Anime Discussion GT: In which the most handsome of NPFers cry during Kurenai's finale

[Regulus Tera]

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/7118/1189008793611we4.jpg

I gave up. I watched the RAW version of episode eleven and that... that...

;___; Violence, drama, more violence and more drama. I wish I had understood something about it, since Kurenai seems kinda slow when it's only moonspeak on the screen.

Stupid Murasaki being a bitch to Shinkurou! It's understandable given the situation, but it's still irksome. I hope Yayoi isn't really dead, but knowing this series...

I cannot wait for next week. I'm pumped up!! I hope they make a second season following the rest of the manga, which I refuse to read until the anime is over.

[Robert Paulson]

Hey all you NPFers. I'm still trying out "classic" anime series. I have two of which I've tried out recently.

One of which is the original Slayers. And I'll be honest, I don't like Slayers. At all. I don't loathe every aspect of it, but if Slayers was a person, and we walked by, we'd glare at each other. We wouldn't say anything, and we wouldn't jump straight to fisticuffs either, but Slayers and I just don't get along. I find it overrated. At the very least, I found the Slayers anime to be more tolerable than the Slayers manga.

The other anime series I'm trying out, and currently watching, is Cardcaptor Sakura. I got good news! The anime version of CCS is just as good as the manga version! This is all I'm watching right now. Just watching the show makes me feel . . . happy. Sure, many tv shows I like entertain me, but few of them make me genuinely happy. Well, CCS does. And I'm gonna keep watching it while I'm still on vacation.

By the way, a new episode of the English dubbed version of Death Note will be on adultswim.com tomorrow, and then two weeks after tomorrow, the last episode. I can't wait.

[NonCon]

CCS definitely got better as I went along, though I still haven't watched very much.

I'm watching... nothing... I need recommendations... Preferably totally awesome ones...

[Igbutton]

I'm starting one like episode 110 of Bleach. I'm pretty sure it's a just slightly less terrible DBZ.

I thought it might be interesting when all his friends developed nifty powers too, but now they just suck and kinda get in the way. Does it get better or should I stop watching.

[Regulus Tera]

The other anime series I'm trying out, and currently watching, is Cardcaptor Sakura. I got good news! The anime version of CCS is just as good as the manga version! This is all I'm watching right now. Just watching the show makes me feel . . . happy. Sure, many tv shows I like entertain me, but few of them make me genuinely happy. Well, CCS does. And I'm gonna keep watching it while I'm still on vacation.

You're a good man. Expect some backlash from people who cannot stand CLAMP though.

I'm watching... nothing... I need recommendations... Preferably totally awesome ones...

A list of what you've already watched would be nice. All I know is that you watched Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and that's good.

My recommendations:

-Kurenai. I didn't put it in the title for no reason. Awesome series that makes you feel warm and cozy.
-Golgo 13. For fuck's sake, Golgo 13. It has explosions and guns and manliness.
-Macross Frontier is full of love triangles, high school hijinks, and TRANSFORMING JETS FIGHTING ALIENS IN OUTER SPACE.
-Daughter of the Twenty Faces (you will find it as Chiko or as Nijuu Menzou no Musume). Girly series about a girl doing awesome shit like robbing jewels. Awesome.
-If you haven't (and if you haven't, shame on you), Gunbuster and then Diebuster. The first is a classic and the second one is not bad at all, despite what people might try to make you believe.
-And while we are with GAINAX, Kare Kano, especially if you are a sucker for relationship stuff. It kinda fucks up at the end, but everything else is great.


I'm finally watching Monster and it's not bad. I'm in episode two though. If the quality remains I might keep up with it.

[Mirai Gen]

I've talked some shit about Ruroni Kenshin's ending since I would have infinitely preferred that the entire series was as dark and gory and bloody as the OVA (Shit my favorite animes are the darker, bloodier movies like Wicked City and 8 Man After. I'm a gory man in my anime tastes). But, for what it was, I did like it and the ending was totally appropriate.

I find it overrated. At the very least, I found the Slayers anime to be more tolerable than the Slayers manga.
Overrated just isn't enough ground to hate Slayers, I'm going to need a bit more than that to be able to take that you don't like it.

Cause I mean Halo is overrated but come on that's not the only reason to hate it, I'm sure you can think of a few more.

[EVILNess]

I totally recommend "History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi", and "Katekyo Hitman Reborn!" AKA "Reborn!", which are both really fun anime.

Also, Kekkaishi doesn't seem bad, while Perfect Girl Evolution makes me smile every time.

[Robert Paulson]

Overrated just isn't enough ground to hate Slayers, I'm going to need a bit more than that to be able to take that you don't like it.

Cause I mean Halo is overrated but come on that's not the only reason to hate it, I'm sure you can think of a few more.

I wouldn't say I hate the Slayers anime, (although I do hate the manga version.) but fair enough. I will explain.

Slayers is supposed to be a comedy, and yet, I don't find myself laughing at all. All I see in Slayers is a cartoon version of a fantasy RPG minus the gameplay segments. I wouldn't mind it reminding me of RPGs, except the whole show is lame. Lame in the actual sense of the word. Nothing exciting ever happens. Nothing fun ever happens. None of the characters are likable. I just find it lame and unfunny.

And I say overrated because everywhere I go on the internet, everyone on this subject always goes, "ZOMG! Slayerz! That is teh shit!" I even know people in the real world who say they like Slayers, and then I watch it, and I found it to be a colossal disappointment. It could've been a good show, but it wasn't.

Then again, keep in mind, my taste in anime is pretty unorthodox.

[roadkill]

Why would you start on episode 110 of Bleach? You're missing out on all of the story and some of the best fights in the series. If you don't want to watch it from the start, at least only skip to around episode 20-ish, where Ichigo and friends go to Soul Society for the first time. Once that's over, feel free to skip to episode 110.

[Funka Genocide]

I've stated previously that from a purely objective critical perspective, Slayers is mediocre at best. The comedy is cheesy at worst, and the characterization is lacking to say the least.

And yet, I still don't care, because Lina Inverse is so God Damn Adorable.

I've been saying God Damn an awful lot lately.

god damn!

[Truce]

Druaga just finished.

This season, anyway. The second one will be in 2009.

While it wasn't the greatest show, it had its moments. I'm looking forward to seeing the story continue.

[IHateMakingNames]

To Ig, it's all about Ichigo. Everyone else is useless. They get their moments of glory, but are then instantly and pathetically shot down directly after (Especially Chad, Bleach's creator must hate him).


I don't watch much anime, usually because when I do and it's not a finished series, I want to know what happens so I switch to the manga and stick with it since they are always further ahead.

Two things I have recently watched were Code Geass and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, however I eneded up not finishing both for similar reasons. They killed off my favorite characters, then I kinda lost interest and never got around to finishing. Mao in Code Geass. He was only in two episodes, including his death, but he was the only character I liked. Then Kamina in Gurren Lagann. I'm sure the show remains great even after that, but up until that point Kamina was 90% of the show. I kinda lost interest with only 10%, and haven't gotten around to finishing.

I always want to watch more stuff, but I lose my initial interest really fast and never get around to watching more episodes. I have a pile of stuff I obtained and never got around to viewing.

[Eltargrim]

Two things I have recently watched were Code Geass and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, however I eneded up not finishing both for similar reasons. They killed off my favorite characters, then I kinda lost interest and never got around to finishing. Mao in Code Geass. He was only in two episodes, including his death, but he was the only character I liked. Then Kamina in Gurren Lagann. I'm sure the show remains great even after that, but up until that point Kamina was 90% of the show. I kinda lost interest with only 10%, and haven't gotten around to finishing.

Uh, I really hope "Believe in me who believes in you" gives you some appreciation as to how wrong your statement about TTGL is. Simon was, is, and always will be the focus.

Also: Shinkuruo better damn well use his elbow-thingimajig in ep 12, because otherwise I'm going to hunt down whoever made the show and teach them about proper motivations to use shit. Regardless of how much you dislike something, chances are if it's the only thing that's going to get the important job done, you're going to use it.

Macross Frontier: I hate plot points. Hate hate hate. Ranka >>>>>>> Sheryl.

Geass: There better damn well be a "Just as Planned" in episode 11. Too many of Lelouch's plans have been thwarted so far.

Golgo: Where the hell is episode 8?

Twenty Faces: Sad Ken makes me sad :(

[Regulus Tera]

Hey guys.

Guys.

SECOND GURREN LAGANN PARALELL WORKS AMV FUCK YES!! (http://www.gurren-lagann-movie.net/gurrepala/interview/flash.html) Now with more Baf Baf! Sonna ni Moeru no ga... Suki kai? (Or Baf Baf! Do You Like... Burning with Such Passion?)

Viral and a... pinball? At least GAINAX's frontpage is full of badarse today:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c134/uotani_arisa/334_gurren.jpg

[bananarama]

Yeah the last AMV was a bit underwhelming in comparison to the first one, but well at least some of the faces were hilarious.

Also, latest Geass news: yet another goddamned super unit comes with heapin' helping of dues ex winina, Xing-Ke gets more pedo moments, and.... was that a lesbo kiss? O_O And then at the sign of some more plot movement, it appears that the next ep is another friggin' school comedy type deal D=

And in the Macross Frontier front, there were no goddamned transforming space fighter jets which pissed me off... Okay we get it! Love triangles suck sometimes. But here's the solution: two chicks at the same time.

And I WOULD be watching the ending of Kurenai if I could find a goddamn SD version of ep 11. So here I wait with the final episode tempting me with no end :stressed:

EDIT:Golgo: Where the hell is episode 8?
Yes! Yes so fucking hard....

EDITx2: IHMN, regarding TTGL, believe me after some emo moments, Simon proves more than capable enough to fit into Kamina's oh so badass shoes. But about Code Geass, how could your favorite character be Mao? Are you into the insane, whiny evil types? ^_^ I mean I'm not arguing against giving up on Code Geass and all but.... Mao? Seriously?

[Regulus Tera]

Also, latest Geass news: yet another goddamned super unit comes with heapin' helping of dues ex winina, Xing-Ke gets more pedo moments, and.... was that a lesbo kiss? O_O And then at the sign of some more plot movement, it appears that the next ep is another friggin' school comedy type deal D=

My favourite type of episodes. I'm hyped!

And in the Macross Frontier front, there were no goddamned transforming space fighter jets which pissed me off...

What episodes have you watched so far? Because there are.

And I WOULD be watching the ending of Kurenai if I could find a goddamn SD version of ep 11. So here I wait with the final episode tempting me with no end :stressed:

Hey guys.

Guys.

http://www.sadgettingsadder.com/LACA-9117.jpg (http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-9117)

[bananarama]

My favourite type of episodes. I'm hyped!
Wha- Just what is wrong with you?! ><; Okay fine. Upon further consideration I guess you sorta have a point....
What episodes have you watched so far? Because there are.
No I mean the latest Macross Frontier episode (#11) had no fucking transforming space fighter jets (except for at the very, very end, but that don't count dammit!). I mean I don't mind love triangles and all, but if I had to choose between love triangles and fucking transforming space fighter jets, then I damn well will be choosing some fucking transforming space fighter jets!

[NonCon]

Don't know if I've asked this before. If so, I'm sorry. Anyone watch Sky Girls? Someone recommended it to me, and I want to know if it's worth getting into or not. I really wanna start watching the anime version of D. Gray Man, I just haven't been able to get myself to.

[CMKMStephens]

Don't know if I've asked this before. If so, I'm sorry. Anyone watch Sky Girls? Someone recommended it to me, and I want to know if it's worth getting into or not. I really wanna start watching the anime version of D. Gray Man, I just haven't been able to get myself to.

Sky Girls is pretty awful, as for D.Gray Man, the anime starts off good, drops a bit in the middle with filler, but then gets better than it was before.

[BitVyper]

I've been reading the Slayers novels lately. Enjoying them a lot.

[ZAKtheGeek]

So I started watching Monster. It's pretty interesting. Also, the music sucks.

[Truce]

The Daughter of Twenty Faces is a whole lot better than I thought it would be. The plot progresses very smoothly too - and I grew to like most of the characters so far.

Hell, it doesn't hurt that Twenty Faces himself reminds me of Roger Smith. Hell, I expected him to shout out "It's show time!" at one point, and have a giant mecha burst from underneath the ground.

Chiko is an excellent lead too, being the Daughter of Twenty Faces herself. She's talented, and learns quickly, but doesn't just start pulling out badass moves out of nowhere.

So far, so good.

[Possum Knight]

Anyone ever seen an anime called Gun X Sword? (not to be confused with Hunter X Hunter which is also awesome)

Gun X Sword is a pretty good mech anime, but lots of good comedy, and a main protagonist that is just way too original for his own good and just so likeable for his own quircks and faults. Its only like 26 or so eps so its a good weekend watch if ya got time.

[Eltargrim]

Kurenai 12 makes me happy. Oh so very happy.

I'm going to be away from the internet for the next two months. This makes me sad.

[Granis]

Man, the Real Robot Genre has done nothing but piss me off lately.

Macross Frontier grumbling ahead.

NO YOU DO NOT GIVE SOUND BOOSTERS TO THE STUPID LOLI THAT IS KILLING THE SERIES. Macross Frontier can't just be bad on it's own, oh no, they have to take things from Macross 7, the best Macross show ever, and include it with this crap. Ranka is not manly enough to be some new SOUND FORCE. In fact, Ranka's stupid duets is what dragging Shryll's success rate of awesome down to 50% compared to Fire Bomber's 100% success rate.

[BlackMageGirl!]

How about some of the newer animes guys? Anyone else besides me pick up Soul Eater yet? Or How about Vampire Knight? Nobari No Ou? Am I all alone here?

Soul Eater is just fantastic. Right balance of comedy and fighting plus three very likable main characters and their own personality weapons.

Nobari No Ou is ninjas done right. (I'm lookin' at you Mr. Naru-musthaveabazillionfillersandmaybeaninklingofplot-to) I love how they resurrected Ritsuka's apathetic personality in the main character. Makes me chuckle every time he talks. XP

Vampire Knight I wouldn't recommend to guys at all. Purely Shoujo stuff. >_> But if you like bishonen vampire guys and a not quite as cliche plot..

[Regulus Tera]

NO YOU DO NOT GIVE SOUND BOOSTERS TO THE STUPID LOLI THAT IS KILLING THE SERIES. Macross Frontier can't just be bad on it's own, oh no, they have to take things from Macross 7, the best Macross show ever, and include it with this crap. Ranka is not manly enough to be some new SOUND FORCE. In fact, Ranka's stupid duets is what dragging Shryll's success rate of awesome down to 50% compared to Fire Bomber's 100% success rate.

And Lin Mei was great in comparison? :/

Haven't watched Kurenai 12. I'm going to. It's gonna be awesome and warm and fuzzy and oh I'm so gonna cry am I not?

Soul Eater is just fantastic. Right balance of comedy and fighting plus three very likable main characters and their own personality weapons.

I watched it; it sucked. The pacing is just horrible. Nothing of importance happened until episode seven or so and the fights are as generic as you can get since Dragon Ball. Black Star is annoying, Soul is annoying, Death the Kid is annoying. I stopped watching it after I got to the episode where Tsubaki has to deal with her lost brother/friend/something and realised this wasn't going to get any better soon.

The animation was nice though and the main character whose name I forget was cute and likable.

[Robert Paulson]

Well now, I just got back from watching all 70 episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura, and both movies. It was wonderful.

However, now that I think about it, I think I like the manga version of CCS more. It has less filler, and nicer character art. But the anime version of CCS is still a good adaptation.

Oh, also, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Meilin are just adorable! KAWAIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! ^ _ ^ . . . . . . . I promise that will be the last time I ever do that.

Speaking of anime, I saw the second-to-last episode of Death Note yesterday on adultswim.com. Talk about a cliffhanger. Six more days until the finale of the English dubbed run. I must watch it. It is Kira's will.

However, once I'm done with Death Note, I think I'll take a break from anime. I can't find anything else that interests me at the moment.

P.S. Mikami is a fucking freak.

[ZAKtheGeek]

I can't believe I still wouldn't be done with Death Note if I hadn't abandoned the dub and watched the whole last arc subbed. In fact, that's why I did it. I wasn't waiting til freakin' July to find out L's damn name (which isn't in the anime, it's in a special extra thing at the end of the manga, which I obviously couldn't read without spoiling the crap out of everything).

[Donomni]

Regarding this second-to-last episode...

Did someone say "Just as planned"?

I think someone said "Just as planned"! :D

[BlackMageGirl!]

I watched it; it sucked. The pacing is just horrible. Nothing of importance happened until episode seven or so and the fights are as generic as you can get since Dragon Ball. Black Star is annoying, Soul is annoying, Death the Kid is annoying. I stopped watching it after I got to the episode where Tsubaki has to deal with her lost brother/friend/something and realised this wasn't going to get any better soon.

The animation was nice though and the main character whose name I forget was cute and likable.
I really should've noted that it wasn't for everyone. =p I happen to find all three characters to be very hilarious.

Hell I'm the type of person that'll squeal over Cardcaptor Sakura and then turn around and watch Ergo Proxy. I'm weird.

[Julford Hajime]

Speaking of anime, I saw the second-to-last episode of Death Note yesterday on adultswim.com. Talk about a cliffhanger. Six more days until the finale of the English dubbed run. I must watch it. It is Kira's will.
I don't think I've ever shouted "You sons of bitches!" louder in my life than when "To be continued" popped up on screen. Hell, I don't think I've ever actually shouted that phrase before then. Also, I didn't realize my face had found its way two inches from my computer screen until that moment, because I headbutt my monitor leaping out of my chair.

P.S. Mikami is a fucking freak.
No arguments here. I think that was the most important point of his character, though. He was obsessive enough to be trusted by Kira, but smart enough to not be a hindrance like Misa was. Takada was like that, too, though, so they had to make one freaky and the other fairly normal. Hence, Mikami shouts "Delete" every two seconds and goes all crazy eyes and shit.

Guilty Pleasure Admittance Time: I started watching Death Note because Light's English VA is the same as Amuro's English VA from Mobile Suit Gundam. It is also the ONLY reason I haven't watched the ending yet. I was two seconds from hunting down the episode on Youtube when I realized that wouldn't have Brad Swaile doing Light's voice and I stopped right then and there. Friday night can't come fast enough.

Finally, I've been mumbling random lines from DN all day. Sooooo glad I'm not working again till next Friday; that means there isn't any work between me and DN goodness.

"Well Near, looks like I win" had me smiling so much it's crazy.

[bananarama]

Haven't watched Kurenai 12. I'm going to. It's gonna be awesome and warm and fuzzy and oh I'm so gonna cry am I not?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!1! HURRY UP AND FINISH THIS AWESOME SHIT! (Seriously every character that sucked, got the shit kicked out of them, or was a pussy throughout the series became a fucking badass and everyone who was an evil douche got the shit kicked out of them.... it was great....)

Also, more Golgo 13 makes me fucking happy. Oh yeah and maybe I'll find the time to cover Monster in between the waves of fucking awesome that are Golgo 13 and Macross Frontier....

[Robert Paulson]

I can't believe I still wouldn't be done with Death Note if I hadn't abandoned the dub and watched the whole last arc subbed. In fact, that's why I did it. I wasn't waiting til freakin' July to find out L's damn name.

Hmm, this is interesting. Why do I have the patience to watch Death Note in English as opposed to in Japanese with fansubs?

Well you see, it's a rule of mine. I take fansubs with a grain of salt. I've tried watching fansubbed series before, but I've noticed that the dialogue tends to be unprofessional. As such, I prefer watching anime that's either dubbed in English or subtitled professionally.

This explains why I don't watch a huge number of anime. I won't watch a series or movie that hasn't been officially released in America in some capacity. This is why I haven't jumped the gun and seen the finale of Death Note just yet.

For added effect, go back and reread everything I just wrote in L's English voice. It's fun, isn't it? I will say L is definitely my favorite character from DN.

[ZAKtheGeek]

That's actually the first thing I've ever watched subbed. <3 Kira!

I kinda regret it, too. I watched it all in one day a couple months ago and I'm still processing everything that was wrong with it. The last arc is where they started skipping a lot of details, so it makes even less sense than the manga. Perfect case in point: how Near fingers Mikami. What the hell was that?

There's nothing special about L's name, either. Hell, I'll post it. It's not actually a spoiler. His name is L Lawliet. Yeah, his first name is actually "L." Mind-blowing, huh?

[bananarama]

Soooo watched the first few eps of Monster. I like. My only qualms are: why is every surgeon in this anime, except for the main character, such a bleeding bastard and why is every surgeon in this anime, except for the main character, a failure/lazy bastard? I'm not gonna make a big deal about it and just chalk it up to "because guy who made manga said so", but it's just something I noticed. Whatevs I'll watch on....

And yay finally finished Gankutsou and working on Lovely Complex and Mushishi (all animes that I had to stop in the middle because of the surge of new cool shit I was watching)!

[Julford Hajime]

The last arc is where they started skipping a lot of details, so it makes even less sense than the manga. Perfect case in point: how Near fingers Mikami. What the hell was that?

The last 12 episodes seem like they exist just because the creator didn't want the series to end after the events of 25. You all know what I'm talking about, I don't need to name it and ruin it for everyone else >.>

Really, though, more has happened since episode 27 (When Near and Mello first did stuff; they appear briefly in episode 26, though) than during the first 26 episodes, but they had to condense it all into a small, ten episode arc. Considering some of the episodes revolved around Mello (I really wish they'd explored him more; he was about as intelligent as Near, it seems, but so hotheaded he'd have made a nice counter to L's constant cold tactical planning), that gives Near hardly any screentime. While Near IS going through everything fairly thoroughly, the camera only ever focuses on him when he's just made the breakthrough, it seems.

tl;dr : Mello needs more screentime, DN needed more episodes either way. Three or four episodes would've let Near/Mello have screen time that showed them actively observing the case, and not just showing them when they figured something out.

And while I've started watching several shows with fansubs, I've never watched an entire series if it involved watching it fansubed. Not even really short ones, like Melancholy of Haruhi. I just start to lose interest, and Sparksters reasons seem pretty... Well, reasonable. Fansubs feel rushed, like the people translating it watched the episode once, then watched it again while writing down the script, then decided they'd go ahead and add the subs without taking any decent amount of time making sure all the lines felt smooth and natural. At least when you get companies doing it, the translations feel like somebody took their time with it, and didn't just rush through it so that they could grab their hot pockets out of the microwave before it got cold (YAY STEREOTYPING!)

Also, fansubbers are REALLY fond of italics, and it tends to piss me off. Like I couldn't understand that the context of the line "Of course," being said after a different character has just made a rediculous claim, without "course" being italicized. Bastards think I'm stupid or something. Doesn't help that my eyesight's fairly bad, and the text is already so small that I have to sit six inches from the screen just to read it; they have to go and italicize it, making things that much harder.[/tangent]

[Regulus Tera]

New Gurren Lagann Parallel Works, now called Boin VS Boin (http://www.veoh.com/videos/v145425438zH3H3f2?rank=14&jsonParams=%7B%22numResults%22%3A20%2C%22rlmin%22% 3A0%2C%22query%22%3A%22gurren+lagann%22%2C%22rlmax %22%3Anull%2C%22veohOnly%22%3Atrue%2C%22order%22%3 A%22default%22%2C%22range%22%3A%22a%22%2C%22sId%22 %3A%227687604498540881920%22%7D&searchId=7687604498540881920&rank=15). Please enjoy.

I also want to remind you people that Slayers Revolution premieres this Wednesday (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ylw6_slayers-revolution-cm_shortfilms). And no, I haven't yet watched Kurenai 12. I hate myself for it too. :(

[ZAKtheGeek]

tl;dr : Mello needs more screentime, DN needed more episodes either way.
Agreed. They wouldn't even need to add that much if they just cut back on the filler. Misa wastes plenty of time, there are the occasional recaps, and then there's inexplicable fangirl-service.

Mello was basically a plot device through and through, though. I think I might prefer it that he just does his business and gets out of the picture, and I'm not insulted with the pretense that he has some purpose beyond that.

[Regulus Tera]

Okay so anime recap:

Macross Frontier 12: Fuck the haters, this was pure Macross through and through. I've always loved the sheer stupidity of singing defeating warring, and even in the 21st century it's as unbelievable as the first time it happened. I also liked how they actually aren't giving away who is Alto going to end up with. I'm a Ranka fan, and though history tells us the hero doesn't get the main singstress (Mei Ling </3), I'm hoping she can get through his heart. Plus, I love Aimo.

The Daughter of Twenty Faces 09: This is how you do an anime heroine. She's courageous, smart, athletic, and there's not a single sliver of fanservice at all. I also believe this may have the best writing of the season (yes, even better than Kurenai), and that may also be why I'm taking this one slowly. Chiko's just so endearing, and the supporting cast is actually likable (unlike, say, Slow Eater).

That said, sad Ken DOES make me sad. :(

Code Geass R2 12: I love silly romantic comedies; why shouldn't I love this episode? I certainly prefer it to the stupidly over-pretentious "plot" they got going about warring empires and that shit. So boring.

To Love Ru 01-03: Who the hell recommended me this one? It's so light and fanservicey, but I'm liking it. It's good for the kicks, and the Nono (Diebuster)/Lala comparisons are amusing.

Kurenai 12: I cried girly tears. Lots of them. I must say, however, that the ending was not that gratifying. It makes sense in the context of the show, and it really demonstrates how much has Murasaki changed since she met Shinkurou, but I really was rooting for them both to leave the Inner Sanctuary and have a romantic life together (when she grew up, of course). Even so, it made me feel warm and cozy, so my cravings were filled.

All in all, Kurenai was awesome and I cannot wait for the next season, if there's ever one.

[ZAKtheGeek]

Kira worshipers, the fate of you god is now available thanks to the benevolence or incompetence of the trickster [adult swim]. It's time for some swimming lessons.

[Regulus Tera]

Let me be the first one to say that the first episode of Slayers REVOLUTION was amusing as hell. It definitely felt like the first episode of the last three series, and though the comedy is a bit lame, it didn't stop making me giggle. Everything from jokes about Lina's small breasts to Captain Jack Sparrow ripoffs made it throroughly enjoyable.

It was also a bit jarring how the familiar cast stands out from the extra characters. Lina and co. feel 90ish all the way to the shading, compared to the somewhat flat appearance of everyone else. Despite this, there's a lot more consistency than, say, Macross Frontier, and the animation quality was enough to make me ready for another season of adventuring.

[Donomni]

I gotta say, that last episode did earn the MA rating.

[Robert Paulson]

Kira worshipers, the fate of you god is now available thanks to the benevolence or incompetence of the trickster [adult swim].

Imagine my surprise when I found that out yesterday. The last episode was good, a good ending I felt. It wasn't the best episode in the series, but I was satisfied.

And now that I have seen every epsiode of the Death Note anime, I now say this; Death Note is my favorite anime series of all time. I have never seen an anime tv series as engaging as DN. True, it's not perfect. The plot is highly convoluted, some of the twists are highly implausible, and I'm not fond of Misa nor Mello, but as it stands, it's the best anime series I have ever seen as of this writing. I can understand if you don't love it as much as I do, but I will cherish this show forever. Oh, also, I have read the first volume of the DN manga, and I didn't find it as engaging as the anime counterpart. I don't know exactly why, but it didn't click with me as much.

But now that I've finished DN, there's pretty much nothing else I want to see, anime-wise. There are a few anime movies I still would like to see, but there's no anime series out there that I want to watch that I haven't already tried to watch.

[ZAKtheGeek]

I haven't seen much anime, but it's my favorite too, in spite of the fact that I have nothing but criticism for it. I guess it's fun to criticize. Or I find it has so much raw potential that it doesn't even matter how much it was squandered.

I for one wasn't satisfied by the ending. Maybe it's because I'm a Kira fanboy, but it basically went like this:

Light: I foresaw your plans months ahead of time and acted accordingly! I've outsmarted you, Near!
Near: I covertly robbed a bank. I've outsmarted you, Kira!

There was no brilliant plan. No battle of wits. Near can apparently just rob banks without anyone being the wiser. Really not the kind of ending I had hoped for. Not that Light's countermeasure wasn't ridiculously fragile.

I'm not sure what's going on with this "Mello did it" stuff either. They plainly say they weren't considering a fake notebook until Mikami killed Takada, so Mello's actions were just random chaotic moves that happened to help.

[greed]

I heard a rumour (http://zepy.momotato.com/2008/07/04/bones/) that there is more FMA anime of some kind being animated based on leaked documents from an animation studio. Didn't say if it was another series, OVAs or a movie, though being called FMA2, I'd guess series or movie.
Something based on the manga more closely would be nice.

Same memo also supposedly mentioned another season of Darker than Black. I haven't seen it so I can say if that's good or not.

Also on the above topic, fuck Light. He was a petty, racist psychopath with a god complex. I really don't see where the liking for him came in. The only good parts of the series were episode/chapter 2 where L enters and knocks him down a few pegs, and the end where is he is broken down utterly.

[Regulus Tera]

Gurren Lagann Parallel Works 04 is out (http://youtube.com/watch?v=OmNQG9ZftuM). The song this week is Omae no x x x de Ten wo Tsuke!! (Pierce the Heavens with your x x x!!), also known as that song which inspires one almost as much as RAW RAW FIGHT THE POWER.

I heard a rumour (http://zepy.momotato.com/2008/07/04/bones/) that there is more FMA anime of some kind being animated based on leaked documents from an animation studio. Didn't say if it was another series, OVAs or a movie, though being called FMA2, I'd guess series or movie.
Something based on the manga more closely would be nice.

How would that work, though? Unless they plan to reboot the series, but we would have to go through the first thirty or so episodes again.

Not that I complain. More FMA is good FMA (except for the shittastic movie).

[bananarama]

Same memo also supposedly mentioned another season of Darker than Black. I haven't seen it so I can say if that's good or not.
Are-are you serious? Cause if this is true, then HELL FUCK YEAH! But if it isn't, well... let's just I'll sell your organs to the black market after I kill you..... (Haha jk.... or am I?)

So I just watched Code Geass ep 13 and oh my god did shit happen there. Oh yeah and yay to new and better OP, but fucking boo to shitty AND annoying new ED...

First, we get yet some more Cornelia because apparently the GARess decided she didn't get enough GAR moments yet. Also, Shirley decided after get the geass on her cancelled to go all crazy fucking paranoid, which is a pretty damn reasonable response to say the least, but then after 5 minutes of suffering mind bork, she decides, "LOL k Imma gonna start loving good ol' Lulu again and actively help him out n shit!", which.... isn't a normal human reaction to say the least, but hey this is a show about magic eyeballs and physics-defying mechs so maybe I'm splitting hairs here... Then, Jeremiah enters and acts all "YARR LOOK AT ALL THE BADASS SHIT I CAN PULL!!!", but then he starts going, "Yes my lordo!" and shit for Lelouch some crappy reason. Well it's not exactly crappy until you realize that that reason is used to justify working for the man who you have been hunting over the past twoish years and who single-handedly shat all over your reputation and put you into the situation that turned you into the mechanical abomination that you have now become. But whatever! Apparently he's working for the bastard now, alright! So that's ep 13... oh wait I forgot! Shirley dies. Just goes to show that extending the olive branch to a psychotic, knife-weilding fake-younger brother is a BAD IDEA. But in all seriousness, that moment between Lelouch and Shirley on her last breath was a bit touching although it was a bit too short....

[Regulus Tera]

I felt that defining moment in Code Geass would have been good if I hadn't seen it coming from a mile away. It was so obvious it was going to happen. :p

It was still sad. Now the series only has one likable character (Nunally).

About Cornelia: How can she possibly be a GARess? Wouldn't the word GARess defeat the whole point of the word GAR (you know, being gay for a masculine character)? xD

[bananarama]

About Cornelia: How can she possibly be a GARess? Wouldn't the word GARess defeat the whole point of the word GAR (you know, being gay for a masculine character)? xD
Stop your blasphemy of my GARess! (yeah I know I'm using the word wrong, but FUCK YOU I couldn't think of anything else to describe Cornelia's badassery...)

Also, whaddya mean there's only one likable character left? Did Gino die all of the sudden? Lloyd? C.C.? Guilford?

EDIT: Oh my god! That new TTGL AMV makes up for the underwhelmingnesss of the second one and the WTF-itude of the third! My only gripe is fuck why did they have to end it so suddenly? :(

[Julford Hajime]

Also on the above topic, fuck Light. He was a petty, racist psychopath with a god complex. I really don't see where the liking for him came in.
His English VA was Brad Swaile.

...Seriously, that's all I've got on the guy. I mean, it was fun watching him dick around and all, but I never really liked the guy the way one might like L or even Matsuda (Yes, I know a Matsuda fan >.>). He was interesting to watch, but in the end you only rooted for him if you hated Near.

I never thought of Light as the character everyone wanted to win; that was L's claim, as well as Mello, Matsuda, and afro-guy (What was his name again? I keep thinking it's Iwata >.>). I guess if you could stand Near, you might've cheered him on as well. Light just wasn't designed to be cheerable - The show really went out of its' way to make sure we knew exactly how willing he was to kill everyone who got in his way.

I heard a rumour that there is more FMA anime of some kind being animated based on leaked documents from an animation studio. Didn't say if it was another series, OVAs or a movie, though being called FMA2, I'd guess series or movie.
Something based on the manga more closely would be nice.

I'd prefer either some OVAs (The Alphonse Elric Chronicles, maybe?), or another movie. A whole 'nother season just doesn't seem like it'd work, unless they used brand new main characters. And is anyone actually willing to watch an FMA without Ed as the main character?

[ZAKtheGeek]

I rooted for Raito-kun ._.

I can't say I liked him. I mostly didn't care who he was or what he thought. All I knew was, he killed people by writing their names in a notebook, which means it is fucking impossible to catch him. As it turns out, the investigation makes process mostly through good luck and bad reasoning, which is why I was always on his side.

Oh, also, his epic plans were much more epic and the best part of the show. Too bad the good ones were so rare.

[Julford Hajime]

Well, L's deductions after figuring that Kira was in whatever region it was were based on Light purposely leaving hints just to toy with L ("Oh, you think I can only kill between these hours? Well I'll go ahead and kill one criminal an hour tomorrow just to prove you wrong"), and then things started spiraling downwards for Light after the whole Raye Penbor thing. Light got really cocky and taunted L, and it caused everything that happened from about episode 4 onwards.

Seriously, if he'd just stayed huddled in his room for a couple hours a night, he'd have been fine. But no, he had to let his ego get a hold of him.

[ZAKtheGeek]

A lot of L's deductions weren't deductions as much as they were guesses that were dead-on very single time. I don't remember the specifics of the earlier episodes too well at this point, but that's how I remember a lot of it being.

Well, okay, I have an example. The Penber incident, why not. That part where he figured out Kira was being investigated by Penber? Full of leaps and silliness. I believe there was something about Light's experiments with the prisoners somehow getting him the names of all the FBI agents...? So then he wires all the houses and sees Light having epic chips while people die. His conclusion was basically that Kira is immune to contrary evidence. Super. And then he personally starts to investigate this one admittedly 5% chance suspect, who just happens to in fact be Kira. Perfect.

There's also the more general issue of how "magic powers" is the automatically accepted by everyone. The idea that Kira is just some incredibly well-connected organization never even seems to be considered. I guess I should just accept that part as the premise of that show. Oh, but then there was that part where they first meet L and Mogi or someone asks how he knows that Kira is a single person, and he's told to save his questions for later. And then they never come back to it. Slap to the face, that.

Of course, I have to admit that Light got cocky a bunch of times too. And he was at his smartest when he was in high school. During the whole last arc he was mostly a shadow of his former self. Not that there still wasn't a bunch of leaps of faith and deus ex machinae(?) flying every which way at the time.

[bass_virus]

Yeah they sort of rushed the ending in the Death Note anime. The manga ends basically the same, but has a little more closure and the last chapter actually shows how things are going years later.

[Selfish Philanthropic]

...I mean, it was fun watching him dick around and all, but I never really liked the guy the way one might like L or even Matsuda (Yes, I know a Matsuda fan >.>). He was interesting to watch, but in the end you only rooted for him if you hated Near...

... The show really went out of its' way to make sure we knew exactly how willing he was to kill everyone who got in his way...

You were not supposed to relate to Light, in any sense. He was obviously a megalomaniac, gone drunk with power, and allowed his hubris to lead to his downfall. He became, quite suddenly, the very thing he was fighting against: those who exert their will on others, taking merely because they want to do so.

I dunno. I just love irony.

[NonCon]

Just watched the first episode of Kurenai. So far, so good.

As for Death Note, I didn't know Light was racist... Guess I missed something...

I think the reason some people like Light, is because, especially if someone has murdered or hurt someone they love, they wish they were dead, and they wish people were punished, when some get away with crimes because of lack of evidence. There are people who wish they could do what Light did, even though they realize he's lost his original purpose at the end.