Dagger

[quote name='EVA Unit 100']...in order for something to be "classic" in my opinion it has to have repeat value. It's a gripping storyline, but once I've seen the whole thing I don't know how much I'd enjoy rewatching it outside of long marathons of big chunks of the series and/or certain outstanding episodes...[/quote] That's more or less where we disagree (although this is all a matter of semantics anyway). The idea of something being a "classic" is, to me, necessarily objective (insofar as it's possible for identifying particular shows as such to even be objective). Replay value, on the other hand, varies hugely from person to person. That's why the passage of time is key. The fan backlash that Fasteriskhead referred to is actually part of the process; the sheer vitriol that can be found in some quarters indicates that it's too early for members of the fandom to regard Eva without eyes clouded by either the emotional/intellectual impact it had on them when they first watched it, or, conversely, the bitterness and resentment they felt when they first thought it didn't live up to the hype. The unfortunate thing is that Eva does get overhyped to an almost silly degree, even now, and that in itself makes people want to dismiss it. No one, even if they think it's ridiculous and obsolete, can deny the significance of Mobile Suit Gundam. I would be the last person to argue that Eva isn't a seminal work, but it hasn't quite reached that point yet--which is the main thrust of what I was saying. Of course, I'm not exactly a scholar of this kind of thing; I can only argue it so far before I get way out of my depth. I suppose what it gets down to is that I have a problem with people declaring "RahXephon blah blah blah, but Eva is better [i]because it's a classic[/i]." It just strikes me as being lazy. "Fine," I want to answer, "But even if we just assume it's a classic in every sense of the word and leave it be, that says absolutely nothing about why you personally prefer it." Can't they come up with better evidence with which to argue that point? Say--the rawness of the character development, the uncompromising realism of Shinji's portrayal, the music, the unsettling directing choices, whatever. Those are the kinds of things that make for a far more interesting discussion than all this talk about classics that I've been guilty of prolonging. ~Dagger~

[quote name='EVA Unit 100']I'd say that the fact that EVA is still causing controversy a decade after it originally aired means that it's a pretty safe bet to call it a classic.[/quote] Is it a classic compared to Touch, Mobile Suit Gundam, Saint Seiya, Urusei Yatsura, Ashita no Joe, Rose of Versailles, Galaxy Express 999, all the Masterpiece Theater series, etc.? Even among Anno/Gainax anime, I think Gunbuster or Wings of Honneamise would be more qualified... It's not that I mean to totally downplay Eva's importance; if any show were going to achieve classic-in-a-decade status, it would be something like Eva. Even so, I sort of feel that this makes people (myself included) overlook the "real" classics. There's a tendency among English-speaking fans to jump the gun when it comes to declaring a particular title to be one for the ages (I like FMA, but it's hardly a classic!). I've come to think that stuff from Eva's period--including fare like Utena and Escaflowne--is at best teetering on the edge. That's veering off-topic, though. :) ~Dagger~

I'm glad you enjoyed them. :) Anyway, here are some new Blu licenses, as reported by the Anime on DVD staff. [B]Black Knight[/B] by Tsurugi Kai [B]Junjou Romantica[/B] by Nakamura Shungiku And, best of all... *melodramatic drumroll* [B]Gerard et Jacques[/B] by Yoshinaga Fumi! I don't know anything about the first title, I've read the second but don't remember feeling that much enthusiasm for it, and obviously I'm pretty amped about Gerard et Jacques. In other ComicCon news, ANN says that CPM (the company that owns the Be Beautiful manga line) will release the Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love) OVA. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Avenged666fold']Whew you scared me. I take take the word of admin very seriously so please don't scare me like that.[/quote] If you had actually [i]read what I wrote[/i], it wouldn't have been a problem. :p Continuing with the main topic... At the moment I just own three thinpaks (Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon SuperS and Azumanga Daioh), and only one of them is from ADV. There aren't that many ADV thinpaks I have my eye on, either, since I already have the singles for most of the shows I'd be interested in. But the thinpak wave has changed my buying habits considerably. I imagine I'm not the only one, either. Last year, I collected a lot of ADV series as they came out; this year, I've cut back to the bare minimum in favor of "waiting for the thinpak." Of course, I doubt that's what ADV really wants to hear, heh. ~Dagger~

Hey, now, that's simply my assumption based on that line about changing their policy. So take it with a grain of salt. (And even then, I never said I thought they would completely stop putting out thinpaks...) EDIT: You like Mangle? :animestun ~Dagger~

Thinpaks are nice, to be sure, but I don't think ADV did themselves a favor by releasing so many of them in such a short period of time. One of ADV's head honchos has stated that they'll be changing their thinpak policy in the future, as a matter of fact; I can only assume this means they'll implement a longer gap between the final volume of a series and its thinpak set. I strongly disliked the whole extras-stripping thing until I realized that I don't care that much about extras to begin with, haha. Ultimately, though, anything that allows people to get their hands on great shows like [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B5IONO/qid=1140832194/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-9913801-8800134?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130][u]Kaleido Star[/u][/url], [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AP31I8/qid=1140832229/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9913801-8800134?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130][u]Kino's Journey[/u][/url], [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A2UCC4/qid=1140832296/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-9913801-8800134?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130][u]Pretear[/u][/url], [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000767QTA/qid=1140832327/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9913801-8800134?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130][u]Evangelion Platinum[/u][/url], etc. for such a low price is definitely worthwhile. ~Dagger~

[quote name='GUNmanZERO7]RahXephon pales in comparison with Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is a good show but the classic Evangelion series is better.[/QUOTE][QUOTE=Starwind']True, RahXephon is entertaining, but it's also true tha it pales to the Eva series.[/quote] Your truth is not my truth. :p Eva and Rah have different strengths. On an emotional level, I think the last six or so episodes of Soukyuu no Fafner outdoes both of them. If the series had stuck to that level of quality throughout, I would personally have ranked it far above them. The Fafner OVA is ridiculously good, for that matter. But that's all beside the point. I imagine Evangelion would have left me cold had I not (bizarrely enough) fallen in love with the ending. RahXephon tells a different story and tells it well. Is Eva more of a mindtrip? Yes. Does RahXephon make more sense overall? Yes. Are the Aztec/Mayan references and symbolism better or more relevant than the Judeo-Christian references and symbolism? Pick your poison. Don't mind me; I've been following an Eva vs. Rah thread at another forum, so I had it on the brain. Ah well. Honestly, though, it's ten years too early to call Eva a classic. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=r2vq] Kenshin is a little different, I believe. I haven't seen much of Rurouni Kenshin myself, apart from the OVA, but from what I gather, Kenshin uses "gozaru" at the end of his sentences. This is an overly polite form of Japanese that can't be translated into English.[/QUOTE] That didn't stop them from trying, though--in the TV show's dub, he frequently concludes his sentences with "that I am." I don't know if it's used as often as "believe it!" in the Naruto dub, but I think the situation with the two dubs is comparable (even though the situation with the original terms is not, as you had pointed out). I actually didn't mind Kenshin's affectations in the English dub; of course, that's partly because I liked his voice actor. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Charles']I sort of wanted to parody the entire situation by loosely modeling it after Shakespearean tragedy... I've read a lot of drama and a lot of Shakespeare over the last couple of years and I've used that form as a foundation.[/quote] You pulled it off beautifully. The puns in particular are very Shakespearean--that's the first thing that struck me as I read this. The level of language (I mean, its formality and so forth) is fairly consistent as well, which must have been difficult to arrange if you were drawing on or being inspired by blog entries and poems, as you mentioned in your first post. At times it becomes more personal than I had expected when I went into it--particularly in Alex's soliloquies. But that's a good thing, I think, because the end result is that the content and the form complement each other well. I mean, the way their lines are written doesn't detract from or distract the reader from what they're actually saying, which is probably the biggest danger with stuff like this. I feel like I'm not expressing myself too clearly, so I hope that made sense, haha. In any case, nice work. I'm going to enjoy reading the second and third acts. ~Dagger~

Not to jump the gun, but could someone tell me which episode Sanji first appears in? It's just that I don't want to be on the lookout for it if he won't show up for a while, heh. Now that I think about it, Luffy is kind of like an older and significantly crazier version of Hunter x Hunter's Gon. Although Luffy's insane streak is noticeable from the beginning of One Piece, while Gon's takes much longer to become fully apparent... I've learned not to expect much from the female characters in this type of series, but so far, Nami seems fairly cool. ~Dagger~

[url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=41879&page=7][u]A lot of people, apparently.[/u][/url] :whoops: Please post in that thread if you'd like to talk about anything related to KH2. On that note, video game discussions in general should take place in [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12][u]Play It[/u][/url] (as opposed to this forum, which is meant to cover anime-related topics). If you have any questions about this, feel free to private message me or one of the other staff members. Thanks! Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=ANBU kunoichi] From what I have seen, what it comes down to is what company is dubbing the series. [/QUOTE] [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=709810&postcount=22][u]Well, kind of.[/u][/url] I think your post is nicely balanced, and I enjoyed reading it. But just out of curiosity, what English phrase would you have used to replace "dattebayo"? ~Dagger~

In the future, kureno, please don't double-post. You can always edit your most recent reply if you have something that needs to be added. [quote name='kureno']ummm... hope you know its already been realeased[/quote] Except that it hasn't. Gravitation 2 (the sequel to Gravitation, which is what has been fully released in North America) is unlicensed, as far as I know. I'm sort of hoping that DMP will pick it up, but Tokyopop is the obvious choice for licensing it. Either company would be fine by me. Of course, they'll have to wait until the tankoubon start coming out in Japan. ~Dagger~

Yeah... if I had seen Get Backers in full before buying it, I would have stopped after the fifth DVD (which contains the end of the Limitless Fortress arc). It's not so much the ending I have a problem with as the entire second half. They compressed two arcs that could have been good and stuffed the space between them with filler. I would rather have seen the writers spend a lot of episodes on [spoiler]the dude with multiple personalities or whatever[/spoiler] [i]or[/i] on the [spoiler]second Limitless Fortress[/spoiler] arc, as opposed to half-heartedly doing both. ~Dagger~

[quote name='thezerosystem'] I can't even decide which song is my favorite.[/quote] I couldn't choose just one, but the pieces I find myself listening to most often are Madame Guillotine, Into the Fire, Falcon in the Dive, Where's the Girl?, The Riddle and Storybook. That's a lot, actually. But The Scarlet Pimpernel's music is just that good. It runs the whole gamut, too--there are seductive songs, songs that can get your blood going like nothing else, humorous songs, etc. It's great to encounter another fan here, at any rate. :animesmil ~Dagger~

[b]The Scarlet Pimpernel[/b] is my favorite musical of all time... no contest. I saw it twice when it was at the Kennedy Center, and if it came back in town, I would see it again in a heartbeat. I love the songs, the comedy and the whole atmosphere--it's just so much fun and so stirring. Second would be [b]Into the Woods[/b]. Two of my best-loved anime series deal with Western fairy tale archetypes and so forth, so how could I not fall head over heels for this? The songs aren't really the kind of thing you can walk around humming (although I've been known to bellow the "AGONY~~!!!" chorus in the shower from time to time), but the lyrics are clever and the soundtrack is very listenable. I like how it's both bittersweet and uplifting. As far as other Sondheim stuff goes, I'm also fond of [b]Sweeny Todd[/b]. I thought [b]Showboat[/b] and [b]Ragtime[/b] were absolutely brilliant, but they were a little too intense for me (well, more so Ragtime than the former). Going to Ragtime was emotionally draining, and while it was a worthy experience, I'm not sure I could have done it twice. I have to echo those who mentioned [b]Chicago[/b], since it's awesome. Sadly, I didn't like [b]Wicked[/b] very much. Perhaps my expectations for it were too high. :animedepr ~Dagger~

Slacking In Them Slacks: One of my favorites so far. Your puns are always delightful. Fun Fact #3: Now [i]that's[/i] what I'd call "slacking in them slacks." :p ~Dagger~

Yeah, I think I'm going to move this. One could argue for The Fuccons being anime-related, but it isn't really anime no matter how you slice it. As a side note, Nomura, while the news on the main page [i]is[/i] mostly anime/manga-based, we mention other stuff when it seems like it'd be of interest to anime fans. We've had a fair number of entries about Kingdom Hearts 2, for example. Sorry if our Fuccons coverage caused any confusion. ;) ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Ramen_Mido] I wonder if Ed is going to face off aganist [spoiler] Lust they seem to have a temporary alliance[/spoiler] I wonder how long that will last before they tear each others throats out.[/QUOTE] I thought that [spoiler]Lust died last night.[/spoiler] Anyway, there are few things cooler than a [spoiler]Homunculus versus Homunculus battle. Although if Lust really is dead, that'll put a serious dent in any fondness I had for Wrath. He and Envy seem to harbor a similar hatred for the Elric brothers, except that Envy manages to be much less annoying about it. I guess that's Wrath's youth working against him.[/spoiler] Four episodes left! ~Dagger~

I was sort of planning to check out the first few episodes just so I could say, yeah, I had seen more than a snippet or two of it... but I'm feeling myself getting sucked in. Mainly because I love Luffy's personality. I don't really have anything specific to bring up at the moment, since I'm not that far into the show, but I'll probably revisit this thread sometime in the future. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Darktigerpack17'] Sorry FullMetal Alchemist, your going a shelf down.[/quote] Because of [i]Burst Angel[/i]!? I guess there's no accounting for taste. ;) Seriously, though, I thought this show had about a thimble's worth of substance. Not that there's anything remiss with enjoying some easy eye candy, but Burst Angel would not be my top choice in that department. ~Dagger~

You know, I can understand the whole liking psychotic characters thing, at least to a certain extent, but Kimblee has no class whatsoever. Why would you prefer him to, say, any of the Homunculi? Just curious... ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=r2vq] On a different note. The local HMV was having a sale on DVDs and I was able to obtain the first four volumes of Full Metal Alchemist for $15CDN each! (That's $12.96 American) Happy days! If only all Anime were this cheap![/QUOTE] That [i]is[/i] a good deal! :animenose So I ordered the [url=http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=ANZB-2001][u]LE movie set[/u][/url] from CD Japan, and it arrived a few days ago (hooray for EMS!). I'd take pictures, but my camera is having a breakdown. Either way, I think there's a good chance that Funi will mirror this type of release, and for a much lower cost, when they bring the movie to region 1. *can't wait for tonight's episode* ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=hey_love][size=1] I was wondering, how many episodes are there in this series?[/size][/QUOTE]It's twenty-six episodes long. However, that doesn't cover the whole story. If you want to see what happens afterward, you'll have to read the manga. ~Dagger~

Here's the latest post from the [url=http://www.theotaku.com/][u]front page[/u][/url], which pretty much explains it. [quote name='Adam']One of our servers had a hard drive failure today. Fortunately it was just a slave server, so no actual data was lost. Unfortunately this was the only server we had without protection against a hard drive failure. As a result all myOtaku sites and much of theOtaku is inaccessible. This is just really terrible luck. Bear with us please.[/quote] To echo what Lady Katana said: patience, grasshopper. ;) EDIT: Whoops, Panda beat me to it. :animeswea ~Dagger~