Manga (maybe Anime): Random Babbling

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Well, it's not too bad in terms of plot or anything else, but you can do without having seen it.

 

The only manga I read is Naruto...pretty awesome, if very mainstream...

 

I used to be all over girly, relationship-based animes like Tenchi Muyo (and Ranma 1/2, though I've only read the manga for that one) but I'm actually finding myself drawn to more action-oriented animes now. I rather liked Ninja Scroll, and just saw Fist of the North Star, which was pretty good (and brutal).
Um, I have the entire series, and haven't read it in a while, but Petshop of Horrors was pretty good... but weird. Definitely weird.

 

I have a very weird view of Tenchi Muyo, and it's a bit different from that of the usual "harem" series. I practically fell in love with the first episode from the opening track (great mix of electronic sound and some typically Japanesque elelements) and enjoyed it 105% to the end. I wasn't just hyped about it, I considered it down right brilliant. Unfortunately, the rest of it was merely quite good. I still chuckle when I remember Ryoko's first fight... and the look on Tenchi's face when he sees her at the end of the episode. Priceless, that. Anyway, I wouldn't classify Tenchi Muyo or Ranma as "girly."So far, I've only followed one series that I would classify as girl stuff, Midori no Hibi (Midori Days). It's not too bad, but I was really disappointed in the end - one of the most likable female characters I've seen gets dumped like a sack of bricks for an overmaudlin brat. Seiji might have a punch like a mack truck, but he's the most undeservedly lucky b.....d in manga history. Even the incredibly annoying Sasuke from Naruto is an equal opportunity a......e as far as relationships are concerned.

Technically, Oh! My Goddess (or Ah! My Goddess, as I've been told it should be) can be considered a part of the genre as well, but somehow I never could come around to considering it only oriented towards girls. Maybe it's because I liked it so much I didn't care, at least at first. At some point it started going nowhere, just like Inuyasha around chapter 300 or so, so I stopped reading it. I'll probably give it a try once again when I'm in the mood.

As for blood and violence, I'm neutral on the issue. While a series can be extremely bloody and quite good, I don't bite on only gore. To paraphrase Hercule Poirot, if I wanted blood, I'd go in a slaughterhouse. That aside, some of my long-time favourites - Berserk and Hellsing - aren't exactly modest in terms of body count or gore.

Edit: wth, Midori no Hibi is classified as shonen, and A!MG as seinen. So much for my supposed knowledge. Of course, it bears mention that supposed shojo stuff like Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura has outperformed "boy" anime like Dragonball Z among young boys.

Edit 2: for those who don't quite know the terms, shonen means that it's aimed at boys and young (male) teens, shojo at girls and young (female) teens, and seinen - at people - mostly guys - in their mid-teens and up.

 

I don't know as much about the intricacies of the anime or manga genre as you, but I'm tempted to completely agree with everything you've said simply because you referenced Hercule Poirot. My needs are few.

I find blood and gore for blood and gore's sake to be as useless as drama for drama's sake--and being a genre that generally over-emphasizes everything doesn't give anime a pass in this. If there isn't an interesting story or interesting characters, then I'm probably not going to care. That's why I was initially drawn to the Tenchi Muyo series, but yeah: like you, I found the rest of the series to be okay in comparison to the first few episodes. That, and it's one of those anime series that has three (maybe four, including the movie?) different series that all have the same characters, though the stories are completely different. It's a little frustrating.
I call them girly because of the emphasis on relationships or human drama, as opposed to any action--like with Sailor Moon, it doesn't matter how much butt they kick, the point is still the interpersonal relationships. It's like soap operas with monsters and little skirts.

Is Hellsing any good? I've been meaning to check that out for about 6 months now...

 

Which Hellsing? The Manga, the TV series or the OVA?

 

Any of it, but I initially had my eye on the OVA.

 

Ah. I recommend it highly. Very well done, however you have to be able to put up with a lot of violence and

Spoiler

Yan Valentine's language, which is 5-6 sware words per sentence

You might want to read the Manga before hand, but it isn't really necessary. Just might help with plot understanding a bit.

 

Well, I felt qute disappointed with the Hellsing TV series. It looked so promising at first, but it all went downhill in the middle of the show. Animation quality had a drop, story wasn't all that great and a very unsatisfying ending. Haven't watched the OVA yet, but the animation quality in that is alot more cartoony and I'm alittle turned off by that.

 

Well, the anime veered off the manga plot right after the Valentine brothers arc. Usually in such cases the plot qualify flops and Hellsing TV did have some problems, but I'd say it was still quite enjoyable to the end.

 

Only one mention of Akira so far? Must be a first for manga/anime discussion threads
Not that I have a problem with that, because I never liked it as much as most people apparently do.

For my favourite series, it has to go to Cowboy Bebop. Just the soundtrack alone puts it above most of the other stuff I've seen. I always have the soundtrack loaded on whatever audiodevice I'm using at the moment. And then you have the visual style and the storyline. I agree with you about the moment where Faye goes back home, Shaman (never made me sing though). Hmm, I should watch it again.

As for movies, I can't really pick a favourite. All the Studio Ghibli movies I've seen so far were great. But then I really liked the Ghost in the Shell movies, and they're hard to compare to each other.

Now if only I could get my hands on manga...

 

Which one? In between mangatraders.com, onemanga.com, stoptazmo.com and some of the msn sites I usually don't have to wait too long to find something.

As for Akira, laugh if you want but I never quite got the hype. I've watched it once and my first reaction was "Ok, just why is that the iconic series everyone's talking about?" Kinda like the reaction Weiss Kreuz had on a friend - she practically swore by it.

Edit:it's a sad, sad day for the ever-dwindling Naruto fan in me. The following contains a current plot spoiler.

Spoiler

the series apparently lost one of its best characters. Weep, ye lads and lasses who wear the leaf-emblazoned headband, for the king of perverts, the prince of jokers, and grand master of all peeping toms is no more.

Alas! If I could say that he got the death he deserved, a death to be remembered as fitting for one such as he, yet such a fate was denied him. It was others, less worthy than he, who killed one more foe, held one more attack, or sought to obliterate all within their reach with their dying breath. Yet fate, and the author's whim, forced him in certain death with no plan to survive - and then for all his determination and drive, give him strength for no more than to send a message to the living.

Rest in peace, old scoundrel. May the memory of you live forever, and may your legacy redden the cheek and quicken the heart of many a kunoichi, young and old - if, indeed, that is your last act. For who knows: we can but hope that the Fifth's gambling luck is still as good as always.

 

Yawn... It's been awhile. In the meantime, I've read a few more Naruto chapters - half in spite of myself - started reating Anatolia Story (a.k.a. Red River - it's interesting when manga is not set in Japan, whatever else may come), and just today started watching Madlax.

Naruto seems to be changing gears rapidly. We barely got the G-man cold and now it's the prick brothers going at it. What is even more surprising - so far - is that the ever-annoying Sasuke seems to have the upper hand. Of course, it's never easy to tell with guys who are so good at illusions that they can put you in their little microcosm with eye contact, but it's surprisingly one-sided so far. If Itachi dies so quickly that would be quite the development - and letdown. We already know Sasuke took a couple of levels in Broken since the break, but he's really going off the charts with that one. On the other hand, there hasn't been that much foreshadowing of Itachi's death, and while the last two deaths on the "good guy" side could be interpreted as motivations for young generation characters - Shikamaru and Naruto, in particular - to grow up, Sasuke has already had his proverbial blooding - by killing Orochimaru, of all things. All in all, I'd be surprised if the author decides to kill him - and end Sasuke's entire vendetta - so quickly. Then again, I've been a very bad prophet as far as this manga is concerned.

Anatolia Story is a weird thing. Technically I've seen it qualify as a shojo, but in many ways it is comparable to Inuyasha, although perhaps with slightly different artwork and, so far at least, a female lead that can handle herself for five minutes without needing someone to save her (mind you, in the good old days, Kagome wasn't a 101% damsel in distress either). Then again, said female lead is almost up there with Belldandy in terms of pure cosmic goodness, so I guess she might have some divine powers or some such. The artwork of the male lead kinda irks me though... I mean I realize he's supposed to be beautiful and all that, but still, something's kinda off for my tastes. I guess it's because it's supposed to be shojo, for all I know of the genre artwork conventions.

Finally, Madlax. I've heard it's made by the people who made Noir, and I've even heard it compared to Noir, and that put the bar quite high. FYI, Noir is, as far as I'm concerned, a classic in more ways than one. Though I may gripe about details, such as how Mirelle got de-powered in the last few series, I have more respect for that series than for 80% of the things I've watched, combined. I just hope I won't be disappointed too much...

Well, I've seen the first series, so I think I understand why it was being compared to the big N. The series seem to share a similar view in animation, music (although I've yet to hear something as stunning as Canta per me or Corsican Corridor, there are some good themes already) and, to a certain extent, have similar narrative. Episode one has only one of the head characters, as I suspect the intro theme shows the leads, and so far she's a bit over the top. I suspect they were going for the Mirelle look, but please: putting on an evening dress for a shootout with a military patrol, in the freaking jungle? There's a difference between being badass and being freaking absurd. Luckily the nameless military goons were worse than stormtroopers when it came to firing, or it'd be a very short series. Episode 2, well, it's just begging for clarification. Margaret reminds me of Kirika, though.

 

Edit: I've watched the Gunsmith Cats OVA and found out the new (not quite) Claymore chapter. GSC is a good, if not incredible, action series - think a Cowboy Bebop lite (without the sci-fi), mix in the good old "chicks with guns" cliche and you're on the right track. I mostly enjoyed it, and I'd say it good watching for someone who doesn't want something too deep. I'll check out the manga series it's based on - normally the original is better than the adaptation.

The new Claymore chapter leaves me with somewhat mixed feelings - I'm getting a little impatient for the big fight, I guess, and the first half or so felt like a rehash of what's already happened in this arc. On the other hand, it appears that most of the minor problems have been taken care of - Miata and Clarice are arguably set up for a change of sides, or are at least probably out of the picture, while Agatha has started to flex her muscles. It looks like she's insanely fast or she's got yet another ace up her sleave... and she's shown some pretty nasty moves so far, so that may be worthwhile.

 

Ts, ts, it's been awhile and no one else commens? A pity.

Anyway, I've seen the last few chapters of Fullmetal Alchemist. It's still the old stuff I alternatively hate and love - good plot full of betrayals and tricks, nice characters, and damn awful drawing style. You can understand what's being portrayed - most of the time - but it's still pretty meh, unlike the anime. Ah! My Goddess often gets bad rep for its artwork in the first few chapters, but it beats FMA hands down. It's too bad new chapters come out so seldom, but they are usually quite long and have a lot more happening than the weekly Naruto or Bleach.

 

I noticed this sale, buy 4 get the 5th free, at Borders through Feb. 4. Alas not a source of income for SP. Also not all that generous a sale, but here's the link in case someone's interested.

http://beta.bordersstores.com/online/store/ListView_manga

 

Been starting to read Video Girl Ai again. Heartbreaking romance at its best!
I miss watching the OVA... might try to watch it again. God, it always drives me to tears at the end.

 

I really liked Death Note... Kira vs. L seeing those two fight each other, predicting enemy moves, planning steps ahead, deceit ... I prefer this style over "I am angry. Next super power level.".

Err and Skip Beat! ^^...Go Kyoko let Fuwa pay and make Ren your man... if you weren't so damn dense!

(both can be found at www.spectrumnexus.net)


ahh Read River... although she runs into oddly many good looking powerful men^^.

 

What do you expect? Sure, it might be more statistically sound if her new boyfriend turned out to be a simple farmer or soldier, but she's the protagonist. It's almost an unwritten law that the main character's love interest will be a noble, warrior, mage, or other kind of an elite character. Our girl just hit the trifecta with hers, though Plus, it's quite ironic that a girl who's had an aversion to history classes gets to meet the kind of historical figures even she's heard of. You better start liking history, Miss Yuuri. You're in one As for beautiful, well, she's the main lead so it figures they will be good-looking. It's like having mediocre-looking Bond girls: it just isn't done.

I've finished the original Gunsmith Cats manga (the Dark Horse version), and it's got the same easy likeability as the anime - nothing mind-bogglingly incredible in the plot or artwork, but it's easy to read page after page and then say "where's the next...oh" when the entire thing is over. In fact, even most minor plotlines are finished fairly well, so I'm surprised that the story didn't end just there - there is also a pseudo-sequel, GSC Burst, which I will dig into shortly. I'm left ambivalent only to the way the subplot about Rally's father was handled - the drug mind-control thing overall was quite good, so I expected such a plot to be one heck of a rollercoaster ride. It was okay, but it would have made a fine lynchpin of the entire series if it was better developed.

Overall I have to say I'm impressed with the stable selection Dark Horse had in this period - in fact, GSC is probably among their weaker releases considering that they also published Blade of the Immortal, which could only be better if it came out more often, and Ah! My Goddess, which... well, it's in a class all its own when romance is involved.