The all things Anime related thread.

[ANDARIAL]

Glad that i have a few boxes of original pocky in the cupboard
It is a good job that `sweets go into a different stomach`so I won`t get fat
update Been finishing off a few series that i started months/years ago during my break
Just finished an old school one called DT Eightron poor graphics ,compared to today's.Story i enjoyed ending was OK but not a complete closure,as it is so old I don`t think there will be a second series
BUT ohh the main male character I wanted to slap him about the head with a wet kipper from the first ep(and he did not change all the way through) was a Wuss and clumsy
Also finished off El Cazador and Mitchiko+Hat-chin both of these were set mostly in Mexico/S.America and were started over a year ago El Caz was bounty hunters and witches.Mitchi was about a mother and her estranged kid on the run searching for her father/boyfriend ....sort of.
This had a lot of side stories interlaced to the main one and i really enjoyed it(wonder why I never got around to finishing it sooner?)
Well 3 down and LOADS more to finish off in between the painting of the bedroom and upstairs bathroom

 

[memyselfandi]

I've seen the first couple of episodes of Mitchiko+Hatchin but never got around to watching the rest ... from what I remember it was certainly different.

Finished re-watching Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha this evening. nice little series with lots of magical action and a slightly cringeworthy transformation sequence. On to A's next ...

edit:
Forgot to mention, one thing I find amusing in Nanoha is that the Captain of the "vessel" takes several sugars and milk in her green tea ... something which makes Nanoha pull amusing grimaces when she sees it ...

 

[Alexrose1uk]

Well I've been a bit silent the last few days as I got round to watching some anime, and as you know, I'm a crammer... and I dont really enjoy 'multi-dipping' an annihilate series runtime's one by one.

Over the last week I've watched the following:

Kampfer; found that pretty funny actually, and there was some amusing pop references now and then. I mean, love....errr...pentagram, shapeshifting, guns and swords, reverse harem (?) and psychotic lesbians, with a fair dab of humour and some decent voice artists...what's not to like?
Actually enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting to, I genuinely found it a lot of fun, although it could quite easily have become a poor man's Fate Stay Night. Only downside is the plot was a bit threadbare, and the end of the season really didnt feel like an ending. Perhaps they'll take this onto a second series to finish the story off and answer the (MANY) unanswered questions.

The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya
Ummm, ok what to say about this one, bit of a laugh, and so short you can finish it easily in an afternoon. Only really for the fans of the show or series though, its mostly quite silly and adds nothing to the characters or plot. Occasionally the artwork was quite nice however, and if you're a Haruhi fan, you'll probably find something to enjoy in this. Mostly it's an (even more) exaggerated take on the gang though. Nagato Yuki once again steals the show as probably the most interesting character next to Kyon.

Zero no Tsukaima
Ok...kinda like a bit of Harry Potter, mixed with a bit of Toradora. I like sci-fi/fantasy and magic/occult related stuff in general, as well as romance, so perhaps this series was designed for people like me. Actually quite a lot of fun and again, like Kampfer, better than I was expecting. The main cast are all reasonably likeable, and the protagonist male wasn't a whingy, unlikeable git, nor refused to speak to other ladies in the series which seems to be the norm for this sort of series (seriously if a lady with large ****s comes and speaks to you, how many guys will NOT speak to them, even if they are incredibly loyal and devoted to one lady...we're still human).
Plot wasn't mindblowing, but the mixing in a little modern technology and items into the magical world was a nice touch, and all in I'll probably end up watching the two sequal series unless something goes wrong. Oh yes and Tabitha is ALL BUT Yuki Nagato experimenting with reshaping the world to make it like Harry Potter (The Complete Absense of Haruhi Suzumiya?).

Arakawa Under The Bridge
I decided to watch this as I saw it recommended a few times in comedy series lists. I think it was Andi who watched it previously and mentioned he didn't really get on with it and unfortunately I found it much the same. It had a few bits that made me chuckle and the end scene involving a confusioned Venusian and a mobile phone was a nice touch, but ultimately I ended up finishing it just to finish it and see what happened rather than because I was really enjoying it or finding it that funny.
It's been greenlighted for a season 2 (seriously why? Just give me more S&W or FMP instead) so obviously the humour must appeal to someone, just that person wasn't me.

Not quite sure what I'm going to be watching next...I've got a fair amount of choice. Oh and waiting til this season of anime finishes as I'm quite wanting to take a look at Ookami-san and High School of the Dead...can't be much longer now, they're on episode 10 or something...

Oh and on anime/manga related news...the latest chapter of Rosario and Vampire was a doozy, bet its split the reader base a bit :*(

 

[SeraphX]

aarrgghh decisions decisions haha

get paid today, do i order anime or computer parts ( you really couldnt post this anywhere else lmao )

 

[Acemath]

Been watching FMA:Brotherhood untill episode 27.Damn,this gets better and better...

Btw;i've been wondering why in lots of anime blood spatters around,and 5 seconds later you are rolling over the floor laughing?Isn't it a bit "misplaced" to have "childish humour"in an otherwise dark anime?I mean,it's not common to have a (for example)foodfight in a slashermovie.So why is common in anime?

 

[SeraphX]

prolly because it's different, prolly cos the japanese think that way towards anime when theyre making it

 

[Acemath]

prolly because it's different, prolly cos the japanese think that way towards anime when theyre making it

Maybe you have a point,but i for myself find it pretty weird...

I mean you have Edward killing homunculi,only to be bashed around by Winry 5 seconds later cause he damaged his automail for the gazillionth time lol..

We need a spoiler tag

 

[memyselfandi]

Kampfer

I quite liked what I saw of this (I think I only got through the first half of the season before time constraints prevented me from watching it at the time. I'll probably go back to it at some point.

The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya

Watched the first few episodes and didn't really click, I vaguely recall that Bandai might have this for R1 release so I'll probably pick it up if/when they release it.

Zero no Tsukaima

I thought the first season of this was quite good, although I really didn't like the ending. I thought that it didn't fit well with the rest of the series and added an element which seemed completely out of place. Haven't got around to watching the later series yet.

Arakawa Under The Bridge

...
It's been greenlighted for a season 2 (seriously why? Just give me more S&W or FMP instead) so obviously the humour must appeal to someone, just that person wasn't me.

Yes it was me that watched it and didn't think much of it ... an opinion I still hold.

Been watching FMA:Brotherhood untill episode 27.Damn,this gets better and better...

Btw;i've been wondering why in lots of anime blood spatters around,and 5 seconds later you are rolling over the floor laughing?Isn't it a bit "misplaced" to have "childish humour"in an otherwise dark anime?I mean,it's not common to have a (for example)foodfight in a slashermovie.So why is common in anime?

It's not just in anime, their normal horror films can be strange in the same way.

We need a spoiler tag

Yes, just think about what you write. We've asked for the tag many, many times ....

@ANDARIAL
Regarding Toradora and whether the desks will be replaced in the yet unsold boxsets, the following was posted on another forum last night.

Thank you very much for contacting NIS America.
And thank you for your interest in our anime series.

We will start sending out the replacement discs on 9/28, however, the volume
set we have in stock is not included those replacement discs. If you decide
purchase the set, please make sure to sign up for a replacement disc, so we
can send them to you.

We apologize for your inconveniences.
Please feel free to contact us again if you have any further questions!

Customer Support Staff

NIS America, Inc.

So no, if you bought the first Toradora box now you will still have to sign up for replacements ...

 

[ANDARIAL]

So no, if you bought the first Toradora box now you will still have to sign up for replacements ...

Too much hassle,So this means i pay for a defective boxset THEN I have to pay to send back defective discs, to USA?
Wonder if you then have to pay for delivery of replacements and what about customs ,VAT or import tax on these replacements???

 

[memyselfandi]

Too much hassle,So this means i pay for a defective boxset THEN I have to pay to send back defective discs, to USA?
Wonder if you then have to pay for delivery of replacements and what about customs ,VAT or import tax on these replacements???

erm no ... they haven't given full details of how the replacement programme will work but there is no indication at the moment that they want you to send the defective disks back. There is also no indication that you will have to pay for delivery of the replacements and the probably value declared for the replacements will likely be <£18 given that it's just two replacement disks.

The "hassle" at the moment is to fill in a web form

edit: another relevant quote is:

"Despite our efforts, some of our fans have pointed out some issues with the video quality and after carefully reviewing and considering these issues, we agree that there is room for improvement. Because customer satisfaction is of the highest importance to us, we have decided to re-master the discs and send the revised discs free of charge to those customers who would like one. Please note that there are limited quantities of the “Premium” Edition with no current plans for re-manufacturing, so they can only be purchased while quantities last. It might take a while to correct the disc issues and arrange for the replacements to be sent out, so we greatly appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter."

 

[ANDARIAL]

Does the above mean that the entire set has poor(lower than usual)video quality?How are you finding your set?
While this is one of the series I like enough to buy,the issue of poor quality encode would mean I would be unlikely to watch/re watch after I noticed any ...glitches/panning errors etc
And what are the subs like ?Fairly accurate .Do they use translations like `big sister` instead of `onisama` etc?

 

[memyselfandi]

Does the above mean that the entire set has poor(lower than usual)video quality?How are you finding your set?
While this is one of the series I like enough to buy,the issue of poor quality encode would mean I would be unlikely to watch/re watch after I noticed any ...glitches/panning errors etc

It means that both disks in part 1 of the series were badly encoded which introduced various issues. At times with the original disks you could notice issues, but for most of it the picture quality seemed fairly normal (to me). We'll have to see how the new disks are when they are shipped out and then we'll be able to say if there has been any improvement or not.

And what are the subs like ?Fairly accurate .Do they use translations like `big sister` instead of `onisama` etc?

Honestly ... I can't remember, it's been probably a month and a half since I went through the first set. I don't remember them being really bad though.
But I would expect things like oneesama to be translated though, other than Nozomi alternative subtitle tracks it's pretty standard to translate that sort of thing.

 

[Alexrose1uk]

Oh as an aside, I also watched Queen's Blade and tried to watch Rozen Maiden last week, can't remember whether I mentioned that or not.

Queen's Blade....errr....overriding plot...minimal....likeable characters with thought out motivations....errrr, missing during production....huge ***s and lesbian overtones...check.
Ummm...yeah, fanservice to the extreme, even though I like fantasy and fighting, I'd honestly recommend Naruto of all series to this (yes I've seen a few seasons of that as one of my friends is a rabid fan, and my brother used to be), at least Naruto, occasionally, showed moments of intelligence amongst it's overuse of flashbacks, and rediculously all over the place pacing!

Rozen Maiden - just didn't particularly get on with this, I might go back and try it again as I only watched a few episodes, but I just didn't find the character cast that likeable and couldn't really gel with them. The plot was also fairly obscure.
So despite the initial premise sounding interesting, and it falling into some veins/genres I'm interested in, again I wouldn't recommend this.

@andi - which part of Zero no Tsukaima's ending were you referring to? I thought the ending wasn't all that bad, especially next to some I've seen, as most of it worked within the basis of what had already been presented. I've started taking a look at season 2 and it's very much a continuation. I don't know how much the anime differs from the original source novels but either way its an enjoyable if not outstanding series.

 

[memyselfandi]

Oh as an aside, I also watched Queen's Blade and tried to watch Rozen Maiden last week, can't remember whether I mentioned that or not.

Queen's Blade....errr....overriding plot...minimal....likeable characters with thought out motivations....errrr, missing during production....huge ***s and lesbian overtones...check.
Ummm...yeah, fanservice to the extreme, even though I like fantasy and fighting, I'd honestly recommend Naruto of all series to this (yes I've seen a few seasons of that as one of my friends is a rabid fan, and my brother used to be), at least Naruto, occasionally, showed moments of intelligence amongst it's overuse of flashbacks, and rediculously all over the place pacing!

I dropped Queens Blade fairly early on ... I like a bit of fanservice but not when it's a replacement for a good plot.

Rozen Maiden - just didn't particularly get on with this, I might go back and try it again as I only watched a few episodes, but I just didn't find the character cast that likeable and couldn't really gel with them. The plot was also fairly obscure.
So despite the initial premise sounding interesting, and it falling into some veins/genres I'm interested in, again I wouldn't recommend this.

I'd have to disagree with you here ... I thought that the two series of Rozen Maiden were quite good really and I enjoyed the Manga as well. It's not that simple a series but it's interesting.

@Andi - which part of Zero no Tsukaima's ending were you referring to? I thought the ending wasn't all that bad, especially next to some I've seen, as most of it worked within the basis of what had already been presented. I've started taking a look at season 2 and it's very much a continuation. I don't know how much the anime differs from the original source novels but either way its an enjoyable if not outstanding series.

Deus ex machina. They didn't need to introduce a new element when an incremental growth of the existing abilities could have drawn the series to a conclusion, (bit difficult to say more without spoilers).

edit:

I see UP have added some R2(UK) collections/bundles to their RSS release feed, obviously getting rid of old stock. Looks like some quite good deals there, e.g. Chrono Crusade for <£15+shipping, Elfen Lied for <£13+shipping etc ...

edit2:

Example links due to requests via trust ...
Elfen Lied
Chrono Crusade
Mezzo

(Go to any of those and click on the RSS icon next to their new releases link on the left of the page. This allows you to add their feed as a live bookmark under Firefox that shows you other things which have either just come in or will be in in the next 7-10 days).

 

[Phatjayunoi]

Also see the first ep of Broken Blade.

It's like Gundam but <Spoilers>!

At some point humans became magical and don't use computers, and then they find an old gundam-like that baffles them.

</spoiler>

I'm enjoying this so far, even if it is kind of cliched i.e. boy with special, or in this case, no special ability, pilots an ancient mecha blah blah etc.

But yeah, I gotta laugh at the way technology works in this universe, quartz crystals, magic, medieval-style living conditions, but mechas, LOL! It's kind of like a mixture of Turn A Gundam and Code Geass.

Awesome voice cast though seeing as the main four characters have worked in previous Gundam & Macross shows before. I mean come on, it's Jesus Yamato as the main character! Oh and Cleo = lovely jailbait.

There's 4 more OVA's to go and luckily they aren't too far apart in release schedule, unlike say Gundam Unicorn. So it's nice that this one fills the gap until then.

Oh as an aside, I also watched Queen's Blade and tried to watch Rozen Maiden last week, can't remember whether I mentioned that or not.

Yeah Queen's Blade is just soft-core borderline hentai, but I like it.

As for Rozen Maiden, I found it difficult to get into at first, but I enjoyed it in the end. Besides I love listening to Miyuki Sawashiro's voice, so sexy (Also Saeko in Highschool of the B00bies).

 

[ANDARIAL]

Chrono Crusade

Grrrr you just cost me £14.70

Too good a price to pass up i think,will be replacing my other `cough cough`version

 

[SeraphX]

queens blade haha yep tried watching that, ( i love fan service ) but damn, couldnt even get past the first episode lol

 

[lsg1r]

Grrrr you just cost me £14.70

Too good a price to pass up i think,will be replacing my other `cough cough`version

think I'll be following suit

Edit: followed suit then added a couple more on for good measure lol, should all be uk versions too

1. DVD / Burst Angel Bargain Bundle (Hyb) - £21.00 - thought it was about time I actually bought it (*cough*) lol
SPECIAL
2. DVD / Chrono Crusade Bargain Bundle (Hyb) - £14.70 - too much of a bargain to turn down and it was on my want list, surprisingly never seen it :s
SPECIAL
3. DVD / Submarine 707r Mission 1 & 2 (Hyb) - £5.25 - not sure if I'll like it but for 5 quid no loss either way.
SPECIAL
4. DVD / Utawarerumono Bargain Bundle (Hyb) - £11.88 - worth the money, half the price on rainforest.
SPECIAL
5. DVD / Elfen Lied Bargain Bundle (Hyb) - £12.50
SPECIAL

Then got stung for 12 quid in postage I'm so not used to paying for postage with the rainforest, luckily the savings on utawarerumono alone covered that cost

Now it's just a case of seeing if they're in stock I suppose.

Now queen's blade - sorry too much fanservice so dropped it after about 10mins lol
rozen maidens - fantastic series, brilliant concept, easy top 5 of my collection (thats not easy either)

Oh and now looking into broken blade, not sure if I can be bothered hunting for the episodes (have found them streaming) but there are 2 ova's readily available so may go that route instead

 

[Flickeh]

I've recently been looking at getting some older anime that i never bought on DVD in Blu ray format, but my god it's not easy. I always knew that in the UK and Europe as a whole got the short end of the stick when it came to releases, but it feels like it's getting worse.

Samurai Champloo doesn't seem like it's ever going to get released here and the USA Blu Ray is locked to region A.
Claymore Blu ray is apparently region B compatible, so that's great.
FLCL should get out in USA towards the end of the year, but no idea on region lock yet.
Beck, i don't think the full series has even been released on DVD here, let alone Blu ray.

Anyone that has these on Blu Ray? Are they much of an upgrade or should i just stick to DVD?

I just don't get why the new Blu Ray releases can't be left without any region locks. It's totally optional now for the companies, it means we can be happy with importing and it costs nothing extra to produce.

 

[Werewolf]

FLCL is, I think quite likely to get a release either here or in Aus given it's a fairly popular series (and Aus shares our blu region iirc).