Official Anime/Manga Thread

[PSI Wind]

Persona 4 Anime confirmed.

BE FAITHFUL TO THE GAMES, PLEASE!

In other anime related news: Madoka's last two episodes to air on 4/21

[Sean]

Oh, thank god it's an adaptation and not a largely unrelated sequel like Persona 3 got.

By the way, I should beat this game.

Can someone help me a bit? I'm considering buying Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Hope that's the English title..), but I don't have enough money for both right now, so I'm not sure which to get first. I'm leaning towards Summer Wars.

Any suggestions on which to get first?

I haven't seen Summer Wars, so I can only recommend The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. I suppose if you want to better appreciate Hosada's work, you can watch The Girl first since it's his feature-length debut that isn't related to an existing anime.

[Silencer226]

In other anime related news: Madoka's last two episodes to air on 4/21

Ah, the only show I actually care about at the moment is back, awesome and back to back episodes. Can't wait for my blu-ray of volume 1 to ship, this will probably be the only show I'll ever import.

I haven't seen The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, but I have seen Summer Wars which I thought was good, but nothing amazing, it has wicked art though. Right now Summer Wars is on sale for $16.99 DVD and $19.99 Blu-ray on Amazon.com and Amazon has TGWLTT for $20 DVD and a Blu-ray release for $34 coming April 26. But honestly I thought Summer Wars was good and boring at the same time.

Edited April 11, 2011 by Silencer226

[-Mark-]

So, the Naruto manga finally seems to be picking up after a slight lull with the recent war stuff.

Naruto's caught on, found out about the war, and is heading off to join the fray.

[turbojet]

So, the Naruto manga finally seems to be picking up after a slight lull with the recent war stuff.

Naruto's caught on, found out about the war, and is heading off to join the fray.

Also, I swear it looked like Iruka was about to confess his love to Naruto at one point in the latest chapter.

For a moment there, I thought Kishi was about to pull a Bleach and focus on every other character, but the main character for over a hundred chapters and then have the main character finish it up in some bullshit way. Atleast he made the other guys seem competent and not completely fucking useless. Chouji looked awesome. Shikamaru looked awesome. Ino actually was able to fight for once.

This is why Naruto owns Bleach but pales in comparison to Full Metal Alchemist.

[Marcello]

The artwork has been pretty terrible in Naruto lately. Often there's just some scribbles. This chapter was at keast a bit better.

And how the hell did Naruto just go into Sage mode? He didn't even save up some nature energy.

Edited April 14, 2011 by MarcelloF

[turbojet]

The artwork has been pretty terrible in Naruto lately. Often there's just some scribbles. This chapter was at keast a bit better.

And how the hell did Naruto just go into Sage mode? He didn't even save up some nature energy.

He has been training for a better part of 40 chapters on just controlling his Kyuubi chakra and natural ability aside. He started just gathering Natural Energy for the sake of just gathering it during the whole Sasuke Danzo fiasco. I would imagine that he has gotten more proefficient at it through constant practice. Unlike Sasuke who is just been given abilities without any explanation, Naruto keeps refining his technique and making sure that he works without it being broken. So yes. Naruto can go in Sage mode without having a clone gather up energy for him and he can probably hold it longer than 2 hours or whatever and use Rasen Shuriken multiple times while in that form.

I like that Kishi has been having Naruto not be perfect in any ability he gains. Like in this new Kyuubi mode, he got stuck in the wall while attacking and had him just training on control. Naruto has been decent as of late although I wish it would just animate scenes a little better than the typical stuff.

Naruto vs Sasuke better be at Valley at the End just for poetic value.

Edited April 14, 2011 by turbojet

[Sean]

This is why Naruto owns Bleach but pales in comparison to Full Metal Alchemist.

Fullmetal Alchemist's main benefit, I always thought, was that it was a shonen story without really feeling much like one.

[-Mark-]

See, I'm going to be controversial here and say that, whilst FullMetal Alchemist was decent, I found it massively overrated, story-wise.

Maybe it's a little unfair to compare it the more ongoing series such as Naruto, because ultimately it had less time to work with- there's only so much you can develop a cast and universe in that space of time.

Personally, I just felt that FMA's plot was a little simple and its characters far too numerous and shallow. Naruto has a wider cast, but at the same time it doesn't treat the minor cast like somebodies when it knows full well they aren't. The main cast are, for the most part, massively fleshed out and developed, save for one or two, and the story's actually pretty damn deep and complex.

I will agree that FMA did a good job with the amount of time and space it had, though. As I said, maybe it's not entirely fair to compare them. Also, maybe I'm just a bit biased since I generally find dull and gritty government/ military/ politics themes largely uninteresting, which was a massive underlying concept of FMA.

Also Father had no decent motives or backstory, blah blah blah. >.> I never was really a fan of people who are just villains for the sake of being villains.

[turbojet]

See, I'm going to be controversial here and say that, whilst FullMetal Alchemist was decent, I found it massively overrated, story-wise.

To each their own.

Maybe it's a little unfair to compare it the more ongoing series such as Naruto, because ultimately it had less time to work with- there's only so much you can develop a cast and universe in that space of time.

It is not a matter of how much the author has to work with. Kishi could have ended this series awhile ago, but chose to continue on. Naruto 1 was amazing at telling its story even with larger cast and emphasis on tales. The problems lies with Shiipuuden. Shiipuuden took away those properties that made Naruto, the character, sympathetic. Instead of having Naruto be the loser who has to work and deal with his miscomings, they make him the destined prophet.They took away the property of Naruto that made him relatable and many of scenes in the first part, one of the most tragic Shounen characters ever. Instead, he comes off as the Messiah which is okay, but I got in this series when I saw the very first episode that had Naruto pound the ground crying, "What is wrong with me? Why can't I do anything right?" Right then, it clicked because Naruto was the kid who wanted to be the best and prove everybody wrong, but he just kept coming short for some reason. That is what made it different from DBZ and other Shounen for me. It was his defining moment and watching him overcome time and time again made it entertaining. Shiippuden took that away from. They turned the lovable loser hero into a god-like Superman.

Personally, I just felt that FMA's plot was a little simple and its characters far too numerous and shallow. Naruto has a wider cast, but at the same time it doesn't treat the minor cast like somebodies when it knows full well they aren't. The main cast are, for the most part, massively fleshed out and developed, save for one or two, and the story's actually pretty damn deep and complex.

Ten-Ten, Sakura, Ino, Tsunade, and many others that I can't off-handedly name right now disprove your point. As I recall in FMA, there weren't that many characters and each of them had defining traits. The plot wasn't simple since it kept uncovering schemes time and time again especially since it relates to Genocide and the effects of war and how it is wrong.

I will agree that FMA did a good job with the amount of time and space it had, though. As I said, maybe it's not entirely fair to compare them. Also, maybe I'm just a bit biased since I generally find dull and gritty government/ military/ politics themes largely uninteresting, which was a massive underlying concept of FMA.

Which is another thing that differentiates FMA from other Shounen.

Also Father had no decent motives or backstory, blah blah blah. >.> I never was really a fan of people who are just villains for the sake of being villains.

Okay, I hate when villains just straight up tell the heroes their scheme. Full Metal Alchemist made the characters and the viewer figure it out. It was never clear what was the grand scheme other than, they just needed certain people kept alive. I like to ask why Madara wants to be a villain. Why did Madara endanger his own clan and help with their destruction? Why does Madara even be? He seems like a straight up Father-type villain except for the fact that he straight up told everyone his intentions.

Edited April 14, 2011 by turbojet

[-Mark-]

Well, we don't know enough about Madara yet, but if Kishimoto doesn't explain a lot about him (especially the whole Tobi act), even I'm going to be a bit disappointed. FMA reached the end, and all we got was "Father wanted to be god for reasons unspecified".

As for Naruto going from the loser to practically the strongest character in the series- well, I can see where you're coming from, yes. It does make him a bit more difficult to relate to. But at the same time, in a Shonen story, you can't have a main character stay a loser forever. They're going to have to become something sooner or later, if only for the sake of showing just how far they've come from being a useless loser.

It was interesting how, in Part One, Naruto was, for all purpose and intent, a weak nothing. This was pretty evident during the Search for Tsunade arc, where, during the Sannin battle, he basically sat back and dealt with the sidekick (Kabuto). But obviously, he's going to have to get stronger sooner or later.

One thing I will say I'm not too keen on is how they randomly tack on some retcon with the Sage of Six Paths and turn everything into "OMG FATE" regarding Naruto and Sasuke. It just comes across as a bit forced and tacky, rather than cool.

EDIT: Also, if you think about it, Naruto was still pretty useless in Shippuden until he learned the Rasen-Shuriken. And even then, he only really became god-mode-broken when he got Sage Mode, and even that's full of problems and limitations, as is his current new yellow glowy thing.

Edited April 14, 2011 by -Mark-

[Spanner]

Guess what Funimation picked up? Edited April 14, 2011 by Tealer

[-Mark-]

So, are they actually going to be dubbing it, or just restreaming it?

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

Instant iRL reaction to this news:

HATERS BE DAMNED

BEST NEWS EVER

[Remy]

PantyStocking dub would be interesting

you fatherfuckers

[PSI Wind]

Guess what Funimation picked up?

I don’t know if I should be happy or horrified……..

[Tornado]

Fullmetal Alchemist's main benefit, I always thought, was that it was a shonen story without really feeling much like one.

[Silencer226]

So, are they actually going to be dubbing it, or just restreaming it?

[goku262002]

Guess what Funimation picked up?

OH YOU FATHERFUCKER I WANTED TO POST IT!!!

Well good glad FUNi got it i thought that Geneon would get it but since they don't exist anymore FUNi is a second choice.

[AdventChild]

Well, just got back from watching two new anime: Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko and C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control. Has anyone seen them yet? The first has a crazy alien girl in a futon and the latter is some kind of crazy and awesome weed trip involving money and monsters. Also, I think I have a new favorite anime character:

[Silencer226]

Well, just got back from watching two new anime: Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko and C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control. Has anyone seen them yet? The first has a crazy alien girl in a futon and the latter is some kind of crazy and awesome weed trip involving money and monsters. Also, I think I have a new favorite anime character:

Denpa blah blah blah is out now... I wanted to check that out because it might be funny... downloading... Funimation is streaming C so I'll check that out later. Other than that... I just want to see the last two episodes of Madoka... come on Thursday April 21, every other can kick rocks until then.

Edit: Generic Loli-Tsundere Aria the Scarlet ammo downloading... bet this is original... I've only been into anime for a year and can tell J.C. Staff has a thing for tsundere shows...

Edited April 15, 2011 by Silencer226

[Snatcher2047]

Hellz yes to P&S making it over here. With Funi getting it, that almost guarantees an English dub. Which should be VERY interesting to hear. Not Excel Saga interesting, but pretty damn close.

[Sean]

Oh Kaiji, you so moe.

Good episode, we finally get into the meat of gambling after a three year hiatus. As usual, it felt way too short and I felt my pants getting tighter with every second that passed in the second half. I have to admit, it may only be the second episode, but I didn't expect to get aroused so quickly by the hilariously badass repetition of Kaiji and the narrator's exchanges of how much he "hates it." Oh yeah.

[Axl.EXE]

Have weird sudden interest in Toaru Majutsu no Index and its Railgun spinoff. Which see first?

[PSI Wind]

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko is a Shaft anime, so I REALLY need to watch that.

BTW, is Gosick done?