Anime Apolyton

[Wraith]

Konnichiwa,

It's finally time for another Anime Apolyton. Some good stuff going on right now.

I'll lead off with a reminder about the US edition of New Type. Should be on selves next month.

Biggest news right now is Spirited Away, which is in theaters now. Not many, of course, but it's out there, and critics love it. They should, it's a really good movie. Even USA Today is getting into the act (why am I singling out USA Today? Eh, why not?)

There's more Studio Ghibli news. Laputa: Castle in the Sky has been set for an R2 release of October 4th. Means there's a chance of it showing up in the US after that.
My Neighbor Totoro is supposedly up for preorder in the US. Note that if this is true, it's a Fox release rather than a Disney release. Fox has the license until 2004.
Grave of the Fireflies is being re-released. Among other things, there should be a much better video quality off the new DVD.

Big news for the sci-fi fans, but Legend of the Galactic Heores may actually be making a US appearance. Earlier rumors were all second hand, but this one is direct from Tokuma Shouten. They haven't set a date for anything yet, but they'll be doing pretty much what they did in Japan. Around the end of the year they'll put up an english pre-order page, and if they get enough pre-orders they'll make the DVDs and (probably) release them under a subscription scheme (two DVDs a month, IIRC).

FLCL disc 1 is finally available. I haven't got mine yet, but early reports say that Synch-Point did a great job. Now that they're past their recent (and major) restructuring issues, perhaps they'll be able to keep it up.

There are a couple big releases this week. First is Dragon Half, a quirky little hyperactive comedy. Don't look to this one for plot, but if you're in it for the jokes, this can't be missed. It's the story of a half-dragon, half-human teenage girl who just happens to have a crush on **** Saucer, Dragonslayer and Idol Singer. Unfortunately, this one only ran for two episodes, and never did hit a conclusion, but it's still a fun ride.
Next up is End of Evangelion, and early reports are that US Manga lived up to their nickname. Aside from the complete lack of extras (other than the US-team commentary track), they've tried to cram seven audio tracks onto a DVD-9 (note that at least two of these are DTS tracks). They've also managed to silkscreen it so that it looks like a DVD-10, one of those rather hated DVDs you have to get up and flip over to finish.

A quick note for Tenchi fans, but next month will finally see Pretty Sammy and the Mihoshi Special on DVD. This will be followed up by the Magical Project S TV series.

And excellent news for Yoshitoshi Abe fans like myself. He's been hard at work on a new series, Hibane Renmei (Charcoal Feather Federation). Details have been pretty scarce on this one, but Pioneer was apparently showing a teaser of it at a con recently, so we can be pretty sure they'll be bringing it over to R1 when it gets that far along.
The artwork, of course, is great (see below)

Wraith
"My mighty brain is compact."
-- Damaramu

[Wraith]

Forgot the image...

Wraith
"Anta baka!"
-- Asuka ("Neon Genesis Evangelion")

[devilmunchkin]

NOt big on ANime as a whole..but i VERY much like the show Hellsing and the movie Vampire Hunter D (which is probably like bread and butter to the anime community)...

[DaShi]

Bah! Tenchi sucked after the first series.

[Wraith]

--"but i VERY much like the show Hellsing and the movie Vampire Hunter D"

Hellsing hasn't impressed me any, but Vampire Hunter D is pretty decent. You might want to check out Vampire Princess Miyu, at least the OVA. Very good. The TV series isn't as interesting.

You might also want to keep an eye out for Master of Mosquiton. ADV is putting all their back-catalog stuff on DVD, but it's taking time, so don't expect to see this one on DVD soon.

You know, you might also be interested in Shamanic Princess. No vampires, but it's a good OVA with a dark setting, some romance, and magic.

--"Bah! Tenchi sucked after the first series"

Which first series do you mean? The first OVA series, or the first two? I do agree that the two (now three) TV series after it were downgrades, but the Pretty Sammy spin-offs are moderately amusing.
Also, the Mihoshi Special is from inbetween the first two OVA series, so you might actually be interested in that one.
Tenchi GXP isn't worth mentioning more than I have already, but they are working on a third OVA series to finish off the Goddess storylines.

Wraith
"Could you stop eating my gun?"
-- Mihoshi ("Tenchi Muyo")

[Apocalypse]

I'm getting EoE on Tuesday probably. Might not be able to watch it until Friday though. Saturday I get to watch it on a nice projector screen.

I'm currently borrowing Escaflowne. I've watched the first 20 episodes so far. I honestly can't see what most people like about this series. It is alright, but I guess I am missing something. Maybe if a few of the characters weren't so annoying I would enjoy the series.

In a few weeks I'll also borrow that one mecha series that starts with a G (not Gundam). The other one.

[ixnay]

I'll probably pick up EoE sometime in the next couple of weeks.

I managed to find someone on the college network sharing Puni Puni Poemi, and though I didn't think it possible, it is indeed crazier than Excel Saga.

[loinburger]

I'm still waiting to get some cash money before purchasing more anime. Stupid job market...

Saw a three-DVD set in Blockbuster (or maybe Hollywood Video) recently, called something like "Now and Then" or maybe "Before and After" (or maybe both). Anybody know what I'm talking about?

[ixnay]

Probably "Now and Then, Here and There." Haven't seen it, but this is what my encyclopedia says:

Schoolboy Shu Matsutani climbs a chimney to rescue a girl he sees sitting at its summit, but he falls into an alternate wold. There, the damsel he tried to rescue is revealed as Lala Lu, the bearer of a magic pendant that can control the water element in this new world. The evil Hamdo needs Lala's pendant so that he can construct his fortress in a place called Hellywood - and now Shu isn't just visiting, he's the point man in a war against the forces of darkness. Despite a plot redolent of the comedy El Hazard, childish designs, and a sub-Miyazaki look, N&TH&T is a remarkably adult show that refuses to stint on images of violence and abuse. Shown on more forgiving satellite TV, this anime was compared to Alex Haley's epic Roots by screenwriter Kurata - a trifle optimistic from the man who wrote Battle Athletes

[Seeker]

"it is indeed crazier than Excel Saga."



Impossible. Nothing is crazier than that hallucination.

[SnowFire]

Hmph. I still insist that Laputa: Castle in the Sky, regardless if it's coming out, sucks. But I recently saw My Neighbor Totoro, and that was a fantastic, wonderful movie, so Miyazaki redeemed himself. I could easily say that it's one of the best movies I've ever seen, period.

Well, time for my random rambling mostly for my own benefit. Hmm... my roommate brought Excel Saga up this year, and the first 5 episodes were indeed great. Monty Python with more continuity, yay! (This has gone too far! Will you A) Scold her B)Hit Her C) Kill her .... "Brother? What are you doing?"). Can't wait to see the next 5, which my other roommate's girlfriend owns. The original roommate also brought up all of the first season of Ranma 1/2, which is good (only saw the first 10 episodes before, now I can see the rest, although currently we've only finished re-watching the first 4).

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I'll be able to watch Boogiepop Phatom, which Wraith recommened, after all (I figured I'd never get the chance). There are no less than 3 anime excos this year (it's really grown since my sophomore year! This isn't even counting the Anime Club!), with one of them showing Boogiepop Phantom as well as Brother, Dear Brother (straight, serious shoujo. Run before you throw up! I watched the first episode as a learning experience, and it burned my soul). So I just tune in for the 2 episiodes of BP they show before the 4 episodes of B,DB (when I'm gone). The first episode was kind of eh (main character too boring, too much time/scene switching, some stylistic issues), but it had promise, and the next 2 episodes have been a good bit better (none of Miss Suicidal girl! Yay!). It doesn't look like it'll be a personal favorite, but assuming they resolve the mystery well and make things interesting, I'll enjoy it. The other 2 excos are showing Rurouni Kenshin TV (which my roommate has assured me is a B-grade action series at best, and my little watching has ranked it far worse than even that. Of course, the OAV still rules), as well as Slayers. Luckily I've already seen Slayers (still the favorite anime series I've seen), so I won't feel too bad about having to most likely miss most of the showings of it (Thursday night, when homework is generally due on Friday).

Hmm, and ironically, I missed the Anime Club's first showing of Vampire Princess Miyu because... I was trying out Oberlin's Vampire LARP (As in the White Wolf RPG). Odd scheduling.

[Wraith]

--"I'm currently borrowing Escaflowne."

Hmm. Which characters do you find annoying? None of them are really obnoxious to me.
As for what you're missing, come on. Steampunk mecha with capes! Psychics! Romance!

It's a good story. The whole struggling against fate thing. There are some really nice (and fairly unique) touches, like Dornkirk's backstory. Dilandou has to be one of the best psycho villans ever, and Folken is right up there too, only not psycho.
Awesome music, great pacing and story. I quite enjoy it, in case you didn't notice

Anyway, Anime on DVD has a bit of good info on it. I do agree that if you were expecting a more action-centric show, this would probably disapoint.

--"In a few weeks I'll also borrow that one mecha series that starts with a G"

I never did really get into Gasaraki. The pacing is way too slow, and the characters weren't all that interesting. Only got halfway throught the series and gave up, and I was watching it on free rental DVDs.

You might want to check into Armored Trooper Votoms. I've been watching this, and it's pretty interesting. A bit too much Stormtrooper Syndrome in a few scenes (so far it's only happened when the main character was outside the Votoms), but for the most part the combat is pretty decent. The rest of the story is why it's interesting, though.
Might be hard to find. It's out of production, and the DVDs are hard-subbed only, but they can be had pretty cheap if you can find them.

--"I managed to find someone on the college network sharing Puni Puni Poemi"

There's rumors of a third episode being produced...

--"Anybody know what I'm talking about?"

"Now and Then, Here and There". Another very good series. It's pretty dark. Quite dark, really. Ixnay's quote isn't a bad description, but it's incomplete. Shu ends up in the alternate world after he meets Lala Ru and she's attacked by the forces of Hellywood. He's impressed into Hamdo's army, which is inside the already complete mobile fortress Hellywood (so at first he's forcibly with them rather than opposing them). The only problem is that their propulsion system seems to require water, which is why Hamdo is after Lala Ru.
It's also not at all like El Hazard. The only point of similarity is that they both involve some sort of different or alternate world.

I do recommend the show, but consider that a large portion of the cast are kids (16 is on the old end for most of them) who have been forced to join the army and fight a war of rather aggressive conquest.
Hamdo is also about the most agressively insane and evil dictator you'll ever see. (Not overacting, there is a point to it.)

--"Impossible. Nothing is crazier than that hallucination."

Well, I did say FLCL is finally around. It's sort of LSD to Excel's crack-smoke.
But yes, Puni Puni Poemi is crazier. It was done by the Excel Saga team, who decided they hadn't pushed things far enough with Excel. Limits of a TV show, and all that. Poemi, being an OVA from the start, didn't have many restrictions.

--"But I recently saw My Neighbor Totoro,"

Dub or sub? I'll warn you that the one dub I've seen has a huge amount of difference from the direct translation. Lots of extra lines, for instance.

--"and the first 5 episodes were indeed great."

The next DVD isn't quite as good, but certainly not bad either. It does pick up again after that.

--"The original roommate also brought up all of the first season of Ranma 1/2,"

One of the best series openers. A red-hed girl in chinese clothing engaged in a martial arts battle with a giant panda through the streets. Good show, but after the first couple seasons it ends up focusing way more on the wacky martial arts angle than anything else.

--"It doesn't look like it'll be a personal favorite, but assuming they resolve the mystery well and make things interesting, I'll enjoy it."

There is resolution to this one, but you may need to watch it a couple more times to get everything.

--"Brother, Dear Brother"

Not just straight shoujo, but hardcore shoujo. It's not one of the big-name titles, but the Techno Girls fansub of it is catching a surprising amount of attention.

Wraith
"Why do they even live if they all die anyway?"
-- Moto Tonomura ("Boogiepop Phantom")

[Kassiopeia]

Originally posted by Wraith
"Anta baka!"
-- Asuka ("Neon Genesis Evangelion")

Asuka says 'baka' 36 (+/- 1) times during the series. Yes, I counted.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Wraith

--"Bah! Tenchi sucked after the first series"

Which first series do you mean? The first OVA series, or the first two? I do agree that the two (now three) TV series after it were downgrades, but the Pretty Sammy spin-offs are moderately amusing.
Also, the Mihoshi Special is from inbetween the first two OVA series, so you might actually be interested in that one.
Tenchi GXP isn't worth mentioning more than I have already, but they are working on a third OVA series to finish off the Goddess storylines.

After a while all it was about was the feud between Ryoko and that other girl. Or Mihoshi screwing things up. I swear for at least 10 episodes in a row that was the only plot. Tenchi in Tokyo got better near the end though.

[Wraith]

--"Asuka says 'baka' 36 (+/- 1) times during the series. Yes, I counted."

That's all? Not even twice for each episode she's in?

--"I swear for at least 10 episodes in a row"

Sounds like you were watching the TV series. It was released under the name "Tenchi Universe" in the US.
Simple test is whether or not Kiyone is in it (she was the redeeming feature of the series). If she was, you haven't seen the OVAs yet. I'd encourage you to, since the story there is a lot better than any of the following TV series were.

Wraith
"My money's on Mihoshi."
-- Washuu ("Tenchi Muyo")

[Kassiopeia]

That's all? Not even twice for each episode she's in?

Yeah, it's surprisingly little, well, there are some episodes where she doesn't use it at all, like number 13 (IIRC). I will have to count again (excellent!). And this includes all flashbacks about her saying it. And even the part where her speech is accelerated at one point and she says 'baka-Shinji' four times in thirty seconds.

[Wraith]

Quick update. Apparently the Totoro release is happening, but there's a problem. It's probably going to not only be dub only, but pan and scan as well. Fox hasn't been treating their movie releases very well. Only good point is that it should be cheap (for anime that is, in the $15 retail range).

Wraith
"Whaaat? And it's just getting interesting! Boo!"
-- Rabi~en~Rose ("Di Gi Charat")

[Wraith]

Well, another quick announcement. Funimation has surprised me again in their handling of Fruits Basket. Apparently they're going to be releasing a teaser DVD sometime soon (around the beginning of October) in Suncoast and Musicland stores. It'll have the first two episodes of Fruits Basket on it, along with a Dragonball GT trailer and some other (so far unannounced) stuff, for $2.
Quite a good way to spark some interest in the show. I'm still going to wait for the box set, but I think I'll be picking up a few of these to spread around.

Wraith
"Baka neko"
-- Yuki Souma ("Fruits Basket")

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Wraith
--"Asuka says 'baka' 36 (+/- 1) times during the series. Yes, I counted."

That's all? Not even twice for each episode she's in?

--"I swear for at least 10 episodes in a row"

Sounds like you were watching the TV series. It was released under the name "Tenchi Universe" in the US.
Simple test is whether or not Kiyone is in it (she was the redeeming feature of the series). If she was, you haven't seen the OVAs yet. I'd encourage you to, since the story there is a lot better than any of the following TV series were.

Wraith
"My money's on Mihoshi."
-- Washuu ("Tenchi Muyo")

I've seen the OVA without Kiyone. And I agree, that is the best of the whole series. I also saw one of the movies long ago before I ever saw the series. It was the one where they go back in time to save Tenchi's mother. That was quite good.

[SnowFire]

I never did really get into Gasaraki.

If this indeed is the anime you're referring to, I concur with Wraith's opinion, and I actually watched a bit more of it than him IIRC (he watched the 1st season, I watched pretty much all of it). File this one under "failed experiment." Not a total waste of time, but there are defintely some serious flaws.

Dub or sub? I'll warn you that the one dub I've seen has a huge amount of difference from the direct translation. Lots of extra lines, for instance.

Most of the anime groups on campus are pretty insistent on the subs, which is both a curse and a blessing. This was subbed, although they did mention that the dub is decent. I will say that I've seen the dub and the sub of Princess Mononoke, and I definitely prefer the dub on that one, though it's not a huge difference.

Good show, but after the first couple seasons

Yup, which is precisely why my roommate only bought the 1st season- he too heard that the quality declines as the seasons go on.

Not just straight shoujo, but hardcore shoujo

I know! The pain! The pain! Revolutionary Girl Utena without the duels, mythology, overaarching plot, and random silly episodes it seems- in other words, without the fun stuff. Just episodic melodrama with a silly premise and girls who randomly introduce themselves to become friends (and far less convincingly than in things like Lain, where perhaps the speed of friendships is slightly more easily explained).

[Apocalypse]

Originally posted by Wraith
--"I'm currently borrowing Escaflowne."

Hmm. Which characters do you find annoying? None of them are really obnoxious to me.
As for what you're missing, come on. Steampunk mecha with capes! Psychics! Romance!

It's a good story. The whole struggling against fate thing. There are some really nice (and fairly unique) touches, like Dornkirk's backstory. Dilandou has to be one of the best psycho villans ever, and Folken is right up there too, only not psycho.
Awesome music, great pacing and story. I quite enjoy it, in case you didn't notice

Anyway, Anime on DVD has a bit of good info on it. I do agree that if you were expecting a more action-centric show, this would probably disapoint.

Actually I find pretty much all the main characters annoying accept Von and Folken. The romance is really what is hurting it right now for me. I'm more into the type of romance in Eva. I don't really like psycho villians much. The music doesn't seem that good to me, especially the ending credits. I wasn't expecting action, I just wasn't expecting the hideous love pentagon.

Originally posted by Wraith
--"In a few weeks I'll also borrow that one mecha series that starts with a G"

I never did really get into Gasaraki. The pacing is way too slow, and the characters weren't all that interesting. Only got halfway throught the series and gave up, and I was watching it on free rental DVDs.

You might want to check into Armored Trooper Votoms. I've been watching this, and it's pretty interesting. A bit too much Stormtrooper Syndrome in a few scenes (so far it's only happened when the main character was outside the Votoms), but for the most part the combat is pretty decent. The rest of the story is why it's interesting, though.
Might be hard to find. It's out of production, and the DVDs are hard-subbed only, but they can be had pretty cheap if you can find them.

It is Gasaraki. I don't really get to choose what I watch so I'll probably get through the whole thing. I'll look into ATV if I get a chance, but that is highly unlikely.

[Jaakko]

Ohayou gozaimasu!

Anyone here like Ranma or Slayers, cuz that's what I'm watching at the moment?

[Wraith]

--"I've seen the OVA without Kiyone."

Okay. Do keep an eye out for the third OVA to that, then, it should be quite interesting.
All the movies are pretty good, although in different ways. The one involving Tenchi's mother is the first of three, although they're only really connected by cast.

--"Most of the anime groups on campus are pretty insistent on the subs"

Good (says the sub fan).
I'm still not sure why people enjoy Billy Bob in Mononoke, he seems a bit out of place. Other than that it wasn't horrible, but Mononoke's dub wasn't worth what it probably cost. They should have spent the money on advertising.

--"girls who randomly introduce themselves"

Well, I've only seen six eps so far, but it isn't quite as random as it might appear. Almost all the girls in question are big names in the school, and there's only really one that really goes for the friend bit with anything more than general courtesy (she, mind you, seems rather messed up, but so does the rest of the cast).

--"The music doesn't seem that good to me,"

Well, that's the first time I've heard anything like that about this show. We must have wildly different taste in music.
As far as the rest goes, well personal taste can't be helped. As far as the love geometrical-shape-of-choice, she's a teenage girl who believes in tarot cards and just got dumped in a strange world. Her reactions are in character, and as for the other love groupings, well, they make sense too. But if you don't like this kind of romance, you probably aren't going to like many anime romance stories.

--"Anyone here like Ranma or Slayers, cuz that's what I'm watching at the moment?"

Well, they've both already been mentioned ^_^

I've only seen the first two seasons of Ranma and the second season of Slayers (Slayers Next), but they are fun.

Wraith
"Anchor, anchor... We need an anchor... Say Zel how much do you weigh?"
-- Lina Inverse ("Slayers Next")

[mactbone]

They've freakin' canceled almost all the good cartoons by now. Angry Beavers, Family Guy, Mission Hill, and now Invader Zim. Freakin' A. BTW, Zim and Dagget are the same guy. Pretty soon Home Movies, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Sealab 2021 are gonna get axed, I can just feel it.

BTW, how do you classify Anime from regular cartoons? Personally, Anime is either freaky Japanese cartoons, or intelligent American ones.

"The pants command me!" - Zim

P.S. Ever noticed how all the main characters that mean anything have 3 letter names? Gaz, Dib, Zim, GIR, Tak - is it coincidence or deisgn?

[ixnay]

Anime = Japanese animation. I classify american cartoons as just that, cartoons or animation. And I doubt that CN will pull the plug on the Adult Swim shows since it is doing so well. IIRC, new Sealab, ATHF, and other williams street shows start next month, and they've picked up Futurama to start in January.

[mactbone]

That's right - Futurama is canceled too.

$5 says that Invader Zim gets picked up by CN. The audience of CN is perfect for IZ to do well. Unfortunately it started out as a Nick show, and the audience just isn't right no matter how many people click around and discover it.

[Wraith]

Quick update on End of Evangelion (note that I don't have a copy yet, so this is all hear-say). Looks like there have been some sort of major pressing problem with these discs. One guy found that 10 out of 11 were missing the gold foil that goes between the two DVD layers, which means most DVD players won't play the second layer. Many people have reported very loud audio pops at the layer-change, when they can watch it, so don't turn the volume up high.
Other than that, early reports say the video quality is actually good, which I wasn't expecting. They did, however, mistranslate some lines (for the dub only, which is the weird part) that have a more than minor effect on the movie.
Other than that, they didn't bother the translate the movie trailers at all, and they front-loaded them instead of sticking them in the trailer section. They also didn't silkscreen the disc (mentioned this one before), so all in all US Manga is giving the impressiong they really cheaped out on the movie. Which makes me wonder what their three or so year delay on releasing it really was. It also makes me wonder if they can survive as a business, since EoE is probably the biggest and most expensive item in their catalog.

Not that I'd mourn their passing, as long as they free up the rights to Read or Die before they disappear.

-"BTW, how do you classify Anime from regular cartoons?"

As Ixnay says, it's Japanese Animation. Although there are some good American cartoons, they're not anime.

Zim is one of my favorites, though. Hope it gets a good DVD release. By season damnit. I wish US studios would realize that best-of collections stink.

--"$5 says that Invader Zim gets picked up by CN."

Hmm. Possible, but I don't know. Who are the two parent companies? If they aren't owned by the same one, it won't happen.

Wraith
"Yes, yes, lord of humans! I will rule the world with an iron fist! YOU! Obey the fist!"
-- Zim ("Invader Zim")

[ixnay]

Lets see, Zim was on Nick, which is owned by Viacom. CN is owned by AOL Time Warner.

[ixnay]

This is an interesting site:

http://anime.madwuv.net/

You rate anime titles you've seen, and it builds a list of recommended anime for you.

[DanS]

Anybody seen Spirited Away yet? The release is fairly limited, even in Washington (only two theaters...). This one is dubbed (?), so I might pass until the DVD comes out.

Anyway, re Escaflowne, it's one of my favorites (favorite series so far), although I'm sure it doesn't float everybody's boat. I like the story, especially since it establishes the characters and premise very well and very quickly. Then the world is turned on its head--but everybody still acts in role and the switch is very plausible. Sort of like an interesting variation on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

I downloaded the first couple of episodes from the donkey and watched them again. I was pleasantly surprised--they were very rewatchable and as engaging the first viewing. There are very few movies that I will rewatch, so this is something new for me.

I just rented the Lodoss War 2-disc series set from Lackluster and wasn't very impressed. The only redeeming value in my mind was some small character development on the elf. Also, the music choices were pretty good. The premise was pretty nifty, but the story really sucked.