Lindus

I couldn't make it past episode 2. Honestly, I'll mostly likely go back and read the manga some day, since I'm better at handling slower-paced sereies better in written format. I was really disappointed too, since I've heard so much about Nana. I'm sure it gets better as it goes on, but I found the initial introductions of plot/characters to be rather dull. Not [I]Higurashi no Naku Koro ni[/I] episode one- dull, but a bit boring nonetheless. I really think I might do better with the manga version with this particular series.

I've yet to come across a western themed anime that I really liked. I love the genre in old movies (spaghetti westerns and more gently paced - not so much John Wayne type - films). I probably won't see an anime like that though - it probably wouldn't be very popular. So 1) No, I haven't. I [I]wish[/I]. And 2) I, personally, would love it so long as the story was also good. Then again, maybe I'm not looking hard enough for good westerns. ^^

I certainly don't mind translated honorifics, but with most of the anime I watch (mostly modern-day type shows), I could do without. The only example I could think of that would necessitate the use of English honorifics would be in historically based shows. Take [URL=http://animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4506][U]Victiorian Romance Emma[/U][/URL]. I'd expect them to use Miss, Master, and other terms since it'd be more commonplace in 19th century England. If it were something like old Japan, I could go either way with either trans/untranslated honorifics. Other than that, I don't think they need to use Miss, or chan or anything else really (unless it's a superior or what-have-you).

I don't follow specific blogs, but I definitely like to refer to them when considering starting a new series. I like to see someone else's opinion on why they did/didn't like a certain show to see if those reasons would be a deterrent for me. On occasion, I just like to read them to know someone's talking about series. Like, I know Memento covers Mushishi very well, and though I'm three episodes behind (shame!), I think Memento's good for telling me what to expect (the non-spoilery blurb at the beginning, mind you. Not the whole article) mood and story-wise.

Aw, I've been hankering for something like this![SIZE=1] I have such awful timing with that "draw my character!" thread, everybody always beats me to the punch and I get participate XD; [/SIZE]Hopefully this, I can do. [URL=http://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=linkcopy8hm.jpg][IMG]http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1927/linkcopy8hm.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ggxfinalcopy0bn.jpg][IMG]http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/9728/ggxfinalcopy0bn.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img196.imageshack.us/my.php?image=otakuversion8jn.jpg][IMG]http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/4213/otakuversion8jn.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I guess I don't have as many pics on this computer as I thought. ^_^; Hope these'll do.

I remember really tearing through Hot Gimmick when I got my hands on it. My problem is that I don't believe there's much re-read value with the series (This is actually a big tendency with a lot of the shoujo I read). You should keep reading it, though, as it's pretty good. Don't spoil yourself! It takes out all the fun! I didn't really find the brother to be all that creepy, [spoiler]and while I find the reasoning behind his feelings/actions a bit "ehhh...," I've seen worse. I can't be so forgiving on the cop-out ending for him though. I didn't feel what happened to him really resolved anything. [/spoiler]

It's been a while since I've looked over that part of the manga, but can I assume that this pose was referenced? It doesn't really look like your typical style. I think the thing that I like the best about this picture is how it emphasizes how much you've improved. Really. This is still good, though. Line art is definitely your strong point. I think the coloring would look better if you had also concentrated on lighting parts rather than just darkening parts. I really like seeing people's old work for the sake of comparing it to new works. Thanks for sharing! Btw: Hi. XD Haven't chatted with you in a while, eh?

At my school, the GSA is still in its early phase - this current school year is its first official year after its pilot run last year. A really big problem however is with constant support. Not a lot of members come a lot of the time, apparently, and appointed officers (with the exception of the group's president) have dropped like flies, often very, very quickly. Now, while I totally supported the GSA since its birth, I hadn't attended any meetings until the second half of this school year. And despite my relative newness, in all likelihood, I'm going to be an officer next year. (Seriously. I came to the meeting this afternoon and it turns out it was an officer meeting, so just the president was there with another kid who didn't know it was officers only) So, with that in mind, I was really wondering (hoping) if anyone here would be able to offer some helpful ideas to increase our membership and to keep said members coming back for meetings. So far, not much has been done, other than watching movies and participating in Day of Silence. We're actually really fortunate since we live in the Chicago area, and the Gay Games will occur in the summertime. Other than that, I'm a bit stretched for ideas. Suggestions are really welcome, even if they're very small - I'm sure they would help a lot. I'd really like to hear what would be able to create some more unity. My school is relatively open and it's very tolerant, but it could definitely be improved with some more effort on the GSA's part.

Absolutely bewildering. I decided to take a look at this show after reading so many good things about it, and for a significant part of the first episode I wasn't sure what I was watching ( I even checked to see if I had gotten a different series by mistake! XD). But after I caught on, it was absolutely fantastic. The constant continuity errors are hysterical and are so reminiscent of my childhood days, when kids of my old neighborhood would make similar movies (often trying to mirror movies). I thought the show looked fantastic. It really did a great job trying to mimmick a camera and got the amateur film look spot on. I really loved kyon's commentary throughout the movie too. And have I mentioned the ending is totally addictive? The song is adorable and the dance looks so catchy. XD I'm definitely looking forward to continuing with this series.

[quote name='"Dagger"']For some reason, what I don't like about the manga are the manga-only characters. Ling and his posse really get on my nerves. Not to mention that awful panda girl. Gah. *dodges tomatoes* [/quote] Ugh. NO. WHY? I found the guys from Xing to be really refreshing. Not that the manga was getting stale at that point [spoiler](because, c'mon, [I]Greed[/I]), but the sudden appearance of the Xing gang and their aid in the assault on the Sins was fantastic and that part, coupled with the Lust battle, is still my favorite part of the manga, hands down.[/spoiler] Plus, Ling added a good annoyance factor for Ed, [spoiler]since he and Roy hadn't been seeing too much of each other lately ;) I don't particularly like the panda girl either, but she's not as bad as she could be (a la anime!Roze) and her fantasies of her ideal version of Edward are great.[/spoiler] All right, now that I have that out of my system. XD I don't particularly want to have[spoiler] Ling "redeemed" either. Aside from Havoc, he's one of my favorite characters, but to have him remain as Greed or be eliminated in some way would be preferable. I'm hoping too that it would elevate Lan Fan's character to something more desirable than it is now.[/spoiler] I need to read the most recent chapter(s) I might be 1,2 behind already. Those months woosh by, don't they? XD

[QUOTE=Dagger] You can buy the DVD [url=http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=ANSB-2005][u]here[/u][/url], but you need an R2 or region-free player, and it's not subtitled. Although subs aren't really necessary to enjoy them. ~Dagger~[/QUOTE] Although, a summary would be nice for the one with [spoiler]Greed[/spoiler] and [I]maybe [/I] an explaination of exactly what Hawkeye's doing in the chibi one. Otherwise, it's easy to get the ist, at the very least. Also, I'm not sure if it's kosher here, but Youtube has the ova's as well.

by no means is the dub bad. I don't prefer it, but I think that it has it's merits, especially in the last stretch of the show. The VA's are generally good and at the very least, it shouldn't be painful to listen to. I did have a hard time initially adjusting to the new voices. I don't think Vic's version of Ed pulled off the spaz attacks over his height that occured more towards the beginning of the series. But I do think he did well with the character overall, like in his relationship to Roy and the rest of the military. I still have mixed feelings about the dub, although my view on it is generally positive. I'd at least watch more than the first episode or two before getting a proper impression. The first episode alone left a very bad impression on me based almost purely on shock value. >_>

I have to agree on the voice acting. I tuned in tonight to see just how they would do the episode, and I really enjoyed it. It was like watching it for the first time again, except for, you know, the end of the episode. Reactions to that can't be the same way twice, you know? I really adored Envy's acting in this episode. I thought he did a wonderful job. As did Ed. Oh! And Selim! He's not major, but I love how good a job he did considering his minor status. [quote name='Dagger][SPOILER]I'm curious about how he chose the face and body he used throughout most of the show--did he just make it up or something?[/SPOILER'] [/quote][SPOILER] I had always assumed that he tried to look like a very young Hohenheim (very similar to one, anyway). He [I]really [/I] looks like his son. Or perhaps Dante described him to Envy a bit?[/SPOILER] Definitely looking forward to next week!

This is going to be a gift for a friend at school, but I'm very horrible at backgrounds (both deciding on one and drawing one). I'd really really appreciate some opinions on this, as I haven't gotten any good feedback from rl friends or on TheO. Firstly, I'm not too certain what the background itself should be. I was thinking possibly a forest or another greenish background, but would that be too much of one color? I'm also not sure how I should draw the background when I pick one. The character's pretty smack-dab in the middle and is pretty big, so perhaps a more simplistic bg? [URL=http://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=linkcopy8hm.jpg][IMG]http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1927/linkcopy8hm.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Please, if you think you've some helpful advice, don't hesitate to share it with me! I have a knack for ruining pictures after finishing the main character. ^^;

I'm really looking forward to the last few episodes as well. It's going to be neat to see people's reactions. Plus! Bradley's son is absolutely adorable. XD [QUOTE]I think part of that is because of the acting. The VA for lust seems to make the character quite wistful at times. I've gotta go back and listen to it in Japanese to get a better comparison.[/QUOTE] I also think that. I really like Lust's English VA for this reason. When I first saw fma, it was subbed, and while I think the Japanese Lust did a nice job with the first portion, I grew really disappointed by the time [spoiler]of her demise[/spoiler]. I suppose she just didn't deliver it for me personally. The second time around though, with the English va, is much more enjoyable for me. I think she did a great job.

[quote name='hey_love][size=1'] Although, I enjoy the anime better than the manga. Some scenes I wish they had in the anime, but even though they left some characters and extra plots out, the anime follows the manga well. I think.[/size][/quote] True, true. I myself favor the manga, but some parts of the anime in the latter half of the series (when it takes a different turn than the manga) are just really exciting for me. :animesmil [QUOTE]*Explodes* I READ THAT! It was the coolest thing ever...That part was nerve-racking... I have to sad, for some reason, the manga feels more intense to me... I don't know why. [/QUOTE] Wasn't it? And [SPOILER]Havoc[/SPOILER] is my favorite character so I was practically crying while reading the chapters. I really loved how the characters turned out at that point. Lust seemed so much cooler and more evil compared to the anime Lust, who turned out to be a little deeper than I was expecting. I guess that's one reason I like both the anime and manga for fma. They're different at points, but both sides are enjoyable in different ways.

[quote name='Ramen_Mido]I really hope that Lust isnt [spoiler]dead. I really wanted Ed to have a final finishing battle with her. There was always this strong hatred back and forth between the two[/spoiler']. I hope we get one last battle in.[/quote] Read the manga. She really [SPOILER]goes out with a bang. Not with Ed per say, but the hate between her and this guy is much cooler. Actually, those few last chapters with lust still stand as my very favorite. I only wish that could've been animated.[/SPOILER] I suppose they sort of compensated for it in the anime with [SPOILER]the Roy vs. Pride fight, but I would've loved to see his fight with Lust animated.[/SPOILER] I really didn't detect too much hate between Ed and Lust. At least, not significantly more than the other sins. I think that hate goes to Envy :animesmil

[QUOTE=thezerosystem] Unfortunately, people opinions on exactly what qualifies as the above differs. I almost missed out on a wonderful manga because I kept reading that it was shonen ai/yaoi/slash, and I'm really not into that. [/QUOTE] Oh? And which series would that be? ;) And that seems like a bit of a blow for shounen/shojo-ai by categorizing them with Yaoi and Hentai. I'm not going to watch Yaoi because a lot of the time, it's too much for me. dunno, not so much of a complaint here. XD it's just that you listed shounen/shoujo-ai as if they were perverted like hentai. [QUOTE]Mousse without his glasses[/QUOTE] I have never seen a dessert wearing spectacles XD

Given that I love (and still love) slow-paced shows like Emma, I'm definitely willing to give this a shot. The way you described it reminded me a bit of Kamichu!. Not because of the content of course, but how you described the inclusion of Japanese folklore and nature (though that show was much more slice-of-life-ish). I'll definitely give it a go! You have good timing, by the way. I had just read about the manga on ANN.

[QUOTE=hey_love][size=1] Another soundtrack I constantly listen to is the recent 2004 two disc special of [b]Phantom of the Opera[/b], one of my most favorite books and musicals. Amazing. The songs come straight off of the movie, and I've watched the movie countless times, so it gets me so excited whenever I listen to it. :animesmil [/size][/QUOTE] Really? I love PotO, but the new soundtrack had so many voice tracks, it had me running for the original cast recording. It wasn't [I]bad[/I], but I really wish they could have at least made the cd easier to navigate through by separating the music and the dialogue from each other. But I guess aside from that, it was pretty good. *goes and worships Raoul* XD

Lord Dante, I definitely like the content of your sig ^^ I like how the text fades out at the top and the colors, while a little dark, fit well together. The left side seems a little pasted on, and it seems a bit tedious to have the same figure in the sig twice. Overall though, it looks very nice. 8/10

[QUOTE=? Nomad Tical ?] 3) School. Battle. There were three kids on bottom holding up a fourth who come charging in scores and have a humoungous battle with magic and everything. There was some CG thrown in.[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure that's [B]School Rumble[/B]. I really like that anime/manga. I don't think the anime is licensed yet, but the manga should be released by the end of the month. Definitely worth a look. And Yakitate Japan's good too. XD I'm making my school's anime club watch it. For the record, was the amv AMV Hell 3? XD It'd be kind of weird if it was, since it actually [I]gives [/I] you the title of the school battle anime (school rumble).

I've loved movie soundtracks since I was little. I don't buy cd's too often, but I can say that the majority of them is probably made up of soundtracks. This one isn't a soundtrack [I]exactly[/I], but it plays various tracks from movies done by one composer. And that's [B]Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone[/B]. I love a lot of the movies that Morricone's been involved with (the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Untouchables, Once Upon A Time In America, etc...), and Yo-Yo Ma's participation really makes the music even better. I thought [B]Braveheart [/B] and [B]From Russia With Love [/B] had some nice soundtracks too. I liked how the Braveheart soundtrack included some bits of memorable dialogue along with the songs. [B]Dances With Wolves [/B] was another good soundtrack. I think John Barry does a nice job with non- James Bond movies (though I like those too XD)

Well, there are some of the classics like Mario and Zelda that I know won't leave my memory for a while. As for slightly newer games, I really enjoyed [B]Final Fantasy IX/X[/B]'s soundtracks. They sounded very pretty. This game hasn't debuted in the U.S. yet, but I love the theme for it: [B]Drakengard 2[/B]'s Hitori, by Mika Nakashima. It's a really pretty song (like the rest of her works ^^) and it really seemed to fit well with the mood of the trailer. Although I hope the actual battle music for the game is better than the original. It made me want to shove a spoon in my ear >_O

My first contact with the internet was when I was 11 for a math project, but other than that, I had absolutely no interest in what the internet had to offer. I kept that mentality until 8th grade, when an internet-savvy friend of mine not only introduced me to anime, but taught me that the internet was more than just an information database. Not too long afterwards, our first computer ( a 98' Compaq god help me XD) died a terrible death, and I was internet-less for part of my freshman year which was really inconvinient. My dad lent us his computer and around October, I discovered Gaia Online. That was fun for three months or so, but I soon moved on. In January, I got my own personal laptop which was very nice, but we still had to use dial-up. Our connection speed was often lower than 56k so cruising the net became more of a chore. About a year later, we finally started using wireless internet and I became much more familiar with computers over the next 12 months. And now I type here before you. ^^