Dagger

[quote name='Avenged666fold']Dude im telling you mediacavern.com is the best online store to buy anime EVER![/quote] I just checked out the site, and I was actually pretty impressed by their prices. I might give them a whirl at some point. ~Dagger~

Heed Stuart's warning, all ye aspiring onmyouji. Otherwise, you just may end up getting pursued by the [url=http://images.google.com/images?q=sakurazukamori&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images][u]Sakurazukamori[/u][/url]. And we all know how that turns out... (Sorry! I couldn't resist. :animeshy:) ~Dagger~

Man... from what you guys are saying, maybe I should start doing the whole convention thing. In my experience, the best place to buy is online, at stores like [url=http://www.rightstuf.com/][u]TRSI[/u][/url], [url=http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/][u]DDD[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.dvdpacific.com/][u]DVD Pacific[/u][/url]. Nowadays, I do virtually all of my anime-related shopping at TRSI (with small side forays into eBay, Best Buy and Borders for manga). Their everyday prices look mediocre unless you take advantage of them with pre-orders, coupons, membership discounts, free shipping, etc. I know people who only shop with them during studio sales, or just buy from their daily deals & [url=http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/EzBO1250VOPwmXtlog/browse/category/4/153/0][u]weekly specials[/u][/url]. Either way, though, they have the best customer service around. If online isn't an option, I'd say that Best Buy is probably your best brick-and-mortar bet. ~Dagger~

Okay, for your new set... [B]1, 2:[/b] Kurapika from Hunter x Hunter. (Like my avatar!) [B]f:[/B] Aoba Kozue from Mahoroba ~ Heartful Days. [B]r:[/B] Some of the girls from Angel Tales. I ran a search based on the titles of the pictures called [B]Nakoruru or Report of Nature Spirits1[/B] and [B]Nakoruru or Report of Nature Spirits2[/B]. The costume & character design of the girl with the red ribbons in her hair is a modified version of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakoruru][u]this[/u][/url], which makes me suspect that both of the pictures are doujin images related to Samurai Shodown. ~Dagger~

[B]12: [/B] Washu from Tenchi Muyo. [B]a:[/B] On the left is Yumi from Maria-sama ga Miteru. On the right are Mikan and Hotaru from Gakuen Alice. [B]a1: [/B] Yumi from Maria-sama ga Miteru. [B]c, c1, c2:[/B] Midori from Midori no Hibi (Midori Days) is the girl. Seiji is the boy. [B]d:[/B] The blond girl is Nene, the silver-haired woman is Sylia, the brunette to the left is Linna, and the brunette to the right is Priss. All are from Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040. [B]f:[/B] Sei from Maria-sama ga Miteru. [B]kikieye_1985025:[/B] From left to right, Yumi, Sachiko, Sei and Yumi (all from Maria-sama ga Miteru). [B]kikieye_1985032, kikieye_1985033:[/B] The blond boy is Kippei. The little girl is Yuzuyu. Both are from Aishiteruze Baby. [B]kikieye_1985041:[/B] Chise from Saikano. [B]l: [/B] Jinto and Lafiel from Crest of the Stars. [B]r:[/B] Vestemona from Mars Daybreak (Kenran Butousai). [B]s:[/B] Christmas from Phantom Memory Kurau. [B]u:[/B] Hikari from This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai). [B]v:[/B] Miharu from Girls Bravo. [B]w:[/B] Narue from Narue's World (Narue no Sekai). [B]x: [/B]Shimako from Maria-sama ga Miteru. [B]y:[/B] The Melody from Melody of Oblivion. As for the rest, there are some that look like real anime (such as i, k and m; I have no idea about any of those). However, the vast majority of the pictures I didn't name appear to be either game CGs or random art. For example, the art style of [B]messesanoh[/B] seems pretty familiar, but I don't know which game she's actually from. Sorry. :animeswea ~Dagger~

Some new information... [quote=Toon Zone]Toei Animation's anime reimagining of Cartoon Network's Powerpuff Girls, entitled Powerpuff Girls Z, is scheduled to debut in Japan in July, an Aniplex representative at the Tokyo Anime Fair said. The network is not yet confirmed, but will probably be TV Tokyo. The initial order is for about 50 to 52 episodes at 30 minutes each, with more possible depending on how successful the show turns out to be. No plans have yet been announced for a U.S. release. [Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Powerpuff Girls Z would be premiering in April.][/quote] Okay, so the fact that it's coming a little later makes me sad, but 52 episodes (with the potential for more) is very good news indeed. Additionally, [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/bbs/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?topic_view=threads&p=261607&t=22756][u]here[/u][/url] are some new PPG Z screencaps and other images. ~Dagger~

And now there is a Snakes on a Plane [url=http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=253565][u]RPG[/u][/url]. Life is good. On one of the other forums I post at, people are already trying to guess potential sequel titles. Some of the ones that have been mentioned so far include "Snakes on Another Plane" and "Snakes on a Train." :animesmil ~Dagger~

Some of the gag doujinshi by the Zaougumi circle are pretty bizarre. One of their FMA doujin includes a few pages of Riza/Riza and Armstrong/Roy. Actually, no. The [i]weirdest[/i] manga I've ever encountered is a BL series born in the twisted, twisted mind of Yamato Nase. Frankly, though, I'm too embarrassed to admit that I've read it, so I'm not going to name the title here. It was like watching a train wreck (or the upcoming Snakes on a Plane, perhaps?)--I couldn't tear my eyes away! ~Dagger~

Okay, I now have a new most anticipated show: [url=http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=9766][u]Powerpuff Girls Z[/u][/url]. It's going to be [i]awesome[/i]. It's also coming in April, just in time for the new season. Excellent! Trailers for other spring anime are starting to trickle out... I'm going to wait until I see a couple more to post about them, though. ~Dagger~

^^ Nice one. :) "That's what happens when you try to commit seppuku on top of a speeding train." ~Dagger~

You know, here I was planning to write a lot about episode 24... but I can't. I just can't. Under normal circumstances, I'm not nearly this squicked about [spoiler]incest or pseudo-incest,[/spoiler] but great heavens above, the [spoiler]ick factor[/spoiler] just soared off the frigging charts. I don't know why it bothered me so much; oh well. It's not like [spoiler]Sergei[/spoiler] can really be blamed or anything... Some plot points: [spoiler]Nao gets her gem and the remaining Pillars (Columns, whatever) show up; I rather like the blonde one.[/spoiler] Anyway, I guess [spoiler]Nagi[/spoiler] is an expert shot, too? :animeswea Changing directions a little, the next episode preview gave us [url=http://img59.imageshack.us/my.php?image=11431334001072a234lu.jpg][u]this[/u][/url] beauty. *cackles* ~Dagger~

[quote name='Lady Katana][color=darkblue][size=1]I was looking over at MangaNews today and I saw a description for a manga called [b]Yuri to Yura[/b]. It sounded very interesting, but I was wondering if anyone knew anything more about it before I start going out of my way to try and find it. Anything you could tell me would be appreciated. ^^[/color'][/size][/quote] I've only read the first chapter. Speaking personally, I didn't care for it at all. That might not mean much (in another recent development, I completely [i]hated[/i] how [b]Sex Pistols[/b] started off, but now I'm irrevocably hooked on it). Even so, I thought it seemed a little garbled, and the whole pace was kind of forced and unnatural. The parts that were supposed to be funny didn't really do anything for me. -_- ~Dagger~

Actually, [b]Ichigo Mashimaro[/b] has been licensed. Geneon [url=http://www.geneonlounge.com/index.php?id=180][u]stealth-announced[/u][/url] it alongside Kamichu, and they're calling it Strawberry Marshmallow. The [url=http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/Tn39gVwSmbdwYZQsrU/browse/item/69640/4/0/0][u]first volume[/u][/url] is going to come out in June, and the [url=http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/Tn39gVwSmbdwYZQsrU/browse/item/69641/4/0/0][u]second[/u][/url] is coming out in August. Four episodes each, so it'll be released at a nice pace. :catgirl: I've watched a little bit of the show, but that was right before it was licensed. I really liked what I saw of it, so I'm going to get the DVDs. It's amusing, and it gives you that moe feeling without being icky. Miu is my favorite character. ~Dagger~

My impression of the series was that it's usually the other way around... Ed gets reckless or screws up, and Al has to help him out. I like both of them, anyway. On a different note, [url=http://videovault.diamondcomics.com/update/apr_06/APR064256.jpg][u]here's[/u][/url] a picture of the third FMA tin. Hot stuff. I assume that the other side will feature the remaining Homunculi, or at least most of them (maybe not Greed). ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=White][FONT=Tahoma][color=#555555] They also mentioned something about taking out some extra information and placing it back in later in the movie.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE] Hm... do you remember what that was? To be fair, the dub and sub scripts lined up pretty well (from what I remember). There were parts where they tweaked the dub a little bit to make it funnier, but that's almost SOP for some companies. Overall, the changes were pretty minor and harmless. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=White][color=#555555][FONT=Tahoma] [spoiler]I believe it's near the beginning of the movie, some random civilians are talking about a missing Prince from whatever city it was.[/spoiler][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] Upon watching HMC with subs (which I don't really recommend--Christian Bale is vastly superior to his Japanese counterpart), I was taken aback to discover that those lines were added for the dub script. They don't say anything audible in the Japanese version. The plot thickens, ne? ~Dagger~

As someone who generally feels a bit "ehh" about comedic anime, I have to say that [b]Kodocha[/b] is downright hilarious. It's from Akitaroh Daichi, whose other series include Fruits Basket as well as both seasons of Jubei-chan. Fast-paced, visually wild, spastic without being annoying, and packed with equal shares of cleverness and plain old slapstick, Kodocha never gets tiring. Plus, its humor comes free with a helping of some excellent drama. :animesmil ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Lunox][color=darkslateblue] Interesting little tidbit I found for anyone who's bored: [url]http://community.livejournal.com/fm_alchemist/4163276.html#cutid1[/url][/color][/QUOTE] ROY is Sakura!? *dies laughing* One thing I forgot to mention earlier is how much I loved Al in the movie. He was so, [i]so[/i] cute and adorable and utterly endearing,* to the point that I was ready to declare him the real star. *Not to mention [spoiler]insanely powerful! Ed definitely could not perform that level of alchemy when he was a thirteen-year-old...[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

The movie offers more closure than the TV series, but I guess you could say that there is still room for more plot developments (although that kind of depends on your point of view, to be honest). Even so, I wouldn't get your hopes up--the movie is almost certainly the end of the line for the animated version of FMA. ~Dagger~

I was a little confused about that, actually. It seemed as if everyone else--like [spoiler]Hughes, Lust, Scar, etc.--had exact equivalents. I thought that Noah was Rose the instant I saw her, but she just didn't seem to line up with her Shambala counterpart in quite the same way.[/spoiler] On the other hand, this kind of confirms my belief that [spoiler]Rose is closer to being a real love interest for Ed than Winry.[/spoiler] To what extent is [spoiler]alchemy possible in "our" world? Does it only work if you're trying to do stuff involving the Gate?[/spoiler] What confused me was how the [spoiler]big transmutation circle activated after Ed accidentally got some blood on his hand and touched it.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

Chapter 4 of [b]Silence[/b] is out! And it's great! The whole chapter takes place from Masato's point of view, and it does a lot to explain why he behaves the way he does. His confusing actions were a big part of what had kept me interested in the series, but even without that sense of mystery around him, the story is still compelling. If anything, it seems more bittersweet, now that I know [spoiler]he liked Kaoru from the beginning.[/spoiler] I like the seme character in [b]Pure[/b]. His no-nonsense, decisive attitude is refreshing. ~Dagger~

Just finished the movie. First off, any anime in which frigging [spoiler]Fritz Lang[/spoiler] is a character has got to be pretty sweet. Secondly, it was easily the best series-related movie I've seen yet; it did a great job of capturing and improving upon the tone of the TV show. A lot of movies of this type seem to have trouble with that--they may be well-done, but somehow the two-hour format makes them lose something they had when they were made up of thirty-minute segments. Besides, I normally lack the attention span for full-length movies; even Ghibli films give me a bit of a headache if I try to watch them in one sitting. But that wasn't at all a problem with The Conqueror of Shambala (tangent: is it supposed to be Shambala or Shamballa? The R2 packaging & subs used Shamballa, but everyone else seems to use Shambala; well, whatever). To get to the point, HOLY **** WAS THAT AWESOME. In fact, the only real complaint I have about the movie is that the CG [spoiler]suits of armor[/spoiler] looked downright horrible. I don't know whether BONES suddenly got jealous of Stand Alone Complex or what, but it was some of the worst-integrated CG I've seen in a long time, especially in a production of this caliber. Well, everything else had gorgeous, fluid, BONES-style animation, so it's not something I can harp on too much. Never mind that, I actually have one other nitpick. I would've so loved to see a [spoiler]nice brotherly hug between Ed and Al--the suit of armor grappling session just doesn't count.[/spoiler] Also, [spoiler]Al should have been the first one to greet Ed, not Winry.[/spoiler] Some highlights... Why did the image of [spoiler]Envy holding Hohenheim in his jaws[/spoiler] bring End of Evangelion to mind? Specifically, the very last scene of EoE. Something about their situation instantly made me think of that; I guess it just had the same kind of atmosphere. In a twisted way, I can say that I'm happy for both of them. After witnessing the [spoiler]Wrath/Gluttony[/spoiler] battle, I'm willing to forgive [spoiler]Wrath[/spoiler] for everything he ever did that annoyed me. Al's character development was particularly well-executed. The writers did a wonderful job of capturing what he [spoiler]would have been like as a thirteen-year-old without the experiences he'd had with Ed over the past four years.[/spoiler] The scene in which he saw [spoiler]the dead child's hand and reflexively tried to perform a human transmutation[/spoiler] was very telling and felt incredibly real. I probably should have been able to guess what would happen, but I honestly thought that [spoiler]Ed and Al would be stuck on opposite sides of the gate.[/spoiler] That reminded me of The Amber Spyglass, by the way, and it succeeded in getting a tear or two out of me. I was very thrilled and happy with how the movie ended, anyway. It was [spoiler]a good, positive ending, which I had desperately wanted for Ed & Al, but it was just bittersweet enough to fit in with everything that had happened in the series.[/spoiler] The movie-only characters were blended well with the main cast, as were the [spoiler]doppelgangers of Shambala-dwelling characters.[/spoiler] They could have gone down the cheap route and [spoiler]made Hughes a loveable goofball,[/spoiler] but instead, they depicted him as a basically good yet misguided man, and did so with painful accuracy. It was great to watch him shake in fear as he [spoiler]took down the main villain.[/spoiler] There's a lot more I could witter on about, but I'll stop there. For now, suffice it to say that the film is more than worthy of the series. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=hey_love][size=1] The fight scene between [spoiler]Mustang and the Pride[/spoiler], that was just... wow. But I must question, [spoiler]Mustang ends up getting an eyepatch at the end, but I never saw his eye getting injured. Is it because there were many cuts around his eye?[/spoiler] [/size][/QUOTE] I was wondering about that too. I have two guesses: either [spoiler]the injuries near his eye became infected (or too much blood got in it, etc.), or Archer somehow managed to shoot him while the scene switched to Liza's point of view and she was shown running up toward them from behind.[/spoiler] I think the second one is more likely to be correct, since she found [spoiler]Mustang lying face-down with a large pool of blood around his head.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=EVA Unit 100] As for the episode in particular, what an ending! I have no complaints whatsoever. I actually teared up a bit throughout it. The last few minutes, which seem to be criticized as a "see our movie!" ending, I didn't find to be that inconclusive. I know this is a wierd comparison, but it reminded me of Voices of a Distant Star in that it forces you to imagine what happens afterward.[/QUOTE] It also reminded me strongly of Soukyuu no Fafner's ending, which takes a similar [spoiler]"waiting for each other in different worlds" tack (although in Fafner's case, it's more like different planes of existence).[/spoiler] I, too, was satisfied with the ending. Obviously I'm still excited about watching the movie, but I thought the final few scenes were amazingly well done. Although there was a lot that could have gone wrong in that episode, they somehow managed to get all of it right. The rollercoaster sequence of [spoiler]now he's dead, now he's not, and all the different sacrifices and resurrections[/spoiler] could easily have seemed like too much, but it worked out almost perfectly. Even the [spoiler]time jump[/spoiler] was handled with surprising finesse. I particularly loved how the writers sort of checked in with all of the characters, even minor ones. And the background music got even better! Good grief! I'm assuming that [spoiler]Dante and Gluttony destroyed one another.[/spoiler] That would leave [spoiler]Wrath[/spoiler] and possibly [spoiler]Envy (it wasn't really clear whether he made it to the other side of the gate or not--I hope he did, if only for the drama!) as the last remaining Homunculi.[/spoiler] I have to question whether [spoiler]Wrath will ever be able to function as a normal member of society; I'm surprised that he hasn't flown off into another homicidal rage yet. He was very unstable to begin with, and even having him turn into a kind of aimless wanderer is stretching it a little, I think.[/spoiler] But it was kind of neat that he ended up getting [spoiler]automail limbs.[/spoiler] I'll post my thoughts on the movie sometime tonight. [QUOTE]Now I must find a new obsession...[/QUOTE] Eureka 7? Noein? Fantastic Children? :animesmil ~Dagger~

Wow, this thread hails back to 2003. It appears as though someone revived it last year, but I guess I must have forgotten to lock it. Anyway, please keep in mind the fact that only series-specific threads can be resurrected at any time. General topics (such as this one) should be left dead if they've been inactive for more than a couple of months. Thanks! Thread closed. ~Dagger~