General anime discussion thread

[kuwisdelu]

Is anyone else watching AKB0048?

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

Is anyone else watching AKB0048?

Is it any good? I've pretty much dismissed it without a second thought.

[BigWords]

I skipped straight past it because of its' origins as a tie-in to a musical group.

There's a lot of talk about Evangelion around the web, and I figured I might as well bite the bullet and catch up on the franchise, but... Eugh. Bored already. I picked up Death And Rebirth, The End Of Evangelion and You Are (Not) Alone, and they all seem to be telling variations on the same story rather than going anywhere with the material. This is why I resist the long-running franchises, and am pondering whether the television series is even worth looking for now, even though everyone seems to be raving about it in reviews.

Also watched Perfect Blue at the weekend again, and I'm not sure why but it isn't as impressive (either visually or for its' storytelling) as I seem to remember. Blood The Last Vampire was entertaining, and I now have a choice between <<Dead Leaves>> and Karas... (going out and buying a stack of anime DVDs is way easier than hunting for them online)

[Snowball2695]

I finally finished Soul Eater!
It sucks now that I'm done with it, but at least I have Black Butler.

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by Dawnstorm

Is it any good? I've pretty much dismissed it without a second thought.

It's Kawamori. I'll trust him to at least make it interesting.

Originally Posted by BigWords

There's a lot of talk about Evangelion around the web, and I figured I might as well bite the bullet and catch up on the franchise, but... Eugh. Bored already. I picked up Death And Rebirth, The End Of Evangelion and You Are (Not) Alone, and they all seem to be telling variations on the same story rather than going anywhere with the material. This is why I resist the long-running franchises, and am pondering whether the television series is even worth looking for now, even though everyone seems to be raving about it in reviews.

I highly encourage you to give it a second chance. No piece of art has impacted my life more than Neon Genesis Evangelion.

It's not really a long-running franchise in the same way that something like Gundam is. There are only two things that are really canon:

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion - this is the original 26 episode TV series, ending with the movie End of Evangelion. Watching EoE without having seen the series means it will make no sense. It's the culmination of all the 26 episodes that came befo it. Death and Rebirth is just half a summary of the series and half the first part of EoE. It's mostly redundant and was mostly only meant to introduce the setup of the series to new fans before EoE.

2. Rebuild of Evangelion or New Movie Edition - a retelling of the series that was starting a few years ago through movies. It's planned for four movies, of which only the first two have been released. The third is planned for a Fall release this year. The first movie retells episodes 1-6 of the series quite faithfully, but makes the Ramiel fight much more badass. The second approximately follows the action arc from the series, but begins to differ significantly in events. The third movie will likely be completely new territory.

Don't worry about the new movies for now as they're incomplete.

Just watch Neon Genesis Evangelion and then End of Evangelion.

[BigWords]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

Just watch Neon Genesis Evangelion and then End of Evangelion.

I really should ask in here before going out and buying things for the sole reason that they have massive robots beating each other up...

Thanks. Added to the list.

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by BigWords

I really should ask in here before going out and buying things for the sole reason that they have massive robots beating each other up...

Thanks. Added to the list.

Episodes 1-6 may feel a bit slow to you if you've seen Evangelion 1.11: You Can (Not) Advance (the New Movie Edition retelling of the same events), but things'll speed up once Asuka appears in episode 8.

Episodes 7-19 comprise the "action arc" that is mostly good ol' mecha with lots of hints toward the greater depths of the story, while beginning to get darker toward the end. Episode 16 gives you the first glimpse of the more mindscrewy parts to come. Episode 19 is probably the real WHAM episode of the series, and the turning point in to the descent arc.

Episode 19 and 20 begin the "descent" arc in which the show gets progressively darker and characters more fucked up. Episodes 25 and 26 become pure introspective mindfuck. (If you find them a not entirely satisfying conclusion, don't worry; it's not the end yet.)

The movie End of Evangelion concludes the series. There is still debate over whether depicts different events from episodes 25 and 26 (referred to as EoTV by fans, while the two halves of the movie EoE are officially numbered episodes 25' and 26') or if episodes 25 and 26 depict parts of instrumentality not shown in EoE.

Supposedly, the events of EoE were the original intended ending, before budget constraints forced director Hideaki Anno and Gainax to do episodes 25 and 26 as they are in EoTV instead. The next-episode previews (which show unfinished concept art for EoE) support this. Both endings are technically canon. Some of the artwork and text shown during instrumentality in EoE are fan letters received by Gainax in reaction to EoTV (some of which is hate mail regarding their disappointment and anger with the TV ending). Personally, I like EoTV too, but EoE is is an absolute artistic masterpiece.

It is, IMO, the greatest movie of all time. (I understand of course that it certainly won't be to everyone's taste, so I don't mind if you hate it.) But it is certainly the one that has most impacted my own life.



And it's definitely an anime every anime fan should see at some point. It's as deeply impacted all anime that has come after it in the same way Citizen Kane has impacted live action movies in the US. (The number of Rei Ayanami expies out there is probably the most obvious evidence of this, though a fairly superficial one.)

[Dawnstorm]

Okay, Sengoku Collection has played around with various styles since the beginning. It's always sort of clever, fun, and ultimately trite. This week was no different, but it probably hit all my spots: colourful as late-sixties pop-psychodelia, a plot loosely based on Alice in Wonderland, suffused with the spirit of the theatre of the absurd, and all in the service for an important message: eating rice is good. This show won't end up among my favourites. But it's better than I expected after episode one. It's playfully recreating experiments of the past. You've seen it all before, but never quite that light-hearted and wacky. Watch it when you're bored and can't think of anything better to do.

[MVK]

I would agree on Evangelion. 1-26 then EoE, otherwise you won't get much out of it. I enjoyed the new series quite a bit. The writer intentionally started by making it seem like it's just a retelling of the original story, so the changes in the story have more impact when they become obvious.

I admit I also liked it because there was an actual reason the giant robots look the way they do, and because it manages to touch on just how much kid put into that position would end up pretty messed up.

[Lissibith]

Originally Posted by LOG

Is it just me, or does every notable male in a Clamp series have really long legs?
Noticed it when I was watching X, long legs, long legs everywhere.

Hahaha, yeah. Their adult male characters anyway. Normally I think it gives everything a very graceful look but sometimes (here I am thinking specifically of Fuma running around that chain-link fence) it looks a little ungainly - like they'd be really top-heavy and just fall over.

[MVK]

Just finished up Darker Than Black. Very cool anime. Kinda sad to be done. Now to decide what comes next. Noir probably, or Ergo Proxy.

[Shadow Dragon]

I love Ergo Proxy. It does start off kinda slow but after a few episodes, it really picks up.

[Dawnstorm]

Ergo Proxy can be anything from mindnumbingly tedious to absolutely brilliant. Do watch it; it's got a style of its own.

Noir is one of my favourites.

[Shadow Dragon]

Originally Posted by Dawnstorm

Ergo Proxy can be anything from mindnumbingly tedious to absolutely brilliant. Do watch it; it's got a style of its own.

The sad part is that my favorite episode is probably one that most people would consider tedious.

*Slight Spoiler* The one where Re-L, Vincent and Pino get stranded in the middle of nowhere because the wind refuses to pick up. It was a great study into Re-L's character.

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Shadow Dragon

*Slight Spoiler* The one where Re-L, Vincent and Pino get stranded in the middle of nowhere because the wind refuses to pick up. It was a great study into Re-L's character.

I actually like that episode (if I remember the right one; it's been a while). I can't remember exactly when I thought it was tedious; I think mostly when they talk philosophy.

[LOG]

So, I've been enjoying Shuffle! more than I thought I would, but I'm kind of confused. In the series, the kids have final exams, they come back the next day for the test results, and then they have another day or two of being taught before they come and clean the place before summer break.
I'm honestly confused, why continue teaching after a final exam before summer break?

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by LOG

So, I've been enjoying Shuffle! more than I thought I would, but I'm kind of confused. In the series, the kids have final exams, they come back the next day for the test results, and then they have another day or two of being taught before they come and clean the place before summer break.
I'm honestly confused, why continue teaching after a final exam before summer break?

The Japanese school year doesn't end in summer. Summer break ends the first trimester, and the second tirmester ends around Christmas, I think. Then, they graduate in spring. I'm not an expert; someone else may know more.

[SomethingOrOther]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

And it's definitely an anime every anime fan should see at some point. It's as deeply impacted all anime that has come after it in the same way Citizen Kane has impacted live action movies in the US. (The number of Rei Ayanami expies out there is probably the most obvious evidence of this, though a fairly superficial one.)

I'm in the revisory stage of a shortish short with a character named Rei. But this Rei is nothing like that Rei (or, those Reis) at all. I love the name.

[Shadow Dragon]

So, I watched the first episode of Deadman Wonderland and of Casshern Sins on Toonami last night. Both have a lot of promise. Deadman seems like one of the darkest anime they've ever shown on Toonami or Adult Swim and the first episode did a great job of giving character to the villains.

For Casshern Sins, I loved the animation. The retro anime style hair was a little off putting at first but the fluid combat and style they use when it gets intense is amazing.

[BigWords]

Originally Posted by MVK

The writer intentionally started by making it seem like it's just a retelling of the original story, so the changes in the story have more impact when they become obvious.

I have the series now. Just trying to find time to sit down and watch it.

Originally Posted by Shadow Dragon

For Casshern Sins, I loved the animation. The retro anime style hair was a little off putting at first but the fluid combat and style they use when it gets intense is amazing.

Is that the same characters / story as Casshern the live-action film? I really liked that, so I may need to find the anime...

[Shadow Dragon]

Originally Posted by BigWords

Is that the same characters / story as Casshern the live-action film? I really liked that, so I may need to find the anime...

I don't know about the live-action movie version but a friend of mine did say that it's story is a lot different than the original ova's was.

The only part of the show that does worry me a bit is the little girl. She has potential to be a good, cute character or a really annoying character, depending on how they handle her.

[LOG]

Been greatly enjoying Birdy the Mighty: Decode.

It takes itself very seriously, and while it isn't afraid to kill people, it also never descends into gore or grimdark.
The series also isn't one for explaining itself, and I kind of like that, partly because they know how far they can push my suspension of disbelief with some things, so I don't mind that I'm left to conclude certain things on my own.

Also, the soundtrack is fantastic.

[kuwisdelu]

This technically has nothing to do with anime, but considering how common a trope it is in anime, it seemed like the appropriate place to share it. Last weekend I met a real-live girl with heterochromia iridum. Brown and green. And the green was very, very green. Like, anime green.

[Dreity]

That's so cool!

[Shadow Dragon]

That is pretty cool. I love eyes that are like that.