Summer Wars

[Revalos]

I'll call it "approachable anime." Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Naussica, etc... These are the big anime titles that make it to the US in limited theatrical release and tend to be the ones that most non-anime watching folk can to recognize as being at least passable.

Go ahead and add Summer Wars to that list. I just came back from a screening here in DC and I was definitely impressed, but it just didn't reach the, I'll admit, fairly inaccessible heights, of "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time," and suffered from some of the same plot/subplot time issues that movie had. Lots of depth, lots of character development, but it just seems a bit too forced, emotionally.

I'd consider it a good first anime too, since it really runs the gambit of anime and japanese cultural subtexts without getting too much into the darker aspects. The "Facebook is taking over the Internet" plotline appeals to current events pretty well, and the family dynamic plotline is pretty timeless too. Might be a bit too corny for some, but I'd say it is a good date movie, and is pretty family friendly too (bloody noses from cartoon violence throughout, but nothing hardcore violent like Eden of the East or even Cowboy Bebop).

Blu-Ray came out a few days ago for about $20 on Amazon, I'll probably pick up a copy since the dub is pretty reasonable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Wars

[phantasm]

Oh good my own personal anime expert. I'd like to watch some cerebral thought provoking mind bending science fiction type anime. What can you recommend.

[Revalos]

Eden of the East is my current favorite for thought provoking science fiction and being approachable, the dub is fine for it too. There are two movies from it as well, The King of Eden and another one that hasn't been released in English.

FLCL is the classic of complete off the wall sci fi weirdness + coming of age shenanigans. I think it is being reprinted soon with an English dub (which is one of the best dubs ever) so you won't have to pay like $100 for a non-bootleg.

5 Centimeters Per Second is very very good, but kind of hard to find even with English subtitles.

Places Promised in Our Early Days also thought provoking/emotional + sci fi, dub is fine, music is extremely powerful.

Voices of a Distant Star is extremely short, but powerfully emotional with a sci fi basis, the dub is fine there too.

If you haven't seen The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, you definitely need to. Emotional, cerebral, and a good sci-fi baseline. Dub is legit, but most people prefer the sub.