Dagger

[QUOTE=Kaze] [font=Times]What about Kiddy Grade? I haven't seen it, but it looks like it leans towards being yuri.[/font][/QUOTE] Haven't seen it either (not yet, anyway), but the official art is definitely suggestive... [b]Uta~Kata[/b], another recent show directed by Keiji Gotoh, has very strong yuri and BL undertones--although the focus is more on the girls. It might amuse (or horrify, I'm not sure) y'all to know that the director of Gundam Wing is working on a new series right now. It's called [b]Cluster Edge[/b], and while it's not outright BL, it's hysterically campy and silly. Nary a female character in sight. It's so funny how people always make comments like, "Oh, it's from the director of Gundam Wing, what did you expect?" when referring to how Cluster Edge turned out. ~Dagger~

Okay... I left this thread alone for a while, but I'm a little confused as to what exactly the OP wants the discussion to be. Are you hoping for it to turn into a catch-all topic like [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=44119&page=5][u]this[/u][/url] similarly oriented Manga Workshop thread? Or are you just looking for a head count? (Thankfully, it's expanded beyond that already, but its direction is still kind of unclear.) Particularly now that you've indicated a willingness to bring yuri in as well... would you like me to edit the thread title or something? Well, anyway. I like BL [i]and[/i] yuri... just not all of it. Sukisho and Kannazuki no Miko are the scum of the earth, in my opinion (I actually was quite fond of Sukisho when I first watched it, but toward the very end my opinion did a drastic 180, and the OVA only solidified that). And many of the older, more obscure BL OVAs (i.e. Lesson XX, which sounds countless times dirtier than it actually is, and Fish in the Trap) are obscure for a reason. But there's good stuff to be found amid all the mediocrity, as is the case with any anime genre. [b]Loveless[/b] is a shining example of angsty romantic melodrama handled elegantly... and it has heavy helpings of both BL and yuri. [b]Ai no Kusabi[/b] is brilliant. Often the titles that focus on something other than BL/yuri but do have some (or at least hint at it) are more interesting. [b]Revolutionary Girl Utena[/b] is my all-time favorite series. [b]Noir[/b] is startlingly moving, especially as it gets into the final stretch (there's also a lot to like about the yuri in [b]Devil Lady[/b]). And the list goes on. In fairness, though, it's probably at least in part because there are a lot more anime with BL/yuri elements than those which are marketed solely and specifically as BL or yuri shows. ~Dagger~

When posting in a thread like this, [b]please give reasons for your answers[/b]. If that doesn't start happening soon, I'm going to lock the topic--lists of names don't really cut it, I'm afraid. Thanks in advance. ~Dagger~

Please post in our official Chrono Crusade [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=38571&page=2][u]thread[/u][/url] if you would like to discuss the series. It's our policy to have one designated thread for each anime show, movie or OVA. It would be helpful if, in the future, you ran a search or checked the Directory sticky topic before creating a new series-specific thread. (It would also help to keep in mind that we place an emphasis on post quality. Using proper spelling and complete sentences is very strongly encouraged.) Anyway, if you have questions, feel free to private message me or one of the other staff members. Thanks! Thread closed. ~Dagger~

I wish Viz would put out the manga faster. It's definitely a quick read, and if you enjoyed volume 1, you'll love the rest of what's been released so far (unfortunately, they're only up to volume 4). It'll be interesting to see what you think of Hanzo after volume 4, heh. To be honest, I actually like the anime better than the manga (similar to my experience with Yu Yu Hakusho), but I'm still enjoying the manga a lot, and it'll be nice to see the manga-only material... whenever Viz gets there... Anyway, HxH and Yu Yu Hakusho are still neck-and-neck for being my favorite shounen action series. Even Bleach can't quite live up to Togashi. :catgirl: ~Dagger~

In Japanese, there aren't distinct L or R sounds, but instead a sort of combination of the two (or, more accurately, a mixture of an L/R sound and a D sound). So you have らりるれろ instead of [I]la li lu le lo[/I] or [I]ra ri ru re ro[/I]. Sounds like those are usually romanized with Rs (i.e. you see "arigatou" written all the time, whereas "aligatou" is virtually unheard of). But--especially when it comes to names--R is not necessarily the most appropriate letter to use. For example, in katakana, the name "Lisa" would probably be written as リーサー. Yet if someone just looked at the katakana and romanized it without thinking about it, he'd end up with "Risa," which is incorrect. ~Dagger~

As has been stated by others, it just wouldn't be fair to allow new participants to join at this point. Cute entry, though. ;) [center]----------------------------[/center] [b]Doc[/b], you win by default and will be participating in the elimination round. ~Dagger~

[CENTER]Kitty - 3 Ozymandius Jones - 2[/CENTER] Congratulations, [b]Kitty[/b]. You'll be moving on to the elimination round. ~Dagger~

[CENTER]Retribution - 7 Revue - 0 [/CENTER] Congratulations, [b]Retribution[/b]. You'll be moving on to the elimination round. ~Dagger~

[CENTER]Baron Samedi - 4 Sean - 1 [/CENTER] Congratulations, [b]Baron[/b]. You'll be moving on to the elimination round. ~Dagger~

[spoiler]Tucker[/spoiler] is back~!!! :catgirl: Due to having missed at least two episodes, I was at first completely confused about how Wrath fit into the equation. Fortunately, a good amount of his backstory was revealed in last week's episode (which I finally got around to watching just before seeing tonight's), so I think--and hope--I have that mostly sorted out. Speaking of which: this show is [i]brutal.[/i] I mean, god. I guess the cute character designs keep lulling me back into a false sense of security (or something to that effect), but the scenes of [spoiler]Izumi's past attempt at human transmutation[/spoiler] were shocking and painful. Wrath's dialogue just made it exponentially harder to watch. (Is he voiced by Monica Rial? He sounds suspiciously similar to Game Master from Yu Yu Hakusho, who I know was played by her.) And the origins of the Homunculi... Anyway. About Sloth: [spoiler]I'm confused. In one of the episodes I was re-watching earlier, Al overhears her speaking (right before or after meeting her for the first time) and thinks/says something like, "I heard our mother's voice." But she's not really the Homunculus of their mother, is she?[/spoiler] *scratches head* In other news, I really like Envy and Greed. ~Dagger~

Okay, I performed a split & move here. I'm faintly irritated that [i]no one[/i] bothered to PM or otherwise notify me/someone else about the shift in subjects... obviously you guys realized that it was swerving way off-topic. In the future, please be a little more proactive instead of just sitting back and waiting for staff to rectify the problem. Thanks. ~Dagger~

Over the past few days, pretty much every part of the network (especially the main page) has really slowed down for me, to the point of being almost as bad as it was when this thread was created. Am I the only one experiencing this? ~Dagger~

Haha, I was just on the verge of posting something about this to the TV schedules thread. It's a good thing I checked the main page first. :) As for editing, I believe that episode 1 is purported to be either mostly or completely edit-free... can't remember which. Unfortunately, it seems (from looking at the clip on Adult Swim's Eva page) that they'll be playing the original version rather than the much nicer-looking Platinum version. I wonder why? Either way, it's too bad... (And even though I won't be following the show on AS, I can now think of my Eva avatar as being much more appropriate, haha.) ~Dagger~

Hm... I have mixed feelings about episode 1. + The character designs. They're refined-looking, sharp and elegant. + George. He's amusingly suave. + The Condomania parody. + The ED theme. - The SD artwork. What were they thinking!? - The general lack of music; having just crowd babble backing up most scenes was disconcerting. - The scene transitions. I got tired of them very, very quickly. The abruptness of the scene switches was also quite annoying and (in my opinion) lacking in grace. - Yukari's seiyuu. I honestly can't stand how she sounds. - The lip flaps. While I have to give Madhouse credit for trying to fully animate the unusually complex (for anime) lip designs, the increase in motion & range of motion seemed to be accompanied by a drop in accuracy (the seiyuu's voices weren't too well timed) and smoothness. Haven't bought the manga yet, but in this case I think I may end up passing on the anime and reading it instead. ~Dagger~

Okay, I'm going to officially nominate #54 for the best Bleach episode ever. Ichigo was SO COOL in this episode. He's almost hit a Yusuke level of coolness, as far as I'm concerned (the big sword definitely gives him a boost in that regard, haha). I was a little disconcerted by how [spoiler]he suddenly appeared without any explanation about when he reached bankai, but I figure they did that so as not to spoil his bankai's appearance ahead of time. Hopefully I'm right in assuming that there'll be a flashback or something in future episodes, just to show what happened toward the very end of his training.[/spoiler] I also found Rukia's monologue in the beginning to be rather powerful. My favorite part was when Ichigo [spoiler]casually disabled all the vice-captains without so much as batting an eye.[/spoiler] Plus, it genuinely shocked me to see [spoiler]Byakuya run up and actually attack him--that's out of character for both of them (albeit in a good way). Normally Ichigo would be the one to take the initiative, and Byakuya would sit back and cool his heels until he felt it was absolutely necessary to act. Leaping out like that made him seem almost panicky, which was a welcome change.[/spoiler] It took us a while to get here, but now it's all happening so fast. :animesmil ~Dagger~

Yay, another G-Senjou no Neko fan~! :catgirl: I really like that series. It's going to be a long wait until April 2006, to say the least. Speaking of DMP titles, can anyone here comment on [b]Kimi Shiruya[/b]? It seems interesting, and as a one-volume title it shouldn't demand much of a commitment. The kendo theme has me intrigued. ~Dagger~

[quote name='HitokiriTaijiya']The voices I really couldn't stand were the ones that sounded like they were from the south, Tae and Sae and Chou the Sword Hunter. Hello. This is Japan, not Texas folks![/quote] I imagine those characters probably spoke a Japanese dialect in the original version of the series. When dub producers try to emulate the effect that a dialect might have on a native Japanese speaker's ears, they often make the English voice actress or actor use a heavy southern accent (although an accent and a dialect aren't quite the same thing to begin with). ADV does this a lot--for example, Osaka in Azumanga Daioh speaks with a southern accent to set her apart from the other characters, since in the Japanese version she spoke Kansai-ben/Osaka-ben. ~Dagger~

[b]First:[/b] [QUOTE=Tatsubei Yagyu][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS] Random Guy: Boo! :flasher: Girl:!!!! :wigout:[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] I just loved how you used the smilies here. Very clever. [b]Second:[/b] [quote name='r2vq']-Remember the Alchemists from the last picture? This is why they were blue.[/quote]:animesmil [b]Third:[/b] [QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet]Oh no! Mumps! Now my gigalo won't find me attractive! *Guy in the back- (You can't see him) I'm not a gigalo![/color][/QUOTE] This is shockingly close to what's actually going on in the scene, haha. Although in the anime, Sana calls him her pimp. [b]Honorable Mention:[/b] [quote name='sand dragon 19][COLOR=DarkSlateGray][SIZE=2][FONT=Times New Roman]"Oh my god! This is why you dont take botox injections in your face!"[/FONT][/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote] I always knew there was a reason why the idea of Botox scared me... Anyway, have fun finding a picture for the next round, [b]Tatsubei[/b]. ~Dagger~

Finally got around to seeing the double episode. [b]Ben Holiday[/b], I think [spoiler]Byakuya left Renji alive because he was so impressed by Renji's determination (speaking of which, I loved how they cut between Ichigo and Renji in that one scene toward the very end of the fight). I believe the scarf/shawl he left with Renji is immensely valuable, so that's another sign of respect. As for Ganju, it's possible that it's just normal procedure to not kill opponents in situations like that, since they might have needed to question him or something. I'm not sure.[/spoiler] Of course, I do feel that [spoiler]Byakuya isn't as much of a bad guy as his attitude would make him seem. He just has no sense of humor and pretty much no personality, haha.[/spoiler] But I have to give him props for having a [i]magnificent[/i] bankai. I really, really want to see more of the fight between [spoiler]Higashi & Yumichika.[/spoiler] They're two of my favorite supporting shinigami. [spoiler]Yumichika[/spoiler] in particular has become so much more tolerable in recent episodes--I think Ganju just brought out the worst in him. And [spoiler]Higashi[/spoiler] just seems like a cool guy. Plus I love the whole amiable banter thing they have going on. It's nice to see that [spoiler]Yumichika[/spoiler] isn't all talk and no action. Also, thumbs up for the new OP & ED (the latter is vastly superior to "Happy People"). ~Dagger~

Welcome to OB. We don't permit introduction topics, but feel free to start browsing through & posting in other threads (for example, our Inuyasha thread, assuming that's the show you most want to discuss). I hope you enjoy your time here. If you have any questions, please private message me or one of the other staff members. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

Welcome to OtakuBoards, bakaneko416. I'm locking this topic because we don't allow introduction threads, but don't let that stop you from jumping right into other discussions. Ideally, people will get to know you through your posts. Please also keep in mind that we try to encourage good post quality--taking a little extra time to write out complete sentences and use correct spelling makes a huge difference. If you have any questions, feel free to private message me or one of the other staff members. Thanks! Everyone else: If you know a thread is going to be locked, please don't post in it. :) Thread closed. ~Dagger~

Yeah, needless to say, I'm really excited about getting to experience Gankutsuou on DVD. I also hope it gets TV exposure at some point, but we'll see. Hopefully, pimping Geneon's site in my signature has done some good, haha. :animesmil Oh, and also... [url="http://forums.animeondvd.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=1172248&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=2&vc=1"][u]Pictures of the packaging, courtesy ricecooker[/u][/url] [url=http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/4393.php][u]Anime on DVD's advance review[/u][/url] ~Dagger~

[quote name='Gavin][size=1']President Bush would appear to make no secret of his association with the ultra-Conservative wing of politics and most people will be more worried that this is an attempt to further reshape the law in his fashion.[/SIZE][/quote] Actually, the ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party are precisely those who are most grumpy about Bush's choice to nominate Miers. They were ready to wage a big nomination battle on behalf of someone with judicial experience and a solid, proven conservative record. All Miers really has going for her is Bush's word, as others have mentioned, and this hasn't made the right-wingers any happier than the left-wingers. ~Dagger~

[b]Onishi[/b] from Texhnolyze comes to mind. He's already a prominent figure within the Organo, and he even manages to win [spoiler]Ichise's[/spoiler] loyalty (which is kind of remarkable, all things considered). This is a weird parallel to draw, but he makes me think back to the Mirage of Blaze OVA, in which Naoe tells Takaya about the qualities that make a great leader. Onishi fits Naoe's description almost perfectly. That's not to say he's my favorite Texhnolyze character or anything, but I'd feel pretty secure living in a country controlled by him. And to continue the mafia theme, how about [b]Big Daddy[/b] from Gungrave? ~Dagger~