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Shelf Life - Jin and the Dragonauts

My participation in high school sports feeds directly into my love of sports anime and my ultimately high rating of Bamboo Blade.

I mean c'mon! Sure sports anime have a certain "hot-blooded friendship conquers all" feeling to it, but you see one good sports anime, you've basically seen them all. Period.

If you want to watch a truly Shelf Worthy title, get your hands on Hikaru no Go any way you can.

Now, that might not sound like a lot, given the usual dismal quality of such works (Prince of Tennis, anyone?

Erin does have a couple of weird tastes, not to mention how she rates them in Shelf Life, but she does give credible points (for the most part), and I only wish this: That she review more each week! 3-4 a week isn't enough! And half of the time, there are no Shelf Worthy! Either watch more titles, or lower your standards!

Or, she'll go to the opposite end of the spectrum, becoming bitter and more strict. (Please don't Erin...

Erin wrote:

I grew up in a time when sequels tended to suck.

To quote Derek Powers, "Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?"

That's just...insane.

As far as extras are concerned, I can understand why a buyer would favor a set that includes them, but when there's only a single local version of a series available, is their presence or absence really a factor when determining whether a show is worth buying (I mean, isn't that why we call them, "extras")?

Have we really all become this cheap.

I'll not comment on the merits of Kodomo no Jikan, but I would certainly also put Baccano, Denno Coil, Gurren Lagann and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei on my personal "Shelf Worthy" list (and shake my fist impotently at the industry for the lack of R1 releases for two of those series). I have yet to see ef but it certainly looks like a winner.

Sadly, I found Genshiken 2 to be a severe letdown and wouldn't recommend it to anyone who read the manga or enjoys watching anime subtitled (those Engrish episodes were like fingernails on the chalkboard inside my brain).

I was about to point you to the corpse of Bandai Visual USA, but I think you qualified your point afterwards enough to where I actually agree and have a solid example. (although I still can not pull the trigger on the Wings of Honneamise blu ray at $39.... dang it! I think I might have just talked myself into it, wonderful movie)

Erin, is it a policy not to mention the fact that Bamboo Blade is available for free streaming at Funimation's own website?

I'm happy to see Bamboo Blade get a shelf-worthy. Before I saw it, I had so many reservations because it had all the markings of typical harem moe fare - but when a kendo club friend recommended it, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fun sports series without choking on the shonen-tournament formula that plagues other series and the female teammates moved past their apparent moe stereotypes. But then again, I'm probably biased, just like my love for Yawara and judo!

Takeyo wrote:

I'll not comment on the merits of Kodomo no Jikan, but I would certainly also put Baccano, Denno Coil, Gurren Lagann and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei on my personal "Shelf Worthy" list (and shake my fist impotently at the industry for the lack of R1 releases for two of those series). I have yet to see ef but it certainly looks like a winner.

I tend to agree! But I haven't seen the end of Denno Coil yet...

Dargonxtc wrote:

Have we really all become this cheap.

I don't know where you live, but unemployment is in the double digits in the U.S.. I'm only making a fraction of what I earned in 2005, and I'll be lucky to hit that salary again in the next few years.

Well using that rationale you might as well start reviewing fansubs/rips. Or at the very least making recommendations as to whether illegitimate or legal copies should be obtained. I mean if you are making half of what you were, then surely a person who is out of the job with no income is entitled to "free" down-loadable and burnable enjoyment of the same series. Especially if it's a pretty good series. Right?

there are two price points to look at. $49.98 the apparently acceptable price, and $59.98 the apparent archetype of what it means to be too expensive.

The way I see it, if talking about FUNimation, there are two price points to look at. $49.98 the apparently acceptable price, and $59.98 the apparent archetype of what it means to be too expensive.

I liked the shelves this week as well. Some did look weird though, with the three section shelving that had the middle part recessed. Do the sides open up? That would make the design have more sense. Otherwise it seems odd to have one part, especially the middle, at a shorter depth.