What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v3.0

[Marzan]

Finished Orguss.

It's a pretty sudden ending, what with Olson and Kei coming face to face with their past selves, though i like how the result was all realities were restored so that any outcome was possible, as shown in those final scenes. I seriously had no idea how this show was going to end, so with that in mind i'm pretty pleased with how it was handled. It's pretty fitting for this series.

I absolutely loved the ending. Olson and Kei man up and fix the mess they created and the way it's presented with Casey Rankin's music in the background is all perfect. If you find the time check out Orguss 02. It's actually not that hard to get even in Europe and puts this ending in a different context.

[shiroth]

I absolutely loved the ending. Olson and Kei man up and fix the mess they created and the way it's presented with Casey Rankin's music in the background is all perfect. If you find the time check out Orguss 02. It's actually not that hard to get even in Europe and puts this ending in a different context.

Does it really affect the ending of the first series? I'll be checking it out this week for sure then.

Edited November 22, 2010 by shiroth

[Marzan]

Does it really affect the ending of the first series? I'll be checking it out this week for sure then.

Now that I think about it, it doesn't really affect the ending, as much as offer an alternative view on how events.

[Keith]

I don't know, I always thought Orguss 02 spit in the face of Orguss's ending

The very nature of untangling the dimenions negates any of the characters ever meeting, and Kei & Olsen dying at their own hands being the price paid. The various montages to me seemed more like lamentations on things that would never be, not Kei & Orsen somehow creating new universeal realities

[Gui]

Began watching the latest Cobra: The Animation OVA yesterday: the previous recent Cobra shows left me unsatisfied but I've been rather pleased with this one – the original spirit seems to be back...

[cyde01]

I officially decleare Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru the only show I give a damm about this season. It is simply the ultimate evolution of the maido-formula. Also Omigawa Chiaki's voice is just too cute (she's also Pico from Arakawa under the Bridge)!

curious, are you still watching this show? at the risk of sounding like a total otaku i absolutely love love love this show, but that's because it takes place within walking distance from my mom's hometown. i think it's hilarious but the humor seems like it would get lost in translation.

[Renato]

The very nature of untangling the dimenions negates any of the characters ever meeting, and Kei & Olsen dying at their own hands being the price paid. The various montages to me seemed more like lamentations on things that would never be, not Kei & Orsen somehow creating new universeal realities

Your first sentence, which is stated as fact, is based on your second sentence, which is *purely* your own subjective interpretation of the visuals. I think this is a bit of a problem in your argument of how "Orguss02 spits in the face of the original ending".

[Keith]

Your first sentence, which is stated as fact, is based on your second sentence, which is *purely* your own subjective interpretation of the visuals. I think this is a bit of a problem in your argument of how "Orguss02 spits in the face of the original ending".

Bottom line, Kei & Olsen "did" restore the dimensions, we see them seperate back into their orignal states. A leftover hybrid crap leftover Earth with a child Mimsy could never have given birth to living in it, along with an empire that never existed in the combined universe, with a super weapon that also never existed is highly dubious at best. Also, Tai was super dead.

[Marzan]

Bottom line, Kei & Olsen "did" restore the dimensions, we see them seperate back into their orignal states. A leftover hybrid crap leftover Earth with a child Mimsy could never have given birth to living in it, along with an empire that never existed in the combined universe, with a super weapon that also never existed is highly dubious at best. Also, Tai was super dead.

I think some spoilers would be in order for the people who have not seen Orguss 02.

[Renato]

Bottom line, Kei & Olsen "did" restore the dimensions, we see them seperate back into their orignal states. A leftover hybrid crap leftover Earth with a child Mimsy could never have given birth to living in it, along with an empire that never existed in the combined universe, with a super weapon that also never existed is highly dubious at best. Also, Tai was super dead.

But "we see" all of those things. I'm not sure why you accept as fact some visuals and disregard others.

This is my theory. All timelines reverted, but I think there would still be a timeline in which the timelines were still screwed up, alongside those that were reverted. Do you see? Everytime we make a decision, we take one path of a fork in the road, and there are multiple other versions of ourselves which took the other paths. Let us say that there are still some timelines in which the fixing of the timelines did not go smoothly, there are om where Kei and Olson lived, where they died, where Mhoom survived, there may certainly be one where Minmsy gave birth. I think of one of these "failed" timelines as the starting point for Orguss 02.

That said, I do think that having Tai come back was a bit much. Plus, he explains that to restore the timelines the space-time oscillation bomb was detonated a second time, when if we watch the first series we know that's not what happened, it was a different machine altogether. Plus super powers, what the hell.

[Marzan]

Got my hands on Arcadia of my Youth. Captain Harlock is an absolute classic!

The pacing is a bit funny and there is more melodrama than in most soap operas, but some sequences are plain stunning. And Leiji Matsumoto's character designs are so beautiful that it hurts.

Is it just me, or could Harlock's ship have served as inspiration for the design of the zentraedi ships?

[Ghost Train]

curious, are you still watching this show? at the risk of sounding like a total otaku i absolutely love love love this show, but that's because it takes place within walking distance from my mom's hometown. i think it's hilarious but the humor seems like it would get lost in translation.

Two episodes behind but still watching. Hehe didn't know it was based off a real location, perhaps your mom's hometown will become an Otaku tourism mecca soon like the K-On school and the Lucky Star town . As I don't speak Japanese, and given the absurdist nature of the humor I do get that feeling that some of the humor is lost, but I find what I get out of it entertaining.

[wolfx]

So its well established that Stocking is a BDSM freak....but her love interest throws me off. Is it because he looks somewhat like choco pudding?

[CrusherJ]

Got my hands on Arcadia of my Youth. Captain Harlock is an absolute classic!

The pacing is a bit funny and there is more melodrama than in most soap operas, but some sequences are plain stunning. And Leiji Matsumoto's character designs are so beautiful that it hurts.

Is it just me, or could Harlock's ship have served as inspiration for the design of the zentraedi ships?

This is one of my favorite films! True, the melodrama is pretty thick, but Matsumoto still shows how real men are. How Harlock handled the cowardly Illumidas officer is priceless!

[Seto Kaiba]

Bleh... on the advice of a friend, I decided to add Ladies versus Butlers! to the list of lighthearted shows I was watching to break up the monotony after I burned out on grimdark "war is hell" mecha shows. In hindsight, it was almost certainly a bad idea. This is almost certainly going to turn into a tirade about excessive fanservice nudity... so if hearing someone say that there is such a thing as too much nudity really chafes your willy, don't feel that you're under any obligation to read the rest of this post.

Now, I want to start by saying that I'm no prude... and I'm certainly no stranger to the whole "harem comedy" genre of anime. I don't mind if a show busts out a little bit of T&A for comedic effect or whatever, so long as it advances the plot a little or at least has some relevance to what's going on. Hell, I'll even look the other way when the show's premise makes it clear that it's supposed to be a lewd comedy, since that can occasionally be pretty damn funny (e.g. Seitokai Yakuindomo). I guess maybe I'm spoiled by shows like Tenchi Muyo!, but if I'm sitting down to watch a harem comedy one would assume that it's because I want to see comedy that results from a highly-implausible love polygon... if I want to see women spontaneously undressing for reasons which vary from "unclear" to "makes no goddamn sense", I'd watch Cinemax in the wee hours of the night. This is a line of reasoning that the creators of ToLOVERu and Ladies versus Butlers! just can't understand.

Ladies versus Butlers! is not a harem comedy show... at best, the harem comedy aspects of the show are little more than a vehicle for the delivery for excessive amounts of completely pointless nudity. If I had to guess, I'd say the reason the fanservice is so excessive is that it's there to hide a knowingly flimsy and downright anemic story. The plot is thus: freeloading relative Akiharu Hino enrolls in the "servant ed" program at a special high school that specializes in educating both rich upper-class kids and their future butlers and maids because they won't make him pay tuition, and due to circumstances ends up caught between a sociopathic girl who used to bully him as a kid and her drill-haired tsundere snob of a rival. Hino is the only character in the show who has any depth at all, and defies the usual harem formula by being unduly assertive and having neither interest in, nor patience for, the bullsh*t of the two squabbling girls (Tomomi and Selnia respectively).

The show spends rather too much time coming up with increasingly contrived reasons to show the female cast getting naked... to such an extent that the creators clearly said "f*ck it" and included a character who will strip naked in public for no reason at all in every scene she appears in, regardless of who's watching or the scene's context. For its entire twelve episode run, Ladies versus Butlers! straddles the line between lewd comedy and softcore pornography. Apparently when the time came to do the DVD version, they decided they hadn't made the show enough like a porno... so the DVD extras are basically just porn.

It's not often that I watch a show that's SO bad that it passes "so bad it's funny", slides right off the end of my critical spectrum, and dives headfirst into the cold, cloying void of dispassionate loathing. Ladies versus Butlers! doesn't bother with that middle-of-the-road, C-student kind of bad... this is going for the gusto. This is a show that's all bad, all the time... to the point where it gets rather worrying. It left me wondering if they'd originally planned to make a porno, and a significant portion of the staff never got the memo.

[Keith]

But "we see" all of those things. I'm not sure why you accept as fact some visuals and disregard others.

This is my theory. All timelines reverted, but I think there would still be a timeline in which the timelines were still screwed up, alongside those that were reverted. Do you see? Everytime we make a decision, we take one path of a fork in the road, and there are multiple other versions of ourselves which took the other paths. Let us say that there are still some timelines in which the fixing of the timelines did not go smoothly, there are om where Kei and Olson lived, where they died, where Mhoom survived, there may certainly be one where Minmsy gave birth. I think of one of these "failed" timelines as the starting point for Orguss 02.

That said, I do think that having Tai come back was a bit much. Plus, he explains that to restore the timelines the space-time oscillation bomb was detonated a second time, when if we watch the first series we know that's not what happened, it was a different machine altogether. Plus super powers, what the hell.

The multi-dimension aspect of Orguss (tv) wasn't a Sliders style (everything you do has an alternate outcome), it was a more disjointed completely alternate reality type deal. Dinosaur world, hot girls with head tales world, French Revolution World, Robots kill all humans world, that type of deal. The crossing of the dimensions literally took pieces of each world, and swapped them in and out with highly unstable randomness. The disturbance itself was directly connected with Kei & Olsen, which is why they were so integral in fixing things. And once things were fixed, it wasn't a matter of there being an alternate reality where things were not left over, it was a literal "this never happened, so things never meshed & screwed up a dozen or so different worlds). Ergo, there never could have been a baby.

As for the rest, yeah it was super goofy. If the staff listings had anyone else but Mikimoto shared between Orguss 02, Macross 02, & Gundam 0080, I'd swear that they were intentionally conspiring to ruin all 3 franchises. As for spoilers, it's a 25+ year old show. i'm pretty sure the spoiler window has passed.

[wolfx]

[Dynaman]

Watched the first 3 Episodes of "Rin: Daughter of M" (something or other starting with M, can't remember it exactly)

I'm impressed with the dubbing on this one, it is excellent - not a clunker in the cast so far.

The show is about a pair of immortal women who run a detective agency and a man they pick up. (and that is a lame description, but to say any more gives away too much of the plot). The episodes so far go back and forth, one taking place in 2011 and another taking place in 1991. It has me hooked enough to look forward to seeing where the plot goes from the first three eps.

Warning - this is NOT a show for the younger set, I doubt this could even have gotten on Japanese TV (but I've been wrong before). If on US TV it would have to be on one of the pay channels...

As for the rest, yeah it was super goofy. If the staff listings had anyone else but Mikimoto shared between Orguss 02, Macross 02, & Gundam 0080, I'd swear that they were intentionally conspiring to ruin all 3 franchises. As for spoilers, it's a 25+ year old show. i'm pretty sure the spoiler window has passed.

I'm still looking forward to watching it. I avoid reading any spoilers I can though (already know it deals with dimension hopping...).

I know this is mentioned earlier, but who has the best subs for this show again, and what would I need to google up in order to find them?

[renegadeleader1]

Watched the first 3 Episodes of "Rin: Daughter of M" (something or other starting with M, can't remember it exactly)

I'm impressed with the dubbing on this one, it is excellent - not a clunker in the cast so far.

The show is about a pair of immortal women who run a detective agency and a man they pick up. (and that is a lame description, but to say any more gives away too much of the plot). The episodes so far go back and forth, one taking place in 2011 and another taking place in 1991. It has me hooked enough to look forward to seeing where the plot goes from the first three eps.

Warning - this is NOT a show for the younger set, I doubt this could even have gotten on Japanese TV (but I've been wrong before). If on US TV it would have to be on one of the pay channels...

Trust me on this you are better off watching the first 3 episodes and thats it. This is one of the biggest train wrecks I've ever seen in anime, coming very close to Evangelion level.

[Dynaman]

Trust me on this you are better off watching the first 3 episodes and thats it. This is one of the biggest train wrecks I've ever seen in anime, coming very close to Evangelion level.

I guess I'll have to watch at least the next disc then, I liked Evangelion - even the last few episodes (both sets no less)

Now if you had said it was a train wreck like that last show I tried to watch that would be saying something... (can't even remember the title of that show, which is just as well)

All I'll lose from watching the next disc is a Netflix rental, and if I lived through the shame of watching the latest Starship Troopers I can live through this too.

[wolfx]

Watched the first 3 Episodes of "Rin: Daughter of M" (something or other starting with M, can't remember it exactly)

I'm impressed with the dubbing on this one, it is excellent - not a clunker in the cast so far.

The show is about a pair of immortal women who run a detective agency and a man they pick up. (and that is a lame description, but to say any more gives away too much of the plot). The episodes so far go back and forth, one taking place in 2011 and another taking place in 1991. It has me hooked enough to look forward to seeing where the plot goes from the first three eps.

Warning - this is NOT a show for the younger set, I doubt this could even have gotten on Japanese TV (but I've been wrong before). If on US TV it would have to be on one of the pay channels...

I'm still looking forward to watching it. I avoid reading any spoilers I can though (already know it deals with dimension hopping...).

I know this is mentioned earlier, but who has the best subs for this show again, and what would I need to google up in order to find them?

It was called Mnemosyne during the Japanese release. Pretty awesome and dark show.....lotsa sex and violence too

[Dynaman]

My earlier posts got conjoined for some reason...

What would I need to Google up to find a good sub of the original Orguss?

[Marzan]

My earlier posts got conjoined for some reason...

What would I need to Google up to find a good sub of the original Orguss?

I think Shiroth mentioned a subgroup called ILA. I don't know if anyone else has done the entirety of the series.

This is one of my favorite films! True, the melodrama is pretty thick, but Matsumoto still shows how real men are. How Harlock handled the cowardly Illumidas officer is priceless!

Quite true. Harlock is manly to a level that makes many of today's so called "gar" characters seem little wimps in comparison.

[shiroth]

What would I need to Google up to find a good sub of the original Orguss?

There's a complete torrent over on Bakabt.

[renegadeleader1]

I just start Sekirei! I have a weakness for these types of shows lol. Hopefully it will be better than "Master of Martial Hearts". Good grief that had one of the most screwed up disturbing endings I have ever seen. I'd explain it but I don't know how to use the spoiler function

[Vepariga]

panty an stocking is rather cool, i been rewatching my Samurai Champloo dvds too.

[Marzan]

While continuing with the long ride that is Maison Ikkoku, I decided that I needed something to balance it out so I'm rewatching Paranoia Agent. Cannot get more different than that!

Watching it I'm reminded that Satoshi Kon is one the few people that really deserves to be called a "genius".

[Major Focker]

I guess I'll have to watch at least the next disc then, I liked Evangelion - even the last few episodes (both sets no less)

Now if you had said it was a train wreck like that last show I tried to watch that would be saying something... (can't even remember the title of that show, which is just as well)

All I'll lose from watching the next disc is a Netflix rental, and if I lived through the shame of watching the latest Starship Troopers I can live through this too.

yeah, go ahead and finish watching mnemosyne. don't know where the "train wreck" comment comes from, personally i thought it neatly tied up more plot threads in just 6 episodes than some other series over a longer run. it is not a straightforward story structure though, so it does risk having the audience "get it" or not at all. some points are not explicitly resolved and left to the audience to connect themselves. i suppose this was its appeal for me, it was not only risque but also risky, or at least atypical, in a number of things.

[Dynaman]

yeah, go ahead and finish watching mnemosyne. don't know where the "train wreck" comment comes from, personally i thought it neatly tied up more plot threads in just 6 episodes than some other series over a longer run. it is not a straightforward story structure though, so it does risk having the audience "get it" or not at all. some points are not explicitly resolved and left to the audience to connect themselves. i suppose this was its appeal for me, it was not only risque but also risky, or at least atypical, in a number of things.

Only one disc left (have to keep a better watch on my NetFlix queue). No excuse not to watch the rest then.

Seperate note - thanks everyone for the help in tracking down Orguss.

[Ghost Train]

So I've been catching up on my anime lately due to end of year work-load. Working on Index S2, Soredemo Machi Wa... (tactical maido action!), and that disgusting filthy piece of taco bell diarrheal dog crap that is Oreno No Imouto Ga... .

Really enjoying the current season of Index S2. Damm, if DNA is any indication of how grown Biri-Biri will look like, Touma better hurry the hell up and finish tripping all the remaining Mikoto flags

[BeyondTheGrave]

Been watching Star Driver Kagayaki no Takuto. It's weird yet addicting.

[shiroikaze]

Strangely, I can't stomach watching Index II on a weekly basis, it feels like I can only watch it all at once... But I'll deal with it, so bring on more!

Anyway, I finally gave Panty & Stocking another go. My brother and I absolutely dig the series.

Also watched Summer Wars. This is really something I feel that everyone should watch and own. I'm not sure I'll be able to go see it in theatres but I'm definitely looking forward to the US Blu-ray release. It be kinda neat to see the movie win an Academy too.

From Funimation's blog site, for those interested:

Summer Wars will be playing at the following cities:

Dec 3-8 Chicago,IL- Siskel Film Center

Dec 10-16 Los Angeles, CA – AMC Covina 30

Dec 24-30 San Francisco, CA- Landmark Bridge Theater

Dec 29-Jan 4 New York, NY- IFC Center

Jan 5-12 Boston, MA- Museum of Fine Arts

Jan 7-13 Denver, CO- Starz Film Center

Jan 7-13 Santa Fe, NM- CCA Cinematheque

Jan 14-20 Los Angeles, CA- Laemmle Sunset

Jan 21-27 Philadelphia, PA- Landmark Ritz at the Bourse

Jan 23-Feb 3 Honolulu, HI- Academy of Arts,

Jan 28-Feb 3 Seattle, WA- Landmark Varsity

Edited December 7, 2010 by shiroikaze

[jenius]

I just got done Eureka Seven and overall I loved it. I'd give it a solid 9/10. It doesn't get that one extra point because I'm still not exactly sure what the hell was going on. I get the general idea, Holland's brother has lots of issues and is doing stuff that could destroy the world but anything deeper than that just seems to get mangled. I have a very strong suspicion it's because there's a lot of "we need the plot to go this way" elements that wouldn't hold up to logical scrutiny if they did try to explain it better.

Now that that's done I thought I'd seek out some new anime. I did Eureka Seven with subs and am now looking for a dubbed anime (so I can work while I watch). I watched a couple episodes of Claymore dubbed and the kid tagging along with Claire is destroying any fun I'd have with this show already. His voice actor's voice grates on me as it is... plus he acts like an idiot. I'll give it a couple more episodes but I think this might be the first anime in a long time I don't finish. Before this I watched Gurren Lagann (mighta spelled that wrong) and thought I'd stop after two episodes but went on to really like that show.

[Major Focker]

Now that that's done I thought I'd seek out some new anime. I did Eureka Seven with subs and am now looking for a dubbed anime (so I can work while I watch). I watched a couple episodes of Claymore dubbed and the kid tagging along with Claire is destroying any fun I'd have with this show already. His voice actor's voice grates on me as it is... plus he acts like an idiot. I'll give it a couple more episodes but I think this might be the first anime in a long time I don't finish. Before this I watched Gurren Lagann (mighta spelled that wrong) and thought I'd stop after two episodes but went on to really like that show.

there's a nice story arc starting episode 5, so you might want to stick around. and don't worry, that little kid's screentime will be drastically reduced.

my struggle with the series was actually towards the end, when the battles were really drawn out. or then again, maybe i was just tired after marathoning the series, and that was after doing the same with GITS:SAC the day before.

[Gui]

Began watching Final Fantasy Unlimited the day before yesterday, and after the first bunch of eps I begin to wonder if it really is worth keeping on: despite the exotic aspect in the exploration of the various inner worlds which adds a nice touch on the artistic side, it looks like an "enemy of the week" show with always the same plot repeating again and again...

Someone knows if this gets better?