Shinmaru

Who's up for [b]Code Geass: Ashford Academy Edition[/b]?! Anyone?! We could have whole arcs dedicated to students chasing Lulu around the school for budget increases, along with the wacky hijinks that would ensue when Kallen and Lelouch have to clean the school pool together. Also, the "Nani, mai hunni?!" girl would get her own episode. Her story needs to be told. EDIT: And Lelouch of course would join the Ashford Academy horseback riding team, thus paving the way for the true star of the series ... [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/cards/view/107910/action_horse"][B]ACTION HORSE!!!!![/B][/URL]

So, [b]Durarara!![/b] is far and away the best of what I've seen this season. It brings something different and interesting to the table with each episode. While I enjoyed [b]Baccano![/b] I think by the end I'll like [b]Durarara!![/b] more; the characters, setting and story just seem more thoughtful and interesting to me, whereas [b]Baccano![/b] is a ton of fun but ultimately not much more than that. (Not that I think there is anything wrong with that.) A level below that are [b]Hanamaru Kindergarten[/b] and [b]Sora no Woto[/b], both of which are more enjoyable than I expected them to be. The former is light, cute and funny, and done well enough to separate from the normal pack of comedies. Hiiragi is one of my favorite characters of the season. I also love that the teacher already has his own posse of kindergarten dudes. [b]Sora no Woto[/b] is presenting a fairly interesting, compelling world that may be going through the aftermath of some sort of disaster, and is in the middle of a war. It's contrasting well the placid daily lives of the girls at the fortress with the potentially deadly challenges they may have at some later date. All bunched up together are [b]Nodame Cantabile Finale[/b], [b]Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu[/b], [b]Ookami Kakushi[/b] and [b]Katanagatari[/b]. [b]Nodame[/b] is solid but so far doesn't have quite the same bite as the great first season (which is the same problem [b]Paris Chapter[/b] had). [b]BakaTest[/b] is a good deal funnier than I thought it would be; however, I think it also straddles the line between being really funny and going with "safe" anime humor. The art style is fun, though. There's a compelling horror story deep within [b]Ookami Kakushi[/b], but there's a bunch of cornball stuff at the top of it, too. Haven't watched ep5 yet, so hopefully it makes more progress. First ep of [b]Katanagatari[/b] isn't bad. A lot of talking and exposition, but hey. [b]Dance in the Vampire Bund[/b] seems to be evoking the most extreme reactions across the 'net. I think the quality has fluctuated from OK to laughably bad, but there are also people seeing things that I am not seeing at all, so I'm not really sure what to think of it at this point, haha.

I read "doodling" as "drooling" somehow, which would have made the arrest more justifiable, I think. Drooling is gross.

[center][URL=http://img21.imageshack.us/i/shinmazingershogekizhend.jpg/][IMG]http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5646/shinmazingershogekizhend.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/center] I don't know how many people here will be interested in watching this, but for the mecha fans here, I cannot recommend [b]Shin Mazinger Z[/b] more. It's got all the crazy plot, insane characters, hot blooded action and participation from the gods themselves that you could ever want in a mecha series. The anime is a re-imagining of Go Nagai's [b]Mazinger Z[/b] (sprinkled with characters and elements of his other series), but you don't really need to have knowledge of those to enjoy [b]Shin Mazinger Z[/b] -- I don't have much more than a cursory knowledge of those works, myself. Basically the story follows Kouji Kabuto, who becomes the pilot of the giant robot Mazinger Z that his grandfather created. The awesomely named Dr. Hell wants Mazinger Z for his own nefarious purposes, and he sends his trusted followers Baron Ashura (a half male-half female with mysterious origins), Count Brocken (a Nazi cyborg who carries his own head around) and Viscount Pygman (a pygmy warrior with voodoo powers) to [URL="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GundamJack"][B][strike]Gundam[/strike] Mazinger Jack[/B][/URL] Mazinger Z. The first half of the series is pretty basic, albeit with crazy villains and cool action. It sets the scene pretty well for the second half, however, with goes deeper into the story and the intersecting pasts of the characters and the origins of Mazinger Z. There are twists and cliffhangers aplenty, and the ending is one of the most memorable I have seen of any anime recently. [b]Shin Mazinger Z[/b] is an homage to super robot anime (often watched by children), but the build-up and execution of its ending is as intelligent and adult as anything you'll see in the best of series. Plus, [b]Shin Mazinger Z[/b] is so awesome that even the [i]narrator[/i] is hot blooded, as evidenced in this scene ... [center][youtube]FDj1KTha8go[/youtube][/center] You know you want to watch after seeing that. Don't deny it.

Boy, I can't wait to see the episode where [spoiler]Ed and Al battle their yaoi/incest fangirls[/spoiler]! What a hilarious episode that was!

Also speaking of our good friend the Nostalgia Critic, the [b]Super Mario Bros. Super Show[/b] is pretty awful. Very traumatizing to someone who basically worshipped Nintendo as a young'un. [b]Ninja Turtles II[/b] is totally in So Bad It's Good territory for me, though. It's so goofy, corny and lame that I can't hate it.

[b]What is it?[/b] Anime Central [b]Why is it nifty?[/b] Because someone needs to love the poor thing. :( And I do love it so. [b]Who is it?[/b] Magus [b]Why is he nifty?[/b] Just as I love Anime Central, I like people who continue to post in it. I salute you, good sir! [b]What is it?[/b] Cullen Cancer [b]Why is it nifty?[/b] Aside from being hilarious, I love that people seem to have resigned themselves to the Edward Cullen avatar I have sported in Chat for nearly a year now. [b]Who is it?[/b] Desbreko [b]Why is he nifty?[/b] [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/finalfantasyotaku/view/143007/taco_tropes/2"][b]Because we are apparently heterosexual life partners[/b][/URL] now, and this should be celebrated. [b]What is it?[/b] [b][URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=60117"]Anime Club[/URL][/b] [b]Why is it nifty?[/b] Even though the club faded into the sunset, I had a great time watching a bunch of shows I might not have watched otherwise with great people. I salute thee, Anime Club. [b]Who is it?[/b] Sara [b]Why is she nifty?[/b] Because she showed up again and immediately made the forums more fun. You know a Sara thread will lead to good times. [b]Who is it?[/b] Adam [b]Why is he nifty?[/b] The guy is a huge goofball and terribly strange, but he also works his *** off for the benefit of the site, and who knows if any of us would have run into each other if he hadn't built theOtaku. [b]What is it?[/b] [url=http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/chatlogs][b]Chatlogs of Doom[/b][/url] [b]Why is it nifty?[/b] Even though the logs are sometimes hit and miss, the best posts are absolutely hilarious. We are a bizarre bunch of people. [b]Who is it?[/b] SomeGuy [b]Why is he nifty?[/b] Not only is he a funny, easygoing guy and a great storyteller, he should also be commended for his [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/someguy/view/127672/my_way_of_remembering_._._./"][b]yearly Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day/Arimistice Day posts[/b][/URL]. Those are always great, interesting reads. --- 1) Member of the Year: [b]SunfallE[/b] 2) Male Member of the Year: [b]Adam[/b] 3) Female Member of the Year: [b]Indi[/b] 4) Staff Member of the Year: [b]SunfallE[/b] 5) Otaku of the Year: [b]Gavin[/b] 6) Funniest Member: [b]SomeGuy[/b] 7) Storyteller of the Year: [b]SomeGuy[/b]

Time for my monthly post in here. :p Put [b]Red Garden[/b] on hold for a while in favor of watching other series. Watched [b]Now and Then, Here and There[/b] as it aired on SyFy -- the dub kind of sucks, but the series itself is good. It's an unflinching look at war in a chaotic world; ultimately, though, the end is a bit disappointing because it feels taken from a completely different series, a more typical anime. [b]Cromartie High School[/b] is a fun series. Like a lot of anime comedies it's up and down, but the seriousness with which it treats its absurd situations makes it worth watching. After that, I finally finished [b]Mouryou no Hako[/b], which was definitely worth the year's wait. There's a [i]ton[/i] of talking, so I don't recommend it if you absolutely need action, but even among anime, its story is pretty crazy. And recently I finished [b]Giant Robo[/b], which is a great, influential OVA ([b]The Big O[/b], among other series, owes a massive debt to [b]Giant Robo[/b]). If you consider yourself a mecha fan, and you haven't seen [b]Giant Robo[/b], then you need to get on that right away. It's a bit like [b]Gurren Lagann[/b] in that it seems like kid's stuff at first, but it quickly becomes much more than that. Also finished [b]Planetes[/b], which I have Miss A to thank for recommending to me (many times lol). Starts off as a slice-of-life about outer space garbage collectors (no, really, and it's also a rather sharp satire of how our culture could develop in the future) and eventually develops into an intelligent story about man's role in space, the limits of ambition and the responsibilities of developed nations.

[quote name='Sara'][font=helvetica]Well, [i]I[/i], for one, am outraged by this decision.[/font][/QUOTE] Rep +1

OK, aside from [b]Nodame Cantabile[/b] and [b]Katanagatari[/b], I've seen just about everything I am interested in this season, so I might as well contribute a bit more to the conversation! [b]Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu[/b]: Much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It's not much more than a simple, crazy comedy that looks great (director of [b]ef - a tale of memories[/b] is leading the way), but with anime comedy being relatively barren, you take what you can get. Plus, the reluctant trap is traptastic. [b]Dance in the Vampire Bund[/b]: Contrary to most of the 'net I actually enjoyed ep1, but ep2 seemed more like a regular anime episode with vampires inserted into the equation. Not really sure if I am liking this series quite yet (and it's only going to be 12 episodes, apparently, so it's not as if there is a lot of time to get things together, haha). [b]Durarara!![/b]: Solid first episode and an interesting second episode (with great mood-setting music and visuals) = the best show of the season so far. It seems to be taking the approach of slowly peeling away the layers of craziness in the city, and if that's how it continues to develop, I won't be complaining. I need to watch the next episode badly; the weeklong wait in between episodes is going to be rough. [b]Hanamaru Kindergarten[/b]: Cute, fun first episode. Like [b]Baka to Test[/b], more enjoyable than I thought it would be. [b]Ookami Kakushi[/b]: Hopefully it becomes more than [b]Higurashi[/b]-lite soon (haven't watched the second episode yet, so maybe that's where it happens). [b]Sora no Woto[/b]: I don't think I've read a middle of the road opinion on this yet; people either despise it, or they're splooging themselves over it. I'm liking it right now, but I think some of the fans are going a little crazy. Maybe settle down for a moment until the girls do more than look for ghosts.

I am 99 percent over a recent cold, but that 1 percent is still hanging around and bugging the **** out of me.

I just finished [b]Detroit Metal City[/b], and anyone with a dark sense of humor needs to watch that right away. Absolutely hilarious OVA about a wimpy, pop-loving guy, Souichi Negishi, who somehow becomes the lead singer/guitarist for a death metal band that is quickly rising to the top of the scene, much to Negishi's chagrin. As hilarious as Negishi's alter ego, Krauser II, is, I think my favorite character is the foul-mouthed, boozy manager of Detroit Metal City. She's ****ing hysterical.

Overall, I liked the series, too, although I think the ending is a bit underwhelming and leaves a ton of things wide open and unresolved, much like the ending to the first season. There are still OVAs to come, I believe, but I doubt they will go into much more than the background behind [spoiler]Yin's crazy power up[/spoiler]. I also didn't really like how the whole [spoiler]experiment plot twist[/spoiler] kind of devalues Suou's journey with Hei. But I guess she comes out on top in the end since [spoiler]she gets her own world with her family and July, while the rest of humanity is stuck on Earth, haha.[/spoiler] Plot grievances aside, though, this second season has a lot of what made the first season so good -- the fights are awesome, the Contractors are interesting and Misaki totally has the hots for ol' BK201. A combination for awesome.

Yep, it's that time again! The winter season is upon us, and while there are way fewer shows than fall, winter has no shortage of shows that at least look interesting. Plus, there's no way it could possibly suck as hard as fall did, right? Right?? Right????? Season previews for those who are still in the dark about what is airing: [URL="http://brianandrew.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/winter-2010-anime-season-preview/"][b]Bokutachi no Blog[/b][/URL], [URL="http://www.seaslugteam.com/archives/2009/12/05/winter-2010-preview/"][b]Sea Slug Team![/b][/URL] and [URL="http://randomc.animeblogger.net/2009/12/30/winter-2010-preview/"][b]Random Curiosity[/b][/URL] [b]Series I am definitely interested in watching[/b]: -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10947"][b]Durarara!![/b][/URL]: Adapted from light novels written by the creator of [b]Baccano![/b]? Check. Produced by the studio that animated [b]Baccano![/b]? Check. Great seiyuu cast? Check. Crazy sounding story with possibly interesting characters? Check and check. If this does not end up at least being solid, then I give up on anime forever. -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10948"][b]Dance in the Vampire Bund[/b][/URL]: Already stirring up a bit of controversy because of the whole "lol loli vampire" thing, but the story has an interesting premise (a vampire negotiates with the government to create a kingdom for her people), and with SHAFT at the helm, you know it will at least look damn good. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for now. -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10950"][b]Nodame Cantabile Finale[/b][/URL]: I heard the manga did not end in an especially satisfying way, but hell, after watching the great first season and the solid second season, there's no way I'm not going to watch this final season of [b]Nodame[/b], ****** ending or not. My only hope is that the story gets back some of the complexity that made the first season so surprisingly interesting. -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10765"][b]Katanagatari[/b][/URL]: Interesting animation style to a series of stories penned by the author of [b]Bakemonogatari[/b]. Apparently this will be a series of 12 50-minute episodes released once a month over the course of the year. Hopefully that means consistently high quality work throughout the show's run. [b]Series I am kind of interested in watching[/b]: -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11023"][b]So-Ra-No-Wo-To[/b][/URL]: lol k-nagi! Truthfully, I'm not really sure it sounds interesting at all, but I'm willing to give it a shot just to fend off the stink of certain other series. -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11045"][b]Ookami Kakushi[/b][/URL]: Mainly because of Ryukishi07 x Peach Pit, which could be a potentially interesting combo. -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10896"][b]Hanamaru Kindergarten[/b][/URL]: Mainly because Seiji Mizushima trolling people at Anime Expo with a preview of this series was hilarious, and thus I believe I owe it to him to at least watch one episode of this series. So there we have it. What are you all tuning in to watch this season?

I just couldn't resist ... [center][URL=http://img192.imageshack.us/i/letterbeeinappropriate.jpg/][IMG]http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/4525/letterbeeinappropriate.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/center]

Well, after this chapter we at least know Danzo has great hand-eye coordination.

The moment that always pops into my head first is the climactic moment of [b]Eureka Seven[/b]'s 26th episode: [spoiler]Eureka falls off her board while searching for Renton and is plunging through the sky. She's about to be caught by Charles Beams when all of a sudden Renton swoops down in the Nirvash, catches Eureka and embraces her in the cockpit.[/spoiler] Everything about this moment works perfectly -- the animation (and how it emphasizes both the danger and excitement of the scene), the music, the acting (in both Japanese and the English dub), the way the moment completely changes the course of Renton and Eureka's relationship and on and on and on. It's the closest thing to a perfect moment as I have seen in an anime.

lol Once again it has been a while since my last post in here. Oh well. I finished [b]Mononoke[/b] a couple of weeks back. Great show, cannot recommend it enough. I know jack **** about Japanese mythology/horror stories, and I ate the whole thing up. The art style is amazingly refreshing, and the stories are all intense and well-executed (there's even a moment in the final story that managed to legitimately creep me out, which almost never happens). Also watched both seasons of [b]Nodame Cantabile[/b] in preparation for the final season, which will air during the winter. The first season is actually a lot better than I expected -- the romance advances in a surprisingly subtle way, and the show focuses more on a [b]Honey and Clover[/b]-esque examination of talent and what drives those who have it, and what keeps those who have it from realizing their potential. Now, it's not as [i]good[/i] as [b]Honey and Clover[/b], mind, but there's more to [b]Nodame[/b] than I expected. The second season, [b]Paris Chapter[/b], is good but definitely a step down in quality. I do like the direction it goes in with the maturation of Chiaki and Nodame; however, everything else feels a bit weaker, whereas in the first season Chiaki and Nodame weren't the only major aspects of the show. Despite my complaints, though, I am still pumped for the final season. Right now I'm watching [b]Red Garden[/b], which is a strange mystery-action-musical series. (No, seriously.) The story is about four women who are murdered and then resurrected so that they can kill various creatures for some mysterious woman. (Well, there has been only one type of creature so far -- suited men who act like rabid dogs -- but I assume more will pop up eventually.) And occasionally the cast will sing. It doesn't really add that much to the show, but it's different, I'll give it that.

[quote name='Sangome'][FONT="Microsoft Sans Serif"][SIZE="1"]I honest to goodness didn't even know the term was real and used seriously by people until you mentioned it just now, although I guess it makes sense in retrospect. Yay, I learned something new![/quote][/SIZE][/FONT] Consider yourself lucky. [quote]On an unrelated note, [I]Ed Wood[/I] is an awesome movie.[/QUOTE] Yes, indeed! I love it more every time I see it. Such a great, joyous movie, even if Ed Wood's life is [i]really[/i] depressing after the point at which the movie ends.

[quote name='Sangome'][FONT="Microsoft Sans Serif"][SIZE="1"]JRock bands, Korean pop bands...the list goes on. There's also a disturbing minority that finds only Asians attractive and all others ugly. It's like, reverse-racism. Or something.[/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE] You were using it in jest, so this has nothing to do with you, but I can't stand the term "reverse racism". There is no such thing -- racism is racism, period. It's truly embarrassing when people seriously use that term, as if whites are the sole source of racism in the world, and blacks and Hispanics and Asians, and whoever else, hating whites is somehow different than your everyday, run of the mill racism. Ugh. On the topic of [b]Twilight[/b] and Japan, isn't there a decent contingency of [b]Twilight[/b] fans there? I'm not sure if it is quite at [b]Harry Potter[/b] levels of popular, but it's actually doing fairly well for itself, which is both depressing and not at all shocking, really.

[quote name='Lunox'][FONT=Trebuchet ms] I get 2 DAYS OFF FOR THANKSGIVING. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF[/font][/QUOTE] Could be worse. I have to work Thanksgiving. And Christmas Eve. And Christmas. And New Year's Eve/Day. :( (Then again, I am happy to be working at all. Cashing paychecks takes a bit of the sting out of that.)

Finished [b]Kaiji[/b] quite a while ago -- great series, and the final couple arcs combine into a really intense ending. I'm thirsting for a second season quite badly. Come on, Madhouse: Make it happen!! Been watching [b]Slayers Try[/b] with Des for a while now. Still a fun series, although I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a bit disappointing after the pure awesome of [b]Slayers Next[/b]. At least Xellos still owns. The ending looks to be pretty good, too. Just three episodes to go! On the side I just started [b]Mononoke[/b]. I love the Medicine Seller already. The art style is cool, too -- like a Japanese art scroll brought to life.

[quote name='Magus'][size=1][color=navy]You know me... Judge by looks first. Get proved wrong later. (Ulquiorra and Ichigo) Shinmaru. I don't get it. O_o[/size][/color][/QUOTE] [URL="http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/471/11/"][b]Top panel.[/b][/URL] Also, Japanese wrestling announcers are inherently hilarious, anyway.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRuUXM-WbSo][b]LARIATOOOOOOOOOOO[/b][/url]

I was re-reading [i]The Phantom Tollbooth[/i] while at the DMV to renew my ID card, and I came to the conclusion that the DMV is reality's Doldrums. I cannot think of another place that has made my brain shut down so thoroughly and so consistently as the DMV.