Dagger

Hm... this isn't actually starting until June 14, but I just saw the first episode, so they must've run it as a sneak peek or something. I haven't gotten around to playing the Devil May Cry games yet. So let me draw a comparison. I was disappointed with the Hellsing OVA--never got past the first episode. Not my kind of thing. This anime, on the other hand? [i]This[/i] is my kind of thing. I dig the banter. I dig the style. I love the delicious, absurd animation that's so nice there's no way they'll be able to keep it up. (I'll enjoy it while it lasts, I suppose.) Other people have come away from it with lukewarm impressions, but personally I thought it was a lot of fun. Especially that crazy scene in the opera house. And somehow I doubt that the games became known for the richness of their storyline... Eye candy should be palatable, and the beginning of DMC, at least, is just that. No OP or ED yet. ~Dagger~

[quote name='i.luv.kiba']I mean, he's killing off criminals for the good of the rest of the world.[/quote] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/lawfulevillightta7.jpg[/IMG] D&D, anyone? I don't care much about Light killing criminals, actually. Wouldn't support it in real life, obviously, and I don't buy his self-serving schtick about making a new world and all that jazz, but it doesn't stick in my craw. The fact that he shows equally few qualms when killing innocent people is what turns me off. It doesn't help that he doesn't actually give a flying **** about anyone besides his pretty-haired self. (Disclaimer: There are villains in other stories who manage to be egotistical, arrogant, self-obsessed--and utterly charming. Light, I am afraid, does not charm me.) ~Dagger~

Vic is definitely capable of playing older; Carrossea Doon in Madlax is a good example of this. I'm delighted he got cast--I was convinced that Yukito would be Chris Patton (now I'd bet money that, since he's not Yukito, he'll end up being Ryuuya). Patton would've nailed it, like he nails everything, but Vic Mignogna could do some great stuff with Yukito's snarky side. [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=2074][u]Monica Rial[/u][/url] is a veteran with a really wide range--she can play grown-up, little girl and everything in between. (Seriously: she's been Jo in Burst Angel, Angelica in Gunslinger Girl, Sakura in Tsubasa, Nyamo in Azumanga, Hyatt in Excel Saga...) Haruka in RahXephon is my favorite role of hers. I think it's significant that the dub director gave one Kanon role to Jessica Boone and another to a rising talent. ~Dagger~

[SIZE=1][QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange] the Air arc is what truly got me though. though I REALLY would like to know WTH was up with [spoiler]Yukito turning into a crow?!?![/spoiler] I'm guessig it has to do with his closing line it episode 7, but god damn if that wasn't really freaking weird. I'll tell you, the second half of the series was nothing I could have expected, as can be said about most of this anime.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] That's basically it. [spoiler]All of Ryuuya and Uraha's descendants, right down to Yukito and his mother, carried on a portion of Uraha's powers. They encountered Kanna's reincarnations over and over but were never able to save them. Instead, they poured their powers into Uraha's puppet while on the verge of dying (I don't remember the scene exactly, but I think Yukito's mother might have cut her own life short in order to make this transfer). So by the time the puppet came into Yukito's hands, there was a huge reserve of magic in there waiting to be used. Yukito chose to turn into a crow (and go back through time to the beginning of that summer) because he realized he could not be by Misuzu's side as a human being. Because of the curses placed on Kanna, it would just worsen her sickness and debilitate him as well. As Sora, he found a loophole and could be with Misuzu--be her "friend"--way past the events of episode 7. What's neat is all of the foreshadowing that's sprinkled through the first seven episodes (for instance, the last thing we see before the OP plays in episode one is a crow flying skyward). With him as her companion Sora and Haruko as her mother, Misuzu is the first of Kanna's reincarnations to find the happiness that Kanna was unable to have with Uraha, Ryuuya and her own mother.[/spoiler] In the AIR movie, [spoiler]Yukito never becomes a crow and is with Misuzu as a human being, along with Haruko, to the end.[/spoiler] So, yeah. The last time I rewatched AIR, I tried sticking the Summer Special in there in chronological order, but I think it works better when watched a little bit after the main series. It makes for a softer landing, at any rate. :animeswea [/SIZE] --------------------------------------- ADV has announced AIR's English voice cast (for the early episodes, at any rate--no mention of Summer yet). Did I mention that it's [i]licensed[/i]!? *dies of joy* Yukito - Vic Mignogna [Edward in FMA, Kurz in FMP] Misuzu - Monica Rial [Kirika in Noir, Hazuki/Luna in Moon Phase] Kano - Stephanie Whittles [she's basically new to voice acting] Minagi - Kira Vincent-Davis [Lucy/Nyu in Elfen Lied] Haruko - Luci Christian [Wrath in FMA, Kaname in FMP] Hijiri - Christine Auten [Izumi in FMA, Sakaki in Azumanga Daioh] Michiru - Serena Varghese [Rosetta in Kaleido Star] Potato - Tiffany Grant [Asuka in Evangelion] Minagi's Mother - Kelly Manison [Vanessa in Madlax] Keisuke - John Gremillion [Yoshida in Peacemaker] Nayuki - Jessica Boone [Chiyo in Azumanga Daioh, Rue in Princess Tutu] Ayu - Brittney Karbowski [Himeko in Pani Poni Dash] Makoto - Tiffany Terrell [various minor roles since '03] ~Dagger~

Re: Death... Oh, good point. That'll teach me to type faster than I think. :animeswea And you really do need to see episode 9. :) ~Dagger~

I'm happy you're enjoying it! Keep watching--it gets better. On a speculative note, I am really curious about what the death toll for this show will be like. First of all, we don't even know if they're keeping the classic ending--and even if they do keep it, there's no guarantee that they'll kill the same supporting characters along the way. [size=1]Or maybe I'm just saying this because I don't want the curtain to fall on Tybalt...[/size] If they're going to go down the dark & twisty path, someone will have to die pretty soon to kick things off. Probably someone nice and innocent. :animedepr One thing I appreciate about RomeJuli is that it's found the perfect medium between having blood squirting all over the place and not showing blood at all. Very few anime are able to reach that. And the blood is a bit of a surprise each time, if only because the characters are so sweet and fresh-faced. ~Dagger~

Dammit! I just wrote a nice long post and lost it all. F you, Internet. :( But to recap, I don't think there's anything wrong with liking Light as a fictional character. The word support sets off alarm bells for me because I've encountered a lot of people who not only like Light but sincerely wish there was a Kira in real life. Books, movies, etc. are doubly fascinating when they force you to sympathize with a character who would otherwise be morally repugnant. Applying those feelings to real life as if it's all the same thing is what freaks me out just a tad. ~Dagger~

Well, just look at it this way: if you were planning on getting the other special editions for the broadcast order discs, you would've been automatically double-dipping on everything anyway. :p ~Dagger~

What standards are you judging him by, anyway? Would you really excuse his behavior in other people? Frankly, people who support Light scare me no matter what reasoning they use, but "Of course he's not evil, because I support him" (which implies that you wouldn't support him if he were evil) seems to me like a less nuanced stance than just swallowing the negative things he does along with their potentially positive outcome. The highlight of episode 33 was certainly [spoiler]the catfight,[/spoiler] which is good, because I was very much looking forward to it. I'm glad they didn't cut it, even though it does nothing to advance the plot. Haruhi Suzumiya versus Haruhi Fujioka! Maaya Sakamoto is doing a nice job as Takada. ~Dagger~

Yeah, it's Princess Witch, a PajamasSoft game. (I think they're the ones who made Prism Ark.) The game OP has a few genuinely animated moments, but that's it. ~Dagger~

The broadcast order DVDs will come with the special editions of the second through fourth discs. (So they'll have more episodes per volume than the regular editions they're packed with.) ~Dagger~

Wow. I'll be very impressed if they can keep this kind of momentum going for episode 10. I had trouble understanding the details of the [spoiler]conversations between Montague and Escalus' caretaker/priestess/whatever lady,[/spoiler] but the big picture was clear enough. It felt as if they put a lot of love and care into episode 9, with a lot of smaller motions even during quieter scenes. The [spoiler]battle[/spoiler] scene was superb, both in how it portrayed [spoiler]Juliet's trauma[/spoiler] (without overdoing it) and her [spoiler]inexperience with this kind of free-for-all scenario (contrasted with the experience shown by Conrad, Curio and Francisco).[/spoiler] My opinion of Conrad has gone down. He clearly doesn't [spoiler]have very good trustworthiness radar.[/spoiler] Meanwhile, my opinion of Francisco just keeps going higher. [spoiler]Both he and Curio are obviously much better advisors for Juliet than Conrad, but going even beyond that, Francisco demonstrated the best sense for what needed to be done to get them out of a pickle. And it he did it--by going to Tybalt without hesitation.[/spoiler] As we say in my family, "Nice play, Shakespeare." :animesmil Willy is beginning to act more and more like another eccentric storyteller: Drosselmeyer in Princess Tutu. ~Dagger~

Yeah, really! I'm so pleased that waiting for the DVDs paid off with this one. Media Blasters is becoming Yuri Central, as far as the North American fandom is concerned. Coming from them, it'll be cheap as hell, too. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the show. By the way, not to harsh your yuri high, but that image is over 2 mb. Might cause a problem for some people. ~Dagger~

One's mileage may vary, but I think the dub is well worth watching. If nothing else, check out Episode 00--in English, it becomes as much a parody of bad dubs as of amateur filmmaking. Although all of the stilted acting is funny, Johnny Yong Bosch (Itsuki) does an especially good job of being wooden. Crispin Freeman (Kyon) is a near-perfect fit. He really holds the English version of the show together. I particularly feel this way because I'm inclined to be harsher than usual on TMoSH's dub, and most of the other main cast members deliver strong performances that (for me personally) don't 100% hit the spot. Because of Freeman's work, I found myself able to focus on the highlights. I warmed up to Wendee Lee (Haruhi) as the episodes went on. She's a lot better than I feared, though not totally there. You have to discard all memories of Aya Hirano to start fairly appreciating Lee's Haruhi. I liked her best in irked/angry scenes. Anything I have to say about Michelle Ruff (Yuki) or Stephanie Sheh (Mikuru) is nitpicking. Both of them sound very much like their characters' seiyuu. Mikuru's voice grates on my nerves in either language, and I think Ruff's tone is just a tad too soft/breathy--but again, nitpicking. JYB is surprisingly great as Itsuki. It's one of those performances that doesn't sound much like its Japanese counterpart--yet, at the same time, doesn't force you to mentally contrast them. Despite the differences, I felt that his voice melded beautifully with the character's manner & on-screen appearance. Very pleased. The actress I desperately wanted to play Asakura does play her. I was disappointed at first, because she has the perfect voice for the character, and it wasn't turning out the way I'd hoped. You can tell when she starts to settle in. Also, her "Pretty please?" [i]smolders.[/i] Kari Wahlgren is a fabulous, giggle-racked Tsuruya, and Kyon's male friends are also excellent, given what small roles they have. The single best moment so far takes place during Yuki's explanation of [spoiler]her real identity.[/spoiler] Kyon: "No way." Yuki: "Way." ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange] Really, hardcore nerdiness is kind of a new thing in America.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] Tell that to the Trekkies. :p ~Dagger~

Yay, Siberia. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/siberia.jpg[/IMG] Plus, just for fun, an [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/yuki3.png][u]earlier version[/u][/url]. ~Dagger~

I got my Haruhi package in the mail today. The artbox is so amazing that calling it a box just seems insulting. I look at it standing amidst the rest of my anime, and I experience the urge to give it an entire shelf to itself so that everything else doesn't wither away when confronted with its shiny, colorful glory. The design is ingenious, and there's artwork on every available surface. Definitely worth the money if you're a fan. The physical extras are a yellow Haruhi cosplay ribbon, the Hare Hare Yukai CD, a mini pencil board and a Haruhiism T-shirt iron-on. The ribbon/headband is surprisingly high-quality. I can see myself wearing it casually (though maybe minus the side bows). I plan on trying out the iron-on as soon as I find myself in possession of a suitable white shirt. Anyway, I'm going to go have a look at the on-disc extras now. I'll probably watch the actual episodes tomorrow or Monday... I'm going to give the dub a few trial episodes before I decide whether to watch it all dubbed or just spot-check as I go along. ~Dagger~

I claim #47, Divine. ETA: Also claiming #34, Siberia. ~Dagger~

Literature. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/lit.jpg[/IMG] Divine. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/ef.jpg[/IMG] ~Dagger~

Loved it.

Now this is my kind of humor! :) So many anime--especially the ones that are purportedly pure comedies--end up being not at all funny. It's also amusing to see Hei & co.'s sketchy activities from an outside perspective. After reading Wild Seed, I expected [spoiler]the possession ability to involve killing the soul of the body you enter (and hence making each body you leave behind a dead and empty shell, impossible to return to).[/spoiler] This is a gentler version of the same concept. I wonder, though, [spoiler]where Mao's real body is--assuming he hasn't lost it--and how he keeps it from decaying in his absence.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange] The animation and art are amazing. It's a [B]GONZO [/B] show, so that's a given...[/COLOR][/QUOTE] Don't get too invested in NHK's looks. It's a bit infamous for a couple of really horribly animated episodes (which, to add insult to injury, weren't even corrected for the DVD version). ADV is going to release the first DVD in "late 2007," in case anyone's interested. ~Dagger~

At times in episode 2, I wasn't sure whether or not I'd accidentally switched to a horror series. Damn, that Mega-baa is scary. :animesmil I'm surprised the animation quality hasn't slipped yet, although chances are there'll be plenty of that later. ~Dagger~

[quote name='medafunk']Heh, it'll be slightly embarrassing if I'm wrong... :animeswea[/quote] My lips (fingers?) are sealed. ;) Haven't had a chance to watch episode 32 yet, but it appears to include [spoiler]Mikami's backstory, Takada-sama[/spoiler] and a glimpse of the [url=http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/3421/nowaiuf4.jpg][u]elusive, DS-lovin' Matt[/u][/url]. On the figure front, Goodsmile is making a Nendoroid [url=http://www.goodsmile.info/products/gsc/2007/gsc0709-08.html][u]Misa[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.goodsmile.info/products/gsc/2007/gsc0709-07.html][u]L[/u][/url] to go with their earlier Light and Ryuk models. They really dropped the ball with Misa's eyes, in my opinion, but L looks good. And you can actually handcuff him to Light... hilarious. ~Dagger~

My mind was just blown in the best way possible. Will edit in more comments when I stop flipping out. ETA: Okay, forget the comment part, but here are some discussion points. [spoiler]- Is this a fixed or variable future? - Who's in the coffin? (Off-the-top-of-my-head possibilities: Sawyer, Locke, Juliet, Ben, Michael) - Who is Kate's "he"? (Sawyer? Her & Sawyer's child?) - How did Naomi's crew get the information etc. about Penny & Des? - Do all of the Losties get off the island? (People who might manage to get left behind: those at the beach, Desmond, Locke, some of the others) - Did Jack only mention his father because he was high? - What cover story are he & everyone else giving the world? - How awesome were Sayid's neck-snapping manuver and Hurley's pedal to the metal moment? - Who, if anyone, is "screwing Jack"? :p - Is there a deliberate reason for letting us see Walt despite the actor having visibly aged? (i.e. a timeline reason) - Was Walt the smoke monster? - Why isn't Future!Kate on the run? - Why does she think that getting off the island was a good thing--or, rather, why does Jack think it was bad? - Just how many lives does Patchy have!?[/spoiler] And so on and so forth... :animestun ~Dagger~