Just read this short story:
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.
php?title=Utsuro_no_Hako:Volume1

About a groundhog-day/endless eight esque timeloop, but it continually kept me guessing, especially near the end, and I really enjoyed reading it. Some great plot twists in it.

At 3/16/11 03:40 PM, BananaBreadMuffin wrote: Just read this short story:
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.
php?title=Utsuro_no_Hako:Volume1

>Short story
That page is as long as Gutenberg's Ulysses text. It's definitely not a 'short story.'

About a groundhog-day/endless eight esque timeloop, but it continually kept me guessing, especially near the end, and I really enjoyed reading it. Some great plot twists in it.

But yeah, I've been meaning to read some of series on BT -- maybe I'll check it out when I've got a chance.

====

Watched about half of the first season of DtB, and it's REALLY good. I love the animation, characters, story arcs, action, all of it.

Do Kiko and Gai have any other appearances other than the missing cat/possession arc? I like them the most, especially the latter.

At 3/16/11 07:08 PM, towelie101 wrote: Watched about half of the first season of DtB, and it's REALLY good. I love the animation, characters, story arcs, action, all of it.

Also, DAT OP is fucking amazing, and addicting.

So my external HD has gone down and I was hoping to watch a show tomorrow. Now I can only watch what I left on my internal HD, which is quite limited, so I thought I'd let you guys pick for me. This is what I have available:

Clannad
Kanon
Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari
Now and Then, Here and There

At 3/16/11 07:08 PM, towelie101 wrote:

At 3/16/11 03:40 PM, BananaBreadMuffin wrote:

>Short story
That page is as long as Gutenberg's Ulysses text. It's definitely not a 'short story.'

Hmmm, Well, if you compare it to a book, it's pretty short. I guess. Still need to read the other arcs of it too though.

DtB... Do Kiko and Gai have any other appearances other than the missing cat/possession arc? I like them the most, especially the latter.

Don't worry they're in various episodes all the way through and even some in the second series I do believe.

At 3/16/11 07:41 PM, SomaGuye wrote:
Now and Then, Here and There

Yeah, this show. Only one worth watching out of your list of stuff.

At 3/16/11 07:41 PM, SomaGuye wrote: So my external HD has gone down and I was hoping to watch a show tomorrow. Now I can only watch what I left on my internal HD, which is quite limited, so I thought I'd let you guys pick for me. This is what I have available:

Clannad

It isn't anything special, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

Kanon

I would probably pass on this one.

Now and Then, Here and There

Out of the 4, this would be the best one to watch. Even though I have seen it myself a while ago, I didn't really care about this one too much for some reason.

At 3/16/11 07:41 PM, SomaGuye wrote: Clannad

I enjoyed it when I watched a couple of years ago it but looking back it was probably not that great. One of the better visual novel based animes I've seen though. It did a bit better than most of the others I've seen of integrating the different paths you can take, rather than just having them one after the other.

Didn't care enough to check out the second series.

Kanon

Wasn't so good. I stuck with it to the end for whatever reason, but didn't really enjoy it. It follows way too closely the structure of "comedy then SUDDENLY DRAMA" that these Key games seem to follow.

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari
Now and Then, Here and There

Haven't seen the others. I've heard good things about Now and Then, Here and There though.

At 3/16/11 09:03 PM, Mendou wrote:

At 3/16/11 07:41 PM, SomaGuye wrote:
Now and Then, Here and There

Yeah, this show. Only one worth watching out of your list of stuff.

Really I watched it all and found it rather fail a while back. I guess my biggest complaint where the super annoying dubs though.

Been watching Nobody's Boy: Remi, lately. And wow, what a hidden gem this was, cannot believe I yet again put this on the back burner for several months. It's really got Osamu Dezaki's directorial charm and direction, the backgrounds are lush, vibrant and absolutely stunning. Voice acting is suitable and enjoyable, and I much enjoy the soundtrack.

Only 11 episodes in, and I can tell this is going to be one of my favorites.

At 3/17/11 12:36 AM, UCanCallMeJesus wrote:

Really I watched it all and found it rather fail a while back.

How long ago, exactly? I hope you're talking a year or two ago. Because Now and then is an incredible anime, at least deserves an 8/10.

I guess my biggest complaint where the super annoying dubs though.

I've watched it twice in english, it's really not that bad.

Also, regarding the recommendations, you should watch Noein: To Your Other Self if you haven't seen it yet. I'd suggest Remi as well(and to everyone else here, for that matter). But I have suspicions that it wouldn't be your cup of tea.

Starting ergo proxy. Also checking out mnemosyne. They both seem pretty solid. Especially Ergo Proxy.

At 3/17/11 07:12 AM, Wesleyiam wrote: They both seem pretty solid. Especially Ergo Proxy.

It gets progressively worse as it goes on, so if towards the end you're waiting for the big awesome part, I'll warn you now, it doesn't happen.

At 3/17/11 07:12 AM, Wesleyiam wrote: Starting ergo proxy. Also checking out mnemosyne. They both seem pretty solid. Especially Ergo Proxy.

Yeah, I really enjoyed Ergo Proxy, really liked the analysis of references and things at the end of most of the episodes, especially since a lot of classical literature and things were lost on me during the actual episodes. Also @soma agree with now + then, here + now, although I wasn't a massive fan of it, haven't seen the others and it's worth watching anyway just to see how depressing animes can get.

At 3/17/11 01:42 AM, Mendou wrote: I've watched it twice in english, it's really not that bad.

The main characters voice in the English dub made me wish I was born death. Been watching the Studio Ghibli stuff lately. I had only seen Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, and Ponyo. Added Howls Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Tales from Earthsea now though. I was expecting them all to be good but I was surprised at how good they all ended up being. The animation in them all also totally blows me away. There animation from the 80's looks way better then most of the shit coming out in 2011 imo.

braces for shitstorm

At 3/17/11 11:55 AM, SomaGuye wrote: It gets progressively worse as it goes on, so if towards the end you're waiting for the big awesome part, I'll warn you now, it doesn't happen.

All about that episode where they find the old deserted city and shit starts getting batshit insane

At 3/17/11 01:12 PM, UCanCallMeJesus wrote: The main characters voice in the English dub made me wish I was born death.
made me wish I was born death.
born death

...

...what?!

Anyway, I finally got a job, so I'm planning on oredering Summer Wars and Evangelion 2.22 soon. My Bluray collection is looking pretty tiny, so it will be good to have some more anime.

yeah, I found Tekkon Kinkreet blu-ray for sale used for a fiver yesterday, was very tempted but didn't know whether I have a BR drive (I do) so I didn't buy it at the time.

At 3/17/11 03:03 PM, Deadly-Shadow wrote:

At 3/17/11 01:12 PM, UCanCallMeJesus wrote: The main characters voice in the English dub made me wish I was born death.
made me wish I was born death.
born death

...

...what?!

Anyway, I finally got a job, so I'm planning on oredering Summer Wars and Evangelion 2.22 soon. My Bluray collection is looking pretty tiny, so it will be good to have some more anime.

Was a typo. Also good choices ^_^. You cant buy 2.22 in US yet though you gotta wait a couple more weeks. It is released one the 29th. Best of luck with the job and what not.

At 3/16/11 07:41 PM, SomaGuye wrote: Now and Then, Here and There

That there's a good one.

At 3/17/11 07:12 AM, Wesleyiam wrote: Starting ergo proxy. Also checking out mnemosyne. They both seem pretty solid. Especially Ergo Proxy.

I've been meaning to watch Ergo Proxy again and finish it this time. Mnemosyne is on my queue, also.

At 3/17/11 01:12 PM, UCanCallMeJesus wrote: The animation in them all also totally blows me away. There animation from the 80's looks way better then most of the shit coming out in 2011 imo.

Exactly. I laugh when I see people giving the whole "It's newer, so it's better!" argument. Aside from a few series each year. I find a lot of the modern animation to be underwhelming, regarding that.

Just watched Voices of a Distant Star (the second project by the guy who would go on to make 5cmps), unsure about it. On one hand it has some beautiful shots, the same scenery porn that would go on to make The Place Promised In Our Early Days and 5 Centimeters Per Second so well known, on the other hand there's a lot of really rubbish mecha CGI and the character's faces are poorly drawn. The plot is relatively sparse, it's only a single 40 minute OVA after all, but it's about a girl who gets drafted into a typical mecha army and heads off into space to battle silly aliens or whatever. The action scenes when she does fight them felt unnecessary, poorly done, and jarring with the themes of loss and separation, and I'd have rather not seen them. She engages in a text message conversation with her childhood friend (don't want to say they were in a relationship), and as she gets further and further away from earth the signal takes longer and longer to get home. A particularly touching moment occurs when she is sending a text message as the ship warps, and she realises it will take a year to reach home (as opposed to the matter of hours it used to be) and breaks down in tears. By the end of it the messages are taking years and we're treated to a split plot between the adult who never quite moved on from his childhood love and the girl who's still a child, as we read her text message both as she sends and he receives. Some very touching moments, but the faces were drawn very sloppily and that really detracted. 7/10.

If you do watch it, then try and avoid the KickAssAnime sub. It leaves out translations of a couple of CRUCIAL and PIVOTAL text messages while subbing the details screen on how long it will take to send them. Ffffffffffffs. I had to look it up on wikipedia afterwards. :|

On the other hand I watched his first work, a 5 minute short called She And Her Cat, that I really liked. A greyscale monologue by a cat about his owner. He adores her, refuses advances by other cats, and when she is in tears he just knows that she wasn't at fault, such is his steadfast devotion to Her. Loved the art, even if the simplistic depiction of the cat really contrasted with the more realistic depiction of everything else, I still loved it. Only five minutes so hardly any pain in watching it, is there?
9/10.

Also just watched an even earlier video by him, Tooi Sekai. Only one and a half minutes, with the only sound being the incredibly beautiful but incredibly overplayed Eric Satie classic Gymnopedies #1, it was interesting to say the least. The lack of plot, development, or indeed any context is obvious and unsurprising. But in it we learn that the girl (or is it perhaps someone gazing upon the girl who's doing the talking? No clue) is in some kind of relationship, wondering/hoping that they'll stay together forever. Alright, but limited by its length and I didn't really get much impression of anything.
5/10

At 3/17/11 04:50 PM, UCanCallMeJesus wrote: Was a typo. Also good choices ^_^. You cant buy 2.22 in US yet though you gotta wait a couple more weeks. It is released one the 29th.

Yeah, but Amazon is already taking preorders for it, and it's surprisingly cheap for a Bluray movie. I think I'm going to hold off on buying them for now though, since I'm short on money and there are other things that I want to get first.

Best of luck with the job and what not.

Thanks. I actually enjoy my job, so making money feels easy.

At 3/17/11 11:51 PM, Deadly-Shadow wrote: Yeah, but Amazon is already taking preorders for it, and it's surprisingly cheap for a Bluray movie. I think I'm going to hold off on buying them for now though, since I'm short on money and there are other things that I want to get first.

Yea they have been taking preorders for at least a few week now. I ordered the DVD version last week and it was only like 9.99.

At 3/17/11 08:36 PM, BananaBreadMuffin wrote: on the other hand there's a lot of really rubbish mecha CGI and the character's faces are poorly drawn.
The action scenes when she does fight them felt unnecessary, poorly done...
Some very touching moments, but the faces were drawn very sloppily and that really detracted. 7/10.

Give him a break. He did it all by himself.

At 3/18/11 05:55 PM, Aigis wrote:

At 3/17/11 08:36 PM, BananaBreadMuffin wrote: on the other hand there's a lot of really rubbish mecha CGI and the character's faces are poorly drawn.
The action scenes when she does fight them felt unnecessary, poorly done...
Some very touching moments, but the faces were drawn very sloppily and that really detracted. 7/10.

Give him a break. He did it all by himself.

Yeah, I read about that. Still funny faces put me off. They did in akira too :x

At 3/18/11 06:36 PM, BananaBreadMuffin wrote: Yeah, I read about that. Still funny faces put me off. They did in akira too :x

TETSUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I seriously have to watch this, wow.

Currently watching Hataraki Man, it's an adult slice of life about a late 20s woman working for a weekly magazine.
It's reasonably similar to Bartender (although not as laid back). The art's pretty good, great attention to detail in the background and some fantastic facial expressions. The eyes are especially well done, it's nice to see eyes looking different to the typical anime eyes. It's good fun, not that much happens in terms of progression and there's no overarching plot (although some events are referenced in later eps), and it's pretty laid back, but it's still worth checking out.

Gankutsuou is great so far, I can even forgive Gonzo's shitty CGI that sticks out like a sore thumb.

Looks like the airing anime is back on track now, I do admire the Japanese people's ability to persevere.