What anime are you watching?

[blkmage]

I rewatched Summer Wars and am still incredibly impressed and blown away by how awesome it is. Holy crap, do I love that movie.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Finished Baccano!. Dang, sir. What a rush, sir. May I please have another, sir? What a fantastic show! Might be the best thing under 26 episodes that I have ever seen. So many characters got so much attention that it felt longer than 16 eps. Lots of great action, lots of laughs, lots to chew on. The only thing that sort of annoyed me was [spoiler] the schpiel at the end about stories...it was such thinly veiled existentialist business. I know...I get it...the universe lacks order and structure. Hearing ideas different to mine doesn't bother me. But, that one just felt forced and tacked-on at the end.[/spoiler]

Started Beast Player Erin. Mmm...it's like emerging from the violent tornado that is Baccano! into a serene, breezy meadow. Story driven-goodness at a less-than-breakneck pace. It reminds me a lot of Twelve Kingdoms in both its feel/aura, and its aesthetic. The concept seems original enough: Erin's mom is essentially a veterinarian...to dragons. Erin wants to be one too. Maybe my favorite thing about the show is the background art. It just screams "quality children's book."

[That Dude]

I rewatched Summer Wars and am still incredibly impressed and blown away by how awesome it is. Holy crap, do I love that movie.

What's it about? Could you give more info?

I just watched "The Place Promised In Our Early Days."

That is seriously one of my all time favorite movies.

[MightiMidget]

Had a lil marathon with a couple of friends tonight which included Fushigi Yuugi (ep. 1), Red Garden (ep. 1), Prince of Tennis (ep. 9-10). Also watched Romeo x Juliet ep. 14. (yay late nights, woot!) But now I am going to bed...

[blkmage]

What's it about? Could you give more info?

I just watched "The Place Promised In Our Early Days."

That is seriously one of my all time favorite movies.

You're in luck, because I've just made a thread about why it is awesome and why everyone needs to watch it.

[NothingClever]

After checking out the dvd prices on amazon, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and watched Voices of a Distant Star, 5 Centimeters per Second, and Place Promised in our Early Days again. Even better than I remembered from last year. Oh and somehow I managed to fit Summer Wars in there as well. Another awesome show, thanks for bringing it up blkmage!

[Wyntre Rose]

This weekend watched Chobits, Summer Wars, and I'm working through the Kara No Kyoukai movies. Just finished movie 3. Also watching Toward the Terra.

[MightiMidget]

Finished Fate/Stay Night. It was alright, I wasn't horribly impressed with it, but it was definitely fun...

[Wolf-man]

I reached episode 24 in Death Note. Light is a freaking genius! He is now one my favorite anime villains.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Just finished watching episodes 23-25 of Darker than BLACK, and will watch "episode 26," season two, and the other related series at another time.

What did you think of the show? I'm trying to decide if I should bump it up to next in line on my queue.

Light is a freaking genius! He is now one my favorite anime villains.

Seeing Light's plans come together always brought me much joy.

Durarara!! 3-6
Beat Player Erin 3-4.

Both are spectacular in different ways, and I am having a good time w/ them. Durara!! episode five, in particular, was fantastic.

[AnimeGirl]

Watched first 4 episodes of Heroic Age. I like, so far. Still watching xxxHOLiC, we rented Third Collection from Netflix, can't wait to watch it! I am planning to watch Clannad, even though it's only subbed, since I am learning Japanese, it doesn't bother me as much as before (though I still love dubs, I'll live XD I like the Japanese language, anyway).

[Sheol777]

I reached episode 24 in Death Note. Light is a freaking genius! He is now one my favorite anime villains.

...wait, Light was a villain?

[ShiroiHikari]

...wait, Light was a villain?

The short answer is yes.

I'm rewatching Gundam 00 season 1 because I forgot most of what happened. However, this time I got a wild hair and decided to watch it in English. The dub isn't bad so far. I'm on episode 7.

Also still working on Samurai Troopers.

[MightiMidget]

Well, I went into DtB knowing it had been praised many times over for its story and characters. The people who said such things were right]was[/i] good, but a couple of two-episode arcs left me wondering what it contributed to the story as a whole because it sure didn't feel like much. Some arcs I found to be quite sad (it's a pretty grim show), others pretty cool in terms of action and plot twists. I love the main characters Hei, Huang, and Mao (Yin I like on and off), as well as Misaki, November 11, Havoc, Bertha, and Yzak.

The ending was okay, but abrupt. I'm still left with a lot of questions and confusion, and I'm told that season two doesn't do a good job of providing answers and closure.

Still I did enjoy watching DtB, and found it worthwhile, even if it had a slow beginning - later episodes are well worth watching. ^_^

Must...comment!!

DtB is my favorite anime (tied with Ouran)! It definitely doesn't explain much at all, I've watched it through 2-3 times and it makes little more sense. And no, season 2 explains NOTHING. At all. The specials coming out with the disc (DtB: Gaiden) explain what happens between the two seasons, but not what happened at the end of season 1...

*thinks Doc should bump it up on queue* *whistle* But hey, that's just me, ya know....

Watched Romeo x Juliet 16-18. The plot thickens! Ee...

"Yield, obstinate soil!" *laughs* much love here for this series. much love indeed. Not to mention an incredible amount of fuzzies and grinning so wide I'm glad it's 2am and no one can walk in and see me. heehee.

[Fish and Chips]

Durarara!! episodes 8
Jing: King of Bandits in Seventh Heaven episode 2-3 COMPLETE

Definitely a stir fry of style over substance here, but man that style. We could stand to see a few more things animated with the creativity of Jing.

I am definitely not implying that the second section is pointless. In fact, I thought it was used quite well. I am just saying that it seemed a little out of place and was not as engrossing as the first and last. Considering we are wrapped up in these two people's lives completely in the first and the last episodes, the major change of focus and emphasis in the middle is a little jarring. Can you say that you liked the second part as much as the other two?

No, not really, but that's not what I was batting at. It seems out of place, yes, but what the middle episode brings to the package I think would be more jarring by its absence. 5 Centimeters is the story of two people in love, separate, but still very much in their own world. Now, we have an outsider, someone trying to intersect into that world with their own, only to realize they can't. Even though it's about the outsider, it's really still about original two characters, just through a foreign lens that tells us so much about them.

This also makes the last section more prominent. We've already seen how the outsider copes, but what about the other two? It's an important contrast, in my opinion.

[Maokun]

5 Centimeters is the story of two people in love, separate, but still very much in their own world. Now, we have an outsider, someone trying to intersect into that world with their own, only to realize they can't. Even though it's about the outsider, it's really still about original two characters, just through a foreign lens that tells us so much about them.

This also makes the last section more prominent. We've already seen how the outsider copes, but what about the other two? It's an important contrast, in my opinion.

I beg to differ a bit here. 5cms/s is not about two people in love. It's about Takaki. Akari is just there as an object of love, not as a subject. Believing the story is about the romance between two people is what makes most people dissatisfied with the second chapter, i.e. Akari is not in it but some girl we don't care about. The truth is that Akari is not much there in the third act either, NOR in the first one, when you come to think about it. The first act is all about Takaki's long and eventful train trip to meet her.

5 Centimeters per second is the beautiful, but sad story of a man who loved as one can only love for first time but was unable to let go, even after the circumstances made impossible for that love to flourish. More than a love story, it's a cautionary tale.

[Fish and Chips]

I beg to differ a bit here. 5cms/s is not about two people in love. It's about Takaki. Akari is just there as an object of love, not as a subject. Believing the story is about the romance between two people is what makes most people dissatisfied with the second chapter, i.e. Akari is not in it but some girl we don't care about. The truth is that Akari is not much there in the third act either, NOR in the first one, when you come to think about it. The first act is all about Takaki's long and eventful train trip to meet her.

5 Centimeters per second is the beautiful, but sad story of a man who loved as one can only love for first time but was unable to let go, even after the circumstances made impossible for that love to flourish. More than a love story, it's a cautionary tale.

I suppose a lot of it depends on how you interpret the train crossing. I saw it as Takaki finally letting go. The story is about distance, and always the physical sort. Takaki loves Akari, but she's separated by so much. Kanea similarly loves Takaki, who's right there, but they're kept apart by the space in his mind. Which brings us back to the train crossing, where (to me) Takaki makes peace with the fact that Akari got away from him and moves on.

5 Centimeters is about two people in love. It's also about two people, in love. And it's also about what happens when you realize your love can't last.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

*thinks Doc should bump it up on queue* *whistle* But hey, that's just me, ya know....

Is the non-explanation (A) there are many ways this story can be interpreted, so we leave it up to you, the viewer or (B) ah...come on guys let's just end the darn thing? If (A), then I am more willing to give it a shot. If (B), then perhaps it's a bit of a tease.

Watched Romeo x Juliet 16-18. The plot thickens! Ee...

"Yield, obstinate soil!" *laughs* much love here for this series. much love indeed. Not to mention an incredible amount of fuzzies and grinning so wide I'm glad it's 2am and no one can walk in and see me. heehee.

Remind me of what's going on. Tybalt...just...Tybalt.
---
Durarara!! 7-8

It gets better and better. I am in love with this cast. The creative genius behind this and Baccano! needs recognition from the industry.

Beat Player Erin is still good, but it is dragging a little bit. I am sticking with it, but Casshern Sins and DtB are looming.

[blkmage]

It might seem trite for me to say this, but 5cm/s is about distance. Yeah, hurr durr, all of Makoto Shinkai's movies are about that. What I mean by that is that it's not about Takaki and not quite about letting go.

Every relationship we examine isn't the fault of Takaki's not letting go, but is the because of the distance between the two people and the neglect in those relationships that the distance induces. Takaki isn't the only one at fault for letting his relationships be erased slowly by distance and the march of time. And neither is Akari, or Kanae, or his girlfriend in the third segment. Each of the relationships become a pile of missed opportunities and regrets.

That's not to say that overcoming the distance would have been easy. In Voices or The Place Promised, the distance is created by something far more grand than in 5cm/s: we've got space or alternate dimensions or the military. In 5cm/s, it's that kids' parents are moving away. But that's the thing; if you don't do anything about it, distance will slowly erode your relationships, because distance is powerful.

It's not because the characters didn't let go that they're hurting; it's because they didn't take that step and act when they should have.

[AnimeGirl]

Just watched xxxHOLiC: Third Collection. Man, those set of episodes were great! They were more creepy and more hilarious than the last 2 volumes! XD!!!! I especially loved "Confession" and "Summer Shade", the ending for "Summer Shade" was perfect! It left a sort of creepy feel.

[ich1990]

5 Centimeters Per Second

Still good the second time around. I would have expected it to have lost some of its punch now that I know the ending and all, but that wasn't the case.

No, not really, but that's not what I was batting at. It seems out of place, yes, but what the middle episode brings to the package I think would be more jarring by its absence. 5 Centimeters is the story of two people in love, separate, but still very much in their own world. Now, we have an outsider, someone trying to intersect into that world with their own, only to realize they can't. Even though it's about the outsider, it's really still about original two characters, just through a foreign lens that tells us so much about them.

This also makes the last section more prominent. We've already seen how the outsider copes, but what about the other two? It's an important contrast, in my opinion.

Ah, I think I see where you are coming from. I wasn't looking at 5CPS as a love story so much as a case study in the death of human relationships. Almost everybody, I think, has had a childhood friend whom they swore they would never be separated from. Eventually, however, time sweeps you apart. Symbolically, this is represented by the sakura petals starting out on the same tree, then getting carried off to completely different locations by the winds of time.

Of course, you promise to call and write to your friend every day, (just like Takaki does) but in the end you contact each other less and less, and the relationship dies out. I thought that the reason Shinkai chose a childhood romantic relationship as his subject was because the emotional impact would be more extreme and the characters would be easier to relate to (as opposed to any other close friendship).

The song at the end is an amalgam of both Takaki and Akari walking through the cherry blossoms, remembering the great times they had as children. The train crossing is Takaki and Akari's formal acknowledgement that the relationship has moved completely into the realm of nostalgia. Takaki is not even unhappy about this]DtB is my favorite anime (tied with Ouran)! It definitely doesn't explain much at all, I've watched it through 2-3 times and it makes little more sense. And no, season 2 explains NOTHING.[/QUOTE]Does the second season explain anything about why the world mechanics are the way they are? Does it explain Hell's gate or the origination of the contracts?

[MightiMidget]

Is the non-explanation (A) there are many ways this story can be interpreted, so we leave it up to you, the viewer or (B) ah...come on guys let's just end the darn thing? If (A), then I am more willing to give it a shot. If (B), then perhaps it's a bit of a tease.

It's more A...it has led up to a climax, and the climax happens, it's just confusing about what exactly was involved in the funky climax...

Remind me of what's going on. Tybalt...just...Tybalt.

[spoiler]Pretty much just Juliet found she has to die for the planet (which is weird, but hey). They just had the big earthquake.[/spoiler]

Does the second season explain anything about why the world mechanics are the way they are? Does it explain Hell's gate or the origination of the contracts?

No. Hell's Gate isn't mentioned very much in the second season actually...but I don't think any mechanics were explained.

EDIT: Just finished RomeoxJuliet. Amazing. I am happiness filled. Really well done. I didn't even mind the trippy anime ending. Huzzuh. =)

[Maokun]

It might seem trite for me to say this, but 5cm/s is about distance. Yeah, hurr durr, all of Makoto Shinkai's movies are about that. What I mean by that is that it's not about Takaki and not quite about letting go.

Every relationship we examine isn't the fault of Takaki's not letting go, but is the because of the distance between the two people and the neglect in those relationships that the distance induces. Takaki isn't the only one at fault for letting his relationships be erased slowly by distance and the march of time. And neither is Akari, or Kanae, or his girlfriend in the third segment. Each of the relationships become a pile of missed opportunities and regrets.

That's not to say that overcoming the distance would have been easy. In Voices or The Place Promised, the distance is created by something far more grand than in 5cm/s: we've got space or alternate dimensions or the military. In 5cm/s, it's that kids' parents are moving away. But that's the thing]

True. Then again, my point is also valid in this light: If you are not going to (or you simply cannot) fight for your love, you might as well let go. We never see Akari hurting after act 1. In act 3 she seems quite happy about her upcoming wedding, and the memories of Takaki are not bittersweet, just happily nostalgic. Kanae hurts during most of the second act, but by the end (when the distance between her and Takaki becomes physical as well) she's already getting over it.

However Takaki won't let go. After 10 years he's still longing and regretting, but he never moved either forward or backwards. Moving forward wouldn't have been too hard either: He only had to send his long text messages to Akari instead sending them back to himself. Even if keeping in touch in such manner probably wouldn't have been enough to support a relationship, getting to know that Akari was moving on without himself would have helped him to also move on. But perhaps that's what he was afraid of: Confronting his own feelings and illusions against reality and be forced to let them go. He just carried on with his life, unable to experience happiness or make happy another person, because his feelings were tied to a lonely night several years ago. Perhaps he managed to get over it in that train crossing, though judging by his state of mind just before it, I'm inclined to doubt it. We only have his somber smile as he walks off as a hint of acknowledgment.

No. Hell's Gate isn't mentioned very much in the second season actually...but I don't think any mechanics were explained.

I'm disappoint I was looking forward to the second season for that very reason.

[ShiroiHikari]

I'm still working on that rewatch of 00 first season. I'm on episode 12 and I switched back to the sub at least temporarily, because I can't deal with Richard Cox's Allelujah. He simply doesn't have the range necessary for the part :| (Most everyone else was fine though.)

Also still making my way through the original Gundam TV series.

[blkmage]

All of this 5 Centimeters per Second talk reminded me that someone posted summaries of the novelization, which gives some insight into what the characters were thinking and sheds some light about what happened in between the second and third segments. The third part in particular has a lot of stuff that will be very interesting.

Oukashou
Cosmonaut
Byousoku 5 Centimeters

[That Dude]

Just watched Summer Wars. Good stuff.

[the_wolfs_howl]

FMA: Brotherhood episodes 46-47 Kyaaa, this is so amazing! All of the awesomeness of the anime, brought fully to life! I was really struck in the last episode by the resemblance between Ed and Hohenheim, especially when Ed had his hair in a ponytail instead of a braid.

[ST. Attidude]

Just saw Howl's Moving Castle today. And tonight, I might start the 1st special edition volume of Yu Yu Hakusho, which I found for about $3.33 (3 for $10 sale)

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I might start the 1st special edition volume of Yu Yu Hakusho, which I found for about $3.33 (3 for $10 sale)

I kind of envy you, sir. That show is SO MUCH FUN! For me, it is the shonen fighting series. Prepare for a season of awesome in your life.

The rundown:

Beast Player Erin up through episode nine. Anyone who has kids or who has had one their children die (I fall into both camps) will find episodes 7-8 extremely poignant. The show has kicked the emotion up many, many notches, and we are getting hints at the larger world outside of Erin's hometown.

FMA Brotherhood 47 The usual swashbuckling-adventure greatness.

Durarara!! through episode 9. Why did I stop watching this, again? This show has quickly managed to become one of my favorites. Fantastic! And...Izaya may be a jerk, but I love him .

Casshern Sins 1-5. A totally underrated show! The art is beautiful (as Fish said), there are gobs of dark atmosphere, a cool premise, good characterization, lots of philosophical pondering and existential angst. Such good, good stuff.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So I've been gone for a while, so I'll list what I've watched in my absence.

Firstly, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood! Caught up, just watched episode 47 last night, epic win.

Durarara!! to eight, going to watch nine when I get back from this event I'm going to tonight.

5 Centimeters per Second: This may be my favorite movie of all time. Amazing.

Eureka Seven: Currently up to episode 41. Gets better with every episode. I'm glad[spoiler]Eureka's hair grew back though[/spoiler]