{likes} animation, anime, animals, art, astronomy, billiards, biology, brie, books, cameras, cartoons, chai lattes, chess, chill people, chill hangouts, coffee, cooking, comic books, computers, crafting, design, drawing, green tea, gadgets, guinness, hazelnut creamer, hiking, IPAs, Kyouki (my cat), manga, MUDS, music, NPR, the outdoors, painting, photography, politics, reading, robotics, RPGs, science & technology, sushi, tea, the color green, the number 5, thrift shops, video games, vintage cameras, vinyl toys, web/graphic design, wine, xbox360 (handle: otakulab), yard sales {music} Cake, Weezer, Muse, the Shins, Radiohead, the Fratellis, Sigur Ros, The Avett Brothers, I Monster, Girl Talk, Parov Stelar, Miike Snow, The Faint, Elbow, the Last Shadow Puppets, Dirty Projectors, Architecture in Helsinki, the Go Find, Ohbijou, Luke Temple, Peter Bjorn and John, Sea Wolf, Seabear, Saint Privat, Emiliana Torrini, Monsters of Folk, Fleet Foxes, Chris Garneau, The New Pornographers, Tokyo Police Club, Pacifica, The Jealous Girlfriends, Lets Go Sailing, Tegan and Sara, Stars, The Weepies, Meiko, Eels, Guster, Ben Folds, Bare Naked Ladies, They Might be Giants, Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, Beck, Beatles, Ben Harper, Reel Big Fish, Beastie Boys, Cunninlynguists, Soul Coughing, Flaming Lips, Johnny Cash, Cat Stevens, Joe Cocker, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday, Youssou N'Dour, Ali Farka Toure, Orchéstre Baka de Gbiné {movies} Amelie, The Seven Samurai, Dead Poet's Society, Drop Dead Fred, Elizabeth, Fifth Element, Grave of Fireflies, James and the Giant Peach, Kill Bill, Lucky Number Sleven, My Blue Heaven, Office Space, The Point, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Star Wars, Tokyo Godfathers, V for Vendetta, My Cousin Vinny, Howls Moving Castle, 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, The Princess Bride, The Corpse Bride, The Neverending Story, Casshern, Waking Life, Napoleon Dynamite, Empire Records, Akira, Being John Malkovich {television} The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Office, Venture Brothers, Adult Swim, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, Anthony Bourdain No Reservations

I have been interested in anime and manga for over  ten years. In all fairness I love all forms of animation, including American. Where I find much of American animation falling short in concept, story line, and/or illustration I feel Japanese animation excels in all three categories.

A common debate regarding anime is dub vs. sub. I firmly believe that anime should be viewed in it's original language, with English subtitles if needed. Most American voiceovers are not only overly annoying, but much of the translation is loose at best. Subtitles are also not 100 percent accurate, however they are closer to the actual original meaning.

I have a large and growing collection of both anime and manga; my favorite genres being shōnen (anime and manga primarily intended for boys), mecha (featuring the robots and their pilots as the central plot points), and ecchi (containing mild sexual humor).

Top 10 Favorite Anime (Series):
(in no specific order)

berserk
samurai 7
hellsing
outlaw star
rurouni kenshin
otogi zoshi
noir
NEON genesis
samurai champloo
bleach

Close runner ups:
lain, boogiepop phantom, saiyuki, rahxephon

External Links of Interest:

Notable Names in Anime
Anime Companies
Do Manga Chracters Look White?
Anime News Network
TheOtaku
Anime Academy
 

 

Personal Anime Library:

Non-Complete Series:

Full Metal Panic - Volumes 1-5
Inuyasha - Volumes 1-3
Madlax - Volume 1
Otogi Zoshi - 1-5
Peacemaker - Volumes 1-4
Paranoia Agent - Volume 1
RahXephon - Volumes 1-5, 7
Reign the Conqueror - Volume 1
Samurai Deeper Kyo - Volumes 1-4
Samurai Gun - Volumes 1, 2
Saiyuki: Reload (Season 2) - Vol. 1
 

Complete Series:

Abenobashi Magic Shopping Street
Ai Yori Aoshi
Arjuna
Berserk
Betterman
BoogiePop Phantom
Chobits
Cowboy Bebop
DNA^2 Perfect Collection
Edens Bowey
Escaflowne
FLCL
Generator Gawl
Get Backers
Gun Parade March
Gunslinger Girls
Haibane Renmei
Hellsing
His and Her Circumstances
King of Bandit JING
Kino's Journey
Licensed by Royal
Love Hina
Najica Blitz Tactics
NeoRanga
Neon Genesis
Ninja Scroll TV
NOIR
Outlaw Star
Please Teacher (Onegai Teacher)
Record of Lodoss War - OVA
Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin Complete OVA Collection
Saiyuki - Volumes 1-12 (Complete First Season)
Samurai 7
Samurai Champloo
Serial Experiments Lain
Shamanic Princess
Someday's Dreamers
Vampire Princess Miyu TV
Weiss Kreuz TV
Wolf's Rain
X TV - Perfect
Zaion
 

Movies:

Akira
Animatrix
Appleseed
Black Magic M-66
Death and Rebirth + End of Evangelion (Neon Genesis)
Dominion Tank Police
Eight Clouds Rising
Ghost in the Shell
Grave of Fireflies
Gundress
Howl's Moving Castle
ICHI The Killer Animation
Iria
Kite
Love Hina Christmas Movie
Metropolis
Ninja Resurrection
Princess Mononoke
Steamboy
Spirited Away
Vampire Hunter D:
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Wrath of the Ninja
Ninja Scroll

Manga:

Ai Yori Aoshi - 1-4
Angel Sanctuary - 1-4
Arm of Kannon - 1-7
Baby Birth - 1,2
Battle Club - 1
Battle Vixens - 1-12
Bleach - 1-22
Blue Spring
By the Sword - 1,2
DarkSide Blues
Dears - 1,2
Deus Vitae - 1-3
Dream Gold
FLCL - 1-2
Jing - 1-6
Kagerou Nostalgia - 1
Kami Kaze - 1
Lament of the Lamb - 1-4
Legal Drug - 1,2
Negima - 1-13
PeaceMaker - 1-3
Qwan - 1-4
Ray - 1,2
Saiyuki - 1-3
Samurai Deeper Kyo - 1-4
Sister Red 1,2
Sword of the Dark Ones - 1-3
The one I love
Tsubasa - 1,2
Warriors of Tao - 1-4
XXXHolic - 1,2