Japanator's Holiday Shopping Guide 2011: Anime

6:00 PM on 11.28.2011   |   Josh Tolentino

Hey, everyone! Got all your holiday shopping done yet? Regardless of your answer, you've still got more to do, now that we here at Japanator are putting out 2011's Holiday Shopping Guide! Let our editors take you on a whirlwind tour of wallet threats as we pick and choose just the right gifts for you and yours!

Today's post deals with that most essential of Japanese pop culture tools: cartoons, which the savvy might call "the animes". Read on below, and see what Marcus, Elliot, Kristina and I will be telling you to buy!

Marcus Speer suggests:

For the person who loves Haruhi look-alikes:

Angel Beats! Complete Series
MSRP: $69.98 $27.99! [BD], $59.99 $23.99! [DVD]

There's a lot of good examples that point out why Angel Beats! should be passed up as a series that establish the same number of annoying troupes as T.K. has Engrish words in his vocabulary, but this anime really tries to make you stick around for just one more episode. It's a melting pot of an ensemble clash of genres, spouting hilarious one-liners one minute, then throwing in a surprise romantic sub-plot the next.

This one here is a no-brainier if they love the kookiness of Haruhi Suzumiya, though with the irreligious underlying tones, make sure they can take it with a grain of salt (especially if they love their precious Haruhi series).

Also, as you might remember from this past week, Angel Beats! is on a 60% off sale right now on Rightstuf until 11:59 CST tonight! If you want to save some money while also buying it that special someone, now is the time to do it!

For the anime fan that loves surprising twists:

Ga-Rei Zero Collection
MSRP:  $59.98 [DVD/BD Combo]

There's a lot going for Ga-Rei Zero: it far surpasses its original source material, forcing future manga chapters to cater to fans of the anime spin-off,. It also came out of left field, shocking viewers with its unforgettable first episode on its premiere. But most importantly, despite its minor flaws, it's a great series that tries some awesome mechanics and amazing character interaction and succeeds in building a show that neither stays too long or comes up too short.

Check out our Japanator Recommends feature about it here (SPOILER ALERT for the first few paragraphs).

For the friend who pays attention to each and every pixel:

Redline
MSRP: $29.99 [BD], $24.98 [DVD] 

You are doing an injustice-- an injustice, I'm telling you-- to not watch this film on Blu-Ray and in HD. It's not a matter of excusing yourself because you don't have a PS3 or Blu-Ray player, no... if you feel that you can afford to lose picture quality to watch this movie, then you are not the right person to receive Redline as a gift.

Instead, find that one friend you have who complains about the quality of modern anime and the downfall of traditional animation. Once you pitch down a few bucks on the Blu-Ray and a player, rev yourself back and just bathe yourself in the amazing, glorious 1080p of one of the most detailed and stylistically charged anime of today. With that said, even on VHS format, this movie is bound to please no matter how you watch it.

Click here for our Japanator Recommends for Redline.

For your lonely-ass hikikomori friend who sends you to buy groceries:

Sleeping with Hinako OVA
MSRP: $34.25 [DVD] 

Admit it: you're a bit lonely at times. No one would deny sleeping next to someone who truly loved them, but gone are the days where that person is an actual, physical being. Instead, we now have Hinako. For your reclused, shut-in friend though, this is perhaps the greatest gift one could ever receive.

Check out Josh's less-than-flattering thoughts on Hinako here.

Elliot Gay suggests:

For the person who loves crazy symbolism:

Revolutionary Girl Utena DVD Set 1
MSRP: 49.99 [DVD]

There are shows that screw with your head and there are shows that really screw with your head. You thought Neon Genesis Evangelion had ridiculous amounts of symbolism in it? Try Utena on for size. This one is perfect for the friend that loves to theorize and discuss the deeper meaning in whatever they watch. They could spend hours dissecting the finale and still come up with something completely different than what everyone else did. With the re-release, they're getting the best version of the series to boot! The classy box art certainly helps too. 

For the friend in your life who just wants to see people get punched:

Fairy Tail DVD/Blu-ray Part 1
MSRP: 54.98 [DVD/Blu-ray]

Fairy Tail is one of those feel good shows that just rubs you the right way. It's completely inoffensive and seemingly generic, but every so often it has the power to be emotional and moving. At its very core though, the show is about magically powered badasses beating the crap out of each other. What shonen fan wouldn't want that? This is especially great if your friend has only ever had experience with Naruto, Bleach or One Piece. You can help them broaden their horizons! Or just get them more hopelessly addicted to another shonen fight series. Thank me later, after you read Josh and company's weekly Fighting Friday recaps!

For the friend who can't get enough of exploitative horror:

Highschool of the Dead Blu-ray Complete Collection
MSRP: 69.98 [Blu-ray]

Highschool of the Dead isn't entirely unlike the zombie films of the 70s and early 80s: filled with sex, violence and more violence. If you have a friend out there who loves those old grindhouse flicks, this show will most definitely sate their appetites. Well-animated and consistently entertaining, your gore loving friend will be enthralled for the entire duration of the series. It might be a little pricey, but isn't it worth it to see the deranged smile on their face? Not for those who are offended by big breasts. Lots of big breasts.

Josh Tolentino suggests:

For the buddy whose last memory of watching anime was the one about this one kid that was angsty about piloting robots that bleed, and then there was all that Christian symbolism:

Evangelion: 2.22 You Can [Not] Advance
MSRP: $34.98 $16.49 [Blu-ray], $29.98 $10.99 [DVD] 

Oh, come now. You didn't seriously expect us to go through this year's crop of releases without at least suggesting a look at the next Evangelion movie, did you? It would be remiss of us not to do so!

For many otaku, be they lapsed or active, Evangelion was the anime, the show that proved to pretty much anyone the potential diversity of cartoons. The emotional adventures of Shinji and company were the things to point to when convincing the unenlightened that there were cartoons out there that weren't solely aimed at selling toys to pre-teens. 

Though it never really left (Gainax and its merchandising maestros made sure of that), Evangelion is back, for real, as a quartet of films supposedly intended as the true director's cut, as close to creator Hideaki Anno's original vision as he can make it.

And whereas last year's 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone was practically a fake-out, a shot-for-shot retread of the early portions of the TV series, 2.22 veers wildly off-course, not least with the introduction of a new, decidedly modern character, Mari Makinami Illustrious.

Can an old show throw in some new twists? Evangelion 2.22's answer is a resounding "yes".

Check out Crystal's review of the movie here.

For the friend that wants to meet weird people in the big city...and I mean really weird people:

Durarara!! 
MSRP: $42.48 each [DVD, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3] 

An headless biker looking for her lost head. A sentient, bloodthirsty sword. A bartender with the strength of a thousand men. A sinister information broker. A mob doctor. And above them all, the mysterious street gang, the Dollars. These most uncommon of uncommon characters live and roll in the city of Ikebukuro, their stories swirling around the lives of the decidedly common high schooler Mikado Ryugamine. Or is he really that common?

Durarara!!'s about the closest anime has come to a Guy Ritchie-esque fiasco story, with a dozen different characters and their stories intertwining to paint a lively picture of a city where pretty much anything and everything - absolutely everything - happens, both in the shadows and broad daylight.

While its relative scarcity and three-part split makes the package a bit of a tough sell, it's ultimately worth the look, a great intro for the lapsed anime watcher looking for a show that shows off class, wit, and genuine craft.

Kristina Pino Suggests:

For your friend with a taste for epic cyber adventures and saving the world, whether they're into anime or not:

Summer Wars
MSRP: $29.98 (DVD) | $34.98 (BD)

While Summer Wars isn't even originally from 2011 (it's been released in Special Edition DVD in 2011, though), it's been recommended by not once, but twice and perhaps more by Japanator editors and I'm about to give a mini-recommendation here that would serve as the third. Maybe 2.5. Whatever!

Summer Wars is a gorgeous animated film about resolving conflicts among those close to you and then working together for a greater cause: virtually (quite literally) saving the world. Kenji, a misfit dork that loves math gets nabbed by the school's hottie, Natsuki, and taken to her family reunion to pose as her boyfriend (that's the drama part). Then a crazy toon in the virtual world (everyone basically has a second life in OZ) goes sentient and rogue, becoming a threat to the real world (this is the really cool part with battles and action). How does one have to do with the other? Obviously, Kenji is a mathematical genius that mistakenly had a hand in all this, and another big player in this game happens to be in (predictably) Natsuki's family. Epicness ensues.

In a way, there is some satire represented in Summer Wars since they portray a world that is engulfed and seemingly dependent on electronics and signals. I don't believe that sometime in the future, robots are going to take over and destroy or enslave human kind; and this movie pulls it off the right way by not going that route.

The last point I'd have to make about the movie is that the characters really take you on a ride with them. Kenji is a great protagonist, even if he's been overdone; I totally felt him the entire way through. Trust me: it'll feel great. Just don't stuff your face too much before watching lest you cramp yourself up from laughing.

(Note: Being that this article has been published on 'Cyber Monday,' if you click on my links to buy the movie, you'll see some really sweet prices that look lower than the average "our price" on RightStuf. Just saying, though maybe those prices will still look that good tomorrow and next week. It's worth every penny either way.)