Dagger

Alright, folks... let's start improving the post quality in this thread, shall we? I'm genuinely shocked that it did so well initially, and it'd be great if we could keep it from travelling down that familiar slippery slope. One more thing-- [SIZE=3][B]USE SPOILER TAGS.[/B][/SIZE] For the love of all that's holy, try [i]not[/i] to ruin a show for your fellow fans. I was innocently scrolling through the second page of the topic when I stumbled across a post which may have totally ruined the ending of Wolf's Rain for me. I haven't ventured near the WR thread for weeks, simply because I'd like to see the final episodes on DVD without being spoiled by people who've already watched them on Adult Swim. Alas, now all my efforts seem to have been made in vain. :mad: So to reiterate, using spoiler tags is simply common courtesy. All you have to do is type [spoiler]text[*/spoiler], minus the asterisk. If any of you have questions, please PM me or one of the other mods. Thanks in advance. ~Dagger~

[quote name='CB Shin']Well, I liked the OP of Cowboy Bebop, and I'm surprised someone hasn't mentioned this one already.[/quote] Same here. It's not precisely one of my favorite OPs--I actually prefer Samurai Champloo's--but it was among the first that made a big impression on me. The music and animation come together very nicely; it exudes that sense of "cool" which still draws so many people to CB. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Rhian][size=1][font=veranda][color=indigo]And now I can see why wrist cutter has been made an mod yet(despite being a really old member).[/size][/font'][/color][/quote] The length of time a member has been here neither increases nor decreases his or her chance of becoming a moderator. Arcadia was made a mod after only thirty-five posts or so; many of the very old members were mods at one point or another but eventually retired. ~Dagger~

Meh... Blue Gender doesn't really leap out at me as being a "mecha anime," per se. RahXephon is a series that (at least initially) obediently adheres to certain conventions seen in many earlier mecha shows. However, it takes only a few episodes to differentiate itself from its predecessors and ultimately manages to transcend the genre. RahXephon gets a lot of flak because it has superficial similarities to Evangelion; this has always pissed me off. I love Evangelion, and I think it's insulting to call RahXephon a clone--if people actually bothered to watch a significant portion of both anime, they might realize that each is a tremendous accomplishment [i]in its own right.[/i] If I had to chose a favorite mecha anime, I'd probably automatically pick RahXephon. Big O--particularly the second season--would be the closest runner-up. I'm currently in the process of watching three recent and not-so-recent mecha centric series... Gad Guard is slickly made and overall really fun, Gasaraki offers a unique political/spiritual perspective, and Soukyuu no Fafner seems to be doing an admirable job of building on the foundation laid by Evangelion and RahXephon. Oh, and Eva Platinum just plain rocks. ^_^ ~Dagger~

And I'm sure you can guess why I closed this thread. If you still need a hint, try reading the forum rules. :) ~Dagger~

[quote name='James][color=#707875']Is there any word on when episode 3 might be available?[/color][/quote] I believe the first subbed version came out last night... well, it [i]was[/i] last night over here--would that have been the morning for you? Agh, I'm so bad at time zones! [quote name=''anime[blood]'']I've noticed though that the artwork isn't as good which doesn't suprise me because of the animation that has to be added from translation from manga to anime.[/quote] I've glanced at some images from the manga, and I find that so far I actually prefer the anime artwork. In truth, I don't think the majority of anime feature markedly worse artwork than the manga upon which they're based--Full Moon wo Sagashite comes to mind, but only because the original manga is so carefully drawn and detailed. For me, action-heavy material is much more exciting in anime form (assuming the battle scenes are well-directed and have at least moderately good animation). That's why I've never bothered reading the Yu Yu Hakusho or Hunter x Hunter manga... I adore both series, but only as anime. ~Dagger~

Funi's FMA website is now officially live, complete with a production blog and some video clips taken from the first few episodes. I'm exceptionally pleased with what I've heard of the English dub. Vic Mignogna sounds great (as usual--he's one of Funi/ADV's most consistent actors), and it's nice that they decided to re-cast Al. The person now playing Al is the same boy who appeared in Fruits Basket as Hiro... if I recall correctly, in real life he's only twelve years old. That's pretty impressive, ne? ~Dagger~

[quote name='James][color=#707875']Oh, and...the music is fantastic throughout. I actually quite liked the end sequence music, despite the fact that I'm often not a big fan of title sequences in anime (with some exceptions).[/color][/quote] What I found unusual is that Gankutusou totally forgoes the ordinary template; most anime have a fast-paced, visually stimulating opening song and a slower, more relaxing ending. I think the reversal does work in the show's favor. Episode 2 surprised me in a variety of different ways--from the heavy focus on Franz to the hilarious and nicely understated revelation about [spoiler]Beppu's true gender.[/spoiler] Interestingly, seeing the events unfold from Franz's point of view made me realize that Albert is somewhat lacking as a protagonist... he's startlingly immature and doesn't seem to be very good at handling his feelings. His enthusiasm for (rather, borderline infatuation with) the Count is troubling; it's really easy to sympathize with Franz's subtly shown resentment. Franz is clearly more mentally grown-up than Albert, not to mention more responsible, and their friendship will surely have to undergo much harsher tests in upcoming episodes. The fact that the characters' emotions are [i]shown[/i] instead of stated allows the viewer to develop any number of different interpretations. I hope this trend continues as the main plot starts to develop. I love the Count--and I particularly love hearing him speak French. The short monologue at the beginning was, I thought, one of the least boring and most effective recaps I've seen in quite a while. ~Dagger~

Regarding other animal sidekicks... Shiina was the [i]only[/i] good thing about Vampire Princess Miyu TV, and I love the green fairy (pixie?) that flits around in Nightwalker. It's a little strange that three of my favorite talking mascots come from vampire anime, heh. As for people, I have soft spot for Togusa (from the Ghost in the Shell movies and television series). He's a strong, sensible, ordinary guy and makes the perfect foil for the eternally trigger-happy Batou. I enjoyed watching the two of them work together in Innocence--during which, thanks to Motoko's absence, he's basically promoted from being a supporting character's sidekick to being the main character's sidekick. His pleasant family life always seems to end up getting used as a sort of motif or device. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Godelsensei][COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]That's right, Skippedry: you simply missed out on the last twelve episodes of a magnificent series. T_T[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote] I later went back and watched up to episode 3. :) Narutaru is the kind of series which I'd buy if it got licensed, but I don't currently feel motivated enough to download it (odd though that may sound). As soon as I finished my first post in this thread, I realized I had forgotten two of my all-time favorite OPs. The first is either the last opening to the Hunter x Hunter TV series, or the only opening used in the original eight-episode OVA. I [i]think[/i] it's called Pale Ale--it's the one in which Kuroro stands on top of a skyscraper, "conducting" the dark city below, and Kurapica does all sorts of nifty things with his Nen chains. It's a great song with fluid, superbly choreographed animation and a raw, edgy feel: perfectly suited to the ending of that particular arc. I love many characters from Hunter x Hunter, but the last few episodes of the television series, coupled with the excellent OVA, immediately made Kuroro and Kurapica my absolute favorites. The second opening I forgot to mention is Cruel Angel Thesis from Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's a brilliant (not to mention annoyingly addictive) song, and the OP animation is very well timed. Although there are a lot of dizzyingly quick cuts, they're not so fast that the viewer can't tell what's going on. I've never grown tired of watching this OP. ~Dagger~

The first episode of SunaBouzo completely ruined my appetite for anime involving guns, silliness and obscenely large breasts. :( Anyway, I would never have stuck with Elfen Lied were it not for the show's incredibly classy and beautiful OP. Elfen Lied is completely packed with violence, nudity and all sorts of shocking imagery; the gentle opening song and accompanying still images help me brace myself for the oncoming slaughter. The OP's artwork actually imitates several famous paintings by the artist Gustav Klimt--if nothing else, it's really detailed and lovely. More importantly, the melody played over that artwork is actually very significant and emotionally meaningful within the context of the anime... I like it when series give their OP and/or ED sentimental value. ~Dagger~

Well, Best Buy [i]finally[/i] shipped my copy of volume 1. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I first started watching Peacemaker. Anyway, here are some thoughts on the different aspects of this release. ^_^ [B]Packaging/extras:[/B] Let me begin by saying that the collector's edition set looks simply sublime. The optional artbox is easily the most attractive one I own. The DVD itself comes with a clear keepcase and a reversible cover (the opposite side features a gorgeous shot of Souji and everyone's favorite pet pig). While the on-disc extras are pretty minimal, there's a high-quality insert with two side stories penned by the show's main scriptwriter and some additional short staff interviews. The first volume of the Peacemaker Kurogane manga is packaged with the artbox. [B]Video:[/B] Not as lush and smooth as that of some other recent GONZO anime (such as Last Exile and Yukikaze), but still a heck of a lot nicer than the fansubs. Although there are some irritating gradient issues, that's hard to avoid with digitally animated shows. Anyway, the crappy shots in episode four thankfully got cleaned up for DVD. [B]Dub:[/B] It's something of a mixed bag. My favorite characters all sound spot-on; I think Mike McRae makes an even better Hijikata than the original Japanese seiyuu, and after some awkward moments in the first episode, Braden Hunt does a brilliant job of duplicating Mitsuki Saiga's signature Souji giggle. There are times when his voice sounds a tiny bit strained, but I was really listening for that sort of thing, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. Luci Christian initially seems a bit uncomfortable in the role of Tetsu--while her tone is about right, some of Tetsu's early outbursts lack oomph. However, I [i]love[/i] Suzu's VA, and Chris Patton absolutely nails Susumu. One of the most compelling reasons to watch Peacemaker dubbed is that ADV went the extra mile to localize the Choshuu accent. Susumu only has an accent when he is thinking to himself or when he is unable to control his anger, which adds a whole new dimension to his character--one that most native English speakers, myself included, would totally miss if watching the anime in Japanese. Tatsu's VA is manages to sound perfectly natural even during high-energy comedy sequences; he's just great. All in all, I loved revisiting this series. Bring on volume two! ~Dagger~

So.... just how bloody is this film? While I can stomach all kinds of animated atrocities (hey, I've lasted through twelve episodes of Elfen Lied!), I'm not really into watching live-action movies that involve eyes being gouged out, limbs sawed off, etc. I had to walk out of the theater during Saving Private Ryan, and I didn't dare go see Kill Bill. Normally I wouldn't even consider going to a zombie flick, but Shaun of the Dead has received a lot of positive reviews (where I live, at least), and the concept sounds interesting. Do you think I'd be able to handle the gore? ~Dagger~

This word gets tossed around a lot, and in my experience it tends to have negative connotations. So, what--if anything--distinguishes a sidekick from an ordinary supporting character (or a furry shoujo mascot)? Which sidekicks do you like the best, and which are the most annoying? While talking animals aren't always my cup of tea, I'm rather partial to Japolo, a character from Shamanic Princess. I'd call him a sidekick because although he's a lot more intelligent and vocal than your average shoujo mascot, he receives absolutely no character development. He makes himself useful every once in a while, but his main purpose seems to be complaining about his master as well as concocting other sorts of snarky remarks. In that regard, at least, Japolo is similar to the parasite which inhabits the title character's hand in the Vamire Hunter D movies. While some fans find him/it extremely irritating, I think D's hand makes a great sidekick. ^_^ ~Dagger~

I'm not normally into parody anime, but I'm determined to see this simply because I love Soul Taker (which also has wonderful animation) and because [strike]Kogumi[/strike] Komugi is an awesome character. Soul Taker is a dark, quirky show that makes perfect sense if you just sort of sit back and accept everything it throws at you. Although it was released by Geneon, ADV actually hired some of Soul Taker's original voice actors to come back and reprise their roles in Komugi. I really respect them for going the extra mile to preserve continuity. If I recall correctly, this OVA is five or six episodes long. However, there was at least one other unlicensed Kogumi OVA the last time I checked. :) ~Dagger~

My ideal anime would have to be directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. :) I'm interested in seeing what he's capable of doing with a male main character (preferably one played by the ever-lovely Mitsuki Saiga). While shounen-ai would certainly be nice, quality romance or romantic undertones--same-sex or het--is definitely a must, as is lavishly animated action. I'd want there to be an emphasis on music; if that necessitates sticking one of the leads in a band, so be it. I guess I would like this hypothetical show to incorporate the usual themes and plot of a shounen action series like Yu Yu Hakusho or Hunter x Hunter, while portraying its characters and their relationships in a more... shoujo-istic fashion, so to speak. One of the things that implies is making the shounen-ai/shoujo-ai vibes frequently found in such series a little more important and concrete. Of course, the whole thing would end up resembling The Melody of Oblivion and Revolutionary Girl Utena, with bucketloads of symbolism and so forth. Heavily stylized character designs are optional; strong artwork is not. Alternatively, both Legal Drug and Death Note (two manga currently running in Japan) would make great anime. If ever animated, they could probably surpass my current favorites. ~Dagger~

Try asking [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=39612&page=42&pp=15][u]here[/u][/url]. While you're at it, please re-read the rules and work on your post quality a bit; if you're going to ask a question, the least you can do is try to punctuate it properly. Thanks! :) Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Godelsensei][COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Bleach is okay, though the main character's design is rather blatantly "borrowed" from a certain brilliant manga you can probably guess the name of.[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote] Yeah, there definitely aren't any other feisty, spiky-haired shounen leads. :p [quote name='AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Now what I disagree with... Rukia is original? O_o Didn't you just describe her as Boton's unspirited twin?[/COLOR][/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote] I only meant that in regards to the role she plays at the beginning (mysterious girl employed by the afterlife who acts as a catalyst in getting the protagonist to fight), which is similar to Botan's. Rukia makes a much more respectable shinigami than the eternally perky Botan. In fairness, though, it shouldn't be too hard for this type of anime to come up with an "original" female lead... most of them resemble Keiko from Yu Yu Hakusho or Sakuno from Prince of Tennis--a token love interest who doesn't do much other than worry about the main character. Eh, who am I kidding... I just like Rukia. She's cool. ;) EDIT: James, I like how you phrased your comment about the show's ability to easily transition between comedic and serious scenes. I felt the same way but wasn't quite sure how to express it. ~Dagger~

So I just finished watching episode 13. Up until that point, I had miraculously managed to evade all Otogizoushi-related spoilers, and now I'm very happy I didn't read too much about upcoming episodes online. The end of this first arc was a little too talky for my tastes, and the sudden onslaught of [spoiler]character deaths had the same effect on me as similar events toward the end of Madlax--I just kind of stopped caring.[/spoiler] Nevertheless, Otogizoushi's writers have now proven that they are nothing if not innovative. The fact that [spoiler]Mansairaku (gorgeous, beautiful Mansairaku!) is secretly Abe no Seimei actually made sense.[/spoiler] Thanks to several late revelations, I feel as though the first thirteen episodes will flow better and seem more interesting upon a second viewing. I cannot wait to see the upcoming [spoiler]modern arc. The new character designs, which can be seen on Otogizoushi's official site, are perfect. Mansairaku looks twice as lovely and also superbly evil.[/spoiler] I must say, Godel, I'm quite curious about whether or not you approve of the direction this anime is now taking. I was initially a little skeptical, but the more I thought about it, the better the plot twist sounded. ~Dagger~

All in all, I very much enjoyed episode 2. The comedy is perfectly timed and neatly manages to avoid falling flat; I couldn't help cracking up at all of the Rukia-centric jokes. She's such a unique and amusing character. So far I've been impressed by all of the seiyuu in this series, especially the two who play Ichigo and Rukia. I almost died laughing when Rukia whipped out her "I'm really trying to sound like a typical teenage airhead" voice. On a different note, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the action sequences haven't dropped in quality--if anything, they look better than those in episode 1. It seems as though this show will turn out to be a great example of its genre. ~Dagger~

While I understand that you were going to edit your reply, it's probably better to just post once you've seen the episode in question--that way new members won't get the wrong idea. [quote name='AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]The first episode left me with mixed feelings, though. There was too much derived from the Naruto series (and more specifically, Naruto himself), and it is really hard to not notice it.[/COLOR][/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote] Although you clearly know much, much more about Naruto than I could ever hope to, I would venture to suggest that any similarities between the two series are primarily a function of the fact that they belong to the same genre. At this point many of the characters and events in Bleach are also highly reminiscient of Yu Yu Hakusho; for example, it seems like Ichigo and Yusuke have the exact same personality, and Rukia could be described as Botan's cheerless twin. Almost all shounen action anime share a number of elements with earlier series, but I'd argue that this occurs [i]because[/i] they are shounen action anime. ~Dagger~

I'm so happy someone finally resurrected this thread! I finished buying and watching Pretear a while back and have been really eager to discuss it. [quote name='kaiyomichiru][COLOR=Navy']I've heard of the series and I would love to download it, however I can't find any fansubs of the series online..[/COLOR][/quote] Pretear is licensed; ADV has already released the entire series on DVD. Try PMing someone if you're absolutely determined to get it online. [quote name='Solo Tremaine][COLOR=#503F86']See, I was put off buying Pretear because from the trailers it looed to me like an incredible Magic Knight Rayearth rip-off.[/COLOR][/quote] From what I can tell, Magic Knight Rayearth has much more in common with Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne and even Twelve Kingdoms than it does with Pretear. I can't comment too much on this because I haven't seen Rayearth for years and years, but for whatever it's worth, I never even thought of comparing the two shows. The humor in Pretear is very Utena-esque; there's one character who reminded me strongly of Nanami. This makes the series feel a little disjointed at first, but everything settles into place with surprising speed. Because it's only thirteen episodes, the plot is extremely tight (a whole slew of heart-wrenching twists take place during the final few episodes). The animation is generally quite strong. The transformation sequences, battle choreography and character artwork are all lovely as well. mysticheero already summarized the premise, so I'll talk about the characters and dub. The huge male harem worried me at first, but all of the bishounen have pretty distinct personalities. Himeno plays big sister around the younger ones and turns to the older guys for advice. While love has a fairly big role in the series, the romance is very focused--you won't find a bunch of boys squabbling over Himeno, which makes her a pleasantly credible character. It's easy for the viewer to believe that she really is just an ordinary girl. The dub starts off a little roughly, but by the final disc I found that I actually preferred it to the Japanese version. Mawata's English voice actress pulls off her [spoiler]emotional breakdown[/spoiler] with panache. I wholeheartedly recommend Pretear--it's fun, emotionally involving and has a lot of replay value. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Sol-Blade']Though I have to add, if there is one thing I absolutely hate about music...it's when they have 3 or 4 versions of the same song in the show. Like they are fooling anyone... :p[/quote] Do you mean three or four different versions rotating during the actual show, or re-mixes included on said show's OST? Personally I'm all for OST re-mixes; for example, it's nice to have the karaoke version of a vocal song I really like. Techno-fied OPs or EDs can be quite fun as well. So long as the soundtrack also has a diverse array of background music and basically contains more than just multiple copies of one song, I certainly don't mind hearing the same tune played with different instruments and so forth. ~Dagger~

I actually like it when there are significant discrepancies between a particular show and the manga it's based on (or vice versa, depending on the circumstances). This encourages me to read the manga if I haven't taken a look at it already, and honestly I just don't find it that exciting to see the exact same story repeated in different mediums. Obviously not all changes are positive or will be universally liked, but by the same token I think it's a little hasty to assume all changes will ultimately be negative in nature. Anyway, I'm in the process of acquiring episode 2. I'll post here once I've seen it subbed. :) ~Dagger~

Whoops, guess I should've notified you faster. ^_^;; I merged your original post with this thread since it fit quite neatly into the topic being discussed here. ~Dagger~