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Shelf Life - And a Happy New Year...


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DriftRoot



Joined: 20 Jun 2003
Posts: 222
Location: NH
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 8:57 am Reply with quote
A comment on PeaceMaker, I have to say this was one of the more puzzling series I ever watched, it yanked itself in so many directions, in so many ways (most well-done). The episodes on disc #2 are just as BD describes, good relaxing watching with a lot of promise.

*waves hullo to BD, a fellow miserable, Rhode Islander* I'm probably one of the only people on this forum who completely "get" your rants about TF Green. hehe you should have been there BEFORE all the improvements... oy
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darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5459
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:08 am Reply with quote
Laughing

Popotan got slammed! But I heard this series gets a little bit better later on, right?
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Himemiya



Joined: 30 Jun 2004
Posts: 43
Location: NC
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:35 am Reply with quote
OP and ED are by UNDER17 Very Happy
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Sir_Brass



Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 476
Location: Prescott, AZ
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:50 am Reply with quote
I still find the reviews of Stellvia to be a little harsh. I'm usually VERY picky about my anime, and I do have high tastes. Thing is, though, is that stellvia sucked me into it's storyline right quick. Also, that little snide definition of it at the end is totally unrepresentative of the series, as shall be seen in future volumes. Simply classing Stellvia as a "coming of age" anime seems a bit limiting since there's alot more to it. There's a fair amount of character development done on the adult side characters, making them continuously more and more interesting, as well as some good development coming up very very soon. This series may seem fairly mild and unserious right now, but that's going to take a massive turn coming up soon, and if you're attentive, you can see it coming.

While any praise I see for stellvia is good, I still would rather see it in the Shelf Worthy category rather than Rental, because the series is most certainly worth the price of the DVDs.

However, this is only my own honest opinion, not stated fact.
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kusanagi-sama



Joined: 22 Aug 2004
Posts: 1723
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:57 am Reply with quote
Really, Fushigi Yugi really should be a shelf worthy item. It does have a good storyline, and being that it is from around 1995, that is typical of animation around its time.

Unfortunately, I bought a bootleg of the series from eBay where they used the source from the original Pioneer releases so that it looks really good, but each boxset has one less DVD (3 for season 1, 3 for season 2, and 3 for Oni/Eikoden). So, I have the intention on buying the individual DVD's to replace what I got.

I'll probably sell the bootleg on eBay or sell it to a Pawn shop.
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Rion



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 71
Location: In My Own World
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:33 pm Reply with quote
I am usally one for Anime with a more dark tone to it, but Kaleido Star really impressed me and to my surprise after i watched it i really came to like it. Its great to hear it went out with a bang....thats really great.... Very Happy


Erk....
I still need to see Kiddy Grade......
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Godaistudios



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2075
Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment)
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:59 pm Reply with quote
Although that part of Kaleido Star went out with a bang, so to speak, there is a whole other season that's coming... I'm definetly looking forward to that.
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kusanagi-sama



Joined: 22 Aug 2004
Posts: 1723
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:41 pm Reply with quote
Godaistudios wrote:
Although that part of Kaleido Star went out with a bang, so to speak, there is a whole other season that's coming... I'm definetly looking forward to that.


Yes, the 7th DVD (beginning of season 2) will be released March 1.
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biliano*



Joined: 11 Feb 2004
Posts: 0
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:06 pm Reply with quote
First of all, to everyone at ANN: Happy New Year Exclamation

I'm going to comment of what I believe are three of the most underrated anime series in the market (and three of my personal favorites): Kiddy Grade, Kaleido Star, and Stellvia.

1. Kiddy Grade
I loved how Gonzo/Team gimik evolved this series from a light-hearted, girlish space romp (with loads of fan service) to a dark, compelling, and exciting galactic battle for survival (with the fan service taking a much needed step back). The final three episodes completed the 180 degree turn, a perfect way to end this compelling series. Some reviewers gave Kiddy Grade such harsh and degrading opinions on the series, but probably because they saw the first few episodes and quickly tuned it out. Fortunately, the ANN reviewers didn't do that, and let the series run its course. Definitely one of anime's "hidden gems".

2. Kaleido Star
This series made my list of Top Ten Anime Series for two reasons. First, Junichi Sato did a masterful job developing the relationship between Sora and Layla, going from bitter rivals to acceptance and finally as both friends and partners in the Kaleido Stage. Second, the overall development of Sora as one of anime's strongest characters is another credit to the masterful work of Sato-san. If there ever was a great role model in anime, Sora Naegino is tops on my list.

Quote:
Sora, a young girl from Japan, comes to America in search of her dream. She wants, with all her heart, to be a member of the famous Kaleido Stage, a combination of musicals, acrobatics and magical effects. With the help of her friends, she struggles to make this dream come true.


I've been collecting anime for about 4 years now, and Sora quickly became my favorite anime character. She's definitely not a "moe" character; she's strong-willed, determined, kind-hearted, and never backs down from a challenge, no matter how difficult or impossible it might be. I'm also looking forward to Season 2 in March; the two new entries in the Kaleido Stage (Leon and May) are going to be very interesting characters.

Also:

Quote:
Syn: None. I racked my brains for anything that this show resembles, but Kaleido Star is really just one of a kind.


Strongly agree.

3. Stellvia

Quote:
I still find the reviews of Stellvia to be a little harsh.


I disagree with this comment, Sir_Brass. I understand that you already saw the entire Stellvia series, but please bear in mind that the majority of us haven't see all of it yet. However, you and I do agree that Stellvia is worth the price of the disc. I believe the reason why Bamboo put Stellvia in the Rental section is because Stellvia is a lot like Azumanga Daioh - it needs an acquired taste. (Another similarity is that both Stellvia and Azumanga were both directed by Tatsuo Sato, who has a knack for developing groups of characters in an entertaining way.)

In a way, both Shipon (her real name is Shima, but Shipon sounds better - that's what you get for befriending a flamboyant free-spirit with a hair style that would make Yami Yugi proud) and Sora are alike. They both enter their respective situations with nothing more than their dreams in tow; they both struggled mightily in the early going; and they both are determined to do their best and never give up.

Like Bamboo wrote at the end of the review, watch for Stellvia in the near future. This has the potential to be one of the top titles in 2005.


Last edited by biliano* on Thu Dec 30, 2004 5:40 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Patachu
Past ANN Contributor


Joined: 08 Jul 2004
Posts: 1325
Location: San Diego
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 2:54 pm Reply with quote
When I watched the first Stellvia DVD, I *really* wanted to give it a glowing review, but then I realized that the best I could do was hand out a B, mostly because:

1) Stellvia only gets really awesome once you hit the middle episodes: spoiler[the climax of the Great Mission and where Shipon and Kouta hook up]. Prior to that, it's kind of blah, except for the Astroball ...

2) I'm a big Harry Potter wonk. Especially with the Quidditch. (okay, stop making fun now.) I also like space opera / sci-fi kinds of shows. Therefore, I adore Stellvia for being the anime equivalent of HARRY POTTER IN SPACE~~!!1 However, this won't work with everyone, and it's very much a matter of personal taste whether you go for the genre elements of boarding schools and starships and flying.

So yeah, if you go disc-by-disc, Stellvia starts out rather average, and you just have to stick it out if you want to see where it gets good.
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 3904
Location: CO
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:06 pm Reply with quote
kusanagi-sama wrote:
Really, Fushigi Yugi really should be a shelf worthy item. It does have a good storyline, and being that it is from around 1995, that is typical of animation around its time.


Fushigi Yuugi was my first favorite anime series, but one of the main reasons why I put it in rental was that individually, each disc doesn't give the full scope of the storyline justice. In fact, the earlier discs is just watching Miaka go around collecting the Suzaku seishi, and we don't yet get to see how strongly the complete group functions together. I'm hoping that if people get the chance to rent these individual discs, they'll be compelled to want to own the entire series.

Sir-Brass wrote:
I still find the reviews of Stellvia to be a little harsh. I'm usually VERY picky about my anime, and I do have high tastes. Thing is, though, is that stellvia sucked me into it's storyline right quick. Also, that little snide definition of it at the end is totally unrepresentative of the series, as shall be seen in future volumes.


As of the last Shelf Life, I've only seen two volumes of Stellvia. The main thing that was getting to me was Shima's character, who really just rubbed me the wrong way. However, I do acknowledge that the show has potential, and the latter half of the second volume really showed that, in my opinion. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the series, and while I have no doubt that the story will develop beyond a "coming of age" tale, I have not yet reached that point yet in the series.
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one3rd



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1817
Location: アメリカ
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 4:32 pm Reply with quote
biliano wrote:
1. Kiddy Grade
I loved how Gonzo evolved this series from a light-hearted, girlish space romp (with loads of fan service) to a dark, compelling, and exciting galactic battle for survival (with the fan service taking a much needed step back). The final three episodes completed the 180 degree turn, a perfect way to end this compelling series. Some reviewers gave Kiddy Grade such harsh and degrading opinions on the series, but probably because they saw the first few episodes and quickly tuned it out. Fortunately, the ANN reviewers didn't do that, and let the series run its course. Definitely one of anime's "hidden gems".


Don't give Gonzo too much credit there. They didn't write the script or anything.
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biliano*



Joined: 11 Feb 2004
Posts: 0
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 5:37 pm Reply with quote
one3rd wrote:
biliano wrote:
1. Kiddy Grade
I loved how Gonzo evolved this series from a light-hearted, girlish space romp (with loads of fan service) to a dark, compelling, and exciting galactic battle for survival (with the fan service taking a much needed step back). The final three episodes completed the 180 degree turn, a perfect way to end this compelling series. Some reviewers gave Kiddy Grade such harsh and degrading opinions on the series, but probably because they saw the first few episodes and quickly tuned it out. Fortunately, the ANN reviewers didn't do that, and let the series run its course. Definitely one of anime's "hidden gems".


Don't give Gonzo too much credit there. They didn't write the script or anything.


You're absolutely right! The proper credit goes to Team gimik (Keiji Gotoh, Hidefumi Kimura, and Megumi Kadonosono) for their excellent work on their debut project. Their current project is a magical girl anime called Uta~Kata, which debut in Japan on 10/3/04. I apoligize for omitting this.


Last edited by biliano* on Thu Dec 30, 2004 8:47 pm; edited 1 time in total
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kusanagi-sama



Joined: 22 Aug 2004
Posts: 1723
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 5:44 pm Reply with quote
SakechanBD wrote:
kusanagi-sama wrote:
Really, Fushigi Yugi really should be a shelf worthy item. It does have a good storyline, and being that it is from around 1995, that is typical of animation around its time.


Fushigi Yuugi was my first favorite anime series, but one of the main reasons why I put it in rental was that individually, each disc doesn't give the full scope of the storyline justice. In fact, the earlier discs is just watching Miaka go around collecting the Suzaku seishi, and we don't yet get to see how strongly the complete group functions together. I'm hoping that if people get the chance to rent these individual discs, they'll be compelled to want to own the entire series.


These Geneon Signature series DVD's are just a re-release of the original bailyboxsets that came out around 2001. These new discs have the same episode count as the original DVD bailybox releases, something like 7/6/7/6 per season.

Although the bootleg I have was a 9/9/8 per season. And I have yet to watch season 2 and Oni/Eikoden because of the fact that there are that many episodes on a DVD. I have the intention of buying the official releases due to me unknowingly buying a bootleg from eBay.
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Sir_Brass



Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 476
Location: Prescott, AZ
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:10 pm Reply with quote
kusanagi-sama wrote:

Although the bootleg I have was a 9/9/8 per season. And I have yet to watch season 2 and Oni/Eikoden because of the fact that there are that many episodes on a DVD. I have the intention of buying the official releases due to me unknowingly buying a bootleg from eBay.


I'm almost tempted to say "Don't waste your money" on Oni, though. I loved the series, but Oni just sucked, IMO. Where I could barely stop watching long enough to take the time to go eat something while marathoning through the series (it was good enough that I almost skipped some of my classes, and I'm LOATHE to do that, even if the class is dull as heck), I couldn't wait for the ova eps to end during Oni. Eikoden isn't that bad, but it's also not up to par with the series. However, at the price it's being offered at, it's not a bad buy considering. Oni, on the other hand, is a waste of your time. You're free to not believe me, of course (I didn't listen when I was told this), but you'll probably look at that sixty and some dollars you spent on it and think "I could've gotten more anime that IS worth buying with what I spent on this!"

Just giving you a heads up. I hate to see people be enthusiastic about a release and then watch it and feel like they've wasted their money.
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