The Greatest Anime Opening Ever Tournament

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, I personally do care about a lot of characters in JoJo's, like Joseph, Polnareff, Kakyoin, Iggy, Josuke, Koichii, Okayasu, Rohan, Kira etc., and thinking about it most of those characters only appear in parts 3 and 4, which makes sense since those are the parts that really elevated JoJo's as a personal favorite for me. As for Ceaser I liked him but I also wasn't too sad that he died, though I really thought the execution of that scene in the anime was excellently done. I'm not sure it's fair to compare him to any member of the RK cast, though, since all of them are around for much more time and get to do more in the story than Ceasar does in Part 2 (the dude only lasts, what, 3-4 volumes before he's offed?), and had way more time to develop as characters and forge a stronger connection with readers. I think that a better example would be a character that leaves more of an impression in a comparable short amount of time, like a few certain AnJ characters. 

Also, I didn't realize that you were also reading REAL. When did you start it?

I started it last week and caught up to it over the weekend. And yes, I REAL-ly love it. The wait for new chapters/volumes is going to be killer though since only one volume is released per year and thirteen years strong this series doesn't feel even close to being even half-way over, at his point. 

[Spark Of Spirit]

I haven't experienced Urusei Yatsuta in a looooong time to the point where I barely remember anything, just like stuff like El Hazard. I'd have to reacquaint myself with it before I can even begin to discuss it.

That said, I like Takahashi's pre-Ranma work better than her later stuff.

[LumRanmaYasha]

There's more of her pre-Ranma stuff than there is of her post-Ranma stuff, at any rate. But having been rewatching a lot (and I mean A LOT) of Ranma recently thanks to the blu-ray releases and legal streaming, I've gotta say it's still one of my favorite anime and manga and fully deserves it's status as a "classic."

As for InuYasha, I genuinely think it's second half more than makes up for the repetitive "hunt for Naraku" part of the story and has a lot of well-done characters, Sesshomaru being the best of them and one of my all-time favorite characters, and it's final 11 volumes, which also make up The Final Act, made for one of the most engaging manga experiences for me. That said, I think the series has it's share of flaws and can see why people wouldn't care for it, but at the same time, I feel people over-bash it. Having read a lot of battle shonen manga, I can safely say that the story of IY is overall strong and leagues better than trite it's unfortunately compared to like Naruto, Bleach, and Fairy Tail. For me, while I think it's the weakest of Takahashi's big 4 works, it's still a good manga at the end of the day.

And then there's Rin-ne...which is the only work of Takahashi's I think I wouldn't call myself a "fan" of, but even then, I don't think it's at all a bad manga, just kind dull time to time and a really derivative comedy compared to UY or Ranma. That said, I will give Takahashi credit for creating a pair of leading characters whose character dynamic is nothing like Ranma/Akane or InuYasha/Kagome, and are actually reasonable people who don't jump to conclusions and get outwardly irritated and jealous. Rin-ne and Sayaka are pretty much the most interesting part of the series to me because they are completely atypical leads for a Takahashi manga, even though they wouldn't rank as some of her best characters either.

For me, I generally think that the older the Takahashi manga, the better. I'd rank her works:

1. Urusei Yatsura
2. Maison Ikkoku
3. Ranma 1/2
4. Mermaid Saga
5. InuYasha
6. Rumic World and Rumic Theater and her various One-shots
7. One-Pound Gospel
8. Rin-ne

Again, I like IY, but even if you don't I think most people here could enjoy Rumic World, Rumic Theater, and Gospel (I remember a list of the favorite manga of Viz editors where one of them listed Gospel as his favorite Takahashi work), so you should read them if you haven't tried them.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm glad to see that you like REAL. It's such an unconventional sports manga, which in all irony is authored by THE guy who literally DEFINED conventional sports manga with Slam Dunk. It's the only sports manga that I've read beside AnJ that is driven completely by its characters, rather than the sport.

You should give me your thoughts on it in the currently running manga thread as well. I'd love to discuss it with you now that we're both caught up.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I'll give my detailed thoughts on it sometime soon. I'm going to wait until I'm done with a few other series I've been reading right now, like Slam Dunk and Buddha, and just give my thoughts on all of that stuff at the same time.

But, to be brief, I love how character-driven the series is. It honestly doesn't even feel like it's so much about the sport than about the individual stories of it's three main characters, how they deal with their disabilities or burdens, and their attempts to find a fulfilling path in life. It's such a great concept and story with three equally interesting leads and great supporting characters as well. It's easily one of the most "human" manga I've ever read.

But...I think we should stop getting off-topic now. I'll put up the next match once GSF and Inkwolf vote.

[Inkwolf]

I pass

[LumRanmaYasha]

Okay, Inkwolf. I'll still give GSF a chance to vote before moving on, since I know he likes "Freckles."

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, it's been over 24 hours, so I'm just going to move on now:

1. "Rock the Planet" (Urusei Yatsura) - 15
2. "Q&A" (Detective Conan) - 5
3. "Hikari E" (One Piece) - 13
4. "Freckles [english dub]" (Rurouni Kenshin) - 17

"Freckles" and "Rock the Planet" move on to round 3.

Round 2: Match 18

1. "Coppelia's Casket" (Noir) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch8QLdBiDqI
2. "Cutie Honey" (Re: Cutie Honey) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0rMFj_LFxY
3. "Baka Survivor" (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFRExuCLqM
4. "Honoo no Takaramono" (Lupin III: The Castle of Cagilostro) - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xee6q7_lupin-iii-castle-of-cagliostro-open_shortfilms (go to 2:04)

My Picks:

"Baka Survivor"
"Cutie Honey"
"Coppelia's Casket"
"Honoo no Takaramono"

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

パス.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

通り過ぎる

[VLordGTZ]

Same as CX

[Inkwolf]

1. "Coppelia's Casket" (Noir) - Graphics are dated, but good for its time, and song is still awesome!
2. "Baka Survivor" (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo) - Wild and cool!
3. "Cutie Honey" (Re: Cutie Honey) - Peppy, amusing
4. "Honoo no Takaramono" (Lupin III: The Castle of Cagilostro) - Sweet and relaxing

[LumRanmaYasha]

Results:

1. "Coppelia's Casket" (Noir) - 8
2. "Cutie Honey" (Re: Cutie Honey) - 8
3. "Baka Survivor" (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo) - 11
4. "Honoo no Takaramono" (Lupin III: The Castle of Cagilostro) - 3

There's a tie, which means someone has to break it before we can move on.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just assume that I voted in a way that gave the edge to Noir.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Thanks, Dr. E-K.

"Baka Survivor" and "Coppelia's Casket" move on to round 3.

Round 2: Match 19

1. "You Get To Burning" (Martian Successor Nadesico) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XphjF-fHZkM
2. "Colours" (Code Geass) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7zQbMxm28
3. "I'll Be the One" (Hikaru no Go) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSCZ77hpgRs
4. "Uragiri no Yuuyake" (Durarara!!) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O9hRcIAza0

My Picks:

"You Get To Burning"
"Uragiri no Yuuyake"
"Colours"
"I'll Be the One"