What anime are you watching?

[ShiroiHikari]

[Plus...who DOESN'T like "The Real Folk Blues"?]

I love that song!

[ABlipinTime]

started watching .hack//SIGN last night and I'm through ep 6 now.

[AnimeGirl]

Watched so more Brotherhood, up to episode 26 (since that was the last dubbed one they had up on Funi's YouTube cahnnel). Oh...my...gosh...
I think I officially love Brotherhood more than the oirginal anime (even though the original anime is still awesome!). The story is so much deeper, so much more emotional.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So, I just finished Bamboo Blade episode fifteen. It's pretty obvious that the show is about the characters and definitely not about the kendo, but I'm actually pretty impressed with how they've done the characters. Maybe it's because I haven't seen K-On! or something, but it doesn't feel like they just ripped them out of another series. I also like that the rival school isn't just like, a carbon copy of each of the Muroe girls. Though we don't get as much time with them, it does a pretty good job of making sure they're all different people. I guess I'm just appreciating this now because of fifteen, but I like that.

The best part in the whole series so far is definitely when they're about to go into the bath and then it skips straight to them coming out.

[Saiya~Jin]

This is a misapplication of the word "filler." Regardless of the existence of source material for the anime, a prerequisite for filler episodes is that there exist a mainline narrative that is the bulk of the story, or at least is the primary story the show wants to tell. Hence, episodes that are not part of this main plot progression are filler, they fill in the gaps between epiasodes that move the prinicple narrative along.

Cowboy Bebop didn't have a main plot thread or primary story to begin with. The bulk of its episodes were self-contained sstories rather than serialized ones, and I think this is what you mean in the quoted passage above. Sure, there is a bit of carry-over from episode to episode in terms of character development, but I don't think you can argue that CB has "filler," since self-contained stories are what the series is. These episodes aren't filling in any gaps between the "main stoiry" because there are none to fill in.

*EDIT: Also, I have watched Jyu Oh Sei, which was pretty mediocre, Summer Wars, which was very good (if slightly over-hyped), and Patlabor and Zeta Gundam, which I will post my thoughts on later.

I know all that, that's why I had it in quotes. By "filler" I just meant episodes that weren't essential to the main plot of the series, or episodes one could just skip over without being left behind.

[ich1990]

Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji: The Suffering Pariah, The Ultimate Survivor!

It was everything I had hoped for in a gambling series: life and death stakes, brilliant (on the border of neurotic) strategies, yakuza, manly tears, social commentary, and melodramatic visualizations of inner feelings. It took a lot of what I liked about Liar Game (the complex strategies, Death Note-esque mind duels, psychology and probability plays, etc) and packaged it in an extremely entertaining and polished form. Heck, there was even solid character development of the TTGL brand, which is practically unnecessary in a show like this although still welcome.

Watch it if you can, give it two or three episodes to get going (the one episode treatment isn't enough), don't judge it by the OP or the ED, and get used to weird noses and you will find yourself enjoying one of the most intense and satisfying shows in all of animedom. 9/10

[TheSubtleDoctor]

By "filler" I just meant episodes that weren't essential to the main plot of the series, or episodes one could just skip over without being left behind.

As I stated above, my contention is that there is no "main plot" for Cowboy Bebop. If you're referring to the smattering of episodes that feature Vicious and further Spike's character development, then you are talking about a mere five episodes (Session #5: Ballad of Fallen Angels, Session #12: Jupiter Jazz Part I, Session #13: Jupiter Jazz Part II, Session #25: The Real Folk Blues Part I, and Session #26: The Real Folk Blues Part II) or less than twenty percent of the series. Can such a thread be considered a primary story? I mean, it is one (not the only one) of like three stories without which the climactic episodes wouldn't make sense, but Bebop isn't about overarching narrative. Those seemingly skip-able episodes are the series just as much as (if not more so than) the plot that they chose to end the TV run with.

[ShiroiHikari]

Doc, you should totally post your thoughts on Zeta Gundam in the Gundam thread. I'm curious to know what you thought of it. :3

[aliveinHim]

I've finished Naruto and I'm watching Naruto Shippuden. I'm watching Mermaid Melody and Lucky Star. I'm also watching Inuyasha. I've finished:

Naruto (as I just said)
Ouran High School Host Club
Fruits Basket
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

[Shao Feng-Li]

Watching Gosick episode 9 now.

[Sheol777]

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya season 2 - finally finished, minus most of endless 8. Not bad if you take that out, I couldn't pay full price for this dvd set however because I don't want to pay for half the season being one episode.

Miscellaneous:

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Still good, on episode 80 of 110

Tetsujin 28 (2004) - meh, really slow and lumbering. Dropped

New Getter Robo - Just arrived from Netflix

[ABlipinTime]

swept through .hack//SIGN
As well as I followed the story, I still don't understand the ending.

[Saiya~Jin]

As I stated above, my contention is that there is no "main plot" for Cowboy Bebop. If you're referring to the smattering of episodes that feature Vicious and further Spike's character development, then you are talking about a mere five episodes (Session #5: Ballad of Fallen Angels, Session #12: Jupiter Jazz Part I, Session #13: Jupiter Jazz Part II, Session #25: The Real Folk Blues Part I, and Session #26: The Real Folk Blues Part II) or less than twenty percent of the series. Can such a thread be considered a primary story? I mean, it is one (not the only one) of like three stories without which the climactic episodes wouldn't make sense, but Bebop isn't about overarching narrative. Those seemingly skip-able episodes are the series just as much as (if not more so than) the plot that they chose to end the TV run with.

I'm just saying there are some episodes that, if a person were to choose to not watch it, it wouldn't leave any questions for them to have answered. [Well...besides "What happened in that episode I missed?" haha]Episodes like the five you mentioned above, along with the episodes of Faye/ Ein/Ed's introductions.

[J.D3]

I'm just saying there are some episodes that, if a person were to choose to not watch it, it wouldn't leave any questions for them to have answered. [Well...besides "What happened in that episode I missed?" haha]Episodes like the five you mentioned above, along with the episodes of Faye/ Ein/Ed's introductions.

Haha, that's funny, I just got Cowboy Bebop: Best Sessions from my brother as a late birthday prezzie today!

I agree. Although there are eps that reveal a little more about certain characters or contribute to Spike's over-arching story that appears here & there, there are definitely some that are basically self-contained (hmm, kinda similar to how sitcoms & crime drama TV shows are made)

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So I finished Bamboo Blade, and despite having the potential to be awful, it was actually pretty good! The humor was usually pretty funny, and for being about a team of girls, there were some actually important males! The characters weren't like "Hey guys, let's go see what characters are selling tons of merchandise and go give them a new name!", they were actually pretty fun to follow. I thought I was going to hate Azuma based on the opening, but she actually turned out to be pretty cool and not annoying. The girls from elsewhere were also pretty fun. I liked that they weren't like big jerks, they were just more people from another school that had their own personalities and stuff.

[Atria35]

So I finished Bamboo Blade, and despite having the potential to be awful, it was actually pretty good! The humor was usually pretty funny, and for being about a team of girls, there were some actually important males! The characters weren't like "Hey guys, let's go see what characters are selling tons of merchandise and go give them a new name!", they were actually pretty fun to follow. I thought I was going to hate Azuma based on the opening, but she actually turned out to be pretty cool and not annoying. The girls from elsewhere were also pretty fun. I liked that they weren't like big jerks, they were just more people from another school that had their own personalities and stuff.

YESSS! I wish there was more live for BB. It's one of the ones I can rely on to give me a good laugh, and I love the characters.

[Saiya~Jin]

there are definately some that are basically self-contained (hmm, kinda similar to how sitcoms & crime drama TV shows are made)

There! That's the word I was looking for, haha! Thanks.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I'm not sure why I hadn't watched any Macross Frontier before today, but that first episode.

[J.D3]

There! That's the word I was looking for, haha! Thanks.

Haha, no worries. I seem to have a knack for that!

I finished Cowboy Bebop last week. It was a good show though, I don't think it was as great as some people say it is. I mean that many people gave it a 10 on MAL and said it was one of the greatest anime ever!!!!! ZOMG!!!111
I enjoyed it thoroughly and I would probably buy the series but I was a little disappointed by the ending mostly because I thought that the movie was a sequel and I kept expecting Ed to come back and Spike to be fine. Oh well...As SubtleDoctor said to me: it fits in with the style
So I guess he is right and it is not that bad. I just wish there was a little more wrap up.

I think it did suit it well too, and personally I like how it wasn't entirely a typical/expected ending either!

Though, after it ended, I was like "But... Jet & Faye are gonna be waiting around for hours!!!"

[MightiMidget]

Just watched episode 8 of Dragon Crisis! and although it is super cheesy and, in all reality, poorly paced. I've come to realize I really don't care. It's fun, and not as bad content wise as I was expecting considering MAL categorizes it as ecchi...it's been really tame most of the time.

[AJV]

Lately I've been trying to keep up with:
Bakuman (It's a fun kinda slice-a-life anime about two guys becoming mangaka)
Gosick (A mystery anime set after a WW1 with a master detective who's absolutely adorable)
Wolverine (Another series that's part of MAD House and Marvel's collaborated projects which I think is a bit better than their previous one which was Iron Man)

And of course a little Naruto Shippuden here and there.

[That Dude]

Banner Of The Stars
Toradora

Those are the two I'm currently working through.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I just finished Macross Frontier episode seven, and while I normally try to watch a little bit more of a show before I comment, just, wow. The show is just visually amazing, if nothing else, but that battle was one of the most intense things I've ever seen. I am blown away by how incredible that mecha combat was. I used to hold Eureka Seven as the pinnacle of awesome mecha comabt involving crazy dodges and stuff, but this might make my top five if it continues like this.

Oh yeah, the plot and characters are good too, I guess.

[MightiMidget]

Just walked down to the mailbox and got Summer Wars from netflix. Going to watch it now while working on some web design stuff. I have super high expectations for this...hoping it does not disappoint.

EDIT: Summer Wars was absolutely awesome. It did not fall short in my expectations in the slightest.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

In other Hosoda news, I decided to watch something that didn't feature giant robots. Heresy, right? Well, I discovered something amazing: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Now, I liked Summer Wars quite a bit; it's a great movie. But, for my money, TGWLTT is an order of magnitude above Hosoda's most current work. Everything about this film is beautiful and poignant. The message of the film was wonderfully encapsulated by Aunt "Witch's" description of the painting she was restoring: it brings you peace...we're not sure if it has any artistic value, but this painting was done admist war and famine. Our painful, awkward or difficult moments are not meant to be erased as if they never were because, though they are hard, produce unique, beautiful stuff. This film is just a lovely work that everyone ought to see.

[That Dude]

Close to finishing ToraDora. I'm really digging this anime.

[J.D3]

Close to finishing ToraDora. I'm really digging this anime.

[Nozomi]

1. Finished Gundam 0079. Contrary to what I had heard from a few friends, I didn't find the ending all that bad, or mindbending (and I've seen Last Exile's ending, among others). Now I'm looking for the "movie-of-the-series" trilogy (NOT the OVAs about the 08th MS Team, War in the Pocket, etc, I'm well aware of those). Apparently they don't seem to be streamed anywhere, and they haven't been dubbed (I'm ok with that, but I did watch the series in dub, so it'd be nice to have a continuation). I may well have to pass on the movie trilogy if it cannot be easily found...

2. Plodding along in Fairy Tail; I'll be here for awhile (until mid-April, at current rates), but I'm enjoying it so far. Wrapping up the Galuna Island arc, which was rather interesting.

3. Without the Gundam 0079 Trilogy, I may well start the series Valkyria Chronicles tomorrow. Or I might just take the day off from anime to stay on schedule. Who knows.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Apparently they don't seem to be streamed anywhere, and they haven't been dubbed.

No, they have been dubbed, though the voice cast is different.

I may well have to pass on the movie trilogy if it cannot be easily found...

Since you are making such an effort to experience the UC time line, you should know that the official word is that the movie trilogy represents Tomino's definitive and original vision of that story (there are some differences). So, yeah, you should see those movies.

[That Dude]

Fineshed ToraDora, halfway through Banner Of The Stars. Gonna go watch the ova's of ToraDora next.