Dagger

YYH is one of Funi's older & looser dubs. But what the English version loses in bite, it gains in some very funny not-quite-true-to-the-original lines. On the other hand, the Japanese version has an all-star cast, so it's hard to go wrong here. ;) ~Dagger~

Brilliant & wonderful. Thanks, Des! *caresses the new Quick Reply & edit box* ~Dagger~

A heads up from ADV at AX: They've licensed Gurren Lagann. Guess I'll be watching it on DVD after all! ~Dagger~

I'm a Mori/Haruhi fan myself. Kyouya/Haruhi comes in a close second. Not particularly a fan of Tamaki/Haruhi... least not as long as he continues to delude himself with the whole "But I'm her father!" excuse. That got old, like, the first time he said it. I have to admit that Hikaru/Haruhi really does not work for me. It's funny--at the beginning of the show I didn't care about the twins either way. Then, with each new episode, my opinions about each of them started to drastically diverge. By the end, I [i]loved[/i] Kaoru and had all kinds of problems with Hikaru. I'd rather see both of them as Haruhi's good friends, though. I don't like how the reverse harem set-up gets pushed harder and harder in a non-joking way as the story unfolds. *roots for Mori* ~Dagger~

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR=DarkOrange] I remember this show being pretty cool, just kind of dragged out. It fell into a lot of traps that most Shonen anime do...[/COLOR][/QUOTE] The final battles in each arc tend to be on the long side, but sadly, to this day I cannot think of any other comparably lengthy, 1990+ show in the genre that: 1) Gets consistently better as it goes along; 2) Doesn't have any filler; and 3) Has a real ending. I'd love to learn otherwise. Hunter x Hunter, which falls short on (3), is the only series that even comes close, and it's based on a story by the same manga-ka. Oh well. :animesigh ~Dagger~

There's a good chance that Romeo x Juliet will be announced as licensed very soon, actually. Maybe even at this year's Anime Expo. Special guests related to the show will be attending AX, and the production company is even screening two English-subtitled episodes. I seem to remember hearing about the ending theme's band playing at a different American con, too. I'd be surprised if all of this isn't building up to something. ~Dagger~

Aw man, now you have me feeling all nostalgic. It's been forever since I last posted in this thread, and I [i]still[/i] haven't finished the final arc. Which doesn't mean it isn't great--I just can't bring myself to watch as the darn show ends! :animecry: ~Dagger~

RxJ rocked the [spoiler]aerial battles[/spoiler] in episode 13, but I totally cracked up when [spoiler]Romeo came plunging down out of the sky.[/spoiler] I half-expected [spoiler]Juliet to catch him bridal style.[/spoiler] :animeswea ETA: Pretty banner/avatar, medafunk! ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=BKstyles][FONT=Tahoma][spoiler]...so Ryuk couldn't have explained what he explained to Light about people who use the note not going to heaven or hell and being miserable.[/spoiler] [/FONT][/QUOTE] Technically unrelated, but this might be an interesting point at which to bring up [spoiler]when Near dies.[/spoiler] I can't recall exactly what volume 13 says about [spoiler]his lifespan,[/spoiler] but I'm almost positive that [spoiler]he dies surprisingly young. Like, not more than a few years after the Kira case is closed.[/spoiler] Apparently Viz will be releasing volume 13, by the way. Just not until 2008. :animeswea ~Dagger~

Haha, I remember seeing your earlier posts about Misa and forcing myself not to drop hints. As for the manga, [spoiler]it pretty much ignores what happens to her after Light's defeat. Volume 13 (which is purely informational, not part of the story per se) states that she killed herself on Valentine's Day a year later. I think.[/spoiler] I really want to know what's going to be in the anime special... ~Dagger~

Dry Cheerios are the one thing I will never get tired of. Everything else waxes and wanes in my affections--peanut butter, Honey Bunches of Oats, raisin bagels, Kraft macaroni, even Reese's cups--but Cheerios alone are forever. (With the possible exception of crepes with Nutella.) ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Shinmaru] [spoiler]His suicide was shockingly violent, however, haha. Unless I'm forgetting something, that's pretty much the most violent scene in the entire anime, correct?[/spoiler][/QUOTE] Oh yeah. [spoiler]Even discounting Mikami's death, with Matsuda shooting Light, there's already more on-screen blood spilt than in all the rest of the anime put together.[/spoiler] Not to totally reiterate everything you said, but when reading the manga, my visceral reaction was [spoiler]a rather ugly sense of triumph. (In your face, Light! Die like the pathetic little nobody you really are!) The anime makes that kind of unambiguous response much harder. First there was that from-behind shot of him running haphazardly--knowing full well he can't escape the fate that's already caught up with him, but being no more able to stop this pointless motion than shed his human fallibility and become a god... then the flashbacks to the first episode that you brought up in your post: without resorting to cheap redemptive measures, they evoked the dignity that slipped through his fingers and the humanity he chose to lose.[/spoiler] Speaking of dignity. I've already seen people complain that the changes [spoiler]make Light seem less pathetic. While I guess this is true if you compare episode 37 to the episode 37 that might've been if they followed the manga 100%, I don't think it's true at all if you compare the experiences of reading the manga & watching the anime. The voice acting alone makes the pathetic factor stand out in sharp relief, so I don't think anything was really lost in comparison to the manga. I certainly don't think they glossed over Light's downfall or anything. Just listen to Miyano go at it. And anyway, somehow I don't think having Light flail around on the ground for ten minutes would've made this episode especially memorable.[/spoiler] Sorry, 4channers. :p ~Dagger~

[SIZE=1]Just to confirm--it does change some details from the manga ending, but it works extremely well in the anime. Again, arguably nothing major--it's like seeing the same play with different blocking. BKstyles, I wouldn't worry about the manga; they already cut out a lot from previous parts of the second arc, and compared to that, this is more like elaboration than a deviation. Unless you really really care about the manga epilogue.[/SIZE] Episode 37 almost made me cry. That's the absolute highest praise I can give this show. It did what the manga never could: [spoiler]made me feel for Light at the end, made me sense on an emotional rather than logical level the sheer farcical [i]waste[/i] of it all.[/spoiler] My own reaction startled me more than I would've been if they'd pulled out a totally different ending. There were some interesting directorial choices made here. As a whole the episode has very little background music; the dramatic scenes are carried 100% by voice acting. Mamoru Miyano must've been wiped out after the last recording session. Don't forget to read the eyecatches this time! They're important. A quick rundown of changes from the manga: [spoiler] - Light calls out to Mikami, Misa and Takada but not Ryuk. Ryuk's final lines are turned into a soliloquy delivered as he writes Light's last name from afar (although he is present in the warehouse to introduce himself to Near earlier). - They took out Mikami's last lines expressing his disillusionment, although the emotion was still blatant enough on his face. - Also, Mikami explodes. XD - Light manages to struggle to his feet after his swimming lessons and leaves the warehouse in a scene that reflects Mikami's entrance. Near has obtained the piece of the Death Note from his watch and tells Light's crew that there's no need to follow them. Aizawa insists on it, but they don't make it to Light in time. - At the end, Light wanders inside another warehouse and dies on the sunlit stairs in a scene that is obviously meant to evoke the footwashing scene with L. Instead of Ryuk being the last thing he sees before he dies, he has a hallucination of L standing some distance from him, his face hidden. - His eyes close just like L's in episode 25. - The montage that occurs as Light wanders between the warehouses also includes Misa riding on an empty train and standing at the very edge of a building's roof. At the end all you see is her closing her eyes, and they left it up for interpretation, but I think it's a pretty strong hint that she jumps. - The last shot is Ryuk's back as he sits atop a tower and gazes out over the darkening city.[/spoiler] In summary, they expanded chapter 107 greatly and cut out chapter 108. ETA: Apparently Hirano Aya announced (during that post-show bit she always does) that there's going to be a DN special sometime this summer. Not sure what the content could be, though. ~Dagger~

Full disclosure: I'm just posting to kill time. It's still going to be another hour or so before I can go home and watch the ending. Apparently there are some differences (I'm getting the impression that they're more subtle than major) between the anime & manga endings, which makes me even more eager & curious to see 37 for myself. *bangs head on keyboard* ~Dagger~

I don't think it's out of character--more like a natural progression, if even that. Haven't watched it for myself yet, but I believe the second live action movie actually [spoiler]applies a what-if scenario to the ending of the first arc. Light still reveals himself to L in the same way as in the manga & anime... but L doesn't actually die at that point (due to a couple of plot twists).[/spoiler] [spoiler]The point is, there's [i]no way[/i] to be sure of the outcome until your target no longer has a pulse. Yet Light is always sure. He reveals himself to Raye, to L, to Near--in each case a split second before the end, and in each case with the same confidence.[/spoiler] Episode 37 airs today~~~ ~Dagger~

[quote name='BKstyles][FONT=Tahoma']If we're talking about terrible villains with extremely little to no credability or build up, please god...do not forget Vayne Solidor.[/FONT][/quote] Between him and Necron, I'd give Necron the edge. At least Necron had the element of surprise. ~Dagger~

Likewise... although I hear that episode 12 offers a lot of food for thought. In the meantime I'll try to remind myself to pay more attention to Kanno's BGM. She's doing too good a job of blending it in--some lovely stuff hidden in there. The moral of episode 11: Siscons of a feather flock together. :devil: ~Dagger~

My favorite villains... aren't very villainous, when you get right down to it. It'd probably be more accurate to call them antagonists. All of them [spoiler]either get redeemed, switch sides or give way to a thoroughly evil foe.[/spoiler] None of them [spoiler]are the final bosses of their respective games.[/spoiler] [B]Kuja[/B] from FFIX: The Outfit aside, I found a lot to like about Kuja as a character. Even his clothes didn't especially bother me; I got the impression that he was supposed to be more of a slither-outerer than some kind of manly, intimidating type. Great backstory & resolution. [B]Magus[/B] from Chrono Trigger: Still one of the coolest characters I've seen in anything. [spoiler]After recruiting him, I didn't let him out of my party once.[/spoiler] Again, striking (and very well-told) backstory. [B]Sydney[/B] from Vagrant Story: I daresay his garment of choice gives Kuja a serious run for his money. Unlike Kuja, he does radiate slick villainous characteristics. One might even call him badass. Then there's the moving--albeit wide open for interpretation--role he plays in the end. [B]Albedo[/B] from Xenosaga: Crazy is passé, but Albedo still manages to be entertaining. [spoiler]The messed-up relationship between him and Junior[/spoiler] carries much of the emotional weight in Episode III. So where are all the great female villains? Has more than one been mentioned in this entire thread? ~Dagger~

[quote name='Retribution][size=1]Hey Dagger, could we see a picture of you? C'mon, we [collective'] promise no one will stalk you.[/size][/quote] I'll get around to it at some point. I don't own a camera, so getting my already-taken pictures in digital form involves working up the energy to pester the people who have 'em. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Sara][color=#db2007']You have four legs! Are you part insect or something?[/color][/quote] You mean.... [i]you don't[/i]? ~Dagger~

1. Kyuubi [Naruto] 2. Pikachu [Pokemon] 3. Inuyasha [well, durr...] 4. Mokona [Tsubasa/Rayearth] ~Dagger~

Oooh, I want to respond without giving anything away... I don't think I am, but I'll use spoiler tags in case I end up using wording that's too suggestive. Light's biggest weaknesses: [spoiler]Hubris (duh), but I think that his use of other people also qualifies. Objectively it was stupid of him to keep employing Misa over and over, and it was incredibly stupid to send a Death Note to Mikami, a total stranger. While I'm great at suspending my disbelief for this story--if I do say so myself, haha--the way things turned out in regards to Mikami's character is just a bit much for me. Anyway, though, Light's pride keeps him from recognizing that people aren't passive tools; you can't use them over and over as if you're driving in nails with a hammer. Sooner or later even the most predictable person will crack under pressure, and he or she might not even realize it. Light has an extraordinary amount of self-control; it's just that this control doesn't extend to others as much as he seems to believe. Worse, he's gotten so lucky--especially with Misa--that it'd be hard to fault him for forming that impression.[/spoiler] I'd say you're onto something interesting with respect to [spoiler]the relative plainness of Light's plan to wipe the slate of Near and everyone else. He lost a lot more than he realized when L died. He went up against L when the world was first learning of Kira, when in many ways he was the underdog. L is the only person he's ever thought of as a rival, and he thoroughly defeated him. Near & Mello challenged Light when he was already more or less on top of the world. This time they were the ones coming from below--little more than pests and nuisances to him. L kept him on his toes; L made him take precisely calculated gambles and constantly sense the danger of being caught. Then he spent four years or so in a position of insular security, leading the investigators on a wild goose chase. There was no way Near and Mello, by the time they caught up, could make him even remember what it had once been like to be really threatened.[/spoiler] I'll cut myself off early so I'm not tempted to spill more. ~Dagger~

I think the other special edition boxes are just there to keep all the extras contained in one package. They're probably made of thinner cardboard or paperboard than a regular artbox. ~Dagger~

[url=http://www.rightstuf.com/items/2007-06/22/large/av20852b.jpg][u]Early image of volume 3 loot[/u][/url] People are totally going to buy this just for the pillowcase. ~Dagger~

It's been in at least a few North American film festivals, so hopefully that ups its chances. I could have sworn that the name of a less active (in anime, anyway) company was attached to it--like Sony, except that's probably wrong. Kind of a tangent, but the art director for Tokikake will be the main director of [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7921][u]Miyori no Mori[/u][/url]. The two projects also share the same screenplay writer. ~Dagger~