Dagger

I actually prefer Scar as a [spoiler]sort of non-antagonist. It makes things more interesting, and I would have been kind of irritated if he was a main enemy for the entire show. I loved seeing him interact with Al in the past few episodes. Plus, he does have a point, and it seems like the writers went out of their way to emphasize that he isn't just a bloodthirsty killer. So making him have semi-friendly relations with the brothers was just a natural extension of that, at least for me.[/spoiler] AW: I'll let you know what I think about it once I see those episodes subbed. ~Dagger~

I'm a little puzzled about the specials, actually. The first special (from 2002) is, if I remember correctly, just a re-cap. It also has a short segment featuring Hikaru & Sai interacting with the live-action cast of "Go Go Igo." The second New Year's special (from 2004), which I watched yesterday, takes place after the television series. It's a little over 70 minutes long, and it basically sets things up for the Hokuto Cup--which is kind of weird, given that the Hokuto Cup was never animated. But it's still a great feature. In addition to [spoiler]introducing Yashiro, it also shows Hikaru's graduation from Haze. Among the games shown are Akira vs. Ogata (I took a perverse pleasure in his loss) and Hikaru vs. Morishita. The main focus was Hikaru's match with Yashiro. My respect for Ochi shot up dramatically when he demanded to play Yashiro for the chance to be on the Japanese team.[/spoiler] It pretty much ends there, [spoiler]once the Japanese team has been finalized,[/spoiler] but there's a nice epilogue of sorts with Hikaru & Akira and a couple of old folks talking about the god of Go. Two side stories were animated as regular episodes of the series (I think they were episodes 65 & 66--somewhere around there). One was about Hikaru replacing Kaga's tea cup; the other was about Akira before he met Hikaru. The weird thing is that I've also come across some other feature that told the tea cup story--except that the script and animation were slightly different in some places. It confused me. ~Dagger~

Last night's episode was kind of annoying. :animesigh [spoiler]After all that build-up, Ed asks Al if he hates him. What the hell? Why did they have to make this seem like some kind of big huge secret? It's practically self-evident that Ed would have such fears--and from the beginning, it's been equally evident that Al doesn't hate him. The scene of Ed asking Al about this would have made much more of an impact if (instead of concealing the whole thing) Ed had been previously shown agonizing over it despite all of the proof that Al never resented him--just like how Al started to worry about having false memories despite the fact that (from an outside perspective) such anxiety was almost ludicrous. The plot thread about Al's so-called false memories worked a lot better and was more emotionally compelling than the plot thread about Ed's Al-related fears. Why? Because they didn't try to hide it for the sake of creating some cheap and wholly unnecessary suspense.[/spoiler] Also, I'm a little bitter that [spoiler]Barry[/spoiler] died. Oh well. The nicely done fight scenes helped placate me, although I found it kind of creepy that the lead mercenary had a hair antennae exactly like the one Hughes normally sports. ~Dagger~

According to a recent [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/columns/sunday.php?id=35][u]interview[/u][/url] with the CEO of 4Kids, the company "[expects] every series we license to be released in its original form." Apparently this includes One Piece, although it seems that an uncut version of the show is still pretty far off. Keep hope alive! :animesmil ~Dagger~

I take back everything I said before. The ending was great! I mean, they leave it pretty obvious that Akira & Hikaru still have their entire lives in front of them, but I think the anime's writers chose the best possible stopping point, given the circumstances. I loved how the final episode concluded. They played a super-extended cut of the first OP, while showing glimpses of pretty much every single character in the show. There were some really funny bits, like the brief scene of [spoiler]Morishita-sensei's daughter surprising Waya with a "Congratulations on being promoted to 2-dan!" banner.[/spoiler] But the best part by far was when [spoiler]a motorcycle-riding Kaga saw Tsutsui walking down the street, looking all tall and confident and chatting with a pretty woman. Kaga stared after him with this expression of utter shock and horror, then did an exasperated face-palm.[/spoiler] It was nothing short of priceless. :animesmil [quote name='r2vq']Aw shwell. Dagger-dono, if you finish the Anime I'd like to know how far they got, if it's not too much trouble. hanashite mo ii desu ne? ^^[/quote] The last three episodes are all about [spoiler]Hikaru's first professional match against Akira.[/spoiler] As I mentioned earlier, this was a nice stopping point, since [spoiler]Hikaru had been totally focused on chasing Akira for pretty much the entire show prior to Sai's disappearance. So in many ways it worked well to wrap up the beginning chapter of Hikaru's career. The biggest sign of progress appeared when Akira figured out that Sai was someone dwelling "inside of" Hikaru, and Hikaru suggested off-handedly that he might tell Akira the truth about it someday. This led into what was presented as the main emotional climax--a dream in which Sai silently handed Hikaru his fan. Naturally Hikaru went out and bought a fan for himself later on. During the credits, he was shown intimidating people with it during matches--an amusingly incongruous (but still heartwarming) image.[/spoiler] So I was actually very much satisfied with the end. Granted, it does seem more like the end of part of a story than the end of a whole story, but it was very well done and went far above & beyond my expectations. In that respect it's sort of comparable to the ending of Fruits Basket--which is emotionally satisfying and somehow seems to offer closure, even though it doesn't cover even half of what happens in the manga. As for HikaGo, all I have left now is the 2004 New Year's special. I've heard that it briefly touches on some later parts of the manga, but I'm not sure about the details. ~Dagger~

Please don't bring back really old topics. If the subject of a long-dead thread interests you, the best course of action is to either look for a more recent thread that covers similar ground or to simply create a new thread of your own. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Animaster3000']Would someone please tell me why they think Evangelion was a good anime. I liked it a little bit, but it was too confusing and tried to be way too in depth. I still don't understand what the ending meant. The series just makes me so angry :animeangr ! Well I just want to know what everyone thinks. And if someone could explain the ending I would appreciate it.[/quote] Evangelion is considered to be a landmark series because it was such an ambitious project--precisely because, as you suggested, it goes into such depth regarding its characters' motivations and neuroses. For many English-speaking anime fans, it was one of the first "serious" anime they watched, and so it has also acquired nostalgic value. The problem lies in the fact that Eva's ardent fans often present it as a series with such broad appeal that it can and should be appreciated by all anime fans. That's simply misleading--Eva, like any other show, is subject to the vagaries of personal taste & preference. Other people are more qualified to comment on the actual events (plot-wise) that may or may not have occurred in the final two episodes. I do feel relatively safe in saying what those episodes are about, though... they're about the human condition. I don't think trying to understand all the twists and turns of the story is the best way for most people to approach the series--one can enjoy it without picking up on every single hidden detail or connection, because it's character-driven (to the point that the dominance of character over plot becomes completely overwhelming). Evangelion is not my favorite mecha anime, but it helped pave the way for some other shows I really like (such as RahXephon and Fafner). I find it sort of amazing and inspiring how the themes of Eva and its successors (particularly the two mentioneed above) so perfectly intertwine and complement one another. I actually get more out of such anime by watching them close together--events and dialogue in Fafner have somehow helped me better appreciate the emotional and philosophical nuances in Evangelion and RahXephon, and vice versa. Basically, I love this genre. :animesmil ~Dagger~

Oh, I see. From the way you phrased it, I thought you were implying that they hadn't even begun to develop a sense of right and wrong. [quote name='Sage]I'm not sure if you follow my flow of thoughts, a child has sort of "right" to do whatever he or she does, because the child is only learning about the world and it rules. It is up to the adults to put the limits and restrict the child's behaviour because the child can't do it by itself, and [I]that's[/I] the whole point. The only thing that girl must've been thinking was "I'm upset", so she showed it the only way she could - by throwing a temper tantrum. I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm simplifying children, but that's just how it goes. They are [I]children[/I'], not small adults. They have so much to learn about the world, and the worst thing adults can teach them is fear and unsafety.[/quote] Children are indeed not adults, but I believe it's rather risky to carry that line of thinking too far. Kids can be very perceptive, even if it's only in an intuitive sense--just imagine a young child bullying/wearing down his mother into buying him whatever he wants. When certain children are treated permissively, they will take advantage of that to walk all over you, and it's a really unfortunate way to grow up. When you scold a child after the fact, it's already too late--it'll come down to the personality of the child and the personality of the care-giver, but the child should come away from it with a memory strong enough to make him hesitate the next time he's tempted. As an example, I remember picking up some pretty nasty curse words when I was around six or so. The first time I used them in the house (not wholly understanding their significance), my mother turned on me. I was a pretty shy kid, so just hearing her speak harshly was enough to put the fear of God in me. I wasn't traumatized or anything--I just felt bad enough about it to avoid doing it again. Individual children differ. Some are like how I was as a child--others aren't affected by being treated coldly or rebuked. There are instances (and I don't know enough to decide whether the event cited in this thread is one of them, just to make that clear) in which instilling a child with fear is important or even vital. Sometimes it's the only way to reach a kid who is used to making adults his doormat, or a kid who is prone to lashing out at & hurting other children. More significantly, fear taught by adults is much more effective at preventing an inquisitive child from running out into the street alone or touching a hot stove than simply saying, "Don't do that." Just my two cents. :) EDIT: Also, I don't mean to suggest that fear (that is, making a child afraid about the consequences of his actions) should ever be used on its own. When used sparingly and combined with appropriate amounts of kindness & loving care, it's a powerful tool. ~Dagger~

Whoa, that's a huge difference. Especially in Ogata's case. Must... control... urge to buy the manga... :animeswea Once I hit the first side story episode, I started to worry that the show would end really abruptly--which made me so sad that I went out of my way to avoid it for a while. Of course, this sort of backfired, since I ended up just moping around and wondering what the heck was going to happen. But [spoiler]Isumi-san's return and his game with Hikaru[/spoiler] definitely brightened my mood. I just loved episode 70--it made me cry (again) and I thought it was very cathartic/theraputic, both for the characters and for the one watching. Now I can go into the final stretch with a little less trepidation. And now I understand your earlier comment about Le Ping... poor Isumi is plagued by Wayas wherever he goes, haha. Most long series are, well, too long. Rurouni Kenshin should have stopped after the Kyoto arc. Sailor Moon (and the subsequent seasons) could have been twice as emotional in half the episodes. Inuyasha just goes in circles, as does DBZ, Prince of Tennis, etc. Yet I can't help but feel that HikaGo could easily use another 75 episodes. It just seems like there's so much left to tell. ~Dagger~

Let's try to tone it down a little, folks. Some of the posts here have been awfully insulting; no matter how outraged you feel, there's really no need for personal attacks. Thanks. [quote name='Sage']And again, the girl was five years old, she has yet to develop a sense of right and wrong, so it's like telling a wolf that it had no right to eat the sheep![/quote] I strongly disagree with you on that point. The extent of the punishment in this specific instance is obviously questionable, but you've basically just asserted that young children should not be punished for misbehavior because they do not fully understand that misbehaving is wrong. Well, they're never going to learn that it's wrong until someone takes the initiative to show them. Moreover, I'm confident that the vast majority of five-year-olds do have some notion of right and wrong. They're capable of feeling immense guilt, of lying, of feeling conflicted, of being sneaky to avoid getting in trouble, and so on and so forth. Stating that children of this age have yet to develop any kind of fundamental moral compass is honestly a little bit patronizing. Again, I don't particularly want to comment on how this might relate to the incident described by the original poster (as that's a rather different can of worms), but I did feel compelled to respond to the remark quoted above. ~Dagger~

[quote name='boxybrown305][COLOR=DarkRed']It's official. Elfen Lied will be released by ADV on May 17th. The price information and what will be available is the same as Dagger had listed.[/COLOR][/quote] Also, just to clarify, ADV ended up using different images for the volume 1 cover and the artbox than the picture I had linked to earlier. [url=http://www.rightstuf.com/items/2005-03/28/large/delf001.jpg][u]"Vector One" Cover[/u][/url] [url=http://www.rightstuf.com/items/2005-03/28/large/delfbx1.jpg][u]Elfen Lied Artbox[/u][/url] I'm slightly (read: extremely) ticked off that they felt the need to jazz up the lovely artwork with added blood and stuff. Oh well. Hopefully the R2 covers will show up on the DVD inserts or something. ~Dagger~

[url=http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/castle/][u]Here's[/u][/url] a link to the official English-language website. There isn't much content up yet, but oh well. It does confirm some information about the dub cast--Howl is played by Christian Bale, young Sophie is played by Emily Mortimer, old Sophie is played by Jean Simmons, the Witch of the Waste is played by Lauren Bacall, and Calcifer is played by Billy Crystal. I didn't really like how Howl sounded in the trailer, but I daresay I'll get over it (and there were also a lot of complaints about his Japanese seiyuu, so there you have it). ~Dagger~

[quote name='Lennex3][COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Times New Roman]The new anime Madlax is finally out, anyone seen it? If so how do you like it? :animesmil[/FONT'] [/COLOR][/quote] Next time, check the Directory sticky before starting a new series-specific thread. As it happens, I managed to win myself an autographed Madlax artbox (signed by Luci Christian, who plays Margaret in the English dub). So that made me pretty darn happy. And the show itself looks wonderful on DVD. As I had been hoping--and, to a certain degree, expecting--the dub is really excellent. In certain ways it's more engaging than the Japanese version. The on-disc extras are also good; the unused OP sequence is especially amusing (probably more so for people who have already seen a good chunk of the series than those who haven't). I'd say the first volume is a solid buy. Although I wonder how first-time viewers will respond to the evening gown phenomenon. :animeswea ~Dagger~

Nice timing, Retri. :animesmil I say this because I just watched the Kino's Journey "movie" (which is not exactly what one would normally think of as a movie, as it's only half an hour long). The movie covers [spoiler]Kino's training with her master and her attempts to find out more about the original Kino.[/spoiler] On the whole, it's more linear and straightforward than the series, but there's an intriguing tidbit toward the end... [spoiler]when Kino returns home, she asks her master to tell her stories about the countries she's been to. Her master responds by briefly mentioning a few incidents that sound suspiciously similar to what happened to Kino in the TV series.[/spoiler] Definitely food for thought, although without more information it's impossible to figure out exactly what's going on. I hope ADV licenses the movie, along with the ten-minute (?) OVA, and releases them together. By now I've seen the series about three or four times (some episodes more than others). The railroad episode stands out as my least favorite, but I liked the library episode a lot more the second time around, and I don't think I could ever get tired of the episodes on the final disc. One interesting thing is that if you try to go chronologically, the first episode actually takes place [i]after[/i] the last episode. I didn't notice this until someone pointed it out to me. I'm actually not sure that the [spoiler]part about the girl and her father applies to the show as a whole.[/spoiler] I think it's presented more as something tantalizing for the viewer to muse upon than as a concrete background story. Although I don't think Kino would ultimately care much either way; she's not the type to let such a suggestion change her paradigm. ~Dagger~

I think I made a thread about this sometime last year, but that was more of a general Miyazaki/Ghibli discussion, so I figured it would be better to start fresh. Anyway, the English Howl's Moving Castle trailer can be found [url=http://aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=19966][u]here[/u][/url]. Suffice it to say that this movie is pretty much guaranteed to become my favorite Miyazaki film--I've been in love with the book for years, and I can't imagine such a good director screwing up one of the most charming stories I've ever read. On that note, I really encourage people to go buy the book (it's by the British author Diana Wynne Jones); I'd be awfully depressed if the movie's June theatrical debut did nothing to boost sales. It's a delightful, romantic, charming piece of work--and incredibly funny, to boot. I hope some of Ms. Jones' sly comedy has been carried over into the film. Thus far I've seen nothing to keep me from having absolute confidence in the movie's creators. For one thing, the character artwork is [i]perfect[/i]. Miyazaki isn't known for filling his movies with bishounen, but Howl's design is excellent--almost exactly what I had first imagined when reading the book. So he gets major points for making Howl appropriately attractive. Sophie looks great as well--which is unsurprising, given how often eccentric old women have appeared in earlier Miyazaki films. And of course the animation in general is going to be ravishing. So who else is looking forward to Howl's Moving Castle? For me, at least, June can't come soon enough. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Momo][color=Royalblue']See I am a fan and a fan always sees all the epsidoes before our slow nation airs them.[/color][/quote] That's a pretty sweeping statement... I can't think of many series that have suffered simply from being over-discussed (intelligent discussion is one thing; intellectual wankage and/or flat-out stupidity is something else entirely). Evangelion is the first anime that comes to mind. It's virtually impossible for fans nowadays to go into the show without harboring some preconceived notions. Same goes for Cowboy Bebop, albeit to a lesser extent. Not that I'm really one to talk about over-discussing things. :animeswea ~Dagger~

This is why I love OB. :animesmil If there's a person in there, I usually pick whichever end stall is farther away from the current occupant. If I'm alone, I just go with the one that looks/smells the cleanest. Given my druthers, I like to use handicapped stalls because they're roomy and (in my experience, at least) tend to be somewhat less vile. I'm not sure why. ~Dagger~

Regarding Evangelion: Episode 25 was pretty much a waste of time, but I loved the final few scenes of episode 26. I do wonder how I would have felt about the series if I hadn't been warned about those last two episodes time and time again; going into them with minimal expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, I may change my mind once I watch EoE. We'll see about that, I guess. Overall, though, I would have to say that the ending left me with a really positive feeling. I don't think that Eva's ending has to be judged either as a work of genius or as a betrayal of the remainder of the series. Anyway. I found King of Bandit Jing TV to be kind of disappointing--primarily because I watched it well after seeing the "Seventh Heaven" OVA (which is honestly one of the best recent OVAs I've come across; it's just delightful all around). The show had its moments, but I believe I would have enjoyed it so much more if I had been able to avoid comparing it to the OVA. ~Dagger~

Keiji had crossed the river. Abruptly reversing his grip, Muryou smashed the girl aside with the shaft of his naginata and retreated to drier ground as she recovered. The wound on his ankle was shallow--but between the deep, slick mud and the driving rain, it was almost certain to become infected. He did not like to play doctor. Frowning faintly, he waited for her to find him. At least his knives were still more or less dry; when he touched them, the metal felt strange and rubbery against his rain-soaked skin. It was colder than he had estimated--he would have to be careful not to let it affect his reaction time. When she did come, he sensed rather than heard her. It was like tracking an injured animal--he made the pain in her torso (bruises only, he had not intended to crack any ribs) his pain, and marked her location with the tug of that twinge. "You're not much of a gentleman, are you," she said accusingly as she attacked. He dodged her next slash--still impeccably controlled, which he found rather admirable, since it must have been tempting for her to simply give in to the strain. "No, not really," agreed Muryou, neatly avoiding her blade. That said, he let a knife drop into his palm and savored the hint of coolness and weight. This close, her naginata was a liability. His own lay primly on the ground several yards away. He moved like water, weaving in and out, grabbing the handle of her weapon and bringing his face (and his knife) close to hers. She viciously kicked him in the gut; he rolled away before he could be beheaded and smiled at her pleasantly when he found his feet. Somewhere along the line, both of them had become smeared in dirt--under other circumstances, he might have found it almost erotic. But not now. "Are you worried about your partner?" he asked.

Please don't make a habit of reviving long-dead threads. Additionally, if you glance around the first few pages of this forum, I'm sure you'll be able to find several recent convention-related topics to peruse & post in--which is on the whole much easier than hunting down threads that date back to 2003. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[b]Pretear:[/b] A dramatic (but short) magical girl anime in which romantic love is a very prominent theme. The show as a whole is a real delight to watch, although it doesn't start to seem special until you're at least a couple of episodes in. There are a lot of relationships (not to mention unrequited crushes), but to me the romance in Preatear seemed surprisingly uncontrived. [b]Brigadoon:[/b] The main pairing in this series is almost a spoiler, as it's quite unconventional (to say the least) and doesn't become totally apparent until the final few episodes. That said, the relationship in question is incredibly sympathetic and well-developed. Also, the anime as a whole is just awesome. [b]Full Moon wo Sagashite:[/b] It's practically criminal that FMwS isn't yet licensed. It's my second favorite shoujo anime and has the best ending I've ever seen. Not all of the show is about love, but since it's fifty-two episodes long, the romantic relationships are built up slowly and carefully, with plenty of plot twists to keep things interesting. It's a real tearjerker, but it's also very uplifting. [b]Koi Kaze:[/b] You should probably take this recommendation with a grain of salt. Koi Kaze works best when approached as a character study rather than as a straightforward romance; it centers around an incestuous relationship. It's frustrating, profoundly disturbing and yet oddly rewarding to witness how the characters struggle with forbidden emotions. Koi Kaze treats its subject matter realistically and doesn't come off as being even the slightest bit sensationalistic. [b]His & Her Circumstances:[/b] While I had some problems with His & Hers, it does the whole "high school romance" thing with skill and artistry. Ignore the people who tell you that it gets much worse toward the end (or that it totally lacks an ending)... despite fact that the show could have used a lot more closure, it actually picks up steam after sagging a bit in the middle. The dub is spectacularly good. ~Dagger~

I don't download music anymore (which is due to the fact that I've more or less lost interest in music, not some kind of moral epiphany). I do download fansubs, which is closer to being a moral gray area as far as I'm concerned. Maybe buying ridiculous amounts of anime is what prevents me from feeling guilty about it; I'm not really sure. The fact that it's illegal (contrary to popular belief) is outweighed by my impatience to a) see old shows that will probably never get licensed, and b) see the latest shows immediately. For whatever it's worth, fansubs have prompted me to pre-order [i]so[/i] many anime I wouldn't otherwise have considered. I just wish it worked that way for more people. ~Dagger~

If you want to ask questions about this show, please post [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=35101][u]here[/u][/url], in our official Outlaw Star thread. It would also behoove you to keep in mind that OtakuBoards has pretty high standards when it comes to post quality; using proper grammar and punctuation and so forth is important, especially if your replies tend to be short. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

There is a world of difference between the dub and the sub. If you love magical girl anime, you can't afford to pass up on the Japanese version of Sailor Moon. That having been said, the first two seasons (released by ADV) are now out of print and can be difficult to track down. Moreover, the audio quality is absolutely atrocious, although this will bother some people less than others. If you can borrow Sailor Moon & Sailor Moon R from a friend, then I think you should definitely watch give the series a shot... but finding the OOP season sets at a reasonable price may not be worth the hassle. As a possible alternative, you might want to try [b]Pretear[/b], a thirteen episode series which belongs to the same genre as Sailor Moon. It's charming, romantic and has almost no filler. ~Dagger~

[b]RizaHawkeye[/b], please add reasons for your choices. [quote name='pbfrontmanvdp']4. Texhnolyze - Funny thing about this anime is i always have to look up the spelling of the title on the DVD cover. Is probably the best thriller anime i have seen. One of my favorite characters in the anime dies out of no where and I totally didn't see it happening (thought he would die about 3/4 through). This, like RahXephon, has brillant artistic imagery in it as well.[/quote] Which character are you referring to? Yeah, Texhnolyze is a visual masterpiece. I really should get around to re-watching the last few discs; I love how the [spoiler]surface[/spoiler] world is portrayed. Although it's hardly an uplifting story, the way the plot unfolds just seems so right. There are a lot of allegorical nuances, too. I wish more people would give the show a chance. Well, at least someone else here has seen it. :animesmil [quote]5. Elfen Lied - All i have to say for this series is one word....crazy. I don't think there has been a crazier opening episode to a series then Elfen Lied. My roommate says it was basically violence for the sake of violence with all the limbs and heads being sliced off, but the series shows how the human race is as the dominate predator on the planet so far (and what could happen if another predator tried to taking over the human race).[/QUOTE] I think Elfen Lied will become very popular once it hits DVD in the States. It's already rather infamous in some circles of the fandom, and it has a lot of substance to back up its eye-catching visuals and flashy violence. ~Dagger~