Back on another forum a new Anime section had sprung up with only a single thread to fill it, and so I submitted the following to that forum. Well, I was
looking at it and was rather impressed with everything that I put into it, so I felt that it would be worthy of posting it here as well. So, here is my own
thoughts and opinions on the anime that I've seen and could remember off the top of my head.
I'm currently watching Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. An oldie but goody from Gainax that predates the production Neon Genesis Evangelion. So far, so
good. The characters are colorful without being too overbearing, and the English voice actor for Jean did a nice job of getting the accent right (though
sometimes I wonder if they are pronouncing his name right - French is weird like that).
My only quibble is with the English voice actors for Gargoyle and Capt. Nemo - their voices are all but completely inexpressive. Throw a little drama into it,
guys! Sheesh.
Inukami was fun. Thirteen episodes of seemingly pointless fluff that is reminiscent of Uresei Yatsura, followed by another thirteen episodes of solid
development and serious action. Though at times it felt easy to lose interest due to all the in-your-face showcasing of Japanese cultural quirks and otaku.
Big WTF O_o; when we see all the freaks and weirdos come out of the darkness to save the day.
Recently I've seen Wolf and Spice. That was a good one, though the ending felt somewhat unresolved: we never see if Horo makes it to the northern country.
Other quibble is that it feels like they spent too much time on the final conflict - it just felt like too much to spend on a (albeit dire) financial problem
when there is bound to be more hair-raising adventures to come.
I can't say that I liked Code Geass. It's nothing but a huge series of Xanatos Gambits (reference to the character from the American animation,
Gargoyles, and his tendency to make elaborate plots that either succeed of blow up in his face). Also, I simply did not care for what happened to Euphemia.
You'd think that Lelouch would have had more common sense after what happened with Mao.
Recently I've stopped following Naruto due to what I've been hearing about the manga. Seriously, too much negativity there. What the hell is it with
the Japanese psyche that all the characters you've come to know and love in the story must die. I know poignance counts, but damn! I'll stick with
the fanfictions for now.
Bleach... Haven't touched it lately, because, quite simply, the length of that series daunts me. I never got into anything that long and drawn out after
Dragon Ball Z.
Deathnote... Uhm, no. As compelling as the plot may be, it's not really my kind of story.
For pure awesome, nothing beats Eureka Seven. It's like as if the director took a hard look at Neon Genesis Evangelion and decided to do something like
it, only much more positive. That and you also gotta love the initial hook of sky-surfing giant robots having aerial battles! And the mecha designs are pure
eye-candy - especially the Gekko-Go. That thing looks like somebody was definitely inspired by Klingon Birds of Prey from Star Trek. Pure awesome! And you
just gotta admit it, you love the ending. Hooray for WAFF!
Steamboy COMPLETELY FLOORED ME. The action! The eye candy! (... Moving... Parts... HUGE! @_@ ) This movie is 100% pure awesome and it is definitely what
I consider a shining example of what anime is supposed to be.
Melody of Oblivion came off as being warped from the get-go. From the very first episode, you know that the series is extremely risque. That, combined with
metaphorical ass-pulls that smacks of Revolutionary Girl Utena. Plus, I didn't like the ending. Why the hell would you stay on a ship that is about to
cook-off when you really don't have to. Sorry, but risk of time/interdimensional travel or not, I'd take my chances and try to get the hell off the
ship. Some chance of survival beats no chance.
Full Metal Panic is fun, too. We go from On-And-Off romantic high-jinks and action in the first series, to flat-out comedy in the second, followed by solid
action and tension in the third run (though it sucks what happened to those sisters that Guaron raised).
I tried following series like Uresei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2, but it got to the point where I just gave it up. If your show is going to have so little substance
to it, then you might as well go balls-out in the fine tradition of American animation like Rocko's Modern Life, Eek the Cat, and Ren and Stimpy. Utterly
mindless, but thoroughly entertaining.
Anything Miyazaki touches is solid gold - you might as well call the man the King Midas of Anime. Sure, some of his stuff is just for kids, but that's
what really makes those particular gems shine. Other things that I love about Miyazaki's work: awesome heroines and a distinct lack of senseless death.
Neon Genesis Evangelion. People say that it's a staple of anime. I feel otherwise (see my next entry). Sure, it starts out awesome, but steadily we
begin to descend into the director's own mind which is chock full of self doubt, self pity, and self loathing. Excuse me while I go puke LCL.
*BLOOOOOOORGH!*
Nothing is as stunning and provocative as Akira. The brutality is realistic without being over-the-top, and the story behind it all makes it worth it for us
more squeamish people. Early English versions were confusing and hard to follow, and a terrible coloring job made things difficult to make out at times. The
newer English scripts and recolors, though, blow the old versions out of the water. The complicated schemes are easier to follow and I've been seeing
things that I was having trouble making out before. (Yep, that was indeed an arm blown off by a High Explosive 20mm round!) Definitely something to have in
your collection, though you'll want to keep it out of reach of children.
Armitage the Third: Polymatrix is like Akira in the graphic-violence-versus-awesome-story department, but it's still not quite as gritty. Besides, I think
the way it ends is simply awesome. The idea of two people coming from entirely different places, both fighting for their humanity, and meeting in the midst of
their own personal battles, is very cool and makes for awesome story-telling.
The sequel, Dual Matrix, is nowhere nearly as good, but it is interesting to see where Ross and Naomi end up. It doesn't help that art is drawn slightly
differently this time, and they couldn't get the same voice actors for Sylibus and Armitage. Ross feels more like a side-character in this one, which also
cheapens the deal, and I would have loved to have seen more of what their daughter, Yoko, could really do (she's got to have more than just a photographic
memory). Seeing the card pinned to the refrigerator at the end was cute, though: "Happy 8th Birthday Mommy!"
That's all that I can think of for now. Go ye thereforth and discuss!
looking at it and was rather impressed with everything that I put into it, so I felt that it would be worthy of posting it here as well. So, here is my own
thoughts and opinions on the anime that I've seen and could remember off the top of my head.
I'm currently watching Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. An oldie but goody from Gainax that predates the production Neon Genesis Evangelion. So far, so
good. The characters are colorful without being too overbearing, and the English voice actor for Jean did a nice job of getting the accent right (though
sometimes I wonder if they are pronouncing his name right - French is weird like that).
My only quibble is with the English voice actors for Gargoyle and Capt. Nemo - their voices are all but completely inexpressive. Throw a little drama into it,
guys! Sheesh.
Inukami was fun. Thirteen episodes of seemingly pointless fluff that is reminiscent of Uresei Yatsura, followed by another thirteen episodes of solid
development and serious action. Though at times it felt easy to lose interest due to all the in-your-face showcasing of Japanese cultural quirks and otaku.
Big WTF O_o; when we see all the freaks and weirdos come out of the darkness to save the day.
Recently I've seen Wolf and Spice. That was a good one, though the ending felt somewhat unresolved: we never see if Horo makes it to the northern country.
Other quibble is that it feels like they spent too much time on the final conflict - it just felt like too much to spend on a (albeit dire) financial problem
when there is bound to be more hair-raising adventures to come.
I can't say that I liked Code Geass. It's nothing but a huge series of Xanatos Gambits (reference to the character from the American animation,
Gargoyles, and his tendency to make elaborate plots that either succeed of blow up in his face). Also, I simply did not care for what happened to Euphemia.
You'd think that Lelouch would have had more common sense after what happened with Mao.
Recently I've stopped following Naruto due to what I've been hearing about the manga. Seriously, too much negativity there. What the hell is it with
the Japanese psyche that all the characters you've come to know and love in the story must die. I know poignance counts, but damn! I'll stick with
the fanfictions for now.
Bleach... Haven't touched it lately, because, quite simply, the length of that series daunts me. I never got into anything that long and drawn out after
Dragon Ball Z.
Deathnote... Uhm, no. As compelling as the plot may be, it's not really my kind of story.
For pure awesome, nothing beats Eureka Seven. It's like as if the director took a hard look at Neon Genesis Evangelion and decided to do something like
it, only much more positive. That and you also gotta love the initial hook of sky-surfing giant robots having aerial battles! And the mecha designs are pure
eye-candy - especially the Gekko-Go. That thing looks like somebody was definitely inspired by Klingon Birds of Prey from Star Trek. Pure awesome! And you
just gotta admit it, you love the ending. Hooray for WAFF!
Steamboy COMPLETELY FLOORED ME. The action! The eye candy! (... Moving... Parts... HUGE! @_@ ) This movie is 100% pure awesome and it is definitely what
I consider a shining example of what anime is supposed to be.
Melody of Oblivion came off as being warped from the get-go. From the very first episode, you know that the series is extremely risque. That, combined with
metaphorical ass-pulls that smacks of Revolutionary Girl Utena. Plus, I didn't like the ending. Why the hell would you stay on a ship that is about to
cook-off when you really don't have to. Sorry, but risk of time/interdimensional travel or not, I'd take my chances and try to get the hell off the
ship. Some chance of survival beats no chance.
Full Metal Panic is fun, too. We go from On-And-Off romantic high-jinks and action in the first series, to flat-out comedy in the second, followed by solid
action and tension in the third run (though it sucks what happened to those sisters that Guaron raised).
I tried following series like Uresei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2, but it got to the point where I just gave it up. If your show is going to have so little substance
to it, then you might as well go balls-out in the fine tradition of American animation like Rocko's Modern Life, Eek the Cat, and Ren and Stimpy. Utterly
mindless, but thoroughly entertaining.
Anything Miyazaki touches is solid gold - you might as well call the man the King Midas of Anime. Sure, some of his stuff is just for kids, but that's
what really makes those particular gems shine. Other things that I love about Miyazaki's work: awesome heroines and a distinct lack of senseless death.
Neon Genesis Evangelion. People say that it's a staple of anime. I feel otherwise (see my next entry). Sure, it starts out awesome, but steadily we
begin to descend into the director's own mind which is chock full of self doubt, self pity, and self loathing. Excuse me while I go puke LCL.
*BLOOOOOOORGH!*
Nothing is as stunning and provocative as Akira. The brutality is realistic without being over-the-top, and the story behind it all makes it worth it for us
more squeamish people. Early English versions were confusing and hard to follow, and a terrible coloring job made things difficult to make out at times. The
newer English scripts and recolors, though, blow the old versions out of the water. The complicated schemes are easier to follow and I've been seeing
things that I was having trouble making out before. (Yep, that was indeed an arm blown off by a High Explosive 20mm round!) Definitely something to have in
your collection, though you'll want to keep it out of reach of children.
Armitage the Third: Polymatrix is like Akira in the graphic-violence-versus-awesome-story department, but it's still not quite as gritty. Besides, I think
the way it ends is simply awesome. The idea of two people coming from entirely different places, both fighting for their humanity, and meeting in the midst of
their own personal battles, is very cool and makes for awesome story-telling.
The sequel, Dual Matrix, is nowhere nearly as good, but it is interesting to see where Ross and Naomi end up. It doesn't help that art is drawn slightly
differently this time, and they couldn't get the same voice actors for Sylibus and Armitage. Ross feels more like a side-character in this one, which also
cheapens the deal, and I would have loved to have seen more of what their daughter, Yoko, could really do (she's got to have more than just a photographic
memory). Seeing the card pinned to the refrigerator at the end was cute, though: "Happy 8th Birthday Mommy!"
That's all that I can think of for now. Go ye thereforth and discuss!
