Sasori

[QUOTE=XxricexX][COLOR=LightBlue][SIZE=3][FONT=Verdana]Umbrella's also stuck in my head. >.

Okay, this thread has me itching to check this series out. Bones? Check. Yoko Kanno? Check. A series that balances a shrouded plot with odd characters and world-building? Check. Fantastically-used (but not OVER-used) gore? Check. I'm always down for a series with a plot that I can't explain to my friends in two seconds if they ask about it. It *sounds* like this is the case with this series.

Well, I can knock out a free vending machine soda (just diet drinks though). My Hadouken needs some serious work, but my Garyou Tensei is sweet. :animesmil

[quote name='Sazumechan']I dont see why almost everyone dislikes the cd. I wasnt sure what I thought about it at first but when I listened to it a second time I knew. I really like the cd. Now dont get me wrong I like Hybrid Theory and Meteora better but this cd isnt as bad as everybody's making it sound. Change is good you guys![/quote] I'm with you, Suzumechan. The first listen through, I raised a questioning eyebrow and frowned a bit as I started from track 1 once more. I stopped working on the PC, and just laid back and...listened. After that, I loved it. It was not the Linkin Park I knew (notice the past-tense), but was very good none-the-less. I love it when bands branch out and try new stuff. Who's to say their next effort will be like this or more like their first two: I hope it's something totally unlike either. If someone is REALLY crazy for hip-hop/metal stuff more akin the former LP albums, there are other bands out there doing exactly what LP was doing. No real loss, people, just something a bit different, and that is superb.

In no particular order: [b]1. Azumanga Daioh[/b] - The unique feel of this show is unmatched (thus, unique ;p). The animation is bright and beautiful, and humor is sublime in its subtle, semi-dry (in spots) execution. The idiot-genius of Osaka and other things in the series can always put a smile on my face. It is the ultimate unwind and feel-good series, in my opinion. Namako Team, peoples. [b]2. Boogipop Phantom[/b] - While most find how hard this anime's tangled plot is to follow, I loved watching it multiple times, tracing connections between dark stories, sordid and/or depressing characters and distrubing scenes. I dig the dark (almost too dark) art style, and how bright tones are used throughout the series to express mood and meta-plot. I throw it in with Lain and other sorts like it, but Boogiepop Phantom will always be the king of freaky/weird/distrubing/slighty-confusing anime. [b]3. Tenchi Muyo (OVA)[/b] - This was one of the first anime series I watched in full, and it led me to pursue interests in more romance-centric works. It is, to me, the champion of harem-esque anime. Aeka and Ryoko's bickering is gold in of itself. [b]4. Fruits Basket[/b] - Though I hated how it ended too soon into the story compared to the manga, I loved the look of this sweet-centered anime. Some of the sacrine-sweet wisdom stuck with me to a surpising extent. [b]5. Ouran High School Host Club[/b] - I know it's really new, but I adored how this series looked, and the comedy was consistent and pleasing. I'd love it even more if they produced more episodes, to keep up with the manga. [b]Runner-ups: Rurouni Kenshin[/b] - The Shisio story arc is one of the best I've seen as far as action series go. All the crap filler holds it back in my mind though, and how it peters off into more filler after the Shisio deal. :( [b]Cowboy Bebop[/b] - I wanted to rank it in the top, BUT a real plot doesn't get going until too far into the series, which is the downfall of many anime. Great characters and backstories, yes, but it's too rag-tag as far what happens. Also, Spike is too static (unchanging throughout) as a main character to be better to me. [b]Neo-Genesis Evangelion[/b] - I should have put it in the top 5, and still want to...Argh...so good. Of course it has wonderful undertones, symbolism and yada yada (what everyone loves Eva for). I love how polarized people are on it mostly due to the ending. :D [b]Haibane Renmei[/b] - Full of more subtle symbolism than Eva, with a sweet but slightly-unsettling plot (especially at the end), this explain-nothing anime's final revelations and ending are among my favorites. I was semi-speechless after finishing it. Reki is among my favorite characters [i]ever.[/i] [b]The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi[/b] - The heavenly animation, great humor, and underlying serious message had my jaw on the floor. I couldn't really talk after watching it. The music is way too addictive; I hate and love it at the same time. If you can't tell, I have a hard time narrowing it down, and on a different day, I would've picked a different top 5. :D

[QUOTE=rene23][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium]I do prefer the romantic, action drama type like Fruits basket, DNAngel, Bleach, Inuyasha, Naruto and Ouran High School Host Club ^_^ But more romantic/drama than action [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] I'm enclined to agree with you. When I first started watching anime, I was drawn to the shounen pure-action anime, with comedy on the side. Now, I'm up for anything really, but I prefer the romantic drama area a *wee* bit over action/comedy. Anime that can masterfully blend at least some of these together receive top scores in my book.

I know some people like it, but the Soul Taker theme, with it's cheesy chorus and psuedo-rock, makes me literaly cringe. [I]Soul Takeeer![/I] :rolleyes:

[QUOTE=The Boss][color=darkred][size=1] [b]All Fishing Games[/b]: Why don't you just GO FISHING!!![/color][/size][/QUOTE] Agreed. Nothing tastes like a crime against humanity quite like a gamer with dead eyes staring at a digital bob, salivating at the thought of that delicious yet elusive binary bass. Daikatana for the N64 was a publicly rejected game, and with good reason. My friend rented it, and we both gave it a whirl...then we went to counseling. Lots too. I couldn't play a FPS for awhile afterward. Seriously, just how BAD can you make the controls and graphics without trying to do so? :animeangr I generally am a fan of survival horror, so when I tried Extermination for the PS2 I was crushed when it overwhelmed me with horrid visuals, bland everything and tree-sap-like gameplay. The NES had Xenophobe...ugh. That was the most terrible side-scroller I've ever played. The difficulty of doing anything and wiping the blood from eyes due to the visuals burned an eternal hatred in me for that POS. *shivers* :animedepr

Oh yes, Gulty Gear X and more so, X 2, eat up good portions of my life when I go to a friend's house that always invites lots of people over to play GGX2. Favorite character, huh? I'm going to go with...Baiken. Her defensive, super-fast moves are tense and satisfying to pull off, and the look of horror on my opponent's face when his offense is viciously cut short is gold. Plus the poisoning is sublime to pull out on somebody. Runner-ups/backups: Jam (insane speed on the ground), Ky (that nearly-unblockable air combo he does is just so broken it's hilarious), Zappa (too weird not to love, and the ultra-summoning is note-worthy too), and Dizzy (just love her combos).

Well, let's see. I like anime, and anime is becoming more commonplace and popular, little by little. Nothing to complain about there folks! :catgirl: I do find it funny that so much of the Saturday morning cartoons kids in the US watch are anime dubs. Horrible dubs, but still anime. That breeds future fans, which is sweet.

The pure comedy enjoyment of Ranma is always still good for a smile/laugh. I agree on that comment whole-heartedly. Evangelion is one of my favorites, but I don't know if I'd classify it as "old school." It seems made just a *bit* to late for that classification. Maybe. Maybe I'm not throwing it in the "old school" catagory due to the fact that I watch it a good amount every once and awhile. Nostalgia only sets in for me when I haven't seen something in a good while. That is not the case with Evangelion.

Most of my relationships seem to have one thing in common: they end very badly. In most cases I was at least partially to blame along with the particular "her" at the time. I'm usually a very confrontational, up-front, outspoken person, except when it comes to expressing my dissatisfaction to some effect in a relationship. As has been mentioned in this thread previously, I am gripped by a fear of doing harm to my partner. I'm afraid they'll react badly to what I have to say, and come away from it hurt deeply. Out of all my experiments in partnership, only two of them really stand out above the rest as very significant. This is because in many ways they shaped my opinions and beliefs permanently, for better or for worse. The first was with a stereotypically-fiery red-head who went to a different high school one city over. I met her through a mutual friend, and we soon started spending most of the time together, drawn to each other due to our mutual interests and belief systems. As time went by, our lives began to overlay on one another: a house key here, personal/confidential info there. At about the 1.7 year mark for our pairing, I noticed some really strange stuff going on with my bank account and odd mail with my name on it, demanding that I pay my overdue balances on a cellphone I never had. Basically, she was using my name and personal info (like SSN) to get all sorts of stuff. She seemed to find nothing really wrong with this, because after all, we were so close to each other, we could act as a single individual, right? WRONG. Legal action took place, and tears flowed like beer on Superbowl Sunday. She was just...blind to how badly she had betrayed me, and she looked upon me as the villian. It hurt, seeing her so distraught and mad at me, but reason always kept me on the path of truth: she was a compulsive liar and thief, and she had used me. Screw. Her. That whole ordeal very much made me distrust people for a while, and it was long after that that I actually even engaged in a relationship, and even then, they were shallow and meaningless. I never really opened up to anyone, and my distant and uncaring attitude drove all of them away. About 2.5 years later though, I met a girl in my hometown that was just...different. She was hardworking, opinionated, stubborn, musically-inclined, strong beyond words and just...synched up with me every time I saw her. It only took us hanging out a couple of times before me confessed our feelings for one another very strongly. This woman was just...eveything I could possibly desire. Despite all the horrible things that she lived through, she was still strong and optimistic. That kind of take on life was what I wanted for myself, so I began to come out of my shell. I was living for the first time in years, and I KNEW it. I could FEEL it. I was changed utterly by this beautiful person, and owed my life as it was to her. Her situation was strangly similiar to mine at that. But a little over two years into that bliss, shadows began to show themselves. She was just uncomfortably flirtatious, and she began to drift away from me. She seemed to hate being around me after awhile, and I couldn't understand why. Whenever I actually talked with her about it (probably too late), she shrugged it off. I knew better though, and I became quite depressed over the matter. It got to the point where I was drinking myself into a stupper on a semi-regular basis to grieve over what we once had: perfection or damn near it. My thoughts became darker and more self-hating, and I started to think about that which I thought I had left behind years ago with the help of my friends. I hid my decaying state from everyone, but one person caught it anyway; truely my brother-from-another-mother. Because of him, I got myself together enough to confront my girlfriend, who at this point was semi-openly longing to either cheat on me or leave me for an old flame of hers. My grief turned to anger as I thought about all I had done to get her life back together. When I met her, she was living in a friend's apartment, sleeping on the couch, with a car that didn't work. I helped her get a [I]house[/I] to rent, a working car, and got her in touch with the local music scene, which was her ultimate dream. I cared so much about her, and wanted to see her happy. But even through my anger, I knew she would be happy with me not around, and I wanted that for her, so with a waffling mix of fury and tears, it was ended. She said she didn't say anything to me because she didn't want to hurt me, which I understood, but loathed at the same time for the price of cowardice. The last time I saw her was leaving her house with a few of my things. I was so afraid of reverting to how I was before I met this demon/goddess. Indeed, I am still afraid of who I used to be. It's been about 2 months since the end, and while most of the pain is gone, and I am still standing strong, what stings is the fact that I have all these wonderful memories of her behind the bitter feelings. It's like looking at two different people: the woman I met and fell utterly for, and the deceiving being at the end. I will forever judge every woman I enter a relationship with by how I felt with that woman. I was the happiest I had ever been; every day was bliss. We have alot of mutual friends, so I know sooner or later we will meet again, but I [i]think[/i] I'm ready for that. I think. ...Wow, sorry for uber-posting like this. I read this thread and decided then to stop lurking and sign up and start posting, starting here. Thanks to anyone and everyone that actually read through this bloated corpse of a post. *bows* :animesmil