Dagger

[quote name='MistressRoxie']EVA Unit 100: I concur with you on Wolf's Rain. I saw that it was made by the creators of Cowboy Bebop, and I thought I was going to be good...[/quote] For something that really feels like it came from "the creators of Cowboy Bebop," try Samurai Champloo. Marketing Wolf's Rain as such is rather misleading, to say the least; the main creative talents behind Bebop had nothing to do with WR. [quote]Incidentally, I swear to god that the American VA of that girl was the one with the photographic memory in that episode of FullMetal Alchemist.[/QUOTE] Nah, FUNimation and Manga Ent. use different dubbing studios. But I agree that the characters are definitely very similar--I immediately thought of Yomiko when I saw the girl in FMA. ~Dagger~

[b]SlowChemical[/b], your post is a wee bit hard to figure out. Do you think you could clean it up a little? While I haven't finished episodes 26 & 27 yet, I just had to mention how incredibly awesome the new OP sequence is. The song itself isn't all that exceptional, but the animation is just breathtaking. I seriously could watch it for hours on end. Although the OP's content does make me wonder how long the current arc will last... hopefully not another 26 episodes, heh. :animeswea ~Dagger~

[quote name='Noside']In Japan Envy's male and in America Envy's Female, but it's only for that form. Envy's voice changes with each form so I'm guessing the people who were in charge of voices thought a female voice was meant for that form.[/quote] Mayumi Yamaguchi (Envy's seiyuu) is actually a woman. Which doesn't really indicate anything about the character--plenty of female seiyuu and dub actresses have been known to play male roles. ~Dagger~

This has already been covered by another recent [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45385][u]thread[/u][/url]. In the future, scan at least the first page or two of the forum to make sure that you're not creating a duplicate topic. Additionally, try not to include polls which are completely unrelated to the subject at hand. Please refer to OB's [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?][u]Rules[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][u]FAQ[/u][/url] if you happen to have any questions. You should also feel free to private message me or one of the other staff members if you want further clarification. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

It [i]is[/i] widescreen! *cheers* Anyway, I loved the first episode. Some of the character artwork looks kind of off, but for the most part it's tolerable--and it's compensated for by the fact that the backgrounds, the animation and the color palette are quite impressive. But the most stunning element of the series so far is definitely the music (by which I mean the background music, as the OP & ED are pretty generic). This is shaping up to be the best Yuki Kajiura soundtrack I've heard yet--it even outshines the music from .hack//SIGN. Admittedly, it is kind of weird to watch a CLAMP anime get the Bee Train treatment, but for some reason I think that plus the music really complements the exotic setting. At this point my only complaint is that I dislike pretty much all of the seiyuu--Touya's seiyuu is the only one who sounds passable, in my opinion. So far I've greatly preferred all of the CLAMP anime I've seen to their respective manga. Tsubasa isn't going to be any exception. ~Dagger~

I agree. I think that the movie's writers may end up just taking the basic premise of the story and doing something different with it; I hope they at least keep the same setting. Episode 47 was intriguing but very confusing. I don't even know what to call Nina anymore, haha. Since [spoiler]Johan has been masquerading as "Anna,"[/spoiler] I guess it makes more sense to refer to her as Nina for the sake of consistency and whatnot. Oh well. Some of the things Grimmer said kind of threw me for a loop. [spoiler]He left Kinderheim 511 at the age of fourteen, correct? And then he was placed in the care of foster parents after being taken from the orphanage. From the way he phrased it, I thought it seemed like belonging to a family was just part of the experiment(s) being performed on him. But if that's the case, where is the "artificial city" he was talking about, and how was it related to Kinderheim 511? Did Johan and Nina ever live there?[/spoiler] Hopefully we'll get some answers soon. :animestun ~Dagger~

Wow. The first episode is quite... well, it was definitely different from the other shows I've been watching lately. A lot of anime deal with the whole "corrupt city" theme, but Speed Grapher takes that to an entirely different level. I like the outlandish images and the animation style--it's smooth enough, but also kind of loose and free-flowing, which works well with the character designs. The scene where the [spoiler]rubber assassin snapped the little girl's arm[/spoiler] was what I found most disturbing. That and the [spoiler]implied branding.[/spoiler] I loved [spoiler]the very end of the episode. It was really raw, if you know what I mean--totally unlike most anime kiss scenes.[/spoiler] Actually, the sexual parts somehow reminded me of Melody of Oblivion, except that they were made to look a lot darker and more depraved than the sexual content in MoO (which is pretty blatant, but also kind of comedic). The cliffhanger was a little annoying, but oh well. I wonder whether the next episode will have a real OP. Speed Grapher seems like a shoo-in for a quick license, at any rate. ~Dagger~

Wow, Chabi, those animations are really impressive and clean-looking. I would definitely love to see more. Are you planning to do the same thing for katakana? ~Dagger~

Episode 60... :animecry: [spoiler]Sai~~!! And he only got to play Akira's dad once. The worst part of it is that he and Hikaru (well, it was mostly on Hikaru's part) were so [i]mean[/i] to each other in some of the previous episodes. That was the first time I ever got seriously frustrated/angry with Hikaru--it should have been obvious that something was up with Sai, but he completely brushed it off. And now there's nothing he can do to make up for it. Gah.[/spoiler] Actually, this subject is a little too distressing. Let's see... what else? Oh, yeah--I was sort of unsure about Ogata at first, but now I favor him over the other top pros (although Akira's dad is also rather cool). He's at once interesting and kind of scary. Plus, I can't help but love that awesome red car. I'm glad he was able to [spoiler]get a title.[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

[quote name='Xander Harris']Most of us meant people I know irl... really, this is the first time I have seen someone speak so highly of subtitles... I always thought the general concensus was that subtitles tend to be more paraphrase than literal translation, and thus not a terribly effective learning tool... but you are somone whose opinion a certainly respect, so perhaps now is a good time to bow to your superior wisdom and stop feeling guilty about watching Anime with subtitles instead of w/o lol...[/quote] A truly literal translation wouldn't make any sense whatsoever, given that the grammatical structure of Japanese is often the complete reverse of what you'd see in English. What you've mentioned is an issue inherent to all forms of translation, not just Japanese --> English or vice versa. Based on that, I still don't get how you came to the conclusion that anime subs specifically are "messed up" or whatnot. :animeswea No one's going to learn Japanese just by watching a lot of subtitled anime, but at the same time it certainly won't hurt your listening comprehension--especially if you can pick up enough to let the subs fill in the gaps. Basically, if you don't have the vocabulary/knowledge/whatever to watch stuff raw and understand the nuances of what's going on, you may as well start off with subs. I'm sure I'd be a little better at French if I sat down to watch some French movies every weekend. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Xander Harris']That's probably a good point. I just wish the subtitles most of us have access to were better and less, well, messed up....[/quote] *blinks* I'm not sure what "most of us" is referring to here, but I've rarely had complaints about subtitles. Obviously the subs on legitimate DVDs are pretty much always excellent (unless they come from Toei, haha), and a lot of fan groups hold themselves to ridiculously high levels of quality. Are you talking about bootlegs or something? I do think watching anime subtitled can probably be somewhat helpful, at least in giving you a better feel for proper pronunciation & the way the language flows. ~Dagger~

[quote name='r2vq']I guess I can give it more time. Dagger-dono, do the voice actors do justice better or worse as the series progresses?[/quote] I'll put it this way: It's not a dub I would recommend to people who are neither fans of the dub nor fans of the show (that is to say, those who haven't already seen it would be much better off starting with the Japanese track). At the same time, there are enough good performances to keep me watching, even though it isn't up to the level of some of ADV's other current & previous dubs. While watching the latest set of episodes, it seemed to me that Braden Hunt was trying harder than in earlier volumes (which is actually a bad thing--I could swear that his voice goes much higher than Mitsuki Saiga's!). But I have renewed respect for Luci Christian as Tetsu, especially after hearing her as the title role in Princess Tutu. She definitely does a good job of staying within her male range without sounding strained. I don't like the way she pronounces some vowels (which is more of a pet peeve than anything else), but I think her performance does make the character seem a little less grating and abrasive than in the Japanese version. Shinpachi, Heisuke and Sano are very well done, and their chemistry mirrors the dynamic between the corresponding seiyuu in the sub track. I really love Chris Patton as Susumu, and the woman who plays Ayu-nee also does a great job (although your mileage might vary, as she uses a heavy accent). It's funny--if a bit disconcerting--to hear Vic Mignogna (Tatsu) gripe and worry about his little brother, as he also plays Ed in FMA. I believe the Kyoto dialect/accent (Kansai-ben) can be detected most easily by listening for -ya instead of -da, yakedo instead of dakedo, souya instead of souda, yanai instead of janai, etc. "S" sounds are often replaced by "h" sounds (which is why Akesato says Yamanami-han). Although it still wouldn't have the same impact as it would for a native speaker, I guess. ~Dagger~

Creating threads just for the sake of advertising will pretty much always result in an immediate ban. Which, in this case, is exactly what happened. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

Like the thread title says, Loveless is a boys' love (shounen-ai) anime. So consider yourself forewarned. I really like the Loveless manga (drawn by Kouga Yun, whose most famous work is probably Earthian), so I was naturally delighted when the anime was announced. Right now, two episodes have aired; I think the show is supposed to be twelve episodes in total. It takes place in a world where every child is born with cat features (ears & a tail), only to lose those features when he/she "becomes an adult." Ritsuka, the main character, is a troubled twelve-year-old whose older brother Seimei was recently murdered. After transferring to a new school, he encounters Soubi, a strange blond man who claims to have been his brother's friend. As a fan of the manga, I'm deeply satisfied (for the time being, at least) with the Loveless anime. The animation is startlingly good, particularly in the battle scenes. The character designs are detailed and stay true to the manga's artwork. And a number of excellent seiyuu (including Junko Minagawa, who plays Ryoma in Prince of Tennis) have gathered to round out the cast. But I'm most impressed by the show's writing. The manga has a mysterious, complex storyline which can be difficult to understand--yet so far, the anime's writers have managed to distill a lot of information, emotion and plot development into a mere two episodes. I was absolutely floored by the scene in which (episode 2 spoilers) [spoiler]Ritsuka found out that Soubi had been ordered to love him,[/spoiler] even though I already knew what was going to happen. And there aren't many anime which can make me utterly adore a slow-thinking, squeaky-voiced, fanservice-oriented female character... but Yuiko's naive, clumsy kindness steals the show. More so than any other BL anime to date, I think Loveless has the potential to crossover and find a larger audience. Its action, suspense and unusual visual aesthetic make it stand apart. I strongly encourage those of you who aren't totally squicked by BL to try out a few episodes. ~Dagger~

[size=1]OOC: Not much happens here, as I wanted to give Ozy the chance to establish her character's personality. I hope that's alright.[/size] Muryou had been lounging against a tree--lazily cracking his neck, eyes half-closed. Rarely did they encounter travelers that Keiji could not take care of on his own. He tapped his fingers against the bark as he soaked in the sounds of Keiji's fight: a clash to the left, a missed slice, a stabbing thrust. Back and forth, he heard their feet drawing furrows in the earth. Someone had noticed him, it seemed; Muryou glided his hand over the tiny knife in his sleeve. He slid down a thumb's width or so, neatly slumping out of harm's way, as a long keen blade bit into the wood at his back. One eye flicked open. [i]A woman?[/i] he thought, vaguely disappointed. But she was slim and tautly built, and carried her naginata well. He ducked away as she cut toward him again--the edge of the metal whined sweetly as it tore through the air. "Girl," he said, watching her expression intently, "Go easy on your elders." "Not in the mood for a fight?" "Not with you." He brought up his own naginata to parry her next blow and winced inwardly as the impact jarred through his bones; she was stronger than she looked. [i]Interesting.[/i] Idly rotating the ball-and-socket joint of his shoulder--if she planned on seeing this through, it would pay to be limber--he smiled. "You're really much too energetic for me, see?" The smile remained fixed in place as he drove her toward Keiji. His companion's battle had grown faster, more confused; he could no longer determine what was occurring by using his sense of hearing alone. If he needed to intervene, he would.

The original Powerpuff Girls has aired in Japan--dubbed in Japanese, of course--and (I believe) achieved a fair amount of popularity. I'm not quite sure about the show's Japanese seiyuu, but I would like to find out who they are. ~Dagger~

My "dream" is pretty materialistic, haha. I would like to eventually start buying R2s, but that requires getting a decent R2 or all-region player (I don't even want think about messing around with hacks and so forth, given my technological ineptitude). My plan is to start off by buying some of the World Masterpiece Theater box sets--i.e. begin with whatever is least likely to be licensed, and gradually work my way up the list. There are also some series that I already own which I wouldn't mind double-dipping on. I've heard that the video quality of the Utena R2s is vastly superior to that of the R1s (plus, I'd be able to watch the first 13 episodes without hardsubs). So that's another big draw. Of course, to really get my money's worth, I'd have to a) become fluent or near-fluent in Japanese, or b) get my hands on timed scripts and learn how to create subtitles. Which would require getting over my technology-related incompetence. :p ~Dagger~

[quote name='Xander Harris']Yeah, that's a great idea. I know one of the main ways I learned to read English back in the day was by reading American comic books. Where can one get untranslated manga at in the states?[/quote] If you live near a [url=http://www.kinokuniya.com/][u]Kinokuniya[/u][/url], that would definitely be the best place to go. If not, you'll probably have to order it online. Certain Borders stores also carry untranslated manga, but the selection is small and the prices are kind of ridiculous. Overall, though, untranslated manga is generally cheaper than translated manga (approximately $6 to $7 per tankoubon, rather than $9 to $12)--shipping costs and such are what even it out, so count yourself lucky if there's a Kino in your area. ~Dagger~

Hey, I appreciate the fact that HikaGo is practically swimming with bishounen. :animesmil When it comes to sheer gender ambiguity, Sai doesn't have anything on Kazuki (from Get Backers) or Okita (from Peacemaker Kurogane). In the anime, his seiyuu has a soft yet distinctly masculine voice--cultured rather than harsh or overly deep, but not at all androgynous. So that probably helps a bit. Same goes for Akira... speaking of which, finding out that Akira was played by Sanae Kobayashi is what originally sparked my interest in the show. I totally loved her as Lucy/Nyuu in Elfen Lied and Canon Memphis in Fafner. Although both of those roles are female, she used a very low, dark voice for them, which suited the characters involved quite nicely and convinced me that she'd be brilliant at playing young males. Interestingly, Sanae Kobayashi also took the role of "Akira" in Mai-Hime--and Mai-Hime's Akira looks extremely similar to the one in HikaGo. ~Dagger~

I got volume 4 (episodes 13 through 15) at least a week ago, but due to various technical issues, I haven't yet been able to watch it. However, I did manage to browse through the production booklet. I particularly liked reading the interview with Takahiro Sakurai, Susumu's seiyuu, as I've also enjoyed his work in other series (it's hard to believe that he played Yuuri in Kyo Kara Maoh). Anyway, one of the things he mentioned in the interview is that he had a difficult time nailing the Kansai dialect, and went to great lengths to make sure he spoke it properly. To me, this implies that having a noticeably different accent is a significant aspect of Susumu's character, and I think it goes a long way toward justifying the dub director's decision to use accents in the English version. I guess I just found that pretty interesting, because it wasn't something I really picked up on when watching PMK in Japanese. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Godelsensei]Erm. What if there's a fire and the door locks? o_o Sounds rather hazardous.[/QUOTE] Yeah, now that you mention it... :animeswea I've been known to skip classes from time to time, but I don't stay out of school altogether unless I'm really sick--and that doesn't count as skipping anyway. To be honest, I don't see the point of skipping school, unless the alternative is some kind of incredibly exotic & thrilling once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Simply staying at home sounds rather dull. ~Dagger~

I can't even remember the last time I was online after midnight EST, haha. Funny thing is, I would actually consider myself to be somewhat nocturnal--I work better & think more clearly at night. Because of that, I usually kick myself offline and try to get other stuff done if it's late and I just can't sleep. ~Dagger~

Does anyone know what version of One Piece is going to air on Toonami? I mean, at this point I'm just going to assume that it'll be the regular 4Kids dub. But it'd be really awesome if they... uh, de-censored it or something. I mean, it didn't get very good ratings on the 4Kids block; I can't see something with edits significantly worse than those in Zatch Bell gaining a big following among Toonami viewers. It looks like AS pretty much has a full plate for the rest of 2005--which simultaneously makes me happy and sad, because there are some Geneon and FUNimation shows that I'd love to see on CN (Samurai 7 and Fafner come to mind). The Mars Daybreak and Scrapped Princess (both from Bandai) would also do quite well on AS, I think. ~Dagger~

Nice pictures. :animeshy: Anyway, I voted for Lacus. It was a tough decision, because I'm not that partial to either character. While I've seen more of SAC than Gundam SEED, there are some characters in SAC I prefer to Motoko (such as Batou and poor Togusa, who always gets shunted off to the side or overshadowed by his superiors). She's an iconic character, but I think that's mainly because she represents the original GitS movie and the weird cyberpunk grittiness which seems to draw people to it. On her own, she's just a competent and cool-headed lady--nothing really out of the ordinary, personality-wise. Lacus, meanwhile, has this great Aeris Gainsborough vibe going on. And that alone makes me kind of favor her. I have a love-hate relationship with Hisashi Hirai's character designs, but I think he did a great job of making her unique (or, at the very least, different from his other characters, many of whom tend to look like clones of each other). ~Dagger~

EVA: Can you think of any way to combine this with the other favorites thread that recently started floating about? I don't know who brought that one back from the dead, as it's much older than your thread. If that's not feasible... well, no worries. It's just that this thread is a) more recent and b) is significantly higher in quality. So I'd prefer for it to be the dominant favorites topic. If you can come up with a way to merge them which wouldn't screw up your scoring system, let me know. ~Dagger~