Dagger

[quote name='Altron']Instead of making it the way they tell you on the pack with hot water, I use hot milk. It tastes ALOT better. I also add a little bit of a chocolate bar, so that it actually tastes like chocolate. Not just some water with powered-chocolate mix. Yuck![/quote] Yes! I find the very idea of chocolate-y water vaguely repulsive, so I've always used milk instead. It ends up tasting [i]much[/i] richer and smoother. In fact, I think I'll go make some hot chocolate right now--it's rather rainy and dismal outside. ~Dagger~

Wow--two other people from the D.C. area! That's kind of exciting, as I live in Bethesda (probably about fifteen minutes away from the city proper). ^_^ @junkobakaiba: Feh, I wish. The "snow" they promised a few days ago ended up being utterly pathetic. It would certainly be nice to have a white Christmas, but I don't want to get my hopes up... ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet] *notices that Dagger's post looks like a censored letter* Speaking of funny episodes, what did you think about the one where [spoiler]Zoisite is chasing that cat who is the last holder of a rainbow crystal through the sewers and he's feeling along the walls and suddenly they get fuzzy. Some how there's a light and Zoisite realizes that the fuzzy walls are a bunch of rats.[/spoiler][/color][/quote] Haha, that episode was [i]classic[/i]. Especially the very beginning, when the [spoiler]fat cat flung down a fishbone a la Tuxedo Mask before proceeding to "rescue" Luna.[/spoiler] [quote][color=darkviolet]Just wait until you get to the second half of R and CHibiUsa arrives. [spoiler]You want to talk about incestrous behaivior ther's your character[/spoiler][/color][/QUOTE] I'm not quite there yet, but I've gotten pretty close. I reckon that right now I'm about five or six episodes away from ChibiUsa (what a name!). Anyway, I hope that R starts to pick up soon... Ali has grown on me a bit, but I still passionately hate En. As villains, they're just not terribly exciting. I wouldn't mind if only one of them was fickle, but having both be so romantically capricious kind of kills the believability of their relationship. Of course, I suppose I too would get bored after spending that much time drifting through space with the same one person for company. Usagi's facial expressions are so cute. I almost want to make an animated avatar showing her crying, pouting, lusting after food, etc., but that would entail actually getting off my behind (figuratively speaking, of course) and taking screencaps. I own all three movies but haven't so much as opened them yet... I [i]think[/i] I saw either the R or S movie a few years ago, though I remember absolutely nothing about it. In any case, my question is: to adequately understand what's going on, do I need to watch the entire corresponding season before seeing each movie? ~Dagger~

I've been a fan of this series for quite a while. :) In any case, I'm pretty sure that book 2 isn't supposed to come out until early next year. Unfortunately, Legal Drug seems bound to suffer the same fate as X/1999 and Clover. Only three or four volumes have been released in Japan. CLAMP is focusing all of their collective effort on Xxxholic and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, and the group has even released plans for a new shounen romance manga. I'm just glad that I held off on starting X/1999, easily their most epic and beloved series, since it looks as though they've simply dropped it, with no closure whatsoever and no end in sight. At least fans have the anime to fall back on, I guess. Legal Drug is simply riddled with mysterious insinuations, particularly in the latter half of volume 3. I will be extremely disillusioned with CLAMP if they never follow up on these hints. ~Dagger~

Watching the Wind television series was among the worst anime-related decisions I've ever made. Amusingly, I've always heard that the OVA is better and wondered whether I ought to watch it... but I digress. [b]Tokyo Godfathers[/b] is about as Christmas-y as an anime can get. Since it's a stand-alone movie, it's pretty easy to buy or rent, and you don't need any prior knowledge to watch it. More importantly, it's visually and emotionally satisfying (assuming you can buy into the startling coincidences which drive the plot). This film celebrates family and friendship without getting ridiculously sappy, and it really is all about Christmas and the Christmas season. The first season of Big O contains a Christmas-themed episode, but due to the nature of the show, the fact that it's about Christmas is something the viewer has to infer through visual clues. Maison Ikkoku has quite a few Christmas episodes (although they focus more on the romantic and gift-giving side of things). While I haven't yet gotten to Cardcaptor Sakura's Christmas episodes--I'm fairly sure that it has at least two--I can testify that the show itself is wonderfully heartwarming, assuming you don't hate cutesy magical girl-type stuff. On a similar note, I also enjoyed the Christmas-y parts of Full Moon wo Sagashite. The show as a whole does have quite a few episodes which directly or indirectly focus on winter and snow. [b]Fruits Basket[/b] is a great series for the holidays, I think. Few anime are better at giving you that warm-and-fuzzy feeling. Personally, I find that Studio Ghibli's gentler movies (i.e. Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service) are also very well suited to this time of year. ~Dagger~

A note to all: please explain your choices. A simple sentence or two should be more than sufficient, but just throwing names at Aerain won't do him (her?) much good, no matter how many anime you list. Thank you very much for taking this into consideration. :) ~Dagger~

I buy most of my anime through TRSI (The Right Stuf International). Their everyday prices aren't so hot, but their weekly specials and studio sales beat pretty much everything else available online--I refuse to use eBay, and I've had some bad experiences with Deep Discount DVD. TRSI's customer service is basically unparalleled, and several prominent representatives actually post at DVD-oriented anime forums. So if you have problems with them, it's easy to find a solution. For pre-orders, I generally turn to Target. Their pre-order prices (especially misprices) frequently undercut Amazon's, and I've never had them cancel a misprice. That's a big plus when they get end up getting the same crazy misprices as Amazon, since Amazon [i]always[/i] cancels. ~Dagger~

Mark me down as another person who agrees with pretty much everything DeathBug said. To be honest, though, abortion has never been a topic that aroused in me feelings of outrage or disgust. I get much more worked up over other subjects--call me a horrible person or whatever, but when I see someone pouring his heart and soul into protesting all forms of abortion, it just makes me sigh and wish he was out there fighting genocide or AIDS. What really boggles my mind are the lunatics who bomb abortion clinics--the sheer irony involved in that is simply ridiculous. Annie, what do you have against adoption? Isn't it easily the best and most obvious alternative to abortion? o_O ~Dagger~

I'm a little confused. As a person who's just been introduced to anime, you want a series which will broaden your experience? Is that it? I'm not totally sure what you have in mind, so I've just mentioned a few shows which incorporate action, comedy, romance, etc. and seem to appeal to a variety of fans. [b]Get Backers[/b] is fun and highly entertaining. At fifty-two episodes, it's of a much more manageable length than, say, Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. The stand-alone episodes and mini-arcs are tolerable enough, but the characters are what really drive this anime--it's almost impossible not to pick favorites. Get Backers would be pretty average were it not for its sly, silly SD comedy and quirky pantheon of bishounen. The battle sequences are cleverly choreographed, and the artwork is pleasantly shiny. It also boasts a rather good English dub. [b]Chrono Crusade[/b] strikes a similar tone, but it has more of a linear plot and at times becomes very dark. Like demons? Here you'll find them in spades. Though the comedic relief can be grating, the dramatic/tragic moments are pulled off with panache. This anime tackles themes which are in their essence reminisicent of the issues raised in Inuyasha, despite the fact that its setting is totally different (New York City in the '20s as opposed to feudal Japan). Best of all, Chrono Crusade has a top-notch dub and a strong, likeable female lead. Another anime to look out for (although the first DVD won't come out till January 11) is [b]Samurai Champloo[/b], a hilarious and brilliant series from the director of Cowboy Bebop. It takes a new approach to the age of the samurai by mixing the conventions of the genre with hip-hop and tongue-in-cheek humor. The show reeks style, and the action is flawlessly executed. Some other personal favorites that combine drama with great action and comedy are [b]Peacemaker[/b] and [b]R.O.D the TV[/b]. I would be happy to provide a more detailed synopsis for any of the titles listed above. ~Dagger~

According to ANN and the Adult Swim forums, Ghost in the Shell: 2nd Gig will begin airing in fall 2005. Inuyasha premieres will resume three days a week starting January 10 at 12:30 a.m. On February 12, Fullmetal Alchemist will move up a half hour to 11:30 p.m., taking Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex to a new time slot at midnight. Also on February 12, The Super Milk-Chan Show will migrate to Saturdays for repeats at 1:30 a.m. I'm really happy that FMA is getting bumped up--that means more sleep for me, and a better time slot for Stand Alone Complex. It's also great to know that 2nd Gig will be coming next year. ~Dagger~

Heheh, thanks, but I think I'll stick with Nana-chan for a while. ;) It's taken me much longer than it should have (Sailor Moon kept getting in the way, haha), but I just finished episode 16. So I'm not [i]too[/i] far behind now, thank goodness. I feel sort of sorry for Maya--despite being the most obvious female lead and/or love interest for both of the main male characters, she scarcely gets any screentime. Besides, it seems like Soushi and Kazuki are way too wrapped up in each other's angst to bother with any [strike]other[/strike] romantic entanglements. :sweat: More seriously, I thought the part when [spoiler]Kazuki's eyes turned red[/spoiler] was the coolest moment of the show so far. Also, I was both surprised and pleased with the growing emphasis on "conversation," which has been nicely underscored by the fact that some of the most pivotal scenes are... well, conversations. For example, I very much liked [spoiler]the exchange between Soushi and Kazuki which took place right before the aforementioned red-eye/merge thing. That did more to explain (rather, justify) Soushi's personality than the previous fifteen episodes combined, and pulled it off in a believable manner. Soushi's impassive facade finally cracking had a huge impact because he was so consistently distant and cold before.[/spoiler] Kazuki's confrontation with [spoiler]a vision of Soushi's younger self[/spoiler] was appropriately creepy. It reminded me of a scene from one of the later episodes of Elfen Lied: little Lucy being mentally tormented by [spoiler]her inner psychopath, shown as a child with a bandaged face and only one visible eye.[/spoiler] My Norse mythology is pretty rusty, but watching Soukyuu no Fafner makes me want to go look up all of those familiar-sounding terms. Soon shows in this genre are going to run out of mythological canons to exploit... ~Dagger~

I think I've re-watched RahXephon more times than any other anime series (Boogiepop Phantom and the Shamanic Princess OVA are two possible exceptions). It's a show I really love, and it never seems to feel stale--my enthusiasm for its characters, plot and premise has yet to wane. Whenever I revisit RahXephon, I get something different out of the situations and emotions it presents. Revolutionary Girl Utena is another anime I re-watch for similar reasons; my interpretation of the series changes subtly every time I see it. Then, on the other hand, there are anime like Gravitation and Descendants of Darkness, which I pop into the DVD player whenever I'm bored or simply need to relax. Once you've finished a particularly good/entertaining anime, do you usually (or ever) feel compelled to re-watch it? What shows have you returned to most frequently, and why? ~Dagger~

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman][color=darkviolet]But [spoiler]wait until you see teh episodes where they try to get the guginshu back from Sailor Moon. It's a reather odd combination of sneaky tricks and backhandedness. Plus the episode with the Princess Seminar is kind of funny.[/spoiler'][/color][/quote] Yeah, some of those episodes were really hilarious. Now that you mention it, I did [spoiler]love the Princess Seminar episode--the whole frisbee schtick was just too funny for words. Speaking of funny episodes, though, my favorite comedic moment in the entire show has to be when Sailor Moon and co. were trying to chase a villain down an alley (Zoisite, I think) and then got completely tangled up because there wasn't enough space for all of them to pose at the same time.[/spoiler] This show is actually pretty good at self-parody. [quote][color=darkviolet]And as for your other question [spoiler]It'll take a while, but after they all die and lose their memories Mamoru goes back to picking on Usagi and I believe BEryl is in love with Endymion. There's quite a bit more proof and explaination to this in the manga than the anime. Metallia is just an entity that Beryl revived[/spoiler][/color][/quote] That aspect of it reminded me of Final Fantasy VII, weirdly enough. [spoiler]Beryl is to Sephiroth (or Hojo, perhaps) as Metallia is to Jenova.[/spoiler] Okay, that's a terrible explanation, but it made sense when I first thought of it. :p One season down, four to go! ~Dagger~

This thread is frankly atrocious. All three of you need to put a lot more time, thought and effort into your posts. If you haven't read OB's [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?][u]Rules[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/faq.php?][u]FAQ[/u][/url], please do so immediately. For one thing, double-posting is strictly forbidden. Additionally, we ask that all members maintain a certain level of post quality--your posts need to be clear and readable. Obviously perfection is neither demanded nor required, but you should still utilize proper grammer, spelling, punctuation and so forth. If you had read the sticky topics at the top of the forum, you would know that we have designated one official thread for every anime. Next time, check the Directory listing before creating a new series-specific topic. This particular subject (Kikyo and Sesshomaru hating, or whatever) should have been raised in the pre-existing Inuyasha topic. Feel free to private message me or one of the other moderators if you have any questions. Thank you very much. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

Holy crap. After watching "Night of the Chimera's Cry," my expectations for Fullmetal Alchemist have changed radically. This episode played out like something from Requiem from the Darkness or Kino's Journey. I'm almost in shock, because I just hadn't expected the series to become so dark so quickly--but at the same time, I am extraordinarily impressed. [spoiler]I figured something bad was going to happen, yet was not successful in predicting how everything would turn out. I had suspected that Tucker was either the serial killer, or that Nina was actually some kind of chimera, or both. Of course I was dead wrong on every point. In retrospect, it almost makes me shiver to think of Ed and Al peacefully staying in the same house as Tucker--eating with him, playing with his daughter, etc. Watching Tucker's pleasant, harmless facade slowly crack under the Brigadier General's pressure was an incredibly creepy experience. Also, Ed's final confrontation with him was masterfully well directed. I could practically feel the raw emotion crackling through the air; when Ed started beating the **** out of him, I was on the edge of my seat. The whole situation was so sad and deeply disturbing that I can't stop thinking about it. The worst (or, rather, best) part was how Tucker explained his reasoning, and Ed's reaction to that. It seems as though the new character (the guy with the tattoos) is the serial killer, but I could be wrong on that.[/spoiler] I was extremely surprised that [spoiler]the Nina/Alexander chimera's destruction[/spoiler] was shown uncut. To be fair, I don't know for sure if it was uncensored, but I'd be a little worried if that scene contained something even more graphic than what appeared on TV. It actually reminded me of a similar scene which takes place early on in Tsukihime. Jeez, now I'm really sad that I'll have to wait two weeks for a new episode. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Miryoku']I'm a huge anime fan but not of the "domesticated" crap that most people call anime. I buy and watch only japanese dvds. i know a little japanese but i mostly watch w/subtitles. it helps me learn more japanese. When they "translate" then they switch words and half the time screw up the whole series. any way I'm getting off subject.[/quote] Off topic: Those are bootlegs, dear. The vast majority of genuine R2 DVDs lack English subtitles and are also far too expensive for any teenager to bother importing. On topic: I'm pleasantly surprised to see that 16-20 is the dominant demographic (albeit by a very slim margin). It's nice to know that OB doesn't skew as young as I had originally thought--not that I have anything against the 15 and under age group, of course. :p ~Dagger~

[quote name=''[SKY KEEPER]'']Mine would be Turn A. The storyline (so far) is plain. My opinion may change when I've seen more of it. SD Gundam is also the most horrible thing ever and is nothing compared to the UC's SD Gundam.[/quote] As someone who has a fondness for mecha anime but generally dislikes Gundam stuff, I've really enjoyed Turn A. Of course, I haven't seen too much of it either. The characters, artwork and premise together appeal to me in a way that other Gundam series have simply failed to. Yet compared to SEED, Wing and even Zeta, Turn A Gundam just doesn't get too much love. :( On topic... I don't know if I've watched enough Naruto to call it "really bad," but I do have trouble understanding why so many people assert that it's the best shounen action anime of all time or whatever. Oh, well. This is a case of "different strokes for different folks," I guess. ~Dagger~

Personally, I'm convinced that the OVA pretty much has to be some kind of side story. After all, at the end of the television series, [spoiler]the entire world is destroyed and every single character dies (with the possible exception of Shuji, but even that is debatable). What is there left to tell?[/spoiler] I suppose there's a possibility that the OVA will serve as a follow-up to the manga rather than the anime, since other posters have mentioned that the manga and anime follow strikingly divergent paths. I can't speculate too much on this, though, as I haven't read the manga. Exactly how does its ending differ from that of the anime? ~Dagger~

Although my family is Presbyterian, I guess I would have to call myself agnostic. I don't believe in the existence of a higher being, but it's not for a lack of trying. [QUOTE=AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]As for my religion, I want to see how long people mistake me for Christian, so my lips are sealed. It's so funny how NO OB member has guessed correctly and I've been labelled as a Christian by so many. It's almost too funny. So, here's to keeping the fun going.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE] Haha, I could have sworn you were Catholic (Baron, Catholics are Christians too). In fact, I was absolutely positive that you were some kind of Christian. Now I feel sort of sheepish, because I'm not quite sure what gave me that impression. ^_^;; ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=James][color=#811C3A]I think that the worst anime I've seen in recent times would be [b]Grenadier[/b]. I only saw the first episode, but that really turned me off. lol I'm not even sure if I should sit here and go into an in-depth critique of it. I'll say one thing that probably sums up my total dislike of the show: [spoiler]Reloading by heaving your breasts and having ammo come out from your cleavage? Everyone say it with me, "What the [i]hell?![/i]"[/spoiler][/color][/QUOTE] Hahaha, that sounds a bit like something one would see in Sunabozu (another recent show which does an awful job of mixing fanservice and guns). I saw some early screenshots of Grenadier and decided to stay far, far away. :p However, even Sunabozu looks great next to [b]Kannaduki no Miko[/b]. Kannaduki no Miko is unintentionally funny--but even the cheesiness (not to mention cheesecake) is too cringe-inducing to be enjoyable. I just don't understand how people are able to take this anime seriously. It combines the worst qualities of Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito and every mediocre mecha anime ever made. It's also, in my opinion, strong evidence that shoujo-ai aimed at women is almost always monumentally better than shoujo-ai aimed at men. At first I was convinced that KnM was meant to be a parody, because the idea that its characters were supposed to be realistic completely boggled my mind. But either way, it ended up being more pathetic than amusing. You know it's a bad sign when the main plot revolves around a shoujo-ai love triangle, and you end up rooting for the guy. ~Dagger~

EVA is referring to the fact that, in the US, there is no mandatory ratings system for anime. It's totally voluntary and seems to vary from company to company. Also, in most cases every DVD in a series is given the same rating. The whole ratings thing is basically silly, although I guess the companies need to provide themselves with some kind of insurance in case people (well, parents) complain. You've provided examples from ADV, so here are some from other companies. As far as I know, they all go by different systems. Geneon has rated uncut Cardcaptor Sakura (!!) and Last Exile 13+. A Little Snow Fairy Sugar is rated 3+, while X TV is 16+. As for Bandai titles, .hack//SIGN and the first season of Big O are 13+. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Jin-Roh are 16+. Fruits Basket and the first season of Yu Yu Hakusho (both are from FUNimation; I didn't bother to check my Dark Tournament discs) are rated 13+. I don't own enough Viz titles to tell whether they consistently use ratings; Saikano, at least, seems to be unrated, but parental guidance is suggested. CPM has rated Nightwalker, Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie [i]and[/i] Descendants of Darkness 13+, which in my opinion is really a bit too low. They're not exactly a huge market force, though, so maybe they have less to worry about. It seems like most of the major companies (Geneon, Bandai, Media Blasters, possibly FUNimation) use different age thresholds than ADV--13 and 16 instead of 12 and 17, for example. Boosting up the ratings is actually a smart move, in my opinion. Other countries can be extremely tough on anime--for example, New Zealand has banned Puni Puni Poemy for its loli content, and the fines for importing/owning it are nothing short of absurd. America is different, of course, but I'd say it's better to be safe than sorry. It's not as though many people pay attention to the ratings, and they have no actual power over the consumer, regardless of his or her age. Although I am forced to wonder how the heck ADV will rate stuff like Gantz and Elfen Lied... :sweat: ~Dagger~

Welcome to OtakuBoards, animelovergirl1. ^_^ Please post [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=31446][u]here[/u][/url] if you wish to discuss DNAngel. As is clearly explained in the forum's sticky threads, we keep a specific "official" topic for each anime. If no such thread exists, you are welcome to create one of your own. However, in this case an official DNAngel thread has already been designated and listed in the Directory sticky. Also, your post is simply too short. One-sentence posts are perfectly acceptable [i]if[/i] they say something of substance (i.e. answering another member's question or stating a simple fact), but I'm afraid that yours doesn't really cut it. Ideally, it would be better if you explained why you love the show, and/or why you think Dark is cute. Feel free to private message me or one of the other moderators if you have any questions. Thanks! Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Sword Breaker']Well, I started this thread because... well, I was wondering how old anime lovers got, and just how old in people on the Otakuboards are. I'm just kinda curious. If you want, you can remain anyonamous.[/quote] From what I can tell, OB attracts a relatively young-ish crowd. There are anime forums where nearly all the members are in or have graduated from college, and anime forums that cover the whole gamut but tend to be much more top-heavy than OB. So I'd say this really isn't the place to look for a whole slew of older anime lovers. However, I'm sure you'll be able to find a few. ;) ~Dagger~

[quote name='Kyuai][FONT=Palatino Linotype][COLOR=DarkRed]Forgive me if I'm interpretting this statement incorrectly, but did you even pay attention to the story? The story [i]was[/i] the 'good' part. Oh nevermind. I'm not going to bother -.-*[/COLOR'][/FONT][/quote] Um, yes. Would I comment about the plot if I had been disregarding it? I fail to understand why you insulted my ability to comprehend the movie and then simply said, "Oh nevermind. I'm not going to bother." If you're going to imply that I missed something important, the least you can do is attempt to explain whatever it is that I overlooked. The way things are, it sounds as though you believe I disliked the story because I ignored it--which I didn't. To me, the story was most definitely not the good part. It was the part which had potential, but didn't meet said potential. It was the part that glorified a sovereign who is comparable to Stalin. In my opinion, the best aspect of Hero was its cinematography. ~Dagger~

Hmm... I assumed that I had already posted in this thread, but I guess I must have been thinking of something else. Anyway, I didn't care for Hero. It made for a relatively entertaining evening, I guess, but I feel absolutely no desire to watch it again. The trailer(s) really gave me the wrong impression of the battle sequences--I have very specific tastes when it comes to action, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-type hijinks just aren't something I particularly enjoy watching. If they had put half as much effort into the story, the movie as a whole could have been shorter and a whole lot sweeter. I'll admit that the billowing cloth and blowing leaves were ravishingly beautiful, but the action scenes could have--should have--been executed much more concisely. It just grates on me when two expert martial artists go at it and the resulting fight feels so darn slow and [i]languid[/i]. Also, the fact that the filmmakers seemed to be glorifying the king probably bothered me more than anything. Couldn't they have picked a historical figure more deserving of admiration than Qin? He accomplished a couple of good things, but overall he was a vicious, cruel ruler who basically revelled in censorship, tried to erase the past and slaughtered just about everyone who opposed his ideals. The film would have been more tragic and realistic, in my opinion, if the script-writers and director chose not to gloss over his bad qualities. As it was, the premise left a bad taste in my mouth. ~Dagger~