Anime

[Bibly]

It's a rather strange series called Simoun. Saw the first few episodes and found it rather bizarre but ever so slightly interesting. Plus, y'know, lesbians*.

Edit: Beaten by Zapp$ter!

Edit 2: I didn't start it solely based on the fact it had lesbians in it just so you know. I read the synopsis for it somewhere and it sounded vaguely interesting for being so wierd so I decided to give it a try. The lesbians bit was a bonus.

Like the lesbians in The Second Raid, eh? They were incestual lesbians mind, so one notch 'up' .

[Mr.Jeff]

Like the lesbians in The Second Raid, eh? They were incestual lesbians mind, so one notch 'up' .

Even worse/better. In order to get the 2 seater fighter type ships to work the pilots have to french each other.

Synopsis:

In the world of Daikuuriku, everyone is born female, and chooses which sex they wish to become at age 17. In this world, the peaceful theocracy of Simulacrum is guarded by magical flying machines called "Simoun", which can only be piloted by young girls who haven`t chosen a sex yet. The Simoun can activate a magical power known as "Ri Maajon" that can destroy large numbers of enemies at once. When the industrialized nation of Argentum decides that it needs to invade Simulacrum to acquire the secret of the Simoun, war breaks out, drawing the Simoun "Sibyllae" (priestesses who fly the Simoun) into a lopsided battle. Because the war is raging, the Sibyllae are granted an exemption from choosing a permanent sex for as long as they`re willing to keep flying. Aaeru, a determined young Sibylla with a mysterious past, and Neviril, the leader of Chor Tempest, Simulacrum`s most elite Simoun squadron, must lead their fellow priestesses through conflict both within their ranks and in the sky.

[Retroid]

Anybody watch Ranma? What really gets to me is Ryoga's messed up morals and how he gets away with starting fights with Ranma and hiding behind Akane. Where's his comeuppance? He just blames everything on Ranma and can't take responsibility.

[imp]

Could someone help me with an episode of Samurai Champloo? I'm s bit onfused with this episode:

Its number 23 and the travellers have stumbled upon a 500 year old mineshaft. Everyone is a zombie but noone realises it until the end. Right at the end the head zombie hits his banjo and an asteroid wipes everyone out. The end. Yet in the very next episode (about baseball) its as if nothing has happened. eh? It didnt seem to be a joke or am I missing the point

That episode is pretty much just weird, I wouldn't pay it too much attention;

The guy with the shimasen is supposed to be parodic of the man who made the earthbound games (can't remember his name right now), for some reason. Apparently he invested a huge fortune and loads of time into searching for the treasure of the heike or some distant clan, and was quite a notorious eccentric. I have no idea what he has to do with zombies though. Enjoy the last three episodes, I think they're some of the best.

And Sabreman: I think it's to do with respecting the author as well, as apparently many authors don't like the process of 'flopping' manga for western audiences as it may show up flaws in the drawing due to perspective and whatnot. I think it's generally acceptable for most manga releases to read right to left nowadays, honestly, it only takes a few tankobons to get used to it.

The final episode of sola is out!

[AnimeExpert2003]

Aww, Animanda have ceased and/or desisted subbing Death Note. Who else does it good? I want to finish watching it already.

[Retroid]

Just try Stage 6 or something.

[Mr.Jeff]

Aww, Animanda have ceased and/or desisted subbing Death Note. Who else does it good? I want to finish watching it already.

Ruberia did that last 2 episodes fairly well. Quick search on tokyotosho should get you the links.

Sola 13:

Well finally over. Not entirely surprised by the ending. Sort of guessed that one or both of them was going to die really. Quite nice finish to the series although I must admit that I started laughing when Koyori and Aono turn to look at the table with the cans right at the end. They both turn as if they hear some kind of noise but, I mean how can 2 cans on a table from that far away where you couldn't even see the shapes possibly make any kind of noise at all. Still great series though.

[imp]

Ruberia did that last 2 episodes fairly well. Quick search on tokyotosho should get you the links.

Sola 13:

Well finally over. Not entirely surprised by the ending. Sort of guessed that one or both of them was going to die really. Quite nice finish to the series although I must admit that I started laughing when Koyori and Aono turn to look at the table with the cans right at the end. They both turn as if they hear some kind of noise but, I mean how can 2 cans on a table from that far away where you couldn't even see the shapes possibly make any kind of noise at all. Still great series though.

Yeah, I thought the same.

Quite a nice, peaceful end to the series. Very fitting. I only wonder if Aono lost her memories or not.

Darker than black 12 was interesting, we're finally getting some back story details for the main characters, episode 13 looks to be interesting with the focus on Yin.

[Mr.Jeff]

Yeah, I thought the same.

Quite a nice, peaceful end to the series. Very fitting. I only wonder if Aono lost her memories or not.

I don't think she did. When she talks to Mana on the roof of the school she says something like "I'm able to walk under the sky thanks to those two" which sort of implies that she remembers what happened.

Edit: The FMP novels are amazing.

Edit 2: They're status has been upgraded to super-awesome when I realised I've been reading for 4 hours straight.

Edit 3: Argh! Dammit Bibly I need more! This is even worse than the bloody plot-twist in Haruhi.

[Ryan]

I tried reading the translated manga a bit, but it's done in that completely wanky wannabe way where the everything reads right to left. Balls to that.

Wannabe? They're scanulations, so they're not exactly going to flip it.

Personally, I find it more natural from right to left. But then I'm a leftie so that'll always feel better to me.

[Bibly]

Edit: The FMP novels are amazing. 8)

Edit 2: They're status has been upgraded to super-awesome when I realised I've been reading for 4 hours straight.

Edit 3: Argh! Dammit Bibly I need more! This is even worse than the bloody plot-twist in Haruhi.

Eep, had to delete that spoiler quick in order to reply to your post, seeing as I hadn't seen that ep. yet .

The novels ARE good though aren't they? You can see where the series gets its quality from ;P. I'm glad you've enjoyed it thus far .

[Lorfarius]

Discussion about Samurai Champloo ending:

Im gobsmacked. The last 3 episodes were *&%$ brilliant. No main characters killed, no over the top confusathon story like every other anime known to man. Just straight to the point and a rare yet great happy ending. For a time I thought Jin was dead and buried but for him to come back like that.... I really cant understand all these naysayers that claimed the show went down hill towards the end. It just kept getting better in my eyes with hardly a low spot. The only odd moment for me was the zombie story but even that was good in its own right. Eek I need another series like this stat! Is there anything similar besides Bebop as Ive seen it.

[Meh]

Nice to see some Champloo love going on.

It really is a great little series.

Basketball episode ftw.

[imp]

Nice to see some Champloo love going on.

It really is a great little series.

Baseball episode ftw.

Mmm, I hope they do a movie for it, like they did with Bebop. I always want more Champloo.

Are you in the market for more action orientated animes Lofarius, or will other genres suffice?

EDIT: My first ever Anime toy arrived in the post this morning!

MIKURU BEEEEAMU!

and um... as seen here.

[Lorfarius]

Mmm, I hope they do a movie for it, like they did with Bebop. I always want more Champloo.

Are you in the market for more action orientated animes Lofarius, or will other genres suffice?

So long as its a good series with a great story I dont mind what it is Just started to watch Full Metal Alchemist so I could do with another series after this one finishes.

Ill probably be hated for this but I think Champloo was actually better than Bebop. The fact that SC had a thin but long rolling story ark in hte background helped a great deal. You knew they were on a journey and that it had an end whereas in Bebop the ending is just dropped on you out of the blue. Most unsatisfying.

[AnimeExpert2003]

I want that Mikuru statuette thingy. Her foot looks shit though.

[Talvalin]

Ill probably be hated for this but I think Champloo was actually better than Bebop. The fact that SC had a thin but long rolling story ark in hte background helped a great deal. You knew they were on a journey and that it had an end whereas in Bebop the ending is just dropped on you out of the blue. Most unsatisfying.

I'd have to agree. Bebop was too episodic for my liking. Shamploo had the occasional crazy stuff (the zombies, the baseball [which is really what Battlefield Baseball should have been like but wasn't]), but you knew that it was going somewhere in the end even if that did all involve some blatant contrivances.

As for manga, I whinged to Meh about this ages ago. I prefer reading left-to-right because that's how my brain has been trained to read - unflipped manga does my head in. Having said that, I read the original Dark Horse versions of Gunsmith Cats and Blade Of The Immortal and I noticed a lot of errors. Guns/swords appearing in the wrong hand, drivers on the wrong side of the car (er, no analogue in BotI), which makes me wonder what the hell the editors were doing.

[FargalEX]

Gurren Lagann must have something up it's sleeve. It makes the next episode looks like the last and we've just gotten past the half way point. SPIN ON!

[Ryan]

Discussion about Samurai Champloo ending:

Im gobsmacked. The last 3 episodes were *&%$ brilliant. No main characters killed, no over the top confusathon story like every other anime known to man. Just straight to the point and a rare yet great happy ending. For a time I thought Jin was dead and buried but for him to come back like that.... I really cant understand all these naysayers that claimed the show went down hill towards the end. It just kept getting better in my eyes with hardly a low spot. The only odd moment for me was the zombie story but even that was good in its own right. Eek I need another series like this stat! Is there anything similar besides Bebop as Ive seen it.

Ending was great, if a little predictable. However some of the later eps were really odd.

[Blue Screen Error]

Gurren Lagann must have something up it's sleeve. It makes the next episode looks like the last and we've just gotten past the half way point. SPIN ON!

after the next one its rumoured to have a 7 year time jump basically putting it at the point it was in the first few minutes of the first episode

[Lorfarius]

Going to go for one of the following series next, which is the best:

Trigun

Samurai Gun

Full Metal Panic

[Djx]

Aintitcool.com's regular anime column has a write-up on the recent Anime Expo licensing announcements:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33220

Interesting read. Some of the new shows are being picked up quickly to attempt to build on their current hype via Bittorrent.

For those who like to purchase their anime, MVM's monthly boxset releases have Gungrave, Samurai Champloo and Last Exile out soon. I'll recommend Gungrave to anyone a thousand times over. Haven't seen the others yet so that's something to look forward to.

Picked up the Chobits, Love Hina and Samurai X boxsets a while back. It's pricey though at about £40+ a boxset.

HMV/Amazon are your best bet.

[Ryan]

Going to go for one of the following series next, which is the best:

Trigun

Samurai Gun

Full Metal Panic

Trigun and FMP are both great. With FMP you'll want to watch the sequels after.

[Ryan]

Sola 13:

Well finally over. Not entirely surprised by the ending. Sort of guessed that one or both of them was going to die really. Quite nice finish to the series although I must admit that I started laughing when Koyori and Aono turn to look at the table with the cans right at the end. They both turn as if they hear some kind of noise but, I mean how can 2 cans on a table from that far away where you couldn't even see the shapes possibly make any kind of noise at all. Still great series though.

What was Ash from Pokemon doing in it?

[Meh]

Going to go for one of the following series next, which is the best:

Trigun

Samurai Gun

Full Metal Panic

Trigun is *excellent*. Don't let the comedy of the first bunch of episodes put you off - it gets fucking crazy.

Jesus, Black Lagoon has an awesome intro. Really makes you want to watch the show.

[imp]

Trigun is *excellent*. Don't let the comedy of the first bunch of episodes put you off - it gets fucking crazy.

Jesus, Black Lagoon has an awesome intro. Really makes you want to watch the show.

I think I've seen the first 10 minutes of the second season of Black Lagoon, found it a bit weird that it was supposed to be thailand, since it didn't look anything like thailand. Haven't investigated further though, what's the general consensus on the show?

I'll add my name to the Champloo > Bebop crowd too. I thought it may have had something to do with me watching champloo first, but then again, I'm not a massive fan of sci-fi, so that may be it.

[Mr.Jeff]

Black Lagoon's a fairly decent action show. Guns and violence and the more bizarre elements of the criminal underworld are the theme. Not much back history of the characters that I remember but you don't really need it for something like this. Good series though. I think I stopped about halfway through the second series for some reason though.

[imp]

and then forcing myself to watch the rest of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni no matter how disturbing or fucked up it gets.

I was just looking back over the thread and saw this. Made me smile for some reason.

Haven't watched any more yet. And now I'm too scared too. I vow to at least finish the arc tomorrow.

also, this is amazing:

[imp]

The last episode of Nodame Cantabile is out...

Pretty good last episode, pretty much what I was expecting. I wonder if they'll do another series, since the manga continued... fantastic series though. Made me want to listen to more classical music, I'm so easily influenced!

A couple of things about Higurashi -

WORST. ED. EVER. I really can't stand to watch it, the mangled english is just too embarrassing.

I think part of what makes it so horrific is that you're forced to watch because of the subtitles. Entirely because I don't understand Japanese, but still, as a sub-viewer...

I thought the bit where Shion pissed herself after stabbing Satoko to death. That was a pretty weird resolution to the arc. I still have no idea whether to believe Shion or Mion. I think I'd like to believe Mion, Shion was just paranoid/crazy because of her unrequited love. The arc also shed some interesting light on Rika, I wonder what the stuff she got injected with was. I'm assuming it's some sort of suicidal drug, considering what happened to keiichi after he was injected in the first arc.

[Mr.Jeff]

A couple of things about Higurashi -

WORST. ED. EVER. I really can't stand to watch it, the mangled english is just too embarrassing.

I think part of what makes it so horrific is that you're forced to watch because of the subtitles. Entirely because I don't understand Japanese, but still, as a sub-viewer...

I thought the bit where Shion pissed herself after stabbing Satoko to death. That was a pretty weird resolution to the arc. I still have no idea whether to believe Shion or Mion. I think I'd like to believe Mion, Shion was just paranoid/crazy because of her unrequited love. The arc also shed some interesting light on Rika, I wonder what the stuff she got injected with was. I'm assuming it's some sort of suicidal drug, considering what happened to keiichi after he was injected in the first arc.

Yes, the ending is unfortunately really bad.

Lots of speculation! Can't talk about any of it until you finish the final arc. The most intersting thing about the Shion arc I found though was the ending to it. It finishes with Keichi in the hospital after being stabbed and at this point Shion's died from falling off the balcony and Mion was throw to the bottom of the pit and killed. But when "Shion" comes to torture Keichi in the hospital, she's wearing the white robe she forced Mion to wear when she threw her down the pit. So does that mean Mion was the on torturing Keichi in the end for perhaps not recognising it was Shion doing all the previous stuff? Or it could just be a small error on the animators part.

The scene with Satoko and Shion stabbing her was horrible though. Much worse than the fingernails I thought.