Dagger

Wow. This is the most one-sided poll yet. On the other hand, that's not terribly surprising. There are a lot of Kagome/Inuyasha fans, but those are just people who support the romantic pairing; you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who really loves Kagome (when taken by herself). In an amusing contrast, there's a rather large segment of the Inuyasha fandom that professes to like Kikyo for Kikyo, regardless of who she's coupled with. To echo what everyone else has stated, Sango >>> Kagome. ~Dagger~

This sounds interesting. I'm not familiar with the original game, but I'd like to participate. How will the voting be run? In-thread voting, or by sending private messages to the dictator? If it is in-thread, what will be done to avoid racking up a series of one or two-word "Yes" or "No" posts? ~Dagger~

[quote name='jean_san']Hehe, the integration of Hip Hop music was all too classic. When Jin cursed out the emperor and they substituted the curse word with a DJ cut, I was laughing so hard... :D[/quote] Well, that dude definitely wasn't the emperor, haha. But I completely agree--the editing there was rather inspired. That one line of Jin's and the truncated ED aside, I'm pretty sure the episode ran completely unaltered. Which bodes well. ~Dagger~

Fansubs are not meant to work as a substitute for buying the legitimate release. And bootlegs really shouldn't even factor into the equation. [b]Lord Dante[/b], you may want to consider visiting the Anime on DVD forums and seeking out the advice of some experienced UK importers (and by importers, I mean those buying R1 releases, but obviously you already knew that). While I could point you to some reliable & legit online stores, that wouldn't be of much use to you... I personally don't know which stores have the best international shipping rates and so forth, as it's not something I normally take into consideration. Although I can only assume that excellent customer service is particularly important for overseas buyers. ~Dagger~

I combined your two replies. No double-posting, please. [quote name='EVA Unit 100']He is currently doing The New Cutey Honey, which is a magical girl series. Not exactly the type of magical girl series you were expecting, heh.[/quote] Wow, I had no idea. Now that you mention it, didn't he also direct the live-action Cutey Honey film? It's not a franchise I'm especially interested in, Anno or no Anno... which is too bad, since it would have been interesting to see his take on other Go Nagai series (namely, Devil Lady). ~Dagger~

[quote name='Bloodseeker']Just to create to a bit of conversation... who wants to see Hideaki Anno direct another anime? The guy's off his rocker. It would be interesting to see what else the he could make.[/quote] His & Her Circumstances has some similarities to Evangelion, if only in terms of how it's directed. The high level of comedy makes it hard to draw straight comparisons between the two shows, but the some of the serious scenes in His & Hers are strikingly reminiscient of Eva. Especially in the later episodes that hint at Arima's inner demons. I saw fewer such parallels between Eva and Nadia, but it's still a great show anyway (barring the string of filler episodes in the middle). Actually... now that I think about it, while Nadia seems like more of a classic adventure story, there are definitely some characters who appear to be earlier versions of characters in Eva. This applies mainly to the crew of the Nautilus: Captain Nemo is Gendou, for example, and Electra is Ritsuko. I suppose one could also point to Grandis as having elements of Misato's personality. Same goes for Nadia and Asuka, although in that case the connection is much more tenuous. Those are the only Anno-directed anime I've seen, although I'm also interested in watching the first Gunbuster OVA. If he were to direct a brand new anime... hm, well, he's already done mecha and high school romance. I guess I'd like to see him do a magical girl series. It would probably turn out something like Utena, haha. Or maybe a straightforward fighting show (a la Bleach or Yu Yu Hakusho). That would be interesting. ~Dagger~

Well, the main reason to buy it is the remastered video & audio. On the video side of things, the show looks a lot more clear and vibrant; they also removed the "Gainax jitter." But unless you're a real video-quality fiend, the difference isn't so huge that its impact on how you experience the show would be worth buying the Platinum discs individually. And if you don't own the Director's Cut discs, they included those versions in Platinum in addition to the on-air episodes. Of course that's kind of a moot point for those who bought the Director's Cut DVDs. The presentation etc. of the Platinum discs (artwork/informational inserts, the silver slipcovers, the artbox) is generally rather nice, but I imagine that serves as better motivation for first-time buyers than for people who already own the show. ~Dagger~

I am [i]so[/i] jealous. My copy hasn't even shipped yet! :animedepr Heh, I was expecting them to take that kind of angle on the series. Apparently it worked pretty well with Gantz, despite the ridiculous release scheme. To be honest, I don't really care how they market the show--my only concern is that people will think that it isn't anything more than a gore-fest. But good word-of-mouth (and Elfen Lied already has plenty of that) should be more than enough to combat such assumptions. Well... at least I have the first volume of Gunslinger Girl to comfort me as I await Elfen Lied. That's something, I suppose. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Bloodseeker']So Dagger doesn't like Rei or Asuka?! That's a rare one. But come to think of it, the first time that I watched Eva, Misato was the only one of the three main Eva girls that I liked.[/quote] I like the older women--mainly Misato & Ritsuko, but also Yui and Ritsuko's mother. They have an appealing subtlety/ambiguity to them... in contrast, Asuka and Rei are characterized in bold, stark terms (this is especially true of Asuka). For me, Misato and Ritsuko--while not necessarily more complex or conflicted--came across as being more real and less like character studies. The maturity factor also helped (and plus, they're just sexier in general). Misato and Ritsuko are relatively experienced, well-rounded women. Rei is more or less a [spoiler]doll[/spoiler] (yeah, she kind of grows beyond that, but it's still the main thrust of her personality or lack thereof). And for much of the series, Asuka comes across as being a whiny, insecure child--even worse than Shinji in certain regards, because while he just curls up and acts sullen, she has to put herself out there all the time. I really do like Ritsuko a lot, now that I think about it--beyond just lumping her in a group headed by Misato. It would have been nice to see more of her. [quote](Speaking of Asuka, I'm about to see if Nana really is the better character of the two, like some of you claimed a few matches back.).[/QUOTE] Excellent. It will also be interesting to find out what you think about Lucy. My feelings about the various characters changed really dramatically over the course of the show--while I liked Nana from the moment she was introduced, I had this huge love-hate thing going on with Lucy. And don't even get me started on Mariko. Of course, boxybrown is also quite correct in that Nana doesn't become a major character until somewhat later in the series. But there's still a lot to enjoy in the beginning episodes. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Inuyasha311']I had no idea about all the stuff that was going on.[/quote] Just wait until you get to volume 7. :animesmil Well, that's assuming you're buying the Platinum version. If you're collecting the old singles (which actually might not be a bad move--sure, they're one disc longer than the new release, but it's also possible to find them being sold very cheaply), wait till volume 8. Personally, I'd liked to know how many Eva fans who already own the original discs opted to buy the Platinum DVDs. Apparently Platinum has sold quite well for ADV, but it would be interesting to see what percentage of that comes from new viewers and what percentage is due to double-dipping. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Bloodseeker']This place seems to be filed with the type that would vote for Rei... [/quote] Why, whatever makes you say that? :animesmil And yes, I voted for Rei. I'm not exactly passionate about either of the options here, but I found Rei to be a lot more fascinating than Faye. Plus her character design is just so much more... uh, subtle. While I didn't really pay that much attention to her until she [spoiler]sacrificed herself,[/spoiler] I did find that scene surprisingly moving (which is to say, it was surprising given that a lot of the emotional angst in Eva just kind of rolled off me, at least until the very end of the series). It puzzles me that she's the focal point of such a strong obsession in the Evangelion fandom, as I can't quite understand why one would idolize a character presented the way she is. But that's not to say she isn't admirable, and I like her quiet strength. ~Dagger~

[quote name='EVA Unit 100']Other than that, I'd say the Cowboy Bebop movie. I don't know why people think it should have been a PG-13.[/quote] In an ideal world, the Cowboy Bebop movie would probably still be rated R--but from a realistic standpoint, there are countless PG-13 films out there which are a lot more gruesome, bloody or just plain intense than the Bebop movie. So to me it seems mildly unfair (at the very least) that it was slapped with an R. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Noside']I'm pretty damn sure they're gonna edit some stuff down the line and I really do not like edits.[/quote] What is there to edit? As far as I can remember, Champloo is much less gruesome than certain episodes of Stand Alone Complex (a show which ran almost completely unedited), and it has no nudity. I think it'll be fine. ~Dagger~

[quote name='pbfrontmanvdp][b]Also Dagger [/b']where did you get Revolutionary Girl Utena from. I've been looking all over in Best Buy, Sam Goody, and other known places that sell anime and couldn't find it anywhere. I was just wondering if you bought it off of Amazon or got it from a store or not since you've been mentioning the series a lot and it does sound interesting.[/quote] I acquired the series piecemeal when I found it heavily discounted at a few different online stores (if I remember rightly, I ordered most of the first & second seasons during a Best Buy sale, and I got the box set of the third season when it was a TRSI weekly special). It's a relatively old show, both in terms of when it was made and when the North American DVDs came out, so it's not too surprising that you wouldn't be able to find it in brick-and-mortar stores. Much as I love to proselytize about Utena, it's more of a cult favorite than something with real mainstream appeal. Interestingly, it gets lumped together with Evangelion a lot--the two shows came out around the same time, and in a certain sense Utena did for shoujo when Evangelion did for mecha. Rather than being completely fresh & new, it synthesizes elements from a bunch of older series in an original and compelling way. In that sense it could also be compared to Escaflowne, although in reality they have little in common. The decidedly un-flashy animation and the seeming girliness of the story could be strong turn-offs, but if you like headache-inducing symbolism, bizarre sexual metaphors and tongue-in-cheek weirdness, Utena has no equals (it also has an awesome plot and great character development). Unfortunately the show's darker, more abstract elements don't fully kick in until season two. Melody of Oblivion, an upcoming sci-fi/adventure anime, was obviously inspired by Utena and closely adheres to Utena's type of visual symbolism. It might be cheaper to rent or buy the first volume of that series; if you find its style appealing, you would probably also enjoy Utena. ~Dagger~

[quote name='AgentMeow']The best couple would be Zidane and Garnet.[/quote]We have a winner! As for FFX, the romantic undertones between Tidus and Yuna drove me absolutely crazy. I enjoyed the actual game well enough, but I pretty much detested every single one of the characters, and being forced to watch them interact made me want to give up on it entirely. In other cases, the love story angle just left me cold. The main romance in FFIX made a big impression on me, though--while the game has its flaws, I was able to overlook them because I liked that one aspect of it so much. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Arcadia][size=1]Krum is [i]hot[/i'], and though I definitely appreciate the eye candy, I don't know if he should really be that gorgeous. Where's the broken nose? Oh well, I'm not going to complain too much. :p [/size][/quote] Yeah, really. If they were going to make Krum so good-looking, why couldn't they have done the same for Sirius & Lupin? I'm still terribly bitter about that, haha. :animesigh I skipped out on Prisoner of Azkaban; the third novel is by far my favorite installment in the series, and in that case just reading the book was more than enough for me. But Goblet of Fire appears to be rather well-done, so I may have to go see it... if only for Emma Watson (and Draco's actor, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent). How old is she now, anyway? Do I still have to feel like a pedophile for considering her eye candy? [b]Lunox[/b]: Personally I think GoF would lend itself well to some serious trimming. Enjoyable though the book may be, it has a lot of filler; I imagine even a 2 or 3 hour movie could manage to hit upon most of the main points of the story. ~Dagger~

That trailer... :animenose Wow. The movie's style seems to be very LotR-ish, and that's definitely a good thing. Now I'm really excited about this film. As it happens, pretty much the only thing dimming my happiness is the fact that The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is probably my least favorite book in the entire series. Well, I hope it sells loads of tickets. Maybe that way they'll decide to film the sequels (and the prequel, perhaps). ~Dagger~

An OVA is a direct-to-video release. FLCL, for example, was released as an OVA in Japan. Though I'm a little shocked at myself, I voted for Ayeka--which is kind of odd given that I've always been a semi-rabid Ryoko fan, but it's not as if this is a Ryoko vs. Ayeka contest to begin with. Anyway, Ayeka is tolerable once you take Tenchi and Ryoko out of the equation, and she's certainly a lot better looking than the Love Hina character. So there you have it. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Lunox][color=darkslateblue']Has AS decided to continue FMA? I thought they hadn't even finished dubbing the rest of the series. I was told by many people that it would stop airing after episode 25 because of the catching up Funimation had to do.[/color][/quote] FMA isn't on next week (it's being replaced by Samurai Champloo, which everyone absolutely must watch!), so it looks like the news about the break holds true. It's just that episode 26 is the stopping point they're using, rather than episode 25. ~Dagger~

Yeah, abusive girls are really irritating. I mean, it's never cute and almost never funny. And if you reversed the situation it would be completely offensive--not that it isn't offensive to begin with. Hardy har har, he got his *** whipped by a [i]chick[/i]! ...No. Just no. One thing I strongly dislike about mecha anime--well, serious mecha anime; this isn't really an issue with the lighter & more comedic shows--is how the lead character inevitably whines and moans and gets all pacifistic about having to pilot [insert robot's name here]. In most cases that's basically a realistic reaction, but it seems to play out the exact same way in practically every show. So I always appreciate it when a mecha series quickly leaps past that stage. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Blackjack][color=DarkGreen][size=1]Something Leofski mentioned to me the other day, which freaked me out a little: how cute would a plushie or otherwise cuddly toy of Shou Tucker be?[/size'][/color][/quote] I'd buy that in a heartbeat. Especially if they got his English VA (Chuck Huber) to re-record some of Tucker's catchphrases for a squeezable talking version. :animenose Of course, this is coming from the person who desperately wants a Nana (from Elfen Lied) doll with [spoiler]detachable limbs...[/spoiler] Anyway, now that you know just how depraved I am, thanks for replying to my post. I'm happy that [spoiler]Maria[/spoiler] is still in the show (hm... that probably didn't need to be marked as a spoiler, given that believing she died would require misinterpreting what actually happened, but oh well). And I'm definitely going to enjoy hearing Mitsuki Saiga in one of her rare female roles, once the DVDs catch up to this point. As for episode 27: [spoiler]Wow, Ed & Al's teacher looks like a real hard-***. It sounds as though she only recently realized that they attempted human transmutation. Although so far their fear of her seems mostly comedic.[/spoiler] Like Noside, I'm wondering what'll happen when they hear about [spoiler]the death of Hughes.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

[quote name='NashvilleDream']I could have sworn it was Tohma but whatever... >.>.[/quote] Both "Touma" and "Tohma" are perfectly valid ways to romanize the character's name. [quote name='Retribution][SIZE=1']You seem to be simplistic, not to be bothered with overexplaination or looking particularly done-up. But that's not to say that you don't value your personal appearance. Your minimalism serves you well. Haha.[/SIZE][/quote] I'd say that's pretty much true, actually. Although if I display minimalistic tendencies, they're probably due more to sheer laziness than anything else. :animeswea ~Dagger~

I'm editing your post for spoiler tags; warning people in the thread title is pointless when they have no idea what shows are being spoiled. I'd like respondents to this thread to mark egregious spoilers. Thanks. Full Moon wo Sagashite: Mitsuki learning that [spoiler]Eichi has long since passed on,[/spoiler] and her subsequent [spoiler]emotional breakdown.[/spoiler] Revolutionary Girl Utena: The truth about Utena's childhood encounter with [spoiler]Akio.[/spoiler] Melody of Oblivion: I had to pick my jaw off the floor after finding out that [spoiler]Solo was actually the Monster King.[/spoiler] Hikaru no Go: Everything that happens in episode 60. Fullmetal Alchemist: I second what you said about the ingredients of the stone. Kaleido Star: Layla developing the [spoiler]ability to see Fool[/spoiler] nearly made me fall out of my chair. RahXephon: [spoiler]EVERYONE'S DEAD! No, wait, just kidding. Reset![/spoiler] Fafner: [spoiler]Shouko's[/spoiler] death. [spoiler]Mamoru's[/spoiler] death. [spoiler]Michio's[/spoiler] death. [spoiler]Tsubaki's[/spoiler] death. [spoiler]Kouyou[/spoiler] being assimilated. [spoiler]Sakura[/spoiler] being assimilated. [spoiler]Soushi[/spoiler] being assimilated. Geez, now I'm all depressed. :animedepr ~Dagger~

[quote name='Annie][color=darkgreen']And I don't see how sexual acts could be regulated. [/color][/quote] Actually... many states had anti-sodomy laws (some applying both to heterosexuals and homosexuals, some applying only to homosexuals) until very recently. I know there was a 2003 (?) Supreme Court case in which the justices ended up ruling that the anti-sodomy laws in Texas were unconstitutional, so I'm not really sure about the status of such laws now. I believe that this case, however, resulted from the actual arrest of a homosexual couple.* And interestingly, oral sex is still illegal in quite a few states--including my own, if I recall correctly. Although I'm not sure that anyone really takes such laws seriously. *Everyone, please note that this is just an example, not an invitation to bring homosexuality into the discussion. ~Dagger~

[b]KawaiiRisu:[/b] In the future, please refrain from bringing back extremely old threads. If you find a long-dead topic to be particularly interesting, you can go ahead and create a new thread for the purpose of discussing the subject in question. Series-specific threads are an exception to this, as we try to stick to a one thread per anime system. But general topics that are over a month or two old usually shouldn't be revived. Thread closed. ~Dagger~