| @ JYM: Yes, A Letter to Momo was very good and quite humorous as well. I just finished Saraiya Goyou aka House of Five Leaves. This is set during the Edo period. It is slow moving but very well written and acted. There is a bit of humor in it but this is really a story about revenge and the futility of it. The characters are all well developed and the growth of one in particular is quite good. This can really be called a character study. Well worth the watch for anyone who wants a story instead of all of today's fluff in anime. |
KnightRyderMay 27, 2013 9:00 PM
Furykury1 said: @ JYM: Yes, A Letter to Momo was very good and quite humorous as well. I just finished Saraiya Goyou aka House of Five Leaves. This is set during the Edo period. It is slow moving but very well written and acted. There is a bit of humor in it but this is really a story about revenge and the futility of it. The characters are all well developed and the growth of one in particular is quite good. This can really be called a character study. Well worth the watch for anyone who wants a story instead of all of today's fluff in anime. Thanks Furykury1, looks like I would like it, added to my PTW list. Found it on Funimation. |
| Finished Moyashimon last night. What a delightfully wacky and funny show, a goofy treat from start to finish with its Everyman star who can see microbes and the supporting cast of kooks. And Hasegawa is THE sexiest beast I've ever seen in a lab coat! Hubba hubba! Can't wait to watch season two! |
 May the DESU be with you! Always! |
Jym said: Just watched a beautiful, sweet 2011 movie called A Letter to Momo. This is a great slice of life story about a girl, Momo, who moves to a peaceful island community in Japan with her mother after her father died. Agree.... I saw it at the local cineplex. I don't know if I'd call it a "slice of life story" as there's a lot of very unusual stuff that happens in it. ;-) PhillyFlash said: Finished Moyashimon last night. <snip> And Hasegawa is THE sexiest beast I've ever seen in a lab coat! Hubba hubba! ...And not the least bit worse in the "dorama" version either... :-D As for me...finished a couple of series of shorts: GDGD Fairies 2 and Ishida and Asakura. The latter is completely nuts and usually good for at least one hearty laugh an episode. I found the former to be a bit of hit and miss thing. Sometimes I was just waiting for something to happen...other times I was laughing out loud. |
| So... Mawaru Penguindrum... Why do I torture myself with Ikuhara's works? The man is brilliant and/or insane. But I always feel uneasy toward the end of one of his series. There's some quality that makes my emotions go in every direction at once. And he really seems to have it in for cats. The worst thing about them, though, is that there are so many intertwined themes in them that I have to go through the whole thing multiple times to understand it. Which means I'll have to once again experience that strange... not ambivalence, I suppose. Polyvalence? Omnivalence? Are those even words? Anyhoo, yeah. It's a huge mess of overlapping symbolism which I will have to endure over and over again before I can be satisfied. Which I think was one of the themes. Damn it, something else I'm going to have to look for. |
| Somewhere, there is an unplugged toaster sitting on a Coleman stove. Does it feel lonely? |
d-yaro said: Jym said: Just watched a beautiful, sweet 2011 movie called A Letter to Momo. This is a great slice of life story about a girl, Momo, who moves to a peaceful island community in Japan with her mother after her father died. Agree.... I saw it at the local cineplex. I don't know if I'd call it a "slice of life story" as there's a lot of very unusual stuff that happens in it. ;-) OK, the "slice of life " I was referring to was the realistic depiction of life in the island community, not the weird stuff with Momo. But I take your point. |
JymJun 5, 2013 7:37 AM
| Just watched a short love story called Kotonoha no Niwa (The Garden of Words). A beautifully done, well written mature story about a quiet 15 year old student who meets a women in the park on a rainy day. The boy wants to be a shoe designer and on rainy days skips school to sketch shoe designs in the park. He keeps running into the woman there drinking beer and eating chocolate. Things develop very slowly. Watch it, it's touching. Update: 6-15-13 Just watched a nice family friendly movie Miyori no Mori (Miyori's Forest). An 11 year old girl whose parents have divorced is sent to live with her Grandmother in a rural village near a forest. She learns she has a special connection with the forest spirits. If you like Ghibli films, you will like this beautiful well animated heartwarming film. |
JymJun 14, 2013 8:07 PM
d-yaro said: PhillyFlash said: Finished Moyashimon last night. <snip> And Hasegawa is THE sexiest beast I've ever seen in a lab coat! Hubba hubba! ...And not the least bit worse in the "dorama" version either... :-D Oh, yes! I've been watching the live action version too! In a word----HAWT!! |
| May the DESU be with you! Always! |
| Not technically "Old School" since it ran from 1994-1995, but Ginga Sengoku Yuuden Rai is a 52 episode space opera with swordplay as well. Unfortunately, there seems to be only one copy available on the net and everyone has the same one. The reason for the "unfortunately" is that this is ripped from Chinese DVDs and the English subtitles are terrible, the worst I have ever seen. Names change from episode to episode and even in the same episode. Sentence structure in the first half of the series is almost unreadable. It gets better in the second half, but the name problem persists. Still, with all that, I gave this series a 7. It is almost non-stop action and the characters are all likeable, with very few exceptions. Space battles are a little laughable as the ships are using cannons that actually shoot projectiles. LOL. But, it is fun and worth the watch if you can stand the subtitle problem. |
Furykury1 said: Regretfully because it is considered "Old School" by the average anime viewer (if it wasn't done in at least 720p, it's old school), you probably won't see it done by any reputable subbing outfit (or even an un-reputable one) and the company that holds the license (Enoki Films) doesn't even list in it's most current library, so don't hold your breath on that front either. Which is too bad since this is one of those series that I'm seeing a lot of interest in over at BakaBT and looks like a lot of fun. I've put this on my d/l list for down the road (time and space permitting). I've put up with a lot of really bad subs over the years (FUNimation's treatment of Sailor Moon comes to mind) and can usually handle them to a point.Not technically "Old School" since it ran from 1994-1995, but Ginga Sengoku Yuuden Rai is a 52 episode space opera with swordplay as well. Unfortunately, there seems to be only one copy available on the net and everyone has the same one. |
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| “How can I tell you, I cannot touch you, But I can kill you” So goes three lines in the beautiful opening song of Shinigami no Ballad (Momo, Girl God of Death). This is gentle and sorrowful tale of a pure white Shinigami or “Death God” who feels compassion for the souls she takes and the ones left behind. Six short stories about life and death that will tear you up and make you feel good. |
OrlahEhontas said: Furykury1 said: Regretfully because it is considered "Old School" by the average anime viewer (if it wasn't done in at least 720p, it's old school), you probably won't see it done by any reputable subbing outfit (or even an un-reputable one) and the company that holds the license (Enoki Films) doesn't even list in it's most current library, so don't hold your breath on that front either. Which is too bad since this is one of those series that I'm seeing a lot of interest in over at BakaBT and looks like a lot of fun. I've put this on my d/l list for down the road (time and space permitting). I've put up with a lot of really bad subs over the years (FUNimation's treatment of Sailor Moon comes to mind) and can usually handle them to a point.Not technically "Old School" since it ran from 1994-1995, but Ginga Sengoku Yuuden Rai is a 52 episode space opera with swordplay as well. Unfortunately, there seems to be only one copy available on the net and everyone has the same one. I'm not able to download anything from BakaBT. :( I must be doing something wrong. Anywho, I just finished the second season of You're Under Arrest!. Except for the first four OVA episodes of the first season, this season redeemed itself in the second half. To bad all that came from this season was lost in Full Throttle |
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
sbyrstall said: I'm not able to download anything from BakaBT. :( I must be doing something wrong. I once had that problem when I was fairly new to BakaBT. I ended up using a different browser than IE8 and I've not had any trouble since. I've been a member there for nearly 3 years with over 1100 torrents downloaded, not all anime. Until recently, I used Mozilla but they weren't compatible with my firewall, so I switched to Chrome. |
| Thanks, I'll try that. |
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
| I finished re-watching a very bloody and violent title called Berserk. Viewed by many as a Classic, I don't find it quite that good but it is a quality story about the ultimate goal of a life of violence. The artwork is impressive for it's time and the BGM is good. I didn't much care for the OP or ED themes. This is probably the oldest title I have for re-watch as it has been nearly 6 years since I last watched it. I gave it a quality rating of 8. |
| Just watched a couple of fun cute, oddball comedies that left me in a good frame of mind, you might like to check them out. I gave them an 8 rating. The first one is Renkin San-kyuu Magical? Pokaan (Magipoka). Four Netherworld Princesses have come to the human world; witch Uma, vampiress Pachira, werewolf Liru, and android Aiko. But they know nothing about human life and their mistakes make up their daily adventures. This is a cute and clever series with 2 short adventures in each of 12 episodes. There is some mild ecchi and non-graphic nudity but the characters are sweet and innocent for being netherworld monsters. It was very enjoyable. The other show I haven’t quite finished but I’ve seen enough to recommend, is a PG show for young and old called Yoshinaga-san'chi no Gargoyle (The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas). This is a fun, crazy series of a stone Gargoyle who has been imbued with special powers, can speak to humans and has been chosen to be the gatekeeper/protector of the Yoshinga family. It is a surrealistic, oddball comedy with a good heart. Lots of crazy villains and interesting characters turn up and add to the enjoyment. There are some very funny moments and some touching moments and you will have a good time. |
| Ha! Just watched a fun little 2 episode OVA called Eiken. I'll warn you right off that this show is for Perverts! Actually it is a off-the-wall parody of major ecchi high school harem shows. Totally Stupid and silly with no redeeming quality except that is fun to watch (If you are a Pervert). Expect to see the largest bouncing boobies ever seen in an anime. Plan to see these girls eating massive amounts of chocolate bananas on a stick. Watch as our hapless hero goes down the world's longest yoghurt slide with 3 bikini babes. OK I've given you enough info for you to decide whether this OVA is for you. Check it out you perverts! |
| With the current anime season coming to an end I am now going through each series as they end and watching them marathon style. Just finished Kakumeiki Valvrave. Not a bad mecha title, interesting twist and all-round good story. It is one of those anime where you find yourself talking to the screen trying to make people make the obvious decisions that they cannot seem to make on their own... so yea, it is a bit tense to watch. My only real complaint is the cliffhanger ending... have to wait until October's anime season for the next part of the series. I gave it 7 out of 10. @Jym... I am a pervert, so I am looking for Eiken to watch =D Thanks!! |
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fatmacman said: With the current anime season coming to an end I am now going through each series as they end and watching them marathon style. Just finished Kakumeiki Valvrave. I just finished Valvrave, as well. Pretty much agree with you, but hoping season 2 has a little more L-elf and a little less singing. |
| Continuing my current season end marathon, I just finished Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. Standard harem-style romance comedy. Overall a good show, but it had a bit too much of the 'stupid people doing stupid things' content. And despite having hentai in the title, it was a very tame and only had a tiny bit of ecchi content. While the main male character got on my nerves a lot I actually really liked all of the female characters... I guess its because the girls were not as dumb as the boy lol. Anyway, overall I give it a 6/10. Took me a while to watch since I kept getting bored and pausing it to do other things ;p |
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| Jumping on the wrapping-up-the-Spring-shows bandwagon. Hataraku Maou-sama proved to be a lot funnier and endearing than it had any right to be, considering its downright stupid premise. The “plot” gets unnecessarily muddled in the second half but it’s still an entertaining watch, earning a strong 6 for its fish out of water brand of situation comedy – which I bumped up to a 7 for its adorable main characters. Gargantia really didn’t do much for me in the end. The universe was interesting (if not particularly original) and masterfully implemented but I just couldn’t care about the characters – I’m starting to think it’s a reoccurring issue I have with Urobuchi’s scripts. I gave it a 5. That being said, I do recommend checking out the first episode for the beautifully choreographed and disturbingly dispassionate space battle that opens the show. I’ll spare you my thoughts on the second season of UtaPri. Suffice it to say that I did squeal. But not as much as with the first season. Chihayafuru 2 was pure joy. And utterly exhausting as it tested my tolerance for grueling karuta matches and nail-biting cliffhangers on an almost weekly basis. But it made me appreciate the entire cast all over again (an what an amazing bunch of lovable weirdoes it is) while I begrudgingly made some room for the new additions. And as with the first season, I cried my eyes out and laughed my head off. Taichi keeps his spot as the only teenager in my harem, and the show gets a strong 9, just like its predecessor. If season 3 is of the same caliber, I think I will upgrade all of it to a 10. |
| To some extent I did find "Teacher" to be mildly annoying, but a cute story anyways (just finished as well myself). Gave it a 6/10 (here & AniDB). I found "Twins" to be a bit better, but not a whole lot. Also got a 6/10 (6.5/10 @ AniDB). As for them being part of a trilogy, with Ano Natsu de Matteru being #3, that will have to wait for a decision when I get around to getting a computer capable of viewing any anime made after 2009. (which at the rate I've been going should be sometime in the year 2020) At this time, however, both MAL & AniDB list Ano Natsu de Matteru as a stand-alone anime, and the only relationship I've been able to find between the three was the author and production company. Not enough to justify it being called "Series 3" in my mind. That may change down the road after I've viewed the series, but not yet. |
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| I know and somewhat accept the fact that most male characters in Anime suffer from what I like to call 'limp dick syndrome', but the main character in Onigai Teacher was such an utter and complete panty waste in so many ways that I ended up hating him. I plan on watching Twins and Ano Natsu sometime in the near future, but for now I need to go back to watching bad hentai to get the bad taste out of my mouth that Teacher left lol. |
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| I like slice-of-Life shows. Doesn't matter if they are aimed at males or females. Just watched a sweet, cute girls anime called Natsuiro Kiseki (A Summer-Colored Miracle). It is a simple quiet story of 4 friends who are spending their last summer vacation together before on of them moves away. It is a well written, heartfelt show about growing up, dreams etc with very developed and likeable characters. To spice things up the writers add a magic rock at a local shrine that can grant wishes. The rock is very wise :-). The wishes teach the girls something about themselves and the meaning of friendship. This show captured me right away and gave me warm fuzzies. It also gave me a sense of some of the various locations in Japan. Worth the watch and don't forget to watch the short OVA at the end. |
| Ao no Exorcist - loved it! I like that the brother who doesn't have demon powers is powerful in his own right. Overall an enjoyable shounen anime. Kamisama Hajimemashita - I would recommend to anyone who likes supernatural shoujo romance. Saiyuki Gaiden - Gorgeous art meets a tragic story. An at times bloody and gory fight to escape heaven. Out of the Saiyuki animes I would recommend this and the Burial ovas. Tiger & Bunny - It has more of a Saturday morning cartoon meets anime feel. Plus: adult leads. I loved watching Tiger and Bunny's friendship develop. I think the show should have been longer. I wanted to see more of Lunatic's storyline. |
ShippygirlJul 21, 2013 7:45 AM
| I have been going back over my private list and grabbing some series I have not watched for over 4 years and re-watching them. Last night I finished up my 3rd re-watch of Ergo Proxy. This was the first time I watched it in Japanese with subs and it gave me a new appreciation for the story. Most titles I re-watch seem to drop in rating, but this stayed at it's well deserved rating of 8. It's a bizarre, thought provoking, dystopic, science fiction story that has one guessing throughout. It reminds me a lot of works by Satoshi Kon. It's well worth the watch for lovers of sci-fi. |
| Just finished a fun comedy, Hataraku Maou-sama!(The Devil is a Part-Timer!). Maou Sadao, a Demon Lord from the world of Enta Esla that gets defeated by said world’s sacred Hero and is forced to flee dimensions. Here on earth, Maou, alongside his faithful general Ashiya, works to live in modern day Japan, as a Mg Ronalds Fast Food worker. The female sacred Hero and various other angels travel to Japan to destroy Maou, the demon king before he gets his power back and destroys Japan or goes back to Enta Esla for revenge. Things don't work out as expected. Don't expect any deep plot or concept here. On the surface it is pretty silly but the basic concept of the devil working at Mg Ronalds (McDonalds) really got my attention. The show has likeable characters and has a good heart. It kept me interested all the way through and left me with a smile. |
Agreed- this series was very entertaining and fun to watch. |
| Not a series, but a movie from 1983, Osamu Tezuka's A Time Slip of 10,000 Years: Prime Rose. This is a typical Tezuka film with a moral and a statement to make about humanity and it's penchant for war. There is a character in this that is a carbon copy of Spock from StarTrek. There is a satellite that looks like C3PO from Star Wars and is called Death Mask, LOL. Many of Tezuka's other characters make cameos as is normal for his work. This is pretty good and I gave it a 7. This is a must watch for Tezuka fans. I was happy to find this after looking for quite awhile for it. Audio offers either Japanese or Italian with English external subs. |
| I have been watching the Natsume Yuujinchou series of animes. These animes are a great mix of slice of life and the supernatural. The laid back feel of it turned me off at first. I fell in love with the characters and continued to watch. On a shounen-ai note, I watched Kono Danshi, Ningyo Hiroimashita last night. The animation is colorful and uses manga textures in unusual ways. The story is a cute one about a grieving, lonely boy and the merman he meets. Here is a spoiler-free trailer |
| I know a lot of you have already seen Black Lagoon but I'm almost finished up with the second season of it and it's quite the gritty adventure. The first arc of the 2nd season, the vampire twins was especially powerful and gut wrenching. I would put Lagoon in the same league as Cowboy Bebop, Jormungand and to a certain extent, Baccano!. And whats up the the women? Damn! What a way to die. |
| I watched The Garden of Words, Shinkai Makoto’s latest movie, which Jym reviewed a few weeks ago. Graphically, it is absolutely stunning – almost overwhelmingly so at times. It is also full of symbolism and metaphors. This visual lavishness acts as a counterpoint to its minimalist telling of a chance encounter, the three months that follow and the lives that will be forever changed. With a runtime of 46mn, there is no room for waste and every scene feels essential. I found it can be a little bit cold and detached – I often felt as if the characters where on display behind a piece of glass – but what it lacks in warmth, it makes up for in emotional clarity. If you’ve enjoyed Shinkai’s other works, you should definitely give this one a try. I also had a chance to see Wolf Children in the theater for the 3rd time and I was once again blown away by how intelligent, graceful and compassionate this movie is. I simply cannot recommend it enough. BTW, Funimation is currently dubbing it and it should come out on Blu-Ray and DVD this winter. |
| Completed last night: The Ambition of Oda Nobuna In the beginning, I was hesitant about watching this show because I had already watched Battle Girls: Time Paradox which was basically the same premise (modern day teen goes back in time to warring states period, but all the warlords are women), but Oda Nobuna had a better story with more drama and intrigue and was less comedic and fanservice driven like Battle Girls had been. |
| May the DESU be with you! Always! |
| Just finished Yuyushiki.This is a feel-good show about 3 high school girl friends who just talk about whatever pops into their heads and do stream-of-conscious word play. It sounds boring, but the girls are so likeable that you can really get into the series. Not a lot of laughs, but lots of smiles and heart. Watch this after some violent emotional show to chill out. |
| I watched the Ao no Exorcist movie, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised (then again, I wasn’t expecting much either). The production values are pretty high, the plot is cute, the action bits are fun and the vast majority of the series’ secondary characters manage to make an appearance. It doesn’t really bring anything new to the table but it’s a nice way to revisit the franchise. Oh, and that was my 250th completed show – which goes to show how much I care about that kind of stuff. |
| Just finished Mouretsu Pirates or for us English speakers Bodacious Space Pirates. Sounds like an ecchi show with lots of cute girl pirate panty shots doesn't it? Nope, not a one, sorry. What you get is a well done sci-fi slice of life story of a peaceful future where pirate ships are for hire to raid fancy tourist space cruse lines to provide a little excitement for the guests. Good effects and spunky girls with a great grand fanale make this a very enjoyable show. It's not for all tastes but you may just enjoy it like I did. |
| I finished the last anime in the Natsume Yuujinchou series. I like the way that it ended. A slower paced anime is not usually my thing, but I liked this series. It tells the stories of the spirits and people well. Natsume and his friends develop and grow over time. I'm starting to watch series I've seen mentioned here, so I tried Black Lagoon. It hits my awesome women characters who kick butt button. A great and entertaining series. I loved the episode that references Terminator. I'm almost finished with Mononoke. The art I saw in a fanmade trailer made me want to watch (that plus a bishie). The background art is gorgeous. The ship in several of the episodes is one of the most colorful and detailed backgrounds I have seen in anime. The character art can be strange at times. In one scene there are several characters on a train car together. Each looks to be drawn in a different style (if that makes sense). The storylines are supernatural/horror involving yokai. It also mixes in who done it into the episodes in a way that I didn't expect. |
| I recently watched the Madoka movies, Puella Magi I: Beginnings and Puella Magi II: Eternal. I enjoyed the original series quite a bit, and while the original looked pretty good, the movies looked amazing, with quite a bit of the backgrounds redone along with some of the animations. For anyone that hasn't seen either, the series follows the same story as the two films, so you don't need to watch the show first if you'd rather watch only the movies. With an interesting story, great music, and some high quality art, I think they were all-around pretty good. I remember when I first heard of the show and looked at the box cover, I thought this wouldn't really be for me, but I tried it anyways despite my first impression. I'm glad I did because it was a long way off what I thought it would be like. It's also only a couple months from now until we get a continuation of the story with the third movie. The other show I finished recently that stuck out from the rest was Kaiba. It has a very surreal setting and characters to match, that centers around the theme of memories, and how they shape a person. It looked like it would be little more than a bizzare head-trip at first, but the story has a hidden depth to it that made the characters feel much more 'real'. I don't think this will be enjoyable for everyone, but its uniqueness makes it good for someone that just wants a change of pace, to try something quite different. |
Solstice-SixAug 23, 2013 3:35 PM
| I just watched Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. This was just to catch up with the series before the 4th movie comes out and before I watch the recently subbed Toaru Majutsu no Index: Endymion no Kiseki. Solstice, I didn't know the Puella movies came out already. Man, I missed them. :( |
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
| Just finished 2 good shows, Terra E... and Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited - Hyoubu Kyousuke. Both shows have a similar plot, normal humans fear and try to destroy special humans with powerful esper abilities. Terra E takes place in future where Earth is unlivable an and humanity has spread out into the gallaxy. Normals fear the power of the espers and want to destroy every one of them. The espers,called Mu, just want to live in peace or on their own world. Zetta Karen Chlldren takes place in the present or near future and is also about children with super esper powers which various governments and secret agencies want to use as weapons or destroy. Both shows are very well done and acted, Give them a try. |
| Not your everyday Mahou Shoujo, this has original work as well as being a parody of the genre in general. I am talking about Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma☆Illya. Set in an alternate world, many of the characters you know and love are here, but often in different roles or have different personalities. This is actually a treatise on Friendship and what that really entails. There is one EPIC battle scene that is perhaps the best I have ever seen. I rated it an 8 and thoroughly enjoyed it. |
KnightRyderSep 19, 2013 12:47 PM
| Just finished Casshern Sins and it was not fun. I will attempt to write down my feelings of this beautifully sad show. I actually started watching Casshern months ago and stopped after the first episode, I just wasn’t ready for the brutality of it. Maybe it was the part involving a huge killer robot and a happy innocent child. Well, I finally decided I was emotionally ready to try it again. For those who haven’t seen it yet here is a brief synopsis. The show takes place in a very distant future of, I assume, Earth, where cyborg/robots had a war against humans. Humanity lost. A cyborg named Casshern awakens in a bleak barren landscape with a bunch of robots chanting “kill Casshern” who try to, duh, kill him. Casshern has no memory of his past or why people hate him. Turns out something called the Ruin is causing everything world to rust and break down and it’s all Cassherns fault. Some of these cyborg/robots look human, some look like mechanical robots. So for 24 episodes Casshern meets good people, evil people, fights people, kills people and has deep philosophical discussions on what it means to be alive, to be immortal and to die. Needless to say the pace is slow, but there is a good fight in every ep. The animation and art is bleak, detailed and conveys the world filled with decay and not typical of most anime. There are moments of color and light but be ready for the most part the world is hell on earth with misery and desperation. The ending did have a glimmer of hope, but it was bittersweet and open to interpretation. The Dub, which I watched was very good. In conclusion, this show is not for the faint of heart, was not a fun watch but definitely a unique, philosophical work of art. |
| Here is an obscure oldie for all you obscure oldie fans. They Were 11 is a 1986 sci-fi space mystery with a pinch of romance. I’ve been interested in watching some of the early anime from an historical point of view, to see how the medium has evolved. It has a decent plot and interesting characters. A brief, spoiler free synopsis: Groups of 10 teens applying to the elite Cosmo Academy are taking the final entrance exam are each assigned a derelict starship. They must work together to survive for 50 some days. When the students get onboard they discover there are 11 students, not 10. Things immediately start to go wrong. First they try to figure out who the 11th person is and if they are trying to sabotage the test, later life threatening events occur. The show is similar to some of the 80’s American sci-fi shows. Lots of drama, accusations, life threatening situations with a dab of comedy and a romance that is a little different. The art style is a little crude by today’s standards, the music likewise but not horrible. I watched the dub, which was fair for the time, but take your pick. The first half of the show was a little slow but the last half was suspenseful with enough plot twists to keep the viewer interested. and the mystery was concluded in a satisfactory manner. Overall, it wasn’t great but it was an enjoyable hour and a half watch. I recommend this for those who want to watch some of the early classics of sci-fi anime. I gave it a 7/10 |
Jym said: Here is an obscure oldie for all you obscure oldie fans. They Were 11 is a 1986 sci-fi space mystery with a pinch of romance. I’ve been interested in watching some of the early anime from an historical point of view, to see how the medium has evolved. It has a decent plot and interesting characters. A brief, spoiler free synopsis: Groups of 10 teens applying to the elite Cosmo Academy are taking the final entrance exam are each assigned a derelict starship. They must work together to survive for 50 some days. When the students get onboard they discover there are 11 students, not 10. Things immediately start to go wrong. First they try to figure out who the 11th person is and if they are trying to sabotage the test, later life threatening events occur. The show is similar to some of the 80’s American sci-fi shows. Lots of drama, accusations, life threatening situations with a dab of comedy and a romance that is a little different. The art style is a little crude by today’s standards, the music likewise but not horrible. I watched the dub, which was fair for the time, but take your pick. The first half of the show was a little slow but the last half was suspenseful with enough plot twists to keep the viewer interested. and the mystery was concluded in a satisfactory manner. Overall, it wasn’t great but it was an enjoyable hour and a half watch. I recommend this for those who want to watch some of the early classics of sci-fi anime. I gave it a 7/10 Arigatou! Jym. I found it. |
| Finished viewing these two series this week: Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Akan - A string of shorts poking fun at stereotypes of Osaka folk. It reminded me a bit of a former student from Osaka who said that people who mimic the Osaka dialect annoy him. Keeping that in mind, take this series with a huge grain of salt. Choyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Utakoi - After I watched the first episode I perused the discussion thread about it: people complaining about the OP/ED songs and artwork but others enjoying the stories. Put me in the latter camp. I marathoned this by my standards - finished the 13 episode series in four days. The series was touted as a very liberal interpretation of the poems, and the lives of the poets, in the Hyakunin Isshu collection. It's is an entertaining string of stories that are fit into the gaps of the biographies of the poets coupled with dramatizations of anecdotes, rumours and legends. The dialogue is heavily sprinkled with modern Japanese so it's relatively easy to follow. There are modern settings for some of the lighthearted episode intros and the midway point summation episode is silly to the point of being absurd. All in all, a fun watch. One thing aside from the content of the show: I have a copy of Ivan Morris's translation of The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon by my side and I'm having problems getting the depiction of her as brilliant red head (instead of a raven hair Heian beauty) out of my head...the show has had that kind of effect on me. |
| Just finished http://myanimelist.net/anime/16742/Watashi_ga_Motenai_no_wa_Dou_Kangaetemo_Omaera_ga_Warui!/ WATAMOTE ~ No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Unpopular!. It's a comedy about a lonely, shy girl who is starting Highschool and wants to make friends and have fun. Unfortunately, she has no idea how to do it. There are some humorous moments in the series but for me it was mostly heartbreaking and sad. Your enjoyment of this show depends on your own experiences in school. This show hit too close to home for me. I hated highSchool and dreaded going every morning. I just wanted to give Tomoko a hug. Fortunately for me, I found a group of people in Art School that socialized me and I became the friendly and outgoing person I am today. I can only hope that Tomoko will eventually find her niche in life. Bottom line, this show is well written and if you are socially well adjusted, you will enjoy WATAMOTE. |
| In my finish list for today: #280 - Free! - http://myanimelist.net/anime/18507/Free! #281 - Power Dolls - http://myanimelist.net/anime/1820/Power_Dolls Only watch this if you want to pad your numbers. This was really bad, even for late 80s. Thank God it was only two episodes. #282 - The World God Only Knows - Goddess Arc - http://myanimelist.net/anime/16706/Kami_nomi_zo_Shiru_Sekai:_Megami-hen Jym said: Just finished Casshern Sins and it was not fun. I will attempt to write down my feelings of this beautifully sad show. I actually started watching Casshern months ago and stopped after the first episode, I just wasn’t ready for the brutality of it. Maybe it was the part involving a huge killer robot and a happy innocent child. Well, I finally decided I was emotionally ready to try it again. For those who haven’t seen it yet here is a brief synopsis. The show takes place in a very distant future of, I assume, Earth, where cyborg/robots had a war against humans. Humanity lost. A cyborg named Casshern awakens in a bleak barren landscape with a bunch of robots chanting “kill Casshern” who try to, duh, kill him. Casshern has no memory of his past or why people hate him. Turns out something called the Ruin is causing everything world to rust and break down and it’s all Cassherns fault. Some of these cyborg/robots look human, some look like mechanical robots. So for 24 episodes Casshern meets good people, evil people, fights people, kills people and has deep philosophical discussions on what it means to be alive, to be immortal and to die. Needless to say the pace is slow, but there is a good fight in every ep. The animation and art is bleak, detailed and conveys the world filled with decay and not typical of most anime. There are moments of color and light but be ready for the most part the world is hell on earth with misery and desperation. The ending did have a glimmer of hope, but it was bittersweet and open to interpretation. The Dub, which I watched was very good. In conclusion, this show is not for the faint of heart, was not a fun watch but definitely a unique, philosophical work of art. This was a re-creation of the original series. Instead of him being against Breaking Boss in the original, he was actually working for him. It was after he killed Luna (Luna here was more of a goddess than mortal) that he started the Ruin plague on the robots and lost his memory. He then started to think about his true nature. I thoroughly enjoyed the series, the storyline and the artwork. I almost cried at the ending because it was so touching. These kind of animes are once a season. |
Dodecahedron-O24Sep 27, 2013 8:20 PM
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
| Just finished http://myanimelist.net/anime/17909/Uchouten_Kazoku/ or The Eccentric Family one of the highlights for me of the 2013 season. The Eccentric Family was based on a novel written by Tomihiko Morimi (The Tatemi Galaxy). Quoting from the Synopsis: “In Kyoto, there are three kinds of residents: humans, tanuki, and tengu. Shimogamo Yasaburou is the third son of the Shimogamo tanuki family. His father, Souichirou, had been the head of Kyoto tanuki community until he was eaten by the human members of "Friday Club" (In a tanuki hot pot during an end of the year ritual). While taking care of an old tengu, fighting with other tanuki, and playing with a psychic human girl, Yasaburou approaches the truth of his father's death.” While, I may add, trying to avoid being eaten themselves in the afore mentioned ritual. Tanuki are Japanese raccoon dogs which have the magical ability to shape-shift into humans of either gender as well as any other organic and inorganic object. I loved this off-beat slice of life comedy drama. The characters were appealing and well written. Animation was good also. One of the interesting characters is the Human woman, Benten, who studied magic under an old Tengu (legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion and are considered a type of Shinto god). She is a mischievous femme fatale who constantly threatens to eat Yasaburou, but with a sweet smile on her face that suggests that she has a fondness for him. I can recommend this show if you enjoy off-beat comedy drama, liked Tatemi Galaxy, or like good storytelling with interesting relationships. I rated this higher that most for the enjoyment it gave me and because I am a sucker for Tanuki..10/10 |
| Railgun S is done. The first 2/3rd was the Sister Arc, which was telling from Misaka's POV from Index series. The last 1/3rd was a filler called "The Silent Party" arc. It was okay. Full of cliche's. |
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
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