The Anime Thread

[GoGo Yubari]

No, you're right, One Piece is fucking tremendous and the one major shounen series that has never disappointed me in a big way. I need to find a good fansub group that's actually been doing the arc that introduces Brook because Vegapunk is made of fail these days and I am so incredibly behind.

[TKz]

I haven't downloaded an episode of One Piece in years, but I remember Kaizoku Fansubs were good, but I'm fairly certain they were behind when I used to use them.

I always prefered the Manga to the Anime though. I try to stay somewhat caught up, I think the last time I read a chapter was when the Star Hats had all been seperated by the Bear Shichibuki. How far behind is that?

[GoGo Yubari]

I wouldn't know, I was following via the anime, not the manga (I cannot follow fight scenes in most manga to save my life; I had a hard time with Luffy vs. Arlong).

And yeah, Kaizoku Fansubs is absolutely the best but currently they've only just finished the Water 7 portion of the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc. They're waaaaaay behind. It's worth using them up to the point one gets caught up, but yeah.

[Ruki]

Hey everyone, I just got the complete Ghost in the Shell torrent. Both full series and both movies.

Now, I wanna watch these in order so, what comes first? First series, movie, second series, second movie?

I need helpz.

[Momo]

There are 3 movies >_>

The 2 movies you have are probably the ones with absolutely nothing to do with the cannon of the series. Watch the series first. Obviously series 1, then series 2. After that, try to download GitS: Solid State Society. It is the only movie within the series canon.

The other 2, watch later. I can't say I particularly care for the first movie due to the overabundance of gratuitous nudity, and the animation style is completely different. The second movie is pretty good though.

[Ruki]

For those interested in watching season 1 of Geass again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCoEQXY5hM8

Bandai is hosting the english subs and dubs for both this and Gundam 00.

Hopefully more companies do this.

Edit: Jesus, they butchered Kallen's voice.

Edit 2: Ok, I retract that edit....heard it a second time, not bad. I may have to watch this series again

Edited May 5, 2009 by RuKeroberos

[Momo]

FMA: B Ep 5 was substantially better than the rest of the series has been so far. Despite the fact that it's still retreading old ground, they managed to make it seem different enough from the corresponding FMA episode. The pacing improved too. Also, Riza is all kinds of awesome.

"Why is he naked?"

[MalaCloudy Black]

I forgot how awesome R2 Turn 18 of Geass is. Especially the Kallen/Bradley fight.

[Ruki]

I started watching Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Episode one, with the geisha bots and Forign Minster was interesting, but confusing. Episode two had no audio, so could someone explain to me what happens? Episode three with the Jeri bots was pretty cool, and seems to be a slower episode without all the gunning and shooting. And episode four? Seems like this is where the story really starts to kick off. The Laughing Man doesn't seem very scary at the moment.

So, do the humans now have robot parts? Or...what? Cyborg? Android? What's the difference. Can someone help me, and maybe tell me who is what?

[GhostMachine]

Some of the characters are fully human, some have cybernetic parts, and others have fully artificial bodies. The main character has a fully artificial body, which explains how she can wear a skimpy outfit in cold weather without getting ill.

"ghost" more or less = "soul", but not quite.

[GoGo Yubari]

I'm actually enjoying the new FMA anime thusfar, if just because it's clearly going to get to where the series starts kicking into high gear much quicker, and the one "Ed and Al go on wacky adventures" early episode that actually has bearing on the plot in the manga was acknowledged offhand (Yoki being mentioned at the start of episode 3 or 4). And I really don't give a damn about seeing the same stuff I saw in the first anime because I watched the anime (up until I stopped finding DVDs at the library) in 2006, so it's been almost three years now.

Kimblee's new voice is fucking atrocious, though. He sounds like an old woman.

[Ruki]

The popular Japanese anime Bubblegum Crisis is set to head to the big screen. Six production houses in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, China and the UK will partner together to work on the international, $30 Million film. As of now, the film is planned for a 2012 release date. Gary Hamilton of Arclight Pictures (one of the companies working on the feature) had the following to say on the project…

"We're thrilled to be representing this visionary project and we're confident of its global appeal. It's a truly international production, not just because it's a co-production between six countries, but because the material itself transcends cultural barriers."

Credit: IGN.com

So, that is added to the list of: Akira, Ninja Scroll, Deathnote, Cowboy Bebop...and I am sure I am missing something else.

Having never seen the series, is it any good?

[Momo]

The popular Japanese anime Bubblegum Crisis is set to head to the big screen. Six production houses in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, China and the UK will partner together to work on the international, $30 Million film. As of now, the film is planned for a 2012 release date. Gary Hamilton of Arclight Pictures (one of the companies working on the feature) had the following to say on the project…

"We're thrilled to be representing this visionary project and we're confident of its global appeal. It's a truly international production, not just because it's a co-production between six countries, but because the material itself transcends cultural barriers."

Credit: IGN.com

So, that is added to the list of: Akira, Ninja Scroll, Deathnote, Cowboy Bebop...and I am sure I am missing something else.

Having never seen the series, is it any good?

Kind depends on your tastes, but I bought it.

For clarification, Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 would be what you're looking for.

[Ruki]

What's it about? Any other anime like it?

[MalaCloudy Black]

After a mysterious earthquake levels Tokyo, Genom becomes a powerful influence providing their artificial organic lifeforms called Boomers to rebuild and act as a labor class to humanity. However, some of them occasionally run amok, and even the specially created AD Police are at a loss to stop them. Lina Yamazaki travels to Tokyo for employment but also hopes to join a vigilante force called the Knight Sabers, who pilot powered suits to destroy these rogue Boomers.

[Ruki]

Sounds pretty good....may look into it.

[Ruki]

For people who aren't cheap....

http://www.foxanime.com/shop/clearance.asp?cat=1&page=2

[Momo]

So, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. How is it. I'll be watching it later tonight, but would still like to hear some opinions.

[The Mask of Norro]

So, from the people who brought you Soul Eater (Square Enix) and that series' wonderfully epic run tragically ended by a hilariously shit finale, comes another series that looks even MORE promising, and hopefully will not be met with the same tragic results. Based off of a manga just as SE was, this particular anime is currently running and has only hit its 7th episode, but has done enough to grab my interest and yank me around by it.

I'm referring to an anime called "Pandora Hearts", which calls references to the original novel of Alice in Wonderland. The whole thing is intricate, the story is actually very intriguing and thought-provoking already, the character development is going along very well, and within these first seven episodes are already twists and turns that actually add a lot of flavor to an already flavorful story.

Now, that being said, some parallels can be drawn between Soul Eater and Pandora Hearts (albiet nothing big, and more or less just comparisons), such as

Spoiler: Click here to view

The chains DO remind me of monsters tainted by the kishin, and considering in Pandora Hearts the chains usually eat people, the connection is definitely more apparent. HOWEVER, the way that they handle the whole process is, to me, MUCH more unique. The clock tattoo, for example, placing a time limitation on things is definitely going to become a dramatic plot device further in, as they build on the relationship between Alice and Oz.

Furthermore, the relationships between illegally contracted chains and their human partners are a lot like weapons and meisters. The humans utilizing the chains can, at times, act like meisters to the chains' weapons... of course, in the case of Oz and Alice, Alice kind-of does her own thing.

That being said... Pandora Hearts shows remarkable potential. Lorina found this one for me, and so far watching it has been really enjoyable. Now that I've caught up to all of the episodes, I can feel comfortable recommending it here on EWB.

Hopefully, this one will be our next Soul Eater/Gurren Lagann series, except that instead of finishing like Soul Eater, it actually finishes strong as GL did. That would be nice

Definitely check it out, guys.

Edited May 23, 2009 by The Mask of Norro

[mattman1624]

For more on Bubblegum Crisis, listen to episode 75 of Anime World Order:

Anime World Order Episode 75