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Aranna wrote:

I don't think you could find someone who doesn't like Miyazaki.

I know a couple people who don't care for him. He reuses the same trope of man vs nature in all of his early work, and if you don't agree with his premise it can be anoying.


I stand corrected and surprised.

Silver Crusade

Let me start by saying I'm not an Eva fanboy.

I liked Neon Genesis for the drama and the way it fires up the imagination. I love the Rebuild of Evangelion for making the series coherent enough to understand. If you've never seen Neon Genesis or The End of Evangelion, Rebuild is a good place to start. If you have seen Neon Genesis, it takes what you know and turns it on its head. Shinji is not the apathetic wimp he was in the TV show; he's actually got a backbone. And the Angels... The 5th Angel Ramiel actually shapeshifts as necessary to suit its attack and defense in Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, and the battle with it is something that needs to be seen to believed.

Neon Genesis Evangelion revived interest in anime again... in a big way. When Eva came along, anime in the 90s was dying as a medium. The series breathed new life into it by being original. As a fan of anime, I recognize and accept this. Whether you liked it or not, Eva got you engaged in anime. It was not a simple show to watch. Religion, psychology, and biology all collide with the military and teen angst themes that run rampant in the series. Eva set the stage for anime like Ergo Proxy and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Even Escaflowne fell victim to the Eva effect (the movie, not the series). Nearly 18 years ago, Eva re-affirmed the promise of Akira and Ghost In The Shell; that animation as a medium could be both mature and entertaining.


But Eva DIDN'T get me engaged in anime. I didn't see it until many years after I'd already gotten engaged with it.

Perhaps it would be better to say "If you were being introduced to anime in the early 90's, Eva got you engaged in anime" but even that's not entirely accurate because whatever its artistic merits and overall quality...if you were a male in the 90's-00's you probably got into Dragonball Z first.

So maybe the most accurate thing to say is that "Eva revitalized the industry because wangst is popular." and leave it at that.


Aranna wrote:
I imagine the horde of fanboys for the show are some of the same people who don't want story in their RPGs.

While this maybe true, it is like saying violent entertainment is the source of violent actions. Just because people who watch such stuff does not cause them to do the latter.

This is doubly confounded as for me, the inter-character relationships was the best part! Seeing Asuka and Shinji learn to co-exist. Feeling the sorrow with the death of Rai; as well as the lose of what probably was true love lost with Kaji's death.

Yes some of the action was alright, but again the character relations and drama was, for me at least, the point of the entire show. It was rather intelligently done for the majority of the series. I will admit the first few episodes were a tad rough, but turned into something incredible once the voice actors got their stride.
Then there was the mind #%@! of a mystery involved.


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Aranna wrote:

I don't think you could find someone who doesn't like Miyazaki.

I selectively love Miyazaki. Howl's Moving Castle? Castle in the Sky? Spirited Away? Any day of the week!

Totorro? I saw it once, and that was enough.

Silver Crusade

Rynjin wrote:

But Eva DIDN'T get me engaged in anime. I didn't see it until many years after I'd already gotten engaged with it.

Perhaps it would be better to say "If you were being introduced to anime in the early 90's, Eva got you engaged in anime" but even that's not entirely accurate because whatever its artistic merits and overall quality...if you were a male in the 90's-00's you probably got into Dragonball Z first.

So maybe the most accurate thing to say is that "Eva revitalized the industry because wangst is popular." and leave it at that.

To be fair, I could have worded that better. I was speaking more from the perspective of one who had been there at the start of the anime explosion started by Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Vampire Hunter D.

That being said, Dragonball Z didn't really hit America until 1998. Eva had already been around since 95 (along with Slayers, Sailor Moon, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Magic Knight Rayearth, Fushigi Yugi, and El-Hazard) and ended in 97 with the End of Evangelion movie. Toonami was just getting started in 97. Sailor Moon, Robotech, and Dragonball Z debuted on Toonami to new audiences in 98 (especially since they had enjoyed runs on other local stations before this). But Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon really took off once they hit Toonami. Gundam Wing debuted on Toonami in 2000, and it brought life back to the Gundam franchise as a result.

But the revitalization of the anime industry had already been in full swing by the time Toonami became a factor. And that was thanks to Eva.


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Bah. Give me my Captain Harlock back, you heathens.

Liberty's Edge

Ahem ...

"Get Everybody and their stuff together. Ok 3, 2, 1 let's jam"


My boyfriend may not game anymore but he loves his anime. I still watch Cowboy Bebop reruns with him every weekend good old Toonami. He also was the first to show me Magic Knight Rayearth, Sabre Marionette, Evangelion, and much more. And to think I got him started on anime in the first place by showing him some old stuff from the library of a local anime club who's librarian had a thing for me and let me take shows without ever joining the club.

Liberty's Edge

One important thing to remember about EVA is that it doesn't go all icky and insane until the last episode or two (and the movies).

Rather, I suppose, it's not obvious until then. The ending movies seem to have been purposefully written violate and torture to death every remaining iota of sympathy or like you had for the characters though. It's squicktastic.

On a positive note:

Catching up on my simulcasts...

The only one, so far that' jumped out at me so far is Maoyu, which is being carried by Crunchyroll.
Synopsis:
Fifteen years have passed since the war between humans and demons began. The human army that charged through the gate into the demon world managed to take one of the demon clan's vital strongholds, but left an opening for the demon clan to occupy part of the humans' territory. Frequent skirmishes between humans and demons in the intensely cold southern kingdoms have caused everyone much suffering and confusion. In the midst of all this turmoil, one hero stood up and set forth with his three companions to subjugate the demon clan. Their advance became a great source of hope for the people of the central nations. However, whether because he grew irritated with the slow progress of his advance or for some other reason, the hero left his companions and set off for the demon king's castle alone...

That's where the first episode picks up. It's a political drama, although a light one. The Demon King (or more accurately the Demon Queen) wants to see "the world beyond hill", her metaphor for the world after the war. Unfortunately, just ending the war would mean the collapse of human and demon society due to famine and banditry. So she comes up with a plan to advance human society, essentially starting the Enlightenment. After convincing the Hero to help her and enter into a contract (which is functionally a marriage contract) she kicks off her plan in a small village by teaching people to read, write, do arithmetic, and grow potatoes. There's a slow romantic sub-plot involving the Demon King, the Hero, and the Knight (one of the Hero's companions, referred to by the Demon King as his old flame), along with a good bit of discussion about war, peace, power, self-determination, and duty. It has a few battles and the Hero, Knight, and other combat type characters do get to show off now and then, but it's a talky show not a fighty show.

I've found it very enjoyable so far, especially it's focus on political, social, and economic conflict over military conflict. It's also notable that no character has a proper name, just a title.

Silver Crusade

Maoyu.... hmm, I'll have to look into that one.

I just got through watching King of Thorn. Interesting take on Sleeping Beauty. A friend is trying to get me to watch a series called Is This A Zombie? Here's the product description:

Spoiler:

Some guys have no luck; he's got no pulse. That's life for poor unfortunate, undead Ayumu. First, he was murdered by a serial killer. Total bummer. Then he was resurrected as a zombie by a cute little Necromancer. That seemed pretty cool until she moved into his house, refused to speak, and forced his rotting carcass to do all the cooking. After that, a magical girl in a pretty pink dress used her matching chainsaw to chop his corpse in half. Luckily, the Necromancer's powers of resurrection trumped those of the chainsaw chick, so instead of dying (again), Ayumu became the world's first magical girl zombie. There's also a voluptuous vampire ninja who thinks zombie boy is a pervert and a hideous crayfish demon who wants to devour him. Confused? All you gotta know is this: zombies, frilly dresses, demons, and more chainsaws. Pink. It s the new dead.

Liberty's Edge

Kore wa Zonbi Desu ka? is hilarious. It's a harem show, but all the girls are insane and would rather hurt the protagonist then kiss him.


Krensky wrote:

Kore wa Zonbi Desu ka? is hilarious. It's a harem show, but all the girls are insane and would rather hurt the protagonist then kiss him.

the biggest +1 in the history of +1s desu.

Silver Crusade

Holding off on Zombie to watch D-Gray Man on Netflix. I've watched four episodes so far.... not bad.


The issue I have with the D. Gray Man anime on Netflix is it's incomplete, last I checked.

Edit: Yar. It's only got 51 episodes out of something like 103 that there are supposed to be. I think Funimation lost the license to dub it after that.


dot


Tytania is up at hulu!!!!!!

Silver Crusade

Rynjin wrote:

The issue I have with the D. Gray Man anime on Netflix is it's incomplete, last I checked.

Edit: Yar. It's only got 51 episodes out of something like 103 that there are supposed to be. I think Funimation lost the license to dub it after that.

It was the same way with FMA: Brotherhood - and they eventually took that down from streaming.

Netflix has really dropped the ball when it comes to their anime selection. They haven't really had anything new for nearly 7 months. Which is why I have a Crunchyroll account now.


Hm? Brotherhood WAS finished. And when did they take it down? Pretty sure it's still in my Instant Queue.

And I don't even bother paying for other accounts. Watchcartoononline is my new source since JustDubs shut down.


I mostly watch subs on Animefreak.tv or occasionally Animecrazy.net


Animefreak's video player and spate of invisible, noisy ads turned me off of it about a year ago. I've since installed adblock but I still bear a bit of a grudge.

Silver Crusade

Last time I checked (which was just moments ago), FMA: Brotherhood was not streaming on Netflix. When they did have it, only 39 of 64 episodes were up. That equates to 3 volumes out of 5. Then, before it was taken down, they only had episodes 27 to 39 up (or volume 3).

D. Gray-man only has 26 episodes currently. That there's 77 episodes missing really annoys me, because at one point they all were there.


There were 52 up yesterday.


Blayde MacRonan wrote:

Last time I checked (which was just moments ago), FMA: Brotherhood was not streaming on Netflix. When they did have it, only 39 of 64 episodes were up. That equates to 3 volumes out of 5. Then, before it was taken down, they only had episodes 27 to 39 up (or volume 3).

Yes he's right about this Netflix NEVER had the full run of FMA:Brotherhood up. I know this because my 11 year old became a huge fan of the show and blew through all of the episodes and was waiting for the rest to show up on NEtflix.

When they didnt he watched the rest of the series on HULU. But the last time I checked they had even fewer FMA:Brotherhood episodes. They had the full run of the the original FMA though.


TriOmegaZero wrote:


Umineko No Naku Koro Ni needs to be licensed here like, yesterday. And I want my second season of Higurashi as well. *shakes fist*

I agree about Higurashi, but I think Umineko's manga is, for the most part, way better than the anime. The only thing wrong with the manga is that you don't get the VN's awesome soundtrack and the voice-actors' ham-to-ham combat.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Umineko is licensed here in the US. Got the two sets a couple of months ago... sadly, the anime series ends like halfway through the story. ^^;

http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/KNaI=ng2cNp-2blI6x/brows e/item/95939/4/0/0

I would love if someone licensed the second season of Higurashi, too...


Higurashi when they cry?


What do you guys think of Mushishi? I went into the series not really knowing what to expect, and ended up liking it a lot. I really dig the episodic feel.

Silver Crusade

Detect Magic wrote:
What do you guys think of Mushishi? I went into the series not really knowing what to expect, and ended up liking it a lot. I really dig the episodic feel.

Very surreal quality to the show. Really liked it.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Freehold DM wrote:
Higurashi when they cry?

Yup. It just isn't enough if you don't get to watch Higurahi no Naku Koro ni Kai (season 2), which explains almost everything and makes the whole thing make sense... more or less. ^_^;


Anyone got any suggestions for "must watch" animes? Disclaimer: I hate anything with school girls (there are exceptions, but it's a pretty good rule of thumb, generally speaking).

Silver Crusade

I just watched an OVA called Five Numbers! on Anime Network On Demand. Pretty neat. Has a gambling motif that works very well.

Spoiler:

In an isolated prison, there are only four prisoners and a cat. One day, a power outage opens all the locks and all of the prisoners are released. However, all of the guards are nowhere to be seen and there are no exits. An extraordinary event occurs in response to the old man's strange behavior.

Also watching a series called Kamisama Dolls on ANOD as well. So far they've only shown four episodes (out of 13), but they're still available for those interested in watching it.

Spoiler:

Kyōhei, after moving away to Tokyo from his old village to get away from the events that happened, is on a group date with his friends, including his old neighbor, Hibino. After drinking for a whole night, he and Hibino discover a dead, bloody, body in the elevator. He is told by his younger sister Utao, who arrives from his village with her kakashi (an ancient wooden 'god' controlled by the mind), that his old friend Aki and his kakashi are the culprits responsible. After a series of events, Hibino, whose father allows Kyōhei and Utao to live together with them, they went back to the origin of the village of kakashi, the 'Kurakami' Village. Hibino learns many things about 'Kakashi', Kyōhei, Aki, Utao, everything and everyone else.

For you Saiyuki fans, all three episodes of Saiyuki Gaiden are on ANOD.

Spoiler:

Gaiden takes place in Heaven 500 years before the Saiyuki series starts and deals with the past lives of the four main characters as well as the circumstances behind their getting kicked out.

And in non-ANOD news...

Up to episode 13 of D.Gray-Man on Netflix.

And I watched Evangelion 1.11 on Toonami this morning.

Whew! Getting in a lot of anime watching this weekend.


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Detect Magic wrote:
Anyone got any suggestions for "must watch" animes? Disclaimer: I hate anything with school girls (there are exceptions, but it's a pretty good rule of thumb, generally speaking).

I apologize if my suggestions come across as a "Challenge Accepted" sort of response, but I think perhaps you wouldn't hate either Gunslinger Girl or Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

One deals with cybernetic schoolgirl assassins in modern Italy, and the strange and unusual bonds they develop with their handlers.

The other takes the Magical Girl trope and turns it on its head. Before biting it in half and devouring it messily.

I honestly wish I was kidding.

Insert obvious references to other "must watch" anime's here, such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Arcadia Of My Youth, Be Forever Yamato, Nausicaa Of the Valley Of The Wind, and Giant Robo.


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Detect Magic wrote:
Anyone got any suggestions for "must watch" animes? Disclaimer: I hate anything with school girls (there are exceptions, but it's a pretty good rule of thumb, generally speaking).

The animation is really dated, but Record of Lodoss War (and the sequel/revamp Chronicles of the Heroic Knight) is worth it for the D&D-esque aspects. I'd watch it subtitled if you can stand it, as the dubs (of the original series, at least) are fairly bad.


@ jemstone: No problem! I'll take a look at Gunslinger Girl and Puella Magi Madoka Magica (with a skepticism, obviously). Love Cowbody Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Ghost In The Shell. I also have a taste for Miyazaki, so I'll most likely watch Nausicaa, too. Been meaning to give it a go, but never got around to it. Never heard of Arcadia Of My Youth, Be Forever Yamato, or Giant Robo. I'll have to look 'em up. Thanks for the suggestions!

@ Kalshane: Sounds interesting. I don't mind subtitles if they're done well (FMA: Brotherhood is a good example), especially if the dubs are silly. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll make sure to take a look!


I really like Scrapped Princess,as a fantasy series. Its got a cool cast. Legend of Legendary Heroes is probably the first fantasy series I like more, but that seems to have been cut off after 1 season and hasn't been picked up for a second yet, and it ends after setting up the next season.


Detect Magic wrote:

@ jemstone: No problem! I'll take a look at Gunslinger Girl and Puella Magi Madoka Magica (with a skepticism, obviously). Love Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Ghost In The Shell. I also have a taste for Miyazaki, so I'll most likely watch Nausicaa, too. Been meaning to give it a go, but never got around to it. Never heard of Arcadia Of My Youth, Be Forever Yamato, or Giant Robo. I'll have to look 'em up. Thanks for the suggestions!

Gunslinger Girl 2 is not as good as the first series, I'll warn you right now. Well, I didn't think it was, that is.

GiTS: SAC is not the same as the manga or the original anime, just a warning (assuming you've not seen it yet and watching it now won't be a re-watch for you).

Also, GiTS:SAC S1 is supposedly something of a sequel to the original manga, yet somehow by S2 it's become a prequel. I don't pretend to understand how it happens, but it does. (Although I suspect it had to do with Shirow releasing GiTS 1.5 and 2.0 while the SAC anime was still in production, thus the SAC Concern had to come up with something quick before the show got relegated to "Side Story" status)

Arcadia of My Youth = Captain Harlock. Great stuff. Leiji Matsumoto.
Be Forever Yamato = Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato. Also by Leiji Matsumoto. Also great stuff.
Giant Robo = Completely over the top. I suspect you'll love it.


Actually jemstone the original ghost in the shell anime and SAC are the same. SAC just happens earlier than the events depicted in the 1995 movie.

If you want to watch it in proper time line order then they occur as follows:
GitS: SAC
GitS: SAC 2nd gig
GitS movie
GitS movie 2
GitS OAV Solid State Society
And the new GitS will be next when they release it.

Not sure about the manga...


Aranna wrote:

Actually jemstone the original ghost in the shell anime and SAC are the same. SAC just happens earlier than the events depicted in the 1995 movie.

If you want to watch it in proper time line order then they occur as follows:
GitS: SAC
GitS: SAC 2nd gig
GitS movie
GitS movie 2
GitS OAV Solid State Society
And the new GitS will be next when they release it.

Not sure about the manga...

Huh. That is, as they say, "news to me."

I'll go check on that. It'd be nice to have it all straight in my head. Especially since SAC 1 was advertised as a sequel to the original Manga, prior to GiTS 1.5 and 2.0 being released... when SAC 2 became the prequel to GiTS 1.0, I was (as you may see) baffled!

Thanks!

Silver Crusade

Aranna wrote:

Actually jemstone the original ghost in the shell anime and SAC are the same. SAC just happens earlier than the events depicted in the 1995 movie.

If you want to watch it in proper time line order then they occur as follows:
GitS: SAC
GitS: SAC 2nd gig
GitS movie
GitS movie 2
GitS OAV Solid State Society
And the new GitS will be next when they release it.

Not sure about the manga...

You should check this out.....

Ghost in the Shell: Arise

Silver Crusade

jemstone wrote:

Arcadia of My Youth = Captain Harlock. Great stuff. Leiji Matsumoto.

Be Forever Yamato = Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato. Also by Leiji Matsumoto. Also great stuff.
Giant Robo = Completely over the top. I suspect you'll love it.

You have awesome taste in anime.... especially where Harlock and Giant Robo are concerned. Harlock is the man (though Kamina from Gurren Lagan comes a very close second) while Lord Alberto is one of my favorite all-time antagonists in anime.


Blayde MacRonan wrote:
jemstone wrote:

Arcadia of My Youth = Captain Harlock. Great stuff. Leiji Matsumoto.

Be Forever Yamato = Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato. Also by Leiji Matsumoto. Also great stuff.
Giant Robo = Completely over the top. I suspect you'll love it.
You have awesome taste in anime.... especially where Harlock and Giant Robo are concerned. Harlock is the man (though Kamina from Gurren Lagan comes a very close second) while Lord Alberto is one of my favorite all-time antagonists in anime.

Why thank you! It comes from being older than dirt, compared to a lot of anime fans. Gives me the ability to pull out some old-school classic anime and turn their ideas on their heads.

It was really fun, for instance, to say "Oh, you think EVA is full of pathos? Have you seen Dairugger XV, with its extinction of an entire race? Or Gundam, when Amuro is lying in a hospital bed with his mother next to him, and shoots an enemy soldier while his mom watches?"

(Of course, that's not to say that all old anime is good anime, but a lot of good anime is old...)

I admit I'm a bit leery of GiTS: Arise. Everything I've seen about it tells me that Shirow had nothing to do with it, so I have a sort of "wait and see" feeling about it, right now.


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Uc Gundam for life!!!!!!!!!

Also loved dairugger. It was quite bloody, and given the time period, that's saying something.

Silver Crusade

As far as GiTS: Arise is concerned, I'm in the same boat as well. I'm just glad that more is being done with the property. Just like I'm glad there will be more done with Berserk after the third movie (here's hoping they go into the Black Swordsman Arc next).

I missed Dairuggar... nobody I knew had it and I haven't seen it at the few conventions I've gone to.


Blayde MacRonan wrote:

As far as GiTS: Arise is concerned, I'm in the same boat as well. I'm just glad that more is being done with the property. Just like I'm glad there will be more done with Berserk after the third movie (here's hoping they go into the Black Swordsman Arc next).

I missed Dairuggar... nobody I knew had it and I haven't seen it at the few conventions I've gone to.

You should be able to find some stuff on youtube. I would love to own dairugger 15.

Silver Crusade

Finished off what Netflix has of D.Gray-Man yesterday. Hadn't been watching much more than that due to playing the PS3 Beta for Defiance, which ends at 9:00 PM tonight.


How is that preview?


Lot of newer stuff here, but I didn't see any mention of any truly old school anime (keep in mind I only read in detail the first 100 posts and last 48, but just skimmed then remaining 100)

Space Battleship Yamato / Starblazers (All three Arcs)
Queen Emereldas
Harlock Saga
Bubblegum Crisis / Bubblegum Crash / A.D.Police Files (Not the remake of BGC)
Vampire Princess Miyu (Both incarnations were good)
Venus Wars
Mobile Suit Gundam (not to be confused with Gundam Wing which is just awful IMO)
Macross / Southern Cross / MOPSEDA (the three unrelated series which Harmony Gold wove into ROBOTECH)
Macross II
Armitage III (the 4 OAV's, not the Movie)
Crying Freeman

and @ Tequila - My Neighbor Totoro gets better when you have kids. I watched it once back in the day and didn't care for it. I have two kids now and I finally get it. Same goes for the Unico series of movies.


Leo_Negri wrote:

Lot of newer stuff here, but I didn't see any mention of any truly old school anime (keep in mind I only read in detail the first 100 posts and last 48, but just skimmed then remaining 100)

Space Battleship Yamato / Starblazers (All three Arcs)
Queen Emereldas
Harlock Saga
Bubblegum Crisis / Bubblegum Crash / A.D.Police Files (Not the remake of BGC)
Vampire Princess Miyu (Both incarnations were good)
Venus Wars
Mobile Suit Gundam (not to be confused with Gundam Wing which is just awful IMO)
Macross / Southern Cross / MOPSEDA (the three unrelated series which Harmony Gold wove into ROBOTECH)
Macross II
Armitage III (the 4 OAV's, not the Movie)
Crying Freeman

and @ Tequila - My Neighbor Totoro gets better when you have kids. I watched it once back in the day and didn't care for it. I have two kids now and I finally get it. Same goes for the Unico series of movies.

Many of these were mentioned well within the first 100 posts. I myself am amongst the world's biggest fans of Space Battleship Yamato, which I mentioned way back on the second page.

There are a couple of other MS Gundam fans around here, too. And all the Macross have been mentioned.

However, not sure if Miyu was mentioned. That's an excellent recommendation. And I thought nobody remembered Crying Freeman. Classic.

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