Anime/Manga Journal

[Aeolus]

Didn't it have some crazy engrishy subtitle or nickname like the Deathly Cyclone or the Cyclone of Death (or Destruction)?

Also its based off of goddamn Shakespeare. Of course it was going to end up as a miserable little pile of secrets.

[Mickeymac92]

Also its based off of goddamn Shakespeare. Of course it was going to end up as a miserable little pile of secrets.

Based on? I know there's a play called "The Tempest," but I thought it was just paying homage rather than, you know, trying to be like a Shakespeare play. Just what I got from a quick look up, though. I could be wrong.

[Kevadu]

It's definitely more "inspired by" than based on, but there are a lot of Shakespeare references.

[TiamatNM]

Goddamn Blast of Tempest is good.  I feel like an idiot for not starting it sooner.  Looked kind of generic so I skipped over it at first, but then there was a drought of titles at the end of the season and I decided to check it out.  Wow.  It is anything but generic.  Still in the middle of the first season but I have no idea how what is going to happen.  This show constantly keeps you on your toes.

This is probably the best show of last season.  I can't believe I almost missed it...

Edit: Aaaand, just finished watching the second half of the first season in one sitting.  I guess I'm sort of glad I waiting before starting this show, because though it takes a couple eps to get going, once you're into it every single episode ends on a friggin cliffhanger.  It's extremely addictive, the kind of show you really do want to watch all at once.

But holy crap, the cliffhanger at the end of season 1 means I can't wait for season 2...

But seriously, why is it that I haven't heard any buzz about this show?  Forget being my favorite show of the season, it might be my favorite show of the year.  And yet nobody is talking about it...

I should probably give it a try.  I read a few chapters of the manga years ago.  It's by the author who did "Spiral: the bonds of reasoning" and "record of fallen vampire" so I'm a bit wary of it.  Used to be a huge spiral fan but then it got crappy and had an absolutely horrible ending (I have never felt so betrayed).  

[Aeolus]

It's definitely more "inspired by" than based on, but there are a lot of Shakespeare references.

You know what I meant. >:(

Honestly I'd be really surprised if there was a manga or anime adaptation made within the last 5 years that's more based upon rather than "inspired by" like how pretty much every instance of the story Romance of the Three Kingdoms is at best "inspired by" verses actually based upon.

I should probably give it a try.  I read a few chapters of the manga years ago.  It's by the author who did "Spiral: the bonds of reasoning" and "record of fallen vampire" so I'm a bit wary of it.  Used to be a huge spiral fan but then it got crappy and had an absolutely horrible ending (I have never felt so betrayed). 

It has been my experience that such is the case with the majority of manga and anime. I can't count the times when the power levels trailed off into infinity, or how a wizard or other miscellaneous villain suddenly appears having somehow 'did it', or it was all the work of those damn foreigners, or cases of "We decided not to do another season/volume so have a crappy ending where everything is solved forever.", or cases of 'we can't have the 'female' character actually fight the male big bad so instead we're going to take the most prominent male/pull a male hero out of thin air and have him save the day and rescue the female 'main character' as she falls head over heels in love with him.", or cases of "Suddenly! Over the skies of modern day Tokyo! The characters from the hit series/show/game appear to wage their final battle!", and so on....

And if anyone wondered why I don't actively watch anime or read manga, well there you go.

[Mickeymac92]

Eh, I've seen worse with most TV shows around here...just saying. :/ Personally, I rarely care how something ends, unless that ending was the entire driving force of the show, which I don't see that often. I care more about the journey than the destination, so to speak.

Anyways, Crunchyroll licensed the only two anime I cared to watch this season, and since next season looks too packed to really leave everything for the end, I think I might actually keep up with them for once. Of course, it'll be ten days before I can actually watch them, so...

Can anyone recommend me a show from last year to watch in the meantime? I'd prefer something a bit short so I can get through a few shows instead of one long one. I've already sampled a few but have yet to finish anything...Also, I'd prefer something that's already finished.

[Kevadu]

It's definitely more "inspired by" than based on, but there are a lot of Shakespeare references.

You know what I meant. >:(

Honestly I'd be really surprised if there was a manga or anime adaptation made within the last 5 years that's more based upon rather than "inspired by" like how pretty much every instance of the story Romance of the Three Kingdoms is at best "inspired by" verses actually based upon.

OK, but it's not inspired by any particular work by Shakespeare.  There are some pretty obvious allusions to The Tempest but there are also references to Hamlet and other works.  It's not cribbing the plot from any one source is what I meant.  Saying "based on" would really be pushing it.

BTW, I tried reading the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms once (well, a translated version but a pretty literal one), and it is dry as heck.  I couldn't get through it.  Half the book is just like a list of battles and people who fought in them (person A defeated person B then person C defeated person D and on and on and on...).  Turns out literature actually has advanced since then...


Oh yeah, Mickeymac's question.  I don't actually know what you've seen already, but in terms of short-but-good series a couple that come to mind are Kokoro Connect and Another.  Kind of on opposite ends of the spectrum, though.

[Mickeymac92]

Oh yeah, Mickeymac's question.  I don't actually know what you've seen already, but in terms of short-but-good series a couple that come to mind are Kokoro Connect and Another.  Kind of on opposite ends of the spectrum, though.

Oh, I haven't finished anything from last year, so it doesn't matter if I've seen any off it or not, I'd just use that as extra incentive to finish it. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

[Yggdrasil]

Retailers list Gurren Lagann BD Box with English Subs/Dub in Japan

SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY ONE US DOLLARS! @A@

[Mickeymac92]

Retailers list Gurren Lagann BD Box with English Subs/Dub in Japan

SEVEN HUNDRED TWENTY ONE US DOLLARS! @A@

At least it comes with a bunch of extras, like the Parallel Works stuff and the Movies, but still...wow...

[Kevadu]

That might be a little on the high end, but not by much.  This shit is expensive in Japan.

[Aeolus]

There's a reason for the saying "It's cheaper to be addicted to crack than to anime.".

[Chronix112]

There's a reason for the saying "It's cheaper to be addicted to crack than to anime.".

haven't heard that saying in years, lol

[Mickeymac92]

While I'm still open to suggestions, I'll probably start Kokoro Connect soon. Another looks a little too gruesome for me.

[Klyde Chroma]

While I'm still open to suggestions, I'll probably start Kokoro Connect soon. Another looks a little too gruesome for me.

"Another" did have some disturbing moments.... but damn was it good. I really enjoyed it right from the door. The only other thing that really translate that "mood" to me was playing corpse party on the PSP. Such a rare delicacy that particular flavor of horror is....

Finished the first 24 eps of "A Certain Magical Index".... i'm interested to see where they go with this based on where they have already went.... I hope stiyl gets some more screen time-lol

In the interest of catching up on some "must see" stuff I'm finally going to watch steins gate after being rather dissapointed in chaos: head.... I say "must see" because I "must see" how freakin' convoluted and non-sensical this ends up being.... but hey, who knows... maybe I'll be presently surprised....

On a completely different note... I realized I have never indulged any shonen titles.... I have always more or less just researched specific stuff that it seemed like I would like... never watched any anime on TV or anything since dragon ball z was on fox when I was like 8 years old or something... As such I'm wondering what I've been missing out on and thinking of checking out a couple episodes of bleach, mostly because I just want some background to give the dynasty warrior-like game a try..... this could prove a fools errand... time will tell I suppose