I think the last entry just proves that David needs a blog of his very own to huggle and feed and pet and love.
And now I bet you're all expecting me to post my top ten favorite series, but since I delight in being obnoxious and contrary and - in no small part - lazy all you're getting out of me is a list of series I like, in no particular order:
Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Clover, Card Captor Sakura, Fruits Baskets, X, Full Metal Panic, Saikano, Inu Yasha, Hikaru no Go, Nausicaa, Yami no Matsuei, Gravitation, Hunter X Hunter.
Er... well, more like the next decade or so. But still.
What does this have to do with anime? Well, uh... oh yeah, that scene in Read or Die where the american fleet attacks (don't want to give too much away). Wouldn't it be cool if we could really do that?
Does anyone know if the show follows the manga? I've read a little bit of it, but not really enough to tell if it does long term. I just watched episode 52 and it ended in a way I didn't quite expect and now, as usual, I'm waiting for the next one. It makes me wish for the days when I hadn't seen all the episodes and could watch a few at a time.
I has been hinted at that I should post a list of my top ten favorite shows. I tend to have a hard time doing them because I'm watching new things all the time and the list feels like it is changing constantly. So this is my current top ten list.
10. Ai Yori Aoshi - A show which just finished up within the last month. I think overall it was one of the better shows of the last year.
9. Hikaru no Go - I never would have thought I'd find a show about a board game interesting at all. But it is. I find myself waiting impatiently for each episode to come out.
8. Alien 9 - A show that starts off seeming like a cute little show and just ends up getting kind of weird and disturbing. I loved it though. I kind of wish they'd do some more episodes so I could figure out what exactly was happening.
7. FLCL - Gainax at some of its WEIRDEST.
6. Azumanga Daioh - Based on a four panel comic strip, this show is great. It's one of the funnest things I've watched in a while. I want a stuffed version of the cat that goes CHOMP on Sakaki's hand.
5. Cowboy Bebop - It's a classic. One of the first shows I ever bought on DVD.
4. Escaflowne - Another classic, I was collecting this and Bebop at the same time. I credit them with getting me hooked on anime.
3. Saishu Heiki Kanojo (aka Saikano) - Beautifully animated, very good writing, depressing as all hell.
2. Cardcaptor Sakura - I just love this show so much. It's fun, cute, silly at times. And it's CLAMP. What more could one ask for?
and at the top of my list.
1. Fruits Basket - The story of a girl and her friends that turn into animals when they are hugged. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes tragic, sometimes disturbing. But always good.
Honorable Mentions go to Full Metal Panic!, Angelic Layer, and Trigun. And probably others that I'm forgetting about right now.
Well, I said I would a while ago, and no one else seems to be posting anything today, so here we go: my top ten list (in a general sort of order) and some basic reasons why I like them.
1) Escaflowne: Because it does everything and it does everything well.
2) Utena: Mindbending subtext fun and abnormal relationships.
3) Trigun: The first thirteen episodes might be a little light, but the last thirteen are an emotional roller coaster (and episode 24 is the best episode of any anime ever).
4) Evangelion: It's kinda obligatory, isn't it?
5) Great Teacher Onizuka: mostly because I wish my high school had been like that.
6) Anything UC Gundam: it's the best hard sci-fi series (and best mech show) I've ever seen (Gundam neophytes should note that UC Gundam chronology includes stuff like the original series, Stardust Memory, War in the Pocket, and 08th MS Team, not stuff like Gundam Wing).
7) Cowboy Bebop: do I really have to say why I like one of the greatest modern animes?
8) Hikaru no Go: it makes you really thrilled to watch people play board games. If that doesn't deserve a spot on the top ten, I don't know what does.
9) Kare Kano: sugar-laden high school romances by the Evangelion people. It's both scary and beautiful at the same time! (too bad they ran out of budget for the last two episodes again)
10) Um... I'm not really sure what should go here yet, so I think my list gets cut off at nine after all. Sorry. There are plenty of other good series' I could list, but they're only very good rather than exceptional (Giant Robo might end up filling this last slot, but I just finished watching it a few days ago, and I really need more time in order to objectively view its merits).
Hmm, maybe this'll prompt my co-bloggers into action on similar lists. I'd like to see what their favorites are (wink wink, nudge nudge, HINT HINT).
I've noticed a trend lately with shorter TV shows (the ones around 12-13 episodes long). When they come out on DVD they add in a special 'bonus episode'. In general these episodes have made me wonder why bother. The one in Hand Maid May was enh, the one in Dual was a little bit better but not much.
Today I watched the OAV episode of Onegai Teacher and it was horrible. Everything about the TV series that had first drawn me to the show was gone. The animation was one of the biggest disappointments. It just felt rushed. The original show actually had pretty good production values for a TV show. The story also felt like it didn't really fit the series. The best way I can think to describe it is that it was lacking subtleness. The show itself seemed like it was trying to avoid being what one would expect from a show about a student marrying his hot teacher. And the bonus episode seemed like it was going exactly where the show didn't. Truely a shame IMHO.
(On a good note though. Fruits Basket is out on DVD!)
If you haven't already figured it out, I have a deep attraction to silliness in all forms. I could (and probably will, at some point in the near future) talk about my reasons for that, but instead I think I'll talk about the latest object of my curiousity: Battle Athletes Victory!
For those who don't know what the series is about, it's basically a story of an all-girls sports competition: a bunch of athletically gifted girls go to a training academy (complete with tests) and, uh, train. The best three go to the University Satellite (the transfer happens a little under halfway through the series), and the best one on the Satellite gains the covetted title of Cosmo Beauty. Basic stuff, really. Except overblown to the point where the midterm involves hauling a giant stone wheel down a (very steep) cliff and over a field of landmines. Overblown to the point where a bicycle race takes place on a thin path that bears uncanny resemblance to a rollercoster. This is not a sports show that takes itself seriously. For further evidence, I submit the main character, Akari, who seems destined for greatness, being the daughter of the greatest Cosmo Beauty ever. Except she's whiny, scared, and, when under pressure, takes refuge in a painted cardboard box with the words "Akari's House" on the side.
Of course, there are some serious parts, especially the important races (like the qualifying race for the Satellite), but they're done well enough to accentuate the humor rather than kill it. The characters are solid, even if a few of the minor ones were obviously made entirely for comic relief. It's not epic or high art, but it's fast and fun.
Besides, it's a school full of athletic girls! Say it with me: L-E-S-B-I-A-N-S. Whoo yeah! A whole series just begging to have dirty fanfiction written about it that asks the question, "Is that position even possible?" The answer is always, of course, "Wanna find out?" (Actually, some of the best parts involve the show mocking the imagined lesbian connections. I love a series that understands it's own excesses like that)
By the way, the post title comes from the tendancy of this series to have rain appear conveniently in time for dramatic scenes during races, and dissapear immediately after someone crosses the finish line.
Ladies and gentlemen, yet another has succumbed.
For a few years now as my hormones have been hitting full stride, I've been a fan of yaoi. For the uninitiated, yaoi is (in slightly innacurate layman's terms) a romantic relationship between two anime men, which may be canon (thank god for Clamp and Yami no Matsuei) or just the product of the minds of deranged fangirls such as myself. It is, mostly, a chick thing because, well, two hot guys. How many of you straight men dig the idea of h0+ g|_|r| 0n g|_|r| 4c+10n? I rest my case.
Anyway, the standard response I recieve to telling people this (especially guys and especially straight guys) can usually be summed up as "...." and so I usually try to reserve my essays discussing the relative merits of Seishirou/Subaru vs. Subaru/Kamui for my other fangirl friends, except for some casual ribbing.
But, somehow, I still manage to infect people.
First was David, who enjoys X, and who I think is fascinated by yaoi even as he sees the inherent silliness of parts of it and who is fun to come up with cracktastic pairings with (Sin/Tidus!) And now, our very own Greg has succumbed. No really, judge for yourself.
ImSnooze: I did my best to cover, just in case you were truly going crazy
goldalyon: I obsess over the UST of /cartoon characters/. It wouldn't be that far of a trip.
ImSnooze: UST?
goldalyon: Unrequited Sexual Tension.
ImSnooze: do they tend to have a lot of UST?
goldalyon: You watch anime. You tell me.
ImSnooze: hee. Good point. The new gundam series is full of it.
ImSnooze: Gundam Seed (We've already got two main characters who were boyhood friends, on opposite sides of the war, and when they realize who each other are they cry out each others names longingly)
goldalyon: ....I've contaminated you, haven't I?
ImSnooze: you have damn you
That's the thing about yaoi. Even if you don't believe in it in most cases, after you've been introduced to it, you can usually still see it.
Mweheheheh.
I saw the first disc of this back when it came out. It's a quirky little series about a ditzy girl who wants to become an angel. At first I was a bit turned off by the animation style and the main character Noelle (heck, she still annoys me at times). But there's something about the show that I find myself enjoying a lot. The first bit that hooked me was a story that had more to do with Sarah, Noelle's sister. She's invisible.
I'm at episode 19 right now, so I'm not sure how everything turns out. But there was a wonderful storyline right around episode 12/13. And so far the show has one of my favorite lines ever: "Forgive me! The naughty me is a vacuum cleaner!"
I've noticed that Lyn and I have no identifying marks on our posts, which means that none of you know which of us is saying what. Unless you can infer it from the numerous, fairly obvious clues (and yes, one of them is my atrocious spelling). Maybe I'll try to fix that later on, but... I know my laziness well enough to not make any promises.
Anyway, time for me to harp on the virtues of my chosen series. I was going to do Hikaru no Go, but then I realized that HnG's probably the least obscure "obscure series" out there, so I decided on something else entirely: Giant Robo!
Why? Well, I had barely heard of it before my local anime club began showing it, so that means it's at least mildly unknown. Also, it's very, very good. And lastly, it's my blog, so I can do what I want, right? Anyway, GR is a seven part OVA (except that each episode is almost as long as two normal episodes (40 minutes)) that focuses on the struggle between the evil cult/crime organization Big Fire and the heroic Experts of Interpol. The two are led by, respectively, the Magnificent Ten and the Nine Kings of Heaven. Each leader has their own Marvel-ish superpower, ranging from the standard point-and-shoot energy blasts to hypnotic control of insects to giant... metal... fans... well, suffice it to say, the powers are pretty varied. Of course, the two forces also use various giant robots, in particular the "strongest robot on earth," Giant Robo (descriptive name, huh?), who is controlled via the wristwatch of the main protagonist (and young kid), Daisaku.
If this hasn't tingled your 80's cheese sense, you're in trouble.
Now, what's so great about all this? Mostly, it's the fact that, despite all the cheese, GR is a great show. Of course it has the combat down pat, but it also has a much deeper story, involving revenge, energy sources, parents, sacrifice, desire, and so forth. It stays at a nice, fast pace, dealing with the issues as they come up, and never once does it seem artificial or like the director is preaching at you (**coughcough**Evangelion**coughcough**). In short, it's an immensely cool series.
Plus, it's got a guy in a neon yellow suit who dances around effeminately while cutting people in half by snapping his fingers, and he calls himself Fabulous Fitzgerald. How can you beat that?
PS: I don't know, but he left a silver entry.
EDIT: Well, the name thing has been fixed, making the title/PS joke and the first part of my update obsolete. Oh well, such is life.
I've been wearing my hair in little Witch Hunter Robin-style bumps all day. It's like cosplay! Except not!
For several months now I have been in an abusive relationship with Saikano.
Saikano (Saishi Heiiki no Kanojo or She, the Ultimate Weapon) seemed like a sweet gentle anime at first. Sure, there were some warning signs at the beginning, but it wasn't until the first punch at the end of episode one that I really suspected anything was really wrong.
But I kept watching, even though it didn't apologize, even as it revealed more of its darker nature to me and I realized I was in way over my head or maybe just my tolerance. Perhaps I did it because I sympathized, perhaps out of a morbid curiousity, perhaps because I thought things would work out all right, that everyone would be happy. I'm not saying it was an easy series to watch, the opposite in fact, but I couldn't help myself.
Situations got worse, and it still never apologized. Even when I cried or when it kicked me down the stairs, and maybe that's why I kept coming back, because Saikano made it clear that this is what it was, this is what it stood for, and it really was beautiful, in its own way.
It's been thirteen episodes, but now it's over. It broke it off with me, ironically enough. I'm okay now, after all the tears and heartache; shaky and raw, but this ending has been oddly carthartic too, as if I had dead skin scrapped off with sand. It has been a tramautic series, but I do still love Saikano, as crazy as that may seem. Maybe this experience hasn't taught me anything, but it's reminded me of what I may have forgotten.
I thought I'd write a bit about what types of anime I like to watch. Then I realized it is almost everything. I seem to have a little bit of a towards shoujo stuff, though I'm a fan of good fun action too. Recent shows I've enjoyed include Fruits Basket, Ai Yori Aoshi, Full Metal Panic, and Saikano.
Currently, I'm watching RahXephon, Tenshi ni Narumon!, Heat Guy J, Azumanga Daioh, Witch Hunter Robin, Spiral, Gundam Seed, GitS:Stand Alone Complex, Getbackers, and Haibane Renmai. There's some other random stuff in there, but that's the bulk of it. And I'm sure some of those will get dropped after I see a few more episodes.
Hello! I'm David , the third blogger here. Stay tuned and witness my thrilling struggle against the encroaching menace of fanboy Japanese! My desperate (and losing) battle to retain what little masculinity I have left! My fight to create a... no, wait, making a Utena cosplay outfit for myself would probably fall under the subject of my eroding masculinity, wouldn't it? Damn, there goes my momentum.
Oh well, on with the intro. Let's see... my full name is David Schwager and I am a freshman at Cornell. I want to go back to high school. I have an extremely neglected website and, like Lyn, am a ficcer. Unfortunately, the only thing I've written recently is unfinished (but it will be soon! I swear! Just another month!), and pretty much everything else is a little... shaky. Putting it mildly. Recently I've gotten into AMV creation, but have only made one so far. It's only up for download if you catch me online on AIM or DC (I go by RikaFirst in both, message me and I'll send it). As for anime, my tastes are pretty varied, but I lean heavily towards Shoujo and slightly towards mech shows and 80s cheese (which is a bit odd, since I was born halfway through the 80s, but whatever). That's about it for the basics, but maybe I'll toss up a top 10 list later.
Helloooo, baaaabyyyyy....
This is Lyn, one of the bloggers who will be showing up here to ramble. A little about myself and my tastes: I'm eighteen and a college student experimenting with an all peanut-butter-sammich and ramen diet. I'm a equal fan of both mechs and shoujo bubbles, and most probably will represent the yaoi faction in its entirety of this merry band. Escaflowne is my greatest love, and I am yet another ashamed Clamp fan. I write fanfic (yeah who would have thought). But the most important thing to remember is that I will use this space to let the blithering fangirl in me stretch her legs. Consider yourself warned.
Anyway, hope you stay tuned, because next entry will be me wailing about Saikano, just as soon as I finish downloading episode nine. Goddamn capped college bandwidth.
This is the first post to this new blog. I figured I should test out posting, since I'm not sure if it works yet.
So why am I starting up another blog? The biggest reason is that a lot of the time I feel like kind of rambling on about shows I'm watching and I really start to wonder if I'm boring people who are going to my blog. So I figured I'd start a new one. I'd also wanted to do a group blog for a while. I thought it might make a kind of interesting dynamic to get different people commenting on shows they are currently enjoying. So far, it's just me and my friend Lyn. She's got a friend of hers that would like to partake also. There's one more person I may ask, but I'm thinking of just starting with three. I'm still trying to make up my mind on what to do.
Also, this is very much a work in progress. Currently I'm using the default Movable Type template. I fully expect to be redesigning as time goes on (since I certainly have the time right now). Anyways, welcome to the blog.
Oh, and we're hoping to come up with a new name for this place. I've just been sick and my brain isn't fully working.