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The Mike Toole Show - New Year's Resolution


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wandering-dreamer



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 1733
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:12 pm Reply with quote
I don't have a physical backlog, think I've only ever bought three or four shows I hadn't completely watched and then finished them all pretty quickly, but I do have a word doc with a list of roughly 40 titles I want to get to and I actually started making progress on it a few months back! Although, since it ranges from a few short shows all the way up to Legend of the Galactic Heroes I doubt I'm going get rid of the list anytime soon, I see having a backlog as a perpetual thing if you're a big fan of any medium (books, movies, comics, there's always that one thing that you've never even heard of yet everyone else swears is amazing and that you have to try out!).
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deathfromabove1993



Joined: 23 May 2009
Posts: 120
Location: Chicago, IL
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:21 pm Reply with quote
Let's see I have not finished Irresponsible Captain Tylor and Wedding Peach. I only bought the first two sets of Soul Eater and haven't got around the buy the rest, as well as the first volume of Nightwalker and not getting around to buying the second part. Then I stupidly bought the first 3 DVD singles of Fate/stay night before Sentai rescued it and put it all out on a complete set (which I may I have to buy eventually). I bought but have yet to watch Wolf's Rain, The World of Narue, Le Chevalier D'Eon, Iria, RG Veda, Kids on the Slope, Angel Beats, PSG, Grave of the Fireflies and Now and Then, Here and There. I also bought five of the six volumes of the 2nd season of the Ah my Goddess TV anime that ADV released, but I'm waiting to find good and cheap used copy of vol 5 (which is expensive). I'm feel bad for not getting around to watching or finishing these shows, but I'll put the blame on schoolwork and laziness.
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DuelLadyS



Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Posts: 1705
Location: WA state
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:25 pm Reply with quote
I have a pretty hurkin' huge backlog. I used to keep a page from a listpad taped to the side of the dvd shelf to help me keep tabs on what I hadn't finished yet. It's still there, un-updated for at least a year because I thought 3 pages was plenty. I have no idea where I sit.

This will likely be the year I start dealing with it though. The manga shelves are 100% full, the DVD shelves are fast filling up, and I need space for next gen console games. I hate to say it, but I'm probably going to start dumping shows unwatched- even at the rate of 1 disc a day, every day, I wouldn't finish my backlog before the end of the year. It's not so bad, a bunch of them were filler for those 10/25 sales rightstuf did awhile back. Mostly it's just a matter of diving into the pile and finding what I want to bother trying to watch still... Confused
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Echoes



Joined: 06 Sep 2012
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:31 pm Reply with quote
First off, very entertaining article as usual, Mr. Toole.

My physical backlog is nowhere near as daunting as yours is, but I do have one, and it is quite shameful. I have a lot of movies on mine, which might seem odd given how quick you can get through those, but they're also a lot easier to impulse buy.

The list includes Sky Crawlers, Castle in the Sky, Milennium Actress, Mardock Scramble: The Second Combustion, the original Appleseed, New Dominion Tank Police (yet I've seen all of the original, which I ironically don't own), as well recent arrivals Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Hanasaku Iroha and Another.

Finally, just like yours, my list includes Sakura Wars TV. I still barely have the faintest idea of what it even is. That's what happens when it comes in a pretty box and costs 15 dollars at Rightstuf's Christmas sale. (That'd be the 2012 one... and I still have not touched it.)

I really like the idea of that New Year's resolution, having unwatched stuff you've paid for just feels wrong. I might join the party and see if I can dig through what I own before I purchase any more. Perhaps I'll finally be able to pay my bills then too!
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snake-eyes



Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Posts: 160
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:54 pm Reply with quote
Mike Toole, I Love 70'S era anime. I am so happy that Toei finally released Classics like Gaiking and Danguard Ace on dvd. Captain Dan could also have been used as a Captain in the Danguard Team. Maybe Toei will bring Grendizer and Getter Robo G next. Of the original Dub, I did miss...Taurus and his Bull Robot. It was great to watch Force Five as a pre teen. I was able to see it originally on the movie channel Spotlight. A great column Mr Toole.
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victor viper



Joined: 18 Jun 2011
Posts: 630
Location: The deep south
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:58 pm Reply with quote
Interesting article as always. The comment about finishing Lucky Star but not Tekkaman Blade made me think of all the crappy shows I've watched in their entirety, while leaving far better shows unfinished. My secret shame is that I watched all of DearS but I never got around to finishing Last Exile. I guess everybody has a similar experience.

So, Mike found a copy of volume 4 of Galaxy Angel Rune? I'm beginning to think there's exactly one copy of that DVD and it simply changes ownership once a year or so. Granted, Rune is pretty terrible but I did buy volumes 1-3, and it kind of bothers me that volume 4 is notably absent.
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Myaow



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 1068
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:58 pm Reply with quote
I want to check these out now; Starzinger sounds really cute. I like the fact that the Xuanzang character is a girl in this version, it kind of foreshadows shoujo stories like Fushigi Yuugi where a mystical lady leads a band of cool warrior dudes!!
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3565
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:05 pm Reply with quote
Well, I guess I have a sort-of a backlog too concerning discs. Except I intentionally leave the discs themselves unwatched in their cases, as I view, or have viewed those versions, through other means...

Somewhat understandable though as most of those are imports and thus don't have subs, however it would be the case regardless of that. As for shows I might have on discs that I haven't watched through them or other means, I honestly don't think I have any. The few times I do watch with discs as source I rip them first.

My Pile of Shame is more of an issue with several visual novels I happen to have, due to time constraints.

I almost never impulse buy. What I do buy is planned, mostly picked from what I've watched, fitted into allowable budget and ordered from online stores. This down-to-earth approach also helps plenty to keep my Pile of Shame non-existent(at least when it comes to anime).
Not that there'd exactly be many other options to begin with when your residence happens to be near a smallish Finnish town, far away from any larger metropolis...


Last edited by Blanchimont on Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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GracieLizzy



Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 551
Location: Sunderland, England, UK
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:06 pm Reply with quote
Eden of the East, Ranma 1/2, and Dai-Guard are the ones I haven't touched at all, and I need to get around to finishing Gundam Wing and Vision of Escaflowne.
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notrogersmith



Joined: 06 Jun 2010
Posts: 194
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:09 pm Reply with quote
Most of my unwatched DVDs are of titles that I had rented on Netflix and then decided to buy copies to own. I have found, though, a great way for me to whittle down the number of unwatched DVDs I have: laundry day. Smile It takes 30 minutes to wash a load and 60 minutes to dry, and during that time, I can watch about 3 episodes worth. Sometimes I end up watching more than that because I'm waiting for one of the washers in my apartment complex to be freed up.
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ScarRedTiger



Joined: 11 Dec 2013
Posts: 15
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:18 pm Reply with quote
I blame RightStuf and my desire for free shipping.

Angelic Layer, Coyote Ragtime, GTO, Akira, Last Exile, Moribito, Nerima Daikon Brothers, Princess Tutu, Samurai 7.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4158
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:20 pm Reply with quote
Echoes wrote:
Finally, just like yours, my list includes Sakura Wars TV. I still barely have the faintest idea of what it even is. That's what happens when it comes in a pretty box and costs 15 dollars at Rightstuf's Christmas sale. (That'd be the 2012 one... and I still have not touched it.)


I bought it from the same sale and I have watched it - I've really acquired a taste for ADV's Monster Island dubs. No "names" {beyond Larissa "Not Jessica Calvello" Wolcott. I think her recasting in Calvello roles was some sort of production gag} but they don't have the bad flaws that permeate ADV's/Sentai's main releases, that one voice, one actor or scriptwriter/director/producer {most people's complaints but I'm ok with Fosterization} that ruins the whole thing. Or "ruins" the whole thing in case of direction.

So, yeah, watched it all for the secondary dubbing studio and that's the best part of it. It's an anime based on a video game franchise that's more franchise than content. The time period's great, the robots are conceptually entertaining, the villains...

I don't remember them. There you go.

The show was easier to get through than Heat Guy J; I watched two episodes of that and thought the character designs were flawed, none of the heroes were interesting and the villain was too villainy in that someone would have killed him years ago. Great dubbing though. In the two episodes I saw.

Then there's Brigadoon, aka "the Wendee Lee show". I complained about Clannad's use of Luci Christian in two lead roles where her dual casting infringes upon the premise of family. In Brigadoon, it's Wendee Lee here, Wendee Lee there and every now and then, you have Michelle Ruff doing her Wendee Lee impression just to break up the monotony. Watched about half.

Sister Princess has a conceptual flaw; It's based on a romance game where the "sister" you "romance" turns out not to be your sister {Presumably, if you work through all twelve, you become an orphan in the true ending}. In the anime, the sister you romance stays your sister and there's still 12 of them so what's the point? Watched a little more than half.

Fruits Basket. Watched more than half, just keep forgetting to finish it. Same with Sorcerer Hunters.

Moby Dick/Hakugei, three episodes, Cromartie High, one episode. Too many guys. Casshern Sins, one episode. I just keep forgetting to watch it because it's BD only. Same with Orphen only I'm doing it on purpose.

Now and Then/Here and There, Robotech's second season {start a new season/show with a flashback clip show? Why not?}, probably a few more are still on my "have not touched list". I'm tearing though Wedding Peach; I love the characters but it's too bad the transformation scenes and fights ruin all the good stuff. Also, it's a Monster Island dub.

Out of several hundred titles, it's not too bad. My "I can't believe I watched, bought or liked that" list is much bigger.
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Banjo



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 798
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:49 pm Reply with quote
Danguard Ace was a terrible father+son drama and I don't expect those 2 other shows mentioned in the article are any good either.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:50 pm Reply with quote
I will beat my backlog this year.

Twelve movies, eighty shows, over sixteen hundred episodes of anime.

Finishing them all in one year means watching five per day (not counting the episodes from currently-airing seasons), which means I finish with a month to spare. That will come in handy because I just know that I'll be adding to my backlog by buying more shows and movies during the year.

So why I am so determined to get through them all in one year? Because despite some real dedication on my part my backlog has only been getting bigger, not smaller. I fear that if I don't do something soon - if I don't set such a concrete goal and stick with it - then I'll never ever get through my backlog. I won't be in a position where I can watch so many episodes of anime a day for too much longer; work and family commitments will catch up with me soon enough. 2014 is pretty much my last good chance to get it done.

So yes, I know your pain. I know it well.
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Cptn_Taylor



Joined: 08 Nov 2013
Posts: 925
PostPosted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:53 pm Reply with quote
I guess I don't have Mike Tool's problems since I'm okay with not hoarding all anime that has ever been made and make myself sit through it. A lot of anime I've watched during my teen years and I've bought some anime in later years. But I have never felt the need to have it all. Couldn't finish a series when it was broadcast on tv ? I'm ok with it. Couldn't watch x, y, z shows that aired in Japan and nowhere else ? I'm ok with that too. Some things that I missed during years past that happen to pique my interest I do go back and try to track them down, legally if possibile and if not then illegally. But it is very rare. So my stack of things to watch that are still shinkwrapped is null. And it is a very satisfying feeling. Laughing
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