Anime Apolyton 2009

[The Mad Monk]

Gurren is starting to grow on me. It's hilarious.

[DanS]

Grabs you by the nape and doesn't let go.

[Wraith]

--"Nothing much to catch my interest so far this season"

I have to agree. Part of the problem is that Japan's economy is in even worse shape than usual, so the production companies only want to make sure-fire money makers. Which means pandering to the otaku fanbase as much as possible, which right now means lots of moe (like K-on, among others) and anime based on things that have already turned a profit. Like Sengoku Basara... I watched the first episode of that without knowing it was based on a video game, and spent the entire episode wondering if they meant it to be a parody or not.

Only thing that really shows promise so far is Ristorante Paradiso, although the character designs take some getting used to.

Higepiyo has potential as another short comedy. First episode wasn't as fun as some of the Haruhi-chan or Hetalia shorts, but there's enough potential to make them worth the five minutes.

--"Sort of off the beaten path, I've been following Hatsune Miku"

Man, is there ever a lot of that ^_^

--"I have started watching Naru Taru."

Heh. Don't let the opening and ending fool you, it isn't cheerful, cuddly, or cute in any way whatsoever. Even so, the anime tones things down from the manga. Definitely has the not-unusual pacing problems.

--"Gurren Lagann"

My taste in mecha is skewed towards the Patlabor and Votoms end of the scale, but this one gets so many references I guess I'm going to have to watch it sooner or later.

Wraith
"Are you standing or are you falling? Make up your mind, you damn tower!"
-- Chiri Kitsu ("Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei")

[DanS]

From what I recall of your outlook on life, you will like Gurren Lagann. It is a little heavy-handed with its message, but is one of the rare animes that has a message that is straightforward and appealing. Also, as alluded to above, it is the best paced anime that I've ever watched.

I just picked it up recently myself because of such high ratings on the anime sites, and was very impressed.

Regarding new shows, I will probably continue to follow Charady's Daily Joke. Entertaining.

[Jon Miller]

Since I use tvtropes it is rare that an anime catches me entirely off guard.

I plan to find the manga (not std us translation) of naru taru

jM

[Kassiopeia]

You should definitely watch Gurren Lagann. You'll benefit a lot from being familiar with the genre, as it twists and pays homage to many conventions.

This season I'm getting interested in Saki, which is a pointless school comedy but it's about riichi mahjong, so it gives me a satisfying sense of privileged insider knowledge when I know what the hell they're talking about.

Also, Production I.G.'s come out with a new show called Eden of the East. I'm probably going to watch it for the label alone, it's apparently some sort of agent story with the usual tropes (amnesiac badass, little girl/big guy dynamic) but it could be good.

The one with mechas playing basketball is getting absolutely rave reviews too.

[Krill]

Q: I got a copy of Akira on Video. Is it worth watching it, if I have to hook up a video to a TV via RF lead and tune in the video player?

[Alinestra Covelia]

I watched Akira back in college. I wanted those two hours of my life back.

Today I watched Wings of Honneamise for the first time on DVD. (I'd watched the UK VHS version before.)

The US version has an extra one-minute or so that shows a key scene featuring an aborted rape attempt. It makes the movie a lot more mature themed. But on the whole it's a fine movie regardless. It does the same sort of world-building as you see in Blade Runner, and it asks similar questions. This time the key issue is the first launch of a fictitious world's space ship, and the political questions that follow. The main character finds a void in his life that he fills with religion, but at the same time there is a female character who puts all her life into religion - and finds it's not quite enough to live on in the real world.

A really good movie, well worth watching. It's also 22 years old, but doesn't look it.

[Jon Miller]

I would agree that there is a lot better than Akira out right now.

ACs sounds interesting.

JM

[Theben]

Kassi

[self biased]

I watched Akira back in college. I wanted those two hours of my life back.

replace akira with spriggan and you're standing in my shoes. akira isn't bad, but it's certainly dated and outstripped by more modern works. also of note the movie covers the first manga, and a little beyond that? weren't there five or six books to akira?

wraith, if you could reccommend something that's relatively family friendly, but still interesting to the adult viewer? my year old son loves the theme song to 'those who hunt elves' but i'd like to diversify the collection as escaflowne is a little campy for my tastes and berserk is wholly inappropriate. i'd prefer something not hamtaro's order of magnitude saccharine sweet.

[Wraith]

--"From what I recall of your outlook on life, you will like Gurren Lagann"

Well, I've heard enough about to be interested, so I'll have to check it out.

--"Also, Production I.G.'s come out with a new show called Eden of the East"

I've seen the first episode of that and wasn't impressed. Too early to decide on it, since it wasn't completely horrible, but it certainly didn't grab me.

--"I got a copy of Akira on Video. Is it worth watching it"

From what you're saying I'm assuming VHS or Beta. Which would mean the older translation, which has several points that won't make any sense if you haven't read the manga. It's worth watching at some point, but you'd be better off trying the newer translation on DVD, or better yet, reading the manga.

--"replace akira with spriggan and you're standing in my shoes."

Spriggan was much, much worse than Akira.

--"weren't there five or six books to akira?"

Six big manga volumes. Been a while since I've seen the movie or read the manga, but a quick skim makes it look like they compressed all six volumes into the one movie. No wonder it was confusing.

--"wraith, if you could reccommend something that's relatively family friendly, but still interesting to the adult viewer? "

Depends how old the kids are. The one that springs to mind first is Princess Tutu. Don't let the name throw you off. For the kids, as long as they can handle fairy tales -- non-Disnefied; Grimm Brothers level -- they'll be okay with it. The ballet motif and fairy tale themes are strong enough for adults, and if you like classical music this is about as good a soundtrack as you'll ever find (especially if you know ballet music). Dub is supposed to be pretty good, too, but skip the extras involving dub actors, because they can be pretty foul mouthed.

Any Miyazaki movie would work, although Princess Mononoke is a bit more on the adult end of the scale than his usual.

The Patlabor series, although maybe not the movies, is actually a pretty good choice. It's older, and CPM titles can be hard to find, and the very last of the series is sub-only, so it isn't an automatic pick. The show itself, however, is quite good. Police procedural mixed with sitcom and daily drama. Nothing too offensive or scary, and the characters are pretty fun. There's an over-arching story going on, but plenty of stand-alone episodes. No idea what the dub is like, but don't expect much, so it's probably only if the kids can read fast enough for it.

Anyway, give me an age range and I can get more specific. Most of the titles I get really in to aren't all that little-kid friendly (unless your kid is the kind who really does know who Vannevar Bush is).

Wraith
"There is happiness for those who accept their fate; for those who defy it, glory."
-- Edel ("Princess Tutu")

[self biased]

my son is just over a year old. he's more into shapes, colors and sounds at this point. he stops dead in his tracks and watches the safety patrol when it comes on at the end of one of our little einstein DVDs. he also does the same for when the theme to 'those who hunt elves' comes on.

[DanS]

Also, Production I.G.'s come out with a new show called Eden of the East. I'm probably going to watch it for the label alone, it's apparently some sort of agent story with the usual tropes (amnesiac badass, little girl/big guy dynamic) but it could be good.

They did a great job of recreating downtown Washington, D.C. and Dulles Airport in the first episode. They even faithfully recreated the ads that were popular recently.

[Kassiopeia]

I was also told that the Americans speak English, not Engrish, English. Sadly, this is a sign of pretty high production values.

Kassi

Thozban!