Anime

[Moomba]

So, I just found out that "Girls und Panzer", a title I'd heard of but knew nothing else about, is literally about schoolgirls crewing tanks.

What the entire fuck, Japan?

Best show of the season. Japan truly has a way with ingenious ideas.

No sarcasm. It genuinely is the best show of the season, closely tied with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

[EC2151]

Sometimes I have to remind myself why Super Milk Chan, for as dumb as it is, is one of my favorite... "guilty pleasures"? (nothing guilty about it!) anime.

MARY HOLY MOTHER OF GOD I'D REALLY HATE TO GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN

ALL THOSE PORNO POPSTARS SHAKING THEIR NAKED BODIES, IT'S TOO MUCH FOR THEIR PEEPEES TO TAKE

Thankfully it is none to hard to remind myself.

I still need to pick up the DVDs one day.

Edited December 5, 2012 by EC2151

[HalcyonSpirit]

So, I just found out that "Girls und Panzer", a title I'd heard of but knew nothing else about, is literally about schoolgirls crewing tanks.

What the entire fuck, Japan?

Best show of the season. Japan truly has a way with ingenious ideas.

I haven't watched it, but I did stumble across this looped clip from it:

It's just a group of girls from the Soviet analogue driving their tanks forward and singing, yet it has convinced me that I need to at least pick this up and see how it is. Ridiculousness in anime draws me in, it seems.

[GravitySuitCollector]

I haven't watched it, but I did stumble across this looped clip from it:

My brain can't process it. Why am I grinning? I think something burst....

I think I need a reboot. >.>

For now, MOAR!

[Dhsu]

Kaijin actually did a

of that song.

BTW for future reference, don't just Google "red rocket."

[CinnamonJihad]

Watched the first episode of Girls und Panzer and.... I can't deal with the characters. It doesn't seem too interesting beyond the gimmick of girls driving tanks. Of course, this is my judgement based on only one episode, but..... it just doesn't look too promising to me.

On the other hand, I have been watching Psycho Pass, and I'm quite excited for this one. It's Minority Report the anime. I like shows with philisophical questions like this. It looks good to me.

[EC2151]

Ridiculousness in anime draws me in, it seems.

Then you would love this show called Fist of the North Star.

[Abadoss]

I've been watching a lot of animes I missed growing up and ones that looked interesting, but don't have any experience with. I finished Kenichi, Samurai 7, Baccano!, Full Metal Alchemist, and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I started watching Samurai Shamploo but got bored.

I'm currently going through The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye. It's okay. I don't really care for the art style too much, but the story is kinda interesting.

Some things I've learned while doing going through everything: If it's done by Aniplex, the art will be crazy good and somewhat gorey and the story will be insanely crazy and intricate. If it's done by Gonzo, make sure you have a strong stomach as it will be graphic.

Other anime I have watched includes: Miyazaki's films (seriously one of the best story tellers in the world), Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, One Piece (guilty pleasure), Afro Samurai, Afro Samurai Resurrection, Robotech (stopped watching as soon as it switched away from Macross material), Pokemon (stopped somewhere around the end of Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald), and probably several others I can't remember at the moment.

[HalcyonSpirit]

Merry Christmas ya filthy animals. On this special day of getting stuff from other people and giving other stuff to perhaps those same people, I bring to you a gift from me: another review!

Now, not only is it a review, but I've started taking steps to make my writeups less bland to read. Improvement! This one is the first, so it isn't where I want to be yet, but it is an improvement nonetheless. I hope. Let me know what you think.

Anyway, if you get nothing else out of this post, get this: Watch this anime. Seriously. Do it.

----------

Baccano!

バッカーノ! ; Bakkāno!

Studio: Brain's Base

Year: 2007

Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

Synopsis

In the years 1930 to 1932, three separate yet not completely unconnected stories unfold. As mob turf wars continue on, a young sister searches for her street-punk brother with the mafia right behind, and a transcontinental train is boarded by three different gangs with less-than-innocent intentions. These events unfold as they do with the influence of the contents of a pair of wandering alcohol bottles, bottles intended for a group of old men wishing for immortality that are intercepted again and again by the mob, a small gang of petty ruffians, and a pair of idiot thieves.

Writeup

Oh, where to begin? Just as the opening scenes of Baccano! start rolling, we're presented with bits and pieces of multiple stories, or perhaps just one, ongoing story. Who is the main character? Is there a main character? This isn't just what we, the viewers, are asking; in a bit of narrative brilliance, these very questions are the exact questions being asked by a pair of characters within the story: Daily Days newspaper vice president Gustav St. Germain (voiced by none other than Wakamoto Norio) and his child assistant Carol. As they discuss the proper way of telling this story, we're given bits and pieces of scenes involving the many focal characters, but only enough for us to get a glimpse of the various events occurring over the years. It's brilliant because we're shown very important information and events that, in any other story, would have been saved for twists in the story later on, large or small. Things like, say, knowing who ends up surviving the fighting aboard the transcontinental train and the very fact that there are people who are immortal. So knowing these up front, within the first half of the first episode, the question is: If all this otherwise eyebrow-raising stuff is just basic information, what is being left up the story's sleeves to still build tension with? What's in store for us?

The answer covers both "not much" and "a whole lot", and it's a very good thing. Baccano! plays off its ensemble cast of characters more than it does its plot hooks. With upwards of twenty important characters, depending on how you yourself define 'important', there's plenty of material to craft a narrative with and more than ample opportunity to have them clash with each other. And clash they do. From the the attempted manipulations of a madman assassin by a boy in 1931, to the mafia turf wars in 1930, there's plenty to go around.

Keeping track of everything that's happening isn't the easiest task, given that the story jumps between each year's events very, very often, so try to remember people's names early on and remember what the last year printed out on screen was. Most of the important names are shown in each episode's opening credits, so just put names to faces starting there. You'll start seeing some of these characters appearing in each storyline, but many do not. It's good, though, because that way everyone has their own space to explore and expand into as characters. For a 16-episode series, only 13 of which deal with the main stories, you'd think there wouldn't be enough time to given anyone any depth at all, but you'd be wrong. Some don't get the same amount of attention, sure, particularly some of those not present in the transcontinental train storyline, but everyone has their parts to play and no one is at all dull. Through it all, we're given enough to satisfy ourselves with regarding this ensemble cast. We're shown the cowardly, crybaby Jacuzzi who somehow manages to lead a gang despite it all, the sadistic hitman Ladd who jumps around in his own allies' blood at the very thought of violence, a scarily crafty boy Czeslaw, and even the comedy-relief duo of idiotic yet well-meaning thieves, Issac and Miria, who seriously steal watches so they can steal time. There's enough character in this show to fill two.

When a new character comes on screen, you know exactly what kind of person they are, too. The character design for this series is phenomenal. Being that the author of the original light novels based them around some stereotypical gangster stories, it should be no surprise that the character designs are riddled with standard gangster story tropes wherever appropriate. The sharp lines in the artwork accentuate their features so everyone has a distinct look about them. And then there's the animation that flows so smoothly across the board, the first, second and third times the action explodes into the bloody mess it it so prone to jumping into may make you grimace at the clarity. But it is a good feeling, because it does so well in keeping the viewer emotionally involved when the fighting inevitably occurs. It's not afraid to drag you into somewhat gory details, even for a split second. That it contrasts so well with the overarching surreal tone just makes it and everything else so much more potent.

We can't forget about the musical score, either. It, too, is based completely in the 1920s and 1930s, with its jazz and blues music setting the mood oh-so-nicely. The instant something happens – and something will happen within minutes at any point – you know it across the board, from animation to music. Fans of jazz and blues would do well to pick up the soundtrack; it is absolutely beautiful. It's hard not to pick up a jolt of energy at the flares of the brass lineup, or mellow out with the smooth, low key blend of deep instruments. But don't get too comfortable; you'll be switching keys soon enough in every episode, no doubt about it.

Organized chaos, pure and simple. That's what Baccano! is. Perhaps, at times, more chaos than organized. It's at times bloody, sometimes humorous, and always, always fun. The amount of effort that must have been put into its production had to be staggering, and it shows in every way. The writing is fantastic, the art is clean, the music carries a strong tune, and the characters are practically beyond reproach in their formation. It's really a gangster flick molded into a fantastic anime that should be on everyone's list to watch. A lot of people's "best of" lists for that year will surely include it.

Ratings

Story - 8.5

Characters - 9.3

Writing - 9.1

Artwork - 9.1

Sound - 9.2

Overall - 9.1

[EC2151]

You forgot the horrifically bad CGI backgrounds the show uses waaaaaaaaay too much.

Still, it's a decent story - too bad the ending really sucks.

[Gollgagh]

Holy fucking shit.

Nekomonogatari was so good.

[Thin Crust]

So who else is excited for RWBY?

This project comes from the very talented people at RoosterTeeth productions and episode 1 is scheduled to be released in July at the Rooster Teeth Expo. I'm really liking the rose petal animation in Red's trailer.

From a summary on some wiki site, it says: RWBY (pronounced "Ruby") is an upcoming Rooster Teeth production animated by Monty Oum slated to be released in 2013. Little is known about the series aside from what is revealed in the first trailer, which depicts an Animesque CGI red cloaked girl (confirmed to be named Ruby) wiping out a pack of werewolves with a combination rifle/scythe and who has been teased several times to be one of four similar girls, the other three being white, black, and yellow (hence the title).

And from another: A new show from Rooster Teeth, brings four very different girls together for one legendary purpose. These four fighters will come face-to-face with menacing creatures, devious villains, and an incredible cast of characters.

And also, I would like to tell you a little about Monty Oum. Many years ago, he made a video called

featuring a fight with Master Chief vs Samus Aran. RoosterTeeth saw this and recruited him. Now he animates this and that for the Red vs Blue series. When he animates, he actually stats with the music. His work is really amazing and should definitely be checked out by everyone. I'm not kidding as this guy's fight scenes are sometimes more action packed than Advent Children. Heck, his Red Trailer took him 2 weeks by himself. That's crazy!

Anyway, Red is obviously a reference to Little Red Riding Hood, and White is referencing Snow White with her song "Mirror, Mirror" Makes me think Black is Beauty and the Beast. Yellow might be Goldilocks. In her trailer, we might be seeing her fight the 3 bears.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Thin Crust

[Couchpotatodx]

I watched the first episode of The Familiar of Zero. It was decent so I'm going to keep watching it. I'm also going through Cowboy Bebop for a second time, and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood and Naruto with my sister.

[Thin Crust]

I also just recently watched zero no tsukaima. Why? I saw a highly entertaining abridged series on it. I thought it was ok..... but the main character Saito is a complete wuss. This anime (along with many many others) broke the natural laws of physics that say "You can't force two people into a room and expect them to fall in love with eachother." And they abused this rule in the worst way.

Basic synopsis: There is a magic school on some other planet where second year students are to summon their familiar spirits. Some students summoned a parrot, a mole, a charmander.... This one girl summoned a kid. So for the rest of the series, she treats him like a slave and makes him do all sorts of demeaning work. I'm telling you, this girl is tsundere to the extreme. And eventually, Saito falls for her. Completely predictable and wholly stupid. That being said the story was pretty good, even though the way they told it wasn't. Add in the annoying characters, and the interesting world and I'd have to give it 7/10.

I only watched the first season through ep 1-13. I don't plan on watching more of it though.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Thin Crust

[Thin Crust]

So...... it looks like they are going for anther season of Ghost in the Shell.

This time it's going to be a prequel. I don't know guys, GitS is one of my top 3 anime and this just looks way too old school for a show that was ahead of it's time in the first 2 seasons. Obviously, I can't make any judgement calls until I see it though and I'm still excited. Any thoughts?

[Moomba]

So...... it looks like they are going for anther season of Ghost in the Shell.

It will supposedly be a four episode OVA rather than an entire new series. Could be good, could be terribad.

[Gollgagh]

well count me excited as fuck

I'm always interested in stuff that involves the identity of the soul of a cyborg.

Tangentially, I've been reading Battle Angel Alita recently (and the Last Order series after that) and it deals with similar themes of existence.

(also Gally is pretty cute)

Edited March 16, 2013 by Gollgagh

[EC2151]

Shirow makes another GITS, but why can't he make a new Tank Police? : /

I am not a huge fan of the sort of plastic barbie-doll look the redesign gives the characters, but it might be ok.

[MangaMan]

well count me excited as fuck

I'm always interested in stuff that involves the identity of the soul of a cyborg.

Tangentially, I've been reading Battle Angel Alita recently (and the Last Order series after that) and it deals with similar themes of existence.

(also Gally is pretty cute)

Oh, Ho. A fellow Battle Angel Alita fan! Always glad to find another person that's become enthralled by this wonderful manga ( it is perhaps my favorite one!). It's interesting that you call her Gally, her original Japanese name, and not Alita, her American name. I take it you've read it online then? What really strikes me about this is that she has another name as well, Yoko, which was her name before she lost her memory. What I love about the copies of manga I have is that in volume nine of the original series, in a dream sequence of sorts, Prof. Nova names her by her Japanese name Gally, which I felt was a clever nod to her original nam:) Makes me wonder what it was like in the Japanese verison, if they used the name Alita in the same way to make a nod to her english name.

[Mirby]

I watched the Tales of the Abyss anime.

Sticks very closely to the story of the game, switching a couple things up to fit to the anime format better... but aside from that really good.

so many feels :C

[Garrett Williamson]

(also Gally is pretty cute)

Unless the animators intentionally try to make the character look gross and evil and disgusting, anime characters normally are just naturally cute.

Fact.

[Gollgagh]

did you consider that I might have been talking about the characterization

(also BAA isn't an anime)

[Garrett Williamson]

[Gollgagh]

sorry I'm one of those guys

[MangaMan]

sorry I'm one of those guys

Maybe we need a thread for manga?