The Anime Thread

[Monoriu]

Streaming will take over completely, but I doubt anyone will be able to get all content from one source.

Just why is it that all my favourite IT tools, be it internet explorer, yahoo search, or whatever, seem to get defeated all the time 

[Savonarola]

Can you guys tell me which of these anime are good, as in adult theme:



.hack/quantum OVA
Alakazam
Animen
Yamada's First time
Baka and Test
Black Butler
Blade of the phantom master
Chaos head
Chobits
Chrome shelled regious
D. Gray man
Eden of the East
Fairy Tail
Ghost hunt
Girls Bravo
Heaven's lost property
Hero tales
Hetalia
Initial D
Kaze no stigma
Kenichi, the mightiest disciple
Kite
Legend of the legendary heroes
Mazinkaiser SKL
Moonphase
My bride is a mermaid
Okami-san
Princess jellyfish
Rin, Daughters of Mnemosyne
Rosario plus vampire
Sekirei
Soul Eater
Welcome to the NHK

Initial D is a coming of age story about a high school student racing prodigy who faces progressively more difficult racers.  I thought they managed to build up real excitement at the races; but I did see it on a big screen with an audience at an anime club.  Watching it on your own probably won't be as thrilling.

Welcome to the NHK is the story about a shut-in who goes on all sorts of wacky adventures (mostly through Tokyo's nerd sub-culture.)  The premise seemed flawed to me and the resolutions too neat.  That being said there are some genuinely funny moments in it.

[Monoriu]

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed.  Most people have heard of Gundam, and there are a ton of shows and continuity reboots in this universe.  Gundam Seed represents yet another reboot, with a new cast and a new timeline.  The world is divided into two broad factions.  Normal humans who mostly live on earth, and "coordinators", or genetically enhanced humans, who mostly live in space colonies.  The two guys pictured above are childhood friends who were separated.  Their reunion took place on the battlefield when they discovered that they had joined a different faction. 

This is one of the most highly acclaimed Gundam shows in the 21st century.  The plot of the first half of the story is almost identical to the 70s original Gundam show (standard gundam formula: one side develops a super-prototype in secret, the other side tries to steal it. A teenager falls into cockpit of said prototype, he and his friends escape to space, then to earth, and their own military abandons them).  But somewhere in the middle of the story, the plot took a completely new and unexpected direction that turned the story upside down.  IMHO, this is one of the best gundam shows that I've seen.  It proved so popular that they broadcast a HD-remastered version of the show a year or two ago. 

A particular highlight of the series is its music.  Almost a decade after its original broadcast run, the opening, insert and ending songs for this show are still popular in the anime music charts.  Among the large number of musicians that contribued is Yuki Kajiura.  Akatsuki no kuruma (literally, chariot of dawn) was possibly her breakout song in the industry.  The song was a huge tearjerker when combined with a very moving scene in the show. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrqzzLr0hgM

This song helped little known Yuuka Nanri defeat the then J-pop queens (not seiyuu singers of niche anime songs, but mainstream J-pop) in the sales charts.  (Kajiura is at the keyboard in the video)

Distance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPE9epMOIU8

Although we were always together (this one is loud)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLoolBpFjzE

[Lettow77]

Rewatching varies by show. Aria and Hidamari Sketch are largely detached from having an actual plot, which renders them both very rewatchable. I believe i've seen every episode of Aria at least five times at some point or another.

Downloading is of course the way to go. There's an elitist circle around it, so I don't think it's going anywhere compared to streaming. The fansubbers and so on tend to promote their own torrents.

[Eddie Teach]

Streaming will take over completely, but I doubt anyone will be able to get all content from one source.

Just why is it that all my favourite IT tools, be it internet explorer, yahoo search, or whatever, seem to get defeated all the time 

It's the information age, you have to adapt constantly.

[MadImmortalMan]

I was going to say the answer is because people want his money and he doesn't want to give it to them. 


I don't think streaming is going to kill torrents though. Like I said, not all content will be available from all providers, so a natural opportunity for arbitrage will exist. BT fills that role nicely (at least for those users).

[Josquius]

I don't think streaming killing torrents will happen anytime soon but eventually, as bandwith becomes laughably huge and low quality streams a strange rarity, things will shift.
There's mutterings that most things could move towards streaming. Even processing power.

[Monoriu]

I was going to say the answer is because people want his money and he doesn't want to give it to them. 

The other day my wife complained about the huge amounts of money that I spent on anime (she hates anime).  I then pointed out that, all these years, my spending on anime had been limited to 2 movie tickets.  That's what, US$70. 

Although I didn't mention the 3-4 external HDDs that contain nothing but anime 

[Agelastus]

I was going to say the answer is because people want his money and he doesn't want to give it to them. 

The other day my wife complained about the huge amounts of money that I spent on anime (she hates anime).  I then pointed out that, all these years, my spending on anime had been limited to 2 movie tickets.  That's what, US$70. 

Although I didn't mention the 3-4 external HDDs that contain nothing but anime 

Does that include backups or not?

[Monoriu]

Does that include backups or not?

Includes backups, though I haven't backed up everything. 

[Monoriu]

Monogatari (literally, stories) Series.  Pictured above is one of the main female leads, Hitagi Senjōgahara.  (Senjo means battlefield.  Gahara is often associated with one of the most famous battles in the Sengoku era).  Yes, she does use office supplies as weapons 

I've talked about it in some other thread, but I'll do it again here.  Madoka Magica is Shaft/Shinbo's no. 1 series, both in terms of sales and critical acclaim.  Monogatari is their second most successful title.  Based on a best-selling novel.  It is mainly a story about abominations, ghosts and other oddities.  Nice-guy male lead helping a bunch of moe female girls that are possessed by various different supernatural elements.  It is called monogatari series because it comprises many short stories, each focusing on one female and one oddity. 

The stories are well written, with memorable characters and interesting plot twists.  But it is easy to tell that they are, in a way, very dry.  There is not much action.  The fight scenes are few and far in between.  Some episodes contain nothing but the main characters chatting and flirting with each other.  I haven't read the original novels, but they must be very dialogue heavy.  Shaft/Shinbo's success is to use their distinctive visuals to present the story in a way that makes it interesting to follow.  Just look at a screenshot of this series (without characters) and it is easy to tell it is Monogatari.  For example -



If you are into distinctive visual styles and the "Shaftness", this series has it all.  50+ episodes so far.

[Admiral Yi]

Does she keep these office supplies stored in her crotch until she needs them?

[Monoriu]

Does she keep these office supplies stored in her crotch until she needs them?

Somewhere under her skirt, yes 

My first impression of the series was less than good.  I only watched it just to see what the hype was all about.  Looking back, the moment I began to change my opinion was when she appeared on screen, speaking in a deadpan voice and attacking people with a stapler in episode 1 (watch it and you'll see what I mean).  Senjogahara is one of the most iconic figures of the series.  She is voiced by Chiwa Saito, commonly considered Shinbo's favourite voice actress. 

[jimmy olsen]

Currently reading A Certain Scientific Railgun, about teenage psychers in the near future. I'm liking it so far.

[Monoriu]

Currently reading A Certain Scientific Railgun, about teenage psychers in the near future. I'm liking it so far.

Oh this has been sitting on my HDD forever.  2 seasons of A Certain Magical Index and another 2 seasons of A Certain Scientific Railgun (spinoff of the former) = 96 episodes and 1 movie.  I haven't watched a single episode, but I think Only My Railgun is a very cool song, despite its pretty extreme rockish arrangement. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGAA4IFEPb0

I'll watch it.  Sooner or later