I don't want to be the one to start the same debate in this thread, but I will say that would suck. I'm not into child-porn - I think it's a sick concept, but I don't think there's a need to make cartoons illegal - that's just stupid. What about NAMBLA? Are they going to be able to still have their little society? Gross. I don't know - I guess I find people killing each other to be a bit more offensive... why don't we get rid of all subversive music as well? In fact - let's do away with all shocking, subversive and morally reprehensible literature, art, music and cinema - then we can live in utopia drinking Starbucks and popping Prozac. Ugh.

I finally got my Nadessico disc #5 today - so that's something. :) I'm still on disk 4 though. The series grows on you.

I also got a second copy of Sol Bianca 3 today which I accidently ordered twice. I think I'll *return* it to best buy. :)

In Cowboy Bebop disc #3 episode 1 (I think) where they get bitten by Spikes old mutated lobster thing they're all sick and look like they're going to die...then in the next episode, they're all fine, no mention of it. What's up with that? Is there any mention of it in the later episode?

No - these episodes don't all follow each other as far as time goes - so perhaps months had gone by between that episode and the next. That episode was just supposed to be funny. Apparently, they got better. :)

On a side note - Requiem For A Dream ripped off one of our favorites - Perfect Blue. Here's the screenie comparisons...

http://soulxside.homestead.com/files/PerfectDream.jpg

[Edited by Trigger on 06-02-01 at 02:48 AM]

When at KMart chasing down the $9.94 bargains, I noticed that the television demo video (for all their for-sale TV sets) was set to Kiki's Delivery Service. Evidently, the store has good taste! Disney has released the VHS tape (white clamshell case, $15.99 KMart).

Remember Spike set the auto pilot to Mars before going after the jelly. It is assume that the got heal in Mars.

I need a review please? If you've seen any of the following, could you please tell me if it's worth getting and maybe what it's about? Thank you ^_^

Parasite Eve
Hypnotist
MARRIAGE
Assemble: Insert
Shadowraiders
Weather Report Girl
Baoh
Demonia
Apocalypse Zero 1 & 2
Creatures from the Abyss
Puppet Princess
Very Private Lesson
Killer Barbys
Space Travelers
Arc the Lad
Nadia
Blood: Last Vampire
Getter Robo: Armageddon
Orphen: Spell of the Dragon
Kimagure Orange Road
Sure Death
Jungle De Ikou
Voogies Angel
Moon Over Tao
Fencer of Minerva
Nightwalker 2
Angel Sanctuary
Hand Maid May
Bastard!
Bio Zombie


Or else - what pre-order Anime should I really be looking for? I feel like either there's nothing great coming out or else I'm missing something. Thanks.

Assemble: Insert

Assemble: Insert details the life of a girl who wants to be an idol pop star. This is a 3 episode OVA and has some good songs and a good soundtrack. I believe this OVA came out around 1989 or 1990, I forget what year, but it was borderline about that decade. This is a comedy, mind you.

Weather Report Girl

Weather Report Girl is about a girl who reports the weather almost naked...okay not quite, but she wears a bikini, and because of this, the station gets higher ratings because of her. I forget how many episodes, but it's funny nonetheless.

Arc the Lad

Arc the Lad is based on the same console game of the same name. In effect, this anime series, which runs 26 episodes, is based on that game. And like most video-game-based-storylines, it may appeal to the die hard gamer, but to the casual viewer, this anime is pretty dull for the first several episodes and may not interest some.

Nadia

Nadia, a.k.a. "Secret of Blue Water", "Nadia and the Secret of Blue Water", "Nadia of the Mysterious Seas" (the latter being a direct translation of the Japanese title "fushigi no umi no Nadia") is a 39 episode run (starting in 1989) developed by Gainax, who also brought you "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (same production team, character designer and director), and who also brought you "Wings of Honneamise", "Gunbuster", "Otaku no Video" and the current favorite OVA hit, "FLCL" (pronounced as "furi kuri"). Just think where Disney's "Atlantis" *stole* their idea from for their movie. Nadia is about a orphan black girl, who has a pet lion cub named King, and at first was a circus performer. A young boy, Jean, a young inventive genius, falls in love with her and befriends her. A trio group, headed by Grandis, a female who adores bright shining jewels wants to steal the crystal jewel from Nadia. But what these people don't know is that the jewel has a history and so does Nadia, although she never knew her parents. Jean and Nadia adventure out to find her parents and come across great danger, a new strong enemy and eventually her family, but all this knowledge comes at a price. Won't say much w/o spoiling it, but highly recommendable. "Nadia" is loosely based off Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" novel. For you Trigger, the first 4 episodes is a slow introduction of the characters, the actual story plot begins around in the 2nd volume, around episode 7 (I think this is where it is) where Jean and Nadia meet their ultimate enemy.

Blood: The Last Vampire

Blood: The Last Vampire is a movie, which was just released in Japan last year, and is available in R2 DVD (the limited edition boxset was sweet! Too bad Manga can't do something like that...) Anyway, this movie is from Production I.G., known for their CGI in many of the popular anime, and is from the production company of Mamoru Oshii, "Ghost in the Shell" director. It's about a girl, who like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, kills vampires that have inhabited parts of Okinawa, where the American base resides. Yet she is a vampire herself, (kinda like Vampire Hunter D). This is a sweet 40 minute thrill ride of pure CG entertainment mixed in with cel work. About 60-70% of the movie is in English and the rest is in Japanese. (For those attending big cons this year, Anime Expo 2001 will be showcasing a 35mm print of this this year)


Getter Robo: Armageddon

Getter Robo, I pray, is the new one and not the old one. The new one is not a continuation of the old series, but a whole new plotline. It has big robots, which have a very traditional look, rather than a stylish look to it. I have not seen the series, but I have seen clips, so I don't know the whole story but it is interesting to say the least.

Orphen: Spell of the Dragon

Orphen (original title is "Sorcerer Stabber Orphen")...you may have seen the game for the Playstation 2 which is just called "Orphen". This 26 episode anime TV series is about a guy who basically kills demons. Actually there is more of a plot, but since I really haven't watched it, I can't say more.

Kimagure Orange Road

Kimagure Orange Road (or KOR, for short, pronounced either as you spell it "K" "O" "R", or like "core"..."kimagure" in Japanese means "capricious"). KOR is about a young high school boy who falls for this American born Japanese girl, who came to Japan to study, but is tough and not weak like most girls are and can beat any high school boy. This boy is very much in love with her and can't tell her his feelings because another girl falls for him. A side-plot is his telekenetic powers (he and his sisters have powers) which he uses to help his love out or help himself out of bad situations. It's cute, but not for those who hate "angst dramas". This series was also made in the mid 1980's, so the animation style and character design reflect the decade this series is made. This series is really for older die-hard fans, or for new fans who appreciate classic anime series.

Angel Sanctuary

Angel Sanctuary is based off the shoujo manga of the same name about Angels who are dying (from a battle) and need humans to survive. This is an OVA series, and is, I believe, only 6 episodes long.

Hand Maid May

Hand Maid May was a new series in year 2000 in Japan about a Maid who serves her master faithfully, however, things go awry. Very comedic and funny...a good 13 episode TV series.

Bastard!

[i]Basard![/b] is based off the shounen manga of the same name, in where a kid turns into a hero from a certain "change". This is a fantasy story. The manga is pretty raunchy, but the anime is not...this is not hentai but Dark Schneider, the main hero (not the sniveling kid) tends to be, how shall we put it bluntly, constantly horny and it really shows (in the manga). All the major characters' names are based off real American rock groups from the 80's (however because of licensing, the domestic anime company changed the spelling in the subtitle). 6 episode OVA series made in the late 80's (or early 90's...it's been awhile, and I can't remember when it was originall released in Japan).

For Orphen, attitudes seem pretty split. I've seen the first three episodes, but they felt rather 'blah', to me, and I can't claim to remember much about the plot.

The only KOR I know of hitting DVD anytime soon is the Shin KOR: Summer's Beginning movie. Shin KOR takes place after the resolution of the TV series and OAVs, so it will spoil much of the drama for you. It appears to be enjoyable as a stand-alone, but since KOR TV has an element of "Who'll the main character end up with?", seeing the movie probably will ruin it for you.

Angel Sanctuary I haven't seen, but I do know it's /extremely/ shoujo, is generally pretty confusing if you haven't read the manga, and is only 2-3 eps long (all on one DVD).

The only new thing I'm really looking forward to in the next two months is Crest of Stars. Most of the other good releases seem to be continuations of ongoing stuff, or rereleases of older titles (Oh My Goddess should be good, though).

I'm personally trying to save my pennies so I can eventually snag the second MKR boxset, and then bouncing in anticipation of the November release of the Utena movie (I'll finally get to have the DVD with /subtitles/! Hurray!). Having summer be kinda-slow on majormajor titles is a good thing, in my mind.

Arc the Lad
 

I was watching the first few episodes of Arc the Lad the other day and I got really annoyed with the lack of animation. It seemed to me that most shots were of the "take a still picture and move the camera slowly to the side for dramatic effect" nature. I am familiar with this technique being done in almost every anime feature, but I felt Arc the Lad was using this in virtually every shot/scene. Even the action scenes were largely done this way.

Is this technique something that is largely considered a certain cinematic anime style? I haven't watched enough anime to know if this is actually something that people enjoy (and do with meaningful purpose) vs. a lack of animation for other reasons (money, time, effort, etc). I realize some anime is based on existing manga, but wasn't Arc the Lad a videogame first?

Re: Arc the Lad
 

Panning shots, as they are called, is very common in anime, mostly due to budgetary reasons. Remember, in Japan, budget for anime is quite small compared to budget for like animation studios here in the U.S.. So in order for these people to save money, they animate less (and is very more apparent in TV series).

I guess that for the studio to budget each episode out, they have to cut back on the animation quality.


Another reason for panning shots are for dramatic tension reasons...the same technique used by Akira Kurosawa for his movies, which tend to be the same thing, panning the actor/character. To the Japanese, this method is easily understood. To Americans, it just seems kinda slow and uninteresting.

BAOH is about a guy who has a bioengineered parasite on him that causes him to turn into this blue superfighter whenever he finds that he is threatened. He gets superpowers but also a shortened life. He somehow escapes from his creators and they want him back. So they send a whole variety of bounty hunters after him to retrieve him. Basically, this story is geared so that there can be lots of one on one fighting a la Street Fighter. But fighting isn't very good and its really short (50 min). I wouldn't recommend paying $20 for it. Maybe $5.

From what I've heard, KOR should be starting its release schedule later on this year. Though I'd imagine that we'll likely see it early next year. And don't quote me on this, I just seem to remember someone on the Anime On DVD forum mentioning something about this series (go lynch him if I'm wrong! ;)).

Personally, I can't wait!

Apparently Bandai dropped the ball on the first volume of this release. According to Chris Beveridge's review on Anime On DVD, the transfer leaves much to be desired.

Too bad really, by all accounts it's a great series.

Never really quite understood the whole Utena hype, but the second box for MKR is wonderful! Fantastic packaging! Wish they had used the same box format for the first set.

What I'm really waiting for this year is the SDF Macross box set and PatLabor TV. I'm salivating just thinking about them! :)

Cheers,

-matt

[QUOTE]Originally posted by raithen

Quote:

---

Apparently Bandai dropped the ball on the first volume of this release. According to Chris Beveridge's review on Anime On DVD, the transfer leaves much to be desired.

---

Bandai has really started bugging me lately. First the whole Cowboy Bebop box thing, quickly followed by the hideous video quality on CoS. On the other hand, I'm /not/ buying the DVD until they remaster (If TokyoPop can do it, Bandai can as well); so I should consider myself lucky for not preordering.




Maaaan, I want this thing. I actually cut up my first MKR box so I could use it like a normal boxset-case-thing. Oh--question--are the menus on this set better than on the first?

Cowboy Bebop Music Fans!
 

If you dig the Cowboy Bebop tunes check out the site at the link below. He's got 5 soundtracks here in MP3 format (192Kb). I was getting about 20-30K/sec when downloading them. Does anyone know how many CB soundtracks there are?

Thanks, enjoy! :cool:

http://myhome.naver.com/jeawoni/animp3.htm

One more thing, what's up with this Bio-Zombie anime? I have the DVD of the live action movie. Are they related in any way?

Thanks :)

Re: Cowboy Bebop Music Fans!
 

As far as I can remember, there are 3 official soundtracks, an EP and a remix album.

Not sure if there are any singles.

-matt

Spring & Chaos
 

For anybody interested, TokyoPop is recalling their Spring & Chaos DVD. The disc had bad video caused by a bad mastering job and had dubtitles instead of true subtitles. There were a lot of people unhappy with this release and it's nice to see TokyoPop admit their mistake and release a fixed disc. Maybe Manga and CPM should take note. Here's a link to the press release. http://www.animeondvd.com/press/tokyopop/tp003.htm

Now Bandai just needs to fix their Crest of the Stars DVD. It has similar video problems and was mastered by the same authoring house, ComChoice. Here's a link to the AnimeOnDVD review that has screenshots of the video.
http://www.animeondvd.com/press/tokyopop/tp003.htm

I'll buy both of these discs as soon as they are fixed.

I have an anime question and I hope that it is appropriate here. I've been looking to get into more anime and just recently ordered Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, Akira, and Macross Saga Box set.

I've been wondering about the Neon Genesis Evangelion series since I see it mentioned frequently and seems to be held in high regard. From what I understand, there are currently 7 DVD's out that contain 3 - 4 episodes each (Were these episodes originally released as TV shows in Japan or what?). Exactly how many episodes are in the series and would buying each of the DVD's separately be the way to go or is there a box set of some sort coming out later?

I appreciate any help anyone can offer.

mtucker - Evangelion was a 26 episode TV series. It will be on 8 DVDs. The last one comes out this month. So far there is no plan for a box set, so you have to buy them individually. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a box set since ADV isn't known for doing too many of those, but you never know. If you haven't started buying them, I'd wait a bit. The video on the first disc was pretty bad and ADV has said they might go back and redo it after they get the whole series out. They switched authoring houses after the first disc, and the rest of the series looks a lot better. I've seen the series before, so I just started with disc two and hope they redo disc 1. If they don't, I probably buy it eventually anyway. ;)

As Ghym said, Evangelion has 26 episodes, the first 24 of which are officially part of the Eva show, the last two episodes being just fluff and psychedelic mumblings (which I personally enjoyed). The true last two episodes ending won't appear until the movies show up. The "official" last two episodes 25 & 26 comprise the movie End of Evangelion. The movie prior to End of Evangelion is called Death & Rebirth which recaps episode 1-24 and adds a few scenes that were not in the TV edits of episodes 21-24 (which were later included back into those episodes on the R2 DVD, and LD, but has never been licensed in the U.S.), which showcase a lot more stuff and fleshed out certain scenes.

The two movies are licensed by Manga Entertainment and will be available in R1 DVD coming this October.

-----------

As for the bad DVDs (Spring & Chaos, and Crest of the Stars), I'm gonna turn mine in and I may sell off my Crest unless there's gonna be a replacement DVD available for it. Otherwise, it's just really bad to watch. Yuck!

Thanks for the information guys. I'll be checking this series out as soon as I find the funds.

For anybody ordering the Macross Set
 

I checked AnimEigo's Macross site today and they've updated their database of people who signed up to preorder the Macross set. You can now give them your credit card and shipping info. I guess this means they are getting close to finishing it up. Here's a link to their signup database, http://www.animeigo.com/@preorder/preorder.t. You need to know your "secret code", but if you've signed up already then just enter your email and they'll send you your code. Enter the code and you are taken to a page where you can enter your CC and shipping info. I updated my billing and shipping info. I can't wait for them to release this one. I apologize if this is old news, but I didn't know they were taking CC info yet.

If you haven't signed up for the set yet, then you can go here and do that. http://www.animeigo.com/products/macross.t

anyone here can tell us about Vampire Hunter D 2000 from Urban-Vision ?!

Coolness, thanks for the link, Ghym! I put in my pre-order info into the system. I actually had my e-mail in there when it was still in the 1000 something pre-order, but I never gave my info. It seems the boxset will be available come July 23, 2001. Well, that's the date they listed on the pre-order page. :)

They bought the rights to it. Theater showcase will be in English dubbed. The story is not a continuation or a retelling...it's kinda both actually (kinda like Evil Dead 2). This new movie just has better art. Character designs are still by Yoshitaka Amano.


KC

Yea I saw the theatrical trailer from the 1985 Vampire Hunter D SE!!!

http://www.urban-vision.com/titles/v...ges/vhd02.JPEG

http://www.urban-vision.com/titles/v...ges/vhd03.JPEG

http://www.urban-vision.com/titles/v...ges/vhd04.JPEG

http://www.urban-vision.com/titles/v...ges/vhd05.JPEG

http://www.urban-vision.com/titles/v...ges/vhd09.JPEG

Cool pics - I was never all that hot on the original Vampire Hunter D, but I imagine this new one will have a better pace to it... I'm somewhat anxious to see it.

Thanks so much for the plot summaries Eig and everyone - :) - I ended up getting Parasite Eve (it was cheap) and Blood: The Last Vampire. It seems like there's a ton of stuff on the verge of coming out - much of it I haven't heard of. I'll need some help entering all of it into the Guide to Anime which I seriously need to update. :)

Lots of crap are coming out very quickly. You gotta keep on the ball... or else it will get harder and harder to keep on track. ;P

Well, I've been slackin - someone needs to help me out - why don't you do a post to the guide and include new ones that are coming out. :D

Trigger,

In due time...right now I have other obligations for my time. :(

:(

:)

:D

Dude - no rush - whenever you get around to it.

I know somebody mentioned this before, but I finally saw my first ever episode of <b> Neon Genesis Evangelion</b> on KTEH (public television channel in the Bay Area) last night. It was pretty cool. The picture looked a bit grainy, but the story was intriguing...it was Episode 5. I guess I'll be tuning in whenever they show the other episodes...anybody know if it's only once a week?

I still have yet to see Evangeleon... I wish it was on Toonami or something.

The DVD release of the Hakkenden has been announced. I wanted to see this when it was was on VHS, but there were too many tapes.

Info on the release:

The Hakkenden
During the war-torn feudal wars in Japan, the Awa clan faced certain extinction from a rival clan backed by demonic forces. However, a careless promise by their lord leads to both salvation and disgrace when their family dog brings back the head of the enemy warlord and insists on marrying the lord’s daughter.

Their unnatural union bears fruit but when both are killed, the eight unborn pups are reincarnated as the eight Dog Warriors - The Hakkenden. As they slowly find each other and come together as a group, these eight warriors, who represent the eight separate aspects of Bushido, engage in bloody battles with demonic entities and evil samurai in a final attempt to redeem their clan!

Deluxe Box Set Contains All OVA (Original Animation Video) Episodes
Bilingual (English & Japanese language) DVD With Optional English Subtitles
DVD / $54.98 / 420 min. / Release date: 9/18/01

Has anyone heard any news on Star Blazers? The official web site only has vol 4 listed as coming out in April...but I havn't actually seen any of my local anime sources carrying it, nor have I heard any news about vol 5. Did this get destoryed in a Gammelon attack? Is Voyager (or whoever owns this title) not issueing any more until they sell the stock on hand? (which would be pretty difficult since trying to find this title is like pulling teeth) Please help. :)

Merin - Voyager is just slow at releasing Star Blazers. I have the first four volumes and I found most of them at my local Suncoast store in the mall. I've also seen them on the Suncoast website and BestPrices.com. Voyager seems to release a new volume about every 2 to 3 months. I'm not sure what the release date is on volume 5 yet, but I think it will probably show up sometime in July.

FYI, for those of you with digital cable in the Bay Area, I saw an episode of <b>Battle Arena Toshinden</b> on Encore-Action (Channel 530) last night at 7:30. It was the episode where It was okay...not sure if I'd buy the DVDs, though...I think I have to see some more episodes to make that judgment call. Though not Anime related, I also saw Supercop 2 right afterwards on the same channel (I had never seen it before).

Sorry for this post and my last post just being about what I saw on TV....I had never seen Evangelion before and I had never seen Battle Arena until last night. Just thought I'd pass along the info in case anybody had digital cable in the area....:)

i forget. was battle arena toshinden an OAV or an actual series?

Trigger, you're missing out on Evangelion. It is a must watch for anime fans. :)

As for Hakkenden, is this the ultra-confusing timeline samurai story? Or was that Yotoden? All I remember was there were 12 episodes, and the story was so confusing, a lot of us couldn't follow the plot because it went forwards and backwards in time w/o due warning.