The what Anime Series are you watching at the moment thread?

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 26 Oct 2007, 09:21

Spriggan - 2.5/5
Basically the animated equivalent of a Bruckheimer-esque big summer blockbuster. No plot, no characterisation. The only the thing to commend this film on are its production values, which are top notch; also it's never boring.

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 28 Oct 2007, 23:21

Lourdes wrote:I've been watching Nadia in between catching up on my reading. I'm not sure it's something I'd watch again (a la Champloo) but it's certainly very good and definitely one to see if you like Miyazaki or Anno.
Miyazaki created the concept for Toho but it was never made until much later when Gainax took it up. So you notice a lot of Miyazaki in it because he used some of the ideas in Laputa and his other works, not to mention that Anno has worked on Nausicca previously. This is yet another Anno work where he got pissy and depressed about creative control (when doesn't he?) but it's so Gainax. You notice so much that you'll see later on in other Gainax and Anno works.
Superficially it's a sort of Jules Verne story with the usual Japanese touches ("HA HA HA HA HA" villains"). Capering kids and inventions and that sort of thing, it's even a little Lovecraftian at times. But what surprised me was how much feeling there is. It gets almosy deep and introspective at times, very Anno like.

Anyway I'm about 3/4 through and I've certainly liked it, I'm surprised it doesn't get more attention really. You have the fun Miyazaki type story with that Gainax attention to detail and emotional edge. Not bad at all.

Immediately after I wrote this the show turned to shit. It was popular so NHK wanted more episodes and there were delays so there are 13 horrible, horrible filler episodes. These were done by another Gainax director and animated in Korea while Anno focussed on the ending. Such a mess, I would have given up but instead I just skipped through them and missed nothing.
Fortunately! it gets back on track for the last few episodes and you immediately know that Anno is back. It ends a bit slowly and with shounen slowness but it's quite satisfying and you see yet more of Eva (and Macross, it's very much like both).

It's not bad at all, overambitious but good fun with some moments of gravity.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 29 Oct 2007, 16:20

Cheers, I'll give Nadia a look in then.

ADV looks to be putting out a budget complete boxset too.
http://www.dvdpacific.com/item.asp?ID=870546

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 31 Oct 2007, 08:44

Just finished watching the first episode of Black Lagoon, and very much enjoyed it!

I'm definately gonna check out more episodes before I'll rate it, but I like the premise, I like the characters, I like the action, it's just a fun show!

It's about a Japanese guy who works for a big company, and he's on a businesstrip with a boat to deliver a disk of data, when mercs/guns for hire/whatever you wanna call it, enter the ship and kidnap the guy to blackmail his company for the information that's on the disk.

Instead of paying them off, the Japanese company hires ex-vets etc to just kill them all off, including the young officeguy that's caught up in it all.

Anyway, it's a cool action show, looks nice, has violence, just fun enjoyable stuff.

It reminded me a little bit of Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, as far as character interaction and pacing etc etc go.

I definately recommend people to at least check out the first episode to see if they like it.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 01 Nov 2007, 12:28

Yi-Long wrote:Just finished watching the first episode of Black Lagoon, and very much enjoyed it!
I'm definately gonna check out more episodes before I'll rate it, but I like the premise, I like the characters, I like the action, it's just a fun show!

If you enjoy the rest of the show, then I hope that you buy the legitimate boxsets. Licensing of anime and production of English dubs isn't exactly cheap.

If anyone cares, here's an interview with the director of Appleseed 2, Shinji Aramaki.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/ar ... Y13001.htm

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 01 Nov 2007, 12:45

Q&A panel where Shinichi Watanabe (director of Excel Saga) gives his thoughts on anime piracy.
http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/1967/36/

EDIT: Sorry, Shinichi Watanabe. It's easy to confuse his name with the Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo fella.

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 01 Nov 2007, 12:50

EvaUnit02 wrote:Q&A panel where Shinichiro Watanabe (director of Excel Saga) gives his thoughts on anime piracy.
http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/1967/36/

Is there a transcript?

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 01 Nov 2007, 13:19

Lourdes wrote:Is there a transcript?

Not from what I can see, sorry.

Excel Saga is a series that I want to see, but I dunno if it's worth getting the R1 thinpak collection (stripped of all the extras). It would be unwatchable without the trivia pop-ups. Maybe the Madman boxset would be a good compromise?

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 01 Nov 2007, 14:05

Oh I just saw Watanabe and thought Shinichiro, good, the guy seemed a tit.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 02 Nov 2007, 00:45

EvaUnit02 wrote:
Yi-Long wrote:Just finished watching the first episode of Black Lagoon, and very much enjoyed it!
I'm definately gonna check out more episodes before I'll rate it, but I like the premise, I like the characters, I like the action, it's just a fun show!
If you enjoy the rest of the show, then I hope that you buy the legitimate boxsets. Licensing of anime and production of English dubs isn't exactly cheap.

If anyone cares, here's an interview with the director of Appleseed 2, Shinji Aramaki.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/ar ... Y13001.htm

TBH, I couldnt give a fuck about the dubbing part, but yeah, licensing costs money I guess. I would buy the boxset if it comes at an affordable price. (only sene 2 episodes so far though, so not sure if the quality will maintain thoughout the show...)

I'm interested in picking up Champloo and Bebop on DVD (actually stopped watching fansubs for that show so I can experience it in DVD properly and for my first time), but when I look at play that they charge almost 50 pounds for the Champloo boxset, I kinda scratch my head an amusement and wonder if they have a clue...
I'm sure it will be on sale one of these days, so I'll just wait for that day, OR just wait to a boxset for Blu-Ray/HDDVD... so I wont have to upgrade in a few years time.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 02 Nov 2007, 01:08

Yi-Long wrote:TBH, I couldnt give a fuck about the dubbing part

Neither do I, but a lot of people do. Who are we to deny them the option to watch it dubbed? God bless Bi-lingual DVDs.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 06 Nov 2007, 11:26

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society - 4/5

Unsurprisingly the plot is intelligent, thoroughly intriguing and explores modern social concerns. Whilst I agree with Lourdes that plot-points do seem to come out of nowhere, it does all come together and make sense as whole. SSS has that intrigue from the first season that I felt was missing 2nd Gig. I really liked the ambiguity of the ending, leaving the viewer yearning to see how the consequences of the film affect the third season of the series.

As to be expected of GitS:SAC, SSS's technical aspects are outstanding. Great set-pieces that are perfectly directed to another marvellous score by composer Yoko Kanno.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 23 Nov 2007, 06:25

Interview with a representative from Bandai Visual regarding their HD releases and the HD market in general.
http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtop ... tid/26262/

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 10 Jan 2008, 14:03

Can someone explain all the Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X stuff to me. I keep hearing how good Trust & Betrayal is supposed to be but I don;t know if I need to watch anything first.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 10 Jan 2008, 16:04

The chances of you liking Rurouni Kenshin are gonna be slim, as it's a textbook Shounen series. Samurai X: Trust/Betrayal is a 4ep OVA series (Trust = First 2 eps, Betrayal = Last 2 eps) that came after the series, but is set about 10years before the start of the series, so it's basically a prequel. There's a chance you might like Samurai X because the tone is much more dramatic and less "Shounen".

Avoid the Samurai X Movie, that's more like a weak episode of the TV series, and IF you like Trust/Betrayal, then give Samurai X: Reflection a try, this was the final OVA made to bring the series to a close (in truth it's just a cynical cash in on the sucess of Trust/Betrayal that tries to bring Rurouni Kenshin to a dramatic, bittersweet end.)

So basically, Samurai X: Trust/Betrayal can be watched either before or after the TV series, it doesn't really matter when you watch it. Most Western fans have seen these OVAs before they saw the Anime series (myself included).

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 11 Feb 2008, 19:15

"You're Under Arrest" has been my time passing series since Christmas, it's not bad at all - but not at all remarkable either. Bit too serious and Japanese, you know, a hundred police cars for a cat up a tree and traffic safety - done with all sincerity. Still, it has some laughs and is handy when I'm bored or need to kill time. Reminds me a lot of Patlabor, very similar in fact as they're both fairly humdrum with a certain bent which at times makes them rather good.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 18 Feb 2008, 13:54

Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino - Episode 1-5 - 3/5

Let's get the negatives out of the way first:-
-Madhouse had a full plate so Marvellous commissioned their own subsidiary studio Artland to make it. Art direction and quality is nowhere near as polished as that of your typical Madhouse production (ie Season 1).
-The score is nowhere near as good as season 1's.

The positives:-
-The story and characterisation is just as strong as ever, this was by far the best aspect of season 1.
-The new seiyuu of Triela is the talented ENOMOTO Atsuko and she delivers a terrific performance.

EDIT: One of the show's writers is the original manga-ka himself, sweet.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 30 Apr 2008, 21:25

Guys, give me a list of anime movie (or very short series) recommendation. Doesn't have to be anything rare as I'm a anime noob, but don't bother listing Ghibli or Akira...

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 30 Apr 2008, 23:06

Anything Makoto Shinkai and Satoshi Kon
Memories
Windy Tales
Yokohama kaidashi kikou
Mind Game (and other Studio 4°C works)

More serious:
Jin-Roh

You ought to like most of that but it depends what you're after and remember that only 0.01% of it is made for anyone besides paedophile nerds.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 01 May 2008, 03:21

Lourdes' list is bang-on. Also the films of Mamoru Oshii are not to be missed.

-Macross Plus (both versions - 4 part OVA and the film version.)
-Haibane Renmei
-Boogiepop Phantom
-Serial Experiments Lain
-Gunslinger Girl

All the latter shows are 12-13 episodes long - all killer, no filler.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 01 May 2008, 09:44

What Ghibli titles have you seen Hung?

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 01 May 2008, 10:46

Thanks for the recommendations, Eva and Lourdes. If you can think of more, keep em coming.

Shingster wrote:What Ghibli titles have you seen Hung?

Totoro, Kiki, Fireflies, Mononoke, Howl, Spirited

Other stuff that've seen that comes to mind: GitS 1&2, Akira, Blood - The Last Vampire, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika, Memories, Voices of a Distant Star, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5cm/Second, Vampire Hunter D (hated this one).

Not by any chance would Manga have released anything decent quality (film & dvd) in the UK? Picking Blood for less than 2£ made me wonder if I could do more similar findings from amazon private sellers...

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 01 May 2008, 11:18

HungFist wrote:Not by any chance would Manga have released anything decent quality (film & dvd) in the UK?

The quality of Manga UK's GITS2 release is pretty good. Good native PAL transfer, DTS track, good extras.

Madman's R4 of Dead Leaves is native PAL, I'd imagine that Manga UK used the same master. There ya go, consider Dead Leaves something else to check out.

Have you seen KITE? That's a solid piece of well-made exploitation.

Wicked City is okay, another exploitation film.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 01 May 2008, 11:28

Thanks. I don't know if Dead Leaves is gonna be my cup of tea, though...

I have seen Kite. Liked it. Mezzo Forte was disappointing, though.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 01 May 2008, 12:02

What would be your limit, episode-wise, to series!?

I really cant recommend Mushishi enough. They are pretty much all stand-alone episodes, and I absolutely LOVE it. It's fantastic. Mininova.org has pretty good quality eps to download. Just try the first 2-3 and see if it's your thing.

Also, Death Note is an absolute must-see.

And if you dont mind a longer series, and a sportseries. Hajime No Ippo is great. Just great. Boxing anime. Highly addictive, great characters, nice mix of humor and great action, etc.