WTK

I don't if Season 2 absolutely blows Season 1 away. It was really good nevertheless. There are numerous twists and turns. There are plenty of surprises from the last couple episodes (especially the last one).

Helga89

Gurren Lagann - hmm, IDK why but iI didn't like it -___-
Ragnaroc was quiet interesting^^
n I love Wolf's Rain^^ but I cried too much T___T

tonyc3742

Can you sell me on Godannar? I just started watching it, so I'm only two episodes in. I have heard that it doesn't really break a whole lot of new ground, so I'm not expecting the second coming, but so far it's not doing anything for me. Something about giant robots usually just doesn't click. I can buy the giant robots, but why do they have to launch from this huge long runway? I don't think this applies to Godannar, but why do some giant robots rely on guns so much? Why don't they just get up there and pound the baddy (admittedly the Dannars are doing that.) And I certainly admire the female form but the constant fanservice is a little bothersome.

I want to like it, the art is crisp, the voiceovers are good so far, I can see some depth to some of the characters, but I think I'd rather switch to the Robotech disk that's already in the player.

Maxflier

It sounds like it's not going to be a show for you. I admit that I wasn't into it either that early but sometime during the 2nd disc the show really clicked for me and I ended up liking it a lot. Although the fan service, which you find offputting, is part of why I liked the show so much. I also liked the other teams that show up later in the show from other countries.
I would say give it at least a few more eps, but again I get the feeling that it isn't going to be your type of show.

And on another note, I haven't started a new series yet but when I do get around to it I believe I will start Noir.

fujishig

To enjoy Godanner, you really have to enjoy the history of Super Robots (Mazinger Z/Tranzor Z, Getta Dragun/Force Five, other early Go Nagai stuff) and stuff like Brave/Yusha mecha (which culminated in Gaogaigar). The fan service, the over the top action, the calling out stupid attack names, the sometimes inane plot twists, etc. If you don't have that kind of nostalgia I don't think it's strong enough on it's own to be really enjoyable. I'm a huge Super Robot fan, and I had a tough time with the constant fanservice too, though.

Basically, if you're the guy who hated Voltron because they could have just "formed blazing sword" and beaten the bad guy in the beginning of each episode, and because they took too long to form Voltron in the first place, this probably isn't for you...

tonyc3742

I used to get into the fanservice, it's been a while since I've watched anything that had a lot of it, so maybe I don't enjoy it anymore or it seems gratuitous to me since it has been a while. I don't mind giant robots, but I'll admit I don't really know a lot of the history thereof, so while I know they're riffing on them, the forming-up and shouting attack names, etc, isn't giving me the nostalgic kick it sounds like it needs to. Sort of like Spirited Away--I enjoyed it, but I know a lot of it went over my head because I didn't have the familiarity with many of the Japanese legends referenced.

Heh, good point about Voltron and Forming Blazing Sword. I can usually deal with building up to it, lots of shows or movies including mainstream Hollywood don't whip out the nuclear option till the end, so that's part of the suspension of disbelief. Although I always preferred the lions to the ships.

Maybe I'm just not in the mood for it right now. I think another thing I've grown more sensitive to is the pretty constant high energy level (so far). I'm going to shelve it and maybe revisit it later.

big e

Macross Plus Movie and OVA – Having seen both the movie and OVA (in that order), I personally think the movie was better than the OVA. They both did an excellent job of presenting the same story and both were very good animes, but I just feel that the movie flowed better than the OVA. I know there were some scenes that were cut out and changed around for the movie version but I thought they were pretty minor (at least the ones I noticed) and really didn’t think anything was lost by their removal. Overall, they were both very good, but I personally would prefer the movie over the OVA. Movie: 4.5/5. OVA: 4/5

Area 88 OVA – Even though it only consists of two 100 minute long movies, I felt that this did a far better job at telling the story than the recent TV series did. I also like how Saki was given a more active role in this than the role he had in the television series which, from what I remember, consisted of him sitting behind a desk and barking out orders. My only complaint about this is that the other characters weren’t really as fleshed out as well as they could have been, but that's only one complaint about an otherwise perfect show. 4/5

Blue Submarine #6 – I personally found this to be a very poorly constructed and poorly paced show. The main problem I had is that nothing ever got explained. The significance of the Phantom ship (why everyone was afraid of it), why Blue 6 wanted Hayami back, why Hayami came back (which is a big question mark for me since he acted like a jerk for the rest of the show), and Hayami’s relationship with Blue 6’s captain are never explained. It's almost as if the writers of the show wrote it thinking that the audience would already have prior knowledge of the story before watching it. However, the lack of explanations is the least of my problems with Blue Submarine. The CG effects look jarring and out of date when compared to the decent looking 2-d cells (maybe 10 years ago the CG effects looked good, but by today's standards they look laughable), the music that was used felt way out of place, and the characters I found to be very unlikable. Out of all the characters in the show, the only one I found interesting was Zorndyke. And one more gripe I have about it is if Blue Dome was the blue fleet’s headquarters shouldn't it have been better defended then it actually was? I mean, when the Phantom ship attacked, it seemed like Blue Dome’s only defenses were a couple turret guns and that was it. You’d think it would’ve had more defenses than that since it was the HQ of the main fleet. 2.5/5

Berserk – Like Blue Submarine, this was another show I have just re-watched after not seeing for several years. It was better than I remembered, although I loved it the first time I saw it. However, after reading the manga for the last four years, I wish more of it had been animated, especially from volumes 2 and 3, which the anime had skipped over. 4/5


Up next: Probably Area 88 TV (although I don't think this stands a chance against the OVA), Ergo Proxy, Appleseed Ex Machina, Gunslinger Girls, and Memories.

McHawkson

Finished Mushi-Shi. It's okay, but intriguing series. Mushi-Shi is like X-File without FBI or police involved. Some stories are good, some are boring.

Coming up next: Gunslinger Girl: Season 2: Il Teatrino

mewmartigan

Recently finished:

Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid (good, but not as good as the first)
Planetes (very good)

Watching right now:
Wolf's Rain

I can't afford anime but Netflix is a gold mine!

McHawkson

Finished... This series is pretty disappointed. I don't know what happened to it - it look like it has been downgraded from first season. If they used same people who made first season, it would've been better.

visitor Q

I've been hearing this a lot. Damn shame really as I am a big fan of the first season. It appears that this one will be moved from a somewhat immediate blind buy purchase to a Netflix.

Thanks for the input.

WTK

FWIW, the OVA is coming out on 12/1/09.

McHawkson

What is it about? Is it about the final girl who was a ballet and bit older than other girls at end of manga?

Edited to add: Just looked up in Anime News Network... that storyline isn't in manga and still same people who made Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino. I don't know... I'm already disappointed with what they have done to Il Teatrino and I wouldn't hold any high hope on it.

WTK

Yeah, I haven't seen either one. I wouldn't be able to comment on it anyways. From most people who I have chatted with, Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino is a letdown from the first season.

McHawkson

I'm watching Darker than Black - it seems interesting so far...

Anubis2005X

I'd like to get into Fullmetal Alchemist, but should I watch the original series, or watch Brotherhood first?

McHawkson

Watch the original series first, then movie, and then Brotherhood (through I haven't seen Brotherhood, yet).

WTK

Thought it's not required, I would recommend watching the original series first and then followed by the movie. The Premium OVA Collection release is completely optional after that (no ties to any storyline).

FMA: Brotherhood is not season 2. It's essentially a complete reboot of the FMA franchise. It's supposed to follow a lot closer to the manga. Through 21 episodes, I have liked FMA: Brotherhood more than the original series. Your experience may vary. You can watch FMA: Brotherhood legally in many sites including FUNimation.com (new episode usually gets shown on Thursdays). DVD release may/should be coming sometime in 2010 and hopefully FUNi will consider releasing in BD.

kenage

Almost done with Claymore and up after that is Ghost in the Shell 2nd gig.

I am also watching Bleach & Moribito on tv and Naruto Shippuden online.

Tenkyoken

I'm going to have to disagree with WTK as to which one is a better anime. I personally really like the first one more than the second one. The story is given more room to build and expand along with the suspense over 51 episodes. I feel the characters are better developed and I really felt a connection to the Elric brothers, far more than the second. I couldn't care less about them in the second anime, but in the first they felt like people I gave a damn about. I think the second is a little too rushed, but the eyecatches are nice. The second feels more like a companion to the first, expanding the world of alchemy created in the first one, rather than repainting the canvas. Watch the first one first, as all the characters are far more fleshed out and given life. The ending may not be the best one ever, but the movie was satisfactory in closing the series, yet still not ideal.

Thrush

Just finished Darker than black, pretty good. Supposedly a 2nd season is in the works.

Tried to watch the 1st ep of Count of Monte Christo. But that animation gives me a headache. Does that style continue through the entire series?! So distracting, completely takes you out of the story.

ehuang24

I thought Chrome Shelled Regios was good. Just finished airing first season in Japan too.

Baron Of Hell

Just watched Tokyo Godfathers. Absolutely beautiful movie. Might have to buy it now. I could see myself watching it every year on Christmas.

Thrush

I had no idea Naruto Shippuuden was going to be airing on Disney XD I happened to catch it last night flipping channels. Cant believe Cartoon Network didn't pick up the rights to this one, I always thought Naruto was one of their more popular shows.

Baron Of Hell

I believe it was their most popular anime to date. Cartoon Network is kind of kiddy focused. They probably didn't think the older Naruto was good fit for them. Sad considering Shippuuden is a 100 times better with almost no filler. The fight against the puppet master and sakura is epic.