Shinmaru

Oh yeah, it's definitely corny, but in a fun kind of way. There are parts that are just ass no matter how you slice it (the episode with the clown is one of the worst I've ever seen), but for the most part I enjoyed all the goofiness. The stereotypical Gundams made me laugh my ass off -- they should probably be offensive, but they're just so damn silly that they're hilarious. And again, beneath that goofiness, there's a solid story with some good twists. As for mecha ... I mean, there will always be mechaheads around (I know a bunch myself), but the genre as a whole is a lot less popular than it was even 10 years ago. The occasional big one will come out (Code Geass, Eureka Seven, Gundam 00, etc.), along with some smaller ones here and there, but they're dwarfed by all the school-based moe series and romance series out there. I had friends who were hoping [b]Heroman[/b] of all series would be OK just because they were starved for good mecha. It's a desert out there for them right now, haha.

What's the general opinion on calling [b]G Gundam[/b] underrated? I can't really get a grasp on what the general fandom thinks of it, because there are so many polarized opinions, haha. The only thing I really know for sure is that it is seen as the black sheep of [b]Gundam[/b] (although that's mostly considered what was released of [b]Gundam[/b] stateside); it seems to be going through a resurgence lately, but that could just be the bias of which corners of the fandom I hang around in. But even though there's a good portion of garbage in the series, [b]G Gundam[/b] has a pretty good story, and the characters are cool and memorable, if paper thin. Along the same lines (both directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa), [b]Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-hen[/b] -- 2009's best anime, I think -- is pretty awesome ... but it was watched by next to nobody because it is based on an old super robot show that most fans could not give a crap about anymore. Pretty sad, because it's a damn good story, with lots of memorable characters and a fantastic ending.

I heard many, [i]many[/i] bad things about [b]Gundam Wing[/b], and while it didn't make me jump for joy by the end, I did like it much more than expected. Maybe that's because my expectations were in the basement, haha. But I dunno . . . it's a bit confusing and dumb, sometimes, but anyone familiar with [b]Gundam[/b] (especially the various TV series) can tell you that each series has a bit of confusing and dumb in it. [b]Kemono no Souja Erin[/b] was pretty far out of my sphere of interests; usually, I think fantasy of that type is incredibly boring. And [b]Erin[/b] is just OK in the beginning, but once the story gets rolling after ep7 (or 8, can't remember which), then it starts turning into something special.

Oh man, [b]Macross Plus[/b] is great! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone, especially if some of the weirder aspects of [b]Macross[/b] are driving fans from the original series. Aside from a couple of themes and plot elements, [b]Macross Plus[/b] is probably the most down to earth entry in the canon. For [b]Cowboy Bebop[/b] fans, it's directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and has music by Yoko Kanno, It has a bit of that style to it; the character design even reminds me of [b]Cowboy Bebop[/b], although both series had different designers. Now I'm watching [b]Macross 7[/b], which is, uh, incredibly bizarre, to say the least. I get the feeling that it's a huge put on, because there is absolutely no way I can be expected to take any of this nonsense seriously. (Then again, this is Shoji Kawamori we're talking about -- in just a couple of years, he would make [b]Vision of Escaflowne[/b], and [b]Macross 7[/b] ain't much crazier than that series, at least through 10 episodes.) Watching this after [b]Macross Plus[/b] just about made me tear up, though, because it's the complete opposite in terms of animation quality. This series just looks like ass: The space battles are laughably bad, there is reused animation out the wazoo, every imaginable animation shortcut is taken . . . just really bad. I mean, I'm [i]terrible[/i] at noticing this stuff, and I'm seeing it [i]everywhere[/i], so those of you with sharper eyes than me would probably be in the fetal position after a couple of episodes.

Haha, I never liked Nunnally either, mostly because I despise the crippled little sister character whose sole reason for existence is to give the lead character an extra kick of sympathy. It's so artificial and manipulative, in a bad way, and I cannot stand it at all. Allen contributes in a huge way to all the worst parts of [b]Escaflowne[/b], particularly his part in the Allen/Van/Hitomi love triangle. So unbelievably awful. Everything about Allen sucks, which is a shame because he's cool upon first appearance. I didn't [i]hate[/i] Otani, but he's not really a character type I like all that much. The stupidity of those characters just serves to stretch out the courtship ever longer, which is annoying as hell. At a certain point, you just want Risa and Otani to get together so that you don't facepalm at any more dumbness on his end.

I'm catching up on the English dub at the moment, and in the episode where [spoiler]Mustang roasts the hell out of Lust[/spoiler], I'll be shocked if Laura Bailey's throat wasn't torn to shreds after all that horrifying screaming. Dear god. I prefer Kikuko Inoue to Bailey, but damned if Bailey didn't totally sell that pain.

So [b]SDF Macross[/b] is awesome. Holds up really well despite being goofy as hell and animation quality that varies from genuinely good to "Studio DEEN if its entire animation staff decided to get wasted before starting its next series". The series has some genuinely interesting things to say about how we interact with culture (especially the "lower" forms of it), and aside from that it is just a lot of fun to watch. The movie retelling, [b]Macross: Do You Remember Love?[/b] is also fantastic, probably the best anime retelling movie ever. Now I'm watching the [b]Macross Plus[/b] OVA. No animation quality troubles here -- it's totally gorgeous! The first fight had me practically jumping out of my bed. Sooooooooo pretty . . . @_@

Characters often make a special connection with fans. Some inspire intense love. Others inspire us to cheer them on for their sheer awesomeness. Still others make us facepalm in anger/annoyance/whatever. And then there are those special characters that forge a hatred so strong -- so [i]powerful[/i] -- within those who watch them that it can scarcely be matched by any other emotion. This thread is about those characters. I very rarely reach this point with characters who annoy me, because I don't take most series seriously enough to hate any one character that much. And for the series I enjoy with any sort of passion, the worst characters usually aren't more than a bit annoying. But sometimes a character raises my ire to the point where whenever they appear onscreen, the only thing running through my mind is how I'd like to run them through a blender and dump the remains in a sewer. [center][attachment=14802:KaifunIsAShithead.jpg][/center] The inspiration for this thread is the asshat on the left, Kaifun Lynn, from [b]Super Dimension Fortress Macross[/b] (the woman on the right, Misa Hayase, is awesome, however). I'm not a warmonger; I dislike armed conflict about as much as any other person, and I don't think nations should enter into war unless it is truly justified. But, my god, Kaifun is the very worst type of pacifist, a self-righteous shithead whose rigid, dogmatic beliefs don't pause to bend for silly little things like common sense. He spends the whole series crowing about how the U.N. is fighting a meaningless war against the Zentradi . . . when, you know, it was the Zentradi who attacked Earth first. And of course Kaifun is saved several times by various soldiers (including multiple times by main character Hikaru, who swings back and forth from sympathetic to annoying as hell himself), but he figures why be grateful when you can be an annoying little douchenozzle instead and ***** and moan about the (successful) tactics used to rescue him? He's also a hypocritical snot who has no problem fleecing people for all they're worth, being borderline abusive to his cousin, Minmay (who is a pretty damn annoying character, herself), and taking advantage of group emotions to serve his own needs at the cost of others. (And let me add that Kaifun isn't even a [i]villain[/i] in this series!) Everything he says and does makes me want to kick him in the nutsack until everything within turns to jelly. I think Kaifun is supposed to be a despised character (at least I hope so lol), but man, I probably hate him way more than intended, haha. Whew. Feels good to let that out! How about you people?

Much as I dislike Spain's constant diving, I completely agree that the Dutch played a rotten, cynical ass game today (and, really, there is no way in hell anyone can claim otherwise lol). You'll only see me hate on the boringness of the game (which it absolutely was unless you were strongly pulling for one of the teams, much like the NBA Finals for non-Lakers and Celtics fans), and not the legitimacy of Spain's win.

So, we can go ahead and pretend Germany vs. Uruguay was the real World Cup final, right? Right?

Just a few pictures from my jaunt to Anime Expo over the weekend.

[quote name='chibi-master' date='01 July 2010 - 09:47 PM' timestamp='1278046024' post='696308'] Does anyone have any idea where I can find somewhere to watch episodes of [b]Skip Beat![/b], please? I love the manga, so I'd like to see if the anime is nearly as good. [/quote] If you want to watch the show legally, all the episodes are on Crunchyroll.

Wish I could take credit for this idea, but I nicked it from [url="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/someguy/view/174417/anime_summed_up_in_five_words%3A/"]SomeGuy at theOtaku[/url]. Basically you distill the plot/premise of an anime (or simply something recognizable from that series) into exactly five words. I've had quite a bit of fun with this; let's see what everyone else can conjure up! My contributions on SomeGuy's site ... [i]Air[/i]: Everybody has some mommy issues. [i]Akagi[/i]: Mahjong: The sport of sociopaths. [i]Alien Nine[/i]: Little girls fight [S]crime[/S] aliens. [i]Angel Beats![/i]: No questions will be answered. [i]Baccano![/i]: Immortals and gangsters are awesome. [i]Berserk[/i]: Demons are really huge jerks. [i]Big O[/i]: Humans, tomatoes ... all the same. [i]Canaan[/i]: Lesbians are pretty crazy. Yikes. [i]Death Note[/i]: Snot-nosed brat is the leader. [i]Detroit Metal City[/i]: Pop meets metal; hijinks ensue. [i]G Gundam[/i]: The true GAR burns red. [i]Genshiken[/i]: Your life playing out onscreen. [i]Ghost in the Shell[/i]: Cyborgs read lots of philosophy. [i]Giant Robo[/i]: Families are terribly screwed up. [i]Hataraki Man[/i]: Working Man mode saves lives. [i]Higurashi[/i]: When moe goes very wrong. [i]Honey and Clover[/i]: Every college student gets it. [i]Kaleido Star[/i]: The circus is awesome! Sugoi! [i]Kanon[/i]: Sad girls cry in snow. [i]Kare Kano[/i]: Relationships are very serious business. [i]Mononoke[/i]: Demons, ghosts? Medicine Seller wins. [i]Monster[/i]: Saved the killer? Kill him. [i]Nodame Cantabile[/i]: Crazy girls deserve some lovin'. [i]Paranoia Agent[/i]: Everybody goes a bit crazy. [i]RahXephon[/i]: Singing is dangerous. No, really. [i]Revolutionary Girl Utena[/i]: High school as surrealist battlefield. [i]Rose of Versailles[/i]: French Revolution fought with GAR. [i]Saikano[/i]: Girlfriend is robot. Very depressing. [i]Shion no Ou[/i]: The deadliest game of shogi. [i]Simoun[/i]: Any excuse for kissing girls. [i]Spice and Wolf[/i]: Lawrence is secretly a furry. [i]Toradora![/i]: Tiger and dragon: Wonderful pair. There we go. I avoided a few series that might be popular with others, but I wouldn't mind repeats at all. Good series have plenty of ideas available for the distilling, after all.

Already planning on doing a crapton of running at Anime Expo this year. Good times!

Haha, I don't really have a problem with fans growing out of a series. It happens. Just because you liked something once doesn't mean you have to like it forever. But I don't get people who spend all their time bashing a show to hell and back. That's a waste of time, I think lol.

Oh man, what a finish! So glad to see America finally break through at the end after missing so many other opportunities.