Anime What are You Watching/Reading Now?

[Panache]

[QUOTE] but it is only has 24 eps.[/QUOTE]
Only? Thats a full season...

[B]Megatokyo volume 2 (first few pages)[/B]

It took a few minutes to get used to the new style. But now the series is just as good as it was before.

[B]Junk volume 4 (complete)[/B]
Can't wait till volume 5

[IMG]http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb213/Aboywearingvans/epiccomplete.gif[/IMG]

[Dagger]

Just watched the first episode of Mnemosyne.

:animenose

I loved it. Parts of it made me want to run away and hide under my comforter, but I loved it. In a way, it feels like it harks back to the more casually violent & sexual OVAs of old. Yet the animation is cutting-edge... the characters are full CG--and before you run away, I really suggest giving it a try (if you're okay with the adult content, that is).

Personally, I think this is the first CG anime that carries over the organic, kinetic, natural (and now I'm just throwing random adjectives out there, but you know what I mean) look of hand-drawn animation. Stuff like the Appleseed movies and the Freedom OVA were supposed to be groundbreaking or whatever, and I don't know how Mnemosyne stacks up next to them in terms of budget. In terms of how it looks and feels, though, there's simply no comparison.

Even the occasional flaws (though they aren't really--they match the stylistic quirks seen in the character designer's 2D eroge work) in proportion and so forth actually make Mnemosyne seem less cold and artificial. I was totally against CG anime until I saw the trailer for this, which shook my conviction a little, and now the series itself has me doing a 180. *bows down to Xebec*

Anyway, the important points are:

1) The protagonist is by far the hottest female character I have seen in any anime ever, and quite possibly the most kick-*** as well. I love her to bits.
2) As an introductory episode, this is all about style, pwnage, Rin's undying hotness, Tanaka Rie in her most sadistic role ever, Mamiko Noto not getting typecast, and flashes of guro.
3) So if you're worrying about the story at this point... well, I mean, it's not like there isn't one, but I'd say you're looking at the wrong thing.

*worships Rin* Seriously... she is, as far as my personal & biased tastes are concerned, the pinnacle of female character design.

~Dagger~

[Xerxes]

[FONT="Century Gothic"]Right now I am still watching Naruto and DGray Man but I have started watching Rave Master which was one of my favorite animes for way back in the day. I am also re-watching CardCaptor Sakura. I love magical girl animes! I also just started watching Eureka 7. I never thought that it was very interesting until I watched an episode and fell in love with the series. I am also watching Death Note which is a very awesome anime.

Currently, I am reading Deadman Wonderland by the creator of Eureka 7, Love Monster, Ga-Rei, and many other new ones. I am still reading DGray Man and it is getting very good.[/FONT]

[Magus]

[COLOR="darkred"][SIZE="1"][b]Ninja Scroll[/b] - Saw it on the Sci-Fi channel day before yesterday. I've forgotten how good this movie was. Even while it's edited, it was still good. Majority of the cussing has been taken out, and of course the nudity and sex/rape was taken out as well, but the gore remained in tact. Not that I really have anything against sex or anything, but I do feel that it was better without it. But that's just me though. (Simple-minded and just looking for action as usual XD) The animation is really good even if it is old. A lot of the characters need some work on the face though. The dub is also pretty good, but my main issue with it is Jubei's voice. He just sound.. "bleh". One moment he sounds boring and the next he sounds phony.

[b]Last Exile[/b] - I found this by coming across the AZN channel. While I can't say much about the story, because I'm pretty lost. What draws me into this one is the animation, which is hawt btw. Perhaps on par with or even better than Ghost in the Shell: SAC. (That says a lot because I consider GitS to have the best animation.) Alot of times I consider Gonzo to have inconsistent animation, because of how some of their characters look really good in one episode, and then the next one or two episodes they look hideous. But I've only seen about three or four episodes, and it seems pretty consistent so far. Just to nitpick a little bit. For this to be a futuristic anime, you'd think their aircrafts would look more futuristic. Them jet planes or whatever they're suppose to be looks more old school-ish than futuristic.

[b]Read or Die OVA[/b] - Another one that I managed to catch on the sci-fi channel. This one was interesting, but at the same time a little bit on the annoying side. The paper agent woman, the way she used paper as a weapon, and other stuff was very intriguing, and the character herself ranged from interesting to annoying. (She's pretty much my only problem with this one.) After taking care of whatever, and asking for the book back had me chuckle a couple of times, but then it got annoying. She's not a bad character, just one of those naive ditz that can get on my nerves very quickly. (Much like Misa in Death Note) The animation was also great, too. Does the series look as good as it's OVA counterpart, because I may check it out one day?

That's it for now. The next thing I'll be checking out is Hellsing Ultimate. (Starts airing on Starz Edge on the 12th.)[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Dagger]

Last night I saw [b]Perfect Blue[/b] for the first time with my Millennium Actress-loving friend. We both liked it well enough, but she managed to call the final plot twist within the first five minutes of the film. I thought the fake-out where they make you think for a second that [spoiler]that the character Mima is playing in the TV drama is her real self--that the TV drama is the real story, and the frame story is in her head[/spoiler] was a whole lot more interesting and less predictable.

The best scene was [spoiler]the photographer's murder.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Panache]

[quote name='Dagger']Last night I saw [b]Perfect Blue[/b] for the first time with my Millennium Actress-loving friend. We both liked it well enough, but she managed to call the final plot twist within the first five minutes of the film. I thought the fake-out where they make you think for a second that [spoiler]that the character Mima is playing in the TV drama is her real self--that the TV drama is the real story, and the frame story is in her head[/spoiler] was a whole lot more interesting and less predictable.

The best scene was [spoiler]the photographer's murder.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~[/QUOTE] That's I show I didn't enjoy that much to watch but I enjoy reflecting upon it. A friend of mine on another board described the show like this.

Oh shii!

Whew it was just a dream

Oh shii!

Whew it was just a dream

Oh shii!

Whew it was just a dream

Oh shii!

[jen_sa]

i've seen death note and the live movie version of it too. it is scary but it's good.

=>jen

[Ikillion]

[FONT="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="1"][COLOR=#6d527f]Now that I finally have time I've been playing catch-up with most of the winter season series. To be specific: Gundam 00, Kaiji, Shigofumi, and Wolf and Spice. Needless to say I've had a heck of a marathon session just to catch up with everything.

The only new thing that really took my breath away has to be Mnemosyne. While I'm still trying to wrap around [spoiler]just how Rin was able to survive being shot, being tortured to death via poked with holes , falling off a building, and being shot again.[/spoiler] Most of what I want to say has already been said by Dagger but, I am willing to say with confidence that I would be honored to have Rin's babies.She really is just that awesome.

As for reading I've only picked up two new series, one of which I haven't started reading yet (but I'm planning to). The first being Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure which has been an interesting feat of manliness but I still haven't made it to part three where [spoiler]the stands come into play. [/spoiler] I'm still in the midst of part 2.

I'm looking into reading Berserk, maybe Vagabond but thats most likely going to be after I finish Jojo.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Magus]

[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="1"]I'm sort of buggin out right now (feelin all giddy XD), because I just finished watching the first two episodes of Hellsing Ultimate. (Came on Starz Edge.) In some ways it's similar to the tv version, but definately different. The action is way better here, as well as the animation, sort of. The characters tend to look a bit on the ugly side, but they're drawn smoothly.

The story is also different, seeing how that they're this new group that was never mentioned in the tv version.

One thing I do hate about Hellsing Ultimate, though, and it's not a big issue, the music. I've never been a fan of the catholic type music, and don't get me wrong, it fits very well here, but it kind of creeps me out. And I like the old jazzy feel to the tv version.

Edit: Oh, btw, how many episodes are there in this Hellsing OVA?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]I just finished watching Sketchbook ~full color'S~ and, looking back, the show really grew on me as it progressed. The last few episodes were especially great. The bit in ep11 where Natsumi was drinking her juice, and then Kuga's comment at the end of the scene (you'd have to see it...), hit something just right and I just had to stop and laugh for about a full minute before I could continue watching. There's a lot of great little moments sprinkled all through the show, ranging from funny, odd, downright weird, and serene.

And, as if there weren't enough parallels to Aria already, we get [url=http://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sketchbookariawo5.jpg][u]this[/u][/url] at the very end of the last episode. Sketchbook handing off the next season to Aria the Origination, as it were, I suppose.

[b]Edit:[/b]
I started reading Yotsubato! (aka Yotsuba&!) today, which is a manga by Azuma Kiyohiko, who also made the Azumanga Daioh manga. So far it resembles Azumanga Daioh a lot in its styles of art and humor, though it has an even younger main character in Yotsuba, a little five-year-old girl. She's cute (she looks almost like a younger Chiyo) but the focus is on her actions and personality, which really make the manga what it is. It's done a good job of capturing that sense of wonder and discovery that young children have when encountering new things and Yotsuba is very outspoken, which makes it even more fun.

I've only read the first five chapters so far but I had to take breaks every one or two because I would laugh too much and it would begin to hurt.[/color]

[Aberinkula]

[COLOR="1234"]Well, yesterday I saw one of the best, and most disapointing Bleach episodes... [spoiler]RENJI DIED! GOD ****ING DAMN IT HE'S DEAD! WHAAA![/spoiler] Anyways I'm waiting for Ichigo to get his ****ing [spoiler]Bankai.[/spoiler]

Blood+ will be coming to a clsoe soon. [spoiler]Soloman tried to kill Diva, but he got killed instead, which pissed me off cause he's one of my favorite Chevaliers. And if Saya kills Diva, Haji has to kill Saya. YIPEE! One of my favorite characters gets to get killed by another favorite character.[/spoiler] Saya's dead body would be sooo hot! :^D-

And, and... Death Note... [spoiler]LIGHT SLUGGED L![/spoiler]

And Eureka Seven, I reunited with one of teh last episodes where Renton, Eureka and the kids are in that [spoiler]alternate universe with Renton's father and sister. Then they learn the limit of questions is about to be reacehd... and I saw some pics on the net of Eureka and Enomine.... YAY![/spoiler] The show is the only favorite me and DB share, for characters and story. E7 is even better than NGE, *gasp.*[/COLOR]

[Dagger]

Another update on the holy trinity of Clannad, Aria and Gundam 00. (You know, it's occurred to me that these three shows collectively represent everything I need in televised anime. Pretty girls. Pretty boys. Ravishing music. Stunning animation. Melodrama. Despair. Slice-of-life soothingness. Romance. Non-abrasive comedy. Sheer beauty.)

I don't understand why some people dislike Nagisa. I'm delighted that she's coming to the forefront. It's also starting to look more and more like Clannad will need a second season or some other kind of continuation... whether or not the rest of the show holds together or falls to pieces will probably depend on that.

Aria is Aria and therefore flawless. The production values of Origination continue to floor me. It's almost [i]too[/i] gorgeous, haha.

Gundam 00 is the show that's killing me with the wait for each new episode, though. The gap between 21 and 22 is turning out to be especially excruciating. I'm desperately worried about the possibility of [spoiler]Lockon dying.[/spoiler] It's too early! He has to at least survive until the second season. :animecry:

~Dagger~

[Rhionna]

I'm rewatching Inuyasha from the beginning. I've been obsessed with it since I started watching anime but still haven't gotten all the way through it... Also watching Get Backers, and Naruto and Death Note as they air on CN...I'm sad about the filler arc coming up (has it already started? This Mizuki arc's kinda lame.), but I view it as a kinda test for my love of Naruto- I just need to watch it all the through without giving up. :animedepr

For manga, I just got Blood+ 1. The artwork's cool and flowy.

[Magus]

[COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"][b]Yu Yu Hakusho[/b] - I still need to see tournament saga, but I've been watching the spirit detective saga and chapter black saga. Kuwabara is annoying, but not as much as I once made him out to be. Especially with some of these newer shonen anime that I've seen lately.

[b]Dragonball Z[/b] - Ah, guilty pleasure here. It was my first anime, and the intense action is still spot on. Sure, they repeat punches and kicks, but atleast it's intense. (unlike Bleach) However, where it succeeds in action, it fails in character intelligence... I was watching the Buu saga and every character is stupid, (Vegeta is sort of ruled out, but he's still stupid, no less.) and it's really annoying. And the major thing I really hated about DBZ is the reliance on Goku. (and what he says.) I like Goku, but the "if Goku was here" statement is tedious and shows cowardice. (Krillin.. I can't stand him)

[b]Bleach[/b] - So I was watching it on Adult Swim on Saturday. Impressive episode (somewhat) but disappointing. (Byakuya don't run... He uses flash steps... XD) Like I said, the fighting in Bleach sucks. Overpowered characters that're suppose to move at blinding speed, (atleast that's what I got from the manga) yet these fights have been lacking in both speed and intensity. (Where's my Kenshin / Yu Yu Hakusho type fights?) I'm tempted to just stick with the manga. (And the new opening theme is crap. Actually, I'm no fan of music that involves screaming at the top of your lungs...)

[b]Black Lagoon[/b] - I gave my opinion about this in the Black Lagoon thread, but I'll give a recap. BL has the potential to become a top 5 favorite.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Panache]

[B]Tekkon Kinkreet [/B]
Wow this anime was awesome. The animation was the best I've seen in any anime to date. It managed to make the town almost like a character in the story. Now I read the manga before hand so I already had a jist of what was gonna happen. The story is in my opinion very unique and takes a different look at life. Lastly the atmosphere from this show was amazing. The only way I can describe it is the flow and feel of My Beautiful Girl Mari Mixed with the color palette of Paprika. I am very happy with it.

[Endymion]

I've only been through 4 dvds for [B]Ai Yori Aoshi[/B], but it's definitely a great show. I just need to light a match under Netflix and get the 5th dvd here. I'll have to start collecting the manga soon.

[Panache]

[quote name='Endymion']I've only been through 4 dvds for [B]Ai Yori Aoshi[/B], but it's definitely a great show. I just need to light a match under Netflix and get the 5th dvd here. I'll have to start collecting the manga soon.[/QUOTE]
If you like Tina Watch Enshi soon!

[aoi_hikari]

[B]Watching[/B]: KimiKiss pure rouge
Shakugan no Shana II
Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei!
Rozen Maiden
Shugo Chara
Last Exile
[B]
Reading[/B]: School Rumble
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle
xxxHOLiC
Kobato
Naruto (finally caught up... -_-)
Bleach (when you really like a manga, the updates seem to take forever to get posted...)
Shinshi Doumei Cross
Vampire Knight
Hoshi wa Utau (Takaya Natsuki-sensei's newest series, which is awesome! :catgirl:)

I reently finished ef ~a tale of memories~ and Night Wizard the Animation, which were both really good :)

[[Sound_Nin]]

[LEFT][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Book Antiqua]I'm rewatching Gravitation. It never gets old for me.
There are a few bits that will never cease to annoy the living ***** out of me.
And there are parts I had to rewatch to understand.
But you know what they say about Gravitation, it's a gateway anime into the world of yaoi.
Actually, that's what [B]I[/B] say, but hey, someone has probably said it before.

Other than that, I can't say I've much been into the anime lately. If I could get control of the TV, or had my own, you KNOW I'd be watching Adult Swim every single damn night.
[/FONT][/COLOR][/LEFT]

[Dagger]

Clannad movie: Horribly unimpressive compared to both the Clannad series and the AIR movie. The one thing it made me understand is that the TV series really does need more than the 22 scheduled episodes. I finally get why the After Story is so important and meaningful, although the movie handled it clumsily.

Aria 10: Aria-style romance is always a treat.

Gundam 00 22: God, this show is awesome. Aniki (Lockon, haha) gets an [spoiler]eyepatch! Two out of three of the Thrones kick the bucket! Ali gets Omnislash'd![/spoiler] The wait between seasons is going to kill me.

~Dagger~

[[Sound_Nin]]

[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Book Antiqua]Oh! Oh! I'd also like to add, that since I never watch TV, and I'm too lazy to search for the episodes, I'm reading the Death Note manga series on onemanga.com. It makes a lot more sense when I can go back and read things over, but I don't seem to be having any comprehension problems with it.

And since I usually prefer anime over manga, this is the second series I've bothered to read, the last one being the entire DBZ series I bought at a book store.
Quite an investment, if I hadn't left my books behind after moving. :o
Still haven't recovered from that one.
I lost the first 5 Harry Potter books, as well.

Anyway, I'm at chapter 11, page 15. Where L is finally revealed.
Got a ways to go.
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Zed]

Watching:
- Shakugan no Shana II
- Bleach
- Naruto
- Shion no Ou
- Wolf and Spice
- Gintama
- Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro

[Starwind]

I recently discoverd that Iraq is the boot-leg DVD capital of the world. It's insane here. Everything from cyndicated sitcoms to massive anime series crammed into a few disks. They have a box set here of all 256 Naruto episodes here for 25 dollars!

Sad to say, I have been buying some of these because the most lethal thing you have in this country is dire boredom. If I didn't have my movies I'd never have much to do. I only get an hour on the computer a day and I only get to use the phone every few days or so.

As a result, I've taken up watching RahXephon, which is frankly just another Eva knock off. And HunterXHunter, which is surprisingly fun. There are a few other series I'm looking into at the moment, but I haven't actually bought any of them yet.

Sadly there is no manga available in this country. I am reading School Rumble back home and I've been left off at volume 7. I feel so cheated. Nevermind all the other series I buy like O-parts Hunter that are going on without me. Anyway, nothing new on the manga front.

[Panache]

[QUOTE]As a result, I've taken up watching RahXephon, which is frankly just another Eva knock off.[/QUOTE] Uhh what? How do you figure that?

[Romantica]

Currently I want to finish watching the Rosario + Vampire series (up to where Japan is) and Gravitation! I watched the first episode and I'm just like, "Aww!"