Dagger

[SIZE=1]You know what would be more fun than this, though? A full-blown Mahou Shounen Lulu-tan... like one of those magical girl (or boy, in the case of DNAngel) thief anime. Except with the main character trying to take over an empire. [B]They already have the whole mistaken identity thing set up; now he just needs a nice transformation sequence.[/B] The least pleasant parts of episode 3 were the "As you know, Bob" bits sprinkled throughout (and the [spoiler]"Gee, I already killed him, but I guess I don't have the stomach for it quite yet, har har har oh well"[/spoiler] part was a little too Death Note for me, but whatever). I actually like Karen, even if her getting embarrassed [spoiler]about being seen nude[/spoiler] was so patently ridiculous and cliche that it doesn't even bear discussing. I'm not so keen on the blind little sister. Couldn't they have her be the one faking a mild-mannered and sickly personality? Code Geass would shoot way up on my to watch list if she pulled a Higurashi. [I]USO DA!!!![/I] ....Anyway. I was dreading the school hijinks aspect of the show, but I actually enjoyed those scenes, even with the shy meganekko, the ordinary girl (who I also like, for once in my life) and the lecherous student council president. Maybe because the comedy was intentional? [/SIZE] ---------------------------- Well, he didn't get a transformation sequence, but he did get a costume... and I should've been braced for it after seeing it in the OP, but it's really pretty bad. I dunno. I can't help but think that they could have come up with something less skinny (around the body) and globular (around the head). It kind of reminds me of the cloaks in X, except that the collar is totally out of proportion. Was it really necessary to try making him look that much like a chess king? I assume that's what the point of it is, at any rate. Now, if CLAMP were writing this, he'd have a Tomoyo to get all the right camera angles and make him dress nicely and switch up costumes from time to time. Suzaku Kurururururugi is pretty appealing, I think. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he's a lot more human than Lelouch, and I loved how he [spoiler]totally dumped Lelouch[/spoiler] after [spoiler]getting rescued like Sailor Moon.[/spoiler] Although even Tuxedo Kamen has a leg up on Lelouch in the style department. Gah. Looks like episode 5 will bring us a guest appearance from Lacus. ~Dagger~

[b]Gankutsuou[/b] leaps to mind as an anime with an unusual animation style (it might be more fair, in this and most other cases, to say "art style" instead, though). The characters' clothes and hair are depicted with complex, flat textures. Oddly, this flatness works really well with the rich 3D backgrounds and objects found throughout the show. It's a really gorgeous-looking production, but some find its visuals overwhelming. And while we're talking about GONZO anime, [b]Red Garden[/b] also bears mentioning. Its unique character designs (the characters actually have noses and lips!) are animated solidly. The four main characters' hair is done with flat gradients, kind of like in Gankutsuou, but more other characters seem to have regularly shaded hair. I'd have to watch another episode to be sure of that, though. [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=251][u]Shichiro Kobayashi[/u][/url] is an art director whose work looks quite distinctive. His backgrounds tend to use paler colours and to look somewhat stylized; they aren't Impressionistic, but perhaps a little reminiscent of it. I would point to Loveless, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Melody of Oblivion, Asatte no Houkou and Windy Tales as good examples of this. Just about anything directed by [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1610][u]Akiyuki Shinbo[/u][/url] will have some interesting directing choices. He loves weird camera angles, dark/heavy blocks of shading, stained glass and... well, I don't even know how to describe it, but once you've seen a couple of his shows, it's pretty easy to pick out his work. He goes especially wild in Soul Taker and Le Portrait de Petite Cossette. ~Dagger~

Pinstripes, I hope they won't change a thing. But I'll respect what you said by not getting into it any further (and I agree about it being polite to avoid posting flagrant manga spoilers in this thread). :p The preview for episode 6 brings us a hint at the only canon pairing in the series that's worth rooting for: L/sugar cubes. :animenose That aside, episode 5 made a pretty big impression on me. It wasn't done more skillfully than the previous episodes, and the ending was frustrating (what a cliffhanger!). More so than anything we've previously seen, though, it really brings home how [spoiler]utterly despicable Light has become.[/spoiler] I'm definitely feeling that more in the anime version than in the manga, and it's not due to any changes or over-dramatization. It's just a lot harder to brush off or deny the fact that [spoiler]Light is cavalierly killing innocent people when you can hear his voice and the voices of his victims.[/spoiler] I'll say this much: it took me a lot longer to start [spoiler]truly loathing Light[/spoiler] when I was reading the manga. It'll be interesting to see how I respond to the live-action movie. Anyway, this would be a good point at which to start paying attention to [spoiler]the parallels between L and Light.[/spoiler] Who in the series--and it doesn't have to be those two; far from it--is truly justified? Who is honestly striving to do the right thing? [spoiler]Much as I love L, the inherent differences between him and Light are uncomfortably minor.[/spoiler] I think the anime will force viewers to acknowledge this as well. EDIT: Right now I'm erring on the side of extreme caution with my spoiler tags. But if anyone (who hasn't read the manga) thinks I'm overdoing it, just say so. It's hard to tell what deserves to be hidden. ~Dagger~

Episode 4 was quite good, except for one unfortunate element that really bothered me: [spoiler]the hijacker's voice.[/spoiler] Luckily, he won't appear in the series again, but his annoying and unconvincing acting took a lot of the tension out of the [spoiler]bus scene[/spoiler] for me. Hopefully someone better will be cast in that role for the inevitable English dub. It's likely that I paid more attention to his voice and other relatively unimportant elements than those who haven't read the manga would, since I already knew the outcome of that situation. A few key points for this episode: - Light [spoiler]explores the limits of the Death Note.[/spoiler] Although the first half of the episode was pretty quiet, I enjoyed it a lot because it did a great job of duplicating the manga's deadpan humor. The manga is an extremely funny series, believe it or not--it just doesn't resort to SD tactics like other shounen titles, and it works the comedic bits into the story fluidly, without affecting its somber atmosphere. The anime creates the same effect here with Light's "joke" and Ryuk's mental "... Probably..." - And Light even finds the time to [spoiler]go on a date![/spoiler] I was pleasantly surprised by the guitar music used at that point in the episode. It created an interesting mood that I hadn't expected from the show. Now I'm wondering when and how they'll recycle it. I can't think of many opportunities for them to evoke that sense of peaceful, empty, wordless melancholy. - [spoiler]Ray Penber[/spoiler] is one of the very few characters in Death Note who can be called "good." His seiyuu, whoever that might be, is appropriate for the character. I hope that episode 5 continues to do him justice. Things are really starting to move along. It helps a little that I haven't gone back to the manga to refresh my memory--I know what will happen, but I don't recall the order. It's also nice because the anime's small chronological tweaks don't bother me. Now, after hearing Kappei Yamaguchi talk more, I'm wondering how he will voice L [spoiler]when L begins interacting with others in person.[/spoiler] There are a lot of ways he could play it--in a low voice like he's doing now, but more emotionless and unreadable; in a higher, more whimsical voice; or in a medium range with emotion in it. I'm not sure what I'd prefer. ~Dagger~

Wow... episode 2 had logical gaps that one could have driven a truck through. But it looked [I]so darn pretty[/I]! :animecry: If things keep going this way, that's probably all it will amount to, unfortunately. Either way, F*head, I encourage you to keep watching--it frankly won't be much fun without your comments. In other words, misery loves company and all that. ;) ~Dagger~

Tokyopop has solicited the first volume of [url=http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/HG5jFBGUPsohxXA7Jn/browse/item/72191/4/0/0][u]Gravitation EX[/u][/url], which picks up where the original series left off. It's due out on February 13. Be careful with the link, since that page contains spoilers. (Gunbuster and Gravitation 2 in the same month... 2007 is going to be a great year!) ~Dagger~

[quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray'] An Eva-fan OBer once told me that Gainax made Asuka/Rei porn, for god's sake, so what the hell.[/color][/quote] I think it was straight porn with Asuka and Rei (and Misato?) in it? I can't say for sure as I haven't seen it myself, but oh well. It wasn't made by Gainax "officially," at any rate... :p [quote name='ANS']Tonight we met up with Evangelion Producer Toshimichi Ootsuki in Akihabara. According to Ootsuki-san the "contents" for the "1st part" of the new Rebuild Of Evangelion movies is now complete. The animation staff is also very close to being fully assembled. Building on past hints (the cover image of the October, 2006 issue of Newtype Magazine) Kaworu Nagisa and Rei Ayanami will be central characters in this new story. The theme of the "first part" movie will feature the characters in a school setting prior to the arrival of the angels.[/quote] Once again, Rei & Kaworu = win. What I don't understand, though, is that prior reports suggested that the first part (or even the first three parts) would be based on the existing series, with an unknown amount of new animation. Does this mean that we're getting [i]all[/i] new animation? That would be lovely. I also have to wonder how they'll do a prequel story centering around Rei and Kaworu--it would have to be an AU for that to work, I think, given the reason for Kaworu's late appearance in the original series. The school setting concept sounds curiously like Girlfriend of Steel, but I'm assuming they would have mentioned it already if it were actually related to that scenario. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Mike McColgan']If you don't want to be told what happens, then why go into a thread dedicated to the show? It's like going to a book club meeting but not leting people talk about the book because you haven't read it and don't want it ruined.[/quote] That analogy fails, bud. ;) Spoiler tags don't do anything do end the conversation. Why exclude people who come to a particular fandom a little bit later than others? And what about when the show ends, a few years down the line? Shall we make it dangerous for those who discover it after the fact to glance over the discussion? There's no reason that people shouldn't be able to safely post about the experience of watching the series [i]as[/i] they watch it, instead of waiting until they're 100% caught up. At any rate, using spoiler tags takes maybe two seconds of your time. But since this isn't on topic, please PM me if you want to continue talking about spoilers. Thanks. ~Dagger~

Speaking of PW:AA... if I want to play it, should I buy it now? I know it became difficult to find earlier, but I guess it went back into print or something. Although I don't have a DS yet, I'm definitely going to get one in order to play the Xenosaga compilation (whenever that comes out). ~Dagger~

Heh, from glancing over these posts, it would seem that many people (myself included) consider figurines to be the pinnacle of geekiness. Interesting. :animesmil ~Dagger~

[quote name='WindFox17']Ok last year this site had alot of people on it but this year so far its kinda not that many. Whys this?[/quote] Haha. I was waiting for a thread like this to pop up (it's already appeared at one of the other forums I post at). The short answer is that everything goes in cycles on message boards. It's not even that predictable--sometimes activity is higher during the summer, and sometimes it's not. And so on. The slightly longer answer is that this is a particularly busy time of year. I don't remember if we had a higher level of activity around the same time in '05, but people always have school, jobs, new hobbies and other committments to deal with. Things will pick up eventually. :) ~Dagger~

That was such a kick-*** episode. Just imagine me going all OMGWTF after each of the following points, and you have a pretty good idea of how I reacted while watching it. [spoiler]- Desmond [I]seeing the future[/I] - More about Locke's past (this would seem to be leading us closer and closer to the accident or whatever it was, but I guess one can never be sure) - The return of the polar bear(s)! - Hurley and Charlie being their nonplussed and witty selves - Locke's hallucination (easily one of the coolest moments in the show so far, as far as I'm concerned) - And in conjunction with that, Boone's cameo - Locke taking charge of the rest of the group and delivering the speech predicted by Desmond - The preview (finally--end this love triangle nonsense, dammit!) - "So... the hatch blew off your underwear."[/spoiler] You know it's a good installment of Lost when it reduces you to dribbling, fangirl/boyish incoherence. :catgirl: ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Fasteriskhead] -whenever Alice acts brashly in a dangerous situation, take a sip. -every time the two juniors (the blonde and the meganekko) complain about their jobs, take a sip. -every time Randel says something in a profound-sounding tone, take a sip. -one sip per neck chill. (two or three in one scene only counts as one) -every time an evil bureaucrat obstructs justice, chug. -whenever it's revealed that the government did something very very bad during the war, chug.[/QUOTE] That pretty much covers episode 3, but here are a few addendums. - Take a sip at any hint of conflict between Alice and her family. - Whenever Alice wins over some sort of skeptic (commoner or noble, it doesn't matter) through righteous persistence and so forth, take a sip. - Whenever we see evidence of Oreld's womanizing (I [i]so[/i] knew that he would turn out to be that type!), or another character makes a reference to it, take a sip. - Take a sip if the characters go badly off-model or if you spot other obvious animation shortcuts. - If, at the end of an episode, it turns out that the story has not advanced a single centimeter and, in fact, has only succeeded in repeating stuff that we already know, chug. ~Dagger~

The last disc I watched was volume 7... so I guess that means I'm up to episode 28. It's actually been a week or so since I last touched HYD, so my memory is probably a little fuzzy, but oh well. One thing that's struck me is that this show, more so than any other anime I've seen, makes it blatantly obvious when an episode is important (or at least worth making pretty). That is, the difference between their episodes done by their animation A-Team and everything is really glaring. So far the episodes which have had the most care lavished on them are episode 1, the episode in which Tsukushi [spoiler]gets dragged by a car[/spoiler] and the [spoiler]basketball[/spoiler] episode. It's kind of a shame, because the character designs are fantastic when they're treated well but pretty blah when they're not. HYD hit a distinct low point for me prior to the introduction of [spoiler]Tsukasa's sister.[/spoiler] Tsukushi was acting stupid and out of character, and neither of the boys were making themselves very attractive, either. Now it's veered into hilariously bad fanfiction territory, what with the whole [spoiler]getting lost in a blizzard and having to stay warm with mutual body heat[/spoiler] plot device, but at least it's a little more interesting. I want [spoiler]Shizuka[/spoiler] to make a visit for the sake of drama. Rui definitely got a chance to shine in the [spoiler]basketball[/spoiler] episode. [spoiler]"I'll stop time for you"[/spoiler] is a line that Tsukasa will have to work very, very hard to surpass (at least in my mind, haha). But despite Tsukasa's deplorable instability, his character is gradually starting to come off better and better, so it's not as if I'm firmly planted in either camp at the moment. ~Dagger~

Ayakashi Ayashi is the latest series to debut in the coveted doroku timeslot (following the likes of Gundam SEED, Blood+ and FMA). It's also from Studio BONES and has some interesting staff members, including [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=2633][u]Shou Aikawa[/u][/url], who's credited as the creator, and [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1569][u]Hiroshi Nishikiori[/u][/url], the show's director. The basic story has to do with Japan in 1844 and demons called Youi and the people who fight them. I think that's the gist of it, anyway. I'd heard mixed things about the first episode, but I actually liked it quite a bit. Maybe I was awestruck by the grotesque daring required (in an age of everything being [I]teramoesu[/I]) to open a show with unnecessarily long scenes of old, naked men prancing around with only tiny towels to prevent full-frontal nudity. Or maybe it's the fact that one or two bits reminded me--in a very nebulous way--of Mushishi. Or maybe I'm just amused to have encountered the fall season's third notable trap* (and the possibility of a reverse trap!). But one can always count on BONES for solid visuals. And a main character who isn't a teenager? Sign me up, I say. *[spoiler]Just so we're all on the same page, a trap is a cross-dressing or otherwise convincingly effeminate male. A reverse trap is a cross-dressing female.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Syk3] Exploring this sort of hypothetical question is just so deeply satisfying, being able to share in the insights of the creater and compare them to my own in forming a stronger view.[/QUOTE] Yeah, Death Note serves as a great springboard for all kinds of wild discussions. The author shared a few thoughts on her intentions in the recently released "How to Read" supplement to the manga, but I think talking about her take on it might be best saved for after the show is over, so as not to give anyone preconceived ideas of how to view the story. [QUOTE] [I] My Japanese friend was telling me that Death Note was originally a novel. Can anyone confirm that form me?[/I][/QUOTE] Death Note was originally a manga. However, a prequel novel was published in Japan pretty recently, so that could be what he or she was referring to. Episode 3 demonstrates the beauty of outsourcing via a couple of badly off-model shots (and the total massacre of Matsuda, haha), but overall it's about on the same level of animation and artwork as episode 2. Plus, Ryuk's face gets a lot more love, and that's always a good thing. I was a little surprised that they didn't complete the [spoiler]shinigami eyes[/spoiler] scene, but I suppose that adds to the sense of tension. I'm just wondering how they'll start episode 4. EDIT: Oh, and there were a couple of tweaks to the OP. Anyone want to join me in trying to spot them all? The one that really leapt out at me is how they made Light's eye colorless in the tunnel/underground scene, but I think some background elements in the scene with Misa might have been different as well. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Papa Smurf] Where's an emotional attachment to any of them?[/QUOTE] Er... that's kind of an odd question to ask, haha. Emotions =/= logic. You can argue all you like that FFVII has flat characters, and I doubt anyone here would be able to prove otherwise, but all the arguing in the world isn't going to make anyone go, "Jeez, you're absolutely right. I now understand that my irrational obsession with Sephiroth stemmed from the fact that I never experienced the full glory of the original Oedipus Rex." They'll just get riled up and go to extreme and even illogical lengths to defend the character(s) they love. Why? Because there's an emotional attachment--which is something that has very little to do with a character's realism and complexity or total lack thereof. And it just keeps going in circles from there. ~Dagger~

Death Note/CLAMP/Goro Taniguchi/Gundam? Count me in! :love: Alas, if only it were that simple... Code Geass is a futuristic mecha series with character designs by CLAMP (though they had no input, as far as I know, on the story) and direction by Goro Taniguchi (Planetes, Infinite Ryvius, s-CRY-ed, GunxSword). It takes place in an alternate world in which the Empire of Britannia--which is basically the United States, haha--has invaded and taken over Japan. Now called Area 11, Japan is unfairly subjugated, oppressed, blah blah blah. Fiery mecha action ensues. Let's get the good stuff out of the way first. Code Geass proves conclusively that it [i]is[/i] possible for CLAMP's lanky, new-fangled character designs to shine on screen. The same type of designs that ended up looking rather like crap in the Tsubasa Chronicle and xxxHOLiC anime are absolutely wonderful here. So that's a treat. It's also a good-looking series in general. The first episode has a fast-moving and decently engaging story--no annoying dawdling here. Lelouch, a Japanese high schooler who resents Britannia, is in many ways reminiscent of Death Note's Light Yagami, which is hardly a bad thing. Pacifistic mecha heroes make me want to retch on my keyboard. And to be fair, Code Geass has a lot going for it. I enjoyed the first episode, and it could turn out to be a very strong and entertaining show. But! Here's where the twofold trouble starts. First of all, there's the somewhat disturbing nationalistic element... "Nippon Banzai!" and all that. Britannia's actions are clownishly evil; seeing [spoiler]soldiers gun down an old couple in cold blood[/spoiler] made me wrinkle my nose at the ham-handed emotional manipulativeness of the writers (rather than sympathize with Japan, as I was meant to). I'm actually not too worried about this, though, if only because Lelouch himself is clearly going to be a morally ambiguous character. The other issue is the relationship between Lelouch and Suzaku, his estranged childhood friend. It's so derivative of the Athrun/Kira relationship in Gundam SEED, and so obviously meant to reel in the fangirls, that I couldn't help but cringe. The positive side of this is that Athrun and Kira's friendship/rivalry/etc. was poorly handled, as far as I'm concerned, and Code Geass will perhaps be able to do something more interesting with the same type of relationship. But I just couldn't get Gundam SEED out of my head during the first episode of Code Geass, and it was distracting. Especially since I'm not a SEED fan. There are other cliched aspects to the series... [spoiler]mysterious girl? Blah.[/spoiler] Yet even that won't necessarily be a huge drawback. [spoiler]Mysterious girl getting killed in the first episode? Intriguing.[/spoiler] It probably sounds like I'm being very harsh on the show, but I do think it has a ton of potential. I just don't want to see them screw it up by going too heavy on the nationalism and so forth. ~Dagger~

I was thoroughly prepared to turn my nose up at this show, but it actually has promise, darn it. The main characters are both of types that I passionately dislike under normal circumstances, but the way they were portrayed (at least in the first episode) made me like them quite a bit instead. The guy whose name has been rendered a thousand different ways (I guess I'm sticking with Orlando for now) basically falls into the Kenshin/Vash mold, except that he's missing the irritating pacifism, and his everyday persona is easy-going and absent-minded rather than flamboyantly silly and incompetent. So far, at any rate. Alice is the naively idealistic one, except that she gives a fairly good impression of knowing what she's doing and keeps her righteous tirades nice and concise. Good animation so far; we'll see how long that lasts. I rather liked how they transitioned from the prologue to the opening sequence--it helped build up excitement. I'm disturbed by the comedic ED and worried that much of the series could turn out to be episodic, but I'll going to keep watching for the time being. ~Dagger~

Hey, [b]Death God[/b], welcome to OB. We're glad you're here, but it would be appreciated if you put a little more detail in your posts. Just saying that the show looks awesome doesn't leave too much room for discussion. Anyway, if you have any questions about this, please PM me or one of the other staff members. [quote name='bellpickle][SIZE=1]I'm not sure if we're thinking of the same scene, but I know that Light does a madman laugh in volume three [spoiler]after L first reveals himself to Light.[/spoiler'][/SIZE][/quote] Oh, yeah, that's the one! You win, haha. I suppose it all blurs together after a while. :animeswea ~Dagger~

[quote name='Split Keyblader']I heard from one of my friends that the anime and manga show Shuichi Shindou and Eiri Yuki having sex.[/quote] All the TV show contains is [spoiler]a shot of them sinking down together,[/spoiler] so although there's implied sex, it's really quite a chaste series. The OVA has a [spoiler]dream sequence[/spoiler] that is considerably more racy, but it's played for laughs. While the manga has a lot of sexual humor and situations, it's not liable to get anyone hot under the collar, since it's mostly meant to be funny. Interestingly, Gravitation's manga-ka has also done a long series of extremely explicit, PWP Gravitation doujinshi. Normally I'm all over the doujinshi that comes straight from the author of a particular series, but truthfully, some of Murakami's stuff is a little too much even for me, and I've been desensitized to this kind of stuff. So if you want to seek out the doujinshi online or whatever, I would advise you to think carefully first. EDIT: I find the Remix doujinshi to be less objectionable than the Megamix doujin series, which were drawn later. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Nekova']I agree. I'm already loving this anime (who couldn't, since it's generally staying so close to the source material), but Light seems more typically 'evil-genius-like' in the anime than he ever did in the manga. He was always cool, calculating, and totally in control. The most he ever allowed himself to do was smirk when no one was looking (and that smile alone could send chills down your spine). Well, here's hoping that this was a character trait that stays in the first episode only.[/quote] See, I don't really agree with that. Light strikes the other characters as being calm and in control, but in truth he's a total drama queen; throughout the manga, the most memorable scenes (at least for me) involved him going into hysterics. There's an absolutely legendary series of panels of him laughing like a madman. I think that shot should have come in episode 2, if I'm remembering the sequence correctly, but they kind of skirted over it. Which was probably a wise choice--I can't imagine that expression being replicated in animation without looking even more ridiculous than it did on the page. Anyway, pros and cons of episode 2... - Sayu's seiyuu. I know she's done a good job as other characters (Hagu, etc.), but she sounded so fake and wrong to me in this context. At least I have higher hopes for Aya Hirano as Misa. - Recycled animation (or something that looked very much like it). Bad Madhouse! Actually I don't care too much, since it was only one or two brief shots. Though this episode wasn't as shiny as the first episode, it didn't look bad by any stretch of the imagination. - Recycled music... inevitable, but unwelcome. I guess all shounen series need something to remind you when exciting stuff is going down. + Yamaguchi Kappei as L. He [i]nailed[/i] it. Oh my god, I never believed I would say this. Given what little I've heard, however, I have no complaints. He sounds fantastic. I can't say I ever imagined a specific voice for L--I just knew that I didn't want him sounding like Inuyasha or something, haha. This should be taken with a grain of salt, since I'm no seiyuu buff, but I would never have recognized Kappei's voice in this context. + [spoiler]L pwning Light.[/spoiler] Well done, sir. + [spoiler]Lind L. Tailor's death scene.[/spoiler] I was afraid that it would be over the top, but it looked and sounded just right. + Miyano Mamoru. More solid acting on his part. + Ryuk. For some reason, the DN anime is making me see more parallels between DN and Hikaru no Go than ever before. If only they would animate the omake from the end of volume 1... ~Dagger~

First of all, this type of topic would be better suited to the [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14][u]PC/Mac[/u][/url] forum. But I also want to emphasize that although there's nothing wrong with simply discussing sites of this type, posting links to entire anime episodes (or other copyrighted material) or talking about how to view and/or download them is not permitted here. So please tread carefully. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Kenshin DX][COLOR=RoyalBlue']So how does it compare would you say the anime is just as good as the manga? Or did the anime change the storyline around? Im curious about it seeing how the manga is one of my all time favorites. Im not expecting the same qualty of the manga in the anime but something that does the manga justice.[/COLOR][/quote] The first episode didn't change anything, and Madhouse is great at sticking ruthlessly to the manga when they have a big property on their hands (Nana and Monster are good examples of that). Let's put it this way--I think the anime has the potential to exceed the manga. Then again, I don't ascribe to the school of the manga always being better. [quote name='Takanutsu']i must say the manga was a smash hit in the manga universe,er whatever, but from the looks of the anime I dont know if it will be as good,the graphics fine,the story line on the other hand,is like making Yasuhiro Nightow look like he created sailor moon.[/quote] So far, the anime's plot is [i]exactly the same as that of the manga[/i], and there's really no reason to believe that Madhouse will change anything substantially. Like I said in my first post, they have the opportunity to smooth out the pacing, but even if they do that, it won't alter the nature of the story. [quote]but,if the anime turns out to be as bad as most people think it will be,the manga will look bad and just the whole idea would collapse,But, were just gonna have to wait and see[/quote] Just who have you been talking to? As Fasteriskhead implied, the show has already been hyped up to an almost ridiculous extent. "Most people" have been blathering about how it'll be one of the best anime of the year. That's not necessarily a good thing for any series, but suggesting the opposite certainly makes you seem like you have no idea what you're talking about. [quote]and to add to my reply there also would be a problem with the DN manga readers being confused in the anime,adding characters that werent serialized in the manga could completely throw you off leaving you hanging by this one episode and wondering about the rest.[/QUOTE] What the heck makes you think that they'll add new characters? :rolleyes: ~Dagger~

[quote name='BKstyles']Lenneth is a transliteration of the original onto the PSP, so you could pick up the PS version and play it on your PS2. It would virtually be the same. [/quote] I'd like to, but the only place I've seen the PS version being sold is on eBay, and the prices on some of those auctions went well above the maximum I'd consider paying for a game that I've never tried out before. It's too bad, really, because I usually hate to miss out on one of the entries in a particular series. ~Dagger~