Anime

[Albertosaurus Rex]

There's this strange phenomenon that in the west, animation is generally kids' stuff. I recently wrote how much I enjoyed Avatar: The Last Airbender and I still stand by it. That show is awesome. However, while it transcends what kids' tv usually does, at the end of the day, its still a kids' show. (Leading to strange phenomena like surprisingly few on-screen casualties in a world at war.) Any other western animated show is a guilty pleasure to me.

(I recently watched the entire run of W.I.T.C.H. and I enjoyed it much more than I should have. I think 22 year-old guys are really not the target audience for this show. Apparently it's based on a comic book, but Dutch or English translations appear to be unavailable. Too bad, as I'm kinda curious about it. Anyway, like Avatar, W.I.T.C.H. is heavily influenced by anime. Coincidence?)

Which brings me to anime. I finally took the plunge last year and watched an entire anime series. One could argue that I was cheating, though, because what I watched was Gankutsuou, a series based on the French novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Albeit reimagined as science fiction. (I really don't get the point, but whatever...)

It was a revelation to me. Here I was, watching an animated show, which was aimed squarely at adults. Needless to say, this has awkened a new interest in me. I tried watching some other stuff, but haven't really found anything interesting yet. Supposedly Cowboy Bebop is a good show for getting people interested in anime, but it left me cold. Ninja Scroll (the series, not the movie) I found to be just plain weird, and a little gross too. A friend of mine who is much more into anime has recommended Code Geass to me, so I'll be watching that soon.

Does anyone else have a recommendation? Or an experience to share?