Anime On Trial

[Reply #640 on:]

At least he didn't say "Kamsahamnida" or "Xie xie" or something.

[Reply #641 on:]

I've been watching Yakitate for a few weeks now, and goddamn it is both refreshing and chirpy.]

And the whackiness of the emotions when they eat the bread always brings a smile to my face.

The puns get me too. Puns in any langauge somehow crack me up.

[Reply #642 on:]

Well on a Gainax front, I recently finished Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann,. At times absolutly off the wall and others quite down to Earth. In a stange way it actually reminded me of the anime within the anime of Nadesco and the continual progreession of more powerful robots felt abit silly.

In the usual Gainax tradition there is pleanty of fanserice, asusualy more towards the beginning of the series than the end but it is a fun series and the animation is absolutly fantasic.

Speaking of good animation I must remember to watch Ghost hound, here is the brief that got me interested


"Based on the original concept of Ghost in the Shell creator, Masamune Shirow. Animated by Production I.G. Written by Chiaki J. Konaka (responsable for the scripts of Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, RahXephon, Hellsing and the Astro Boy 2003 TV series)."

Sounds intersting enough to me.

 

[Reply #643 on:]

 

Originally posted by wu_konguk:
Chiaki J. Konaka (responsable for the scripts of Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, RahXephon, Hellsing and the Astro Boy 2003 TV series)

Also The Big O and Digimon Tamers.   

[Reply #644 on:]

 

Originally posted by David A:
 Yes, he must have thought to himself, "This young man must be a genius.  He has cleverly deduced that I am in fact Japanese."

I knew we'd be on the same wavelength.

More of Eva?  Well, after you peel away the constant heady references, you still have to peel back kickass animation, and thoroughly explored character development.

I'm ticked off.  Grave of the fireflies has now owned me more than twice.

Damn that movie!

[Reply #645 on:]

Well Ghost Hound had a good first episode, I have absolutly no idea what is going on but it was very pretty.

Speaking of Evangelion. Has anyone seen the new moive yet. It is called evangelion 1.0:you are (not) alone and I am still having trouble tracking it down in any way.

[Reply #646 on:]

uh, yet to be released, Wu.

[Reply #647 on:]

Been released in Japan. Have found out that the voices of Shinji, Asuka and Rei have expressed interest in returning for the American vesion.

[Reply #648 on:]

Chost in the Shell: SAC: SOLID STATE SOCIETY

The two television seasons of GitS's 'Stand Alone Complex' incarnation had a lot more character development and a far more convoluted plot than either of the main-continuity Ghost movies, it's also lighter-hearted, has Tachikomas, and Motoko looks sexier than in the original movie. As such I've come to be rather fond of the series as an alternative adaptation of the Manga.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society is a movie that differs from the other two GitS movies in that it is a direct follow-on from the series continuity (Alt. Universe) rather than the somewhat more bleak and reflective interpretation of the other two films. It also has an amusingly lengthy name.

The movie features some interesting chenges in character dynamics, with Togusa now running Section 9, and actually giving Batou orders. The Major's gone AWOL, but we know she'll be back. In keeping with the pace of Stand Alone Complex, the plot has more twists than either of the other films would know what to do with.
All in all, it's more of the same - fans of SAC cannot miss it.
And yes, it seems like it won't be the last installment of SAC. Indications are there'll be a 3rd Gig, or another film.

[Reply #649 on:]

Recently, I've grown to love the Anime News Network buried garbage Column. So much, I look for the cheap crapime on YouTube which I find in hilarious amounts. The most recent review was Mad Bull 34, a god awful bad take on eighties New York.

Mad Bull 34, Or something for Pitt and Nix to laugh at.

Whole thing on YouTube. Bewbs and whacky ultra violence in less that three minutes in. Seriously not work safe.

EDIT 2: Wow, and at some points seriously offensive.

[Reply #650 on:]

Bump. Again.

Anyone else seen Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei? If not, I am itching to write a brief review. I even have an excellent animated gif for it.

[Reply #651 on:]

Watched Haibane Renmei on Mr. Mayat's recommendation 5 YEARS AGO. Haha. But seriously, it's very sad, but sweet, and I could identify with the characters very well. Its only 13 episodes as well.
Also saw Princess Mononoke. Awesome.

[Reply #652 on:]

Tales of Earthsea
A bit lacklustre, especially for fans of the Earthsea novels.

[Reply #653 on:]

I began to watch "Wangan Midnight".. but i found out that its only subbed up to 6th episode 

[Reply #654 on:]

Well it has been a while, it can be annoying when silly things like work can get in the way if doing things you like. A nessasary evil i guess.

Onto my recently finished animes

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Trying saying that five times fast.

Now this anime confused me at first, it was not the story that confused me however but the broadcast sequence. The episodes where orignally broadcast out of chronlogical sequence which could make the appeance of some new characters very confusing. This is why I thought it would be best ot find the correct order to watch them.

I cna see why they were broadcast out of sequence as watching them chronolgically does mean you have alot of the answers very eairly on. Still it is enjoyable.

The seires is narrated mostly by the character Kyon who becomes aqaunted with Haruhi Suzumiya, an eccentric grils who is looking for more interesting people (epsers, time travelers and aliens).

I won't give too much away but it is a fun series. While I did not get a fair few of the references throughout the show, I did enjoy the Phoenix Wright parody very much.

A


There are a few others I have seen but don't think I can be bothered with a review, such as Shigurui. Nice animated but not much else as far as I was concernend. Well time to track down some newer shows.

[Reply #655 on:]

 

Originally posted by suncrafter:
In defence of Anime - here is a cool looking movie clip for a movie called 'Paprika':
 http://www.sonyclassics.com/paprika/ 

Looks like it could be a hit in the US if it is dubbed correctly!

I watched that last night and thought it was great although possibly the strangest film I've seen for a long time. For much of the time I wasn't sure what was going on but at the end it made sense of what had gone before 

[Reply #656 on:]

 

Originally posted by HookerBot 5000:
Watched Haibane Renmei on Mr. Mayat's recommendation 5 YEARS AGO. Awesome.

Awesome indeed. Glad to see that someone took up on my advice, 5 YEARS LATER.   

 

Originally posted by Nurdbot:
Anyone else seen Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei?

It's just like a britcom. Cynical, dark and self-depreciating. Do watch the sequel "Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei Zoku".

 

Originally posted by Wu_konguk:
I can see why they were broadcast out of sequence as watching them chronolgically does mean you have alot of the answers very early on.

Two words for you: "Pulp Fiction". Also, do take note of the upcoming sequel this fall.
I love Shigurui for the gore factor and its artwork.

[Reply #657 on:]

I'm half way through Claymore and I like it.   My friends said I had to get into it a while ago and I just finally got around to it.

[Reply #658 on:]

I got around to watching Lucky Star. S'okay, I guess. I'm not sure why it became such a hit. And frankly, the art style is too surgary lolicon for me style wise. I'm more of a Azumanga fanboy I guess.

Mayat: Already have done so. They need to sub more of Zoku. More!

Also, I finally re-watched Dirty Pair Flash. I can see why it is the least liked one. The dub voice actors didn't exactly help.

[Reply #659 on:]

Mmm...Sayonara was ok-ish...I liked the style of anime, plot was a bit sketchy though.
I'm looking for something new along the lines of Haibane and Azumanga Daioh. Also anything like Wolf's Rain. I know thats a lot of genres, but stuff like that. I might check out that really long episode one about that biker guy who becomes a teacher. Maybe.

[Reply #660 on:]

Hookerbot, do you mean GTO?

Been watching Speed Grapher is good but not that great. Has a bit of sexual abuse and a lot of twisted characters.

I would like to see Wolf's Rain and might watch the rest of Paranoia Agent.

[Reply #661 on:]

@Nurdy: I didn't like Lucky Star either. Sure, it's chock full of otaku references from a female perspective, but inside jokes aren't always funny.

@HookerBot: Here's some more reccomendations. It may be hit or miss.

Kino's Journey: A traveller visits each country for 3 days and tries not to get caught up in their troubles. Plenty of grey areas are explored.

School Rumble: Wacky high school hijinks with multiple coupling plots. You'll laugh at the absurdities.

Hidamari Sketch: High school art students just living their days. Perfect for mainstream audience.

GTO: That really long episode about the biker guy who becomes a teacher. It's worth it.

I'll probably write mini reviews (about 5 lines long) every now and then. That's all for now.

[Reply #662 on:]

Ah, Paranoia Agent. Next to NGE and Laine, It is my favourite mind fuck anime.

[Reply #663 on:]

Dog Doo-Yes, I think thats what I'm on about, haha. I enjoyed Wolf's Rain a lot-can't remember how many ep's there are, but at least 4 are recaps, but they're well over half way through. Either way, definitely watch it and let me know what you think. Obv it takes a couple of episodes to get into it.
Mr M-thankyou so much! I think I'll check out GTO and Hidamari Sketch 

[Reply #664 on:]

Elfen Lied

I watched this on line for the first time a few days ago and was hooked almost immediately, watching the entire series in one day. I don't think I've seen another animation like it. Even though it is only thirteen episodes long I really cared about the characters and was left wanting more.

It starts out very violently as Lucy, a mutant called a Diclonius who can kill with long, invisible arms, escapes from a secure facility killing almost everybody in her way. She is injured however during her escape and loses her memory becoming the innocent Nyu, so named as that is the only word she says.

She is found by Kohta and Yuka a pair of cousins who take her in not knowing what she is. When threatened Nyu reverts to being Lucy and dispatches or maims any perceived threat. They are later joined by Nana, another Diclonius and Mayu a young girl who'd run away from an abusive home.

Later in the series we are shown back-stories of the characters; in a couple of places this is very shocking.

I liked the juxtaposition of very cute characters with a fairly violent action but wasn't quite as keen on the excessive nudity, some was justified but many times it felt like it was just there for titillation which a story of this quality didn't need.

If you are bothered by bloody violence this won't be the anime for you as men women and children, both innocent and guilty are brutally slain through out.

If it hadn't been for the excess nudity I'd have given this a ten as the plot, characters and animation are all great.

9/10

[Reply #665 on:]

Hmm.. Tweek likes Elfen Lied. It's always the quiet ones...   

Now then, when did Tweek gain interest in anime? Care to share your preferred genres so that I may "help out"?

Zipang: Present day JSDF navy AEGIS cruiser, the Mirai, gets lost in a storm on the way to a war game and finds itself at the onset of the Battle of Midway, circa WW2. (The Final Countdown anyone?) During the battle, the DXO of the Mirai rescues an Imperial officer from a downed scout plane in their vicinity.

From there on, it is a "bitch-fest" between the two worlds to decide the fate of the motherland, using the cruiser as leverage. To stay the defeatist course or to teach the Americans a lesson in ass-whooping?

As with most manga to anime adaptations, this series suffers from an incomplete storyline, due to fact that the manga is still on-going at 30 volumes and counting. But don't let that distract you from enjoying the first few nail-biting story arcs.

A+. Despite few action scenes, the story more than makes up for it. I want more seasons!!!

[Reply #666 on:]

@Mayat

Ah that is good news about Suzumiya as it did not really end and I am sure there are alot more novels to draw from.

I also hope there is more School Rumble.

I will also highly recomend GTO. Great anime, better Manga and a fun Live action version.

Would also realy recomend Death Note...just because.

[Reply #667 on:]

 

Originally posted by HookerBot 5000:
I'm looking for something new along the lines of Haibane and Azumanga Daioh.

If you like Azumanga, you'd probably also like Super Gals!, Ichigo Mashimaro, and Kodocha.

I've never seen Haibane, but I'm gonna go ahead and recommend I'm Gonna Be An Angel! anyway.

 

Also anything like Wolf's Rain.

The closest thing to Wolf's Rain would be if White Wolf had made an animated series based on Werewolf: The Apocalypse.  The closest thing I can think of that actually exists would probably be Trinity Blood, although it's rather different in mood.  You might also try Witch Hunter Robin or Blood+.

[Reply #668 on:]

Ahh thankyou! I'll be checking those out, off for 2 weeks so I got abit more time on my hands 

[Reply #669 on:]

David A is back!

Yeah, I'm Gonna Be An Angel gave me diabeties at the amount of pastel cuteness it contained. But it was a good story.

[Reply #670 on:]

 

Originally posted by MrMayat:
Hmm.. Tweek likes Elfen Lied. It's always the quiet ones...   

Now then, when did Tweek gain interest in anime? Care to share your preferred genres so that I may "help out"?

I like a wide variety, I have all fifteen Ghibli films that Optimum released. I enjoyed them all but thought Pom Poko was a bit weird, probably because I didn't get the Japanese cultural references.

A friend got me to watch Azumanga Daioh on line and I enjoyed that so much that after watching it three times on line I bought the DVD.

Somebody here recommended Paprika which I saw on offer so got it and really liked it, since then I bought another couple from the same director; Perfect Blue which I enjoyed but thought the animation looked a bit rough although I suspect that was intended and Millennium Actress which I have yet to see. It seems odd that they put an 18 and a PG together in a boxed set 

I think my next purchase will be Elfen Lied, then I'll have to save my money a bit 

[Reply #671 on:]

Quick review

Appleseed Ex Machina

The sequal to the CG Appleseed movie with improvements being made on almost all fronts (still not sure action scene need a nu metal song, at least it was only the one).

The film is certainly alot prettier than the first and alot more action packed. Produced by John Woo and it really does show.

Not a fantastic story but good enough.

Worth a view

B

[Reply #672 on:]

I forgot to mention that I also, really enjoyed Angelic Layer (it's about dolls that fight! the dolls are called angels!).  I think this series was produced by Clamp.

I love Kyo Kara Maou.  It's about a guy named Yuri who is literally flushed down a toilet, and is transported to the Demon World, where he becomes that world's Maou (or Demon King).  The second episode is absolutely hilarous, when Yuri slaps Wolfram across the cheek (not realizing what this would mean), and later, when Yuri picks up a knife from the floor.  It's so hilarous! XD

Aww, poor Yuri!  ^^;

[Reply #673 on:]

@Tweek:

Ah, a "realist" anime with good story then. You might want to check out Makoto Shinkai films. His works are a visual spectacle and his stories have a subtle feel to them, which leaves for open interpretation.
(Hint: It's about love)

If you want a good thriller/mystery series, check out Monster and that other one everybody else is praising about. Something about a notebook... of DEATH!! 

Do take note that the latter is 37eps and former, twice that long.

[Reply #674 on:]

The Cat Returns

The Cat Returns is a beautiful film as one would expect from Studio Ghibli. It is probably their lightest film to date and certainly the shortest of the ones available on DVD in the west. I don't think this is a fault though sometimes that is just what I want in a film.

The plot suggests that it is the sort of film that would only appeal to children: A girl rescues a cat who turns out to be a prince among cats, in return she is invited to marry him and turns to The Cat Business Office for help. While it is obviously ideal for children, it is rated U by the BBFC with the customer advice that it "Contains mild peril" it is also a lot of fun for the older viewer, I laughed out loud several times when I watched it.

People who enjoyed Whisper of the Heart may be pleased to see the return of the Baron in a much larger role.

This film contains somewhat less decapitation, dismemberment and nudity than Elfen Lied 

This is director Hiroyuki Morita's only film to date but on the strength of this I'm hoping he will be directing further Studio Ghibli projects.

9/10

------

Thanks MrMayat, I might check those out some time although they look rather long series 

[Reply #675 on:]

Spriggan

Full of silly cliches and dubious plot, but there's some kickin' action. It's dumb fun.

[Reply #676 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nurdbot:
Yeah, I'm Gonna Be An Angel gave me diabeties at the amount of pastel cuteness it contained. But it was a good story.

Sadly, the second half of the series was never released here in the States.

 

Originally posted by FryFangirlLisa:
I forgot to mention that I also, really enjoyed Angelic Layer (it's about dolls that fight! the dolls are called angels!). I think this series was produced by Clamp.

Yes, it's from Clamp.  Chobits is a sequel of sorts to Angelic Layer.

And now for something completely different...

[Reply #677 on:]

Yes! So now we can watch the hilarious mental and physical forms of child abuse as Gendo berates his idiot son in Chibi form.

Would they do the scene from EoE with the hospital room? that is the question...

[Reply #678 on:]

 

Originally posted by David A:
 Yes, it's from Clamp.  Chobits is a sequel of sorts to Angelic Layer.

I'm led to believe that all Clamp stories occur in a single Clampiverse, of which parallel versions exist to accommodate various cataclysms.

[Reply #679 on:]

 

Originally posted by Pitt Clemens:
 I'm led to believe that all Clamp stories occur in a single Clampiverse, of which parallel versions exist to accommodate various cataclysms.

Yep. Look no further than XXXHolic.