Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Ji-L87]

As I've entered the final stretch in Macross TV, I decided to crack out the DYRL LD again for fun (was a while ago) and holy moly, I forgot how detailed it was.
Coming from the TV series, it's like an audiovisual and technical marvel! There's suddenly lots of good key frames and the stereo sound is also way more convincing than Macross TV
(Although bass is a bit weak)

But seriously though, this is probably the first time I've been so impressed with watching the movie in a long time. I guess, for those who followed the TV series back when it aired, the movie must've really felt like something else back when it premiered.

[BryanM]

Time of Eve international super duper deluxe kickblaster world version is out. [1] This release includes an english audio track. And also the movie, which is the webisodes stitched together into one fearsome frankenstein's monster with bookend scenes tacked on and some neat bookends from the webisodes (such as the news report that talks about robots being modified to be able to have sex, which was supposed to give context to a conversation later) ripped out. A_recommended_anime.mov.

Review of the dub: A bit lousy. Vastly better than the efforts we got back in the 80's (which were basically a member of the staff's drunk dad reading every character's line into a tape recorder while laying down sideways on a couch), but it doesn't feel natural. Maybe they put too much stock into lip sync or accuracy, maybe they don't have much experience, I don't know. Recommend this one subtitled.


[1] Also the more reasonable but still kickblasted and still pricey standard edition.

Bodacious Space Pirates

I'm tepid on this one.

[Raytrace]

I'm tepid on this one.

As am I - I watched 2 episodes but I couldn't get into it at all.

behold Jirass:





I just realized the first GIF reminds me of that birth scene in V (the original series).

[Raytrace]

I am eventually gonna read the manga, but in the meantime I'm going to watch the first OVA of Be Bop High School, subbed by the badasses at HnG/Saizen .

The OP scenes are cool stuff already - art isn't that detailed per frame but the movement and cinematography is really nice. Plus quiffs are ace - full stop.

I'm not sure which came first, and I know it's probably the standard rockabilly tough guy stance in Japan or something, but that hands in the pockets swagger reminds me so much of Jotaro and Josuke...

[Raytrace]

OK Be Bop High School was just as ace as I thought it would be - I can't wait for Saizen to do the other 6 OVAs .

[DaneSaga]

good to see you on board the tokusatsu/ kaiju train Raytrace

behold Jirass:

Funnily enough, Jirass' suit is a modified '64 Godzilla suit with a '65 Godzilla head.
You'll see monster suits reused and altered a lot as you descend further down the tokusatsu rabbit hole.

[Raytrace]

good to see you on board the tokusatsu/ kaiju train Raytrace

behold Jirass:

Funnily enough, Jirass' suit is a modified '64 Godzilla suit with a '65 Godzilla head.
You'll see monster suits reused and altered a lot as you descend further down the tokusatsu rabbit hole.

Cool - Yeah I can see myself getting it to it a fair bit, though the more modern stuff (yes as usual) with all the digital effects and mobile phone gizmos and stuff dont seem to appeal to me as much. But Ultraman and Ultra Seven look brilliant. Also I'd love to see the original Kamen Rider series but it's pretty hard to find at all, I might just watch the 3 movies.

My children absolutely love Ultraman! I think they prefer it even to GaoGaiGar .

[Raytrace]

I rewatched the final fight scene of Be Bop Highschool again last night - it really is very well done IMO. The music is really good, and the animation itself/fluidity is very impressive.

I thoroughly recommend it for fans of hotblooded anything and/or action movies. Also the leader of the 'bad guys' is voiced by Reuntal (I think) if not Reuntal it's the other very similar sounding guy - I think it is definitely the captain from Gunbusters voice - really low with rolling sound to it.I can't confirm either way cos no details on mal.net.

Drauch, KAI and danesaga and anyone who likes Hokuo No Ken and other such badassery I can pretty much guarantee will like this OVA a lot.

[drauch]

Yeah, I definitely plan to pick it up at this point. I've had an interest in it for a long time, but my watching list is frickin' absurd at this point, especially when balancing it with movies, video games, literature, and other crap!

[Obiwanshinobi]

Now I think the only Toho flick sporting their trademark trickery I've watched from start to finish was Gunhed... and it would meet my expectations at the time.

[BryanM]

Darker Than Black: Babysitter Franchise Killer Edition was rather a dud. Giving Legend of the Legendary Heroes Who Are Legendary a shot. The redundancy boosts my confidence substantially.

Don't you hate it when you have a fragment of a song stuck in your head, but you don't remember what it's from and since you don't know the language you can't google the lyrics? Isn't that the worst?

[DaneSaga]

I rewatched the final fight scene of Be Bop Highschool again last night - it really is very well done IMO. The music is really good, and the animation itself/fluidity is very impressive.

I thoroughly recommend it for fans of hotblooded anything and/or action movies. Also the leader of the 'bad guys' is voiced by Reuntal (I think) if not Reuntal it's the other very similar sounding guy - I think it is definitely the captain from Gunbusters voice - really low with rolling sound to it.I can't confirm either way cos no details on mal.net.

Drauch, KAI and danesaga and anyone who likes Hokuo No Ken and other such badassery I can pretty much guarantee will like this OVA a lot.

Is it only the first episode thats been completed? Thats all there is on hokutonogun outside the manga (which is also still in progress it seems).

[Raytrace]

Is it only the first episode thats been completed? Thats all there is on hokutonogun outside the manga (which is also still in progress it seems).

Yeah but it's a self contained OVA story so it is totally fine to watch.

[DaneSaga]

alrighty then. I'll try and give it a watch in the coming days.

[Raytrace]

alrighty then. I'll try and give it a watch in the coming days.

I think it's kindof a setup episode - basically 'show you how far they'll go/how badass they are' :p.

[Raytrace]

I'm reading the manga now and while it's good, they unfortunately (though of course probably more realistically) come across as pretty much standard assholes instead of the kindof 'honourable tough guy' characters they are in the OVA - they beat up a fat girl for asking one of them to go out with her ffs! :s :/

Still it is an entertaining read overall.

[Raytrace]

a whole lot of Ultraman GIFs:

http://r4ytrace.tumblr.com/tagged/ultraman

some of my faves:

[drauch]

^ God, I love that episode so much. Such a good beatdown.

[Raytrace]

^ God, I love that episode so much. Such a good beatdown.

the taunting on both sides is great too - when I saw it in Power Rangers the odd time my kids were watching it, I never knew it was 'a thing' :p.

[BryanM]

Regret almost everything with Legend of Whiny Heroes. Puts life into perspective, really.

I watched Gatchaman Crowds awhile back and found it somewhere between "dreadful" and "almost not dreadful". Are there any other series in that franchise in the "almost not dreadful" to the "practically not dreadful at all" threshold or above? It seems like the kind of thing that could be pretty good if the powers in charge of making it decided to make it not-bad.

[Ji-L87]

Finally done with Macross TV. The final bunch of episodes were a bit of a drag to be honest, but overall I kinda liked it.
But maybe more than anything, it feels good to have watched it

Now I'm gonna go take a look at what Flashback 2012 is all about while I'm at...

Edit:
Done. Flashback had some cool scenes towards the end, and it also made for a fitting ending after having watched so much of the original Macross.

[Raytrace]

Finally done with Macross TV. The final bunch of episodes were a bit of a drag to be honest, but overall I kinda liked it.
But maybe more than anything, it feels good to have watched it

Now I'm gonna go take a look at what Flashback 2012 is all about while I'm at...

Edit:
Done. Flashback had some cool scenes towards the end, and it also made for a fitting ending after having watched so much of the original Macross.

'a one TWO!'

[Ji-L87]

Seeing as I'm still in a bit of a sci-fi/space mood, next up on my list of interesting things to watch was Mighty Space Miners - which I've never really heard about before but it was recently mentioned in a column by ANN writer Mike Toole and it seemed interesting.

Fantastic stuff! Really, just great. The story is interesting enough and it's paced so fast that it never gets boring, but even better is the mechanical design, which largely seem to put function over design but results in some quite cool stuff none the less, and the kinetic animation that brings it all together.

It's produced by KSS and while I'm not familiar with all their work, and while the character designs here are more "comical", it visually reminds me Golden Boy (also of 8th MS team) as there are familiar artistic details strewn about.
Really sad to find out that the two episodes I just watched was everything that got made. I think I read in one of Mike's columns that it was planned to be longer, as the second episode just ends without any conclusion.

Despite it's unfinished nature, highly recommended!

I'm thinking of maybe watching Planetes next...

Edit:
No wonder it felt similar, same character designer!

[Xyga]

Surprised to find myself enjoying the Maison Ikkoku manga, it's often cheesy and a bit boring but almost never teenage-level stupid.
A good 'seinen' love comedy.
I just find it strange now that the anime was part of kids TV programs when I was young.

Also started reading Inu Yashiki by the author of Gantz, and well, if you read the latter you know what to expect; good art and mindfuckness.

[DaneSaga]

Seeing as I'm still in a bit of a sci-fi/space mood, next up on my list of interesting things to watch was Mighty Space Miners - which I've never really heard about before but it was recently mentioned in a column by ANN writer Mike Toole and it seemed interesting.

Fantastic stuff! Really, just great. The story is interesting enough and it's paced so fast that it never gets boring, but even better is the mechanical design, which largely seem to put function over design but results in some quite cool stuff none the less, and the kinetic animation that brings it all together.

It's produced by KSS and while I'm not familiar with all their work, and while the character designs here are more "comical", it visually reminds me Golden Boy (also of 8th MS team) as there are familiar artistic details strewn about.
Really sad to find out that the two episodes I just watched was everything that got made. I think I read in one of Mike's columns that it was planned to be longer, as the second episode just ends without any conclusion.

Despite it's unfinished nature, highly recommended!

This piqued my interest when Discotek licensed the OVA for release early this year (I believe?), but I never got 'round to seeing it. Had not heard of it prior, which isn't surprising as '90s anime outside most of the big ones is a real weak point of mine.
I'll make an effort to watch it before my inevitable death then.

[BryanM]

Also started reading Inu Yashiki by the author of Gantz, and well, if you read the latter you know what to expect; good art and mindfuckness.

Many authors have signature tropes and flairs. Stephen King, for example, always sets his stories in Maine. Hiroya Oku on the other hand, always throws a few scenes of man-on-man oral rape in there, like a man obsessed.

It's comforting, in a way, to know that some things never change.

[Aleksei]

WTF is up with the new Gundam, I don't get it, I, any many more dedicated fans, have waited for a U.C series after Turn A and this is what we get?

Anyway, I still recommend watching it for the visuals and innovation. However, story wise, I don't know yet, maybe someone can explain it when its all over.

[drauch]

Surprised to find myself enjoying the Maison Ikkoku manga, it's often cheesy and a bit boring but almost never teenage-level stupid.
A good 'seinen' love comedy.
I just find it strange now that the anime was part of kids TV programs when I was young.

Also started reading Inu Yashiki by the author of Gantz, and well, if you read the latter you know what to expect; good art and mindfuckness.

Yeah, that's because every idiot thinks that cartoons are explicitly for children. Maison Ikkoku stands out because it's actually adults--something we unfortunately rarely see in anime and manga as much anymore.

On Mighty Space Miners: yeah, I've been hesitating picking this one up. Shame to hear it went the route of most OVAs (didn't get finished,) but the early and mid 90s for me is a rough era to sometimes stomach. Character designs took such a drastic overhaul during this time period, and glancing at Mighty Space Miners doesn't do much for me. Or maybe I just heat hair buns on on dudes. Yeah, definitely that.

[Raytrace]

WTF is up with the new Gundam, I don't get it, I, any many more dedicated fans, have waited for a U.C series after Turn A and this is what we get?

Anyway, I still recommend watching it for the visuals and innovation. However, story wise, I don't know yet, maybe someone can explain it when its all over.

I think in the last 2 episodes the story has definitely started to tighten somewhat, but then again I'm sure the experience of watching most Tomino series as their broadcast is similar, what with his comple hatred of actual exposition :p.

The art is absolutely incredible I think - beautiful colours and so painterly (you can actually see texture within colour fills) whethere it's faked (though I doubt it is) or not, it is very pretty.

[KAI]

WOAAAAAAAAAAH MECHA HYPE!!
Itano and Yasu will be in charge of the 5th short on the Japan Animator Expo series
I'm starting to regain my love for Anno.