if anybody else wants to watch them.
Just out of curiosity, what haven't you seen? :)
Trying new info, just in case old info is the problem.
I think I'd like to try Sora no Woto, as the preview clips of Ghost Hound have done nothing for me, and I've already seen Xamd.
I would be really curious about your take on Ghost Hound; it's just so trippy and full of discuss-able things. Xam'd would also lead to some fascinating and rich discussions.
I saw the first episode of Sora no Woto and I'd definitely like to see more
Well, I'm pretty much down to watch any of these again (I've seen them all once before; I've found it's just a bit easier to lead discussions that way), and I'm guessing that I'll get around to each of them in turn anyway. It's more a matter of "what are people around here in the mood for?" at this point.
No worries! Believe it or not, school is more important than anime (I know, right?).
For reference, I've seen all of these shows before, and own them on DVD :)
There seems to be a common misconception that we've watched Ghost Hound in MAS previously. People tend to mix it up with Ghost Hunt, which, like Shiki, was based on books by Fuyumi Ono, and which we did watch in MAS several years ago. Ghost Hound hasn't been shown as of yet, in spite of the fact that someone seems to suggest it every semester (I did a couple times before deciding it might be just slightly too inscrutable for the MAS-going audience, but this has not stopped others from trying).
I would love to watch Twenty Faces again in the future. I don't know if my opinion would be different now than it was when I first watched it/we watched it in MAS, but I was kind of sad that MAS in general didn't seem to react very well to it after a certain point. I would love to examine it more closely through a more feminist lens and see how it holds up. At any rate, I know I'd enjoy the animation (so many delicious frames of animation, hnnnnggg).