On the whole, it's awesome. I'm studying history at A-Level now (changed over from biology a month into the course... too mundane for me) and one of the units I'm doing is to do with Nazi Germany, and it's clear that the director based a lot of LotGH on that time period in history. Nobody seems to really mention the historical element of it, but I find it contributes a lot to my enjoyment.
The characters are probably the most fleshed out and diverse I've ever seen in an anime, on the same sort of level as Cowboy Bebop and One Piece. The main characters (Reinhard, Wenli, Reuental) could easily make it into my favourite characters list, and even the minor characters are seen frequently and play a significant part.
The story and themes are interesting and fairly complex. If you enjoy philosophy, politics or economics, then it will especially appeal to you. It can be slow at times, which is why I don't marathon it. For LotGH, watching few episodes (1 - 3) in each sitting works best for me as it does require a bit more focus than your typical anime.
The art isn't too great and the animation, especially in season one, is poor, and there's no excuse for it. It was just bad. It does gradually get better though.
If you do get back into anime and you decide to watch it, then be patient with it. Don't consider dropping it until episode 26. By then, you'll have a good idea of what it's about and whether it's worth continuing or not.
I was reading your old yet short-lived thread on Haruhi's popularity. It is kind of funny seeing that you added her as a favorite character.
Anyway, since you didn't really get too many responses, the reason why it is so popular is because of the moe. Plus it is another otaku-pandering series from KyoAni, like Lucky Star.
Mate, you're the biggest sport enthusiast I know. Rugby, boxing, judo, bodybuilding, wrestling, you want to do it all. Not that I can blame you, though. If only I had the time to participate in such activities... oh well, Krav Maga is good enough for me (if it sounds unfamiliar, search up "Krav Maga Expert Roy Elghanayan").
Anyway, it's not just the subjects themselves I'm looking forward to studying, it's the freedom you're given during year 12 and 13 that appeals to me the most. Free lessons, a sixth form block, the ability to actually leave the school premises during lunch break, meeting new people from other schools, treated more like an adult... it sounds awesome. Sure, the subjects are going to require a lot of hard work and dedication if I want to achieve the grades I deserve, but at the very least they are subjects that are in my interests (unlike ICT which I am doing at GCSE, which I fucking hate). Besides, it's only fitting that a-levels are going to be difficult. They aren't called advanced levels for nothing.
If you were to ask me which sport I'd opt for in your position, then probably boxing. I'm always trying to economise and get the best value out of my money, and at £2.5 a lesson, you can't go wrong. My advice is to try two or three lessons to see if you feel comfortable with the people there, to see if the facility is respectable and, most importantly, to see if you're able to learn from the sport. I'd say boxing is one of the most difficult sports in the long term if you were to treat it as a profession. The strict diet and daily cardio just isn't for me. Another thing about boxing which differentiates it to other martial arts and combat sports is the simplicity of it. The only techniques you need to master are straight punches, hooks, uppercuts and proper footwork. However, you're constantly training to become faster and stronger. A simple sport, but pretty damn hard and requires a lot of dedication in the long run. Judo would appeal more to me, but the money it requires... I'd just go with boxing.
"spyrocoot" is a combination of two of my favourite childhood gaming characters; Spyro and Crash Bandicoot.
And yeah, I can see where you're coming from. Although we do mitt work and the like at Krav Maga, we do very little of it (maybe once every 5 lessons, on average). I find punching/kicking/kneeing/elbowing the air to be made obsolete when you could simply practice it with a partner using safety wear.
Also, if you want to go into MMA, then Judo is a great sport. It is the foundation of what makes a great fighter. That and jiu jitsu are pretty much essential.
As for what I prefer between grappling and striking, it depends on who I am fighting. For example, I was fighting someone before who was dirty as f**k: using a lighter as a means to strengthen his punch, cheap-shots, attempting to set me on fire etc. His hits were fast and hard, so striking wasn't the best way to go about it, so I decided to pretty much man handle him with grapples since I'm much stronger than him. However, I threw in a lot of kicks too, as they work well in conjunction with grapples as they lose their balance momentarily making grappling them far less stressful. On the other hand. I fought someone double my size who was far stronger than I. So in that fight I only went for strikes (kicks to the knees, punches to the ribs and face, knees to the face etc). I could easily have put both of them into a submission (sleeper hold) and forced them to pass out, but it's too dangerous, so best not.
As for what I actually prefer to do... grappling. I guess it comes down to the fact I'm strong for my size and it's hard to break my holds (even instructors agree).
And you won't be confused about the fact that MMA has both strikes and grappling. It kind of comes down to when and where to do what. For example, if someone has been knocked off guard momentarily, a take down would be a wise move. However, a take down at the start of the fight wouldn't be the best decision as they would be at full health and be able to counter it.
On a side note, I have a question, and I felt you would be the best person to ask. Over the past month, I've been cogitating about how fast year 12 is going, and how it is only a matter of months before I will be choosing what A - Level subjects to study. I've already established that I'm definitely taking economics (social science) aswell as Eng lit and History (humanities), but that leaves one subject left to choose from. The subjects I've been considering are biology and physics.
I was thinking of studying one of the aforementioned subjects because 1) Having a science subject in my mix of a-levels is a good way to show how well rounded I am, 2) As the three subjects I have already pretty much decided to study are essay orientated subjects, it would make for a nice change and 3) Both subjects I find interesting (biology more so).
So my question is, as you have decided to study biology at a-level, what's it like? Are there a lot of practicals? Are you assessed on how you carry out the practicals? Is the syllabus a big step up from GCSE in terms of difficulty?
I'd like to ask you about physics, too, but you didn't take it, so I guess you wouldn't have much input on the matter.
As we enter into one of the busiest times of the year, we here at the Recommendation Club would like to extend our wishes for each and every one of you to have a wonderful holiday season!
Since the September newsletter, our club has gained many new members, and seen the return of old ones. We would like to keep the momentum going, and with our member list now at 3,111, that should be no problem at all! ^_^.
We would like all of our members, old and new, to help keep this an active, and fun club, a place to Chat and to seek out recommendations in our General anime and General Manga thread as well as the specific anime genre threads, such as Drama and Romance and Sci-fi and many others as well.
It’s a great place to make new friends, or renew past friendships, and we urge all of our members to drop by, and post in the various threads and comment section, as well as share you expertise with other members.
If you're into grappling, then Judo is probably the Martial Art best suited to you. You may as well give it a try just to see if it's your thing. You have nothing to lose, but a lot to gain :P
All Comments (93) Comments
The characters are probably the most fleshed out and diverse I've ever seen in an anime, on the same sort of level as Cowboy Bebop and One Piece. The main characters (Reinhard, Wenli, Reuental) could easily make it into my favourite characters list, and even the minor characters are seen frequently and play a significant part.
The story and themes are interesting and fairly complex. If you enjoy philosophy, politics or economics, then it will especially appeal to you. It can be slow at times, which is why I don't marathon it. For LotGH, watching few episodes (1 - 3) in each sitting works best for me as it does require a bit more focus than your typical anime.
The art isn't too great and the animation, especially in season one, is poor, and there's no excuse for it. It was just bad. It does gradually get better though.
If you do get back into anime and you decide to watch it, then be patient with it. Don't consider dropping it until episode 26. By then, you'll have a good idea of what it's about and whether it's worth continuing or not.
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Anyway, since you didn't really get too many responses, the reason why it is so popular is because of the moe. Plus it is another otaku-pandering series from KyoAni, like Lucky Star.
Not that it's a bad thing.
Anyway, it's not just the subjects themselves I'm looking forward to studying, it's the freedom you're given during year 12 and 13 that appeals to me the most. Free lessons, a sixth form block, the ability to actually leave the school premises during lunch break, meeting new people from other schools, treated more like an adult... it sounds awesome. Sure, the subjects are going to require a lot of hard work and dedication if I want to achieve the grades I deserve, but at the very least they are subjects that are in my interests (unlike ICT which I am doing at GCSE, which I fucking hate). Besides, it's only fitting that a-levels are going to be difficult. They aren't called advanced levels for nothing.
And yeah, I can see where you're coming from. Although we do mitt work and the like at Krav Maga, we do very little of it (maybe once every 5 lessons, on average). I find punching/kicking/kneeing/elbowing the air to be made obsolete when you could simply practice it with a partner using safety wear.
Also, if you want to go into MMA, then Judo is a great sport. It is the foundation of what makes a great fighter. That and jiu jitsu are pretty much essential.
As for what I prefer between grappling and striking, it depends on who I am fighting. For example, I was fighting someone before who was dirty as f**k: using a lighter as a means to strengthen his punch, cheap-shots, attempting to set me on fire etc. His hits were fast and hard, so striking wasn't the best way to go about it, so I decided to pretty much man handle him with grapples since I'm much stronger than him. However, I threw in a lot of kicks too, as they work well in conjunction with grapples as they lose their balance momentarily making grappling them far less stressful. On the other hand. I fought someone double my size who was far stronger than I. So in that fight I only went for strikes (kicks to the knees, punches to the ribs and face, knees to the face etc). I could easily have put both of them into a submission (sleeper hold) and forced them to pass out, but it's too dangerous, so best not.
As for what I actually prefer to do... grappling. I guess it comes down to the fact I'm strong for my size and it's hard to break my holds (even instructors agree).
And you won't be confused about the fact that MMA has both strikes and grappling. It kind of comes down to when and where to do what. For example, if someone has been knocked off guard momentarily, a take down would be a wise move. However, a take down at the start of the fight wouldn't be the best decision as they would be at full health and be able to counter it.
On a side note, I have a question, and I felt you would be the best person to ask. Over the past month, I've been cogitating about how fast year 12 is going, and how it is only a matter of months before I will be choosing what A - Level subjects to study. I've already established that I'm definitely taking economics (social science) aswell as Eng lit and History (humanities), but that leaves one subject left to choose from. The subjects I've been considering are biology and physics.
I was thinking of studying one of the aforementioned subjects because 1) Having a science subject in my mix of a-levels is a good way to show how well rounded I am, 2) As the three subjects I have already pretty much decided to study are essay orientated subjects, it would make for a nice change and 3) Both subjects I find interesting (biology more so).
So my question is, as you have decided to study biology at a-level, what's it like? Are there a lot of practicals? Are you assessed on how you carry out the practicals? Is the syllabus a big step up from GCSE in terms of difficulty?
I'd like to ask you about physics, too, but you didn't take it, so I guess you wouldn't have much input on the matter.
Recommendation Club Newsletter~Holiday Edition
As we enter into one of the busiest times of the year, we here at the Recommendation Club would like to extend our wishes for each and every one of you to have a wonderful holiday season!
Since the September newsletter, our club has gained many new members, and seen the return of old ones. We would like to keep the momentum going, and with our member list now at 3,111, that should be no problem at all! ^_^.
We would like all of our members, old and new, to help keep this an active, and fun club, a place to Chat and to seek out recommendations in our General anime and General Manga thread as well as the specific anime genre threads, such as Drama and Romance and Sci-fi and many others as well.
It’s a great place to make new friends, or renew past friendships, and we urge all of our members to drop by, and post in the various threads and comment section, as well as share you expertise with other members.
We look forward to seeing you all here !