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Shelf Life - Always the World's Greatest


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Nagisa
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Joined: 19 Aug 2003
Posts: 6128
Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 1:29 am Reply with quote
Gotta say I both agree and disagree with your take on the SEED compilation. Firstly, you pretty much said exactly what I've been saying since the start, that these compilations are an absolute mess. They were horrifically spliced together with little to no regard for any sense of plot continuity or even general coherence (obviously gearing these things toward fans and not people just wanting a digest version of the story), and the brief "bonus footage" added in is barely worth the effort (okay, great, Rusty has speaking lines now, but we still know jack all about the guy except that he's a redhead).

However, I do have to disagree in that I felt that the Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy was much better in terms of continuity and general flow. Even coming off fresh from seeing Gundam SEED in full (say about a week's space in between), I found the compilation hard to follow. Yet putting a good two years in between seeing about 3/4 of the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series and seeing the movie trilogy, I found it almost perfectly fine and easy to follow. Yeah, the second and third movies got a bit iffy in places—though I understand, for example, that Sleggar's role is just as stunted and underdeveloped in the TV series—but all in all I found it to be a good effort.
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icepick314



Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 486
Location: Back in the Good Ol' US of A
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:29 am Reply with quote
i guess it's matter of preference....

personally i like character design by Hisashi Hirai....i'll watch anything if it's by Hirai...

and it's only Gundam story arc that i can stand to watch...i've tried to watch some of the older ones but i just can't sit through it....and i don't even know what's up with mechanical design of Turn A Gundam? mustache on a mech?

anywho...i loved Gundam Seed plot and character design...don't care how the movie really was....
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SK DarkDragon



Joined: 02 Aug 2005
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 8:03 am Reply with quote
I don't watch/haven't watched anything reviewed today, although Yugo now has me a bit interested. I'm really just glad to see Shelf Life is continuing! *was a bit worried with the long stretch of no reviews*

~SK
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Faceman



Joined: 11 Jul 2005
Posts: 300
Location: Boston
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 8:21 am Reply with quote
Burst Angel just didn't cut it for me. I agree that with the first volume, it seems to have potential, but you are right in telling right away that you've already seen those character types before. Later on the actual espisodes get into a cookie-cut format, with events X, Y, Z all happening in order every episode. It started feeling more like a lame Scooby Doo show than what it was built up to be. Just finishing the series was like a chore at the end.
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Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2313
Location: Online Terminal
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 8:34 am Reply with quote
Well, let me just say that Forsberg has turned Jeremy Roenick into Man of the Year in the Iladelph. At least we can both agree on this--Red Wings Suck.

Now, onto the article: Yes, oh yes! Yugo is freakin awesome! This is definitely The Best Title You've Never Heard Of for 2005. It's the glory and splendor of a drama you find on FX, TNT, or USA but in anime form. Whoever buys this title will not be disappointed.

It's kinda surreal that Kodocha, after all the hype and anticipation, is at the bottom of the Worthy list.

I'm a little surprised that you were able to pin a specific analogy to MS Gundam SEED. I always thought it was basically a bishified version of the entire Universal Century canon. Actually, the only good to come from SEED is my Major League Gundam shirt I got at Katsucon ^^;
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Nagisa
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Joined: 19 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 8:48 am Reply with quote
icepick314 wrote:
and it's only Gundam story arc that i can stand to watch...

...i loved Gundam Seed plot....


Well, neither Bamboo or I are actually ragging on SEED itself, just the piss-poor way that the movies managed to handle the plot by rendering it ridiculously hard to follow. I can't exactly speak for Bamboo, but personally I actually really enjoyed SEED in its TV series format; it's just that the movies are a crappy way of telling the same story.
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ACDragonMaster



Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 405
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:16 am Reply with quote
Hehe, much as I'm enjoying Burst Angel, I must admit that as soon as I saw it on the list of titles I knew it was going to be on the rental shelf.

Really, it's an anime for some good old mindless action, done with very pretty animation. As far as that goes, it's really not bad. And not to mention, one point that impressed me- as compared to other series of that type, fanservice is relatively low. It's there, but not at levels that are at all distracting, which is a big plus in my book.

A little formulaic, sure, but every once in a while, that kinda thing is a nice break from all the fun mindbreaking stuff. ;p
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 10:00 am Reply with quote
Nagisa wrote:
icepick314 wrote:
and it's only Gundam story arc that i can stand to watch...

...i loved Gundam Seed plot....


Well, neither Bamboo or I are actually ragging on SEED itself, just the piss-poor way that the movies managed to handle the plot by rendering it ridiculously hard to follow. I can't exactly speak for Bamboo, but personally I actually really enjoyed SEED in its TV series format; it's just that the movies are a crappy way of telling the same story.


I agree with you. I really liked the TV series, but the movie is just bad. Trying to cram 20 episodes into 90 minutes is NOT a good idea.
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smutchi



Joined: 16 Apr 2005
Posts: 189
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:09 am Reply with quote
Where are the "Tastes like: ..." comments? Sad
I always loved reading those, they were so funny!
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Isaaru



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 375
Location: the oppressed colonies in outer space
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:52 pm Reply with quote
SK DarkDragon wrote:
I don't watch/haven't watched anything reviewed today, although Yugo now has me a bit interested. I'm really just glad to see Shelf Life is continuing! *was a bit worried with the long stretch of no reviews*

~SK


yeah. Yugo volume 1 is special priced at 14.95 at suncoast. It retails for 19.95. and there are some interesting extras on top of that. I was a bit hesitant because it might suck (being discounted so soon and all). After reading that review I will give it a shot.
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kollivier



Joined: 29 Nov 2004
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 2:01 pm Reply with quote
Isaaru wrote:
SK DarkDragon wrote:
I don't watch/haven't watched anything reviewed today, although Yugo now has me a bit interested. I'm really just glad to see Shelf Life is continuing! *was a bit worried with the long stretch of no reviews*

~SK


yeah. Yugo volume 1 is special priced at 14.95 at suncoast. It retails for 19.95. and there are some interesting extras on top of that. I was a bit hesitant because it might suck (being discounted so soon and all). After reading that review I will give it a shot.


Actually, it had a "special price" sticker at Best Buy, too. (And it was cheaper there; I paid $12 or $13 for it.) I even wonder if ADV is doing it themselves, experimenting to see if the sticker will help drive sales of lesser-known titles.

Anyways, if you want good drama and really interesting characters, then pick this show up. You can also tell the author did his homework on the land(s) that Yugo visits. Although it's 'animated', it feels more realistic than most live action dramas. It's great stuff, IMHO. Kudos to ADV for taking a risk on this - I will follow it through to the end.
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Wyvern



Joined: 01 Sep 2004
Posts: 1602
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 3:31 pm Reply with quote
I would have put Master Keaton in the "similar series" bit for Yugo. It's got the same basic premise of "guy travels around the world solving problems;" although Yugo seems a bit more timely and steeped in current events than Keaton does, they're still similar, great shows.

Everyone should see Kodocha. Everyone. Or else.

I would have put Burst Angel in Perishable Items, myself. I can't stand that show. It takes a cool setting and some admittidly gorgous animation and proceeds to gleefully flush all that potential down the toilet so we can look at a bunch of generic fanservice girls shoot things and be moody. It wouldn't be so bad if all the characters didn't come off as throughly irritating and unlikeable. I've never watched a show where I found myself hoping the protaganist would get shot before.

As for the Gundam Seed movie, it's just kind of redundant, isn't it? I mean, if you're going to watch Seed, then watch Seed-watching the movies is the equlivalent of skimming the Cliff's Notes. Awesome cover art, though. I want that as a wall scroll.
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ANN_Bamboo
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Joined: 05 Jan 2002
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Location: CO
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:59 pm Reply with quote
Joe Mello wrote:

It's kinda surreal that Kodocha, after all the hype and anticipation, is at the bottom of the Worthy list.


Where a title is placed in each category doesn't really mean anything. I mean, okay, technically it's listed at the bottom of the category-- but it's still listed as worthy, isn't it? I just thought that Samurai 7 and Yugo the Negotiator deserved to be closer to the top *because* Kodocha already had so much hype and anticipation, and well, no one's heard of Yugo.

Wyvern wrote:

I would have put Master Keaton in the "similar series" bit for Yugo. It's got the same basic premise of "guy travels around the world solving problems;" although Yugo seems a bit more timely and steeped in current events than Keaton does, they're still similar, great shows.


Actually, believe it or not, I was thinking of putting Master Keaton down, but after thinking about it, I just couldn't bring myself to do it, because the two shows differ so much thematically. Yugo is very serious and much more graphic and gory, while Keaton just solves problems.

smutchi wrote:

Where are the "Tastes like: ..." comments? Sad
I always loved reading those, they were so funny!

Anime smallmouth I got lazy. I'll start adding them back in again soon.
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Advent_Nebula



Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 932
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:07 pm Reply with quote
Well I can say this, Burst Angel tastes like Angelfood cake.
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Nagisa
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Joined: 19 Aug 2003
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Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:42 pm Reply with quote
smutchi wrote:
Where are the "Tastes like: ..." comments? Sad
I always loved reading those, they were so funny!


Gundam SEED Movie I: Tastes like...you remember that scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation when Griswald cut into the family's delicious-looking turkey dinner, and the minute the knife touched the bird it kinda...shriveled open in a burst of hot air, exposing a dry, crunchy, underprepared mess inside? Oh, hey, I found the liver. Laughing
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