Dagger

I probably won't get the chance to watch episode 24 until tomorrow (*whines and cries*), but in the meantime, here are links to two chibi Death Note figures that are being made by Good Smile Company (one of the better figure companies out there). [url=http://www.hobbystock.jp/item/view/HBY-ICF-00000217][u]Light[/u][/url] ([url=http://www.amiami.com/shop/?vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=HOB-FIG-5282&template=review.html][u]more pictures[/u][/url]) [url=http://www.hobbystock.jp/item/view/HBY-ICF-00000218][u]Ryuk[/u][/url] ([url=http://www.amiami.com/shop/?vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=HOB-FIG-5281&template=review.html][u]more pictures[/u][/url]) Sooooo adorable. Man, I love these Nendoroid figures, especially the interchangeable expressions. GSC has done similar ones for characters like [url=http://www.amiami.com/shop/ProductInfo/product_id/68957][u]Haruhi Suzumiya[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.amiami.com/shop/ProductInfo/product_id/70596][u]Yuki Nagato[/u][/url] as well. ETA: [spoiler]JUST AS PLANNED,[/spoiler] 24 was made up of equal doses of EPIC and WIN. And capslock-inducing fever as well, apparently. More on this later. I tell you, it makes the whole Yotsuba shebang worthwhile. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange] I totally want a plusie of President Aria! (I cannot be alone in this!)[/COLOR][/QUOTE] I would kill for that. ;) (Of course, I would kill even more for the chance to work as an undine.) Cat lovers should definitely watch this series... cats and cat-related mythology play a huge role in some episodes, especially in the second season & whenever supernatural elements come into play. It's funny that you mentioned Haibane Renmei, since Aria got me into the mood to re-watch it. Unlike Haibane, though, Aria doesn't have a strong character arc to serve as its backbone. It's mainly about enjoying the small (and big) things--the beautiful scenery, the changing water, quiet memories, little mysteries, time spent with friends. It does have some very wistful moments, though; the underlying emotional force of the story comes from the fact that, as much as Akari and co. cherish these days, someday they'll have to come to an end. No third season yet, but an OVA (Aria ~ Arietta) was announced at the Tokyo Anime Fair. ~Dagger~

Other people have seen Shingu! It's a miracle! (Heheh.) The show takes some getting used to in that it has sci-fi and action elements but is preponderantly a more nostalgic story about friendship and community. In that sense, it's sort of comparable to Figure 17 (which was produced by Shingu's director, actually), although Shingu's tone is much more upbeat. I own the singles, but I was thinking of rewatching it around the time that the thinpak comes out. And yeah, Muryou is a big draw. :love: ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Ikillion][COLOR=#0e1030][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS] I may go back and watch some of the episodes from this arc but I really doubt it since after watching a couple of the first episodes of it I really lost interest.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] Yeah, I had a hard time there as well. No need to punish yourself. Especially not if you know what's going to happen... ~Dagger~

[quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray']Will 3D overtake it all regardless?[/color][/quote] [url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/15/disney.newprincess.ap/index.html][u]Thankfully, no[/u][/url]. As far as future innovation goes, I think most of it will continue to take place in Japan. The vast majority of anime are just as stagnant (in their own way) as the kid/parent-oriented CG movies that American studios keep churning out eagerly. Even the good stuff--the stuff that gets critical praise as well as fans--is rarely innovative when it comes to how it's actually animated. I don't think that increasingly eye-popping and slick animation counts for much; anyone can make something look pretty if it has a decent-sized budget. That's like video games inching closer and closer to the rich detail of realism... to what end? Direction style and sakuga (the actual drawings) are more important when it comes to creatively pushing the envelope. Maybe it's due to the concentration of sakuga freaks in Japan as opposed to in America. Either way, Japan seems to have a stronger market for animation that pushes boundaries, even if it's still a niche within a niche. I'm sure that plenty of short films and other types of daring animated works, 2-D and 3-D, get produced in America, Europe, etc. But it's only in Japan that you see stuff like [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6722][u]Kemonozume[/u][/url] (a TV series) and [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=4363][u]Mind Game[/u][/url] (a full-length movie) being made. After all, when did the last work like The Triplets of Belleville appear? ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange] Also the dance scene was freaking rediculously hilaruious. I was rolling, seriously. that was just too awesome (and even further brought the 'ZOMG Kyon=Yuuichi thing out XD).[/COLOR][/QUOTE] I half expected them to start doing the Hare Hare Yukai dance. :animeswea One of my favorite parts of the Shiori arc (aside from how wonderful Shiori herself is, as you mentioned) was how the writers worked in what happened after [spoiler]her earlier encounter with Ayu and Yuuichi. A light-hearted meeting for them was life-changing in every sense of the word for her.[/spoiler] And of course I really enjoyed Yuuichi's brotherly relationship with her. ~Dagger~

Ahh... this is more like it. Episode 23: In which L and Watari add [spoiler]helicopter flying and super l33t sniping[/spoiler] to their resumes, L once again dabbles in [spoiler]bondage games[/spoiler] with Misa, much dramatic music is played, and more action takes place than in all the other episodes (so far) put together. If Madhouse plays their cards right, and there's no reason to believe that they're dull enough not to do so, then the next episode should be the best in the entire show (again, so far) by a long shot. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange] Also, i thought it was a little obvious that Shiori was [spoiler]ill-fated[/spoiler] but I think it'll be a little cheesy if she [spoiler] dies simply because so many characters seem to meet that fate, and possibly cuz I watched Air so soon before.[/spoiler][/COLOR][/QUOTE] My lips (fingers?) are sealed. ;) Oh, I almost forgot! Mai's best line: "Hachimitsu Kuma-san." It'll be interesting to find out what you think when you get to the end. Opinions are pretty divided over how the final episode handled everything, but seeing it actually elevated my opinion of the series as a whole. ~Dagger~

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy][COLOR=DarkOrange']Okie dokie! I'm pretty sure the last episode of this just aired about a week ago[/color][/quote] Yep. The winter of Kanon is over... [QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOrange]I absolutely love this show, just as I absolutely loved Air. I think the main thing it does better than Air, though, is integrating the plotlines well. In the first few episodes they took some time to annunciate the characters before pulling them into their respective plotlines one at a time.[/color][/quote] I can only imagine how much more amazing AIR might have become if it had been given as many episodes as Kanon. :animedepr [QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOrange]When her friend (who's name escaped me >_< Im terrible with that)...[/COLOR][/QUOTE] Sayuri. Did you catch the fact that she was voiced by the same seiyuu as Misuzu? Nihaha. [QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOrange]The explanation of her part was interesting, and it worked out well. It was a surprisingly [spoiler]happy[/spoiler] ending, and i think it went rather well.[/color][/quote] This was one of the few parts of the show that surprised me (I had been spoiled for a lot of big plot developments, unfortunately). The montage which wordlessly explained [spoiler]her abilities and the fall-out from them[/spoiler] was very effective. Yuuichi was a total pimpmaster as a kid. Given how they tried to integrate the girls' stories in the present, I wish that they had been able to do something similar for the past. I would've had an easier time accepting the fact that he hung out with [spoiler]Mai, Makoto, Nayuki [i]and[/i] Ayu[/spoiler] as a child if some of the flashbacks showed them meeting briefly or at least being aware of one another's existence. ~Dagger~

I'm still not planning on watching this yet, but I just ran into something really amusing. [URL=http://img265.imageshack.us/my.php?image=espersightingrg7.jpg][IMG]http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1710/espersightingrg7.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Haha. And that's an actual character, isn't it? (I'm also pretty sure I spotted a Yuki cameo in some beachside screencap of Momoha.) ~Dagger~

[CENTER][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/4247_400x600.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] This shoujo series is a couple decades old but is just now being released by CMX. The similarities between it and the twin sub-plots in Ouran High School Host Club are so numerous that if you're familiar with Ouran, you can probably predict a lot about how things will develop in Cipher. Cipher came first, of course. ;) The main characters are the identical twins Cipher and Siva and Anise, a girl who befriends them. Growing up, the twins were child stars. Two years ago, though, Cipher stopped acting. Siva is the one who attends school and acts--or so Anise thinks, until she figures out that they have both been living as "Siva"... switching off day after day, in both school and acting gigs, for the entirety of those two years. To keep her quiet, they make a deal. She has two weeks to figure out which one is Cipher and which one is Siva. If she gets it right, they'll tell her why they started switching off. If she fails, she has to stop poking her nose into their business. Cipher is a fun (and often funny) series with some darker elements. Siva and Cipher have a very touchy-feely relationship--exactly the kind of set-up that Ouran simultaneously parodies and uses for its own drama--but it doesn't come off as being cheap or even incestuous. The heroine is individualistic and rarely thinks about romance: I was tickled pink when [spoiler]she and Cipher started kissing just as casually as Cipher and Siva.[/spoiler] I'm up to volume 5, in which they start to delve into the twins' back-story. Volume 6 should be out already, and I'm hoping to get my hands on it soon. ~Dagger~

:love: Ordinarily I would toss out a list of favorite episodes or something, but that's really hard to do with this series. Well, looking at what you have coming up if you continue to watch it, 14 and 21 are two of the creepiest (interestingly, they have similar themes). 17 and 20 are great, too. But who am I kidding? I love all of them. I can't wait to see this again on DVD. I wish Funi would hurry and get a trailer up... they've already posted a trailer for at least one of their other summer series (Suzuka). ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=bellpickle][SIZE=1]What. I. What.[/size][/quote]:animesmil Akagi philosophizes: [spoiler]"I've never made bets because of what I have to gain. Simply having people die meaningless deaths from the outcome of a gamble... It's better that way. That gets closer to the meaningless death that is the essence of gambling. I'll get closer to its depths. That's where the real pleasure in gambling is."[/spoiler] Sooooo hardcore. :animenose (That quote is supposed to explain his nasty habit of, in lieu of ordinary monetary bets, [spoiler]suggesting that his opponents chop off their fingers, hands or arms if they lose.[/spoiler]) It's hilarious when hardened yakuza guys gape at him and use trembling voice-overs to call him the embodiment of pure evil. At any rate, the key difference between Akagi and Hikaru no Go is that in Hikaru no Go, all but the most despicable characters are in it purely for the love of the game. In Akagi, there's a tacit understanding that the game could be anything; (psychologically) slaughtering one another is all they really care about. Cheating is often glorified. My favorite part is how the tiles start smoking whenever someone makes a really bad*** move. I just wish the show had some kind of cheesy shounen victory theme a la "Number One" from Bleach. Trivia: The ending theme is by Maximum the Hormone, who also contributed Death Note's second OP and ED. Akagi's ED is a lot more listenable, though. And I still have no clue how to play the darn game. ~Dagger~

At least the first couple of them are worth buying. I had to pinch pennies to get my hands on the early Grimoires, but I don't recall having any issues with gil by the endgame. ~Dagger~

Forget the roars of DBZ and other macho action shows. As far as I'm concerned, [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6294][u]this[/u][/url] is the most hardcore, insane and unexpectedly addictive anime [i]ever[/i]. What's it about? Mahjong. Specifically, mahjong games in which yakuza leaders bet millions of yen, body parts, control over gangs and their own lives. The main character, Akagi, is a poker-faced thirteen-year-old who descends into the dark side of Japan--a man's world. But he's also blessed with balls of titanium. Hearing about this character was what convinced me to watch the show... and it took a lot of convincing. I mean, first off, the animation is quite solid, but the artwork is as ugly as sin. [url=http://img337.imageshack.us/my.php?image=snapshot20070320034734oj5.jpg][u]This[/u][/url] is not a face you want to encounter in a dark alley, and he's the most pleasant-looking of the lot. Anyway, even though I'd seen people wax eloquent about Akagi's incredible [url=http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gar][u]GAR[/u][/url] factor, he still took me by surprise. He's an amoral genius in the mold of Light from Death Note and Lelouch from Code Geass, except that he's waaaay above their level. In the first episode, he's just a mahjong newbie. By the fourth episode, he's giving Russian roulette a whirl. Later, when some brats with a grudge corner him, he lets them beat him without offering any resistance... until he looks up, head dripping blood, and says quietly, "It's not enough. Even as a minor, I won't get away with killing three people. I want you to injure me enough so I can use self-defense as an excuse." There are no "good" characters in this show, and little in the way of traditional character development. Just episode after episode of totally mind-blowing ballsiness. ~Dagger~

I wonder if Paku does any singing in Nana? (She plays Nana O., the lead vocalist in a band. Other people sing the openings and endings of the show, so maybe not...) It can be startling at first, but I do enjoy hearing her in female parts. Same goes for [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=9961][u]Junko Minagawa[/u][/url]; before I saw Aria, I had only heard her as the main characters of Prince of Tennis and Loveless (both young male roles). In Aria, though, she plays a cool onee-san type. It's funny how these low-voiced female seiyuu tend to get cast as either pretty boys or bishounen-esque women--hey, maybe that's why I like them. The divine [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=411][u]Mitsuki Saiga[/u][/url] has many bishounen roles, but the females she plays (such as Chie in My-Otome and the Countess in Gilgamesh) are oh so suave. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Lunox][color=dimgray] For some reason I've only watched one of Satoshi Kon's movies, which most anime fans will call a crying shame. I really want to check out [i]Paprika[/i] when it releases in the US, though. From the preview I saw online the animation quality is fantastic and it seems chock full of great design and magical realism. All I hope for a equally stimulating storyline and character cast. [/color][/QUOTE] Heh, same here--all I've seen is Millennium Actress and Paranoia Agent. Paprika does look awesome; I wish they would hurry up and announce a DVD date for it. Here's an awesome [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9remU-fvbk][u]Seirei no Moribito clip[/u][/url] (most of the dialogue is from the interview during which it aired, not from the actual show). With more and more shows having great action, even if only for a few episodes, it takes something of a really high level to stand out. I just love battle scenes in which they show you the characters' full range of motion without covering it up with special effects. Also, non-samurai weapons and tough women for the win. ~Dagger~

I've become a little desensitized to Koyasu, since he really is in [i]everything[/i], but he's certainly good at what he does. Scanning through that list, I'd say my favorite roles of his are Touga in Revolutionary Girl Utena, Fool in Kaleido Star and Ukyo in Samurai 7. I think I like hearing him in comedic, crazy & over-the-top roles best. (He was great as a ballet-dancing villain in Speed Grapher.) And man... I had no idea that he played Seishirou in the Tokyo Babylon OVA. Now I feel like I really need to see it. [quote name='Phenom']The only time I don't really care for Crispin Freeman is when he's doing these comedic roles. The only comedic role I liked him in was S-Cry-ed as Straight Cougar. Personally, I think he needs to stick to the serious type roles. He just don't seem to be that great in comedies.[/quote] My favorite Freeman role would definitely be Albedo from the Xenosaga games. I don't think it's a shining example of his acting, but it's so much fun to listen to, because you can tell that he's really straining to sound as psychotic, strung out and emotionally disturbed as the role demands. Not his best part, but he does it with total gusto. Of course, I also love the character, so I guess I'm kind of biased. I've never heard him in a true comedic role, although people seem to say good things about him in Irresponsible Captain Tylor and Chobits. Interestingly, the character he plays in Chobits was played in Japanese by Tomokazu Sugita... aka Kyon in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Crispin Freeman has also been cast as Kyon for the Haruhi dub. A lot of the dub will hinge on him, since Kyon's sarcastic narration is a big part of what makes the show funny. I'm looking forward to finding out how he fares. I think his best role, acting-wise, is Tsume in Wolf's Rain. ~Dagger~

I always took care of flying enemies with two party members casting Drain (or a relatively low-level attack spell) and the third using a long-range weapon. They generally seemed weaker to me than some of the ground enemies in the same areas. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Sandy] I was disappointed by how useless the Quickenings and especially Espers turned out to be in the end-game, when in the beginning they felt even a bit too powerful. Having all your MP drained out just wasn't desirable in a tough situation when healing and buffering was direly needed... [/QUOTE] Wow, really? I agree that Espers were not as powerful as in some previous games like FFVIII, though I still used them for feeling out or softening up bosses. By using chains, though, it's possible to take out all of the later bosses almost solely with Quickenings. (I felt a little guilty about falling back on that, haha, but it was still fun). If you start with three characters who have almost all their MP, do a decently sized chain, then switch in your reserve members for another long chain--well, most bosses will have practically nothing left in their health bars. ~Dagger~

Which seiyuu or voice actors have impressed you lately? What are your all-time favorite performances? I thought of this while rewatching AIR for the [i]n[/i]th time. While the show is spectacular to look at and does a great job of evoking its characters' emotions through visuals alone, it wouldn't be the same without the acting of [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=14929][u]Daisuke Ono[/u][/url] and [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=526][u]Tomoko Kawakami[/u][/url]. As Misuzu, a female character with a cute, high-pitched voice, Kawakami delivers some of the most heartrending sobbing I've ever heard. She's equally convincing as the male main character of Hikaru no Go (who ages from twelve to fifteen over the course of the show). [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=910][u]Tomokazu Sugita[/u][/url] might be best known as the voice of Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon. I'd also heard him in Honey & Clover, but his [spoiler]breakdowns[/spoiler] in the final few episodes of Kanon 2006 (in which he plays the protagonist, Yuuichi) actually made me hold my breath. Two of the most memorable performances I've seen (heard?) are [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=8851][u]Ryou Hirohashi[/u][/url] as Sora in Kaleido Star and [url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1030][u]Jouji Nakata[/u][/url] as the Count of Monte Cristo in Gankutsuou. Of course, my reasons for liking them are pretty different. :p ~Dagger~

Spring 2008 is soooo faaaar awaaaay... but yeah, that might be the most likely scenario. [url=http://www.genius-party.jp/#][u]This[/u][/url] looks interesting. It's a theatrical project called [B]Genius Party[/B] and will consist of shorts directed by leading animators (nine from Japan, one from France). The whole thing is being organized by maverick Studio 4°C. The people contributing to it have previously worked on stuff like The Animatrix, Robot Carnival, Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Akira, Kemonozume, Perfect Blue, Macross, Tenshi no Tamago and Linkin Park's "Breaking the Habit" music video. The first group of ten to twenty minute shorts is supposed to be in Japanese theaters this summer, but the world premiere is scheduled to take place in New York next February. ~Dagger~

Yeah, there is that. It's possible that Clannad will pre-empt the second season of Haruhi--they already have a trailer ready, after all, and I guess the date of a Haruhi continuation was never formally announced. Personally? Well, I'm a bit (

[SIZE=1]Here are a couple of minor updates. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omo3q7SkVzo][u]Terra e promo[/u][/url] [15 seconds] [url=http://ga.sbcr.jp/news/0702/099/index.html][u]Claymore screenshots[/u][/url] [click for larger versions] L'Arc-en-ciel will be doing the theme song for Seirei no Moribito. As for Terra e, its first OP will be by UVERworld (who also performed D-tecnolife, the second Bleach OP, and Colors of the Heart, the third Blood+ OP). A [B]Kyo Kara Maoh OVA[/B] has been announced for the fall. It's scheduled for just five episodes, but I suspect they'll make more if the DVDs keep selling. Also, BONES is finally going to produce a movie of theirs that has been long in the making, a period piece called [B]Stranger - Mukoh Hadan[/B]. They've promised that it'll have the best swordfights ever seen in a samurai anime. Fall '07 in Japan. In other licensing news, Geneon has slyly picked up [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shounen_Onmyouji][u][B]Shounen Onmyouji[/B][/u][/url] ([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1WkDn3cf54][u]OP sequence[/u][/url]), a historical action-adventure fantasy (I think). Don't know much about it, but the opening song is great.[/SIZE] ----------------------------------- And here's a major update. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eODN-vvEf0o&eurl=][u]Clannad[/u][/url], another bishoujo game from Key (Kanon, AIR), is being made into a TV anime. More information will be coming on the 20th, so it's not yet clear whether it'll air this year or next year. ~Dagger~

I read the first three volumes this afternoon. One of the reasons I like it Oyayubihime so far is that it's not just about idols, the music industry, TV dramas, high school life, romance, the Edo period or reincarnation--it combines all of them! However, I'm concerned by the fact that all signs point toward a Kanoko/Tsubame pairing (and have done so since the beginning). I suppose it's not Tsubame's fault, but I have an instinctive dislike for his character type (naive, vulnerable and cluelessly kind, yet energetic & idolized at the same time). He's such an open book that I can't find anything interesting about him. It doesn't help that he makes me think of a stupider, flatter version of Daiya from Parfait Tic--who is actually a very convincing, well-developed and likeable character. So far my favorite character is Mike. I hope he, at least, gets a happy ending. ~Dagger~