What are you watching/or completed? (Anime)

[Mexigojira]

Netflix (latin america) added both Robotech and Dogtanian and the 3 muskehounds. I'm going to watch them, even if they don't have the mexican dub anymore (Robotech is only the english version and Dogtanian has a new dib from what I think is from Venezuela, were series like Spongebob Squarepants is being dubbed)

[O.Supreme]

Not sure about the other shows, but Netflix in the US brought Robotech back yet again (has been on and off numerous times). So glad I got the first DVD release which matches the TV broadcast before they decided to revamp the opening sequences. I wonder if this was in response to Amazon Prime adding the original Japanese version?

[EricDent]

Sold some stuff recently, mostly stuff I felt that I wouldn't watch again.
Mostly cause I was a bit short to make rent.
I got enough for that & my water bill (got $106).

Anyhow still on Astro Boy (up to disc 4).
It's kinda random that they seem to jump around a bit as far as episode order goes.
For example they show an episode featuring Zoran (Astro's sister), and then later they show the episode where he first meets her.

Also borrowed the first half of Romeo X Juilet from the library (after Supercar was a dud).
Must say if the play was as interesting as the anime, I bet a lot more people would have paid attention in English class.
We watched a live action movie version (think it was from the '60s) in class (over 25 years ago) and the only thing I recall is both of them being nude, and it showing their behinds.
Will borrow the second half soon (maybe even a purchase).

In other news Sentai got the license to Squid Girl!
They got both seasons & the OVAs. Season 2 & the OVAs have never been released in the US.
Hopefully they will get Bang Zoom to dub the new stuff since most of the actors that did the fun season 1 dub (full of squid puns) work there.
They have TV, Streaming, and Home Media rights, so if it's on TV they pretty much have to dub the rest.
Wonder if Toonami would like that sort of show?

[sentaison]

I've started Izetta, The Last Witch on Crunchyroll. The setting is an alt-WWII world where a young princess is trying to get help to protect her small kingdom from the Germans. The first episode features an excellently done escape from a moving train, the second a dogfight between a flight of Bf-109's and the titular character flying on an anti-tank rifle! Very engaging storyline and gorgeous animation.

[EricDent]

Finished Astro Boy, even with 50 episodes it was good.
The message was learn to live with everybody no matter how different they are.

Borrowed the first season of Fullmetal Alchemist (never seen the whole thing).
Don't really read manga, so not sure if I will do the Brotherhood version or not.
Finished the first season, and hopefully the library will have the rest.

Up to the last disc of Romeo X Juliet, they are gonna perform the famous play (since it's getting near the end, something weird is gonna happen).

I bought the Strike Witches Movie & watched it.
Well worth the over 2 years it took them to bring it out!
Hope they get more of it a lot quicker.

Bought some really cheap anime at the local Half Price Books.
All were $2 each.

Blood The Last Vampire
Samurai the Hunt for the Sword
Plastic Little

BTW it looks like Fry's is pretty much purging all the DVDs now.

[EricDent]

Finished Romeo X Juliet, it was pretty different from the play, but had an appropriate tragic ending for both characters.
Will check the library to see what else they have.

[Dr Kain]

I've watched the first 7 episodes to Escaflowne this morning and good god I forgot how amazing this show is. I really need to watch it the way I used to instead of what I have been doing (not watching it). The new dub is pretty incredible, although I do have some criticisms.

First, Merle, Hitomi, and Van are perfect. They sound exactly like their Japanese counterparts which is incredible. They also got Dilandau's voice right as he constantly changes his tones of voice at the drop of a hat the way Dilandau is supposed to. Also, there was no way Vic was going to outdo Nakata's voice for Folken, but the man is doing a pretty stellar job thus far.

On the other hand, I'm not a fan of Sonny Strait's voice for Allen. He isn't bad or anything, but Allen is a very soft spoken, smooth talking man. Sonny isn't, and as such, his tone sounds forced at times as if he is trying to keep his voice low key. I do agree with Sonny when he told me he wanted Crispin Freeman for Allen, as that man would have been perfect for him. Also, Clinkenbeard's voice doesn't full fit Millerna. Oh, the it is weird how they say Dilandau's name, but it is accurate to how it is pronounced in Japanese, so whatever, minor nitpick.

Overall, I am very happy with the new dub and glad I participated in the Kickstarter. Now I need to leave so I can continue the next disc.

[O.Supreme]

[Dr Kain]

Yep, they include both dubs. The first 7 episodes for the old dub are on Disc 2 because the 7 episodes on Disc 1 include footage that was exclusive to the Japanese video release. Bandai dubbed the series using the broadcast version of the show. That was what really motivated Funimation to give the show a new dub since there are scenes that were never dubbed before.

[Dr Kain]

I finished Escaflowne today. God damn it was such a great series and the dub just kept getting better (sans Strait, which I already talked about). I'm curious to see how the dub is of the movie, but at the same time, I'm also afraid because the movie is simply not very good.

[Dr Kain]

We finished watching Escaflowne tonight with the brand new dub that Funimation did and overall, I am quite pleased with it.

Hitomi - Caitlyn Glass was absolutely perfect for Hitomi. She nailed the character right out of the park and she sounds exactly like her Japanese counterpart Sakamoto.

Van - Aaron Dismuke also pulled off his Van with great perfection. He has the same gruff sound in his voice as Seki does in the Japanese track.

Merle - Alexis Tipton was just as stunning as both Aaron and Caitlyn were. It was like they just turned Otani's voice ineto English at the flip of a switch.

Allen - This is where the dub got a little iffy as Sonny Strait was no the right choice for Allen. He isn't terrible or anything, but Allen is supposed to be a soft spoken smooth talker, something which Strait is not. There were times where it sounded like Sonny was forcing himself to keep his voice lowkey and I'm pretty sure he broke out of it a couple of times. I enjoyed him, but I'm sure there are a few others that could have done better (such as Crispin Freeman, who he even said he wanted to cast).

Millerna - Colleen Clinkbeard has some extreme range as I didn't hear her voice for Luffy or Gohan at all in her. At first I was a little unsure but she grew with the character, giving us a really solid voice.

Dryden - There's a small sense of style that makes it hard to compete with Juurouta Kosugi's take on Dryen, but Eric Vale did a magnificent job on the character, bringing in his own style he has gained as Sanji over the years, while also keeping that scruffy tone in his voice that Dryden has.

Folken - Jouji Nakata voices this traitorous strategist in the Japanese version and that man is like the greatest Japanese voice actor ever. No one in America can ever top his voice. To my surprise, not only did Vic Mignogna manage provide a truly impressive Folken, but the only time you could tell it was him was when he was portraying the younger, innocent Folken. He might not be Nakata, but the man definitely showed off his talent here. A truly remarkable performance.

Dilandau - Okay, this is where things can get dicey as Dilandau is my favorite character of the series, so I have high expectations from him. Minami Takayama voices him in the Japanese track and she plays the character's ever changing psychosis to a T. The original dub failed on massive levels as I never found Dilandau to be the demented psychopath whose personality changes without any forewarning, it just happens. Joel McDonald, a voice actor I am not all that familiar with, pulled off the character with utter perfection. He had every mannerism down. The constant mood swings were there and they sounded magnificent. The only thing he lacked was the female tang in his voice (for obvious reasons), but he is by far the MVP of the new dub as far as I am concerned. This man deserves an award for his outstanding work on this character. Although, the pronounciation of the character's name is kind of jarring to hear, but you start to get used to it after awhile.

Naria and Eriya - I always group these two together given they're twins and both Michelle Rojas and Felecia Angelle pulled this duo off greatly.

Emperor Dornkirk - Jeremy Schwartz was on par with Masato Yamanouchi as Zaiboch's mysterious emperor.

All of the other third string characters and Allen's crew are great, so no complaints at all.

As someone who absolutely loves the Japanese version of this series, it is so nice to have the option of watching it with an incredible English dub that compliments the Japanese track with adamant precision. This is what I have always wanted from the English track but never got before. Funimation put a lot of hard work into redubbing this show and it shows with nearly every casting choice. Not only was it well worth experiencing the new dub, but I have no regrets for participating in the Kickstarter as it helped provide quality entertainment.

It's just a shame the new dub couldn't fix the crappiness of the movie, but oh well, it would take a miracle to do that.

Speaking of which:

Escaflowne The Movie - After the near perfection that is the series, how did this movie go so wrong? Instead of classic Final Fantasy we get Dynasty Warriors, which should have made for an interesting concept, but the execution is just so terrible. The pacing is all over the place as the movie can't be bothered to slow down to actually let the characters develop or the audience actually digest everything that has been thrown at them. Hitomi is now some whiny little emo who wants to commit suicide, but then is afraid to die and wants to change Van from being the same way. WTF? The final battle with Folken is anti-climatic as is the ending to the movie itself. Allen is barely even in the damn thing, but the worst goes to Naria and Eriya who have been reduced to bar singers. Oh, and instead of having some pretty kick ass fight choroegraphy given the nature of the samurai style, the characters now have Force abilities. WHAT?! Dilandau is the only thing in this movie that seemed on par with his TV personality while everyone else is a mess. As a whole though, this movie is just a mess. It feels like they had an idea for a new Escaflowne series but were told they could only tell it in movie form, so they cut 26 episodes down to the length of five episodes. Very disappointing, but at least the music kicks ass. The animation is smooth too, but there is barely any color in it and the fun is just sucked away, leaving nothing more than a lifeless heap of crap. I'm going to give it a 5/10.

[EricDent]

I got the second half of Fullmetal Alchemist at the library & watched it.
It was good until the ending.
Apparently the Conquerer of Shamballa movie is supposed to tie things up?

I tried watching Fantastic Children which I also borrowed from the library.
After watching the first disc, it really didn't catch my attention, so I returned it.
Maybe some other time.

Watched Batman Gotham Knight.
Basically a few anime directors did a Batman story.
It's pretty good and features Kevin Conroy as Batman.

Watched Plastic Little, while it was short, it had good action & cute girls.
Plus you can never go wrong with showing boobs (complete with nipples).
Looks like a keeper.

Another keeper is Samurai Hunt For The Sword.
It's kinda a mix of Peacemaker, a harem show, and a bit of Tenchi Muyo.
Young samurai gets involved with a mystical sword, and seems to be surrounded by the ladies.
Several "harem girl types" are involved.
The childhood friend, the foreign girl, the loli, the mother figure, the mysterious girl, and the busty/rowdy girl.

[EricDent]

Picked up a set of all 4 Marvel anime shows (Iron Man, Wolverine, Blade, & X-Men).
Watched Blade since it's the only one I hadn't seen, it was good.
Now I need to sell off the copy of Wolverine I have.

Also picked up the complete series of Negima.
As I am slowly trying to consolidate my collection.
Now I just need to sell off the six single discs.

Both were at Half Price Books who had a coupon deal all last week.
The Marvel anime was 40% off, and Negima was 50% off.

Watched Macross 2 The Movie: it's still good, and still say that it's a decent version of Macross.
Good mecha action, some political stuff, cute girls, love, and of course music.

[O.Supreme]

[Dr Kain]

Well it's not canon because it contradicts the story to Macross 7.

[EricDent]

Well unless Macross 7 ever comes out (legally) in the USA, I can't really say anything about "canon" for Macross.
Though I have heard some people consider Macross 2 to be an alternate universe.

[O.Supreme]

Finally picked up Discoteks release of Gaiking. So nice to finally have the whole series subbed. Hope they keep up with the classic Super Robot series releases, even if only one or two a year, that will give me hope, nothing else has been announced thus far, but I'd love to get the original Kotetsu Jeeg or Yusha Raideen as these have never been fully fansubbed.

[Dr Kain]

[klen7]

I loved Macross Plus back in the day. Haven't seen that in years.

[EricDent]

I own Macross Plus (the 4 episode version) on DVD.

Anyhow since I got bored with Iron King, I took it back to the library.
Grabbed the first 2 volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
Blasted through those pretty quick (taking a break from work before the CRAZY time of year).
A lot quicker paced than the other version.
I took those back and borrowed the other 3 volumes.
Blasted through volume 3 as well.
Will probably finish it by Monday.

[Dr Kain]

Brotherhood is an amazing series. It shows exactly why filler material sucks.

[EricDent]

Up to the last disc of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, man that King Bradley guy is really TOUGH!

BTW the big Holiday sale has started on RightStufAnime.com.
If interested I am suggesting items on the Anime Other Titles Board over on GameFAQs.com.

[EricDent]

Finished Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
It was a good show, but with Funimation not owning it anymore I doubt I would pay the Aniplex prices.

I also borrowed the Sacred Star of Milos, The Conquerer of Shamballa, and one of the OVA collections.
All 3 were decent.

Now borrowing Sengoku Collection & Kokoro Connect from the library.
I went to another library that is somewhat close by to see what they had, and these 2 looked interesting.

Sengoku continues the "tradition" of turning famous Japanese warlords/warriors/etc into cute girls.
Nobunaga seems like the main focus, since she wants to go back to her "proper time" (they got sent to modern Japan).
Up through disc 2 (of 5), this is a Lucky Penny (part of Right Stuf) release so it's sub only.

Kokoro is about 5 friends who made their own club (cause they didn't fit into any other clubs).
Suddenly they start switching bodies (another persons consciousness goes into their body for a bit).
It's not naughty like a certain H title.
It does feature a dub & has several familiar voices including Monica Rial, Greg Ayers, & Luci Christian.

[Russzilla]

Currently streaming the entire Dragon Ball Z series on Funimation's website. (the original Japanese version, I hate the dubs) I have a lot to catch up on, noticed a lot of new Dragon Ball material here lately.

[EricDent]

Just ordered these via the Right Stuf Holiday Sale:

Strawberry Marshmallow OVA DVD
Moribito Complete Series DVD
Bodacious Space Pirates Movie DVD
Devil Is A Part-Timer Anime Classics Combo Pack (DVD & Blu-Ray)

All for about $56 plus free economy shipping.
Last year it took them about a week to get here, which in my case was after Christmas.
Don't really mind waiting until after then, but would rather it get here before then.