big bad birtha's suggestion box [Archive]

big bad birtha

03-24-2007, 07:02 AM

Dude! Those were what I was currently watching, and besides, some person might come by and look at my suggestion box and be like "Hey, that sounds like it will make me cream my pants." I mean, look at the douchebag who replied after joo. Anyway, more suggestions from the great big bad birtha!!!

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: If you have not....get joor ass on youtube and watch it! I don't care who you are, you must watch it!

Giant Angry Robots : This is another anime parody by MatthewFish on youtube. 'Tis very crude in humor, but still very funny. It's about these four people who fight in a war in a very angry robot. The characters are a homeless guy, a gay dude, a racist cop, and a retarded racecar driver. The best character is the retarded racecar driver. She is always spitting out random comments like "Have you ever farted and got hungry?"

Azumanga Daioh: This is excellent. 'Tis about some high school girls going through high school. My fav. is this girl named Ayumi something (everyone calls her Osaka), and this creepy teacher dude. It's a very amusing little show.

Pita Ten: 'Tis a pretty good little lighthearted show about this angel girl with this strange attachment to this little boy who lost his mother. If you want something a little more sugarcoated, this is a great anime to watch. The last few episodes will bring you to tears though......

I think I will put some anime I want to watch and you could tell me if they are worth my time....
Shakugan No Shana (Loki made a topic about it, so imma gonna check it out, most likely after I finish Kanon2006)
Cardcaptor Sakura (so freaking long, I might not even have the time ;_; )
Chobits (thumbs up by Suigin)
Sister Princess
Happy Lesson
Galaxy Angel
Samurai 7 (Suigin dissed jo ass)
Naruto (135- whenever)
Full Metal Panic (mostly FUMOFUU)
Kadomo no Omocha (there's a topic about this so I most likely will)
Fruits Basket (I know it ends REALLY early, and does not conclude itself, so I might not bother)
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
School Rumble (Suigin reccomends)
DNAngel
Strawberry Panic (this was suggested to me so I'll watch this anyway)
Cromartie High School (I've already seen a couple of these episodes, so imma going to watch this anyway)
Star Ocean EX
Love Hina
Urusei Yatsura
Ranma 1/2
Hare + Guu
Strawberry Marshmellow
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World
Elemental Gelad
Genshiken
Tenchi Muyo
Code Geass (this seems real good. Besides, one of Suigin's avatars was from this)
Rumbling Hearts
Green Green
more coming up soon ^o^

EDIT: Put more in the list of things.

Mcsweeney

03-25-2007, 11:03 AM

And Mahjong is Chinese, not Japanese!

As for my own suggestions that I haven't already suggested in the past, I'm still trying to find that diamond in the rough. Recommending something like Death Note would not only be too obvious, but not entirely true.

Talon87

03-25-2007, 02:02 PM

I highly recommend Chobits.
I recommend School Rumble.
I neither recommend nor "disrecommend" Card Captor Sakura and Fruits Basket (decent start, horrible ending ... in both cases!).
I "disrecommend" Samurai 7.

The rest on your list, I've not seen (enough of, or at all).

Jerichi

03-26-2007, 11:47 AM

If you haven't...

WATCH SUZUMIYA HARUHI NO YUUUTSU NOW. ANYONE! ALL OF YOU! REGARDLESS OF WHO YOU ARE. IF YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN IT, WATCH IT AGAIN.

*foams at mouth*

And Ouran Host Club is pretty good too.

Mcsweeney

03-26-2007, 02:50 PM

birtha, if you liked Kanon you should watch Air. I liked it even better. Nobody here wanted to watch it though! YOU'VE GOTTA BE MY GUY, BIRTHA!

I haven't seen anything on that list of yours all the way through. I did see some of Shana, but I disliked it. Hot character though.

I'm going to watch Ouran High School Host Club soon because apparently it can bring on the funny.

Talon87

03-26-2007, 03:35 PM

WATCH HARUHI

:roll: Who do you think you are, huh? :P
*arrogantly posts pictures from Summer 2006*
Did you print off the first three novels in May 2006? (http://momotora.com/myphotos/Purdue/061.jpg)
Did you purchase Books 1-8 in August 2006? (http://momotora.com/haruhi/images/haruhibooks01.jpg)
Did you make a (still crappy; gotta work on that) website about Haruhi? (http://momotora.com/haruhi/index.html)

I didn't think so. :P ;)

On a more serious note, I'm not a big drooley Haruhi-ist and can't tolerate most of those people, but I certainly am a "Haruhi-ist" in the sense that last summer I could not shut up about it and, no matter what complaints Loki, Mcsweeney, or Doppel voiced, I found the show to be amazing except for two of the "filler" episodes. (PC President Goes Missing, bleh. And Kyon goes to buy a heater, bleh.)

If you can read Japanese, (http://momotora.com/haruhi/images/lightnovel/) let me know and I'll see if I can't work something out to let you sample Book 1 and see if you'd like to buy the books. Or, you can always ignore me and go torrent all eight yourself. :lol: But I'd advise supporting this author and his franchise if you can.

Jerichi, please remember to come here and post when Haruhi S2 broadcasts this fall. And be sure to invite other people from FB who you know to like the series, too. (Can include SPPf and BMG members, of course!)

Mcsweeney

03-26-2007, 03:55 PM

I'm pretty sure I complained about it the least out of everyone! Actually, I even remember you calling the Day of Sagittarius episode "filler". Man, who cares if it was, it kicked ass!

That's just like how people complained about filler in Pokemon back in the day. Some of the best episodes of all time were filler!

Talon87

03-26-2007, 03:57 PM

I enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) that episode. But indeed, not as much as some people.

I thought you complained the most. XD Funny how the memory plays tricks on the mind. I know I wasn't the most pessimistic, that's for sure, because Loki nitpicked a few things, Lindz trolled, and Doppel betrayed us for half the season. XP "This show has gotten dull, I'm done. :| ................ Ooh! It's gotten popular again! I'll watch it! :mrgreen:"

Mcsweeney

03-26-2007, 04:14 PM

Man, your memory is really weird. I honestly don't think I dispensed a single complaint. I was constantly defending it in the early days too when you and Lindz thought it sucked. This is just like when you said I claimed Akagi was possessed by a dark spirit!

Speaking of which, aren't you ever going to watch those last two episodes? It'll be one year from now, and you'll decide to finally finish her off, and Washizu will do something looney and you'll be like, "Huh? Oh, yeah. That guy."

Talon87

03-26-2007, 04:21 PM

I've got three left: 22, 23, and 24.

And I only ever, ever disliked Episode 1. Remember? (Apparently not. :p) You introduced me to the series the day that Episode 2 was fansubbed by a.f.k., so I went to the lab and downloaded both. I watched Episode 1 and thought it was sort of crappy (although man "that bunny costume girl sure is hot! and man was the talking cat interesting!"), but I chugged along to Episode 2 and was amazed + relieved that it was so different from Episode 1, plus it confirmed the very thing I'd come to expect by the end of Episode 1, i.e. that the movie was lampooning real character traits of the cast we were about to meet.

If you had introduced it to me two days sooner, I might have dropped it and not looked back. Episode 1 was horribly misleading, and (for people like me) it was thankfully the only episode of its kind. I feel bad for the people who saw and worshipped Episode 1, because most of them ended up becoming the anti-Haruhi trolls on 4chan and similar imageboards you see today. They got royally shafted. Too bad their tastes suck. :roll: :p

Mcsweeney

03-26-2007, 04:22 PM

Actually, I do remember saying "Someday in the Rain" was really weird and not a very good episode. But everybody else thought that too. I kept waiting for them to spring a surprise, and it never came.

Talon87

03-26-2007, 04:32 PM

I blame it on the awful camera angles and even worse audio. Remember the scene where Yuki is just sitting there, reading a book, while we can barely hear a conversation going on in the classroom next door? The scene was so confusing that even a.f.k. was at a loss for what to do, so they decided to translate the words barely decipherable from next door! (It was some reading game thing. I remember they said "something, something, something, Ra Ri Ru Re Ro! Something, something, something, Ka Ki Ku Ke Ko!") That scene stands out in my mind as one of the worst ever in the show. Unless I was missing something, all it was good for was showing us that Yuki is oblivious to the world around her when she chooses to be ... which is hardly something new by the point in the series Episode H14 aired.

The one thing the episode might be said to have been good for was the silly fanservice of Haruhi making the very face which adorns the cover of Book 6, the book from which the chapter was taken. Still ... it was an overall waste of an episode.

Wait, so Mcsweeney ... does this mean you [b]don't[/i] have an issue with the episode where the PC Club president goes missing? I thought that was pretty weak, too. An uninteresting girl (with pea green hair). Really flashily awful CG (in the form of that giant cicada). The whole "omg Haruhi's design is a virus!" conspiracy was a little dumb. What I liked about this episode was Kyon's curiousity about how Yuki might have staged the whole thing because she was bored.

Mcsweeney

03-26-2007, 04:40 PM

I thought it was all right, although you're right it's in the lower echelon of episodes. As I recall, some amusing stuff happened (although I can't remember exactly what!). I guess the second worst episode after Someday in the Rain is the one where Kyon and Itsuki sit and talk in a taxi cab for the whole episode. There were good parts to that episode too, though. The old guy at the beginning was funny, and Haruhi talking about how small and insignificant she felt was so aww ;_;

Mcsweeney

03-26-2007, 04:46 PM

Episode 10 is clearly the best. SO GOOD SO GOOD.

Talon87

03-26-2007, 05:13 PM

Episode 10 is clearly the best ... perhaps. There's so many "tied for first" episodes ... but yes, that one ALWAYS comes to mind first when I think of which Haruhi episode was best. I don't know if I've ever had another thought pop up before that one ... with Asakura swinging the knife as Yuki BUSTS THROUGH THE WALL ... man. :mrgeen:

Saying Episode 13 "had its moments" is something of an understatement. Like, the entire last 7 or so minutes. :lol: :)

Mcsweeney

03-26-2007, 05:31 PM

The baseball episode is great too, especially if you like baseball. Maybe that's why you didn't like Day of Sagittarius as much as some people, because you don't play strategy war games much?

Hey I just thought of something! Day of Sagittarius isn't filler because that's how Haruhi won all the laptop computers for the club!

big bad birtha

03-27-2007, 03:25 AM

*checks out Air* Yesh, I will watch Air. It DOES have the same original character designer that Kanon has, and probably a similar story and everything else, and since I can start watching anime in my first period, I will have plenty of time.

In Haruhi, my fav. episode is when they start making the film. Mikuru's opening theme was downright wonderful XD.

Mcsweeney

03-27-2007, 01:16 PM

I remember when all there was was the first episode. I rewatched that opening theme song so many times. Same with the dancing at the end. I couldn't believe that shit. I literally must have watched that a thousand times.

Then the second episode came out, featuring the dancing in FULL SCREEN and the excitement began anew!

Doppleganger

03-28-2007, 01:55 AM

I'm late to the part this time, but I'll just chip in with a nomination for Zero no Tsukaima. It's generic, but the 'sexuality' is genuine (this is tough to explain, but easy to understand when watching). ZnK really needs pre-req shows along the lines of Shana, Ouran, FSN, Haruhi, Pokemon and host of other stuff, but it's good by itself.

Can't think of any other shows I've seen recently that are good. Geass has some funny in it, but it's an amalgam of a lot of different stuff.

Talon87

03-28-2007, 02:38 PM

Funny, I was sort of feeling the same way. I mean, Kanon was very good and all ... but it was essentially my second time watching it. And the show relies so heavily on mystery for its "thrill factor" that I found myself a lot more bored with it than many other people. Objectively, I can give the show a silver rating, but subjectively ... I feel like I've been disappointed by FSN, Akagi, Kanon, Geass, Shakugan no Shana, One Litre of Tears, and Hana Yori Dango 2. I feel like I haven't seen a good anime or J-drama in ages. Something like Haruhi or Hana Yori Dango 1.

Disclaimer: only seen Ep 1 and part of Ep 2 for Shana, but got bored enough to not even finish Ep 2 ... will work on that

Doppleganger

03-28-2007, 05:10 PM

In retrospect, Haruhi wasn't everything I initially thought it to be; after reading all the novels, all I can do is *groan* since some bits seem so cheesy and development seems very, very slow (such that, outside of Kyon's first year in the SOS Brigade everything following feels like filler). Yet, since Haruhi was basically an oasis with fresh water in the middle of a desert made of cheap anime, it should get some bonus points.

I'm not pleased with the "viral marketing" anymore, though.

...

@ Talon & bbb: Mystery isn't something I'm big on, which is why I spoil myself silly; enjoyment is boosted for me when I anticipate something and it happens, with a little surprise to sweeten the deal (if the surprise is positive). Hence, why I was so disappointed with FSN; I expected much but ended up with little payoff. Since I've done that with Geass I've been largely satisfied, though irritated with the nasty turn the series took during that 12~22 stretch.

My attraction to Shana was the atmosphere, though, which is what I said to Loki earlier. Yuuji is such a bland character, Shana and Yoshida almost total tsundere/moe stereotypes, respectively, those two loser dudes who wanted to shag Margery Dow were awesome but rarely used. And Hayate, oh boy.

ZnK was great because of the stock/Shana parodies. I'm sure "Hayate the Combat Butler" will be the same but with higher production values.

big bad birtha

03-28-2007, 11:07 PM

If you know everything about a show though, then most of the emotional force it puts on you will be taken away. I used be really impatient and I had to know what happened as soon as possible, but after watching a few things being completely oblivious to what is going to happen, I just can't stand being spoiled. As for an example of something I have watched recently other than Kanon, I will have to think for a bit. Akagi and Utawarerumono were great, but OMG were they predictable. However, what I am currently watching is probably going to destroy my emotions ;_; which takes me to my next suggestion.

Air- Very very similar to Kanon, but still very good. It is about this dude who goes to this town and he is discovered by this allegedly wierd, but very cute girl. He starts to live with her and her aunt, since he doesn't have a home or any way of making money. There three different girls that have this dream of flying, while he happens to want to find a girl flying beyond the clouds. The three girls also have very sad stories. If you want to know them though, joo better watch. One very amusing thing about this is the comments people posted about this on Youtube. They keep calling it confusing, when it is not difficult at all to follow. Also, if you look closely enough, you will also see some cameos from Kanon, like in episode 2, Ayu, Nayuki, and Makoto make a slight appearance. Also in episode 4, young Yuuichi and Ayu show up. I am only on episode 6, so I'm not fully sure about what it will do, but the dude who subbed it recommended some tissues. McSweeny recommended it to me, and I am recommending it to everyone. If this really has the Kanon effect on me, I won't be able to talk about raging orgasms or lactating nipples anytime soon.

Jerichi

03-29-2007, 02:26 AM

Jerichi, please remember to come here and post when Haruhi S2 broadcasts this fall. And be sure to invite other people from FB who you know to like the series, too. (Can include SPPf and BMG members, of course!)

I'll be too busy foaming at the mouth and rabidly watching it to be posting. :P

And call me Jeri.

Raptor Jesus

03-29-2007, 03:34 AM

When did I nitpick about Haruhi?

Mcsweeney

03-29-2007, 03:31 PM

Aw jeez, you're watching it on YouTube? Better than nothing I guess, but you should really watch anime via torrents if you can. Say what you want about the character design, but it has very nice animation and it's a shame that it would go to waste on blurry, tiny-boxes-filling-the-screen YouTube. Plus some asshole will probably spoil it if you read the comments. Also, I would hate having to watch an episode divided into three parts, it'd really mess up the flow.

Hmm, I just realized I've put up with the same thing my whole life with commercial breaks.

big bad birtha

03-29-2007, 11:10 PM

Unfortunately, torrents take too long to load up, and I can't really find a good site to download them. Also, half of the time I download them, my ****ing media player won't even play them. I do know of another site for watching anime, but half of the episodes don't work. It is nowhere near as blurry as youtube, so I try to watch whatever I can on it.

EDIT: I just finished Air, and I have to say that I am quite disappointed in the ending. Not only did it not conclude itself, it wasted like 3 episodes when it was not really long enough to begin with. Don't get me wrong, I like it and watching it was not a waste of my time, but come on....
Yukito was still a freaking crow at the end, and Musuzu just dies. No conclusion about the girl flying beyond the clouds, either. It is like taking a dump and leaving half of it inside you.
Despite my stupid complaints, it was still great, but it is **** compared to Kanon, but I did cry on the last two episodes. If it was a bit longer, and kinda let off on the story about the girl with the horrible dreams, it would be excellent. The length just did not allow for me to fall in love with any of the characters except for Misuzu (I fell in love with her in like the second episode).

Also, Torrents are off limits for more reasons than the Media Player.
1. My cpu only has like 1.1 Gb left, and torrents take ALOT of space.
2. My cpu loads it really slowly. I tried to DL Kanon2K6, and it will take 3 days.

Talon87

03-29-2007, 11:45 PM

The media player issue can be overcome in one of two ways ...

1 - we can teach you about video codecs and where to get them, or
2 - we can suggest you use VLC, a "media player for dummies" that has all of the video codecs pre-built-in to it

(If it makes you feel any better, I use VLC, too! I hate having to stay on top of the codec game. -_-; )

For most things, VLC will work. However, certain fansub groups (*cough* (http://www.ggkthx.org/) :evil: ) are doing their best to deliberately engineer their subs in such a way that VLC won't work properly. For shows subbed by those groups, you'd still be screwed if they were the only ones doing it. (Too bad they're not, heh heh heh. :P :mrgreen: )

Mcsweeney

03-30-2007, 07:14 PM

Why not just make a new post instead of editing, big bad bertha? I almost missed your concluding opinions.

Despite my stupid complaints, it was still great, but it is **** compared to Kanon, but I did cry on the last two episodes.

Thus is the nature of the Kanon vs Air rivalry. You chose to take Kanon's side, so I'll try to express my personal FEELINGS on why I like Air better.

Kanon is funnier, and has a stronger supporting cast. But the CENTRAL plot in Air focusing on Misuzu, her mom and Yukito is strong enough that I was willing to overlook that. This was yet another case where a show would have benefited if they had simply cut out the crappy characters (damn you multiple path h-games trying to please everybody!). I also like Air's soundtrack much better. The MAIN focus in Kanon and Air is tragedy, and I think in this most important field, Air is superior at building and then executing it.

I don't know how you can say that the ending is bad and doesn't conclude anything. By far the strongest part of the series is the tail end of it.

Raptor Jesus

03-30-2007, 10:37 PM

http://www.cccp-project.net/

Congrats. All your problems are solved.

big bad birtha

03-31-2007, 11:55 AM

I'm not entirely sure why I want to edit them instead of a new post. I guess it felt like something I had to do. Anyway...on to explain myself.

Well, I know it is a tragedy and all that, so I am kinda able to forgive the first reasons I named, but it just seems incomplete. As I said in the spoiler box, it is like taking a dump and leaving half of it inside of you. I probably am missing something or whatever, but don't get me wrong, I still think it is very good. I also liked the little piano melody they played when something touching was happening. Still, I give thanks for zine suggestion, and I am not taking back mine.

Also, from now on, you may post on what you are watching here, and give general opinions and junk. Even though I have been doing that, this is MY suggestion box so I am inclined to. This gives all you lesser beings the privilege to do the same =P.

EDIT: Stupid me. I off and let everyone else post their anime watching status and I off and left to watch more without telling what I am watching.

Shakugan no Shana- It's alright so far. I am only on episode five, but it seems like it will be the shiznit. From what I have seen so far though, not really anything super special awesome about this. Of course, it has not really started to heat up yet (even though the first few episodes are usually my favorite in most anime).

Gao

Talon87

04-02-2007, 09:42 PM

Requesting serious, quality anime recommendations for SPRING 2007 SERIES.

Frankly, I'm just not seeing much. :| We'll know more in a few weeks after every series has had a chance to air its first few episodes, but I just went through the list (cross-referencing with ANN), and I gotta say, it's disappointing to have so much on the horizon that isn't out yet. (School Rumble S3, Rozen Maiden S3, Haruhi S2) This spring is reminding me a lot of Spring 2005: shitty, and a good time to catch up on animes that were aired the previous year.

Doppleganger

04-02-2007, 10:37 PM

There's practically nothing. I've got three titles lined-up but they are all half-baked at best and I doubt I'll be able to see them through; Devil May Cry, Claymore, and Hayate the Combat Butler.

Hayate looks to be the real winner for all of its parodies (I'm getting a Zero feeling from it...) but otherwise it's too generic to really be worthwhile.

Mcsweeney

04-03-2007, 03:59 AM

Talon87

04-03-2007, 04:05 AM

The best way to see if there's anything worthwhile is to break into groups and report back. I'm going to check out this show called Moonlight Mile. If it's even half as good as Planetes I'll let you know.

And this is why that sort of selfish strategy pisses me off ... even if you didn't mean to. I bookmarked that series yesterday; along with one other show, it constitutes the only hope I have in this spring's lineup, and I intend to waste time on no other show before watching that one. So ... :| don't ask me to let you preview for me what could be a clone of my 2nd favorite anime ever. (http://momotora.com/) Just a tad selfish, and if that's what "divvying up series" entails, then count me out. ^^;

To put it into perspective ... what you just asked equates to me telling you, "Hey, I'm going to check out Akagi Season 2. I'll let you guys know how it turns out, 'kay? Oh, and in the meantime, how about you guys check out Curse of the Golden Flour?"

Talon87

04-03-2007, 05:06 AM

Moonlight Lady (http://www.akiba-online.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4138&d=1174684452)
One of the few hentai animes I have ever regretted deleting and considered purchasing, this is a classic (if slightly bizarre and at times offensive) hentai anime that has spawned a sequel series for this spring's anime lineup. Now, the series this spring is 13 episodes and doesn't appear to be hentai at all, but all indications are that if you've never seen the original (hentai) anime, you'll be missing out. So ...

- if you like hentai, treat yourself to this before checking out the sequel (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7508)
- if you dislike hentai, you may want to consider avoiding Touka Gettan (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7508) since it's an H-game turned Anime with all of the H taken out. Having seen the original, I gotta say ... this series minus the H is pretty bizarre and boring. ^^;

No, this is not the other series I was looking forward to this spring. Now that I'm on the Mac, I can pull up the bookmark ... let's see ... here we are:
- prospective gold #1: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo ... hp?id=7383 (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7383) (based purely on Planetes semblance)
- prospective gold #2: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo ... hp?id=7479 (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=7479) (based purely on looks and genre)

Mcsweeney

04-03-2007, 01:46 PM

Hey, that's fine. You can watch whatever you want of course. I just didn't know it was even on your radar screen.

And hey! What a coincidence, Moonlight Lady is only the second hentai I've ever seen and yes, it's very good. Amazingly doesn't have the low budget repeating animation shit that is so common in hentai anime. Example: Mother Knows Breast. The guy is doing the mom up the ass, and she's saying something like "AH, YOU'RE REACHING IN SO DEEP!" or whatever, then he does something else for a while. Then the exact same sequence of him doing the mom up the ass, INCLUDING her mouth moving to say the prior line of dialogue, except this time she's just going, "ANH! ANH! AHH!"

big bad birtha

04-04-2007, 10:25 PM

I might up and check out joor 2007 titles whenever I am stumped on what to watch next, but for now, iz gots to watch titles I have missed. Just incase anyone cared, here's what I am currently watching.

This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (Kono Minikuku Mo Utsukushii Sekai)- I mostly wanted to watch this for the hype it got whenever is was released in America, and I have to say, I am disappoined from what I have watched so far. I am on episode eight, and almost nothing has happened so far, and this is coming from a guy who likes filler episodes. It attempts humor, but they are kind of pathetic attempts. Anyway, enough with my bitching. It is about this girl(Hikari) who came from space, and this guy(Takeru) finds her and takes her to live at his house. She tries to adapt to life on earth, and seems to be excessively optimistic about it, resulting in a bunch of sad faces from her. One great, but very very rare, thing about this is when Takeru transforms into this badass alien fighter dude. OMFG is it sweet! The second time he does it, he fights this leviathan-centipede thing, and it is probably one of the greatest action scenes evar. It is excellent when he transforms, but he has only done it twice since I have watched. The only other great thing about this is how adorable Hikari is. I will edit this later tonight when I finish.
EDIT: I just finished this, and my final conclusions on this is....it's decent. It just did not grab my attention like I thought it would. It picked up a lot after episode eight, but that is not enough to satisfy me. (I SAID I would edit this, so if you actually gave a **** you couldn't of missed it)

Talon87

04-05-2007, 01:13 AM

First 5 minutes of Touka Gettan: pretty boring. Good animation for an H-anime, except there's no H here. :| So it comes off as subpar animation. Add to that the fact that the plot didn't take off at all -- we just sat and watched a boring ass phone conversation -- and I'm a bit miffed.

First 5 minutes of Moonlight Mile: holy crap. 8O This series could either be really awesome or really shitty. One or the other. Too early to tell. Not in the mood to keep watching, but that's because I have homework + other series to finish. I'll let pioneers like Mcsweeney be the first to scout this series out and see if it's any good. :) But my recommendation to others (if you haven't even tried it yet) is, "It looks promising."

First 1 minute of Polyphonica: I downloaded the movie file that's an advertisement for the PC game (released April 2006). It looked sort of interesting? The two main girls (red hair, blonde hair) are really hot. But the premise seems to involve musical competitions. Sort of silly in that sense, unless we learn more. Also, the opening of the movie file involves summoning a spirit or something. Something about "Come forth, soul masked in shadow!" or something.

big bad birtha

04-06-2007, 12:06 AM

Word up homies. I am scouting anime to watch right now, so I have checked out a couple and am probably gonna watch either Inukami, Shinobuden(Ninja Nonsense), or something else like that. I just watched the first episode of Inukami and I was thouroughly satisfied. That pervert novelist guy was the shiznit. I am pretty much looking for insanity, or maybe raw action, because I have been drowned by romances.

Speaking of romances, I recently found out that there was an Air movie, and I checked it out. I have to say that I was thouroughly disappointed by it. I had to stop watching on like the first thirty minutes. It was like they just took the good ol' television servies and made some amateurs remake it. The characters' personalities were different from the television series, and the great artwork and animation that the TV series had was bitch slapped and replaced. Translation: they took about everything I liked about Air, and replaced it.

Also, as anyone who actually read this may know, I am looking for something insane to watch. Some excellent recommendations would help, even though there are things I should be taking off my list first. After watching the next title, I am considering watching Buso Renkin, because the original creator also did Kenshin, and I thought it might be somewhere near as good as Kenshin. If anyone has watched Renkin, and it was a horrible piece of ****, tell me before my eyes start bleeding.

Talon87

04-06-2007, 12:22 AM

My roommate says Busou Renkin is a below-average anime. The friend who recommended it to us thought it was a slightly-above-average, enjoyable way to pass the time.

Doppleganger

04-06-2007, 02:10 AM

Talon's roomate's assessment is (allegedly) accurate for the Busou Renkin manga. The anime is said to be a much better adaption, but I wouldn't give it anything beyond "above average".

BR has great fanart, though. As in, eroge-level and beyond.

big bad birtha

04-06-2007, 12:22 PM

I kinda thought so. I read like the first chapter of the manga, and I was like "I could read this again or staple my nuts together. Too bad I don't have a stapler ;_;" I might give it a quick peek at the most, but I really don't want to go after another sub-par shounen anime.

Also, as if anyone cared, what I am currently watching. I figured I would just up and continue with Inukami, and it has been the shiznit so far. It looses some insanity at like the second episode, but still satisfies my desires. I'm not recommending it, because Suigin pretty much did by making a topic about it, and I decided to watch it BECAUSE of Suigin's topic. I am currently on episode 6.

Talon87

04-06-2007, 05:36 PM

lol, I dunno if I'd say recommended. I downloaded Inukami episodes 1-11 but I quit after Episode 2. ^_^; My roommate, who had gotten through Episode 10, reported to me at the time that it was "a lot of naked men." One of my best friends (who watched all of it) agreed. "It's got as much fanservice for the ladies as it does for the gents. I guess you can't fault them for that!"

I might watch more (and download more) Inukami later, but I doubt it. The animation was a little crude, the boy looks androgynous (what's with that haircut!?), and Yui Horie's boobies are sloshing around through her clothes. That sort of animation makes me laugh but doesn't really get me droolin'. It's so ... unrealistic. XD (And you know that when Talon complains about animated boobs looking unrealistic, it's really bad.)

Doppleganger

04-06-2007, 05:52 PM

Saw Claymore and Hayate; reviews pending.

...

Abrupt thoughts:

Hayate - excellent
Claymore - good

big bad birtha

04-07-2007, 02:20 PM

I just finished with episode 18 of Inukami, and I just had to show everyone something from it, so here joo goes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAgb1DGrngk

EDIT: I just finished Inukami, and I have to say that I was satisfied by watching it. The only negatives that it has is the fact that some of the humor repeated itself and just got annoying, and as Suigin said, the animation got a little crude at times. There's alot of nekkid buff dudes in it too, but there's elephants to keep you from vomiting, and it is pretty funny at times. Also, when it is supposed to be serious, it is actually pretty cool, and Keita is a likeable character when this happens. I give this a very good rating.

Also, I am going to start on Cromartie High School or Shinobuden next. After that, I will chase yet another romance, and check out Tonagura. Look forward to my reply!

Since I rated what I am surrently watching, I might as well rate what I have been watching in the past few weeks.(this is a true indication of how much time I have to kill)
Akagi-Very good
Utawarerumono-Very Good
Kanon-Words can't describe how excellent it is
Air-Very Good
Shakugan no Shana-Very Good

Mcsweeney

04-08-2007, 05:24 AM

I decided to go old school for a bit so I'm watching GOLDEN BOY. Anyway, the first two episodes are extremely amazing and if it keeps up this pace, this show could hit MASTERPIECE.

Talon87

04-08-2007, 05:35 AM

I watched all of Hayate no Gotoko, Claymore, and Touka Gettan's first episodes today. So, here are some more complete reviews of each.

Hayate the Combat Butler: 7/10
For a comedy, the good jokes were few and far between. For a romance, the pilot establishes so thoroughly that the little girl has fallen in love with Hayate that there's no tension at all. As much as I may want him to, Hayate will not fall in love with the beautiful maid and have steamy butler-maid sex. Instead, he will fall in love with the annoying loli rich bitch. Boo urns. Bad animation (imo) and a fast-paced plot filled with little else than fluff gets this series pilot a 7 out of 10.

Claymore: 10/10
I am normally not a fan of realistic, gritty animes (examples include Planetes, Samurai Champloo, and Afro Samurai). However, there are exceptions (like my beloved Planetes). The gritty animation here really struck me as cool. Very appropriate for the setting. Very refreshing. Thumbs up, approved.

I am generally not a fan of bloody animes, not because I dislike blood but because I dislike bloodshed. I'm a doctor, not a fighter. That stated, there was something almost ... artistic about the various decapitations and things in this series. When a demon's body got slashed down the middle after he begged for mercy (after devouring a boy's family), it was really ... powerful.

Interesting plot. Interesting main two characters (Clare and Raki). Thumbs up.

Touka Gettan: 4/10
Ugh. "An H-game no one's ever heard of turned into an anime with no H." Not a smart idea. Hentai games are generally known for their lack of a good plot; while Tsukihime and Fate / Stay Night may be popular exceptions, it is important to remember that they are exceptions and not the rule. The rule is, "H-animes have no plot or else have a shitty plot."

Touka Gettan clearly hoped to ride on the coattails of JKanon and other harem H-games--turned--H-anime. It's got over 4 main girls in the first episode alone and something like 10 girls in the opening credits. The main character has (err, had) amnesia for all of 5 minutes before remembering his lady love from a previous life. And an interesting plot development around a girl named Yumiko (who is mistaken for her mother, Yuriko) ended up going nowhere. Long story short, avoid this series -- at least until a few more episodes are out and people brave enough to watch it report that it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Raptor Jesus

04-08-2007, 06:28 AM

Someone just suggested Claymore as a new manga to read since Berserk is going so slow. His words were, "Like Berserk, but Guts is a half-demon girl." And now I see it's an anime xd.

Anyway, sleep.

Doppleganger

04-08-2007, 07:06 PM

Hayate the Combat Butler: 7/10
For a comedy, the good jokes were few and far between. For a romance, the pilot establishes so thoroughly that the little girl has fallen in love with Hayate that there's no tension at all. As much as I may want him to, Hayate will not fall in love with the beautiful maid and have steamy butler-maid sex. Instead, he will fall in love with the annoying loli rich bitch. Boo urns. Bad animation (imo) and a fast-paced plot filled with little else than fluff gets this series pilot a 7 out of 10.

Bad animation? O_O

...

There's a lot of referenes in the show that serve as layered jokes, but from what I know of you they wouldn't be very salient. Id est, Hayate's employer's glowing glasses is a parody of Gendou Ikari from Evangelion and the bust Hayate shines in the DVD preview is of Conan Edogawa. That latter one made me laugh royally because I missed it after nine watches of the preview; only until the translator pointed it out did I actually notice.

Of course, going "haha, only prolific weeaboo can understand Hayate" isn't what I'm trying to say; like Zero, the show can be enriched by catching all the references under the pretense of a generic artstyle/plot. What makes Hayate better than Zero is the far higher production value and the much broader pool for references.

Someone just suggested Claymore as a new manga to read since Berserk is going so slow. His words were, "Like Berserk, but Guts is a half-demon girl." And now I see it's an anime xd.

The half-demon thing pissed me off. It's as cliche a premise as any one could find in [i]Naruto; "oh, oh, oh, I'm a lithe and beautiful warrior woman but I'm a half demon so I've been ostracized all my life and I've never known the love of a man". Bleh, I rejected that as a virtue of Claymore right off the bat.

Until I heard how she became a half-demon. Much, much cooler.

Claire's little friend is Emiya Shirou reborn, though, so FSN parallels are inevitable here.

Overall, I can say Claymore was a lot better than I thought, but it still needs some room to spread its legs before I can evaluate if further.

In contrast to Hayate, which I can say will be a very enjoyable show.

...

Also, avoid "Gurren Lagann". It's typical Gainax trash.

Talon87

04-09-2007, 01:53 AM

Before you lecture me on all the inside jokes in Hayate, tell me this: do you know the origin for this quote?

Even my own father never hit me.
It made its first return in Genshiken (Book 1, Chapter 1) and made its second return in Hayate no Gotoku (Episode 1). Can you identify the source? :P

That stated, yeah, I am generally pretty bad with noticing anime "tips of the hat" unless they're as blatant as they are in Genshiken, and I would never have known the source for this line myself had I not read Genshiken. ^_^;

As for saying the animation was poor ... it reminded me too much of Spiral, which my roommate rented once from the video store (before he began to torrent) and which was a HORRIBLE show. It also reminded me a lot of YGO GX. In fact, every time I saw Hayate, I kept thinking of that nerdy kid with aquamarine hair in YGO GX. I kept expecting to see Jaden jump out and scream, "HABEEB IT!" :P

Doppleganger

04-09-2007, 02:19 AM

It made its first return in Genshiken (Book 1, Chapter 1) and made its second return in Hayate no Gotoku (Episode 1). Can you identify the source? :P

That's probably from something famous I wouldn't know. However, that exact quote makes an appearence in chapter three of One Piece where the brat Helmeppo is bragging to Zoro about how he can do anything in Shell Town, and Luffy punches him. Helmeppo raises the subject with his father, who finally does smack him.

That stated, yeah, I am generally pretty bad with noticing anime "tips of the hat" unless they're as blatant as they are in Genshiken, and I would never have known the source for this line myself had I not read Genshiken. ^_^;

Hayate's broad pool of references can be a vice, though. The Gendou thing was obvious to me because it was an infamous Yotsuba /b/ meme, which made it all the more funny because Yotsuba went crazy. The Conan reference wasn't exactly funny, but "wow, that's awesome", especially because I missed it.

In episode II there's a Black Lagoon reference but I wouldn't have gotten it since I haven't seen BL. So, yeah, Hayate's references are hit or miss.

As for saying the animation was poor ... it reminded me too much of Spiral, which my roommate rented once from the video store (before he began to torrent) and which was a HORRIBLE show. It also reminded me a lot of YGO GX. In fact, every time I saw Hayate, I kept thinking of that nerdy kid with aquamarine hair in YGO GX. I kept expecting to see Jaden jump out and scream, "HABEEB IT!" :P

>>"HABEEB IT!"

Uh oh, something's amiss here.

...

I actually liked Spiral but I do acknowledge the animation and art was pretty bad. NOTHING on Higurashi but still, it was pretty low. What's impressive about Hayate, though, is that shows of its silly harem/romance genre usually get terrible adaptions since they're so generic. For every Kanon that gets kingly treatment there's five or six OtoBoku and ZnK shows in a season. So, I'd say Hayate has better-than-average animation, but it's of premium quality for that kind of show.

Talon87

04-09-2007, 02:29 AM

Nothing's amiss, insofar as ...

a) I was making a joke about how Jaden has that stupid catchphrase of his, but
b) that Hayate no Gotoku seems to cater to 4channer interests, thus they would convert Jaden's actual line (however lame it may be) into even lamer 4chan speak, and finally
c) I have a friend who says "I don't believe it! / Habeeb it! / TWINKIE HOUSE!" all the time in real life, so I'm memorized that itty bitty bit of 4chan culture even if I didn't want to.

To make matters worse, I've seen the pictures that go with that joke. (How fucked up ... a dad with rainbow colored nail polish trying to molest his own son, ugh. -_-; )

This is why I hate 4chan, and may also be part of why 4chan LOVED Hayate no Gotoku whereas I thought it was "meh, okay" at best.

The only portions of the show I consistently enjoyed were:
a) the Santa Claus scenes, and
b) the hot maid

big bad birtha

04-09-2007, 10:30 PM

I scouted some more anime and I have to say, some of my findings were kind of a disappointment. I looked for Chromartie, but my computer is too slow to handle the streaming that it requires. Shinobuden.....that pissed me off so badly. The humor was not even near funny and that girl saying ninja every ten seconds just got annoying, so I quit on the first episode(when an anime pisses me off, you know that it's bad). I also checked out Hare + Guu, and it was just not that entertaining. It just did not hold my attention. I have been watching the original Kanon, since I did not know of what else to watch(I'm becoming obsessive with Kanon). I liked some of the things that the remake missed, but I still am more satisfied with the remake.

Enough about the present. Lets talk about the future. There are some titles on my line up.

Tonagura- I'm just checking it out because it looks good. When I was looking in some of the youtube comments, a bunch of people mentioned it. When an anime interests me, I usually look at the opening to get a good grip of what it is like, and I got good vibes.

Tsubasha Resevoir Chronicles- My anime magazines advertise this like crazy. Maybe it is just because it is created by CLAMP(for you ignorant people, the people who created Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura), but I'll check it out anyway. That kind of hype just reeled in my curosity. I read one of the manga though, and it just doesn't seem that interesting. Please tell me if it is worth my time.

Claymore- *looks at Suigin's and Doppelganger's comments on it* I have no idea why I want to check it out.

To Heart- Well, this was just recommended to me. It was said that this is good, so I am taking the person's word.

School Rumble- I keep forgetting about this. It was recommended, and even looked good, but I keep on forgetting to watch this. This is just a reminder to myself.

Hayate- Same reason as Claymore....I mean I don't know the reason....no no......

Talon87

04-10-2007, 04:24 PM

Mcsweeney

04-10-2007, 04:30 PM

*Watches Kanon*

Raptor Jesus

04-10-2007, 09:17 PM

So I watched the first episode of Claymore, and it seems pretty good. The art style of the show seems too signature Madhouse though, which bothered me a bit.

Anyway, throughout the episode after [Claymore] showed up, I couldn't stop myself from thinking, "It's Guts! It's Guts!"

Thus far though, it seems like Claymores have a much larger advantage over Guts, as they have super-human/demon powers and Guts only has a gay elf friend and a metal arm with a built-in cannon.

GrJackass

04-10-2007, 10:49 PM

first things first, guts is one of the greatest anti-heros in all the manga i have read so far and thats quite a bit, if he were turned into a girl it would kind of sully his character because of the double standards, it would be from brooding madman to crazy c*nt.. see? not the same feel to it, also certain scenes wouldnt have the same impact if guts were female. i wanna cite an example but i cant formulate the idea without sounding like a complete ass... just know it has something to do with the first scene in volume 4 of beserk.... giggidy

plus i never laughed as hard as i did when guts actually recieved his metal arm and said something to the effect of "mechanical arm, groovy"
imagine a super serious manga the character lost his friends, love and arm and out of the blue he makes a evil dead refrence, brilliant. i wonder if it was the creators idea or if the translator snuck that one in

and as for the elf.. if man ass is gay, what can i tell you? go read something else. but remember there was man ass in 300 also, and look how bad ass that movie was
mmmm... leonidis, you make me forget all about my man crush on ryan renolds

but i have to ask, is it similar to past beserk or present beserk, because that manga has "full metal jacket syndrome" for those not familar with that movie its basically two movies in one where the main character happens to be in both. its the training camp part and then the vietnam part of the movie. the training camp part of the movie is one of the most beloved movies ever created to me. the second part is just garbage aside from "me so horny" and "too buku" oh and "who the leader of the pack whos friends to you and meeeeee M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E" and so far the past portion of the manga is amazing and the present seems to be bleh (only up to vol 15 so it might sway me) so i ask which part of beserk is claymore?

Doppleganger

04-11-2007, 02:11 AM

I watched the first episode of ToHeart 2 last summer (which is supposed to be better than ToHeart), and all I can say is, LOLI FANS ONLY. The girls are RETARDEDLY CHILDISH. Like, 15 years old but behaving like a 5 year old. It's ... really annoying. -_-; Unless you love that sort of thing.

Remember on the old board when I created a topic bashing Gauken Utopia Manabi Straight? That title and this "ToHeat2" sound like peas in a pod.

but i have to ask, is it similar to past beserk or present beserk, because that manga has "full metal jacket syndrome" for those not familar with that movie its basically two movies in one where the main character happens to be in both. its the training camp part and then the vietnam part of the movie. the training camp part of the movie is one of the most beloved movies ever created to me. the second part is just garbage aside from "me so horny" and "too buku" oh and "who the leader of the pack whos friends to you and meeeeee M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E" and so far the past portion of the manga is amazing and the present seems to be bleh (only up to vol 15 so it might sway me) so i ask which part of beserk is claymore?

It's got the setting of "Retribution" Berserk, from the time Guts left Caska in Godo's care to the fall of Albion. Basically, the part of Berserk everyone loves.

big bad birtha

04-11-2007, 02:27 AM

*thumbs up at Mcsweeny* Be sure to put your soul into it. Fighto! Daioh!?
EDIT: Along with watching the original, I finished watching 2006 again. Even after watching it again, I still felt the impact that it gave me the first time, except for the breathlessness that I felt after I had the first time. It was kind of embarassing crying at school though ><. Kanon is truly a great anime. Whenever I can find them translated, I will try to download the manga, the original H-Game(or maybe the Dreamcast/PS2 version, because the H part kind of bugs me), Eternal Fighter Zero, and the five novels that were made of it. I also did some mad research on Kanon. I might point out some of my findings on the Kanon thread.

Also, I give thanks to joo Suigin. The girls seem so calm though. It is hard to imagine them being childish. It LOOKS heartwarming and sweet. I guess looks aren't everything....

Speaking of heartwarming and sweet, I checked out the first two episodes of Tsubasa Chronicles, and as I mentioned, it is very heartwarming and sweet so far. It seems more like a Cardcaptor Sakura dream than a new anime, because the main girl's name is Sakura, and I think her kingdom name is Clow. She also looks just like an older Sakura. This is more of an observation than a complaint, because I kinda like it. It show's CLAMP's power to reuse characters.

The only real complaints that someone else might have is the plot, and the really long slender bodies the characters have(It's like they were crossbred with ferrets). It is about this princess who is childhood friends with a coalminer's son. After a little touching moments, it is revealed that she has this power, and when she is about to use it, the main dude stops her, resulting in her memories being scattered. He has to travel to different worlds to find her memories. I have no problem with it, but someone else might think of is as used too much. As for the long slender bodies, I really don't care. It's just something CLAMP wanted to do. I kinda like it as a matter of fact.

This gives me the same feeling that Cardcaptor Sakura and Chobits gave me, and that is a good thing. It just seems to have more action than either of those two.

Chuck Norris once visited the Virgin Islands. Now they are called the Islands.

Gao!

GrJackass

04-11-2007, 02:37 AM

when it comes to tsubasa chronicles and xxx holloc, i prefer it as a manga because at least with holloc they tone it down a bit and it really takes away from the lessons that the time space witch is trying to teach whatshisface. toned down as in people are merely hospitalized when they actually died in the comic. plus the comic has a explanatory section in the back that explains all the superstitions shown in the comic
i havent watched tsubasa chronicles but since the storylines are tied together im just associating the two of them although i think i would love either version of tsubasa because im a huge sliders fan

as for beserk, i beg to differ, unless the present timeline storyline gets better i strongly feel that the past from when guts was born all the way to when he got his arm and left casca was much more interesting. but again i must state im still within the first story arch after the past but it seems to be very similar to the first three volumes of the manga which were good, but not as good as the past

Edit: i like the art style used in tsubasa and holloc i especially love the long slender body of the time space witch, not even in a sexual way, i just think shes gorgeous and the zoro character and the wizard dude have a really cool look to them being drawn that wierd skinny tall method

as for the plot, it is a little used up but they put a nice twist to it and gives them countless ways of being creative with the new worlds, plus its great to see the diffrent perspectives of whats going one thats shown in the two comics and i'd love to see what that evil organizations plan is.

im just gonna babble on here, but xxx holloc is one of my personal favorites

Doppleganger

04-11-2007, 03:23 AM

as for beserk, i beg to differ, unless the present timeline storyline gets better i strongly feel that the past from when guts was born all the way to when he got his arm and left casca was much more interesting. but again i must state im still within the first story arch after the past but it seems to be very similar to the first three volumes of the manga which were good, but not as good as the past

Golden Age is indeed good, but I think that's only because of the anime. >.>;

...

Millennium Falcon, the current arc, is terrible. Not because of the kids, it's just got a lot of bull-crack.

GrJackass

04-11-2007, 03:37 AM

Mcsweeney

04-11-2007, 03:54 AM

*thumbs up at Mcsweeny* Be sure to put your soul into it. Fighto! Daioh!?

Oh you misunderstand. I've already seen Kanon (and Nayuki is so <3 ), but I was just poking fun at Talon for complaining about the girls acting childish in 2Heart2, when the same could be said for his beloved Kanon.

I wasn't going to say anything, but then I remembered that he likes Yu Gi Oh more than Akagi. FOR PEOPLE LIKE HIM ... THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS!

Doppleganger

04-11-2007, 04:26 AM

havent seen the anime only read the manga
but i assume youve read more or have seen more (which i can also but im too lazy to download like 20 volumes individually by chapter) but your telling me after millenium falcon it gets better? basically im at the yotsuba corporation story arc of death note in terms of beserk?

It's still in Millennium Falcon, and it's gotten worse; since Berserk entered Viritannis it's been okay, but once the band got to the docks Berserk degraded into a silly shounen story with a lot of cliches and fake physics. There might be an upturn in the future but Gut's whole encounter with Ganishaka was a fail.

Talon87

04-11-2007, 05:12 AM

Yu-Gi-Oh's main plot is ten times better than Akagi's ever was. Yu-Gi-Oh taken as a lump sum? ........... still probably more enjoyable to me than Akagi was.

*Stake through Mcsweeney's heart* ;)

Ayu is childish in a lovably awesome way. The brown haired girl in ToHeart 2 (the main girl) is just ....... blach. She's much more like Shiori from Kanon. Does that make sense?

Ayu-like childishness = awesome
Shiori-like childishness = bad

Ayu = spunky, clumsy, cute voice
Shiori = a bit too whiny, a weak person (independent of her being sick), an obedient she-dog to Yuuichi (like the creepy scene where he pets her for saving his seat at lunch and she looks up at him just as a dog would d and shows thanks O_o)

Mcsweeney

04-11-2007, 02:31 PM

Liking Hikaru no Go better? That's fine, that's perfectly understandable. Thinking Yu Gi Oh is better? I'm aware of the definition of "opinion", and that is not a valid one to hold!

Mcsweeney

04-11-2007, 02:44 PM

Here is my list of anime on the horizon, and ones recently completed:

Lucky Ã¢Ëœâ€* Star: Kyoto Animation's latest effort. About a group of girls that watch anime and play hentai games apparently.
EXPECTATIONS: Low.

Haibane Renmei "Charcoal Feathers Federation": I have no idea at all what this show is about. This is a total gut feeling watch.
EXPECTATIONS: High.

Moonlight Mile: For some reason I have a bad feeling about this one. There's no way it can live up to Planetes!
EXPECTATIONS: Moderate.

Cowboy Bebop:
STATUS: Completed.
RATING: Good.
This was good, but I was expecting so much more. Was this really the legendary anime that many consider to be the best of all time?

Golden Boy:
STATUS: Completed.
RATING: Masterpiece.
This rules hard. The dub is very very good. I highly recommend as a short, six episode comedy with ecchi elements.

Talon87

04-11-2007, 05:17 PM

Keep in mind that the same people who say "Cowboy Bebop is the greatest anime ever" started watching anime between 1997 and 2001. Bebop came out smack dab in the middle of that; at the time, flashier animes -- while in existance -- were rare (remember: NGE was considered redefining for its day!!!); the music was fantastic; and the plot was simultaneously riddled with arcs while being easily watched out of order for the most part.

If Cowboy Bebop were to have come out today in 2007, I doubt it would be the priceless gem it is in the minds and hearts of so many. Memories provide a very biased look into the past.

(Every time I think about how disappointing Escaflowne and NGE were for me, who watched them in 2004 and 2006, respectively) I am reminded of this fact.)

big bad birtha

04-12-2007, 06:43 AM

I just watched the original Kanon, but I have alot to say about it, so I'll just go ahead and rate it. I rate it as very good. I have to disagree with Sugin about which is better to watch first though, because I think the remake is better to watch first. Every moment is executed so much better, making the emotional impact so much greater. I'll give a few examples in a spoiler box at the bottom of this. This one just did not tug at my heartstrings as much. If you watch the older one first, the great emotional impact you get from the remake will be softened(unless you are just in love with it like I am). This one is better to watch afterwards so you could find out some things that the remake missed. Also, some of the character traits and order of things that happened changed a bit, but that is only a matter of taste.

I like Yuuichi in the remake alot better as well. This one is colder and a little bit dumber than the remake's Yuuichi. Everyone else is also a little more forward than the remake, but as I said before, it's just a matter of taste. Well, I'll go off to point some things out that I noticed....no peeking newbies =P

As I said earlier, almost everything from the remake is executed way better. I'll give the exception that made me say almost first. Nayuki's feelings happen to be shown more in the original. Yuuichi has a better understanding of how Nayuki feels, and she even gives him a kiss, which the remake does not have. So Nayuki fans might perfer the original.

In the remake, everything about Makoto's side is shown better. They just give her a few symptoms, and she just disappears on Yuuichi's back. In the remake, a few symptoms are shown, and the reason is revealed, which in turn leaves you tearing up all episode nine and ten. Then, her final moments where Yuuichi is trying to keep her awake by ringing the bell, and she gets sleepier and sleepier until she disappears.

Then there's Mai's story. The remake tells more about Mai's and Saiyuri's past, which reveals more about their character. The original did not even touch on Saiyuri, and they just said that Mai met Yuuichi in the past. They poorly explained what the demons were and about Mai's powers. You even find out why Mai is the way she is from the remake. Everything else is just a matter of taste.

Shoiri's story......well.....it was just suddenly announced that Shiori had a few days to live, and she just had a couple of times with Yuuichi, and then Kaori admitted to being her sister and that was that. The remake gave her one week, and her and Yuuichi were eating lunch with each other every day. Then Shiori has a party from some of the characters, and after that, Kaori admitted that she was her sister in front of everyone, which in turn made it more touching. I kinda had a tough time with Shiori. This is why....Ayu>Nayuki>Makoto>Mai>Shiori.

Now for Ayu's....oh god I will have alot to say @_@. I'll try to sum it up. In the original, their first kiss just came from out of nowhere, and left you saying "Eh? Where'd that come from?", while the remake had an emotional moment where both of them were left crying, and Ayu told him to close his eyes, and they kissed. Then there's when Ayu fell off the tree. The original showed the first part, then went on with the episode, then showed her saying her last words. The remake had her fall off in slow motion, then.....I don't want to talk about this.......

Now, for some good words about the original. I found out that Yuuichi moved to his cousin's house because his parents were in a foriegn country. I also found out that Makoto remembered that name because Yuuichi talked about her alot to the fox, causing it to remember that name(Yuuichi did not name the fox Makoto). I found out some more things, but I can't quite remember.

Also, just so you know. I am fully aware that the remake had a much larger budget, which made a much better anime, and Kyoto animation doing it guranteed greatness. I am not complaining, I am just pointing this out. That's why I did not say anything about how the characters look kind of funny, or how horrible the animation was. I am extremely forgiving about anime.

Anyway, I am on episode five of Tsubasa. So far, it is satisfying me. Here's some more I wanna check out.

Gintama- I read the first five chapters of the manga and I thought it was the shiznit. I realised that it had an anime only recently.

Maburaho- I think this will actually turn out to be a heaping pile of ****, but it is being advertised in my anime magazines, so I just have to check it out. It looks like it is just a brainless fanservice fest, but oh well......

There's more, but it's way past my bedtime....

Talon87

04-12-2007, 06:48 AM

Maburaho is pretty brainless, according to my friends who've seen it. No idea.

Mcsweeney

04-12-2007, 03:15 PM

The pink haired girl in Maburaho is very attractive. The same guy that did the character art did Planetarian I think.

big bad birtha

04-14-2007, 06:06 PM

Errm....I think the fact that the characters are attractive is the only redeeming feature of Maburaho. If I want some brainless fan service, I'll go all the way and watch hentai. I will still give it a quick peek, because of reasons given, but I don't really think I will bother actually watching it.

I just finished the first season of Tsubasa and I have to say that it satisfied me. Sakura is just so sweet that you just have to love her, and the whole going to different worlds thingy is pretty interesting. The music is also pretty good(except for the opening. It is horrible). It kinda does that .hack//sign thing with the music, though it can get pretty annoying. The only real complaint that I have is the fact that it makes such a big deal out of itself. When something is about to happen, it will spend 30 seconds at the LEAST where the characters are just staring each other down, or playing this music over everything instead of actually doing something. Because of that, it can get pretty boring at times. You will also catch some cameos from CLAMP's other creations as well. I caught Sumomo, Chi, the lion thing from CCS, that creepy lady from XXX, and someone else..... I give this my usual very good rating. I look forward to watching the next season.

Since I am half-finished with that, I am sure you know, that I am now scouting what to watch next. I am about to watch the first episodes of two anime.

Tonagura- I watched part of the first episode and I have only one word for this. That word is annoying. The characters are so impulsive and their personalities are so shallow and exaggerated that it is not funny. It tries to be funny, but it turns out to be more annoying than anything. The main dude is just like Keito from Inukami, except for the fact that he doesn't let up. I forgave Inukami for this because of the amusing fights and stuff, but this does not have this. The girl is this typical person in love with a childhood friend that she has not seen in years, and she is all looking forward to seeing him, but she is disappointed when she sees what he turned out to be, and she is all beating him up every chance she gets.

Sola- It is very good from what I've seen so far. It seems to be VERY deep and might not appeal to alot of people. I'm not sure what is exactly going on yet so a plot might be pretty difficult to bring up, and it might be untrue. One great thing about this is the character artwork. It is also very familiar as well, but I'm not sure what. I'm thinking it looks like Haruhi, but that's because when I look at and hear this one character, it screams Yuki. Anyway, it might be a while before I can watch some more because I can only find episode one at the moment. It's a shame too, because this looks so good.

EDIT: I checked out two more anime and here are my results.

School Rumble- I finally get off my ass and check this out and I have to say that I am satisfied with this. It's a great combination of funny and adorable. My piece of **** computer can't handle the streaming required for what I can find, so I'll be watching this at school.

Gintama- YESH!!! This is the shiznit. It is like bo-bobo except for the fact that it does not rely on randomness, and it is actually funny(I'm not dissing randomness. Randomness is still awesome, but the bo-bobo anime does it poorly). I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but you know. Oh, and to sweeten the deal, Gintoki's voice actor is also the guy who does Yuuichi/Kyon, and I've grown to enjoy that sarcastic voice of his.

UPDATE: I found this excellent site that has tons of manga, and I don't have to download it, so I will also be reading manga and of course, telling people what I think about the titles. These will be added way faster than the anime because reading a whole series is much faster than watching one. Anyway, on to my next title.

Air- Yup. I found a manga adaptation of this that was translated and it is pretty good so far. It is pretty much just like the anime in flow, but the art is a little different. I think there is only two volumes, and I'm a little disappointed in that.

big bad birtha

04-17-2007, 01:57 AM

Wow, this place is dead ^_^; Oh well. I have a couple of updates on my anime watching status, but since my last post is so long, I am just going to make another post instead of editing.

Gintama- I am on episode 16, and it is still the shiznit. My thoughts on this are probably pretty biased because I have loved this since reading the first manga chapter on SJ, but whatever. It's of course very funny. It also has a bombastic opening. The only complaint I have is the constant advertising of SJ. You will see tons of SJ references. The first episode had Gin reading a SJ and talking about how it is only where you could have five girls at one time admitting their love for you. Oh, and he was referring to Ichigo 100%.

Speaking of Ichigo 100%, the manga is hitting the states in July. I'm not sure if anyone is really a fan of this, but I like it pretty well. There is one horrible problem with this though....They translate ichigo in the title!!!! So it is going to be called Strawberry 100%, and that just sounds real silly.

Kami-Chama Karin- I realised that this is being turned into an anime, so I checked it out. As a Koge Donbo(the creator of DiGi Charat and Pita Ten) fan, I just had to check this out. I'm not quite sure what this is about, or how it will turn out, but the main character so reminds me of Misuzu. You know, no friends and not very talented at anything. This might turn out to be brainless cuteness(like Sugar Fairy Snow) or a pretty heartwarming and still cute anime(like Pita Ten), it is too early to tell. This is brand spanking new, so I am pretty much following Japan as each episode is released.

Sola- I found episode two, and the plot is clear to me now. I am not going to say anything though, because it will be an episode two spoiler. Just like Karin, this is new, so I will be following Japan's episodes. I have a feeling that this will be extremely sad though. I get the same vibes from this that I get from Air. So if you love Air or even Kanon, then I think you will enjoy this. If you liked them, but thought of them as hard to watch because they bored you, then you might want to stay away from this, since it seems deeper than either of the two.

Air Manga- ****. Stupid website only had three chapters. There's one big difference in story. Misuzu meets a crow in the third chapter.

Clannad- This only has three chapters as well. I only want to get a taste of this anyway, because I am now a big fan of Key. This will be an appetiser for when the anime comes out in October. Go Key!

Remember, if you are ever scouting anime, I am here to recommend and tell you about it!

Talon87

04-17-2007, 03:09 AM

Things are going to be slow on my end of things for several weeks at least, because the only series I am (even remotely) following right now are Spring 2007 series and, therefore, I can only offer an opinion of (on average) one episode per week per series. Since my list of series is very small (Claymore, Polyphonica, Moonlight Mile) and two of those I have not even started yet (the latter two) ... yeah.

My plans for the summer are, first and foremost, to prepare for medical school by:
a) academically preparing so I don't get raped, and
b) having the best damn summer ever because it's either my 2nd to last forever or its my last forever.

So I'm saving quite a few series for May-June just in case I don't get to make this summer a super-memorable (read: touring through China and Japan) one, and I just have to settle for watching TV. :rolleyes: Look forward to reviews of YGO (yeah, I know), My Boss My Hero, SumomomoMomomo, and whatever other series I pick up before graduation.

Mcsweeney

04-17-2007, 02:06 PM

Prepare for medical school by watching some Monster! Dr. Tenma makes me wish I was smart enough to be a neurosurgeon.

Raptor Jesus

04-17-2007, 04:45 PM

Prepare for medical school by watching some Monster! Dr. Tenma makes me wish I was smart enough to be a neurosurgeon.

Quoted for truth. How he saves people who have been shot in the head amazes me.

Doppleganger

04-19-2007, 07:15 AM

Quoted for truth. How he saves people who have been shot in the head amazes me.

He went to school to Black Jack.

big bad birtha

04-19-2007, 10:27 PM

Anime update that no-one cares about? I have them right here. Not much has been happening with my anime watching/manga reading.

Gintama- I finished the first season today, and I am more than thouroughly satisfied with it. I have not correctly expressed my feelings toward how great and funny this show really is. Even though I am on the 25th episode, it's humor is still fresh, and they do not beat what was funny a couple of episodes ago down with a stick. It's humor is a little crude for a SJ anime, but that's more than alright. Also, it's opening is amazing. I will rate the first two seasons of Gintama as excellent. EDIT: I just watched episode 25, and I just had to talk about it. The main characters were having this Akagi-type battle of wits on who would eat all of the sukiyaki that was being cooked in front of them. If you pay attention, you can also tell that the budget has greatly increased for this, because the animation and the visuals are much better than before. This means that this had really good ratings in the previous seasons.

Clannad- Yup, I checked this out. This seems to be more lighthearted and funny than its older siblings. It also has nothing out of the ordinary. It's just about these two people who are making a drama club. It has not had any members in what I have been able to read, but I think that is for the best, because I just read this for anticipation for the anime when it comes out. I also don't think this will be really sad or serious, because it just seems too normal for anything horrible to happen. I am not really sure, but I am sure that this will turn out to be very excellent. Oh, and for information that I am sure no-one cares about. The game that this originated from in 2004 was not an H-game like the others. It was just a normal dating sim.

I will probably edit this when I get in more titles and stuff. I am also finishing Fruits Basket, but everyone has probably read at least a little bit of this, and have obtained their opinions about this already, so a description is pointless.

EDIT:

Kamichama Karin- I've watched the second episode and I have pretty much grasped what it is about. It is pretty much a magical girl anime except for the fact that only two girls do the whole transforming thing. It seems pretty childish, but I will stick with it until it pisses me off or bores me severely. It is so adorable that it will take alot to knock me off of it, and nothing really bored me or pissed me off yet.

Gurren Lagann- I looked for this(before Doppel. made his post) and the website I watch anime on does not have it. I watched the opening on youtube, and it does look like the shiznit. I hardly ever watch anime on youtube because they are being big douchebags and taking everything off, causing people who post anime to quit, and the fact that the other website is much better. I WILL watch this when I get the chance to. If the website does not have it by the end of this week, I will simply download the torrents to my school's computer. I will also make a request and someone will probably upload it.

Doppleganger

04-19-2007, 11:33 PM

Watch. Gurren Lagann. Now!!

big bad birtha

04-21-2007, 01:06 PM

Since my last post, I have mostly been scouting anime. There are a few things that I am watching/checking out, but I have mostly been watching things that I have already watched, so I might grasp more from them. That said, I up Air to an excellent. I was really unfair to it, and had no reason to knock it down two scores. Here's a list of what I am looking at watching/watching.

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu!- I watched a few episodes of this. All I have to say is that this is the shiznit! I don't know if it is really worth watching the actual Full Metal Panic! and Second Raid though. I might decide to watch them if I ever obtain the initiative. EDIT: Yesh! I just finished this, and my review is right here! It is wonderfully wonderful! It's about this military freak dude who is living a normal life or whatever, and he spends alot of the time blowing **** up. In one episode, he trains this rugby team, who start out as girly dudes, and their last rugby game ends up with the team beating the crap out of the other team. There was also this one time where Souske and this karate dude fight this crazed high school janitor with a chainsaw. I give this an excellent. I also strongly recommend this to everyone.

Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora- XD WTF? This is horrible. The girls are so giddy that it is funny, and the lines they are given are terrible. I spent the whole time laughing my ass off at how corny everything was. It's like a freaking ten year old did the story and everything. It is like this Cinderella prince/princess/school/donkey punching thing, and to add to it, there are mechs later on o_0;. This girl spends the whole time daydreaming about her "prince" and she develops a crush on two dudes. One is taken, and when the other notices her, he pulls her shirt down, revealing her chest, and is like "I will take you baby." She gets all emotional and runs off. At this point, I am laughing my ass off, but there's more. She daydreams a little bit more, and she sees this girl on a roof. The girl explodes or something and the gym collapses. After that, she sees the dude who pulled her shirt down and follows him. She sees him kissing that girl who exploded and she is all running away crying. I quit watching at this point, because I could not take any more. It is good to look at, but that's all I can say.

Moonlight Mile- From Suigin's rantings on this, I am sure this is more than worth watching. The website is now uploading this, so watching this is now possible. Will edit when I watch this.

EDIT: I used the link that McSweeny gave in the topic that Doppel. made, and I downloaded some Manga torrents. However, I do not have the program required to read the manga. If anyone knows where I can find the program, please tell me.

Talon87

04-21-2007, 01:33 PM

Nobody has ranted on Moonlight Mile. O_o Mcsweeney and I fought over "scouting it out." As far as I know, he's still on Episode 1 because he hasn't said one word about it here since. And as for me... I actually am still on Episode 1, because it's an .mkv file so I can't watch it unless I'm at school and Momoko trumps any other .mkv's any day of the week.

GrJackass

04-21-2007, 05:05 PM

i heard they made an anime about tramps like us (us title) or kimi ga peto (german title) and im having trouble finding it, i also hear that theres gonna be a live action on it but im sure its gonna be garbage so im only looking for the anime, can you help me?

big bad birtha

04-24-2007, 10:35 PM

If you think it is time for an anime update, then you are indeed correct! Gr, I've been looking for the anime you mentioned, and I have not found any results.

Gurren Lagann- Episode one.....WATCHED. Nothing super exciting has happened yet, but I can tell that it will be full of funly funness! Also, it was pretty good for a first episode.

Moonlight Mile- I watched the first episode(The episode that I found first WAS raw), and I don't really know what to think of it yet. Some people climb Mt. Everest and this girl dies, then the aftermath is shown. The visuals are very nicely done, so it is really pretty to look at. It was a little bit boring, but I will check out the next few episodes and get a good grasp at what Suigin's nipples are lactating with excitement about. I just think he got a new pony the days that he reviewed this, and anything would make him giggle. Hell, I know how it feels. Getting a new pony will surely make you feel excellent.

Sola- Still the shiznit. I can't wait till this picks up. Even though I am the only one watching this, I will still give updates of each episode because I want other people to watch along wit' me.

Kami-Chama Karin- I can't watch any more. I never liked the whole magical girl thing, but I thought I could watch this. It is just too corny for me to continue, and this one girl(Suigin's avatar) talks so unbelievably slowly that I just want to stab my ears. Don't get me wrong, I like characters who talk a little slowly(Nayuki = yay!). I tried my hardest to enjoy this, because I loved Di Gi Charat and Pita Ten, but this is more on the lines of Sugar Fairy Snow. I apologise Koge Donbo.

Tsubasa Season 2- I am watching season two of this, and so far, I am not really blown away. It still has the problem with making a big deal of itself, and not much happening. I want to finish this because I am already so far in the story and I need to finish this. I am sure this will pick up, and more will happen than the characters bragging on each other and having unnecessary close-ups all of the time.

Karin(Chibi Vampire)- I am only curious. I don't know if this will be good or not, but I will check this out.

EDIT: Since no-one's going to read this anyway, I think I will just rant a little. Don't be a big douche! I thouroughly explained why I can't download episodes several times. Also, I hate calling it "streaming" so I'll simply call it "milking".

Gao Gao Stegosaurus!

Talon87

04-25-2007, 12:51 AM

Stream? O_o

Also, Moonlight Mile's episodes have mostly been released as .mkv files, so ... the reason you got it "raw" might actually be that you simply didn't know that you had to turn on the subtitles from inside your own video player. (Unless you configure your player otherwise, VLC and many other players' default mode is to play a file RAW given the option of choosing between raw and subtitles. Think about why: for all it knows, you're watching a DVD and you'd prefer to have the subtitles for the blind turned off.)

Doppleganger

04-25-2007, 06:20 AM

Gurren Lagann- Episode one.....WATCHED. Nothing super exciting has happened yet, but I can tell that it will be full of funly funness! Also, it was pretty good for a first episode.

You didn't find that episode pulse-poundingly exciting? Or romantically epic? o_O;

...

Sure, I'll admit, the first fight wasn't nearly as good as the following two, but still, it was an excellent (high-energy) start for a series I was berating as garbage at first. By episode three you'll have another definition of Gar to play pickleball with.

big bad birtha

04-28-2007, 04:27 AM

Geez...The last few days have not had much anime goodness. I have mostly been looking at series that people suggested and finishing Fruits Basket. I really need to buckle down and watch my usual daily eight episodes

Tsubasa- I can't watch this any more. This is just so ****ing boring. The fighting scenes are also pathetic. It's like it was edited for the kids. I will give you an example. These people fought this dragon. One dude ran and distracted it, and when it was this dude threw a rope to its horn. When he threw it, it showed him throwing it and then it shows the rope in a colored background and then it shows the rope on the dragon's horn. After that, this guy jumped at the dragon and you hear a noise, and you see the guy with the dragon's horn. The dragon is in the sky after the horn is cut off. I know that this is more romance than anything, but if the characters fight and have weapons, I expect some pretty good fighting scenes, not that crap! The appeal it had for the last season is also gone.

Claymore- Episodes 1-3......WATCHED. Since the last post in the Claymore thread is mine, I will just put my thoughts here. This is pretty good, but not what Suigin made it out to be. There's really not much to say about this. This half-demon(they call them Yoma) girl slays demons and she has this boy with her. Well, if you like blood, then this is a real bloody anime ^o^

Golden Boy- I didn't really watch this, but I looked for it. I found it, but only in English dub......

I'm scouting for a title to watch and finish.

Mcsweeney

04-28-2007, 12:28 PM

The English dub of Golden Boy is exactly what you want.

big bad birtha

04-28-2007, 11:01 PM

This is a little early for an update on my anime watching status, but I have finished one anime, started on another, and am looking at two others for my next scouting session.

Golden Boy- I have to say that this anime is very.....educational ^o^. I was quite impressed by how wonderful this anime is, considering I was watching it in English dub and its age. This anime also taught me alot. Here are some examples of what this anime has taught me.

One: If you ever start hugging a toilet, you will get caught no matter where you are.

Two: This may seem impossible, but if you ever get in a race with a woman who is sexually attracted by her motorcycle and you are on a bicycle, you can start saying "study" over and over again, and you will somehow win. This will result in you falling in a cliff though.

Three: Beating an Olympic swimmer in a swimming race may be impossible, but you can eventually stop her if you stare at her cooch the entire time.

Four: Don't get in the way of a guy trying to get in a woman's pants. He will end up making out with you.

Five: If you give your journal to a woman, she will give it back to you, but it will have a pair of her panties in it.

I thouroughly enjoyed watching this. This gets an excellent from me.

Love Hina- I figured I would check this out since this is quite popular. I have watched two episodes and I have to say, I do not see why it is so popular. I mean, it is alright, but not worthy of having two seasons and tons of specials. I will watch a little bit more, but at this pace, I will probably stop in a few if this pace continues. It's not exactly bad, it just does not butter my cornbread.

Full Moon- I read quite a bit of the manga, and I wanna watch the anime to catch the ending. I enjoyed the manga and I think I will enjoy the anime as well. I got a bad impression of the first episode, but most of the problems were because of the fact that I caught the English dub. I still don't like the fact that Full Moon sings like a viking, but I forgive it.

Negima?!- The popularity of this is what triggered my curiosity. It is probably popular because of a possible huge dosage of moe, but maybe not. You will find out when I check this out. I also don't like the main character's personality, but I have never liked super-violent girls.

Lets all cheer for not having a life! w00t!

EDIT: I was browsin' through ANN and I noticed an article that sparked my interest. Depending on who you are, this might be good news or bad news. ADV licensed the Air series and the movie. That means the DVD is coming to America, bitches, and I am going to gladly buy all of them when they are released. They are hitting store shelves August 14th. Some people might not like this because it will be a little more difficult to find online, but that doesn't really matter since there are a bunch of places with it that will not take it off for a stupid reason such as it being licensed.

Talon87

04-29-2007, 03:29 AM

Love Hina is one season long (24 episodes) with a bonus 25th episode and three separate OAVs which cover an alternate retelling of Christmas (Book 5), the Spring Vacation trip to Turtle Island (Book 8 ), and Love Hina Again (Books 11-13 ... and I forget how much of 14, if any, is in it).

Seasons are usually defined by "the season run," i.e. how long does it go before it reaches closure. Most people will say that a show which exceeds 26 episodes exceeds one season, although I don't know if it's fair to say this. (I usually think this way, too, but I'm a product of the society in which I was brought up when introduced to anime.) The thing is, sometimes 13 episodes is a season but sometimes so is 26. For example ...
- Rozen Maiden's first 26 or so episodes constitute two seasons, because the first season aired for ~13 episodes in Fall 2004 and then the second season aired for ~13 episodes in Fall 2005; each season enjoyed a reasonably long hiatus before its sequel season picked up. (Rozen Maiden 3 still hasn't been announced yet, though it's inevitable that it will come out.)
- on the other hand, Kanon is a good example of a "one season, ~26 episode" length series

Just thought I would mention this, in case you were confused as to what constitutes a season. When in doubt, assume 26 = 1 season. Few shows are 13 episodes (historically), although that trend is being reversed in recent times, it seems like. (*eyes Tsukihime, Haruhi, Elfen Lied, Zero no Tsukaima, many shows in the past 3 years*)

Regarding Love Hina, I would say it's one of the greatest animes of all time. The music is good, the animation (for its time) was good, and most importantly, the story is hilarious and touching. It's a classic romantic comedy. The manga's quality is ten-fold that of the anime (no exaggeration, either ... it feels like it's actually 10 pieces of goodness for every one piece of goodness in the anime), but the anime can still stand on its own two legs and claim 3rd place (even after all these years) in my heart for the Best Animes of All Time.

The first episode is basically "here's the entire premise fleshed out for you," so if it felt a little underwhelming, just know that they're not all this explanatory. The second episode is one of the worst in the entire series, and the first of many ways in which the anime deviates from (and falls short of) the manga. Shinobu doesn't appear in Hinata House the way it's shown in the anime, and this was basically the animation studio's way of trying to promote Shinobu (one of the more popular "runners-up" in the manga) to near-Naru status. That's my personal take on it, anyway, as Shinobu is so much more prominent in the anime (rivalling Naru left and right) versus the manga (where she's got as much claim to his heart as Motoko or Mutsumi do).

I'd ask you to wait until you meet Mutsumi (episode 5 or 6) before putting it down, but whatever floats your boat. If you really can't tolerate Naru (I LOVE HER I LOVE HER I LOVE HER! :mrgreen: ), then maybe the show won't be so hot for you.

Mcsweeney

04-29-2007, 01:29 PM

I'll probably buy the Air DVDs too. I hope it gets a good dub. Once upon a time ADV dubbed Golden Boy and did an amazing job. Their other efforts can be not as good however (Elfen Lied's was okay, but I went with subtitles). Hopefully they can put in the redone intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzjOFVpfbLE) that was in the Blue Ray version. And all this getting licensed means is that you can't get it off Animesuki anymore. My tier of sites that help me, well, pirate things in order of preference goes like this:

Animesuki (http://www.animesuki.com/) - Most convenient, but missing lots of series. Whoa, that mascot is atrocious! It's AnimeNewsNetwork's all over again.

TokyoTosho (http://www.tokyotosho.com/) - Messy, but it has more things, including licensed anime and even soundtracks.

AnimeYume (http://www.animeyume.org/) - The last resort. It has almost everything, but I hate those pop ups (even though I have a popup blocker!)

The really REALLY last resort is seedy IRC channels.

Talon87

04-29-2007, 10:13 PM

I watched the first 10 minutes of Naruto Episode 1. It looks like orgasmically good anicrack. @_@ So I put it away and promised myself not to watch Naruto *AND* play Pokemon Pearl the same week as finals. (Pearl alone is bad enough!)

big bad birtha

04-29-2007, 11:12 PM

Suigin, I give thanks for explaining what a season usually is, but I thought Love Hina was two seasons because I mistook "Love Hina Again" for another season. I usually assume that a season is 26 episodes, but I also look for when the OP/ED change. The newer anime tend to go for less episodes for a season. Gintama is a good example, because it went to the second season while I was completely oblivious. When I finished episode 25, they were like "Thank you fans for watching the first two seasons of Gintama. Look forward to the third season October 2006." and I was like WTF. When the ED changed was when the second season started.

As for Air, I am sure that ADV will make a great dub for it. The few dubbed anime from ADV I have watched were of course excellently dubbed. I also doubt that ADV would be as stupid as to half-ass dub something as popular as Air. I scrounged around a little and found out that it was like 32nd in TV Asahi's all-time top 100 anime, and alot of people say this is like the best of 2005. Making a bad dub of something like that would be a horrible mistake. As for the blue ray special OP, I think it will probably be a special feature for the last DVD. It better at least, because that was a ****ing excellent OP. I am increadibly excited about this, not only because I will soon be able to OWN one of my all-time favorite anime, but this also means that my number one all-time favorite anime(Kanon 2k6) coming to America is very very likely. Hell, according to my sources, Kyoto animation did the remake mostly because of the demand because of how popular Air was. I'm not sure if this is really true, so don't hold me to it.

Since you showed where you DL joor anime, I will show you where I milk my anime. ^o^

Crunchy Roll (http://www.crunchyroll.com) I use this for my anime that are only in Japan, because they take off licensed anime. The quality is horrible unless you pay $6 a month, but it is more than worth it, because with the $6, the quality rivals DLing it. I know you probably think it is stupid to pay, but it's only six ****ing bucks. They are also increadibly quick with new anime. This is where I am following Gurren Lagann and Sola.

Anime Revolution (http://animerevolution.vidiac.com) This is for my licensed anime. It does not have a very big list, but I have found everything I have looked for so far. The quality is also pretty good.

I don't DL anime episodes because they lag balls when I try to watch them. It also takes like two hours to DL one episode when I want to watch the episode NOW. I only DL hentai episodes because I don't really give a **** about what they are saying. Using torrents is not off-limits, but I just don't like taking so long just to watch one episode that will be lagging balls anyway. I also only have 3 GB of memory left ;_;

Speaking of which. I have downloaded several manga through Torrents, but I apparantly don't have the program required to use them. If you know, please tell me. I already asked this, but I figured asking again would not help.

Well, since I am here, I might as well update my anime watching status.

Love Hina- I am on episode eight. I am getting what Suigin is saying as well, because it gets alot better at episode five. Ep 1-4 was really not that funny or romantic, but it's like they put rockets up their ass and improve every little thing by ep. 5. That one girl who always passes out(it is too early to be remembering names) is excellent. I don't think I will be dropping this afterall. Also, you seem to understand me so well Suigin. I think we are like spiritually bonded or something, because how you knew that Naru would get on my nerves is baffling =O (even though I said why in the Negima part). Anyway, it is true that she kinda gets on my nerves, but I can tolorate her. She is easing up on her barbaric personality, and I never said that I could not tolorate super violent female characters. Hell, Kaname in fummofu is also like this, but I got over it because it was just so great.

Negima?!- I only watched the first episode, so I still don't know how it will be, but it isn't doing anything to drive me away. Is does seem very moe, but not to a gross fetish manner. Also, the main character isn't as unnecessarily violent as I pictured, but she is pretty bad, even though she is adorable ><.

ONE Kagayaku Kisetsu e- Hell, the original character designer and the main story writer for Kanon did the same for this. I watched the first episode, and it just leaves way too many blank spots. It is doing the multiple path thing that Kanon is doing, but it is trying in four episodes. The background music is annoying and it is extremely boring, but it was only one episode. I will watch the rest. The first episode is about this girl named Akane who spends alot of time standing under a tree waiting for a dude (his name is Kouhei) who promised to meet her (sound familiar?). She eventually meets him and talks to him a little. After that when someone asks about him, she forgets who he is. I vaguely remember the same happening in the hentai, but the does it with her before she forgets. She also has a different attitude in the hentai.

Mcsweeney

04-30-2007, 06:46 AM

What possessed you to take upon the 300 episode undertaking of Naruto?

There is no way I could ever watch that without being bothered about it being a shitty DBZ, which was in turn a shitty Fist of the North Star.

Doppleganger

04-30-2007, 07:55 AM

And so Talon enters the world of shounen. D:

...

I devoured all of Naruto a while back and it only wears after the Sannin fight, but...it wears pretty quickly.

Talon87

04-30-2007, 03:42 PM

Well, I'll be sure to let you know who devours who once I get around to watching it. I stopped it around the part where Naruto and his sensei are at the ramen cart. There had already been so many laughs and so much kickassness up to that point I just knew that if I didn't stop there, I'd be through Episode 50 or something before I knew it.

Mcsweeney

05-01-2007, 03:49 PM

I wonder if Talon will become one of those people that will complain about how Naruto has become mediocre and the filler just won't end, yet continue to dedicate a significant portion of their earthly life to continue watching it.

Talon87

05-01-2007, 03:55 PM

I used to say, "I never drop a series, unless it's really bad," but I've dropped quite a few mediocre series that I've started in recent years. I doubt that Naruto would be an exception ... unless, of course, I do with Naruto what I did with The Prince of Tennis and decide that, because I've watched so many episodes already, I absolutely *have* to finish it, just to say that I did.

*shudder* Prince of Tennis ... so ... grueling X_x ...

Mcsweeney

05-01-2007, 04:11 PM

I could maybe see myself watching a 200+ episode series if it was on TV, and I did it as a ritualistic thing, but downloading that much and watching them all, fuck, forget it!

There ARE some animes that I found really easy to just plow through a bunch of episodes a day, like Hikaru no Go and Monster, but I had extreme difficulty getting myself up to watch Cowboy Bebop, and it wasn't even bad.

Honey & Clover was even worse. It took me like two weeks to string together a session where I'd watch one or two episodes, and again despite the fact it had good moments.

Doppleganger

05-01-2007, 04:11 PM

Naruto filler started wars - there's something like a year and half's worth of filler in there, about seventy episodes.

big bad birtha

05-01-2007, 11:29 PM

I haven't watched the Naruto anime in a pretty long time, but I am on the 352nd chapter of the manga. That said, it has not gotten stale yet. However, SJ's manga are almost always MUCH better than the anime. I have learned this by experience. If you want a nice refreshing dosage of Naruto, you might just want to start downloading the Naruto manga. It's much quicker to get through it, it has less fillers, and it is probably better. I have the perfect place for downloading the Naruto manga as well, so if you wanna link, ask and I will provide.

Oh, and I'm on episode 18 of Love Hina. There's really nothing much to say about it. I am enjoying it, but I really don't feel like saying anything more.

Also, I have been searching around and I have found the Clannad Movie Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xxaxim-4I8)(I'm sure no-one cares). The movie is done by Toei though, so whether it will be good or not is still beyond me. This will be released before the series, but if the past applies, it will be much better to watch the series first.(Of course, I will be the only one watching either)

big bad birtha

05-03-2007, 01:48 AM

Double posting =O I'm such a troublemaker. Anyway, I have finished Love Hina and my review is right here bitches...(I have a feeling that I am talking to the wind.......)

Love Hina- Sure, the first four episodes were not that good, but it got MUCH better at episode five. This is one of the best done love stories that I have seen. Sure, I was annoyed by Naru's unnecessary anger fits, but when Keitaro starded ducking and covering after doing something, it was pretty ****ing funny. All of the characters (except for maybe Sarah and Keitaro's friends) are very likeable. As for my personal fav. it would be between Shinobu and Matsumi. This was a very funny and heartwarming anime and I will give this an excellent.

Well, that was fun. I am either going to start on Genshiken or Negima?! Look foward to my update or else.

Mcsweeney

05-03-2007, 04:18 AM

There's nothing wrong with double posting! It's a lot better than editing if it's some time after the first posting, since people may not know there's new content.

Raptor Jesus

05-04-2007, 02:00 AM

Naruto filler started wars - there's something like a year and half's worth of filler in there, about seventy episodes.

I heard that the filler series all ended, although, I still haven't picked up the show again.

To watch Naruto, you have to be into Eye Candy. The show overall is very, very shonen. The show is pretty much what one would expect from a shonen. There's also a lot of simple Japanese themes in the show easily identifiable. Like the fact that all villains in the show are only villains cause either they were treated poorly or were given no other choice. Not because they're just evil (with the exception of like a few). Also, there's a heavy friendship-rival theme. Such as Sasuke and Naruto or Sakura and Ino.

So I find Naruto a bit better then DBZ, but as things dragged on, it turned a bit more and more like DBZ in the whole "POWER-UP!" deal.

As SJ shows go: One Piece > Naruto > Bleach

big bad birtha

05-04-2007, 02:52 AM

Errm....I wasn't serious..... You know, it's kinda like if a dude slaps a girl on the ass and she says "You're a bad boy!"

In my little anime watching session today, I have been seesawing between School Rumble and Mahou Sensei Negima.

School Rumble- I am on episode five and I have to say that I love this! It's just so adorable and funny at the same time, it's like hugging a kitten while it emits laughing gas. I hope this doesn't get stale, because this is downright wonderful.

Mahou Sensei Negima- This is so-so. It hasn't had me giggling at all, but is still somewhat entertaining. It's adorable, but that's the only thing that really stands out. I can't find any real redeeming features, but I feel drawn to it. There's also a more more serious sequel to this.
Oh no! I think I am becoming a loli fan O.O help me...... (ok there must be another reason for me to be drawn to this. There must be!)

Mcsweeney

05-04-2007, 02:32 PM

Isn't Evangeline the only loli character? Unless you count high school looking girls as loli.

High school girls ... oh yeah baby *strokes it*

Talon87

05-04-2007, 04:42 PM

School Rumble only gets better with time if you're a Yakumo or Eri fan. The catch being,

they're fighting over the same man, so ...

Season 2 is a bit of a let-down because it spends most of its time developing the supporting characters from S1 (like ICHIJO!-shouting Lala or Harry McKenzie) and doesn't really go anywhere with the greatest love triangle in the series (see above spoiler box).

http://momotora.com/sukuran/characters/characters.html for a non-spoiler character list of Season 1 characters.

And Sawachika Eri for the win. 8)

Raptor Jesus

05-05-2007, 12:52 AM

For me, the Negima! manga is like 1000000 times better then the show. But the thing that bothered me about the show was the animation. There's literally a scene where Asuna is running from the foreground to the background and instead of just drawing her running away, they repeat this generic image of her running and shrink the image as she gets further and further away. It's like, "OMG! That's not how a show should look!"

From what I've heard, the show makes a large deviation from the manga, so I have no clue as to what it's appealing factor could be aside from the Negi and 30+ cute junior high girls on a great and magical quest while learning (although, there seems to be very little of that).

Side Note: They need Motoko to show up on Negima!

On a similar note: Chrono Crusade is an unwatchable anime in my eyes, especially around episode... 13(?) [when Rosette and the crew start to leave for California]. Not only did they ruin the excellent manga's story by changing a large portion of the events, but they ruined it for me when they made a large shift in the story's theme from [manga] running out of time to [anime] occultism. WTF?! And so much didn't make sense with the anime's ending. What did Chrono's time freezing horns have anything to do with Aion's horns? Why didn't Chrono get to reattach his horns? Why was Father Remington an [spoiler]? And why was [spoiler] still live? WTF?!! Talon knows what I'm talking about. Anyway, the only thing on the show worth watching was either episode 3 or 4 when Fiore licked Joshua's bleeding hand. HAWT! That's why this avatar will likely never be changed. Because I <3 Fiore.

Talon87

05-05-2007, 05:19 PM

I know exactly what you're talking about. The only hot thing about "California onwards" was the almost-hentai scene with Satella and Aion in the underground cave. Totally looked like it was ripped straight out of a typical "demon f***s a large-breasted woman who's tied up by dark magic and is powerless to resist ... and then finds out she likes it" ... except it didn't have the sex, and Satella didn't exactly succumb to Aion even though he toyed with her a bit.

The occultism of Chrno Crusade was a real turn off for me. A real turnoff. Sorry, but I really hate series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel or Charmed, and that's basically what Chrno Crusade became -- an anime version of these series. Aion was a very boring Satan character; Chrno was a very predictable Satan-turned-Good character. It was all so stale. And then the way they resolve the stories for Satella, Fiona, Joshua, and Father Remington was just retarded. Especially the whole Joshua/Father Remington bit. Really lame.

Isn't Fiona licking his shoulder in your avatar? Not that it matters -- Fiona is one of the most beautiful animated characters ever, and the Chrno Crusade animation team's efforts were completely shat upon by the Chrno Crusade writers (for the anime). Having not read the manga, I don't know how things turn out in the alternate telling of the tale, but the anime was bad enough to put me off the manga for good. :| Maybe I'll change my mind some day.

big bad birtha

05-05-2007, 05:52 PM

Isn't Evangeline the only loli character? Unless you count high school looking girls as loli.

High school girls ... oh yeah baby *strokes it*

To me, if they are not in high school yet, I consider it loli. (all of the girls are in the last year of middle school) Also, about Evangeline, it is pretty funny and ironic that she is the only one that doesn't qualify for loli since she is like over 100 years old. Even though she most certainly LOOKS like the only one.......

I've still been juggling between Mahou Sensei Negima and School Rumble, so I might as well update my thoughts on them.

Mahou Sensei Negima- Horrible animation. No depth. Extremely corny. Not funny in the least bit. Yet, I am still watching this. I also realised why I am still watching this as well. There is a sequel to this that is supposed to be way better than this. It doesn't rely on the whole useless middle school girl thing and is more about something I am still unsure about(I think it has something to do with vampires). I also really like Asuna and Negi, even though they were placed in something with such poor quality.

Oh, and since Loki gave an example of horrible animation, I will give one as well. In this one episode, they are playing dodgeball. Whenever they threw the ball, the ball moved extremely slowly. The opponents threw one at Asuna and got her out and another person threw another one at her and everyone was like "OMG are you allright?" She was also hurt a little bit by THAT, meaning it was supposed to be a hard throw, yet the animators are too ****ing cheap to put some speed and impact in there.

School Rumble- Honestly, I am a Harima fan. I am on episode 12. This is doing nothing but improving and I like that very much. It was also wonderful when Harima dressed up as Jesus and was followed by all those animals. 'twas quite amusing. It might even hit masterpiece when I finish the first season. It will most likely end up with an excellent though....

Raptor Jesus

05-06-2007, 06:00 AM

Isn't Fiona licking his shoulder in your avatar? Not that it matters -- Fiona is one of the most beautiful animated characters ever, and the Chrno Crusade animation team's efforts were completely shat upon by the Chrno Crusade writers (for the anime). Having not read the manga, I don't know how things turn out in the alternate telling of the tale, but the anime was bad enough to put me off the manga for good. :| Maybe I'll change my mind some day.

Fiore. Her name is Fiore. Where did Fiona come from? That's not even close to the other name: Florette. And it's the back of his hand.

Anyway, DO NOT let the anime ruin the reading of the manga. Everyone in the multiverse loves the manga, or at the very least, likes the ending much more. There's a giant list of differences, but here's the big ones:

SPOILERS IN WHITE. (Highlight to Read (or look really, really carefully))
Azmaria's adoptive father was trying to revive his dead wife, not himself. His contract of immortality makes no sense either. The whole point of a contract is to give something to a summoned demon in exchange for service. Instead, the demon gave him immortality and service while his demon got.... nothing?[/*:m:49ca3]
There is no holy water in the manga. It quite honestly makes no sense and was added in cause holy water is religious, so it would hurt a demon. The manga never states anything like that.[/*:m:49ca3]
Since there's no holy water, there are a couple of key scenes that are different. Firstly, Chrono is revealed to be a demon to Satella when he unleashes his powers, not when Azu accidentally throws holy water on him. The second is when Azu and Satella are captured on a train and Chrono and Rosette try to save them. In this instance, Azmaria sang a song and unleashed her apostle powers, something she almost never does in the anime.[/*:m:49ca3]
There is a Satella shower scene. Also, Satella is pedo for Chrono.[/*:m:49ca3]
There is no Central Park goes to hell story. No monster hound kills the mafia story either.[/*:m:49ca3]
Father Remington isn't an angel. He's special, but not an angel. Also, he doesn't warp to California to save Rosette and the gang from Aion, he was keeping an eye on Rosette since she left New York.[/*:m:49ca3]
There is never a Rosette-Demon alliance against the Sinners. Chrono did an unforgivable crime of slaying one hundred of his own (not 100 thousand of his own kind).[/*:m:49ca3]
The Chrono's past arc is much longer and much better in the manga then the anime. It also explains why Aion took the head of Pandemonium and captured Mary Magdalene. There is no ritual of whatever. Aion never challenges God.[/*:m:49ca3]
Everything from the end of the run away train to the very end of the anime is vastly different. Rosette doesn't get the Stigmata. Chrono never gets a fever. Again, there's no ritual of whatever to challenge God.[/*:m:49ca3]
Aion's Sinners have different personalities as well as lifespans. Also, Aion doesn't use his horns as his weapons. And his eagle/hawk makes like only two appearances. Unlike in the show, where is practically tried to kill Chrono.[/*:m:49ca3]
Chrono and Rosette don't run away to live in a shack away from the universe at the end when they wait for Rosette's death. In fact, it was probably the dumbest thing they could have done for an ending. Instead, there's a much happier - yet still sad - ending. No 'The Pope was shot cause Aion is EVIL' BS.[/*:m:49ca3]

Jesus, I trimmed this list down like 3 times and it's still huge. A lot of other things too, but if I told you all that, I'd probably just end up telling you the whole manga.

Doppleganger

05-06-2007, 06:56 AM

As SJ shows go: One Piece > Naruto > Bleach

Two years ago I would have agreed with that, but, sadly, I'd have to say One Piece = Bleach > Naruto is more accurate a statement. Bleach found its place in the world as a fighting manga, and OP has depreciated in quality tremendously in the past eight months or so. It's because Shueisha is paranoid about losing money from time to time, so they forced Oda to be a lot more generic/formulaic in his writing - the current arc, and the end of the Enies Lobby arc, were god-awful. Really, really sour.

For me, the Negima! manga is like 1000000 times better then the show. But the thing that bothered me about the show was the animation. There's literally a scene where Asuna is running from the foreground to the background and instead of just drawing her running away, they repeat this generic image of her running and shrink the image as she gets further and further away. It's like, "OMG! That's not how a show should look!"

Agreed in full.

Raptor Jesus

05-06-2007, 02:05 PM

Well, all my knowledge of these series have been their English released manga and the fansubbed animes. Where I've read up to, Bleach has seem to have forgotten about the threat to the world: Hollows, and has just gone off into a super fighting DBZ mode. And the whole 'training for a week to learn your most powerful technique possible while normally it would be your lifetime' is so stupid.

Naruto has its moments. But the fighting has gotten very DBZish when I stopped reading it. There's too much of the whole power-up thing. It's like, don't people ever fight starting at full power? I mean, overkill isn't overkill when you need to win, so why do people hold back? And most of the time it's not even like it's life threatening. It's just, "I didn't think I needed this much to fight you," BS.

LOL. Come to think of it, I am close to two years behind on all three of those series, if not more.

Talon87

05-06-2007, 08:00 PM

I'm through Episode 13 of Naruto. Thoughts.
The pilot episode is one of the best pilots I've ever seen in an anime. Funny, exciting, jam-packed.[/*:m:29ee9]
The second episode -- SECOND FUCKING EPISODE!!! -- of the series is one of the lamest fillers ever. Ugh. :x Really dampened my spirits.[/*:m:29ee9]
Things pick back up a little in Episode 3.[/*:m:29ee9]
Episodes 4 and 5 are pretty good. Though I can't shake this feeling that every time I see Kakashi, I think of Loki. Don't know why. He just seems like Loki. Personality-wise, he's sarcastic when Loki would be and does that ^_^ smile of his when I imagine Loki would, and stuff. Really weird.[/*:m:29ee9]
I really like Naruto's heart, but aside from training in the woods to improve his chakra molding, he doesn't really have any skills to boast of. He has a great heart, a great determination to work hard and not make excuses. Which is cool. But ... he got "lucky" (in a sense) to have the fox inside of him, that's no skill of his own; and, he got lucky to be the only one in the village "allowed" to get away with reading part of the forbidden scroll sealed away by the first Hokage. I mean, sure, Naruto did work hard all night in the forest to learn the Shadow Replication technique, but if Sasuke or Kakashi could have seen the scroll, I'm sure they could have learned to do it, too. Naruto strikes me as a kid who really loves Pokemon and has a Mewtwo while all the other Pokemon trainers, even the Elite 4, do not. So ... seeing as I don't respect cool power that isn't earned fairly (and, again, I'm differentiating between Naruto's hard work that night to master the move and his illegal breach of the village's law by looking at the scroll in the first place), I hope I'll come to respect an otherwise cool ability sooner or later.[/*:m:29ee9]
They haven't really addressed this yet, but the show keeps hammering into the viewers this main point: other ninjas have many ways of making clone replicas, but Naruto's shadow replication is the only technique which actually makes a real body, i.e. Naruto himself is replicated in full power. So my question is ... although we understand (and accept) that a regular clone can be destroyed and the ninja will still live (because, after all, he's not his clone), Naruto has been shown to receive any of the physical damage that any of his clones take when he reverts to his singular form. So ... that really seems to suggest that if any one of the Naruto clones was killed, Naruto himself would die. Which means that the Shadow Replication technique, while powerful, is a double-edged sword that comes with the increased chance for death if you don't succeed and succeed quickly. After all, you're multiplying the chances for an enemy to kill you from 1x to 1000x every time you use the technique. I wonder how they will address this? I hope I have guessed correctly; otherwise, Naruto's ability is too powerful. :|[/*:m:29ee9]
I'm enjoying the show, and I respect that they've spent such a long time in the Country of the Wave since that makes the time-duration of their adventure seem more realistic, but ... damn if this isn't drawn out unnecessarily long. -_-; So begins the "oh shit! if we tell the story too quickly, we'll catch up to the manga!" aspect of Naruto, I suppose. And then I'll get to enjoy the "oh fuck! We did catch up to the manga! What now!? @_@" aspect later.[/*:m:29ee9]

big bad birtha

05-07-2007, 12:15 AM

I'm through Episode 13 of Naruto. Thoughts.
[/*:m:bb189]
I really like Naruto's heart, but aside from training in the woods to improve his chakra molding, he doesn't really have any skills to boast of. He has a great heart, a great determination to work hard and not make excuses. Which is cool. But ... he got "lucky" (in a sense) to have the fox inside of him, that's no skill of his own; and, he got lucky to be the only one in the village "allowed" to get away with reading part of the forbidden scroll sealed away by the first Hokage. I mean, sure, Naruto did work hard all night in the forest to learn the Shadow Replication technique, but if Sasuke or Kakashi could have seen the scroll, I'm sure they could have learned to do it, too. Naruto strikes me as a kid who really loves Pokemon and has a Mewtwo while all the other Pokemon trainers, even the Elite 4, do not. So ... seeing as I don't respect cool power that isn't earned fairly (and, again, I'm differentiating between Naruto's hard work that night to master the move and his illegal breach of the village's law by looking at the scroll in the first place), I hope I'll come to respect an otherwise cool ability sooner or later.[/*:m:bb189]
They haven't really addressed this yet, but the show keeps hammering into the viewers this main point: other ninjas have many ways of making clone replicas, but Naruto's shadow replication is the only technique which actually makes a real body, i.e. Naruto himself is replicated in full power. So my question is ... although we understand (and accept) that a regular clone can be destroyed and the ninja will still live (because, after all, he's not his clone), Naruto has been shown to receive any of the physical damage that any of his clones take when he reverts to his singular form. So ... that really seems to suggest that if any one of the Naruto clones was killed, Naruto himself would die. Which means that the Shadow Replication technique, while powerful, is a double-edged sword that comes with the increased chance for death if you don't succeed and succeed quickly. After all, you're multiplying the chances for an enemy to kill you from 1x to 1000x every time you use the technique. I wonder how they will address this? I hope I have guessed correctly; otherwise, Naruto's ability is too powerful. :|[/*:m:bb189]

Alright, about his little overpowerful thing. The fox spirit that is within him is what is holding him back. Since he has such a horribly powerful thing in his body, controling his chakra is extremely difficult, in turn, reducing his abilities. Sure, he can go into a rage and make himself super powerful, but later on, this will not be so great(I will explain in the spoiler box). Actually, Naruto could probably be great with his own abilities. My reason follows.
I guessed all of this this in the first episode, none of the following are spoilers, but I always though that the fourth hokage was Naruto's father. Think about it. When you see a little shadow of the fourth hokage in the very first of the first episode, he has a Naruto head. Also, think about how Naruto is obsessed with becoming one himself. He might want to be a great hokage like his father. There is also the thing about why Naruto of all people were chosen. The fourth probably believed in Naruto to carry it because he is his son. I am extremely far in the manga and no-one said this. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure of my observations.

After chapter 300 spoilers

As I said, Naruto's fox can grant him super powers, but later on, he will lose control of his powers(any idiot with a brain can guess that this will happen). After this, he is trying to keep from using the fox demon's power at all costs. At this point, he is using his own abilities, but still being slightly held down with the fox demon.

As for the shadow clone thing......well it will be explained real soon. There is another ability of Naruto's clones that is revealed at like the 340th chapter, but I will not bother with spitting it out.

Now that I am done with my stupid Naruto words, I am going to update my anime watching status. I finished School Rumble Season one and I am still on ep. 11 of Negima.

School Rumble Season one- I love this! Not only is it funny and adorable, but it is also heartwarming. This anime has so many possibilities that is not funny. However, I think calling it a love triangle is wrong. I would call it a love tree, because like every one connects in a way.

(Just pretend this is a tree. It is a tree when I edit my post, but doesn't appear to be a tree in the post)
-The dude in the beach episode (not likely at all but a possibility)
Karashima- Tenma -Eri
-Harima
-Yakumo
-Hanai
-Suou -Ichijou
-Imadori
-Lala(not likely but possible)

My desired results would be
Karashima-Tenma
Harima-Yakumo
Hanai- Suou
Imadori-Ichijou(I think he would be better off with Lala because he needs the **** beaten out of him to make him behave, but I like Ichijou much better)

I don't think any of these would happen, but whatever. I loved watching this, and every minute of watching this was a pleasure. This was extremely close to a masterpiece in my book, but just did not quite get there. I give this an excellent. This easily took one of the spots in my favorite ten anime. I especially look forward to watching season two to see what happens. I give thanks to Dopple. and Suigin for suggesting this to me.

Mahou Sensei Negima- I'm not updating this. I just noticed something when reading the credits. One of the dudes who does the encoding is named "Hairy Testicles". For some stupid reason, I find this amusing and ironic because I am sure this show has none at all(unless one of the girls has a SECRET). I will try to finish this by Tuesday.

Final Approach- I checked this out. It is too early to tell whether this will be good or not, but I can say one thing....this is really pretty. They really did put alot of money into the visuals because this is one of the best looking anime I have ever seen. As for the actual content, it looks like it will turn out pretty well. The government is considering making arranged marrages, and they are testing this on this one dude by sending this girl through his window and forcing him to become her fience. Any idiot will tell that he will soon fall in love with her and it won't be as forced, but the content and the struggles between all of this is what is important. The problem I can see now is that it is only 13 episodes long, but what's worse is that the episodes are 12 min. long, pretty much saying that it is only 6.5 episodes long. This means that there won't be much time to fall in love with any of the characters or get to know any of them.

Talon87

05-07-2007, 05:39 PM

Dude, you're not the first. And I'm sure I'm not, either. But, CLICK! http://www.momotora.com/sukuran/loveweb.html

Raptor Jesus

05-08-2007, 03:03 AM

Talon, that chart looks very similar to one of the people of UPN and me.

[attachment=0:62710]love chain.JPG[/attachment:62710]

And with this as scientific proof, it clearly shows that everyone cool loves me. And everyone not cool is not on the chart. Why? CUZ THEY'RE THE BANNED! Yay!

lol.

big bad birtha

05-08-2007, 02:13 PM

I finished Final Approach so imma gonna update my watching status.

Final Approach- *sigh* This wasn't as good as I thought it would be.....I mean, it is adorable, and a little heartwarming, but there are just too many corny moments. It also uses things that are used in cartoons, like some annoying sound effect that you would expect from "Tom and Jerry" or something like that. I personally think that this anime should of taken itself a little more seriously because it had a pretty decent thing going on with the whole "You are going to marry me because the government said so" thing. I give this a pretty good.

EDIT: I forgot to tell the positives about this. This is a nice and lighthearted little anime. All of the characters are gorgeous and this took a few tears from me. This is quite similar to Sumomomo if I say so myself because the girl is so persistent. However, unlike the girl in Sumomomo, this girl seems to actually have some emotions and is just trying to get him to marry her instead of getting him into the bed. I personally love Susuka because she is just so sweet. The fact that the main dude treats her like **** kinda infuriates me.

Also, I am looking at some more anime. Rumbling Hearts, Mahoraba-Heartful Days, and School Rumble Season 2. I've still got to finish Negima though ><

big bad birtha

05-10-2007, 05:05 AM

Imma just updating my anime watching status.

Mahou Sensei Negima- I might just stop watching this because watching this is just getting tiring. This relies too fully on the whole middle school girl thing and EVERY girl has a thing for this ten year old boy. Also, if someone spends a little time alone with him, they think him and the other girl are doing it and that speaks for itself.

School Rumble Season Two- I am on episode seven. So far, this is just as good as the first season, if not better. It doesn't have as many Karashima WTF moments that the first season had (I love his raincoat XD) but it makes up for it with the trio of super perverts (Go female swimsuit wrestling!!!). Episode two and three are ****ing amazing. It is increadible how this can turn GAR in a quick instant, and how they put the band's song in the right moment made it so much better. I think this is a little better than season one, but it might start slowing down. Still wonderful, and I pray for it to continue because watching this is really a treat.

Mahoraba -Heartful Days- I only watched at the first episode. It looks really good as well. It is about this dude who moved in Tokyo to go to an art school. He is living with his second cousin who happens to be the landlady of this inn. He starts to like her and these girls start spying on him. I know, his cousin, GROSS (j/k I know better!!!). Anyway, she happens to have a split personality. Whenever she is suprised, she goes from super-sweet to angry and violent. This has promise and I will continue with this after I finish School Rumble.

Just so you know, I am just looking through ANN for some of their highest ranked anime titles now. That is how I found Mahoraba.

Mcsweeney

05-10-2007, 05:50 AM

I was actually thinking of checking out Mahoraba myself, because the club president girl looks awesome.

big bad birtha

05-12-2007, 02:58 AM

Eh? Club president girl? Are you talking about the pink-haired girl with the cat fangs, or the landlady? I am on ep. 4 and I have not seen a club yet......

School Rumble Season Two- ....finished!! This anime is so ****ing wonderful! I like this even better than season one, and that's saying alot. I honestly have no complaints about this other than the pointless filler episode, but that episode was funny as hell. The OP and ED are also a big improvement over the first season's as well. Every moment was a rollercoaster of funness. I can't wait to see the conclusion whenever I am able to catch season 3. Also, I <3 Yakumo!! I am honored to give this anime the mighty rating of masterpiece, making this my third. Congratulations!

Mahoraba-Heartful Days- I love this. It is just so adorable!! The landlady loves sour things, and when she eats something sour, she puckers her lips and makes this really adorable noise. I want to show you a clip of this, but I can't find one. It is also very heartwarming and pretty amusing. I am glad I found this.

big bad birtha

05-13-2007, 06:35 PM

Well, since I have nothing better to do, I am going to update my anime watching status.

Mahoraba-Heartful Days- Hell, they hardly show any of their schools, because every character goes to a different school (well, pretty much. I don't wanna explain it though). Anyway, so far so good. It's not exactly exciting, but it keeps my attention.

Lucky Star- Eh?! WTF is this? First episode, and it is just a bunch of little girls talking about pointless stuff. Even so, it is pretty funny. The main character is this anime/video game freak who is good at sports and junk, but she doesn't wanna play because she would miss her anime. The first five minutes they are talking about how to eat their food. I personally like the pointlessness. Hell, it's like a big Haruhi episode 10. Speaking of Haruhi, when I saw the OP, I was like "If this isn't from Kyoto animation, they are going to get their asses sued off." because it is obviously mocking Haruhi. However, it is from Kyoto. If you look a little more, you will notice a bunch of backgrounds from Air.

Well, here's the REAL reason I made this post. I found this excellent comic about Death Note and Santa Claus.

Doppleganger

05-14-2007, 03:10 AM

VGCats is such trash. People really must have a low threshold of amusement if someone substitutes a two pronged parody for an actual joke and people think it's funny. Case in point, "Fullmetal Botanist".

big bad birtha

05-14-2007, 03:40 AM

Not ALL of their comics are trash. I have to admit that Fullmetal Botanist was retarded, and about the only good ones are Metal Gear Solid and Legend of Zelda comics, but the one I showed was pretty good (or at least I think). Of course, I thought of it as more awesome than funny....

Talon87

05-14-2007, 07:14 PM

VGCats is such trash.
Since when ought we to take the advice of a 4channer seriously when it comes to deciding "quality humor"? :roll: :x

VGCats is okay. I check it biweekly to monthly. The author is a real prick (judging from his rants on his main page and how lazy he's gotten with the comic over the past year), but he has a few gems here and there. "THIS IS MUSHROOM KINGDOM!" is probably one of the best video game comics I've ever seen, and hell, he only made that a month ago. So I wouldn't go so far as to say he sucks OR that he's "lost the touch." He's just a big douche who only puts out when he feels like he's not getting enough hits on the main page anymore.

Frankly, he's less of a douche than Tycho of Penny-Arcade has become. I've really grown to hate Tycho's obsession with writing pseudo-Victorianesque rants. He's like Doppel, when Doppel used to try and use British slang as witticisms, only he's Doppel ON STEROIDS. It's sick. He says things like, "I supremely fancied the punctimonious, if I may, Super Marios Bros. 3." SHUT UP! :evil: NO, YOU MAY NOT invent such RETARDED neologisms as "puncitmonious!" And yes, I know what words like neologism mean! Yes, without having to look them up! Yes, I've never had to bust a dictionary out once for your rants! And yes, I can damn well tell that that was actually your goal! You fucking elitist nerd! -_-;

[/end rant]

But yeah, putting Tycho's assy personality these days to the side, he is pretty savvy, and I enjoy well over half of the comic ideas he crafts for Gabe to draw. Like so many arrogant people online, his confidence comes with some actual basis.

big bad birtha

05-15-2007, 01:41 AM

Good job Suigin. Anyway, I don't quite know what 4channer is, so I wish for the power of defining from anyone (unlike Suigin, I am willing to admit my lack of knowledge =P j/k). Also, I have been burning the midnight oil with watching anime relentlessly, and since there's an anime character just like me, I have been inspired to go after it even more(will explain later).

Mahoraba-Heartful Days- This is so hearwarming and sweet that I just wanna hug something. I also saw the club president that McSweeny was talking about, but it only gave a very slight introduction to her, so I am still not sure what she will bring upon the show. The most entertaining character is probably the irresponsible and childish mother who just dies and falls asleep without warning. Also, the main character is just adorable in every way. She's almost as huggable as Ayu.....maybe not THAT adorable. I'm on episode 12.

Lucky Star- This is wonderful. I know no-one in here will like this, but to hell with joo. Most of the appeal is the constant anime/video game references that you will see. I do love one Haruhi reference "They will lose viewers if they have another long Nagato speech episode." The main character is just so like alot of anime fans (and myself) that it is eerie. The OP is like one of the most addicting OP's ever. Lemme see...I have seen references from Kanon, Full Metal Panic, Cromartie, Death Note, To Heart, Haruhi and several others that I can't remember. Anyway, I am on episode 6.

Love Love- Errm....This is just relentless fanservice. The next episode is loaded with bare boobies, but whatever. Almost every minute has a moment when a girl's skirt is lifted or the main character grabs a girl's chest. They shoud've just made this a hentai because some of the girls are very excellent hentai material. Everything else just sucks big donkey balls.....

Hrrm.....I think I need to make up more words and phrases because the ones I have aren't enough to thouroughly express myself....

Raptor Jesus

05-15-2007, 02:06 AM

I have a download backlog. If I didn't, I'd at least try the first episode of Lucky Star, as a lot of people have given it some really nice reviews. I don't know any of the story, but the screenshots I've seen look nice.

Talon87

05-15-2007, 03:42 AM

I'm just giving Doppel (far, far too hard of) a hard time for making fun of you for liking VG Cats.

4channer = anybody who regularly visits 4chan (google search, first hit)

In Doppel's incredible defense:
a) he's on track to graduate from college (+1 over most 4channers)
b) he's at least remotely intelligent (+1 over most 4channers)
c) he's never once said something like "I wish I lived in Japan" (+1 over nearly all 4channers)
d) he doesn't proclaim any enjoyment of guro, necro, or other questionable sexual fetishes (+1 over the creepiest 4channers)
e) he doesn't post links to 4chan here (+........ actually, that may have more to do with the fact that 4chan disallows hotlinking)

big bad birtha

05-15-2007, 04:27 AM

I'm just giving Doppel (far, far too hard of) a hard time for making fun of you for liking VG Cats.

I give thanks to joo for it as well(It's nice to know that there is someone with more fire than me here to defend my stupid ass). However, his insults don't bug me. Hell, he called me a rabid, stupid, bigoted, stinking, weaboo(I think this is proof of your example, Suigin), for some odd reason. I'm not really sure why he feels the need to insult me, but oh well. I won't go off for a reason like some guy with an anger problem worse than mine insulting me. I have grown out of that.

Oh, to anyone interested, here is the Lucky Star Opening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjEFUY7unks). It is very....energetic. It is like taking the Hare Hare Yukai dance and injecting it with crack. Here's a big suprise as well. All of the girls are in their second year of high school @_@; For those who hate/love loli fan-service, this has none.

big bad birtha

05-18-2007, 01:59 PM

My anime watching status has now been updated, and here is the update.

Sola- I watched episode 6, and it just threw a huge twist at me. Honestly, I wasn't going to mention this until I finished this, but this episode was just wonderful. I wanted to mention the huge twist just for the people who thought it was predictable. Look forward to my review in the Sola thread when I finish this.

Mahoraba -Heartful Days- Finished. I love this. This series is just so heartwarming that I nearly cried. It has a wonderful story and every character is just so lovable. It is also pretty funny (especially the creepy club president "Such wonderful pain! Please, insult me more!"). I wish someone else would up and watch this, but whatever. I give this an excellent.

I'm not quite sure what I am going to watch now. I am still scouting. Since my shoulder is ****ed up, I have more anime watching time than usual.

Talon87

05-21-2007, 03:24 PM

I just finished the Zabuza story arc of Naruto last night.

I gotta say, I was really surprised by what happened to Haku. Just the other day, I saw somebody with a Haku avatar and the username "Haku" and I thought to myself, "Well, you wouldn't go and make that sort of account for a character who dies in the first 20 episodes, now would you?" Guess I was wrong. 8O (And don't spoil me if I was right! :evil: )

The show has started to feel a little stretchy, i.e. it feels like they're telling in five episodes what they could have told in two. They repeat a lot of scenes, too. One kind of repeat is when the beginning of Episode B is the same five minutes as the end of Episode A. (And I always fast forward through that.) The other kind of repeat is when Episode M contains flashbacks from Episodes K and L. That's a little harder to deal with since they usually only last 10 seconds per flashback and happen at random times.

But complaints about scene repetition and stretched-out plot to the side, the plot does feel pretty good and I really like Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi. Sakura is flat-out uninteresting, and I was warned she would be. I sort of wish she'd just shut up. Even her Inner Sakura routine has gotten old, considering I don't like her and so (by proxy) I'm unamused when her Inner antics waste some precious screentime. But Naruto is very interesting, both the boy and the fox within him. Sasuke is similarly interesting as "Sasuke the individual" and "Sasuke the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan" ... although I guess I can't say "sole" anymore, considering he mentioned his entire reason for becoming a ninja is to get revenge against his brother ... which must mean there's at least two Uchihas. (And what's with Kakashi-sensei having the Sharingan but not having the Uchiha clan name? I'm sure I'll find out -- NO SPOILERS!)

BBB, you really spoiled me big time with your whole "Naruto's dad" thing. Please don't do that again. :oops: Very smart of you to figure that out so easily, but man, way to spoil it for me. :P

I recommend the show to anybody interested in a "good story," period. It seems like it has a good story. Never mind the good action, funny characters, etc. I can easily see why this show is so popular. It's just, I have trouble seeing why this anime is King Undisputed. I've seen better shows, especially when I'm 20 episodes into 'em.

big bad birtha

05-22-2007, 12:19 AM

I didn't really think of it as spoiling it, but I apologise anyway. I could also be wrong, because I am on ch.354, and it hasn't been confirmed.

As for Kakashi, I can explain it in juicy and super spoiling detail, but I'd rathter not, instead, it brings about a question of my own about his sharingan. (in the spoiler box below)

BIG spoilers in here. Don't read unless you have watched/read at least half-way through what is available of Naruto part 2.

I am aware that Kakashi obtained the Sharingan by Obata giving it to him, but he also has the m-something sharingan (I don't remember its name). According to Itachi, you have to obtain it by killing your dearest friend. However, there is no sign of Kakashi killing any of his friends. His most likely best friend, Guy, is still alive and kicking, and someone else killed Obata at the time. I know it will probably be revealed in the next few chapters, but this has been bugging the hell out of me. It's probably this typical other way to do something that there should only be one way to do things.

Anyway, keep at it. There is a few retarded stereotypical shounen elements, but that shouldn't ruin it. As for Sakura, her inner-Sakura thing should wear down. It pissed me off when I saw it. I was also watching English dub, making it alot more annoying. (I really need to check up on the Saturday Block of Fun as well. I haven't seriously sat down and watched television in months). I am anxiously waiting for the next chapters to arrive because this is where it gets good.

While I am here, I might as well update my watching status (did anyone expect otherwise?). I have obtained Diamond, but I am not going to play it too much (it hurts my arm to use my DS). It won't do anything to my anime watching.

Rumbling Hearts- Finished. I keep forgetting its Jap. name, but whatever. Anyway, this is probably the most dramatic anime I have ever seen. This is more on the level of a dark soap opera than anything. I also HATED the ending. OMG did it piss me off. Oh well, it still won't effect the score I give it. This was still a great heart-wrenching, tear-jerking anime that was a pleasure to watch. This takes a step closer to reality. The first two episodes are sweet, but somewhat dramatic. At the end of ep. 2 though, it just kicked me in the mouth and turned dark really quickly. There is also this little short at the end of some of the episodes that give you a few laughs to relieve you from the tears or shock. People who commented on this compared this to Kanon/Air, but I really think this is so much more dramatic than either, that there is really not much comparison (I like Kanon/Air much better than this for the same reason). As I mentioned earlier, this was a pleasure to watch, and I give this an excellent.

Akane Maniax- This is a spin-off OVA for Rumbling Hearts. This is about Haruka's little sister, Akane. This is more like the first two episodes of RH. This strange dude with an over-active imagination falls in love at first sight with Akane, and he is constantly pestering her. Like RH, I HATE the ending to this. I like this, but it spends way too much time in the main dude's imagination, where there could be some nice high-school drama things in its place. It's pretty funny and heartwarming, but nothing super special. I give this a pretty good.

Genshiken- I only watched the first episode. From what I have seen, this is not funny, heartwarming, exciting, or cute. However, this is most definitely interesting. I like the concept about the Otaku and how they live. Even though the main character of Lucky Star represents the same thing, this is more realistic. I will continue to watch this, because this has sparked my interest. I also want to watch the anime that is constantly shown in this (I know some episodes of it are out, but I forget the name of it).

Talon87

05-22-2007, 01:04 AM

DON'T WATCH THE GENSHIKEN ANIME, PLEASE. For the love of God, read the (EXCELLENT) Genshiken manga. Best I've ever read. The anime is quite dull. Quite.

Talon87

05-22-2007, 01:36 AM

Just finished Episode 24. Hot damn, Naruto rocks! :D I love a show which sets up a "cheating exam" like this, only to have the hero honorably refuse to cheat, even if it means absolute failure.

big bad birtha

05-22-2007, 02:00 AM

Errm....ok. Gimma a place to download that som' bitch and I will. Anyway, I found something called "Gift Eternal Rainbow" that seems pretty good anyway.

Also, just wait 'till the second part of the exams (about 7 episodes more). You will see an extremely badass part of Sasuke in it. My blood is pumping up just thinking about.

Talon87

05-22-2007, 02:13 AM

You really should buy the first volume. For just $10, it's not a big risk ... and it's soooooooo good.

But if you insist, there are always other places (http://www.tokyotosho.com/) where you could look for Genshiken ... if not here (http://www.tokyotosho.com/details.php?id=67052), then try here (http://www.datorrents.com/download.asp?id=12185&name=Genshiken%20Vol%201-5%20%5Bm-s%5D.torrent) ... but seriously. Buy it. :| And don't watch the anime until you've read the books. Because the anime is so bad it'll put you off the books (I've seen it happen!), while the books are so good you'll have withdrawal when you run out of books to read (I've also seen [and experienced] this!).

Talon87

05-23-2007, 03:11 AM

Through Episode 36. This arc rocks the big one. I just saw the episode where Hinata's squad witnessed how Gaara's squad "had fun" in the Forest of Death. Daaaaamn. It'll be interesting to see how/why Gaara becomes such a well-loved character by the fanbase, considering that (as things stand now) he's poised to become a character very much like Scar in Fullmetal Alchemist, i.e. this really cruel person who is himself the victim of war. (I have the advantage, like so many Japanese children, of being able to recognize that the kanji above Gaara's eye is Ai, Ã¦â€žâ€º , which means "love". So I know that he's probably going to be a very Harry Potter-esque character, "an orphan whose mother protects him with her gift of love" or something. That's my guess, anyway. I have trouble believing that the sand just blindly protects him ...)

I really love Hinata, and from what little I've gotten to see of her talking with Naruto and using her eye technique, I have to say, she's quite the cutie. Definitely rooting for her winding up with Naruto. Screw that Sakura bitch. Though I have to say, I respect Sakura a little more ever since the episode where she "takes a dagger to the hair," that was pretty cool.

Sasuke is becoming the dark character I always knew he must become, but not for the reasons I predicted.
I always thought he was going to become evil of his own accord. I never thought it was going to be because of some cursed seal given to him by this huge enemy introduced for the very first time in S2. While I do think Orochimaru is interesting, it saddens me that Sasuke's brother is one of Orochimaru's underlings. It would have been much, much cooler if Sasuke's brother was the dark evil warlord heading things up and Orochimaru was one of his men. Oh well. Maybe I'll change my mind as the show progresses.
There is one question I have (RHETORICAL; DON'T ANSWER IT! :evil: ), and that is, "Why does Sasuke's seal on the back of his neck look identical to the Sharingan of a fully-developed Sharingan user's eyes? In other words, three commas arranged symmetrically with their tails pointing in towards the center. Is the seal preventing Sasuke from using his Sharingan? Is it unleashing his Sharingan's full potential? Is there no correlation at all?"

A lot of hot (read: mature) women are finally turning up. The head of Hinata's squad is really hot. So is the test administrator for Exam 2, Anko. Hopefully the trend will persist. :mrgreen:

I really love how Naruto and Sasuke are now even. :D Though it's more thanks to Naruto's fox-spirit than to Naruto's own abilities ...

I love how dark and sinister this Orochimaru character is ... how well he's infiltrated the Konoha Chuunin exam ... he feels a lot like Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. He's serpentine; he uses dark, forbidden magic; he kills people as he sees fit, including his own men (e.g. he was willing to let his own ninjas die when he told them, "Go and kill Uchiha Sasuke," knowing that they couldn't possibly pull it off, and all because he wanted to assess Sasuke's power ... that's my theory, anyway ... the Sound ninjas are still officially confused why their boss sent them to fight Monster Sasuke) ... he's a lot like Harry Potter's Voldemort. A very cool villain indeed.

Signing off to watch more Naruto. :D

Raptor Jesus

05-23-2007, 03:45 AM

Episode 40 (?) is my favorite fight in that whole arc. Then it's some down time followed by more great fights, including a really big one around the 70s iirc. Then there's a dumb arc with a lot of filler followed by the coolest arc around the 80s to [number I didn't get up to]. After that it's filler for like 2 years >>

Doppleganger

05-23-2007, 08:41 AM

Since when ought we to take the advice of a 4channer seriously when it comes to deciding "quality humor"? :roll: :x

Oh ho, but Scott is an /a/nonymous as well. :P

VGCats is okay. I check it biweekly to monthly. The author is a real prick (judging from his rants on his main page and how lazy he's gotten with the comic over the past year), but he has a few gems here and there. "THIS IS MUSHROOM KINGDOM!" is probably one of the best video game comics I've ever seen, and hell, he only made that a month ago. So I wouldn't go so far as to say he sucks OR that he's "lost the touch." He's just a big douche who only puts out when he feels like he's not getting enough hits on the main page anymore.

I know that's a .3K parody but I couldn't fully grasp the joke. At that, though, I will agree Scott comes out with some good stuff, though frankly I think of what he's put out the funniest strip was his 8-Bit Theatre guest comic, which isn't even VG Cats.

He's like Doppel, when Doppel used to try and use British slang as witticisms, only he's Doppel ON STEROIDS. It's sick. He says things like, "I supremely fancied the punctimonious, if I may, Super Marios Bros. 3." SHUT UP! :evil: NO, YOU MAY NOT invent such RETARDED neologisms as "puncitmonious!" And yes, I know what words like neologism mean! Yes, without having to look them up! Yes, I've never had to bust a dictionary out once for your rants! And yes, I can damn well tell that that was actually your goal! You fucking elitist nerd! -_-;

Hah, maybe I should do more of those - I've forgotten what it feels since getting banned from ANN. =/

I give thanks to joo for it as well(It's nice to know that there is someone with more fire than me here to defend my stupid ass). However, his insults don't bug me. Hell, he called me a rabid, stupid, bigoted, stinking, weaboo(I think this is proof of your example, Suigin), for some odd reason.

I wasn't talking about you actually, I was just talking about the kind of people who piss me off. You certainly do not fit that category. I guess the post placement made it a little suspect.

big bad birtha

05-23-2007, 05:20 PM

Sasuke is becoming the dark character I always knew he must become, but not for the reasons I predicted.
I always thought he was going to become evil of his own accord. I never thought it was going to be because of some cursed seal given to him by this huge enemy introduced for the very first time in S2. While I do think Orochimaru is interesting, it saddens me that Sasuke's brother is one of Orochimaru's underlings. It would have been much, much cooler if Sasuke's brother was the dark evil warlord heading things up and Orochimaru was one of his men. Oh well. Maybe I'll change my mind as the show progresses.

Eh?! Where'd you get that Sasuke's brother was Orochimaru's underling? I never remember Orochimaru even hinting that Sasuke's brother was his underling. You will see who is the more powerful of the two later.

I haven't really had time to watch any anime in the past few days so no updating for me ><. However, with all of Suigin's hooplaa, I think I might check out some of the Naruto episodes that don't appear in the manga (it's probably the filler that Loki is talking about) and part 2.

Talon87

05-23-2007, 05:47 PM

Through Episode 44. (Part 2 of, presumably, 3 in the fight between Naruto and Kiba the Dog-User.) The show is really good, but damn does this all feel like filler. :| I can't wait for the real filler. I fast-forwarded through so much of the two episodes that featured Sakura fighting Ino. It was so boring! -_-; Shikamaru, on the other hand, really kicked ass. I love how he seems like such a minor character who is so apathetic towards being a ninja but he really kicks ass and is incredibly cunning. That whole trick with the strings was brilliant -- totally didn't see that coming!

I think the guy with the ventriloquist's dummy is retarded. -_-; Sorry, but I have trouble respecting a guy whose sole idea of kicking ass is "the element of surprise with my chakra-controlled dummy." The moment the dummy is set on fire, he's screwed. I was also really sad to see Tenten lose to that stupid fan bitch. -_-; She's a real cutie, that Tenten, and I wanted to see her become a Chuunin along with Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji. Who knows ... maybe none of them will become Chuunin. Guess I'll have to keep watching to find out!

Regarding Orochimaru and Sasuke's brother, it was my understanding that Orochimaru is founding this new nation (with the Hidden Village of the Sound as his base camp) in the southeast of the continent. I don't see how you could be the founder of the nation without being the leader; and the fact that he's already mentioned that he and Sasuke's brother are in cahoots would suggest only one of two possibilities:
a) Sasuke's brother is one of the Legendary Sannin who betrayed Konoha, i.e. he's Orochimaru's equal, immediate inferior, or immediate superior; or
b) Sasuke's brother has to be Orochimaru's distinct inferior

It's possible that it's Letter A and that Orochimaru simply wants to control Sasuke so that he has a trump card to use against Sasuke's brother. No idea, really. I'll just have to wait and see.

big bad birtha

05-23-2007, 07:37 PM

I don't even remember Orochimaru mentioning being alligned with Sasuke's brother. I guess I need to refresh myself. I know he knew of Sasuke's brother and used his hatred to awaken the curse mark. (I'm talking from my perspective of when I was first reading this. I already know about the relationship between Sasuke's brother and Orochimaru, if there is any.)

You're close to the best fights of the exams. If you're through Naruto/Kiba, then I think there's three more fights left. The next one will be full of flashbacks, but definitely the most emotional fight (and my second favorite of this part of the exams). After that, OMG it is ****ing sweet! Probably one of the best fights in the entire series. You will crap your pants. The one after that isn't that great.

Talon87

05-23-2007, 07:54 PM

Hinata vs. Neji was great. It upped my Love-Hinata! meter by quite a bit, and it finally helped me decide whether I should be rooting for Neji or whether I should hate his guts. (HATE HIS GUTS!)

I'm currently halfway through Rock Lee vs. Gaara. Pretty exciting. On the one hand, I want to see Rock Lee beat Gaara and so Gaara goes back to the Village of the Sand to train some more. On the other hand, it would be ridiculous for the writers to suggest that the lame-ass Fan Girl and the lame-ass Dummy User could win their matches but Gaara -- fearful, invincible Gaara -- could not. So, for the sake of preserving raw logic, we need to see Gaara beat the shit out of Rock Lee, an admirable character who (regrettably) will always be an incomplete ninja.

To put it another way ... let's use Magic cards. Rock Lee is like "the best Green Mage ever." But because you know that his deck is monocolor green 100% of the time, it's really quite easy for you to draw some of your "Protection from Green" sideboard cards into your main deck and then beat the living hell out of him. No matter how good a Magic player you are, you can't overcome somebody who is able to protect himself from 100% of your spells and similarly get past 100% of your spells to hurt you. You will lose. It's the same for Rock Lee. :cry:

So I dunno. I'm torn. I really want to see Rock win (because I want him to become a Chuunin, and more importantly, I don't want him to die! ;_;), but it would be illogical for the most powerful Genin in the exam to lose to an incomplete student. :|

Talon87

05-23-2007, 09:25 PM

Just finished Episode 50. Well ... I got the answer to my "Rock Lee vs. Gaara" question. All I can say is ... I'm half-satisfied and half really, really upset for what the future has in store. Oh, and I'm disappointed by Gaara's lack of fighting. He either protected himself from everything or he got the shit knocked out of him. Aside from the part where he tried to execute the Desert Coffin and Desert Funeral, he never really fought. I guess he did have those sand tsunamis and sand arms ... oh well. :| I hope to see Gaara doing more in the future.

When I first saw pictures of Rock Lee and Gai-sensei, I couldn't shake the feeling that they were father and son. Even now, I still can't shake that feeling, despite the fact that we've gotten to see Rock Lee's flashback sequences so much now and we can pretty much confirm that he and Gai don't get to know each other deeply until they became Jounin-Genin related.

I can't believe they saved the fat pig and the wanna-be Shredder for the final fight. -_-; What a boring combo. I mean, I could seriously almost not care any less than I already do about who wins the fight. Either way, the winner is fodder for a superior fighter in the 3rd Exam.

I want to see more of Hinata's hoooooooooot sensei, but it looks like I'm not going to get to for a while. Sigh. :cry: So hot. :cry:

big bad birtha

05-23-2007, 09:39 PM

This is like 15 episodes away, but Garra's next match will not disappoint. This is another sweet fight and definitely the best of this part of the exams. I don't know if the combinations have been shown to you yet, but whatever. This will also show you about how broken one of the character's abilites are. You have been somewhat introduced to how it is broken, but it will be shown to you in full glory.

Oh, and Neji is the shiznit. You will see why in future fights. I like Hinata better, but still....

Raptor Jesus

05-23-2007, 10:01 PM

SPOILER!

Sasuke's brother is stronger then Orochimaru.

Talon87

05-24-2007, 03:43 AM

Three good reasons to watch Naruto, as seen below:
1 - Cool dudes who remind me of the greatness I aspire to achieve ;3
2 - Scary dudes
3 - Beautiful women

Currently through Episode 55. As you can see, I've finally met "Ero Sennin" Jiraiya, the perverted old hermit. And thanks to avoiding spoilers, he rocks 10x more than I anticipated he would! :11 :11 :11

I really love how Ebisu and Kakashi gave Naruto a hard-time for "failing to utilize [his] chakra efficiently" and then it turns out it was all Orochimaru's 5-element seal's fault and, as soon as Jiraiya removed it, the amazing progress Naruto has made since graduating from Ninja Academy returned and he was able to not only walk but to dance on water. Pretty cool.

I love how Jiraiya is teaching Naruto about how to use his fox's power rather than the other way around! :mrgreen: Very, very interesting. Of course, the demon fox would want to use the boy to achieve its own goals (or, more realistically, it would want to escape from the boy and wreak havoc), so it's really ironic that the boy can turn the fox's power into a tool to be used rather than a tool by which to be used. If that makes any sense. ^_^;

What the hell, Sasuke escaped from the hospital? And he's on top of the rock Kakashi-sensei had such a hard time climbing to? Uh oh ... I don't like this :| ...

Poor Rock Lee. ;_;

SOOOOOOOO GOOD! :D

I wouldn't call myself a "Narutard" since I can easily agree with Naruto haters that the show has its downsides and it's really slow ... but ultimately, I guess I'm moreso a Narutard than not since (so far) this is one of the best animes I've ever seen. Definitely gold, so far. If it keeps this up ... God only knows. :D

Anybody know how to make these attachments tiny like thumbnails until you click on them, like it used to be at the old board? O_o

[attachment=2:cb30d]jiraiya-sama.jpg[/attachment:cb30d][attachment=1:cb30d]scary_gaara.jpg[/attachment:cb30d][attachment=0:cb30d]super_hottie.jpg[/attachment:cb30d]

Edit, just finished 57. Gamabunta the Frog Lord. So amazingly awesome. :D This kicks so much ass.

Oh, and Bertha? Yeah. This last episode pretty much "confirmed" the validity of your theory as to the identity of Naruto's father. The comments made by Gamabunta about "the last man who was able to ride on my head" coupled with the portrait we're shown of the 4th Hokage preeeeetty much confirm it. You are a smart guy if you figured it out prior to this episode; I would probably have started to piece things together here. At the very least, I would have concluded that Naruto is definitely on the path to becoming a Hokage. :D ;)

Doppleganger

05-24-2007, 06:47 AM

I wouldn't call myself a "Narutard" since I can easily agree with Naruto haters that the show has its downsides and it's really slow ... but ultimately, I guess I'm moreso a Narutard than not since (so far) this is one of the best animes I've ever seen. Definitely gold, so far. If it keeps this up ... God only knows. :D

Wow, you're that into it? I've got to say Naruto was great though the Sannin fight but it's sucked since then - I wouldn't touch the whole series with a good rating even during the Chuunin Exam finale, which should impress you a LOT.

You are a smart guy if you figured it out prior to this episode; I would probably have started to piece things together here. At the very least, I would have concluded that Naruto is definitely on the path to becoming a Hokage. :D ;)

Well, looking at this comment I can tell Talon hasn't much experience with shounen, since "ascended heritage" is a staple found in all shounen and Naruto is no different. One could have predicted the Kyuubi power release during the Zabuza Arc for the same reason - it's the kind of event common to all shounen.

Trends like that aren't unsurprising in shoujo, either. Say, the academy play which is always chose as "Romeo & Juliet" and how girls always faint whenever over-exerting themselves in an emotionally powerful scene.

Talon87

05-24-2007, 01:15 PM

Sannin fight hasn't happened yet, so I don't know what you're going on about being surprised with me.

big bad birtha

05-24-2007, 01:46 PM

I didn't expect you to get that much into Naruto. I have to admit that I have paid some special attention to Naruto myself and my knowledge of Naruto is higher than that of most anime, but I have a reason for that. Well, since Suigin is all out on his Naruto watching status, I will reveal what's happening in the manga. (there's spoilers of course)

A few chapters ago, Sasuke killed Orochimaru and left his care. After this, he starts looking for some team mates to join him in the fight aganst Itachi. During this, Naruto is all talking with Tsunade, Kakashi, and Jiraiya about Sasuke, because they just found out that he killed Orochimaru. Anyway, screw the leaf village for now. Sasuke first finds this guy called Mizugetsu. He is one of those swordsmen of the mist like Itachi's companion and Zabuza. Later he finds this girl named Karin, and she is one of those minor characters with a crush on a major character, even though I definitely perfer her over Sakura (even though Sakura can actually fight now, I still don't like her). He goes to this prison to get the next guy named Juugo. Juugo is this non-killing guy with another personality that does nothing but kill (kinda typical). At this point, Sasuke and the team are headed for Itachi, while Naruto and them have joined up with the team of Kiba, Shino, and Hinata to go find Itachi to intercept Sasuke.

I am pretty excited about this. For one, I've wanted to know what Hinata fights like after the whole three years. Also, this will just be entertaining. I'm sure Itachi will lay the smack-down on almost everyone and Sasuke will be taken over by Orochimaru for the moment. Sasuke will be in this whole struggling thing. After that, the leaf people will reach make it to the battle, and do their thing. Ok, I guess it's kinda predictable, but whatever.

I've been fingering around a bit with my watching status, but I really haven't made any progress. I guess I could of been watching anime rather that reading about Loki's baby shower.....

Raptor Jesus

05-24-2007, 02:56 PM

Jiraiya is my hero.

His basis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiraiya) is extremely influential on Naruto.

Talon87

05-24-2007, 03:55 PM

Wow. All I read was the first paragraph of that page, and it was so amazing how much Naruto took from that legend. o_o; Basically, Japanese kids who saw Orochimaru knew that Jiraiya and Tsunade were imminent characters. Crazy. (We still haven't met Tsunade ... hell, I don't even know if she's living or dead! ... but she's got to be the blonde-haired girl shown when Orochimaru and Jiraiya look like kids in Opening 3) Though I must say, if she's still a snail user in the anime, I dunno how interesting that'll be to watch. ^_^; Frogs are cool and funny and powerful, and snakes are of course powerful and scary as hell. Dunno about snails ... other than that they could be advertised as poisonous ...

Currently through 63. Shikamaru is about to begin his fight against Temuri, the retarded fan-wielding bitch. I gotta say ... Kankurou really fucked up by resigning from his fight against Aburame Shino. After the Kazekage had so strongly insisted on "wanting to see the Sand go up against one of Konaha's best families," it looks awfully suspicious for them to withdraw one of their men from fighting Konoha's bug-wielding clan. Sure, (quote unquote) "no clan is as cool as the Uchiha clan," but still, it's very suspicious. If Kankurou had intelligently wanted to avert attention to the fact that he has weapons stashed inside of his marionette for the war against Konoha, he should have simply gone down there with his dummy (still wrapped up inside the white fabric) and pretended to fight without using it, and gotten his ass handed to him quickly by the bug guy. But no. He's a big, fat idiot, and his decision (HOPEFULLY) will have been the clue the Hokage needs to realize that the County of Wind is being incredibly insincere with them right now.

Naruto's fight against Neji was good. I didn't feel it was as great as some of the fights we've seen previously, but I have to admit that Neji's a good fighter and that his ability to match Gaara in both frightening offense and nearly impermeable defense is something that ought to warrant his promotion to Chuunin.

How was Naruto able to convince the fox to loan him power this time, I wonder? He wasn't in danger of dying (at the time he summoned the fox spirit), though he was in danger of dying immediately after he had summoned it (when the unaware Neji informed the Examiner, "I'm going to kill him now. Stop me if you wish").

I really hope Naruto summons the Frog Lord in his fight against Gaara/Sasuke ... but something tells me that we're not going to see their fight. I have the feeling that we're not even going to finish Exam 3 before the war breaks out between Fire and Wind ... man, you can almost feel yourself drowning in the tension, it's so deep!

Raptor Jesus

05-24-2007, 04:38 PM

I find it funny how Talon is getting so excited about Naruto when like 3 years ago you made fun of me for having a Naruto signature. And I especially find it funny that the current arc you're enjoying was new like 3 years ago xd.

Doppleganger

05-24-2007, 04:58 PM

big bad birtha

05-24-2007, 09:03 PM

It's been a while since I've actually updated my anime watching status, so I will right now.

Genshiken- I know Suigin was against it, but I decided to watch this anyway because the high rating from ANN. I'm on episode eight and I don't see any big problems with this. Sure, it's pretty boring, but I think it's pretty interesting as well. The only problem I have with this is that they treat Kujibiki Unbalance like the only anime that ever existed. I wish they gave references to other anime. Oh, and I downloaded the manga, but the files won't open (I think it has something to do with it being a RAR file....).

Gift Eternal Rainbow- This has the whole childhood friend that moved away returning thing, but that doesn't matter (I've always liked that). Also...every female character is downright adorable. The main dude is kinda creepy looking, because he has the huge pupils thing going on too. Enough with appearances though. This seems to be one of the more light-hearted romances. I can already tell that there will be a struggle on who will get the main dude. All of this is kinda typical. The town this is in, has a rainbow of it at all times (duh!) and people can give one other somethng called a "gift" if their hearts join as one. I'm not sure what exactly "gift" is, but if you are unable to give the "gift" then stuff goes wrong. I've only watched episode one, so I haven't bitten into the creamy center yet.

Talon87

05-24-2007, 09:56 PM

For the love of God ;_;, if you watch the anime and then read the manga, you'll think the manga is nothing special. But if you do it the other way around, you'll think the manga is godly and the anime is crap. It's all about FIRST IMPRESSIONS and the horrible, horrible sway they hold. Jesus, put the shitty anime down and pick up the manga. >_<

And to open Rar files, it's easy. Download WinRAR. Way better than Winzip and most built-in-to-Windows decompressors.

http://www.rarlab.com/ for the lazy. http://www.rarlab.com/rar/wrar362.exe for the super-lazy.

================================================== =

Through Episode 72. God, this rocks! This story is so much like Harry Potter! O_O Really makes me wonder if Rowling didn't rip the Naruto guy off or vice versa. :| But seriously! Orochimaru is Voldemort, snakes and immortal-ambitions and all. The 3rd Hokage is like Dumbledore -- the really-wise professor who was Orochimaru's very sensei and had the chance to kill him but let him loose. Naruto is like Harry -- really powerful but not the brightest wizard. The comparisons begin to fall apart beyond this, maybe, but come on! :P

I really was caught off-guard by Orochimaru's intended purpose for Sasuke. Sort of makes me wonder why he hasn't tried this out on Uchiha Itsuki yet ... hmm ...

I really love the sequence where they tell you who taught who and show you all the cute little chibi students. (Awwww at Chibi Orochimaru and Chibi Kakashi! :oops: ) I've got it reproduced below:

The 3rd Hokage taught Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

Orochimaru went on to teach Anko. (dead end)
Jiraiya went on to teach ???, ???, and Naruto's dad, the 4th Hokage.
Tsunade went on to ... um ... don't know yet.

The 4th Hokage went on to teach ???, ???, and Kakashi.

Kakashi went on to teach Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.

So the linear relationship between Naruto and the ancients is 3rd Hokage -> Jiraiya -> Naruto's dad -> Kakashi -> Naruto.

Pretty snazzy. So Kakashi was one of Naruto's father's own students. :mrgreen:

================================================== ==============

I wasn't too impressed with Sasuke's fight against Gaara during the 3rd Exam. Rock Lee's fight was a lot more exciting, personally. Sasuke basically proved he can overcome the shield using ninjutsu (something we already knew Rock Lee couldn't) and Gaara basically proved that he's got a monster inside of him -and- the oh-so-obvious prediction (see many posts of mine ago) that he's got a mother complex and that somehow his mother is intricately related to his sand ability.

I really enjoyed Shikamaru's fight, though. :) I love how he's been shown now to be not just cunning (as I said earlier) but a friggin' IQ-of-200 genius. Pretty awesome. I really do hope that, as this war gets underway, he is promoted to Chuunin status. He really does deserve it. At the very least, appoint him to be the official leader of the Ino Shika Chou group. Stupid Ino is a retarded bitch and arguably the least talented of the three. (Tough call between her and Chouji. As they both suck.)

Too bad we haven't gotten to see Shino do much yet, even though he's been shown hanging around corners left and right. (First the eavesdropping on Kankurou scene, then the eavesdropping on Kakashi and Gai scene ... where is he!?)

The dog is sort of amusing. Sort of. ^_^;

HOKAGE-SAMA'S FIGHT FUCKING ROCKS! :D :D :D SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! And right where I am (between 72 and 73), he's JUST busted out the 4th Hokage's move! (So brave! ;_; Such a noble sacrifice! ;_; Though I'm not quite sure if he's trying to seal Orochimaru or the 1st and 2nd Hokage's spirits ... nor where he plans to seal them ...)

Raptor Jesus

05-25-2007, 01:33 AM

Actually, the lineage of Sensei -> Student is much longer.

1st & 2nd Hokage taught 3rd Hokage.
3rd taught Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.
Jiraiya teaches 4th Hokage (and two unknowns)
4th teaches Kakashi and (two who will remain a mystery for now).
Kakashi teaches Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

Also, Sasuke's brother is named ITACHI. And my previous spoiler explains why Orochimaru didn't take him.

And lastly, Sasuke is a gay emo. All the fangirl doujins prove it xd.

Talon87

05-25-2007, 02:26 AM

I didn't highlight your previous spoiler because (DUH-HUR) it's a Naruto spoiler and I want to avoid Naruto spoilers like the plague. Ã£Æ’ÂÃ¯Â½Å¾Ã£â€šÂ«. :P (And fyi, I still haven't highlighted it. No idea what's inside there, and if it has anything to do with Itachi's relationship to Orochimaru, then chances are that I don't want to find out.)

Through Episode 77. The sneak peak for 78 gives me high hopes -- looks like Naruto's about to successfully resummon Gamabunta after his failed attempt in the fight against Monster Gaara.

Looks like I got cocky and ahead of myself -- if Gaara's aunts dying words are to be believed, then it looks like the "oh-so-obvious" (as I put it) story about Gaara's mother dying to protect him and wishing for his well-being were a well-conceived lie to fool the boy, and that in reality his mother hated Gaara and gave him his wicked name as her way of cursing the Village of the Sand and saying, "So long as Gaara lives, you guys have a monster to deal with ... a monster which will exact my vengeance for me from beyond the grave ..." So ......... yikes. And Gaara put the Love character on his own forehead, too, it looks like. So ... I totally miscalled that. Totally got fooled by the author, and pretty clearly, it's the exact trap he planned for me, too. Smart guy, this Naruto writer. :P

Man, it's getting slow. -_-; These episodes in the 70's are so stretched out! The first half of every episode from 74-77 has been Gaara and his pursuers, while the second half has been the Hokage vs. Orochimaru. I can't begin to count the number of times we've seen, in different episodes, that Monkey King holding on to Orochimaru's sword while the Hokage and Orochimaru struggle to see who can kill the other first. For goodness' sake, finish him off already, Hokage-sama! :| Something tells me that we're not going to get to see Orochimaru die ... something called "I'm only on episode 78 of 230-something." :| But if I didn't know any better, I'd really think that the Hokage's odds are good. He really does seem to have Orochimaru by the ropes. Which must mean Orochimaru either gets damned lucky or he's got something up his sleeves which the Hokage hasn't anticipated. :|

........... or maybe I'll be happily surprised to find that I'm wrong, again, and this really is the end for Orochimaru. :D

But for the record, Episode 73 really did kick ass. Great episode. My only regret is what the Hokage said in 74 (iirc) about the shinigami:

Orochimaru ... this is the God of Death. The way this technique works requires the attacker to sacrifice himself to the God of Death; in return, the Death God helps the attacker to steal the soul of the victim and lock it away inside a vessel of the attacker's choice. So you see ... when I die, you will die with me. And we will be plunged into the Death God's stomach, where will wage eternal battle.
My concern is ... is this why he begged the 1st and 2nd Hokages for forgiveness? :cry: Did the 3rd Hokage basically damn them to an eternity in Hell? Furthermore ... if Naruto's dad used this move to seal the Nine-Tailed Fox ... then shouldn't he be inside the belly of the Death God as we speak? If so ... how on Earth was Orochimaru able to almost resurrect Naruto's dad? Plothole? Or does somebody have a good (non- or minor-spoiler) answer for me?

EDIT: Just finished 79. Awesome attachment below. ;) Jiraiya, my main man. You have impeccable taste. :3 Now, time to hunt for Kurenai-sensei doujins ;3 ...

Raptor Jesus

05-25-2007, 03:34 AM

Yeah, the 3rd vs. Orochimaru was seriously dragged out, but they added some more when the 3rd was actually fighting the revived 1st and 2nd. Anyway, there's a lot more dragged out scenes much later on near the 90s and 100s. Like, do we need 5 minutes to see the wind blows some leaves across the screen? No. But they're twenty episodes away from catching up to the current manga's arc and they're going to milk every second for what it's worth.

Kurenai and Anko doujins are pretty popular, but not in large numbers. But there's a lot of horrible ones with Tsunade and Sakura. Orochi-Sasuke ones are EVIL INCARNATED ON PAPER!!

Talon87

05-25-2007, 03:49 AM

Could you please e-mail the Kurenai and Anko ones to me? :( :| suiginchou@gmail.com ... and if that won't work, there's always MegaUploads ...

Given your limited bandwidth, I'll be happy with links, too ... though I do look forward to finding the best Kurenai doujins possible. :(

Just finished Episode 80, done for the night. Man oh man. I knew that he would lose, ultimately, but I didn't expect things to play out the way they did. Very Voldemortian indeed ... all we need now is to meet the Wormtail of this franchise ...

Speak of the (possible) Devil, look who just walked in the door ... 8O :D ... this franchise doesn't let up, does it? Less than 24 hours after one villain leaves, the next shows up ...

Hooray for sickly Hayate having such a hot sister. :3 What's her name? :3 :3 :3 Are there a lot of doujins of her, too?

big bad birtha

05-25-2007, 03:51 AM

>>Shikamaru is about to begin his fight against Temuri, the retarded fan-wielding bitch.

At first I was like, 8O , then :10 , "i lol'd". :mrgreen:

This sentence is very funny to me for reasons I shan't share, but you will come to realize sometime in the future.

Are you referring to the fact that he misspelled Temari's name, or "something else"? Honestly, after the fight, the "something else" is pretty obvious. (will tell what the "something else" in the spoiler box below)

The fact that Shikamaru and Temari are going to end up together.

Also, Suigin, to answer your question. The fourth did not use the death god spell to seal the fox. I'm not exactly sure how you made the connection between a spell that seals something inside one's body and a spell that kills, but whatever. Or maybe I've forgotten something......

Oh, and I have just been experimenting with anime. Right now, I am waiting for my crunchyroll account to upgrade so I can watch anime at a good quality.

Manabi Straight!- This is quite refreshing. It's about this really energetic girl that became the student council president. School is dead because people are not having kids, but this girl tries to make it lively (her name is Manabi). On the two times that she comes into school, she crashes into it on a hover scooter. It's also good to hear Yui use her Ayu voice again (I've missed it). I'm not sure what the future brings, but this is pretty funny.

I Love My Younger Sister- Honestly, I haven't watched this yet, but after seeing this, I just have to check this out (it's loading right now). When I saw the title, I was at a mixture of OMG and XD. I bet this is going to be insane.

Talon87

05-25-2007, 04:00 AM

Also, Suigin, to answer your question. The fourth did not use the death god spell to seal the fox. I'm not exactly sure how you made the connection between a spell that seals something inside one's body and a spell that kills, but whatever. Or maybe I've forgotten something......
FORGOTTEN SOMETHING? :| :evil: :?

The 3rd says, verbatim, that he's using the move that the 4th Hokage invented. He says it in his own head (when he is still trapped within the shadow realm that the Zombie 2nd Hokage has created), and soon afterwards he begs the 1st and 2nd Hokages to forgive him for what he is about to do. Then, after he initiates the seal, we see that it is IDENTICAL to Naruto's. It's an eight-point-seal, "the Four Seasons seal done twice over", and has the exact same swirl in the center as Naruto's. It shows up on the 3rd Hokage's shadow replicas for the 1st and 2nd Hokage's souls, and it shows up on the 3rd Hokage's final body for the chunk of Orochimaru's soul which contained all of his knowledge on ninpou (ninja techniques).

It's also made pretty obvious during the conversation between Orochimaru and the 3rd Hokage that this is the move Naruto's dad, the 4th Hokage, came up with.

1 - he teases Orochimaru and says, "This is a move not even you know" ... and we know that that's because it was the forbidden master technique devised by the 4th Hokage and employed only once before in the history of the world ... the battle which cost the 4th his life. Orochimaru would of course not have born witness to this event as he was elsewhere in the world, being emo over the fact that he wasn't chosen to be the 4th Hokage and rallying forces to destroy Konoha Village.

2 - the 3rd Hokage says to Orochimaru that "the cost for using this move is the loss of one's own life" (paraphrased), and we know that Naruto's dad's technique for sealing the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of Naruto cost him his life

So here's my thoughts as I sign off for bed ... either
a) you're wrong, and I'm right, or
b) you're right, and I'm wrong, but damn have I ever been misled/confused, and it turns out that the 4th Hokage invented two moves, one which he used to seal the fox and a totally different one which he never got the chance to use, considering he died in the fox battle and this 2nd technique costs the caster his life

big bad birtha

05-25-2007, 05:39 AM

This has been a year since I've actually read this, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I think they mention something about the fourth not even using it. I think I will have to read up and see for myself. Since manga versions are usually more detailed, it might say something that the anime doesn't.

As for how the seals look alike, don't trust that. Since it's the fourth's spell, all of his most powerful seals might look alike. It might also be because of a identical after effect. Or maybe the creator just did not want to create another seal. Since this is for the sake of argument I will go ahead and tell you a reason not to trust the identical appearance of the seal. The curse mark on Sasuke LOOKS like the Sharingan, and it mostly pops up when Sasuke uses it, but the curse mark has nothing to do with the Sharingan. It pops up because the Sharingan uses extra energy and Sasuke is using all he has to keep the curse mark at bay. There are of course future examples as well.

Also, one is a spell that seals and one is a spell that summons the death god to kill. The death god was supposed to kill Orochimaru, not seal him in inside someone.

Anyway, enough about Naruto. We all need to open up to new things.

I Love My Little Sister- I was expecting something funny, but this is indeed serious, and suprisingly good at that. I am really disappointed that there is only one episode, because I wanna know what happens. This just leaves you hanging. I'm sure everyone knows what this about by the title. The main dude tries to transfer away because he is attracted to his sister. He spends the first of this by being an ass to her. He also tries to forget her by doing this other girl, but it fails. After that, he confesses to his sister, and she is all shocked. The next day, she realises that he is going to transfer and she starts to fall for him as well. They both curse the fact that they were siblings. A little after that, they do it. A couple of days pass, and he moves away......that's it. As I said, it leaves you hanging. I give this a very good. If it went on a little longer, it might get an excellent. Also, this is not a hentai.

Doppleganger

05-25-2007, 06:04 AM

My concern is ... is this why he begged the 1st and 2nd Hokages for forgiveness? :cry: Did the 3rd Hokage basically damn them to an eternity in Hell? Furthermore ... if Naruto's dad used this move to seal the Nine-Tailed Fox ... then shouldn't he be inside the belly of the Death God as we speak? If so ... how on Earth was Orochimaru able to almost resurrect Naruto's dad? Plothole? Or does somebody have a good (non- or minor-spoiler) answer for me?

Keep in mind "The Fourth Hokage = Naruto's father" is entirely speculation, and poorly founded at that. There's only vague hints at it and they could very well be red herrings - something happened like that in OP as well recently.

Regarding the Death God summoning, the Third Hokage was going to pull Orochimaru into the Death God's belly with him, rather than seal him in something else as the Fourth did with the Kyuubi. He apologised to the First and Second for having to kill them. The "struggling for all eternity" thing was likely poetic - I think the Fourth got himself digested long ago.

Talon87

05-25-2007, 01:53 PM

In the episode where Naruto is falling down the ravine and has to summon the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox in order to save their lives, he tells the Nine-Tails of the situation and the Nine-Tails says, "Blackmail, huh? So you're telling me that if I don't loan you some of my chakra, we both die? You've got guts, kid. Here's a little reward." I figure(d) that this is what the 3rd was doing ...

1 - he uses the 4th Hokage's "seal somebody's soul in a vessel of your choice" technique

2 - the reason the Death God shows up has got nothing to do with "I'ma kill j00 now" ... rather, he shows up because he's ripping the soul out of somebody's body against their will, Enma Ai-style.

3 - notice that his arm penetrates the 3rd's body and rips the soul into the third, not all the way immediately into his belly

4 - the 3rd is basically taking advantage of the fact that (as we learned with Naruto and the Fox) when the container is destroyed, so too is the soul inside of it. He has made himself the container. So the souls of the 1st, the 2nd, and Orochimaru temporarily were to reside within him, and moments later, he would die, as per his contract with the Death God. At that instantaneous moment, the Death God would also obtain the souls of the three damned men.

5 - in the case of Naruto's dad, he didn't make himself the container for the Nine-Tails, so it makes sense that when he died (as per the contract), the Nine-Tails' existence was not harmed. However, if Naruto (the container) were to die, then the Nine-Tails too would perish, and that, he knew, was reason enough for the Nine-Tails to lend its power to Naruto, if nothing else but out of a selfish fear of death.

I'm still not convinced I'm wrong, unless it says later on in the anime (or anywhere in the manga), verbatim, that the two are entirely different spells. I fail to see how the 3rd could have trusted in a technique devised by the 4th that hadn't been fully tested, after all ... and it also makes sense (in addition all the reasons I gave last night) because the 3rd expresses surprise when he sees the manifestation of the Death God and he says, "So, this is what you must see when you're the summoner ...", hinting that he couldn't see it the only other time it was summoned ... which would have had to have been in the fight against the Nine-Tailed Fox. :|

Mcsweeney

05-25-2007, 03:04 PM

I too had to watch I Love My Little Sister after Lindsay made her "The Rapeman VS I Love My Little Sister" poll.

big bad birtha

05-25-2007, 04:35 PM

I too had to watch I Love My Little Sister after Lindsay made her "The Rapeman VS I Love My Little Sister" poll.

Was watching it a worthwhile experience? The title "The Rapeman" also sparks my curiosity. I will so check it out.

I read back in the manga and I couldn't find any real proof for any of our theories. Lets stop this silly debate and celebrate with a Moe Overdosage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k22TCwIQVOY)! ^o^

Now don't you feel better?

Talon87

05-25-2007, 05:44 PM

Doppel is in a position to call me a shounen newb. Similarly, I am in a position to call you a hentai newb. ^_^; After having read your comments on the Youtube page, that is ... I mean, it was immediately obvious to me that this was an H-game or an H-anime, and I just had to wait a little bit to confirm which it was. And when I say immediately, I mean "within 5 seconds," as in, well before the first bit of nudity is shown.

If you want me to, I'll splice all of the Naruto posts out of here. Is that what you're asking? I want to continue to voice my thoughts on and enjoyment of Naruto and have no intention of stopping, but if you want me to stop doing it here, that's cool. I was planning on creating a Naruto thread once I witnessed the death of Sarutobi, anyway.

Through 85. The first major complaints in a long time ...

1 - I really don't like Itachi's motive for killing his family. It just makes him a "regular psychopath" and not a sympathizable villain or a deep villain or anything like that. He's your regular, shallow, bat-shit-fucking-insane murderer. Doesn't make for good drama, I hate to say. :|

2 - The shark-faced guy is equally lame with his shark-skin sword and shark gills and the like. I know Zabuza was sharky, but come on! :( Are all ninjas for the Village of the Mist this aquatic? :|

3 - Feels like this arc is going to be reaaaaaaaaally long. I was hoping to see Tsunade become the 5th Hokage in, like, Episode 82. I can't believe the quest to fetch Tsunade might very well be the entire season. God, I hope not. -_-; Please tell me they catch up to her next episode and she becomes Hokage before Episode 90. :|

Other than that, pretty damn cool. :D Tsunade is still the Snail Princess, I see. Jiraiya's legend is beginning to surface more and more. The fact that the Akatsuki group wants Naruto and not Sasuke is making for some good drama between those two. (Sasuke's not used to not being the center of attention!) Jiraiya is damned awesome. :D etc. etc.

Mcsweeney

05-25-2007, 05:54 PM

Was watching it a worthwhile experience? The title "The Rapeman" also sparks my curiosity. I will so check it out.

I enjoyed it! If you'd like to learn more about incest, go watch Koi Kaze.

Talon87

05-25-2007, 06:11 PM

I enjoyed it! If you'd like to learn more about incest, go watch Koi Kaze.
I'm a DOA doujin collector, and even I thought the way you said that sounded creepy. >_< Relevancy = many DOA doujins typically involve Kasumi x Hayate (siblings) or Kasumi x Ayane (half-siblings)

Besides, H-anime is H-anime, and anime is anime. I consider the two to be pretty separate. But if we are going for H-anime recommendations in this thread, as well, then I can try to oblige ... though there's never really been a truly excellent H-anime in my experience, there've been a few (http://milky-anime.com/01/viewer3/index.cgi?action=lineup&mode=milky&dir=milk&file=milk-1) that came close. (http://www.animenation.com/kvdvd-0422.html)

Edit: Just to clarify, I'm not saying Koi Kaze is hentai. I was referring to your guys' discussion of The Rapeman. :|

big bad birtha

05-25-2007, 06:12 PM

After having read your comments on the Youtube page, that is ... I mean, it was immediately obvious to me that this was an H-game or an H-anime, and I just had to wait a little bit to confirm which it was. And when I say immediately, I mean "within 5 seconds," as in, well before the first bit of nudity is shown.

If you want me to, I'll splice all of the Naruto posts out of here. Is that what you're asking? I want to continue to voice my thoughts on and enjoyment of Naruto and have no intention of stopping, but if you want me to stop doing it here, that's cool. I was planning on creating a Naruto thread once I witnessed the death of Sarutobi, anyway.

I thought it was anime because I found it in a profile with only anime. No H-Games at all. After actually paying attention, I realised that it was an H-Game. I can tell when something is an H-Game or not. My profile has some H-Game OPs in it, and I've seen plenty of H-Game openings. I have to admit that I've never played an H-Game, but I have enough common sense to tell the difference when looking at an OP. Don't assume that I'm THAT clueless, I just spend alot of time not paying attention to what is around me.

Also, that is not what I am asking. I only did not feel like arguing anymore. I talk about anime that I am watching all the time and you should as well. Your Naruto posts make this place more lively. I hate being the only person to update my anime watching status ;_;

EDIT: I have watched Body Transfer and it is the shizinit. My personal fav. though is this (http://www.milky-anime.com/01/viewer3/index.cgi?action=lineup&mode=milky&dir=akibakei&file=akibakei-1)

big bad birtha

05-26-2007, 01:09 AM

I almost forgot about something. I give thanks to joo Suigin. Not only can I read the Genshiken manga I downloaded, but I can also read the Kanon and Haruhi manga I downloaded like two months ago (I've asked for help about this situation several times, but no-one would reply ><). I hope the overdosage of moe helped you like the thing you led me to helped me ^o^.

I'm downloading the Rapeman and I am looking for Koi Kaze, but it is licensed, so I am having trouble finding a place to milk it. Koi Kaze got a really good score at ANN, and the AMV I saw about it was touching. Oh, and if I start watching an anime that I happened to find from out of nowhere, and I feel no-one has heard of it, I will put the OP in my first thoughts about it. I feel kinda lonely when I review anime titles that I think everyone is clueless about.

Gift Eternal Rainbow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxBCwAxyex0)- I am on episode 6. It's a pretty moe title, but not on the level of moe overdosage (I kinda feel like watching a moe overdosage title though). So far, this has not disappointed me. It's just so sweet. That's really the only appealing factor though, so if you are a blackheart, then you won't like this. Also, speaking of incest, the main character is in love with his foster sister. It's not really incest because it has no blood relation.

Well, that's about it. I hope you all like Akiba Girls, because I think it is the shiznit. Oh, the main dude in it does his foster sister as well =O. I think today is "Screw Your Sister Day".

Raptor Jesus

05-26-2007, 04:24 AM

I finally finished watching all of Black Lagoon season 2. It was 'okay.'

The series ended with a lot of funny Engrish. It made me laugh for all the wrong reasons. Anyway, I see all the negative flaws of the show. Especially the Storm Trooper syndrome. I mean, how can a single woman jump around an open area and dodge a half dozen people's bullets when she nails them every time.

Anyway, in the whole two seasons, Gin was the coolest dude, as his sword cut bullets in half. Skillz.

big bad birtha

05-27-2007, 12:05 AM

I might as well update my anime watching status while I am here. I'm pretty much scouting right now, but there are some titles that I have my eyes on.

Gift Eternal Rainbow- Honestly, nothing is extraordinary about this, but it was a worthwhile watching experience. I thought the story was good and a little different, but when I found out why "gift" is there, and how the main character used it, it was kinda silly. As everyone has seen about some of my last titles, I am a sucker for romances and anything that makes a person go "awwwww", so even though this did not offer anything really new, I still liked this. I give this a pretty good.

Koi Kaze- Well, there's two reasons for me to watch this. One: McSweeny recommended this, and his recommendations have never failed me (even though I only remember one). Two: It got a high score from ANN. Those are plenty for me to check this out. I watched the first episode, and I think this will be pretty good. I know the whole little sister and older brother falling love thing will drive alot of people away, but I believe that love is blind and if you love someone that much, then go for it (that's kind of strange coming from a guy that has never fallen in love -_-). This also offers up something new on the plate. I look forward to watching and finishing this.

Shuffle- People keep comparing Gift Eternal Rainbow to this and saying that this is alot better. That's really the only reason. I haven't checked ANN yet or really looked into it.

Manabi Straight- Just a random find that got a good score at ANN. I know it was badmotuthed at the Gainax thread, but that is coming from people that hate anime with too many little girls. I think I am the only person that overlooks the whole "too many little girls" thing and just looks at how entertaining it is. I watched the first episode and I saw no real problems with this. I also saw nothing extraordinary either though. The story is something different and that is what I am going for. I will watch this after watching Koi Kaze.

Naruto anime- This is a maybe. After all of Suigin's words about this, I figured I would check out the episodes. This also has a rare thing that I have hardly ever found in anime. That is a English voice actor better suiting a character than its Japanese counterpart (I'm talking about Sasuke). However, that is just for Sasuke, and I don't quite remember anyone else. Also, I don't wanna be flooded with other examples, because I am sure there are times when an English dub actor better suits someone that it's Jap. counterpart. I just haven't found many. (FMA had an excellent dub, Excel Saga did as well, Full Metal Panic etc. etc.)

There might be others I could find. Who the hell knows. Also,I have checked out Moonlight Lady. All I have to say is nice!

Talon87

05-27-2007, 08:30 PM

Kao No Nai Tsuki (a.k.a. Moonlight Lady) has a really great first episode, a slightly disappointing 2nd episode, a disappointing 3rd episode, and then really confusing-as-f*** and disappointing 4th and 5th episodes. That's just my opinion, though. I really love the animation style, and I also love how they managed to make me more interested in the miko than in the maid, seeing as (a) I love maids, (b) I love big breasts, and (c) I love mikos, but in this anime, it's the miko who has the small breasts and it's the maid who's got the big ones. Maybe it's just that Tomomi is an ugly name ... or maybe it's that she's a really weird character who the writers give one identity to (in Episode 3) and then a completely different identity to (in Episode 5).

big bad birtha

05-28-2007, 12:29 AM

My anime watching status is going to be really slow in the next few days because not only did the thing Suigin led me to allow me to read manga, but I am also able to play the Eternal Fighter Zero game I downloaded like three months ago. So in the next few days, Ayu will be kicking some ass. I know none of you care, but I will review my thoughts about this a little later. Since it has something to do with key, expect a long-winded review. Suigin, I will kiss you later ^o^.

Koi Kaze- God damnit! I find a place to milk it, and it gets taken off. I look for it at youtube(my very last resort), and all of the middle parts are missing! I was starting to like this, and BAM!! My dreams are ruined. I am downloading the manga though. I don't know if it will be better than the anime or not, but whatever.

My thoughts on hentai- Good story and hentai do not mix. I only look at whether it is sexy or not. Moonlight Lady was definitely sexy. The animation was excellent, and the characters were knockouts. I do humor myself and pay attention to the story, but I'm never impressed. If I want a good story, I will watch a normal anime.

I will be reading manga in the next few days as well. The titles will be Genshiken, Haruhi, and Kanon (I accidentally deleted it, but it is downloading right now. The only problem though is that it is downloading at 0kb/s ><). If I feel like it, I will tell my thoughts on them as well. Tuesday, I should have volume one of Haruhi. I will tell my thoughts on the dub as well.

Talon87

05-29-2007, 02:41 PM

big bad birtha

05-29-2007, 07:38 PM

I'd have to say you are shounen inexperienced if you were as amazed by Naruto as you were. Bleach, One Piece, Shaman King, Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Chobits are true-blue shounens with Naruto. Most of the ones you listed are of course shounens, but they are missing quite a few things to make them the thing that make shounens famous, and that is relentless fighting. They are also not too deep. All of the ones you listed are indeed not too deep (except maybe Kenshin), but don't exactly have much action (still except for Kenshin O.O and Naruto). Go and watch the ones I listed, and you will be able to guess the outcome of something in a future shounen right before it happens.
(I made an intentional mistake in this brainless rambling. What do you think is the intentional mistake? The first person to catch it gets a kiss ^o^)

I have been playing Eternal Fighter Zero the past few days and I have to say that I am suprised. I didn't expect it to be this fun =O. It's like Guilty Gear with little girls. Incase any of you didn't read my rambling in the Kanon thread, EFZ is a fighting game with characters from ONE, MOON, Kanon, and Air. When you get more skilled, put the opponent on the highest difficulty level and OMG are the battles intense. It isn't very deep, but what can you expect from a fan-made game? Also, every character has their different feel and fighting style. I will explain below what the character fights like and what it is like to fight the character (I will be talking from Ayu's perspective since I use her the most).

Before that, I will give a brief descrption of what moon and one are. I won't bother with Kanon and Air, because I'm sure some of you know more about either one than me (that infuriates me as well ><). ONE is an H-Game about this guy named Kouhei that made promises to some girls as a child that he would return to a town that he left. He returns the promises that he made to them and disappears. After that, everyone forgets about him, except for Mizuka. I honestly don't know much other than that. The anime was just so damn confusing to get out anything else, and since I don't know Japanese, playing the game is impossible. The story is done by same person that did Kanon. Now for MOON. I barely know anything about this, since the game is impossible for me to play. I know that you are playing in a female's perspective and the writer for Kanon and ONE did this, but that's it. I guess I should read up on the story.

Ikumi Amisawa- A character from MOON, so don't expect any info on her character. Well, she might be the main character because the box has this blue-haired girl on the cover. As for her fighting style, she is pretty much this raw head-to-head martial arts fighter. She is a little bit annoying when fighting her, but nothing big. I don't remember much about her so......

Mizuka Nagamori- She's the main character of ONE. She fights with a violin and music notes. I really don't know the point of the musical notes because they don't hurt when I thouch them O.O. She probably has a very dramatic personality because when you pick her, her icon is her crying. She also lets out this painful scream when she uses her Eternity Special. She's not very good. Her attacks are slow and they just don't do much. Beating her is a no-brainer.

Akane Satomura- Another character from ONE. She spends her time waiting for Kouhei to return. When he does, though, she forgets about him. Anyway, she fights with her oversized hair. She turns into a drill, a hammer, and a shield to beat the opponent up. Her best friend appears randomly, but she never causes any problem since I am a pretty mobile character. However, Akane herself can be a problem. I never knew that hair could be a problem, but from my weapon of choice, I really have nothing to say. She is quite a blocker and her close range attacks are pretty devestating.

Moi Kouszuki- Character from MOON. She's apparantly a cosplayer because she changes costumes and uses many variations of attacks. She dresses up as a KOF character for melee combat, little red robin hood for shooting fire and several others. Her Eternity Special is a big flurry of outfits with the finishing being Di Gi Charat's lazer eye beam =D. She is a bitch to fight against as well. She has quite a few ranged attacks, which I suck against. I usually get her when she makes the mistake of jumping or getting close to me.

Rumi Nanase- She's from ONE. She's also Mizuka's best friend as well. I don't know if Kouhei made a promise to her or not, but whatever. She fights with a kendo stick. She's also like Mai, except that she's not as skilled. She can also drop her kendo stick, which is a minus. Beating her is not difficult at all.

Misaki Kawana- Yet another character from one that forgets about Kouhei after he made his promise. She's also blind =O. I really don't know if she really has a "style" rather than just a bunch of good attacks. Just so you know, she is a pain in the ass! You attack her at the wrong time and she will parry your ass and launch you in the air, then she will spike you to the ground. It's pretty embarassing to have your ass kicked by a blind chick ><

Mayu Shiina- MOON character. She just jumps around and then tries to dive bomb you. Not really a problem since I usually take the opponent down when they are in the air. That's really all she does.

Unknown- She is like the Goro of EFZ. Anyone can easily look at her and tell that she is just young Mizuka. Anyway, she is like the secondary boss of arcade mode. Let me tell you, she is a bitch. She summons freaking teleportation orbs like crazy, throws knives, and has these THINGS pop out of the ground that knocks you back several times if you don't block right. Also, if you get close to her, she will summon an explosive orb around her and knock you back. It takes some mad aerial (thank god!) and blocking skills to beat her. When she goes on shooting orbs at me, I usually close in from the sky and dive bomb her. She can also levitate, but if she makes the mistake of doing that, she will recieve quite a bit of punishment.

Doppel Nanase- As the name suggests, a Doppleganger of Nanase. I don't remember her having a doppleganger, but whatever. Like her original, she is quite easy to beat. She uses fire attacks to fight. They are easy to defend against though. I really don't have much to say about her.

Tsukimiya Ayu- Aah yesh, my fav. of this game ^o^. As anyone would know, she is adorable at almost anything. She's adorable when confused, happy, scared, angry (my avatar =D), and now, she's adorable when kicking ass. The sound effects when she runs and how she runs is just so awwww. Anyway, she has a useful array of moves. She fights with the wings on her backpack and I have to say she's the second best at aerial fighting. Because of her wings, her movement in the air outranks everyone except for Misuzu, and Kanna. Her most useful move is her rushing forward and crashing into the opponent (Yuuichi knows how devestating that can be). Her Eternity Special is quite a treat as well, since she pulls out the doll Yuuichi won for her, grows wings, and starts floating in the air in a white robe. After that, the opponent is smothered in a flurry of blades. She also talks a little bit, but I can't understand her. I know she is talking about a promise though because the last thing she says is "Yakusoku". She is a pain in the ass to fight against though ><.

Nayuki Minase (regular)- She just kicks the **** out of the opponent. She doesn't use her hands, because she has her books. She's pretty annoying to fight because she will end up throwing you in a flurry of combos if you are not careful, and she can kick this ice ball from out of nowhere.

Nayuki Minase (sleepy)- For some odd reason, the creators decided to put sleepy Nayuki in this game as well. She just fights using Keropi (the stuffed frog she sleeps with). There's no problem fighting against her. She has strawberry jam for something, but I don't know what. I really don't know what more to say.

Shiori Misaka- OMFG she is a giant pain in the ass. I don't know why Shiori of all people is a broken character, but you bet she is. She will unload on you with beams of ice and when you get close to her, she will summon this ice hurricane to do tons of damage. She's like the freaking ice goddess ><.

Sawatori Makoto- She uses guns o_O........Makoto is kind of the last person I would envision using guns, but whatever. She does have one of the coolest looking stances and forward dashes in the game. She also uses those spinny thingies that she tried to scare Yuuichi with and smoking apples for setting traps on the opponent. She isn't really a problem since I can avoid her traps easily. Her Eternity Special is disappointing because she only recovers a bit of energy.

Kawasumi Mai- Probably the only person in this game who can really fight. As anyone with a brain could guess, she uses mad sword skills. Not only are her attacks damaging, but they are also very quick. If you are not careful, she could unload on you with sword combos. She also has her child form fighting by her for extra pain. All of her attacks revolve around her blade and her childhood self.

Sayuri Kurata- She has a magical girl magic wand -_-;. She also fights like a little sailor moon. Shooting stars at you and twirling her wand around. She's not much of a threat. She drills the opponent as a finisher. One suprising thing is the amount of load screens they gave her. She's quite popular for a secondary character.

Kaori Misaka- Oh my. I never knew Kaori was a professional boxer. If she's not, then where'd she get her fistfighting techniques? Anyway, she is simply a bruiser. Nothing but fistfighting. With her sister being the ice goddess, I figgered that she might have something big in her pants as well. =O

Mishio Amano- She's a spear fighter. I don't know where her and spear fighting connect, but they apparantly do. She's kinda in the middle of how threatening she is. I really don't have much to say about her.

Akiko Minase- Her fighting style is really corny. She uses knives, frozen fish, turnips, and other kitchen supplies to fight. However, those things are apparantly a threat because she's pretty good O.O. She'll shoot you with a barrage of turnips and then uppercut you with a knife. Her Eternity Special is when she makes you eat some of her special blend jam. Very scary.....

Misuzu Kamio- Well, we're off Kanon and into Air. As my second favorite character in this, I tried to get used to her fighting style, but she's just not very good. Her fighting is like a slow Makoto, since she relies on laying traps. She has broken up wings that allow her to move well in the air, but she doesn't have any good aearial attacks. Fights alongside Sora (a crow she meets later in Air). Anyway, she uses paint and drawing skills to lure opponents into easy to avoid traps. Her Eternity Special is deadly, but extremely difficult to pull off. I don't even know what is up with it either ><(WTF is she saying and how does Misuzu ***ing kill the opponent?). There's one attack she has thaat I like. It's called Gao Gao fire, where she summons a dinosaur to spit fire at the opponent =D.

Kano Kirishima- She has a magic wand like Sayuri, but her having one means something. She also uses hers as a wizard and not sailor moon. Kano shoots lightning bolts and fire balls at the opponent. I love her Eternity Special. She just looses it and chokes the **** out of the opponent (You have to see Air to get it). Yukito knows the pain very well. Anyway, she is kind of a nuicance to fight. I don't have any ranged attacks, so that is why.

Minagi Tohno- She fights along with her little sister Michuru. That's about it. She asks for Michuru to help her and Michuru steps in to attack. In her Eternity Special, she pulls out a jar and a bunch of falling stars fall on the opponent.

Kanna- She is the Shao Kahn of EFZ. If you take Ayu and Mai, make them godly, then combine them, you get Kanna. I have never beaten her on the highest difficulty yet. Her aerial fighting abilities far surpass mine, and I can't get in an attack without her hitting me first. Also, if she hits you, expect to lose 1/3 of your health because she WILL combo your ass into oblivion. You need excellent reflexes with the blocking button (which I never have) and some mad offensive skills (at least I have one of them) to even touch her. I will come here and brag when I finally beat her....

I'm sure none of you are reading at this point, so whatever. I am going to watch Fate/Stay night next because some guy recommended it to me. Remember, if you go into a chatroom with the name big bad birtha and you have an Ayu avatar, everyone WILL think you are a girl.

Doppleganger

05-29-2007, 07:48 PM

Doppel, I have to correct you on something. You said something a while back, and I accepted it because (at the time) I thought you were right. It turns out now we were both wrong -- you for claiming that I was shounen-inexperienced and I for agreeing so easily with you.

I've been playing a lot of Shonen Jump SuperStars recently. It's a game that features 30 or so of Shonen Jump's franchises. The Shonen Jump, as in, the most famous young men's manga-zine in the world. Here are just a few of the Shonen Jump series I have either seen all of or (as indicated) large chunks of:

- Yu-Gi-Oh!, Summer 2002 - present day (Seasons 1 and 2)
- Hikaru no Go, December 2005
- Rurouni Kenshin, December 2005
- Prince of Tennis, Summer 2006
- Naruto, May 2007 (up through 90 so far)

I didn't realize before playing this game how much of Shonen Jump's series I'd not only heard of but had seen. Two seasons for YGO, 5 or so seasons for Naruto, and the entirety of the other three listed above. That's well over 500 episodes of Shonen Jump anime.

I guess you were being too nice to me, Doppel. :lol: I guess it wasn't a case of "shounen inexperience" so much as traditional blindness. That, or maybe I really am still "too shounen-inexperienced" after all and the fact that I've (quote unquote) "ONLY" seen five lengthy Shonen Jump series is proof of that. :D

I still take my hat off to you, sir. I mean ... you sat through Bobobobobobobo.

Yeah, I was being over-general. In common usage "shounen" usually implies a certain mainstream formula show and of the titles you've listed, Naruto is the only one of that type. Kenshin is borderline but it's primarily an original story with merely "mainstream elements", POT is mainstream for sports shounen and HnG and YGO are totally out there.

It's troublesome today to get into the specifics, but shows simmilar to Naruto that are usually stereotyped as mainstream shounen include Dragonball, Yu Yu Hakusho, One Piece, Blue Dragon, Shaman King, Busou Renkin, Bleach, and Rave Master.

Bobobo is the stereotypical "gag" shounen manga, and it's pretty half-arsed at that.

Talon87

05-29-2007, 10:06 PM

BBB, fyi ... Namek and I are like, the two people you don't need to recommend Chobits to. That's our job. Recommending Chobits. :P :D As for the other shows you listed, yeah, haven't seen 'em. Nor do I intend to watch many of them (Yu Yu Hakusho, DBZ, Shaman King, Bobobo Afro). The few I do intend to watch some day (Bleach, One Piece) I also have no time for in the forseeable (next two years) future.

Here's an offer -- if you can extract the sound files from your fighter, or if they're already stand-alone .wav or .mp3 files, PM me a link to Ayu's sounds or e-mail them to me at suiginchou at gmail.com and I'll be more than happy to (try to) translate them into English for you so that you can get full fulfillment out of what adorable Ayu is saying.

Man, I love Ayu, but I don't think anyone here competes with you. :) Guilty Gear w/ cute girls sounds pretty fun. Still, I'm holding out for an Angelic Layer fighter. That will make my year.

big bad birtha

05-29-2007, 11:15 PM

Umm...Me putting Chobits in there was the intentional mistake =O. No kiss for you. Anyway, I so do not know how to do that. Ayu's Eternity Special is in the link that I put it the Kanon thread. However, if I can, I will extract zine sound files. I just need the knowledge. Also, here's some insane Ayu combos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFvoRVmsnBk) that I found. I think every character is capable of that kind of combo insanity, but I only looked for Ayu.

Talon87

05-30-2007, 01:15 AM

I was disappointed to hear no speaking in the entire movie file after the first 10 seconds, but here's the translation of the last screen if you're interested:

Gomen ne, Akiko-san.

Ima onaka wa
aitenai kara

Sono pan wa
mata kondo ni ...

Sorry, Akiko-san.

Right now, I'm not hungry, so ...

That bread [of yours ... maybe] next time ...

big bad birtha

05-30-2007, 04:30 AM

Yea, that's kind of strange. I thought the version that person was using had the voices in it. It's the same one I am using. Like when Ayu used her Eternity Special on Moi, she was supposed to say something. Also, you might of noticed when Ayu shot the bolts upward and downard. She was actually supposed to say "Doite Doite" which I think means "Move! Move!". I also give thanks to joo. I learned something new about this game. The characters actually respond depending on what enemy they beat. I know she says Uguu when she beats some the characters. Anyway, here's everyone's Eternity Special (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6ypEkJvXks) again. (It's the exact same link I gave in my rambling in the Kanon thread)

Well, I have been scouting a bit. Here's my results.

Manabi Straight!- Episode two. I wasn't impressed with this at all. It wasn't funny and it wasn't interesting. I will check a few more episodes, but if the episodes are all like this, I will drop this. It wasn't horrible either. It was just boring. If the appealing factor is cuteness, then this fails because I am always looking at something soooo much cuter than anything this anime can produce.

Fate/Stay Night- First episode watched. This just explains everything so I do not know how the series will be yet. This seems to be a nice action filled anime that I have needed to watch for awhile. I look forward to watching the rest.

Playing EFZ has also gotten me in the mood for watching Kanon ^o^. Even though this is the third time, watching this is still a joy. The only problem is the subbers are different, and not as good as the last ones. I found, I repeat I found a translation error in the second episode. When Yuuichi is in Nayuki's room with the really loud alarm clocks, he screams "Urusei!!!". This version said it meant "So loud!", and I was like "I thought urusei meant shut up......". Also, it doesn't subtitle the catchphrases and it subs Nayuki's "Nyuu" as "Mmmmm". However, since I am aware of all this, it's no big deal. I never get tired of watching Ayu trying to look at her back after Yuuichi said she had wings on her back.

Talon87

05-30-2007, 04:42 AM

Urusai, like so many Japanese words, has its literal meaning and its associated meanings.

Literally, urusai does in fact mean "noisy" or "loud." It is a kindergarten-level adjective, part of the Japanese language for over a century, and the opposite to the word word shizuka or "quiet".

But because the Japanese are an honor-based society who believe that the individual should never impose himself upon the society, it is part of their psychology (as individuals and as a nation) to associate the concept of noise with annoyance and the concept of quiet with pleasance. The insult "Urusai" (masc.) or "Urusaiwa" (fem.) probably evolved out of the original literal concept of somebody telling a noisy fucker, "You're noisy." By even being so bold as to tell a stranger that he's being loud, this is the Japanese cultural equivalent of saying "Shut the fuck up, you noisy fucker." Because in Japan, you don't go around telling people to hush. It's unheard of. This is why the simple "You're noisy :P" translates into English as "Shut up" -- because of culturally-associated meanings.

Nayuki's bedroom scene is a potential hazard for a translator because they have to be able to determine whether Yuuichi is commenting to himself about how annoying the alarms are (in which case "So loud" or "So annoying" would be the best translations) or whether Yuuichi is talking to the alarm clocks as personified objects of his hatred (in which case "Shut up ;_;" is the better translation).

Conclusion: your new subber is right. I'd have translated it as "Noisy" (if he said it bluntly and monotone) or "Sooo noisy" (if he drew out the word with a sigh).

=========================================

Thought you might want to know:
a) Ayu's words are too difficult to discern because of the background noise. :| All I can make out is "..... kudasai. Yakusoku." ("[something something] please. It's a promise.")

b) the Chinese character at 1:50 is Ã¥Â«Å’ , Ã£Ââ€žÃ£â€šâ€ž , "iya". It carries the meaning of "dislike" or "disgust." The exclamation "IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" is translated as "NOOOOOOOOOO!", and is a woman's way of suggesting she doesn't want to do what she's being made to do, doesn't like the circumstances befalling her, etc.Ã£â‚¬â‚¬Ã¥Â«Å’Ã£Ââ€ž ("kirai") is the adjective form and carries the meaning of "disliked", e.g. how to say you hate something. It's a beautiful character and one of my favorites to draw. Just thought you might like to know since it features so prominently in that girl's finishing move.

=========================================

Wow, this amateur's not half bad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXyKRlztYmc

=========================================

http://momotora.com/kanon/images/kanon3 ... hot175.jpg (http://momotora.com/kanon/images/kanon3/screenshot175.jpg) (and increase the file name from '175' by ones until you get bored) ... this scene makes me tear up every single time. Not cry, but definitely makes my throat feel tight and sour. God, I love Ayu. And my word, does she take the cake for most tragic anime heroine I've ever seen.

big bad birtha

05-30-2007, 04:55 AM

Oh......I still like "shut up" better. That's what I'm used to it meaning (OMG did Shakugan no Shana teach you that it meant shut up ><). Since he screamed after being annoyed for several seconds and rushed at the alarm clocks, "shut up" seems more appropriate to me anyway. Also, I am not complaining. I am sure subbing is increadibly difficult. I just like to SEE my Uguu. ^o^

Talon87

05-30-2007, 05:06 AM

Uguu, I agree, ought to be subbed. Suisei Seki's "desu", on the other hand, ought not to be, and it upsets me that it was for Rozen Maiden Season 2 and Ouverture by the very same group who had the good common sense to not do it for Season 1. Sigh. Stupid 4chan culture, people think they're so smart, "I are hearing Japaneez, I are making wrong linguistic conclusions and passing them off as fact half-arsedly." -_-;

Be sure to check my post above, it has a lot of edits. o.o

big bad birtha

05-30-2007, 05:46 AM

Aah, I see zine edits. I can try to use Miracle Poem without hitting the oppent and writing down what I can get. I might be able to do it as is (I have super hearing =D).

I remember that image (I saved it to my computer when you first showed it =O) and I have to say it certainly brings back tears. I am still DEEP in love with this series and most definitely Ayu. Hell, I hear "Yakusoku" (the song) and I just tear up, almost cry. If you really want a great tearful look back, look at the video that is displayed in my Youtube profile (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=bigbadbirtha). It's a really well-made AMV. I am at a friend's computer right now, but when I get back home, I will edit this and share some images from my Ayu gallery (my wallpaper makes me want to hug the computer screen every time). As for like the last thing in your edit, Ayu is most definitely my favorite anime heroine (hell, favorite anime character period), but not really the most tragic. Misuzu from Air takes the cake for that =/.

=============================

Since Suigin showed off a nice Ayu image, I might as well. You have to be a member to acess these images, so I am just going to upload an attachment. (I don't really like this UPN's attachment system, but what can I do?)

=============================

Speaking of Misuzu, there has been something bothering me for the longest. I have never thouroughly expressed myself on this, so it has been bugging me for a while. I love Kamio Misuzu! Not as much as Ayu, but still quite a bit. Misuzu is just so sweet, and when you hear about her life, I just had to cry like a little bitch. Even though the only people who are going to watch Air already have, I still don't want to throw out spoilers. Every little thing about Misuzu is wonderful from her strange taste in drinks to how she says "Gao" when she is disappointed. Like Nayuki's "Fighto! Daioh?", Misuzu says "V" and puts up a "v for victory" sign, whenever she wants to encourage someone or herself. When she runs around in circles and eventually trips, you just have to giggle at how cute she is. She gives the "v for victory" sign when getting up and she stops. There are more things that make Misuzu wonderful, but they are spoilers. I have a Misuzu image that makes me just tear up every time.

Talon87

05-30-2007, 06:01 AM

Hahaha, I loved the first scene, and I forgot all about the second one! XD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69-XVENJPBc

Doppleganger

05-30-2007, 06:09 AM

Fate/Stay Night- First episode watched. This just explains everything so I do not know how the series will be yet. This seems to be a nice action filled anime that I have needed to watch for awhile. I look forward to watching the rest.

The turning point for that series was episode fourteen. Studio Deen waited on the TYPE-MOON character poll results to pick the most popular route for the anime (we were promised Unlimited Blade Works) but since a certain someone got first, we just got stuck with Fate. Which, I might add, is horrible in comparison to the game - the earlier parts were pretty faithful, surprisingly. But I was shocked at how badly everything after fourteen was done in the anime at the time, let alone now after going through the Fate route.

Huge potential for that show, just sort of fizzled out.

Talon87

05-30-2007, 06:13 AM

It's the opposite of Tsukihime, which had a shitty beginning but a great ending. Only thing is, though, Tsukihime gracefully exited after 14 episodes. FSN, on the other hand ... *winces*

Hey, it still ended better than NGE. (That goes for 98% of animes ... including hentai, I hate to say. -_-)

Doppleganger

05-30-2007, 08:38 AM

Eva wasn't bad I guess but there was a whole lot about it I didn't like. I especially had great distaste for Misato and her "loose" ways, and I remember being horrified at a certain incident that happened after Shinji emerged from EVA-01 as if he had just been born. Plus, most of the references were just random and people over-think the "symbolism" to death. It's a lot cooler in Gurren-Lagann where names are actually constructed with love and care and have relevance to the plot.

big bad birtha

05-30-2007, 02:04 PM

The turning point for that series was episode fourteen. Studio Deen waited on the TYPE-MOON character poll results to pick the most popular route for the anime (we were promised Unlimited Blade Works) but since a certain someone got first, we just got stuck with Fate. Which, I might add, is horrible in comparison to the game - the earlier parts were pretty faithful, surprisingly. But I was shocked at how badly everything after fourteen was done in the anime at the time, let alone now after going through the Fate route.

Huge potential for that show, just sort of fizzled out.

That sucks big donkey balls. I was looking forward to this as well. I will still continue to watch, though.

As for Evangelion, I could never get into it ><. Everyone around me kept bragging on how good it is, but I just could never see it. The first two episodes I have ever seen is these characters in a dark room being mentally tortured by this disembodied voice. Then just this mech fight (I have never liked mechs). So yea.......

Damnit, I've so gotz to watch Gurren Lagann (episode 9 came out real recently and 10 should be real soon as well). Thanks for reminding me =O

Hahaha, I loved the first scene, and I forgot all about the second one! XD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69-XVENJPBc

Ahaha! Those are quite wonderful. Don't expect it be too long for me to get to those. Aah yesh, since I never properly reviewed Kanon 2k6, I will so do so when I finish this for the third time. Every moment of this still fiils me with unbridled joy. Hell, since I am more farmiliar with everyone than I was the first time, I am enjoying it more than my first time.

Also, I have so edited my previous post.

Doppleganger

05-30-2007, 03:27 PM

Damnit, I've so gotz to watch Gurren Lagann (episode 9 came out real recently and 10 should be real soon as well). Thanks for reminding me =O

Did you watch eight? Yotsuba collapsed on its knees in grief for three whole days and I shed a manly tear as well - hot-blooded GAR at its finest, and one of the most epic battles I've ever seen. What really hurt was when episode nine came around, but I shall not get into that. :cry:

I adore Nia though~. 8)

Mcsweeney

05-30-2007, 03:31 PM

The scene that Misuzu picture is from destroyed me pretty bad.

Talon87

05-30-2007, 05:35 PM

Doppel, do you know a place where I can DD these episodes? I can't (read: as a matter of principle refuse to) use BitTorrent on my family computer. I need an expendable computer -OR- my own private computer before I'll feel (ethically) permitted to go ahead and use BT, considering the toll it places on a system's hard drive.

The same goes for the final four episodes of SumomomoMomomo and Naruto 234+. Oh well. :(

*needs to get a new computer soon*

big bad birtha

05-31-2007, 02:16 AM

Not much goin' on with my anime watching. Just catching up with Gurren Lagann (I forgot to check up on the new episodes for a couple of weeks) and Kanon.

Gurren Lagann- ;_; I just finished episode 9. I might as well give really short thoughts on previous episodes while I am on the topic. 1-3 was the shiznit! This is full of the unadulterated mayhem that I came to expect from this. 4-5 was kinda.....well....not good. 6 was pretty good. 7-9 was the shiznit! I have to say.....I was quite suprised about Kamina. I won't say anymore but....damn! The battle in episode eight was amazin'. That was definitely GAR at it's finest.

It is kind of a disappointment that Kamina was replaced by this girl from a box. I don't know yet if she will be a good character or not, but I will find out when the next episode is out. I will remember to go berzerk in memory of Kamina.*salutes*

Kanon 2006- Still enjoying. Only through episode five because I had to catch up on Gurren Lagann. Episode six is one of my favorite episodes (date with Ayu ^o^), so it will be a joy. Also, since I kinda skimmed on my love for Misuzu, expect the same for Ayu when I finish this.

Well, that's about it. Suigin, I know of a place you can download anime episodes, but you need the Veoh player, and it is probably stream quality. However, http://www.veoh.com allows you to download things that they have. They have full episodes and veoh is really slow with removing anime. That's really all I know of. I really don't know the problem with milking anime, hell, it is much faster and doesn't kill your computer, and if you know the right places, the quality and variety is just as good as downloading them....but whatever....

Doppleganger

05-31-2007, 03:28 AM

BBB, I ask you to edit your post and put your spoilers in an un-cited quotation box (using white font), since that'll prevent any possible mishaps.

Like so,

I only thought episode four was bad - five had a different focus but was otherwise great as well.

Additionally, there's something I haven't told you about Gurren-Lagann. Apparently, this isn't just Gainax's homage to the 70's super robot shows, it's a focus on the different eras of super mecha anime. That is,

Episodes 1-8: '70's mecha
Episodes 9-16: '80's mecha
Episodes 17-24: '90's mecha
Episodes 25 + 26: ???

Also,

Rewatch the first part of episode one. Does that figure right before the opening credits (not the opening animation, I mean after that) seem a bit...familiar?

...

Doppel, do you know a place where I can DD these episodes? I can't (read: as a matter of principle refuse to) use BitTorrent on my family computer. I need an expendable computer -OR- my own private computer before I'll feel (ethically) permitted to go ahead and use BT, considering the toll it places on a system's hard drive.

For Gurren-Lagann? Of course. I have three sites available (well, two currently) but they leave several options up to you, though I'd argue there's really ony one option.

The English subbers for GL are [AiA_I-Z], Kamina, [anon], and nyoro~n. The slowest group is, by far, [AiA_I-Z], but they've got (probably) the best translations and, although a very small group, they've done a great good to the world in the past by subbing GaoGaiGar. I'd say go for these guy whenever possible, though they have a nasty yellow font.

Kamina I've never seen, but I've heard they're decent, but the group died somewhere around episode five.

[anon], despite his obvious affiliation, is an incredible guy (not a group) who manages to put out excellent translations within a day of a GL episode RAW's release. I'm a big fan of his work but I don't always get his episodes.

Finally, nyoro~n, another Yotsuba-based subber, has poor~decent translations but is faster (if only by a couple hours) than [anon]. His subs are the most common.

That said, my sources:

- [AiA_I-Z] subs (only)
[url=http://]FourZeroFour (http://uLTraCarL's Anime Downloads[/url) (down) - [anon], nyoro~n, [AiA_I-Z] subs.
Uso da! (http://) (megaupload) - nyoro~n

Personally, I'd go with [AiA_I-Z] since they've already gone through eight.

Talon87

05-31-2007, 03:39 AM

Doppleganger

05-31-2007, 03:45 AM

Thanks, though (in the future) you ought to PM me that information or post it in non-hyperlink fashion since hyperlinks to illegal material are (well) illegal, and there's no telling when Gurenn Lagann will get licensed. Meaning ... if a webcrawler for Gainax crawls over your links in the year 2009 and decides to sue us ...

Shouldn't be a problem. Check this:

I recently returned from Gainax's Gurren-Lagann panel. I didn't bring my video camera this time, so I'm typing this from memory.

First, they showed the episode one of Gurren-Lagann without subtitles, but I'm pretty sure almost everyone there had already seen it fansubbed. After the episode was over, Hiroyuki Yamaga said, "If you want to see what happens next... I don't care, watch a fansub or something." So there you go: WE ARE FULLY AUTHORIZED TO DOWNLOAD GURREN-LAGANN. Then, people could ask Yamaga about the show.

Some of the important statements follow:

-Because of the bad reaction to episode four, there will not be any more experiments with the animation style.

-The planet Gurren-Lagann takes place on is Earth in the future.

-The mole pig stampede (one of Yamaga's favorite scenes, and mine as well), the crazy-looking animals, and the Gainax cameos were not scripted the way they ended up, but were the results of the animators going crazy.

-Apparently, in Japan, "boys like drills".

-If it is popular enough, Gurren-Lagann may be picked up for a second season after its initial run is over.

-And, finally, someone asked, "Is Yoko really 14?" to much laughter and applause. Yamaga responded that "As the series takes place underground, time may be measured differently. So a year underground may be different from what we consider to be a year." That was met with the most cheering I had heard at the panel yet. Personally, I think it's the best non-committal answer I've ever heard.

To clarify, season I of GL will be self-contained, so unlike Geass we won't have stuff pushed to a second season if it happens. I'm hoping it won't...it's epic enough already.

Talon87

05-31-2007, 03:50 AM

HAHAHAHA, I see. Okay then.

Raptor Jesus

06-01-2007, 05:34 AM

Thanks to Gr for helping me get this.

[attachment=0:66dba]Faye Faye.JPG[/attachment:66dba]

And I thank Canada for having an Anime Convention with Wendee Lee.

big bad birtha

06-02-2007, 08:33 PM

Oh, Suigin, I found out what Ayu is saying in her Eternal Special. "Please don't forget me. It's a promise!" If you wanna know how I found out, well I'm that damn good ^o^. Also, I have finished Kanon 2006 for the third time. Expect a long winded review that I didn't give when I first finished this.

Kanon 2006- Even though this the third time I finished this, I loved every moment just as well as (if not better than) the first time I watched this. Well, I probably enjoyed it more, since I love and know the characters more than the first time. I actually remember my first time seeing this. It was in a Newtype magazine. This and Haruhi stood out in my eyes (Haruhi more because it got its own page) more than anything. I did recognise this when checking this out because of Suigin's topic in the old UPN. Such sweet memories....anyway, off tell why I love this series as much as I do.

Honestly, I love everything. The music is beautiful. Well, I didn't truly appreciate the great music that Key gives its games until I saw the original (Toei somewhat did their own thing instead of follow the game). Every song in this anime (except for "Last Regrets Christmas Special", which was used in the snowball fight between Yuuichi and Shiori) was used in the original visual novel. I'm glad Kyoto gave it the music that Key left it. The visuals are downright breathtaking. This takes the cake for the most beautiful anime I have ever seen.

Now, as for the actual content. This is the first anime that actually made me cry. The only thing before, that came even close is FF7 (I'm sure you know what scene I am referring to). Honestly, episodes 1-8 were just raw joy, then when episode 9 hit me, nothing but tears till the end of episode 10. The next two episodes were full of joy, then raw tears. Then comes the end of episode 19, oh it brings tears, but not tears of sadness, but tears of pure unadulterated joy. 20 continues this trend, until the end of it, where the tears of sadness continue until the last half of the last episode, which is more tears of joy. After I was finished with this, I was breathless. It was like every emotion inside of me was just nullified. Hell, that same night, I was accused of something that would normally piss me off royally, but I was too taken aback by this to feel that. As for the characters, I love every single one of them. Nayuki, Shiori, Mai, Saiyuri, Makoto, Akiko, Kitagawa, Amano, Kaori, Yuuichi, and most definitely Ayu. All of them are wonderfully done characters. I will go ahead and put it in detail of how the main five are wonderful from the least interesting character to the most. I will also tell my thoughts on their story.

Misaka Shiori- She isn't as well done as the others, but she is still a wonderful character. I find it sweet and very sad how her biggest wish is just to go to school with her older sister, and to eat lunch with her. Even though she is introduced in episode two, she first appears in episode one, when Nayuki is touring Yuuichi around the place. I also think she's holding hands with Kaori in Saiyuri's flashback about her brother in episode 13, but I'm not completely sure that's her. I'm quite suprised at how well her aim is though. She hit Yuuichi right square in the face every time she threw a snowball, and that was after she couldn't even hit one mole in the whack-a-mole game (it was amusing to watch though). Her story is also the least interesting, but touching none the less. Also, I think that when her and Yuuichi were in the lunchroom at episode 17, I saw Nagisa's (the main character of Clannad) mother sitting at another table eating lunch.

Kawasumi Mai- I just love how cute she can be. Other silent female characters are just silent and stiff, but she is suprisingly adorable (especially in the last episode where Yuuichi gave her some flowers) in several occasions. It is also wonderful how she will just stare at Yuuichi when she wants something until he asks her what she wants. Saiyuri is also very wonderful. I have to laugh every time she says either "Hoe", or "Ahahah". She is like the most sugercoated character in Kanon, but she is just done so well. As for their story, it's done quite well. The whole "Demons that Mai created from her own powers and lie are attacking, or so they think" thing is definitely a first. Both of their childhood flashbacks brought me to tears. It was so sweet how Mai made a bunch of snowbunnies for her sick mother. Saiyuri's was just sad. I noticed something when Saiyuri and Yuuichi were looking for a gift. The Sloth that was given to Yukito (Air reference) showed up in the shop they bought the giant anteater.

Sawatari Makoto- She is just plain entertaining. Her auu's can get a bit annoying, but I don't mind them. It's pretty amusing how every plot she tries on Yuuichi turns around completely, but she is just sweet when she stops. At episode eight where she starts to warm up to Yuuichi, she is just so sweet. Waiting for him after school, going to his room to get him to play with her. It is just so heartwarming. Then at episode nine through ten, all of the sweet things just brought me to tears, because even though it was sweet, it was her getting closer to death. God, I am tearing up right now. Her story is the second best. It is a tad confusing in this anime, so to get it completely, I had to go to outside sources. My trust for Suigin's explanation kinda dimmed when he said Yuuichi named her original form after the actual Makoto, and he said she was blonde (WTF?!). Anyway, after Amano tells Yuuichi what Makoto is and what to expect at the end of episode 8, it left me crying like a little bitch at everything Makoto did.

Minase Nayuki- OMG Nayuki is wonderful. I got more laughs from her than anyone. I even find it amusing when Nayuki states the obvious, like when school is over, or when he calls her by a boy's name she says "but I am a girl...". 'twas also very funny when Kitagawa poked fun at Yuuichi about it by telling him that it was time for lunch. Almost everything she does just makes me giggle. Her story is probably like right after Shiori's in quality (meaning that it isn't as good as her character). She's the person who has always been there but has been ignored. Not exactly the best, but Nayuki is so awesome that it makes up for it.

Tsukimiya Ayu- So unbelievably wonderful! Not only do I love her, I adore her. Just looking at her makes me want to squeal with joy. It's not only how adorable she is, but how great of a character she is. I don't know why, but I find it strangely adorable about how she uses "boku" instead of "atashi" or "watashi" (I don't know which is more appropriate). Her random attacks on Yuuichi are also a treat. I also find it sweet that she not only wasn't freaked out by Mai, but found the good in her and liked her. As for her story, it kicks the crap out of all of the other ones. I love the things before a bunch of episodes that show Ayu and Yuuichi's time seven years before everything happened. Their childhood selves were just so sweet. After realising what Ayu really was, and what happened to her, the tears were flowing like diarhea from the back of the buffalo. However, at the end of episode 19 to most of 20, nothing but tears of joy were coming out. I have never loved a character as much as Ayu, and I don't think I ever will.

If you couldn't guess already, I love Kanon 2006. It was perfect in my eyes. After watching this for the first time, my emotions were pretty dull for like two weeks. I couldn't laugh (I never laugh in front of other people, but I couldn't even laugh by myself) for two weeks. Hell, even the most awesome hentai wouldn't turn me on. It took watching Inukami! to bring me somewhat back (that's why I defended it). I look forward to Clannad for a similar experience. I probably won't ramble on about Kanon again unless it is brought upon me or I find an English patch for the original game that I downloaded. I proudly give this the rating of masterpiece, which made this my second one. My love for Kanon will never die.

Mcsweeney

06-03-2007, 05:59 AM

Finally, another Nayuki fan. I was getting tired of you guys talking trash about my precious!

big bad birtha

06-04-2007, 05:49 PM

Since it has been a few days, I will update my anime watching status. I have mostly been watching Fate/Stay Night, but whatever.

Fate/Stay Night- I am on episode 11 right now. So far, it is really good. The story is really good and the battles are quite fun to watch. I hope this keeps up, even though it is supposed to start sucking balls after episode 14. *sigh* This isn't good to see such a good anime to go straight to hell. I'm just crossing my fingers that maybe Doppleganger and the many people I have asked about after episode 14 are wrong.....I doubt it though ><

Nodame Cantabile- Well, I haven't seen this yet, but this was recommended to me. They said it was real good, and it got a good score at ANN, so why not? I haven't checked the OP or anything else, so I am still unsure about what this is like.

Also, this is not Kanon rambling, I just found something funny from the manga (that's right, THIS is from the actual MANGA o.o) that I had to show everyone.

big bad birtha

06-05-2007, 07:44 AM

Fate/Stay Night- I just finished episode 14. This is definitely something that I don't want to see fade away. It has been so wonderful. The battle between Archer and Berserker was just so great. This is definitely a good find.

Also, the English voice actors for the Air dub has been announced. Here's who does the voice for who. (I don't know any of these actors/actresses, so.....yea.)
Luci Christian as Haruko Kamio
Monica Rial as Misuzu Kamio
Vic Mignogna as Yukito Kunisaki
Christine Auten as Hijiri Kirishima
Kira Vincent-Davis as Minagi Tohno
Serena Varghese as Michiru
Stephanie Wittels as Kano Kirishima
Tiffany Grant as Potato
Brittney Karbowski as Girl B (Ayu Tsukimiya)
Jessica Boone as Girl A (Nayuki Minase)
John Gremillion as Keisuke Tachibana
Kelly Manison as Minagi's Mother
Tiffany Terrell as Girl C (Makoto Sawatari)

Umm.....Does anyone know these pplz? I only know the name of a voice actor/actress if they have some songs for the anime, and since English va's don't really don't do that, no memorizing for me. I did check on some of them. Yukito's voice actor's the same as Edward Elric. Misuzu has a pretty famous one too. I know Ed's voice doesn't suit Yukito, but maybe he can do a good RPG villain voice......

Also, since I am on the topic....Key is releasing their new game "Little Busters" next month. I would so be on top of that if I could read it ><. It seems to be a little more boyish than it's previous bretheren. Four of the MAIN characters are dudes =O. It's a new Key record. Also, I have downloaded the soundtrack for Little Busters, and I have to say, it sounds like Shounen music. Anyway, this will probably be made into an anime in like four years. After Clannad will probably come Planetarian, then Tomoyo After, and finally Little Busters. *sigh* Four great stories that I am in the dark about.....what a disappointment.

Here's the Little Buster OP (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VatkGGooKrI) if anyone really gives a ****.

Mcsweeney

06-05-2007, 05:56 PM

That comic is awesome.

Why do they even need an English voice actor for Potato? And I even recognize that VA from somewhere.

They should have just taken the joke the whole way and hired Alec Baldwin or somebody to make that one noise.

Doppleganger

06-05-2007, 11:30 PM

Luci Christian as Haruko Kamio
Monica Rial as Misuzu Kamio
Vic Mignogna as Yukito Kunisaki
Christine Auten as Hijiri Kirishima
Kira Vincent-Davis as Minagi Tohno
Serena Varghese as Michiru
Stephanie Wittels as Kano Kirishima
Tiffany Grant as Potato
Brittney Karbowski as Girl B (Ayu Tsukimiya)
Jessica Boone as Girl A (Nayuki Minase)
John Gremillion as Keisuke Tachibana
Kelly Manison as Minagi's Mother
Tiffany Terrell as Girl C (Makoto Sawatari)

Are these for Kanon or Air? I'd be surprised if ADV announced the Kanon VA's since the title was supposed to be underwraps until Otakon. =/

big bad birtha

06-06-2007, 12:00 AM

This is for Air. In episode two, the Kanon girls make really short cameos (picture below). I looked up the three voice actors that are doing the voices and they are just random voices that are given. They have very few past roles. I doubt that they will have the same ones in Kanon when/if ADV licenses it. I wonder what good roles for the Kanon girls would be. I can already imagine the va for Sumomo (Chobits) doing the voice for Ayu, but I can't quite think of a good role for the others.....

Oh, and for Potato.....yea, that is kind of retarded. I think they should of just stuck with the voice already given for potato. It's not like "Pikyo" means anything. I wouldn't be suprised if they made Potato make a different sound as well. If they take "Gao" from Misuzu, though, I will be pissed.

Fate/Stay Night- This series is finished. I am quite impressed by this. This is not only a nice action filled anime, but it also has a very touching romantic part to it as well. Both of them are done quite well if I do say so myself. It also has a very captivating story. I didn't really see a decrease in quality after episode fourteen either. I think if I played the game though, I would think different, but I am glad I didn't. Watching this was definitely a pleasure. I proudly give this anime an excellent.

Nodame Cantabile- I just checked this out and I have to say that I am suprised. This seems pretty good. This is simply about these two people who play the piano. One is this arrogant dude who is supposed to be a genius or something. The other is this really scatterbrained girl with an insane playing style. Of course, any idiot could tell that they are going to fall in love (the girl has already somewhat confessed to him =O). This is a pretty refreshing anime that I hope will stay like this.

Talon87

06-06-2007, 05:15 PM

Currently through Episode 118 of Naruto. I was worried that I was already into the fillers, not because of a decrease in perceivable quality so much as (a) how drawn out this "let's get Sasuke back!" thing is and (b) how major supporting characters are being picked off left and right. I have a sneaking suspicion even now that the team of boys is being tailed by Tsunade's top assistant (who is also a talented medical ninja like Tsunade), but at the same time, I can't be certain. Maybe these characters are seriously being killed off for good. Pretty crazy if they are.

So anyway, curious to see where the Naruto filler officially begins, I went to Wikipedia and typed in "naruto filler". I saw a link that said "List of Naruto Story Arcs", so I clicked on it and covered the list with my hand, moving my hand down the monitor bit by bit until I would reach the point where I am. Well, sure enough, I reached it: "Sasuke's retrieval". IT'S THE LAST STORY ARC! So this confused me ... confuses me immensely, even now ... because I thought that this was the last story arc pre-Shippuden, but that once we got to episode #221, we got to a new story arc and (guess what) the manga had gotten ahead again. But apparently I was wrong. :| :lol:

Anyway, I did see two spoilers. :| :| :| But one of them is very welcome, and the other isn't that big a deal because I could have predicted it was going to happen anyways.

Spoiler 1 - Naruto ends up going off to train with Jiraiya for 2 and a half years. This is something I predicted happening anyway, considering that Jiraiya is Naruto's de facto sensei at this point, he has more to teach the boy than Kakashi, he's more like Naruto than anybody else alive, etc. I didn't know it was going to be for 2 and a half years, and I didn't know it was going to happen for certain, but it's not a big deal.

Spoiler 2 - I saw 15 year old Hinata! *NOSEBLEED* There is a God! :D Cutest most awesome girl Naruto's age gets nice "development" if you know what I mean! :D Nice chest, nice long hair, same adorable shy smile ... KAH! :D SO CUTE!

Anyway, after that, I closed everything down so I wouldn't see any more spoilers. But yeah. I'm glad to hear that I'm not to the filler yet, though I must admit I'm sort of worried at this point, knowing that the "Retrieve Sasuke" arc stretches from Episode 133 (where I'm almost to) all the way through Episode 220-something, with a 100 odd episodes of filler in between. It's like ... on what grounds do they justify all this filler and this random "let's postpone getting Sasuke back so we can have fun adventures on the side! :)", I wonder? I hope it's a good explanation.

By the way, I see now why Loki was saying that Orochimaru is in no rush to switch bodies. Kabuto has mentioned now the fact that "Orochimaru can only transfer once every few years." How convenient, then, for our heroes' character development. It means that Orochimaru has to pamper Sasuke for 3 years and pretend like he wants Sasuke for his skills (and not for his body), and it means that Sasuke gets to become fully entrenched in evil and learn all this dark magic shit. It also gives Naruto plenty of time to, as mentioned before, "go off to train with Jiraiya" and return as a stronger ninja.

Raptor Jesus

06-07-2007, 02:30 AM

After the retrieval of Sasuke, the manga went to a filler episode with Kakashi's past. I heard they made a bunch of filler arcs in the anime prior to showing the chibi-Kakashi arc.

Anyway, Hinata was always hawt. Same as Shinobu and Library Girl.

Talon87

06-07-2007, 02:55 AM

Hinata was always cute. But she was childishly, innocently, non-sexually cute before. Now she's vavoom! cute. Like ... cute as before, but in addition womanly cute. It's perfection. Go, Hinata, Go! *Can't wait to see you in Shippuden! :D*

I'm currently through Episode 125. To remind you, "the outcome of every battle against the Sound Five has been settled except for Gaara vs. Bone Dude." The sneak peak for Episode 126 shows Gaara using his Desert Coffin, but I'm not going to assume that it's the one-hit wonder it was before.

I'm really curious to see what kind of character Gaara is going to be, now that he's a changed man thanks to Naruto. Is he still going to use his tanuki spirit and go apeshit, only on his terms now? (After all, he still has thick dark rings around his eyes, suggesting the tanuki is still possessing him.) Is he still cold and ruthless and heartless, or has he "gotten soft" thanks to Naruto? I'd like to see a soft Gaara, personally, since "cold, heartless Gaara" was just too uninteresting a villain and too emo an anti-hero. Whereas "reformed Gaara" could prove to be QUITE the interesting hero, especially now that his bastard father is dead and the Village of the Sand has selected a new Kazekage. Come to think of it ... I wonder who that is? :lol: Looking forward to it.

I've earned respect for Neji and Kiba. My love of Shikamaru has REALLY grown. He's totally in the list of my Top Fave characters from this series, right on the heels of Naruto, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. Definitely way ahead of any of the other Genins/Chuunins, even the awesome Rock Lee and Hinata. Shikamaru is just so awesome. He's Naruto's equivalent of Zhuge Liang or Zhou Yu. :D Damn, I love a good strategist!

Raptor Jesus

06-07-2007, 03:52 AM

Well, if you ever saw the fan art collection of Hinata I have seen, you'd know she's hawt. Especially when Scar is [censored]ing her.

big bad birtha

06-07-2007, 04:06 AM

First off....I take back what I said about Sumomo's voice actress being Ayu. I though about it for a bit and thought that I might rather put my nuts in the fireplace. Oh, and speaking of voice actors, you just have to see this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpMBg67ltas). I'm sure most of you might of already seen this, but here you go. This will help you become a sexy model. How, you ask? Well, you will vomit your lunch out, and if you use this every day, you will be one of the skinny bitches that are running around. Good luck ^o^. I lost ten pounds to the "English voice actors gone wrong" diet in a week. You can do it too!

While I am here, I might as well update my anime watching status.

Nodame Cantible- This is definitely a treat to watch. I am surprised at how good this is. It's quite a funny and the main girl is a treat (I like weird girls for some reason ><). Anyway, she is truly entertaining. This is more about the main dude becoming a conductor while the girl is just there supporting him while learning how to play the piano. The focus of this is on classical music. It sounds boring, but this is very funny. If you are looking for something either funny or different, check this out.

Doppleganger

06-07-2007, 04:44 AM

Fate/Stay Night- This series is finished. I am quite impressed by this. This is not only a nice action filled anime, but it also has a very touching romantic part to it as well. Both of them are done quite well if I do say so myself. It also has a very captivating story. I didn't really see a decrease in quality after episode fourteen either. I think if I played the game though, I would think different, but I am glad I didn't. Watching this was definitely a pleasure. I proudly give this anime an excellent.

Excellent? Uh...please elaborate.

big bad birtha

06-07-2007, 03:28 PM

Gladly

First off, the story is quite intriguing. I like the whole "obtain the holy grail" thing that this has, and all of the different heroes from the past going on and fighting to the death to get it. Then Shirou wanting to get it so the same thing that happened ten years ago would not happen again. Then he summons Saber, whom wants to obtain it so she can fix her past. Then after it becomes extremely close in her grasps, they realize what the holy grail is, and she changes her mind and decides to destroy it. I honestly see nothing with this. There's also the whole "Love for this female that came from out of nowhere" thing that bugged me at first, but it became pretty sweet after awhile. I have a feeling that the story is the part where you saw the sharp decrease since the game probably has a much better story and outcome, but since I haven't played it, this is the only thing that could happen in my eyes. It's all about first impressions =P

Secondly, the battles are plentiful and very entertaining to watch. I kinda liked it better when Saber had her invisible sword, but whatever. Shirou is pretty entertaining to watch in battle as well. The whole "I can make weapons that I imagine" thing is pretty neat. There is one thing that did not make much sense to me, and that is how Saber could use her Noble Phantacism like crazy when using it once would nearly kill her earlier (I know she was recharged, but even so.....).

There's one thing that bugged the hell out of me after episode 14 though and that was the new OP. Wow...it was kinda hard on the ears. I liked the first one better.

I honestly don't see any big problems with this. I think an excellent is appropriate since I was thoroughly entertained by this. I'm not very good at wording, so my view was still not properly clarified.....

Talon87

06-07-2007, 05:21 PM

Archer was one of the coolest characters, and they killed him off the same episode(s) he was finally getting character development. That, and the anime did a horrible job of indicating Archer's true identity, leaving it entirely up to the viewer to circumspect certain correlations between Archer and another character in the show.

The way they delt with Caster and Dark Sakura was really disappointing. Dark Sakura was sexy, and that was about all she was good for, for all of half an episode. Oh, and she wasn't sexy whenever she was mortifiedly crying, so I guess that means "she was hot for all of 2 minutes."

Gilgamesh was a horrible letdown; it was really disappointing to see one of the greatest legendary heroes of all time succumb to evil so easily.

Gilgamesh was a horrible letdown again; it was really disappointing, given what his ultimate moves were, to see him so easily defeated by a half-dead Saber whose master can't even funnel magic into her properly and had to sustain her on one thread.

The fact that Shirou did rip out of one his threads (or fibers or whatever they were called) to sustain Saber was a really disappointing story development. Sure, it makes him a real-world hero who sacrifices a part of himself to save somebody he cares about, but in terms of "GAR!" storytelling, it impotizes Shirou. It makes him this neuter who's like, "Yeah, I could have been the best magician ever, but now that I've ripped out my spark, I'm, like, a vassal for life."

There was not enough Ilya. :|

The show was really epic through the Archer x Berserker fight, and then it hit the crapper. I mean, one of the worst episodes of the ENTIRE SERIES is the episode right after the fight, where Shirou fucks Saber and gives her one of his threads/fibers/whatever.

big bad birtha

06-07-2007, 11:50 PM

Well, now that you mention it.....yea....I forgot about those problems. Alright, I am convinced. I down this to a very good. Despite all of those problems though, this still had my full attention and I was entertained. I guess I need to pay more attention to the negatives of something I watch instead of putting full focus on the positives ><.

Since I am admitting some faults, I made a bunch of mistakes in my Eternal Fighter Zero thingy. One thing, is that there is only one character from MOON. The rest of the characters I put as characters from MOON are actually characters from ONE that did not appear in the anime. The one character from MOON is Ikumi Amisawa.

I also forgot to say the relationship between Kanon & Air with MOON & ONE. MOON & ONE was for sure not created by Key, but they were created by a game company called Tactics, which consisted of the founders of Key. That's really all I feel like saying.

Doppleganger

06-08-2007, 12:04 AM

BBB, did you learn who Archer, Rider, Sakura, and Ilya really were?

First off, the story is quite intriguing. I like the whole "obtain the holy grail" thing that this has, and all of the different heroes from the past going on and fighting to the death to get it. Then Shirou wanting to get it so the same thing that happened ten years ago would not happen again. Then he summons Saber, whom wants to obtain it so she can fix her past. Then after it becomes extremely close in her grasps, they realize what the holy grail is, and she changes her mind and decides to destroy it. I honestly see nothing with this. There's also the whole "Love for this female that came from out of nowhere" thing that bugged me at first, but it became pretty sweet after awhile. I have a feeling that the story is the part where you saw the sharp decrease since the game probably has a much better story and outcome, but since I haven't played it, this is the only thing that could happen in my eyes. It's all about first impressions =P

Here's the problem with the Shirou x Saber pairing in the anime: it makes no sense.

In the game, it still is a bit stretched but it's a bit more believable. Saber lived her whole life trying to be a king, forsaking her gender, and her rule brought peace and destruction to her land - her coldness let her win in battle, but it also distanced her from her subjects, who began to reject her. So, she's never known friendship or love, just duty. Shirou and Rin brought her that but she's still duty first, love later, since she can't let go of her duty as a king even in death.

Shirou is an idealistic dope who never even left his own town - he's got no idea about how to live life and has the audacity to tell Saber how to live her life. By all accounts, Saber, who might be fourteen in body but IS twenty four in mind, shouldn't have listened to anything he had to say since she's actually been through the tough times that Shirou never has. No one understands Saber more than Archer, who fought even more battles and lived his life by the sword. One would expect those two to get together, but nooooo, it had to be Saber and Shirou because at the core of this show it's all about the shags.

What is the justification for Saber liking Shirou? "the have the same mindset". No duh, all of the Servants have the same mindset as their Masters, that's usually one of the quirks of them getting that particular Master (outside of the catalyst issue) - Saber had no real reason to like someone as stupid and stubborn as Shirou, and if they didn't shag one another in the shack after Archer died, development wouldn't have happened at all.

Not to mention Saber liking Shirou went from, Master and Servant, to Girl and Boy, to Sword and Sheath (hahaha) over the course of three episodes, not counting the Caster arc.

Finally, the ending. It's confusing in both Fate and Unlimited Blade Works. Saber left because it's her duty to die...but in UBW she realizes going for the Holy Grail is wrong too, but decides to stay? There's no real justification outside of, "this ending needs to be tragic", which came off as a weaker version of Tsukihime's Arc arc (where Arc leaves because, if she stays with Shiki, she'll end up killing him and the rest of the planet).

Secondly, the battles are plentiful and very entertaining to watch. I kinda liked it better when Saber had her invisible sword, but whatever. Shirou is pretty entertaining to watch in battle as well. The whole "I can make weapons that I imagine" thing is pretty neat. There is one thing that did not make much sense to me, and that is how Saber could use her Noble Phantacism like crazy when using it once would nearly kill her earlier (I know she was recharged, but even so.....).

Male semen = high concentration of Mana. The reason Saber keeps getting power is because Shirou shags her a lot. The first time, in the shack, it wasn't concentual but wasn't rape (out of necessity). In the second instance, Saber actively went after Shirou.

Regarding the battles...how? Almost all of the battles were swordfights, with stock footage used in both of the rematches (Saber v. Berserker in episode four and sixteen looked an awful lot like one another) and in some of the other matches as well. Finally, Gilgamesh's Enuma Elish, which is supposed to be a sword slash that creates a vortex in time and space was turned into a red laser beam! Given Gilgamesh's golden hair, that segment felt a lot like Dragonball Z. Not to mention Gil used Enuma Elish twice and got owned in the same way, which was frankly strange given Gilgamesh was one of the smarter heroes of the war (with only Archer and Caster more learned).

The way they delt with Caster and Dark Sakura was really disappointing. Dark Sakura was sexy, and that was about all she was good for, for all of half an episode. Oh, and she wasn't sexy whenever she was mortifiedly crying, so I guess that means "she was hot for all of 2 minutes."

That was positively atrocious, since it wasn't even Dark Sakura but some bondage girl who made orgasmic screams and had a weird snuggle with Rin. Not only was Sakura's identity not even flat out stated, and that she was axed from the show after the Caster arc, stealing Sakura was exactly like what happened to Ilya! Deen should have avoided Dark Sakura entirely since that's the kind of plotline that deserves a whole series onto itself.

Gilgamesh was a horrible letdown; it was really disappointing to see one of the greatest legendary heroes of all time succumb to evil so easily.

Technically Gil isn't evil, but it's tough to explain. He just went a little crazy after getting tained by the Grail - in truth, his ego allowed him to keep his mind and not turn into a Dark Saber/Dark Berserker.

Gilgamesh was a horrible letdown again; it was really disappointing, given what his ultimate moves were, to see him so easily defeated by a half-dead Saber whose master can't even funnel magic into her properly and had to sustain her on one thread.

What pissed me off was he was all, "oh, tracing? What a boring talent", which was Deen's way of trying to rub home that Shirou is an amateur who can't do anything right.

What. The. Fudge.

Normal tracing is a useless talent, it only replicates what something looks like. A normal magus making Saber's sword would be, as in, a sword made out of paper. Plus Reinforcement sorcery (which is what most magus are trained in) the sword gets upgraded to wood or even metal. It's NEVER going to have the same properties as the original, not by any means.

The only reason Shirou can do it is because of his RM, and the "my body is made out of swords" thing that happened later in the show wasn't explained as being related to that.

Gilgamesh was an incredible antagonist, but put into the context of Fate he was like, "villian of the week" since he appeared suddenly out of nowhere and had incredible powers. Gate of Babylon wasn't used to full extent, Enuma Elish was underwhelming, and the rest of Gil's gear, not to mention his own talents like being strong and fast, weren't depicted at all.

There was not enough Ilya. :|

Possibly one of the biggest crimes of all. Ilya's obsession with Shirou, why Archer knew her, why she was so powerful and why her story is tragic...none of that was elaborated on. Another sad thing was Berserker's thoughts were dropped as well.

big bad birtha

06-08-2007, 12:35 AM

Talon87

06-08-2007, 12:36 AM

How large is the English-patched game? If it's under 500 MB ... MegaUploads plz? ;) :cry:

(Nah, I figure it's way bigger than that, don't freak out. I'll try to torrent it when I get back from England.)

Doppleganger

06-08-2007, 01:14 AM

WTF ><! Was I stoned or something when watching this (just so you know, I wasn't)? I would normally notice all of that. I didn't even know he did Sabre......Why didn't I notice all of that!? I didn't even notice the gaps and the things that didn't make any sense. I will take back my rating completely and admit defeat.

I'm sorry. I think my passion sort of intimidated you, and unfairly so - it's unreasonable to assume everyone is paying attention to the slightest details of the show. If you enjoyed it, you enjoyed it - all I can do is show you what could have been animated, but wasn't.

One of my problems was I rewatched the episodes multiple times, which, in collaboration with other angry TM fans, lead to my pointing out of all this stuff. ^_^;

I'm still curious, though...did you figure out who Archer, Rider, Ilya, and Sakura really were? The other plotlines in the FSN game involve them: Archer is in UBW, Rider, Ilya, and Sakura in HF. Ilya was supposed to have her own route and Archer was to play a big role in it, but...Nasu got lazy and combined the Ilya and Sakura routes into the massive HF.

How large is the English-patched game? If it's under 500 MB ... MegaUploads plz? ;) :cry:

(Nah, I figure it's way bigger than that, don't freak out. I'll try to torrent it when I get back from England.)

The sum total size of my downloads, including all three discs, the patch and daemon tools, totals 1.55 gigs. If this was the DVD version (which offers NOTHING beyond a bigger size) it would likely be double that and be harder to install.

big bad birtha

06-08-2007, 02:14 AM

No, I'm not really sure on the identity of them. They kinda implied that Archer was part of Sabre's past somehow, so I thought he was maybe Lancelot or some other douchebag from the Arthur legends. As for Sakura, I think she is Rin's twin sister or something, but I don't really know any more. I'm completely clueless on who Ilya and Rider are.

Oh, and it's not what you said. I'm just so angry at myself for being so stupid. Like me not knowing that Shirou did Sabre. I usually catch when something like that happened, despite how vague it might imply it. Now that I think about it as well, it wasn't vaguely implied at all, they pretty much said that he did her. Sooooo many things that I did not catch until you and Suigin posted......-_-;

One more thing, I will just be following Nodame Cantabile like Sola, Gurren Lagann, and Lucky Star, because it is a new series and all of the episodes aren't out yet. That kind of sucks, but whatever. I'm not sure what I will watch after that. I was considering rewatching either Haruhi or Air, but that would be a waste because I will buy all of their DVDs when they release later this year anyway. Then there's Kujibiki Unbalance and Da Capo. It will probably be one of those two.

Nodame Cantabile- This is still great, but it is getting deeper into the classical music thing. If you can't tolerate classical music, you probably won't like this. There's one real reason I decided to update this and that is the new Fansubs group. The group is called "Hard Gay Fansubs" and before every episode they leave this thing saying that they are the hard gay fansubs. I don't think anyone here would find them amusing but I think they are funny. "Hard Gay Fansubs. Taste the rainbow."

Talon87

06-08-2007, 04:00 AM

Do you know who Hard Gay (the man) is, BBB? Just thought I'd ask first, since the last time I asked something like this I insulted your knowledge of all things Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaki_Sumitani

Here's a hint on Archer's identity, to see if you can figure it out on your own: You said you think he's somebody in Saber's past. Close, but switch the roles around to get even closer.

big bad birtha

06-08-2007, 04:37 AM

I did not know that =O. I though he was just this random guy before every episode. Also, when did you insult my knowledge by asking a question? I will admit that I hardly know anything about Japan. Why you ask? Well that's because I am an American =P

As for Archer. I figured out who he is, but I cheated. You were vague in the whole "switching roles" thing so I decided "**** it" and looked it up. I remember clues to it, but I kinda had a view of what Shirou would be like when he is older and that isn't quite what I invisioned him like as an adult. I thought he would keep the douchebag vision he had throughout all of those years. Honestly, I never wouldn've guessed it.

Talon87

06-08-2007, 04:40 AM

As Doppel taught me, and I will leave him to teach to you, the three scenarios of FSN explore three different approaches to Shirou's philosophy. Fate explores one where Shirou's peachy vision is maintained; UBW deals it some damage; and HF shows Shirou completely abandoning it, to the point that Archer rests in peace knowing that he doesn't need to assassinate his former self because he can trust that Shirou will not trust his fate to saving humanity.

In short, Shirou is "sacrifice the few for the many" in Fate, and he's the complete opposite of that with a "sacrifice as many as it takes to save my precious Sakura" philisophy by the end of HF.

Doppleganger

06-08-2007, 05:42 AM

Regarding Ilya, I won't spoil who she is, just go back to one of the earlier episodes (I think it involved Shirou meeting her at a park) and she'll have a flashback to when she was in Germany, that is, she's given a piggy-back ride from her father. Her father resembles another character in the show, and it's part of the reason Archer loves Ilya so much.

For Rider, consider "Bellephron" is the name of a youth who tamed the Pegasus in legend. Rider is related to the Pegasus in some way - consider she's wearing a blindfold.

Regarding the scenarios, I won't give in-depth summaries because Mirror Moon has already finished 40~45% of UBW, and it shouldn't be more than about four months for them to get started on HF. However, this animated .gif basically summarizes UBW.

Also, BBB, try something classic if you've got an empty slate. I myself am watching a super robot anime since Gurren-Lagann piped my interest in that kind of show.

Edit: Uh, what's with the small size I wonder. -_-

Talon87

06-08-2007, 05:44 AM

23 by 16 pixels!? ARE YOU INSANE!?

*could barely make out Shirou's face*

Doppleganger

06-08-2007, 06:06 AM

Sorry. Apparently the image just exceeds the size limit of most image filesharers, so I had to do some digginig to find one that would work. This (http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/8/6/7/f_11790532360m_3384291.gif) should do fine.

A little something interesting I neglected to mention. Individuals in the Throne of Heroes never change, and unlike Saber who isn't in the Throne they don't keep their memories of what happens when they are summoned. All they get are disjointed summaries.

What is in my signature right now is what Archer, alone in the Throne, gets to read about after the UBW scenario concludes. It's effectively his clone reporting to him about what happened. It' basically covers the events in the image too.

Raptor Jesus

06-08-2007, 06:32 PM

Rider is Medusa, the Gorgon from Greek Mythology. That's why she was blindfolded. That's why she rode Pegasus.

Talon87

06-09-2007, 12:09 AM

Through Episode 141 of Naruto, and frustrated at the filler. :|
When I was told that the filler was "the anime team's attempt to explain what takes place in the first six months of the 3-year gap between the Naruto-Sasuke fight of the millenium and Naruto's return to Konoha as a 15 year old kickass ninja," I was optimistic. I figured, okay, the animation team can't do TOO bad a job ... right?

Wrong. -.-

Let me start off by saying that the filler was doomed from the start because it followed on the heels of the best, most emotional, most amazing anime fight I have EVER seen. It was really touching ... the part where Sasuke snapped Naruto's neck in half made me hold my breath for what felt like several minutes ... the part where Sasuke generated a flame so intense it turned the rocks into molten magma and yet, guarded by the chakra of the Nine-Tails, Naruto rested his elbows on top of the magma as if it was stonecold ... the entire sequence was just amazing. Episode 133 is one of the best episodes I've ever seen in any anime, and Episode 134 is the 2nd best of the series following right behind its predecessor. (135 was the necessary denouement. Not bad, but not exciting.)

Anyway, so then the filler starts. And the plot holes begin to fly everywhere. :| First of all, how the fuck would the metamorphosis ninja be able to imitate Kabuto so perfectly (episode 139, iirc) if he was in fact not Kabuto? (as revealed in 139 or 140). I mean, think about it. The things he says to Sakura are things that only Kabuto would know. The things he does are only things Kabuto would do. And yet, ultimately, he is not Kabuto. Laaaaaaaaaaaame. :| Then there was the whole "chimera" thing, ripped straight out of a shitty episode of Fullmetal Alchemist. I hated the entire concept of chimeras in FMA, and I hated seeing it here in Naruto. Japan, get your fucking chimera-obsession out of my face RIGHT NOW! :evil: Chimeras are gross and uninteresting. Every time I see chimeras in a shounen anime, it fucking pisses me off. It pissed me off in FMA, the FMA movie, and now it's tarnished Naruto. :(

Um ... so Jiraiya and the others successfully invaded the Rice Country without Orochimaru putting up any fight? I mean, come on. What the Konoha trio did was equivalent to all those times Sound ninjas invaded Konoha and we got our panties in a twist. Have the Sound ninjas ever been able to infiltrate the Hokage's office or the secret hiding places in Konoha's mountain? No, of course not. Not even during Orochimaru's invasion were they able to do that. So why the fuck would we expect Jiraiya and the others to be able to just walk all over the Rice Country as they please? Even if Orochimaru doesn't care, the Feudal Lord ought to. :| Massive plot hole. -.- Don't tell us "the Feudal Lord made a deal with Orochimaru after being convinced that he needed to toughen up the Rice Country" and then in the next scene show three enemy ninjas (OUR ninjas) walking into the Feudal Lord's country unopposed. -_-;

Grr. I'm putting Naruto down right now NOT because I'm done with it, but because I want to give it a break and I also don't want to start what could be a cool story arc and then have to leave it behind for two weeks. I go to England this Monday, right? For two weeks. So ... over the next three days, I probably will not be watching any more Naruto. Or any anime at all, for that matter. Probably will read some Genshiken and RoTK (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=romance+of+the+three+kingdoms), though.

Raptor Jesus

06-09-2007, 12:24 AM

I know what you mean. Everyone kept saying it was the worse follow-up to a big fight arc. And the whole thing made no sense, especially if you were a manga reader first.

Shana is getting a Second Season. Hurrah!

Doppleganger

06-09-2007, 12:27 AM

Talon is actually watching the filler season? :4

Just skip to Shippuden...it'll spare you a lot of grief. You'll turn into a Naruto troll if you indulge in the filler too much. Same thing happened to me. =/

That, and the Shippuden series sucks, but that's for later chiding.

Also, the Rice Country arc was surprisingly semi-decent filler, and you're bound to find far, far worse as you go along. Heck, (and Loki might know better, I never saw it) wasn't there some sort of "race" filler that happened featuring every character ever in the series, ALIVE, even the dead ones...?

Raptor Jesus

06-09-2007, 12:58 AM

I watched most of the Sasuke Rescue Arc, but never saw the Naruto-Sasuke battle in the anime, I only read the manga.

Then I read the up to the end of the Sakura & Chiyo fight in Shippuden and basically stopped cause I fell really far behind (my computer was broken last summer and I didn't feel like reading 3 months worth of manga to get up to date). I read a little bit after recently, but stopped again cause the sight cause Firefox to lag.

Talon87

06-09-2007, 01:04 AM

I dunno about race filler, but a long time ago (before I'd ever seen any Naruto), I watched the 10-minute movie preview where Naruto is in the Konoha Olympics but he has a major case of diarrhea. That movie was pretty funny, even for a guy like me who had no attachment to the characters and didn't understand their personalities. I remember Hinata trying to confess to Naruto while he felt like shit was going to explode out of his ass ... I remember Naruto using Kage Bunshin to try and secure the last porter-potty only to realize that he had just increased the number of diarrheal Narutos from 1 to 100 ... I remember Naruto having to drink an entire quart of milk and screaming, "Why does it have to be milk!? ;_;" ... it was pretty good. If that's the filler you're referring to, then I have to say I'd prefer stuff like that to the stupid Rice Country story-arc.

Speaking of Shana S2 is like speaking of the Devil, because I just was thinking about that earlier today as I prepared a list of what to take with me to England. I wrote down "Shana" and I began to recollect how the book I have is supposed to be the first 6 or 7 episodes of the Shana anime, and how the rest of the Shana anime is either "Book 2 or Books 2 and 3, I can't remember." And then I began to think about how Haruhi S2 got approved so quickly, and I began to ask myself why we hadn't heard anything about Shana S2 yet. Now we have. So I say again, speak of the Devil. :lol:

Doppel, my roommate (and the biggest proponent in me watching Naruto) is one of those people who actually enjoyed the filler and said, "Yeah, it's not nearly as good as the main show, but it's not bad, either. :evil: :| It gets on my nerves how everybody says it's so awful. I think it's just because they're disappointed that it's not up to the main story's caliber. It's still better than most animes I've seen." Keep in mind, most animes this guy has seen include such trainwrecks as Spiral and Blue Gender.

EDIT-thanks-to-Loki: Dude. You really should watch the anime sequence. Start with Episode 133, end with Episode 134. The fight technically "begins" four or five episodes prior, but it's mostly Sasuke + Itachi flashbacks because the anime studio was running out of manga plot before the season was technically over. 133 is both "when the fight gets serious" *and*, incidentally, is the most kickass episode of the fight. 134 technically shows the uber-powerup conclusion, but I thought Sasuke's batman hands were sort of a downer :| , and I also think it's a plothole (of steaming bullshit) that the ~infinite-chakra Nine-Tails was defeated by a Chuunin emo punk with a cursed seal. :|

big bad birtha

06-09-2007, 01:15 AM

The filler season is that horrible? o.o If that's the case then I am glad I am a manga follower (the new chapter came out today ^o^). The only parts in the filler I would be interested in is the Hinata episodes because she has hardly any screen time, and I heard it told you a little more about her character. Are they at least worth checking out? I could care less about the others.

Oh, and on a positive note, I finally found the full Sorairo Days ^o^. I have been looking for that song forever and I found it at tokyotoshokan. I'm sure Doppleganger already knows what this song is, but I will go ahead and tell everyone else. It is the Gurren Lagann OP.

Oh, and I have some titles on the line for watching after I get to the latest episode of Nodame.....

Kujibiki Unbalance- Honestly, this doesn't look that good. I am just curious at what the hell this is, since this is like the only anime the people at Genshiken watch. It might surprise me and turn out well, but it is only six episodes long so, yea......

To Heart- I know Suigin said no, but from what I have seen, whenever he throws the words "childish", "loli", "pedo", or "I love to donkey punch little girls." I shouldn't take it too seriously (except maybe the last one). Anyway, I feel like this is an obligation because I have seen TONS of references to this. Hell, Lucky Star mentioned this several times, and Comic Party's anime of choice is To Heart. ANN gives this an alright score, so I might not like this after all, but I might just watch the first of the first season and leave it that. I feel like I just have to at least know what the hell this is. I feel this won't be that good, but not because the characters are childish, but the fact that it is probably gut-wrenchingly boring (I have a feeling that it will be).

Chobits- I really need to get off my ass and watch this. It has been several months and I still haven't come down to watch this, and this is one of the titles that I believe every anime fan should watch or at least know what the hell it is. I have read alot of the manga and have watch like the first episodes, but I will watch it over because the episodes I have seen were dubbed. The dub wasn't bad (It was actually pretty good), I just want to hear the nice voice of Tomokazu Sugita and Rie Tanaka.

Now, there's one thing I am curious about. I have been reading around and there is apparently a big controversy on how the Haruhi episodes should of been put in with the English release. I was wanting to know what you thought about this. I bet you have already debated this, but I wasn't here. I honestly thought it was a no-brainer and they should've been put in the order that they aired on television as. Putting the episodes in chronological order not only takes away something that makes this unique, but it also kinda takes away the great feeling that you get from watching them. The people whining about the messed up order should really just shut the **** up and open up to something new. They released them in chronological order with the regular versions, and they have them in television order (and chronological order) in the special edition (looks like I am going to have to fork over more money than I though >< ).