Anime and Manga Thread Vol. 1: Visions of a God

Rosario+Vampire is one of my favorite anime/manga franchises.

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Rosario+Vampire is one of the best shows you've possibly not watched due to prejudices and you are a worse off person because of it.

"But Beel", you say, "monster girls?"



Trust me.

"I heard it is full of fanservice."

Yes, it is. But...


(Ok the manga is superior and you should read it but hear me out here!)


[SIZE=+3]ANIME:[/SIZE]

If you can't put up with 9 episodes before things start getting awesome, I don't know what to tell you. If you have a particular understanding of the monster girl genre, you may even find those first 8 episodes amusing. (Probably not.)

"All right, all right, I give up already. Tell me about the series (again)."

Franchise, really. But anyway...

R+V is the story of one average guy named Tsukune who ends up at a monster school because he couldn't get into any other school and his parents accidentally sent him there. Unfortunately for him, he's the only human at Yokai Gakuen and they're out for blood.

That's good, because Tsukune's first encounter is her:



"Is that...?"

Yes, dear reader. Our darling Moka-san is indeed a vampire. And she has a naughty side once the rosario on her chest is removed.

She also kicks high.

It's Love At First Bite. They fall hard for each other, and Tsukune makes up his mind to stay at Yokai Gakuen while keeping his identity hidden. It's a match made in Heaven...

...or in Hell, because there's a harem of other monsters after his bodily fluids.


KURUMU KURONO - Succubus
At first glance, she's another big boobed bimbo, but under that huge bosom is a heart of gold. Kurumu was originally jealous of Moka and tried to steal Tsukune away, but his courage convinced her to choose him as her "Mate of Fate". She now constantly tries to suffocate (poor) Tsukune with her funbags, and acts as an older sister for her friends.


MIZORE SHIRAYUKI - Yuki-Onna
She's a shy girl that just needs an icebreaker. Because she already stalked you down and froze you for safekeeping. Thinking Tsukune is another loner who would understand her, she stalks him and tries to keep it cool, but ends up only hurting others. After a misunderstanding, she could no longer control her ice powers and almost puts Tsukune and friends on ice, but his kindness managed to melt her heart and win her over. She continues to stalk Tsukune and throw ice darts at Kurumu if she gets too close to him.


YUKARI SENDO - Witch
A child genius who skipped grades. Unfortunately, that left her feeling like she doesn't belong, and the other monsters not liking witches because they resemble humans doesn't help either. With this ostracization, she responds the only way she could. Throwing childish tantrums and summoning giant water pans to smash their heads in. But behind that giggly childish laugh are her tears. Moka and Tsukune were the only ones to realize that, and their understanding made Yukari realize what she needs to do. She needs to get them together with her for a threesome.


RUBY TOUJOU - Witch
An orphaned witch in the human world, she was taken in by a kind elderly witch and raised in a beautiful field of sunflowers. Sadly, she was orphaned when her parents were killed by humans in a car accident, and she resents them so much for that and for attempting to landscape her sunflowers away that she turned the sunflowers into a man-eating plant army. Only Tsukune's determination to save her could convince her to regain her sanity. Many many things have happened, and now she works for the School's chairman.


After gathering this tight-knit group of friends, Tsukune's identity becomes close to discovered by the school's corrupt police group, The Public Safety Commission. His friends stage an epic rescue where Tsukune is killed.

So that's Season 1.

In the manga, that's where the story REALLY starts to take off. But we'll get to that in a second.


Season 2 is just fanservice and filler fluff, but they do have curry zombies



and Moka's little sister, Kokoa Shuzen.


She is yandere as fuck.




[SIZE=+3]MANGA:[/SIZE]

The manga is much LESS fanservice-oriented, and focuses more on shounen-style action and has been compared favorably as similar to One Piece, MxO and Negima.

After being killed, Tsukune is revived by a bite from Moka, which infuses him with vampire blood.

Pros: He now can summon the demonic power to kick ass.
Cons: If it gets out of control, he becomes an out-of-control ghoul that seeks bloodshed and mayhem...FOREVER.

Fun times ahead for that guy, because things take a turn for the bad-ass and it keeps on truckin'.

He takes on the WHO'S WHO of anime/manga, from

Kyuubi nine-tailed foxes


to Kira


to Pikachu


to OH NOES PARASYTES


And shinigamis and many more! This group wins with the power of friendship.

And superior firepower.





It is awesome because of spectacular references


That leave you looking like


Plus, it really is a progressive comic with this latest plot point



Personally, I love the manga for the moments of awesome

The moments of YAY

And the moments of heartwarming

(Yes this is really heartwarming.)

Also, as a last benefit, the music for the series is, like everything else, awesome. All of the OPs and EDs and most of the insert songs are sung by the esteemed Mizuki Nana, Moka-san's seiyuu.

[URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B6YmES2wkg
 
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What the....

bah... I finally decide to order part 2 You're Under Arrest from Amazon and just after it ships Rightstuf starts it's spring sale.
 
Hey I thought you guys might like this. I have a Kindle DX full of manga. Here are some pics (taken from School Rumble, volume 1):





Sorry that my camera sucks, and my shaky hands didn't help either (if the image or text looks blurry, it is not the DX... that's my fault). But manga on the DX looks so freaking amazing. The screen is really sharp and is big enough that it is almost the same size as the original. Anyway, just thought I would share :)
 
cool, i was wondering how well the kindle handles stuff like that.
did you buy that from some e-store, or is that just downloaded .jpg's or what?
 
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']cool, i was wondering how well the kindle handles stuff like that.
did you buy that from some e-store, or is that just downloaded .jpg's or what?[/QUOTE]
I wish they had an estore for manga, kind of like how they have a marvel comic store for the ipad now. But no, I downloaded the manga scans as jpegs, then I wrote my own converter program (I'm a software engineer) to process them all into Kindle friendly pdfs. I also could have scanned the manga myself, but it's easier to just download the scans. I have a thread about manga on the Kindle DX over at mobileread.com: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75628

I tried manga on a smaller 6" ereader but it was too small. On the Kindle DX though it looks great. It's a shame my pics don't show how awesome it looks... I guess you have to see it in person to get a real feel for it. But it's almost as good as reading from the source. It's nice having my collection in my hand instead of keeping a stack of books by my bed. And with epaper screens it really does feel like you are reading off of a piece of paper, and you don't get any eye strain. I still prefer the feel of a real manga, but overall I use my DX for manga now.
 
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man i want a new page soon. huge rosario load every tiem i view this thread is mad annoying.


here's some spaces.























are we on the new page yet?
 
crap you're right. they reset every 40 posts.

i think we're only at 17 now. i wish a mod would put all that in a big spoiler tag/delete it/whatever.

-actually i contacted the mods to do just that. maybe they'll handle it soon-

i will actually consider checking out the manga he mentioned, though.
 
Geez, you didn't have to go and get that guy's post deleted — that's kind of messed up. He only really needed to reformat the structure of his post, such as putting the images in spoiler tags.
 
as you can see i just asked them to do whatever to lower the size. they made the call on what they felt like doing. i had no control over that part.

i have to admit they acted swiftly.
 
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']as you can see i just asked them to do whatever to lower the size. they made the call on what they felt like doing. i had no control over that part.

i have to admit they acted swiftly.[/QUOTE]

Well, if you didn't explicitly ask the moderator to delete it, then the blame is wholly on the moderator. That guy only wanted to express his love for Rosario Vampire, albeit he expressed it in an obnoxious way. He didn't violate any of the rules; deleting the post was going too far. Like I said before, his post only needed to be restructured.
 
so I went to Sakuracon in Seattle recently.

i haven't been to a con in a very very long time so i wasn't sure what to expect.
mayumi tanaka (Luffy) and high and mighty color made for a pretty legit convention.

also the quality of cosplay was overall very high compared to what i've seen in the midwest. i guess part of that goes to the fact seattle has a massive japanese presence. i've never really been one for cosplay before but as my roommate pointed out, they might be having the most fun out of anyone. it kind of left me with a desire to cosplay an engineer from tf2 for some reason. i'd only do it if i spared no expense on a perfect recreation, though. not sure if i'll ever be crazy enough to spend the cash to have it made.

anyone here still do cons anymore? what do you guys think of the fact they're now like 60% girls and 40% cosplayers?
 
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']so I went to Sakuracon in Seattle recently.

i haven't been to a con in a very very long time so i wasn't sure what to expect.
mayumi tanaka (Luffy) and high and mighty color made for a pretty legit convention.

also the quality of cosplay was overall very high compared to what i've seen in the midwest. i guess part of that goes to the fact seattle has a massive japanese presence. i've never really been one for cosplay before but as my roommate pointed out, they might be having the most fun out of anyone. it kind of left me with a desire to cosplay an engineer from tf2 for some reason. i'd only do it if i spared no expense on a perfect recreation, though. not sure if i'll ever be crazy enough to spend the cash to have it made.

anyone here still do cons anymore? what do you guys think of the fact they're now like 60% girls and 40% cosplayers?[/QUOTE]

I haven't been to a con in years. When I lived in southeastern Idaho, my friends and I would hop between Sakura-con (then Baka-con) and Nan-desu Kon in Denver. Good times were had by all. Though I don't make it often any more, my friends still run a few panels that we've been doing since the first Baka-con (Anime Dating Game, etc).
 
Since I shared how I digitized my manga collection, I thought I would also share what I've done with my anime collection. I like to watch one or two episodea of about six different shows every night and I got tired of getting up to switch dvds, so I decided to set up a digital collection of my dvds. Here's my setup:

popcorn hour a-110 (w/ 1 tb hdd internal)
tr4u-b jbod usb enclosure (w/ 1.5 tb x 4 = 6 tb hdd)

Whenever I buy an anime boxset, I immediately copy the dvds to the hdds and then store the boxset away. My entire collection of anime is accessible at any time, the digital versions are perfect copies of the originals including menus and subtitles (when you are playing the movie, you cannot tell that it isn't a physical dvd playing), and I no longer have to get up to switch dvds :p

Here's some screens of the interface. I chose a custom xbmc interface cause I used to use it in my xbox.

Lots of anime to choose from (this is just the first 11 items on one of 5 hdds):


I chose Death_Note from the above menu, here's all the dvds:


I absolutely love my popcorn hour :)
 
Razzuel, thanks for suggesting that I watch Kanon. I enjoyed that series better than Air or Clannad. Although I did find Ayu saying "Ugu" every time she's on screen a little annoying. The characters seemed a little less complex compared to characters in Air or Clannad(maybe it's due to it being a remake of the 2002 12-episode series?). I am a little confused about one of the characters,
the fox version of Makoto. Is she dead or alive? Since they show her a couple times after she "dies" and I'm not talking about the real one that finds him in the snow.

Guess I skipped the happy ending to Clannad's After Story too. Since it was included in what I thought was just a summary episode that at the end it's revealed
that Nagisa & Ushio come back to life after Tomoya makes a wish to bring them back.

Kinda looking forward to Key's next animation series getting a english release(even if it is a sub). It's called Angel Beats and from the clips I've seen on youtube, it's a comedy instead of a romantic story. Seems they also ripped quite a bit from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, with the all girl band and the main heroine having a hairstyle and attitude that Haruhi does.
 
[quote name='tangytangerine']Razzuel, thanks for suggesting that I watch Kanon. I enjoyed that series better than Air or Clannad. Although I did find Ayu saying "Ugu" every time she's on screen a little annoying. The characters seemed a little less complex compared to characters in Air or Clannad(maybe it's due to it being a remake of the 2002 12-episode series?). I am a little confused about one of the characters,
the fox version of Makoto. Is she dead or alive? Since they show her a couple times after she "dies" and I'm not talking about the real one that finds him in the snow.
[/QUOTE]

I'm glad you liked it. Aww, it's too bad you didn't enjoy Ayu's "Uguu!" I thought it was cute and funny. I didn't think the characters were less complex, and I'm not really sure how I would compare them to the characters in Air and Clannad. I think After Story is the best out of all of them, but I still adore each show.

About Makoto:
It's been about a year since I've seen Kanon, but I think I know what happened. Makoto's (the fox) desire to see Yuichi was so strong that she was able to transform into a human girl; the reason her name is Makoto is because she remembers Yuichi telling her about a girl in class that he liked named Makoto Sawatari. Not only did the fox take Makoto's name, but I believe that she also took her form. In exchange for transforming into a human and having the ability of being with Yuichi again, the fox lost her memories and eventually died. The Makoto that you see after the fox's death is the real Makoto that was one of Yuichi's classmates during his childhood.

[quote name='tangytangerine']Guess I skipped the happy ending to Clannad's After Story too. Since it was included in what I thought was just a summary episode that at the end it's revealed
that Nagisa & Ushio come back to life after Tomoya makes a wish to bring them back.
[/QUOTE]That's a pretty big mistake, haha. Have you watched the real end yet, or were you just saying that you now know how it really ends? Although it will probably have a different impact, since you aren't viewing it immediately after the previous episodes, I am still curious of what you thought of the ending to After Story. Personally,
I did not enjoy the ending to After Story. The miracle that happens is a deus ex machina, which was annoying, and I thought that the happy ending put all the previous events in vain. I know that they had to be faithful to the game, but this is the show, not the game. They really should of created an ending that fit the show. In another forum, I read another person's idea for a better ending, and it would been perfect if they actually implemented it.
Despite the ending though, it's still one of my favorite shows because I cannot ignore all the phenomenal things that transpire before the ending.

[quote name='tangytangerine']Kinda looking forward to Key's next animation series getting a english release(even if it is a sub). It's called Angel Beats and from the clips I've seen on youtube, it's a comedy instead of a romantic story. Seems they also ripped quite a bit from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, with the all girl band and the main heroine having a hairstyle and attitude that Haruhi does.[/QUOTE]I'm excited about Angel Beats, too. I was hoping that it would air on Crunchyroll, but that's not happening. Hopefully someone licenses it later this year or next year. I have been avoiding any information on the show, since I don't like watching shows knowing what to expect, so I am surprised to hear you say it's a comedy — from what I've seen it looks like a drama. In any case, your comparison to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya worries me; I didn't enjoy The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and I thought Haruhi herself was annoying. I shouldn't be too worried though, since Jun Maeda is writing the story for Angel Beats.
 
[quote name='Razzuel']That's a pretty big mistake, haha. Have you watched the real end yet, or were you just saying that you now know how it really ends? Although it will probably have a different impact, since you aren't viewing it immediately after the previous episodes, I am still curious of what you thought of the ending to After Story. Personally,
I did not enjoy the ending to After Story. The miracle that happens is a deus ex machina, which was annoying, and I thought that the happy ending put all the previous events in vain. I know that they had to be faithful to the game, but this is the show, not the game. They really should of created an ending that fit the show. In another forum, I read another person's idea for a better ending, and it would been perfect if they actually implemented it.
Despite the ending though, it's still one of my favorite shows because I cannot ignore all the phenomenal things that transpire before the ending.[/QUOTE]

I watched the entire series except for that one episode. I skipped it, since I bought the DVD set used and it didn't come with a episode guide(I don't know if it even has one packed in). So I had no idea it had the real ending in it until I decided to watch it last week. I thought it was just entirely a recap episode until last week.

As for what I thought,
I thought it gave the series a better ending. I watched Air before I started watching Clannad. Which I was kinda ticked until I watched that summary episode that I thought they both ended the same way(Misuzu dying in Air and Nagisa & Ushio dying in Clannad). It might've ruined the events building up to it, but I'd rather it happen this way than ending like Air did.

Yeah, it might've been a crappy way to revive Nagisa & Ushio. But it's hinted that Tomoya could bring them back if he had enough "orbs". It could've been more fleshed out, but they probably had to wrap the series up quickly to move onto other projects.

[quote name='Razzuel']I'm excited about Angel Beats, too. I was hoping that it would air on Crunchyroll, but that's not happening. Hopefully someone licenses it later this year or next year. I have been avoiding any information on the show, since I don't like watching shows knowing what to expect, so I am surprised to hear you say it's a comedy — from what I've seen it looks like a drama. In any case, your comparison to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya worries me; I didn't enjoy The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and I thought Haruhi herself was annoying. I shouldn't be too worried though, since Jun Maeda is writing the story for Angel Beats.[/qUOTE]

Yeah, after thinking about it, it's more a drama with some comedy bits in it(like Clannad tried with Sunohara being a walking joke most of the 1st series). The one thing they try to turn into a joke in the 1st episode is
that the characters can't die. The main male character gets stabbed in the heart by a girl and then beaten by a guy with a halberd in the 1st 5 minutes of the show.

As for Haruhi comments. Yeah, if Haruhi annoyed it you, you probably won't like Yuri(which is her name) in the first few episodes.
 
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[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']at sakura con i watched a movie called Sword of the Stranger. finally, an anime movie that isn't just a huge disappointment in some way. definitely in my top 5 anime movies of all time. watch this if you get a chance, i seriously doubt you'll regret it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_of_the_Stranger[/QUOTE]

It's made by Bones, how could it be bad? I just ordered the first two box sets of Soul Eater, and am working on getting the DVD's to Darker Than Black. I WILL watch everything Bones has ever made :p

Also watching Heroman on Crunchyroll now. The first episode wasn't great and i was ready to get let down (it seemed to much like a kids show), but the second one was amazing. Looking forward to more.
 
[quote name='XxFuRy2Xx']
I'm mainly referring to the fact that she almost never wanted to fight. Especially when it came to the twins. They needed a good butt whoopin', and all she could do was tell them that they didn't belong in that world.

I liked her a lot better at the beginning when she took out the flying robot, or when she entered the competition to replace the operator Christmas got drunk.
[/QUOTE]

Sorry I took so long to respond, but I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you or something.
I disagree; the whole point is that Kurau didn't want to hurt anyone, and I think that's quite noble and just. The show is much more about the characters and their interactions with each other, than straight-up action. In my opinion, an action oriented Kurau would be a very different show.

[quote name='tangytangerine']I watched the entire series except for that one episode. I skipped it, since I bought the DVD set used and it didn't come with a episode guide(I don't know if it even has one packed in). So I had no idea it had the real ending in it until I decided to watch it last week. I thought it was just entirely a recap episode until last week.

As for what I thought,
I thought it gave the series a better ending. I watched Air before I started watching Clannad. Which I was kinda ticked until I watched that summary episode that I thought they both ended the same way(Misuzu dying in Air and Nagisa & Ushio dying in Clannad). It might've ruined the events building up to it, but I'd rather it happen this way than ending like Air did.

Yeah, it might've been a crappy way to revive Nagisa & Ushio. But it's hinted that Tomoya could bring them back if he had enough "orbs". It could've been more fleshed out, but they probably had to wrap the series up quickly to move onto other projects.
[/QUOTE]

I couldn't disagree more, but I guess that's what makes this discussion interesting.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like you are averse to tragedies. I can understand why someone wouldn't like a tragedy, but I love tragedies, and if they are done right, then they are quite powerful at evoking emotions in me, and I can't find that experience anywhere else.

I think you are being too forgiving in calling it a hint; I thought it was much, much too subtle to even be considered a hint. I remember a couple orbs or so, but the only orb that I can guarantee is the orb Tomoya receives for making up with his father. I felt that the show didn't explain what the orbs were and why Tomoya was receiving them. The only way I was able to understand the ending was that I had to read someone's comparison between the game and the show. That's terrible storytelling if I have to look up the source material that the show is based on to understand some of the events in the show — the show should stand on its own.

[quote name='the_punisher']It's made by Bones, how could it be bad? I just ordered the first two box sets of Soul Eater, and am working on getting the DVD's to Darker Than Black. I WILL watch everything Bones has ever made :p[/QUOTE]

How about you watch a Bones series you already own! You know, Kurau! You need to eat your own damn words and finish watching Kurau, dammit.

[quote name='the_punisher']Also watching Heroman on Crunchyroll now. The first episode wasn't great and i was ready to get let down (it seemed to much like a kids show), but the second one was amazing. Looking forward to more.[/QUOTE]

The first episode was fine; the only problem with the show right now is that it isn't original or creative. The second episode was better, but it's not enough to make any conclusive judgments about the story. However, the animation is fantastic, and the soundtrack is pretty good. Hopefully it keeps getting better and breaks free from its superhero cliches.
 
[quote name='Razzuel']Sorry I took so long to respond, but I didn't want you to think I was ignoring you or something.
I disagree; the whole point is that Kurau didn't want to hurt anyone, and I think that's quite noble and just. The show is much more about the characters and their interactions with each other, than straight-up action. In my opinion, an action oriented Kurau would be a very different show.
[/QUOTE]
It didn't have to be ALL action. My gripe isn't that she was a pacifist, and I get that she was trying to be a gentle soul. I just thought the pacifist side was shown a bit too much. It seemed a bit extreme, which is why I made the ghandi comment earlier.

To me, the character would've been rounded out more had she smacked down an extra person or two.
 
[quote name='XxFuRy2Xx']
It didn't have to be ALL action. My gripe isn't that she was a pacifist, and I get that she was trying to be a gentle soul. I just thought the pacifist side was shown a bit too much. It seemed a bit extreme, which is why I made the ghandi comment earlier.

To me, the character would've been rounded out more had she smacked down an extra person or two.
[/QUOTE]

Alright, I understand what you mean; though, I still think it would be out of character. The times where she did fight, such as her bounty hunting job, was because she's a capable fighter, and it's one of the things she's good at doing (though she doesn't enjoy it), which is partially thanks to her being a Rynax.

Oh well, I guess we just want different things out of some parts of the show. Regardless, I am still glad that you enjoyed it; I really wish more people would watch the show.
 
Just watched the third episode of Heroman, very, very lame. It has great production values, to be expected from Bones, but right now it's just not good at all.

Razzuel, i'll be watching Kurau this summer just to shut you up. I don't have it here with me right now (mainly the reason I'm on Crunchyroll, all my good stuff is at home).
 
I've fallen behind in my reviews again, so here's another collection of brief reviews of the shows that I've recently seen:

Tayutama: I knew buying Tayutama would be a risk, but I was hopeful that it would be entertaining. It's not quite a harem, but it's of a similar format — a guy interacts with four or five girls. Thankfully, the show wasn't interested in being nigh pornographic, and there were no insulting or annoying, superfluous panty or breast shots. Also, the show looks nice. However, the story is lackluster and forgettable. Tayutama is about a high school student who unleashes a bunch of deities and spirits into the world, and he has to help the main deity of the shrine — and along with the other girls — defeat the rogue deities that escaped. I didn't care about the characters, and the ending of the show was completely unearned — it felt very forced and out of place. I don't recommend Tayutama.

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor: I really enjoyed Captain Tylor. It's quite hilarious; also, it has plenty of action and serious, dramatic moments. The main reason Captain Tylor is such a good show is because Captain Tylor himself is an amazing character. He's a complete fool that's a genius by accident, and the show is basically about him and his crew's adventures through space in their battleship, the Soyokaze, against the mighty Raalgon Empire. I thought Crispin Freeman flawlessly pulled off Tylor's character, and Racheal Lillis as Yuriko Star and J. David Brimmer as Lieutenant Yamamoto were great as well. Another thing that I enjoyed was the style of animation; I really like the older visual style that these older shows employ — the traditional ink-and-paint cel animation.

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVAs: The OVAs are a continuation of the TV series, which is awesome, but overall, the OVAs aren't as good as the TV series, and the ending of the OVAs is terrible — the story stops during a huge plot point that is left unresolved. I enjoyed the first OVA, Tylor's War, the most, since it's basically Captain Tylor 2: The Movie, and it picks up right where the TV series ended. Tylor's War shares a lot of similarities with the structure of the TV series, but it is presented in a movie format. The other OVAs are character specific stories about different crew members on the Soyokaze. These OVAs aren't as good as the TV series, since the crew members are stationed on the ground instead of being stationed in the Soyokaze, and there is a severe lack of Captain Tylor. The last two OVA episodes start weaving all of the previous episodes together, and the show starts to get quite interesting, however, the OVA ends during an extremely pivotal point in the story. I had to read the liner notes to learn what happens next in the story.

I highly recommend the Captain Tylor TV series, and I would only recommend the OVAs if you want more Captain Tylor.

Gurren Lagann: I was completely enamored with Gurren Lagann during the first three episodes. I loved the visual style and the animation, the characters were fun and interesting, and the action was fantastic. My enjoyment plateaued once Simon, Kamina, and Yoko starting roaming around the Earth, but I was still enjoying it. However,
after Kamina died, I stopped enjoying the show. For me, Kamina was the heart of the show, and with Kamina gone and Simon being depressed, it felt like the heart and soul of the show had died. Even after Simon stopped lamenting Kamina's death, I had not, though, as the show progressed I started to feel better, and I was enjoying the show again, albeit not on the same level as before. I liked the time lapse, since there wasn't anywhere for the show to go immediately after Simon defeated the Spiral King, and it's cool seeing everyone as adults. Though, I really hated Rossiu because he was such an asshole, and the moment that Simon punched that jerk in the face, was one of the best moments of the show. Also, I wasn't expecting all of the quantum mechanics, multiple dimensions, and parallel universes, and I didn't like the bittersweet ending — I would of rather had Simon and Nia living happily ever after.
Overall, I thought it was a fun show.

The Wings of Honneamise: The Wings of Honneamise is Gainax's first production, and I thought it was great. It's set a world that's analogous to the Cold War, and one of the countries has a Space Force that's trying its damnedest to get a man into space, even though the populace see's the Space Force as a useless venture. It centers around the main character, Shiro, who is trying to find a purpose in his life, and he eventually volunteers to become the first man in space. Not only was it a great story, but I loved the realistic depiction of early space travel; it's reminiscent of our own technology from when we were first trying to send people into space. Also, I bought the Blu-ray version, and the movie looked vibrant and smooth, even though it was made in 1987. The soundtrack was also really good; it's a synth-like sound that fits the idea of entering a new frontier, such as outer space.

Now and Then, Here and There: Now and Then, Here and There was incredible. I was not prepared for the realism and the maturity that the story displayed. The beginning seemed innocent enough, but once the story gets started, the story presents you with a war-torn, post-apocalyptic world that's incredibly cruel. The characters are abused again and again, and some of the events during the story are shocking and horrifying — it can be difficult to watch at times. It can also be quite depressing:
Seeing Sara get abused by being raped multiple times was very depressing. She's just a child, and she was being forced into situations where the male soldiers would rape her. She becomes pregnant, and she even reaches a point where she has to kill a man trying to rape her. The scene that affected me the most is when Sara tries to kill her baby by slamming a rock into her abdomen. I'm getting sad just thinking about all of this stuff again; the atrocities that Sara had to endure haunted me when I was trying to go to sleep after I finished watching the show. Even though she sort of has a happy ending, I can't help but be immensely sad that she had to endure this pain, and that she will never be able to go back to her normal life.
Shu got abused, too, and I loved
that Shu always stuck to his morals. He is constantly beat up, but he always tries to help people, and he never wants to hurt anyone. There's a moment near the end of the show where Shu confronts the main villain, Hamdo, and Shu has a chance to kill Hamdo, but he lets him live. I love that about Shu.
It's truly an amazing show, and I recommend it to everyone.

Jubei-chan 2: Jubei-chan 2 was fantastic. Even though it shares a similar story to the first show, Jubei-chan 2 is still able to stand on its own. It has better animation and action than the first series; there are new and interesting characters; it's just as touching, if not more, than the first show; and it still has some humor, even though Jubei-chan 2 is severely lacking Koinosuke. I didn't like Freesia, since she was a cold bitch, but she's a key factor in the story. Another new character is Kita, and I thought he was awesome; he's pretty hilarious, especially the animation of him riding a bike in the ending animation, and I have provided a GIF of that animation below. I thought the best character in the show was Jubei's father; not only is he funny, but I loved the troubles that he went through during the show.

Here's a GIF of Kita from the ending animation of Jubei-chan 2. Warning: this GIF is about six megabytes in size.

Kita Riding a Bike GIF
 
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I'm about to start Jubei-chan 2 so we'll see if we agree. I keep hearing it is better than the first one.

I watched Captain Tylor when it first came out a decade or so ago and really really liked it (sub). I'm not sure if it will hold up for everyone nowadays but it has some genuine good times.
 
[quote name='the_punisher']Just watched the third episode of Heroman, very, very lame. It has great production values, to be expected from Bones, but right now it's just not good at all.[/QUOTE]

We must of watched a different episode; I thought episode three was a lot of fun. I love the violence in Heroman; it keeps surprising me that the show isn't afraid of death and destruction. The animation continues to look fantastic, and the fight scenes are awesome and hilarious; it's a lot of fun watching Heroman uppercut those cockroach aliens with so much vigor. Also, how can you not love those two cops? It was hilarious when that cop yelled, "America, hell yeah!" Another funny moment was when Joey stepped in front of the aliens and asked for a time-out.

Lina's brother is a prick, though. fuck him.

[quote name='the_punisher']Razzuel, i'll be watching Kurau this summer just to shut you up. I don't have it here with me right now (mainly the reason I'm on Crunchyroll, all my good stuff is at home).[/QUOTE]

I don't want you watching Kurau with that kind of attitude. Watch it because you want to watch it, not because you feel like you're obligated to watch it.

[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']I watched Captain Tylor when it first came out a decade or so ago and really really liked it (sub). I'm not sure if it will hold up for everyone nowadays but it has some genuine good times.[/QUOTE]

It definitely holds up.
 
[quote name='Razzuel']I don't want you watching Kurau with that kind of attitude. Watch it because you want to watch it, not because you feel like you're obligated to watch it.[/QUOTE]

Then stop telling me to watch it :p


[quote name='Razzuel']We must of watched a different episode; I thought episode three was a lot of fun. I love the violence in Heroman; it keeps surprising me that the show isn't afraid of death and destruction. The animation continues to look fantastic, and the fight scenes are awesome and hilarious; it's a lot of fun watching Heroman uppercut those cockroach aliens with so much vigor. Also, how can you not love those two cops? It was hilarious when that cop yelled, "America, hell yeah!" Another funny moment was when Joey stepped in front of the aliens and asked for a time-out.

Lina's brother is a prick, though. fuck him.

[/QUOTE]

I think everything about that show feels forced and it really bothers me. I feel like i've seen every element (main character being bullied, main bully being an asshole, weak protagonist that gains a power) of the anime before somewhere else, and done much better. The little bit with the cops wasn't really funny, it was just bad dialog. Is that really the first thing that comes to mind when everything is being blown up around you?

The entire episode was just a string of fights, not much advancement in the little character development they've done so far. The fights with Heroman are very well done though, as is the animation, but that's to be expected with Bones along with a good story. So far, this story isn't very good at all, it's way too generic, and more and more it feels like Bones couldn't decide whether it's a kids show or something more mature, as it deals with death and destruction only to make light of everything later.


Durarara!! on the other hand is looking great so far. From the little i've seen, it has a great story with a lot of promise. I don't want to make too many judgments just yet, but it's looking to be one of my favorite shows on crunchyroll.
 
[quote name='the_punisher']Then stop telling me to watch it :p[/QUOTE]

I'm telling you to watch it because it's amazing, and because it seems like you are ignoring it on purpose. You bought it, so you obviously have some interest in it.

[quote name='the_punisher']I think everything about that show feels forced and it really bothers me. I feel like i've seen every element (main character being bullied, main bully being an asshole, weak protagonist that gains a power) of the anime before somewhere else, and done much better. The little bit with the cops wasn't really funny, it was just bad dialog. Is that really the first thing that comes to mind when everything is being blown up around you?

The entire episode was just a string of fights, not much advancement in the little character development they've done so far. The fights with Heroman are very well done though, as is the animation, but that's to be expected with Bones along with a good story. So far, this story isn't very good at all, it's way too generic, and more and more it feels like Bones couldn't decide whether it's a kids show or something more mature, as it deals with death and destruction only to make light of everything later.[/QUOTE]

You're right in saying that it's not original, and it has a handful of superhero cliches, but so far it's so well done that it doesn't matter at this moment. However, I am worried that it might get stale. Heroman feels like the Saturday morning cartoons that I watched a long time ago, and thus far, Heroman has done enough things right to be quite fun.

I don't know how you can make any conclusive judgments on the story when the story has barely started. I think you need to give it more time before you can say the story isn't good. Also, how did you come to the conclusion that the show presented the death and destruction as something that's unimportant or humorous? It felt serious to me.

That cop said, "America, hell yeah!" because the army just rolled into town with a squadron of tanks, and the tanks shot some tank rounds at the squadron of aliens. It's like, "Hell yeah, the cavalry just arrived. We're saved!" It's perfectly competent dialog, and the hilarity of it made it even better. The reason it was hilarious for me was because I wasn't expecting a Japanese voice actor in a Japanese produced show to yell something like that.

Also, you do know that Stan Lee is the original creator of Heroman, right? The anime is an adaption of the Heroman manga, which is being written by Stan Lee. Before you say anything snarky, I am merely stating this for informational purposes.

[quote name='the_punisher']Durarara!! on the other hand is looking great so far. From the little i've seen, it has a great story with a lot of promise. I don't want to make too many judgments just yet, but it's looking to be one of my favorite shows on crunchyroll.[/QUOTE]

I also enjoyed Durarara quite a lot during the beginning, but I'm becoming bored with it now — I'm starting to not care. The only character that I still care about is Shizuo, however, he has been removed from the forefront, which is unfortunate because I think Durarara is at its best when Shizuo is on-screen.

That great story you are talking about doesn't exist. I just finished episode 14, and the show still hasn't gone anywhere interesting. There's no cohesive, overarching storyline to hold everything together; it feels like a bunch of unrelated vignettes strung together. I think it must be a problem with the source material because the person writing the script for Durarara is the same person who wrote the scripts for Baccano and Koi Kaze.
 
[quote name='Razzuel']I'm telling you to watch it because it's amazing, and because it seems like you are ignoring it on purpose. You bought it, so you obviously have some interest in it.



You're right in saying that it's not original, and it has a handful of superhero cliches, but so far it's so well done that it doesn't matter at this moment. However, I am worried that it might get stale. Heroman feels like the Saturday morning cartoons that I watched a long time ago, and thus far, Heroman has done enough things right to be quite fun.

I don't know how you can make any conclusive judgments on the story when the story has barely started. I think you need to give it more time before you can say the story isn't good. Also, how did you come to the conclusion that the show presented the death and destruction as something that's unimportant or humorous? It felt serious to me.

That cop said, "America, hell yeah!" because the army just rolled into town with a squadron of tanks, and the tanks shot some tank rounds at the squadron of aliens. It's like, "Hell yeah, the cavalry just arrived. We're saved!" It's perfectly competent dialog, and the hilarity of it made it even better. The reason it was hilarious for me was because I wasn't expecting a Japanese voice actor in a Japanese produced show to yell something like that.

Also, you do know that Stan Lee is the original creator of Heroman, right? The anime is an adaption of the Heroman manga, which is being written by Stan Lee. Before you say anything snarky, I am merely stating this for informational purposes.



I also enjoyed Durarara quite a lot during the beginning, but I'm becoming bored with it now — I'm starting to not care. The only character that I still care about is Shizuo, however, he has been removed from the forefront, which is unfortunate because I think Durarara is at its best when Shizuo is on-screen.

That great story you are talking about doesn't exist. I just finished episode 14, and the show still hasn't gone anywhere interesting. There's no cohesive, overarching storyline to hold everything together; it feels like a bunch of unrelated vignettes strung together. I think it must be a problem with the source material because the person writing the script for Durarara is the same person who wrote the scripts for Baccano and Koi Kaze.[/QUOTE]


I'm not trying to make too many judgments on Heroman just yet, but the more the story progresses, the more i feel like i'm about to be let down. Yes, I know Stan Lee is working with Bones on which is why it feels more American than most anime, and it's not terrible, but i can definitely see it heading there.

As for Durarara, not sure if anyone else here has seen it, but i can't make any judgments on it just yet. I'll just keep watching and be hopeful.
 
Hmm watching Jubei-chan 2 and I'm really not impressed thus far. I really don't get why they did what they did with Shiro and Hajime. The fights/animation are better but it seems like there are no likable characters outside of the monkey boys.
 
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']Hmm watching Jubei-chan 2 and I'm really not impressed thus far. I really don't get why they did what they did with Shiro and Hajime. The fights/animation are better but it seems like there are no likable characters outside of the monkey boys.[/QUOTE]

What do you mean? Are you talking about how they reduced Shiro and Hajime to more minor roles — the latter more so than the former? I didn't have a problem with that. Jubei-chan 2 is more about Freesia, the Siberian Yagyus, and Jubei.

You don't like Jubei, Kita, or Sai?
 
Late to the party but I just recieved my Baccano! Box Set, I'm big fan of Suzuhito Yasuda illustrations for Devil Survivor, Durarara!!, and Yozakura Quartet.

Hope to watch this today or sometime this week.

Heard good things about it :D
 
[quote name='the_punisher']http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...ase-anime-dubbing-in-2011-without-fan-support

Very saddened by this news. No more dubs is a huge blow to anime in general, especially for people like me that not only prefer dubs, but got into anime with dubbed shows (like FullMetal Alchemist). BangZoom! is also one of the best. Very very bad.[/QUOTE]
+1 saddened. I think the problem is the wait time between the Japanese release and the English dubbing... by then a lot of people have watched a free fan sub and so they don't want to pay for the English dub. It would be great if American companies worked more closely with the anime producers so that English dubs could be released soon after (or alongside *dreaming*) Japanese anime releases.
 
-1 saddened. This is pretty cool. I think it's high-time dubs went the way of the 56k modem. Less dub culture means better chances at getting more movies and games subbed.
 
[quote name='lilman']+1 saddened. I think the problem is the wait time between the Japanese release and the English dubbing... by then a lot of people have watched a free fan sub and so they don't want to pay for the English dub. It would be great if American companies worked more closely with the anime producers so that English dubs could be released soon after (or alongside *dreaming*) Japanese anime releases.[/QUOTE]

Definitely agree, and also the fact that people just don't buy a lot of anime in general. I'd guess it's one of the most pirated markets, VERY few people that I know that watch anime actually buy it. They'd rather just watch it for free online somewhere (as in not crunchyroll), and the business isn't going to last like that.


[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']-1 saddened. This is pretty cool. I think it's high-time dubs went the way of the 56k modem. Less dub culture means better chances at getting more movies and games subbed.[/QUOTE]

I know you're not a fan of dubbed anime, but do you really think it's a good thing for anime in general to have no dubs at all? And also, i really don't see no dubs --> more anime localized.
 
[quote name='the_punisher']Definitely agree, and also the fact that people just don't buy a lot of anime in general. I'd guess it's one of the most pirated markets, VERY few people that I know that watch anime actually buy it. They'd rather just watch it for free online somewhere (as in not crunchyroll), and the business isn't going to last like that.[/QUOTE]
Hmm... so you think even if English dubs were released alongside the Japanese releases that sales would still be poor in the US (or in other words, US anime fans would still prefer to watch free streams of fan subs rather than pay for dvds of English dubs)?

I don't watch any anime online. I buy a lot of anime dvds because I prefer the dvd quality, English dubs, dvd menus, dvd extras, and of course supporting my favorite anime series. Maybe the US anime companies should start their own online streaming services. I know Funimation has their own (although a lot of their content is sub only) where you can stream episodes for free and then purchase a downloadable copy. I wonder how they are doing with that.
 
[quote name='lilman']Hmm... so you think even if English dubs were released alongside the Japanese releases that sales would still be poor in the US (or in other words, US anime fans would still prefer to watch free streams of fan subs rather than pay for dvds of English dubs)?

I don't watch any anime online. I buy a lot of anime dvds because I prefer the dvd quality, English dubs, dvd menus, dvd extras, and of course supporting my favorite anime series. Maybe the US anime companies should start their own online streaming services. I know Funimation has their own (although a lot of their content is sub only) where you can stream episodes for free and then purchase a downloadable copy. I wonder how they are doing with that.[/QUOTE]

To the first question, i really don't know, maybe they would do better but idk how much profit they'd make.

I do prefer DVD's, but i still stream online too (through crunchyroll and funimation's site). However, considering 95% of it is free, i doubt they're making much money.
 
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']-1 saddened. This is pretty cool. I think it's high-time dubs went the way of the 56k modem. Less dub culture means better chances at getting more movies and games subbed.[/QUOTE]

Less dub culture means less fans. Period. The big animeheads that watch everything are the ones finding fansubs on the internets and then ignoring all but the very best American releases because they saw the show already. I'd be willing to say that American releases are supported by a sizeable margin by people are aren't diehard anime fans, because they don't pay attention to the online community, with all the fansubbing and whatnot. You get rid of dubs, you lose a lot of people who will only watch anime in English. And less fans will mean less stuff officially coming to America, even if it is only subbed.
 
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