Basically, much of Bandai's recent Escaflowne DVD release has spoilers in it. I know that the whole Club Escaflowne section is Right Out until after finishing ther series, but I was wondering about the following:

The insert for--I think--volume three is supposed to include spoilers. Anyone know the episode the spoilers are for? I'd like to read it, but don't want to spoil anything.

And, the music videos on volume one. I've heard they contain spoilers, and was wondering how far in the series the spoilers went. I wanna watch.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm ecstatic that someone's liscencing FLCL. It's just such a pretty show (And I'd like more thurough subtitles than the import release provides)!

I canyt wait to get exkaflonay

Bump^

Could you guys please use this thread instead of just posting some new anime question. This is to keep from having to sift through tons of posts to find stuff related to anime. If you post your anime questions here, they will be more visible to the right people - trust me.

I have a question about Bubblegum Crisis. I saw the old series I think a long time ago and don't remember jack about it. I don't really like mecha anime, but what animes do these compare best to? I am wondering if the Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 is worth getting - the cover art sure looks attractive. How many discs are there going to be? What's it like? Perhaps I should rent it first? FYI - Buy.com has it for 18.99 ea but they don't have volume 3.

I Love Akira and I am dying to see the new retsored and cleaned version on either dvd or the theaters.
But I never really understod the ending of the movie...

SPOILERS:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Are Tetsuro dead, has the world been destroyed and then recerated or has Kanada become Tetsuro or Akira?????
Please help me out here...
What happends in the comics?
Also could someone please tell me where I can get the ultra cool new poster. I seached high and low on the variouses internet poster shops...

Bubblegum Crisis is not a mecha anime. It is never a mecha anime. It is an action-paced drama set in the future, with androids, robots, produced by Genom. The Hard-Suits the girls wear helps them to fight these monstrosities.

This is not a true mecha anime.

Did a search on Google.com for akira posters and came up with tons of sites selling Akira posters in general... here's a few:
http://www.movies-and-posters.com/Akira.html
http://www.animecastle.com/akiraposters.html
I don't know what the new ones look like... but this is your best bet for finding it.

As for your question, I have no idea... it's been a long time since I saw it. I'm sure someone here can clear this up for you... I personally can't wait until the DVD comes out. I'm excited. I know they were talking about the premier in theatres over at http://www.aintitcoolnews.com

Oh - I know it's more like a battle armor thing, but I was just saying that I didn't like mecha - and if this one plays like the mecha shows where everyone is screaming and it's all about inside jokes only for people who have watched every mecha anime since 1960 then I won't like it. So it's kinda like Power Rangers? What's it most like character wise? Is it like Cowboy Bebop or Nadesico or Tylor or Outlaw Star or something else? Is it good?

So I read in another thread that Cowboy Bebop was going to come out in a Box Set (who didn't see this one coming) and will include a 7th disc and someone also speculated that it might also contain the new movie as well. Who will be buying this and who has any new info on the subject?

Yes, there will be a box set for Cowboy Bebop released later this year, but as of now Bandai has not stated what will be included in it. I think that it is safe to say that they will "not" add the upcomming movie with it as the licensing cost will be high for that show.

They have also discused having a way where people who already own the whole series can obtain the extra (if there is one) that is to be included with the box set. But we will have to wait to see if that will happen. I.E. don't hold your breath.

I won't hold my breath, but that sure would be nice to be able to get the extra disc and the box to hold them all in. I can wait for the movie (but not for too long).

Also can't wait for the new Akira DVD and Spriggan.

Someone want to clue me into Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040? It looks like there's going to be 6 DVDs... what's this series like with regard to the characters, maturity level, target audience, animation quality, and story complexity? Cowboy Bebop? Outlaw Star? Trigun? Nadesico? Tylor? What? Please tell me. Is it worth getting for 17.99 per disc?

no...it's not worth it...you should save your money and go buy NAKED KILLER instead

actually...i've only seen the first four episodes and i didn't think it was all that great..but i was also a die hard fan of the ova series..so watching BGC 2040 felt a bit strange....

Hi Trigger!

First, thanks for all the information. I've read both your threads and found them somewhat helpful.

Second, the reason I found them only "somewhat" helpful is that the information is a bit overwhelming. Do you think you could put in one place, those anime which you and the others think are good to start with?

I've watched quite a few over the years but don't really remember names except for Battle Angel, Ghost in the Shell, PM, Vampire Hunter D which I like. Couldn't really get into Dragon Ball Z except every once in a while (my fiance likes this series). I've just gotten hooked on Rurouni Kenshin series... Anyway, I tried keeping track of the ones people were suggesting for beginners but sort of got lost amidst the wave of titles and terminology. Your vocab list was great but I still didn't get all the terms you all are throwing around...

Oops! One last question (if you don't mind) -- do you have any advice on which way is the best way to buy these DVDs? They seem a little pricey. I know someone mentioned buying off of eBay but I distrust buying used DVDs... Sorry about all the requests/questions... Thanks in advance

Anyway, great work... I'm impressed!!

[Edited by sexymama on 04-05-01 at 08:08 AM]

If you are looking for the lowest prices on anime dvd's I have found http://www.bestprices.com to be the lowest for most titles.

The problem with anime is the cost. If you buy your disks at a brick and morter store you will pay full retail for the most part. And as for eBay... Well, most of the time they go for what you would find online so I would avoid going that route. To many people on eBay do not know better than to look online for prices.

Bubblegum Crisis, the OVA series, released in the late 80's to early 90's is a fast action paced sci-fi series, with only 8 episodes. The story is great, with great songs/music to support the series. Bubblegum Crisis 2040 is a TV series aired in Japan which expands on the original OVA (since Bubblegum Crash was supposed to, but most people hated it...Bubblegum Crash was the continuing OVA series of Bubblegum Crisis). It includes new character designs and body suit designs (modified) to fit the new series. In addition, rather than having "Priss" as the lead character, like in the OVA, the TV series uses "Linna" as the main character. There are only a few slight differences of the story plot between the original OVA and the TV series, and the TV series does not implement songs like in the OVA. Complexity of story is quite high for both the OVA and TV series. These series are mainly for older teens to young adults.

what's spriggan about? any good?

For whomever asked about Revolutionary Girl Utena ... it was and is one of my favourite shoujo animes. The story progresses nicely without being -IMHO - overly redundant like Fushigi Yuugi. It is also quite a bit shorter, going up to 26 episodes or so? Sorry, I don't remember the exact number ^^;

The story line of Utena is relatively mature, with underlying themes of apparent and insinuated homosexuality (both shounen ai and shoujo ai - mm and ff) as well as incest of a sort. A significant focus of this series is on relationships, and it attempts to evidence not so much the taboo of these relationships but their treasured, irrevocable potency ...the bonds between brother and sister, friends, enemies, etc. It portrays in various fashions the shattering of childhood dreams, a shedding of innocence and bitter transcendence into realization, and the omnipotent desire for eternity.

So far, only the first season is out on DVD, and season 2 has been licensed, with the third and last still to be claimed. In its entirety, Utena is breathtaking. But the first season is no less amazing than the whole - give it a shot ^_^

On a side note - does anyone know of any mailing lists that notify subscribers whenever another anime is scheduled or licensed to be released on DVD? That would be a tremendous help, as opposed to checking animeondvd.com every time - besides, I often forget and miss the pre-orders, so I don't get my 30% off at Amazon ;_; Thanks!

Spriggan is awesome. I have the R2 DVD. It is a must purchase title. It is brought to you by the same people who did GiTS. Same goes for Jin-Roh.

Great movie.

Well I'm glad you appreciate it. The problem with having a short list is that many people have vastly different taste in anime. That's the purpose of the large list - it's broken up into different categories for people with different tastes and then you can see by the ratings (which are meant to be an average of people's submissions) which ones in that category are good and which are crappy. I try to encourage people to rate them fairly and not just give the anime a high rating because it's their favorite and they know it's not very popular so they give it a 10 just to bump it's rating up. I want to avoid that sort of thing.

As for a must-have list... I can give you my personal short-list, but everyone's will differ. These DVDs are safe bets because most people like them... some people who have seen millions of anime will say some of these are crappy, but the fact is that even though there may be better anime out there - these titles are good for the uninitiated. These anime are strong titles and while they may not be the best anime out there, most people start with these.

Cowboy Bebop
Perfect Blue
Ghost in the Shell
Ninja Scroll
Princess Mononoke


After you watch these, you will be hooked and will want more. Cowboy Bebop is a series consisting of 6 DVDs - I encourage you to get the whole set. You will like this alot. The rest are films. Perfect Blue and Princess Mononoke are more recent with the latter one being dubbed by famous hollywood actors (it doesn't matter, the dub still is annoying). Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll are a bit older but are still films that every anime fan should see and most like. I can't speak for anyone else really, but I think this is a solid short-list of titles for you to start with. If you want to get into mecha stuff like robotech or whatever, then you'll have to ask someone else - I liked Dual and Gasaraki, but not much else. Perhaps my tastes will change. Once you're initiated, I'd suggest getting Serial Experiments Lain and perhaps Jubei Chan: Ninja Girl - Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch (4 DVDs) which is especially hilarious while Lain tends to be more of a thinking series. Anime isn't all just Anime - it's all different - that's what the list is for. Try these titles and perhaps someone can suggest a good Mecha title for you - you might also want to try Urotsukidoji to get your hentai and demon/beast quota out of the way in one film.

Hope this helps.

Now - my question -

About Bubblegum Crisis - I appreaciate your explaination of how the series relate to each other, but I'd really like to know how it is? What's it like? I mean - is it more like Cowboy Bebop or Trigun or Nadesico with regard to the maturity of the personal relationships? How would you rate it against other anime? Give me a "If you like ~this ~this and ~this, then you'll like bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 - if your thing is more ~this ~this and ~this, then you probably won't dig it much because there's alot of ~this, ~this and plenty of ~that in it." - I would appreciate it if you could do that for me.

Also - with regard to Nadesico - I wasn't really into the first DVD of it - it was kinda not my thing. Not that the jokes were over my head - I got them... I just didn't find them all that funny. Does the series get progressively better after disc one? Does it stay pretty much like that throughout? Is disc 1 considered by most to be crappy while the rest of the series is regarded as being brilliant among the ranks of Cowboy Bebop? I'm selling my 2 Nadesico discs and have only watched the first one - I'm wondering if perhaps I'm making a mistake. Can't unseal Nadesico 2 because it's already sold. It's mecha which I am not into, but does the show rise above this stale plot theme after disc 1?

Thanks.
^_^

Never judge any Japanese anime series by the first 4-8 episodes because usually those are the heavy character developments...then the actual plot comes in...that is most common in all TV series of anime. So rent the series, watch it and then make your judgement for Nadesico.

As for BGC and BGC 2040, basically, if you like action anime, then you'll enjoy it. It's uncomparable because there's nothing like it. BGC is a trendsetter for other anime like it. But nothing can compare to BGC. I always say, rent what you don't know and watch the whole thing before making any premature judgements.

That's solid advice I suppose - I just wish I could find a place to rent these things. I'm sketchy on netflix.

Rent the video versions then...
I'm sure there are places that cater to anime...but I have no idea where you live, so that may be a hassle.

It's always good to know more about anime before delving into it. Too many newbies get into anime without knowing much about it, thinking that all anime are alike. Not true. It takes years of watching old and new anime alike to give anime an appreciation it deserves.

Hey - watch who you call a newbie...
Anyway - I plan to rent a bubblegum crisis tape next Tuesday. I also must confess that I watched Nadesico again today and I kinda liked it. I had recieved the second DVD and never watched it thinking about how I didn't like the first disc. So I put them up at Half.com and disc 2 sold, so I decided to record both discs before giving them away just in case I wanted to watch them later... well I watched them as I was recording and the first disc wasn't quite as bad as I remembered. The second disc started to get me hooked into the story and now I'm all on the fence about ordering the rest of them. How many are there going to be total? 8? Well - it's a decent show I suppose... I still don't like all the yelling (I know why they do it and how it's supposed to be funny or whatever, but I just find it annoying most of the time - this time though it wasn't as intolerable), but I guess I kinda like it. I might even have to repurchase disc 2 (not such a big deal since I sold it for about what it would cost me new).

Well guys - just finished watching BioHunter ... and I came away somewhat disappointed. Not bad at all by any means, just nothing spectacular ... a one-shot type deal. The animation style was strongly reminiscent of Wicked City, but both did come from the same producer or director. Besides, I did get to see a really nifty trailer of Kenshin ^_^

What are everyone's feelings on Kenshin - both the TV and OVA? I hear that the OVA's are amazing, but that the TV has a helluva lot of filler. Not surprising, as the series is over 90 episodes long o_O I'm afraid that I'll get hooked once I start watching it, spend all the money from my miserable student funds, and not be able to buy any other anime DVD's ^_^;;

Lastly, out of curiosity, are there any other shoujo fans out there? DVDTalk doesn't have a substantial female population to begin with, but I'm sure that plenty of male shoujo fans are out there somewhere

hi, can any of you guys recommend a fansub place that has a good copy of love hina? thanks.