Dagger

[i]So beautiful[/i]. I'm really happy I waited. Anyway, I think Ryou is going to be my favorite (she's different from the characters Hirohashi Ryou normally plays, so I love listening to her), but Nagisa is not at all what I expected. That's a good thing--I thought she'd be the ultra-genki type, but she's more interesting this way. Nagisa's parents are the shiz.

Hm, that's not really what I was getting at. Fanservice by definition (as I think of it, anyway) is not necessary for the story. At the same time, there are times when fanservice--by which I mean the heaviest possible fanservice, as in explicit sex scenes--and character development become almost inextricably entwined, but I've only ever really seen this in ero-games. And ultimately, I'm convinced that concrete sex acts have more potential for plot/character development than, say, panty shots and the tired gimmick of faux-fellatio with bananas or ice cream. Does that mean every detail of it has to be plastered all over the screen? Of course not; there's always a gratuitous element. But you can't just fade to black in those situations, either. You'd lose something. Perhaps every single loli-flashing incident etc. is necessary to show how messed up Rin is. Perhaps not. I don't think there's a concrete answer for that, and even if there were, "necessity" isn't something I particularly care about when it comes to story content (in anime or anywhere else). God knows one could argue forever about whether the roses are necessary in Utena, or the funky coloring in Gankutsuou. So for me it comes down to simple preference. But that's neither here nor there. No more thread-jacking from me. :p ~Dagger~

[i]Naka dashi kibou~[/i] I believe you (and everyone else who says it) about the deeper elements. I have two reasons for not watching it: first, I like my titillation fluffy and meaningless (Umisho from last season is probably the best example of this). I feel weird about lapping up the fanservice when the characters involved are well-rounded people with actual psychological damage and so forth. Now, as a corollary to this, I should enjoy the likes of Girls Bravo, but I didn't watch much of it, because it pushed its fanservice as far as it could without being an 18+ title. Shows that walk the line like that just aren't for me. I've seen the racier parts of the KnJ manga; if the anime were hentai, I would watch it, and if the manga were an ero-manga, I would read it. The same would be true if it went in the opposite direction by going lighter on the loli and boing. As it stands? Not really interested. ~Dagger~

Here's a nice [url=http://bj0rn.animeblogger.net/2007/10/25/lucky-star-smiles-of-stars/][u]Lucky Star wallpaper[/u][/url] for you guys. Not quite big enough for my desktop, but still very cute. ~Dagger~

Mm, Chiaki J. Konata. This show could be either be a beautiful mess or a... well, not-so-beautiful mess. Out of his slow stuff, I've found some of it to be painfully boring (Lain) and some of it more than tolerable (Texhnolyze), but I'd be hard-pressed to say what tips the scale one way or another. Going by the first episode (which is a pretty good thing to go by, if the past is any indication), Ghost Hound will be more than watchable. Love that OP. ~Dagger~

Finally sat down and watched the last four episodes. Episode 21 [spoiler] - Begins with a recap (or not? It's been so long that I don't remember) of the conversation between Ophelia and Juliet. Ophelia explains about the two trees that once supported the continent and how, due to human fallacy, only Escalus is left. - Mercutio & the soldiers under his command set Neo-Verona on fire while Francisco and Curio try to bring the commoners to safety. - Romeo renounces Montague as his father and attacks Mercutio to stop him, which leads to an emotional confrontation. - Romeo and Juliet meet again while Juliet helps transport the injured, but she can't bring herself to tell him about the seed of Escalus. - While the Capulet forces prepare to take down Montague, this time for good, Cordelia (at Juliet's urging) hastily marries Benvolio. Willy takes on the priest's role, haha. - As snow falls over Neo-Verona, Juliet decides that when the last battle is over, she'll sacrifice herself to Escalus for the sake of the city's people, even though it means breaking the vows she made with Romeo.[/spoiler] Episode 22 [spoiler] - Tybalt finds Juliet in the ruins and tells her that he's going to kill Montague before any of her people get to him. In turn, she says that she's going to offer up her life to save Neo-Verona from ruin. She thinks that maybe she was able to tell Tybalt this, even though she kept it a secret from everyone else, because he's Romeo's brother. She asks him to look after Romeo when she's gone. - Romeo visits Portia to tell her that he's about to go face Montague. - Juliet puts on her battle gear from the OP and leads her forces to the castle. As they're spotted approaching, almost everyone flees. But in this three-way-race of sorts, Tybalt makes it to the throne room first. Once he gets a sword to Montague's throat, though, instead of killing him right away, he demands that Montague tell him whether there's any way to save both the world and Juliet. - This is the moment at which Romeo (rather redundantly, haha) bursts in and attacks. He and Tybalt then proceed to squabble over who gets to kill Montague, which creates enough of a gap for Juliet & co. to arrive. She says that there's no more need for swords and demands that Montague surrender. Montague actually seems like he might, but then Mercutio (who must've been hiding in the room before or something) stabs him from behind. - With his dying breath, Montague calls out the name of Tybalt's mother and falls into Juliet's arms. Tybalt is severely pissed off but tells the insanely laughing Mercutio to get lost; there'd be no value in killing someone like him.[/spoiler] Episode 23 [spoiler]- Before the OP: Romeo kneels to Juliet, telling her that she's the new ruler of Neo-Verona, and asks her to forgive the sins of the Montague family. He entrusts the city to her; he's going to return to the village in hopes of continuing to revive the earth. Juliet answers his implicit promise to return with a simple good-bye. - Juliet and Romeo go their separate ways--Juliet to Escalus (secretly, of course) and Romeo to the vault where his father's body has been laid. Tybalt also comes there, and once they get their family relationship sorted out, Romeo asks Tybalt to find Petruchio's little siblings and give them the gems Petruchio left behind and to take them for a ride on a pegasus. - Angered, Tybalt tells him to stop being so concerned about other people and reveals the truth about Escalus and Juliet. In Escalus' place, she'll undergo an eternity of pain and suffering. - As the earthquakes (skyquakes?) intensify, Romeo catches up with Juliet. They fight over whether or not she should be martyered for Escalus until he manages to disarm her. But then Escalus' roots burst up, separating them. The gradually withering Ophelia appears, declaring that the time of budding/flowering has come, and wings erupt from Juliet's back, dragging her toward the main trunk. - Romeo comes chasing after as Ophelia reaches for Juliet, but Ophelia repels him easily. Smiling, she kisses Juliet, who slumps forward as if her life has been sucked away...[/spoiler] Episode 24 [spoiler]- Ophelia tells Romeo that she's given Juliet the kiss of death, the sign of the contract with Escalus, and that she'll never wake up again. The dying tree itself strikes out at Romeo as he tries to save her. - Enormous portions of land begin to fall throughout the continent. When Ophelia finishes pronouncing the ritual words, Juliet's wings enfold her, and she gets sucked deep into the trunk. - Ophelia observes that the new bud is feeling lost/stranded. Romeo says that it's because the Juliet within it isn't doing this of her free will and that such a cruel fate can't be right. Ophelia asks him whether he would be fine if the whole world were destroyed instead, and he says yes, because he vowed to be by Juliet's side. - She's about to kill him, to erase the seed of Juliet's hesitation, when Tybalt, Curio and Francisco make their entrance. They fight Ophelia & the branches (very stylishly) while Romeo tears his way toward Juliet. He calls out her name again and again until she responds, shattering the giant bud. He lays her on the ground, telling her that she's no longer bound by destiny and can rest. She closes her eyes again. - Romeo destroys Ophelia, who has completely merged with the dead parts of Escalus. Now the continent begins to fall in earnest. - When Juliet wakes up, she sees that Ophelia's final attack pierced Romeo straight through his chest. He tells her that thanks to her, he felt the joy of falling in love for the first time, and that he was truly happy to live in this world where she exists. And then: "I can't call your name anymore. I can't see your form anymore..." - Juliet embraces the dead Romeo, weeping. The supporting characters, some with commoners in tow, have risen on flying horses and are thus escaping the brunt of the damage from the descent. Tybalt tells Juliet to get on his, for this place will soon crumble completely. She answers that because Romeo protected their vow to the end ("in life and in death" etc.), she'll do the same and stay with him. She came here to save everyone, and she can still do that. Even if the rest of Escalus is dead, the wings sprouting from her--the seed inside her--still lives. - At her invocation, her wings grow vast and radiant, shining down on all the people in the air and on the ground. Although the island still hits the sea, its descent is slowed, preventing a greater disaster. - As the credits roll, we see Neo-Verona a little bit in the future. Willy reflects on the fact that none of them knew anything--not that the land was supported by Escalus or even that it was floating in the sky. - Hermione offers a rose & an iris in honor of Romeo and wonders whether he and Juliet are happy together. She says that someday she'll find a way to be happy, too. - Francisco is the new ruler of Neo-Verona! Also, Benvolio's father has been restored to the seat of mayor. - Curio is... a greengrocer? XD Cordelia & Benvolio have a baby. - Conrad, at Juliet's parents' grave, says that perhaps he was wrong ("about everything" is the connotation). An older-looking Antonio denies this; Juliet wouldn't have wanted to see Conrad lament her. - Tybalt takes Petruchio's siblings aloft on the horse Romeo set free earlier in the series (he tells them it's his little brother's). The rest of the horse's family are chilling out on the ground. - The last lines belong to Willy. "War, hatred, sorrow, pain.... that which can end all of them is love. You two taught us the joy of loving others."[/spoiler] That was a [I]great[/I] ending. ~Dagger~

I liked the conversations between the pilots in episode 3. I feel like they're going to reveal their personalities little by little, instead of immediately spewing their personal angst all over the place, which is fine by me. There's an interesting group dynamic at work here, especially with the others' attitudes towards Setsuna. My gut reaction to the IRA thing was pretty squicky. When I thought about it some more, though, there are probably some parallels between that situation and the conflict in Sri Lanka. It would be hypocritical to say that only one of them is inappropriate, so I'm not going to complain about either. So far, Gundam 00 has been handling the real-world political connections tastefully. ~Dagger~

[url=http://callmecaito.livejournal.com/87357.html#cutid1][u]This hilarious LJ entry[/u][/url], posted in response to people's complaints that JKR should have outed him in the books or not at all, has a list of Potter quotes tweaked just a little. For instance: "And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure. But not romantically, I don't dig the ladybits." ~Dagger~

Wow, I'm giddy. [i]So[/i] much sexual tension in episode 3. And the preview for episode 4 shows Ikuto [spoiler][I]biting Amu's ear[/I]![/spoiler] :animeblus Nadeshiko and Tadase's Chara-changes were hilarious & unexpected. Both of them have suddenly become way more interesting. On a side note, Ikuto's seiyuu (Yuuichi Nakamura) is featured prominently in at least two other ongoing shows (Tomoya in Clannad and Graham in Gundam 00). Amu's seiyuu is making her debut with Shugo Chara. ~Dagger~

Just finished the [b]Arietta[/b] OVA. Being in widescreen seems to double Aria's usual healing effect, haha. Frankly, I think I would trade in the entire fall season (with its mechs and its yuri and what have you) if it meant getting more Aria right now. ~Dagger~

Well, the game (once the second half is released) should have five stories total. The anime appears to be covering three of them, but characters from the other stories show up as well. 3.5, maybe? :animeswea Apparently the episode 2 ED is going to be the real OP. Not that it's a bad song or sequence, but man, it seems like a waste to have that gorgeous prologue arrangement and not use it in the actual show... ~Dagger~

Ohoho. Surprisingly enough, the world-situation explanation in episode 2 was easy to follow. That's a good sign. Also, I don't have anything against Setsuna, but I [I]really[/I] want to see Graham kick his *** in episode 3. ~Dagger~

On the figure front, this [url=http://www.alafista.com/2007/10/14/shana-pvc-candy-bikini-ver/][u]bikini Shana[/u][/url] from Kotobukiya looks amazing. I think I'm going to forget about watching the rest of the first season and just settle for gawping at Shana merch. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Billy Shears'][COLOR="DarkRed"][SIZE="1"]GTFO I HAD IT FIRST! Or we could be The Rubbery Friends, kinda like the Superfriends...[/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] I approve of this, though it makes me wonder whether rubbery supervillains are lurking in the shadows even as we speak. ~Dagger~

If nothing else, at least I got a new custom title out of this thread. (Thanks, James!) I find that the capitalization lends it a certain aura of majesty... ~Dagger~

I'm at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. It's a wonderful place (the school, anyway... Poughkeepsie, not quite as much). Right now the [url=http://www.vassar.edu/][u]main page[/u][/url] has some pretty shots of campus. Don't know how long they'll stay up, though. I'm in the largest dorm, which is amazingly convenient--it has the post office, the only big eatery besides the regular dining center, an express lunch station, and a bunch of other amenities that make it possible to basically stay indoors all winter. :catgirl: I'm in a two-room triple (me & my darling roommate from last year are in the double, which is far bigger than the norm, and one of our pals is in the single, which is colossal). The ceilings are high, and the windows--of which we have four--are huge. We've got two walk-in closets and, best of all, [i]built-in bookshelves[/i]. I didn't know much about the Hudson Valley area before I came here, but I've come to love it. The wild clouds, the afternoon light, the river... gorgeous. Regional attractions include the CIA (the Culinary Institute of America), endless strip malls, and one of the best high-end shopping outlets in the country. NYC is just 1.5 hours away by train, which makes weekend trips easy. ~Dagger~

[url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=8190][u]The latest Gundam TV series[/u][/url]. Direction by Seiji Mizushima (FMA); series composition by Yousuke Kuroda (Gungrave); character designs by Yun Kouga (Loveless); music by Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell); opening theme by L'Arc-en-Ciel; main character voiced by Mamoru Miyano (Light in Death Note). Even if this show were totally awful in every other regard, I'd watch it just to see Kouga's artwork. I'm weak like that. But the staff (both animation and vocal) is awesome, and 00 shows a lot of promise. The first episode doesn't do much besides show off super-shiny mecha battles, so I'm looking forward to finding out what comes next. ~Dagger~

That was an awesome first episode. Even if Amu-chan's personality wasn't a clever twist on the magical girl formula, the villain would've won me over. Cat-features get used in anime all the time, but rarely so well. I really want to see more of the blonde who appears with him in the OP & ED. My only reservation at this point is the romantic element. It would be unlike Peach-Pit to go with the typical protag/prince pairing, so I hope that's a red herring. The other guy on the student council (and the villain!) would make more interesting suitors. ~Dagger~

I think my problem with DtB as a whole is that it tried to straddle the episodic-linear divide without a tremendous amount of success in either department. Including shows made up of two- or three-episode story arcs, there have been at least a few amazing episodic anime in recent years (Mushishi, Mononoke), but these don't attempt to have any kind of broader story. Shinichiro Watanabe strikes the best balance, I think, although his shows lean much more toward episodic, anyway. As much as I actually enjoyed watching DtB, a lot of the time I had the nagging sense that they'd come up with this great world but didn't have much of a plot to go with it. It couldn't have been a short OVA or a half-length TV series, because of the amount of exposition required just to flesh out the background, but the main story is kind of thin, as far as full-length series go. ~Dagger~

Oh man. I would totally watch Hayate if it were all about [url=http://chibinonothing.blogspot.com/2007/10/hayate-no-gotoku-revolutionary-butlers.html][u]this[/u][/url]... Now I really want to know how that parody fit in the context of the show. ~Dagger~

:o You guys are out of your minds, but I might stick my head in that chat room for kicks. Although I suppose there are few better ways to kick off October break... ~Dagger~

I liked the storytelling approach to the first episode, but it's already getting a love/hate response, and I can understand why. Instead of going story by story, it mixes them together, emphasizing the connections between the characters. I thought this was pretty awesome, because it lets us see things like Kyousuke's lifestyle prior to chapter 2 of the game, and what Kei and Mizuki were up to on Christmas. (I also thought the scene between Renji and Yuu was a great touch.) That said, it could be off-putting for people who don't know where this all is going. Lovely music, artsy Shaft touches, and a Lucky Star (and Touhou?) reference. That adds up to a good episode 1, as far as I'm concerned. The animation was half amazing and half spotty, but Shaft being Shaft, they'll probably even it out on the DVDs. My only serious complaint right now is that they did a horrible job of adapting Mizuki's character design. I have no idea how that slipped past. ~Dagger~

The 4:3 version is cropped, which means that parts of the picture are missing. If I hadn't seen the widescreen Invitation already, I might have been able to deal with that, but now there's no going back for me. Of course, it's made a bit easier by the fact that I have ef to help meet my bishoujo game adaptation needs (in the interim, anyway). ~Dagger~

Ah, but it's because I respect KyoAni's animation chops so much that I don't want to see the cut-down version. :catgirl: ~Dagger~

Hold out with me! I'm so determined to wait for the widescreen episodes. ~Dagger~