dreamweaver13

ah. flashback time...screen goes wavy and... well, to cut the long story short, yup i was also swept away by the first wave of evangelion, around 1997. not much of an anime fan yet around that time, but that certainly changed upon watching eva (by a chance suggestion by an acquaintance). and when i say "watching eva", what a painstaking process it was! renting VHS tapes as soon as they become available. waiting weeks (or even months sometimes) in between volumes to complete the series. getting more addicted with each day that passed. I was too engrossed that I didn't even notice that it was that much of a phenomenon until after. to this day, i hold Eva in the highest regard. i've been though the forum wars, the debates, the endless "kimochi warui" discussions, the praises and the disses. and at the end of it all, i have lumped humanity simply into two categories: those who loved Eva, and those who didn't. my personal thoughts on either category of humans, i'll keep to myself, of course.

I finished Shin Mazinger over the weekend, and it's as hot-bloodedly awesome as expected. about the ending, are they planning another season, or are the 1st 2 episodes supposed to act as the ending to that already? also watched up tp episode 7 of Darker than Black S2 last night. i like it. cool to see Hei without any powers, but still kickin' a$s. i'll be watching the rest tonight. next up on my queue: Summer Wars, Natsu no Arashi. by the way, is Viper's Creed any good? i have a copy at home, but i can't seem to be interested enough to watch beyond the intro.

I never heard the term "self-doubt" used that way. but now that you've explained it, i can see where you're coming from.

I thought the ending was perfect too. couldn't have ended better. but personally, i would rather not seeing simon old and unrecognized by a child years later. if i would have a choice of the last image of simon, it would be when he left the keys to gurren, grabbed his coat and walked away. perfect. much like i always remember Michael Jordan's last moment to be his game winner against Russel. sure, i know he still played later with the Wizards, but my mind will always go back to that game-winner. I'm not sure that the existence of the Spiral Nemesis was a fallacy, or simply an unfounded fear of the Anti-Spirals. In fact, IIRC, Simon even realized that the Anti-Spiral was right. I think Simon also understood at the last moment that Spiral Power, if left unchecked, would definitely become the Spiral Nemesis. BUT, Simon, full of absolute source of willpower and faith in himself, again decided that he WILL DO THE IMPOSSIBLE and prevent the Spiral Nemesis from ever taking place. even if all science and common sense indicates that it is inevitable. In a way, it fits with the theme of the series... to (row, row) fight the power, face the inevitable and impossible, and overcome it. as only Simon could do. In this sense, i also don't see how Simon could be defined by "self-doubt". If anything, I think he's defined by overwhelming self-confidence and faith in himself. sure, he had self doubt before Kamina died (hence, Kamina had to rely on his classic "believe in me who believes in you"). I think, by the end, Simon already believed in himself. he didn't doubt that he would defeat the anti-spiral. even in the face of logic that the spiral nemesis is inevitable, he didn't doubt that he (and humanity) can avoid it. he didn't doubt for one second that what he was doing was right, even if it meant that Nia was going to disappear as a result. and finally, he didn't doubt that humanity would be ok, with or without him. needless to say, i believe that his decision to give up his political power was the ULTIMATE manifestation of self confidence on his part. he was confident that he opened the door well enough for others to follow without his help anymore. if anything, i think the entire point of Gurren Lagann, from a personal perspective, is the journey from self-doubt to ultimate self-confidence. to say that simon is still defined by his "self-doubt" to the very end would be a disservice to him and to the plot. in my opinion, of course.

ah. the shinji primal scream. still gives me goose-bumps to this day. just for this, Megumi Ogata will always remain one of my favorite seiyuus of all time.

harry potter comes to mind.

but by then, it's going to be more of a reboot, much like Batman begins. at least if they do it in 2012, they wouldn't need to do the origin again, because it's still fresh in the moviegoers' minds.

holy sh*t. that's gonna give me nightmares for the next few months.

oh god. collateral damage.

I don't really have that much qualms about the way the plot introduced MJ and gwen stacy into the movies. sure, comic canon would say that gwen stacy is the first love, but that's ok. the movie plot didn't have to follow the comics storyline too closely. I also enjoyed the first two movies thoroughly. sure, spidey wasn't cracking enough one-liners and was a bit whiny; sure MJ was too insecure and serious, but that didn't take away from the first 2 movies because, for me, they were enjoyable and the spirit of the comics was still there. then SM3 came along. complete with emo pete. crying pete (oh man, that scene of him crying on the bridge is so horrible, i still have nightmares about it). singing MJ and dancing emo pete. that just ruined the franchise for me. so now we get a second chance to get things right. it's a gamble, definitely. it could turn out even worse than Raimi's spidey films. it would be hard to surpass the first 2 films. but there's also a possible upside -- that I might finally see the REAL spidey live and onscreen. i have high hopes, but i'm also ready for the worst. the only thing i can say that will be bad about the reboot: J Jonah Jameson!! How can any other actor top Simmons??!

great news as far as i'm concerned. it's about time for a new perspective. hopefully they get spidey (and the rest of the characters) right this time. so, if it's gonna come out in 2012, and they plan to go high school this time around, i wonder who they're gonna cast...

YOU DA MAN! I haven't finished downloading it yet, but THANKS! happy holidays!!

Dammmn, too many to mention. I'm sure i'm forgetting some, but off the top of my head: - Isamu vs. Guld, final dogfight (Macross Plus) -- an aerial battle, but i just gotta add it. - Achilles vs. Hector (Troy) -- beautiful battle choreography, if not the best. - Himura Kenshin vs. Hajime Saitoh, Kamiya Dojo battle -- for me, the only battle in the series (meiji era) where Kenhin truly fights as the hitokiri. and it was amazing. - Cloud vs. Sephiroth, final battle (Final Fantasy Advent Children) -- omnislash FTW!

Loved Elfen Lied. It's one of those series that hooked me right from the start (with that awesome violence, how could it not??), and kept my attention til the very end.

I am working under the recollection that she volunteered for the Eva project, but that the absorption was unintentional. i could be wrong though, i haven't seen Eva in a while (but now another marathon might be in my near future. )

If indeed ALL the children in Shinji's class are candidates, then it can mean either: a) All of them have relatives/loved ones that can be conveniently killed at any time needed; OR b) All of them have recently deceased relatives/loved ones that could be used as cores at any time needed. Either view works for me. but i can't say for certain which is more probable. The first is diabolical. The second is a bit creepy. either way, NERV (and Gendo) is quite capable. Also, either way, Toji could not have been a pilot earlier, since: 1) Rei was partly a clone of lilith, so i would think she gets to pilot the first prototype by default. 2) Yui Ikari gets accidentally absorbed into Eva 01's core, so Shinji gets Eva 01 by default 3) Asuka's mother dies quite early in the series, most likely around the same time they developed Eva 02 (this is pure conjecture on my part), so if the core for 02 was chosen before the pilot, that made Asuka the prime candidate for 02. Also, Asuka was designated as 02's pilot even BEFORE she enrolled in Shinji's class, so clearly her assignment pilot was not a result of being a "candidate" from that said class. That leaves Eva 03. This time, NERV finally has some control, i think. this time, they can finally make use of their "pool of candidates" from Shinji's class, after the 1st 3 pilot slots have been taken by default. So why Toji? ... I dunno. Working from your premise that Toji was chosen specifically because his core could be prepared more conveniently, as opposed to the other candidates, I'm still not sure what that means. it could be as you say, that the sister was readily available for core use. or out of the possible cores prepared for future use, Toji's is the most developed, or easiest to work with. or he could have fit the ideal profile they needed. OR Toji could have been chosen simply for dramatic purposes, plotwise, since it provides the most irony -- the student who used to despise Eva polits becomes one himself. Sure Kensuke would have loved to be a pilot, but if he became one.... the series would be less compelling, and he could very well turn out to be Koji Kabuto in an Evangelion robot. it would be fun, but i don't think that would fit well with the series' mood. Again, if we got some confirmation that the sister is already dead (by whatever freak accident NERV cooks up), then I would agree with, and espouse, the sister/core theory. Until then, I think it's still open to debate.

Eureka Pete! i'm almost certain it is!!Misato knows her stuff. see, she made sure not to offer the steak BEFORE the mission. rather, it was offered AFTER the completion of the mission, thus ensuring their success! Now, if Misato wanted the mission to fail, she could have offered to buy them Pineapple Salad AFTER the mission, which would have meant instant death for all of them. BUT if she fed them pine salad before.... Quick! someone watch it again! What did they eat before the mission?? Misato might have solved the greatest macross mystery of them all: what happens if you eat Pineapple salad BEFORE the mission?

Not that I would have any idea how to capture a soul in real life, but in Eva, maybe the body has to go with it. IIRC, Yui was absorbed completely by Eva 01 by accident. maybe it's the same with the others... get the "mother", who may already be brain dead, but technically still alive, then let the Eva core do its absorbing magic. TADAH! Eva with soul power. and... enter Jesus. hey, Big J, that's your cue....

I completely agree. It's the fact that he was killed that matters most, not the who. but Eva being the much-debated topic as it is, EVERYTHING got caught in the crossfires. and you can't blame the fans. after all, we macross fans even discuss the effects of food on the lifespans of the characters! how do you beat that?? I never really intended to give the question much importance; it was just an example of one of those things that are not really clear in the anime. another example would be... aside from the Second Impact, WHAT ELSE does Shinji's school teach??

Ok, i'm only starting to backread this thread, so... Heyyyy, waitadoggoneminute.... oh. ok, moving on. Anyway, not that I want to revive this debate that seems to have naturally quieted, but: i've always felt that with Eva, there are just some theories that just cannot be proved or debunked conclusively either way. such as, who killed Kaji? sure, it can be inferred that it was the old lady, but it could very well be someone else that kaji knew from nerv. hell, it could be ritsuko for all i know. sure, there are some signs, and it's nice to put a theory out there that can be inferred from the show itself. but is it conclusive, either way? i don't think so. in criminal trial parlance, there is still reasonable doubt. I think the toji/sister debate falls in that category. it can be inferred that the sister was placed in the core. it's a diabolical theory, for sure, and one worthy of a conspiracy as deep as Eva. But i can't find anything from the series that conclusively establishes this. if, for instance, there's a subsequent scene saying that his sister died while in the NERV hospital, that theory suddenly gets more solid. and in the realm of fiction writing (eva writing in particular), that's as conclusive as it can get. but, as it is, there is reasonable doubt for me. after all, the sister could be alive. toji could have another long-dead relative whose soul was stored for future use. NERV could have developed a dummy core (hey, if there's a dummy plug, why not a dummy core) that can sync with any child. heck, maybe this is even the reason why Eva 3.0 was so easily taken over by an angel. there's also the fact that ALL the children in shinji's section are supposedly candidates. maybe they all lost loved ones recently, loved ones whose souls could have been prepared for eva use. When i was watching eva the first several times, i myself inferred that the sister could have been the core of Eva 03. but for me, that's just a theory. but i wouldn't lump it in with some theories that, for me, became conclusive over the course of the series (i.e. rei being a yui clone, rei being resurrected 2 times, elmo being max and milia's only son, etc, etc.). The theory was fun, but i wasn't ready to bet on it being true. BUT, i haven't seen Eva 2.0 movie, so if anything there makes this all moot and academic, i wouldn't know.

the steak bite between life or death.

But it is a treatise. a cruel angel's thesis, to be precise. wow, didn't realize there was a thread here debating the Eva series. Oh man, if feels so long ago when I religiously debated online on eva. i feel nostalgic, and at the same time, i feel so rusty. so much so, that all i could offer for now was that one-liner.

The added weight (whether in the cockpit or inside his tummy) would have meant he died even earlier.

Haven't been watching anime for a while, but i just finished Magnitude 8.0 last night. good thing i backread a little and saw your post. I liked it. i was expecting disaster-movie type mayhem and anarchy, but what i got was so much better. a disaster show that actually got me emotionally involved. kudos. and the ending.. that was strong s@*t man. Next up on my list: Valkyria Chronicles. up to ep3 so far.

Wow, this old vs. new debate sounds awfully familiar. Oh well, at least it didn't spill over into hip-hop and plato like the last one did.