Spike Lives! (Anime talk)

[#40 :]

I didn't mean traumatized by teachers, actually, but to any who were, also watch it. Onizuka hates most teachers. He severely injures several teachers as well.

:Edit: TOTP repost recomendations

Great Teacher Onizuka - thug-turned-teacher, excellent stuff
Last Exile - visually stunning, made of win
Irresponsible Captain Tylor - continuous hilarity (Except for the mandatory ghost story episode - wtf is with japanese and ghost stories...).

[#41 :]

Irresponsible Captain Tylor is one of my personal favourites. They don't make stuff like it these days. Don't forget the hostage situation in the second episode!

Lol, the ghost episode. I seem to recall the skeleton of the previous captain of the ship having a moustache.

And I agree with Cold, the GiTS series is a lot less depressing than the movies.

[#42 :]

And Motoko is hotter.

[#43 :]

Was looking at Code Geass but noticed that ABC is airing it. Does not look like my kinda thing.

Anyone seen Ergo Proxy? Might invest some bandwidth for it if its any good.

Also still have yet to watch past the first 2 eps of Noein.

[#44 :]

So, any chance the title is going to be changed back to what it was?

Also, Planetes is pretty cool. How'd that slip under my radar? been around since 2003!

[#45 :]

Countdown: Akira

Wow.  Even for a porn that was messed up.  I object that it did not end with Akira going to therapy.  Would have liked to see full animations of something other than the sex scenes, but what are you going to do?

At the end, I'm not upset to say that this has some of the strongest characters of any adult feature I've ever seen (and I have seen a few).  The situations they go into, though are pretty topsy-turvy bizarre.  I'm really at a loss for words.  Watch at your own risk.  You may incur some psychic damage, but you might just like it.

[#46 :]

I prefer S.A.C. to the GitS movies. It's more action-y and less depressing.

I just watched the first gig and thought it was great I got the second Gig and Solid State Society so I have plenty of GitS to watch still

[#47 :]

Gah, said series is only a few pounds on Amazon. I wish I had a job to buy it with .

[#48 :]

Anyone seen Black Lagoon yet?

[#49 :]

Haven't seen all of it, only what I got out at the vid store. Looked promising but animation style I felt was 2nd rate and the characters where pretty boring for who they are suppose to be.

Coldy, here's a link to the 1st ep on you tube if you just want a bearing.

Black Lagoon

[#50 :]

Thank you!

[#51 :]

I like Black Lagoon . I haven't seen the 2nd series of it though.

[#52 :]

Gah, said series is only a few pounds on Amazon. I wish I had a job to buy it with .

It was a pound cheaper from Play.com, I got both series and Solid State Society for under £40

[#53 :]

Najica Blitz Tactics

Najica is rather a strange anime, on the on hand it is an enjoyable action/comedy show with stories that would be suitable for children to watch, on the other there are so many shots of female characters' underwear that the show isn't suitable for children.

Najica; the heroine of the series makes perfume for her main job but also finds time to work as a secret agent capturing escaped Humaritts. These Humaritts are artificial people who are almost impossible to tell from real people without cutting them or seeing the ID tattoo which can only be seen with a UV light and is just above their backsides... presumably it is there as an excuse to not only show their underwear but to pull it down a bit. Najica is assisted by one such Humaritt. She is called Lila and like all such Humaritts she is totally loyal to her master.

The episodes are stand alone villain of the week type stories although there is some development in the relationship between Najica and Lila so it is a good idea to watch them in the correct order although this is less important than it is with many series. If you can get past the excessive amount of panty-shots this is a fun series with decent enough animation and a fun sound track. I think the later episodes were better so it is worth sticking with the series, I also suspect they toned down the number of shots of undies later on... although it is possible I was just getting immune to them. I wouldn't recommend buying it unless it is cheap but it is worth watching once for a laugh.

These comments were made after watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

6/10

[#54 :]

Ani*Kuri15 episodes 1-15

15 minutes well spent.

[#55 :]

FLCL 10/10
But Ninjavideo didn't have episode 6, can someone direct me to a site that has episode 6?

[#56 :]

http://megavideo.com/?v=LPZF6H3E

Dubbed. Still good.  I think the Dub is at least as good as the original japanese.

[#57 :]

Hetalia: Axis Powers

I'm really digging anime shorts recently, and this one is a jem.

Italy, the grandson of Roma Antiqua, is taken captive by Germany, who was wandering through the woods looking for a fight.  Germany is stunned that a grandson of the most powerful man in recorded history is a weak, and aimless boy without any direction.  All the same, Germany decides to make an alliance with Italy.

Get ready for history on crack.

[#58 :]

Books here you go, it's dubbed if that is what you are looking for.

I'm watching Azumanga Daioh right now and I love it.

[#59 :]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmAVADh4HXk

[#60 :]

Bleh, I like LOVEU AND PEACU better.

[#61 :]

Excel Saga

Excel Saga is one of the most insane shows it has been my pleasure to see, from the first episode to the last it is almost constantly funny. If you like anime or even if you don't this is worth watching, while it spoofs a lot of other shows it isn't necessary to have seen them to enjoy this.

On leaving school our heroine Excel joins the ACROSS organisation where she helps her beloved Lord Ilpalazzo in his mission to take over the city. Unfortunately for her he isn't interested in her and unfortunately for him she is incompetent. She is however very enthusiastic always trying her best. Excel is assisted on her missions by Hyatt, a princess from outer space who is constantly coughing up blood and dies with alarming regularity. The two of them live together with their dog which is their emergency food supply. Their attempts to take over the city are countered by the Department of City Security who are equally incompetent and live in the neighbouring apartment. To add to the strangeness we have the tale of Pedro, a dead migrant worker who returns to win back the heart of his "sexy wife" with the help of Nabeshin, the director of the show who sports an impressive afro and the Great Will of the Macrocosm, a character that seems to be the embodiment of the universe.

If that all sounds very strange that is because it is... in a good way. The animation is all pretty good and the voice actors did a great job, especially the woman who provided Excel's voice. If you see this on DVD I'd strongly recommended getting it although it doesn't appear to be available on R2 PAL at the moment, much to my disappointment.

These comments are based on watching the programme in Japanese with English subtitles.

9/10

[#62 :]

just watched the 1st 6 episodes of Paranoia Agent

wow that stuff is confusing and great
great plot twists, character relationships etc

[#63 :]

must disagree with your opening remarks, tweek; I've never heard of anyone who hadn't watched a reasonable amount of anime getting Excel Saga at all. Otherwise, seconded.

[#64 :]

Excel Saga makes me wish there was more parody anime and manga sometimes.

[#65 :]

When I first saw Excel Saga I hadn't seen much anime, even now when I watched it a second time I didn't recognise what was being spoofed, I still thought it was great though. I also enjoyed the spin off Puni Puni Poemi and I've not watched any magic-girl anime which it was spoofing.

[#66 :]

Strain: Strategic Armoured Infantry

Up until a few days ago I'd never even heard of this anime, but came across it while looking at which shows can be watched legally on line at Funimation's site. When I started to watch the first episode I quickly thought that I wasn't going to bother finishing but by the end of that episode I was enjoying it and after a couple more I was gripped and enjoyed every subsequent instalment.

The film opens with Sara Werec saying good bye to her brother Ralph who is going off to fight in a long running civil war. As one might expect he is the greatest pilot in the Union and she is inspired to follow his lead and become a mecha pilot as well. While she is in training her school is attacked by the enemy and she is devastated to learn that it was her brother leading the attack. She then joins another training academy under the name Sara Cruz. Here she is a loner who is bullied by the other cadets, as the episodes progress she manages to make friends however. Over the course of the series there are more battles to be fought; both against her brother and the enemy forces and more personal battles against those colleagues who dislike her.

After the disappointing opening the action is fairly gripping and I found myself wanting to watch the next episode as soon as the previous one had finished. The animation was in a cute style but looked good and the many space battles were all done in an exciting way. While a few of the characters were perhaps a little over the top they were fun. Not all of the characters survive till the end of the series, including one or two who I was sure would make it leading to a greater sense of danger whenever they went into battle as the viewer knows there is a chance that a favourite character might not make it out alive. Some viewers might not like the fact that there is some fan service, including a few scenes in the showers and a rather embarrassing moment when one of the girls finds herself naked in the corridor. If you like anime with plenty of action I'd give this ago, the fact that it is only thirteen episodes long and can be watched legally on line means one can watch it all in a day or two with a clear conscience. That said if it gets a UK DVD release at a decent price I'll consider adding it to my collection.

These comments were based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles, for people who prefer to watch anime in English there is also a dubbed version available on the Funimation site.

8/10

[#67 :]

Question, has anyone seen an anime intro in these last few years which isn't obnoxious to just skip to the end?

[#68 :]

only ones I ever really liked off the top of my head were Last Exile and the original one for GitS:SAC.

[#69 :]

In the last few years?  I'm assuming you're not including Bebop then.

[#70 :]

Bebop was a decade ago I believe Nix. I'm being more recent, say three or four years.

[#71 :]

Air Gear?

[#72 :]

I haven't seen Air Gear. I've read about it, Roller Blading Gangs I think.

Bebop did have the best intro though I have to agree.

[#73 :]

Thanks to dr.bender nye. I am getting into The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I thought the show is really cute and stuff. I have seen some episodes. Suzumiya has got some attitude and I think Kyon a total hottie.

Me is insteading some Kyon pics:

[#74 :]

Random interlude:

Paranoia Agent is awesome. YOU WILL WATCH.

Black lagoon is also awesome. YOU WILL WATCH.

Excel Saga hurt my brain, it was so shrill.  YOU SHOULD BE DRUNK WHEN YOU WATCH.

[#75 :]

If Excel Saga hurt your brain you had better avoid Puni Puni Poemi

I agree Paranoia Agent was great, sadly my favourite episode is heavily cut on the UK DVD release... good that I watched it on line

[#76 :]

Excel Saga is delicious madness. Nabeshin and Rikdo get bonus points for pardodying the Kagato-esqe villain that sadly has died out these days .

PA is also pretty bitching, and has some interesting social commentary to boot. In other news, that DBZ Abridged in YouTube is actually pretty hilarious.

[#77 :]

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World

I watched this series after reading a recommendation that people who liked "Elfen Lied" might also like this. People that have seen that series will know that it contains lots of gory violence, rather a lot of nudity and not very much jokeyness. This is rather different in that it isn't very violent, contains plenty of laughs but does include a fair amount of nudity. It is very much a series of two halves, the earlier episodes are predominantly comedic where the characters do relatively normal things and in the later episodes they battle to save the planet from an extinction event.

In the opening episode Takeru and Ryou, two school boys witness a bright light in the sky which crashes to Earth. When they investigate they find a naked girl with bright red hair and no memory. Shortly after this a monster appears but it is defeated when Takeru transforms into a creature himself. He names the girl Hikari and takes her home, a little while later another girl arrives and is given the name Akari by Ryou who found her in the forest. The two girls soon become part of a group of school friends and join then in their day to day activities such as going to school and taking a break in the mountains. The group are also joined by Jennifer Portman a blonde scientist who is investigating extinction events and is usually found with a beer in her hand.

I've tried to keep spoilers to a minimum so as not to spoil the series. It isn't the best anime I've seen although it was fun enough, especially the earlier episodes. The animation was fairly standard in style with characters that look like those in many others shows, although it doesn't go in for characters with unnatural hair colours apart from the new girls and it is commented on that it isn't an expected colour. As mentioned before there is quite a bit of nudity, while it is gratuitous it is more amusing than sleazy.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

7/10

[#78 :]

Irresponsible Captain Tylor (comedic space opera)

Ooh, I need to see that series!!

I heard that my favorite voice actress is in that one.  =O

And I also need to see His and Her Circumstances.

Great Teacher Onizuka (legendary street thug turned high school teacher)

Yeah, that's an awesome show!  I still need to finish watching that series.  XD

I recommend the following:

- Pokemon season one, for anyone who is feeling nostalgic (you can't go wrong with those old, classic episodes)

- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (only 13 episodes, but it's very good and it's made by Gainax!!)

- Kyo Kara Maou (I like this series because it's so random and funny, and it has both magic and action in it, hehe)

- Angelic Layer (I like this series, cause it's very similar to Pokemon, except it's about people fighting with dolls instead of Pokemon XD)

[#79 :]

Watch Tylor dammit, it is also a lovely tribute to a certain other space opera classic too .

Watching Tenjo Tenge, It is a pretty decent Shoen fighty anime.