Jul. 30th, 2011

jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
[personal profile] thesilentpoet and I are settled at Kay's, computers at the ready. Well, sorta. She's still asleep, like a sensible person who's about to be up for 24 hours straight. I, on the other hand, apparently have a personal tradition of sleeping like crap the night before Blogathon. :wince:

One more time: 24 hours, 49 posts, for The Nature Conservancy. This year, my theme is (Supposed) Anime Classics, and I'm sponsored by viewers like you XamJapan, by which I mean Kay is pit crewing, B will, er, wander through and cheer us on, and I will be matching all contributions - so if you contribute, comment and let me know!

Here goes nothing. Whee!
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
SAILOR MOON

Genre: Magical Girl

How much seen: one episode

What's it about: magical cat, sailor scouts, Tuxedo Mask, "fighting evil by moonlight/winning love by daylight..."

I've been meaning to watch Sailor Moon for years. It's one of The Iconic Anime for my generation: I can remember friends from college singing parodies of the (American) theme song, and the main character is instantly recognizable even without the sailor scout outfit, to the point where all a parody has to do is toss a character into long flowing pigtails with the meatball-bunches at the head, and we know what they're referring to.

Does it hold up? Well...sorta. I watched near the end of my spree, so it was impossible to come to it without the filter of all the homages and parodies and references, and I did only watch the one episode (in Japanese, despite the theme song reference above). But Usagi came across as a real teenager: a little irritating, but sweet enough that I liked her anyway. And it's worth noting that even before the other Sailor Scouts appear, this series still passes the Bechdel Test. Usagi gets to kick ass, as well, which I always appreciate in a heroine - even if she does do it at first by weaponizing her crying. (! - well, if it works...)

Tuxedo Mask may also be totally up my alley. I r predictable.

Overall opinion: positive. Don't know if I'll watch any more of it, but I could at least see hints of why it became a classic.

*

And so it begins. Mwahaha. Ziggy (the Corgi) is flopped out on the floor, trying to keep an eye on [personal profile] thesilentpoet and the door at the same time, and the A/C has been cranked. One cup of tea down, lots more to go.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
LINGERIE SENSHI PAPILLON ROSE

Genre: Ecchi/Mature

How much seen: one episode

What it's about: ...you know how there are those movies that are XXX parodies of hit movies? Yeah. This is the XXX parody of Sailor Moon.

It's quite scrupulous about it, given the set-up. Instead of a high school student, our main character works at a lingerie bar! She hasn't failed a test, she's accidentally pulled a guy's toupee off his head (with her boobs, no less)! She doesn't accidentally collide with Not!Mamoru, she - well, actually, no, she does collide with the guy, and we have the first example I have seen in anime of 'I can see your panties' actually leading somewhere that isn't the guy getting whacked over the head for being a pervert. And they're only getting started. Unfortunately. :wince:

I have to admit that this one caught me by surprise. Most of the supposedly 'ecchi/mature' entries I saw had, at most, female nudity. This one follows the porn credo of 'if we can make it sexual, we will make it sexual.' For me, at least, this wasn't so much amusing or titillating as it was 'buh what?' It did make watching the real Sailor Moon a week later an interesting experience, though. :cough:

Overall opinion: not even for the favorite voice actor playing one of the main characters. On the other hand, if ever I want to traumatize my friends...

*

Ziggy does not understand why we are all typing and not playing with him. On the bright side, this means I have the excuse every so often to get up and move around. On the down side, if we don't play with him, he tries to insert himself between Stef and her keyboard to persuade her to join in our reindeer games.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
SPIRITED AWAY/SEN TO CHIHIRO

Genre: Kids and Family

How much seen: the whole thing

What it's about: I'm going to cheat here, because all attempts on my part lead to flailing. From Anime News Network: "On their way to their new home, a young girl, Chihiro, and her parents stumble into what appears to be an abandoned theme park. But all is not as it seems, as the theme park is a bath-house for the spirits, and not a place where humans are welcome. Chihiro must fend for herself and rescue her parents, as they have been turned to pigs as punishment for eating the food meant for the gods."

I first saw this in dub, and it remains one of the few exceptions where I love English dub and Japanese-with-subtitles pretty much equally. As you might guess, this isn't a movie I can be really objective about: it's one of my go-to comfort movies. If I'm tying myself in mental knots, I can toss this into the DVD player, and watch a ten-year-old girl face down her own fears, free a dragon (and her parents), and mature from sulky brat to determined heroine. There's a reason I chose her as my icon for this Blogathon.

Maybe it's just that it taps into something in my subconscious. But it's got a mythic world (that's heavily Japanese, and thus not as Western-fairytale-predictable to me), well-developed minor characters, a heroine who genuinely matures, and a hero who's, well, a dragon. :-)

Overall opinion: Um, yeah, see above. Not objective at all. :hearts:

*

Kay has returned, and is taunting her dog with his ball. He seems to be enjoying it, even if it mostly involves running around her in small circles.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
DNANGEL

Genre: Magical Girls Boys

How much seen: one episode

What it's about: Niwa Daisuke finds out on his 14th birthday that his entire family has a...well, let's just say that the men of their family, starting at age 14, can turn into a (grown-up) kaitou named Dark Mousy. (Yes. Well. Moving right along.) The reason he's a kaitou is for complicated reasons about artwork and spirits, and the only way out is to find his True Love and have it returned. Two small problems with that, besides the aforementioned complications: Daisuke is extremely shy as himself, so he's already been turned down by his (theoretical) True Love - and the Niwas aren't the only family who are involved in that complicated tangle of artwork and spirits.

I have to admit: I first encountered this series via fanworks, so I am massively spoiled for a lot of the plot twists that come later. (Although really, based on the first episode, this is not the kind of series that cares so much about plot twists: it throws both Dark and Krad at you right off the bat.) So I went out and got my hands on the manga...and the manga is very shoujo. It starts out very much about Daisuke and his sweet love for Risa (? - look, there are twins, I wrote down one name but not the other), and oh yes here's this kaitou thing, but the emphasis is a lot more on wacky school hijinx and the standard sort of romance. Frankly, it was nice, but not really my thing.

The TV series, on the other hand? Not that it doesn't also have sweet shoujo romance, but it also gives us nice large amounts of Daisuke and the young detective who's after him, for more than just the obvious detective/kaitou reasons. (No, not BL. Well, not just BL, although there's quite a lot more subtext in the anime than in the manga.) I admit: I like BL subtext, and I love a good kaitou story. As a result, this has me a lot more intrigued than the manga did.

Overall opinion: definitely want to watch more. This has Possibilities.

*

Argh, computer problems! This does not bode well. But I am stubborn.

Stef says I'm hitting the caffeine hard way early. I say it's Pepsi Throwback and I'm thirsty. ...and also caffeine is good.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
BATTLE ATHLETES

Genre: Sports

How much seen: one episode

What it's about: after another world war (which may have caused the poles to shift, or they may have done it spontaneously), humanity got over itself and figured out that maybe they should try some sort of 'we are better than you' thing that doesn't involve killing people. So in 3045 there was this huge competition - and one nameless guy won it all. Cut to: present day, 3996, and everything is focused on the Great Competition. Win it, and you become a Cosmic Beauty. (No, I don't know when it apparently became girls-only. Maybe that's something that's explained in a later episode's info-dump.)

So, yes, as is the custom, we're focused on one particular girl and her friends and teammates. Akari is rather a ditz, but her mom was the Cosmic Beauty in her day, so Great Things are expected of her. Unfortunately, this causes problems even in the first episode, as the upperclasswomen naturally regard her as Potential Rival at best, over-ambitious dirt at worst. I am sadly not exaggerating: there's an entire set-piece in the last third of the episode wherein a bad-tempered upperclasswoman tricks Akari and one of her new room/teammates into an area of the satellite where they all train where there isn't any artificial gravity. Naturally they are rescued by the third room/teammate, backed up by the vaguely Dumbledore-esque headmaster of the satellite, but there are Possibilities looming.

Overall opinion: I spent the first few minutes seriously wondering how this was a sports anime, as we're given a long info-dump explaining how this world got to the point of the satellite and the Great Competition (which is not the Olympics, really it's not, no matter how much it looks like it). Unfortunately, once it got to the point of the actual sports, it settled down into predictability as well. Not going to look for any more of this one.

*

Kay is curled up with the latest Harry Dresden to my right, and Stef is reading something long on my right. We had to rescue my subject randomizer (i.e. a D12) from the dog already. Must be more careful.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
AKIRA

Genre: Surreal and Psychological

How much seen: the whole thing

What it's about: Hmm. Post-apocalyptic, motor-bikes, mutations...I actually went into watching it with pretty much no knowledge except the above, the knowledge that it was considered a classic, and the warning that it got brutal.

It does. When people get shot, they bleed, and not just a pool of blood underneath a body with no visible wound. I can understand the reason (this isn't a TV show, where things all too often get discreetly toned down: this is a movie), but it does make a difference in the viewer's reaction.

The movie is set 30 years post World War III: Neo-Tokyo has gone past rejuvenation into 'over-ripe,' the main characters are part of a biker gang, and there's a top-secret government experiment that awakens psychic powers, in an effort to re-create the powers that...well, nobody's clear on whether they caused World War III, or were the final blow of World War III. They were definitely responsible for wrecking Old Tokyo. But this time they'll get them right, they swear! The parallels to World War II and the A-bomb are not particularly subtle.

For all that, it's also a very 80s movie - not so much in animation style (it notably avoids the infamous huge-hair style that marks, say, Ranma 1/2) as in the paranoia that another apocalypse is coming, and the conviction that the government won't be able to stop it (or indeed, may be hastening its coming, deliberately or not). The female characters are mostly useless: the only one who isn't just a love interest is Kei, who is competent at her job until the plot needs to show that Kaneda is even more competent, or until they need emotional leverage on Kaneda.

Overall opinion: Actually another one where I could understand how it's a classic. I suspect it helped that I watched it in the Japanese, as I'm told the English dub is truly terrible - but there's a lot more depth to this than just 'shit blows up.' I might doubt why trained soldiers never stopped to think that gee, maybe shooting at a telekinetic isn't the brightest move ever, but for all its implausibilities, big and small, this is the kind of movie that sends a character up into space, and lets us watch him rip apart a satellite in utter silence, without either Star Wars style explosions or the need for the soundtrack to punctuate what we're seeing.

*

Blogging for the Nature Conservancy - if you donate, let me know so I can keep track. Two and a half hours down, twenty one and a half to go. :)
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
DETECTIVE CONAN/CASE CLOSED

Genre: Kids and Family. Yes, in a show that regularly features murder mysteries. I'd just like to state clearly that I'm not the one who picked these genres.

How much seen: Er. At least a season's worth here and there, non-contiguously, possibly more.

What it's about: Teenage detective sees something he shouldn't, gets poisoned, but lo! the poison just shrinks him down ten years! So now he has to try to figure out how to get his life back, while concealing his identity (so the people who poisoned him won't figure out he's still alive and try again, this time with something that won't fail) and, of course, solving all the mysteries he runs into. Which are kind of a lot. I think he has a higher body count (of the 'people around him die' variety) than Jessica Fletcher from MURDER SHE WROTE.

Poor Conan. He's been trying to get back to Kudo Shinichi since 1996 (or, if you go by the manga, 1994). But it still works, which is probably why it's still going. The mangaka knows how to shake up the formula so there's more variety than just 'detective, mystery, solved': there's Kudo's teenage rival (who quickly figures out who 'Conan' really is); there's Kudo's girlfriend and her consulting detective father (who take in 'Conan' without knowing who he is, and still haven't officially figured it out); there's Conan's classmates who form the Junior Detective League, in part because of all the mysteries they get swept up in because, well, Conan; there's the kaitou who's fighting the same people as Conan/Kudo, but since he's a thief Conan can't just let him go... Sometimes there are one-off mysteries-of-the-week, but it's just as likely to be tied back into the overarching mythology somehow. And that's probably why this series has been going for fifteen years.

Overall opinion: I like a good mystery, yo. There isn't much re-watchability, but there's enough canon that it's not a problem to find new stuff. I'll keep watching.

*

B emerges! And is helping Kay taunt Ziggy. Currently they have his ball hidden under a pillow, much to his frustration. Alas, poor dim Corgi.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
RANMA 1/2

Genre: Comedy And Parody

How much seen: one movie (subtitled)

What it's about: Boy falls into Spring of Drowned Girl, now turns into girl whenever hit with cold water. Wacky hijinx ensue, which sorta have to do with the girl thing, and sorta have to do with the fact that (mostly due to his father) he's sorta engaged to at least three girls. It's all very 80s, both in animation style and in music.

I can't speak absolutely for the TV series, but Kay tells me the movie is a good sampler - and in this particular movie (Nihao My Concubine, which is apparently the second movie), the plot pretty much entirely depends on most of the cast having no intelligence whatsoever. Basic plotline: summer vacation, most of the cast wrecked on an island, girls all kidnapped by magic dude who's looking for a wife, (all together now!) wacky hijinx ensue. Supposedly the characters make up for their lack of common sense with their ability to kick-ass, but really, their ability to kick ass depends less on logical consistency and more on the Rule of Funny. During the final confrontation (which is more of a sequence leading up to the big final confrontation), Mousse, who has previously been mostly useless, suddenly pulls out a set of claws and goes after the guy who kidnapped his beloved Shampoo. Where did the claws come from? Who knows. Spandex space. Ask not to know these things, young padawan.

Overall opinion: It's mindless entertainment, but it's fun mindless entertainment. Even better, it's fun mindless entertainment with interesting subtext about gender roles and sexuality. ...look, I was an English major, I enjoy that kind of stuff. Probably will go looking for more.

*

Thank you, [livejournal.com profile] hatfullofstars, for my first donation! Blogging for the Nature Conservancy - comment to let me know if you donate, so I can match it!
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
AH! MY GODDESS

Genre: Romance

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: Boy misdials while looking for take-out, and gets Dial A Goddess. Enter one goddess, who offers to grant him any wish. Because this is Romance and not Ecchi, he wishes for a girlfriend exactly like her 'with me forever' - and gets, well, her. Cue something not entirely unlike Bewitched if Darrin hadn't had a hang-up about Samantha actually using her powers.

This is so sweet. Not sickly sweet, either: it's the straight-up 'awww' kittens-and-puppies sort of sweet. Keiichi and Belldandy seem to move right into the 'comfortable old married couple' sort of relationship, while still retaining the wide-eyed 'really? I get to have you in my life?' sweetness of honeymooners. Given the set-up, it's remarkable how little pervy-ness there is, but it's apparently just not that kind of show.

Overall opinion: I reserve the right to change my mind, depending on how things develop in the show - and since it's apparently a fairly long-running series, that's a lot of potential for things to go askew - but for the moment, I want to see more. ...look, I'm a long-time reader of Cute Overload, I like a good bit of adorable.

*

So, lunch! ...okay, perhaps there should have been a bit more planning here, as apparently I was making wrong assumptions. But all is well, and Kay will in fact feed me as opposed to donking me over the head with a pillow. It was close there for a bit.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
FULL MOON WO SAGASHITE

Genre: Drama and Miscellaneous

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: Girl dreams of being a singer: there's something about a childhood promise. Only one small problem: she's got something a tumor in her throat, that means she can't sing loudly without horrific pain. Well, and also her grandmother Does Not Approve of singing, for reasons not explained in the first episode.

Enter two shinigami (one male, one female). They got their dates a little mixed up: she's not technically supposed to die for a year - and they accidentally let this slip to Mitsuki. Realizing she can't afford to keep waiting, she goes for an audition to try to realize her dream, and talks the shinigami into helping her. The shinigami agree, on the grounds that she'll try, fail, and have no lingering regrets that might make their job more difficult when she dies in a year. They age her up, remove the tumor, and send her in.

Except when she does step up to try - and nearly fails, afraid to sing too loudly because of the pain, despite the shinigami's interference - one of the shinigami encourages her to give it one more try. And this time, she aces it.

Overall opinion: It's cute. I have to give major props to a main character who reacts to the news that she's dying not with Noble Patience but by saying 'fine then, I am going to go for my goal come hell or high water,' and then doing it. It doesn't immediately grab me and put little stars in my eyes the way Ah! My Goddess did, but it understands that its appeal is its cuteness, and knows how to use it well enough that I wouldn't mind seeing more.

It's worth noting that the voice actress for Mitsuki was much better known as a pop singer, and this is one of only two roles she ever acted, per Anime News Network. Whether this adds something or subtracts it, I will leave as an exercise for the reader.

*

Lunch. Lunch lunch lunch. See also: there are very good reasons why my friends tease me about being part hobbit. (But only part. I'm way too tall for a real hobbit.)

Ten posts down, 39 to go (yay?). Blogging for the Nature Conservancy - comment to let me know if you donate, so I can match it.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
MARIA WATCHES OVER US/MARIA-SAMA GA MITERU

Genre: Shoujo-Ai

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: Lesbian love at a Catholic girl's school.

Well, sort of. This particular school has a system of 'soeur's, by which an older student takes a younger one under her wing. This may or may not have a romantic element: this isn't the sort of series that would dwell on that particular question. However, it's not a guaranteed or assigned thing. Enter one particular girl with a bit of a crush on one of her elders - and a pressing reason for that particular elder to take a 'soeur.'

Because this really isn't That Sort Of Series, Yumi (the younger girl) objects to Shimako's taking her as a soeur just to avoid acting in a play with a boy. And so the student council declares a kind of contest, a 'game with penalties'. If Shimako can't persuade Yumi to be her soeur by a certain time, then Shimako has to act Cinderella, complete with male prince. If she can - well, someone has to take Cinderella's part, and since it's Yumi denying them the girl originally cast, it should be Yumi who takes the role.

Overall opinion: I kind of love slow courtships, I have to confess - and I don't object to series that take things slow, so long as I know where they're going. Definitely going to watch more (and not just because I bought it blind at Anime Boston).

*

Lunch has been had, and Ziggy has rejoined us. He keeps hopping up on the couch and trying to peer at our screens, as if we'll abandon our typing and pet him instead.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
TRANSFORMERS

Genre: Science Fiction

How much seen: one episode (English)

What it's about: Autobots, Decepticons, robots that can handily transform into ordinary Earth vehicles, here from Cybertron either to destroy the world or save it. Look, if you were a kid of the 80s, even if you never saw the show on TV :cough:, you can probably sing the opening theme.

I would like to point out that this is not Japanese, although it was exported there. Apparently there is, in fact, a Japanese version of Transformers, of much more recent vintage, but the version B had, and thus the version I watched, was the classic 80s-vintage Transformers. Subtlety, at least in the opening episode, was set at naught. (So was 'strategy.' So, apparently, were 'bullets that actually accomplish anything,' as there were multiple instances of bots shooting something, and nothing actually behaving as if it were, y'know, shot.)

Overall opinion: Kay and I spent the first five minutes or so of watching this arguing whether or not this was the lamest of the 80s cartoon openings. (I nominated Thundercats as heavy competition.) Maybe it's just that this is really, really not a series served well by its first episode, but the Autobots came across as both stupid and ineffective, which is never a good thing with your ostensible heroes. Not interested.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
DRAGONBALL

Genre: Action and Adventure

How much seen: Entire series. Yes, really. Mind, this is Dragonball, not Dragonball Z. (Dubbed. I think.)

What it's about: Monkey boy (and companions) go in search of the magical Dragon Balls that, once gathered together, will summon a magical dragon that will grant any wish. Unfortunately there's also a Villain who also seeks the Dragon Balls for his own nefarious purposes. Take one part Standard Quest Epic, mix well with coming-of-age story and Journey To The West, and serve hot.

I have to confess, I'm working off old memory here: I didn't re-watch the series in preparation for this. It's certainly possible that memory has made it out to be more fun, more interesting, more unique than it actually was. ...actually, I'm pretty sure of that last part, as more experience with shonen series means I can see clearly all the stereotypes and archetypes and short-cuts that the series used. On the other hand, I've read Journey To The West now, and there's a part of me that wants to go back and take another look at this particular fictional echo of the Monkey King.

Overall opinion: I enjoyed it before ever I knew much of anything about anime, which says something - censored dub and all. Perhaps worth another look. But I'm still avoiding Dragonball Z. Bleach nearly killed me with its everlasting fights, and from everything I've heard, DBZ is even worse. Not going there.

*

So far, so good. We've hit the quarter-day mark. Just 18 more hours to go. Ziggy is flopped out near Kay, who's still reading. I'm not going to object: it's better than fending off an overly inquisitive Corgi nose that's apparently trying to type for me.

24 hours, 49 posts, to benefit the Nature Conservancy. Comment to let me know if you donate, so I can match it - and thank you to everyone who's donated (or just commented) so far!
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
WEISS KREUZ

Genre: Drama and Miscellaneous

How much seen: one disc/four episodes (subbed)

What it's about: four guys with Incredibly Angsty Backstories, belong to an organization that gives them cat code-names and sends them out to assassinate people as deserve it. Oh, yes, and their day job? Florists. (I'm told there is also another group of assassins who are Weiss's official enemies/rivals/opposite numbers, but they have not yet appeared in the episodes I've seen, so I shall leave them to one side for now.)

This was one of the very first series that Kay showed me, back when she and Stef were systematically introducing me to all sorts of anime. I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a beginner anime: the art tends to be, mmm, erratic, and both plotlines and backstories tend to be sufficiently over the top that I was sort of left blinking: wait, so he -- and then he believed him? Seriously? What the hell. It's got four pretty boys, and plenty of ass-kicking, but that wasn't enough. The proportion of angst to ass-kicking wasn't enough, at least not for me who didn't particularly care about these characters.

So then we went on with life and anime fandom, and Kay introduced me to Initial D, and I fell in love. And she oh-so-casually pointed out that three of the main characters have the same voice actors as three of the boys from Weiss. Shinichiro Miki is both Yohji (from Weiss) and Takumi (from Initial D); Takehito Koyasu is Aya (from Weiss) and Ryousuke (from Initial D); Tomakazu Seki is Ken (from Weiss) and Keisuke (from Initial D).

I haven't yet become one of those people who will follow a favorite seiyuu and watch any anime where they voice a character. But I can feel myself slipping over the line.

Overall opinion: Damn you three and your sexy voices. At the moment, I don't intend to watch more, but with two friends who love the series, and the presence of favorite voice actors, I can't be sure I'll hold out. :rueful:

*

The big problem of a dog in this sort of situations is that while very cute, he doesn't tend to so much do small discrete cute things, as just sort of sit there or stand there, and look at you with big cute eyes. ...okay, the part where he was apparently attempting to herd Kay over to sit on the couch with the rest of us, when she was sitting on the floor, was kind of funny, bu that's just one thing. We still have hours more to go.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
TRIGUN

Genre: Action and Adventure

How much seen: seven episodes (subbed, although Stef swears the dub is worth watching too)

What it's about: Vash the Stampede! Most fearsome gunslinger in the, er, whatever the heck planet's version of the American Old West this is! ...would you believe gunslinger with the most fearsome reputation? Chaos certainly follows in his wake, but Vash is a Trickster of the first water, who expertly walks the line between perceived luck and perceived skill until it's pretty much impossible to tell how much of what he does is dependent on which. Fortunately for pretty much everyone, he isn't out for chaos. He's out for Love and Peace.

[personal profile] thesilentpoet is the one showing this to me, and she prefaced it by warning me that it was one of those series where "it's episodic at first, with tiny bits of plot, and then suddenly pop-pop-pop PLOT!" I'm not sure if we've hit the pop-pop-pop PLOT part yet - we haven't even met Wolfwood yet, although I know he's coming from Stef. But the series has started to darken, slowly but surely. Just because Vash wants everyone to live doesn't mean it always works like that.

(A quick glance behind the scenes, of what it's like watching these series:

Stef: That [reference in the episode we were watching] was important to the plot.
Thia: Okay.
Stef: Don't you care?
Thia: Stef, what gave you the idea I was watching this for the plot?
Stef: You aren't?
Thia: I'm watching for Vash, and because you and Kay are showing them to me.

This is not completely true. If she wasn't showing it to me, I'd probably hunt it down for myself at this point. But it would take longer. ;-) Besides, it's fun to tease Stef.)

Overall opinion: Definitely enjoying this enough to watch more of it. This is despite the fact that I have been fully spoiled for the fact that it will RIP MY HEART OUT come the ending. Philosophical question: is it worth it to watch series that you know ahead of time go for the angsty ending instead of the happy one? Or is that one of those giant It Depends?

*

Stef has hit what she says is her goal for today. It's anyone's guess whether I'll be going it alone for the rest of the 24 hours.

...no, Ziggy, you're cute, but you're not what I would call 'blogging support' so much. Maybe if I had the computer up higher, so I could rest my hands on your fuzzy body. (He's up on the couch, flopped between me and Stef, giving me the enormous eyes again.)

24 hours, 49 posts, to benefit the Nature Conservancy. Sponsored by XamJapan. Seven hours in: I'm not giving up now.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
PEACEMAKER KUROGANE

Genre: Historical and Alternate History

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: Kay described as, "Pretty, with swords." Well, then. As might have been expected, it's about the Shinsengumi, and a 15-year-old boy who is bound and determined to join them so he can get strong enough to avenge his parents' deaths. Naturally, this works out about as well as you'd expect: Tetsu gets his ass handed to him, impresses the extremely lethal (and extremely pretty) Souji less with his skill and more with the sheer determination that keeps him getting back up after being knocked down, and then is directed to a place where he can watch Hijikata take down a would-be ambush, single-handed. "The only thing you'll learn here is how to be a demon," Hijikata tells him. But still Tetsu is determined.

Overall opinion: On the one hand, I do love a good sword-fight. On the other hand, I have no faith this is headed anywhere that isn't depressing, no matter how good the sword-fights are. Without word that this really is worth it - for more than just the subtext between Souji and Hijikata (and boy do I hope that I identified the characters correctly) - I'm not going to watch any more.

*

More soda. More caffeine. There's still a lot of hours to get through.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
MAGICAL STAGE FANCY LA LA

Genre: Magical Girl

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: I'm not sure. I'm really kinda not sure. Admittedly it doesn't help that the sound on the episode we were watching was a good two minutes off, and then gave up entirely about five minutes in, so we were watching in silence with only subtitles.

The plotline in that first episode went as follows: a girl has a dream (vision? what have you) of an apparent past life where she has a Mysterious Encounter with a man by the riverside and then her village was apparently taken down by Godzilla. And then she wakes up, and lo, her family is the same in her dream, which may or may not prove anything. She has a bad day at school, then to a shop, where she hears Something Talking. When she goes to leave, the shop owner stops her and accuses her of trying to steal something, because two small dragon figurines have apparently attached themselves to her bag, and you can see exactly where this is going even before the same Mysterious Guy from her dream/vision/whatever it was appears out of nowhere and pays for the figurines for her.

By this point, Kay was muttering not especially under her breath about "stupid dragons." Even when the figurines turned out to be alive (what a shock) and explained to the heroine that "we're something like fairies," it only changed her muttering to "stupid dragon fairies." Worse, the power that the dragon fairies can give her is that they can make her older. There's nothing else, and no explanation as to what she's supposed to do with this new superpower. The episode just sort of ends.

Overall opinion: Well, that was pointless. And not just because of the technical difficulties. Not watching any more episodes, thanks.

*

We have migrated upstairs, partially just for a change of scene and partially so Kay can have company as she cooks. Or perhaps so I can have company instead of being abandoned downstairs. It's all in how you look at it.

24 hours, 49 posts, to benefit the Nature Conservancy. If you donate, please let me know, since I will be matching all donations.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
YAMI TO BOUSHI TO HON NO TABIBITO

Genre: Shoujo Ai

How much seen: one episode, subbed

What it's all about: Sadly, this is another one where I'm really not sure - at least, not based on the one episode I saw.

The first half of the episode is straight-up yuri. Hatsuki is apparently lusting after her sister (? - damn you, Japanese tendency to refer to non-related people by family terminology). There's all kind of angst and cherry blossoms, and it leads up to Hatsuki attempting to stab her sister, and delicate filigrees of blood. Only delicate ones, because Hatsuki doesn't kill Hatsumi, just draw blood.

So that's no sooner gotten sorted, for value of 'sorted' that primarily mean 'physical clean-up and even more angst,' than suddenly Hatsumi, who has been mute up to now, speaks, glows green, and vanishes. In her wake, this yellow chick-thing (hen-type chick, not woman-type chick) appears, and is rather annoyed at Hatsumi's disappearance. Hatsuki, who is apparently not stupid despite the angsting and sister-lusting, figures that the chicken knows something, and coerces him into bringing her along. Fortunately, due to the whole stabby thing, she got Hatsumi's blood on her, which means she was marked by Hatsumi's 'souma'.

So off she goes - and suddenly we're watching people get on a train. There appear to be spies, which may or may not be Russian, and crazy people, and the general impression is of a cut-rate knock-off of the Flying Pussyfoot from Baccano. We have no proper introduction to any of these people, nor do we care. Hatsuki finally appears, with Ken (the chick-thing) and Lilith (his superior, who is dressed as a witch and has long dramatic yellow hair), but by that point, it's too little, too late. I was hopelessly confused, and didn't care enough to get myself unconfused.

(The official summary of the series, according to Anime News Network: "Eve is one of the caretakers of the Great Library, a repository containing all of the worlds in the universe within books. Each episode of "Yamibou" details another one of Eve's lives among the many worlds and follows the adventures of Hatsuki, Lilith, Gargantua and others in search of the girl whom they've known by different names." Really? I mean, if they say so, but this takes the whole 'introductory episode fails at introducing' thing to new extremes.)

Overall opinion: Yeah, no. There have to be better sources for girl-loving, that don't fail at making sense.

*

Kay is showing off her gloriously sharp kitchen knife. We do like our pointy things around here. Heh. The one drawback is that occasionally bits of potato go falling, and we have to rescue them before Ziggy claims them for his.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (a.k.a. Star Blazers)

Genre: Science Fiction

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: We get a quick overview of the backstory as the opening credits roll. Basically: life sucks, Earth is under attack by aliens, the options seem to be Brave Last Stand (which gets you killed) or Run Back Home To Nearly-Dead Earth (which hardly solves the issue, given the aliens are still oncoming). Any and all interesting echoes with Japanese history are, of course, purely coincidental. Right. Sure.

Anyway! Fortunately for the humans, they get a message from a different alien species, wherein they are all, Come to Iscandar! We can help! "I believe you will come to Iscandar," says the beautiful alien queen on the recording, and kindly does not point out that at this point, the surface of the earth is a scorched desert, the invaders are somewhere around Pluto and gradually closing, and humanity's choices are basically Fuck and All. The question is really not so much whether they will take her offer, as how.

Cue our hero Kodai. His older brother served as the example of the Brave Last Stand earlier in the episode, so Kodai the younger is out to make up for it, or get revenge, or...look, he isn't so much a character as a walking plot point, at least so far. He's the one who goes out, and stumbles across the long-sunken Battleship Yamato, which is apparently important because a scout ship zeroed in on it. And with the introduction of the ship of the title, the first episode ends.

I know that this is the same continuity as such epic classics as Space Pirate Captain Harlock. But I have to admit, this appears to be requiring more patience to get to something really interesting than I'm necessarily willing to give.

Overall opinion: Maybe if I could marathon my way through it, and get to the good stuff that way. But as it stands, I have no interest to watch any more.

*

Kay and Stef are discussing language tracks mix-ups - there was apparently one series Kay tried to watch wherein putting in Japanese language and English subtitles got you English language and French subtitles. (Putting in English language got you French, and putting in French got you something that Kay says was still not Japanese. "I don't think the options we wanted were on that disc at all.")

24 hours, 49 posts, for the benefit of the Nature Conservancy, sponsored by XamJapan. My dice is not being sufficiently random: I may have to get Stef to start rolling for me. Either that or go do more magical girls.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
KYO KARA MAOU!

Genre: Comedy and Parody

How much seen: two episodes (subbed)

What it's about: Boy gets thrown to another world, finds out he's supposed to be their king. And by 'thrown,' I mean 'gets flushed down a toilet, because apparently the magical method for him to go from our world to the world of the Mazoku involves water, and unfortunately for Yuuri, the water that first time was the water where a bunch of bullies were about to give him a swirly.'

Poor Yuuri. I'm pretty sure he wins for Least Dignified Method Of Transit To A Magical World Ever.

Unfortunately for Yuuri, he follows that up by stubbornly spending pretty much the entire first episode refusing to believe what's going on. His three theories have a certain amount of merit (that this is an amusement park, that he's secretly on Candid Camera, and that this is all a dream), but nonetheless, I have to say, if I were picked up by a flying skeleton? I would be giving serious thought to alternate realities. Yuuri does change his mind, but we don't get to see it happen. It just sort of does.

The second episode is where things really kick into gear. There's not only quite a lot of examples of how Social Rules In Shin Mazoku Really Aren't The Same (which include but are not even vaguely limited to the infamous 'a slap means a marriage proposal, regardless of gender'), we finally get to see the major reason why Yuuri might, in fact, be a good king, despite him being sort of a doofus. Yuuri is the reborn soul of the Maou - and however young and earnest Yuuri might be, the Maou is a badass with a keen sense of justice and the magic to enforce it.

Overall opinion: This is a cardinal example of where sometimes, you just need to keep going. The first episode alone left me sorta 'meh' - but by the end of the second episode, I was definitely curious. The BL subtext (which isn't all that 'sub') doesn't hurt, but the key point is really that the hero pulled it together. Anime has far too much fondness for the doofus hero. Bah, I say. Humbug.

*

"So," says Kay, reading through my backlogged posts. "'Go do magical girls,' huh?"

"Yup."

"You do realize that --"

"Yup."

Fortunately, she didn't ask me for candidates. That could've gotten awkward.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
LOVE HINA

Genre: Romance

How much seen: one episode, subbed

What it's about: Boy wants to get into Tokyo University, due to long-ago promise to a little girl that they would meet there when they were grown up. Unfortunately, Keitaro isn't that good at studying, and has already failed several times. His family think he's an idiot for continuing to try. Fortunately (?) his grandmother, who used to run a boarding house/girl's dormitory, hands it off to him instead, so he has a place to study away from his family. Unfortunately, the girls in the dormitory believe he's already in Tokyo University, and that he's a pervert. Worse, one of them finds out the truth (about the first - sadly, they're kind of not mistaken about the second). Worst, Naru was probably the little girl to whom he made the promise. Luckily, she agrees to help Keitaro keep his cover as a Tokyo University student (as opposed to applicant).

He's still kind of a pervert, and not really clear on the different between daydream and reality, though. Maybe not as much of a pervert as the girls believe, but still a teenage guy.

Overall opinion: This is the perfect example of the doofus hero I was just talking about. Keitaro is a failure: his one good aspect is that he isn't a liar - until Naru spoke up, he was willing to admit the great Tokyo University lie, and go home again. He spends most of the first episode cartoonishly running away, or cartoonishly being beaten up. What this translates to is that I don't care about him, or what happens to him - and consequently, I don't care about the plot as a whole.

I think Kay likes this one. But Kay is also better than I am at eliding major characters and focusing on side characters, if that's who interests her. I envy her that, sometimes.

*

Another happy side effect of this whole thing: Kay had not realized that a new Ah! My Goddess TV series had come out, and is now happily investigating where to get it. Anime News Network can be your friend! Meanwhile, Ziggy has been exiled outside, as he was getting bored and restless, which is not condusive to typing. Even if I'm the only one typing.

10 hours down, 14 to go. Wish me luck.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
GOLDEN BOY

Genre: Ecchi/Mature

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: So there's this guy on a bicycle, see...

Seriously. The opener to the first episode of this series makes it look like it's secretly a sports series, dwelling lovingly on the hero's bike. Then he gets hit by a car, and the driver of the car gets out, and she's wearing this thing that's bright red and just barely covers half her boobs, much less the rest of her, and oh, yeah, there's the ecchi.

He winds up getting hired by the driver's company (a computer programming company) - as a janitor, not as anything else. Not that this stops him from fantasizing. Which in turn leads to him getting fired for the first time. He gets hired back, and talks big about how quickly he learns, and makes notes in an ever-present notebook (which, from what we see of the notes, could be as much about the bra sizes of the all-female employees of the company as anything else). And then comes the night when he's running late, and decides to be Efficient, and turns off the power to the servers.

Yeah. This is the early 90s. There weren't the omnipresent backups we have now, and people did not really know better. The program that the company has been working on for the past three months? Gone. The hero gets fired with extreme prejudice, and I was practically cheering. In every situation where we'd seen him, he'd come across as a coward, a pervert, and an idiot.

And then, in the last five minutes, it turned out that he hadn't been a coward, and he wasn't an idiot. In a week's time, he managed to write a replacement program for the company - and make it better than the original. And it turns out he used to be in law school - Tokyo University, no less - and dropped out because he'd learned everything.

...yeah. The turnaround is enough to give me mental whiplash.

Overall opinion: to quote Kay, "So, Goldenboy! On the surface, fucked up! Below the surface, even more fucked up!" The creepy gender subtext is bad enough even without the hero's pornographic fantasies. I will pass.

*

Mmm, dinner. Kay has marinated hot dogs and grilled them. The result is wonderful.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
NADIA - SECRET OF BLUE WATER

Genre: Historical and Alternate History

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: it claims that it's based on Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea." One episode in, however, there's been a notable lack of Nemo or his submarine. We've had steampunk aplenty, but it's come from the hero (a young inventor who's trying to win a flying competition - this is set in 1889, to give you some idea of what sort of flying machines we're talking), or the villains (a woman with Vast Cleavage, and her two henchmen, which have a flying machine of their own that runs on punch-cards).

The main character, however, is the titular Nadia, a young woman of color with a pet lion and a blue stone that's apparently important, since that's what the villains want. The anime doesn't seem quite sure whether she's the sort of girl who can Take Care Of Herself (as on the first encounter with the villains, when the hero just sort of flails about uselessly and it's left to Nadia to escape on her own), or whether she is Helpless Before A Greater Force (as when the villains kidnap her from the circus later in the episode). Jean (the hero) of course manages to rescue her, with a little help from his own flying machine, despite the fact that he's out of turn for the flying competition. This means that he and his uncle don't win the considerable cash prize, but for some reason his uncle doesn't object. We probably shouldn't speculate as to why. And there the first episode ends: the only thing we know is that Nadia's necklace is a Macguffin.

Overall opinion: I am slightly intrigued, but not that much. It doesn't help that B reports that the first disc is good and then the series goes rapidly downhill. I don't know his opinion of Jules Verne, though, which might help me weigh his advice properly.

*

24 hours, 49 posts, for the benefit of the Nature Conservancy, sponsored by XamJapan. Although I might change my mind on that if Kay keeps leaning over the table and staring at me to try to startle me into typos. More typos. Whatever.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
KIZUNA

Genre: Shonen-Ai

How much seen: whole thing (subbed)

What it's about: Your basic romantic comedy of misunderstandings, by which I mean the uke (Ranmaru) is given every reason to believe that the seme (Kei) is cheating on him - he comes home late, he has lipstick marks on his chest, and there's a mysterious phone message from a woman. Naturally this leads to angst and flashbacks and a total lack of actual communication.

The flashbacks are to a high school romance, very sweet, heavy on the sakura blossoms. The present doesn't have the excuse of being teenagers. Ranmaru would rather jump to conclusions than actually talk to Kei. He seriously goes out, stands around angsting, and gets randomly picked up by a chick, rather than behave like an adult.

Naturally the chick who picks him up turns out to be the chick who left the phone message, and naturally this leads to finally seeing Kei again. Kei, being a practical sort, locks them all in a room so that actual talking can occur, and Ranmaru can't run away without the truth: not only is Kei not cheating on him, the chick is apparently a pre-op transexual. How exactly that makes it all better I'm not sure, but apparently it does. Kei nonetheless gets mad props for actually going through with the room-locking that so many of us have been tempted toward for couples that were stupidly misunderstanding each other.

Those mad props are seriously diminished by the ending, however. They give us an ending with heart (well, some heart - Ranmaru hits Kei enough to make me think cynical thoughts about why it's fine when it's the uke doing it, but less so when it's the seme doing it), and then under-cut it with a gag ending. Bah, I say. If you're going to be sappy, then be sappy.

...okay, and also, if you're going to lock two lovers in a hotel room and start stripping off the clothes, cutting away and not giving us the smut? I object. I object strongly.

Overall opinion: no, really, gay people can talk like reasonable people too. I swear. :sigh: Ah, well.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
AZUMANGA DAIOH

Genre: Comedy and Parody

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: high school life? Anime News Network claims it's focused around six girls in one particular high school class, but that isn't really true, either of the anime or of the manga it's based on. The manga splits the focus between the students and the slacker teacher of the focus class. The anime starts off with even more focus on the teachers.

Once again, it's possible that it changes after the first episode. I sort of hope it does, because I love Sakaki and Chiyo from the manga. But in order to get there, we'd have to get through the increasingly irritating slacker teacher sections. I've mentioned my opinion of main characters who can't actually do anything, right? Yeah.

Overall opinion: Show me the sections with Sakaki and Chiyo and I'll come back to watch more. Otherwise, I'll stick with the manga. That I liked.

*

Kay's put on a comedy special. I think I might need to pick something on which I have Strong Opinions to do next, because it's not nearly as easy to concentrate as I could like.

24 hours, 49 posts - halfway through! If you contribute to the Nature Conservancy, comment, because I'm matching all contributions.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
LUPIN III

Genre: Action and Adventure

How much seen: one movie (Lupin III and the Castle of Cagliostro) (subbed)

What it's about: Lupin the ultimate kaitou, Jigen his backup, Zenigata the detective chasing him, Goemon the swordsman who also sometimes helps out Lupin, Fujiko who is a spy, a thief, Lupin's lady insofar as either of them will ever commit to any one person. In this case, the set-up has to do with a tiny European country (? - it's never specified, but there's at least one nasty crack about 'you Orientals,' which argues against Asia - except they also apparently keep ninjas?) that's the source of the best counterfeit money in the world, which Lupin has decided needs to be raided. This particular movie was directed by Miyazaki, which is possibly why Kay argues that it's the best of the Lupin III movies.

The details of the plot don't matter. You don't watch this for the plot. (Although the bit where the mysterious cult-like marriage ceremony is not only being sanctified by a Christian archbishop, it's being televised worldwide? That's comedy gold, there.) You watch it for Lupin and Jigen casually violating the laws of physics, for Lupin being both the bastard child of Bugs Bunny and a hell of a kaitou who goes full-throttle into any plan with no holding back for safety, for Zenigata trying so hard and failing because for all his genuine intelligence, he doesn't have enough imagination to keep up, and for Fujiko being even cooler than Lupin. She can stay stealthy for longer than five minutes, and then kick ass without having to call in back-up, thanks - she can fight off ninjas on her own. Seriously, I am half in love with her.

Overall opinion: If the rest of Lupin III is even half as wonderful as this movie, I am actively hunting this series down and watching it ASAP. The combination of Kaitou with kick-ass woman? Oh, yes, I am there.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
SAINT TAIL

Genre: Magical Girls

How much seen: three episodes (subbed)

What it's about: This is sort of a hybrid between a kaitou series and a magical girl series. The main character is a 14-year-old girl whose father is a professional magician and whose mother was, apparently, a kaitou in her own right. Meimi's best friend is a nun-in-training who gets all the good information, and who sends out Meimi as the kaitou Saint Tail to steal back things that were once stolen. Of course there's a love interest, who of course is the young detective who is absolutely dedicated to catching Saint Tail.

It's not really a kaitou series, though. It has some of the trappings, yes, but if you go in expecting the kind of back-and-forth that you get in an actual kaitou series, you'll be disappointed. The detective doesn't have anything like the intelligence needed to keep up with Meimi: the only reason he can even get close to her is because she likes him. It's a magical girl series, complete with a transformation from Meimi to Saint Tail that may or may not be an ordinary clothing change. (I rather hope not, though. The first time occurs right in the middle of the church. Admittedly, it's evening and nobody's there but her little nun friend, but still.)

Overall opinion: "Because of her classy figure, people call her Saint Tail." Kay tells me that's really not what the Japanese says. I find that reassuring, actually. Lord knows the Japanese can be pervy, but not usually in the series that are aimed for children.

Er. Anyway. It's a possibility, but I'm still mildly disappointed in the kaitou tease without the kaitou follow-up. It's not on the A list, let's put it that way.

*

We are sitting around watching stand-up comedy and discussing local soccer teams. Somehow this led to the clearly urgent need for an anime where there is a boy who magically transforms into a girl because there's no boy's soccer team or something. Apparently this needs to be in the Boston area, so the boy can be from Salem and the reason he can transform is because he's descended from the witches.

Yes, I know, the number of implausibilities/impossibilities in that paragraph is, uh, fairly high. But it's certainly no worse than some of the anime I watched for this. :grimace:
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
CUTIE HONEY

Genre: Ecchi/Mature

How much seen: one episode (subbed)

What it's about: Honey is a Catholic schoolgirl, who sneaks out away (and we hardly blame her, given her teachers are apparently a harpy and a lech, respectively). Apparently, her father called her - but when she goes there, the bad guys have gotten to him first. At this point, it's revealed that secretly, Honey is a robot herself! Who can transform into one of six different forms, easily differentiated by hair color. Apparently she's a transforming robot - whether this explains how a robot went from a little girl to a grown woman isn't explained.

It's fascinating to watch the start of ever so many stupid cliches - although they weren't cliches yet! It's almost more magical girl than hentai: it's ecchi mostly in the sense that Cutie Honey winds up naked or half-naked as often as the creators reasonably can, and she has a useless boyfriend who seems to be there mostly to perv over her. To be fair, Honey also kicks a fair bit of ass, except for one moment where she's captured.

Overall opinion: I'm glad I saw it, but it's not something where I would be all that interested in seeing any more.
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
ASTRO BOY

Genre: Kids and Family

How much seen: one episode (dubbed in English)

What it's about: a scientist who specializes in robot construction loses his son, and in his grief replaces him with an identical robot. Unfortunately, this only leads to a Pinocchio situation, if Pinocchio had the ability to fly and shoot missiles out of his butt. (Kay summed it up more cynically: "Pinocchio if Gepetto was a total asshole.")

The opening credits lead you to believe it's about Astro Boy running around and saving the world. He does go save the world from robots that have gone nuts, but that doesn't seem to make any difference. The first episode still ends with him having effectively sold himself into slavery, after his creator/father has disowned him in a moment of anger. It's a bit of a contrast to Cutie Honey.

Overall opinion: once again, I'm glad I saw it, but I'm not sure I'd want to watch any more.

*

Kay, Stef and our friend Pat are negotiating between themselves - I've requested that someone stay awake with me so I'm not sitting here alone, typing away, but they're choosing who's to be up during the wee hours.

24 hours, 49 posts, for the benefit of the Nature Conservancy, sponsored by XamJapan. If you contribute, let me know in a comment. If you've seen the show, let me know in a comment. We're heading into the dark of the night, and anything that helps me keep awake is welcome. ;-)
jennaria: Chihiro from SPIRITED AWAY (Chihiro)
GUNDAM WING

Genre: Science Fiction

How much seen: three discs/about fifteen episodes (both subbed and dubbed, mostly subbed)

What it's about: The fragile balance between Earth and its satellite colonies has been thrown off, so a certain faction has decided to resolve it by taking Steps. Cue Operation Meteor: five Gundams (big mecha), piloted by 15-year-old boys. Either the world will find resolution and peace, or die trying.

...does anyone really watch this for the plot? I mean, it's got a plot, and it's even a plot that hangs together and has some thought put into it. It's just that it also has five ambiguously gay pretty boys for main characters, with an assortment of equally pretty girls, and a few gorgeous men just for seasoning, and fandom as an entity doesn't always look beyond that when they're picking favorites.

Not that I think I can talk. I came to this fandom by way of the fanfic, and even though the show didn't exactly match the story, it didn't matter. They're both fun.

Overall opinion: At some point I need to go back to this series and finish watching it. Subbed, thank you - the dubs are frankly terrible, and besides, some of the voices are some of the Japanese seiyuu I've learned to recognize and love. Fortunately, I own it, so it's there waiting.

*

I have been abandoned downstairs, in favor of watching B play Lord of the Rings Online. I would object to this, but Stef has bought my favor with cupcakes. Hmmph. They can stay for a few more minutes.

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