Dagger

Well, since you mentioned Tenchi... Realistically (yeah, I know it's a moot point), Ayeka, Ryoko, etc. wouldn't even have heard of Japanese, much less know how to speak it fluently. Many aspects of the show are informed by Japanese culture--but even so, that doesn't somehow make Japanese the ideal language choice for the alien characters. I would say that in Tenchi's case, the language being spoken and the show itself are not inextricably entwined. I mean, when there are hot alien women running around, it's pretty silly to ignore the language barrier by having the entire cast speak either all in Japanese or all in English. That just can't be helped, though. So from my point of view, Tenchi is actually a good example of an anime for which one can't really take the "Japanese context" tack--even though much of it does take place in Japan. I'm not really sure if that's what you meant, heh, but it's what I was trying to drive at. Sort of. ~Dagger~

[quote name='eljuaneza']Animations, or anime, are originally japanese in language. Given the case, the context are japanese also.[/quote] For every anime that's set in modern-day Japan, there are at least two others which take place in a) other countries, b) the distant future, c) an alternate/fantasy world, d) the distant past, e) somewhere else. For example, look at [b]Monster[/b]. It's set in eastern Europe (primarily Germany and the Czech Republic). The original language may be Japanese, but the [i]context[/i] is wholly different. So I think that particular argument can only be applied to series which take place mainly in contemporary Japan (e.g. [b]Azumanga Daioh[/b]). ~Dagger~

All IGPX-related discussion belongs [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=50245][u]here[/u][/url]. As always, please keep in mind that it's important to have good post quality. We don't ask that you make every single one of your posts super-long; however, if your reply [i]is[/i] going to be very short and to the point, using proper grammar/spelling/etc. is particularly critical. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

Oh man. I just watched an [i]awesome[/i] trailer for this game. I wasn't that pumped up or anything before, but now I'm really excited. Kind of funny to hear Jack Sparrow speaking Japanese though, heh. I guess what I'm looking forward to most is the stuff dealing with Beauty and the Beast, Mulan & Pirates of the Caribbean. Seems like [spoiler]Cloud will be returning in his Advent Children[/spoiler] outfit... it was pretty cool seeing [spoiler]him and Leon[/spoiler] fighting back to back. ~Dagger~

Echo was a curly-haired woman around the same height as he--well, perhaps a finger's width taller. He took note of her nails (a rich hunter green and a bit on the long side; they would get in the way if she planned to use weapons), her bangles, her facial expression, and at last turned away, confident that he understood her. A little too confident, maybe; he had some difficulty sustaining his hope that she might turn out to be more useful than she seemed. He felt the tips of his fingers twitch together, as if grabbing at something without his consent. He had explained the situation to her and Persona, insofar as he himself grasped it. The latter, of course, remained a blank slate. Echo, on the other hand, was easy enough to read: she had been anxious from the beginning, and learning that they were being forced to delve into this with so little information had done nothing but heighten her trepidation. He could hardly tell her to work with Persona. "Alright," he said, taking her by the elbow. She jerked, startled, then stared at the wall in obvious embarrassment. [i]This is going to be difficult[/i]. He shot her a practiced smile that she probably found to be more unsettling than reassuring, and as he spoke he steered her toward the door. "If you've no questions, let's be off. You'll stay with me, won't you? Persona, could you take a look at the warehouses"--he pointed vaguely--"Over thataway? Around the perimeter, I mean. We'll head deeper into the complex--for now, at least." "No questions," Echo said. Persona nodded. Okita smiled again, automatically, and circumvented a crate of wigs. "Well, that's nice." He dropped her arm the moment they crossed the threshold; he was now fairly certain that she wouldn't go to pieces on him. It was not his task to be comforting, anyway. His swords, slung at his side, bumped his leg lightly as he walked. It felt pleasantly anachronistic to wear them like this, with his oh-so-Western suit and tie, his expensive shoes. He sang under his breath as he began to outpace her: "[i]Ame ame fure fure, kaasan ga[/i] . . ." Had it been so long? He could not recall whether he had learned it in his own childhood, or much later. The rest of the words eluded him, till he reached the sounds evoking rain. "[i]Pichi pichi chapu chapu--[/i]" Without missing a beat, he did a swift about-face and shoved Echo behind him. "Aren't we lucky," he murmured. Then, pitched for the eavesdropper's benefit: "You can come out, you know. I don't bi--oh, well, never mind." The hilt of his katana felt faintly and exquisitely cold. The subsequent footstep was startlingly loud. Not built for stealth, was he? Or she--or it. The stench was that of something rotting. "Watch for as long as you can," Okita told Echo, looking briefly over his shoulder. She appeared to be taking it far more steadily than he had dared to expect. [i]Good[/i]. Another step. Was he imagining the earth trembling? Could this thing possibly be less inconspicious? At least Persona knew to not come rushing to their aid. He tossed her the shorter of his two swords; hopefully she would not be averse to the idea of breaking a few nails. "That's a gift."

My name is a reference to Princess Garnet, one of the main characters of Final Fantasy IX (hence the fact that it used to be "Dagger IX1"). It's not that I particularly identify with her or anything, but I did enjoy FFIX very much. And it amused me to discover that not only do I look vaguely like her (same hair, etc.), but we also share the same real name. I'm not talking about "Garnet," obviously... at the Eidolon Wall, if you go through some kind of complicated procedure, it's revealed that she was originally called [spoiler]Sarah.[/spoiler] I use Dagger or something related to it at a lot of difference places (and in lieu of that, I usually have an "IX" tacked onto the end of my name). I guess it's a way to use my real name without actually using my real name, if that makes any sense. I like it, anyway. :p ~Dagger~

Please post [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=14124&page=3][u]here[/u][/url] if you would like to discuss anything related to s-CRY-ed. Also, lilkid, I'd like you to keep in mind that OB places a strong emphasis on post quality. Your posts don't have to be extremely long or anything, but clarity is important; many of your past replies have been incoherent and/or difficult to read. So in the future, do try to incorporate correct punctuation and so forth. If you have any questions, feel free to private message me or one of the other staff members. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

Episode 34: Oh noes! :animecry: However, before I get into [i]that[/i]... I thought I'd mention that episode 34 is (in terms of artwork and animation quality) the best episode so far--and by a wide margin, too. I was exceedingly impressed by both Armstrong's fight at the beginning and [spoiler]Ed's final battle against Greed,[/spoiler] but especially the latter. The fluidity and creativity definitely surpassed anything shown previously in FMA. I felt as though even the still shots were extra-detailed and more carefully drawn than usual. And if the preview is any indication of what's to come, the series may continue adhering to this new level of quality. So at least [spoiler]Greed was able to go out with a real bang. Even so, I can't say his death didn't get me down. It didn't touch me emotionally, but it did give me a sense of regret--in this episode more so than any of the previous ones, he proved himself to be one of the coolest Homunculi... and also one of the most "human" and sympathetic.[/spoiler] Looks as though there wasn't anything weird going on with [spoiler]Dante. I guess this means I'll have to shift my suspicions onto Lyra.[/spoiler] Which shouldn't be much of a problem, since I already harbor a bit of hatred toward her for her part in facilitating [spoiler]Greed's death.[/spoiler] EDIT: Also, I'm rather depressed that this means I won't be hearing [spoiler]Chris Patton[/spoiler] in FMA anymore. He did such a fantastic job with his role. ~Dagger~

Heh, interesting. Usually what people complain about is the animation/artwork quality [i]dropping off[/i] after the first few episodes, but the opposite can be true in some cases. Long-running series are the most obvious example. For instance, look at Yu Yu Hakusho: its budget was increased astronomically as it went along, since it proved to be so popular. But if anything, that's the exception and not the rule. Too often, studios put a lot of money into the first episode (in order to hook viewers early, I guess) and then slack off later. This has become especially rampant in the past few years, as more and more series look sloppy when they air on TV but are cleaned up or even totally re-animated for DVD. Many episodes of the Negima anime were completely redone (with a new animation team) for the DVD version. Tsukuyomi ~ Moon Phase is another recent example; at least two of its episodes were horribly done in comparison to the rest of the series, and they were fixed up before they came out on DVD. Anyway, Mezzo is a good example of the animation drop-off syndrome. The beginning was close to OVA quality, if I remember correctly, but it took a turn for the worse pretty quickly. ~Dagger~

Just watched the DVD. The [i]oni[/i] designs are probably my favorite part of the production--it's really neat to see something that traditional come out so well with all-CG art. The best shot was the long pan up the tower at the very end, though. There are a lot of extra features related to the Japanese staff, which made me happy. I especially liked the interview with the director (which was quite interesting, and oddly poignant too). ~Dagger~

Please don't bring back really old threads, guys. Especially since there's already a current & active "villain" topic in this sub-forum. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=DarkDragon][CENTER][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1] How exactly do you [B]pronounce yaoi[/B]?[/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/QUOTE] This is one of those wonderful, time-honored questions for which you'll probably get about a billion different answers supported by such evidence as, "I have a friend of a friend of a cousin who's Japanese, and s/he says it's definitely supposed to be 'yah-oy,'" etc. Yet another reason to just say boys' love instead. Speaking for myself, I've been pretty well persuaded that it's supposed to be pronounced more like yah-oy than yaoi (the latter would rhyme with aoi; that is, ah-oh-ee). But for whatever it's worth, Wikipedia disagrees. ~Dagger~

I actually really enjoyed parts of this series--so much so that it kind of confused me, haha. I guess I felt like it showed a lot more potential than it really deserved to. (Perhaps Wind reminds you of AIR because they're both based on bishoujo games? Although I found Wind to be a lot more disjointed and confusing. I would like to see it again with the four or so DVD-only episodes inserted wherever they were supposed to go in the first place. I don't know if it would make the story flow better, but I really did find Wind to be surprisingly appealing, and I wouldn't mind giving it a second chance.) I think there's also a Wind OVA, but I haven't seen it. ~Dagger~

An additional new title has popped up on DMP's site. And it's one of my absolute favorites! Plus, you can see cover art and such for the other new licenses [url=http://www.yaoi-manga.com/future][u]here[/u][/url]. [url=http://www.yaoi-manga.com/titles?n=46][u]Dousaibou Seibutsu[/u][/url] I really adore & recommend this manga (I think they're calling it "Same Cell Organism" now). The art has a nice, sketchy, organic quality to it that I find immensely attractive. It's a one-volume title, but the story feels complete. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, except that it has an interestingly mellow, slice-of-life sort of atmosphere that you'd be hard-pressed to find in other BL series. ~Dagger~

As of today, ANN says that [b]Loveless[/b] is licensed. I haven't been this happy in... oh, screw that. This ******* rocks. Media Blasters, who also own the rights to Sukisho, will give us volume 1 on February 14th (appropriately enough). Apparently it'll be a 3-disc release, complete with extras ("Ohayou, Loveless-kun," anyone?). Time to break out the good ol' cat-person smilie. :catgirl: ~Dagger~

[b]meka2003:[/b] In the future, please keep in mind that OtakuBoards places a strong emphasis on post quality. The thread hasn't totally tanked or anything, so I'm not closing it. Generally speaking, though, it's important for thread creators to set a good example, so that the topic generates a quality discussion rather than spam. In this case, that would entail asking people to explain why they can re-watch these anime over and over. Thanks in advance for remembering. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Stark']As for the Utena bit--I don't recall any girls saving boys. Then again, I've only read a couple volumes of the manga (4-ish. I think) so maybe I missed something...[/quote] I was referring to the anime rather than the manga (they're extremely different, so much so that I couldn't really bring myself to read much past the first volume of the manga). Actually I didn't point to the series as just an instance of a girl being chivalrous. Girl-power picture books and so forth are quite in vogue nowadays--but the older fairy tales are what seem to hold the most power over children, which shouldn't be terribly surprising. Utena stands out because it's not just a shallow role-reversing, "girls can do anything boys can do" type of story. Those are a dime a dozen. Utena, on the other hand, offers a much darker and more satirical examination of gender roles. Particularly noteworthy are the differences in how Utena & Anthy acquire and use power. Utena may cross-dress and defend girls the way a male is supposed to, and so forth, but at the same time she still secretly wants a romance with a prince. Anthy, who holds a very traditional female role--submissive, incredibly passive-aggressive, wielding power almost solely through her sexuality (and even then it's all very sordid and secretive and repressed)--simultaneously admires and despises Utena for her posing. I could go on, but I'll stop there. My main point, or one of them, is that the issues with feminine roles in society stem as much from within women themselves as from outside forces (although the inner problems can probably find their origins in said outside forces, anyway). ~Dagger~

Welcome to OtakuBoards! We don't allow introduction threads, but feel free to start posting in the forum of your choice. Keep in mind that this particular sub-forum is for discussing anime; if you'd like to talk about manga, just head over to the Manga Workshop. And if you have any questions, please private message me or one of the other staff members. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Adahn']Stark, we both know why the girl never saves the boy. It's a good question to ask people to get them to think, though. //snip// That's what I'm trying to do here, to help more people see what's going on around them.[/quote] Or you could just get them to watch [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Girl_Utena][u]Revolutionary Girl Utena[/u][/url]. [quote][i]"Once upon a time, years and years ago... there was a little princess, and she was very sad, for her mother and father had died. Before the princess appeared a traveling prince riding upon a white horse. He had a regal bearing and a kind smile. The prince wrapped the princess in a rose-scented embrace and gently wiped the tears from her eyes. 'Little one,' he said, 'who bears up alone in such deep sorrow. Never lose that strength or nobility, even when you grow up. I give you this to remember this day. We will meet again. This ring will lead you to me, one day.' Perhaps the ring the prince gave her was an engagement ring. This was all well and good, but so impressed was she by him that the princess vowed to become a prince herself one day. But was that really such a good idea?"[/i][/quote] Similar polls have been held at the other anime forum I post at regularly. Interestingly, the female:male ratio there is somewhere in the realm of 3:4. I'm surprised that OB is so close to 1:1. ~Dagger~

Heh. It's becoming pretty evident how they're slowing down to accomodate the manga. Personally I'd prefer it if they plumped up the really important fights and kept the lesser ones moving along a little more snappily, but oh well. I was very pleased, needless to say, that episode 56 ended with [spoiler]Yoruichi about to totally school Soi Fong.[/spoiler] The former is my favorite female character in the show, I think. This was mostly a setting-up episode, anyway. It's kind of frustrating to have a double cliffhanger--having them stop in the middle of not one, but two fights, I mean. I loved the Yumichika & Zenpachi & Higashi cameos, though. I'm really interested in learning about how Yumichika's Zanpakuto works. [quote name='Ben Holiday']I too am sad that so little attention was paid to Ichigo and Byakuya fighting but am hoping there is a good reason for it.[/quote] Seems that their battle will receive more of an in-depth focus in the next episode, if the preview is anything to go by. ~Dagger~

There's a distinction to be drawn here: what's good to me/you personally, versus what's good in an objective sense. Here's an example. Not to harp on Inuyasha, but since it's already been mentioned... does Inuyasha have filler? Yes, that's a fact. Does the villain remain the same throughout the entire series? Yes. Does it have much of an ending? No, not really. A few people may actually like these characteristics. Some might not care either way, or enjoy the positive aspects of the show enough to keep the traits mentioned above--or anything else that could be construed as negative, actually--from bothering them. Still others will find stuff like that to be completely intolerable. That's all opinion. [i]But[/i]--and this is kind of hard to express clearly, but I'll try--depending on whom you speak with, certain characteristics will be viewed widely as being either good or bad. This is where the whole message board demographics thing comes into play--a lurking variable, if you will. It seems pretty self-evident (talk to members of an Inuyasha forum, and they'll probably like most aspects of Inuyasha; talk to members of a forum focusing on super-arty series, and they probably won't). Even so, it's something to keep in mind if you get tired of people complaining about length or filler or the like. I rarely see anyone try to assert that a particular anime is objectively bad, and that enjoying said show means you have terrible taste and are doomed as a fan. It just means that they've stated an opinion without going to the trouble of disclaiming it as such--and so long as they're not being particularly abrasive, they shouldn't really have to. And this thread kind of overlaps with the bashing topic, now that I think about it. I may merge them. ~Dagger~

[b]Boys Next Door[/b] is by Kaori Yuki. If you liked it, I also recommend [b]Kaine[/b] (not nearly as powerful, but it has beautiful art and is of a similar length). While we're talking about Last Client, does anyone know if the art in chapter 7 was ever corrected? It was interesting to have a glimpse at what her preliminary sketches look like, but considering that it's one of the key installments in the series, I'd have preferred seeing finished art... ~Dagger~

I split this off from the other thread because you're just curious about the show; it's not related to the topic of bashing or whatnot. Blood+ is an alternate universe take on Blood: The Last Vampire, a stylish but short movie. The main character of the series is Saya, a schoolgirl living in Okinawa. She has been taken in by a foster family and has no memories of her past. One day, she forgets her track shoes at school, and returns there late at night to get them. While on campus, she's attacked by a mysterious beast. An equally mysterious man fends the beast off and asks her to fight. Frightened, she tries to flee. But when the situation becomes truly dire, another side of her "awakens," and she undergoes a drastic personality shift, becoming a fearless fighter and even (albeit briefly) speaking in English. So basically it's an action-horror series. You can expect monster-fighting, angst from Saya, probably some digs at America (given the show's location), stuff related to vampires, etc. ~Dagger~

Well, I guess I'd have to go with [b]Loveless[/b]. It's one of the very few BL anime that I would point to as being a high-quality piece of work, period--not just "good for a BL series." Artistically, it's so much more ambitious than comparable anime that there's almost no comparison. The writing is solid and at times quite excellent. I love how it twists around BL cliches. Prime example: in the first episode Soubi repeatedly tells Ritsuka that he loves him, with pretty much no rhyme or reason to it. Commence the eye-rolling. But in the second episode, it's revealed that [spoiler]Soubi (who used to be the Fighter assigned to Ritsuka's older brother) was actually [i]ordered[/i] by Ritsuka's brother to declare his love.[/spoiler] And Ritsuka, who by all appearances would seem to be a typical uke, is the powerful one in the relationship. The music is rich and atmospheric, and the artwork stays consistent throughout. The spell battles are quite innovative and impressive, too. If Loveless ever gets a second season, I'm almost certain the series as a whole would end up being one of my top favorites for anime in general (i.e., not just BL). I can't find fault with [b]Ai no Kusabi[/b], but it'll be a long time before I can bring myself to see it again. It's practically the Texhnolyze of BL anime--excellent on every level, but so grim and depressing that it can be quite difficult to watch. There's a kind of gritty beauty in it, though, and the animation is top-notch. Those are the two BL anime that stand out for me most. I like Gravitation, Yami no Matsuei (whatever, I'm callin' it BL, haha) and Mirage of Blaze as well, but they don't hold up against my general anime favorites. I also have a soft spot for Zetsuai & Bronze & Cathexis, but I think that's probably just me, haha. ~Dagger~

Just a heads-up: OB doesn't allow double-posting, so I'm going to merge your two replies in a second. If you'd like to add some new information, and you're the last one who replied to a thread, you can delete your most recent post and re-submit the content of that one + whatever else you wanted to mention. With that out of the way... Thanks for sharing! This is some amazing news. I'm most excited about Boku no Koe and Shout Out Loud (I'm assuming that's Sakende Yaruze), and it's not just because I like reading about seiyuu, I swear... :animesmil Inu mo Arukeba is kind of forgettable--but I'll probably get it anyway. And I'm really glad DMP is going for more novels. (Could Kyo Kara Maoh be next? *crosses fingers*) Of course the most thrilling part is the whole idea of a BL anthology; that's what the part about "Junk Boys" is a reference to, no? It would be really nice if companies that publish a lot of BL material would band together at least a little for something like that. ~Dagger~