Anime Apolyton

[Apocalypse]

I'm seeing Spirited Away this Thursday at a special sneak preview.

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Wraith
"Now and Then, Here and There". Another very good series. It's pretty dark. Quite dark, really.

I just finished the first five episodes, and damn. Dark is right. When I finished Lain I just kinda sat there thinking "Y'know, that was actually pretty depressing." Same thing with Cowboy Bebop. I started thinking the same thing with N&T,H&T around episode 2 or 3.

I like it so far, though.

[Wraith]

--"I'm seeing Spirited Away this Thursday at a special sneak preview."

Going to give us a mini-review?

--"I just finished the first five episodes, and damn. Dark is right."

Well, five eps in this should be pretty obvious, but it does get darker.

There are some other good dark shows on the way, too. Infinite Ryvius and Saishuuheiki Kanojou (My Girlfriend, the Ultimate Weapon) are the top two, although I don't think the latter has been licensed yet.

Edit:
Almost forgot to mention this, but US Manga still hasn't said anything official about the End of Evangelion DVD problems. Early hints from them make it look like they'll be doing replacements through the retailers, but only for the miss-pressed discs. Looks like, as usual, they'll refuse to acknowledge their encoding problems.

Wraith
"Because ten billion year's time is so fragile, so ephemeral... it arouses such a bittersweet, almost heartbreaking fondness."
-- ("Now and Then, Here and There")

[DanS]

Yesterday, I got my Evangelion box set, but I'm somewhat confused, since they don't seem to match up with what I rented through Netflix or even what I dl'ed on the internet.

Three discs for something like 30 eps (instead of 5/disc like Netflix). Region 0. Dolby Surround (Netflix's was a stereo mix). Subs were subtely different (better) in a couple of places. I think there were even some very slight modifications on music, although that could have been the mix. Not worse or better, just different.

Sound quality and picture quality are the same, except the menu on the box set, which sounds flakey--almost like somebody recorded the music using a cheapo sound card through analog.

The box itself was almost entirely in Japanese, but the reservation of rights was in English. Oddly, it didn't say anything about who the copyright holder was. The box seemed genuine, although not really that impressive.

Is this a ripoff?

[ixnay]

I have the boxset, and it's 8 discs (4/4/3/3/3/3/3/3). The box is all in English. Something tells me you got ripped off.

[DanS]

How much did you pay for it?

[ixnay]

$120

[Wraith]

--"Three discs for something like 30 eps"

26 eps total, but yeah, it sounds like you got a bootleg. There aren't many legit Region 0 DVDs (the re-issue of Animation Runner Kuromi-chan is the only one I can think of off-hand, and Gainax is the company I'd least expect to allow a region 0 release). I also wouldn't be surprised if your box text was really Chinese rather than Japanese.

The legit US release is an 8 disc release, as ixnay has said. (Note that this isn't the cheapest place around; Robert's Anime Corner Store has the price ixnay paid...)

If the Eva masters had been high quality to start with, you'd notice the visual quality drop too. Not surprised the sound is back.

Where did you buy this from? There are a lot of known bootleg-sellers on the net. I can point you to some good legit stores (well, other than the two linked) if you want.

Wraith
"If a person truly wants to live, he can make anyplace he wants a heaven."
- Yui Ikari

[Apocalypse]

I wasn't able to go. I was going to go with a few girls but their homecoming is this weekend so they had to get ready. The theatre is over an hour away. They just couldn't take 4 hours out of their day. I didn't feel like going by myself.

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Wraith
Well, five eps in this should be pretty obvious, but it does get darker.

I finished the remaining episodes tonight, and didn't really see it getting much darker. That's pretty much a judgment call, though -- in my book, rape is much worse than kidnapping (of course with the implied rape involved, but that directly results from the explicit rape already played out, whatever), but really it all kinda blends together near the end. Bottom line, though, is that it certainly doesn't get any cheerier...

Shouldn't have had a six-pack before watching the last episodes. Pleh.

I'd still say that Cowboy Bebop is more depressing, though. Lain and N&T,H&T both build you up to the moderately depressing ending (what other kind could you possibly have?), but Bebop is more along the lines of "Oh hey, here's some light-hearted episodes about bounty hunters on horses or whatever have you" followed by "Oh yeah, this show is still depressing as all hell, sorry to get your hopes up." It doesn't prepare you at all.

Next on the list is "Key." Just gotta get paid for landscaping first.

[Wraith]

--"I wasn't able to go."

Too bad. It's a great movie, and worth going to see even if you are alone. Hope you get a chance to see it before Disney stops running it (once again, they're not really putting any effort into promotion).

--"Shouldn't have had a six-pack before watching the last episodes. Pleh."

Heh.

--"I'd still say that Cowboy Bebop is more depressing, though."

Really? I didn't find the end to that one depressing at all. This was closer to cathartic than depressing, and it definitely doesn't come out of nowhere.

--"Next on the list is "Key." Just gotta get paid for landscaping first."

Another good one. The second-to-last episode is a bit long-winded, but other than that it's a good series. One of the creepiest villians you'll ever see, too. Fits the dark trend you seem to be in, as well.

Another title you might want to check out would be Boogiepop Phantom. Odd title, interesting use of non-linear storytelling, good show.
Or, if you're in a fantasy mood, Berserk. Quite bleak, although what's been made so far doesn't finish off the story (just a story arc, more or less). Another season is supposed to be in production, though.
For a different (less gory) fantasy mood, check out Shamanic Princess. 6 eps (single DVD), although you have to like the Clamp character designs (heavy on the big eyes).
For movies, check out Jin-Roh if you haven't already. One of my favorites. It's got a lot of influence from the pre-Grimm Brothers version of Little Red Riding Hood (and if you know about the pre-Disney, much less pre-Grimm, fairy tale then you'll understand why it'd be dark).

You might also want to keep an eye out for news on Saishuuheiki Kanojou...

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

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Wraith
Fits the dark trend you seem to be in, as well.

I really ought to break out of that habit and get something like Cat Girl Nuku Nuku one of these days. It's not so much that I'm opposed to fun cartoons, it's more that I've already got the Powerpuff Girls and Dexter...

Another title you might want to check out would be Boogiepop Phantom. Odd title, interesting use of non-linear storytelling, good show.

Hmm, I'd heard of that one before, but had no idea what it was about. The summary at the DVD store looked pretty good, though.

[DanS]

Thanks for confirming my hunches, guys. Live and learn.

Just finished watching Now and Then, Here and There over the last couple of days (Lackluster had all 3 discs--nice...) and almost had a violent reaction to it all.

Excellent premise. Traveling through the sweep of time. However, the plot was weak and character development on some of the characters was disappointing. For instance, we never get to see the motivations of some of the main villains--not even in a Batman-style cliche that would have been useful.

Anyway, something left a distinctly bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps it was the hard contrast between facist militancy and pacifism?

[DanS]

Oh, and the DVDs were mastered so poorly, I think I could have done a better job. Brightness was set too high. Also, the pic was soft to the extent of giving an out-of-focus feeling. What kind of master did they use, anyway?

[monolith94]

I just saw Metropolis a few days ago… and can I say that I LOVED IT???
It had elements of Blade Runner, the original metropolis, and many other movies all mixed together. Seriously, the dove imagery in Metropolis if you notice carefully fits exactly with the dove imagery in Blade Runner! Plus the detective that helps them out is *drum roll please* an android! And the main romantic is an android who doesn't realize she's an android…
Startling. The parallels are startling. And beautiful.
The only thing I didn't like were some of the peoples' noses… they just went way off the deep end! Also the hero seemed too young. As did the girl.