The Mac Attack

The perceptions of what audiences are intended is one often incorrectly dealt with in children's magazines as well. My younger brother, knowing how much I love anime, reads me information in anime related articles from K-Zone, Disney Adventures and Mania. These magazines have a demographic of about 7-12 year olds. Anime is rather popular at the moment, so they'll boast many anime specials in hopes of selling their magazines, yet inspection by any true anime fan (ie. beyond yu-gi-oh and DBZ*) would reveal that they truly don't have a clue what's for what. In more recent times they've promoted series such as Initial D and Trigun, which are clearly over their audiences (the trigun article had a picture of Knives with a caption identifying him as Vash, as well). Prizes for competitions recently were also DVDs including titles like Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Licensed by Royalty and S-cry-ed. At one stage, one issue came with a Spriggan poster, which we would all recognise as being particularly violent. So, as it seems, even print media cannot grasp the idea that not all animation is for the minor audiences. They don't necessarily refer to it as "cartoons", yet it's clear they still have that kind of term in mind when the think of "anime". *EDIT: I was just using these examples as popular titles some consider the best animes around, when they haven't even viewed beyond them. I'm sure they are good shows in their own right that many an otaku can enjoy. However, a fact remains that the many children who are addicted to these shows don't really know that there are possibly [i]much[/i] more entertaining animes around.

In order from Most Wished for to least (those marked with 'available' mean they are commercially available to me): [b]Angel?s Egg[/b] - I've been quite interested by the premise of art films, and from what I hear, this is one of the best. [b]Azumanga Daioh[/b] - Having recently finished high school, I think it'll be nice to reminisce with this show. [b]Voices of a Distant Star (Available)[/b] - An anime wholly created by one man. I've definietly got to check this out. At 25 minutes, its seems as though the way movies should be. In my opinion 90 minutes to too long to sustain interest for me. I'm waiting until the price goes down because $30 Australian seems to much to pay, even considering the extras. [b]Boogiepop Phantom (Available)[/b] [b]Card Captor Sakura (Possibly Available)[/b] - After not really being thrilled by 'Cardcaptors', and hearing about how butchered it was, I'd like to check out the original. I haven't seen any 'cute' anime, unless hamtaro falls under this category. The 'possibly available means that it may not be available uncut and with subtitles. [b]Grave of the Fireflies (Available)[/b] - Many consider this the greatest anime movie ever. A lot of anime movies have dissapointed me e.g. Spriggan, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, The Boy Who Saw the Wind, several DBZ movies, so I'm hoping this can change my perception. [b]His and Her Circumstances[/b] [b]Chobits (Available)[/b] [b]Otaku No Video[/b] [b]Fruits Basket (Available)[/b] [b]RahXephon (Available)[/b] - The claim of superiority to Evangelion is one I'd like evaluate for myself. [b]Excel Saga (Available)[/b] - I want to wait a while for this one, so I would have a better chance at understanding the many references. [b]NeiA_7[/b] - After seeing some of Haibane-Renmei, I'd much like to see similar works as this, and the one written below. [b]Serial Experiments Lain (Available)[/b] [b]Tenchi Muyo! (Uncut) (Available)[/b] - We get the US Toonami version Adult Swim in Australia, and I was rather dissapointed with it. After reading reviews, however, many disagreed. So, now I would like to view the uncut, subtitled version, so see If it lives up the 5-star quality. [b]Arjuna (Available)[/b] - I found the trailer rather moving, and so I'd like to check this out. I'm hesisitant though as I've read it's blatently a "save the environment" message. I can't pass up on Yoko Kanno though. [b]Bubblegum Crisis (Available - Limited)[/b] - Being a fan of the 2040 series, it'll be nice to get back to the roots of this popular name. [b]Akira (Available)[/b] - I just want to see what everyone's talking about. [b]I My Me Strawberry Eggs[/b] - You can't go wrong with a wacky comedy. [b]Ninja Scroll (Available)[/b] - I haven't seen many decent fighting films recently, so this may have appeal to me. [b]Marmalade Boy[/b] [b]Ghost in the Shell (Available)[/b] [b]AD Police[/b] - Again, for it's relation to Bubblegum Crisis

I believe you're referring to Haibane-Renmei (I don't know why people call it by is alternate name. Maybe I'm using the wrong name). Haibane-Renmei certainly is a good show. I've only seen the first four episodes though. It's not your typical "sit back and watch" programme, as I've come to expect from alot of anime. It's a real thinker. I've become so frustrated with the show however, because the characters (so far) haven't come to the realisation about how morally awful the world they're living in is, nor have they done anything about it. They (the Haibane) have so many restrictions such as never being allowed to leave town, only wearing second hand clothes, having to work (many of them are young) and not speaking in certain circumstances. It makes you think that reason we have so many restrictions and laws in our world is for a cause, yet in their world, all these rules have no apparent reasoning behind them. As another note, this is the best dub I've seen so far. Everything I've viewed with comparison to subtitles is near word-to-word and I haven't found any english voices to be particularly inappropriate. You should definetily watch this. I've heard a lot of good things from review sites about this series as well.

Mother Abbess works out how to solve the problem with Maria (Sound of Music Reference)

[quote]2-d + 3-d = ?[/quote] Actually, I believe in this kind of art you can call it 4d, the fourth dimension being sound. At least that's what my old art teacher taught me. -The Mac Attack

"Who needs a plunger when I can use my own mouth?"

[SIZE=1] NOTE: Categories marked with "????" mean I don't know enough about that area to make a judgement on who should win. [U]General Awards[/U] [B]Overall Member of the Year:[/B] James [B]Male Otaku of the Year:[/B] Semjaza Azazel [B]Female Otaku of the Year:[/B] Queen Asuka [B]Staff Member of the Year:[/B] James [B]Funniest Member of the Year:[/B] wrist-cutter [B]Most Opinionated Otaku of the Year:[/B] Cloricus [B]Most Likely to Be Here in Two Years:[/B] James [B]Best Newbie:[/B] Terra [B]Best Oldie:[/B] James [B]Most Likely to Become a Staff Member:[/B] Poison Tongue [B]Most Improved Member of the Year:[/B] Baron Samedi [B]Favorite Banned Member:[/B] Taylor Hewitt (darn, I should have nominated sonic division) [B]Thread of the Year:[/B] The "Deal With This Member" Thread [B]Silliest Thread of the Year:[/B] I...am...lone [U]Random Awards[/U] [B]Avatar Award (Best Avatars Overall):[/B] Semjaza Azazel [B]Signature Award (Best Signatures Overall):[/B] Sara [B]Best Location (Best Specific Location):[/B] Drix D?Zanith [B]Best Otaku Couple:[/B] Queen Asuka/Piromunkie [B]Best Looking Otaku:[/B] ???? [B]Otaku Clique of the Year:[/B] OtakuBoards Yaoi/Shounen-Ai Club [B]Best MyOtaku:[/B] ???? [U]Otaku Writers[/U] [B]Poet Laureate:[/B] Mitch [B]Writer of the Year:[/B] Mitch [B]Role-Player of the Year:[/B] ???? [B]Brawler of the Year:[/B] ???? [B]RPG of the Year:[/B] Kill Adam [U]Social Otakus[/U] [B]Otaku Social Member:[/B] James [B]Entertainment Otaku:[/B] Semjaza Azazel [U]Otaku Anime[/U] [B]Otaku of the Year:[/B] Shy [B].hack//SIGN Member of the Year:[/B] AzureWolf [B]Dragonball Guru of the Year:[/B] PiroMunkie [B]Digipeep of the Year:[/B] ???? [B]Gundam Member of the Year:[/B] ???? [B]Yu-Gi-Oh Member of the Year:[/B] ???? [B]Least Disappointing Yu Yu Hakusho Member:[/B] Dagger IX1 [U]Otaku Gamers[/U] [B]Otaku Gamer of the Year:[/B] Shimaru [B]Nintendo "Mario" Award:[/B] ???? [B]Sony Award:[/B] ???? [B]X-Box Award:[/B] ???? [B]PC Gamer of the Year:[/B] Cloricus [U]Otaku Artists[/U] [B]Best Graphic Designer (Banners, wallpapers, etc.):[/B] Kinetic [B]Best "Traditional" Artist (Drawings, paintings, etc.):[/B] maladjusted [B]Best Spriter:[/B] ???? [U]Series Otaku[/U] - ???? [/SIZE]

I have watched Black Adder most recently, and while it may not always be laugh-out-loud funny, it's still a rather entertaining show. My favourites were the 2nd and 3rd. The first wasn't so appealing to me as I didn't like Edmund's wimpy character. A friend of mine has the entire scripts for all the seasons, which I had a browse over recently. Another comedy not mentioned is "Whose Line is it Anyway?". I much prefer this over Drew Carey's American version, even though the majority of the cast is the same. The American version was just so "dumbed down" in my opinion. An "Improvisation show" became "The show where everything's made up". And the joke with the points in the British version was that you worked out yourself that they had no meaning, instead of being reminded that at the end of every game. I much admire Clive Anderson as well. His jokes were always a nice touch at the end of the games and during the introduction. He, unlike Drew, was not the one laughing hardest as his own jokes (jokes which I've heard Drew repeat). Also, there is one man who deserves mention and that is Tony Slattery. He made this show what it is! His wacky touch to every game and his constant teasing of Clive made him a joy to watch every time. I'm sorry to bag out the American version so much, but I just hate it (similarly to how many anime fans will complain about a bad dub). -The Mac Attack PS: The Kumar's at No. 42 is good for a laugh every now then, especially when they pick on Sanjeev.

[url]http://www.manythings.org/midi/search.html[/url] Try the MIDI search engine as linked above. The results have not always been what I was searching for, but you may be lucky. -The Mac Attack

I find it interesting that Bohemian Rhapsody and Toys in the Attic are among people's favourites, as they're among my worst. It's not necessarily that I didn't like these episodes, just that I liked the others more. So may I ask what all you see in those which makes you enjoy it so?

Just as a quick note (as it hasn't been mentioned yet). The animation exceeds Otakuboards requirements for image resolution. If you wish to use it, some form of resizing or cropping may be required. -The Mac Attack

I enjoy reading Calvin and Hobbes in the sunday paper, and I believe your banners here are of a nice representation to the comic. I would've liked to see one, however, with the two fighting to complete the representation (or perhaps, doing something with more movement, if you understand). To me, it seems as though they're always involved in some kind of argument or tiff. I'm a bit questionable however, as to whether these are original works. They appear to be copies of images from other sites, with only minimal alterations. If this is the case, I'd recommended acknowledging the original images in your signature (if used) or create a banner encompassing more than one image. If it's not the case, then ignore this comment. Overall though, they are simple and pleasing to look at. They don't demand too much time, which is something I admire in this kind of art. Good work.

I have yet to see a superior anime, in my opinion. Cowboy Bebop still tops my list after viewing other otaku favourites such as The Vision of Escaflowne, Trigun, Tenchi Muyo!, FLCL and Neon Genesis Evangelion. What I admire most about this series are the visual techniques used by the director, as they actually entail some meaning. This was a flaw in the climax of Gasaraki. It looked good, but meant nothing. Toys in the Attic was my least favourite episode for this reason. The ending technique seemed only to be included to fill in the time. My Favourite Episodes are Ballad of Fallen Angels, Brain Scratch and Jupiter Jazz (Parts 1 & 2). Jupiter Jazz was the first "real" anime episode I'd ever seen, and while I found it confusing, it was the most intriguing television I'd watched in some time. I say "real" because I had watched the Funimation dub of Dragonball Z extensively beforehand. I enjoyed this series as well as many of the issues covered have a lot of bearing in today's society, one being the ignorance of terrorist motives in "Cowboy Funk". I also admired the use traditional dramatic techniques such as irony in Speak Like a Child ("Don't Lose Me!"). I have seen the movie as well, and I believe it isn't up to the standard of the series, as I found the plot to be fairly linear. The tone surrounding it seemed to change, as if it had become more "trendy", and so came off as a standard Hollywood action film. This opinion could just be me though, because I am generally known for my disliking of movies altogether.

This is an excellent banner. You have created a balance well with the character on the left and the text on the right. You have also worked well around a need for a border with the slight hinting of black around the edges. The background imagery is not overly distracting either with the horozontal line effect used subtly (a rare occurence on many banners). The banner itself is not so distracting either which is a plus in my books. Some banners tend to catch the eye of the viewers, taking them away from the written posts. The only thing I can't judge on, is your relevance to subject matter, as I have not seen this anime. Perhaps someone else can help you in this area. On the whole though, well done Dagger IX1.

This is a good wallpaper. However, I believe there are too many images entailed which can distract from the contents of the desktop. Perhaps you could try decreasing the darkness of the overall image to overcome this. Or maybe apply transparencies to some of the layers (if you're working with layers) The quality of your source images could be improved as well. The bottom two appear as obvious scans. Overall though, not to bad.