Forum - View topicWhat Are You Considering Buying?
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Dessa
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I don't have enough familiarity with what you currently enjoy to say if you would like Sailormoon or not, but I can, at least, give a rough comparison for tone and story compared to the anime dub, which you at least have some experience with.
Arc 1 (no name) [Manga vol. 1-3; Dub episodes 1-40] Other than the filler added to the anime, the only real change from the manga with the anime dub is the tone. Both the manga and the anime dub (and the original anime, for that point) start out pretty light hearted, and, as was said, is the "gather the team" segment of a sentai series. However, after they get everyone (volume 2 of either release of the manga, episode 29 of the anime dub), while both versions take a darker turn, the manga takes it much more decidedly darker. The same basic plot happens (just darker), although the manga ties things into the events of the past much more. Arc 2 (no name, but generally called "Black Moon") [Manga vols 3-6; Dub episodes 41-82] Well, first off, the anime got ahead of the manga in Japan at this point, and so they created a filler arc with the Doom Tree (never seen it in Japanese, so don't know it's Japanese arc). That's nowhere in the manga at all. Like the first arc, the manga starts out light, as does the anime dub, with the introduction of Sixth Ranger Chibi-Usa/Rini, but whereas the first arc had its point where both the dub and the manga got darker, just the manga more, this arc never seemed to get that "darker" feeling to me. Maybe because, as an American without access to Cartoon Network for many years it was years between seeing the first part and the "lost" 18 episodes to finish it, but it didn't even seem as dark as the first arc, to me. Dunno. The manga doesn't quite get as dark as the first arc, either, but it's still decidedly darker than the dub. Arc 3 (Infinity) [Manga vols 7-8; Dub episodes S 1-38] We're past the DiC dub here, so it's just comments on the arc. Infinity is actually a really short arc (only 8 chapters), and it's darker than any of the previous arcs. It's personally one of my favorites, too, because, pretty much right from the start, it jumps into the action. Arc 4 (Dreams) [Manga vols 8-10?; Dub episodes SuperS 1-39] I actually don't like this arc much. Never was sure why. But I don't like it in the anime, either. It's also not that long, despite the original release having it across 4 volumes (with a bunch of short stories). It just doesn't interest me as much. Arc 5 (Stars) [Manga vols 10?-12; anime never released in the US] This is the single arc where the anime and manga deviate more than by tone, and the arc that has never been released in the US of the anime (ironically, Takeuchi was reportedly pissed at one of their changes, which is the #1 top reason the arc's not available here). The anime actually starts off with a continuation of the Dreams/SuperS arc, and never gets nearly as dark as the manga. The manga, on the other hand... pretends to be not that dark, and then gets down into the pits of despair. It's the darkest arc (although Infinity comes close, at times), as well as, ironically, giving the most hope (again, Infinity comes close, though). This arc also opens the series' universe up for potential spin-offs and continuations, but she never made any (this may or may not be a bad thing). Overall, Infinity and Stars are my favorite arcs, and I can't really say which is which. The US re-release is only through volume 8 (first chapter of Dreams), so Stars isn't available that way, and Tokyopop made some quite glaring translation errors (especially involving my favorite character in the series), so stay far from that version. Honestly, if you're familiar with the characters to not need an intro, I'd even suggest skipping straight to Infinity, at least for reading. If you don't like Infinity, you're definitely not gonna like the rest of it. If you do, give the earlier stuff a shot. |
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Brainchild129
Posts: 308 |
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SA, what's been your previous experience with magical girl series (be it anime or manga)? I ask because if you've disliked that sort of genre in the past, I don't know if Sailor Moon would convince you otherwise. After all, it's a cornerstone series of the magical girl genre as a whole, so if you dislike the tropes and overall 'girliness' of magical girls, then a series that helped define or refine a lot of them wouldn't help things.
That being said, speaking as someone with fond memories of the show and has been reading the series as it's release, I would recommend it. I don't see what issues others have with the translation beyond Vol. 1 - yes, that volume had some minor bits of translation weirdness ("Princess-sama"), but they did not spoil my enjoyment of the manga and those bits of weirdness disappear quickly. The biggest difference between the manga and the anime verisons of Sailor Moon is that the manga is much more to-the-point as far as the plot goes; it doesn't need to fill out a season with a lot of repetitive battles. Character development moves a lot faster as well, and the personalities aren't as extreme as they were on the show, which means even the most notoriously annoying characters from the show are much more tolerable on paper. Takeuchi's art is also a big draw for me, as I like its delicate wispiness (particularly on the color pages), but YMMV on that. |
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Surrender Artist
 Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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Thank you, everybody, for your advice. I remain undecided, but have some more idea about it and I was never going to hurry on this decision. I hope I'm safe in assuming that Sailor Moon's rerelease will stay available for a while. (No way I'm dredging those old Tokyopop releases up)
That does sound like a rough start. There's almost no way to win with getting the band together, unless you're the Blues Brothers. I know that the anime suffered from, shall we say, severe decompression, but it sounds like doing it the manga way is unpleasantly contrived.
I bet I'd like Basara too, but... well, you know. Banana Fish sounds neat too, but... uh... same deal. I think part of my hesitance is that I err toward slightly more grounded stories than Sailor Moon seemingly tells nd my tolerance for characters who are conspicuously younger than 25 has never been high, even when I was younger than 25, and isn't getting better. (Not that I'm absolute on either, I've liked wild fantasies about adolescents, but seldom as well as more 'realistic' stories about adults) Maybe what I need is a 'magical woman' series. I'm sure the publishers are just lining up for that.
It's very, very limited experience. I watched Sailor Moon in syndication erratically when I was a child and in fits and starts on Toonami as an adolescent, so my knowledge is scattershot and faded. Thank you for your overview. I appreciate the effort and it helped fill a few holes.
That's interesting advice. Faded or not, the core characteristics of the cast are easy to get and keep a hold on. Jumping into the middle like that runs against my nature, but it might be a good way to make an end-run around my doubts.
I have very little experience with magical girls. I think that Princess Tutu is about it, and that's not really a conventional magical girl anime. Perhaps Magic Knight Rayearth is closer. I liked that. I don't like saying that it's too 'girly' for me, because I don't think that's quite it. Or at least it's too broad. The things that chafe me is too much fussing over makeup and clothes and the heroic romantic savior motif. Even as a kid, I f**king hated Tuxedo Mask. It's the girls' story; leave the dude at home with a beer and a playboy, or whatever while they get on with the woman's work of kicking ass. The anime, at least in the form that I saw, sometimes just let the girls get smacked around for a few minutes, had Tuxedo Mask or Moonlight Knight intervene to save them or at least give Sailor Moon a chance to chuck some jewelry at the baddies. Actually, that's something that I really don't like that's unrelated to gender-related genre definitions: The repeated build-up to the same final attack every time that seems to be the only one that accomplishes much. It's just like how every episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers seemed to follow the same pattern and end up with them resorting to the megazord. I remember hating that even as a child. (Probably why I didn't stick with that show for very long)
More measured and condensed characterization would, if my memory is any good, help a lot. Besides being obviously drawn out, I remember thinking that Serena was an unbearably exaggerated, one-note crybaby dumbass and that Sailor Mars was kind of a bitch. I don't need, or want, characters to be either unbendable iron ladies or effusively likable, but there seemed to be nothing to work with in those two. (I don't even remember anything about Sailor Venus... Jupiter was always my favorite... because she was tall and assertive without being unpleasant, not because of her *talent*. Sheesh!) Not having overplayed character traits filtered through DiC's... distinctive dubbing production might make it more tolerable. Last edited by Surrender Artist on Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Brainchild129
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Oh I know precisely what you mean about the annoyingly whiny, ditzy Serena and uber-bitchy Rei. What made it worse is that we spent what felt like AGES with those two and Ami in that first season. Usagi starts out a crybaby, but she mellows out a fair bit over the run of the manga, and Rei is more stoic than bitchy. I was never all that fond of Tuxedo Mask myself (I found him rather useless), but he's much more involved and interesting in the manga. He actually works with the Scouts and helps with plans and even has his own attacks (aside from flinging roses and spouting off inspirational blurbs). He's actually a proper character in the manga, and it's gone a long way towards redeeming him in my eyes.
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Surrender Artist
Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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Although it might look suspect, but it’s been six months since I did this last and those who know my fetish for symmetry will not be surprised that I did it again now. My anime list came roughly a month before that, but I wasn’t around in January and have elected to merge the two since the separation last time was the result of delays in compiling the lists and some technical problems, viȝ. my computer died)
This is a list of what anime and manga titles I’m interested in owning. It isn’t terribly different from the last time, but I’ve bought some things and ‘audited’ my list to remove some things that I’ve lost interest in, excise some things that won’t be released, adjust the rankings, reflect changes in availability and slight changes in my methodology. The ‘priority levels’ are the sum of a score from 1-3 of my interest in a series (formerly it was 0-3, but I got rid of 0), modified by various conditions. An item gains points for being something that I especially want, being urgent because it will soon go out of print or is becoming scarce or has an especially nice release. They lose points if have already seen it, it is prohibitively difficult or expensive or if the release is unsuitable. There are some slight differences between anime and manga, but the only ones of particular note are that manga has three degrees of being prohibitive (sorry, Basara) whereas anime has only two and manga also get a bonus for being concise (less than 12 volumes) or a penalty for being long (more than 16 volumes) The priority levels reflects the order I would buy things in a sort of neutral state without sales, moods or other things affecting my choice. In practice, I don’t follow it too closely, but it does provide guidance from time to time. Things that have not been released (i.e. Michiko e Hatchin) are listed, but obvious cannot be bought until it is possible to buy an English release. I also list a few items that I have ordered it, but have not yet shipped. (i.e. Magic Knight Rayearth II and Rose of Versailles) Titles that I already own that were once listed are in grey after the still active titles according to their original scores. Titles that I have partially collected, but not ordered all of are also listed (i.e. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad). Titles that I have ordered and are partially shipped are listed in grey. (i.e. Parasyte) I am very happy to get any suggestions, especially regarding manga, or advice that anybody has to offer. So now then, some rough beast shall slouch toward Bethlehem to be born. ANIME Priority Score 5 Rose of Versailles Kino's Journey Princess Tutu Revolutionary Girl Utena Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie The Time Stranger Twelve Kingdoms Priority Score 4 Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad Emma: A Victorian Romance, 2nd Act Lupin III ~The Woman Called Fujiko Mine~ Michiko e Hatchin Puella Magi Madoka Magica Spice & Wolf Spice & Wolf 2 A.D. Police Files Birdy the Mighty: Decode Gilgamesh Haibane Renmei Key the Metal Idol Le Chevalier D'Eon Madlax Mawaru Penguindrum Memories Paprika Serial Experiments Lain Tokyo Godfathers Priority Score 3 Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail Claymore Cowboy Bebop Emma: A Victorian Romance Giant Robo Kids on the Slope Mad Bull 34 Magic Knight Rayearth II Martian Successor Nadesico Mushishi Please Save My Earth RahXephon Sweet Blue Flowers The Vision of Escaflowne Wolf's Rain You're Under Arrest (OAV + TV) Bodacious Space Pirates Children Who Chase Lost Voices Eden of the East El Cazador de la Bruja Flag Galaxy Express 999 Kurogane Communications Magic Knight Rayearth Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion Millenium Actress Planetes Project A-ko Simoun The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Tweeny Witches Priority Score 2 All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku Battle Athletes Victory Galaxy Angel A Galaxy Angel S Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd GIG Gunslinger Girl Koi Kaze Locke the Superman Only Yesterday Paranoia Agent Patlabor: The Mobile Police (OAV 1/1988) Perfect Blue The Big O The Big O II The Irresonpsible Captain Taylor (OAV) The Irresonpsible Captain Taylor (TV) Trigun 8 Man After Adieu, Galaxy Express 999 Banner of the Stars Banner of the Stars II Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage Book of Bantorra Bubblegum Crisis Bubblegum Crisis 2040 CANAAN Crest of the Stars Detroit Metal City Ergo Proxy Fantastic Children Figure 17 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society Heat Guy J Mezzo Forte My-HiME My-Otome Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt Parasite Dolls Scrapped Princess Shiki Silent Möbius Silent Möbius the Movie Silent Möbius the Movie 2 The Sky Crawlers Video Girl Ai Yugo the Negotiatior Priority Score 1 3 x 3 Eyes 5 Centimenters Per Second All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku DASH All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku TV Azumanga Daioh Battle Athletes Blue Seed Devil Lady Dominion Tank Police FLCL Fullmetal Alchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballah Galaxy Angel Galaxy Angel Z Gall Force: Destruction Gall Force: Earth Chapter Gall Force: New Era Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence Hellsing Ultimate Master Keaton Mezzo DSA Project A-ko FINAL Rhea Gall Force Shadow Star Narutaru Stellvia Story of Saiunkoku The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya The Girl Who Leapt Through Time The Place Promised in Our Early Days Welcome to the NHK Berserk Gall Force: Stardust War Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ House of Five Leaves Texhnolyze This Boy Can Fight Aliens Priority Score 0 Animation Runner Kuromi Animation Runner Kuromi 2 Galaxy Angel X Ghost in the Shell Gunbuster Gunslinger Girl Il Teatreano Lupin III (First Season) Outlaw Star Princess Nine Project A-ko Cinderella Rhapsody Project A-ko: Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group Roujin Z Zipang A.D. Police Bubblegum Crash Twin Signal Priority Score -1 Armored Trooper VOTOMS Gall Force: Eternal Story Manga Ongoing Series A Bride's Story Black Lagoon Attack on Titan Claymore Flowers of Evil In These Words Mardock Scramble Ōoku: The Inner Chambers Wandering Son Priority Score 6 Twin Spica Priority Score 5 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Tropic of the Sea 7 Billion Needles Alien Nine Book of Human Insects Pluto Sexy Voice and Robo Priority Score 4 Andromeda Stories Paradise Kiss Rica 'tte Kanji With the Light Anything and Something Appleseed Ayako Domion Tank Police Lychee Light Club Princess Mermaid Sister Red Priority Score 3 20th Century Boys 21st Century Boys Message to Adolf Abandon the Old in Tokyo Akira Battle Angel Alita Bokurano Buddha Dorohedoro Giant Boy Detective* Gunsmith Cats Gunsmith Cats Burst Jormungand Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossoms Pink Limit MW Onward Toward Our Noble Deaths Wolfsmund A Drunken Dream and Other Stories Black Magic Domion: Conflict 1 [No More Noise] Ghost in the Shell Ghost in the Shell 1.5 Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Hansel & Gretel Hellsing Magic Knight Rayearth Magic Knight Rayearth II Orion Parasyte Sakuran Toward the Terra Velveteen & Mandala Priority Score 2 Alien Nine: Emulators Angel Para Bellum Apollo's Song Caravan Kidd Chicago Crimson-Shell Me and the Devil Blues MPD Psycho No Longer Human Please Save My Earth SaiKano Silent Möbius Voiceful Amefurashi Girl Friends Reiko: The Zombie Shop Venus Versus Virus Priority Score 1 Barefoot Gen Blade of the Immortal Emma Excel Saga Monster Pilgrim Jäger Sailor Moon Priority Score 0 Basara Cheeky Angel Eagle Hayate X Blade Well, I’ve created a monster. I appreciate your attention. I haven’t done this in a while, but if you’ve read this far, I owe you, this time, let’s say some homemade shoofly pie. *Just checking if anybody was paying attention... at least after I remembered to add this. Last edited by Surrender Artist on Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:29 am; edited 1 time in total |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7360 |
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I can help with some manga
Andromeda Stories-I must say that after reading To Terra and enjoying how awesome it was, AS....is really just average at best. I know it's going OOP, so I can see why you want to grab it now, just don't expect anything as good as To Terra. Abandon the Old in Tokyo-I rented this from my library, and it's a bunch of short stories of varying quality. I'd say rent this one first, I didn't think it was quite worth buying. Chicago-I think I've now read all of the Yumi Tamura stuff out in English. The problem with Chicago is that it feels like the set up for a grand story that never happened because she went to work on other things. So it's really lacking. Wild Com, I quite liked the third story, I'd love to see more creepy things out of Yumi Tamura. Saikano-I'm always seeing cheap sets of this on eBay. Now the fact that I dislike the series is an entire other matter. I just feel like sex was the answer way too often. Barefoot Gen-this one is going OOP. I have the first two volumes and can never decide if I want more on the basis that it is possibly the most depressing manga ever created. Buddha-I'd up the priority on this one if you want those sexy hardcovers whose spines form a picture. It's also really really good. You could just try out v1, since Buddha himself isn't even born until the end of it, it stands on its own fairly well. No Longer Human-I understand this one sold poorly, I'd expect it to disappear soon enough. With the Light-also going OOP fast Apollo's Song-it's probably my least favorite Tezuka manga released by Vertical, I dunno, I just don't think Tezuka did romance as well. Obviously, I must own all the Tezuka anyway. But yes, you are right to put Buddha, MW, and Adolf well above it. Also, not sure if you own Barbara yet, but that's a solid title too. I might as well comment on some anime too Captain Tylor OVA-starting to wonder if I like it or not, I feel like the series ended beautifully and this isn't doing it for me. The TV series is more def worth it though. Outlaw Star-this one's still easy to get on eBay, i'd jump on it now. Cowboy Bebop-set seems to be instantly jumping in price too Please Save My Earth-feel I should comment on this one since it's in your manga list too. The anime covers approximately 7.5 volumes of material. It's also hella rare. I feel like if you got the manga, you'd just be cutting out the middle man and you can always see the Yoko Kanno ED on youtube. Also, it's a pretty early Viz DVD, don't expect it to be anything other than average by today's standards. Rose of Versailles-I pre-ordered this with the Colorful movie coming out like a week after. Not sure if the Colorful movie is on your radar or not, but if you get the blu-ray version (and live in the US), free shipping! (I got the DVD version and had to add Atomcat to my order because omfg astro boy + cat sounds epic cute!) Oh and my order lists two freebies coming with RoV. Locke the Superman-I quite enjoyed this, I got it recently myself. I'm glad to see that Discotek is getting actually good older things and not Mad Bull 34 style of so bad it's good garbage only (though I am psyched to see MB34 for myself too, lol) Gankutsuou-you need to make sure that your eyes will not bleed from the visuals here. Because mine practically did and it made it impossible for me to tell if the story was any good because I spent most of my time trying to ensure my eyes wouldn't burst. Master Keaton-good news, you can get and watch the DVDs in any order! Except for the last two eps, it's entirely episodic! I say get what you can. VOTOMS-not sure why this is -1, I liked it a lot. eBay once again will prove to be your friend, though the fact that the 16 disc edition is the cheapest one will not be. |
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jmfsilenthill
 Posts: 1863 Location: Chinese cartoons are srs biz |
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@Surrender Artist
MPD Psycho can certainly be entertaining, but sometimes it focuses more on being shocking than telling a coherent story. It gets seriously confusing as the story goes on. I much prefer Otsuka's other manga, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. A lot of volumes of Dark Horse's release of the series are out of print. And to add fuel to the fire, Dark Horse has put it on hiatus (likely cancelled at this point). As for anime, you can't go wrong with GITS: Stand Alone Complex. I enjoyed that series infinitely more than the original (kind of pretentious) movie. From what I've read, most people seem to like season 2 better, but I prefer season 1. There's sometimes a lot of technical jargon that doesn't seem to make much sense, but I don't think it's essential to enjoying the series. Welcome to the NHK is also a great pick. It's funny, tragic, and incredibly entertaining. Funimation's release of it is dirt cheap too, so there's no excuse! 
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Dessa
Posts: 4438 |
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Oh wow, Crimson Shell's on that list...
Have you read/seen any Pandora Hearts? It's completely unrelated, story-wise, but the manga-ka gives it a similar feel (well, gave PH a similar feel, CS came first). My main beef with it is that it's a one-shot, and it feels a bit rushed in the latter half. I would love for her to go back and revisit that world, maybe giving us more of what happened before the events of CS, or even ties it into Pandora Hearts (I can see it as a possibility). I greatly enjoyed it, though, regardless. |
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Brainchild129
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First of all, it's interesting that you put a higher priority on Emma S2 than S1. Is there any particular reason? It seems sort of backwards.
Secondly, honestly I would split up the priorities for the different seasons of You're Under Arrest. After all, the 2nd and 3rd are easily (and rather cheaply, especially during the holiday sales) available from Sentai, while hunting down all the AnimEigo volumes for the 1st season is much more of a challenge. I would put a higher priority on all the Bandai stuff, particularly the mainstays like Escaflowne, Outlaw Star, etc., but in particular on Wolf's Rain because 1. It's still available from RightStuf, but is down to less than 100 2. It's such a wonderful, beautiful show. I would probably boot the Captain Tylor OAVs much lower. I've seen a bit of the series and like it very much, but I've yet to see anyone with a kind word for the OAVs. The general consesus seems to be that they're a giant bummer, taking what is normally a very absurd series and making it deadly serious. I might also boost Giant Robo a little. After all, the collection is dirt cheap and you might want to get all the good stuff from Media Blasters while it's still available, or else it'll start disappearing like MKR S2 (seriously, that just seems to have dropped off the face of the earth recently, and 3rd party copies are going for silly prices). I'd boost Welcome to the NHK and Mushishi personally. Both are excellent shows for very different reasons, and are ridiculously cheap to boot unless you desperately need them in singles. I don't have many comments for the manga section, shockingly enough, other than I might bump down Gunsmith Cats Blast a little, partially because it's a straight continuation of GSC, so you'd want to find out if you enjoyed the main series first, and partially because the GSC fans of my acquantance consider Burst's ending a disappointment. I'll also throw in a recommendation for Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service - it may be slipping into OOP status, but it's a highly episodic story to begin with, so it doesn't suffer for that the way MPD-Psycho does, and the stories are all excellent (not that I'd expect less from Otsuka). |
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Maidenoftheredhand
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I don't know if you saw it already but if you are interested in Fantastic Children I would move that one up. I am not sure what the stock of that one is like but I expect it won't last forever, and unlike a lot of other titles once FC is gone I am sure it will never be licensed again.
If you like classic storytelling you will like FC. Although it's not an old anime, it's style is old & nostalgic. It's just one of those really good underrated gems. |
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zawa113
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I must second Fantastic Children, it doesn't appear to be in your collection on here, so assuming it's up to date, it's a must own. Though the dub is atrocious, it was outsourced, but the subs are fine.
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Surrender Artist
Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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Thank you very much for your replies. I very much appreciate the courtesy and they were quite helpful. I enjoy the quick volley of opinions and I always find one or two thing that I forgot or should reconsider, as well as thing that are more urgent than I’d realized.
Well, I was a little cool on To Terra... and I wasn't even aware of Andromeda stories until Vertical Ed mentioned that it was going out of print and any surplus copies would be scrapped. I still want to get it, but I'm a little wishy-washier. Dratted licensing.
I'm not surprised by the limitations given its brevity, although I still enjoy when something is compact. Even so, it appeals to my sensibilities and given how hard Basara would be to collect, my options for Yumi Tamura manga are constricted. Besides, it might redouble my resolve to power through and somehow complete Basara... after that I'd just need a witches soul to become a deathscythe!
I'm mostly interested because I have a great deal of affection for the anime and it seems surprisingly attainable. I probably wouldn't care for something where sex was the answer too often, but I've never read something where sex was the answer way too often, so I'm still game, even if for an novel failure.
I know that I want it, but I poked around checking its availability while auditing my list and it wasn't good. It lost a lot for being a pain to collect by this point. That really seems like something that somebody should give a new release, but what I think 'should be' is seldom 'what is'.
I do like things sexy, thick and hard... Wait... that wasn't the right way to put that. I haven't been tracking Vertical's Tezuka releases to closely, so I might just. I mean... it's Buddha; I think I'm obligated by law or something to read it eventually.
Awww, jeez. These are things that I keep getting warned about, but I just never learn. I really liked Lychee Light Club, so I want to read more from Usamaru Furuya and With the Light Sounds fascinating, although heartbreaking given why it ended.
Indeed, I'm a little unenthused about Tezuka X Romance, especially because he seems a little limited in how well and fairly he could portray female characters. (I liked Ayako and The Book of Human Insects, but the eyebrow rose a few times) I think I need to reconsider my approach to his works.
I have to confess... I'm waiting to see if any North American companies license the absurdly awesome special edition that was put out in Japan last year. My relationship with Cowboy Bebop is a little odd. I love it dearly and it genuinely did influence my life, but I'm somehow accustomed to not having it, but rather being something that I must wait for and make time for on its terms. That's bizarre, but I've spent over a thousand dollars on hats (not all at once, damn you!) so bizarre is my business and business... is not making any goddamned sense.
I became interested in the Please Save My Earth OVA because of this Buried Treasures column and the manga as a natural extension of that. (I'd heard the title before, but the title made me think it was some preach environmental screed) It didn't seem like such a bitch to get at the time I took an interest, but this list existed on a yellow notepad before it was a spreadsheet with numbers and shit... It seems like the manga is the more reasonable goal by now, which is kind of surreal for such a long Viz shōjo series.
Ack! I forgot about Colorful, which is silly, because I really want to see it. So thank you for reminding me about that. That should be priority level four. I am really excited to see Rose of Versailles. I got one Hell of a delayed gratification high by not watching any more episodes on Viki after the first, leaving me hanging at its triumphant finale.
DiscoTek won my undying love by releasing my beloved Galaxy Express 999 on DVD. I got curious about Locke the Superman when Mike Toole wrote about it so it's just a matter of time. I'm always looking for something that's a little older and not too long to sit down with for an evening. I have Mad Bull 34 on order and keenly await its reality-bending awesomeness. I've known of its legend for a long time and I'm betting that Mike Toole didn't make it his 10th bet of the nineties for nothing.
Well, I found that my enthusiasm for Armored Trooper VOTOMS has become a touch dull. I understand that what makes it worth watching is that it has complexity and maturity beyond the mecha and even those are interestingly different than the usual. Even so, I'm not a mecha guy and maybe it's just my mood, but I'm arbitrarily down on it for now and it loses a lot for looking like a nuisance to collect. You know, I always forget about eBay. For some reason, it just isn't on my mind, even though that is how I collected all of FLAG.
[quote=Brainchild129"] I'll also throw in a recommendation for Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service - it may be slipping into OOP status, but it's a highly episodic story to begin with, so it doesn't suffer for that the way MPD-Psycho does, and the stories are all excellent (not that I'd expect less from Otsuka).[/quote] I certainly take Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service under consideration. I have heard some approving opinion of it before and I wouldn't be too bothered by going after an incomplete series from Dark Horse. I did that with Reiko the Body Shop. I haven't applied scrutiny to MPD Psycho, but I have trouble following manga sometimes anyway, so it might be a wash.
I've seen everything in the franchise except for Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, which dims my interest in owning them, at least relative to other things that would be new to me. I do like them all a lot, so I imagine that I will want to have them some day.
I actually harbor secret hopes of collecting the old multiple-volume release for Welcome to the NHK (and Mushishi too), but that last volume... I fully expect to enjoy it, but I think that I have a little time.
Part of the reason that I listed it is that it's a one-shot. I enjoy having something that I can read without too much commitment, is a minimal investment and that shows some discipline in its storytelling, even if the endings sometimes falter. I just happened to see it on the Yen Press website and the premise sounded like it played to some of my sensibilities. If I like it, perhaps I'll consider Pandora Hearts.
Never fear, I have a keen interest in fantastic children. Wait... that doesn't sound good... Regardless, I'm happy to note that I already have Fantastic Children. It appears under priority score 2 in grey, which indicates that it has been purchased. I pulled a whole set together, including the silly special edition of the first volume, last September when I went into a small Bandai panic. (I went into a lot of panics that month)
It ended up that way because I want them equally, but the limited edition of the second season is still readily available, but I expect it not to be available for too much longer, so that adds a little urgency.
The first season and film are the only things that I'm interested in, at least presently, so that listing is only for the AnimEigo release, which is now a great nuisance to collect.
With Escaflowne I'm gambling that Mike Toole was right that somebody else will pick it up. I'm a fan of Kazuki Akane (Birdy the Mighty: Decode for the win!), so I certainly want it. I'm less enthusiastic about owning Outlaw Star chiefly before I watched it several times over on Toonami way back when. I really do want to get Wolf's Rain too, but I ordered the old boxed set from an Amazon seller last year, only to have him welch out on me, which deflated some of my enthusiasm.
Well, I'm a Kōichi Mashimo fan and completist, so I tend to be forgiving.
Everything from Media Blasters is marked 'urgent' for me, just because I, not unlike many others, am pessimistic about their future. Giant Robo is one of those things that I'll probably get into an abrupt frenzy for some day. It sucks to hear that Magic Knight Rayearth 2 is hard to get. I've had it on order from TRSI since the end of last month. I had ordered it and the second season together, but only the first has come, with TRSI insisting that they'll be getting more 'soon'. *sigh* If only I had more money… and time… and storage… and Scotch. I can't believe I ate that whole thing. Last edited by Surrender Artist on Wed Jan 29, 2014 10:56 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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zawa113
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Whew, glad you've already got Fantastic Children! I got that special ed DVD 1 for the soundtrack too, it is quite lovely.
Yeah, I was afraid Please Save My Earth would be all preachy too, and at the start of the first manga/the first minute of the OVA, it has a preachy message about trees and pollution and stuff and then it pretty well leaves it alone to become a badass scifi shojo. And even though one of the space characters, Mokuren, can talk to plants and treats them like her friends, she's not really preachy about it. Of course, you won't even see her in the anime, sadly. The anime only just starts Shion's backstory and Mokuren's isn't for several more volumes after that, which is a shame as I love her backstory. It is easier to get than Basara. If I can suggest more bad ideas that you may or may not have: Banana Fish, From Far Away, Firefighter Daigo (does have a House of 1000 column), Twin Spica I don't feel that anyone is obligated to read anything, but Buddha is a damn fine series. I can pretty well comment on any given Tezuka manga, because even though I really did not like Lost World, damn if I won't own it due to being Tezuka. I will say that Apollo's Song is actually romance with the guy as the main character, so it is quite different from Ayako (incest! Ayako kinda makes me yuck because so much incest!) or Book of Human Insects (which I do like, it's a bit like MW but with a crazier woman as the main). The main story for Apollo's Song is that Apollo gets mad at a guy for not knowing what love is (due almost entirely to his mom being such a slut) and curses him to continually fall in love with the same woman in every reality (including reincarnations, dreams, and current life). So I do like the premise, but most Tezuka romance tends to be love at first sight, which is my main complaint. Though I believe that Ed Chavez likes it a lot. And you'd better already own Ode to Kirihito, good place to start with Tezuka and possibly my personal favorite. If you're concerned about collecting Phoenix, the 2004 cheap anime will knock out v 1, 2, part of 9, and the better half of 10/11. v3 can be knocked out with the good adaptations of the Yamato and Uchuu movies. And you can read/watch these things in almost any order (7 and 8 are part of one story as is 10/11). I really enjoyed Genkaku Picasso if you want easy to obtain Usamaru Furuya. It also convinced me that he must get off on drawing because there is no other way to describe the art in all his series, but especially Genkaku Picasso. I've got Mad Bull 34 on pre-order too, lol, I am quite excited in a weird way! It's for possibly the same reasons I own Garzey's Wing for all I know. There are other awful OVAs I'd like to own, but I am not willing to pay a lot of money for things like Urotsukidoji (but I saw a VHS copy of it at my friend's place, next time I hang with her and her fiancee is not there, we're so watching that. One time, we saw the first La Blue Girl, he has a set of 6 of them and the spines make a picture and the spines also note that no one depicted is under the age of 18 *cough*lol*cough*) Yeah, I understand that not everyone is into mecha. But I will say that there's a 12 ep OVA spinoff series, Armor Hunter Mellowlink, about a guy who is out for revenge and fights mecha on foot using outdated anti-mecha gun. Not because he can't pilot the mecha in the series, but out of principle. You don't really need to watch VOTOMs first either (it references a few VOTOMs things though). It'd be fansubs only, but it's more action than mecha if you perhaps want a taste of the VOTOMs universe in a different way. Though it is quite different from VOTOMs in terms of just feeling of it. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
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Just a note for anyone looking for the OST the complete collection actually had it too. 
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WTK
Posts: 4178 |
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The Fantastic Children OST was only included on specially marked Complete Collection copies (with a round label on the the shrinkwrap). So it's a definite huge YMMV especially purchasing from online.
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