I just finished Zone of The Enders: Dolores, I. While it was good overall the ending seemed rather rushed, you'd think that the final episode would be more action packed and the final fight with Dolores and Hathor would be, I don't know, more climactic. I wouldn't have minded it too much if they didn't have that rather annoying epilogue.

SaltyJoe wrote:Well, that too. Or rather, she hopes that she'll find him.

Hmmm... Yeah

SaltyJoe wrote:BTW, have you read Demian by Hermann Hesse? Not the best novel ever, but if you read it after finishing Utena you might get some extra milage out of it (provided that the show was to your liking in the first place).

Sorry but I haven't heard of it until now.
I liked the first episode of Utena, but as for that book... I dunno. I've added to my books-to-check-out list though, so... yeah.

Azathoth wrote:

SPOILER: Show

Gonna be a while till the dicktower shows up...but the groundwork is already there, with the giant roses everywhere and all.

I'd read about that in this subforum earlier in the year... and when I saw that tower I thought: "it probably isn't what they meant, but it sure looks like its heading that way".

Azathoth wrote:

SPOILER: Show

Kiryu Touga Langley? - best character in the show for about the next...oh I don't know thirty-four episodes or so. King of the Mansluts. Unfortunately, as to one-liners, he never quite tops "II BEIBII"

Cool. If it is his best one-liner, cool too, because it shows the writers knew where to put that kind of stuff: at the end of the first episode, to hook viewers like me.

steins;gate. oh my god haha. the apartment fight was funny yet so disturbing at the same time.

I thought it was quite serious and stressful. The voice acting was disturbingly perfect. Poor Moeka :(

Watched Kamisama Dolls and Steins Gate.

Kamisama Dolls was ok, but too much slapstick took a hugh bite of the episode for me.

Steins Gate was fantastic. Okabe finally decided to do whatever ever it took to get results. I'm hoping for more beat downs in the further.

this is a show im gonna have to rewatch. it beat out madoka a few episodes for the best show i've seen this year. i guess moeka can only talk in either whispers (piano - mezzo piano) or through yelling (FUCKING FORTISSISSISSISSISSISSISSISSISSIMO).

IrkenEvangelion wrote:FALCON... PUNCH!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTD8ZZqR6Ac

child of Lilith wrote:Kamisama Dolls was ok, but too much slapstick took a hugh bite of the episode for me.

I think Kamisama Dolls has been a bit of a letdown for me, but I think the gags sort of help keep the stagnant pacing interesting. Not that the pacing is bad but the story has been pretty bland so far on its own.

Along the lines of slapstick gags, I saw the most recent Hellsing Ultimate OVA, and they're still doing the cardboard cut-out slapstick gags in the middle of very violent, very serious, and very plot centric scenes. It doesn't happen all the time so it doesn't really bother me. But this episode was one I was waiting for, when Alucard finally made it to London.

Ornette wrote:I think Kamisama Dolls has been a bit of a letdown for me, but I think the gags sort of help keep the stagnant pacing interesting. Not that the pacing is bad but the story has been pretty bland so far on its own.

It was kind of the opposite for me. It started off bad but got interesting as soon as they got into the actual story. As for the slapstick, it’s not really a problem unless they fail to keep it in check.

Along the lines of slapstick gags, I saw the most recent Hellsing Ultimate OVA, and they're still doing the cardboard cut-out slapstick gags in the middle of very violent, very serious, and very plot centric scenes. It doesn't happen all the time so it doesn't really bother me. But this episode was one I was waiting for, when Alucard finally made it to London.

I've always hated those cut-out gags. No having them in the first show was the best thing about it.

child of Lilith wrote:It was kind of the opposite for me. It started off bad but got interesting as soon as they got into the actual story. As for the slapstick, it’s not really a problem unless they fail to keep it in check.

I'm glad they're into the story, but without the "light" bits of the episodes, the "story" bits aren't enough to keep things from going stagnant. I don't think it's a bad show, it wasn't quite what I was expecting but that's hardly a bad thing. I guess I find some of the gags sort of a necessary filler.

I've always hated those cut-out gags. No having them in the first show was the best thing about it.

I'm not a fan of them either. I like the art style of Ultimate, but I hate that it's taking them years to make the OVA series. The gag bits are few enough and far enough between to keep it more like an artistic license or style, though I could easily go without them.

child of Lilith wrote:No having them in the first show was the best thing about it.

I'd argue that the soundtrack was the best thing in the abortion that was the TV series, but yeah the lack of random interjected humor was nice. It just kills the mood.

Going old school and watching Ideon. So far it's not super amazing or anything. I did like how the Buff Clan rolls up and starts killing everyone immediately.

By far the most remarkable thing about Ideon is its potential to be wielded like a bludgeon while wading into any debate on the merits of Eva. It's pretty lolTomino and shit until you get to the movie, which is so lolTomino it's no longer shit.

Reached episode 40 in Macross 7

Man, I pity (and admire the balls of) the insane poor bastards who suffered through 50 episodes of SEED Destiny. How they could do that is beyond me. Macross 7 isn't horrible and it can be pretty entertaining occasionally (not to mention it has Mylene and teh Basara-sama instead of Kira and that other hirai sameface guy whose name I don't remember) but 40 goddamn episodes has been uphill struggle for the most part. I don't remember any other series which has taken more time for me to watch... I started watching this in...spring? Before or after I was in Japan, shit I don't even remember that. At any case months ago. But now I have only 9 eps to go!!!

I'm getting a well deserved break now that I reached this milepost. I'm going to watch Macross 7: Encore OVA for the first time now as well as Macross 7 The Movie: The Galaxy Is Calling Me as timelinewise they apparently take place around episodes 38-40. The film is totally worth it and would be for THAT SCENE (those who've seen it know what I mean) alone but I'm rather pumped for the Encore bonus episodes because they contain Fleet Of The Strongest Women which seems to get a lot praise even from those who don't particularly care for Macross 7 overall. That it's described as closer to original Macross in feel is good too.

Should be a good watch this night or tomorrow.

Twin Drive Sigma Aquarion wrote:Go tight! It's show time! Just shake it down and you'll be fine.

>replace one of the most legendary anime OPs of all time with B-tier song with no hook

All of my hate, Kawamori. A I SHI TE RUUUUUUUU jumping at me in pretty much every episode climax was one of the things that has kept me going with this show but now that has been replaced with the much more boring second op... when the OP didn't change with second cour I held hope they'd keep it but no, what a nasty surprise ep 19 had for me...

Twin Drive Sigma Aquarion wrote:You're thinking the second OVA.

...well damn, I almost forgot those. And the film...guess my flirt with Aquarion doesn't end with tv series after all.

Well, at this point all I expect from OVA is that apparently it'll be a) preachfest (about what exactly, it's not like there has been any..."moral" to Aquarion's "story" so far) and b) it'll have teh famous male pregnancy thing. Oh boy, can't wait

child of Lilith wrote:I've always hated those cut-out gags. No having them in the first show was the best thing about it.

Very much agreed. Hellsing Ultimate series has been pretty great so far (I think I haven't 7 and 8 either yet though) and huge improvement on the original series in most aspects... but those gags suck. Really, I understand point of Ultimate is to be faithful to the manga but if something sucks in the original you should be allowed to do some adaptation distillation.

Cutting the mood ruining and lame cut-out gags would've been improvement.

BrikHaus wrote:Going old school and watching Ideon. So far it's not super amazing or anything. I did like how the Buff Clan rolls up and starts killing everyone immediately.

Don't bother. Ideon is rubbish and in a sense worst thing I've seen from Tomino. Well yeah Garzey's Wing is complete clusterfuck of fail but at least it was entertaining with the dub - Ideon was torture via boredom and fail up to the point I dropped it. Really, nothing makes me question Anno's taste in anime more than how high he ranks the series (after Yamato and some Gundam(s) it was his favourite ever).

Go and watch the compilation film and Ideon: Be Invoked instead. You'll have a lot better experience with films. The compilation film is decent watch and it's revealing how well they can distill all plot and character progression (lol what progression) to so much shorter format.

Be Invoked is pretty damn good though and the ending really kicks ass. The final 10 minutes or so are simply great and iconic in particular.

edit:

almost forgot



Watched Six Angels aka one of those "Worst Anime Ever". Indeed, it was a piece of shit and straining on the eyes. I didn't feel that it was particularly lulzworthy though so I wouldnt necessarily recommend this like eg. Roots Search

Recently, I'm slowly making my way through Chobits. I say I'm at the halfway point, 10 episodes dubbed and 4 subbed already watched.

I'll probably comment on the show fully once I'm done, but right now, I have to puzzle on the sizable popularity this show receives so far. For a "Magical Girl" show (as JeseOtaku labels it), it sure is uncomfortable with the content it's bringing to itself; at first, it's a pure MG show (there's one where one of the main characters, Chi, is looking for underpants throughout most of the episode), with its' shallow characterizations and vapid plotting, but once in while, the show will suddenly go into the psychosis of Chi and her innocently hidden love for her owner, Hideki, who treats him like a little 3 year girl would treat her father, despite the fact that Hideki is not an ideal father figure. It also gets to the point where other characters, like the teacher, Takako, will be treated like a comic, ditzy teacher throughout most of the half I watched, but then, out of nowhere, the show would revel a character that apparently explains her vapidness, a development that appears not because of her personality, but because the show suddenly decided to give her a backstory for arbitrary reasons.

But here's lies the problem: These psychosis scenes are a complete contraction to structure the genre entails, and the anime treats scenes like this almost as if it wants to branch out of its' origins, to the point where it looks like Madhouse was treating the project like it was a huge mistake to partake in in the first place. As a result, as the show keep going, these scenes slowly take over the pacing of the show, where characters suddenly gain personalities, the story turns on a dime in order to make you care for characters that didn't have any characterizations in the first place, and the entire show puts more empathize on the surroundings of the characters and the situations they get themselves into, instead of crafting an somewhat organic relationship of our characters. It doesn't help that it switches BACK to the shallowness whenever it needed, hoping its' audeince won't notice, which almost violates the foundation the genre is suppose to do.

As it stands, it's a show I want to like more, and there's scenes I do respect because of how the characters interact with each other (sometimes themselves), but the personality problem I'm having lately is making it hard to indulge myself into its' universe. I've heard the second half is MUCH better, but I'm hoping it's because of events organically progressing, not because it tried to elevate a hopeless genre. This worked for Evangelion's favor, but so far, it's not working for Chobits's favor.

C.A.P. wrote:For a "Magical Girl" show (as JeseOtaku labels it), it sure is uncomfortable with the content it's bringing to itself

More magical girlfriend than magical girl.

Having read the manga first (through the magic of Amazon recommendations), I found the anime adaptation quite disappointing, at least as far as I followed it.

Mr. Tines wrote:More magical girlfriend than magical girl.

Whoops. My error.

The manga is excellent (I have both of the Dark Horse releases). And it has a deep plot in there. Although the anime does tend to look more on the comical side of things. I quite enjoyed both of them but the manga does win over the anime unfortunately. But don't judge the anime until you get to the end of it. By the end you'll go "I'm glad I watched that!"

^I'll take your word. Like I said, I have heard good things about the second half, so we'll see if the problems that plauge me will either wither away gradually, or just pile up more unneeded drama to an already inadequate idea in the first place (in the anime that is--I have no idea if the manga have these problems or not)

I wanted to like Chobits, but I ended up hating it mostly because of the ending, which contradicted everything that came before it.

Well it IS a romance... Everything prior was just questioning whether it was moral or not.