[internisus]

[Quick Shot II Turbo]

[internisus]

DJ do you watch LOST?

[internisus]

Also in mentioning all the "normal" anime you like, you missed Azumanga Daioh and Patlabor, which are two of the very best anime series ever.

[psiga]

I recall that he does watch LOST. Also, I'm kinda confused at how Patlabor and Azumanga are considered challenging.

Completely unrelated to that, I just found out that the guy who did the Akira screenplay is directing a live action Mushishi. I hope it doesn't suck!
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[Quick Shot II Turbo]

The second Patlabor movie has a fairly heavy storyline, very Oshii-esque.

Edit: yes, I know.
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[internisus]

That's because it's Oshii's movie.

I wasn't saying that Azumanga and Patlabor are challenging; DJ was listing off non-challenging anime that he has enjoyed, and those two weren't mentioned. Maybe sometime he isn't looking for a puzzle, he'll keep them in mind.

[google]

I found Patlabor 2 fairly difficult to get into.

Less so than 1 & 3.

3 wasnt very good.
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http://playerrant.blogspot.com/

[DJ]

[internisus]

Okay! You should watch everything Patlabor, as it is absolutely fantastic through and through. For puzzles, you should watch Higurashi. These girls aren't wearing gothic maid outfits or anything; the loli factor is kept to their being young students in a small town where all ages are in the same classroom. It's not likely to make you sick for pedophilia. Just fucking try it. The first arc is like five episodes or so. That's not an unreasonable investment for something that pretty much everyone is recommending to you, is it?

By the way, Oshii, whose work you seem to enjoy, is responsible for the first two Patlabor movies, the OVAs, and the TV series. It is not uncommon to hear people talk about Patlabor as the predecessor of Ghost in the Shell; however, unlike the latter, in which Oshii deliberately removed the comedic aspects of Shirow's manga, Patlabor is filled with the most charming character comedy I have ever seen.

[BotageL]

[internisus]

Here's the first episode, DJ.

Just try it.

[psiga]

The first episode bored me, actually. Might want to hunker down and take the whole first chapter (four episodes).
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[professor_scissors]

[kiken]

[psiga]

Hoy, Deuce-san! Found a treat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memories_%28movie%29

Three shorts. Slightly artsy. First short has a score by Kanno. I'm about 10 minutes in to the 2 hour presentation, and so far willing to recommend it. It's available on that one site that you sent me an invite to.
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[internisus]

I have Memories. It's great. Two sketches are better than the other, but it's really all great.

Nothing "hard" about it, exactly, though.

As for me, I intend to watch all 26 episodes of Mushishi over the next 10 or so hours.

[Mr. Apol]

[psiga]

[internisus]

[Ebrey]

Guardian, you hate RahXephon, right? But you love Patlabor?

I haven't seen RahXephon, but what's interesting is that the only Yutaka Izubuchi written episode of Patlabor (The New Files episode about Goto and Shinobu staying at a love hotel) is AMAZINGLY good. Up there with the best stuff that the Ghost in the Shell boys did. Also, he's a member of the Patlabor planning group Headgear, so I think he had a hand in developing the overall story of Patlabor.

[internisus]

Yeah, you've got me right. I agree with your assessment of that episode, though I know nothing about this Izubuchi; the success of that episode lies in its awkward but touching examination of the relationship between the captains. I'm curious as to what you consider to be the best of the GitS stuff, since that type of reflection isn't what I consider the series to be best at -- though the reverse is true of the films. Unless you're alluding to the relationship between Motoko and Batou, especially, for example, the sort of thing you see towards the end of the first season of Standalone Complex. (I still haven't seen more than half of 2nd Gig)

That kind of distant love relationship is more or less a central point in RahXephon, but it exists in a sci-fi time-crossed context and is confused by all the other mess of the show. RahXephon is a touchy point for me because it's appealing on the level of visual art, has very nice production, appears to be a great story, has some twists on the standard giant robot story it ripped from Eva (missing the allegorical aspect), and features gorgeously detailed illustrations, character relation maps, explicatory notes, and even theoretical essays in the liner notes for each volume and the movie, but the sum of all these niceties is a disgusting, overboiled lump of... it makes me think of the organic mass spewing forth uncontrollably from Tetsuo in Akira.

If nothing else, I recommend seeing it because it's interesting. I still express or explain its massive failure. But, anyway, given what you've said, I can definitely see Izubuchi's work in some of its characters and their almost-was relationships.

[psiga]

The RahXeph movie is more gooderer. Added scenes, changed lines here and there. Mostly a condensed version of the series, but they alter it just enough to not have goatse-sized holes.
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[internisus]

I can't agree at all, but it may be because I watched it after the series and HUGE aspects of the plot are completely different.

[professor_scissors]

My favorite summary of RahXephon is "Evangelion: The Musical".

[psiga]

[Ebrey]

[DJ]

[rf]

[cthuljew]

"Evangelion: The Opera"??

No, wait....
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Answer the question.

[Gironika]

I've thought some time about that and I'm even more sure now that Uchu no Stellvia was quite enjoyable.
The reason why I remembered it is the pending Gundam 00-release (saw a trailer today) and the songs from angela that were featured in Stellvia and Fafner (the latter one being not that impressive ...)
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[G.]

[108]

hope ya'll like the new thread title ^_~!!
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[G.]

Lovely!

Also:

hi tim

[psiga]

I dunno. I think it fits. Kinda postmodern.
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[Quick Shot II Turbo]

[Mr. Apol]

[internisus]

Mushishi...

is magical.


Everytime I start to think I should be annoyed about how everything is attributed to an infection of Mushi, I find myself lost in the atmosphere and the lovely tragic happy stories instead.

It's just magical.

I just finished the episode about the rainbow snake, and, at the end, when Kourou puts his hand in the rainbow, Ginko pulls him out and explains (paraphrased): "I thought so, but I had to see it up close to be sure... This is a Flowing Thing." "What's a Flowing Thing?" "Although it's alive, it's really a natural phenomenon like floods or typhoons. A Flowing Thing just rises up for no reason other than to flow... It doesn't have a goal or a purpose, but it's unrelenting all the same. It isn't good for normal creatures to get in the way of things like that." When he said that, it made me see natural forces as divine powers, as they are in myths. Sort of the way the characters in Babylon 5 see the First Ones. It was wonderful to be given an intuitive vision like that, even for only a moment. That kind of magic can be found in films and other media, but as I get older it seems rarer the more I look for it.

[psiga]

The American title for the live action movie is already set to be "Bugmaster."

That just completely ignores all of the elegance and grace of the series.
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[internisus]

I just vomited.





Inside my heart.



Seriously. Look at the upset faces around this post.

[kael]

I have seen lots of animes that I enjoyed mentioned so far in this thread and a few that I will probably have to check out... is it my imagination or has nobody mentioned Read or Die yet? It's one of my personal favorites, though I imagine that might just because I'm a sheltered american with horrible taste.

I recently watched Jin-Roh at a friend's house and was fairly impressed. I didn't see any mention of this one in the thread either and recommend it strongly if you are in the mood for a bad time. The ending made me very angry! KAEL SMASH.

Also reiterating previous recommendations of Anything By Satoshi Kon, along with Here and There Now and Then if you're in the mood for an anime that kicks you in the throat and then proceeds to rape your childhood.