Dagger

[quote name='Desbreko'][color=#4B0082]I grabbed the first episode of [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=8537][u]Spice and Wolf[/u][/url] yesterday.[/color][/QUOTE] Loved it! :catgirl: Horo is an incredibly charming, intriguing character, and she has a lot of chemistry with Lawrence. I can't tell where the show is going to go from here, but at this point I'm just interested in seeing more of her. I like her weird dialect, too. ~Dagger~

I'd say [b]Origin[/b] (Gin-iro no Kami Agito) is the worst anime I've seen in a while, considering that I turned it off halfway through because it was actually giving me a headache. I knew going in that it wasn't going to be brilliantly written or anything, but I figured the GONZO-movie prettiness would make up for it. It was pretty, all right (bar the more-than-occasional bought of bad CG)... unfortunately, crappy writing and eye-roll-worthy environmentalist themes are a fatal combination for me. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Concerning Furi Kuri and Bo however-many-it-is: the reason these shows are amazing is that [I]they're not supposed to make any sense at all.[/I] I'd be willing to bet that all you people who hate them don't like Monty Python, either. :animesmil[/FONT][/QUOTE] On the contrary. Monty Python is pleasantly nonsensical, not shrilly random. ;) ~Dagger~

1. Nope. 2. Probably no more than any other anime DVD. It's not a high-demand title as far as I can tell, and they're re-releasing it this coming Christmas anyway. I'm a bit surprised Funi bothered with the recall in the first place; maybe they were being more careful than usual because of the holiday theme? ~Dagger~

Heh. I understand FLCL, but I don't care for it. That style of comedy doesn't appeal to me in the least. The best moments are the quiet, subtly emotional parts (and they [i]are[/i] very well done, I'll give it that). Loved Gunbuster 2, on the other hand, although people have compared its tone to FLCL's. I can see where they come from, based on the first episode or so, but overall it's a huge mistake to think that the two are anything alike even on the level of direction style, beyond a few early moments.... and in that case I think the comparison only came up because FLCL is from the same studio. Would I call FLCL bad? No; it's just not for me. ~Dagger~

[SIZE="1"]Well, that's already been announced. The OP is by Kokia (the Brain Powered ED, Ai no Melody & Chouwa oto ~ with reflection from Gin-iro no Kami Agito, plus some other anime stuff) and the ED is by Lia (Tori no Uta, Farewell Song & Aozora from Air, Ana from Clannad, etc). I love Lia's KEY-related songs, and I haven't heard anything by Kokia except what she did for Agito, but they're both gorgeous pieces. Sorry to disappoint. :animeswea[/SIZE] ------------------ ETA: Quite disappointed in the first episode of Il Teatrino. Frankly, the best part of it was the weird live-action OP. I don't think I'm going to continue watching this.　　 Now to comfort myself with Aria... ~Dagger~

Just started [b]Bullet Butlers[/b]. It's like... gosh, I guess I can only characterize it as a crazy mix of Lord of the Rings (or maybe Lodoss is more like it) and Baccano. The main character is a half-elf bishounen butler with glasses and a foul-mouthed talking gun; he slaughters masses of enemies and then goes home and makes yummy tea for his (super hot) mistress. I haven't even gotten to the OP yet, and there's already been a huge battle scene, a ton of world-building, loads of characters introduced, a hostage situation, flashbacks to the sort of Tragic Past that usually gets reserved for the halfway mark in stories in this genre, and a happy picnic in the woods. Needless to say, I love this game. ~Dagger~

Whereas I disliked Lain and liked Ergo Proxy... :animesmil [b]Gilgamesh[/b] and [b]Texhnolyze[/b] would top my list if you're looking for more in the post-apocalyptic vein. Gilgamesh isn't pretty but has a hell of a good story. If you had the patience for Ergo, neither of these should be much of a problem, although both can be pretty roundabout/obscure when it comes to revealing plot points. ~Dagger~

Just started [b]Zegapain[/b]. I'd heard that it didn't get good until much later, but three episodes was enough to hook me. It's rough around the edges (not high-budget; the CG is clunky; occasionally silly directorial tricks). That said, I've been in the mood for a twisty, messes-with-your-head mecha series, and this seems as if it'll suit the bill well. Gotta get Netflix to send me a replacement disc, though... stalled out after the third episode. :( ~Dagger~

A couple of firsts. [B]KimiAru[/B]: Don't even want to talk about it. [B] True Tears[/B]: Wow. Had no expectations for this, but turned out to be one of the better bishoujo first episodes I've seen in a while. Wonderful atmosphere, sympathetic protagonist, intriguing heroines, beautiful music. [B]H20[/B]: Not as well put together as True Tears, but better than I expected. I think I'll stick with this. Assuming I stick with Aria, Gunslinger Girl, Mnemosyne and Shigofumi, that gives me six shows for the season, which is more than I've had on my plate in ages. That's not even counting continuing shows like Clannad and Gundam 00. Guess I was wrong for thinking the winter looked a tad barren. ~Dagger~

[url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=8760][u]ANN encyclopedia entry[/u][/url] The main characters are Fumika, a poker-faced girl who delivers letters from the dead to the living, and her partner Kanaka, a talking staff. I'll say off the bat that Shigofumi may be a must-watch for fans of Kino's Journey. They shouldn't have anything in common besides the same character designer, but the parallels are hard to ignore, especially with Fumika's emotionless gaze, boisterous non-human partner and the fact that she uses "boku." Strong production values, simple and nicely rendered character art (I especially like how Fumika's eyes look iridescent at times), great BGM.... but most importantly, it has atmosphere in spades. Not that I'd have predicted them having anything in common with each other, but in that sense, it reminded me of the first episode of True Tears. I assumed that this would be episodic, except that the preview and next episode title make it sound connected to the first episode. Interested to see how they manage that. [spoiler]Totally unexpected twist at the end, right when I was getting ready to say that it seemed like Kino's Journey or Hell Girl, except non-disturbing and more slice-of-life.[/spoiler] Hoo, was I ever wrong in that department. Dunno if they'll revisit what happened in future episodes, but looking at this episode by itself, I actually thought it was great to end there without explaining anything. Could end up being my favorite Tatsuo Sato show. ~Dagger~

Disclaimer: Not a philosophical masterpiece, but fun if you like this kind of thing. That having been said.... Zombies? Mayhem? Awesome animation? Count me in. Just watched the first disc of this two-season, 26-episode show from ADV. Now I'm just disappointed that the next volume won't be coming out till February. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v58KTr5Ofv8][u]First OP[/u][/url]

But did it rock your soul? :laugh: (It is indeed based on an eroge, by the way.) Pros - The surreal feeling of hearing the footprints story in an anime, of all places - Otoha is made of love and win - Hayami, too, is more to my tastes than the rest... which is nice considering that she seems to be the main heroine - Cane-harassment - Seems to be an actual reason behind "Hirose-sama" - The supernatural/mystery stuff has me hooked - Nice music, decent OP song, really good ED song Cons - Could do without most of the supporting characters, especially - the bullies, who are so ridiculous-looking and -sounding that I can't take them seriously at all - No more wild boar, plzthx - Needs less random falling down fanservice, more cane and innocent gropage fanservice (although after the end of the episode, I suppose that's a non-issue?) ~Dagger~

Relevant to the topic, I think... just came across [url=http://www.armchairnews.com/freelance/eggers.html][u]a fantastic rant[/u][/url] by [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Eggers][u]Dave Eggers[/u][/url] about the concept of selling out. (It starts about two-thirds of the way down the page, after he finishes his numbered answers.) [quote]There is a point in one's life when one cares about selling out and not selling out. One worries whether or not wearing a certain shirt means that they are behind the curve or ahead of it, or that having certain music in one's collection means that they are impressive, or unimpressive. Thankfully, for some, this all passes. I am here to tell you that I have, a few years ago, found my way out of that thicket of comparison and relentless suspicion and judgment. And it is a nice feeling. Because, in the end, no one will ever give a **** who has kept **** 'real' except the two or three people, sitting in their apartments, bitter and self-devouring, who take it upon themselves to wonder about such things. The keeping real of **** matters to some people, but it does not matter to me. It's fashion, and I don't like fashion, because fashion does not matter.[/quote] And so on. ~Dagger~

Yeah, six-episode OVA. I've been thinking of renting it for the action scenes--in fact, I think I'll go put it in my queue right now. Looks like Manga Ent. has divided it across two discs (second one is called The Revelation, for whatever reason). Here's the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatsunoko_Productions][u]Wikipedia article[/u][/url] about the production company... the only other recent thing I've seen by them is Soul Taker. ~Dagger~

Meh, that thread covers just about everything by now. I can move your post there if you want (since you went to the trouble to write all that, might not want it buried here), but it doesn't really matter. Up to you. It's been a while since I watched Esca in full, but I'm pretty much with you on most aspects of the ending, especially the romance aspects of it. It was particularly disappointing because it was still much better overall than so many other shows, ya know? I wanted so badly to love it to the end. ~Dagger~

[URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=38527&page=8"][u]Didn't look very hard, did we?[/u][/URL] :p ~Dagger~

[quote name='Aceburner']Crap. I was gonna start that annual flame war. So Dagger made this decision this time?[/QUOTE] Was there a decision to be made? :confused: I just responded to his request... ~Dagger~

Shinkai was only involved with the animated sequence. However, minori (the company that made the ef game) was where he became more widely known to fans as a director. Below are links to the various opening movies he directed for them before ef. It's pretty cool to see how his visual effects and cinematography became more elaborate over time. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_OqOS9XcB8][u]Bittersweet Fools OP[/u][/url] [2001] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cdE2hu0pKI][u]Wind -a breath of heart- OP 1[/u][/url] [2002] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lpZLdj3_Jw][u]Wind -a breath of heart- OP 2[/u][/url] [2002] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAHthGd3LMI][u]Haru no Ashioto OP[/u][/url] [2004] He also collaborated on (but did not personally direct) another Wind movie later in 2002, the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsHCiGLjyd8][u]opening[/u][/url] to the Soyokaze no Okurimono fandisc. ef - the first tale came out in 2006. For comparison purposes, he released She and Her Cat in 1999, Voices of a Distant Star in 2002, Beyond the Clouds in 2004, and Byousoku 5cm in 2007. The ef game art is attributed to Naru Nanao (who designed the female characters) and 2C = Galore (who designed the male characters). I'm assuming they had some help from nameless minori assistants and other affiliates, especially since ef has waaaay more CGs than comparable visual novels. Because they went for that more cinematic approach, it ended up being a very expensive game to produce--minori spent most of their profits from their previous works [i]and[/i] took out loans to finish the first tale. :animeswea ~Dagger~

[quote name='2008DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Your second 'Hiro and Miya' is definietly Hiro and Kyousuke XD[/color][/quote] *sheepish laughter* Fixed. [quote name='2008DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Anyway, those stills were interesting - do Kei and Kyousuke become romantically involved in the game? They sort of hinted at it at the end of the show but we don't get much info... in any case Kyousuke is simply awesome and they'd make a great couple.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [spoiler]Yes. Out of "the first tale," a tale of memories really only covers the first chapter (the resolution of the love triangle, Kei accepting Hiro's choice, etc). The second chapter is about Kei getting back on her feet, so to speak. When I started it, I thought it'd be a predictable rebound arc and wasn't terribly interested, but of course it turned out to be very heartfelt. They go a lot more into Kyousuke's character as well.[/spoiler] For the record, here are the five couples in the two parts of the game. Spoiler-tagged for the heck of it, although most are obvious. :animeswea [spoiler]Yuuko Amamiya x Yuu Himura[/spoiler] [prologue... and epilogue?] [spoiler]Miyako Miyamura x Hiro Hirono[/spoiler] [the first tale, a tale of memories] [spoiler]Kei Shindou x Kyousuke Tsutsumi[/spoiler] [the first tale] [spoiler]Chihiro Shindou x Renji Asou[/spoiler] [the latter tale, a tale of memories] [spoiler]Mizuki Hayama x Shuuichi Kuze[/spoiler] [the latter tale] Chihiro's chapter is a big reason why I'm excited for the latter tale's release, of course, but I'm also looking forward to the chapter where Kuze (the costume-owning violin player!) is the male protagonist. It's going to be an interesting ride, that's for sure. ~Dagger~

It's interesting and valuable to see such different reactions from you two. I enjoyed reading both of them. Since the show has finished its run, I should mention that NNL [url=http://nnl1.com/ef/][u]released[/u][/url] an English translation of the ef - the first tale game demo a little while back. (Shouldn't be any legal issues that I'm aware of, since the demo is already free to download in Japanese.) In the spirit of celebration, I'll share a few game CGs I liked. [I]Prologue[/I] [url=http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/1471/yuuko1we1.jpg][u]Yuuko & Himura[/u][/url] [url=http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/4025/yuuko2yk6.jpg][u]Yuuko & Himura[/u][/url] [I] Chapter 1 - Miyako[/I] [url=http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/328/miya1lu1.jpg][u]Hiro & Miyako[/u][/url] [url=http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/7711/miya2up9.jpg][u]Hiro & Kyousuke[/u][/url] [url=http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/1794/miya3ma6.jpg][u]Kei, Hiro & Miyako (through Kyousuke's camera)[/u][/url] [url=http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8739/miya4se9.jpg][u]Hiro & Miyako[/u][/url] [url=http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7753/miya5uz5.jpg][u]Hiro & Miyako[/u][/url] [url=http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/9480/miya6vg8.jpg][u]Hiro & Miyako[/u][/url] [I]Chapter 2 - Kei[/I] [url=http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2645/kei1le8.jpg][u]Kei & Kyousuke[/u][/url] [url=http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/9417/kei2lu4.jpg][u]Kei, Hiro & Kyousuke[/u][/url] [url=http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3236/kei3jh6.jpg][u]Yuuko, Miyako & Kyousuke[/u][/url] [url=http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/1198/kei4ix2.jpg][u]Kei & Kyousuke[/u][/url] [url=http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/1916/kei5ag5.jpg][u]Kei & Kyousuke[/u][/url] The first ef R2 DVD comes with, among other things, a short manga called Blue Blue Sky by "Shindou Nagi." The really awesome part about this (which I didn't pick up on at all until I re-watched the first two episodes) is that the rough-sketch version of that manga is what Hiro is shown drawing in the actual show. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Kanji']I wish we'd learn a bit more about Kino; episode 4 (Land of Adults) was one of the most powerful ones, partially because we learn a bit more about the title character. Guess I'll have to look into the movies next![/QUOTE] Then you'll be happy to hear that the first movie ("Life Goes On") is another Kino flashback. :) It was directed by someone other than the man who directed the TV series & movie 2, so it feels a tad different, but it doesn't deviate from the source material or anything as far as I know. Also, each movie is only about thirty minutes long, so they pretty much feel like an extension of the show (although I would love another full TV series). [B]Allison to Lillia[/B], another series of books by the Kino's Journey writer and with character designs by the same artist, is being made into a 26-episode anime in the spring. ~Dagger~

My family and I ended up watching Joshua Bell on WETA and playing a heated game of Risk (which I lost--damn you, South America!!). Anyway, here's to another year. :catgirl: That said, I'm not much of one for resolutions. Why wait until New Year's to decide on getting something done if it was that important in the first place? ~Dagger~

Thoughts on my second viewing of movie 2: - What's the significance of the very first scene? Is the story circular (meaning that the beginning takes place around the end), and if not, what is it supposed to evoke? - It's unusual (OOC?) for Kino to let Hermes tip over like that. - The disinfection scene is about as close as a show like this ever gets to having fanservice. (Speaking of which, Kino in oversized sunglasses [spoiler]and nothing else![/spoiler] = ULTRA moe.) - The CG stands out here and there, but not in a bad way. - It's funny how Kino stands there [spoiler]humming loudly into space to make echoes[/spoiler] and not a single person turns to stare. - The first time I watched it, I guessed that [spoiler]the boy would be dead somehow[/spoiler] the instant he was mentioned. Thinking back, most of the Kino's Journey stories offer the viewer everything he needs to understand what will happen--I say understand rather than predict, because there's always a sense of inevitability to whatever does happen. You aren't left feeling that the writer was aiming for the simple shock value of a plot twist. In other words, whether or not the outcome of a Kino story is surprising depends more on the viewer's reception than on the story itself. It depends on how passive you want to be while watching it (and phrasing it that way isn't meant to be a criticism of any particular watching style--personally, I lean much more toward being passive; I find it more fun to just accept everything as it comes and try not to guess at stuff, although sometimes I can't help myself). - What is the meaning of "For You" as the movie's subtitle? - I'm not sure of the timeline, but I've seen it said that this movie takes place later chronologically than any of the other Kino animated material. If that's so, I think it does show in parts... especially Kino's greater relaxation and comfort with herself and her surroundings (when she's [spoiler]telling stories to Inasha's family,[/spoiler] for instance; the echoing and even treating Hermes more casually could also be signs of this). - Her smiles also seem more sincere and less guarded. ^^ - On the flip side, she seems even more immune to tragedy. - After spending so long without any Kino anime, it was cool to see the bird theme come back in full force. - Really like the motorrad riding scenes in this one. - Great comedy bits between Hermes and the other motorcycle thing, and the timing of the cutting between that and [spoiler]Kino's conversation with the "postman"[/spoiler] is pitch-perfect. - The [spoiler]monitor-screen battle[/spoiler] is the coolest (and creepiest) stand-off anywhere in the series. - So who [spoiler]really wrote the last letter, and when was it written?[/spoiler] - The self-referential final conversation between Kino and Hermes practically makes the whole movie. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Panache'] One final Esca thought. Good well developed(personality wise...) cat girls characters wtf?:o[/QUOTE] Haha! Just goes to prove that it can happen. :catgirl: Watched the last eight episodes of [B]Seirei no Moribito[/B] in one sitting. As a whole, the show just looks and feels a lot more like a looooong feature film than a regular TV series. And despite the existence of plenty of other fantasy anime with trappings like dragons and elves and dwarves, Moribito--which draws from a completely different type of mythology--is in my mind the closest show out there to an anime Lord of the Rings. (Although I suppose The Hobbit would be a better comparison in terms of scale.) Its focus on world-building and anthropology is very Tolkien-esque. I teared up at the end of both the book and the anime. As a complete product, I think the novel has more to recommend it; it's so tightly written. The anime sacrifices that sense of leanness (as well as the satisfaction of deductive revelations), but in terms of sheer beauty and spectacle, it doesn't leave anything wanting. ~Dagger~