Dagger

[QUOTE=Blackjack][color=DarkGreen][font=Trebuchet MS]I think I know what you mean. And while, like a lot of people here, vocabulary is currently my weak point, I'm finding Japanese surprisingly easy to learn after being warned by all and sundry that it would be a cast-iron b*tch to grasp. So much of Japanese grammar is based on context, which means that they don't need different conjugations of verbs; the verb to be is [i]desu [/i]whether it's "I am", "You are" or "They are". It doesn't change ending or anything, and that was what I found hard about learning Latin, German and French. The hardest part of learning Japanese is getting your head around reading in a different alphabet (or rather, three different alphabets). And I don't seriously think I'll be able to pick up a lot of kanji without actually going and living in Japan.[/font][/color][/QUOTE] When people say that Japanese is difficult to learn, they're almost certainly referring to kanji, haha. As you implied, Japanese grammar is really quite clear-cut, and you can start communicating in a broken sort of way even with a minimal vocabulary and a fairly elementary knowledge of common sentence structures. It won't sound that nice, but people will probably be able to figure out what you mean. Even hiragana and katakana are fairly easy to pick up. But kanji... ugh. If you can get your hands on some Japanese kanji textbooks for children, that can be immensely helpful. I often feel as though I forget an old kanji everytime I learn a new one, but at least that way you'll have a lot of them at your fingertips. The more you memorize, the more intuitive the stroke orders become. [quote=Godelsensei]Consider Skip's custom title: Anata wa soko ni imasu ka? Are you there?[/quote] Off-topic: That's Fafner's tagline, haha. Parodies of the show often substitute in the English phrase "Can you hear me now?" Given the context, it's rather hilarious... but I'll quit while I'm ahead. Or slightly behind, as the case may be. :animeswea ~Dagger~

Oh, I see. That makes sense. On that note, the [spoiler]green slime[/spoiler] scene was spot-on, which pleased me immensely, as it's my second-favorite part of the book (my absolute favorite part being the [spoiler]"Die, daffodils!"[/spoiler] scene). And speaking of awe-inspiring visuals--my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw the inside of Howl's room. Miyazaki really outdid himself with that one. ~Dagger~

I have to confess that I never did understand the reasoning behind the disco guns. What are they trying to teach kids--that it's better to kill people with lasers than with bullets? :animeswea I got up early to watch Eureka 7 this morning (what kind of timeslot is 7:30 a.m.!?), and I was reminded of how ridiculously awesome the series is. When is it coming to Toonami? I feel like I should know the answer already, but ah well. I apologize if someone posted this a few pages back; I've been very forgetful lately. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Solo Tremaine][COLOR=#503F86]Bearing in mind I've only seen a single trailer for the film so far, it strikes me that Miyazaki has almost identical character designs for every male protagonist in each film of his I've seen so far. Ashitaka looks almost exactly like Haku and the boy from Castle in the Sky, and there's little to no visible difference between him and Howl, too. The stories could hardly be further from each other, but I find the similarity of their designs (and character, usually) a little grating after a while. At least a change in hair colour?[/COLOR][/QUOTE] What about the women? There are remarkable physical similarities between many of his female leads. And I think Miyazaki has some kind of weird fetish for braids. Maybe it's a gender perspective issue, but I can distinguish between the male characters you mentioned much more easily than between some of the girls, haha. Ashitaka and the boy from Castle in the Sky are tolerable to look at, but not at all attractive in the usual anime sense. Haku is very much a pretty-boy, approximately on the same level as, say, Akira from Hikaru no Go. Howl is a pretty [i]man[/i]. :animesmil As per the hair color thing, Howl [spoiler]goes through at least three different hair colors in the course of the film.[/spoiler] I really enjoyed the movie. I do recognize its flaws from an objective standpoint, but somehow it just clicked for me perfectly. I'm looking forward to seeing it again. [quote name='EVA Unit 100']...and he stayed unusually faithful to the book it was based on.[/quote] Come again? :animestun If by "faithful" you mean "he kept some of the same characters but made the plot completely and utterly different," then I'd have to agree. Many of the characters are very unlike their counterparts in the book. The storyline itself is something almost entirely new. I didn't mind it that much, as I loved some of the other plot elements Miyazaki introduced, i.e. [spoiler]Sophie meeting Howl when he was still a child.[/spoiler] I actually found it to be a huge relief that the movie's message or whatever was a little more muted. Miyazaki isn't as quite as preachy as some other anime directors, but sometimes it's nice to be able to ignore the moral lesson and just soak up the story. It almost certainly wasn't his aim, but I appreciate having that option. That's my take on it, anyway. For anyone who has seen the film: [spoiler]at what point do you think Howl recognized Sophie as the person he had seen in his childhood?[/spoiler] ~Dagger~

[quote name='EVA Unit 100']I honestly don't get what you see in that show. Awfully cliched plot and characters, uninspired action scenes, average animation.[/quote] Everyone needs a little trashy fun sometimes. s-CRY-ed makes for great mindless entertainment--it's all about the fighting, but it's done in such a way so as to not be completely boring. Plus the series has a great sense of fun. I'm rather surprised that you don't like its animation, given that it's more or less on par with that of Gundam SEED (and I'm not saying that because of the character designs). As for Fullmetal being a ratings powerhouse... it hasn't done poorly or anything, but do you think it would really have the same ripple effect as something like Futurama? It seems to me that an all-anime night still isn't feasible, ratings-wise. As far as I'm concerned, the SJ attack translations range from weak to completely appalling. But I'll let the Naruto fans hash that one over. ~Dagger~

"Mu" was snatched from a novel by James Churchward, "The Lost Continent of the Mu." I guess the blame for the name should rightfully go to him, haha. Speaking of literary references, when you finish the series (and only after you finish it--not an instant before!), be sure to read [url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/young2/young21.html][u]this[/u][/url] classic short story. ~Dagger~

Welcome to OtakuBoards, Xarah. I'm afraid that we don't permit introduction threads. Nor do we allow soliciting, advertising or otherwise trading illegal material (and anime mp3s do fall under that category). Also, I deleted your other thread because its content was nearly identical to that of this topic. In the future, please check the [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/rules.php?][u]Rules[/u][/url] before posting, and be sure not to create duplicate threads. If you have any questions, feel free to private message me or one of the other staff members. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Dhampir Nyoko']Now, I am sure that at least one of you all have heard of the sikiningly adorable, but still prety good anime, 'Card Captor Sakura', right? Well, i am almost completly turned off to dubs after witnessing the horror that is 'Cardcaptors'. They changed the personalities of the characters, and also tried to change the show! The only dub i will watch now is 'Slayers', and that is only when I am too lazy to read the subs.[/quote] It's kind of unfair to judge all dubs on the basis of one of the worst dubs ever made. And the dub itself (that is, the actual acting) wasn't even really the main issue, in the case of Cardcaptors--it was the localization and editing that made it reek. For every chopped-up English version of a particular show (like Cardcaptors and One Piece) there are at least a hundred other anime being released fully uncut, with faithfully adapted scripts. And given the sheer number of anime DVDs coming out nowadays, that probably isn't much of an exaggeration. Heh. ~Dagger~

I don't see why I should have to choose between them, personally. :) I enjoy both dubs and subs. If I like a show enough, I'll re-watch it subbed or dubbed--whichever version I didn't manage to hit the first time around. If one of my favorite seiyuu has a big role, I'll start off by listening to the Japanese track... and vice versa for the reverse situation (hm, does that compute?). It's pretty simple. ~Dagger~

[b]From Eroica With Love[/b] is not quite your average BL manga--for one thing, it's from the 70s, so it has pretty dated artwork. Additionally, it's ultimately about unrequited love, not an actual relationship. But the characters and story are just so delightful that I absolutely have to recommend it. You don't need to worry about graphic content for this one--there's some kissing and suggestive language, but that's about it. The male lead, Dorian Red Gloria, is a flamboyant British aristocrat who moonlights as the infamous art thief Eroica. The plot mainly focuses on how he crosses paths with "Iron Klaus," an incredibly uptight and repressed NATO major who couldn't be more unlike him. The first volume is a little shaky, but the story settles in after that. It's a pure joy to read. I assume you've probably read [b]Gravitation[/b]. [b]Only The Ring Finger Knows[/b] is a nice, fairly innocent one-shot. And they won't come out till this fall, but two upcoming titles to look out for are [b]La Esperanca[/b] and [b]Our Kingdom[/b]. All of these are more or less age-appropriate (Gravitation has a lot of strong language, though). Another manga you might enjoy is [b]Hands Off[/b], which is not strictly BL (the main character [spoiler]gets a girlfriend[/spoiler] pretty early on), but does focus on emotionally charged male/male relationships. ~Dagger~

(FYI, I added spoiler tags to your post. If you have any questions about spoiler tags, just read [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=46199][u]this[/u][/url] thread. You're not in trouble or anything, but it's a lot better to use tags than to warn people in the body of your post.) As for the character with the most depth, the best example I can think of is [b]Anthy Himemiya[/b] from Revolutionary Girl Utena. I'm also tempted to mention a couple of characters from Brother, Dear Brother (such as [b]Miya-sama[/b], but I kind of hate her anyway). And while I'll probably get laughed out of town for this one, I firmly maintain that [b]Eiri Yuki[/b] (from Gravitation) is one of the most complex characters around. The issue in this case is that understanding him requires carefully reading the manga, watching the anime at least a couple of times and being able to look past the surreal comedy that permeates the series--especially in the manga. Anyway, back to Anthy. [spoiler]The problem with Anthy is that it's very easy to see her in inappropriately stark terms--that is, as either an innocent martyr (the adoring sister, the repressed feminine, the princess without a prince) or a masochistic manipulator (the evil witch). Yet she is in truth both a victim and malicious. One cannot possibly comprehend--or begin to comprehend--her motives without seeing the whole show at least twice (the movie is a somewhat different animal, and I'm not accounting for it in this post). Some people are able to perceive her venom even after watching just a few episodes of Utena. I wasn't one of them. I did notice how she always ended up innocuously thwarting or confounding the characters; what I failed to recognize was that this was wholly deliberate on her part. She not only enjoys toying with the other characters' emotions--she does it for the sake of entertainment alone. To kill time, if you will; it's like a child poking at a line of ants. It isn't the most attractive aspect of her personality, but it's one of the most obvious, once you get past her her incredible passivity. Anthy has utterly lost faith in humanity (and who could wholly blame her? She's been her brother's slave for heaven knows how long). She thinks Utena is a complete and utter idiot (and Utena is indeed quite stupid, but that's a different story). Yet Utena's blind, stupid courage and idealistic naivete stirs something in her that was buried since she tried to save her brother from being a prince. So Utena simultaneously intrigues and frustrates Anthy. The tension between them heightens as the series goes on. The "poison" scene is one of the points at which it culminates, but there are other places as well--like Anthy's betrayal of Utena at the very end of the show. Speaking of which--why does Anthy betray Utena? Does she truly enjoy being subjugated and playing the victim? Has she in fact chosen Akio over Utena? I'd say that the answers to those questions are yes and yes, but this still doesn't mean that she [i]deserves[/i] her current fate. There's a difference. Whether Utena recognizes this (or is simply determined to save Anthy and be princely regardless of whether Anthy actually wants to be saved) could be up for debate--but this isn't about Utena, anyway. One of the remarkable things about Anthy is that she turns her passivity--her very lack of power--into a weapon. She infuriates Saionji with her inability to love, and taunts her brother with the ease with which she submits to him. Anthy is an extremely twisted character, and because she is essentially a captive throughout most of the show, it's hard to know which actions (if any) really come from her heart. There are so many layers to her character--parts of her that have been buried since she took the people's wrath for the sake of her brother, parts of her that may have been lost forever. I can only remember three times in the series that she shed tears; these are extremely important moments because they're one of the few times that the viewer can trust that her visible emotions are a genuine manifestation of what she's truly feeling.[/spoiler] I think I just confused myself, haha. In any case, that's it... for now. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Aiyisha][COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial]Especially when the general response I got from non-fans was along the lines of 'Thinks 80s but worse'.[/FONT][/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote] Now it all makes sense! I love 80s music, too. :animesmil As per the lyrics question--well, I have trouble understanding most English lyrics, to be honest. Half the time they're way too fast or muddled-sounding for me to make anything of them. After reading through a good translation a couple of times, I pick up about as much from your average J-pop or J-rock piece as I would from a similar English-language song. I'm not really sure what that says about my hearing, haha. As long as I can more or less sing along, I'm happy--in general the melody is much more important to me than the lyrics. I don't really get into J-pop/J-rock outside of anime... I mean, I like L'Arc~en~Ciel and all that, but I'm not hugely passionate about it. Then again, this also applies to my attitude toward music as a whole. In recent memory, I've only become really excited about one J-pop band, [b]angela[/b]. They [i]do[/i] sound somewhat different from the norm, thanks mainly to the singer's voice. Otherwise, though, I'm satisfied with theme songs and insert songs and the like. I mean, pretty much everything angela touches turns to gold (by my standards at least), but with most J-pop/J-rock groups, as with most groups in any language, memorable singles are dominated by mediocre stuff. And what's memorable for me is often what I can make some kind of emotional connection with--and that's easy when the song is related to a scene or show I found especially notweworthy. Of course, when something is genuinely good, there doesn't have to be that pre-established emotional link. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll listen to forgettable, generic J-pop/J-rock stuff if it has some kind of nostalgic or sentimental value for me. So I guess it gets an extra boost from anime or games or whatnot that other types of music aren't able to benefit from as much (I suppose the opposite would hold true if I watched tons of English-language TV shows or films, no?). To sum things up, I have no taste when it comes to music. But that's not to say there isn't quality music to be found in the midst of all the 80s-esque material. Go give angela a listen. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=geekinthecloset]The OVA is being release on 8-30-05 you can preorder now!! PM me in a couple of days I'll know who has the cheapest price on it!! Oh, I can't wait!! :D Just found out about the features: Again the dual side cover, liner notes, art gall., production commentary, anime vs manga comparison, gravitation "sneek previews", textless opening, and textless alter episode 1 closing![/QUOTE] TRSI is awesome, aren't they? I'm looking forward to seeing what the back side of the cover looks like. Anyway, if you order directly from their store, chances are good that they'll ship you the DVD at least several weeks before its official street date (since it's one of their own products and all). The discount won't be that great unless you shop at TRSI regularly, but hardcore Gravi fans may find the trade-off to be worthwhile. Also, don't forget that the final volume (for now, anyway) of the manga is coming out on July 12. ~Dagger~

[quote name='Roflocopter][size=1][color=darkred] If people say It is one of the best anime's of all time, they are not overexagerrating, the sales of the Evangelion Dvd's and merchandise are proof.[/size'][/color][/quote] You're treading on dangerous ground here. If this were the case, then Yu-Gi-Oh, Saint Seiya, Pretty Cure and the various incarnations of Dragonball would automatically rank among the best anime of all time. However, thanks for pointing out that the similarities between RahXephon and Evangelion are primarily superficial. I like Evangelion's ending better than the rest of the show put together, personally. But maybe that's just me. Seriously, though, if you think about the kind of expectations created by Eva's most rabid fans, it becomes clear that no series (no matter how amazing it might be) could ever live up to them. So people tend to judge it more harshly. In that sense I still believe it's fair to say that Eva is at least slightly overrated--while there's a vocal segment of anime fans who hate it, that's the case with pretty much any series. They're just more vitriolic than the norm, perhaps in an attempt to balance out the fact that the super hardcore Eva lovers tend to be really fanatical about the show. ~Dagger~

Oh boy. I'd better warn you about this one... :animeswea It is theoretically possible to understand the Utena movie without having seen the TV series. It is also theoretically possible to connect to & sympathize with the characters without having seen the TV series. But the actual likelihood of that? Quite slim. Which is a real shame, because the movie is a stunningly gorgeous anime, and it functions perfectly on so many levels--as a serious piece, as a parody of the TV series, as a meaningful examination of gender roles, as pure eye candy. Yet when people see it before watching the TV show, their main response is usually an emphatic WTF. (In fairness, parts of the series are bound to elicit a similar reaction, but it's generally more drawn out. And over the course of 39 episodes, Utena does a lovely job of conditioning you to its weirdness.) Alternatively, first-time viewers end up enjoying the movie for its visuals, and are subsequently disappointed by the more limited animation of the TV show. If it interests you, I suggest that you watch a little of the movie--since it's a retelling of the TV series, it contains a lot of slightly skewed spoilers, so you might not want to see too much--and then rent the first disc of the series. The movie is fun and a strong accomplishment in its own right, but the television show is the heart and soul of the franchise. ~Dagger~

ZUZU3276, [b]please[/b] refrain from using all caps. Thanks. Well... as it happens, I'm in Japan right now. I stayed in Tokyo for a night or two and did all of the obligatory stuff--Tokyo Tower (which has one of the most unintentionally hilarious mascots I've ever seen, but that's another story), various temples and gardens, the Tokyo Dome, etc. I also spent a little time in Akihabara and Shinjuku; I wanted to go to Harajuku as well, but I didn't have time. Despite all the talk about groping and whatnot, the Japanese subway system is actually wonderful (especially in comparison to the rather horrid Metro in DC). Buying tickets and getting around is incredibly easy. The stations are well-lit, which made me feel much more safe than I would usually feel in a subway, and at least some of the trains have air conditioning. Anyway, I've started staying with a family. In a little while I'll begin going to school--which should be interesting, to say the least. I'm kind of in love with my uniform, haha. The only thing I had really wanted to do in Japan was buy an R2 DVD player, and I did that in Akihabara. So now I'm just going to enjoy everyday life here, and hopefully improve my language skills a bit. :catgirl: ~Dagger~

Revolutionary Girl Utena is an excellent (if rather extreme) example of this. Season 1--the first thirteen episodes--features some really atrocious acting. Seasons 2 and 3 (especially season 3) together boast one of the best dubs I've ever heard. But in this case, there was an extenuating factor; while the cast remained the same between all of the seasons, there was a very long break between when season 1 was recorded and when the rest of the seasons were recorded. ~Dagger~

According to ANN, the seiyuu for Potato and Pikachu are different people. I was in Akihabara a few nights ago, so I picked up a Japanese DVD player and AIR volume 1 (the limited edition version, yay!). It was expensive, but AIR is totally worth ~$20 per episode. So I'm very happy. :animesmil ~Dagger~

[quote name='EVA Unit 100']And do we even need Scryed?[/quote] Yes. :animesmil [quote name='Otaku America][COLOR=Navy']I don't understand how the colors are killing you. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is seriously a work of art and a brilliant masterpiece. If you want to watch an anime that would make your eyes bleed because of the colors, you should watch Inuyasha. Talk about washed-out colors.[/COLOR][/quote] While I agree with you, and I do like Gankutsuou's innovative art style, I can see why its visuals would bother some people. The way the patterns are layered can be a little confusing and/or distracting at times, although I imagine it will look a bit more clear on DVD. ~Dagger~

Well, you do need a site to host the image for you. It isn't a matter of you not being "allowed" to upload signature images directly from your computer; it simply doesn't work that way, that's all. Anyway, I took a look at the coding in your sig, and I don't think your picture was actually uploaded to ImageShack (or else, barring that, the URL you used is incorrect). When I copy & paste the image's URL to a new window, it just takes me to ImageShack's main page. ~Dagger~

In the future, please refrain from bringing back really old topics unless they pertain to a specific anime. If you see an interesting general thread that has long since died out, you should feel free to start a new thread about the same subject. Thanks. Thread closed. ~Dagger~

[QUOTE=Roflocopter][size=1][color=darkred]I think that Kino's journey, one of my favorite anime's right now is very underated. Its like an adventure type anime.Hence the name. Its got some cool robots in it, that look pretty old timey, but thats not what makes it a great anime. I thas cool characters and some good character development, It really indulges you into the world of Kino, an her.... Talking moped. Boogiepop phantom is underated. Its one of my favorite horror animes right now. other horror animes are sort of cheesy.[/size][/color][/QUOTE] Kino's Journey isn't so much underrated as just plain obscure. At least in my experience, pretty much everyone who sees it ends up absolutely raving about it, so in that sense I don't think it qualifies as being underrated. But it definitely does deserve more recognition, if that's what you mean. However, I do feel that Boogiepop Phantom is quite underrated. I like it a good bit better than Lain and Paranoia Agent and pretty much all the other shows of that type. It's just amazing how the story weaves together; I've never seen or read anything else constructed quite like it. ~Dagger~

[quote name='duoikari']I have many question that i need to know the answer to, but since this is about FMA i know it's going to be merged with that thread anyway.[/quote] Um, okay. If you knew that, why didn't you post in the FMA thread in the first place? Also--and this is directed at everyone--please use [b]SPOILER TAGS[/b]! Not everyone here has seen most or even all of FMA; I'd reckon that the majority of people posting in this thread have been watching it for the first time on CN (although in truth that shouldn't make a difference--just use spoiler tags whenever they might be needed, even if there's a good chance that everyone already knows what you're talking about). Personally I do not enjoy being spoiled, and editing posts for spoiler tags isn't all that fun, either. If you have any questions, check out the Anime Lounge's spoiler tag sticky thread or send me a private message. Thanks. ~Dagger~

I'm not sure quite what you're asking. Do you simply want to log out, or do you want someone to actually delete your account? Clarification would be appreciated... ~Dagger~

[quote name='Otaku America][COLOR=Navy']Let's face it, if certain individuals stop buying bootlegs we all would have reasonable anime retail prices. 8-set dvd sets wouldn't cost $180 but instead would retail at a mere $120.[/COLOR][/quote] I'd like to think that what you said is true, but it's a big jump, logically speaking... and not all that different from how people assert that exterminating fansubs will drastically lower R1 prices. Piracy is bad, of course, but there are more immediate reasons (moral & otherwise) to avoid it. ~Dagger~