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Finished Kino's Journey, now just have the movies pending.
Excellent overall. Last episode was quite the shock, but the entertainment level it gave me went as expected.
Sakura is a very interesting character, but perhaps a bit too neutral to leave a strong impression.

Perhaps I'm alone, but each time Kino went inside buildings with Hermes I kept wondering what was happening. Clearly, as an object with feelings he doesn't deserve to be left out, but Laughing

. Never mind that the people who created it don't even enter their own houses with their shoes on!
It's also kind of complicated to accept a few things, like for example, the technology of isolated small countries being that advanced. But in a way that spiced the series up a bit.

A few personal points to this for curing my hangover. Thank you very much.

Now off to Twilight Arterial. This is bound to be boring, but there's hope if the dark haired girl do some fanservice poses.

I prefer watching on TV than online.

Currently watching Ultimate Muscle, very funny in english dubs but our country (U.K) sucks in terms of any decent anime or getting hold of a channel. At least the closest thing they can get to Anime is Ultimate Muscle. Pukes Crying or Very sad

Just finished Fortune Arterial and while I liked the show overall I thought that the ending was... how do I put this... nonexistent? The final episode doesn't resolve the main conflict of the series in any way. In fact, its really the equivalent of the characters saying: "I don't want to deal with this right now, let's go do something else." Maybe a second season is in the works.

Anyway, I have started watching Shiki, which is very good so far. I especially loved the episode where spoiler[Ozaki records his experimentation on Kyoko], it really drew me in. I'm reserving judgment until I have seen the whole thing though, because this is the kind of show that can be completely ruined by a bad ending.

Finished watching Gunslinger Girl. If you didn't know better you could be forgiven for thinking the series was nothing but a squickfest. To summarise: pubescent girls have been abused physically and psychologically; a secretive organisation absconds with them and imprisons them; their memories are wiped; they are drugged, brainwashed and trained to be killers; each is placed under the total control of an adult male with whom she has an intense relationship. Hmmm...

I think it's a masterpiece. The series is so well thought out and sensitively written that such unpromising material becomes gold. It's almost as if the producers deliberately set themselves a very difficult challenge. Sort of like when the author of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov, was asked why he wrote a novel about a paedophile, he replied that it was because it would be difficult.

Whilst in a "Girls with Guns" mood I followed that up with the 1985 series of Dirty Pair and Gunsmith Cats. I only bothered with the first episode of the former - it's daft and hasn't aged at all well. I was especially interested in Gunsmith Cats as I imagined it would have had a huge influence on my favourite TV series, Noir. It turns out it has a much stronger connection with Cowboy Bebop, although without the sci-fi setting and missing a Spike equivalent. Both shows are about bounty hunters, have a jazz soundtrack - the OPs have much in common - GC's Chicago has become CB's Mars, and Rally's car has become Spike's spacecraft. Above all, both have an infectious and spirited good mood to them. Don't get me wrong, there are many differences as well and the much cooler Cowboy Bebop is the far superior show. The old-fashioned character designs in Gunsmith Cats belie the fact that it was produced only three years prior to Cowboy Bebop.

Just finished Baccano!. Some shows have one, maybe two loveable characters in them. This has the luxury of several. Sure, the convoluted plot can become tiresome, particularly early on, but the characters and sheer exhilaration of the action always pull it through.

Having enjoyed Junkers Come Here and given the comments that followed my post about it in this thread, I downloaded a fansub of the first episode of Princess Tutu. It was so good I promptly ordered the series from Madman. I'm expecting it later this week.

Madman is also screening Samurai Girls on its website. As I said in a different thread, it has stock characters (although Yukimura Sanada has a memorable design), an uninspired plot and unremitting fanservices. On the positive side it has one of the best visual styles I've seen in an anime - strongly suggesting historical Japanese paintings. The style is appropriate because the story is based on the intriguing premise that the Meiji Restoration never took place. I'm about four episodes into it.

For Christmas I received a gift voucher from JB Hifi so I used it to buy the otherwise overpriced Clannad. Siren Visual is the distributor in Oz and they tend to be expensive compared with Madman. I thought After Story - yes I watched that first because of its reputation - was very uneven but I'm expecting the first season to be better in this regard. I've watched the first two episodes but will probably give preference to Tutu when it arrives.

So, yes, I've been doing some serious anime watching this Christmas break.

I have just started watching the 3rd boxed set of Naruto: Shippuden. The anime is rediculously slow with alot of really poor fillers.

I understand why they are slowing it down, so they don't catch up to the manga and have to come to a halt. They could at least put some decent fillers in though.

Also just watched the 2nd + 3rd seasons of bleach. I have already read the manga for this but my wife doesn't read the manga. I thought it was excellent in comparison to the naruto anime and she absolutely loved it. It was great to find out the same voice actor plays my favorite character in both Bleach and Naruto (Kenpachi and Jaraiya) I have been told though there is a big bleach filler after the soul society arc. Any body have any ideas how long that lasts for? I just want to keep watching the main storyline as told in the manga if possible.

errinundra wrote:

I thought After Story - yes I watched that first because of its reputation - was very uneven but I'm expecting the first season to be better in this regard. I've watched the first two episodes but will probably give preference to Tutu when it arrives.

I'm likely in the minority here, but I enjoyed the first season of Clannad a LOT more than the second. Not that I liked either that much, but I would agree with your assessment that After Story was uneven. The serious parts of Clannad all seemed fairly ridiculous to me as the melodrama was overwrought to the point of being silly, but the series' lighter moments are often well done and it features one of my favorite anime characters in Akio, so even someone like me who didn't overall enjoy the series was able to find some things to like about it.

Princess Tutu is a completely different anime from Clannad. It's hard to even compare the two, but for what it's worth I would choose it over Clannad without hesitation.

I finally finished Mushishi. Why? Well, I had been looking forward to this series ever since I first heard about it and started hearing the comparisons to Kino's Journey. I don't see the two as being all that similar except on a superficial level, but I still loved almost every minute of Mushishi despite it being different from what I expected. This is one of the few series I purchased as singles on DVD as they were released, and after eagerly watching the first disc as soon as it arrived I got completely sidetracked and never got back to the series until now. I have a 3 day weekend for New Year, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to marathon the rest of the series.

The episodes are almost completely stand alone, but each one is like watching a fairy tale. I am an avid reader, and as much as I enjoy settling into a good novel, sometimes a compilation of great short stories is every bit as enjoyable. That's kind of how I feel about Mushishi. The stories are interesting and imaginative and they are paired with beautiful animation and music.

I watched all the DVD extras, including a lot of only moderately interesting interviews with the staff that created the show, but in all those interviews one thing came through clearly. The staff genuinely seemed to be proud of the work they put into the series and they all felt like it turned out to be something special and different from the usual anime production. I'd have to agree with that. I can't think of any other anime I have seen that is quite like Mushishi.

What better way to start off 2011 than by watching anime? My first series of the year is Sekirei.

It was pretty good even with all the fanservice. My only gripe, it ended too fast. The cliffhanger ending with spoiler[To be continued] line is so annoying and such a teaser.

Sekirei is the first series I have seen with on-screen nudity. There probably are a few others I have seen but those were just glimpses. The bath scenes and occasional torn and beat up clothes are some examples, not that I am complaining.

Like some of the most recent series I have finished, it is now a waiting game for Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~.

ReaKon wrote:

I have just started watching the 3rd boxed set of Naruto: Shippuden. The anime is rediculously slow with alot of really poor fillers.

I understand why they are slowing it down, so they don't catch up to the manga and have to come to a halt. They could at least put some decent fillers in though.

Also just watched the 2nd + 3rd seasons of bleach. I have already read the manga for this but my wife doesn't read the manga. I thought it was excellent in comparison to the naruto anime and she absolutely loved it. It was great to find out the same voice actor plays my favorite character in both Bleach and Naruto (Kenpachi and Jaraiya) I have been told though there is a big bleach filler after the soul society arc. Any body have any ideas how long that lasts for? I just want to keep watching the main storyline as told in the manga if possible.

I know that episodes 64 to 109 are all fillers

@The Naked Beast

You've never seen on-screen nudity? Do you not watch a lot of ecchi (which I doubt since you don't seem like the type to avoid them, and you're name is The Naked Beast)? Just scanning my shelf I notice that I have nine shows with full on nakedness.

After a weeks vacation in Florida without anime I had a few days at home before having to go back to work and have been making up for the anime watching and then some. First I finished up all of the current Autumn shows and have since rewatched a couple shows and a few movies.

Rewatched Kimi ni Todoke in anticipation for the new season. Still love it. This time I tried to pay attention to the animation as I know so many have a problem with it but I maintain it's quite perfect for the show. Yes, parts are almost like a picture drama with nearly static shots and naration but that's what fits a show in which a large part of it is dedicated to the inner musings of a character.

Rewatched The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya in the 2009 order and paid attention to Haruhi's attitude, which again, is what people have such a problem with. Understandable of course but I've always had more of a problem with Kyon's cynicism than Haruhi's self-centered attitude. I've also never really liked Koizumi's know-it-all pompous attitude either- he's like a junior version of your typically pompous villain.

But my problems with the series lead me to reasons why I really enjoyed my first viewing of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. It addresses so many of the problems of the show, it shows Kyon learning to appreciate what he has and shows Haruhi really caring for Kyon- and while we've always known this I believe the explanation that she would do the same for other brigade members. Koizumi is still a pompous prat though. Plus, the actual plot is excellent, I really like a good time paradox/ alternate history/ parallel universe story and this one threw some really cool curveballs into the usual mix.

Watched Gedo Senki and got what I expected. A passable adventure with little of the polish of the elder Miyazaki. The beginning moved almost too quickly to get the necessary back story but the second half didn't move fast enough and didn't provide any really good action set-pieces. the movie was workmanlike in it's approach, everything needed was there but nothing much stood out.

JAPAN, Our Homeland/ Furusato JAPAN (movie) was a good flick. I rated it "very good" because I really appreciated it's insight into post-war Japan and sentimental but not jingoistic patriotism even though the story wasn't all that special. School kids learning lessons of life, dealing with hardships, coming together to accomplish a goal. Standard stuff, and although the big life-shaking moment is sad it was done so much better in another recent series I've seen. While it's FAR from a unique plot-twist, the very similar way it plays out might have many watchers yelling "rip-off!" The source material of that series predate the movie by a couple years.

Just this morning I finished Night on the Galactic Railroad (movie) (Here's a buried Treasure article on it. I say finished because, although it's only a 2 hour movie, I couldn't get through it in one sitting. Watched the first 30 minutes last evening and kept nodding off. It's a quiet and thoughtful movie and that first 30, before they get on the train, is the quietest and most introspective... still, I felt my eyes getting heavy again during the last 90 minutes too. Dark scenes, minimal dialogue, surreal landscapes, quiet soundtrack, the steady sound of a train moving on a track, it all makes you a bit drowsy even after a full night's sleep. Yet I recommend it- what it has to say is well done and I think I'd get more out of it on further watchings if I could stay awake. And hey, some of that hypnotic aspect of the movie may have been purposeful, as the whole thing may be a dream or something like that.

And after all that I moved onto something less worthwhile, Venus to Mamoru, one of the new catalog titles at Crunchyroll. I haven't finished it but it's not all bad and I think I will get through it. Much of it doesn't make logical sense, there's a lot of annoying jerkface behavior explained away as playful teasing by the main character's friends, a take on the standard loli Rei-clone and the core relationship is one of those with a hot girl and an innocent boy that looks to be about twelve. The good bit is that much of the romance is rather sweet and a decent amount of the jokes do hit their mark. [edit]The conclusion is also an illogical mess. I commend them for avoiding cliched EVIL baddies but the solution they take to make them not so bad and still have a climactic event is to make everyone ridiculous decisions. Forget and not try solutions of the past episodes, put characters into peril that they apparently actually care for and in an effort to stop one group from doing what they apparently don't want done- systematically does everything necessary to force them to do it!
Possibly the fault of an anime doing a poor job of wrapping up a story that is still continuing in light novels.

Started watching Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai since I already completed the first season recently.

@The King of Harts
I should have clarified that I have not seen extended on-screen nudity (EON as I call it).

I took a look through some of the anime I have seen and some of them have nudity in it albeit for a glimpse. Akira, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, and Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion are some examples that come to mind. These have nudity in it though not long enough for me. Granted that two of the titles on the list are movies but there are very few series that I know that have EON like Sekirei. Oh Musubi-chan doing her best to learn modesty.

I am partially disappointed that I have not seen a lot of ecchi series. Maybe I should work on that. However, Kanokon, Negima!?, To Love-Ru, and Shuffle! are among some ecchi titles I own. Now that you have indirectly reminded me to watch these, a couple of them may probably be next on my "to watch" list.

If you do not mind, what are those nine titles you mentioned with the nudity?

I just want to let you know that you used the wrong you're in your post. It should be your.

Quote:

If you do not mind, what are those nine titles you mentioned with the nudity?

I'll just put all the shows I've seen with EON since I think you're sneakily asking for recommendations, you little perv:
Agent Aika
Buttobi CPU
Demon Fighter Kocho- There aren't extended amounts of nudity, but there are several scenes, so it adds up.
Futari Ecchi (or Step-Up Love Story as Media Blasters calls it)- This is HILARIOUS
Girls Bravo- The dub is fabulous and just makes it more raunchy, but it is still funny and doesn't really "change" the show.
Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny and Great Guardians- The OVAs are all nudity, but the TV series have their fair share.
Kanokon
Kekko Kamen- The titular character is naked every time she's on screen. Her finishing move involves her throwing her [naked] crotch into the face of her opponents. Yea.
Mahoromatic
Maze OVA
RIN - Daughters of Mnemosyne

Not all of them are great shows, but there's a lot of boobage bouncing around. The only ones I'd have no problem recommending are Futari Ecchi, Girls Bravo, Dragon Destiny (not Great Guardians), Kekko Kamen, Mahormatic (mostly the first season), and RIN.

Quote:

However, Kanokon, Negima!?, To Love-Ru, and Shuffle! are among some ecchi titles I own. Now that you have indirectly reminded me to watch these, a couple of them may probably be next on my "to watch" list.

I've seen all of those and I think Shuffle is the only one worth watching, because it's actually a really good show that has more than fanservice going for it. Of course a lot of people will disagree with me about Negima and To Love Ru, but I just didn't like them that much. Kanokon is just a terrible show. It's not even a good fluff show like many other fanservice shows because it's just so annoying; there is an oversaturation of boobs and not enough of anything else.

And for reference, a site I visit...um...not everyday is anime-fanserive.org. It's a gallery of fanservice shots from a lot shows, so it may be worth a look to get some ideas of what to watch.

Quote:

I just want to let you know that you used the wrong you're in your post. It should be your.

I know, I hate it too. Sometimes my fingers just move faster than my brain.

I just finished Kobato last night. I was drawn to it since I normally follow CLAMP anyway, but this one had a special appeal for me besides the numerous cameos of other characters from the CLAMP universe. Many of my education students want to work in a kindergarten or pre-k program, so I saw a little bit of them in Kobato herself (e.g. good with children with an innocence about them).

It's too bad that I can't really recommend Kobato to my classes. One could only fully appreciate it if they've watched past CLAMP shows, and anime is one of the last things I talk about with my students. They get that I'm a fan by walking into my office, though. Wink

Watched Laputa on Blu-ray last night. Oh my, what a treat that was. Beautiful HD restoration.

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