What Are You Watching?

[The Shadow Gentleman]

Yesterday I received a bunch of black and white anime from the 1960s on DVD. They're pretty interesting.

Here's one I like: Hustle Punch from 1965. Hayao Miyazaki worked on this show as an animator, one of his first jobs in the field. I added English captions (turn annotation on) so that you can understand it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2WFfdJjQ6E

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting.

Also, I don't think FMP is boring, just kind of...okay, at least so far. I am quite enjoying it.

[Lord Dalek]

 

aka Gatchaman Crowds.

[TheEclecticDude]

Watching Read or Die the TV series

[Lord Dalek]

This had to be done.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Okay, I FINALLY watched the Lupin the Third vs. Detective Conan tv special from four years ago...and, it was okay, I guess, but still incredibly disappointing.

First off, it's too long, at 105 minutes, and it doesn't really get interesting until a good 50 minutes in, and even then the ending is really slow and is kinda lame. The title is also a big lie; Lupin doesn't face off against Conan in a battle of wits like how Conan's encounters with Kaitou Kid usually go; instead Lupin is doing his own thing for the majority of the special, only really interacting with the main plot and Conan in the end, and basically their encounter amounts to Lupin helping Conan explain the murder case in the special. Speaking of the special's plot, the new character focused on in the special is also as generic and common as they come, and the very first time you see her you already KNOW how the story is going to turn out and end. The mystery is just too predictable; Case Closed at it's best keeps you guessing and makes you really think to try and see how the murders were accomplished, but this one was too plain and simple to guess. This made the 7 minute long resolution where they explain the murder really dull, aside from some funny moments thanks to Lupin.

But that brings me to another huge complaint; Lupin barely gets enough screentime in the whole thing. He has plenty of great scenes, typical of the character, mind you, but not only is his job this time basically the same as his in Castle of Cagilostro, but it also lacked the traditional fun and coolness of typical Lupin escapades. The special focuses waaaayyy too much on the Case Closed cast, so viewers who are only Lupin fans would have been confused to heck about who they were and why a kid is solving mysteries and doing crazy stunts.

Now, I did like a few scenes in the special, and as a fan of both franchises it was neat to see the characters play off each other, but at the same time I don't think it does any of the characters any justice nor uses them to their potential, and coupled with an uninteresting plot it doesn't do much for fans of either, much less both. I hope that the movie will be a lot better than this, at least on par with the best Lupin and Case Closed films, because as a fan of both franchises I know that they can make an entertaining flick if they truly come together and play off each other's strengths. At the very least they can structure the story in the same way as the Conan vs. Kaitou Kid stories. Those are at least always a lot of fun, which I can't say this special really was for me. 

I also FINALLY watched Urusei Yatsura 4: Lum the Forever. I liked it much better than the Lupin v. Conan special, but at the same time the plot of the movie felt really disjointed, with a lot of things happening without explanation or good logic to them. It was a very interesting film, more so than Movie 3 for the most part, but it's too muddled and confused in it's narrative and it's message for me to enjoy it as much as Only You, much less the fantastic, also untraditional, Beautiful Dreamer. In any case, it's still a movie that I'd feel like watching again, which is much more than I can say for a lot of anime films based on anime tv series. Now that I've watched it, I'll only need to see The Final Chapter and I'll have seen all the canon Urusei Yatsura movies. Maybe then I'll go back and watch through the anime, but 195 episodes feels like too much to commit to solely, so I'd probably end up watching it at a more leisurely pace alongside the shows I will go through in my usual fashion.

[LumRanmaYasha]

My Anime Watching Schedule for Fall 2013 (tentative)

Marathon-style Runthroughs:

Serial Experiments Lain - July
Fate/Zero - Aug
Squid Girl - Aug
Tiger and Bunny - Aug
Martian Successor Nadesico - Aug/Sept?
Fullmetal Panic! (All of Them) - Sept/Oct?
Michiko to Hatchin - Oct/Nov?
Mobile Suit Gundam - Nov/Dec?
Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket - Nov
Read or Die - Dec
Noir - ?
Texhnolyze - ?
Welcome to the NHK - ?
Gankutsuou - ?
Gunslinger Girl - ?
Higurashi - ?
Okami-san and her Seven Companions - ?
Genshiken - ?
AnoHana - ?
Space Brothers - ?
Magi - ?
Hayate the Combat Butler - ?
Skip Beat - ?
SKET Dance - ?
Kaiji - ?
Digimon Tamers - ?
Usagi Drop - ?
Girls und Panzer - ?
Bodacious Space Pirates - ?
Viewtiful Joe - ?
Pretty Cure - ?
Galaxy Express 999
Legend of the Galactic Heroes - ?

Whenever Watches:

Urusei Yatsura - Currently at episode 5, no hurry to finish. 
Maison Ikkoku - Currently at episode 24, plan to finish by the end of the year.
Lupin the Third Series 1 & 2 - This is a rewatch. Probably watch just one or two episodes a week when I want some good old pure fun.

Weekly:

Thursdays:
10pm Silver Spoon

Saturdays:
10:30pm One Piece - Simulcast
11:30pm Hunter X Hunter (2011) - Simulcast
1am One Piece - Toonami
1:30am Soul Eater - Toonami

Sundays:
9pm The Eccentric Family
10pm Blood Lad


This is just a plan for watching. I've got 100+ series on my backlog when it comes to anime, so my viewing schedule will likely change as things come up or are available, or I just really get the desire to watch something. If anyone's got suggestions for something I should be watching ASAP, I'm all ears, of course.

[Foggle]

Serial Experiments Lain - July
Fate/Zero - Aug
Fullmetal Panic! (All of Them) - Sept/Oct?
Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket - Nov
Read or Die - Dec
Texhnolyze - ?
Welcome to the NHK - ?

Good choices.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Onizuka is the only anime character in existence who can do something like that and not only get away with it, but in fact be even more likable and more of a total bad-ass for doing so. If anyone else doesn't get it, watch the series for proper context, and you'll see why he's basically my favorite anime character ever.

[Grave]

So I'm currently trying to re-watch Yu Yu Hakusho, and pretty much like last time, having a hard time getting past Flowers of Blood to even care to continue (I just don't watch the Spirit Detective arc at all) and it's mainly due to Kuwabara. I know there are so many characters worst than him out there, but for me him and Keiko are the worst in this series.

Keiko is that damsel that I just hate, and Kuwabara, while I've never said anything about it before, I just don't care for that "manly" role. It's normally backed up by attempts at comedy but I call it stupidity. Case in point, Alex Louis Armstrong (at least he's had some success at making me laugh), but then again, most anime never had much of a success in getting me to laugh. Anyway, like I said, it was really hard getting past Flowers of Blood, at least the first half of it with Kuwabara fighting that child (names escape me at the moment). Then again I never cared about anything pertaining to Kuwabara's development. I know everyone loves to root for the underdog, but much like Naruto, I hate them, at least when it comes to anime.

Then we get to this announcer chick. I understand this is a tournament, but she's definitely not needed. Another one that's on the annoying side.

[Rynnec]

I'm a little past where you are in YYH (I stopped at the start of Yusuke's fight with Chu). While I don't really have an opinion on Keiko, I do kinda like Kuwabara, he isn't quite as obnoxious as other characters of his type (like Naruto, as you mentioned), and I find his interactions with Hiei to be pretty funny, which is saying something since most shounen humour makes me either give a light chuckle at best, or makes me cringe at worst. He's not my favorite of Team Urameshi (that would be Hiei), but I do find him tolerable.

As for Koto (the DT announcer), I kinda like her too, but that's mostly because I like girls with cat/fox ears.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

First of all, Flowers of Blood is one of my top 10 favorite episodes in the series (I even made a top 10 list explaining why). Admittedly its more for the Kurama half than the Kuwabara half, but all the same, I must first say this to you in response to your post:

So I'm currently trying to re-watch Yu Yu Hakusho, and pretty much like last time, having a hard time getting past Flowers of Blood to even care to continue (I just don't watch the Spirit Detective arc at all) and it's mainly due to Kuwabara. I know there are so many characters worst than him out there, but for me him and Keiko are the worst in this series.

Well, as far as Keiko goes, the series pretty much seems to forget she exists except for at key moments, so she hardly bogs the story down in any significant way for me. As for Kuwabara, I like him just fine as a character. He serves his purpose as the most "human" member of the group, both literally and figuratively. He brings a moral center to a group that honestly needs it. At the end of the day, Yusuke really isn't a pure good guy in any sense, and Kurama and Hiei are really only out for their own interests throughout most of the series, and are easily the most morally gray characters in the show. Kuwabara is necessary to keep the group balanced and help them lean towards the right side, in that regard.

I can get if he's not your type of character, but just how the hell does he bog down the series so much that you can't get past his parts? Its not like he's in every fight or anything like that. Personally, I like this type of character, as he has a lot of heart to him. I feel that too many modern shonen series either don't get how to do this character right, or have this mentality that you just need to have as many cool, dark, and grim characters as possible to be seen as a more mature series, which is the most amateurish thing to do for a writer and is why most modern shonen series that do this suck balls in the first place. Whether you like him or not, Kuwabara is a character who has substance to him. He has a clear personality, and a character arc in that he develops throughout the series, and rather than just getting stronger, he also matures greatly as a person.

Keiko is that damsel that I just hate, and Kuwabara, while I've never said anything about it before, I just don't care for that "manly" role. It's normally backed up by attempts at comedy but I call it stupidity. Case in point, Alex Louis Armstrong (at least he's had some success at making me laugh), but then again, most anime never had much of a success in getting me to laugh. Anyway, like I said, it was really hard getting past Flowers of Blood, at least the first half of it with Kuwabara fighting that child (names escape me at the moment). Then again I never cared about anything pertaining to Kuwabara's development. I know everyone loves to root for the underdog, but much like Naruto, I hate them, at least when it comes to anime.

Kuwabara isn't anything like Naurto, though. You pit these "underdog" characters together just because they fall in the same category, but I don't think you are quite giving them the fair analyses here to see the huge difference between some of them. In Kuwabara's case, he's not an idealist like Naruto is. He just has a strong sense of morals and wants to do the right thing when he can. He's WAY more than just a comic-relief character, and this is even proven by his HUGE relevance to the plot in the Chapter Black arc, so I definitely can't agree with you there. Either way, though, even if you don't like the character, I think you're REALLY over-blowing his impact within the series. I mean, yeah, he has plenty of his moments which may not do anything for you if the character himself doesn't do anything for you, but its not like he's the only character in the series, and its not like it puts way too much focus on him overall.

Then we get to this announcer chick. I understand this is a tournament, but she's definitely not needed. Another one that's on the annoying side.

Eh, She never bothered me. Its a valid nit-pick, I suppose, but once again its just an announcer. I kind of feel like your grasping at straws with this one. Maybe the voice-actor is more annoying, for you? The character herself is just there for the purpose of it being a tournament, in which case an announcer is an effective way to both get it to feel like a legitimate competition (like how in real-life we have announcers for any given sports that we watch), and she basically serves her purpose well, in that regard. Its also a great way to get in some dialogue without having the characters have to pick up the slack and talk even more during their fights. I suppose she's not really necessary to the plot, but like I said, I just can't find any problems with her being around, myself. Its a tournament arc, so....that kind of goes with the sub-genre, doesn't it? Either way, I still personally think that the Dark Tournament arc is the best of its kind in the entire shonen genre, so I continue to gladly re-watch it and enjoy the hell out of it once every couple of years.

[LumRanmaYasha]

D'oh. Forgot to add the Great Teacher Onizuka anime to the list of shows I need to got to. Maybe I'll start it once I'm done with the manga (I'm currently at chapter 124). Also need to finish Birdy: The Mighty Decode and Pumpkin Scizzors once of these days (I've been putting off the latter for almost 4 years  )

[Grave]

First of all, Flowers of Blood is one of my top 10 favorite episodes in the series (I even made a top 10 list explaining why). Admittedly its more for the Kurama half than the Kuwabara half, but all the same, I must first say this to you in response to your post:

Heh, I could tell you to have a coke and a smile and piss the fuck off, but I'ma be cool because I'm not up for a pissing contest at the moment. And truth be told this is exactly why I don't talk about anime anymore. Too much pettiness, but for the sake of conversation

Well, as far as Keiko goes, the series pretty much seems to forget she exists except for at key moments, so she hardly bogs the story down in any significant way for me. As for Kuwabara, I like him just fine as a character. He serves his purpose as the most "human" member of the group, both literally and figuratively. He brings a moral center to a group that honestly needs it. At the end of the day, Yusuke really isn't a pure good guy in any sense, and Kurama and Hiei are really only out for their own interests throughout most of the series, and are easily the most morally gray characters in the show. Kuwabara is necessary to keep the group balanced and help them lean towards the right side, in that regard.

I can get if he's not your type of character, but just how the hell does he bog down the series so much that you can't get past his parts? Its not like he's in every fight or anything like that. Personally, I like this type of character, as he has a lot of heart to him. I feel that too many modern shonen series either don't get how to do this character right, or have this mentality that you just need to have as many cool, dark, and grim characters as possible to be seen as a more mature series, which is the most amateurish thing to do for a writer and is why most modern shonen series that do this suck balls in the first place. Whether you like him or not, Kuwabara is a character who has substance to him. He has a clear personality, and a character arc in that he develops throughout the series, and rather than just getting stronger, he also matures greatly as a person.

Out of that little bit I said, you got "Kuwabara bog the series down" from that? Hell, I just don't like Kuwabara, nothing more than that. Seriously, I never said anything about him bogging down the series or can't get past his parts, just the first half of Flowers of Blood, but if you MUST know so badly, outta fights I find him annoying, in fights I find him boring. Hence, not caring/liking anything pertaining to him.

Kuwabara isn't anything like Naurto, though. You pit these "underdog" characters together just because they fall in the same category, but I don't think you are quite giving them the fair analyses here to see the huge difference between some of them. In Kuwabara's case, he's not an idealist like Naruto is. He just has a strong sense of morals and wants to do the right thing when he can. He's WAY more than just a comic-relief character, and this is even proven by his HUGE relevance to the plot in the Chapter Black arc, so I definitely can't agree with you there. Either way, though, even if you don't like the character, I think you're REALLY over-blowing his impact within the series. I mean, yeah, he has plenty of his moments which may not do anything for you if the character himself doesn't do anything for you, but its not like he's the only character in the series, and its not like it puts way too much focus on him overall.

I pit them together because they are underdogs. Nothing more, nothing less. All underdogs in anime (Makunoichi Ippo being the only exception) I don't like them. Only reason I said Naruto is because he was once the biggest underdog, and the only name that popped into my head.

As far as me overblowing his impact, I'm probably being more dramatic than I need to be, but if anything, your love for this series is over blowing this whole thing.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Heh, I could tell you to have a coke and a smile and piss the fuck off, but I'ma be cool because I'm not up for a pissing contest at the moment. And truth be told this is exactly why I don't talk about anime anymore. Too much pettiness, but for the sake of conversation

Dude, speak for yourself; I wasn't even being serious. Here's a word of knowledge about me: If I'm being serious, I'm not exactly going to use a "smiley" to express my opinion towards you.

Out of that little bit I said, you got "Kuwabara bog the series down" from that?

You said that you "couldn't bother to continue the series" and the main reason for that was Kuwabara. That's how.

I pit them together because they are underdogs. Nothing more, nothing less. All underdogs in anime (Makunoichi Ippo being the only exception) I don't like them. Only reason I said Naruto is because he was once the biggest underdog, and the only name that popped into my head.

Yeah but I can't stand Naruto as a character, even if I don't mind most other underdog characters. So having Kuwabara pitted with the likes of him kind of makes me cringe, personally. But, that has more to do with the fact that I hate idealist characters in anime/manga.

As far as me overblowing his impact, I'm probably being more dramatic than I need to be, but if anything, your love for this series is over blowing this whole thing.

Yes, but I actually meant to over-blow it since being an ass to people is the best way to get them to respond to me.