Dagger

Top right: The main girl from Argentosoma Middle left: Cossette from the Petite Cossette OVA ~Dagger~

Are you talking about Tieria? Because he's totally the most blatant of them all! That's, like, his salient character trait! :animesmil Yeah, Kamiyan is love. [strike]Especially in BL drama CDs.[/strike] On a related note, Allelujah's VA is also Takumi from Chaos;Head. Quite a few amusing videos at Nico Nico where they use the C;H voice acting to make Allelujah a hopeless otaku hikikomori... ~Dagger~

[quote name='Shinmaru']Only other thing I have to say is Setsuna is kind of a douche. I vaguely understand [i]why[/i] he's a douche (guy obviously didn't grow up in the best of circumstances), but a douche is a douche. Both Mamoru Miyano and Brad Swalie have fun douchey voices, though, since both have had practice at it (lol [b]Death Note[/b] lol).[/QUOTE] Really?? I guess I was always so blinded by Tieria's sublime levels of douchery that I didn't pay much attention to Setsuna's attitude. Or maybe it's just that I found myself secretly (or not-so-secretly) cheering him on every time he blew off certain characters. :animeswea ~Dagger~

Now we're all in the same boat, because they've really changed the order of things around--I have no idea what will happen next! :animesmil But yeah, Sena and Kozue make a great team. I need to go check out the manga that focuses just on them (I think it's called Chaos;Head - Blue Complex or something like that). ~Dagger~

Oh wow. Episode 5 is [spoiler]chock-full of explanations about what's going on... but they don't give you much of a clue as to which (if any) is correct. I remember from the game that the streetcar conversation with Sena was one of the most excruciating parts to translate--I didn't know what half of what she was saying meant in English, much less Japanese! So, uh, good luck to them fansubbers.[/spoiler] I liked how [spoiler]they handled the MewTube video at the end. That was one of the parts where the animators had very few cues (aside from textual description) to go by, but I thought it came out quite nicely. Of course, the best part is when the creaking wheelchair noise slowly comes to the forefront. Serious bricks were shat the first time I reached that scene in the game. And what a great last line for Takumi.[/spoiler] I'm gonna go watch that part again now... The preview doesn't give much of a clue about what will happen next. Ever since the anime was announced, I've been thinking that they'll need to reach a certain point by episode 6, to make the pacing work. We'll see. Oh, and for anyone else who's acquired the F.D.D single, some fans have speculated that the B-side track (Fly to the sky) might get used as an insert song or an alternate ED at some point. ~Dagger~

Let's save our election thoughts for [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=59784][u]this Lounge thread[/u][/url]. And whatever your feelings on the matter, do make an effort not to lapse into hysterics. :) ~Dagger~

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America." I'm not gonna lie, I seriously teared up. ~Dagger~

I think the full version of the ED doesn't come out until later in November (I was looking for it earlier because I wanted to see the official lyrics, but no go). Re: ep. 4, I really dug [spoiler]the scene with Shogun and the deserted scramble crossing. I'd loooove to see someone do a scene like that in a live-action film. I've wandered around Shibuya at five in the morning, and there are still a lot of young people there.[/spoiler] @Meggido: Hm, maybe I should get around to reading the manga. Off the top of my head, there's that manga, plus a newly serialized one that centers around Sena and Kozue, plus a romantic comedy version called Chaos Head H. Oh, and I think a Blood Tune novelization came out recently... I'm kind of tempted to check it out... :animeswea ~Dagger~

Chasing your shots doesn't work? I'm in a similar position, but I'm lucky in that I have low tolerance, so while I do have to drink fast to get buzzed, it only takes about the equivalent of three beers. Being in Japan right now, pretty much all I drink is delicious [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%ABhai][U]chu-hai[/U][/url] goodness. If you don't like Screwdrivers, you probably won't like Salty Dogs either (I'm a fan of both)... but have you ever tried one? There's a drink called Cassis Orange or something that's also pretty good. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Sangome'][SIZE="1"]Question though -- MAL says there will be 12 episodes...is that enough to encompass the game from beginning to end? Or will there be room for a second helping?[/SIZE][/QUOTE] I think this will be the only season. The ideal adaptation length would probably be around ~15 episodes, but since that's irregular, 12 ought to be doable. The writing has been pretty tight so far. ~Dagger~

Aww... sometimes I wish there were a Chaos;Head Alternative or something, where nothing bad ever happened. It'd be all about Rimi and Dai-chin and (a very reluctant) Taku hanging out in Shibuya, of course. So I mentioned Taku's seiyuu last week, but episode 2 showcases what was one of the most jaw-dropping instances of voice-acting in the whole game, and he's not the one who shines there. Anyone who watches it will know exactly what I'm talking about. On a related note, [spoiler]YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA YUA God, I love her.[/spoiler] I remember when I got to this part of the story, [spoiler]at first I was eager for Yua to hurry up and show her other side. I thought, "She can't be for real--if she is, this is the crappiest game ever." Just like Taku, I couldn't buy her moe otaku-loving sempai front. But at some point, I started hoping she was for real. By the time I reached the scene that ep. 2 ended on, I desperately wanted her to be on Taku's side.[/spoiler] I think I felt that way because [spoiler]while I really didn't want Chaos;Head to veer in the direction of romance with any of the female characters (I mean, come on, can you imagine Taku having even a semblance of a regular relationship? And why the hell would any girl be romantically interested in him in the first place?), Taku's time with Yua sort of gives you a sense that maybe, somewhere deep down, he has the potential to carry out and even enjoy a more fulfilling 3-D life. It's so sad when he finds himself hoping against all hope and reason that she really does enjoy his company.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

[quote name='Shinmaru'] I like the music a lot so far, too. It fits seamlessly into the show rather than overpowering it, and the off-kilter vibe it gives off is sort of appealing.[/QUOTE] I felt some trepidation about it back when I heard that they were replacing the game soundtrack, but I like it a lot, too. The game music has a similar effect in how it melts into the rest of what's going on but still makes you quirk an eyebrow every so often. Ep. 1 reminded me of what a horribly good VA Yoshino Hiroyuki is. Takumi just wouldn't be the same without his acting. In that respect, my favorite moment had to be the scene where Takumi starts cradling his Seira figure. His creepiness level totally went off the charts right there. Another Easter egg (not sure if it's clear from watching the episode itself): the ED is sung by an artist named Kagami [I]Seira[/I]. ETA: Be proud of me, it was a huge battle not to say anything related to the other parts of your post. :p ~Dagger~

More fall anime~ Nishijou Takumi, a high school outcast and self-described otaku creep, has an overactive imagination. Sometimes he fantasizes about the girls around him (while claiming to have no interest in the third dimension). Sometimes he has paranoid delusions. As brutal serial murders begin to occur in his neighborhood, he finds it more and more of a struggle to stay disengaged from reality. Haha, okay, that makes Chaos;Head sound pretty dreary, but it's got plenty of fun parts as well. Especially with how Taku mentally frames most of his human interaction in terms of eroge. So far, the first episode ("Boot Up") has aired, and I think there are supposed to be twelve episodes total. I've played the game this anime is based on, but I almost wish I could erase my memory of it. It'd be fun to watch the show without knowing where the story is going. ~Dagger~

Oh wow, Mouryou no Hako is [i]really[/i] interesting. I don't know too much about it--gothic horror or something, it's based on a novel, the anime has CLAMP character designs, etc. Anyway, the first episode was beautiful and quite weighty in an old-fashioned shoujo sort of way, and it seems like the series might be pretty yuri-centric. The girls and their weird, ambiguous relationship is totally up my alley, probably more so than any other yuri-ish anime since Utena. I wonder if it's going to get subbed... it'd be a rather difficult translation job. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Shinmaru'] So, yes, good times all around. If [b]5 Centimeters Per Second[/b] looks even better than this, then I am going to have to bite the bullet and propose to Makoto Shinkai (yes, even though I am pretty sure he is already married). There will be no way around it.[/QUOTE] I'll bake the wedding cake. ;) ~Dagger~

Just watched After Story ep. 1. A Nagisalicious start to the new season. :catgirl: (And Midorikawa cracked me the hell up as Yuusuke. Also amused by the fact that much of it felt like Akio + his harem of high school girls. XD) Do we know how many episodes this is going to be? Based on the first episode & the preview, it sure feels more like 24-ep pacing than 12. I did have some animation nitpicks. I should say that even KyoAni being a little lazy is still vastly better than most other companies out there, but it really surprised me to see them pop out what looked like one of their occasional lower-than-average mid-season episodes for the very beginning of After Story. Well, only sakuga (drawing quality) freaks are going to notice/care, and they'll probably clean things up for the DVD version like they did last time. Here's the super-lovely OP. [youtube]H3aa5zOVAwc[/youtube] (Admittedly, I lol'd at how similar it is to the AIR Blu-ray opening... running out of ideas, Ishihara?? :animeswea) ~Dagger~

[quote name='Paramount'][SIZE="1"] But for other titles, Dagger's Chaos;Head spazzing has gotten me interested. I also heard that it's like Higurashi with grownups? I'm sold.[/SIZE][/QUOTE] It has Higurashi-like elements, yes, with a big emphasis on the issue of what's real and what's not. It's also partly a satire of extreme otaku culture. Most of the main cast is high-school age, though. ~Dagger~

[b]Chaos;Head[/b] - Based on one of my favorite visual novels. It could turn out badly, but if they adapt it well, it could be so damn good... I'm on pins and needles. [b]Clannad After Story[/b] - After the first series, how could I not? [b]ef - a tale of melodies[/b] - The second ef game is in many ways even more emotional and gripping than the first. I expect the anime series to be much the same way. And of course the first season was fantastic, so as is with the case with Clannad and Gundam, I feel pretty relaxed and confident that it's going to be a good watch. [b]Gundam 00 Season 2[/b] - Gundam 00 started off a bit blandly but built up to a riveting final stretch. I hope the second season keeps that storytelling momentum. [b]Tales of the Abyss[/b] - Superb game, possibly my favorite RPG. It looks like Sunrise is trying to make a proper, thorough adaptation. I'm excited. There are other series I should be watching (and very much want to watch), but it's going to be a struggle just to keep up with these, and they're all must-see for me. ~Dagger~

The combat scenes are phenomenal. I definitely think it's worth watching for them even you're not super enthralled by the rest. But don't get too misled by my Section 9 comment, haha--as a character, Balsa has a lot of similarities to the Major, but rather than working with the elite organization, she tends to end up fighting them. Still, even though the fantasy setting seems about as far away from SAC as it would be possible to get, there's a hard-to-describe sense of kinship between them.** Maybe it's because they share so many staff members (not only the same director, but also the same overall production team). **At least I thought so. :animeswea ~Dagger~

I believe [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6634][u]Moribito[/u][/url] starts airing on Adult Swim tonight (1:30 am EST). Did I really not make a thread about this before? Huh. Anyway, it's a great show based on a delightful novel (which is now [url=http://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Spirit-Moribito-Nahoko-Uehashi/dp/0545005426/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219530155&sr=8-1][u]available in English[/u][/url]). Beautiful spear-fights aside, I feel like it might be a tad too idyllic for AS. :animeswea The writer does a lot of careful world-building, and this is reflected in the anime as well. One of its biggest draws is the relationship between the main character, Balsa (a female bodyguard in her thirties) and Chagum (the young prince she's trying to protect). Extremely nice-looking show, at any rate, and it may prompt me to watch AS for the first time in at least a year or two. Oh, and it's directed by the guy who did GitS: SAC, in case you ever find yourself thinking, "If there were a feudal-era, fantasy version of Section 9..." ~Dagger~

Well, that would certainly explain it! Although if they were going for the sheer WTF factor, I think voting Nina for the top slot would've been the best choice. :animesmil ~Dagger~

Hahaha, North American Code Geass fans are my new heroes. [url=http://code-geass.bandai-ent.com/poll/pollb.php][U]Bandai's character popularity poll results[/U][/url] Well, I can somewhat understand. I like Clovis, too. But Rivalz!? Now that's epic. ~Dagger~

[url=http://www.atalude.net/archives/2008/08/21/new-full-metal-alchemist-series-confirmed/][U]Haha, haven't seen the pimp!Ed meme in a while[/U][/url]. Yeah, I'm sure Funi will bring it over. Where do the anime and manga split off again? It's one of the episodes in the twenties, I think... at any rate, the big question is whether they're going to do a total reboot or pick up at the part where the story branches. Personally I'm hoping for the latter (with maybe a DVD-only recap episode or something). It would be kind of a buzzkill for the new series to start off with a rehash of what we've already seen, even if the footage is all new. [quote name='Paramount'][SIZE="1"][which is apparently a cardinal sin nowadays in the FMA fandom...][/SIZE][/QUOTE] No kidding, heh. Part of the reason I've been out of touch with the fandom for a while. ~Dagger~

As long as it's still by Bones (which seems likely), I eagerly await this. :catgirl: To be honest, I didn't like the manga story much compared to the anime-original content, but hey, I'll probably enjoy it much more in animated form. And it'll be widescreen this time, of course, which alone makes it plenty worthwhile in my eyes. ~Dagger~

Thought I'd pop in and mention that I love your thigh-to-calf ratio. Gorgeous. Out of curiosity, do you ever do full-on fashion sketches? (By which I only mean going into it with clothes in mind, rather than a particular character or anything.) I totally dig some of the clothes and shoes you hint at here. ~Dagger~