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

[quote name='Kirin Lemon']This is quite possibly the best anime description ever, for the new show "Chuu Bra!!"I think Japan finally out-Japan'd itself. And this sounds right up Razzuel's alley, too, so I'm looking forward to reading his favorable impressions of the series soon.[/QUOTE]

I remember this being licensed for streaming on Crunchyroll, and now that you have said that, I am totally going to watch it! Haha, this is going to be great!
 
Yeah, D. Gray-man is an alright show and everything but I don't think many would call it one of the best. I do plan to get back to watching it at some point.
 
Alright, I watched the first episode of Chu-Bra last night. I haven't developed a conclusive opinion yet, so I am going to keep watching it, and I bet everyone would just love to hear weekly updates on Chu-Bra.

Even though this show is quite strange, I thought it was mildly intriguing, albeit that could quickly dissipate as the show progresses. Also, this show is very, very wrong: it's basically about middle school girls wearing lingerie.

There was one thing that was fantastic—yet depressing and frustrating as well—with regard to some of the other shows on Crunchyroll. Chu-Bra had absolutely perfect subtitles. There were never any spelling, grammatical, or syntactical errors. I should be ecstatic that the English is perfect, but I am only reminded of Erin The Beast Player's amateur-at-best English subtitles. I wish the people who subtitled Chu-Bra would have subtitled Erin.
 
I was lucky enough to find most volumes of Claymore and Baccano at Big Lots the other day. Now all I need is to find vol 6 of Claymore and vol 3 of Baccano for under $20 each.
 
[quote name='Indecisive Rattle']I was lucky enough to find most volumes of Claymore and Baccano at Big Lots the other day. Now all I need is to find vol 6 of Claymore and vol 3 of Baccano for under $20 each.[/QUOTE]

Wish i had a Big Lots near me, i've been wanting both of those.
 
Speaking of finding missing volumes. I finally found R.O.D TV vol. 1 for a decent price. I can finally start watching it once it comes in.
 
[quote name='XxFuRy2Xx']Speaking of finding missing volumes. I finally found R.O.D TV vol. 1 for a decent price. I can finally start watching it once it comes in.[/QUOTE]

Awesome!
 
So I was reading Batman: The Dark night Returns for the first time today, and Batman says " Welcome To Hell" and pulls a guy's leg from under the floor. I'm pretty sure Onizuka says that when pulling a guy ( who i think was Teshigawara, or maybe it was that one big breasted head master who came in and added the point system, but basically Onizuka had to do this to stop somebody from doing something dangerous ) through either the wall or the floor in Great Teacher Onizuka. The way the panel was structured it had to be some sort of a homage, IMO, but virtually no one talks about it online. Just thought I'd mention that.


...
 
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Wow. I just finished watching Ghost Hunt, and I cannot believe how much I enjoyed it. I only purchased it because it looked mildly interesting, however, I was completely taken aback. I adore Ghost Hunt; it was absolutely superb. There wasn't one thing that I disliked or felt indifferent towards; I loved every part of it.

The show is about a physic research company that hunts ghosts. The show is split into multiple cases, and each case usually lasts four episodes. The structure of the show perfectly complements what this show is about. Ghost Hunt takes a realistic approach—if ghosts were real—to ghost hunting. The show is full of scientific and mythological information, such as parapsychology; this makes the show extremely interesting and entertaining. I would even go as far as saying it is slightly educational because I now know what some of these parapsychological topics are, such as clairvoyance and psychokinesis.

The pacing of the show is perfect. I was always immersed into Ghost Hunt's world, and I was always surprised at how fast each episode seemed to end; it never felt like 25 minutes. One of the reasons that the pacing is so perfect is that the show is quite suspenseful. Ghost Hunt isn't scary, but it can be creepy at times, and I was always wondering how each case was going to proceed. I was even trying to solve the cases myself, and I was able to solve one of them myself before the characters reached the case's conclusion.

Another thing that makes this show so enjoyable is its cast of characters. The cast of characters includes a priest, a shrine maiden, a monk, a high school girl, a parapsychologist, a female medium, and an onmyoji. Each character has their own distinct personality and each character brings something different to the show. One of the characters is wholly narcissistic and prideful, however, the show is able to make him an extremely likable character. Mai was my favorite character of the cast; I was always right beside her in my thoughts. Also, these characters aren't only good on their own; the thing that really makes them special is the dynamic between the interactions of all of the characters.

The English dub for Ghost Hunt is masterful. If I didn't know better, then I would think that when it was originally animated that it was intended to be dubbed in English instead of Japanese. The English voice actors perform spectacularly, and their voices always matched the mouths of the characters; also, the dialog never felt stilted or unnatural. The English writers did an amazing job in adapting the Japanese script; the dialog is slick and clever at all times. Oh, and I wanted to get back to the English voice actors. Todd Haberkorn plays one of the lead roles and this is his best performance that I have seen; at first I couldn't even believe that this was the same voice actor who played one of the lead roles in Suzuka. Cherami Leigh plays the main character, Mai. I adored her voice. I loved Mai as a character, but Cherami completely brings Mai to life. Oh, and everyone else's voices are fantastic.

The last thing I wanted to touch on was the music. Ghost Hunt's opening theme and visuals are now one of my favorites. I was completely enamored with the opening of the show; the combination of the visuals and the main theme evoked a magical feeling inside of me—I would best describe it as entering another dimension or world. The background music during the show is terrific as well; there are great uses of creepy or suspenseful music to complement the visual mood of the show, and there are some light-hearted tones that bring relief or provoke thought.

The more I think about this show the more I think about how much I love it. I have an intense urge to name this as one of my favorites. Everyone definitely needs to check out Ghost Hunt.
 
[quote name='XxFuRy2Xx']Speaking of finding missing volumes. I finally found R.O.D TV vol. 1 for a decent price. I can finally start watching it once it comes in.[/QUOTE]

Is there another of those vol 1s for me? :)
 
[quote name='Razzuel']Blah, blah, blah...

The more I think about this show the more I think about how much I love it. I have an intense urge to name this as one of my favorites. Everyone definitely needs to check out Ghost Hunt.[/QUOTE]

Christ. Okay, Ghost Hunt is decent, but it's nowhere near good enough to warrant this huge essay.
 
I had to force myself to sit through the first 10 eps of Ghost Hunt before I could take no more. It was almost as painful as Hell Girl. But in its favor, nowhere near as painful as Red Garden.

Anyone else keeping up on Gantz? I can't decide if I like the Katastrophe arc thus far.

It started out as total despair, but of course the Gantz'ers are fighting back and winning, but then of course the more they kill, the more that will keep coming. I'm also afraid its going to turn into Bleach where they infiltrate the mothership, split up to each fight a different uber alien, and fight there way up til they get to the "big boss"
 
[quote name='Chronis']Is there another of those vol 1s for me? :)[/QUOTE]I wish you good luck, lol. It practically took me 4 months of scouring ebay and other sites trying to find one. I still ended up paying $17 for a used copy, but it's supposedly in "Like New" condition. I'll have to wait and see, though.
 
So I'm all caught up on Shippuden and I have to wonder, "Where do they go from here?". Most of the series-long secrets have been pretty much fully revealed at this point. After this arc I wonder why they could possibly come up with?

Anyway now I'm catching up on One Piece. For those following that's One Piece, Shippuden, Bleach, and Reborn all caught up. Then it's off to a new series.
 
Finally picked up a couple bookshelves today, and organized my manga. Before I had around 250 volumes of manga stuffed onto a 2-shelf bookcase, and now I have nearly 2 5-shelf cases filled.
 
[quote name='Bezerker']I had to force myself to sit through the first 10 eps of Ghost Hunt before I could take no more. It was almost as painful as Hell Girl. But in its favor, nowhere near as painful as Red Garden.

Anyone else keeping up on Gantz? I can't decide if I like the Katastrophe arc thus far. [/QUOTE]i haven't been up on Gantz since a little bit after the big break. it was a good time though I should get back in to that. thanks for the reminder
 
Alright, I just finished episode one of Durarara. It is being directed by the same director as Baccano, Koi Kaze, and Gakuen Alice. The first episode of Durarara is basically an introduction to its world; there is a lot of dialog, and sometimes two people are talking at once, which was really damn difficult to keep track of. Also, there are a ton of characters, and I think most of them at least make an appearance in this episode.

Durarara exudes a good sense of style, and from a couple of crazy scenes during the show, I get the feeling that the show might get really good as it progresses.

The English subtitles were perfect, so I take back my hatred from before. I am getting the feeling that Crunchyroll has dropped those amateur subtitle contractors, and now they only employ people who actually know how to do their job. It's a shame that Erin was subtitled before this change.

Oh, and the opening and closing songs are fantastic.
 
Finished up Tokyo Underground today. I almost quit watching the show after the first episode, as the voice acting was pretty annoying and it didn't seem interesting at all. Fortunately the show got slightly more interesting as it went along.

There are quite a few annoyances, though. Like the fact that in most battles the main character (teenage boy) is always getting his butt handed to him, even though he could have easily disposed of his opponent.

In the end it was just an OK show about some teenage boy gaining powers and using said powers to save the girl he loves.
 
I watched some Tokyo Underground way back when it first aired in Japan. All I remember is that there were parts that were hilarious in what was probably an unintended way.
 
I started Kuraru (the dub, OMG!). 4 episodes in and it seems pretty cool so far.

Monica Rial's kid voice makes me cringe (the same one from Moon Phase), but her adult character is pretty good actually. Fits the character well.
 
[quote name='PrarieD0G']I started Kuraru (the dub, OMG!). 4 episodes in and it seems pretty cool so far.

Monica Rial's kid voice makes me cringe (the same one from Moon Phase), but her adult character is pretty good actually. Fits the character well.[/QUOTE]

Yup, like I said before, the English dub is superior to the original Japanese language on Kurau. Definitely Monica's finest work.
 
[quote name='PrarieD0G']I started Kurau (the dub, OMG!). 4 episodes in and it seems pretty cool so far.

Monica Rial's kid voice makes me cringe (the same one from Moon Phase), but her adult character is pretty good actually. Fits the character well.[/QUOTE]

Woo hoo! I hope you enjoy it!
 
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']So I'm all caught up on Shippuden and I have to wonder, "Where do they go from here?". Most of the series-long secrets have been pretty much fully revealed at this point. After this arc I wonder why they could possibly come up with?[/QUOTE]
They'll just introduce new ones. I've been reading the manga and it seems like it doesn't plan to end anytime soon.
 
I swear this Bleach filler is fuckin killing me! This is what made me quit the show the first time and I'm just about to quit it again...or skip over it...I'll probably skip over it.
 
I just finished watching Pumpkin Scissors. It was good, however, it is marred by some problems. It's about a war relief effort in an alternate history Europe. I love the idea of alternate history Europe, but Pumpkin Scissors has a slight aura of vapidness that it cannot shake. Valkyria Chronicles is an example of alternate history Europe that completely captivated me; Pumpkin Scissors is just missing that integral ingredient that emotionally attaches me to its world.

A good number of the episodes were episodic, but as the show progressed, the story arcs got longer. The last arc was stretched too thin. This would of been better if the series had better planning, and if they were actually intending to finish the story. One of its biggest problems is that the show only explains half of the overall story; there are several plot threads that are left unfinished, so if I want to know what happens next, then I am going to have to pick up the manga, which I am not averse to if Del Rey actually plans on releasing all of the volumes.

My favorite aspects of the show were the characters. Not only are the characters pleasantly drawn, but the characters themselves are great. I really like the diverse personalities of Section Three. Alice was probably my favorite; she's a headstrong female that has a noble sense of justice, but she's also hot-headed, so she has a good balance of different traits.

Also, I really enjoyed the English dub. The characters are wonderfully cast, and they do a great job of portraying their respective characters. I guess the only problem with the English dub is that some of the fake Germanic accents are slightly annoying. Thankfully, the core cast of characters don't speak with accents, and they are the best voices of the whole show. Another thing that I liked about this English dub is that I haven't heard of any of these voice actors, so all of their voices were new to me; they did such a great job that I hope to see them in more series to come.
 
Speaking of favorite childhood animes, I really want SOMEONE to do SOMETHING with Monster Rancher. And I know that one day that I bite the bullet and buy the first season on VHS, 4Kids will be like "Hey, look what we just acquired! It's not Pokemon, but it's close."
 
I've caught up on some anime that are currently airing.

Omamori Himari Episode One: This show is awful. I like cat girls and magical girls, but the main character in this show is completely atrocious. Actually, all of the characters are stupid. The cat girl is your typical magical lady that has to protect some dumbass from monsters, and she acts like a slut. She is always seducing the main character. The other main girl is the main character's childhood friend—she even looks after the main character because his parents are dead. However, this other girl is jealous of the cat girl's sexual antics and her breast size. And speaking of breast sizes, every girl except for that childhood friend has gargantuan breasts. This show is absolutely pandering, and it's insulting. Omamori Himari is a trite piece of trash.

Fairy Tail Episode 13: Wow, this episode was actually good. I am completely surprised that they managed to make a good episode. The humor didn't fall flat this time, and the action wasn't stupid like it usually is. However, considering the past twelve episodes, I don't have faith in them consecutively producing another good episode. Haha, the fight with Natsu and the other two enemy wizards was amazing.

Chu-Bra Episode Two: Damn, this show is fucking strange, and I feel incredibly wrong watching it, but for some reason I don't hate it—that doesn't mean I enjoy it, either. This episode was basically more underwear antics, and the underwear club—who in God's name thought of this—will be formed in the next episode.

Hanamaru Kindergarten Episode One: This was a strong introductory episode. It's extremely cute and charming. It's about this guy who just got out of college, and he now has a job as an elementary teacher. I found that I could empathize with him, and the light-hearted approach to the show is quite pleasing—it even has a soft and calm visual style, which complements the show's mood. I am definitely excited to see how it progresses. Oh, and if anyone cares, it's by the same director as FMA.

So-Ra-No-Wo-To Episodes One and Two: This is my favorite show airing so far. It has amazing production values. The show looks absolutely gorgeous, the music is fantastic (it's by the guy who did the music for FMA), and there's potential that the story could be great. The first episode was a wonderful introduction to the world, and the second episode is a light-hearted adventure and an introduction to the setting. I was hoping for story progression in the second episode, but I'll trust it, since it is being written by the main writer for My Hime, which was brilliant. Oh, and the voice actor for Rio blew me away; I love her deep and slightly hoarse voice—it's quite unique.

I want to add one more thing: So-Ra-No-Wo-To is an original production, which means it's not an adaption. It seems like there aren't that many original productions, so I think this is awesome. So-Ra-No-Wo-To is actually "the debut project of Anime no Chikara, a joint project of TV Tokyo's anime department and Aniplex aiming to assemble creators to develop original anime television series." I think this is a wonderful idea, and if they can assemble an all star cast again like they did for So-Ra-No-Wo-To, then I am excited for what they can cook up next.
 
[quote name='Chronis']Speaking of favorite childhood animes, I really want SOMEONE to do SOMETHING with Monster Rancher. And I know that one day that I bite the bullet and buy the first season on VHS, 4Kids will be like "Hey, look what we just acquired! It's not Pokemon, but it's close."[/QUOTE]

The first twelve episodes exist on DVD, too!
 
[quote name='Razzuel']This show is absolutely pandering, and it's insulting.
[/QUOTE]

I'm shocked to see that description wasn't followed up by praise. I find virtually all harem anime fit the description above.
 
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']I'm shocked to see that description wasn't followed up by praise. I find virtually all harem anime fit the description above.[/QUOTE]

Sure, there are some anime that I have seen that have similar characteristics—like Shuffle, which I absolutely enjoyed—but Omamori Himari is devoid of a soul. It is completely unoriginal, and it is presented in a predictable and boring manner. After watching the first episode, I felt that the show was created for the sole purpose of being erotic and pandering, because of its blatant and unhumorous use of sexual objects and tension. Ultimately, I felt insulted.
 
[quote name='Chronis']Speaking of favorite childhood animes, I really want SOMEONE to do SOMETHING with Monster Rancher. And I know that one day that I bite the bullet and buy the first season on VHS, 4Kids will be like "Hey, look what we just acquired! It's not Pokemon, but it's close."[/QUOTE]
It's been years since I've watched it but I remeber the ending to that series being pretty depressing... I mean really depressing.
 
[quote name='Razzuel']stuff
Fairy Tail Episode 13:
stuff[/QUOTE]
woah fairy tail is an anime, and it has 13 eps already?

i always heard this was just one piece with magic. if so, i need to get to watchin
 
[quote name='Kirin Lemon']The first twelve episodes exist on DVD, too![/QUOTE]
Yeah, but they are a tad expensive, with the exception of the superbargainonedollaonedolla dvd rerelease from a few years ago.

[quote name='Chibi_Kaji']It's been years since I've watched it but I remeber the ending to that series being pretty depressing... I mean really depressing.[/QUOTE]
Honestly, I don't even remember the ending. Who knows if I even saw it. Because of the schedule it was on, I did miss a good bunch of episodes. I remember back when season 3 was getting ready to air, I was happy because I was finally able to watch them all in order. Except Fox(?) decided to to air them during school hours and then cancelled it because it didn't have enough viewers... :( Sad panda.

So on a non-Monster Rancher note, I've been watching The Gokusen that I got from the Media Blasters sale. I got it because it was on Encore a while back and I remember it being decent but didn't think I saw all of the episodes. So far, I'm over half way through the 13 episodes, and now I'm pretty sure that I did see all the epsiodes before. For anybody curious, it's based in a boy school full of delinquents (though they aren't the badasses from Cromartie) and the two new teachers are women. One of them is a leader in the local Yakuza group. But she can't let her kids know this so... stuff happens. Yeah. Nothing remarkable but good enough
 
[quote name='Chronis']Honestly, I don't even remember the ending. Who knows if I even saw it. Because of the schedule it was on, I did miss a good bunch of episodes. I remember back when season 3 was getting ready to air, I was happy because I was finally able to watch them all in order. Except Fox(?) decided to to air them during school hours and then cancelled it because it didn't have enough viewers... :( Sad panda.[/QUOTE]
I probably caught it on Fox Family. Anyway the ending always stuck with me since I found it to be pretty depressing. I believe the ending went something like this
The Main Character winds up returning to the real world after the last battle. And as he walks around he sees the girl that he traveled with and chases after her but it turns out she was just an illusion.
.
 
[quote name='Chibi_Kaji']I probably caught it on Fox Family. Anyway the ending always stuck with me since I found it to be pretty depressing. I believe the ending went something like this
The Main Character winds up returning to the real world after the last battle. And as he walks around he sees the girl that he traveled with and chases after her but it turns out she was just an illusion.
.[/QUOTE]
You want to talk about depressing endings that will always stick with you? ChronoCrusade. Eesh.
 
The ending to Chrono Crusade(Anime) was slightly less depressing if you ask me
Since they at least spent the rest of their time together.
 
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Any one know, a few months ago there was a one-shot in weekly jump, it was about a kid hunting for crystals or minerals or metal of some sort, and he could shape this particular material into whatever he wanted on the fly. He had some female partner with him and they were retrieving a large chunk of this material from a dragon. Some sort of enemy with armor made from the material appeared and ninja looted the stuff. I forget how it happened, but he ends up beating the dude and breaks some statue in the town they started at.

Anyone know what this was called?
 
I know, I never saw the end to Chrono Crusade. That's why I made sure to get the holiday brick from Right stuf when it was on sale.

Anyway, all this talk of Monster Rancher (plus the fact that a new game is coming in March which has me HYPE!!!!) made me start watching the series again. It's a lot kiddier than I remember. The theme song still amuses me though.
 
Tried to watch Kurau but the first episode sucked so i'll come back to it eventually. I know it's bad, but i usually end up judging an anime on its first episode.

I tried to get back into Le Chevalier D'eon after putting it on-hold at episode 5, but couldn't. Too much talking, not enough action.

I finished the second of the three OVA's for R.O.D., but it's been really bad so far. I'm only watching it so i can watch the series without wondering about the OVA.

I finished Kanon and Welcome to the NHK, both of which were very good. I already described most of Kanon, but the ending was very good and ended on a good note. NHK also had a very good ending, but for many different reasons. It was one of the strangest animes i've seen, but very realistic and engaging.

I watched the first two episodes of Negima?!, and it's somewhat predictable but not bad nor really good. I'll keep watching for now, but it sorta makes me wish i was watching School Rumble instead. I wish i could find a series as funny as that :(

And, to end on a good note, i started watching Full Metal Panic!. I knew i would like it from the start, it just has something about it that made me want to keep watching and watching, not even realizing it'd been 20x minutes and the episode was over. This hasn't happened to me since Eureka Seven. I just finished the first disk, but i plan on finishing the series and seeing the long-awaited FUMOFFU, as well as Second Raid even though many people have called it disappointing.
 
[quote name='the_punisher']Tried to watch Kurau but the first episode sucked so i'll come back to it eventually. I know it's bad, but i usually end up judging an anime on its first episode.[/QUOTE]

You already told us this, and I will reiterate that the first episode does not suck—the first episode is fantastic.

[quote name='the_punisher']...as well as Second Raid even though many people have called it disappointing.[/QUOTE]

Whoever told you that The Second Raid is disappointing is a fucking idiot. The Second Raid is everything that the first season dreamed of being.
 
[quote name='the_punisher']Tried to watch Kurau but the first episode sucked so i'll come back to it eventually. I know it's bad, but i usually end up judging an anime on its first episode.

I finished the second of the three OVA's for R.O.D., but it's been really bad so far. I'm only watching it so i can watch the series without wondering about the OVA.[/QUOTE]
I was kinda going WTF on the first episode of Kurau too, but that's sort of intentional. They explain things as you go along. It gets much better. I've seen the first 20 so far. (BTW anyone who has the DVDs needs to check out their description of "Blue Energy" on Vol. 5 [under Extras - Key Words]. They try to be so technical that it's hilarious.)

And wow finally someone who doesn't love the ROD OVA. Whew, I thought I was the only one who didn't think it was God's greatest gift to anime... TV series is much better, keep with it.
 
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[quote name='the_punisher']
I finished the second of the three OVA's for R.O.D., but it's been really bad so far. I'm only watching it so i can watch the series without wondering about the OVA.[/QUOTE]

By bad you mean dope, good, tight, and everything awesome, right?

[quote name='the_punisher']
as well as Second Raid even though many people have called it disappointing.[/QUOTE]

Out of the three times I've seen, heard, or read someone talk about this, it's always been good.
 
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