Dumb Luck forums

Well, it's been a while since the last time this board had any decent activity, and I figured that means it's time to start a new thread and try to breathe some life back into the forum. However, being incredibly unoriginal at the moment, this was the best idea I could think of, and since there wasn't already one, I figured I might as well go through with it.

The point of this topic is simply to recommend anime or manga that you've seen/read and liked. While a brief description would be preferred, they aren't necessary.

*Excel Saga (manga/anime): Following the adventures of an incompetent henchwoman, Excel, working for the severely understaffed organization bent on world domination, Across (which, initially, consists of two members, including Excel), Excel Saga is a comedy in both of its versions. While the manga does keep some semblance of a plot, the anime is completely off-the-wall, with the main character dying in the first five minutes of the first episode. Both versions are very entertaining, and are pretty safe for early-teenage audiences and older (except for the last episode of the anime, which was intentionally made too... lets say "over the top"... to air on television).

*Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor (anime/manga): When high school student Sho Fukamachi accidentally bonds with an alien armor, known as unit G, Chronos, an evil underground organization bent on world domination, begins hunting him and his friends. Consisting of shape-shifting monsters known as Zoanoids, Chronos seeks the g-units to further their ambition, and will stop at nothing to get them, even if they have already fused with a host. With lots of graphic violence (and depending on the version, some mild nudity), Guyver is a very entertaining anime, although it does end on a cliffhanger (the manga keeps going).

*Samurai Deeper Kyo(manga): Shiina Yuya, a female bounty hunter seeking revenge on the man who killed her brother, is looking for money to continue her journey. When she encounters Mibu Kyoshiro, whom she initially mistakes for a legendary murderer known for his glowing red eyes and unmatched swordsmanship, Demon Eyes Kyo (who has an enormous bounty on his head), she takes the opportunity to capture him. She quickly discovers her mistake, only to realize Mibu Kyoshiro also has a bounty on his head (a small one for failing to pay a tavern fee). Dragging him with her to the nearest town, Yuya intends to cash in on Kyoshiro's bounty. However, when the town is attacked by bandits, Kyoshiro's eyes glow red, and he quickly slaughters all of them. Could Kyoshiro really be the murderer of legend? Fairly violent, with some nudity. There is an anime version, but it is all but unrelated to the manga version, sharing only the names of the characters (several of the characters even have different techniques and backstories, and a couple actually even look different than their manga counterparts).

*Berserk(manga): Gutts, a one-armed, one-eyed man wielding a gigantic sword, seeks revenge on a former comrade that betrayed him to ascend to godhood. However, with no clues to his whereabouts, and no way to kill a god, and a brand on his neck that summons demons to him, Gutts wanders aimlessly, slaughtering all that stand against him, searching desparately for a way to get revenge. His journey shall force him to face humans, demons, ghosts, monsters of every shape and size, and even gods themselves. Extremely graphic and with a very dark story, this manga is decidedly one written with a mature audience in mind, with an abundance of violence, nudity, and adult content. There is an anime version, but the anime only covers a very small portion of the manga.

*Claymore (anime/manga): In a world where shapeshifting demons called "yoma" blend in with humanity and feed on it, towns must hire demon hunting women known as "Claymores" (named after their swords) to find and kill them. However, those who hunt monsters must take care not to become monsters themselves. Claymores gain the ability to fight yoma by incorporating yoma parts into their own bodies, giving them monsterous strength, insane speed, silver eyes, white hair... and gradually turning them into the very monsters they fight against. A dark story following the travels of the (initially) weakest Claymore, Claire, Claymore is aimed at mature audiences. The anime mirrors the manga very accurately up until the last few episodes, after the start of the war in the north. The anime then ends abruptly and, in my opinion, in a rather unsatisfying manner, leaving many loose ends.