kiunchbb
www.dictionary.com
No yuri in that show from what I remembered.
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No yuri in that show from what I remembered.
Space Runaway
Member
Some more of the good stuff
(Crash's intro was probably the best thing about the sequel series... =P)
(Crash's intro was probably the best thing about the sequel series... =P)
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Is YYH still being hyped? I remember when Funimation obtained rights to it and they were commercializing everything on it around 2002. They had the boxsets (those bulky DVD sets with like 8 individual snap cases), they had a game on PS2 (which is total B.S. -- I had it and they wanted you to memorize 10-16 part combo moves...who memorizes large combo moves?), they had a contract with Cartoon Network. We've all had or still have that one friend who insists that one anime is better than them all. We had a quaint anime club in 2004 and the leader was obsessed with YYH. So, as you can imagine...we weren't watching much other than YYH. I liked the episodes from the first season though (right before they kidnapped Hiei's sister and all that).I meant YYH!
But no I actually prefer the 1999 version.
Why did they remakes HxH?
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
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.
btwHapposai 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.
Tenchi Muyo was the anime that got me into anime. The thing is, I've rewatched it many times. Everytime I see it again...I don't want to see it again. I saw it when I was 12-years old for the first time and to a 12-year old...they're probably going to like that more. It's not that great and it was also hyper commercialized after Toonami started running it in 2000. By the time it stopped airing on satellite / cable networks in the U.S., no one (that I recall) ever picked it back up again. The last run I remember it having was in 2001. After that, the hype went more toward GXP and the myriad of spin-off series which focus even less on Tenchi. Final note on it, I can still say that I'm grateful it was on T.V. when it was because prior to Tenchi I hated anime as a kid. So, I'm thankful that it was the anime that got me into anime but it's no longer in my top 20 favorite anime anymore the same.
kunonabi
Your list has some great hype examples from the 90's anime era. It seems like Akira didn't make it to the U.S. until the early 90's. I am one of those people who will only watch Akira for the visuals alone. The animation is superb but everything else...meh. Kenshin and Bebop. These were two anime recommended to me due to their popularity and the time they started airing. My younger sister was watching Kenshin in 2001 and I watched about 6 episodes before getting a little bored. I forgot about it completely until this one guy started pushing it in his "best anime reviews" page. By the way, this guy (I'll keep anonymous) is not on GAF (and would probably never join a gaming forum)...you pretty much broke down every anime he is obsessed with. Therefore, it's better he's not here or he's be flipping his lid. Oh, Bebop. So, I've seen like 100 clips of the animation and never take the Remix DVD set out of the shrink wrap. Friends and webpages usually have to tease me into watching an anime whether it's popular or unheard of. No one has yet given me a reason to open my Bebop DVD collection other than leaving comments about it like "it's the GOAT." Okay...tell me why then? So, I don't know why I should watch it but I also don't want to sell it either.
Ah! My Goddess is the one that was stiff for you or the OVA (which was sold as Oh! My Goddess). I think Ah! My Goddess didn't get a series until about 2003/4-ish. The OVA I like simply because I'm biased on romantic anime but yeah...it is slow. It's not the worst of it, though. If you want one that's painfully dull...watch the Oh! My Goddess movie from the late 90's. I used to get depressed watching it as a pre-teen.
Space Runaway
Member
Regarding Kenshin, you may want to check out the "Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal" OVA series. It's a different beast from the Kenshin tv series and has some high quality animation and great fight choreography (They went full Sanjuro with the blood too). Plus it's only 4 OVAs so it's a quick watch.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I'm sold easily on classic anime. Someone just have to give me that incentive to watch. Kenshin was a long time ago for me but you're selling me on the OVA and for the blood...that usually works. The TV series was what I saw back in 2000. It was something popular as I remember enter Yahoo's anime chat and finding half the members with names from the show.Regarding Kenshin, you may want to check out the "Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal" OVA series. It's a different beast from the Kenshin tv series and has some high quality animation and great fight choreography (They went full Sanjuro with the blood too). Plus it's only 4 OVAs so it's a quick watch.
Toonami's idea on how to sell anime was this strategy:
Fictional Toonami board member circa 1999: We need some of those Japanese cartoons that American's will like.
Toonami toadie: Let's give them about 7 options so some stand out more than others.
Fictional Toonami board member: We'll need brains to pull this off and sell American on non-American cartoons on an American network
Toonami toadie: Okay...how about five? 2 fighting anime (DBZ, Kenshin) and 2 Sci-comedies (Tenchi, Outlaw Star).
Fictional Toonami board member: Genius!
That's how I saw things. They always had something of sci-fi comedy that was their lesser-popular category and a beat-em-up genre which was usually the most popular. The Sci-Fi channel ran anime better and seemed to just be experimenting with any genre of anime they had available.
S
SLoWMoTIoN
Unconfirmed Member
Togashi took too long to make new chapters. 10 years later and he made the chimera /election/arc. They just fuck it and just remade the whole thing. Sadly it wasn't the same studio, while they did take some artistic liberties it felt more like a true anime with superior animation and tone.
Werewolf Jones
Gold Member
Space Runaway
Member
I had to give this a watch once I found out an uncredited Osamu Dezaki directed this and...I can see why he took his name off it. =P It's definitely nowhere near the worst of all time or anything but the story really is disjointed and messy to where it feels like a collection of scenes at times(It's based on a series of novels and I have a feeling this is a loosely scripted "best of"). All the side plots going unresolved doesn't help. You mention the main character has few if any emotions, which is true, but he also doesn't have much of any character period. Plus he god modes his way through everything to an extreme degree. Kenshiro has to try harder than this guy. Golgo 13 is hard but he takes damage and shows surprise at time. For this guy nothing is a challenge and he doesn't seem to care while doing any of it. Still, it wasn't boring as the whole thing was just back to back action or sex scenes.
As for the production, even with Dezaki at the helm I was surprised how sloppy the whole thing was. His trademark style is apparent and some stuff looks decent but most looks really uneven or plain messy. It's pretty rare to find a Dezaki production where one can say that and it can't be budget because all his post-70s TV work looks better than this. I thought it might have something to do with him working with Magic Bus rather TMS but then he did the Burning Blood ova the same year and that looks great. So I can only assume it's due to Studio Hapii, who are just an in-between studio, doing the bulk of the animation. I bet there's a pretty interesting production woes story that led to the final result and Dezaki removing his name though who knows if that'll ever be told.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
That's one thing that bugs me with the demand for anime when a manga gets popular...demanding prior to completion.
That's something that annoys me with a lot of anime production studios. Especially in the past. They'd see something gaining popularity in the manga market and draw up a staff to make a series or OVA. However, in most cases the artists weren't finished and this led to many great series not having an ending or to attempt to make hundreds of episodes to wait for the manga artist. That's why it seems better when the animators take the character concept and go in a completely different direction and draw their own conclusions.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I had to give this a watch once I found out an uncredited Osamu Dezaki directed this and...I can see why he took his name off it. =P It's definitely nowhere near the worst of all time or anything but the story really is disjointed and messy to where it feels like a collection of scenes at times(It's based on a series of novels and I have a feeling this is a loosely scripted "best of"). All the side plots going unresolved doesn't help. You mention the main character has few if any emotions, which is true, but he also doesn't have much of any character period. Plus he god modes his way through everything to an extreme degree. Kenshiro has to try harder than this guy. Golgo 13 is hard but he takes damage and shows surprise at time. For this guy nothing is a challenge and he doesn't seem to care while doing any of it. Still, it wasn't boring as the whole thing was just back to back action or sex scenes.
As for the production, even with Dezaki at the helm I was surprised how sloppy the whole thing was. His trademark style is apparent and some stuff looks decent but most looks really uneven or plain messy. It's pretty rare to find a Dezaki production where one can say that and it can't be budget because all his post-70s TV work looks better than this. I thought it might have something to do with him working with Magic Bus rather TMS but then he did the Burning Blood ova the same year and that looks great. So I can only assume it's due to Studio Hapii, who are just an in-between studio, doing the bulk of the animation. I bet there's a pretty interesting production woes story that led to the final result and Dezaki removing his name though who knows if that'll ever be told.
To me finding any anime other than the super popular titles on LD seemed like a holy grail. I mean, Laser Disc was and still is expensive. There was a lot of rare anime put out on LD, though and had some good cover artwork, too.
Space Runaway
That's quite a history and explains why they wouldn't make a completion for the OVA. I can even understand Dezaki removing his name from the credits. The mystery is why I found it on released by an American distributor on VHS. I was in one of my many low points when I bought that VHS and used to buy anime with no research at all. I would just be the guinea pig being tested for something that was good, okay, or sucks. I remember my depression getting worse realizing it was the first OVA I'd ever purchased where they ended it WITHOUT AN ENDING. There are some anime titles that never made it to the U.S. from back in the day which are great and others which are still untouched on VHS. Many VHS titles that I'm still waiting for to get at minimum a DVD release. However, this one didn't even deserve to be on VHS. The distributors were crafty. They bought this trash and would sell (people like me) on trailers alone. There's no warning that it doesn't end in the trailer. I guess that's my beef with it. It could have been as bland as dirt and I would still have something more to say if they had just written an ending. Congrats
kunonabi
on obtaining the Crusher Joe OVAs and a Lupin the lll movie which I've yet to see. I bought the Crusher Joe OVAs a couple years ago and they're fantastic. If you haven't seen the movie, you should do likewise.
Space Runaway
Member
I assume they intended to do a followup but then didn't either due to sales or something else. And while I'm assuming things I have a feeling this was only licensed in hopes of enticing the Ninja Scroll crowd.
At least it's just a one and done with no ending. I get much more bothered by stuff like Dangaizer 3, where they made 4 OVAs and then didn't make the final 5th OVA. Sure series can get killed early but they only needed to make one more. =/
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Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I heard about Dangaizer 3 and never watched for that reason. By the late 2000's I started reading and researching anime prior to buying as I had a 15-year habit prior of buying anime because of the box art of trailer alone. You're probably right about the licensing coming as a result of the Western hype in the 90's over Ninja Scroll. I remember hearing about Ninja Scroll in the 90's but never actually saw it until purchasing it in 2007. I was a huge Kawajiri fanboy but I've never been too interested in ninja themed anime. My preference for genres in anime changes every 5-years, though. Right now, I'm into romantic comedies (only in anime)series and that is probably a result the strict quarantine in Mexico.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I always appreciate these additions you add to the group. When people find this group...I expect them to find a ton of retro anime previews, pics, gifs, and info. The eye-candy usually catches them first. I was just thinking about the future of anime and how it would be nice to see someone go rogue and just produce something hand-drawn and hand-painted again. Imagine that, and then push it in with the next season's line-up and see how it fairs. If it's a good story, likable characters, and has a nice soundtrack...maybe we could bring animation back. But...seems more like a dream than a reality.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Sorry that I vanish from NeoGAF (or use it much less on Saturdays and Sundays). Weekends are for my wife and so I sometimes get time to read a post or write a quick comment but I generally try to be active Monday-Thursday.
I have a nerdy question about retro anime fans. Some here started watching in the 70's, many in the 80's (seems to be Space Runaway's specialty), and other in the mid-late 90's (that would be me). Remember when messenger chat rooms were a thing? Everyone had their domain (MSN, Yahoo!, AoL, etc). Mine was Yahoo! Messenger. Around 2002, I was a bored high-school kid in the Mid-Western U.S. and would hop into the Japanese anime chats during those years. If you were around back then and you saw names like: Vash_the_stampede, Imoraut, yarbo_valdeski, Hoshigaya, Maze_Akira...then that was me. Most people in the chat were watching anime from the previous 5-10 years which dated back to the mid-90's. There was new anime (of course) but no one seemed to be talking about it...except chobits...lotta people with Chobit profiles.
Anyway, I frequented there to submit my early anime fan fictions, create RPG's, and when mic features became available around 2006; I'd get on the mic with a buddy named Ryu and we'd talk about all the older anime movies from the 80's and 90's.
Did anyone else here get into anime RPG's via chat / messenger, create fan fictions, or go in to just read the odd things that would pop up in chat rooms of the 90's-early 2000's?
These chat rooms and messenger services have mostly all been discontinued by their providers and were hanging on by a thread after 2012. Chat still does exist out there but most (like me) have out-grown it or have other things to do. Just a memory to look back on, I guess. I was 14-16 years old when I was involved with Yahoo chat and so were most of the users. I remember feeling weird to see people enter chat who were in their 20's (to a teenager...20's seemed like old men or women to me at the time). Now, I'm in my 30's and have life to deal with but I still write fan fictions every Spring or so.
Happy Monday!
~Happosai
Thoughts?
Space Runaway
gela94
Valonquar
Starlight Lotice
kunonabi
Mobile Suit Gooch
I have a nerdy question about retro anime fans. Some here started watching in the 70's, many in the 80's (seems to be Space Runaway's specialty), and other in the mid-late 90's (that would be me). Remember when messenger chat rooms were a thing? Everyone had their domain (MSN, Yahoo!, AoL, etc). Mine was Yahoo! Messenger. Around 2002, I was a bored high-school kid in the Mid-Western U.S. and would hop into the Japanese anime chats during those years. If you were around back then and you saw names like: Vash_the_stampede, Imoraut, yarbo_valdeski, Hoshigaya, Maze_Akira...then that was me. Most people in the chat were watching anime from the previous 5-10 years which dated back to the mid-90's. There was new anime (of course) but no one seemed to be talking about it...except chobits...lotta people with Chobit profiles.
Anyway, I frequented there to submit my early anime fan fictions, create RPG's, and when mic features became available around 2006; I'd get on the mic with a buddy named Ryu and we'd talk about all the older anime movies from the 80's and 90's.
Did anyone else here get into anime RPG's via chat / messenger, create fan fictions, or go in to just read the odd things that would pop up in chat rooms of the 90's-early 2000's?
These chat rooms and messenger services have mostly all been discontinued by their providers and were hanging on by a thread after 2012. Chat still does exist out there but most (like me) have out-grown it or have other things to do. Just a memory to look back on, I guess. I was 14-16 years old when I was involved with Yahoo chat and so were most of the users. I remember feeling weird to see people enter chat who were in their 20's (to a teenager...20's seemed like old men or women to me at the time). Now, I'm in my 30's and have life to deal with but I still write fan fictions every Spring or so.
Happy Monday!
~Happosai
Thoughts?
Space Runaway
gela94
Valonquar
Starlight Lotice
kunonabi
Mobile Suit Gooch
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kunonabi
Member
I just got into it on own with my friends. We just started renting tapes from Blockbuster and things escalated from there. This was probably mid 90s or so. We had an anime store and a monthly anime club that we also made use of. Messenger was mostly for talking to girls and I never did chat rooms.
Shouta
Member
Valonquar
Member
Even around the time AOL was first getting started, I was racking up ridiculous long distance phone bills downloading 16 color anime pictures from BBSes. I frequented a few small BBS sites and the names of them all escape me now, but I do remember a lot of the images were watermarked with a site called DokiWaku² and I ended up using that as my alias on a lot of sites later on.
Around '92 I was seeking out some way to re-watch Robotech and see other 80's/90's anime without spending $50++ a pop for clamshell VHS at the local comic shop and found out about a local anime group that was just getting started at a local library. The first visit was super awkward and I couldn't identify with how cringe level nerdy everyone was. Eventually I got to know people a little better, became fairly cringe level nerdy myself and made some of the best friends in my life. It was always really small gatherings of maybe 12~15 people max, except for one time when we showed the Street Fighter movie near release and somehow had nearly 100 people. Chun-Li shower scene fills seats I guess!
I was always into video games more than anime, and always wanting Japanese games that were not released in the states. I somehow managed to get a Japanese PS1 at launch, for way too much money. Shortly after that I went to AWA 1 with 3 friends, and the PS1 & small TV in tow. Back then if you wanted import stuff it was go to a con, or well, that was it. AWA 1 was tiny. It had like 2 video rooms playing bootlegs/fan subs, a dealers room that was like 3 tables, and no game room. I ended up setting up my TV and PS1 in one of the con areas of the hotel. While playing Tekken 1, we met 4 other peoplefrom NC who actually recognized the game, and several 10 hit combos later we became best friends too.
This led to us meeting up with them enroute from FL to Katsucon 1, Nekocon 1, and a few more AWAs. Eventually we were running a game room at most of the east coast cons in the south east. We started out running game rooms out of our hotel room at cons, and eventually running the main game room at the shows. It was a lot of work, but it was super fun, and I met some awesome folks, many who I still keep in touch with now. After a few cons, and a need to escape from a psyco ex in FL, I ened up moving to NC to live with one of my anime buds who needed a roommate.
We started out as "Games First Anime" and always joked we'd go to cons and not watch any anime at the con. This evolved into "We Don't Care" about anime, as a joke, and got shortened to Wedoca which we thought sounded more Japanese.
Around the mid point of the PS3 era I kind of got burnt out on anime cons though. Con goers all stayed the same age, and I kept getting older. Most of the Wedoca crew still does cons today, including hauling like 20 arcade cabs all over the country. It makes me tired just watching them unload them.
Around '92 I was seeking out some way to re-watch Robotech and see other 80's/90's anime without spending $50++ a pop for clamshell VHS at the local comic shop and found out about a local anime group that was just getting started at a local library. The first visit was super awkward and I couldn't identify with how cringe level nerdy everyone was. Eventually I got to know people a little better, became fairly cringe level nerdy myself and made some of the best friends in my life. It was always really small gatherings of maybe 12~15 people max, except for one time when we showed the Street Fighter movie near release and somehow had nearly 100 people. Chun-Li shower scene fills seats I guess!
I was always into video games more than anime, and always wanting Japanese games that were not released in the states. I somehow managed to get a Japanese PS1 at launch, for way too much money. Shortly after that I went to AWA 1 with 3 friends, and the PS1 & small TV in tow. Back then if you wanted import stuff it was go to a con, or well, that was it. AWA 1 was tiny. It had like 2 video rooms playing bootlegs/fan subs, a dealers room that was like 3 tables, and no game room. I ended up setting up my TV and PS1 in one of the con areas of the hotel. While playing Tekken 1, we met 4 other peoplefrom NC who actually recognized the game, and several 10 hit combos later we became best friends too.
This led to us meeting up with them enroute from FL to Katsucon 1, Nekocon 1, and a few more AWAs. Eventually we were running a game room at most of the east coast cons in the south east. We started out running game rooms out of our hotel room at cons, and eventually running the main game room at the shows. It was a lot of work, but it was super fun, and I met some awesome folks, many who I still keep in touch with now. After a few cons, and a need to escape from a psyco ex in FL, I ened up moving to NC to live with one of my anime buds who needed a roommate.
We started out as "Games First Anime" and always joked we'd go to cons and not watch any anime at the con. This evolved into "We Don't Care" about anime, as a joke, and got shortened to Wedoca which we thought sounded more Japanese.
Around the mid point of the PS3 era I kind of got burnt out on anime cons though. Con goers all stayed the same age, and I kept getting older. Most of the Wedoca crew still does cons today, including hauling like 20 arcade cabs all over the country. It makes me tired just watching them unload them.
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Space Runaway
Member
Yeah something like that would have to be some kind vanity project as companies most likely wouldn't see such a thing worthwhile commercially. If anything we're probably going to end up in a pure cg future where the 2d look is emulated rather than actually making the real thing. =/
Rat Rage
Member
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Well, for watching anime, that's the same way I got into it. For a short time, there was a video store called Hastings (which liquidated in 2003-ish) that I was able to buy a lot of anime from on VHS. The chats helped me try to RPG and create fan fictions for anime stories which were left incomplete by their original creators.
kunonabi
jshackles
Never even knew this video existed. Pretty cool and reminds of how Mike Oldfield was using this obscure French animation to promote his failed 1989 single "Heavens Open."
Valonquar
Quite amazing that you were able to get so involved in the conventions so early. Anime in the West in the early 90's had to be pure nerdland and the time due to it still being "new." Did you salvage any old fansubs or anything from that era and keep it today? What about the PS1 Japanese model, still got it?
Space Runaway
Member
One you don't hear about too much
Dougram: Fang of the Sun. After Tomino back to back bombed out with Gundam and Ideon, Sunrise took another stab at the "real robot" concept - this time with future VOTOMS director Ryosuke Takahashi at the helm. This time they came out with Dougram: Fang of the Sun and ended up finding great success.
It's sorta Gundam Redux, with the young kid becoming a pilot of the brand new technology (Nearly indestructible, of course) mech and using it to foil the enemies evil plan of the week. Though much like VOTOMS, it's very big on tactic based combat and the political intrigue going on behind the scenes. Visually it's old and still transitioning out of the 70's though I think the series holds up considerably better than Gundam '79 and much of it's ilk from that time. It's definitely better directed too and features a large variety of combat scenarios with plausible and occasionally clever tactics. The story is also always moving forward and with clear goals so you don't feel completely stuck in the endless "challenge of the week" format so many shows used.
If I had to criticize any specific aspects I'd say losing a dozen episodes (There's 75) would have paced it a little better and there's a section of the series where a particular character is introduced. I assume she was intended as some kind of fanservice since the show did not feature a character of this type prior, yet she ends up just being incredibly bothersome and annoying. Either the writers, viewers or both felt the same way as after awhile the character exits the show in a very, shall we say, cold manner. I was fine with this though. =P
Despite being a big success it's faded into obscurity over the decades. I'd imagine this is due to the lack of any sequel series coupled with the mecha and designs not being very memorable (They're very much in line with the proto-Gundam designs before they were made more toy friendly). The latter being important for the sake of toy/model production, which usually at the very least keeps some aspect of older properties alive and in the mind to some degree.
Still, very much worth watching if you like the early real robot genre and want a more VOTOMS approach to Gundam.
Dougram: Fang of the Sun. After Tomino back to back bombed out with Gundam and Ideon, Sunrise took another stab at the "real robot" concept - this time with future VOTOMS director Ryosuke Takahashi at the helm. This time they came out with Dougram: Fang of the Sun and ended up finding great success.
It's sorta Gundam Redux, with the young kid becoming a pilot of the brand new technology (Nearly indestructible, of course) mech and using it to foil the enemies evil plan of the week. Though much like VOTOMS, it's very big on tactic based combat and the political intrigue going on behind the scenes. Visually it's old and still transitioning out of the 70's though I think the series holds up considerably better than Gundam '79 and much of it's ilk from that time. It's definitely better directed too and features a large variety of combat scenarios with plausible and occasionally clever tactics. The story is also always moving forward and with clear goals so you don't feel completely stuck in the endless "challenge of the week" format so many shows used.
If I had to criticize any specific aspects I'd say losing a dozen episodes (There's 75) would have paced it a little better and there's a section of the series where a particular character is introduced. I assume she was intended as some kind of fanservice since the show did not feature a character of this type prior, yet she ends up just being incredibly bothersome and annoying. Either the writers, viewers or both felt the same way as after awhile the character exits the show in a very, shall we say, cold manner. I was fine with this though. =P
Despite being a big success it's faded into obscurity over the decades. I'd imagine this is due to the lack of any sequel series coupled with the mecha and designs not being very memorable (They're very much in line with the proto-Gundam designs before they were made more toy friendly). The latter being important for the sake of toy/model production, which usually at the very least keeps some aspect of older properties alive and in the mind to some degree.
Still, very much worth watching if you like the early real robot genre and want a more VOTOMS approach to Gundam.
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Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I can't say I would expect much more. The issue is with 2D emulation is that I got used to 25-years of seeing things done by hand from the 30s-90s. So many decades before my time (yet I grew up with) of animation being done using real tools and by real artists. It will probably never happen again -- which is mostly why I stick with retro anime, film, tv. Computer was interesting when it was first being applied as an aide or for small effects in the 80's and 90's. By the 90's, the flare of seeing the glossy new add-ons in animation were already getting boring to me. I had to opt-out of a career in animation as a result of choosing 2D over 3D; which has left me with ideas but no real career. I can't use the CG programs without getting bored or depressed.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Borders bookstore cleaned out all the Hastings in Bloomington, IL by 2003. Now, Borders is gone, too. Tough market.
Ladioss
Member
PSME ? It's "just" a twist (as was Shimizu Reiko's masterpiece "Princess Kaguya") on the "They were eleven" story from Moto Hagio, with a theme about reincarnations added in. The manga has badly aged, but the OVA had a pretty prestigious staff for its time, with music from Mizoguchi and Yoko Kanno, chara designs from Takayuki Goto, and art direction by Yuji Ikeda. The rythmn is slow, but I have great memories of the last episode !
The music comes from one of the Image soundtrack, IIRC - not music used for the OVA, but soundtrack you were expected to listen while reading the manga ;p
Valonquar
Member
Matthew Sweet did a Lum AMV too using footage from Beatiful Dreamer for I've Been Waiting. It was my 1st exposure to Lum, and then the Animego Urusei Yatsura VHSes showed up at Blockbuster shortly afterward. He has a Lum tattoo, and his later videos sport a guitar with Ren & Stimpy art.
Sadly all VHS stuff is long gone from my collections of stuff. I embrace the digital future. I am not AV entusiast enough to nitpick over stuff like different encoding, etc. I just love watching all the things!
Early cons were very very different. I'm a bit jaded about how different cons are now actually. Like there were no females at all, cosplay was much more amateur. Sausage Fest whales & rails we used to call it. Oddly though, I feel like early cons were able to land some impressive guests compared to recent east coast stuff.
Still have the OG JP PS1 with all the inputs!
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Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Maybe people were just cooler 35 + years ago in terms of interests. I can't expect people to have a dinosaur mind like me but anime was a different medium 2 1/2 decades ago.
Likewise, I'm actually converting older stuff to digital. The digital I can make copies and save conveniently which wasn't so easy when copying to hard media. However, I still collect hard copy anime on occaision. The problem with time is that I don't have as much to dedicate to hobbies like before, so I tend to write about them here on GAF to leave some kind of footprint.
Awesome that you kept that PSOne. I regret having sold my Japanese Saturn with all the anime games for a PS3. Incomprehensible move but I wanted the new shiney console of 2007.
Starlight Lotice
Member
"Did anyone else here get into anime RPG's via chat / messenger, create fan fictions, or go in to just read the odd things that would pop up in chat rooms of the 90's-early 2000's?"
Had a friend on Backloggery recommend me some Anime's which were "new" at the time, such as Hetalia and Lucky Star, but this was 2010s.
Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon and YuGiOh is the only exposure I had in the late 90s/00s because the Internet back then was terrible and were on Sky 1 and Cartoon Network (which is funny as Sky 1 was more for Adults and shown all the rage stuff)....to which Pokemon was on at 7/8am at the time before CITV took over the rights.
Oh, and Digimon was called "The Pokemon Killer" but honestly couldn't get into it that much but it has its fans.
Shaman King and One Piece were shown on Fox Kids over here in the mid 00s (which changed to Jetex after that), and hosted Sonic X before CITV did the other episodes. (pretty terrible Sonic adaptation despite being the closest to the source material of the games)
YuGiOh had better exposure on CITV (since CITV is a Terrestrial Channel which didn't require watching Cable on the main TV when parents wanted to watch stuff).
I sadly couldn't watch One Piece as it kept changing hands, and Cartoon Network had a short lived Channel dedicated to Anime called CNX in the UK but...they missed about 30 episodes of Dragon Ball Z in the Buu Saga but I discovered Samurai Jack and Megas XLR on it (more Cartoons than anime but I love them both), they shown Tenchi Muyo and seemed to repeat the same fucking 2 episodes until they could get more, but by the time the Anime started showing new episodes, the Channel was cancelled and it moved to Toonami but I had finished Watching Dragon Ball Z/GT and moved onto Music at the time (which I discovered via CNX I guess as they played a lot of Rock/Metal music in the adverts).
I actually hear more of Anime now than I ever did but that is my experience of Anime in the 2000s and Late 90s without even knowing it. The more famous stuff at the time getting attention and seeing the "Adult" stuff now and again via CNX.
I would class 7th Dragon as Anime and I have a VERY weird Nostalgic feeling for it, as the game plays as though it could have been released on a PS1, with the story being as cliché as it gets but I love it! (the 3rd game)
However, I still find the charm of older Anime charming, despite not liking Akira all that much. (people state the Manga is better).
Regarding games, I only ever bought Dragon Ball Z Budokai as they were great games! I got Wild Arms for free but the game was anything but anime!
I demo'd Ghost in the Shell back in the late 90s (98???) and loved it but forgot about the demo and moved on.
Valkyria Chronicles made me appreciate what could be done with Anime in Games though, and have since played games from GUST and Senran Kagura. I think the only Anime like game I wouldn't mind playing is Policenauts.
Had a friend on Backloggery recommend me some Anime's which were "new" at the time, such as Hetalia and Lucky Star, but this was 2010s.
Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon and YuGiOh is the only exposure I had in the late 90s/00s because the Internet back then was terrible and were on Sky 1 and Cartoon Network (which is funny as Sky 1 was more for Adults and shown all the rage stuff)....to which Pokemon was on at 7/8am at the time before CITV took over the rights.
Oh, and Digimon was called "The Pokemon Killer" but honestly couldn't get into it that much but it has its fans.
Shaman King and One Piece were shown on Fox Kids over here in the mid 00s (which changed to Jetex after that), and hosted Sonic X before CITV did the other episodes. (pretty terrible Sonic adaptation despite being the closest to the source material of the games)
YuGiOh had better exposure on CITV (since CITV is a Terrestrial Channel which didn't require watching Cable on the main TV when parents wanted to watch stuff).
I sadly couldn't watch One Piece as it kept changing hands, and Cartoon Network had a short lived Channel dedicated to Anime called CNX in the UK but...they missed about 30 episodes of Dragon Ball Z in the Buu Saga but I discovered Samurai Jack and Megas XLR on it (more Cartoons than anime but I love them both), they shown Tenchi Muyo and seemed to repeat the same fucking 2 episodes until they could get more, but by the time the Anime started showing new episodes, the Channel was cancelled and it moved to Toonami but I had finished Watching Dragon Ball Z/GT and moved onto Music at the time (which I discovered via CNX I guess as they played a lot of Rock/Metal music in the adverts).
I actually hear more of Anime now than I ever did but that is my experience of Anime in the 2000s and Late 90s without even knowing it. The more famous stuff at the time getting attention and seeing the "Adult" stuff now and again via CNX.
I would class 7th Dragon as Anime and I have a VERY weird Nostalgic feeling for it, as the game plays as though it could have been released on a PS1, with the story being as cliché as it gets but I love it! (the 3rd game)
However, I still find the charm of older Anime charming, despite not liking Akira all that much. (people state the Manga is better).
Regarding games, I only ever bought Dragon Ball Z Budokai as they were great games! I got Wild Arms for free but the game was anything but anime!
I demo'd Ghost in the Shell back in the late 90s (98???) and loved it but forgot about the demo and moved on.
Valkyria Chronicles made me appreciate what could be done with Anime in Games though, and have since played games from GUST and Senran Kagura. I think the only Anime like game I wouldn't mind playing is Policenauts.
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Space Runaway
Member
Remembering some ad and promos from ancient times =P
Bonus:
Bonus:
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I talk to many U.K. anime collectors. They say it's a tough hobby and expensive (as most anime has to be imported from the States). The Fox anime you mentioned sounds like the same Saturday round-up we had coming through our local stations in 2001 (Shaman King, Fighting Foodons, Sonic X, Kirby Right Back At Ya, Ultimate Muscle). The only one of those I found remotely entertaining was Ultimate Muscle since the predecessor anime to that one (Kinnikumon something???) from the 80's never made landfall in the States.
This is opinion, Akira has astounding animation but a story which I still can't get into today. I never much got into the other mainstream titles like Ghost in the Shell. I'm a simple guy and when stories get too elaborate...I either watch or drop. X the movie for example had great animation but I could never get into the story. It was the same post / near-apocalypse cliche story basically entailing someone's got to destroy the world so it can start again pure...and these heroes are going to stop them.
There are some in this thread who can steer you in the right direction for something retro to watch that's not going to disappoint. I would recommend trying a good OVA like Gunbuster (you can watch it freely for the moment on YouTube).
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Remembering some ad and promos from ancient times =P
Bonus:
These kind of adds in VHS were what sold me on anime my first 10-years of random VHS buying. It grew into such a big part of my memory of the nostalgic way we were sold on things that I'll still select trailers options on older anime DVD menus. However, there was no option with VHS. They could throw anything they wanted at you. It worked for me but as I mentioned earlier...this led me to watch some pretty bland titles too like ' Judge' and 'Sword for Truth.'
AnimeWorks and Urban Vision were my favorites. A limited catalogue of some obscure and interesting anime.
Space Runaway
Member
Yeah there was only so much information on the subject so you really had to select from what you saw in adverts or videogame mags. Luckily most of the rental places around me had either a small selection or the one or two random tapes. I was lucky to have a monthly comic convention that had a couple fansub and raw tables, so I was able to get (then) unlicensed stuff like DBZ or Macross 7 - not to mention they were a quarter of the price of retail tapes and money was scarce at that age. =P Also if you were on AOL or the like you could get some recommendations and such from the message boards or chat rooms. Or some low rent angelfire website.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Fansub tables were fun. I remember some advertisements by the fansubbers used to be slipped into the videos randomly. Canada had some fan dubs of Urusei Yatsura...I'm scared to even investigate that.Yeah there was only so much information on the subject so you really had to select from what you saw in adverts or videogame mags. Luckily most of the rental places around me had either a small selection or the one or two random tapes. I was lucky to have a monthly comic convention that had a couple fansub and raw tables, so I was able to get (then) unlicensed stuff like DBZ or Macross 7 - not to mention they were a quarter of the price of retail tapes and money was scarce at that age. =P Also if you were on AOL or the like you could get some recommendations and such from the message boards or chat rooms. Or some low rent angelfire website.
I was a minor during those years and almost all the anime was $20 or above. I worked on my grandfather's farm and would make enough on a Saturday (in the late 90's) to buy a single VHS tape on eBay or in Sam Goody (which had inflated prices on everything to begin with). By the time I was 13, I figured that the hobby and interest in anime would just face away before I was 16. I'm almost 33 now and still keep finding great older anime which holds my interest. During my late teens I became obsessed with older cinematography (which included anime). I feel there isn't much to learn from animation anymore and it's a dying art as a whole. I give everything a chance, too. I watch modern film, I streamed modern anime, even tried with newer music. I don't see, hear, or feel anything new being done. If it were possible, I would make and maintain 5 threads on GAF dedicated to arts exclusively in their form as it was 25-70 years ago or more. It's important people remember the talent of the past. Anyone anywhere today can access modern anime and they really only want what is exclusive to now and the future. I'll try to keep momentum in this thread as retro anime threads are what got me to join GAF in the first place.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I'm a little late to writing this but here's this week's sub-topic:
What are the best classic / retro anime movies to you? What are some retro anime movies you could refer to this thread that might be lesser-known and still great?
I'm going to tag a member next to a great known or lesser-known classic anime movie to look into to encourage good viewing during the Fall portion of this pandemic. Anime movies sometimes run shorter when they were presented as OVA films -- others have the standard 1-hour 20-minute runtime of a general action film from time's past. I consider the posters in this thread some of my favorite in all of NeoGAF and will try to find a title that you will like. I'm only going to share trailers with your tag as posting full movie links in GAF is probably a violation. However, I'll point you in the right direction as to where to find the full movies if you haven't seen them.
Space Runaway
(commander in chief of Retro Anime GAF). I mentioned Big Wars in an earlier post. Please do watch that on a day when you're in the mood for a great psychological sci-fi horror anime film. It's underrated greatly in my opinion and review sites haven't treated it well. I'd have to say...trust me on this. It's not gold but it never seemed to get boring. For my recommendation...GoShogun: The Time Etranger. This movie was the writer / director conclusion of the late-70's series GoShogun. However, rather than being some cool mecha-related fun space adventure. This movie took on a serious tone that really only adults could equate to. The full movie is available subbed in English on YouTube. Here's the trailer:
C Cannibalistic You recently joined the forums but show an express interest in some of the horror anime from the 80's-90's in one of your first posts. Therefore, I'm going to refer you to watch Lily C.A.T. the movie. This movie has been described by those who have seen it as a cross-over of Alien and the Thing. It's really something else and worth a watch. You can find the free English subbed version of this movie on YouTube. Here's a fan-made trailer to add a creepy vibe and promotion to it. Enjoy!
kunonabi
Seeing as you're a huge Ranma 1/2 fan, I figured a good old Rumik World OVA / Movie would make for a good watch over this Labor Day weekend. I'm going to refer to you Rumiko Takahashi's "Laughing Target." This is far from the direction Rumiko went with her other 80's manga and it is more of a horror anime than anything else. Dark and filled with suspense and not too long. I used to have this on VHS and some of the scenes were comparable to some of the horror scenes in 70's / 80's B-movies. Watch it soon because the English subbed version disappears about every 6-months. There's a recent upload of the full movie with English subs on YouTube right now. If you have trouble finding it, DM me and I'll send you the link there.
JonnyMP3
I thought I'd refer you to a good creepy anime OVA movie from the past which was called "Baoh: The Visitor" in the West. This full movie is on YouTube; however, it may be an English dubbed version if you don't mind watching that. Like it or not...you won't get bored and some great animation prevails throughout the feature.
gela94
I think a good adventure anime movie would make for a great weekend anime. There are numerous Lupin the 3rd movies which were released after the commercial success of The Castle of Cagliostro. The one I'm going to refer you to is lesser-known but on-par with CoC. Please take some time to watch Lupin the lll: Farewell to Nostradamus. You won't be disappointed. The full movie can be found on YouTube.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the movies (I get that it's Thursday...almost the weekend). DM me if you are having trouble finding the titles on YouTube. I did check to make sure they're all still there.
What are the best classic / retro anime movies to you? What are some retro anime movies you could refer to this thread that might be lesser-known and still great?
I'm going to tag a member next to a great known or lesser-known classic anime movie to look into to encourage good viewing during the Fall portion of this pandemic. Anime movies sometimes run shorter when they were presented as OVA films -- others have the standard 1-hour 20-minute runtime of a general action film from time's past. I consider the posters in this thread some of my favorite in all of NeoGAF and will try to find a title that you will like. I'm only going to share trailers with your tag as posting full movie links in GAF is probably a violation. However, I'll point you in the right direction as to where to find the full movies if you haven't seen them.
Space Runaway
(commander in chief of Retro Anime GAF). I mentioned Big Wars in an earlier post. Please do watch that on a day when you're in the mood for a great psychological sci-fi horror anime film. It's underrated greatly in my opinion and review sites haven't treated it well. I'd have to say...trust me on this. It's not gold but it never seemed to get boring. For my recommendation...GoShogun: The Time Etranger. This movie was the writer / director conclusion of the late-70's series GoShogun. However, rather than being some cool mecha-related fun space adventure. This movie took on a serious tone that really only adults could equate to. The full movie is available subbed in English on YouTube. Here's the trailer:C Cannibalistic You recently joined the forums but show an express interest in some of the horror anime from the 80's-90's in one of your first posts. Therefore, I'm going to refer you to watch Lily C.A.T. the movie. This movie has been described by those who have seen it as a cross-over of Alien and the Thing. It's really something else and worth a watch. You can find the free English subbed version of this movie on YouTube. Here's a fan-made trailer to add a creepy vibe and promotion to it. Enjoy!
kunonabi
Seeing as you're a huge Ranma 1/2 fan, I figured a good old Rumik World OVA / Movie would make for a good watch over this Labor Day weekend. I'm going to refer to you Rumiko Takahashi's "Laughing Target." This is far from the direction Rumiko went with her other 80's manga and it is more of a horror anime than anything else. Dark and filled with suspense and not too long. I used to have this on VHS and some of the scenes were comparable to some of the horror scenes in 70's / 80's B-movies. Watch it soon because the English subbed version disappears about every 6-months. There's a recent upload of the full movie with English subs on YouTube right now. If you have trouble finding it, DM me and I'll send you the link there.
JonnyMP3
I thought I'd refer you to a good creepy anime OVA movie from the past which was called "Baoh: The Visitor" in the West. This full movie is on YouTube; however, it may be an English dubbed version if you don't mind watching that. Like it or not...you won't get bored and some great animation prevails throughout the feature.
gela94
I think a good adventure anime movie would make for a great weekend anime. There are numerous Lupin the 3rd movies which were released after the commercial success of The Castle of Cagliostro. The one I'm going to refer you to is lesser-known but on-par with CoC. Please take some time to watch Lupin the lll: Farewell to Nostradamus. You won't be disappointed. The full movie can be found on YouTube.Have a great weekend and enjoy the movies (I get that it's Thursday...almost the weekend). DM me if you are having trouble finding the titles on YouTube. I did check to make sure they're all still there.
ValiantTraveler
Member
Wow this thread is moving faster than I can keep up with. I wish I could join the discussion but I'm a bit short on time lately.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Maybe bookmark the thread and that way you can always return to a particular post in the future when you do have more time. It is difficult to find time if you are working. Thanks for chiming in. Always value those who appreciate classic anime and not letting it fade into obscurity.
JonnyMP3
Member
I'm a little late to writing this but here's this week's sub-topic:
What are the best classic / retro anime movies to you? What are some retro anime movies you could refer to this thread that might be lesser-known and still great?
I'm going to tag a member next to a great known or lesser-known classic anime movie to look into to encourage good viewing during the Fall portion of this pandemic. Anime movies sometimes run shorter when they were presented as OVA films -- others have the standard 1-hour 20-minute runtime of a general action film from time's past. I consider the posters in this thread some of my favorite in all of NeoGAF and will try to find a title that you will like. I'm only going to share trailers with your tag as posting full movie links in GAF is probably a violation. However, I'll point you in the right direction as to where to find the full movies if you haven't seen them.
C Cannibalistic You recently joined the forums but show an express interest in some of the horror anime from the 80's-90's in one of your first posts. Therefore, I'm going to refer you to watch Lily C.A.T. the movie. This movie has been described by those who have seen it as a cross-over of Alien and the Thing. It's really something else and worth a watch. You can find the free English subbed version of this movie on YouTube. Here's a fan-made trailer to add a creepy vibe and promotion to it. Enjoy!
Have a great weekend and enjoy the movies (I get that it's Thursday...almost the weekend). DM me if you are having trouble finding the titles on YouTube. I did check to make sure they're all still there.
Thanks for the recommendation.
When it comes to overall favourite, I've been thinking about it and I don't really have one. IMO most of Studio Ghibli stuff is S-Tier. And not much reach them in terms of craft, dedication and production elsewhere, unless you're an Akira or a Ghost in the Shell. There are many classics though but if you wanted me to pick something that I loved then I'd say Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust because it was the first anime for me that blended 2D and 3D animation well stylistically without looking completely out of place like early 3D could do. Think a 20 year old film now counts as retro lol.
As for OVAs... That depended on the anime series getting popular enough to receive one, especially when compared to Bleach and Naruto.
So mostly I think the old Dragon ball OVAs stick to me more than others. The original Brolly movie was mental!
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I wasn't anticipating on Studio Ghibli films getting brought up much in this thread. Miyazaki films are over-the-top mainstream and most people know them (including people who don't even like anime). I think I mentioned the big mainstream titles in the OP, too. I appreciate you mentioning Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. You see, I have had the original Vampire Hunter D for a long time but I recently saw a red-cased DVD in my anime collection and found out that I bought Bloodlust without remembering doing so. I've never seen so much as a trailer but my wife suggested I keep it. So, I'll probably put it on now that you mention it. Blood: The Last Vampire was a good cross-over of 2D with 3D movie as well. I think it came out around the same time as Bloodlust (99 or 2000???) and I was impressed. In fact, it's the only thing in the Blood fan series that I actually got into.
Yes, anything 20-years ago is now retro. To me, I don't see the age. If you're heavy watching newer anime with CGI glow, CGI background / effects, blob or noseless physical forms, and digital ink...then, yeah...the stuff from 20-45 years ago looks old. That's why I never imposed this material into the existing Anime / Mange thread. When I finally joined GAF, I found that it's sorta taboo to talk about retro anime and I created this thread in Off-Topic to respectfully not impose on the modern anime community. It seems that those joining GAF are mostly 30's-mid 40's age range and there will always be someone who's been watching older anime and needs a thread to talk about it. I have a lot of respect for the creator of the newer anime community. But, I wouldn't mention retro in that group as there are a couple regulars there that like to troll anything not made in the past 14-years.
When you're talking about Dragon Ball OVAs...do you mean original Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z+?
Space Runaway
Member
Yeah I was just a kid earning money as well so every dollar counted. Commercial tapes were $20 for dubbed and $30 for subbed but you could get a fansub for like $10 or less if you bought bulk. I could mainly only afford like comics and toys back then but I'd save up specifically for the conventions so I could get this stuff. =P
And yeah I still follow modern anime in stalker fashion but it's practically a different product at this point. Even when I do like the current stuff it'll be something like JoJo, a slavish adaption of stories from decades ago. =P The Showa era stuff is now just something to be appreciated for what it was and having happened. Kinda like looking back at Fleischer Popeye or pre-50s Looney Tunes.
I'll for sure give it a look. Though the full GoShogun tv is streaming on prime right now. I should plow through that before watching the movie.
Space Runaway
Member
Leda: Fantastic Adventure of Yohko
It one of the breakout OVAs following MegaZone 23 in 85(Which was a big year in anime) and was successful enough that it received a theatrical release.
The story isn't special or anything but it more than makes up for this in production. Easily one of the better works to come out of Kaname Productions and it's quite a looker. High quality animation, fanservice designs (Which were designed by a woman), cheapie comedy, very detailed art that fetishishes mecha and realistic transformations - especially in close-ups (Of which there are a LOT). You also have Shiro Sagisu (Evangelion, Nadia, MegaZone, Kimagure Orange Road,etc..) doing the music. The whole production is certainly head and shoulders above it's contemporaries like Fandora or Rem.
The animation is always good but as usual it really shows it stuff during action. Notable standout moments are a cool hoverbike chase early on and a battle with the Leda robot at the end of the second act.
It only received a VHS release here in the US and has become obscure; conversely, unlike so many other OVAs of this type, this one wasn't forgotten in Japan and has maintained some level of notoriety, even still geting merch. So much so they just released a 4k remaster bluray this year. (Looks great btw).
Hopefully the bluray gets licensed for release outside of Japan, especially since the import retails for like $100.
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Happosai
Hold onto your panties
The last newer anime that I purchased was A Woman Called Fujiko Mine on blu-ray. It wasn't bad but the mainstream drawing style of anime from 2004- present really annoys me. I can't understand why they started drawing women and little girls with the same child-like face and where are the noses going to? Some of the modern anime girls have less facial feature than Mandy (Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy). I don't get the "make the digital ink glossy" or "make the outlines glow" thing. It screws with my vision. That's just me, though. The majority simply aren't going to watch something before their time or generation. It's like a gaming thread that popped up yesterday where the OP was saying how he wanted to sell all of his current gen consoles just because we're going into next gen. Sometimes I think, you gotta look at what you have and be grateful. Yeah, sounds like you too bad a hard time getting anime during the VHS years. My town sucked, too. I'd post anime posters in my locker in the public school back in 2000 and I remember people asking, "Is that Dragon Ball Z (for every non-Dragon Ball Z cartoon poster?" One that sticks out was an acquaintance of mine who walked up to me in 8 th grade study hall and asked, "You still watching that oriental an-nime." He was saying 'ann-niyme.' By the mid-2000's some anime clubs would pop up but they were almost exclusively Narutards. I remember trying to show them Ranma 1/2 (episode 1 with the T & A). They never let me show anime again. So, it's a private hobby of mine that I only share with my wife now. She grew up with 70's and 80's anime.Yeah I was just a kid earning money as well so every dollar counted. Commercial tapes were $20 for dubbed and $30 for subbed but you could get a fansub for like $10 or less if you bought bulk. I could mainly only afford like comics and toys back then but I'd save up specifically for the conventions so I could get this stuff. =P
And yeah I still follow modern anime in stalker fashion but it's practically a different product at this point. Even when I do like the current stuff it'll be something like JoJo, a slavish adaption of stories from decades ago. =P The Showa era stuff is now just something to be appreciated for what it was and having happened. Kinda like looking back at Fleischer Popeye or pre-50s Looney Tunes.
I'll for sure give it a look. Though the full GoShogun tv is streaming on prime right now. I should plow through that before watching the movie.
Finish GoShogun the series but don't read ahead to find out why the movie is so unique. The movie very artistically explains why there were never spin-offs of the series. Not gonna lie...The movie is beautiful but very dramatic. It probably scared fans of the original series.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
I think the first A-Ko movie came out in 85', too. This is amazing. I'll look into it and bookmark this. About blu-ray releases...this, GunBuster, and Maison Ikkoku are long overdue.Leda: Fantastic Adventure of Yohko
It one of the breakout OVAs following MegaZone 23 in 85(Which was a big year in anime) and was successful enough that it received a theatrical release.
The story isn't special or anything but it more than makes up for this in production. Easily one of the better works to come out of Kaname Productions and it's quite a looker. High quality animation, fanservice designs (Which were designed by a woman), cheapie comedy, very detailed art that fetishishes mecha and realistic transformations - especially in close-ups (Of which there are a LOT). You also have Shiro Sagisu (Evangelion, Nadia, MegaZone, Kimagure Orange Road,etc..) doing the music. The whole production is certainly head and shoulders above it's contemporaries like Fandora or Rem.
The animation is always good but as usual it really shows it stuff during action. Notable standout moments are a cool hoverbike chase early on and a battle with the Leda robot at the end of the second act.
It only received a VHS release here in the US and has become obscure; conversely, unlike so many other OVAs of this type, this one wasn't forgotten in Japan and has maintained some level of notoriety, even still geting merch. So much so they just released a 4k remaster bluray this year. (Looks great btw).
Hopefully the bluray gets licensed for release outside of Japan, especially since the import retails for like $100.
Space Runaway
Member
One series with a digital inking style that visually bugged the hell out of me was season 1 of Granblue
That scratchy inking that keeps fading in and out. It's like they saw animation damaged by dnr and digital clean-up and thought, "That looks great!". I think they dropped it for season 2 though.
Ah I actually lucked into anime at an early age. A series of events ultimately led to me from G2 Transformers to Robotech to buying DBZ eps at a comic convention. I was still in grade school and it was unlike any action I'd seen before. Suddenly Fox X-Men or Batman TAS weren't cutting it. =P Of course I wanted more and comic shops and video stores already had some of it and were carrying more and more. Then next thing you know you're watching Bubblegum Crisis and the Guyver. I'd lend kids at school some of the DBZ movies I owned and it always blew their minds. Sad part is once the anime boom finally hit in the 00s I was largely over it all by then and moving toward obscure releases or just blowing my cash on videogames.
Will do.
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Evangelion Unit-01
Master Chief
Interesting. I will watch this thread with great interest.