The all things Anime related thread.

[Werewolf]

That Hayate pic looks like it could be a fun series

I'm currently re watching His and Her Circumstances which is very good, rather different to most of what i've seen/got in style/theme.
It's hard to beleive it's by the same studio (and director) that gave us the likes of Eva, Nadia and Gunbuster.

 

[memyselfandi]

That Hayate pic looks like it could be a fun series

I'm currently re watching His and Her Circumstances which is very good, rather different to most of what i've seen/got in style/theme.
It's hard to believe it's by the same studio (and director) that gave us the likes of Eva, Nadia and Gunbuster.

I'm currently rewatching His and Her Circumstances as well I'm currently up to ~22 ... yep, the series is very very different from your normal anime in it's styling. I would say that it's very "arty" in that they are "playing" with different styles a great deal and have a lot of static, or near static, manga shots with voice overs ... but, whilst this could, it doesn't feel like they have cheaped out by doing it. For the most part I like what they have done but it is very different from your normal series which tend to pick one style and stick with it with maybe the characters only occasionally slipping into chibli form for comic effect.

I also like the closing credit sequences in the early episodes where they show you round a real school and the inter episode links with the VAs are fun. I do think that at times they recap what has happened so far a bit to much at the beginning of episodes and I don't like the episode with paper on sticks animation. It's also quote annoying that onscreen text is not translated by default on my copy (I have to remember to turn it on for each disk).

A good series though .... but you are getting less than half the story compared with the manga ... the anime does a pretty good job of "her circumstances" and is close to the manga but only takes you to volume ~10-11ish, there are then a couple of volumes of side stories involving the other characters before it lauches into "his circumstances" which covers things forward to the surprising end. The manga does vary quite a bit in style like the anime and is quite "arty" as well, you may have several pages with only a handful of words but this works well to get across the emotions involved and some of the character art is very pretty. It's 21 volumes so if they had made a second anime series they could have probably finished it.

Drop me a mail to my trust address when you've finished watching and I'll let you know what happens in the rest of the plot after the anime.

edit: hmmm .... thinking about getting rid of my copy of Maison Ikkoku, (all 8 boxsets in very good condition), seeing as it seems to be going for quite high sums, (adding up the minimum values under "other sellars" on the Rainforest UK site comes to >£1000 for 7 out of the 8 boxes). Any thoughts about the best way of doing this.

 

[memyselfandi]

I haven't watched this series in a long time, but I recently rewatched both seasons of School Rumble. Just a pure comedy classic, and if only real life highschool was as fun and ridiculously over-the-top like this.

I first watch the first disk of season 1 of School Rumble when it was released on R2 ... and didn't think much of it. .... scroll forward quite a while and I picked up the R1 season 1 boxset cheap and when I actually sat down and got into it I found it to be quite good. Ended up getting season 2 along with season 2 of Negima in a TRSI Funimation sale earlier this year.

Generally I found it to be quite good.

 

[Makunouchi]

I stopped watching Bleach a long time ago. But I was watching it week by week as it came out and after the awesomeness of the Soul Society break in, there was that terrible Bounto story arc, followed by weeks of filler, and then weeks of watching people run across a desert with the same background and same lame jokes (Hueco Mundo sneak entry) - at which point I just fed up of the whole lot of it, every week I watched a new episode I basically felt cheated out of some awesome event because they had decided to string out some boring sub-plot a bit longer. And frankly I felt like I'd 'graduated' to better animes. So I stopped watching.

Then recently I had a hole in my anime watching 'things-to-watch' list and decided to give it another try, from ep.1 again (missing out the Bounto story arc though, which makes no difference at all by the way). And now that I'm watching it one episode after another it's much more enjoyable (as is always the case as I've found with other shows), and I'm really pleased I gave it another chance. I've just watched the episode with the event pictured below (when Sado reveals his second arm) - and I have to say it ranks up there with some of my favourite anime moments. I always loved his character and the way they held him back in terms of 'power', and then just dropped a massive bomb of awesome - great stuff. Also goes to prove that anime snobbery is a bad thing, popular, mainstream series can often be quite good too (as long as you have the ability to skip past all the fluff and filler) - that's my caveat.
Which is just another reason why Hajime No Ippo is the most awesome anime ever No filler! (well not really - a couple of beach episodes in over 200 I can handle)

Anyway the series really seems to be picking up, I just hope they keep the pace of the fights/reveals up, and the filler down.

Just felt like typing something really...

 

[mrk]

I'll be catching up with BLEACH soon as the latest eps seem to be good!

 

[Sparky__H]

The Bounto Arc was filler but as far as filler goes is was not THAT bad. The writer of bleach is a master at taking something that could be done in 15min and bulking it up to 18 months.

And Hayate no Gotoku is very very good and for once the second season currently airing is as good as the original. (More Hanagi the better IMHO).

This season is actually not too bad:

The new series of Suzumia Haruhi, New series of Hayate No Gotoku, two very good series.

K-on has been received well but haven't had the time to watch it yet.
Same with Eden of the east.

However Lol-Gonzo's offering, Shangri-la is awfull.

Oh and stay away from Kiss x Sis it's plot-less hentai-wannabe carp.

 

[ANDARIAL]

K-on has been received well but haven't had the time to watch it yet.

It was a good series,not excellent but it passed the time,typical high school anime with music

 

[memyselfandi]

The Bounto Arc was filler but as far as filler goes is was not THAT bad. The writer of bleach is a master at taking something that could be done in 15min and bulking it up to 18 months.

And Hayate no Gotoku is very very good and for once the second season currently airing is as good as the original. (More Hanagi the better IMHO).

This season is actually not too bad:

The new series of Suzumia Haruhi, New series of Hayate No Gotoku, two very good series.

K-on has been received well but haven't had the time to watch it yet.
Same with Eden of the east.

However Lol-Gonzo's offering, Shangri-la is awfull.

Oh and stay away from Kiss x Sis it's plot-less hentai-wannabe carp.

I've seen season 1 of Bleacgh, and whlst it was ok it didn't realy grab me, (not really the sort of genre I like to watch).

Haven't see any of Hayate so can't comment on that, I have seen the first episode of MoHS series 2 and that was quite good.

K-ON! and Eden of the East .... I'm going to have to disagree with ANDARIAL and say that K-ON! is very good (and I've even imported some of the CDs). The music is great and it's enjoyable to watch, I do still have the extra episode to watch ... I hope it gets licensed for a DVD/Blu-ray release. Eden of the East was also a very very good series ... the main problem with it being that it's finished now without resolving much if anything and the conclusions will have to wait for the movies later in the year.

KissXSis .... I've see one of the episodes ... yes it's pretty poor smut.

 

[lsg1r]

eden of the east and k-on are on my to watch list, whether I can be botherd to watch them anytime soon is another matter, as I'm watching martian successor nadesico at the moment.

I've have also been watching Shangri La (although must catch up again), Asura Cryin (I like it ) and the final part of koukoku no regios (chrome shelled regios). In my view they're the only ones which have managed to keep my attention so far from the current (spring) season. I stopped watching basquash although I will probably go back to it, the same with pandora hearts, 07 Ghost and guin saga.

As to Shangri La being rubbish, it isn't a short anime and the whole plot upto now has been building a background for what is to come. If you've ever seen a gonzo series, you should know they take about half the series to fill you in

Actually looking at the listings for gonzo, it appears that I seem to like (or want to see) a fair few of their anime efforts

Having said that I'm not really a bleach fan either, so maybe thats why I like shangri la and you don't.

KissXSis - it can't be worse than queens blade, it took less than 5 mins before one cast member was naked!

 

[Werewolf]

memyselfandi, I mgiht well give you an email about his and hers once i've finished the DVD'

Re the Maison Ikkoku, boxes, it might be worth a look on somewhere like the AOD forums as I think they have a section where people can list their auctions etc.


If anyone is interested, at the moment Rightstuf are doing a 40%+ off on a lot of DVD's from Funi and Geneon (I think), with a free Hellsing Ultimate messenger bag if you buy 2 or more qualifying box sets.
The combination of the discount and messenger bag (handy for models etc) is my downfall

 

[just Scott]

K-On was great. First half of the series was absolutely hilarious.

Also, the last 4 series I'd watched were Kyoto Animation, so I thought I'd carry on the trend and watch Lucky Star. Finished it (and the OVA) in the space of about 3 days. Really fun series.

 

[memyselfandi]

Phew ... had a look at the TRSI offer earlier and the things on it which I would want I already have so my wallet breathes again

Lsg1r; Asura Cryin ... I think I watched episode 1 but I'm way way way behind on most things other than Eden and K-ON! ..... there's 1 or 2 others where I'm not quite so behind but I've been watching other things and they soon build up. How are you finding Martion Successor Nadesico though? ... I'm sure it's somewhere in my back log (I rearranged my DVDs the other day as otherwise I just tend to rewatch the same ones if I'm not careful). Queens Blade was pure drivel ... I don't think I made it through one episode, KissXSis is to ecchi for me and is obviously aimed at the otaku market who like the moe sister idea (I am of the opinion, expressed to in Genshiken, that the only people who like that are people who don't have little sisters).

Today I have been watching Ah My Buddha volume 3 (end of the first series + slightly more revealing ova episode). A little ecchi and quite funny although it is a bit of a single joke series.

I've also read Lucky Star volume 1 from Bandai. Now this has been discussed over on AoD but Bandai really dropped the ball on this. On the upside it's presented in the same sort of book size (i.e. larger) that Yen use for their 4koma books but that's about the only upside to it. Problems include 1). poor to literal translation, 2). poor quality paper and 3). faded looking printing. I won't say it's bad but it is really disappointing treatment.

 

[Demoniser]

K-On was a very 'silly comedy but thats what made it fun to watch . Some of the songs were really good to.

Shangri-La - Its really really weird. I feel like Gonzo are dangling tiny bits of plot in front of you and at some point its all going to come together to make sense. If its anything like last exile itll all come together in the last few episodes.

Eden of the East - not tried this yet at all so i can't comment, really need to get into it.

 

[Sparky__H]

I'm watching martian successor nadesico at the moment.

koukoku no regios (chrome shelled regios).

As to Shangri La being rubbish, If you've ever seen a gonzo series, you should know they take about half the series to fill you in

Having said that I'm not really a bleach fan either, so maybe thats why I like shangri la and you don't.

Nadesico is a fantastic anime, dont forget the film. It's somewhat rushed as i think they were hoping for a second series but had to settle.

chrome shelled regios. While I wish I had something better to say about it, its just nothing in it is original. All the characters (Except for Felie who is love) are tired and overused. Reminds me of The Third, good idea, garbage execution.

And Shangri-La is a typical Lol-Gonzo anime just like Strike Witches. It's made to appeal to the greatest possible customer base so completely fails at anything that could set it apart. They stick to the same character moulds again and again. The artwork is fantastic though and tbh I will marathon it when it finishes as I think it deserves it.

As Demoniser mentioned though, Last Exile, what a series. Simply amazing in every respect.

Ginax and Bones on the other hand just keep producing new and wonderful series. (Shikabane Hime is an exception).

And I'm not a fan of long running shonin series such as bleach. Endless power ups are not for me.

Finished watching Haibane Renmei and this is HIGHLY recommended. It's rather slow but the originality is refreshing. Lots of hints about the universe the story takes part in but a lot is left to the imagination. Great characters and very good storytelling indeed.

 

[lsg1r]

Lsg1r; Asura Cryin ... I think I watched episode 1 but I'm way way way behind on most things other than Eden and K-ON!

its not a 'you have to watch it now' anime, it will be fine when you have time, I suspect theres going to need to be a second season anyways. Characters are pretty good though in my view.

How are you finding Martion Successor Nadesico though? ... I'm sure it's somewhere in my back log (I rearranged my DVDs the other day as otherwise I just tend to rewatch the same ones if I'm not careful).

honestly its a bit daft, think vandread (which I like) mixed in with super dimensional fortress (macross/robotech) and then add in a bit of harem and you've basically got the plot (upto ep11 anyways)

Queens Blade was pure drivel ... I don't think I made it through one episode,

Even I only managed one episode of that, I wasn't going to waste my bandwidth after the first one

Shangri-La - Its really really weird. I feel like Gonzo are dangling tiny bits of plot in front of you and at some point its all going to come together to make sense. If its anything like last exile itll all come together in the last few episodes.

That's kind of my view, without giving too much away I suspect the episodes to date are to give reason for kunico's (the main character) actions later in the series. And Gonzo do like to keep it all bottled to the end then its a case of them confusing the hell out of us (Samurai 7) or making it fairly simple (vandread)

Nadesico is a fantastic anime, dont forget the film. It's somewhat rushed as i think they were hoping for a second series but had to settle.

- yep got the film, that comes last

chrome shelled regios. While I wish I had something better to say about it, its just nothing in it is original. All the characters (Except for Felie who is love) are tired and overused. Reminds me of The Third, good idea, garbage execution.

well yeah it had some overused aspects (one super strong person etc) but I didn't think the series as a whole was too bad, but then maybe felli had something to do with that

And Shangri-La is a typical Lol-Gonzo anime just like Strike Witches. It's made to appeal to the greatest possible customer base so completely fails at anything that could set it apart. They stick to the same character moulds again and again. The artwork is fantastic though and tbh I will marathon it when it finishes as I think it deserves it.

don't go knocking the strike witches loli's

Ginax and Bones on the other hand just keep producing new and wonderful series. (Shikabane Hime is an exception).

Bones made eureka seven and rahxephon so they're pretty much top of the pile in my anime listings

 

[Sparky__H]

Bones made eureka seven and rahxephon so they're pretty much top of the pile in my anime listings

Don't forget Darker Then Black, fantastic series. New season in development.

Oh and Eureka Seven is being released on Blue-Ray as we speak.

 

[ANDARIAL]

Oh and Eureka Seven is being released on Blue-Ray as we speak

£230 on play asia

 

[memyselfandi]

£230 on play asia

erm, that's only half the series isn't it? There's two blu-ray boxes (1 & 2) at that price and whilst you are at it don't forget the movie at |£88 for the limited edition ....

Amazon JP do seem to have a box of the whole series listed (all their listing for all these series boxes for this are only from other sellers) for Y65,000 which is ~£430

(d*mn where's my Euromillions lottery win when I need it)

 

[just Scott]

Don't know why but I decided to start watching Rozen Maiden. It's annoying me a lot lol. I actually prefer the filler episodes to the serious ones. The fillter eps are funny and they don't repeat each others names 100 times every minute like in the serious eps which is so annoying. It's a bit cliche in general but quite enjoyable.

 

[Makunouchi]

Don't forget Darker Then Black, fantastic series. New season in development.

Oh really? Didn't know that, thanks for the heads up. I thought the series was on the better side of average only, but I'd still like to watch more of it.