Dagger

Welcome to OtakuBoards. :) As it happens, we have a section dedicated to discussing anime. So feel free to post [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=27][u]here[/u][/url] if you'd like to talk about pretty much anything anime-related. Please remember to scan the first page or so of the forum to avoid creating duplicate threads (if I recall correctly, there should be a recent "favorite anime" topic floating somewhere around the Anime Lounge right now). If you have any questions, you're quite welcome to contact me or one of the other staff members. Of course, it always helps to take a look at the [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?][u]Rules[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][u]FAQ[/u][/url] as well. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Hittokiri Zero']Well I just watched episode 3 of Speed Grapher a few hours ago, and I think it was a nice change of pace and direction from the gruesome first two episodes of the series. The fact that the cliffhanger was finally resolved and we get to see Saiga and his killer camera in action was a big plus, because since watching the animated gif I posted in one of my posts above I was really looking forward to this part of the series :rolleyes:.[/quote] Yeah, the action in episode 3 most definitely did not disappoint. I love how the concept is executed, and it's nice that Saiga is already surprisingly powerful. Although I also found it pretty amusing that Saiga was [spoiler]so shocked to discover his own "secret desire." I mean, given the fact that photographing multilated bodies seems to be his biggest turn-on,[/spoiler] he probably should have been able to figure it out on his on. At first I wasn't sure if I would like Ginza (at least, I think that's what the silver-haired woman is called), but she's actually rather cool in a dysfunctional sort of way. Like she implied, her fetish kind of matches up with Saiga's. Personally I prefer her to Kagura, who's a bit annoying in that she's supposed to have [spoiler]divine powers or whatever[/spoiler] but cries and dithers a bit too much for my tastes. Well, I'm sure she'll improve, since she's supposed to be an important character and all that. ~Dagger~

Well, Retri's first post pretty much covers everything I would have said. So you won't be seeing any snazzy new pictures from me. I like DC well enough. The weather isn't that great (too muggy in summer, not cold/snowy enough in winter, and masses of pollen in spring), but it's a pretty nice place to live, all things considered. Although I am hopelessly Metro-impaired, which can make things a little difficult. :animeswea ~Dagger~

I'll probably go rent EoE this weekend. Although I'm pretty bummed that a box set for the two movies hasn't been released yet--I'm sort of looking for an excuse to get Death & Rebirth as well. Oh, the woes of being a completionist. I have to admit that certain parts of Eva just made me want to strangle Asuka. By the end I gained a little more respect for her, if only because [spoiler]pretty much the entire main cast (with Kaji being the only exception I can think of) had more or less revealed their true colors. She was unique in that her flaws were out in the open from the beginning, whereas Misato and Ritsuko came across very differently once they were torn off their pedestals. She also struck me as being a lot more self-aware than many of the other characters; because of that, I found myself more reluctant to cut her some slack.[/spoiler] In fact, now that I think about it, she's like a super-twisted version of Yukino from His & Her Circumstances. Which is really very creepy, all things considered. :animestun I can see why Asuka is liked, but she's not really my type of character. The way she treated Shinji always reflected badly upon her; I would have preferred to see more interaction between Asuka and Rei and less with her and Shinji. Anyway, the fact that Elfen Lied's Nana is both a serious, sympathetic character and an endless font of [spoiler]prosthetic limb[/spoiler] jokes should win her major points, as far as I'm concerned. :animesmil ~Dagger~

[quote name='boxybrown305][COLOR=DarkRed']Heh, to be honest i don't really know what that is.[/color][/quote] Whoops, sorry. What I meant is that the so-called "episode 14" came as an extra on the last disc of the Japanese (R2J) Elfen Lied DVD release. At least, that's what I've been told. :animeswea [quote][COLOR=DarkRed]Although i found something, downloaded it and gave it a peek, and it seemed to fit the description quite well.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] Yes, what you described is definitely the OVA episode. ~Dagger~

If Nana doesn't win... :animeangr Asuka went through a lot, but Nana had [spoiler]all four of her limbs ripped off and was forced to watch as the only person she loved committed double suicide with Mariko (who had been incredibly cruel to her, adding insult to injury). Plus she didn't exactly have a positive childhood. Despite being crippled by her fight with Lucy, she managed to work past her fear and rage and forgive her. Although it would have been so easy for her to betray Lucy/Nyuu while they were living together, Nana decided not to (she's shown struggling with this decision in the OVA episode).[/spoiler] That shows real strength of character. Plus, she's [i]so[/i] cute. I mean, how can you deny that face? I liked Rei a bit better than Asuka anyway. Asuka [spoiler]recognized her problems, but wasn't able to overcome them,[/spoiler] just as boxybrown said. ~Dagger~

[quote name='boxybrown305][COLOR=DarkRed']Wow, there is an OVA? Don't suppose you could say where you saw or baught it? I've looked around, and the best i've come up with was an unofficial rumor of it coming out in May 2005, but considering i've heard no official news, i doubt that, unless the person mistook the OVA for the series coming out or if the OVA will come out with the series.[/COLOR][/quote] I believe that the OVA episode was released along with the final R2 disc (volume 7, or something like that). ~Dagger~

The world of [b]Elfen Lied[/b] is not very kind to innocent bystanders. Moreover, if things continue as the series seems to suggest, [spoiler]humans will soon be outnumbered (or at least dominated) by Dicloniuses (Diclonii?).[/spoiler] Much as I love pink hair and those cute little horns, I think my chances for survival would be pretty low, at least in the near future as presented by the show. ~Dagger~

Thanks for replying. :animesmil I've seen a theory that the last two episodes and End of Evangelion actually aren't alternate endings... quite a few fans seem to think that [spoiler]EoE shows what's going on in the real world--while the last two episodes take place at the same time, but only show what's happening inside Shinji's mind.[/spoiler] Obviously I can't pass judgment on that until I get around to renting the movie, but I don't really like the idea of it, particularly since the movie apparently is a [spoiler]huge downer.[/spoiler] I don't even think I'd say [spoiler]the real world (or physical reality, or whatever) is especially relevant to the final episode of Evangelion. It just cuts brutally to the core of the series--the characters, and more specifically, Shinji.[/spoiler] So I guess it's a good thing that theories are just theories. On that note, I completely agree that the [spoiler]happy[/spoiler] ending was incredibly effective in large part because everything up till then had been so [spoiler]hopeless.[/spoiler] Personally, I hadn't been expecting it at all. In this case, [spoiler]a dark ending[/spoiler] would have been the easy way out. At least in my opinion. :animeswea ~Dagger~

Having just seen it, I'm pleased to say that the OVA episode contributes quite a bit to the plot. It doesn't really function as episode 14, but actually takes place somewhere in the middle of the series. Assuming ADV has the rights to the OVA (I don't see why they wouldn't, but oh well), I hope they put it where it belongs chronologically rather than sticking it at the end. While the first half of the OVA is mostly comedic, on the whole it's much more serious than I had been led to believe. It mainly focuses on developing the uneasy relationship between Nana and Nyuu. [spoiler]In the second half, a little bit more about Lucy's past is revealed. Kurama also mentions Mariko. One of my few quibbles about the series was that Mariko suddenly popped out of nowhere to become a big plot device (although I still love her dearly).[/spoiler] I think those who experience the show in its proper order (with the OVA in the middle) will not have that complaint. ~Dagger~

If I could keep only one series for the rest of my life, I'd probably pick [b]Revolutionary Girl Utena[/b] (or maybe even [b]Fafner[/b]). But assuming that the list you put in your original post is a list of anime you've seen and liked, my recommendations would be much broader; while I hesitate to call any one anime a must-see series, here are a couple you might want to try. Fruits Basket Twelve Kingdoms Scrapped Princess Neon Genesis Evangelion Vision of Escaflowne Brigadoon RahXephon Last Exile Kaleido Star His & Her Circumstances X TV [not the movie!] That aside... since you've already watched Wolf's Rain and Fullmetal Alchemist, I think the best thing you could do is go out and buy/rent/borrow all of the other BONES anime you can get your hands on. Pretty much everything Studio BONES touches turns to gold. Their other works include [b]RahXephon[/b] and [b]Scrapped Princess[/b] (both of which are mentioned above), as well as upcoming titles like [b]The Mars Daybreak[/b] and [b]Phantom Memory Kurau[/b]. All of these series have high-quality visuals and are quite entertaining. [b]boxybrown305[/b]: I really need to get around to watching End of Evangelion, heh. At the same time, I'm afraid to watch it--I [i]loved[/i] the final episode of the series, and I'm almost worried that seeing the movie might ruin the feeling the series left me with. ~Dagger~

Please don't bring back old threads; that is only permitted with series-specific topics. If you would like to discuss anime music, feel free to create a new thread (assuming, of course, that there aren't any recent music-related topics floating around). Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

There were some pretty surprising announcements made at Anime Boston, although none of them were exactly earth-shattering. When FUNimation implied that they would be further developing their relationship with GONZO, I had hoped that they were referring to something other than Sunabouzu (or "Desert Punk")--like Speed Grapher or Basilisk, or even the upcoming Trinity Blood. Oh, well. Those can come later, I guess. I'm pleased as pie that [b]Doki Doki School Hours[/b] (aka Sensei no Ojikan) has been licensed by Geneon, though. What really shocked me is that Bandai plans on releasing all thirteen episodes of [b]Avenger[/b] in one shot, for the price of a single DVD. I mean, I know the show is kind of universally hated, but they must think it's going to do really badly if they're willing to go to such lengths to improve sales. ~Dagger~

I enjoyed the film. It wasn't anything life-changing, but it was less awkward than I had expected (although the romantic parts made me want to throw things--I kind of loved to hate Trillian in the book, and toning down her character in the movie really didn't do anything for me). In any case, Mos Def was brilliant. Definitely the best actor in the entire cast. ~Dagger~

[quote name='No-One']If it's genetic, than why are no one in my family gay? That's all I have to say.[/quote] Speaking generally, a genetic trait does not have to manifest in every single generation in order to be inherited. But anyway, about the specifics--scientists aren't implying that homosexuality and heterosexuality are determined by a simple set of alleles. Assuming that this is indeed genetic, it wouldn't be like the height of pea plants or whatever. I tend to agree with second paragraph of Azure's post--it makes more sense, in my opinion, for homosexuality to be the result of interactions between several genes than the product of a single mutation. [b]x kakashi x[/b]: Personally I think that's a little silly. Taking the opposite perspective, I have yet to meet anyone who "became" a lesbian because she was a tomboy as a child. ~Dagger~

Please don't use OtakuBoards to ask for links to copyrighted material; discussing how/where to download anime is not permitted here. You might want to review the site's [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?][u]Rules[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][u]FAQ[/u][/url] so that next time you'll be aware of what is and isn't allowed. Thanks in advance. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Lunox][color=darkslateblue']Note of Nina's voice: She sounds like a 12 year old. :/[/color][/quote] I didn't think she sounded too old (although Elicia definitely sounded much older than she should have)... but the deliberate childishness of her speech pattern just drove me batty. The cutesy-talk thing wasn't nearly as exaggerated in the Japanese version. Although on the whole (or at least based on the sub track up to episode 8) I must confess that I still prefer the dub. Did the Japanese on-air version of episode 25 use a variant ending sequence? I ask because the episode 7 ending showed stills of Nina, Alexander, Al & Ed (at least on the DVD--I don't think they played the special ED when the episode aired on AS). So I figured something similar might have been done for episode 25 as well. AS just had scrolling credits with a black screen & some random background music. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Lunox][color=darkslateblue']And all that fun mind stuff. :)[/color][/quote] You should take a look at the anime [b]Koi Kaze[/b]. It's a brilliant, deeply disturbing character study that focuses on an adult man who falls in love with his teenage sister (and vice versa). The show doesn't preach, sugar-coat the situation or pull any punches. It's really a great watch if you don't mind the subject material. Anyway. I don't particularly see anything wrong with marrying a cousin, although I can't say it's something I would want to do. If I recall correctly, recent scientific studies or whatnot have shown that the potential negative effects of having children with one's cousin are actually far less of a threat than one would be inclined to think. Although I can't remember exactly where I read this. I do believe that being sexually/romantically interested in or involved with a parent, child or sibling is a sign that there's something seriously wrong, emotionally or psychologically. That's just not healthy, no matter how you slice it. ~Dagger~

[b]Kyoko Makashiro[/b], openly trading copyrighted materials is against the rules here at OB. So in the future, please don't post links to scanlation sites, torrent sites, or anything else of the kind. Those interested in reading the FMA manga may also want to note that it has been licensed by Viz. Volume 1 will be coming out in two days, as a matter of fact. I'm sure you'll be able to find it at pretty much any comic shop or bookstore which carries manga. I'm surprised that no one has commented on episode 25 yet, so I guess I'll kick things off. [spoiler]It affected me more than I thought it would--I was planning to go watch Gad Guard or something afterward, but once I saw FMA, I was ready to turn in for the night. They really rubbed in the fact that Hughes is a wonderful character and probably the most likeable guy in the entire show so far.[/spoiler] The dubbing of Elicia's voice was noticeably weak, which reminded me that I didn't like Nina's English voice either. So Funi needs to work on how they cast little kids. Other than that, though, I was really happy with the performances in this episode, especially from Hughes and Roy. One thing I'm confused about... [spoiler]So did Envy kill Maria Ross and take her place? Or was the person who saved Hughes actually Envy from the beginning?[/spoiler] I also just realized that when Scar kept talking about [spoiler]the arm his brother gave him, he meant it literally.[/spoiler] Yeah--that kind of went over my head until very recently. :animeswea Since there was no next episode preview, I assume the show is taking a break from AS. Does anyone know when new episodes will return again? ~Dagger~

I'm afraid to look at the spoilers in your post. XD That said, watching episode 49 has made me form a couple of theories in regards to what you mentioned (which may or may not pan out; I guess I'll have to wait and see). It seems pretty clear that [spoiler]Johan also crossed-dressed as Nina when he was a child; the main question, however, is why. Additionally, I suspect that the man who wrote the picture book must be the father of Johan and Nina... although we still don't know much about their mother, aside from a brief glimpse of what she looks like.[/spoiler] While there were times in the series when the actions & reasoning of Lunge (Runge?) seriously irked me, I was pleased to see him back at work. It's ironic that he ended up [spoiler]picking up Johan's trail during the one time in his life he decided to actually go on vacation. However, this time around it seems that he won't totally disregard the evidence in favor of some silly theory about Tenma having multiple personalities.[/spoiler] In other news, the manga license has been confirmed. Viz will release the first volume on October 4 (the same day as the first volume of Death Note!). I'm really excited about having the chance to see this story in its original form. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Touma Seguchi][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Palatino Linotype] EDIT NEW POST: I've found it! It came to me in the FUNimation newsletter. To see it, [URL=http://newsletter.funimation.com/]click here.[/URL][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] Cool, thanks for the update. :catgirl: I really like the design for the Kyo shirt. It's too bad that buying it may require walking into Hot Topic. Anyway, according to those who attended Funi's Anime Boston panel, they're going to be making felt caps for Momiji, Shigure and Hatsuharu (Haru's will be reversible). The Yuki & Kyo caps look pretty cute, so I have faith that these new ones will also turn out nicely. ~Dagger~

I've heard a lot of great things about Princess Tutu, and I also enjoyed the first DVD. It has an interesting premise that leaves room for darker developments as well as the usual magical girl silliness. Some of the early episodes were a little too weird even for me (and my favorite series is Revolutionary Girl Utena, so from my perspective weirdness isn't normally a negative factor), but I'm still looking forward to seeing the rest. I hope that ADV gets their act together and re-solicits the cancelled second volume soon. ~Dagger~

I'm going to watch this tonight. The TV promo made me a little wary (it seemed more like the trailer for a low-budget action flick than something based on a Douglas Adams book), but so far the reviews seem to be surprisingly positive. So I'm looking forward to seeing how the movie turns out. ~Dagger~

[quote name='shinji172']Ah well moving on I have a (slightly off topic) question. Does anyone know of anime similar to eva (other than rahxephon) In terms of the complex plots? I dont mean a mecha anime specifically, just an enjoyable story that is impossible to understand on the first viewing. Thanks in advance :animesmil .[/quote] If you enjoyed Evangelion and RahXephon, you absolutely must give [b]Fafner[/b] (aka Soukyuu no Fafner, which translates to Fafner in the Azure) a try. Check my sig for some links to Fafner-related information. Yes, I am quite determined to keep pimping this show till kingdom come. :animesmil Evangelion = Judeo-Christian mythology RahXephon = Aztec (?) mythology Fafner = Norse mythology Anyway, Fafner shares some elements with both Eva and Rah--but despite a pretty generic premise (and the first few episodes aren't terribly inspiring, either) it really finds its own themes and carves out its own niche. As is also the case for Eva and Rah, Fafner has a huge, diverse and extremely well-developed cast of characters. I don't know that I'd call the plot "impossible to understand on the first viewing," but then I don't think that such a description applies to RahXephon or Evangelion, either. But if you're looking for confusing and/or intricately plotted anime of any type (not just mecha series), that topic could definitely merit its own separate thread. ~Dagger~

Much to my dismay, I have already been spoiled for at least one of the major events that occurs in episode 25. And I've tried so hard to forget what I read! :animedepr Ah well. At least I'll get to find out how it happens. Still, nothing can replace the emotional impact of being totally taken by surprise. ~Dagger~