Shinmaru

[quote name='Desbreko'][color=#4B0082][u][b][url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10167]Kyo no Gononi[/url][/b][/u] Crazy grade school hijinks with a dash of innuendo mixed in? I can't resist...[/color][/QUOTE] Have you watched the OVA? I was kind of, "Hmm ..." when I first read about it, but I gave it a shot earlier today, and it's hysterical. I mean, I felt sort of dirty while watching it, but it's hilarious. I'll definitely keep up with the series if it's at the same level of funny. In the past couple of days, I have also watched [b]Hyakko[/b] and [b]Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka[/b]. The former is solidly funny so far, and I like the lead characters. Good potential there. The latter is OK right now -- I got a few laughs out of it, and I am curious to see where it goes.

Very fun first episode -- Yuusuke is indeed hilarious (I was laughing hard when he [spoiler]called time out so that he could deliver his big speech without getting tagged out[/spoiler]). I was also laughing hard at everything involving poor Sunohara getting ragged on by everyone under the sun. Poor kid just can't catch a break. Also looking forward to getting more of Akio. Wouldn't it be awesome to know someone like him? He's the coolest. Definitely the best of what I have watched so far this season. :)

Chats on theO are great fun, so I highly encourage this. However, it should be noted that you have to be a member of theO for a certain amount of time (I think it is three or four months, but I am hazy on that -- feel free to correct me on that, anybody) before you can participate in chats.

Just watched the first episode of [b]Toradora![/b] -- if it continues at this level (or gets better), then I will definitely be sticking with it for the remainder of the season. It looks pretty good, there were some genuinely funny moments (my favorite being the [spoiler]censored garbage in Taiga's sink[/spoiler]) and the characters all have good potential right now, especially the leads. Looking forward to more episodes. :)

Don't know if there are any baseball fans here, but hey, might as well give the thread a shot. Anyway, I just finished watching my team -- the Dodgers -- go up 2-0 on the Cubs in the NLDS. I thought the Dodgers were talented enough and on a hot enough streak to take one or two games from the Cubs, but I never thought they would potentially sweep Chicago. Los Angeles has looked like a machine, though, aside from the hiccup in the ninth inning of tonight's game where the bullpen did not close the game as strongly as it should have. But, yes, beating Dempster and Zambrano is huge. The sweep would be nice, but I am not sure if the Dodgers will be able to hit Harden as hard as they hit the other two pitchers. We'll see, though. :) The other games have been interesting. Brewers are basically sunk -- Cole Hamels was a beast in game one (he is going to be SCARY next year), and C.C. Sabathia was Milwaukee's last hope. Evan Longoria was fantastic against the White Sox; the Rays won because he broke their jitters with his two home runs. He's going to be a hell of a player for years to come. Didn't really pay much attention during the Angels/Red Sox game. Anyone's favorite team in the playoffs? Who does everyone think is going to win it all? I'll be a homer and pick the Dodgers to represent the NL in the World Series. I am really impressed with the Rays (and, frankly, that team scares me), so I'll pick them to represent the AL. As for the world champion, I'll stick with the Dodgers, but it sure as hell won't be easy -- they'll win in seven games.

[quote name='Ikillion'][COLOR=#35160f][SIZE="1"][FONT="Trebuchet MS"][B][URL="http://www.ga-rei.jp/"]GA-REI -zero-[/URL][/B] I'm pretty new to the Ga-rei universe but the concepts look good enough, it may be a combination of gut and personal interests that make me want to check this series out.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] You know, I read more about this just now, and it kind of has me interested. I think I shall add it to the partly interested -- never really watched any series similar to it before, so maybe the relative newness will appeal to me. Question about [b]Tales of the Abyss[/b]: I thought about watching it, but I have never played the game and have next to no experience with the series in general (the two episodes of the [b]Tales of Symphonia[/b] OVA we watched during Anime Club on Saturday was my first exposure to anything Tales-related). Does that really matter at all, or does anyone think I can go into this fresh and still enjoy it?

Eh, watched it the whole way through, and it never really picked up like I hoped it would. A lot of opportunities were wasted (Shiina being the biggest -- I actually liked her character and was sad that she basically became a half-hearted rival for Yuuto's affections that the series just threw away after a while), and I could never get into the relationship between Yuuto and Haruka the way I wanted to, despite liking both characters. The final ep is predictable and kind of silly -- the arrogant, pretty boy blonde guy villain is [i]so[/i] lame and cliche that I laughed him off and never really took him seriously. Also, I was wondering the whole time why [spoiler]Yuuto actually took the generic villain's words to heart, even if it was for a relatively short time. He knows Haruka loves being an otaku; it's her passion. He knows his present is coming from actual knowledge of who Haruka is and what she loves rather than what people would assume she loves. That's why Yuuto's emo moments came across as silly to me.[/spoiler] Oh well. There were some enjoyable moments in the series and a bunch of likable characters, even if the story did not pan out the way I hoped it would.

Finally decided to not be lazy and start this thread. Hopefully we will get some decent discussion going and be able to keep it up, because the season looks seriously stacked. For reference, there is a list of fall shows [url=http://that.animeblogger.net/2008/08/18/that-fall-2008-anime-preview/][b]here[/b][/url]. Shows I am definitely interested in watching: -- [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=9816][b]Yozakura Quartet[/b][/url]. The premise (a quartet of teenage superheroes protects a city from supernatural threats) sounds promising enough to me, and I like the character designs. Plus, with [b]Heroes[/b] failing as hard as it has during its first two episodes, I predict I will need my weekly dose of superheroes very soon. -- [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=9701][b]Clannad After Story[/b][/url]. Um, hell yes? I loved the first season of Clannad, so I am ridiculously hyped for the second season. From what I have read and what people have told me, everything that makes Clannad so great is in After Story, which boggles my mind, considering I adored the first season so much. If you have not seen Clannad, then you need to get on that, like, right now so that you can watch this. -- [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10053][b]Shikabane Hime: Aka[/b][/url]. Gainax + crazy action? I am so there. The basic premise (undead girl must hunt 108 corpses to gain entry to heaven) sounds OK, but I am mostly hoping for an awesome action overload. Need something to offset the emotional gutpunch of Clannad each week, haha. -- [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10182][b]Chaos;Head[/b][/url]. Dagger's fanspazzing has caused my hype levels to go to 11 with this show. Don't let me down!! Haha, the show does sound right up my alley, though, and it appears as though this will be quite the purdy series (in its own macabre way lol). I am so ready for this! -- [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10247][b]Shugo Chara!! Doki--[/b][/url]. Duh. Shugo Chara! is one of my favorite current series, so as long as people sub it, I will continue watching. Moar Amu plz. Shows I am partly interested in: -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10051"][b]Hyakko[/b][/URL]. Barely have any idea what it's about, but Aya Hirano and a couple of comparisons to the wonderful [b]Minami-ke[/b] pique my interest a bit. -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10050"][b]Toradora![/b][/URL]. loltsundere. Not as entranced by them as The Des, but hey, it sounds funny enough to warrant sticking with it for at least an episode or two. -- [URL="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10095"][b]Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka[/b][/URL]. The premise does not strike me that much, but the cast is stacked, so I'll give it a try. So, what is everyone else interested in watching?

I agree with you a million percent on every point about Rin. My god. It's as if the [b]Mnemosyne[/b] character designer plunged a hand straight into my head and ripped out the visual ideal of a character I would be guaranteed to love. The green hair, the glasses, the suit (crossdressing women in suits -- epic, epic win; please tell me I am not alone on this), her occasional jaunts in slinky dresses (!!!), the pure *** kicking awesome of her everyday life ... maaaaaaaan. OK, moar contributions from me again, finally. Here's one 'Gome and I were discussing recently ... [b]Name[/b]: Adiane the Elegant [b]Source[/b]: Gurren Lagann [b]Status[/b]: One of the Spiral King's Four Supreme Generals who are sent to obliterate Team Gurren. [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/GurrenLagann-12-Large15.jpg[/IMG][/center] -- She's wonderfully evil. Evil chicks are hot. Therefore, Adiane is hot -- irrefutable logic. -- She has sexy legs. I am desperate to find a good screencap of this. ('Gome knows [i]exactly[/i] what I am talking about.) -- The eyepatch. Dear lord. It accentuates the crazy evilness, and I love it. -- [url=http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/gurrenlagann/chara/images/adiane.gif][b]Her normal outfit[/b][/url] is glorious. Look at all the ruffles!! -- As seen in the above link, her evil smirk is amazing. Evil smirks [i]always[/i] get to me. -- She yells at Viral a lot, and she is pretty cute when she's angry. The ultimate abusive boss. -- Um, look at the ****ing picture I provided. Man oh man. (BTW, massive thumbs down at SciFi for nixing the commercial transitions. Those are great.) And just because I have avoided this for so long that I cannot do it anymore ... [b]Name[/b]: Utena Tenjou [b]Source[/b]: Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Status[/b]: All around *** kicking, gender subverting heroine. [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/utena_022.jpg[/IMG][/center] -- Her uniform is a thousand times better than the regular girls' uniform. I support all women in their endeavors to dress more princely. -- In connection to that point, her look became a million times more enjoyable after she recovered from [spoiler]her loss to Touga, and her subsequent "Well, I guess I'll try to be more like a girl!" phase, which was oddly disturbing.[/spoiler] -- [url=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1026/1268765519_87be764c2b.jpg?v=0][b]Short-haired Utena[/b][/url] from the movie is an official member of the pantheon of amazing short-haired female characters. Jesus. -- This is a piece of fanart, but [url=http://www.eyrie-productions.com/UF/FI/SOS/GFX/dm-utena-anthy-p.jpg][b]wouldn't Utena make an AMAZING pirate[/b][/url]? That is Captain Keira Knightley levels of life-altering right there. -- She does the most random things when people are talking to her. It is kind of cute to see her doing headstands and whatnot when people are discussing serious issues. -- I love how she is just herself with little regard to what people think of her. -- Along those lines, I also love the whole "Yeah, I want to be prince, but, um, I'm still a [i]girl[/i], you know" motif with her. Gender fluidity ftw. -- She is great at sports. Yes. Especially basketball. MORE YES. A woman after my own heart. -- She does the whole "Never gonna give up!!" thing SO WELL, and it is never annoying. -- Pink hair: Hot in real life, and hot in anime. Oh yes. -- Like Juri, she also has amazing sad, wistful looks when she is thinking deeply about something. To borrow a phrase from Dagger, that is death by moe.

[quote name='Paramount'][SIZE="1"]Dude, if you don't, I will. I adore Rin as well and feh, people can look at me weird all they want. [strike]Although I'm certain that wouldn't score me any points with the people spreading around my supposed lesbianism, but I digress[/strike][/SIZE][/QUOTE] lol, you might as well, especially since I don't feel like doing the whole "delete + add in new stuff to bump the thread" thing. Post so that I can legally freak out about more characters!! :p As for the Informants, I started getting my impression of them when [spoiler]Mimi went to them for information; the Informant was fairly intimate with Mimi, and Mimi actually returns that intimacy a bit when she sleeps with the second Informant. Methinks Mimi would not be getting that comfy with someone unless something were actually there.[/spoiler]

Haha, I went back and forth on making this thread -- thanks for doing my work for me! I like this series quite a bit. The main thing that stands out to me [b]Mnemosyne's[/b] sexuality is how it is used to craft character and is not just a tool of exploitation. For instance, there's the informant Rin and Mimi contact every so often -- she [spoiler]takes sex as her payment rather than money. She values the pure pleasure of it, but it also seems to me that she (and those who take over for her later in the series) values the closeness and comfort between people that a sexual relationship can provide.[/spoiler] It shows what she holds dear in her heart, which is interesting. Then, of course, there's Sayara Yamanobe, who [spoiler]uses sex as but one part of her sadistic tortures. It's just one more tool she can use to inflict physical and emotional damage on her victims.[/spoiler] Another cool thing about the series is how the world evolves through the six episodes (or, five, I guess, since the final two episodes take place in the same timeframe). [b]Mnemosyne[/b] starts in 1990 and ends in 2055 -- it's funny to see technology go from clunky laptops and floppy disks to [spoiler]entire virtual worlds that apparently overlap with reality.[/spoiler] Seeing some of the characters grow older while Rin and Mimi stayed -- physically, anyway -- the same age also brought me closer to them, even though vast periods in their lives are skipped as a consequence of the series relative shortness. (Each episode is 45 minutes, however, so [b]Mnemosyne[/b] would be about 11-13 episodes if it was a normal 22-24 minute anime, haha.) Besides all that fun stuff, I now have a huge thing for Rin. It's ridiculous. Let's just say a Moe Points post about her would probably get a few strange looks sent in my direction. >_>; Last thing -- is it just me, or is it [i]really[/i] fun to hate on Eipos? That little bastard has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, so I had a good time rooting against the little **** at every time. Nice to have a villain every once in a while where your only thought about him or her is, "Man, **** that *******."

Thanks to Desbreko's wonderful [url=http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/watercooler/view/40985/anime_club_-_minami-ke_ep10-13/][b]Anime Club[/b][/url] on theOtaku, I had the opportunity to watch this funny slice of life series (I had watched the first episode before at my school's anime club but did not keep up with it after). (BTW, we'll be watching [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5720][b]Tales of Symphonia[/b][/url] next -- Saturday at 10 p.m. eastern time!) Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, Minami-ke follows the daily lives of the Minami sisters -- Haruka, Kana and Chiaki -- who watch crazy J-dramas (NINOMIYA-KUN~), kick rocks, cook (with good and bad results) and more. What makes Minami-ke work is it has strong characters and lets them do their thing. Just about every character has a distinct personality, and those personalities come into conflict quite often, which is where a lot of the show's humor comes from. Count on watching plenty of hilarious fights between Kana and Chiaki. :D My favorite character in the series is Makoto. He is so hilariously earnest and dim-witted, and once he made the transformation into [spoiler]Mako-chan[/spoiler], he earned a spot in my hilarity hall of fame. Every scene with him thereafter is epic win on a scale I can't describe. I don't even know if I could choose a favorite moment of his -- [spoiler]the part when Haruka feels him up, the magic trick, the kimono[/spoiler] and so on are all brilliant. Makoto is the best. A close second in the character department is Hosaka. His random fantasies about Haruka marrying him (and raising Kana and Chiaki as their children) are wonderful. His one-sided battle to win Haruka's heart (without her knowledge) is fantastic. Plus, he makes great food. As for the sisters, I like them all about the same for different reasons. Haruka's [spoiler]banchou storyline[/spoiler] is very funny, Kana is a lot of fun and wonderfully energetic and Chiaki's sarcasm is ftw. Can't wait to watch season two.

Yeah, that Hyuga reference caught my eye as well. What's the over/under on Kishi taking a potentially interesting plot point and completely botching it? Five chapters? Six? EDIT: Haha, that makes sense, Gavin. We're so desperate for something good that we're hoping old storylines can somehow become good new ones. XD

I watched [b]AIR[/b] over the past few days and loved it. Before I get into the story and characters, I want to heap lavish praise upon the visuals. This series is gorgeous (not totally unexpected from KyoAni, haha). Probably the most beautiful aspect of the series, for me, is the use of color. It's just so vibrant and [i]alive[/i]. Watching a sunset in AIR makes me wish I could see that 24/7. Getting into the story, well, I liked it a lot -- the pacing and the circular structure were especially cool to me. It is cool how the series eases viewers into life in the town before bombarding them with drama. I enjoyed the bits with Kano and Minagi before the main story with Misuzu. Minagi's story is especially wonderful. Ep6 is sooooooo bittersweet with [spoiler]the family dinner with Minagi, her mother, Michuru and Yukito.[/spoiler] It's so simple and touching. Misuzu actually rubbed me the wrong way at first because she is so childish, but she grew on me a LOT throughout the series, and the new perspective of her shown during the [spoiler]Sora arc[/spoiler] adds so much heartbreak to her story. What got to me most was the buildup and ending of the storyline between Misuzu and Haruko. Parent/child stories [i]always[/i] get to me. I am such a sap for that type of thing. As for the way it was set up, I thought it was really clever to [spoiler]reincarnate Yukito in a way that would allow him to be friends with Misuzu while getting around the whole human friends make her die thing. Sora was also used incredibly well to get another view of the story, so that it is fresh instead of a retread.[/spoiler] Well played, writers. Well played. I still need to watch the movie. And the AIR in summer episodes.

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"][spoiler]You know as well as I do Mike that Spike's death is not confirmed.[/spoiler][/size][/quote] lol, I don't think I have ever heard anyone suggest [spoiler]Spike actually has a possibility of living at the end of the series. His death is foreshadowed from the very beginning of the show, haha. Plus, Spike has nothing to live for after Julia dies -- she kept him going, and so after she was killed, he took care of business. Also, what, are the Red Dragons going to hospitalize the man who utterly destroyed their organization? I think not. Spike is dead. That is much more dramatic and fitting ending than him living would be, anyway.[/spoiler] After all that, though, I am tempted to bump the score a bit more, haha. Man, that is a sweet bit of vengeance. EDIT: Reading up on it a bit more, it seems Shinichiro Watanabe said [spoiler]he is not sure if Spike is alive or dead[/spoiler], which is a point for you, but I think my points all stand. [spoiler]Spike dying is the more logical outcome storywise.[/spoiler] Huge LOL @ your Sasuke write-up. That is awesome. Sorry to say it's impossible to go below an 0.1 -- as Bill Simmons writes, it is impossible to be any less vengeful than O.J. Simpson hunting "the real killers." I think Sasuke is [i]slightly[/i] more vengeful than that, but it's definitely below a 1.0 considering the circumstances. ([spoiler]Itachi was protecting Sasuke all along, Sasuke trained for years and [i]still[/i] couldn't beat a near-crippled version of his brother, Sasuke was reduced to a whimpering mass of douche at the end of the fight, etc.[/spoiler]) Here's another one from me. [b]Anime:[/b] Death Note [b]Act of Vengeance:[/b] "JUST AS PLANNED!" [b]Level of Vengeance:[/b] 9.2 [b]Why:[/b] Light wants to save the world, but in reality I think he was more obsessed with one-upping L, so his whole plan -- [spoiler]imprisoning himself, losing his memories, letting another person incriminate himself as Kira and then murdering anyone who could stand against him[/spoiler] -- was an enormous gambit designed to rub his superiority in L's face. Bonus points because Light is a crazy ************ and because his gloating [spoiler]"me > L"[/spoiler] face is hilarious. (But not as hilarious as Light's "L!!!!!!!!!!!!! You humiliated me!!!!!!!!!!!" face.) Vengeance points deducted because Light really does have the advantage on L the whole time, which makes [spoiler]his victory[/spoiler] less impressive.

Moar vengeance plz. [b]Anime:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Act of Vengeance:[/b] Ruka [spoiler]strings Shiori along in a fake relationship so that he can mercilessly break her and free Juri from her crippling Shiori love.[/spoiler] [b]Level of Vengeance:[/b] 7.5 [b]Why:[/b] Ruka [spoiler]loves Juri[/spoiler] and can't stand to see her weighed down by the past. Thus, he resolves to demolish this weight by [spoiler]building Shiori up and then ruthlessly tearing her down.[/spoiler] Ruka does achieve his vengeance, rendering [spoiler]Shiori[/spoiler] a teary mess in her room, but this comes with the unfortunate side effect of [spoiler]Juri hating his guts.[/spoiler] More vengeance points taken away because Utena helped out -- albeit unknowingly -- in getting the result Ruka wanted. The strain of the vengeance also apparently [spoiler]kills Ruka, which does not allow him to enjoy his vengeance much.[/spoiler]

I approve. +10 for you! :) Here's another one that people should definitely know ... [b]Anime:[/b] Cowboy Bebop [b]Act of Vengeance:[/b] Spike [spoiler]taking on and destroying the Red Dragons -- all of them -- after they kill Julia[/spoiler]. [b]Level of Vengeance:[/b] 8.8 [b]Why:[/b] First off, Spike's [spoiler]old flame is murdered[/spoiler], which is a classic trope of vengeance, so you know you'll get something good there. And the way he goes about utterly decimating [spoiler]the Red Dragons[/spoiler] is mind boggingly amazing, from his initial grenade to the building to his [spoiler]super epic fight with Vicious[/spoiler]. Spike leaves nobody alive. Slight penalty points because he is helped out a bit, but the main reason this isn't in the nines is because [spoiler]he is killed. Vengeance is much sweeter when you are alive to enjoy it, after all[/spoiler]. Still, it is no doubt a classic example of anime vengeance.

I am a frequent reader of ESPN.com's Bill Simmons. One of the random things he came up with is [b][URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/040720"]the Vengeance Scale[/URL][/b], which, as it says, is a scale used to determine the level of vengeance present in one's actions. To give an idea of the scale -- the lowest score possible is 0.1, which is the level of vengeance present in O.J. Simpson's pledge to find "the real killers." The highest is a 10, which represents Keyser Soze in [b]The Usual Suspects[/b] (if you've seen the movie, you know what particular act of vengeance it is referring to). So, I thought it would be a fun idea to adapt this particular concept to anime. Basically, you can choose a vengeful (or unvengeful lol) moment in any anime, with spoiler tags where needed of course, tell everyone where you think it is on the Vengeance Scale, and why you think it is there. As a quick resource, this is where I see the numbers falling: [LIST] [*]0.1-0.9: Not at all vengeful; in fact, the person probably gets owned hard. [*]1.0-1.9: A bit vengeful, but also probably pathetic in execution. [*]2.0-2.9: Sort of vengeful -- maybe a bit successful, too. [*]3.0-3.9: A decent level of vengeance. Nothing in particular to make it special. [*]4.0-4.9: Good vengeance, though it probably doesn't crack above 5.0 because the vengeful person suffers a bit for it. [*]5.0-5.9: Very good vengeance. This is the point where it starts being a bit crazy. [*]6.0-6.9: Great vengeance. Probably some good payback for slights against the person. [*]7.0-7.9: This is where the vengeance starts getting obsessive. [*]8.0-8.9: Excellent vengeance. Superhuman ability for vengeance probably displayed. [*]9.0-9.9: Just a total warpath of vengeance. [*]10: The most legitmately ****** up form of vengeance imaginable. [/LIST] Anyway, tl;dr. Let's get to the vengeance! [b]Anime:[/b] The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya [b]Act of Vengeance:[/b] The Computer Club President challenging the SOS Brigade to a game of The Day of Sagittarius III. [b]Level of Vengeance:[/b] 1.1 [b]Why:[/b] After Haruhi [spoiler]straight up jacks the Computer Club's best computer[/spoiler], the Computer Club President has a right to be upset. Definite vengeance being sought here. It makes it into the ones because his plan ([spoiler]cheating to win back the computers[/spoiler]) actually would have worked if the SOS Brigade [spoiler]did not have Yuki on its side.[/spoiler] But the fact is, the Computer Club got owned pretty hard, so major vengeance penalty points are awarded there. There we are. Let's think of a ton more, everyone!

lolinevitablepost So, I finished [b]Utena[/b] a couple of days ago and watched the movie yesterday. The thing I love most about both the series and the movie is how thoroughly surprising they are, and how they can pull such unexpected tricks on me, even when I went into them expecting something off the wall. First, basic thoughts on the series -- love the twists and turns of the story, even with the severe mood whiplash that occurs about a thousand times. There is high drama followed by silly comedy episodes (which are hilarious, no doubt), and then it shifts gears back into the drama (which is always incredibly surreal), before going back to more comedy, and on and on. It takes some serious skill (not to mention utter balls lol) to pull that off without pissing me off, haha. In fact, even if I [i]didn't[/i] enjoy the series so much, I would still have to sit back and admire the mindset that went into creating it. Utena does not hold back on anything for even one second. It just plunges straight in and goes all the way with its stories, symbolism and character interaction. There are not many anime that are as confident in their pure storytelling ability as Utena. To branch off that, it makes me incredibly happy that a series can shock me so thoroughly with its big dramatic moments ([spoiler]Akio seducing Utena, Ruka sacrificing any decent feelings Juri might have had for him just so that she would be freed from her feelings toward Shiori, etc.[/spoiler]) and move me so much with its subtler moments ([spoiler]the badminton game is probably the biggest one -- it reaches a whole new level of sad after the finale, when Utena confirms she felt betrayed when she walked in on Anthy and Akio; Juri and Miki had been helped so much by Utena, and she is just falling apart, though she won't even show it[/spoiler]). It's probably more miraculous that a series so dedicated to ****ing with its audience could still elicit such feelings, haha. Screwing with archetypes has always interested me, mainly because it's interesting to see them from a different point of view. The one that sticks out to me the most in the series is [spoiler]the success of the "unprincely" characters and the failure of the princely characters. Obviously, there is Akio/Dios first and foremost -- being a prince nearly destroys him, and then as Akio, he continues to act in a princelike way (sweeping women off their feet and so on), but he is doomed to never regain his power. Saionji fails in his quest to usurp Touga and dominate Anthy. Touga fails to save Utena, because she doesn't need him in the first place. Miki doesn't find that replacement for Kozue in his heart, and his rift with his sister grows even wider. Even Tsuwabuki (poor little guy), a budding prince, is rejected again and again by Nanami. The only "prince" who really succeeds is Ruka, and he does it by ruthlessly destroying Shiori and arousing a bitter hatred for him in Juri.[/spoiler] [spoiler]Meanwhile, Juri succeeds in shedding herself of the chains that weighed down her heart (it wasn't her initial goal, but frankly it was a much better goal than helping Shiori, anyway lol). Then, of course, Utena succeeds in freeing Anthy from her bonds with a noble sacrifice. (By the way, Akio getting owned at the end is hilarious. "lol @ Utena, I am the man!!!!!" "Yeah, except no wai I'm leaving." "WTF?!?!?!" Har har har.)[/spoiler] Another thing I love about the series is how daring it is in presenting taboo relationships without being exploitative. You can see why [spoiler]Nanami would love Touga so dearly, even if it is a bit strange, haha. (It is more than arguable that she doesn't even hold a sexual love for Touga, considering her reaction to the Anthy/Akio tryst she witnessed.) Then there is the Juri/Shiori relationship, which is an essay in and of itself lol. I have read a few interpretations that I agree with -- I don't think Juri even likes Shiori as she is in the present; she is more in love with the Shiori she once knew, who wasn't a boy-stealing uber *****. Juri has her old picture of Shiori close to her heart, which signifies to me that it is the memory of Shiori she holds dear rather than the girl herself. She does try to protect Shiori from Ruka, but I think she is trying to prevent painful memories from repeating themselves and tainting her view of the ideal Shiori even more.[/spoiler] [spoiler]Then there are some Touga/Saionji moments that come across half like moments of friendship and half like deliberate fangirl tweaking, haha. Their relationship is kind of an odd one for me -- Saionji has so much hatred built up toward Touga, but he comes around and is at least semi-supportive of Touga in the end. And Touga is always tweaking Saionji and using him, but Saionji acts as his bride for his final duel with Utena, which I suppose means he has learned to value Saionji as a friend at least a little bit. And also there is Utena/Anthy, of course, but I am hesitant to comment on that because this post is sooooooooo damn long already, and I haven't even talked about the movie yet.[/spoiler] Anyway, yes, the movie. I didn't like it as much as the series (to be fair, though, it's a 90-minute movie versus a 39-episode series lol), but I did enjoy it quite a bit. First off, it looks exquisite (yes, I had to pull out a pretentious adjective -- that's how pretty it is); I felt legitimately guilty watching it on friggin' YouTube. I need to see it on DVD like now. The weird, futuristic Ohtori Academy is such a gorgeous setting. I was seriously floored, haha. And the fights -- oh, the fights. [spoiler]Saionji/Utena and Juri/Utena are glorious. I was so disappointed that Touga turned out to be dead, because it meant Utena wouldn't fight him lol. Robbed of another awesome fight scene!![/spoiler] The differences between [spoiler]Anthy in the movie and Anthy in the series are pretty wild. I guess no glasses = sexpot? Haha. It is interesting how Utena and Anthy's personalities were mixed in the movie -- Utena comes of as way more demure in the movie than she is in the series (although she is still fiery), and Anthy is more forward in the movie by, like, a lot, culminating in the painting scene, which I still feel horribly guilty for enjoying so much. Like, I should probably be imprisoned for a week for that. My God.[/spoiler] ANYWAY, I loved the first 2/3 of it, but the final third, when everything had to be wrapped up, just felt incomplete to me. [spoiler](Though I did like the escape sequence -- enormous LOL @ Car!Shiori, btw, for crashing and burning after, like, two seconds of evil. She tries to play chessmaster and then gets totally dumped on. I love it.) For example, Miki and Kozue feel completely unnecessary -- they barely do anything at all. Also, poor Nanami getting stuck with just a cow scene. However, I did enjoy everything with Akio. It was interesting how his character was totally flipped into such an outwardly pathetic figure. He is totally stripped of his power (can't find his car keys), is dead before the movie starts and is owned pretty easily by Anthy and Utena.[/spoiler] I guess I'll close out this post with some random ravings: [LIST] [*]I am officially a super mega ultra hyper Juri fanboy. There's no going back now. (Juri's unmasking in the movie = moe overload. If I were a robot, that moment would have been followed by comedic circuit explosions.) [*]Short-haired Utena in the movie rocked my world. Egad! [*]I feel really bad for Miki for the whole series. [spoiler]He gets owned constantly by Juri in fencing. His sister ruins every potential relationship he has, and he can't cast her off because he is still attached to her. Kozue uses him to gain power and then abandons him when he loses to Utena.[/spoiler] Guy's just **** on the entire time. :( [*]I want "Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku" to play during every important moment in my life. No exceptions. [*]I've read some random Shadow Girls hate -- can I say I love them? They are so ****ing bizarre, and they rock. [/LIST] One more benchmark to measure the impact Utena had on me -- this [i]has[/i] to be the longest non-RPG post I have ever made. Hell, it might be the longest post I've made, period. Good lord.

OK, totally bringing back another thread from the dead here ... [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Nogizaka20Haruka20no20Himitsu20-200.jpg[/IMG][/center] She'll take care of that silly map problem without any trouble. :)

Good man, Ace. I have a couple of contributions to the thread tonight! [b]Name:[/b] Juri Arisugawa [b]Source:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Status:[/b] Member of the Student Council and head of the fencing club [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/juri1.jpg[/IMG][/center] -- Her toughness. Juri isn't going to take any **** from you no matter who you are. -- Her awesome fencing skillz. If my girlfriend were a fencer, I would feel safe all the time. -- She is arguably the sharpest of the Student Council members. [spoiler]Juri doesn't even really fall under Akio's spell, unlike the other councilpeople who fought before her. She's definitely not all over Ruka before her duel with Utena, anyway lol.[/spoiler] -- Her Student Council uniform. I have a weird thing for the uniforms in this show. >_> -- Her hair. It is ridiculously cute. -- The way she stares off into nowhere sometimes when she speaks. -- The wistful looks she gets when she remembers something painful from her past. -- The way she is so deliberate, yet casual with everything she does. -- The ending to her mini-arc tugs at my heart. :( [b]Name:[/b] Haruka Shitow [b]Source:[/b] RahXephon [b]Status:[/b] A captain in TERRA, an organization dedicated to MDKing the Mulians. [center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/haruka.jpg[/IMG][/center] -- She kicks the most *** of any character aside from Ayato. Her introduction is full of *** kicking and win. -- She is very responsible but also incredibly fun and playful, which is super sexy. -- Her short hair. (!!!) -- That bandana is super uber cute. -- Come on, she [spoiler]waited 15 years for the opportunity to reconnect with the love of her life. If that is not dedication, I don't know what is.[/spoiler] -- Her reaction upon finding a kitten when she and Ayato escape Tokyo Jupiter. >;

A new category that is long overdue on this site: [b]Revolutionary Girl Utena[/b]! I tried my best with what are seemingly the only decent Utena pictures on the Internet. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/AkioAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Akio [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/AkioAvatar2.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Akio [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/AnthyUtenaWakabaAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Anthy, Utena and Wakaba [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/KozueAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Kozue [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/JuriAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Juri [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/MikageAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Mikage [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/MikageAvatar2.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Mikage [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/MikiAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Miki [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/NanamiAvatar.gif[/img] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Nanami [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/SaionjiAvatar.gif[/img] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Saionji [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/ShadowGirlsAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Shadow Girls [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/ShioriAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Shiori [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/ShioriAvatar2.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Shiori [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/ShioriAvatar3.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Shiori [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/TougaAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Touga [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/TougaAndNanamiAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Touga and Nanami [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/TougaSaionjiKidsAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Touga and Saionji [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/UtenaAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Utena [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/UtenaAndTougaAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Utena and Touga [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/UtenaAnthyAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Utena and Anthy [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/UtenaAnthyAvatar2.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Utena and Anthy [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/WakabaUtenaAvatar.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Wakaba and Utena [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Shinmaru/Utena%20Avatars/WakabaUtenaAvatar2.gif[/IMG] [b]Category:[/b] Revolutionary Girl Utena [b]Name:[/b] Wakaba and Utena

Chibi's is [spoiler]Ayame Sohma from Fruits Basket. Had to think a bit to remember the name of Yuki's brother lol.[/spoiler] Allamorph's is, of course, [spoiler]Kathy Ireland. Yay for Movie Sign![/spoiler] [spoiler]Tenjou Utena[/spoiler] This character becomes a prince to find a prince but instead wins a bride via luck and wicked fencing skillz.

[b]Novocaine[/b]: I liked it OK. It's like a weird sort of screwball noir, except I never got into the story that much. Steve Martin is funny, though, and Helena Bonham Carter is pretty sexy in a broken sort of way. [b]A Fish Called Wanda[/b]: Loved it -- hilarious from start to finish, with some great, memorable characters. Maybe the best part about the movie is how it plays off American and British stereotypes -- Kevin Kline is the short-tempered, foul-mouthed clueless "intellectual," while John Cleese is a stuffy, perpetually mortified guy with a dead home life. Put them together, and it is comedy gold. Watch this, and it will make today's terrible comedy movie scene all the more depressing. [b]A Hard Day's Night[/b]: You can really tell The Beatles had a ton of fun starring in this. They just get to screw around, throw out snappy one-liners and play music. And it's awesome. Lots of great, bizarre sight gags, too, which I wasn't expecting. [b]Arsenic and Old Lace[/b]: The mood whiplash in this is quite something lol. It goes from sweet romance to dark comedy to taut thriller and back again to dark comedy. Probably would not work if everyone in it weren't so great. Cary Grant is excellent in what is easily the most bizarre role I have ever seen him in. The two grandmothers, Josephine Hull and Jean Adair, are hilarious, as well, playing their roles so innocently and so straight. And I love it anytime Peter Lorre shows up in a movie, because he is so wonderfully sneaky. [b]Out of the Past[/b]: Very good film noir starring Robert Mitchum, who was born to play mysterious tough guys. This is as well known for its great dialogue as it is for its confusing plot; Mitchum throws out great lines every few seconds, it seems, and Kirk Douglas is so good as the mobster who hires Mitchum to do some dirty work for him. And Jane Greer? Daaaaaamn. Definitely one of the sexiest femme fatales to grace a noir. [b]The Lady from Shanghai[/b]: I am disgusted with myself for waiting so long to see Orson Welles' movies. The plot to this can be very confusing (and I often wanted to beat Michael over the head for being such a dope, although he admits often that he is a dope), but it is made so confidently and stylishly that I don't care. Everything is just so surreal and out there -- definitely a perfect film noir, haha. [b]The Wild Bunch[/b]: Liked it but didn't love it. It is the western all westerns probably would have been if they did not have the Hays Code to deal with; although, your average B western director probably did not have Sam Peckinpah's talent, so it probably would not have been as well made, haha. Don't know if this was intentional, but I sympathized most with the man who chased the titular group -- he seems the most honorable of anyone in the movie, even though he committed as many violent acts as anyone in his day. [b]The Little Shop of Horrors[/b] (1960): Just an all around strange movie lol. It definitely embraces its weirdness and has fun with it. A young Jack Nicholson has a bit part as a masochistic dental patient; it is actually about as scary as some of his later roles lol. [b]The Manchurian Candidate[/b] (1962): Great political thriller that shocked me with how sharp and surreal it still is. There is some wonderful black comedy mixed in with the more serious political satire ([spoiler]the post-hypnosis scene where the setting cuts between a meeting of Communist leaders and old ladies having a tea party, Shaw's intensely bizarre story about how he met the love of his life, Angela Lansbury swearing vengeance against the Chinese~!, etc.[/spoiler]). The ending is predictable today, I think, but it is strong and works well. The only thing I am unsure about is what to think about Janet Leigh's character -- she serves no purpose I can see, and her dialogue and entire way of life is just so ... odd, even for this movie. Maybe I missed something lol. [b]Bringing Up Baby[/b]: Hilarious. I need to see more Katharine Hepburn, like, [i]now[/i]. She has such a cool, confident manner about herself in this, and her delivery is so wonderfully kooky. Cary Grant also more than carries his weight here. His character is such a lovable, put upon goof. It is kind of amazing, and a testament to Grant's range, that he could be such a big geek in this and then be maybe the suavest guy ever and sweep Ingrid Bergman off her feet in [b]Notorious[/b]. Cary Grant ftw. Also, leopards are funny. [b]Pleasantville[/b]: This is actually [i]much[/i] better than I thought it would be. It begins as a funny black comedy satirizing '50s values and Leave it to Beaver-type shows (watching Reese Witherspoon's character corrupt the town is a riot), and it ends as a positive statement about embracing change in every aspect of life. The movie is also a joyous celebration of color; when the color starts appearing in the black and white world, it is just so [i]alive[/i] and beautiful to see. Love some of the random allusions and references, too ([spoiler]Adam and Eve is an obvious one, but the court scene at the end is a nice throwback to [b]To Kill a Mockingbird[/b][/spoiler]). [b]Citizen Kane[/b]: OK, I will admit I held back on watching this for a long time because ... well, I don't even know why anymore. If you haven't seen it yet, then throw all the "GREATEST MOVIE EVAR" expectations out the window and appreciate [b]Citizen Kane[/b] for what it is -- a great movie. The story is fascinating, the way the narrative unfolds is interesting and the sheer visual technique is ridiculously cool (par for the course with Orson Welles, I have found). What threw me off guard the most, though, is how much [i]fun[/i] it is to watch. The way Welles fearlessly attacks William Randolph Hearst with the thinly-veiled character of Charles Foster Kane (and also by using a couple of techniques Hearst no doubt would have used, which I am sure amused Welles greatly) is quite entertaining, but the moments of humanity Welles allows for Kane hit very hard. Don't let the hyperbole keep you from seeing this excellent movie. Movie Count: 57 (Live Free and Die Hard, Time Bandits, The Hustler, Black Dragon (Miracles), Hollywoodland, Blood Diamond, Animal Crackers, Marie Antoinette, Inside Man, The Fountain, Tombstone, Jurassic Park (Rifftrax), No Country for Old Men, Juno, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Rifftrax), There Will Be Blood, Rize, Born Into Brothels, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, Hard Candy, The Matrix Reloaded (Rifftrax), Hot Fuzz, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs, Phone Booth, The Dark Knight, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Predator, Ratatouille, Renaissance, Pretty in Pink, Scanners, Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, Stop Making Sense, The Killing, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rifftrax), Voices of a Distant Star, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Amadeus, Touch of Evil, Paths of Glory, Gangs of New York, Five Easy Pieces, Perfect Blue, Novocaine, A Fish Called Wanda, A Hard Day's Night, Arsenic and Old Lace, Out of the Past, The Lady from Shanghai, The Wild Bunch, The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Bringing Up Baby, Pleasantville, Citizen Kane)

I'll be heading to my cousin's house for a day of Rock Band. Woooooooooord. Also, there will be much razzing of my beard, I'm sure.