densuke

Japanese name: Mujin Wakusei Survive Initial Broadcast date: October 16, 2003 Number of Episodes: 52 Production: Madhouse OP song: "Boku no message" by Kiroro ED song: "Sunny Side Hill" by ROUND TABLE featuring Nino Fansubs: We Suck, Anime-Blitz, Anime Coalition, Spectre Anime, Shoujo-ai & Youma Otakus (joint), Shinsen-Subs, Gizmonic Institiute This is an all-ages anime incorporating fantasy and duff science fiction. The first few episodes relate a classic school trip gone wrong. 7 middle-school students and one electronic "animal" wind up on a deserted island on a possibly uninhabited planet with no immediate hope of rescue. These children (including Luna, a girl who is somehow the focus of the show) are classmates but almost none of them are friends. The children must solve many problems in order to live as they have little food or water. They also need to face up to the problem of trusting and supporting each other. Eventually the group's attention turns to something mysterious about the island itself... Not much was made of this series when fansubs of it first started appearing but it has attracted a loyal following. Madhouse, the production studio, has done another outstanding job with this title. The character design is not ground-breaking but is solid and attractive. The characterization and pacing should prove more than adequate to the challenge of maintaining interest over the 52 episodes scheduled. I would like to hear from anyone who is watching this series. The show itself contains many topics of discussion; the characters and how they interact, and the mystery they began to explore around episode 15 (mention of which is definitely a SPOILER of course). It might be interesting to compare this series with older children's series from Japan or the US as well.

[quote name='Dagger IX1']Does seinen have a feminine equivalent (that is, shoujo geared towards older teenagers and women)? You probably know much more about this topic than I do. So if such a genre exists, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.[/quote] Anime/manga for late teens on up is called josei. Josei is not dissimilar to shoujo but is more adult in its attitudes towards sex and relationships, often concerns itself with people who are no longer of school age etc. There are sadly few examples of subtitled josei anime. [b]Gokusen[/b] is a winter-season anime based on a josei manga. It is similar to GTO. I'd be interested to know if you took a look at this and what you think of it; I put up a thread for the show not too long ago. [quote name='Dagger IX1]I feel as though some fans--particularly those who grew up watching DBZ, Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing--harbor a lot of mistaken ideas about shounen, shoujo, and what constitutes each. Chances are that an ardent DBZ worshipper wouldn't take very well to Boys Over Flowers; it just bothers me when such people bash whatever [i]category[/i'] of anime they dislike/don't watch. Individual shows are definitely fair game.[/quote]When someone claims that either shounen or shoujo have nothing to offer I suspect a shallow knowledge of what constitutes either. I am kind of a stickler for labelling [i]because[/i] of the misperceptions and bashing. If someone who is wary of shoujo anime becomes interested in shounen romance and then gets ahold of Kare Kano and enjoys that, I would prefer that person to know that Kare Kano is based on a shoujo manga. That knowledge along with the experience of enjoying the show might make that person more interested in what else is available. I can't blame Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing though; plenty of males got a taste of mahou shoujo anime watching Sailor Moon and have gone on to watch and enjoy other shoujo and mahou shoujo titles. Because there are so few shoujo or josei anime I take it as a given that female anime fans are less likely to categorically dismiss shounen and seinen.

[QUOTE=Panda]...EVA or Hellsing have way too much conflict and too much of a chance of me getting hurt. I don't think I would want to be living in an anime that had a lot of war, demons, vampires or things I couldn't defend myself against. That is just too much stress. So what anime world would you want to be transported into and why?[/QUOTE] Nice that you thought of the potential for mayhem, it's the very first thing that came to my mind. The next thing that came to my mind was "in what world would someone really nice and sweet be in charge?" I think Belldandy is the best possible guardian of my fate. I would gladly live in the world of Aa! Megami-sama for this reason. I think the world of the TV show would be a bit more fun as long as I am not poor Gan-chan ^_^;;;; , but the OAV world would do in a pinch (they are really the same thing I guess). I do not care about being K1 or being in love with Belldandy - I just want to be safe and happy...

The news about Sailor Moon seems to concern a withdrawal of the license(!?). I have a feeling this is tied in with the Live Action series and some future effort to market the title in the US, but this is just speculation. Live Action for those who have not been following it is a retake on the original Sailor Moon story, which was told in the episodes of the anime which are being withdrawn.

Kind of late in the day to get into this, but Cowboy Bebop is actually [i]seinen[/i] anime. Seinen is pitched to an older male audience than shounen and thus there is less need to make all the male characters shout and wear spiky hair, or for the female characters to be idiots - well, not necessarily anyway. Shows like CB seem to be a lot easier for female viewers to take (some seinen is just raunchier without being any more interesting). It seems like there are at least two ideas about genre tagging here. I am kind of biased against shounen anime but I usually wind up watching some of the seinen titles. I think genre tagging is a useful filter; there is simply too much to watch out there. For example, I knew that Daphne in the Brilliant Blue was pitched towards a male audience (it's a seinen anime, but that's not important). 2 episodes into the series, after watching the female characters take off nearly all their clothing every time they wanted to do anything, and with no likeavle characters in sight, I gave up on it. That is definitely a case of "termination with prejudice" but it's not like I didn't even see any of it. I am following 5 new (winter) series as it is, and still following another 12 series which started last year. The other idea about genre tagging seems to be that some people use it to stereotype anime and that it prevents them from seeing shows they might have enjoyed. I didn't take that into account. It is a valid idea in that people do that, but for me it's not a good enough reason to ignore it or encourage others to do so.

[quote name='lava lamp'] ( otaku ) watch anime because they are what the word's definition describes. There isn't much more to it.[/quote] "Otaku" are just people who don't know anybody because they are always home with their hobbies - and even if they are with other otaku they are not nurturing close personal relationships but merely indulging their hobby. Discussing anime on this forum is an example of that sort of thing - the people in the forum are not personally known to each other. In Japan the "otaku"'s hobby is not necessarily watching anime. Sonoda Kenichi who wrote Gunsmith Cats is a model gun otaku for example (very few people in Japan are allowed to personally own a working firearm). It might be a good idea to avoid calling oneself "otaku" in public. Most people who know what it means would find it strange because "otaku" is a negative term. The connotation is that the "otaku" has no social skills. I guess this self-labelling and use of Japanese words not commonly known is part of why some people find it strange that others watch anime. As for me I am an anime fan simply because I enjoy anime. I would rather watch anime in my free time than go to see a movie or watch TV. I am no evangelist when it comes to whether or not other people watch anime or watch the anime I watch.

[quote name='Dagger IX1']Episode 5 is... well, good. There were a few points at which I feared for Yoshino's life, although in retrospect that was a pretty irrational reaction. She and Rei might as well be engaged (in fact, becoming someone's soeur is vaguely similar to a betrothal). Their relationship reeks of cuteness, but it's refreshingly different from Sachiko's and Yumi's; I just wish Sachiko felt more inclined to act affectionate. [/quote][SPOILER]Heart surgery usually involves ripping open the patient's ribcage; it was kind of convenient to neglect that little detail[/SPOILER] No angst without Yumi and Sachiko, what can I say? [QUOTE]I've become oddly fond of Marimite's introduction, perhaps because it's very gentle and soothing--and instrumental OPs are rare, so I guess it also has a certain novelty.[/QUOTE]All music by Katakura Mikiya, the instrumental half of ALI PROJECT. I've been listening to the OP single and the OST, they are simply fabulous. [QUOTE] I was surprised and a bit bemused when the actual play scarcely got a mention, especially after Sachiko made such a hullabaloo about being forced to dance with her cousin. Yes, her willingness to show Yumi her weaknesses should have been the true focus of that particular segment, but I'd have liked to see a brief montage of shots from the performance.[/QUOTE] Happened in Kare Kano as well. And I know for a fact that the play in that one is a killer. I would imagine that Sachiko got over it and the play went well, thus no drama in presenting it. [QUOTE] Anyway, do you think that Sachiko is actually [spoiler]in love with Suguru[/spoiler]?[/QUOTE] [SPOILER]Well, she said she was... but I have to wonder what such a person considers love to be. Sachiko becomes increasingly more considerate towards Yumi in later episodes. I am not expecting any heavy shoujo-ai though...[/SPOILER] Couple of other things - you asked before about the character design. I have been looking at the novels, they have pictures on the covers with a fairly similar look. So there is little chance that the Japanese fans are experiencing any shock. I also have noticed some badly animated scenes. 13 episodes leaves no room for recap episodes of course, so any production problems are more likely to show through nowadays. Any major flaws are cleaned up for the DVD releases.

[quote name='JazzLady22']...most popular animes defy gender classification...[/quote] I disagree. There just aren't that many shoujo anime every year. The ones that do come out are often popular and do not "defy classification." Right now Marimite is the hottest show of the current season - noone can tell me there is anything remotely shounen about it.

[quote name='Dagger IX1']It's cool that you've come to like (or at least respect) the show, densuke. ^_^[/quote]I never thought it was bad or that the writing wasn't solid. I enjoyed it a lot and it's still kicking around in my head 3 or 4 days after I watched it. Most action series don't manage to mess with me that much. I think GSG is about failure and alienation more than anything else.[QUOTE]I read the Gunslinger Girl manga before watching episodes 9 and 10, so I was a little surprised by how the anime's director handled the Elsa situation.[/QUOTE] I read the first volume of the manga too. I think the anime's treatment made a contrast between Elsa's lone wolf approach and the solidarity shown by the girls in the final arc. ADV really did a bad job on the manga (the Azumanga Daioh adaptation is terrible also). The action/comedy label on the back is scary. The manga spends too much time trying (badly) to explain how the girls are put together, which somehow emphasizes the implausibility and contradictions. The anime wisely maintained silence about some of these matters. I also notice more of the creepy medical-fetish stuff that I complained about seeing in the anime. I am seeing 3 volumes of the manga on the web but I don't know if it is still being serialized.

I would rather cross over as a viewer than have the anime end up in a heap in the middle. While I prefer the visual design in shoujo anime to that of most shounen titles (the spiky-haired look is just... [i]odd[/i]) the biggest payoff for me is in the characters. I am male and a romance fan like [b]Neko[/b]. I have watched every romance title I have ever encountered. While I always find shoujo romances to provide satisfying characters and scenes I find many shounen romances to be unsatisfying and often uninteresting. Exceptional shounen romances like Kimagure Orange Road feature exceptionally strong female characters. I prefer to watch girls or women who act like girls or women than girls who demonstrate marketable physical characteristics (shoujo mangaka are not as concerned with providing one female who wears glasses, one with large breasts, another who is or appears to be 12 years old etc.) and otherwise serve only as love objects for male characters. Girls and women in shoujo titles also fall into "types" but the distinctions are rendered through [i]personality[/i]. They have more space to lapse into private behavior patterns not intended to attract males. They also develop relationships among themselves, which hardly ever happens in shounen titles. I am not necessarily referring to shoujo-ai here, but shoujo-ai is not part of the shounen "world" either because it uses up potential mates for the males. I agree with [b]Dagger[/b] about CLAMP's shounen titles. They demonstrate their willingness to lapse into formula (which is why Angelic Layer is so predictable). Chobits was offensive to me because the female character was absolutely mindless. I could never identify with a character like Hideki. Look at the other women who appear in his life - they are much more interesting as acquaintances or worthy of his love, but he never makes an effort. Characters like Hideki are just as annoying to many males as the often weak and obsessive female heroines of Watase Yuu (Fushigi Yuugi, Ayashi no Ceres) are to many females. I think CLAMP created Hideki by sticking to shounen formula as evidenced by Love Hina and other shounen titles. I think Tokyo Babylon and X, which were shoujo manga, contain plenty of shoujo staples like shounen-ai, focus on personal relationships and dramatic renderings of the characters. Only by placing a male character at the center of each title and providing lots of action (as well as avoiding specific romantic resolutions) does CLAMP concede anything to a potential male audience.

[b]M*O*E (masters of entertainment)[/b] M*O*E is apparently a division of Pony Canyon. It is a relatively new company. Recent: Cosmopolitan Prayers, Hanaukyo Maid-Tai "La Verite" [list] [*]Cosmopolitan Prayers [*]Hanaukyo Maid Tai, Hanaukyo Maid-Tai "La Verite" [*]Love*Love [*]Hitto o Nerae (AKA "Smash Hit!") [*]Rizelmine, Rizelmine 2 [*]Sister Princess, Sister Princess RePure [*]Steel Angel Kurumi, Steel Angel Kurumi 2 [/list] Strictly bishoujo anime here. This is a viable subgenre of shounen/seinen anime, but just barely. This company demonstrates the potential failings of bishoujo titles. All these series are packed with fanservice and paper-thin slices of story. These shows don't really have characters, offering only external traits, vague virtues like "loyalty" and calculatedly "cute" character design. There is plenty of broad comedy but no wit. I've watched a couple of these but I couldn't say why. The production values of these shows are good. M*O*E has no interest in decent music though. I would say more but it's just bashing. ----------------------------- [b]KSS Animation[/b] has been in business since at least 1993. Recent: Comic Party OAV, Happy Lesson Advance, True Love Story [list] [*][color=green]Aa! Megami-sama OAV[/color] [*]Ai Tenshi Densetsu Wedding Peach [*][color=green]Comic Party TV[/color], Comic Party OAV [*]Fire Emblem [*]Golden Boy [*]Guardian Hearts [*]Happy Lesson OAV, Happy Lesson TV, Happy Lesson Advance, Happy Lesson the Final [*]Happy World! [*]Idol Project [*]MAPS [*]Moekan [*]Natsuiro no Sunadokei [*]O*N*E [*]Phantom the Animation [*]Raimuiro Senkitan [*]Spy of Darkness [*][color=green]To Heart[/color] [*]True Love Story - Summer Days, and yet... [*]Variable Geo [*]Wind, A Breath of Heart [/list] KSS is notable for shounen and seinen romance, veering sometimes into risque comedy or action titles (Golden Boy, Variable Geo). "Wedding Peach" is mahou shoujo. I made this list as complete as possible mostly because I am somewhat bemused at the studio's increasing output. Several of these titles are in the works for the coming year. Aa! Megami-sama OAV (1993) was very well-known and popular for years. To Heart (1999) was stunningly well-made; the show is being digitally fansubbed and is finding a new "generation" of anime fans (VHS fansubs have been available for years). Many of these titles are based on games and adapt the games' visual styles and storylines. This is necessary to appeal to fans (To Heart's slightly altered look angered many game fans) but can make them less appealing as standalone titles. Overall the production values of these shows are more than adequate. Series for series I would give this studio the nod over M*O*E.

Because anime is adapted from gender-specific manga the genre labelling is valid. It serves the producers as well as the audience by establishing what will and will not be presented in any given title. Anime often contains crossover elements not found in the manga it is adapted from but will respect certain limits. For example a series like Gundam Wing will not provide bishounen fanservice to the extent of a shoujo shounen-ai series like Yami no Matsuei. Many of the males who are the prime target of Gundam Wing would be uncomfortable seeing half-dressed males caressing and sexually teasing each other on a regular basis. Viewers who enjoy both shounen and shoujo anime understand and appreciate these limits. Each genre has its own strengths and does best to make use of them.

I can see your point in wanting things the way you are used to seeing them and I think it is best when a graphic novel is available both ways so that you have a choice. But there is some validity to the idea of leaving things the way they are. Art does suffer from being reversed - some mangaka insist that their panels not be flipped, the pages can wind up getting hacked up etc. Japanese sounds are way cooler to look at and read IMO, so it's great if they get left in. They have more variety in the sounds and they are often lettered in certain styles. I can read some manga in Japanese and that is the best way to read manga. The flow is different from American comics because there are different levels of captions indicating speech, weird comments by the mangaka and stray thoughts of the characters as well as the sound effects. These are set on the page in different ways. Captions are often printed but the other stuff is usually lettered - the lettering style can be a comment in itself and add another layer to the panel. I know you weren't asking about this but this is stuff that starts to get lost as the manga gets fixed up in translation. There is another topic like this in the forum but it has a confusing title so it's no wonder you missed it. [COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1]Merged it wth said thread. ^_~ -Lady K[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[QUOTE]Most of the anime I watch is either shounen or simply ambiguous...[/QUOTE]I was interested to know, thank you for your response. [QUOTE]It sometimes seems as though fans compare [i]every[/i] new mahou shoujo anime to Sailor Moon. My apologies to SM maniacs, but it isn't really the best example of the genre, and after its amazing success in the United States, people can't seem to think of shoujo as encompassing anything more than high school girls undergoing sparkly nude transformation sequences.[/QUOTE] Sailor Moon is simply the first mahou shoujo anime many people ever see or hear of; it manages to bring people into the mahou shoujo "cult," which is a plus for the "cult." Although SM is not the best series ever (Card Captor Sakura gets my vote) it is not too far from the top either, so I can live with that. The equation of mahou shoujo with shoujo is a different and far graver matter. I find I have so much to say about this that I would rather reserve my remarks for a thread devoted to the subject. I will simply agree with you for now that shoujo anime is capable of a greater range of style and expression than the likes of Sailor Moon. [QUOTE]I think I'll have to withdraw my complaint about Marimite ripping off Utena. Because regardless of their stylistic similarities (it's all about the roses and the noses), Marimite appears to focus on feminine purity, and Utena..... well, Utena does the exact opposite. How ironic.[/QUOTE] A lot of other people have jumped to conclusions about the roses and so on, the use of French... it's understandable though (as you say) misguided. Utena got its French [i]and[/i] its roses from Rose of Versailles, which was made in the 1970s. Marimite draws its style from that and other classic series. Utena is irony all over... and when you get to the movie it [b]starts all over again[/b] ^_^ [QUOTE] Speaking of the novels, I'm curious as to whether the anime's character designs and general atmosphere has fulfilled readers' expectations. [/QUOTE]Marimite anime has been very well-received in Japan. I can only guess that the visual design, which as I said is a blend of older styles, has hit the mark.

Test-taking is just a form of problem-solving, and life is full of problems. I don't see that being able to handle a test is far abstracted from everything else in life. Out in the real world there are still tests, even if they are as simple as "OK, you should be able to do this yourself now." Lots of people wind up going back to school even after they graduate from whatever level and go to work. Test taking is something people are asked to do over and over again. The solution is to learn test-taking. There are many methods that can be applied to any test, any time. There are strategies that can be applied to multiple-choice tests and so on. These skills can be learned and taught.

SUNRISE Corporation est. 1972 recent: Gundam Seed, Witch Hunter Robin, PLANETES [list] [*]Big O [*][color=green]Brigadoon: Marin to Melan[/color] [*]Brain Powerd [*]Brave King GaoGaiGar, Brave King GaoGaiGar OAV [*]City Hunter (numerous titles) [*]Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop Movie [*]Dirty Pair Flash, Dirty Pair Movie [*]Gaogaigar [*]G Gundam [*]Gasaraki [*]Gundam 08th MS Team, Gundam Evolve Special, Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Gundam X, Gundam: Char's Counterattack [*]Infinite Ryvius [*]Inuyasha, Inuyasha Movie [*][color=green]Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor[/color] [*]Mama wa Shoukagu 4 Nensei [*]Mobile Suit Gundam Double Zeta, Mobile Suit Gundam F-91, Mobile Suit Gundam: 0079, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam [*]Outlaw Star [*][color=green]Patlabor OAV 2[/color] [*][color=green]PLANETES[/color] [*]SD Gundam Mark I-IV [*]Seikai no Danshou [*]Seikai no Monshou, Seikai no Monshou Special [*]Seikai no Senki, Seikai no Senki, 2 Seikai no Senki Special [*]Sentimental Journey [*]Turn A Gundam [*]V Gundam [*]Vision of Escaflowne, Escaflown Movie [*]Witch Hunter Robin [*]Z.O.E Dolores [/list] I dragged practically the entire list of SUNRISE's titles in here, not because I have seen them all but because so many are known to anime fans all over the world. SUNRISE certainly knows how to give people what they want. A few things come to mind: PLANETES and Patlabor (1989-90) are remarkably similar despite different settings and that fact that nearly 15 years come between them; I only recognize one shoujo title (Mama wa Shoukagu 4 Nensei) in their entire output, and it's not a romance. The one romance series they did, Sentimental Journey, is not very good. And I hardly ever like the music for these shows, even when I like the show a lot.

I think the argument that nudity is OK if it fits in the storyline has its weaknesses. According to that view all the writer has to do to justify it is write it into the story. Plenty of shounen manga start off by giving the main character a peek at a girl followed by chapter after chapter of not necessarily anything much as he tries desperately to get another look by whatever means. Some of these are worth reading, some are not. The skill of the writer is what carries the day. I think it's more practical to be resigned to the fact that fanservice is going to pop up in anime and manga and just make note of where and when it takes place when reviewing or summarizing a series. Ero-manga and -anime are already clearly labelled as such and do not enter into this. It is then up to each individual to take the fanservice into account when selecting what to watch. Some titles are not notable for anything besides fanservice. That judgement just goes under the heading of "is this worth watching?" which has to be asked and answered anyway.

Don't expect Marvel to change its tack anytime soon. The whole enterprise nearly went bankrupt a few years ago and the current management team is happy just to saddle up the old warhorses every month; at least they are making a buck again. At least the titles are in better shape than they used to be. I knew a guy who wrote those "bullpen" thingies 5 years back and used to get every title for free in the mail; he was a comics fan but said that they weren't worth reading... DC is slightly behind Marvel in overall market share so I don't think they will be making any drastic moves either. I agree with many that the big heroes are overrepresented each month and that it is pretty stale to keep trying to make Spider-Man look cool after 40 years (he is just a riff on heroes from the 1940s). But lots of people want to keep reading that stuff or it wouldn't sell. It's too bad the specialty shops died off; it used to be easier to go and look at the more adventurous titles by the smaller groups when they were around. But retail media boutiques in general are pretty much a thing of the past.

[QUOTE=stormy001_m1a2] GSG is meant to be disturbing. Anyone who watch it and do not get disturbed by it's basic premise even once has some serious issues and should consider to seek counsellor's help.... Unfortunately in reality...[/QUOTE] The thing that puzzled me was that I felt that little was done in the early episodes to cause me to empathize with the characters. You make a good point about real-life parallels.[quote name='Dagger IX1']However, I'm surprised that you're unsatisfied by Gunslinger Girl's character development. For me, it's what drives the show.[/quote] From episode 5 to the end much more was done to fill in the characters. The show and the characters became more emotionally expressive. I respect the fact that I was not arm-twisted into liking the girls. I think the storytelling was very well done. There is a relentlessness to the plot; certain outcomes were not surprising at all, but made their impact through their inevitability. Even the early episodes had some very good scenes (I always consider good scenes more important than anything. I am not talking only about action scenes). My verdict(!) on the show is that it is outstanding among series of comparable duration. I did not find the series as moving as some but certainly enjoyed it and would consider rewatching it. I imagine not many people saw the whole series in one day the way I did. (I notice that people who watch [i]Noir[/i] via DVD are annoyed by elements I found entertaining when watching week-to-week via fansub.)

[b]Nippon Animation[/b] I think their first work came out in 1974. Recent: Hunter X Hunter, Wind Striker, Legend of Condor Hero Nippon Animation is famous for their "World Masterpiece Theater" series which adapted various works of Western fiction. [list] [*]Ai to Yuuki no Pig Girl Tonde Buurin [*]Alps no Shojo Heidi [*]Akage no An (Anne of Green Gables) [*]Mizuiro Jidai (Aqua Age) [*][color=green]Blue Seed[/color] [*]Chibi Maruko-chan, Chibi Maruko-chan Movie [*]Cooking Master Boy [*]Dog of Flanders, Dog of Flanders Movie [*]Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite! [*][color=green]From The Apennines To The Andes [i]AKA[/i] 3000 Leagues In Search of Mother[/color] [*]Future Boy Conan [*]High School Kimengumi [*]Hunter X Hunter, Hunter X Hunter Greed Island OVA, Hunter X Hunter OVA [*][color=green]Legend of Condor Hero[/color] [*][color=green]Miracle Girls[/color] [*]Romeo's Blue Skies [*]Shaman King [/list] The full list of World Masterpiece Theater is very long but the series hardly ever get licensed in the US (the full list of Nippon Animation works is about 200 titles long!). 3000 Leagues In Search of Mother, Anne of Green Gables and Romeo's Blue Skies are WMT titles available through fansubs and well worth watching for two reasons: they are likable and interesting adaptations and they are among the most popular anime titles of all in Japan. The fact that Miyazaki Hayao worked on 3000 Leagues and Anne (along with other WMT titles not listed here) may also interest some. All these shows are characteristically all-audience material (Blue Seed would not be considered such in the US due to extensive fanservice in the early episodes and Hunter X Hunter would probably be considered too violent). For viewers who have no particular bias against older anime ([i]and I do not wish to entertain any arguments here[/i]), these shows retain their value due to skillful storytelling. Some of the later (non-WMT) titles are also being fansubbed. Although I can't evaluate the comparative technical level of works made in the 1970s, I can say that Blue Seed (1994) is an exceptionally high-quality work for its time and that what I have seen of the earlier works is well-rendered. On the other hand, Mizuiro Jidai is exceptionally crude for a series made in 1996 (though the series is still enjoyable).

[quote name='Dagger IX1']...Marimite really isn't my kind of anime.[/quote] I always feel that shoujo anime is "my kind of anime" but the shows are quite different to each other. Like I mentioned, each new series always gets compared to the older ones. It would be interesting if you said more about this. [QUOTE]...I have a strong aversion to super-deformation and physical humor, but I feel that episode 1 could've used a healthy dose of subtler comedy...[/QUOTE] ^_^ *time to plug the manga*, which freely makes use of chibis to poke fun at Yumi (who is really the one taking everything so seriously, partly because of Sachiko's aloofness). The manga seems to use the same approach as the anime to adapting and compressing the novels, which makes them compatible experiences. I would have really hated to see SD in the anime though. It's not a bad storytelling device but it gets overused because it allows skimping on drawing. I also prefer it not be used in adult anime series unless they are flat-out comedies. Some of the other characters are much less solemn or domineering. Later episodes should bear me out on this. [QUOTE]Sachiko [i]really[/i] bothers me. Because I can't tell when she's genuinely being nice and when she's simply putting on an act in order to get what she wants, I have few reasons to admire her--other than the fact that Yumi does. [/QUOTE] Sachiko is a tough cookie. Her stoicism and willingness to use people are rather frightening (although I see her as more defensive than acquisitive). She becomes more accessible later in the series but she is definitely more of a love object or idol than a true companion to Yumi.

Initial Air Date: 2004/01/08 Air time: 1:00 AM 13 Episodes Based on novels by Konno Oyuki Manga by Konno Oyuki & Nagasawa Satoru Produced by Studio Deen Opening Theme: "Pastel Pure" by Katakura Mikiya Ending Theme: "Sonata Blue" by Katakura Mikiya Translation & Fansubs/Scans of the anime and manga are being done by lililicious. This iyashi-kei (aesthetic) anime is among the most popular series airing in Japan right now, most likely because of the popularity of the series of novels which inspired it. There is also a large overseas cult growing around it, due to curiosity about shoujo-ai overtones and the long drought of any serious shoujo anime. The show is set in a Catholic girl's academy. The school has a tradition that upperclass girls take a underclass girls as their little sister or "soeur" to guide and help. Yumi, the main character, becomes part of the student council's world when Sachiko, a council member she idolizes, suddenly seeks to take Yumi under her wing. Yumi, with her mobile face and general air of innocence, soon becomes involved with the other student council members and their souers. She and Sachiko must also sort out their relationship. This series looks back as far as the 1970s for stylistic inspiration. The show has a langorous pace and the characters tend to speak formally with each other, creating a somewhat ritualistic air. The use of French terms can be slightly intimidating, especially in the first episode. But the characters are likable and intimate with each other. The solid production gives the viewer plenty to admire. The adaptation of the novels is skillful and makes for plenty of great scenes. Some points for discussion of this series might include: [list] [*]Comparisons between this show and older shoujo anime titles. [*]The show's focus on relationships among the (almost exclusively female) characters, hinting at love affairs. [*]The simultaneous manga adaptation, the first volume of which has just been released. [/list]

This show gives me the bloody horrors. I dislike the name, which put me off to the extent that I have just started to watch it this week. The visual design is sooo cooold it gives me the shivers just to look at it - something to do with the palette and the creepy entablatures at the top and bottom of the screen. Which reminds me, all the medical stuff is overemphasized - it makes me think that there is some far-out fetish being expressed or catered to. The character designs don't quite do it for me. I am not much on the characters either - after watching 4 episodes I feel that the show has given me the bare minimum of personality from each. For example, I was thinking after the first two "Gee, there should be some sort of contrast here between these girls and someone normal"... so then in episode 3 you get the scene with the porter... (._.) *sigh* Then I thought "Gee, these brother dudes are real zombies! What's with that?" I am lucky that one was the Christmas episode, I guess ^_^;;; I guess I don't know what to wish for in the 5th episode O_o It's not that I hate the show - I just seem to get a far different reaction to some of the features of it than other people posting here. For all I know this is exactly the kind of effect they were going for. At least they went and got a real Scottish indy band when they wanted an OP in English instead of using BOA or somebody.

[quote name='Semjaza Azazel']I don't feel it's worth naming studios to some large number, mostly because I don't think any of them are consistent. The only one I blindly buy anime from is Studio Ghibli and that is it. I've been let down or disappointed too many other times from other companies.[/quote] Funny, I could have sworn that when Anno was there GAINAX was very consistent. It was a low-tech, low-budget company. Mecha played a big part in most of what they did, but definitely with an ironic approach as compared to the "straight, no chaser" mecha anime of say, SUNRISE, or the earlier sentai titles. On the other hand bigger companies have adapted or originated many different works. If they managed to make them come out all the same I would find that a weakness; I think Miyazaki's works for Ghibli are going that route. Also this is a great way to throw up a lot of titles and see what sticks to the wall. Just looking at these lists reminds me of series I haven't seen in a long time. Anyway, I want to toss [b]AIC[/b] (Anime International Company) in here. [color=green]My favorites in green[/color]: [list] [*]AD Police [*]Ah! Megami-sama OAV & Movie [*]Battle programmer Shirase [*]Black Heaven [*]Blue Gender [*]Bubblegum Crash [*]Bubblegum Crisis [*][color=green]Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040[/color] [*]Burn Up [*]Dual [*]El Hazard [*][color=green]Moldiver[/color] [*]Night Walker [*][color=green]Now and Then, Here and There[/color] [*]Photon [*]Riding Bean [*]Sol Bianca [*]Tenchi Muyo [*][color=green]Vampire Princess Miyu OAV/TV[/color] [/list] Latest works: Battle Programmer Shirase, Burn Up Scramble, Go Dannar, Tenchi Muyo OAV 3. I have seen a lot of these titles. AIC is pretty good at cranking out action & comedy, which is kind of hit-or-miss with me. But I don't mean to damn with faint praise. Sticking with Bubblegum Crisis was a smart move; Tokyo 2040 is a successful remake. Fans of the first series may not like it but it was necessary to change visual designs and other things. Some of the other titles are good enough to watch a couple of times (Dual, Riding Bean). Aa! Megami-sama seemed like a big deal when it came out but I prefer the TV series "in the handy miniature size."

[quote name='AzureWolf] The same can be said of Evangelion: it had Biblical references [i]soley[/i'] for the sake of having Biblical references. That is, religious symbols within Eva served no purpose and could have been removed with no impact to the story. What's even funnier about this vain aspect is the fact that the references made are closer to Jewish Mysticism than the Bible...[/quote] This is what I meant about Evangelion no longer being universally praised; every mention of the name obliges someone to attack the show or sneer at its fans. The bad science fiction in Evangelion is not necessary to the show either; every time they rush to fill the test chamber with "special bakelite" I roll my eyes. And the robbery scenes are not important in "Mouse"; you could just have the fanservice on a plate and noone would be the wiser. But that hardly puts the two shows on equal footing. Evangelion is an ambitious and accomplished work which defies dissection. The heaps of pseudo-science and -religion which accompany Evangelion or the misguided efforts by others to unravel them have never hindered my enjoyment. Alfred Hitchcock, a master filmmaker, always employed a similar technique in his own works. He called it the "McGuffin." It's just something for the story to be about so you can set up the key scenes. And the key scenes always reveal human nature. The only beef I have against Evangelion is that it started a trend of equally vague shows which are totally lacking in charm or fail to display even a faint interest in humanity. I think most of the disappointment centered on Evangelion has to do with the uneasy feeling many have that a show with its impact may never come again.