This is a listing of various websites dealing with anime [Japanese animation] for those who are just becoming interested in the subject, but, as I was, are a little "afraid" of just what they may find "out there". Consider this a "user-friendly" reference page to help a "Newbie" find the "good stuff" while avoiding anything they may find objectionable, either subject or style-wise. My choices are somewhat arbitrary, based on what I have watched personally, but I have viewed each of the sites listed myself, and they were ALL originally recommended to me by "web friends" who knew me and what I liked, and THEY had viewed both the anime in question as well as checked out the sites themselves. You will find nothing explicitly violent or pornographic in these sites, though I will warn you that both the anime and sites used may have objectionable language or points of view, depending on how you define "objectionable". I am listing the websites alphabetically by the name of the anime that they are about, EXCEPT for the last one, which is a "miscellany" of many anime--ENJOY!

"Helpful Tip":

Many anime shows are sometimes hard to find in this country, even though THAT situation is improving fast. If you find that you are interested in a particular anime, but can't find it--or afford it--at your local media store, or one of the cable networks that frequently broadcast anime shows [CartoonNetwork [adult swim], Tech TV, Action are the better known] is not available in your area, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using Netflix as a online DVD rental service. For a reasonable monthly fee you can watch a HUGE amount of anime from their immense inventory, which they are enlarging all the time!

"Hellsing"

I WILL WARN YOU--"Hellsing" is a rather violent and "foul-mouthed" anime that some may find objectionable! But, if that DOESN'T bother you, then I think you'll enjoy it for the most part--besides, how can one NOT like a vampire who works for humans against other vampires and has such a "wicked" sense of humor!? And Alucard's [Yes, that IS "Dracula" spelled backwords!] conversations and general relationship with his "boss", Sir Integrel Wingates-Hellsing is definately one of the highlights of this "dark" anime. She claims to HATE vampires and he professes no great love for humans [other than as a snack every now and then], but the more you see of their behavior around each other, the less inclined you may be to believe those claims, especially in regards to Alucard's actions concerning Seras Victoria, the "Police Girl" he "saves" by making her into a vampire, also.

"Slayers"

In spite of the rather violent-sounding name of this anime, those who have seen it can tell you that most of the time it's more FUN than ACTION orientated, a comedy set in a fantasy world of knights and dragons, "monsters" and damsels [NOT necessarily in distress!], magic and treasure hunting. The four main characters are Lina Inverse, treasure-hunting adventuress, Gourry Gabriev, dashing--but not overly bright--hero, Amelia Wil Tesla Seiyruun, magician and princess, and Zelgadiss Greywords, the mysterious part-demon, part-golum, part-human character who seems to be most everyone's "favorite", no matter that he started out as a "bad guy"!

Slayers Victory   Talk about "obsession"! This site has just about EVERYTHING you may ever have wanted to know about "Slayers", but didn't even know to ask! There is information on video games, movies, graphic novels [manga], books, toys and other merchandise, the characters-Oh! and on the series itself, too! The person who runs this web site will even sell you your own personal "plushie" of just about ANY of the characters that have EVER appeared in connection with "Slayers", which she makes herself! [That's the "Diane" that the Zelgadiss plushie is referring to in the picture above.] Especially helpful is the VERY extensive listing of screen-shots of the second and third seasons of the original anime TV show, with descriptions that also give you the story--it's a good way to "experience" "Slayers" if you have no other options. I only wish she had the first season listed there, too.

Chimerazel's Zelgadiss Shrine If you have already seen "Slayers", and you are one of the ever-growing members of the Zelgadiss Greywords Fan Club, then THIS is the site for YOU! It's ALL about Zel, our favorite human/demon/golum, " My Grandfather did this to me!" Stone-Boy and Magician. I'm not sure why it is, but the anime characters of "mystery" with tragic pasts always seem to be the most popular, and Zelgadiss is no exception. This site is ESPECIALLY worthwhile because the fan who runs it not only explains her fascination but also included a large inventory of saveable/printable pictures of Zel and the others, including some fine fanart, such as the picture included with this listing.

 

 

"Trigun"

What can you say about a "Hero" who stuffs himself with donuts, acts like a COMPLETE Moron, and STILL manages to "Save the Day"? [Well, MOST of the time....] You can say his name, for one--He's Vash the Stampede, The Humanoid Typhoon--and, BOY, does ever live up to those names! That's him in the red coat, with the friendly smile, and in spite of his horrible reputation, he's REALLY a peaceful, fun-loving guy--with deadly accurate aim. Just ask Meryl and Millie, the Insurance Girls, or Nicholas D. Wolfwood, the Itinerant Preacher--or the ENTIRE town of Inepril, who TRIED to collect the humongous bounty on his spiky head [he just WOULDN'T "come quietly", for some reason....], and then watched dumb-founded as their "quarry" SAVED them from their own folly. Now THAT'S a "Hero"!

Planet Gunsmoke This is an EXTREMELY good "Trigun" site, just chock full of ACCURATE information about the anime and manga, and is VERY "family friendly", meaning NOTHING "questionable" is allowed [almost to the point of Homophobia, I'm afraid!] But what I like BEST about it is the OODLES of screen-shots from the anime--you have a favorite scene, it's likely to be HERE [as demonstrated by the picture above, from the first episode]! My only real complaint is that there isn't more fanart, which I always enjoy viewing.

"...somewhere between dream and duty" This is a surprisingly RARE "Trigun" website--one "devoted" to Vash and Meryl as a couple, with LOTS of reasons to sway others to that way of thinking. It's NOT very large, but it has much of the expected "goodies", such as screen-shots and fanart [an example by "Ruka the Stampede" is above], but all pretty much "geared" towards Vash the Stampede and Meryl Strife, so you WON'T find lots of stuff about Legato Bluesummers, or even Nicholas Wolfwood and Millie in THIS site. But, then, there ARE lots of other "Trigun" sites out there to chose from! [For some reason, Vash seems to engender LOTS of "fan loyalty".......]

 

 

"Witch Hunter Robin"

What would it be like if one day you found that you had special "Powers" that made you MORE powerful than those around you? Would you be tempted to use those abilities for the good of others--or would you use them selfishly for your OWN "good"? And what would a modern society DO about such people, ESPECIALLY those who COULDN'T be trusted to NOT use their "Powers" to hurt or even KILL those that either stood in their way, or just annoyed them a bit too much? That's basically what "Witch Hunter Robin" is about, though it goes even FARTHER into the subject, by asking the question, "Just because someone is BORN with such abilities, does that give a society the "right" to hunt them down on the ASSUMPTION that they "might" be harmful some day?" Is having a "witch" humanely "dealt with" any BETTER than burning them at the stake like they used to.........?

Official "Witch Hunter Robin" Website This is a VERY "slick" professional site put out by the company that merchandises "Witch Hunter Robin" in the United States, Bandai Entertainment, and if you have FlashPlayer on your computer you can indulge in the video game that lets you be the Hunter or Hunted, also. Even without any fancy "equipment", this is a good site for basic information on the anime series, telling what the show is about, and who the main characters are WITHOUT any fear of "Spoilers" telling you TOO MUCH! [After all, Bandai DOES want you to go out and buy their DVD's of the anime.....] However, on the down-side, there ISN'T much in the way of screen-shots, and what they DO have CAN'T be copied or saved [though you CAN print it out.] Also, though this is a matter of "personal" preference, I don't think they had NEAR ENOUGH pictures of Amon! [That's him in the picture above.]

Lost in a World of Darkness [Usuyami no Sekai] This is a fine example of an extremely useful and good-quality "Unofficial" website, put out by fans of the anime, "Witch Hunter Robin", who are NOT so "in love" with their choice of infatuation as to disregard certain laws--in FACT, this site specifically recommends that one NOT buy boot-leg DVD's, and goes so far as to say why, other than just that they're illegal. There are lots of "Spoilers" here, but you are VERY adequately warned, and it is a well-organized site easy to navigate. And, there is an good amount of screenshots and other scanned images here [including PLENTY of Amon!], plus lots of information on the anime itself, in case it's still "new" to you. Why, they EVEN have screenshots of the "infamous" April Fool's Day episode run on CartoonNetwork's [adult swim]--wherein various silly forms of facial hair where inserted onto the character's faces, made funnier because of the LACK of facial hair in Japan! So THAT'S what Amon would look like with a MUSTACHE!!

 

 

"Project Bag"

"Cowboy BeBop"

"Outlaw Star"

"Saiyuki"

 

This last website is called "Project Bag" and is just exactly THAT--a "grab-bag" of all SORTS of anime series, from the very kid-oriented "Poke'mon" to the quite adult "Vampire Hunter D", with lots and LOTS of screenshots from the various anime listed, and even some fanart, which was unexpected [to ME, at least!] This site has MUCH of the currently popular anime in the United States, but is by NO means any kind of comprehensive list--each series is described and/or reviewed by an individual fan, and whoever decides what is submitted must require a certain amount of accuracy and tastesfulness, because I have seen little in the site to complain about so far. There are even "warnings" about how "adult" some of the anime listed are, and few "Spoilers" to complain about--and they DO update on occasion, adding new shows to their list as they can. Overall, a GOOD place to check FIRST if you want to find some information on an anime series you may have just heard about......