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Retro Anime Discussion |OT|

What retro anime titles are long overdue for a blu-ray release in North America?


  • Total voters
    74
Wow, that was a trip. Go Nagai franchises or originals are interesting because his work to me is half and half. Half of his work is excellent and then there's that half which is...ftw? Tell me God Mazinger wasn't his work.

He did the manga which differs quite a bit from the show. That said the show itself actually isn't bad at all (Though it still uses the 70s giant robot formula to a T) but it got saddled with one of the least interesting intros, maybe ever. =P
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
He did the manga which differs quite a bit from the show. That said the show itself actually isn't bad at all (Though it still uses the 70s giant robot formula to a T) but it got saddled with one of the least interesting intros, maybe ever. =P
Intros used to run as trailers for shows before distributors got creative enough to start editing episodes together for promos. A bad intro can be off-putting for any anime. Speaking of intros, what's with the "characters stand valiantly into the sunset / sunrise" in half-of-all adventure anime intros???
 
Intros used to run as trailers for shows before distributors got creative enough to start editing episodes together for promos. A bad intro can be off-putting for any anime. Speaking of intros, what's with the "characters stand valiantly into the sunset / sunrise" in half-of-all adventure anime intros???

Just cliched imagery they like to use. One I always notice is many intros like to have characters randomly running...somewhere. Don't know what you want to have a character do, or maybe you have a group and don't know what to do? Just have them running aimlessly in a direction. 😋
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
Intros used to run as trailers for shows before distributors got creative enough to start editing episodes together for promos. A bad intro can be off-putting for any anime. Speaking of intros, what's with the "characters stand valiantly into the sunset / sunrise" in half-of-all adventure anime intros???
It is far less generic than looking sad or jumping at the same time!
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Just cliched imagery they like to use. One I always notice is many intros like to have characters randomly running...somewhere. Don't know what you want to have a character do, or maybe you have a group and don't know what to do? Just have them running aimlessly in a direction. 😋
I felt like inserting a montage of running clips but I don't want it to seem like I'm pissing on anyone's favourite anime. Yeah, intros with running, flying, sometimes character is walking down a street with power poles and looking for to the left of right. The sunset / sunrise intro repetition I've seen mainly in 90's-early 2000's anime. Since my wife has me watching the myriad of episodes of Inuyasha (on 130); I've counted 1 sunset outro and two sunrise intros. It's usually just a still frame. It's literally in over 50 anime series / OVAs from the 90's.

Continuing intro chat. I always liked Maze TV's intro music (the Engrish parts are awkward as expected though "Die-Hard-Life!" ).



Note that sunrise they're all staring into at the end and try to remember how many times you've seen that.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
It is far less generic than looking sad or jumping at the same time!
You mean like when chibi characters do that jump / hand clap thing and the frames are forward-reversed?

Speaking of the Maze TV series...The outro. Don't touch Junk Boy (there's literally no meaning to the lyrics) and note that "Thriller" bassline.

 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
You mean like when chibi characters do that jump / hand clap thing and the frames are forward-reversed?

Just cliched imagery they like to use. One I always notice is many intros like to have characters randomly running...somewhere. Don't know what you want to have a character do, or maybe you have a group and don't know what to do? Just have them running aimlessly in a direction. 😋
Tbf most OP's are generic af.

Only one of these is not entirely generic





 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties


Tbf most OP's are generic af.

Only one of these is not entirely generic






Whoa, they caught-on to everything and most of these are different studios. Got the two rogues walking down a street...that's anime intro. I'm afraid to elaborate on action anime intros and the list of 10 things you'll see in everyone of them (shooting poses, media transformation, characters peeling out in a sports car, eye-wink after doing something ballsy). Forgot to count how many friendship adventure anime series will flash you with a million of these ✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌
 
It is far less generic than looking sad or jumping at the same time!

But if the characters can't look sad or stoic then Fist would have to redo it's second intro =P


Tbf most OP's are generic af.

True but generic in conception is fine as long as it's visually cool or looks nice in execution. Like Wingman's intro is a buncha cliches from two different genres mashed together but it hooks me regardless.:messenger_winking:



You mean like when chibi characters do that jump / hand clap thing and the frames are forward-reversed?

Speaking of the Maze TV series...The outro. Don't touch Junk Boy (there's literally no meaning to the lyrics) and note that "Thriller" bassline.



Japan has to have their chibis =P
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
Whoa, they caught-on to everything and most of these are different studios. Got the two rogues walking down a street...that's anime intro. I'm afraid to elaborate on action anime intros and the list of 10 things you'll see in everyone of them (shooting poses, media transformation, characters peeling out in a sports car, eye-wink after doing something ballsy). Forgot to count how many friendship adventure anime series will flash you with a million of these ✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌✌
I think JoJo nails it with its foreshadowing in their OPs but fun stuff like the first OP is fine as well as long as it isn't too generic like MHA's. (or if the song is great)

Here is a OP that has all the usual stuff but it still works because of it's content



A more "unique" OP would be Hakumei to Mikochi. (no online links though)
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I think JoJo nails it with its foreshadowing in their OPs but fun stuff like the first OP is fine as well as long as it isn't too generic like MHA's. (or if the song is great)

Here is a OP that has all the usual stuff but it still works because of it's content



A more "unique" OP would be Hakumei to Mikochi. (no online links though)


Looking good that intro for Occult Academy (I hope I got that right). A lot of work and trippy visuals the whole ride through. They only caught like half-a-second "what's up?" extras intro take at 1:03. I need to stop by communities more often. 😉
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
But if the characters can't look sad or stoic then Fist would have to redo it's second intro =P




True but generic in conception is fine as long as it's visually cool or looks nice in execution. Like Wingman's intro is a buncha cliches from two different genres mashed together but it hooks me regardless.:messenger_winking:





Japan has to have their chibis =P

I'm kinda glad chibis didn't disappear. It adds comic book / manga style humor back into animation.

Gotta have that sunset and shadowing going on there, too. I seem to recall there being a number of intros (mostly low-budget) that squirmed by from still frames and music alone. Gotta have strobing lights, too. Some of these aren't intro standards...they're the law. Imagine an intro where you just watch the katakana floating on the screen and no characters are shown. Someone's done that.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Still keeping context with this post. @SLoWMoTIoN I'm not sure if you've used or are using this site. If so, maybe you can use it for recommendations for newer manga in the Anime/Manga community thread.

I started using this site because naturally all the physical manga in Mexico is in Spanish and limited only to popular titles. Sometimes, the anime becomes more popular than the manga which inspired it (speaking in general). Yeah, I was reading the Dragon Half manga but there's a latest section, too. I recommend anyone reading use this if you're looking to lessen the bulk of paper manga or aren't looking to pay $10/volume on Amazon's Kindle store.

 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
I mostly use mangadex. It isn't the best or most reliable but I like the interface.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I mostly use mangadex. It isn't the best or most reliable but I like the interface.
I'll look into that. I'm trying to migrate to web hosted manga from Kindle. Thanks for naming another site. I wanted to forward to you via PM but I think it's locked. I'm out for the night. No sleep this week so far. Peace ✌
 

Valonquar

Member
Incomplete list of anime I have recently re-aquired while building a Plex time capsule to share with my old buds. Mix of retro, and older but not quite retro-retro but still older than newer bullshit:



OG Record of Lodoss War was fucking epic. Based on a novelization of some guy's actual D&D campaign back in the day.



Brother Dear Brother. For when Rose of Versailles isn't over dramatic enough for you.



OG Ah! My Goddess! OVAs. OG Wifu <3



Fushigi Yugi. Used to drive 90 mins to a local anime group to catch this one along with...



Marmalade Boy. Guilty pleasure.



Hakkenden OAVs. Pioneer could do no wrong back in the day.



Irresponsible Captian Taylor. Couldn't stop thinking about this show while watching Ave 5 on HBO.



Otaku no Video. So much cringe, so much relate.



Vampire Princess Miyu.
 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
The short film collections have some great retro animation:



Robot Carnival



Neo Tokyo



Memories

Whoa man! You watch all these in a month or just this year! Some epic titles in there. Didn't care too much for the Dog Warriors (Hakkenden) but then again...I never completed it.

You have many from my "I'm an idiot and regretfully sold or lost this DVD / VHS" list on here: Ah! My Goddess (appears to be the OVA) which is the rare one I sold to my game exchange, NeoTokyo...sold that...the price inflated big-time, Fushigi Yugi...sold it because I wasn't into romantic anime at the time. I love all of those titles I sold, though. My game store would give me credit to buy movies, anime, games, or consoles for anything similar. NeoTokyo I bought in a two-pack with something else under ADV in 2009 for only $20. Now, it's used price looks something like this...

m13NqEr.jpg



You have some great romantic anime listed in there, bro. I started to understand romantic anime better after I got married. Makes me feel older but I otherwise wouldn't have watched Marmalade Boy. I love the art-style used for the character in M.B.

Brother, Dear Brother is another title which I regretfully never purchased while it was available at a lower-price. I was reading about it earlier this year and can't believe I missed it back in the day. Irresponsible Captain Tylor is one I need to dig out of my collection and show my wife. She likes rom-coms but she also likes comedy adventure and ICT fits that category fairly well. I'd keep going on but the best I can do is to recommend readers of this thread to watch all of these listed here by Valonquar Valonquar You won't regret it! They're the some of the best of their time!

I already listed my completed list a few pages back. However, I recently just finished watching a generic OVA called Elf 17. I can't recommend it unless you like something so short and simple that context doesn't apply too much.


QNPXDWd.jpg


Due to sleep issues I've had the past couple weeks; nightly anime viewing has declined and last week "Dragon Half" the OVA was all I had to show of that. I'm going to repost the crazy end credits for Dragon Half.



Thanks for sharing!
 


Discotek is supposed to be releasing the US bluray of this, hopefully, sometime this year. I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks in HD, especially the Cannon Fodder segment.

Whoa man! You watch all these in a month or just this year! Some epic titles in there. Didn't care too much for the Dog Warriors (Hakkenden) but then again...I never completed it.

You have many from my "I'm an idiot and regretfully sold or lost this DVD / VHS" list on here: Ah! My Goddess (appears to be the OVA) which is the rare one I sold to my game exchange, NeoTokyo...sold that...the price inflated big-time, Fushigi Yugi...sold it because I wasn't into romantic anime at the time. I love all of those titles I sold, though. My game store would give me credit to buy movies, anime, games, or consoles for anything similar. NeoTokyo I bought in a two-pack with something else under ADV in 2009 for only $20. Now, it's used price looks something like this...

m13NqEr.jpg

Yeah the price shot up to stupid levels here too. It's good but I wouldn't pay that much for it.

And pointless trivia but my first time seeing anything from Neo Tokyo was when the Running Man segment re-edited into an English noir piece for Liquid Television on Mtv. Apparently Carl Macek was behind this. For better or worse he definitely tried many avenues to get anime mainstream recognition. =P
 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Discotek is supposed to be releasing the US bluray of this, hopefully, sometime this year. I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks in HD, especially the Cannon Fodder segment.



Yeah the price shot up to stupid levels here too. It's good but I wouldn't pay that much for it.

And pointless trivia but my first time seeing anything from Neo Tokyo was when the Running Man segment re-edited into an English noir piece for Liquid Television on Mtv. Apparently Carl Macek was behind this. For better or worse he definitely tried many avenues to get anime mainstream recognition. =P
Memories needs a good blu-ray release from Discotek but let's hope they don't pull their standard-def crap. I bought EatMan / Eatman 98' on blu-ray a couple years ago from Discotek and they opaquely write "standard definition blu-ray" on the top slipcase border. I'd also petition the following also get blu-ray releases from Discotek: Neo-freakin'-Tokyo (ADV liquidated everything in 2009...it's time newer publishers grab those titles), GunBuster, Gall-Force (just release em' all in one set), Brother, Dear Brother (as mentioned above), and the Abashiri Family (although, I doubt that will ever happen).

I can see them airing Running Man on Liquid Television simply for Kawajiri having that Aeon Flux vibe to it.
 

kunonabi

Member
Looking good that intro for Occult Academy (I hope I got that right). A lot of work and trippy visuals the whole ride through. They only caught like half-a-second "what's up?" extras intro take at 1:03. I need to stop by communities more often. 😉

That intro is a goddamn lie. Makes the show look way more compelling than it actually turned out to be.

And speaking of running in anime OPs I gotta give props to City Hunter. That shot running in front of the title is still aces all these years later.

 
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Memories needs a good blu-ray release from Discotek but let's hope they don't pull their standard-def crap. I bought EatMan / Eatman 98' on blu-ray a couple years ago from Discotek and they opaquely write "standard definition blu-ray" on the top slipcase border. I'd also petition the following also get blu-ray releases from Discotek: Neo-freakin'-Tokyo (ADV liquidated everything in 2009...it's time newer publishers grab those titles), GunBuster, Gall-Force (just release em' all in one set), Brother, Dear Brother (as mentioned above), and the Abashiri Family (although, I doubt that will ever happen).

I can see them airing Running Man on Liquid Television simply for Kawajiri having that Aeon Flux vibe to it.

Yeah, I don't mind the sd on bd releases if there's no existing hd transfer but sometimes they do that even when there is.

Also there was a successor show to Liquid Television called Cartoon Sushi. I recall one of the shorts they cut up part of the 2nd Genocyber ova to make some weird comedy about farts.:messenger_hushed:

For Memories they've already shown the packaging material and it appears to be a proper hd release:

 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
~Retro Anime Sub-topic of the week~

Here's the big question for all of you: What classic / retro anime gets more hype than it's worth?

Remember: This is a relatively calm and down-to-Earth thread. However, this can also be a contraversial question as your answer for hyped or overrated anime maybe be someone's favorite anime. Tell us which ones were hyped more than they deserved to be -- in your opinion. At the same time, try not to write anything too insulting about those titles as some of them are the reason people are still viewing this thread.

E.G. -- Anime Fan #1: Ninja Scroll sucks and is an overrated piece of crap!
Anime Fan #2: How can you say that? It's a masterful work of art and it's the reason I started watching anime?


I've seen that happen in older anime threads from the 2000's that are likely in GAFs archives. I guess the words I'm looking for when you write your list or one or more hyped anime -- try to use "constructive criticism." ;)

As always have fun! I nominate for this week: lachesis lachesis kunonabi kunonabi @SLoWMoTIoN Labolas Labolas gela94 gela94 OmegaSupreme OmegaSupreme Space Runaway Space Runaway

Here are mine:

1. Yu Yu Hakusho

Impression: It's a great anime overall and has an original story that will appeal to anime fans of any generation. Yet, I never really kept up with it after the first season. I saw it getting super mainstream in the States right around the time Toonami picked it up in 2002. Someone close to me was obsessed with YYH, Naruto, and Inuyasha during that time. I'd ask that friend, "Hey, wanna watch some anime?" Their reply, "The only good anime is Yu Yu Hakusho." This person had never heard of YYH prior to the Toonami hype it ended up getting in the U.S.
Anyway, to me the stories start to get a little repetitive and I always felt the writers let Yusuke cheat his way through winning every battle. It wouldn't have hurt him to loose one time. He just magically seems to beat every enemy without applying much effort and I felt the show was losing context by that point. I loved how they wrote the first 20-episodes and the interactive Yusuke had with his classmates and the fights with his teachers. The voice-acting in the English dub is another part I feel gets hyped a lot. I've already mentioned multiple times that Chris Sabat voiced Kuwabara to sound like a middle-aged chain smoker and don't get that. Then there are lines of dialogue where I just wonder what the hell they were doing with the localization. Like this for example:



I get they're trying to add more comedy into the script but it always sounded a bit awkward to me and would result in me switching to the Japanese audio.

2. Dragon Ball Z

I'm not sure if I need to elaborate on this one. Everyone here (like it or not), knows that this is like in the #1 spot on anyone's hype list. I started watching DBZ after completing the 5-seasons of Dragon Ball which I enjoyed up until season 4 (season 5 wasn't my favorite for original Dragon Ball). Then in like 2000, my younger sister (the one who introduced me to anime) and I were watching Toonami promos and saw Dragon Ball Z. The fight scenes and exaggerated power seemed a far cry from Dragon Ball. We're both artists and ended up making a parody comic of DBZ called, "Action-Packed Whoowah!!!" It just seemed like when someone is about to go super saiyan and rocks go anti-gravity that someone let's out a "whoowah" yell or growl. I ended up giving it more of a chance when Funimation released the DVDs around 2003-ish. I still just couldn't get into it. I tend to like anime spin-offs only if they keep the context of their predecessors. It just didn't have the comedy, fan-service, and adventure the way Dragon Ball did and I found adding a mountain of characters would become easily forgettable.

AuL0psy.jpg



3. Neon Genesis Evangelion

I can't speak highly enough about the earlier works of Hideaki Anno. He brought mecha and adventure anime back to life with Nadia and GunBuster. I expected a lot when I first saw the ADV trailers for Neon Genesis Evangelion some 21-years ago. DVDs were expensive...so I decided to test-drive NGE by buying 2 VHS instead of the full series. All I can say is that it just didn't click with me and by episode 10, I dropped the series. Since that time, I hear a lot of talk and hype go into it and I've lived to see it's numerous sequels. I never could get back into it and even bought the Platinum collection to give it a second try. It just doesn't move me. Great artwork and animation. Great opening theme. But it just seemed a little boring to me...no offense.


8mN8sGH.jpg
 
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Happosai

Hold onto your panties
That intro is a goddamn lie. Makes the show look way more compelling than it actually turned out to be.

And speaking of running in anime OPs I gotta give props to City Hunter. That shot running in front of the title is still aces all these years later.


Yeah, I don't mind the sd on bd releases if there's no existing hd transfer but sometimes they do that even when there is.

Also there was a successor show to Liquid Television called Cartoon Sushi. I recall one of the shorts they cut up part of the 2nd Genocyber ova to make some weird comedy about farts.:messenger_hushed:

For Memories they've already shown the packaging material and it appears to be a proper hd release:

I'd have to watch it first to find out. Sometimes I like anime that the mass majority hates. I'm wired differently, I guess. City Hunter needs a definitive collector's release.

Seems like if they don't have the HD release, it would be much cheaper to just release it on DVD. With Eatman, the DVDs were out-of-stock when I went to buy it in 2017 and selected the blu-ray (better to have something than nothing). Glad they never dubbed Eatman either but I wish they could have cut the terrible songs out of the episodes. No offense but the songs sound like if Tom Waits and Iggy Pop were to create a duet.

What the? Does this edited version of Genocyber exist anywhere?
 

kunonabi

Member
I'd have to watch it first to find out. Sometimes I like anime that the mass majority hates. I'm wired differently, I guess. City Hunter needs a definitive collector's release.

Seems like if they don't have the HD release, it would be much cheaper to just release it on DVD. With Eatman, the DVDs were out-of-stock when I went to buy it in 2017 and selected the blu-ray (better to have something than nothing). Glad they never dubbed Eatman either but I wish they could have cut the terrible songs out of the episodes. No offense but the songs sound like if Tom Waits and Iggy Pop were to create a duet.

What the? Does this edited version of Genocyber exist anywhere?

The discotek releases of city hunter are probably going to have to do for awhile. Which works for me since its easier to buy it piecemeal than get completely priced out of a purchase like Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
 

gela94

Member
So let's see most overhyped anime . .mhm


Number 1: Vision of Escaflowne!!


vvjGCF6.jpg




I remember when it released it was hyped in the german anime community like crazy, the mechs, the animation and especially the music.
My friend and me watched it in one go, a few years later and oh god it was so booooooring and horrible, the story was kinda stupid and these noses?? Music was pretty forgettable too.


At the moment I can't remember any else.
 
Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers or as many in the West know it - Ronin Warriors



An anime from '88 that came over to the US years later in '96, complete with cheeseball mid-90s cartoon theme. Just by looking at it one can see it's one of those anime sentai-likes and the Power Rangers boom is surely what brought it stateside. It got the full toy treatment and the show managed to complete it's episode run but never really caught on. It gained a bit of a second life when it was picked up for Toonami but ultimately ran it's course and disappeared, leaving the various OVAs for Japan only until 2015.

Fun enough show and a slightly above average anime, though it can get a little tedious after enough episodes. Still decent enough and seems generally liked by anyone who watched it.
 
~Retro Anime Sub-topic of the week~

Here's the big question for all of you: What classic / retro anime gets more hype than it's worth?

Remember: This is a relatively calm and down-to-Earth thread. However, this can also be a contraversial question as your answer for hyped or overrated anime maybe be someone's favorite anime. Tell us which ones were hyped more than they deserved to be -- in your opinion. At the same time, try not to write anything too insulting about those titles as some of them are the reason people are still viewing this thread.

E.G. -- Anime Fan #1: Ninja Scroll sucks and is an overrated piece of crap!
Anime Fan #2: How can you say that? It's a masterful work of art and it's the reason I started watching anime?


I've seen that happen in older anime threads from the 2000's that are likely in GAFs archives. I guess the words I'm looking for when you write your list or one or more hyped anime -- try to use "constructive criticism." ;)

As always have fun! I nominate for this week: lachesis lachesis kunonabi kunonabi @SLoWMoTIoN Labolas Labolas gela94 gela94 OmegaSupreme OmegaSupreme Space Runaway Space Runaway

Here are mine:

1. Yu Yu Hakusho

Impression: It's a great anime overall and has an original story that will appeal to anime fans of any generation. Yet, I never really kept up with it after the first season. I saw it getting super mainstream in the States right around the time Toonami picked it up in 2002. Someone close to me was obsessed with YYH, Naruto, and Inuyasha during that time. I'd ask that friend, "Hey, wanna watch some anime?" Their reply, "The only good anime is Yu Yu Hakusho." This person had never heard of YYH prior to the Toonami hype it ended up getting in the U.S.
Anyway, to me the stories start to get a little repetitive and I always felt the writers let Yusuke cheat his way through winning every battle. It wouldn't have hurt him to loose one time. He just magically seems to beat every enemy without applying much effort and I felt the show was losing context by that point. I loved how they wrote the first 20-episodes and the interactive Yusuke had with his classmates and the fights with his teachers. The voice-acting in the English dub is another part I feel gets hyped a lot. I've already mentioned multiple times that Chris Sabat voiced Kuwabara to sound like a middle-aged chain smoker and don't get that. Then there are lines of dialogue where I just wonder what the hell they were doing with the localization. Like this for example:



I get they're trying to add more comedy into the script but it always sounded a bit awkward to me and would result in me switching to the Japanese audio.

2. Dragon Ball Z

I'm not sure if I need to elaborate on this one. Everyone here (like it or not), knows that this is like in the #1 spot on anyone's hype list. I started watching DBZ after completing the 5-seasons of Dragon Ball which I enjoyed up until season 4 (season 5 wasn't my favorite for original Dragon Ball). Then in like 2000, my younger sister (the one who introduced me to anime) and I were watching Toonami promos and saw Dragon Ball Z. The fight scenes and exaggerated power seemed a far cry from Dragon Ball. We're both artists and ended up making a parody comic of DBZ called, "Action-Packed Whoowah!!!" It just seemed like when someone is about to go super saiyan and rocks go anti-gravity that someone let's out a "whoowah" yell or growl. I ended up giving it more of a chance when Funimation released the DVDs around 2003-ish. I still just couldn't get into it. I tend to like anime spin-offs only if they keep the context of their predecessors. It just didn't have the comedy, fan-service, and adventure the way Dragon Ball did and I found adding a mountain of characters would become easily forgettable.

AuL0psy.jpg



3. Neon Genesis Evangelion

I can't speak highly enough about the earlier works of Hideaki Anno. He brought mecha and adventure anime back to life with Nadia and GunBuster. I expected a lot when I first saw the ADV trailers for Neon Genesis Evangelion some 21-years ago. DVDs were expensive...so I decided to test-drive NGE by buying 2 VHS instead of the full series. All I can say is that it just didn't click with me and by episode 10, I dropped the series. Since that time, I hear a lot of talk and hype go into it and I've lived to see it's numerous sequels. I never could get back into it and even bought the Platinum collection to give it a second try. It just doesn't move me. Great artwork and animation. Great opening theme. But it just seemed a little boring to me...no offense.


8mN8sGH.jpg


I have to be that guy and call out Gundam Wing. In the US this was most peoples first experience with Gundam and of course that meant they had to go around citing it as the best Gundam series. Not even that great of a show in it's own right feels really dragged out. It did have good music though. Course no other Gundam series really caught on here so maybe to the tastes of the average American, it truly is the best. =P
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
So let's see most overhyped anime . .mhm


Number 1: Vision of Escaflowne!!


vvjGCF6.jpg




I remember when it released it was hyped in the german anime community like crazy, the mechs, the animation and especially the music.
My friend and me watched it in one go, a few years later and oh god it was so booooooring and horrible, the story was kinda stupid and these noses?? Music was pretty forgettable too.


At the moment I can't remember any else.
Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers or as many in the West know it - Ronin Warriors



An anime from '88 that came over to the US years later in '96, complete with cheeseball mid-90s cartoon theme. Just by looking at it one can see it's one of those anime sentai-likes and the Power Rangers boom is surely what brought it stateside. It got the full toy treatment and the show managed to complete it's episode run but never really caught on. It gained a bit of a second life when it was picked up for Toonami but ultimately ran it's course and disappeared, leaving the various OVAs for Japan only until 2015.

Fun enough show and a slightly above average anime, though it can get a little tedious after enough episodes. Still decent enough and seems generally liked by anyone who watched it.


gela94 gela94 My wife had the same experience with VoE. She actually told me a few months ago, "It was one of the most boring anime I've ever watched." I remember promos coming on for VoE in the late-90's but I never watched it. I hear many reference it but I'm sticking to what I've heard. The trailer seemed boring enough to cause concern and make me not want to risk watching it fully or partially.

Space Runaway Space Runaway I remember a lot of promotion going into it but something about it caused me to never really put much attention to it. With 90's anime, I usually get a reference to watch for something aesthetically different in story. Maybe I'll give it a shot someday but it's not currently on my "to watch" list.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I have to be that guy and call out Gundam Wing. In the US this was most peoples first experience with Gundam and of course that meant they had to go around citing it as the best Gundam series. Not even that great of a show in it's own right feels really dragged out. It did have good music though. Course no other Gundam series really caught on here so maybe to the tastes of the average American, it truly is the best. =P
Yes. as it wasn't on my list. I always leaned more toward Macross than Mobile Suit Gundam anyway. What made the series Gundam Wing off-putting for me was watching it in the middle of a nerd sweat-fest back in 2006. There were like 4 of these guys watching it in an apartment (I was just stopping by to borrow a guitar that was in the house) and I sat down to watch it. I don't know if it was the episode or the B.O. smell in the room but that moment serves as my first and last impression of Gundam Wing. I think I recall one of the guys actually standing up during one of the scenes where unknown woman mechs up and say, "Yeah, hot robo-girl." Or something like that.
 
I always leaned more toward Macross than Mobile Suit Gundam anyway.

I tend to feel that way myself even though I like way more of the Gundam series than I do for Macross. Though a depressed or upset Tomino provides a certain type of warped content you just can't get from any Macross show. =P

What made the series Gundam Wing off-putting for me was watching it in the middle of a nerd sweat-fest back in 2006. There were like 4 of these guys watching it in an apartment (I was just stopping by to borrow a guitar that was in the house) and I sat down to watch it. I don't know if it was the episode or the B.O. smell in the room but that moment serves as my first and last impression of Gundam Wing. I think I recall one of the guys actually standing up during one of the scenes where unknown woman mechs up and say, "Yeah, hot robo-girl." Or something like that.

Sounds like the kind of people you'd have to push past at conventions.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
I tend to feel that way myself even though I like way more of the Gundam series than I do for Macross. Though a depressed or upset Tomino provides a certain type of warped content you just can't get from any Macross show. =P



Sounds like the kind of people you'd have to push past at conventions.
I figure everyone's been in a sweat-pit like that. These were LARP guys during that time. Gundam Wing and WoW were similar experiences. They had a big WoW party with like 10 PCs and large monitors running in a different apartment a few years after the Gundam stench event. Same thing except there were the 6 guys from before and an addition 4 who were just sitting around watching. Fortunately, they had the windows open that night and I had other plans.
 
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SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
Eh, HxH YYH after the first tourney lost most of my interest. Not as bad as dbz though or the abomination that is GT. Neither of em aged as well as Trigun IMO.
Only one? Dude, the JoJo opening is fire and the One Piece one is a fucking classic. How dare you? xD
Nah the Juan Piece one is extremely genero. (we were talking about tropey OPs) The Monogatari OP was purposely done this way for the 80s aesthetic so it sorta gets a pass though. JoJo's was obvious the best OP ofc.

That intro is a goddamn lie. Makes the show look way more compelling than it actually turned out to be.

It covers a bunch of the stuff it showed in the OP though. UNLIKE GRAVITY FA
 
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Labolas

Member
~Retro Anime Sub-topic of the week~

Here's the big question for all of you: What classic / retro anime gets more hype than it's worth?

Remember: This is a relatively calm and down-to-Earth thread. However, this can also be a contraversial question as your answer for hyped or overrated anime maybe be someone's favorite anime. Tell us which ones were hyped more than they deserved to be -- in your opinion. At the same time, try not to write anything too insulting about those titles as some of them are the reason people are still viewing this thread.

E.G. -- Anime Fan #1: Ninja Scroll sucks and is an overrated piece of crap!
Anime Fan #2: How can you say that? It's a masterful work of art and it's the reason I started watching anime?


I've seen that happen in older anime threads from the 2000's that are likely in GAFs archives. I guess the words I'm looking for when you write your list or one or more hyped anime -- try to use "constructive criticism." ;)

As always have fun! I nominate for this week: lachesis lachesis kunonabi kunonabi @SLoWMoTIoN Labolas Labolas gela94 gela94 OmegaSupreme OmegaSupreme Space Runaway Space Runaway

Here are mine:

1. Yu Yu Hakusho

Impression: It's a great anime overall and has an original story that will appeal to anime fans of any generation. Yet, I never really kept up with it after the first season. I saw it getting super mainstream in the States right around the time Toonami picked it up in 2002. Someone close to me was obsessed with YYH, Naruto, and Inuyasha during that time. I'd ask that friend, "Hey, wanna watch some anime?" Their reply, "The only good anime is Yu Yu Hakusho." This person had never heard of YYH prior to the Toonami hype it ended up getting in the U.S.
Anyway, to me the stories start to get a little repetitive and I always felt the writers let Yusuke cheat his way through winning every battle. It wouldn't have hurt him to loose one time. He just magically seems to beat every enemy without applying much effort and I felt the show was losing context by that point. I loved how they wrote the first 20-episodes and the interactive Yusuke had with his classmates and the fights with his teachers. The voice-acting in the English dub is another part I feel gets hyped a lot. I've already mentioned multiple times that Chris Sabat voiced Kuwabara to sound like a middle-aged chain smoker and don't get that. Then there are lines of dialogue where I just wonder what the hell they were doing with the localization. Like this for example:



I get they're trying to add more comedy into the script but it always sounded a bit awkward to me and would result in me switching to the Japanese audio.

2. Dragon Ball Z

I'm not sure if I need to elaborate on this one. Everyone here (like it or not), knows that this is like in the #1 spot on anyone's hype list. I started watching DBZ after completing the 5-seasons of Dragon Ball which I enjoyed up until season 4 (season 5 wasn't my favorite for original Dragon Ball). Then in like 2000, my younger sister (the one who introduced me to anime) and I were watching Toonami promos and saw Dragon Ball Z. The fight scenes and exaggerated power seemed a far cry from Dragon Ball. We're both artists and ended up making a parody comic of DBZ called, "Action-Packed Whoowah!!!" It just seemed like when someone is about to go super saiyan and rocks go anti-gravity that someone let's out a "whoowah" yell or growl. I ended up giving it more of a chance when Funimation released the DVDs around 2003-ish. I still just couldn't get into it. I tend to like anime spin-offs only if they keep the context of their predecessors. It just didn't have the comedy, fan-service, and adventure the way Dragon Ball did and I found adding a mountain of characters would become easily forgettable.

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3. Neon Genesis Evangelion

I can't speak highly enough about the earlier works of Hideaki Anno. He brought mecha and adventure anime back to life with Nadia and GunBuster. I expected a lot when I first saw the ADV trailers for Neon Genesis Evangelion some 21-years ago. DVDs were expensive...so I decided to test-drive NGE by buying 2 VHS instead of the full series. All I can say is that it just didn't click with me and by episode 10, I dropped the series. Since that time, I hear a lot of talk and hype go into it and I've lived to see it's numerous sequels. I never could get back into it and even bought the Platinum collection to give it a second try. It just doesn't move me. Great artwork and animation. Great opening theme. But it just seemed a little boring to me...no offense.


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Alright mine would be no surprise really. Dragon Ball Z and Tenchi Muyo.

Dragon Ball Z was one of the shows that got me into anime. Watching it in middleschool/highschool felt like it was the hypest thing in the universe. But as the show finished, it felt empty and shallow. It didn't have this great bombastic ending. It just ended. So years later I went rewatched with a friend and I told him straight up that I didn't like DBZ anymore. DBZ came off as a superficial show to me with no real depth. Even the fight scenes are kinda lame to me. Then I went to watch OG Dragon Ball and I like it so much better. The characters and battles were smaller scales but they worked so much better. Even I now still strongly dislike DBZ and the series after and that has jump started my disdain for shonen anime as a whole, but I have accepted its popularity as one of the most recognizable anime out there and that trumps any real criticism thrown at it.

Tenchi Muyo (include Universe, Tokyo, and various others)- Boy, THE show that started the waifu wars even though Ryoko was the one with the best characterization. The show that started the harem craze. This anime was girls, girls, girls show for me. This is funny because the series is called Tenchi Muyo and he felt like an afterthought. He didn't stand out much and felt like a gary stu in a lot of instances. The series sold itself on the idea that EVERY girl in this series wanted Tenchi and I don't know man, I didn't see what was the appeal of Tenchi. I guess he is supposed this blank slate that the audience can attach themselves to but I felt like that was a deterrent for me. The series that followed got more ridiculous, more formulaic, and got less plausible for why these female characters are after the same dude. So after I washed my hands of series as a whole.

I watched both these shows on Toonami.

btw Happosai Happosai even though NGE is one of my faves, I totally get why you're not into it. It is definitely not a series for everyone.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Eh, HxH after the first tourney lost most of my interest. Not as bad as dbz though or the abomination that is GT. Neither of em aged as well as Trigun IMO.

Nah the Juan Piece one is extremely genero. (we were talking about tropey OPs) The Monogatari OP was purposely done this way for the 80s aesthetic so it sorta gets a pass though. JoJo's was obvious the best OP ofc.


It covers a bunch of the stuff it showed in the OP though. UNLIKE GRAVITY FA
I've been told that most who watched the original HxH didn't like it as much as the remake. Dragon Ball Z...guh. It's over the top hyped in Mexico, so far to the part where there are people who watch simply because it's still trending. Did the One Piece manga artist ever complete the story or is he still creating?
 
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SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
I've been told that most who watched the original HxH didn't like it as much as the remake. Dragon Ball Z...guh. It's over the top hyped in Mexico, so far to the part where there are people who watch simply because it's still trending. Did the One Piece manga artist ever complete the story or is he still creating?
I meant YYH!

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But no I actually prefer the 1999 version.
 

lachesis

Member
Hmm... overated..? I think it just comes down to the personal taste. Just like my dislike for One Piece manga series that became really tough for me to even understand what's going on in any given pages - I guess there are certain method of storytelling that doesn't quite jive with me - but understand many people love the series.

In my case, even though it's one of my all time favorite - Mobile Suit Gundam.



Well, to be specific, I find Yoshiyuki Tomino style of storytelling rather... questionable in a lot of cases. Sometimes it feels entirely random in a lot of times - that I do like things to make sense when moving along to the next scenes. Dialogues in original Gundam 0079, and Z are quite laughable in a lot of case that they really don't flow quite well either. I can't quite nail it down - but he is a genius in terms of camera angle and composition. And such contrast between what's being said in words, and the actions of character, creates unique dis-harmony - and I think that's what I find his work strange, and charming.

But man - as a "writer" he's one heck of a mess. Legendary man he in screenplay, conti, and as a director, and I am forever grateful of of his works - but... but....

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Kore ga wakasaka! (This is youth!)
(Well, this specific scene is from Z gundam, my favorite UC Gundam Series)

And to be honest, I think the whole entire Gundam scene itself is owed to its manic fandom (myself included) - rather than the original work itself. Sure the original Gundam and following UC series really was excellent - but I think the success itself is owed to the fans who put the meat and fat around the bone, to say the least.



1981 2.22 - New Century Anime Declaration!

And saying so, I wish the best health to Tomino-san. and thank him all the great works he's produced - He is one heck of character, more I read about the guy.
 
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kunonabi

Member
Overrated anime eh? I tend not to watch things to completion if I don't care for them but I'll see what I can do.

Cowboy Bebop - Not retro but I'm taking my shot. My principal problem with it is the characters are just so flat. Ed is really the only one that brings some charm and energy to the whole thing. It looks great and all but I never really felt like it had a clear idea of what it was or where it was going unlike Space Dandy or Kids on the Slope. It was stylish and made for good gifs in the Anime vs Western cartoons flame wars of old but it left me cold and uninterested.

Rurouni Kenshin - I just found it way too repetitive. I really couldn't care less about Kenshin reverting to the Battousai or whatever and I thought the character designs were pretty boring to boot. I didn't finish the series but I gave it enough attempts to grab me.

Ah my Goddess - There was just a stiffness to it that sort of bothered me. It also felt too cramped and kind of simple to me. It sort of had that first draft kind of feeling to it. It just wasn't in the same league as the far superior You're Under Arrest! Maybe the manga or later series got better but I've just never felt the need to go back to it.

Akira - Now I'm only like half serious about this one. Growing up I didn't really get around to watching Akira. I wasn't avoiding or anything it but I just didn't get to it. This prompted constant comments about how I wasn't an anime fan, blah blah so out of spite I just never watched it. I watched all the other anime I wanted and just went on my merry way. I did end up watching it a few years ago when I got the Blu-ray and while it is an amazing piece of visual art to be sure it was just ok as a movie. I'd actually say I liked Steamboy better to be honest.


I'll second DBZ and Evangelion.
 

kiunchbb

www.dictionary.com
Talking about mecha, my favorite retro anime would be Nadesico, perhaps I am a bit bias because my "friend" back then only copy 6 episode of the show to me on VHS; and then "too lazy" to copy the rest of the episodes for me.

It took me another 2 years before I found the VCD copies and finally continue the story. Thank god for internet.



I still have great memory of this show, it really stand out to me at that time because it tried to deconstruct the mecha genre. While it is a show centered around war, it doesn't take itself too seriously. The show is about mecha, but unlike gundam, this time it is the ship that's the powerful star of the show instead of the mech. The ship is privately run by a corporation, so it has a excuse to fill it with colorful crews, and large part of the story focus on their interactions (and the eventual love triangle). Like ZZ gundam, it start as comedy, but the war get more serious as the story progress.

The TV show itself has a completed ending; however, like all successful show it eventually get a movie sequel. The movie ended with suggestion of another sequel, which never happened! The story was supposed to continued in a series of dreamcast games, which was never released in the west, and the dreamcast was dead before the game story reach a meaningful ending. Luckily, in 2019, Super Robt Wars V finally gave the series a completed ending after the movie sequel.
 

lachesis

Member
Dragon Ball. Hmmm. I love the manga series to this day. I probably have read the whole thing over 10 times from beginning to the end. But as Anime, I didn't bother to watch because the pacing was so slow. That's why I don't really watch Shonen Jump main anime series... even though in theory, it's a dream come true - but in reality, it just doesn't work out. I haven't really found a single anime that works well when going simultaneously.

Same goes to Slam Dunk. One of my favorite manga as well... and I haven't bothered with Yu Yu Hakusho as anime series either. All read in manga form.

I tend to stick to anime that's planned and began as anime - and read manga in manga form to get the full picture. There are few exceptions like Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, and remains one of my favorite "modern" anime.

As per Eva series.... I tend to look at those super popular series as a phenomenon, which has little to do with my personal taste. I was quite impressed by the design and storytelling - even though I didn't really like any of the characters, and the WTF original ending (clapping congratulation) to the real WTF end of Eva ending. Then again, it's a Gainax anime, so it was to be expected.... but still, I had dig a lot of stuff to find out what the anime really meant and all. I like to read about things in Anime, but the story was way too convoluted and unfriendly.


eUrHcpE.jpg


This is a photo that I took when I went to Hakone (Closest popular hot spring destination from Tokyo) in Christmas time in 2018 with my daughter.
I hadn't realized it, but I was keep seeing a lot of Eva related stuff - realized that Tokyo3 in Eva is actually Hakone.

The train station that Shinji leaves - looks similar to the real one, and there's a gift shop there too. It was interesting experience - that I know some otakus visit the real-life places portrayed in Anime - and Japan is literally full of it. I did try to visit that Shinjuku Park from "Garden of Words" by Makoto Shinkai - but the park was closed due to holiday at that time. :(

And... also just watched "Weathering with you" the other day. It was pretty good, but didn't leave as much impact like his earlier works - perhaps because it was happy(?) ending. But man. I wouldn't want to live in Makoto Shinkai's Japan... getting hit by a meteor, and 3 year rain etc. What's going to be next? Kaiju?! :)
 
*Hellsing in the OP*

Fuck, man, I miss that series. Now I want to see a game based around Alucard. Thankfully, A Gungrave game is coming out soon-ish.

The OG OVA was really loose on the adaptation, but the soundtrack was amazing. Used to listen to it repeatedly as a late edgy teen.




I like the older style of anime way more than the digital modern style of anime now. Plus, a lot of my favorite anime are considered retro now by today's standards. Gunbuster, Gunsmith Cats, Slayers, Bubblegum Crisis (both versions), Battle Angel Alita, Burn Up, Outlaw Star, ROD The Tv and the OVA, Birdy The Mighty OVA (Not Decode) and many more I can't think of right now. A lot of it has to due to how fun and unique the characters are back compared to now. Especially the female characters:
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I'm starting to feel like I took for it granted. The handdrawn strokes and aesthetic looks overall more vivid, stylish, and, accomplished than what we see today imo. I dunno what is, I can't put my finger on it, but something about current anime feels and seems so impersonal. Maybe its the overreliance on modern tech and less on handwork.
 

Labolas

Member
*Hellsing in the OP*

Fuck, man, I miss that series. Now I want to see a game based around Alucard. Thankfully, A Gungrave game is coming out soon-ish.

The OG OVA was really loose on the adaptation, but the soundtrack was amazing. Used to listen to it repeatedly as a late edgy teen.






I'm starting to feel like I took for it granted. The handdrawn strokes and aesthetic looks overall more vivid, stylish, and, accomplished than what we see today imo. I dunno what is, I can't put my finger on it, but something about current anime feels and seems so impersonal. Maybe its the overreliance on modern tech and less on handwork.


Yeah, man I agree, I think the overall changes in character designs (mostly female designs) and the overabundance of moe aesthetics make the newer stuff less unique, cool and fun in my eyes. I don't think we're going get stuff like that I posted currently.

In regards to Eva, I think reading the manga is the better route. It has a way more satisfying ending.

Also recently watched a few episodes of You're Under Arrest. My god is the animation great. Really fun stuff.
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kunonabi

Member
Talking about mecha, my favorite retro anime would be Nadesico, perhaps I am a bit bias because my "friend" back then only copy 6 episode of the show to me on VHS; and then "too lazy" to copy the rest of the episodes for me.

It took me another 2 years before I found the VCD copies and finally continue the story. Thank god for internet.



I still have great memory of this show, it really stand out to me at that time because it tried to deconstruct the mecha genre. While it is a show centered around war, it doesn't take itself too seriously. The show is about mecha, but unlike gundam, this time it is the ship that's the powerful star of the show instead of the mech. The ship is privately run by a corporation, so it has a excuse to fill it with colorful crews, and large part of the story focus on their interactions (and the eventual love triangle). Like ZZ gundam, it start as comedy, but the war get more serious as the story progress.

The TV show itself has a completed ending; however, like all successful show it eventually get a movie sequel. The movie ended with suggestion of another sequel, which never happened! The story was supposed to continued in a series of dreamcast games, which was never released in the west, and the dreamcast was dead before the game story reach a meaningful ending. Luckily, in 2019, Super Robt Wars V finally gave the series a completed ending after the movie sequel.


Speaking of mecha anime that have trouble with endings, anybody else love Dangaioh as much as I do?

 
Well, to be specific, I find Yoshiyuki Tomino style of storytelling rather... questionable in a lot of cases. Sometimes it feels entirely random in a lot of times - that I do like things to make sense when moving along to the next scenes. Dialogues in original Gundam 0079, and Z are quite laughable in a lot of case that they really don't flow quite well either. I can't quite nail it down - but he is a genius in terms of camera angle and composition. And such contrast between what's being said in words, and the actions of character, creates unique dis-harmony - and I think that's what I find his work strange, and charming.

But man - as a "writer" he's one heck of a mess. Legendary man he in screenplay, conti, and as a director, and I am forever grateful of of his works - but... but....

Yeah I noticed that his storytelling is somewhat incoherent at times, especially in Z Gundam. The first time I watched it I thought maybe the translation was poor because I didn't understand the actions characters would sometime make but that's just how it was. I've heard his most recent series Reconguista in G is fairly incomprehensible. =P I'll always love the underlying sadness in earlier works though.

Speaking of mecha anime that have trouble with endings, anybody else love Dangaioh as much as I do?



Yeah I enjoyed Dangaio (And Iczer for that matter) but I hate that the dvd release is a chopped up re-edit with the first ova removed due to the English dub, whichs all the dvd offers. =/
 
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