What are you watching/or completed? (Anime)

[The Shadow]

Originally, there was no connection between Cyborg 009 and the Skull Man outside of both being creations of Shotaro Ishinomori.

[MekaGojira3k]

I really loved Skull Man. Not one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES, but I really enjoyed it.

[EricDent]

Wait a minute, so you are saying that The Skull Man is based on a REALLY old manga?
Cause hasn't Kamen Rider been going since the '60s (or possibly older)?

[MekaGojira3k]

[alienhulk2099]

I just finished The Skull Man......... So lets see if I get the mystery and feel free to correct me if I am wrong: Cultists want to take over the world and use a mix of magic and drugs to turn their followers into mutants with their priestess becoming a vessel for some ritual so the leader can gain the ultimate body. A member of a rebel military faction wants to stop this so he takes a skull-like helmet the cult leader needs to control the new body and starts killing cult members because the priestess is the woman he loves. Fine and dandy and all, but wow was it poorly explained. Episodes 10, 11, and 12 should have been what the series was supposed to be (Skull Man fighting mutants lead by a cult while lots of dark philosophy is in the background). Gotta love how the main couple suddenly don't do much of anything after episode 10 (because apparently having sex in a tent ruins whatever chances you have of contributing to the climax). Then came the final episode which starts out with part of the epilogue for no reason. I lost it when the final episode had the rebel military faction suddenly introduce FRIGGIN LASER SPEWING SPIDER TANKS. WHAT!? WHY!? At no point was super science or weapons introduced in this! Why were these guys even attacking the city!? I wouldn't take it too seriously if it wasn't taking up the vast majority of the last two episodes! Also Skull Man kills his lover because we have to be grim dark! What made this transcend the series into reviling territory was the epilogue narration of Japan trying to become a police state due to the destruction of Otomo City (oi) and even worse going "Hayato may have been Skull Man all this time" F**K NO, YOU ARE LITERALLY INSULTING THE AUDIENCE AT THIS POINT WE HAVE SEEN THOSE TWO TOGETHER MULTIPLE TIMES! Also Kiriko has a child because why the hell not (not a flaw, I just nit pick at "guaranteed pregnancy after sex because why not" nonsense). After the ending credits it goes off the rails with Skull Man revealing he is the new leader of the White Bell Society. Imagine a person becoming the leader of the organization he tried to destroy, does that sound even remotely wrong to anyone else?

1/10

Yes, seriously, third worst anime I've ever seen after Valvrave and Puni Puni Poemii. I kind of want to call it worse than Fate/Stay Night or Zero, but the endings were not this dreadful.

[EricDent]

So what about Gekko Kamen (AKA Moonlight Mask) from 1958?
He didn't have super powers, but did ride around on a motorcycle.

[alienhulk2099]

Earlier I watched the Girls und Panzer OVA and I can now see why this was cut from the main series, way too much talking and no real payoff. As of yesterday I started Ultimate Hellsing and found it to be very entertaining, hopefully it'll be better than the TV series (it definitely has with art and music thus far although scenes with Seras begin comedic are just plain eye rolling).

[Dr Kain]

Slugging through DBGT at a very slow rate. This suck is bad.

On the other hand, we finally watched the first BD disc to Sailor Moon today and I must say the dub is utterly fantastic. It sounded good in the clips, but finally sitting down and watching it was a real treat. I thought I was going to have to work hard to get used to Sheh's voice, but I was into her Usagi in mere minutes. It is just down right amazing and shows when a company cares about making a great English dub, it can be done. I also need to apologize to those No DNR purists out there, but I found nothing wrong with the video quality at all. I never once saw any ghosting nor did I have a problem with the lack of grain. In fact, the show has never looked better. The episodes themselves are a mixed bag, with the really terrible work out one to the incredible (and my favorite episode of the Jadeite arc) with the Succubus and the cassette tape one. The thing I love about the tape one is that it just feels different from the other episodes and really stands out. Plus, it shows how Usagi can be really amazing on her own she puts her mind to it. She did not even need Tuxedo Mask to show up to help her. I look forward to watching the next disc, but I think I am going to do them once a week since it is still another month until Volume 2 comes out.

BTW, the comedic art scene in Hellsing Ultimate are there because that is how the manga was done.

[EricDent]

Let's see I watched The Gokusen, it was fun.

I also finished Eden's Bowy as well, that was decent.

Now blasting through Yugo The Negotiator.
Pretty good stuff!

[EricDent]

Finished Yugo The Negotiator, kinda wanted to see more of it!

Now watching a short (6 episodes) OVA called Melty Lancer.
A guy on another message board sent it to me for free.

It's got decent action, some fun characters, a decent dub (Bandai), and of course most of the girls are cute.

[MekaGojira3k]

I've started Watamote and I'm trying to finish the 2nd season of Oreimo.
Watamote is hilarious.

[alienhulk2099]

I just finished Hellsing Ultimate. Amazing series, even if it had really dumb bits in it (30 years later and Seras never fixed her arm? Really?), but at least they downplayed the dumb cartoony bits in the last three episodes. Some twists were great while others feel forced, but you have to take the good with the bad.

[Dr Kain]

I've been holding off on watching 5-10 of Ultimate until Funimation just releases it as one giant set. I figured I have waited this long, I can wait a little bit longer.

Still on GT. FINALLY got to the part where Goku goes SS4 and it has still be lackluster.

[alienhulk2099]

This morning I finished Amazing Nurse Nanako which I started watching yesterday afternoon. Dumb ecchi nonsense with bad comecy, but it had nice sci-fi and conspiracy elements to it.

[Rody]

I have now finished the famed series, Cowboy Bebop. I certainly enjoyed it, and totally get why the show is so loved - but I don't think I quite loved it myself.
I won't deny there's a lot to love here. Right off the bat, the music alone had me hooked. "Tank!" has to be the catchiest opening I've yet heard for a show, anime or not. The soundtrack throughout the bulk of the episodes is also quite varied in style, and never overcomes the scenery or gets overshadowed by it; instead the soundtrack compliments each scene perfectly as it should. That scenery is nothing to scoff at, either. Animation is very fluid most of the time, and the detail put into each & every setting is extraordinary. There are a couple of obvious CG effects, but usually they blend in surprisingly well with the traditional animation. It's a beautiful and stylistic show overall, giving a perfect backdrop for our characters - who aren't quite lovable, but are utterly endearing, if that makes any sense. Spike, Jet, Faye, and even the kooky Ed are impressively believable in their attitudes and mannerisms. They're not the nicest people, but they're far from the worst, and one can't help but wonder if they deserve better than what they usually get stuck with.
...Which brings me to the one problem I have with the show. In spite of the many zany, fast-paced adventures the crew has, and the rich comic relief present throughout the show, Cowboy Bebop is actually a very sad story. None of the characters really develop; they're stuck somehow, weighed down by their own troubles of the past, unsure of what to do with them and resistant to each other's help. This isn't necessarily a bad setting; and I've thoroughly enjoyed series rife with tragedy before (e.g., Code Geass, Puella Magi Madoka Magica). However, unlike these other shows, which often offer a ray of hope amid the sorrow, Cowboy Bebop sort of trudges along to the end, with no real chance of resolution or freedom in sight for the crew. I suppose Cowboy Bebop is profound in that way - a rowdy, genre-bending space adventure with a sober & cynical core - but it leaves me wanting at the end, thinking, "alright then, but is there something better for these people?"

Having said all that, Cowboy Bebop was an undeniably entertaining and fascinating show, and I reiterate that I completely understand the love it gets. It's not the most uplifting show available, but it's a terrific viewing experience, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone with an interest in anime. I'm very glad to have seen this classic series.

[EricDent]

That's an interesting retrospective of Cowboy Bebop.

For the person watching Watamote, are you watching it dubbed or subtitled?
I personally went with the dub the first watch, and it seemed like Monica Rial was having a LOT of fun doing this one.

Probably the most hillarious she's been since Panty & Stocking.

Anyhow, I finished Melty Lancer.
It was short, yet fun.

Now watching (through disc 2) Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
Or Ganbare Goemon, if you want the Japanese name.

It's pretty goofy, but kinda fun at the same time.

Basically an evil guy from the video game world sends his minions to take over Earth.
Goemon & his buddies go after him.
They quickly befriend a young boy named Tsukasa.

It's pretty "monster of the week".
Bad guy causes trouble to fill up "Rage Gauge"
This summons huge monster
Goemon summons giant robot, who destroys monster.
Bad guy escapes to try again.

The summoning thing is stock animation.
Sometimes he fails to summon the robot, cause he needs lots of energy to do so.
So he has to eat Ohagi (sweet rice balls) made by his girlfriend (who is EXTREMELY jealous of any other girl)

This was dubbed by ADV and features Vic Mignola as Goemon, Tifany Grant as Tsukasa, Hillary Haag as Tsukasa's girlfriend Aszka, and Greg Ayers as a Ninja robot (who takes pictures of cute girls for a perverse old man).

[Dr Kain]

[Henry88]

just saw gargantia last week,it is a good show but should have been longer.

[EricDent]

Finished Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
It was fun & I liked the characters.
Kinda an odd episode count at 23.

Sold some stuff & bought the Blu-Ray version of Cowboy Bebop.
One of the things I sold was the Anime Legends version of that show.

Now watching Shangri-La.
Only 3 episodes into it, so far it has decent action, some interesting characters, and an interesting setting.
Though the stuff dealing with carbon economics is a bit too complicated.

[alienhulk2099]

A couple weeks ago I took on the Witch Craft Works OVA and despite being mostly incest confession nonsense I can't really hate something that has giant robot rabbit, teddy bear, and penguin fighting daikaiju style. Yesterday I gave the Star Driver movie a shot, it was a standard compilation although the beginning gave a proper epilogue/sequel bait that the original series didn't have. Finally I got around to watching Rosario and Vampire Capu2 and up to episode 6, mostly the same as the first series; Kokoa should be annoying the hell out of me, but she is actually somewhat funny, I'm impressed. Plus the music is a little better this time around.

[XvGojira]

So my girlfriend sat me and a bunch of friends down to watch Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. She's always loved swimming and the water so I'm not surprised she liked this show so much. While I see the appeal of the show (even beyond the superficial lady boner eye candy everywhere), it's not my kind of thing. It's a very real series, as in there's not much in the way of exaggerations; no sudden jump to chibi-forms, no flaming eyes of passioned anger. The closest it gets is the shots of the female club member oggling the muscles on all the boys, but even then it's not stretched to extremes. And while I'm sure some of the humor is intended to be innuendo based there's times I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Either way, half the time I had to withhold my inner on many of the lines.

I'm glad she's found something she likes, and it helps me find to get her. But it sort of made me realize that I very much prefer series that are somewhat detached for reality, even if just slightly. Robots, monsters, outerspace, over the top exaggerations for comedic affect, that's my bag. Down to earth, realism. Nah, thanks but no thanks.

[The Shadow]

On the topic of realistic anime series, I recently watched through Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 via The Anime Network's OnDemand offerings.

The series is only 11 episodes long and follows a sister and brother after they find themselves caught in the middle of massive earthquake that hits Tokyo. The show states that the goal was to realistically depict what the aftermath of such a massive earthquake would be; and of course the show does this by focusing on what these two siblings go through.

TM 8.0 isn't the sort of show/movie I usually watch, I also prefer at least some detachment from reality, and I thought the show was great and can easily recommend it. I highly encourage anyone considering watching TM 8.0 to avoid any spoilers and just watch the episodes in order, don't even look ahead at episode titles if you can help it [I think you'll appreciate the story more that way].

TM 8.0 is currently free to watch online, looks like the Anime Network is partnering with Hulu to make it available so you can either head to the Anime Network's website or go directly to Hulu and watch [Hulu link below].

http://www.hulu.com/tokyo-magnitude-80

[alienhulk2099]

Yesterday morning I completed Rosario and Vampire Capu2, mostly more of the same, the lack of a proper ending sort of hurt it.

[Dr Kain]

Finished disc 2 of Sailor Moon tonight. I love Liam's voice for Nephrite.

[EricDent]

Finished Season one of Spice & Wolf.
Will be starting season 2 pretty soon.