[quote name='JCally']Is Claymore any good? Not really into anime, but not opposed either, just looking for a good show and it's on netflix instant.[/QUOTE]
It's very poorly done. Poor animation, horrible dialogue, bad pacing.
[quote name='Gden']You know, liking something flawed is not a bad thing, in fact sometimes what you like about the show is often the flaws in the show (not commenting on your review, just throwing a random thought out there)[/QUOTE]
Oh, I totally agree; there are some shows that I recognize as being flawed, but for some reason I found charm and endearment in them regardless of those flaws, such as Stratos 4, which I recently watched. Stratos 4's English dub isn't good, but I wouldn't want to watch it any other way, haha.
I love Reborn! I'm current with the manga in Japan. I stopped watching the anime around the beginning of the future arc. Although, I know they put some filler into the future arc
that bit where they go back to the past to train wasn't in the manga
. I think the current arc is so far much better than the future arc.
Also, the only real reason to watch/read it is Tsuna. I get annoyed whenever any other character is fighting because it delays Tsuna's fight.
[quote name='Razzuel']Oh, I totally agree; there are some shows that I recognize as being flawed, but for some reason I found charm and endearment in them regardless of those flaws, such as Stratos 4, which I recently watched. Stratos 4's English dub isn't good, but I wouldn't want to watch it any other way, haha.[/QUOTE]
SUZUKA.
haha. Well at least, that's one that I like a lot that I know is flawed.
I'm actually on a whole different level of nerdiness now. My friend got me into Battlestar Galactica. Pretty awesome show.
JCally, are you watching Eureka the sci-fi show, or Eureka Seven the anime? (I LOVE both of them haha.)
[quote name='ChibiJosh']I love Reborn! I'm current with the manga in Japan. I stopped watching the anime around the beginning of the future arc. Although, I know they put some filler into the future arc
that bit where they go back to the past to train wasn't in the manga
. I think the current arc is so far much better than the future arc.
Also, the only real reason to watch/read it is Tsuna. I get annoyed whenever any other character is fighting because it delays Tsuna's fight.[/QUOTE]
Reborn spoilers:
Are you referring to both times that they go back to the past? The first time Tsuna and friends go back to the past is to train with the Arcobaleno in order to unlock the Vongola boxes, and the second time they go back to the past is to gain the blessing of inheritance from the first generation Vongola guardians.
I don't want the material after the Future arc spoiled, but I think it's interesting that you said the next arc is much better than the Future arc. Each arc in the show was better and crazier than the previous arc, so I've been wondering how it would even be possible to top the Future arc.
You're only reading the manga for Tsuna? That's interesting; I love Tsuna too, but all of the other characters are a joy to watch as well. I actually want to see more of the other characters. For example, I was disappointed that Yamamoto
didn't get to do anything in the final battle against the real six Funeral Wreaths; I really wanted to see what he inherited from the first Vongola Rain Guardian.
Are you referring to both times that they go back to the past? The first time Tsuna and friends go back to the past is to train with the Arcobaleno in order to unlock the Vongola boxes, and the second time they go back to the past is to gain the blessing of inheritance from the first generation Vongola guardians.
I don't want the material after the Future arc spoiled, but I think it's interesting that you said the next arc is much better than the Future arc. Each arc in the show was better and crazier than the previous arc, so I've been wondering how it would even be possible to top the Future arc.
You're only reading the manga for Tsuna? That's interesting; I love Tsuna too, but all of the other characters are a joy to watch as well. I actually want to see more of the other characters. For example, I was disappointed that Yamamoto
didn't get to do anything in the final battle against the real six Funeral Wreaths; I really wanted to see what he inherited from the first Vongola Rain Guardian.
[/QUOTE]
I had no idea they go back twice. In the manga, they are unable to go back until Byakuran is defeated.
Honestly, the majority of the future arc is considered bad by most Reborn! fans. It just gets so convoluted in the middle.
I'm not really reading only for Tsuna. I just think Tsuna is the biggest badass when he fights. I also love 20yl Lambo, but he's only showed up once.
I had no idea they go back twice. In the manga, they are unable to go back until Byakuran is defeated.
Honestly, the majority of the future arc is considered bad by most Reborn! fans. It just gets so convoluted in the middle.
I'm not really reading only for Tsuna. I just think Tsuna is the biggest badass when he fights. I also love 20yl Lambo, but he's only showed up once.[/QUOTE]
More Reborn spoilers:
Yeah, they can go back to the past by using Shoichi's big, round time machine thing. The first time they go to the past is because they need to unlock their Vongola boxes for the Choice battle against the real six Funeral Wreaths. The second time they go to the past is because they lost the Choice battle, so everyone needs to get stronger, and the real six Funeral Wreaths weren't far behind after everyone returned to Namimori. The time travel thingy doesn't really make sense, since apparently Shoichi can control how much time passes in the future while they are in the past; both visits to the past, which last about a week in the past, only last ten minutes in the future. I just suspended my disbelief for that part.
Hmm, most fans don't like the majority of the Future arc? That doesn't really make sense to me. I didn't think it was convoluted, and I enjoyed it more than the other arcs, since everything was even crazier than before — I loved all the twists and turns.
Well, yeah, you're right; whenever Tsuna enters Hyper Deathperation Mode, he's a complete bad ass, but I like seeing some of the other characters being bad asses too. Also, 20 Years Later Lambo is amazing, like you said, haha. It's too bad he only shows up once, and it's for a very short amount of time. That reminds me of one of the things that I missed during the Future arc:
I missed 10 Years Later Lambo and 10 Years Later I-Pin. They were basically removed from the show once the Future arc started, though they're there at the very, very beginning for a very short amount of time when everyone is fighting Tazaru and Nosaru.
[quote name='Razzuel']I didn't think it was convoluted, [/QUOTE]
You just admitted that the time travel didn't make sense.
And, come on, in the future arc you have
everyone gaining dying will flames. Now, there are 7 types of flames. There are boxes. Not only are there boxes, but there are special Vongola boxes that have the ability to change into special weapons. The funeral wreaths weren't the real funeral wreaths. One of the real funeral wreaths was really a parallel world Byakuran. Byakuran has the ability to know what happens in all the parallel universes through his other selves. I think someone had a power that allowed them to know thing that happened through out time through their ancestors. That's a giant convoluted mess.
The beginning of the arc was great up to around the part where they catch up with Shoichi then after that it gets ridiculous. And, the final battle was pretty great too.
[quote name='ChibiJosh']You just admitted that the time travel didn't make sense.
And, come on, in the future arc you have
everyone gaining dying will flames. Now, there are 7 types of flames. There are boxes. Not only are there boxes, but there are special Vongola boxes that have the ability to change into special weapons. The funeral wreaths weren't the real funeral wreaths. One of the real funeral wreaths was really a parallel world Byakuran. Byakuran has the ability to know what happens in all the parallel universes through his other selves. I think someone had a power that allowed them to know thing that happened through out time through their ancestors. That's a giant convoluted mess.
The beginning of the arc was great up to around the part where they catch up with Shoichi then after that it gets ridiculous. And, the final battle was pretty great too.
[/QUOTE]
Even more Reborn spoilers:
Well, time travel is inherently problematic, and I don't think it matters that it's not completely explained, since I was able to suspend my disbelief. Once you start trying to think about how the Future arc is possible in the first place, then everything becomes confusing, such as how are the future and past related. Tsuna and friends are in the one parallel world that hasn't been conquered by Byakuran, but both the future (10 years later) and the past exist in that one parallel world. How did the future even occur to allow the past to affect the future? See, it's even difficult to discuss this because time travel is such a messed up concept.
Now, this is where you're probably going to say, "See, that's one of the reasons why the Future arc is a convoluted mess." However, I don't pay particular attention to the physics and viability of all the time travel stuff, since it's presented in a good enough way for me to suspend my disbelief.
I laughed when you started listing all the things that happened after Tsuna and friends confront Shoichi, since when you actually list it out like that it does sound convoluted, and by the very denotation of convoluted, you're right -- it is convoluted. However, convoluted has a negative connotation, so I don't like to think of it as convoluted. One of the reasons I loved the Future arc so much is because it's so ridiculous. Now, the revelation that Shoichi is a good guy and that 10 Years Later Tsuna planned the whole thing was mind blowing, and none of the other events shook me as much as that revelation, but I still really liked how it progressed.
There was really only one moment where I was thinking, "Wait, what? Really? Are you serious? Come on, what is this supposed to mean?" It was when Byakuran was shown standing on a beach with an ankle bracelet that had the Vongola emblem imprinted on it, and Byakuran was missing his tattoo under his eye. I was so damn sure Tsuna disintegrated Byakuran with his X Burner.
Yeah, the final battle was sick. Besides the amazing fight between Tsuna and Byakuran, which is probably the best fight in the whole show, one of my favorite moments was when Kikyo's dinosaur heads started morphing into Tsuna and friends' heads. I loved it when Bel asked them, "When do you think the illusion began?" Mukuro and Flan are so damn awesome, haha.
[quote name='Razzuel']I feel like I just completed a major milestone; I finally finished watching Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I really loved the show. I can't really talk specifics, since it's 203 episodes long — I wouldn't want to spoil any of it.[/QUOTE]
The anime is over?!? Really? I'm at like 170ish I think. Guess I should go finish it.
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']The anime is over?!? Really? I'm at like 170ish I think. Guess I should go finish it.[/QUOTE]
They stopped at the end of the future arc. They're allegedly going to restart it at some point in the future. Basically they're taking a break instead of making up filler.
All right, I finally finished Full Metal Alchemist Seasons 1 and 2. It started to go downhill towards the end of Season 2, but I still enjoyed it (just not one of my very favorite animes). I have Brotherhood to work on, on blu-ray, but going through my Gurren Lagann collection now.
Holy shit, I can't believe Funimation didn't make this transparent when advertising their SAVE releases; in the most recent ANNcast, Funimation's Marketing Director, Lance Heiskell, said that all of their SAVE releases have reversible covers. I have been avoiding all of the SAVE releases so far because of that god-awful green bar on the side of the box art, but I have actually bought one SAVE release so far, since it was much, much cheaper than buying a different release of the show, and that show is 009-1. I just checked to see if it had a reversible cover, and what do you know, it does have a reversible cover. I guess I'm going to be buying more SAVE releases now, especially the SAVE release of Air: The Movie.
Tried to get into Full Metal Alchemist last night and while I'm absolutely sure it's a great series, those first 2 episodes were so abysmal that I have no desire to continue with it.
[quote name='Kirin Lemon']According to an ANN podcast from a couple weeks back, it's in the very, very early planning stages. It may or may not actually be produced.[/QUOTE]
Oh, I know, it'll probably get scrapped like a lot of the anime adaptations, but its more of a WTF thing than anything
[quote name='Razzuel']Holy shit, I can't believe Funimation didn't make this transparent when advertising their SAVE releases; in the most recent ANNcast, Funimation's Marketing Director, Lance Heiskell, said that all of their SAVE releases have reversible covers. I have been avoiding all of the SAVE releases so far because of that god-awful green bar on the side of the box art, but I have actually bought one SAVE release so far, since it was much, much cheaper than buying a different release of the show, and that show is 009-1. I just checked to see if it had a reversible cover, and what do you know, it does have a reversible cover. I guess I'm going to be buying more SAVE releases now, especially the SAVE release of Air: The Movie.[/QUOTE]
My understanding is that all of their new save releases have reversable covers. Some of the early releases don't. There's a spreadsheet here (under the release table link at the top.)
Personally, I don't care either way, becuase the reversed covers are NOT a duplicate of the main cover sans SAVE bar... and I tend to be a real stickler for what I want on the outside of my DVD cases- basically, if you can look at it and immedately go 'oh, it's a reversed cover', I don't want it. I'll probably still avoid the SAVE line, at least for the most part.
[quote name='DuelLadyS']My understanding is that all of their new save releases have reversable covers. Some of the early releases don't. There's a spreadsheet here (under the release table link at the top.)
Personally, I don't care either way, becuase the reversed covers are NOT a duplicate of the main cover sans SAVE bar... and I tend to be a real stickler for what I want on the outside of my DVD cases- basically, if you can look at it and immedately go 'oh, it's a reversed cover', I don't want it. I'll probably still avoid the SAVE line, at least for the most part.[/QUOTE]
Oh, thanks. I guess here's another instance of Funimation failing to reveal the whole picture; from the way Lance Heiskell was explaining the SAVE releases, it sounded like all SAVE releases had reversible covers. And of course, from the list you referenced, Air: The Movie doesn't have a reversible cover. Come on, dammit! The SAVE release of Air: The Movie has the best box art out of all of its releases, and then Funimation had to ruin it with their ugly-ass, green SAVE bar. Plus, the SAVE release of Air: The Movie is quite recent; it was released on July 20, 2010. Another show that I'd like to buy, Big Windup, also had a SAVE edition released recently (August 24, 2010), and according to that spreadsheet, it does not have a reversible cover.
Ugh, god damn SAVE line. Why can't the green bar just be a piece of paper that wraps the damn spine of the case? What graphic artist working at Funimation seriously thinks that the permanent, green bar is a good idea? The permanent, green bar must be an overriding marketing decision. A temporary green bar that wraps the case would satisfy the marketing department and the graphics department.
I can't wait to see how Funimation ruins their Anime Classics line that they are going to be releasing soon.
[quote name='panzerfaust']Tried to get into Full Metal Alchemist last night and while I'm absolutely sure it's a great series, those first 2 episodes were so abysmal that I have no desire to continue with it.[/QUOTE]
Maybe try giving FMA at least one more episode before dropping it. The first two episodes take place somewhat in the middle of the FMA timeline so you aren't too sure what is going on. The third episode takes you back to the earliest point in the story and you start to understand what is going on with Ed and Al. Episodes 3-6 are background story, starting with episode 7 the story gets a bit more serious, and starting with episode 14 the main conflicts begin and continue through the end of the series. The majority of the series has a much different tone than the first two episodes.
Bleach comes back this week, anyone else think this is the last chapter or are they going to spin to another story arc? It would be nice if they do a special shedding some light on Ichigo's father.
[quote name='Razzuel']Ugh, god damn SAVE line. Why can't the green bar just be a piece of paper that wraps the damn spine of the case? What graphic artist working at Funimation seriously thinks that the permanent, green bar is a good idea? The permanent, green bar must be an overriding marketing decision. A temporary green bar that wraps the case would satisfy the marketing department and the graphics department.
I can't wait to see how Funimation ruins their Anime Classics line that they are going to be releasing soon.[/QUOTE]
It's really pretty sad that, when I want to pick up older shows, I end up spending more time looking up the packaging info than anything else. You'd think with all the complaining about these green bars, stack packs, and what-have-you, it might occur to these companies that we do care about good packaging.
At the very least, Funi's announced they're bringing back the vol 1 starter+goodie setup (kind of, anyway). I look forward to seeing how that plays out.
[quote name='Razzuel']Oh, thanks. I guess here's another instance of Funimation failing to reveal the whole picture; from the way Lance Heiskell was explaining the SAVE releases, it sounded like all SAVE releases had reversible covers. And of course, from the list you referenced, Air: The Movie doesn't have a reversible cover. Come on, dammit! The SAVE release of Air: The Movie has the best box art out of all of its releases, and then Funimation had to ruin it with their ugly-ass, green SAVE bar. Plus, the SAVE release of Air: The Movie is quite recent; it was released on July 20, 2010. Another show that I'd like to buy, Big Windup, also had a SAVE edition released recently (August 24, 2010), and according to that spreadsheet, it does not have a reversible cover.
Ugh, god damn SAVE line. Why can't the green bar just be a piece of paper that wraps the damn spine of the case? What graphic artist working at Funimation seriously thinks that the permanent, green bar is a good idea? The permanent, green bar must be an overriding marketing decision. A temporary green bar that wraps the case would satisfy the marketing department and the graphics department.
I can't wait to see how Funimation ruins their Anime Classics line that they are going to be releasing soon.[/QUOTE]You can actually pick up Big Windup! non SAVE edition from the Amazon marketplace on the mega cheap, fulfilled by Amazon, too! It's what I did since I'm not a fan of the SAVE packaging either.
Speaking of poor packaging, I got the Moribito "premium" box set in the mail yesterday. Calling it "premium" is laughable, as the "art box" the DVDs come in is the flimsy cardboard crap that I despise. I can't believe Media Blasters has the balls to call it premium and charge a premium price for it. It's crap like this that makes me want to stop buying Anime all together and just watch it streaming from somewhere.
Caught up on Kimi no Iru Machi (109 chapters, ongoing). I enjoyed it, especially since I could never tell what was going to happen next. I found myself reading a few chapters per sitting which is always a good sign. It's way better than Suzuka (same dev), although to be fair I only saw the Suzuka anime (manga > anime in most cases). Not sure what I'll start reading next... maybe Katekyo.
Wow. I haven't collected much anime in awhile and I never thought somebody could top TokyoPop's giant red angry robot logo in aesthetic butchering of a cover. I've witnessed SAVE and regrettably stand corrected.
Looking at the SAVE cover I kind of get the feeling of when I go into a GameStop and look at the used games that have the generic sleeve with the title written on it with a Sharpie; I know it's cheaper and the content is OK, but I can't buy it because just wouldn't look right amongst the rest of my collection.
[quote name='XxFuRy2Xx']You can actually pick up Big Windup! non SAVE edition from the Amazon marketplace on the mega cheap, fulfilled by Amazon, too! It's what I did since I'm not a fan of the SAVE packaging either.[/QUOTE]
Whoa, you're right; that is super cheap. Thanks for the advice!
[quote name='XxFuRy2Xx']Speaking of poor packaging, I got the Moribito "premium" box set in the mail yesterday. Calling it "premium" is laughable, as the "art box" the DVDs come in is the flimsy cardboard crap that I despise. I can't believe Media Blasters has the balls to call it premium and charge a premium price for it. It's crap like this that makes me want to stop buying Anime all together and just watch it streaming from somewhere.[/QUOTE]
Huh, really? Did you buy this one? That's not the one I bought, but I bought the chipboard box (which looks rather similar to the picture on the "premium" version), and I bought all of the two-pack singles. I took some pictures for you; check them out here. I'm guessing you didn't receive what I have?
[quote name='Shimrra']Curious as to where the story will go from here. This could mean that they might shed light to his
father's past. How he lost his powers and got it back at the end of the previous arc.
[/QUOTE]
Aww man, couldn't you have put that in spoiler tags? I'm only about 40 episodes into the Bleach anime, and I didn't particularly want to read that.
[quote name='lilman']Not sure what I'll start reading next... maybe Katekyo.[/QUOTE]
Katekyo? Are you referring to Katekyo Hitman Reborn? If you are referring to Reborn, then I suggest you watch the anime instead, since I think it has advantages to the manga. Now, I haven't read the manga, but the anime has a great soundtrack and voice cast, and it's animated. Also, as far as I know, it's pretty damn faithful to the manga. Although, you have expressed your problem with Japanese-language-only shows, which kind of sucks, since the show is so good.
[quote name='Razzuel']
Katekyo? Are you referring to Katekyo Hitman Reborn? If you are referring to Reborn, then I suggest you watch the anime instead, since I think it has advantages to the manga. Now, I haven't read the manga, but the anime has a great soundtrack and voice cast, and it's animated. Also, as far as I know, it's pretty damn faithful to the manga. Although, you have expressed your problem with Japanese-language-only shows, which kind of sucks, since the show is so good.[/QUOTE]
Having done both (for the most part), I suggest the manga.
Huh, really? Did you buy this one? That's not the one I bought, but I bought the chipboard box (which looks rather similar to the picture on the "premium" version), and I bought all of the two-pack singles. I took some pictures for you; check them out here. I'm guessing you didn't receive what I have?[/QUOTE]Yeah, the first one you linked (nearly $100) is the one I bought. I believed that I would be receiving the chipboard box along with the DVDs (basically, the setup you have), but I didn't. I guess I'm going to have to pay for the privilege of having a decent box for the DVDs.
[quote name='Razzuel']Katekyo? Are you referring to Katekyo Hitman Reborn? If you are referring to Reborn, then I suggest you watch the anime instead, since I think it has advantages to the manga. Now, I haven't read the manga, but the anime has a great soundtrack and voice cast, and it's animated. Also, as far as I know, it's pretty damn faithful to the manga. Although, you have expressed your problem with Japanese-language-only shows, which kind of sucks, since the show is so good.[/QUOTE]
Yes, I was referring to Reborn. Unfortunately for me it is either translated manga or English dub. I decided to hold off on Reborn since the last few manga series I've read were ongoing and I don't want to add another title to my list of waiting-for-updates. So instead I'm going with a completed series, probably to-LOVE-ru (which I started a while ago but put on hold due to lack of time) or GTO.
[quote name='Kuroi Kaze']i just can't do manga of a battle-focused anime like reborn. action sequences aren't very fun to read.[/QUOTE]
I like action sequences in manga; I find them just as engrossing as watching the anime. The only big drawback I see to manga is the lack of music, which (depending on the series) can really enhance the experience. Other than that I usually find manga to be a better experience than anime.
[quote name='lilman']The only big drawback I see to manga is the lack of music, which (depending on the series) can really enhance the experience. Other than that I usually find manga to be a better experience than anime.[/QUOTE]
I consider the lack of sound, animation, and color to be large drawbacks.
Oh, and the music in Reborn is pretty bad ass; it definitely enhances the experience.
[quote name='Razzuel']I consider the lack of sound, animation, and color to be large drawbacks.
Oh, and the music in Reborn is pretty bad ass; it definitely enhances the experience.[/QUOTE]
I shouldn't have said "the only" drawback of manga vs anime is lack of music, I only meant "biggest". Sound is great (assuming the VA's are good), and animation usually enhances the experience (with a few low quality exceptions). Color is nice but I don't feel it is needed in manga... as long as the artist includes a color page at some point so that I can get a better sense of what the characters look like, I am satisfied. I love the music in anime and usually get the soundtrack if I enjoyed the series.
Anyway, not trying to start an anime vs manga debate, I love both mediums, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.
I restarted reading to-LOVE-ru. I only read 20 chapters or so before so it will be mostly new to me. Should be a nice departure from the serious tone of Kimi no Iru Machi.
[quote name='panzerfaust']is there an anime out there that has an Ace Combat 4 feel to it? i already watched the Sky Crawlers movie and loved it.[/QUOTE]
Um, Last Exile? You probably already saw that too...
Got the Trigun re-release in today. Only checked it out for a bit, but I don't think Funimation touched the video... it's still jittery, which is the only thing I didn't like about the original Trigun release. Eng and Jap dub in 5.1; they probably reused the dub from the Remix release. I'm so glad they didn't redub the series, the original English dub is just fine. It's 26 episodes on four discs (a lot better than the original eight disc release) in two thinpacks (two discs per thinpack, one on each inner side). The box is the standard Funimation cheap paper case like they used for Soul Eater, which is fine with me since I want it to take up as little room as possible.
Trigun is one of my favorite series, I am really glad it got a re-release
[quote name='panzerfaust']is there an anime out there that has an Ace Combat 4 feel to it? i already watched the Sky Crawlers movie and loved it.[/QUOTE]
I haven't played Ace Combat 4, but the only anime I know of involving military aircraft are Sky Crawlers (already mentioned) and Yukikaze.
Yukikaze is awesomess. I reccomend that show to anyone.
Right Stuf finally shipped the first volume of 7 Billion Needles to me, and I finished reading it the other night. I only knew the basics of what the story was about from Right Stuf's synopsis, and I really liked the cover art — it's gorgeous — so I was roughly expecting it to be good. However, it completely exceeded my expectations. The writing is excellent. Also, the pacing is fantastic; the story begins explosively, and then the story builds itself up to an incredible climax.
It's basically about a highly intelligent, otherworldly organism that comes to Earth in search of another, similar organism that threatens all of humanity. Each organism needs a host, and the good organism comes to inhabit an anti-social high school girl, and she's usually trying to block out the world with her headphones. Between the beginning and the climax at the end, the story focuses on this new relationship between the good organism and his host, Hikaru, the high school girl. The story is more about who Hikaru is as a person — as well as who we all are as humans — instead of this otherworldly danger, however, there's still focus on the science fiction aspects, and those parts are just as fantastic.
I haven't read that many manga, but if 7 Billion Needles can keep this up, then it could turn out to be one of my favorites, if not my favorite.
Also, I watched the Clannad movie, and now I know why it hasn't been licensed for release here. It's absolutely awful. The writing is very, very bad. Since the movie basically only focuses on Tomoya and Nagisa, some of the other characters are either missing or only have a very minor role. That would be perfectly fine if they executed Tomoya and Nagisa's story well, but their story is completely butchered. I guess I should also mention that the music was forgettable, the voice acting was mediocre, and the animation was average.
Now, to properly explain why the writing is so terrible (don't be afraid to read the spoilers if you've seen the TV series; you should probably know why to avoid this movie):
The movie can be separated into two distinct parts: Tomoya and Nagisa's high school life, and their life after high school, as adults. The first half sometimes has out-of-context flash-forwards, and these flash-forwards are distracting and confusing. Even though I knew the story from the TV series, I was still lost during these flash-forwards.
Another problem is that the story was too large to fit into one movie that's only one hour and 30 minutes long. The first hour is dedicated to their high school life, and it ends with Nagisa's play. During the play, Tomoya realizes that Nagisa is having the same dream that he's been having for so long. Immediately, Tomoya realizes that he's in love with Nagisa...wait what? At this point in the movie, Tomoya still barely knows Nagisa. They're still only acquaintances; you can't even call them friends yet. Um, where did this declaration of love come from? It's as if the writers ran out of room, and they needed some way to move to their life after high school.
Then, after the play, it flash-forwards to Tomoya being depressed in his apartment because Nagisa is dead, however, it hasn't said that Nagisa is dead yet. I only knew because I already know the story from watching the TV series. These last thirty minutes are mostly out of chronological order, and it completely wastes any emotion that the story could have evoked. I can't even imagine how much worse this movie would have been if I had never seen the TV series. After ruining any chances of emotionally connecting with the characters during Tomoya's life with Nagisa as an adult and how he copes with her death, they ruin Ushio's part of the movie.
Everyone forces Tomoya on train ride to some station somewhere, and he's tricked into meeting with Ushio. It would have been a nice scene, but Ushio is only a part of the scene for about a minute. It's not a believable transformation from Tomoya's state of immense depression to a caring, dependable father.
Everyone should buy the Darkhorse Cardcaptor Sakura omnibuses. Even if you already own the original print. The first book came out last week, I think, and I finally got it. I think the printing is higher quality that the original print and the book is taller. Plus there are a lot of color pages.
I was able to snag a legit used DVD brick for Those Who Hunt Elves last week at Ed McKays. It was $20, but I actually only had to pay $6 since I had trade in credit left over.
