Reviews from the frontlines of Anime

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-15 06:16pm

Welcome to the frontier of anime: the dozens of new shows that have come out very recently, or some that are still being released.

First, Stellvia of the Universe. I'm almost finished watching this myself and now to all those who haven't seen it:

WATCH IT

Clean and consistent animation, great plot, even greater character development, and great action.

This is one of the best anime I've seen and it's unlicensed so you are free to get it off of bittorrent or IRC as you wish. It'll be worth it, I guarantee you.

Second, Scrapped Princess.

Very good animation (offers good mix of CG in appropriate places, and most of the action scenes are done normally, which is quite incredible considering the sheer quality of the action shown).

The plot is also one of the better ones in anime (not too original, but executes it well), and IIRC the anime's based on a novel, so expect clear-cut cohesion from beginning to end.

Well-done characters and character development (not as good as Stellvia's though).

Anyway, these two series I must recommend as must-sees for any dedicated anime fan.

Macross · Post by **Macross** » 2003-10-15 06:27pm

I have heard people rave about Scrapped Princess, so I decided to check it out. I am up to episode 8, and I must say that it is fantastic! I am really enjoying it. Great soundtrack too!

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2003-10-15 08:32pm

Shinova wrote:Welcome to the frontier of anime: the dozens of new shows that have come out very recently, or some that are still being released.

First, Stellvia of the Universe. I'm almost finished watching this myself and now to all those who haven't seen it:

WATCH IT

Clean and consistent animation, great plot, even greater character development, and great action.

This is one of the best anime I've seen and it's unlicensed so you are free to get it off of bittorrent or IRC as you wish. It'll be worth it, I guarantee you.

I watched the entire series. It was great, but the ending was too rushed and we don't get much of a look into Arisa's personal business. I was also dissapointed at how they just dropped the whole alien angle like a brick. If they had helped out the humans wipe out the cosmic fracture in the end, that would have been a good twist.

One of the best aspects of the series was the music by Angela. Kirei na Yozora, End of the World, and Ashita eno Brilliant Road were the best opening/closing themes of any anime this season.

Second, Scrapped Princess.

Very good animation (offers good mix of CG in appropriate places, and most of the action scenes are done normally, which is quite incredible considering the sheer quality of the action shown).

The plot is also one of the better ones in anime (not too original, but executes it well), and IIRC the anime's based on a novel, so expect clear-cut cohesion from beginning to end.

Well-done characters and character development (not as good as Stellvia's though).

Anyway, these two series I must recommend as must-sees for any dedicated anime fan.

I want to see it, but certain torrent seeders need to understand that Naruto is not the only anime in existance, and other equally good series need more seeders! Try getting a 12 episode, 2 gig Full Moon wo Sagashite batch torrent with 1 or 0 seeds. If I had the hookup, I'd try FTP.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2003-10-15 08:42pm

Ok, my recommendations:

Tsukihime, based off the doujin H-game, is the most anticipated anime this season. A decent budget was put into the anime, so I don't think anyone will be dissapointed. The first episode was aired last week, and is already fansubbed and on torrent.

One Piece is still out there. Fansubbers are only up to episode 64 or 65, and there are well over 100 episodes, with many more to come. Gomu Gomu no BAZOOKA

Shenlong_Mizuno · Post by **Shenlong_Mizuno** » 2003-10-16 12:19am

Gunslinger Girls and Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien are also very good. This October has been very kind to fansubbers

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SHODAN · Post by **SHODAN** » 2003-10-16 07:54am

Hamel wrote:I watched the entire series. It was great, but the ending was too rushed and we don't get much of a look into Arisa's personal business. I was also dissapointed at how they just dropped the whole alien angle like a brick. If they had helped out the humans wipe out the cosmic fracture in the end, that would have been a good twist.

Yes, the ending was a grave disappointment. After Great Mission it felt just repetition. "Humanity has survived. Again."

One of the best aspects of the series was the music by Angela. Kirei na Yozora, End of the World, and Ashita eno Brilliant Road were the best opening/closing themes of any anime this season.

Oh yes.

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2003-10-16 03:06pm

The anime club on my campus is in the midst of watching some pretty new stuff, all of which is pretty good (as far as I've seen. I havn't been there the whole time and we're still in the middle of most of these series.):

Azumanga Daioh: Genius (but not emotionally) 11 year old girl goes to high school, hyjinx ensue.

Someday's Dreamers: Some sorta modern fantasy thing, with a mage girl in training and lots of dolphins. Yep.

Saikano (aka She, The Ultimate Weapon aka Last Love Song on this Little Planet): Well, it's a sorta tragic war time love story sorta thing, Shuuji is an average kinda athletic guy, Chise is his clumsy and diminutive girlfriend. Only she's also his nation's superweapon, and that kinda weighs on her.

Last Exile: A couple of kids fly messages and cargo around in this sorta steampunkish setting. The animation is vaguely like Blue Submarine, but the integration of the computer generated and the hand drawn is generally smoother.

Wolf Rain: Sci-fi setting where wolves have been hunted to extinction, except for the ones that are disguised as humans. I've only seen one episode, that's about all I can tell you about it.

Well, that was less informative than I might have hoped, but there it is.

Shaidar Haran · Post by **Shaidar Haran** » 2003-10-16 04:35pm

Last Exile: A couple of kids fly messages and cargo around in this sorta steampunkish setting. The animation is vaguely like Blue Submarine, but the integration of the computer generated and the hand drawn is generally smoother.

The messanger aspect only last for the first few episodes. After that it kicks into the main, more militaristic plot of the series.

Hamel · Post by **Hamel** » 2003-10-16 06:42pm

The last episode of Onegai Twins is on the net. People have mixed feelings about the series, but I thought it was ok.

Singular Quartet · Post by **Singular Quartet** » 2003-10-16 06:53pm

Now the only problem is finding the fansubbers, cause I've only got access to Scrapped Princess (only up to 13, though I got 18 dled...)

Right now, I'm mostly waiting for more Pita-Ten, GITS: SAC, and for the fansubbers I've been getting Scrapped Princess to get back online...

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-16 06:55pm

Singular Quartet wrote:and for the fansubbers I've been getting Scrapped Princess to get back online...

Anime-keep, Anime-kraze, Solar&Aoshi are the ones that do it primarily, and S&A are on a different IRC server than A-keep and kraze IIRC.

Shenlong_Mizuno · Post by **Shenlong_Mizuno** » 2003-10-17 02:32am

[quote="Sriad"]
Last Exile: A couple of kids fly messages and cargo around in this sorta steampunkish setting. The animation is vaguely like Blue Submarine, but the integration of the computer generated and the hand drawn is generally smoother.[quote]

Good eye, both shows were done by Gonzo

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-10-17 02:27pm

I haven't been keeping up with the fansubbing lately, but I have some series to recommend.

Azumanga Daioh: I usually don't go for this sort of thing, but this is top notch. The series has a great heart, is humorous, and immensely watchable.

Haibane Renmei: From the guy who brought us Lain. Uses Christian imagery in a non-silly way, great characters and a very distinct setting.

Ghost in the Shell SAC: What can I say? This show just ended its first season in Japan, and each newly-released fansub makes me itch for the next one. Not to be missed by anyone with any interest in anime.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-10-17 02:35pm

I just got the first episode of Gunslinger Girls, as that's all that I could find. Must be brand new.

I remember reading about Last Exile in Newtype USA and I should really check it out.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2003-10-17 03:00pm

Tenchi OVA 3 is coming out

SyntaxVorlon · Post by **SyntaxVorlon** » 2003-10-17 03:04pm

God so much good stuff coming out, reminds me of a tshirt my anime club's president wears:
Anime
Drugs would be cheaper.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-10-17 03:06pm

No kidding. Stay away from rightstuf.com; they've got a good deal on something I want every other week, it seems. Eats up a lot of cash.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-10-17 03:12pm

Typhonis 1 wrote:Tenchi OVA 3 is coming out

Already is. The first episode was released in late Septemper and the fansub started showing up in early October. The second episode is to be released in late November.

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2003-10-17 08:30pm

Durran Korr wrote:Haibane Renmei: From the guy who brought us Lain. Uses Christian imagery in a non-silly way, great characters and a very distinct setting.

Right, I forgot that still hasn't been released yet. (or has it? Anyway.) It's a good anime with a wide range of emotional impact. The first few episodes are very warm and fuzzy, the middle ones are considerably darker, and I haven't seen the ending yet.

But generally excellent.

Shadowhawk · Post by **Shadowhawk** » 2003-10-18 01:10am

Sriad wrote:Right, I forgot that still hasn't been released yet. (or has it? Anyway.) It's a good anime with a wide range of emotional impact. The first few episodes are very warm and fuzzy, the middle ones are considerably darker, and I haven't seen the ending yet.

But generally excellent.

First volume's out, with a nice sturdy box (kinda plain, but fits the series well). Comes with 2 pencil boards, a mini-poster, and a nice thick insert booklet.

I haven't been watching anything that hasn't been mentioned here.
Naruto and One Piece are great fun, Scrapped Princess is developing well (I'm only to about ep15), GitS:SAC leaves me hanging for more every week (damn LMF for being so slow!), Onegai Twins is shaping up to ultimately be a disappointment (watched up to ep9, I think).
I wanna start watching Stellvia (got the first 5), Last Exile, and 12 Kingdoms; need to re-watch/finish watching Abenobashi, SaiKano, and Gundam SEED.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-22 03:27am

I've just finished Narutaru. It didn't really faze me but some of you might find it disturbing as hell.

Such as one of the main characters being suicidal, some brutal killings (like impaling people, or pulverizing limbs) though they don't actually show it graphically.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this series is that in Japan it was shown on their Kids Station (kiddie channel, in other words.

)

It's not as enjoyable as Scrapped Princess or Stellvia, but I guess it was worth it.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Reviews from the frontlines of Anime

Reviews from the frontlines of Anime

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