any anime fans?

Hello, Solishu. I recognize your name from ArsTechnica and ArsAnime.

Some of my favorites are DUAL!, Nadesico, Ghost in the Shell, Lain, and Please Save My Earth.

My favorite is Ninja Scroll. Excellently animated, choreographed and produced.

<a href="http://forums.arsanime.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.cgi?board=genanime&action=viewprofile&usernam e=Imitation_Gruel" target="_blank">My ArsAnime profile (nickname is different)</a>

Helpful?

Been a while since I've seen anything recent, but these are some of my favorites:

X
Vampire Princess Miyu
Bubblegum Crisis
Bubblegum Crash
Project Ako
Oh My Goddess
RG Veda
Ninja Scroll
Akira
Silent Mobius
Anything in the "Mermaid" series

Most of these are pretty old. I think there's a new "Bubblegum" series out, but I haven't seen it.

I was never a huge anime fan, however once in a while I come across something that blows me away. One such thing was Cowboy Bebop. Its kinda nonsensical at parts, its much like star trek in that its story is more episode based than continual, but over all I think its one of the best Ive seen. Its got insane animation (not Princess Mononokee insane, but...), the best music ive heard from a TV show, and really great characters, even if, as I said, it makes little sense at times (wanna explain the bitch tits part of Jupiter Jazz?).

Oh well...

Other than that Akira is cool, as is both Galaxy Express 999 (I think thats it) and Night on the Intergalactic Railroad (though the later is NOT for the easily bored, its got little action but GREAT scenes).
Also check out some American Cartoons, there are a couple of good ones if you keep an eye out. One I would sugest is the Maxx, GREAT cartoon, real brain fcuk peice.

I just like cartoons and 3D animation of almost any kind. American cartoons have been pretty bad, in general, since Looney Tunes stopped. Japanese cartoons are even interesting when they're bad because the mechanical parts and machines tend to be drawn so well.

The Japanese cartoons I like are the sci-fi ones because of the drawing and any plot that may or may not develop, and the really absurd ones, because I have a liking for absurd humor.

Iv always been somewhat intrigued by Anime, and its visual style. While some interpretations of it like Dragon Ball Z are god awfull. I think I can understand why some people can become 'addicted' to Anime productions like Princess Mononoke.

The only time that I ever got the Japanese/Anime bug was after watching Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within. While not really Anime per say it did have some of Anime's religious, moral, and philisophical views so to say in it. Though all Anime is different. I really really loved that film, and thought it was unfortunate what happened to it finnancialy and criticaly.

Anyway since then the Japanese/Anime bug has faded for me.

[ 01-26-2002: Message edited by: Falcon ]</p>

And it's one of the few animes to come to the US with a decent (some say superior) English dub.

WHAT!? Its dubbed? I always watched the subtitles which never work (Eds riddles come across as jibberish).
However the visual style of it is so above and beyond everything that Ive seen. It even makes ghost in the shell, which I thought was great (visually, though its plot went nowhere), look like some bad transformers cartoon.

As far as American cartoons are concerned, its mainly satirical. eg.
The Simpsons
The Tick
The Family Guy (or at least the first 3 seasons)
etc.

However The Maxx is a step beyond all that Ive seen. Like the Tick the main character is this dumbass super hero, but hes not played for the comic value (well not much) but rather for the image. The Maxx talks dumbly, and acts like a corney super hero, but it works. Its got the best animation, the best style, the best plot, and the best dialoge (mind you japanese translations can never have the best dialog IMO) of any cartoon, and most movies, that Ive seen.

And as far as FF:TSW I think Ive finally found the one person who liked this movie. Personally I fel tthat it made little to no sense, the characters (with the exception of Cid) were all flat and... well... not even well dont flat, and the animation... it just didnt make it. I was more impressed with FightClub and What Dream May Come (best CG people out there, next to whomever did Lord of The Rings... WOW!)

"Wasnt that interesting doc? Well you cant really say, your not all, as they say, here. Well some of you is here, but then some of you is over there, and some of you if over there..." - Mr. Gone, The Maxx

GunSmith Cats.

Tenchy Muyo.

All in original language, the dubbed versions are horrible because of improper voices!

[quote] next to whomever did Lord of The Rings... WOW!<hr></blockquote>

Director Peter Jackson and his company WETA. God I cant wait till Return of the King.

And as for FF:TSW I didnt think the characters where flat, nor did I think that it made little or nor sense. It did require you to 'fill in' with your imagination at some times, but that isnt always bad. It was certainly the best CGI movie I have ever seen (beat the crap out of Shrek et all) and did leave a pretty big phycological mark on me, dont know why things just seemed to click when I watched it. The last scene was pure CGI goodness.

Alas Solishu, I live in Canada and dont get the Cartoon Network
We have (had?) this great station called Teletoon which was similar to the cartoon network, then one day they decided to market almost exclusivley to kids under 13... (even on the "Teletoon for adults" section, basically that means that they show cartoons about college...).

As for leaving you to "fill-in with your imagination", I usually enjoy that, but I think that they took it too far. And as far as the characters go, I think that the almost cartoon villany/stupidity of the general was kind of the point of death for my appreciation of the movie. When hes about to kill himself because his plans wiped out their city, then goes "naw, Ill just continue with my plans". As for the CG, I was expecting more, but it was quite good. Cid was AMAZING, though I thought that Aki and the guy looked rather... CG. Mind you, my direct comparison while watching it was Fightclub, which amazes me to this day with its CG scenes (Quote my friend "But they didnt have any special effects in Fightclub". Man was there anything that they didnt do well in that movie?). Mind you that was by the same academy award winning CG guys who did "What Dreams May Come" (Artisitcally[sp?] the best CG Ive seen to this day).
Oh, and if you have the DVD can you check something for me? I could SWEAR that in the end I saw a bone (not a real bone, but a 3d objects bone) come out of Akis ass, around the scene where htey kill (?) the ghosts.

There was a lot of speculation about that scene. Like when the ghost appeared to perhaps enter Aki's uterus, which was the first tenticle to turn blue. Perhaps Aki is pregnent, purhaps it has some deep mystic ties to the fact that she is a women, or maybe Square had to put some tenticle pr0n in there. I dont know. It was a confusing scene. But how in anyway shape or form could you diss the CG in that movie. There simply is no excuse, it was the best CG I have ever seen.

As far as General Hein being over-zelous and stupid. Im not so sure. He realized the disaster that he had caused, and that the deaths of thousands of people where on his hands. Shown by the scene where he almost commits suicide, before he realized that maybe so good can come from his grave mistake. The tragedy is that Hein became so blinded by the loss of his family, and so zealous in his pursuit of killing the Phantoms. That he steped over the line, and instead became the very thing that he was trying to stop. Tords the end of the film he had obviously been drivin to a pure delusional state. Untill he blew up the station trying to fire one last shot against the Phatoms that had robbed him of more than just his family.

[ 01-30-2002: Message edited by: Falcon ]</p>

Awww, I dont diss the CG, it was ok, I just found that it ran into a wall. My problem with most CG is exactly what I had against FF. As it wasnt done to look artistic, and it doesnt look photorealistic, it kinda falls short.
I for instance like Shrek quite a bit more in the animation department. Sure it wasnt as photorealistic, but it looked perfect for what it was. FF with its touted photorealism ended up looking less then was expected (did you see the clips on the FF site before the movie? Theyd tweaked them with photoshop to make it look better).

I think that we cna all agree that those scenes mentioned should have been better clarified. Who knows, maybe the Japanese version made sense. Its much like my favorite anime, Cowboy Bebop, in that repect. CB had scenes that made ABSOLUTLEY NO sense to me or most of my friend, but my Japanese friend understood them instantly (the bitch tits episode any one?).

maybe Square had to put some tenticle pr0n in there.
La-Blue-Girl (It was my mishap to fall upon this bit of sorry anime back about 4 years ago, all I remember to this day is the tenticles... eeewwwwww).

Ghost in the Shell is very good. Check it out.

COWBOY BEBOP!!!!!
I was skeptical about this one at first, cause my two brothers both instantly fell in love with it after seeing like 2 episodes, and I'm not the type of person to fall into something that quickly...let me just tell you, after the first episode ended, I didn't leave the couch(short to get some more snacks and take a much needed leak) till the whole session one dvd was finished, I likewise wnt out and got sessions 2 and 3 and watched them all numerous times, and I've started watching it on cartoon network
its the best anime I've seen in a while
and personally the I feel that the dubbed version is WAY better than the subbed version. The chars is what makes the show so awesome(that plus the music)

at any rate coming in at a close second
is princess mononoke, I just can't get enough of this one, I must have watched the dvd(which I got the day it came out) 100 times

now I'm no anime otaku or anything but I do enjoy it alot
some other really good animes are
the irresponsible captain tyler
venus wars
X
vampire hunter D
robot carnival
ninja scroll
flame of recca
lodoss war
robotech

and a few others that I've seen are really godo too but I can't recall the titles

but yea
cowboy bebop is the superior anime, I think that in not having a continual storyline and being mroe based around individual episodes provides a more fulfilling and compelling experience when you watch even one episode
and it fits with the whole nature of the show

[quote]Originally posted by The Toolboi:
<strong>Awww, I dont diss the CG, it was ok, I just found that it ran into a wall. My problem with most CG is exactly what I had against FF. As it wasnt done to look artistic, and it doesnt look photorealistic, it kinda falls short.
I for instance like Shrek quite a bit more in the animation department. Sure it wasnt as photorealistic, but it looked perfect for what it was. FF with its touted photorealism ended up looking less then was expected (did you see the clips on the FF site before the movie? Theyd tweaked them with photoshop to make it look better).

I think that we cna all agree that those scenes mentioned should have been better clarified. Who knows, maybe the Japanese version made sense. Its much like my favorite anime, Cowboy Bebop, in that repect. CB had scenes that made ABSOLUTLEY NO sense to me or most of my friend, but my Japanese friend understood them instantly (the bitch tits episode any one?).

maybe Square had to put some tenticle pr0n in there.
La-Blue-Girl (It was my mishap to fall upon this bit of sorry anime back about 4 years ago, all I remember to this day is the tenticles... eeewwwwww).</strong><hr></blockquote>


well not for a few years at least will you start seeing CG that will be almost 100% photorealistic, FF really pushed the edges, and I admire that alot, when I first saw the trailor, some of the shots I had to watch twice because they were so damn good looking, shrek was really awesome as well, and yes I do agree that in going for a more cartoonish look shreks reality was a bit more absolute and convincing. whereas with FF in trying to look super realistic, we instantly notice the flaws and not the massive feets accomplished in making the FF movie
ya know?
My biggest problem with FF was the supposed comic relief, that guy was sad

My biggest problem with FF was the supposed comic relief, that guy was sad
Hahaha, ya.

As for CBBB;
Best 2 episodes: Toys in the Attic and Ganymede Elegy

Toys in the atic was just frikin hilarious (And the lesson is: Dont leave food in the fridge for too long) and Ganymede elegy was just straight out amazing. Cinematography better than 99% of the movies out there (and I LOVE cinematography), amazing scenes, the final introduction of who spike it, and.... man the list goes on.
The last episode is pretty amazing its self, I love how he goes out both wit ha bang and a wimper

I think that CBBB falls just below perfect in its episodic plot. Its close, but not quite perfect. The perfect method of plot enhancment is like that of Babylon five in early season 3, its episodic but focusing around a singular plot line. That is the problem I had with B5 later on, it became TOO plot based, and episodes stopped being distinguishable form each other, it was like on long on going "to be contnued" episode. Which is also btw, the problem that I have with most anime.
Well, CBBB also falls a bit short in that it doest really explain anything very well, and its stories are quite often VERY chopped up (and a bit repetitive).

I think If I wasn't a musician bent on world domination, I would take a career in Cinematography, being a photographer as well, I look at good cinematography as I do good photography only theres lots of it!

toys in the attic was just wierd....I did enjoy it alot though, I haven't seen the whole series yet, but Its still my favorite anime

as for B5, man I started watching it on sci-fi channel a few months, and I got hooked again
that was truly an excellent show. but it definatly did start to get a bit too plot based and it got really deep and over done in my opinion, but overdone in a kind of underdone way, I don't know, I relaly enjoyed the episodes that were right before the shadow war and during it, the ones after weren't so great, the ones way before were good too though...oh well...it was a great show

Best Anime Series Ever: Serial Experiments Lain
Second Best: Cowboy Bebop

Other Good Serieses(?): Scryed, Escaflowne, (argh, can't think of any more at the moment!)

Wrong Robot, EXACTLY my feelings towards the show. about the month or so before Sheridan came on has to be the highest point of TV ever. Even when Sheridan first came on (who I didnt like very much)the show was amazingly good.
Ever see the Zathuras trilogy (or at least thats what I call them) about B4 appearing in some corner of the galaxy? What an amazing 3 episodes, they really blew me away.

though Pierre le Fou runs a close third
Oddly enough I didnt like that one that much, though I cant say that it was bad.
My third... or maybe second, its kind of a tie with Toys in the Attic is the last episode, just the last 10 minutes of it are amazing, him going after Vicious... amazing, truely amazing.
That show has to have the BEST music of any TV show, and its definatly the best planned. Hell, look at how they use The Real Folk Blues (not a particularly good song) in conjunction with Spikes leaving, just amazing.

Yea that B4 shite was nutty awesome
Man
B5 was sooooo ****ing cool, but then again, It crapped out in the very end, so I'm glad that they aren't still making new episodes.
farscape is ****ing awesome as well, though it has lost alot of its early 1st season glory, the show was so original and well made, very similar to B5 in those respects.

Was farscape good? I never watched it (Ive become anti-TV since friends took over from Seignfeild as the most watched sitcom).

Any how, how could I have forgotten to mention "The Wings of Heronomise", a cool little non-action drama anime (never thought Id like one of those but...) about the fictional first building of a spaceship (of course its the Japanese who build it ).
Really cool movie, though as I said little or no action.

[edit] Oh jeeze, I just saw the first 3 episodes of Lain, and Im kind of taken aback, thats one of the coolest things Ive ever seen. Most mood, style, and pure bizzarness Ive ever seen. It reminds me of Pi and The Truman Show directed by H.R. Geiger. Also am I the only one seeing Apple/Jobs references EVERYWHERE? Her first "Navi" (gotta love Japanese names, "Im gonna go surf the Wired")looks almost just like a red 20th aneversary mac, they use Next OS Icons every where (are they using Next?), and the OS (at least on her new "Navi") is called Copland OS.

[ 02-01-2002: Message edited by: The Toolboi ]</p>

MY pc-using, mac liking friend is a huge anime nut and serial experiment lain is one of his favorites, he's told me many a time that the creators love macs(as well as almost everyone in japan) and that there are many references to apple and macintosh and the likes in the show
i haven't seen it yet though

[quote]Originally posted by Wrong Robot:
<strong>MY pc-using, mac liking friend is a huge anime nut and serial experiment lain is one of his favorites, he's told me many a time that the creators love macs(as well as almost everyone in japan) and that there are many references to apple and macintosh and the likes in the show
i haven't seen it yet though</strong><hr></blockquote>

Naw, I think they are more obsessed with T & A!

Ya, thanks for pointing it out to me (didnt know it existed). Ive decided to boycott the openforums (too many idiots) but the anime people seem real cool (especially since theres nothing to war about).

Now if only everyone where would put up Morpheus or Kazaa and share over that, man that would rule. Just do a search for whatever anime you want...
screw the leechers, they dont matter.

Edit: Wow, am I the only person that posts in AO?
Oh well...
I agree, Lain is the best Anime Ive ever seen. It blew me away and then pulled me back.
More mac references: Frames with "Think Different" litter the animes, especially the end.

[ 02-03-2002: Message edited by: The Toolboi ]</p>