Aye aye, Sith! The OVAs is unlike the TV series you've watched, Dinkalot-dono. Quite dark yet profound.
Now that i'm back in bc for the holidays, i was thumbing through my library of anime...and here are some other ones that i forgot to mention: -Escaflowne -Great Teacher Onizuka (THIS IS A MUST SEE FOR EVERYONE!!) -Nadesico -Peacemaker Kurogane
Just finished watching Act One of Betrayal again, the Samurai X OVA and I must say, it was a piece of art. So well made, full of meaning and character. Each frame is true novelisation of the story, intermixed with history to make it even more incredible. Those who enjoyed the TV series may find it a tad darker but all in all an essential viewing. Do not miss it. "You... have just made it rain blood". Tomoe Yukishiro "There is no need to introduce myself to the dead". Hiko Seijuro "I want you to be his sheathe" Katsura Kogoro "You must live on, Shinta. For yourself. For me". Slave woman "Shinta is not a name for a warrior. From now on you shall be called 'Kenshin' ". Hiko Seijuro "Ooooooroooooooo..."
Just finished Act Two : The Lost Cat. A most notable scene must be the infamous Ikkedaya Jiken (Affair) where members of the Choshu patriots were all killed by the Shinsengumi, preventing a Kyoto Holocaust and attempt at the Imperial family. Also in there was a far more 'docile' Saito Hajime and his young friend Okita Shoushi, as well as the two chiefs, Kondou Isami and Hiijikata Toshizo. Kinda wonder why didn't they show Okita going into a coughing fit and collapsing. In the TV series, it was the prelude to the Kyoto Arc at Episode 28. Shinsaku Takasugi and Katsura Kogoro, two of the major superstars of the Bakumatsu (Revolution). Of course Watsuki took artistic license to make them look better than they are in real life... By the way, Kenshin wasn't called the Hittokiri Battousai until after the end of this series. Why? Because nobody knew about him until then. Anybody know who Katsura's assistant in the OVA was? More to come after I finish another episode. History had never been so interesting...
Finished Act 3 : The Previous Night and Act 4: The Cross Shaped Wound. Again. Act 3 isn't much to be said but if you watched through it, you will see that Kenshin found true happiness away from killing people, all shown to him by Tomoe. For once he understood what 'peace' meant. The same applies to Tomoe too, once living with so much pain, she had found a new happiness in him. Watching through Act 3 will prepare you for a profound emotional impact in Act 4. You have been warned. "I will, protect you". Himura Kenshin Act 4 is the resolution to the OVA saga, meaning that the real Himura Kenshin had stepped out of the shadows to work as a soldier for the Ishin Shishi and remove the Tokugawa Bakufu once and for all, forging a future where those without power will have a choice in life of their own. Quite a tragic conclusion to the OVA, this - I can seem to feel how wrecked Kenshin's heart was when Tomoe died in his arms. The realisation that he will now carry the same pain she did until she died, reminded by that cross scar on his face, will continue to haunt him until the end of his life. The ending was of course a kind of commentary on how it turned out after that - Shinsengumi fought against him, most notably Okita and Saito, which can also be seen in Episode 28 of the Kyoto Arc, tv series. Apparently it ended as a draw, as all three remained alive after that duel Shinsaku Takasugi (the man on the horse at the scene after the Chrysanthemum Imperial banner was raised above the flames) fell and died from tuberculosis never having the chance to see the success of his ideals. Falling from the horse is an expression of course. Katsura mentioned that he has trained a new assassin in the shadows whom can be seen killing the traitor Iizuka at the alley. Who is he? In Episode 30, Kenshin, in the audience of Okubo Toshimichi, mentioned of 'hittokiri battousai-no-kokeisha (sp?)' ie, the successor to the Hittokiri Battousai, Shishio Makoto. You know, the one wrapped up like a mummy? I suspect the ninjas trying to kill him on the way up the mountains were members of the Bakufu's secret ninja Oniwabanshu, whom members RK fans would know too well being the twisted Shinomori Aoshi. My question though, is why does that ninja swallow snow before he attack? The blue scarf - does it remind you of a certain ribbon given to him by Kamiya Kaoru before she got kidnapped by that crazy Udo Jinei? Apparently he turned into Battousai again because of that. At the end of that, he abandoned his sword and become a babysitter for Dr Gensai. Ah, talking about my favourite anime is never tiring. You can all wake up now.
My my, didn't think I'd actually watch this but boy did I enjoy it. What the heck? That's right, what the heck. Stumbled upon this in the newspaper, the manga section where a guy did some reviews and recommendations on Japanese animation and there, I came upon this 'Great King Azu's Manga'. Didn't really mind it much because of my thoughts on anime; it had been a little too monotone of late - too much fusion, too cool of characters, too out of this world stuff, too complicated, too many girls with big... eyes. Thus, you all know of my liking for Rurouni Kenshin and Slam Dunk - they're closer to real life and something we can all relate to. None of that monster nonsense etc. Anyway, the review online were 'interesting', 'funny'. Well well, what can be more boring? Most, if not all animes are tagged 'interesting' and 'funny', but something actually caught my eye: 'different', 'refreshing'. I read on. So, Azumanga Daioh (AD) was a series of short four panel comic made into animation. It was considered a cult classic by some because of it's different approach - a comic strip without apparent goals, with different scenarios for every episode. None of the that save the world from impending doom or a guy chasing a girl all the way to the end of the show. How could that be any good then? So I went and got the DVD version and fired the first show, with bombs such as Samurai Deeper Kyo and Ninja Scroll in mind, although they are of a different genre. The intro music was downright unusual? I thought, "Ooh?" Then it was all the way. It was different. Simple, clean anime that doesn't need to bake your noggins' to enjoy it while deep in enough in some parts to make you connect with the characters without the kind of depression that follows ie Grayevard of the Fireflies or the Rurouni Kenshin OVAs. It was all the way. Basically it's about a bunch of high school girls who became friends during the first year in class. The story focuses on how they go through school and life as friends together. They talk and interact about things girls their age would do. The jokes were subtle enough that when you realise it it's funny. At times it's into the realm of absurdity, but you could connect with them because, simply, you were there before, at high school. Of course there can't be an anime without risque jokes but they were done in a way that not all will understand without first knowing that the notion was all about. All the characters were quite different and have their own quirks - each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Here's a brief intro on some of the heroines that had gotten me to and by myself for the past few days: CHIYO MIHAMA ie Chiyo-chan The super-cute character that will make you either grit your teeth or just nonstop at her antics. A child genius, skipped 5 levels to join them in high school. The show makes her unbelievable level of kawaii-ness a vehicle of the show, as well as her insecurities of still being a very young girl in a group of people bigger than her. That Chiyo-chan in penguin suit episode cannot be missed! The sight of only her head visible while standing behind the teacher's table addressing the class is most funny. SASAKI ie Sasaki-san Her firstname is not mentioned. She is what you will call the femme fatale of the group. She grew faster than everybody and were already 174 cm tall by the time she was in Year 2 of High School, also somewhat embarassed by her erm... rather well endowed physique. Although she is very much the 'sexy' element of the grouping, she is impossibly shy and very humble, speaking very little unless she gets the guts to do so. She's rather deep in which she often comtemplated about her life. Oh, she has a very strong weakness (ooh, paradox) to all things, kawaii. Like Chiyo-chan for example, thus they are rather good friends. She's an above average student whom is excellent in sports but always distant most times, except when with her friends. She's always trying to make friends with a grey cat in the neighbourhood, only to get bitten everytime. TAKINO TOMO ie Tomo-chan Loud mouthed, energetic, everything. Annoying to be honest. The village idiot if you may say, brash and very tomboyish in manner. One of the three 'Bonklers' ie dim witted ones of the class. A good friend of... KOYOMI MIZUHARA ie Yomi The voice of reason, the direct opposite of Tomo. They had been friends since elementary school. One of the brighter students in class after Chiyo-chan who speaks rationally, most especially when Tomo is talking rubbish. Sarcasm, wit. KASUGA AYUMU ie 'Osaka' This, is one of my fave character in the show apart from Sasaki, the loose cannon. A resident of the Kansai region, she was expected to be one of the same - brash, loud, love of bawdy jokes but heck? She's the diabolical opposite - polite, slow, soft spoken and most of all, dim witted. She's one of the more interesting characters due to her Kansai background, speaking that popular Kansai-ben (dialect) that is rather different in comparison to Standard Japanese with a lot of '-ya', '-hen' suffixes as well as differences in intonation. Her spaced-out brain means that she is slow, daydreams a lot and thinks very differently. I love it when she does her 'Homerun!' or revelation, especially when asking rather interesting questions people don't really think about. She and Sasaki were the two most popular characters in the show. Oh, her nickname 'Osaka' stuck until nobody remembered who her real name was. One funny part *spoiler alert* was during the change of class as they enter Year 2. She cried because she can't find her name in the roster together with all her friends, only to find that it was pointed out as 'Osaka' on the list. *spoiler end*. Non-sequiturs is also one of her command traits, reverting back to the original statement when it's no longer relevant. TEACHERS YUKARI TANIZAKI & MINAMO 'NYAMO' KUROSAWA A reflection of an older Tomo and Yomi pairing, but without less of the absurdness at the former. Still, they can be an act of comedy by themselves, most especially at Chiyo-chan's summer house at the beachside. KIMURA The only 'main' male character in the show, joined the school as a teacher because, *gulp* he likes schoolgirls... yes, he's a pervert but never went further than watching them at the pool and at PE. Another dim-witted weirdo but have a kindred heart - donates lots of money to charity. Aye, less said the better. Top-clockwise: Yomi, Sasaki, Kasuga, Tomo, Chiyo-chan, 'Osaka'. I didn't know I'd enjoy an anime about high school girls so much, is deffo one of my all time favourites.
Just finished all 26 episodes of Azumanga Daioh and I can now officially rank it as one of my all time favourites. The final few episodes were somewhat deeper although the absurb laugh out loud humour is still there. Don't know how a story about six schools girls will be so amusing? Find out yourself. A good anime to watch after coming home from work - simple, no brains stuff but clever enough to make it a diabolical opposite of dumb humour. Learnt a bit about Japanese culture too.
These are the list of animes I'm watching, want to watched and completed. http://modious.myanimelist.net/ Not updated though. Anyway, I'll recommend these animes. (Not in any order) Fullmetal Alchemist Trigun Rurouni Kenshin (One of the best Samurai anime) Hajime No Ippo (Great boxing series!) Yakitate!! Japan (About bread!) On Going Series Eyeshield 21 (American Football) Bleach One Piece
Oh yeah, One Piece is certainly one of the best animes so far. It's storyline and character development is very profound. For anyone who wants to see..... This is the fight scenes between Luffy and Blueno in the latest 2 Episodes. Ep 273 was released yesterday so it's not subbed yet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaPtTh__34E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP2vdXWbSJM
Sooooo maaaanny anime............ so little time.... to watch... My favorites: - Slamdunk (starring Hanamichi, Ryoga, and Akagi) - Initial D +++++++ (including the Live Action Movie) - Evangelion - Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) Classic Anime Favorites: - Voltes V (1978) - Gundam - Lamu the Invader Girl How come there is no Badminton Anime?
thanks for pointing me out to myanimelist... you made me sign-up and create my own list: http://darthhowie.myanimelist.net/ Still haven't completed the list fully yet though. And i've begun to watch one piece based on your recommendation. Feel free to check out what i've watched.
By the way, just a Kenshin fanboy trivia: Himura Kenshin was never a samurai and never considered himself as one. He was the son of a peasant family. The samurai code of bushido was abolished at the end of the Revolution. So I find the American name of Samurai X rather unsuitable the more I followed the story.
One Piece has quite a deep storyline and character development. The animation in the beginning may be a little kiddy at first but it is now so much better. Well you've a long way to go to catch up to the current Ep 274! Seeing that you liked Prince of Tennis, I'm sure Hajime No Ippo (Boxing) and Eyeshiled 21 (Amercian Football) will interest you as they're better than PoT IMO. I noticed you rate Trigun, Yakitate Japan, FMA, Rurouni Kenshin etc highly so I think we've similar preferences.
