Yeah Ippo's an awesome show. The second series was pretty good too. I think its the only sports show I can stand to watch. Gotta say if you like it check out the manga. Its ridiculously long, around 830 issues so far with no sign of stopping any time soon.
God yes. Black Lagoon rocks. Though I didn't like the second season's huge story arc as much as the first seasons more episodic plot. I hope they don't overdo the story arcs in season 3. Another fantastic series is Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars. The best way to put it is that it's sort of a Japanese Star Trek. I wasn't incredibly happy with where it ended, but it's not really a huge deal. The story is just plain good.
+1 RahXephon is permanently seated in my top 5 anime list. Evangelion doesn't even rank. RahXephon was simply majestic and beautiful. Headache inducing, but mind-numbingly beautiful. Poetry in visuals and sound and story. Saw Evangelion once. Loved the first half, and then it all went into a downward spiral of crappiness. I couldn't care less about the subtle themes and such that Eva nuts all seem to laud. The themes are no good if the presentation of them is terrible. It was a horribly unevenly paced show, with vastly unlikable characters. It all seemed like some horrible excuse to drag the rest of world down into Anno's own pool of depression. The only credit I'll give to it is that it helped forge the way for more cerebral "mindfuck" animes. As far as I can tell, there's been no mention here yet of Read or Die. Starting with the three-part OVA "Read or Die", and continuing with the 26-episode "RoD: the TV". It's essentially what would happen if you took James Bond, replaced the gadgets with X-Men style superpowers, and added a good heaping dose of heart and soul ala Fullmetal Alchemist. The OVA/Movie is a little rough in places, but it keeps on moving at a fast clip such that you just get swept up in the ride too much to notice. The series, having a little more time to explore its world, irons the whole thing out, and creates an insanely endearing cast for you to fall in love with. Also, no mention of Eureka seveN yet. What. The. Hell. That show was spectacular on all counts, save perhaps the cheesy (but not undeserved) ending. One of the greatest soundtracks ever produced for anime, both theme songs and score alike. A great, deeply fleshed out ensemble cast. And absolutely mindblowingly high-quality and dynamic action sequences. Easily one of the most high-quality anime productions I've ever witnessed. After their spectacular track record with RahXephon, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Eureka seveN, Studio Bones has cemented itself as the studio to look out for in my eyes. Any word of a series produced by them immediately sets off radar beacons in my head. I've yet to be let down. Xam'd - Lost Memories was fantastic, definitely a spiritual successor to Eureka seveN, but more introspective and uncommonly mature in its character dynamics. Slower moving, but more heartfelt. And the theme songs... eargasm.
I dunno. In a lot of ways, I liked Season 2 more than the first one. With the exception of Roberta, of course. That's BL's finest hour.
Season 2 had the Twins Arc and the ridiculously over-the-top Greenback Jane arc. But yes, Season 1 had Roberta. Both win.
I'm perfectly fine with those two arcs. It's the Yakuza arc I'm not a big fan of. It wasn't bad. Just longer than it should have been.
Thanks for the links! I wouldn't be able to tell whether something is fake or not unless, there was something blatant in the shots. The only thing off in any of the shots is the one with Guts, his sword looks to be rather short. Nothing looks off or photoshopped over something else that I can see. It is a little odd that, from what is being said in that thread, this has been in production for a year and yet there has been no mention of it anywhere else. There's usually some mention that far into production. That brings up a strong feeling of it being a fake, but there could be alot of other things going on here that are so out of the ordinary that somehow word hasn't gotten out yet. It would be very strange for that to be true, but I'll hope for that since I'm also hoping to see more Berserk. I'll check the usual anime news sites a little more often now to see if something more substantive in terms of confirmation comes along, but otherwise I'm going to shift into cynical mode for now, that way I can be happily surprised if it does turn out to be true.
Based on this thread i've picked up both Black Lagoon (The First Barrage) & RahXephon (Complete 1-7) box sets. If they are shit heaven help you all
Watching RahXephon now. Ok RahXephon and Evangelion sharing some exact same plot devices is really disappointing. "I'm not piloting it" "girls like me and I don't know how to act" etc etc. I guess its down to both being based off of the same original work but come on already, do something new! The DVD set that arrived was the Grand Cannon RahXephon Collection. Volumes 1-7 and the TV movie adaptation. Not bad for £23
I recommend... Nerima Daikon Brothers (in English) mix Blues Brothers + South Park + Musicals and you get This show!!! and it is hilarious it is directed by Watanabe Shinichi (Excel Saga & Puni Puni Poemi) and he is known for appearing in the shows he has directed...as his character: Nabeshin WARNING!!! You might never eat Hotdogs again...lol
I know i'm talking to myself but RahXephon is coming into its own. I've just finished episode 12 and while the Evangelion similarities are still there, they are not as prominent as they were before. Its character development is pretty special and very interesting to see unfold.
RahXephon is actually ostensibly inspired by the older Super Robot anime Great Reideen. RahXephon certainly shares some similarities with Evangelion, but its approach to its character development is solely its own, and there's a more focused sense to its plot. Really, it's the strength of its characters that sell it. They're all so endearing and engaging, unlike Evangelion's damaged and unapproachable lot. Chris Patton's got an ad-lib earlier in the series that really goes a long way to distance Ayato from Shinji. When going up against the ice Dolem, Ayato's bickering on the comm when mission command tells him to get on target: "Alright, alright... one big fat ass-kicking coming up!" It's great.
