|
Post by Ally on Jan 15, 2006 20:49:03 GMT
There are lots of moments that more than make up for Shiho, but even so, she does deserve to be burned alive.
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Jan 15, 2006 20:59:51 GMT
Considering that if you tried to rank the characters by importance, she'd probably come somewhere around 10th, she's not exactly an overimposing irritation. Most anime have at least one annoying character anyway.
I've finished reading (and downloading) the manga now, and I can't bring myself to either place it above or below the anime. They're so damn different, that they each have their pros and cons. I like them both. ^_^
|
|
|
Post by Ally on Jan 15, 2006 21:23:19 GMT
Considering that if you tried to rank the characters by importance, she'd probably come somewhere around 10th, she's not exactly an overimposing irritation. I dunno...she *is* the rival, after all...
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Jan 15, 2006 21:28:28 GMT
I would still rank:
Mai Yuuichi Natsuki Mikoto Shizuru Nagi Reito ('Lord Obsidian') Takumi and (only just) Nao
above her.
In the mangas, Natsuki is the major rival, pushing Shiho even further back.
|
|
|
Post by Emily on Jan 20, 2006 12:01:43 GMT
...stupid paradise kiss rubish ending as usual...
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Jan 20, 2006 14:58:02 GMT
The ending was perfectly adequate. You're just bitter because there was no wedding. ¬_¬
|
|
|
Post by Ally on Jan 20, 2006 17:46:07 GMT
Fucking dialup...I hate not being able to download.
|
|
|
Post by Emily on Jan 21, 2006 13:04:58 GMT
is it so wrong to want things to end with a wedding? Is that so bad?
Okay on with my newtype dvd reviews for this month and last because its taken me this long to watch them:
Princess Tutu ridiculous shoujo crap about ballet magical girls and a duck. looks crap, worse plot, lead guy looks more like a girl than usual.
Hakugei Legend of the Moby Dick: If this is new, it looks old. If its old, why has no-one ever heard of it before? Because it sucks that why. "whale hunting... IN SPACE" - I swear, the truest comment ever made in 'how not to draw manga' was; "can't think of an idea? get an old Idea, and put it IN SPACE!"
Irresponsible captain Tylor Suprisingly good! Pretty old, and looks it, a little cheesy in places, but really funny. Basically its about you're basic Iwata/Stuart type guy who joins the military thinking it'll be a free meal ticket, then gets involved in a huge war. I'd happily watch more of it if I had nothing to do.
Macross Pretty old, and alright if you like old things. Not my cup of tea though. Mecha, space wars, technology et c. did have one classic unintentional line that made me laugh for about five minutes: *as alien warships have turned up and started blowing shit up* First mate: Captain! (dramatic Pause) You're not allowed to smoke on the bridge!
Misaki Chronicle's Divergence eve was crap, this is the crappy sequel. Even the theme music sucks. Almost entirely female cast with painfully large balloon shaped breasts, check. Ridiculous camera angles to show off comedy breasts, check. girls falling over in compromising positions, check. stupid hair colours, check. Paper thin plot involving alien monsters, time paradoxes and alternate dimensions, check. Made for lonely guys who have never and will never see a real breast.
Hare+ Guu You know how much I love the original Jungle wa Itsuma Hare Nochi Guu, and If you haven't seen it, you should do so. its weird, highly random, and has a character who is blatantly alice in it... makes me laugh. I decided to check out the dubbed version and its fairly good, if lacking the frenetic quality of the main character's frequent mental breakdowns.
|
|
|
Post by Ally on Jan 21, 2006 17:13:57 GMT
I want to see this character and why she's so much like me... ;D
|
|
|
Post by Emily on Jan 21, 2006 23:33:51 GMT
she's a drunken ho, in a very funny way.
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Jan 29, 2006 13:14:48 GMT
And so at episode 16, the same pivotal moment in the series as its predecessor, Mai-Otome discards its original opening sequence for one with angst! Destruction! And several "meaningful gazes into the distance"!
Also, should I reiterate just how amazingly awesome Black Cat is on almost all levels? I think so.
It should probably be noted that the reason I keep going on about these two is that I haven't been seeing many new anime recently. Now Paradise Kiss has ended, the only contemporary ones I follow are these, Solty Rei, and Pani Poni Dash (although the fansubbing releases for PPD are a little irregular). The only other anime I've downloaded recently has been Card Captor Sakura series 2 and 3...and what can be said about that which hasn't already? >_>
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Feb 3, 2006 9:22:41 GMT
Hell, it was about time I reviewed things properly for a change... A week or so ago I finally got round to watching Makoto Shinkai's most recent cinematic creation, Beyond The Clouds, otherwise known as The Place Promised In Our Early Days. To branch off briefly: You may have previously seen Shinkai's work in Voices of a Distant Star; a 30 minute mini-movie concerning a teenage couple and their relationship as they communicate across the reaches of space (via text message, no less). The girl, Mikako, heads further off into the space as a mecha pilot for the space fleet, while her boyfriend, Noboru, is left alone on Earth. The time taken for each message to arrive increases with distance and soon enough there are literally years between replies. The story is very sweet and a little sad, as one can imagine. The character designs aren't particularly well polished, but then Shinkai did create the entire anime (minus soundtrack) by himself on his laptop so it's bloody impressive nonetheless. Though not as much as, characters aside, just how damn beautiful the entire anime is. Shinkai does the best lighting effects in all of anime ever, and that is a statement I will stand by. Unfortunately no DVD is worth £12 for 30 minutes so I can't recommend buying it unless you feel like indulging yourself. However it is readily available to download from KickAssAnime fansubs and you can download the file HERE. I certainly urge you to do so. Beyond the Clouds is a full 90 minute movie, and is both as sweet and beautiful as its precursor while also producing a more complex and serious storyline. It centres around three high school children: best friends Hiroki and Takuya; and their female companion Sayuri. The two boys spend their free time constructing a plane with the intention of flying the short distance north to Hokkaido to visit an immense white tower, that literally stretches miles into the air (on clear days it is even visible from Tokyo). Note that Hokkaido is controlled by an enemy power known as "The Union", and the sea between them is a designated No Fly Zone. But then, these problems are comparatively unimportant... It is during these times of childhood the three become close and share a promise that they shall fly in their plane across to the tower: being "the place promised in our early days", as named in the lengthier of the two titles. Then, skip forward a few years. Hiroki has become compelled to locate Sayuri, his childhood friend who one day just disappeared from their lives. It turns out that Sayuri has been comatose, but the military are intent on keeping her asleep because of a connection she holds with the mysterious white tower. A connection meaning that were she to regain consciousness it could spell the destruction for the entire planet. Can Hiroki regain his friend whilst averting such a colossal disaster? How will Takuya, who is working as one of the military scientists charged with preventing such an occurance, fit into all this? Doesn't the fact that war is just about to break out between Japan and The Union any day now just make everything a hell of a lot more complicated? You bet it does. As before, I cannot emphasise enough just how beautiful this film is. I find myself marvelling at random reflections, the way a train pulls into a station, or how the light from streetlamps flickers past on the interior of the moving carriage. The character designs are much better now than in Distant Star (their foreheads don't look squashed for a start), and Sayuri has a sense of Osaka about her (not in the braindead sense) that I find strangely adorable. The soundtrack is low-key, and appropriately so for the plot. Said plot is a little difficult to follow when the sudden jump is made a few years into the future, but you will certainly have picked everything up before you reach the end. In all, the film is not a groundbreaking thriller, but it is beautiful with a 'gentle' (a word I find fits it well) story that will leave you feeling better for having watched it. Well, there's a rather large black hole where Hokkaido used to be, but no point splitting hairs. Beyond The Clouds can downloaded from TorrentSpy.com HERE, although be warned there will not be many seeders and the movie is 1.36GB in size. Alternatively you can watch it on my laptop. >_> I'd burn it off if I had a DVD burner, which I don't. It has been licensed by ADV films though, and was released in the US about a month ago. When it comes out here I will likely pick it up, at least to save hard drive space...hell, I might pick it up at LAC if it's there. Incidentally, I find the English voice casting amusing, with Chris Patton [Sousuke Sagara] playing Hiroki. Then again Sayuri is played by Jessica Boone [Chiyo-chan; Arumi from Abenobashi], which kind of fills me with dread. The dubbing aside, this is a GOOD FILM. Seek out and be in awe of the prettiness.
|
|
|
Post by Emily on Feb 3, 2006 16:03:22 GMT
you know I could have sworn i'd seen the second film in the shops in england... i know ADV is doing a double bill of both films as part of their thinpak collections, so it might well be at LAC...
|
|
|
Post by Ally on Feb 3, 2006 17:26:04 GMT
To branch off briefly: You may have previously seen Shinkai's work in Voices of a Distant Star; a 30 minute mini-movie concerning a teenage couple and their relationship as they communicate across the reaches of space (via text message, no less). That bit just reminded me of the guys from the Orange advert ;D But they both sound beautiful films...must download them next time I'm home...
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Feb 3, 2006 21:20:36 GMT
I've not found any mention of a double pack, either on Amazon or ADV's own site. Where did you hear of it, Em?
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Feb 3, 2006 23:40:25 GMT
Yay! New episode of Pani Poni Dash! ^_^ They only seem to be released every two weeks or so, hence it is an important occasion because it does make me giggle so. In this episode (#20), Himeko is possessed by a mushroom from another planet. We are introduced to the ongoing battle between the Drama Club and the Movie Club. Ichijou has a 1 million volt electric death claw for which she provides no adequate explanation. Mesousa the rabbit fails miserably to play nicely with Ichijou's little sister. The ditzy Suzune continues to infuriate the small and angry Otome. One of the spaceship aliens has a transfer exchange with the Cat/God in the vending machine. And Becky, who is wearing a cute little cat costume, gets stuck in unfortunate places: That, and many, many other things that I have simply forgotten to write down. This series is awesome in its pure unrivaled silliness.
|
|
|
Post by Emily on Feb 4, 2006 13:27:43 GMT
I've not found any mention of a double pack, either on Amazon or ADV's own site. Where did you hear of it, Em? now I'm sure it was on at least one of my newtype dvds... Have just been to the adv website and found it for you... aha tim for once your puny research is inferior to my own excellent research and I mock your lack of information! it is priced at $39.98 and is available now.
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Feb 4, 2006 15:51:28 GMT
Yes yes, okay. I missed it on the list between Shadow Skill and Shinobi, so sue me.
|
|
|
Post by Emily on Feb 4, 2006 16:16:02 GMT
you know i'm only happy because i lose the arguements so often...
|
|
|
Post by stokerino on Feb 4, 2006 21:15:03 GMT
Can I just say, I hate joke fansub releases that are basically a string of sex jokes thoughout the entire episode. What I hate more is that I feel compelled to watch it anyway because it IS a new episode, despite its tarnished state. Of this I am referring to episode 17 of Mai Otome.
Luckily, I can pretty much follow the episode even while ignoring the subtitles, and what I have to say is this:
YES!
YES YES YES YES YES!
Betrayal! Revelations! Massive army attacking! Infighting abound! Heel turns! Self sacrifice! DEATH!
I literally cannot wait for the legitimate Doremi Fansubs release tomorrow so that I can watch it properly. Mai-Otome has finally stepped up to the plate with all that made Mai-HiME great.
|
|