Currently Watching?

[papasith]

i started watching high school of the dead. basically zombie survival anime with high school kids. about what you would expect from that, and so far im enjoying it

[Grahf]

i started watching high school of the dead. basically zombie survival anime with high school kids. about what you would expect from that, and so far im enjoying it

With the added twist of the original Artist being a hentai artist as well. Hence the interesting character models.

[Starnum]

i started watching high school of the dead. basically zombie survival anime with high school kids. about what you would expect from that, and so far im enjoying it

Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me about that one. I love zombie flicks, so I'll have to add it to my list.

[papasith]

With the added twist of the original Artist being a hentai artist as well. Hence the interesting character models.

ooook that makes the school nurse make SOOOOO much more sense now, lol

[Grahf]

Ok downloaded Break Blade movie 1. I dont' know how many of you have read the manga chapters that are out. Its a mecha type series interesting lot of attention to detail in the mechas and the way they work and what not.

Anyway production IG has done the movies. So you know they are fucking awesome. I have to watch it after I go get me some fast food.

edit: Also started watching Code Geass. Damn thats a screwed up anime, I almost cried for euphy.

[Starnum]

Okay, you can totally see the hentai influences with all the fan service in Highschool of the Dead, lol. Here's another 12 episode OAV I'm watching. A friend of mine recommended it to me. It's called "Innocent Venus", and it's like a Sci-Fi, Mecha, Action-Drama type show. Here's the opening.



The video poster included some information about the anime on the actual youtube page, which you can get to by simply double-clicking on the video posted here.

[papasith]

So im watching the original macross, i plan to watch macross frontier, and macross 7 also afterwards, any other macross things i should watch along the way? (im streering clear of robotech)

[Grahf]

So im watching the original macross, i plan to watch macross frontier, and macross 7 also afterwards, any other macross things i should watch along the way? (im streering clear of robotech)

Macross Plus is a freaking classic watch that of course. Macross Zero is ok if you liked Roy Folker you should somewhat enjoy Macross Zero. Robotech sentinels is pretty good as well, even though its incomplete. there is another one I'm forgetting I'll add it when I remember it.

[Rolos]

Isn't Macross the same as Robotech? The first three generations of Macross, I mean.

Anyway, started watching Planetes. I like it so far, but I'm still not sure if it's good or not.
Very hard sci-fi, though, I like that.

[tsubaimomo]

Anyway, started watching Planetes. I like it so far, but I'm still not sure if it's good or not.
Very hard sci-fi, though, I like that.

Yay, Planetes is nice.

[Rolos]

Finished watching Planetes. I liked it. A lot. It was so very, very realistic on so many aspects, and so absolutely fantastic on others!
The moon ninjas, for example, were hysterical and completely insane, very fitting for a kid's show, but then... SPOILERS ALERT!
[spoiler]DEATH, motherfuckers, DEATH! They died in the accident! Hahahahaha, that was so awesome, so unexpected, yet so integral to the story! It illustrates beautifully the fact that actual, very real people were dying because of the ruthlessness (and general lack of concern for others) of the guy who designed the Jovian Vessel[/spoiler]
The character development was the best part, though. The evolution of *forgot the name*'s desire to own a ship, at the beginning childish and vague, to a mature life-goal (meaning that it had concrete objectives) was touching, and how he realizes that unless he devotes the totality of his life to pursuing it, he's gonna be a spatial trash-man all his life, felt so very appropriate.
From a political standpoint, this series is probably the best I've watched. Very few sci-fi writers take into consideration the real world implications spatial travel could have on international politics (unless you count old sci-fi books in which the USSR-US conflict was always an issue), and the whole *terrorist* subplot was brilliant in depicting a very possible world of tomorrow. I come from a relatively poor country, and I completely understand what some of the characters felt, what led them to make the very radical decision some of them made.
(Luckily for me, I'm a selfish piece of shit who's in love with himself, so I won't be joining any altruistic movement, ever, no matter how much the digital and economic divide increases)
That final scene in which [spoiler]Hakim meets the lunarian girl and sees the world as she sees it was particularly delicious (I'll stand by my decision of using that word to describe situations, no matter what anyone says)[/spoiler]

All in all, it's an incredibly rich and unique series that deals with that small portion of World History sci-fi works tend to just gloss over: Humanity's first tentative steps into the Universe beyond.


Also, started watching Mitsudomoe. The series is a piece of shit, but whoever did the music and sounds (Sound technician?) is a genius. I mean it, I've never seen something like it, the guy takes this crappy piece of shit of a series and actually turns it into something worth watching, if only to marvel at how he manages to turn every single cliche they give him into something funny and original (the kuma-pantsu scenes being one I particularly enjoy).
I'm gonna try to follow that guy's career, I can't imagine what he'll do with good source material.

I forced myself to watch the first episode of Fairy tail and my suspicions were confirmed: It does indeed look like a predictable, unfunny version of One Piece.

And that would be it. Man, I haven't watched anime in ages.

[arke]

Plantes is one of my favorites. It's short, but very well done. I read the manga though, since watching anime takes too much effort.

[Rolos]

Just watched "The grave of the fireflies". I know it's supposed to be really sad, but I just couldn't feel sorry for the kid.
If both your mother and father are dead, you stop dedicating every waking minute to play with your little sister, and get a job or something.
In a way, it was cool, because we're used to reading/watching stories told by survivors, by the guys who took advantage of every opportunity that came up and ended up being part of the small group that made it, and this movie tells the story of the other guys, the ones that didn't really do anything, or did so half-heartedly, and ended up dead.
If there is a moral to this story, besides "War is bad", it's "Hey, wake the FUCK UP! The slow ones die first!".

P.S. Being off the grid didn't really help, did it? Jackass. 5000 years of human civilization and progress and some assholes still think they could be better off on their own.

[Rolos]

Just watched the first movie of "Ghost in the Shell".
I had been postponing it since forever, because I had read somewhere that the protagonist was a female and, for reasons that I'll probably never fully understand, that has always made me uncomfortable and anxious. It's weird, but inconsequential, because I ended up watching the movie anyway.
It is AWESOME! Plot-wise, it's not as good as I'd like it to be, but the setting was glorious! I loved the contrast between the resplendent metropolis and the filthy, poor-as-dirt dumps that were only a few miles away. That's an accurate portrayal of human civilization I've ever seen one. Very, very well done.
I also liked its view of how an information-based society (in which the info-sphere and the physical world mix seamlessly, in contrast to that improbable duality we saw in the Matrix) would still be divided by petty grudges and compartmentalized thinking, i.e. nationalities and governmental departments. The best part is that it was frank in illustrating that this was motivated solely by self-interest, completely omitting ideology or nationalism.
If there was something I didn't like about it was how forced/fake the dialogue felt. Very lacking in that aspect.

So, all in all, a good movie, but not one you could take any good quotes from.

Probably gonna check out the other movies/series of the franchise in the near future. Any special recommendations?

[lon3vvolf]

Began re-watching Fist of the North Star to coincide with the new videogame. All I can say is ATATATATATATATATA! That and I have this crazy theory that Guts is Kenshiros great^100 grandfather.
You didn't know? You're already dead.

[Mail]

That and I have this crazy theory that Guts is Kenshiros great^100 grandfather.
You didn't know? You're already dead.

Seconded.

[Rolos]

Currently watching "The world only god knows" instead of reading "the Cognitive Neuroscience of MEMORY".
I've never felts so ashamed of myself.

[Rolos]

Watching "Occult Academy".
Meh~.
Been posting way too much lately.
Taking a break.
Good luck, gentlemen (and gentlewomen? ladies? ladymen?).
The flying cripples are coming.
God save us all.

[Rolos]

Just finished watching Tatami Galaxy.
It was fucking glorious.
Glorious, I say!

It's not your typical run-of-the-mill, normal, standard, traditional, common, median, mainstream good anime, but a weird demented voyage into the majestic domains of that often ignored king of life-periods, college life.
Good doesn't even begin to describe it.
I can guarantee it, if you don't like it, you do simply not deserve to live, and should be put on the government secret depopulation list, alongside your entire family and circle of friends, plus everyone around you on that train station 4 years ago (you know the one).

What follows is a short review through which I'll attempt to convey this series' unparalleled awesomeness and coolness and badassery and nice thingies:

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Seriously, watch that show.
And solve Smale's problems.

DO IT!

[Starnum]

Seriously though "Rebuild of Eva" and "Gundam Unicorn" are both extremely good. I highly recommend both of them. They're not completed yet, but they're still very good and if you're a fan of either series, then they're a must see. The good thing about "Rebuild of Eva" is that it takes all the bad things about the original anime and gets rid of it, and then does everything else really well. Pretty much all of the ass-wankery from the TV series is gone. No more long motionless scenes while listening to cicada chirping, for example. They're a lot nicer to the characters as well, making them seem more realistic and relatable, and less...I don't know, bat-shit insane. They develop, without then suddenly regressing for no damn reason. By the end of the second movie, I don't think anyone should have just cause for calling Shinji a whiny little chicken-shit. I've always liked Shinji, but I could see the reason for some people's dislike of him. By the end of the second movie, heh, there's really no reason anyone should feel that way about him. Ahh, it's so awesome. Hell, they're even nicer to Gendo. He's still kind of an asshole, but not as much, and you actually begin to understand that he has a motive for his shitty attitude. When you come to understand this, you realize he's actually not a bad guy. Another thing I like about it, is that they come right out and begin explaining things early on. They're still a little cryptic, but for the most part it's pretty straight forward. The budget is clearly apparent as well, as the animation is all knew and mind-blowing at times. Some of the angels have been redesigned as well, but with notable improvements. The first movie is pretty similar to the TV series, covering up to about episode 6 of the anime, only with all of the improvements I mention. The second movie is vastly different than the TV series though, but it's great! It covers up to about episode 20 of the original anime. There's still 2 more movies to come, which makes me wonder what the hell they're going to entail, but whatever it is I'm sure it will be very different from the original. Also there's something that happens at the end of the second movie that makes me think this may not be just some re-envisioning of the original series, but something far cooler instead. I don't wanna spoil anything though, so I'll leave it at that. It's just a theory after all. I'll just say it refers to what Kaoru says at the end of the second movie, so look for that if you're curious. Anyway, I can't stress how good these movies are. Even if you don't like the original anime, I think you could thoroughly enjoy these movies. Honestly, I'm a big fan of the original, and watching these movies has emphasized and made me realize all the flaws from the original, and how much better these movies are, lol.

As for "Gundam Unicorn", it's just more awesome Gundam goodness. It's a direct sequel to "Char's Counterattack", which means it's part of the UC timeline. That itself should be an obvious indication of assured awesomeness, but it's still really good and excels on its own merits. it's a must see for all Gundam fans. Heh, I can't wait to see the next movie for both of these projects.

[Rolos]

Just to be clear:
You just described the process through which you turn a masterpiece into yet another generic action mecha anime, asserted that it was a good thing that Neon Genesis Evangelion had been made to go through such a process, and then declared that it is your wish that this happens to other series as well?
Is that what you did?
...
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what you did.
Wow.
You're a miracle worker, man, congratulations!
My crippling depression is gone, the guilt and loneliness evaporated, and all that is left is an invigorating bout of blind rage against your FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT OF AN OPINION!
FUUUUUUUCK! REMAKES ARE THE FUCKING PLAGUE, AND YOU ARE A FUCKING RAT CARRYING IT, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF VERMIN! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

Heh, I'm just joking man, I kid.
T'was but a jest. (I'm fairly certain I've read that phrase somewhere).
Though it's true that I'm generally against remakes.
As a remarkably bad amateur writer, I have learned from experience that the hardest part of creating a work of fiction is establishing the setting and creating deep, complex characters (as opposed to one-dimensional deranged psychopaths, as I'm prone to create), because the dramatic conflict (plot) is always born from them. A plot can only be as good as the characters that move it, or the setting where (and when?) it takes place. Indeed, you could say that a good plot is one that flows naturally from the characters and setting, and that bad plots are merely those that feel forced or artificial (stupidity begets stupidity, intelligence begets intelligence, I guess).
Remakes skip that part, and are, as far as I'm concerned, a form of cheating.
If you're willing to cheat in writing your story, you're either dumb, lazy or genuinely feel you have a unique take on the charac-set that might even surpass the original story.
The whole superhero comic thing provides a good case study for this "theory" (if you can call it that (you can't)).
Batman, the protagonist. Gotham city, the setting. It's a very simple charac-set, but it has been continually remade by countless different authors, sometimes with extraordinary results, more often than not as a the literary equivalent of a particularly fetid pile of human feces being gently smeared all over your brain.

In regards to Evangelion, I think (not sure about this one, as I am not Mentok, the mind-taker, who does not steal, read or borrow, but takes minds) that it was never about mechas to begin with. They could have been piloting giant squids for all that I care. The subversion of many mecha cliches, while entertaining, was only stuffing. It makes the turkey delicious, but it's not why you eat turkey (by the way, congrats on that one, americans. I didn't have much faith on unpretentious american cuisine at first, but stuffed turkey blew my mind into the exosphere).
Shinji HAD to be a whiny little bitch. Otherwise there'd be no point to his "coming to terms" with objective reality.

By the way, has anyone ever read "The tree of knowledge"?
It's pretty cool.

I have nothing to say regarding Gundam.

P.S. I apologize for nothing.

[Starnum]

Wherein did I say anything about hoping they remake any other series in this fashion? Besides, as I said, I'm not really sure I'd even call this a remake. It's vastly different in a lot of ways, and may not actually even be a remake. I'll have to see the other 2 movies to see if I'm right about this theory I have. Also, have you even seen Rebuild yet? Because turning a masterpiece into another generic action mecha series, it is not. Unless you've actually watched either of these movies, and know what you're talking about, I would recommend that you stop talking out of your ass sir.

[spoiler]I think these movies may actually be a sequel to the original anime, in which (due to Instrumentality) without knowing it, they're reliving the events of the original anime in an alternate reality, only things are playing out differently than they did before. Anyway, it's just a theory, we'll see. I think this might be the case based on something Kaoru says at the end of the second movie, as I said.[/spoiler]
Anyway, don't knock it until you've tried it man. This isn't your average "remake" (If it is in fact just a remake), by any means. You'll just have to watch it to see what I mean. Otherwise I would agree with you. I don't normally abide by remakes either, and originally I had no plans to watch Rebuild until a friend sat me down and told me I had to watch it with him, because he knew how much I loved the original and knew that I would appreciate Rebuild for the awesomeness that is. I'm glad I did sit down and watch it with him too. The shit is just too awesome! That sir is just my opinion, and if you don't like it, then feel free to go eat shit and die. J/K

Oh, and if a remake is made by the same people who made the original, with the intent of improving on the original, than is that still "cheating" as you call it? I don't know if this is necessarily the case with Rebuild or not, but I wouldn't be surprised. Of course I'm sure the real intent of this project is to milk the fanbase for more money, but in the sole case of this particular "remake", I think it was well worth it.

[Rolos]

Hey, Fuck you too, man, fuck you too.
Kiddi~ing!
I wasn't criticizing the new Evangelion movies (couldn't care less about them, really), I was criticizing your opinion, as well as flinging shit at remakes in general (fuck them).
The thing is, what you described as an improvement seemed to me like the classic 'let's take out all this hard stuff and exchange it for violence and tits' post-editorial directorial dick move, which it is.
It's like describing a new remake of Watchmen and praising its lack of boring-o monologues, moral ambiguity and the Comedian, who was just some dead guy anyway and shouldn't have taken all that screen time, but thank god that's all been fixed and we can all sit back and enjoy as Ozymandias threatens to destroy the earth from his Space-Middle East-Russian stronghold, and it's up to Rorschach, the ex-cop who's disillusioned with life, family and the rules to stop him, which he does just before Veidt carries out his plan to nuke Alaska, thus paving the way for his chinese-north korean allies to invade the land of the free (Cambodia).

P.S. This was nice. Let's do it again sometime.
P.S.S. Panty and Stocking with Ganterbelt is a huge waste of time and budget, and should have never been made. I feel sorry for the creative team, as they probably thought they were been funny and original, and instead animated a huge pile of shit and spunk (literally).

[Starnum]

That's the thing though, they're not simply exchanging the "flaws" for action, violence, and tits. Shinji is still a whiny little bitch, it's just that once he develops from that, he doesn't then regress back into a whiny bitch for no apparent reason, as all of the characters did in the original. Near the end of the show (before Instrumentality) they all seemed to regress and go bat-shit insane for no damn reason. They also explain things a lot better, so that it all actually makes sense. Instead of being unnecessarily cryptic just for the sake of it, without actually explaining anything at all. This is just a couple of several examples I could make. These are genuine improvements to the characters, their development, and the continuity of the show. You really have to see it to understand what I'm saying. You may not care to see these movies, and that's fine, it's whatever. I get what you're talking about, I just feel that it doesn't really apply in this case, and that you really need to see the movies to understand where I'm coming from. *Shrugs* Like I said, otherwise I totally agree with what you said about remakes.

[DarkenRahlX]

I don't mind remakes as long as their done right. Take True Grit for example. They did that movie right. It's even more faithful to the source material than the original was. As long as it's done right I'm all for it. Sometimes something needs a face lift so that other generations can enjoy it; it does sound fickle to put it that way, but it's true. People don't like to go back and watch or play things that are "old" so it's nice for someone to come around and give something a remake so that the younger audience or those who missed out on it the first go around can enjoy it.

I will say that most of the time it IS a cheap way out of having to think of something original so that a studio can make a quick buck, but that's not the case with something like True Grit. No one is going to remake a classic western to make a quick buck. You actually have to sit there and work your butt off to make a great movie. Sometimes directors genuinely want to go back and remake some of their older movies or other directors' movies so that they can be enjoyed by a new group of people.

I think what Hideaki Anno falls into the latter group. He has worked his butt off to see that these remakes are amazing and he has worked very closely with the other two directors for these films. This is how he really wanted Evangelion to be and now he's finally realizing his dream. Hopefully this is what Miura wants done with his movie adaptations of his material. I know that he oversaw the animation project from back in the 90's, but I'm pretty sure that was the true direction that he really wanted to take with it. It seemed as if it was just more of a way to get people to buy his comic. Now that he probably doesn't have the technological and budget constraints that he used to, he's probably ready to do things right.

After all this I just placed a pre-order for the Blu-ray version of Engelion 2.22 on Amazon; I didn't know that it was up yet. I'm definitely going to check out Gundam Unicorn now that Starnum's got me wanting to see it.