HTF Anime Discussion Part VIII (1 Viewer)

[AlannaE]

I watched volume 2 of Paradise Kiss last night. And it was insanely good.
So I am just going to throw this out there. Can anyone recommend a good anime for me to follow up this one with?
I HAVE enjoyed Koi Kaze, Rumbling Hearts, Paradise Kiss, Fruits Basket, Kamichu, Strawberry Marshmellow. And am looking for more along these lines (with the knowledge that some of these titles are very different from one another).

I DID NOT ENJOY Please Twins, Kare Kano.

I was thinking about starting Peach Girl or Fate/Stay Night. Any comments or other recommendations? I really like shows with alot of emotional conflict.

 

[AlannaE]

Watched episodes 3-6 of Yumeria tonight... its not really all that great of a show but I did get a huge kick out of seeing the characters playing Taiko Drum Master (a video game that is a Namco property) with the PS2 drum perhipherals and everything, and then using their gaming skills on the real ceremonial drums during the festival. Really funny that Namco would be advertising their Taiko game in their anime series too.

Otherwise Im just kinda slogging through the series. I hope to wrap it up tomorrow or the next day so I can get on to something else while I am waiting for ParaKiss 3 from Netflix. I wish I owned ParaKiss and was waiting on Yumeria instead of the other way around. Blegh.

 

[JohnAD]

It's been a while since I posted an update, so here goes:

Inu Yasha: I finished up season three, and watched the first two volumes of season four. IY is just one of those series that yuou either like or don't like. It's certainly not the end-all-be-all, but it's fun in measured doses. I also watched the first movie, which was really like an extended episode. One reviewer at Amazon said that the movie wasn't anamorphic, although it certainly looked that way on my screen. Maybe the guy got a bad disk or something.

Gilgamesh: I watched the last three disks this weekend. I was actually kind of impressed. The story didn't finish up quite as cleanly as I'd hoped, but the fact that the bad guys actually win
makes up for it. The character design is quite different from the average anime show, but I found that it helped get the show in the right mood. 'B' - recommended.

Paprika: Ahhhh...I got my Satoshi Kon fix, and I'm still riding the high. The movie takes place in a near future where a scientist has invented a machine that can allow others to view and participate in other peoples' dreams. Three of the prototypes have been stolen, and are being used to try and blend dreams with reality. Kon continues with his theme of the question of identity, and if you're familiar with his other work, I think you'll probably get more out of it. If you can see this before it comes out on DVD, do so.

John.

 

[Max Leung]

Alanna: I don't know if anyone licenses the Nana anime yet, but you could try giving that a go if it ever gets released here. Same manga author as Paradise Kiss.

I also highly recommend the Paradise Kiss manga.

 

[JohnAD]

I watched a bit of anime this weekend. I got through volumes 30-32 of Inu Yasha and volume one of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.

John.

 

[James D]

Rightstuf has another 10 for $50, 25 for $100 sale going for Geneon titles. Some new offerings this time around include all 7 volumes of R.O.D. the TV and Ultra Maniac. Go load up while the titles are still available!

 

[JohnAD]

I got my order in. This time at least, they have a lot of full series. I picked up of all of Fafner, Gate Keepers, and Stelvia, along with a couple of LA movies.

John.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Bandai Visual will be releasing, on their Honeamise label, their new production Freedom in HD-DVD. Apparently a demo will be showing at Anime Expo in Long Beach this next week. I wasn't very impressed with the visuals, which reminded me of video game motion with cell are mapped on, but the story seemed interesting — about kids racing cars and getting in trouble, on a moon colony whose people think they are the only survivors of the human race.

 

[JohnAD]

Well, cel-shading seems to be more common these days.

John.

 

[TheLongshot]

Mostly decided to avoid getting most things I haven't seen, since I can rent most things from NetFlix. So, I picked up ROD TV which was a keeper, Submarine 707R SE, because it was a good deal, and soundtrack CDs for Memories and Noir.

Fafner sounds interesting enough to put on my NetFlix queue, but there seems to be enough mixed opinions on it that kept me from pulling the trigger.

Jason

 

[Andrew Beacom]

Finished the 5th disc and partway through disc 6 of Wolfs Rain. Its become a slog to the finish to be honest. I'm interested in the story but it does become slow and get bogged down frequently. I only get time to watch at night and I have dozed off in 3 out of the last 4 episodes.

 

[Tony-B]

I'm still alive!

 

[Andrew Beacom]

Finished that 6th disc of Wolfs Rain and the last 2 episodes moved along a lot better but it still seemed strange for the Nobles to play such a huge role when we know least about them out of all the protagonists.

 

[JohnAD]

I watched volume four of Ergo Proxy this weekend. The episodes were unusual, to say the least. One episode has Victor in a game show, with life or death consequences. This episode is also used to give the viewer a some of the background about why the world is the way it is.
Another one gives Re-l a chance for more character growth after the ship is becalmed.

John.

 

[TheLongshot]

I did get to see the first disc of Fafner. Not sure what to think of it yet, since it seems to be taking its good ol time telling the story. It actually reminds me a bit of RahXephon, with the island and the main characters finding out the world isn't quite what they thought it was.

Jason

 

[TheLongshot]

Went out to see Paprika last night. I put my thoughts in the appropriate thread in the Movies forum, but in short, while it isn't treading much new ground for Satoshi Kon, it is still a pretty good movie.

 

[JohnAD]

Not much going on for me, anime-wise. I started rewatching Planetes this past weekend, plus I've still got a couple of volumes of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam that need to be watched. My order from TRSI came yesterday, plus another order from DDD. Counting all the disks I haven't watched yet, I think I'm good for a while .

John.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Watching Sorcerer Hunters. Episode 5 is obviously a budget-saver, but I thought it was excellent anyway. The limited animation isn't too ill-suited to the dream-like character of the story.

 

[Andrew Beacom]

Finished Wolfs Rain and can't say that enjoyed the death march to the final episode at all. The final scenes are interesting from a reincarnation POV but the merciless culling of characters on that final disc meant that it had a sour taste IMO. I would rate the series a C+ for something with an interesting premise that is inconsistent in it's delivery.

I watched Afro Samurai and while it was somewhat entertaining it just resembled a poor mans Samurai Champloo IMO. Worth a watch if the concept interested you but it's all been done before.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Paprika : nice. It's Kon and his preoccupation with identity and reality again, of course. He makes excellent use of the medium. Some of his previous pieces have been the sort which could just as well have been live-action (Perfect Blue was originally written for live action), but not this one. No way.