Anime

[greg]

What led you to this anime? I have never heard of it- what a strange name!

[greg]

Speaking of strange names, I just finished Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I didn't watch the two movies, though... maybe later, though.

Maybe if I were 12 again I could enjoy this show better. It's about these people who live underground, and break through the ground to become surface dwellers. The main characters uses a drill which is supposed to "pierce through the heavens." The whole series is divided into two parts- ep.1-15 the first part, 16 being a recap, and 17-27 the second part.

Now, I didn't completely dislike it- there's something I do like about it, after finishing it, though I couldn't explain what- but I can't say I'd recommend it, unless you like this type of show. It's hyperactive, battle after battle, and not much of a storyline. The animation, technically, is pretty amazing- I couldn't fathom the skill needed to animate the battle scenes in this show. Also, I watched a bit of the English dub for the last few episodes, and man, could the dialogue possibly get any cornier? 

The whole mood if this show can be summed up like this- Battle! Fight! Us allies believe in you- now believe in yourself! You can do it! Pierce the heavens with your drill! (and they proceed to take down some opponent as big as an aircraft carrier). 

So, next... (and hopefully by the time the weekend is over, I'll be done with this)- Neon Genesis Evangelion. 

It's supposed to be a similar style show, except that it's very pessimistic all of the characters break down and go crazy, so I've heard. I watched the first episode and thought it was a kids show, but supposedly it gets to be intense later on. It's a show that people usually either love or hate. My friend once watched the whole series in one day, and said it was torturous, though I'm not sure if he meant just making himself sit there for 8 hours was, or if the show had anything to do with it.

Oh, well... next stop: Evangelion! 

[DavidW]

Yeah Greg it's a good show (Neon Genesis Evangelion) but I had trouble finding the patience to stay committed because too many episodes felt the same.

[greg]

Hmm... then I can see how my friend had a bad experience watching it all at once, even if he liked the show. (Watched episode 2 and it doesn't seem like a "kids show" like my impression long ago of episode 1...). Anyways, over the course of 3 or so days I should be fine. 

[greg]

Finished!
(will watch "End of Evangelion" tomorrow)

Well, it was pretty much how everyone said it was. The last few episodes are filled with trippy hallucinations and constant questioning of the worth of the characters' existence. It's like taking a view into the characters' soul and elevating it into a profound level, although I'm not sure it's supposed to make sense, but I like it anyways.

(Also, I found Asuka to be exactly like a female version of M Forever. Not only in terms of personality disorder, but she happens to be German, as well!  )


There's also a study on this, and all of the symbolism used in the show.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_(anime)#Inspiration_and_symbolism

Looks like it'd be a good idea to brush up on some Satre before watching the last episodes- some things I probably would have understood better if I was familiar with his, and others', work (so many other influences here).


Probably out of all of the hallucinations, this might be my favorite:


(from 8:00 in this video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/HwFbhWnq3qw&feature=related


(to 2:00 in this video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/ejWj6H03v_I&feature=related

but you really have to click on the video and make it full screen- the flashing words- "Sex" "Death" "No" are pretty intense, too 

[greg]

End of Evangelion...
I had expected it to be somewhat of an explanation of the ending, but I still don't really understand the ending of the series after this (I don't think anyone does).

BUT I have to add: the last minute or so of this is the most hopeless ending I've ever seen in anything. It feels even worse than the first time I listened to Mahler's 6th...  The last line of the movie is, "This is disgusting." I wish I could describe what happens, too, but this forum doesn't have a "spoiler" option that you can hide or show.

So, as much as I enjoyed it, it's not going to be a top 5 favorite because I found that the story itself wasn't very interesting, and I didn't feel hooked.

Next:
-Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
-Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
-The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (new movie that came out 2 months ago which just jumped to the top of the ratings list at myanimelist.net, but since it's new, it probably won't stay there).

[greg]

I just watched the first episode of Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

(One thing that made me interested in the series was the jump in user ratings on myanimelist.net. Right now, it's ranked as the #2 best anime, at an average score of 9.10).

It's a 110 episode series, which is based on a series of sci-fi novels- both are in Japanese, and have never been translated into English, so the only option for an English viewer would be to watch the original Japanese with fansubs (no English dub or "official" subs are available, meaning you can't buy the DVDs either, since they don't exist for English speakers). So, needless to say, it's not the most popular show in the world, but those who have watched it seem to love it.

The cool thing is, the whole show starts off with the beginning of the Mahler 3rd as the background music. That, itself, means this show has to be EPIC.  It also uses bits of that symphony and bits of the Resurrection Symphony throughout the episode.

To describe the show- one reviewer put it this way: "This is Star Wars. Lucas' franchise should be named to something else." They discuss war strategy for battles coming up for fighting in space.

As for the art... ehhh, outdated and not to my taste, but I could overlook that.

Here's the first part of the 1st episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7zRSMbA1_8

[eyeresist]

What led you to this anime? I have never heard of it- what a strange name!

I think I originally picked up Genshiken because it was cheap. It's an acronym of the Japanese title "Society for the Study of Visual Culture" - the society in question being a university anime/manga/game club. The comedy is character-based and much more sophisticated than most anime comedy. I highly recommend it.

I watched When They Cry and was so impressed I immediately began rewatching it (I don't think I've ever done that before). It's not so great on the second watch, I have to admit. The pace is generally pretty slow, especially the scenes where characters deliver long exposition speeches about stuff we already know. I gave up during the last arc. To be honest, I think the horrible violence is the most entertaining part of the show.

Regarding the symbolism of Eva, I don't think you should take the stuff spouted by American "experts" as gospel. Apparently the show's creators have admited that most of the symbolism was used just because "it looks cool". The fundamental story is about Shinji's relationship with his father, and feelings of inadequacy. This is the stuff that has survived into the Rebuild movies, whereas the more obscure elements have not. I liked Rebuild 1.0 a lot, BTW, and I hope this time they actually get the ending right!

Let us know how LotGH goes. This has been on my peripheral radar for a while...

[greg]

I think I originally picked up Genshiken because it was cheap. It's an acronym of the Japanese title "Society for the Study of Visual Culture" - the society in question being a university anime/manga/game club. The comedy is character-based and much more sophisticated than most anime comedy. I highly recommend it.

Cool! I just now looked it up and read that it's an "anime about anime fans..." interesting. 

I watched When They Cry and was so impressed I immediately began rewatching it (I don't think I've ever done that before). It's not so great on the second watch, I have to admit. The pace is generally pretty slow, especially the scenes where characters deliver long exposition speeches about stuff we already know. I gave up during the last arc. To be honest, I think the horrible violence is the most entertaining part of the show.

Well, I have to say you're pretty brave to pick that one up and watch it again right away. I had a hard time getting through the first 10 or so episodes because of the exact same reasons you listed.

The second season "Kai"- I wonder what you would think of that. The over the top violence  (which I also enjoyed) is gone in it, and so is the tedious retelling of stories. The whole story narrows down, gets more refined and has more spirit overall. I actually slightly prefer the second season.

Regarding the symbolism of Eva, I don't think you should take the stuff spouted by American "experts" as gospel. Apparently the show's creators have admited that most of the symbolism was used just because "it looks cool". The fundamental story is about Shinji's relationship with his father, and feelings of inadequacy. This is the stuff that has survived into the Rebuild movies, whereas the more obscure elements have not. I liked Rebuild 1.0 a lot, BTW, and I hope this time they actually get the ending right!

Ah, I see.
Well, unfortunately, it might be a while until 3.0 and 4.0 come out... probably tons of people are waiting for a "proper" ending.

Let us know how LotGH goes. This has been on my peripheral radar for a while...

I'm not sure when I'm actually going to start watching the series. Could be soon, could be later. 110 episodes is pretty intimidating... but, of course- I'll gladly tell ya how the show is. 

[greg]

Interesting to see composer profiles on here:

http://myanimelist.net/people/9097/Gustav_Mahler
http://myanimelist.net/people/9370/Dmitri_Shostakovich
http://myanimelist.net/people/9180/Schumann_Robert
http://myanimelist.net/people/9162/Rachmaninoff_Sergei
http://myanimelist.net/people/9350/Mozart_Wolfgang_Amadeus
http://myanimelist.net/people/9160/Beethoven_Ludwig_van
http://myanimelist.net/people/9878/Chopin_Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric
http://myanimelist.net/people/9159/Bach_Johann_Sebastian
http://myanimelist.net/people/9618/Richard_Wagner

The only bummer part is that most of them have music only on a few certain shows- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Nodame Cantabile, and Gankutsuo. Not much more than that.



Okay, so as I said I would, I watched The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya today (a long, 2 hour 40 minute movie). Even though the only available video to watch is a camrip with fansubs, I don't know why, but I LOVED it! 

I wasn't a big fan of the 2009 Haruhi season (most people hated it), but this one really made up for it. The whole story is basically what the title says, and Kyon is trying to get back his former life. One line that I've been thinking about over and over again the whole day was when the future Mikuru told Kyon, "one day, you'll look at your current life as if it were a beautiful dream that passed you by." I could just imagine- I would happily trade places with him, without even thinking. 


Here's where I watched it, anyways:
http://www.cipherninja.net/video/suzumiya-haruhi-no-shoushitsu/423/Episode-01

[eyeresist]

I saw a few episodes from first season of Haruhi and wasn't impressed, didn't much like the characters and didn't find it funny. Felt kinda overhyped. I might give it another go in a few years!

If you want classical music in anime, I have to ask, have you seen Princess Tutu? That has a lot of music in it, ballet and otherwise. The title is a bit of a turn-off, obviously, but those who've seen it rate it highly.

[greg]

Haha, Princess Tutu... never even heard of that one. And if I did watch it, because of the title, I'd never tell my friends. 

[greg]

Ah... decided to watch the hugest failure of an anime, ever (it was only 20 min., so why not?).
Hametsu no Mars (Mars of Destruction).

Let's just say that on MAL, it was rated a 2.73 average, and I doubt the 51 10-point votes it got were honest. This one comes in at last place (#3969) for anime which have enough votes to be given an average score in the first place. Second to last place has an average of 4.49, if that gives anyone an idea.

So, yeah, it's bad... I think through the whole show, I was like, "whaaaaaaaaat...." and then, at the end, I just started laughing.

Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hUW5NI6SL8

[greg]

Just finished watching K-On! (14 episodes + the specials)

I don't know why, but I ended up enjoying it (usually I hate stuff like this)...
it's just about a group of high school girls that form a music club at their school, which happens to be a rock band.
The whole show is as light-hearted as it gets, and the humor is really exaggerated stuff. More than anything, that's what I appreciate it for- it's the best thing in the world to think about when you're in the lumber department of a hardware store you hate, pushing rusty blue carts by some old guy and a manager who is so uptight you wonder if he's chronically constipated. Like having a small match of light in a cave of never-ending pitch black darkness.



As for what I'll watch next...
I can't seem to find the full series of LotGH online, other than a torrent (being 22 GB, my computer can't handle that right now), so I don't know when I'll get to that.
Kaiji sounds good, and Mr.Anime strongly recommends it (anything he recommends I like):

Itou Kaiji is a bum who steals car emblems and slashes tires on what seems to be a regular basis. This routine changes one day when he is paid a visit by a man in a trench-coat. Once the two get talking, it seems that the visitor (Calling himself Endou) is a debt collector. The reason for his visit is an unpaid loan which Kaiji had previously co-signed for a work-mate (Furuhata Takeshi). The original loan was 300,000 yen and once Takeshi had disappeared, the loan then fell on Kaiji.

Kaiji is then told of a way to clear the interest compounded debt (which stood at 3,850,000 yen), which involved getting on a boat with others in his position. Once on the boat the debtors would then have to gamble with loaned money, which would end with a few winning, and others getting into deeper debt and having to work to pay of their debts. After some coercion Kaiji accepts a position on the boat, in order to clear his dept and make a bit of money as well...

though I should watch FullMetal Alchemist, Claymore, Code Geass or Mushishi soon...

[eyeresist]

LOGH was never released in the West, so there's no legal way to obtain a localised release, so don't know what you'll do there...  (coughsundevilcough) ...

I've heard that K-ON is what all the cool kids are watching, but as usual I'm thinking "it'll be a cheap slimpack, five years down the track". That's just how my mind works.

[greg]

Of course, all the anime I watch is illegal fansubs. 

I actually found a site which has the whole series:
http://www.gogoanime.com/category/legend-of-the-galactic-heroes/page/4

checked a few of the episodes, and they work, though I don't know if every single one works.

As for K-On, (if i understand your expression right), yeah, might be something like that. It isn't a great show- just mindless entertainment that I happened to really enjoy. I wouldn't recommend it.


Currently:
Claymore 10/26

[eyeresist]

As for K-On, (if i understand your expression right), yeah, might be something like that. It isn't a great show- just mindless entertainment that I happened to really enjoy. I wouldn't recommend it.

I wasn't trying to put K-On down! Rather, I was just saying that I know the show is reasonably popular, but I haven't watched it, because I'm not cool. I tend to wait for the official Western release. What is this interweb everyone keeps talking about?

[greg]

Ah, I see.
Well, that is a strange idea people have ("only 'cool' people watch K-On").  This is a show about a group of goofy girls that, as a rock band, don't have a drug addiction- they have a sweets addiction. Instead of hanging out, stoned, smoking dope and shooting cocaine, they have tea parties and go crazy for pieces of cake, dress up in cat costumes, and go to their rich friend's beach resort.  But, hey... in reality, it is better than showing a stereotypical drug-addicted rock band. So, I guess it is cooler, but in a different way. 


Interweb?
I have no idea... looked it up.

A sarcastic term for the internet. Often used in the context of parody regarding an inexperience, unskilled, or incoherent user.
Hay guys, I'm using teh interweb!!!

I guess...? 

[DavidW]

Interweb?
I have no idea... looked it up.
I guess...? 

Xkcd might have coined it when it parodied joe six pack (or congress) misunderstanding of what the internet is by using different wrong names for it.  Too lazy to dig the comic out, but my favorite is the interblarg, a word I now use more than the internet!

[greg]

interblarg

Now that's a word I wouldn't mind seeing in standard use!