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Post by Samildanach on Mar 19, 2009 15:08:23 GMT -5
I recently watched Gantz. If I were to choose one single word to describe that series, it would be 'adult'. Violent, grim, depressing, unrelenting; Gantz is full of bloody maimings and murders, rape, sex, nudity, swearing, perversion... Most of the characters are thoroughly dislikable - not least the main character, Kei.
It's actually quite a good series all in all, just be prepared. I wasn't.
Yesterday I received Saikano, also known as She, the Ultimate Weapon. I've seen the first episode of this series before, and it struck me as really strange - yet intriguing at the same time. It's worth a go.
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Post by dharn on Mar 19, 2009 18:27:20 GMT -5
Saikano is good, my best friend likes it very much. Not my kind of story though...
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Post by Samildanach on May 14, 2009 8:33:24 GMT -5
Saikano was pretty good in the end, but it dragged on way too long. If I never again hear someone whine "Shujaaaaaaa" it'll be too soon. The two episode sequel OVA, Another Love Song, was actually much better. It dealt with characters who had been behind the scenes in the main series. Whiny Chise barely made an appearance.
Now I'm onto Rune Soldier. It's deliberately cheesy fantasy. I'm not sure what to make of it yet.
I'm also still keeping up with Bleach. 219 episodes... Last night I went back and watched a couple of earlier episodes, and it caused me to realise that the fights are much better written now, and I prefer the recent emphasis on minor characters. For a while there, we only got one or more of Ichigo, Renji, Ishida and Hitsugaya. Now we're diversifying more.
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Post by Samildanach on May 15, 2009 9:25:04 GMT -5
Just ordered Basilisk. I've been wanting to watch this for ages, since someone on TotS said it's pretty good. I'm amassing quite a stack of anime to watch. It's been a while since I last did that. In the meantime, I rewatched Samurai Deeper Kyo. This was one of my first anime experiences (after The Guyver and Perfect Blue). Yes, it's a bit monster-of-the-week at first. Yes, a lot of the story isn't all that surprising. Yes, the action scenes are a bit static compared to newer shounen. Yes, it seems for a while that all the fights go 'I'm strong!' 'Well I'm stronger!' 'Hmph. Miiiiiizuchi!' But I like it. The characters may be templates, but I actually like them as people, and I think their interaction works well. Kyo himself noticably develops during the series, and the plot does throw a few mild surprises in. Also, the music is unexpectedly good, ranging from the chuggy likes of 'Awakening' (the 'Kyo is about to kick ass' music) to airy hero music like 'Begin' (which I can't find on YouTube, sorry) via creepy, sinister music like 'Zone' (again, not on YouTube. I own the soundtrack on CD though).
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Post by dharn on May 18, 2009 4:30:41 GMT -5
Gosh talking about revisiting old friends, have you heard that there's a new Azumanga Daioh manga that came out recently?
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Post by Samildanach on May 19, 2009 8:56:49 GMT -5
Despite the massive hype in some sections of the online anime community, I've never checked out Azu Dai. It sounds...boring.
I don't read manga anyway, generally. I find it poor value for money. Still, big news for fans.
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Post by dharn on May 20, 2009 9:20:37 GMT -5
Well, the description of it is boring, but I put it in those slice-of-life kinda story, where you don't see much action (or even an overarching storyline actually) but you just love the characters in it and enjoy them as it is. Aria the Animation, Niea_7 or even Lucky Star are in this category I think. I do recommend the anime, the Japanese casting is perfect. Another one of these funny slice-of-life anime that I would like to recommend is Muteki Kanban Musume/Noodle Fighter Miki.
I think I have recommended Airmaster before this as a good fighting anime, but have I ever spoke about Shion no Ou? It's a manga about a girl who plays Chinese chess to find out the her parents killer that made her mute. It's really worth a look, one of the better story and pacing I have ever seen in an anime. They managed to make almost every character in the entire tangled web of story shine in the spotlight at least once.
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Post by Samildanach on May 20, 2009 19:12:57 GMT -5
Hmm, that sounds intriguing. I'll keep my eyes peeled for it.
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Post by Samildanach on Jun 12, 2009 21:34:34 GMT -5
I'm about halfway through Basilisk now. At first it disappointed me, because it was just a succession of bloody face-offs between bizarre, superhuman ninja. After about five or six episodes, though, it suddenly got much better.
As far as I can tell, it's basically Romeo and Juliet done in the style of Ninja Scroll.
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Post by Samildanach on Jun 22, 2009 17:39:09 GMT -5
Basilisk complete. After starting, as I mentioned, in a repetitive, 'ninja duel of the week' style, it actually turned out to be pretty decent. It's never going to be a favourite, but I'd give it a solid seven.
One of the things I liked about it - in fact, the main thing I liked - was being kept off balance as to the merits of different characters. Very few of the characters aren't dicks, and every time I thought I knew what someone was like, they were suddenly shown in a different light. I like being kept on my toes like that.
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Post by Samildanach on Jul 2, 2009 16:41:13 GMT -5
Karas: The Prophecy and Karas: The Revelation.
I didn't know what to expect, except that I had a vague recollection of reading that it was something supernatural. And so it is - but also much flashier and more carefully written than I expected. Good stuff. Could use some work in places, but I enjoyed it. Also, the opening scene is like Hollywood, in a good way.
Next: Strait Jacket, for which I have great hopes since it's from the Scrapped Princess people.
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Post by Samildanach on Jul 7, 2009 21:01:08 GMT -5
Yes, another entry in what's rapidly becoming Samildanach's Manga and Anime Topic!
First up, Strait Jacket. Being a big fan of Scrapped Princess, I had high hopes for this three-episode series, since the two series are from the same writer. Sadly, Strait Jacket is sub-standard. It's not terrible, but it feels like three episodes of a series, taken out of context. It feels very much incomplete. Also, the voice acting is a bit rough; some usually reliable actors give wooden performances, and one or two are just downright bad. It's a shame; if Strait Jacket had been a full-length series, it could have been good. Additionally, Manga Entertainment did the same thing as with Karas - they ran all the episodes into one, as though it's a film, when it's clearly not.
I also watched:
Yokohama Shopping Trip (or Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou). I've seen numerous 10/10 ratings for this, and none below 8/10. So I decided, since it's only two episodes long, it had to be worth a try.
It may well be the single most boring thing I have ever seen in my life. The main character spent a good fifteen minutes trying to take a photo but being unable to get the right shot. That's it. Later on, she looks at some lights under a lake. It's a pretty sight, no doubt, but it goes like this: lingering shot of lights, lingering shot of face, lingering shot of lights, lingering shot of face, lingering shot of lights, lingering shot of face, lingering shot of lights, lingering shot of face....in silence for at least five minutes. I can't see any way in which that's anything less than incredibly dull.
And the animation! I've seen reviews praising the way the animation brings the main character's personality out vividly - but it's a lie! The art isn't bad, but the animation is downright poor. Alpha (the main character) has two expressions: 'slack-jawed gawp', and 'surprise' - and it soon becomes obvious that 'surprise' is the same slack-jawed gawp but with pink cheeks. The only other recurring character is the old man down the road, and he has only one expression! His facial features never move more than a fraction of an inch!
The worst example of animation in this, though, was the scooter-sideways trick. There was a sustained shot of Alpha riding her scooter, 'filmed' from behind. This was fine on the straight stretch of road, but then she came to some kind of curve or bend - but it took me a moment to realise that's what it was meant to be, because what actually happens is she leans slightly and moves directly sideways. It's HIDEOUS.
I'm completely nonplussed by the seemingly universal love of this anime. It makes watching paint dry seem eventful; at least paint progresses from wet to dry. The technical ineptitude only serves to make the experience painful as well as boring, leaving me with a weird feeling of being sedated and then beaten with wads of damp tissue paper.
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Post by zipp on Jul 8, 2009 4:28:59 GMT -5
I don't watch much anime these days, but I'm finally finishing up a series I one a single disc of, through copious use of Netflix. And that series is Gungrave and it's totally unexpectedly sweet and poignant while also being completely awesome. Anime at its best. Highly recommend it, and that's from someone who has become jaded by the whole Japanese thing.
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Post by Samildanach on Jul 8, 2009 13:34:09 GMT -5
I've got the game of Gungrave and it's...so-so. I've heard before that the anime is surprisingly good though, so I'm likely to check it out at some point. Maybe it'll even be my next purchase, if I can be bothered.
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Post by Samildanach on Jul 27, 2009 23:54:32 GMT -5
I'm back to watching One Piece. I'd forgotten how fun it can be. It took a while to get going, but after about thirty episodes, it started to be genuinely enjoyable. It frequently makes me grin, which is an achievement.
I'm 90 episodes in now, which puts me...less than a quarter of the way through the series.
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