Cahoots34

Duo Maxwell, having just 'rescued' an injured Heero Yuy from a govenrment hospital, remarks, "Why did I even bother to rescue this guy? He's antisocial, thinks he's Evel Knevel, and hardly talks!" As if not speaking was worse than being a suicidal recluse... (By the end of the series, though, I think Duo decided that rescuing Heero was worth it, after all. :love: )

For a series rated #1 action anime (or so I've heard) as well as a Runiko Takahashi creation, this series could not have dissappointed me more. I found the characters to be unoriginal yet passably endearing manifestations of the typical action-series cast. This boring show of unoriginality cancels out, fo the most part, the relatively innovative plotline which could have made for a far better series. As for the art, well, Rumiko Takahashi was never a particularly talented artist (but she more than makes up for it in the quality of her stories), but this isn't even Ranma quality. So sorry, but Inuyasha doesn't cut it for me.

All I want is a plethora of Borders Gift Cards, and cash. I announced this at my birthday (a clothing-filled disaster, as far as gifts are concerned), and all my relatives promptly approached me about buying some jewelery for my Christmas gift. If I could really ask for anything, though, I'd want: 1. A copy of anything ever made by Monty Python 2. Borders Gift Cards 3. A blowtorch (I _desperately_ need to fix my French Horn before competition and recital, and having it repaired is a _slow_ business. The blowtorch itself also makes an excellent weapon, I'm told.) 4. A flannel everything 5. Some 3x4 doujinshi (n.n) 6. The Anime Network 7. Copitous amounts of cash for anything I've forgotten to list here. I'm a girl of simple tastes, you know? n.n

Neopets was already losing its original charm, but I think that the recent 'rennovations' are even more abohorrent than the influx of annoying members (probably none present included in this generalization). Did you see what they've done to their Message Boards?! I _loved_ the old message boards! That was the greatest, most unique posting system ever, and it now looks and functions almost exaclty like this one. And it has an awful colour scheme, too. The guilds are nearly as bad by now. Couldn't Neopets have just left some things _be_ as it raced down the path of innovation?

As to the arguement that gay marriage should be banned to prevent the spread of AIDs (or something to a similar effect), doesn't the very concept of marriage imply a (hopefully) completely monogamous relationship? If anything, homosexual marriage would limit the spread of AIDS to the household of the so-afflicted, at least in my reasoning. Doesn't that make sound sense to you all? On a related note, I'm all for gay marriage. I'd still like a wedding, even though it might not be a groom that's my intended.

What if I were to tell you that they aren't? [spoiler]If I did, I'd be lying--they actually are separated for a good deal of Volume #2.[/spoiler] What's so bad about their possible separation, anyway? They _are_ better as a matched pair, I'll readily admit, but isn't the apropriate cliche here, 'distance makes the heart grow fonder'?

I like autumn best; it's crisp and cool and cloudy, with no pretense of being any sort of extreme. The Earth seems rather tranquilly aloof instead of starkly barren or forcedly cheery. I guess I just appreciate the metaphor for honesty and subtle enotional eloquence I see in fall. Having my birthday then is a perk, too.

All I remember about Pez is my aunt's collection, which are always fully loaded with candy. Has anyone else noticed that each peice of this dye-injected artificial sweetener, I mean, candy looks disturbingly like miniature soap bar?

If I met the Gundam pilots (from Gundam Wing), I'd pretend to be some sort of uber-incognito Preventers agent with a vague yet supposedly vital function of some kind. From the safety of that (however dubious) guise, I could try to (very subtly) push them into each other's arms all I wanted. (Can you blame a girl for trying?)

I suppose I'm behind the times yet again; I still recognise anything Gundam before any other image. It's true, though, anime has its changing styles just like any other form of expression. Girls do their hair differently today than they did in the 1950s. People dress (for the most part) in a way completely unheard of 60 years ago. And, similarly, different anime holds the public's attention. Humans need change almost constantly, and the public likes to identify with fresh images after a time. If oday's images happen to be a delicate, redheaded samurai and a slick teenage boy in a green jumpsuit instead of five giant robots, I really can't complain.

I watched two episodes of this at a friend's house, and was mightily dissapointed. I don't see this abundance of humour that you all speak of, and I certainly felt that the characters all had their gaping foibles. Jing, especially, was the quintessence of heroism; he was flawlessly intelligent, strong, fast, attemptedly witty, whatever. Perfection in any dosage annoys me, and I felt as though that was what this series was striving toward at the expense of potential excellence.

If you ever get that fanfict written, PM me. I'd love to read it. n.n Speakng of fanfiction (in a completley on-topic way, I assure you), I've been making foarys into the SH section on fanfiction.net. There were, surprisingly enough, far more Carrot/Marron fics than Gateau/Marron fics, and then there were a whole slew of fics featuring either of the Glace brothers paired with some character named Mille. Who is this Mille? Can anyone give me a bit of information on him? And, secondly, what do you (personally) think the chances of Carrot/Marron are? I hadn't even considered it when I first read parts of the series and watched some episodes, but now it seems like an awfully promising, if admittedly socially unacceptable, idea. Input, anyone?

Having read--and loved-- Demon Diary volumes 1-3, I can safely say that volume #1 is an exception in its dissapointing length, and that the two proceeding volumes don't include those random stories in the back. (The non-sequitur little segments were, admittedly, quite nice, but it took me the longest time to realize that they hadn't a thing to do with the manga. I'm a bit slow sometimes.) The most frustrating thing about the series (so far) is that the shounen-ai content seems to be limited in the way that Yami no Matsuei's was (in the manga, at least). It's very vague and mostly hinted by the characters' reactions to each other, which I find frustrating to no end. I mean, when I start to get the feeling that Gundam Wing was being more explicit, it's not a good situation. The first author was reputedly too busy with [i]high school entrance exams[/i], and had to leave work on the book. I'm not so sure about the second- I had thought that he/she did both 2 _and_ 3...? I'll have to check with my friend, whom I borrowed them from. I love the interaction between Raenef and Eclipse- you can just tell that Raenef is bringing out all of the sweetness and compassion that Eclipse ever needed to hide, and Eclipse can't do very much about it at all, even if he would. _That_'s a cute realtionship. EDIT: I suddenly realized what an awful lot I'd been ranting about this, and I'll apologise right here. Apparently the thought keeps repeatedly striking me and afterwards leaving no memory of itself. (Much like a bolt of lightning probably should.)

I completely agree, Kyo. Naruto is a superb series. Masashi Kishimoto's art style is _extremely_ beautiful, in a very simple, smooth sort of way. (Does anyone know if he's done any other series?) The storyline is engrossing and original in a way comaparable to Rurouni Kenshin, with its basic concept of a relatively well-recognised Japanese stereotype (ninja, samurai, ect.) being interpreted and presented in an astounding new light. Plus, Haku just _sizzles_! :love: Yum... ((Does he remind anyone else of Marron from Bakuretsu Hunters?))

Ah, the epitome of... 'unclean humour'. Did anyone else get the feeling that the series was geared completely towards the extremely repressed male contingent? Marron _was_ delicious, though... There wasn't enough of him. He would have made a cute couple with Gateaux, ne? After watching about 3 episodes (all I could find), I never did understand why Carrot, obviously a nymphomaniac, didn't just 'hook up' with Chocolate or Tira, two close and clearly willing eager females. Did anyone who wasn't watching a badly-subbed download figure this out?

[SIZE=1]((Demon Babe, I hope you realize that Dagger _was_ merely joking--she even admitted it. As long as this has presumably all been settled, however, it's of no consequence. Peace, all?))[/SIZE] You know who might be fun to date, if only she were a bit older? Tomoyo Daidouji, from Cardcaptor Sakura. She's calm, cool, and self-posessed, with infalliable politeness, and wisdom beyond her years. Conversation would never run dry. Plus, she's obviously _quite_ in touch with her artistic side (obsessive videotaping and costume making are art, right?). And _so_ cute! I'd be completely entranced by her hair alone... If only I could distract her from Sakura. Hm...

FAKE is _nothing_ like Gravitation. The only common link between them is the shounen-ai content. Though I really can't claim to make an unbaised comparison between the two (I am definately _not_ enamoured of the Gravitation manga), I'd say that FAKE is a much more well-rounded series. I find the characters less predictable, less intensely self-absorbed, and more complex than those of Gravitation, and FAKE's art style far outclasses its rival. (What I've seen of the Gravitation OAVs, however, is a far different story, and enough to make me like the series despite the dissapointing manga.) Fake is a slightly more darker, more witty relative of Gravitation, at least to my mind, and the extra depth it gleans from its sarcasm and shadows is what I love best about it. I'd love to know what the Gravitation fans have to say on the subject.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Verykawaiineko [/i] [B]I ve recently started reading FAKE its very good...not the sterotypical shouneen ai manga...characters are halarious [/B][/QUOTE] FAKE is one of the best mangas I've come across. Its refreshingly frentic pace and wry humour make it one of my very favourites. (It's just behind X/1999, Rurouni Kenshin, Naruto, and CCS.) If you're a fan (or at least tolerant) of shounen-ai, I'd reccomend this _very_ highly.

Well, Kagome's probably going to be screaming 'Sit!' in the middle of their personal squabbles until her vocal chords snarl, but I don't think she'd ever deliberately show Inuyasha up in battle. On some level, I think she subconsiously understands how important it is to Inuyasha to be protecting her, paralelling Inuyasha's demon father's creation of the Tetsusaiga to defend his human lover (Inuyasha's mum). Be it a 'male' thing or a 'demon' thing, our hotheaded heroine has somehow become accustomed to the fact that she's gong to be protected whether she needs it or not. Plus, she's a little low on the self-confidence scale- she'd probably agonize and doubt herself in battle until it would be too late to do much of anything, anyway. Of course, if Inuyasha were the vulnerable one, thaat's quite different. I can definately see Kagome trying to defend a greviously-injured or otherwise disabled Inuyasha, and doing a rather good job of it, too.

Something tells me that you'll find more sucess and less lip if you post things like these in the Adventure Arena forum. It's apparently the RPG hub around these boards, so I'm quite sure that you'll have better luck there.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Demon Babe:) [/i] [B] Well I'm wondering if Kagomae could save herself..... Would her bond with InuYasha wither away? Because I think the whole "Damsel in destress" thing keeps them close. [/B][/QUOTE] To a certain extent, I think you've made a great point- what originally connected Kagome to Inuyasha was her need for protection, and her weakness continues to be a reson for them to bond. However, as close as Kagome's lack of physical fortitude may keep them, the emotional need for companionship is a much stronger tie that both share. Even if she suddenly became a buff, tough warrior woman, I think she'd still keep going back to Inuyasha for a nice friendly squabble and misunderstanding, just like old times.

Seeing as I'm a rather... uninspired shopper, I like to get quite a few of the same economical yet meaningful gifts that 'just keep on giving', as the saying goes. Hey, I have to justify giving Karou, Tea, Hikaru, Kotori and Relena homemade, festively-decorated time-bombs _somehow_, don't I?

Oh, it would probably be your usual epic-battle-with-dramatic-stalemate sort of thing. If it ever did happen, can you imagine what the fans of the loser might do? I've met fanatical worshippers of both series, and it'd be a dangerous game to promote one over the other. I wouldn't want to be on the recieving end of those riots....

Like any sort of artistic display, anime is often focused on experimenting with various gradients of reality. Straighter hair would probably be seen as more traditional or realistic, whereas more outlandish coiffures might give a sense of mystery and exoticism that might somehow detract from the series' style or overall popularity. Personaly, though, I'd sooner look twice at what surprises me than what I see on a regular basis, and I think that's becoming more and more of the general feeling throughout the media. I'd like to see some more characters who can flaunt their curls!

Speaking of outrageous editings, is anyone else completely terrified of how Naruto will be translated? (I mean from a yaoi-content-related standpoint, naturally.) The [spoiler]Sasuke/Naruto kiss[/spoiler] scene probably wouldn't air, and I'd bet _at least_ five dollars on Haku getting an impromptu gender change, or becoming Zabuza's distant relative's dog's groomer's owner's half-aunt-twice-removed's ex-adopeted son (or something to that effect. They can't possibly pull of the 'cousins' trick again.). If it becomes another Sailor Moon distaster, where everone suspects incest where once was poignant romance, some translators are going to be getting more than just some nasty letters from me. If the children of America can watch pop stars of the same gender kiss not only at awards ceremonies but also in every newspaper across the contry for weeks afterwards, you'd _think_ someone might have realized that we just _might_ be ready to handle shounen-ai and shoujo-ai!