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I'm glad Claymore got its share of mention! I guess it really was a pretty big spoiler, but I felt that they should've described the "Bastard of the Year" a bit more. It doesn't matter, it was a great "Best of 2008" anyhow.

It's not just Pumpkin Scissors--I had ordered the final volumes of Red Garden and NHK which were both due in early December, then got pushed to late December, and I've received no further word from Right Stuf so far

I enjoyed this article, but most of all enjoyed reading Carl's and Theron's options. I think this was a well written comentary with valid points. Because I've been watching Bleach since the series first aired on television almost three years ago (November 26, 2006 I belive), the spoiler about spoiler[Aizen isn't what I had originally thought. I figured the spoiler would be about future episodes or events]. Still, I can understand where they are coming from though, hearing a unexpected spoiler is never fun.

Out of every voice actor of 2008, Johnny Bosh has done a fantastic voice for Ichigo Kurosaki. Of course I got a kick out of the " Squirtle, squirtle" coment the most.

Last edited by v1cious on Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:53 pm; edited 1 time in total

REASON PREVAILS! i've been saying forever that everyone needs to see Flag. this series had one powerful ending. the last two episodes were just art in motion. i was completely blown away when spoiler[Saeko died at the end. the way the final episode started made it clear something was wrong, and then when it's finally what actually happened to her, that was quite a downer.] the final lines in the series really drove home the point, perfectly. i have them as my sig on Toonzone.

So both reviewers liked Gurren Lagann. Drats; it means I can't rage against one of them.

But seriously, am I the only person who thought it was majorly overrated? Probably. I felt the same about The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya; time will tell if Gurren Lagann is another passing craze or actually has lasting substance.

Interesting choices overall. Gurren Lagann would be the obvious top pick, which certainly didn't surprise me, but both Flag and Moribito do sound like the kind of shows I've been missing lately (lack of time and a huge backlog doesn't help, of course). Which reminds me...I intend to check out The Third and Yawara too, at some point in the future. Or why not, even Zegapain.

I can't honestly speak about dubs, but as far as the Japanese VAs go, Jun Fukuyama is a fairly natural pick too, since his performance as Lelouch was definitely as theatrical as the material demanded. As for Code Geass in general, what can I say...a very understandable choice for the "guilty pleasure" category, though I genuinely enjoyed most of the show, particularly the first season, even with all its ups and downs. That aside, nice to see probably one of the best parts of Claymore (at least outside of the manga, which I haven't read) get mentioned.

dtm42 wrote:

So both reviewers liked Gurren Lagann. Drats; it means I can't rage against one of them.

But seriously, am I the only person who thought it was majorly overrated?

No... your not.

Hamsterpuff wrote:

doctordoom85 wrote:

On the "spoiler warning" notice, you guys may want to add "Bastard of the Year" to the warnings, since merely saying spoiler[Aizen's name] from Bleach is a huge spoiler itself. Admittedly, most probably know by now anyway, but just to be safe....

Seconded. Seconded a million times.
I'm on the second boxset, spoiler[where he's still dead], so that comment actually just spoiled what seems to be a major plot point for me. Yes, I know Bleach is a widely-seen series, but so is Code Geass, so the lack of spoiler warning seems strange to say the least.

So how are you explaining the Kal-El version?
I never got the point of getting so worked up about spoilers. (I peek at endings all the time.)
And every title out there hasn't been seen by someone. I remember my daughter's friends going on about how much they loved Bebop & the ending played just the night before, so I mentioned it & they freaked "We didn't watch it!!" (& yeah, it had played many times thru before)

Quote:

Complete Bastard!! of the Year: Aizen, Bleach

Theron: This was only supposed to be a one-shot award last year, but then Aizen just had to go and show his true colors. He deserves this award for what he does to poor Momo alone.

Gee, & I was one of the ones unhappy Momo's state was altered from how she was left (Is that un-spoiler-ish enough?)

Come on, Aizen's cool as well as Gin. Would I want either in my life?
No.
But they are incredible characters.
I really see Light Yagami as more of a bastard.

We need some estrogen on the picks. You couldn't nudge one of the gals to join in? Offer a Starbucks?
Or make "Character of the Year" Male & Female?

Quote:

The opposite tack was taken by Fukuyama, who pushes his Lelouch to delirious, often cruel heights, pinballing with hammy relish from hubris to righteous rage to despair, all while retaining just enough humanity to keep his evil genius emotionally grounded.

So do you feel it's the way the character is written or the delivery that makes Lelouch more palpable than Light Yagami?

Quote:

(Maze: The Mega-Burst Space was released that way in 2001, and Avenger in 2005, and probably others, too),

Not sure if Maze really counts though, since IIRC it had an 8-tape VHS release before the DVD boxed set. But you could count The World of Narue from 2004 (also from CPM) -- it was released initially as a 12-episode boxed set, MSRP $90.

Greg Aubry wrote:

I wouldn't mind it if all of the credit sequences were removed from most anime DVDs entirely, save for the opening for the first episode of a disc, and the ending for the last episode. I understand that staff credits differ from episode to episode, but there's no reason that those differences can't be reflected in the subs (hardsubbed English credits or selectable subs). "Next episode" blurbs could be moved to an extras section or stack up on the back (or even just be used between episodes as a mental buffer).

Maybe it's just me, but on a 4-episode disc, it seems like a waste of space/bit rate to have 9 minutes go to what is essentially stock footage.

Is it really such a burden to press "skip forward" on the remote, though? Some people may actually want to watch openers and closers with the episodes they go with, and would rather see the previews before the episodes they preview rather than isolated in an extras menu. The normal arrangement of OP/ED/previews accommodates both camps; those who want to see them can see them, and those who don't can easily skip them, assuming the chapter stops are set up correctly. Removing OP/ED and moving previews elsewhere only benefits one camp at the expense of the other.

And I really doubt removing 9 minutes worth of content will have any visible impact on the bitrate/overall quality, at least no impact visible to the general population beyond the most ardent videophiles.

I also thought Gurren Lagann was overrated, but only because I gave it an 8/10 and the general opinion is 10/10. So that makes it "minorly overrated." Sure it was "epic" and inspired manly tears, but at some point all the good guys became too awesomely invincible to the extent that nobody had any possibility of getting hurt/killed/defeated outside of dramatically calculated incidents.

I think Tokyo Majin should get a mention for Funi's Flub of the Year too- while it may not have had as many volumes out, they made the boxset cut 1 episode off from the single discs- meaning if you want episode 14, you still have to get the part 1 set. Not very nice- I'm just glad I looked into it before buying the singles on clearance, or I'd be very peeved. (I'm peeved anyway, actually- where's my last disc of Pumpkin Scissors, guys?)

I wouldn't blame anyone for having been angry at FUNimation for not honoring those who had purchased the ADV singles only to be told that they have to buy the boxsets in the end. FUNimation made a very wise move to respect the ADV fans and release the singles so the fans could complete their collection. Sure, the industry is changing to boxsets but that's no excuse to leave those who had started their purchases on ADV singles out in the cold.

Apparently, some people over at Toonzone refused to accept this notion and just told everyone to get over it and buy the boxes and sell the singles because of the argument that FUNimation would just lose money in the end. Sure, FUNimation would lose money, but it won't kill the business. FUNimation may had gotten away with this with Dragon Ball Z season 1 (and I still haven't forgiven them for it), but this is no way to treat the fanbase who pretty much are the only thing keeping your company afloat. Sometimes, public relations are just as, if not more important than profit.

Kimiko_0 wrote:

Zac wrote:

Not only is that not possible - I can't devote every single review copy of everything I get to two people for the sake of this one article - this is just something Theron and Carl do for fun at the end of the year and isn't supposed to be some grand perfect ceremony or anything.

Ah I see. I misunderstood then. Sorry.

Maybe they could download them off the 'net instead then Razz

*is slain by 03.5 for blasphemy* Anime hyper

What series that wasn't liscensed could be best of 08? Code Geass R2 sucked and Gundam 00 season 2 is still only half way over. The only series that I could think of was Soul Eater but most people think its even worse that R2.

My only problem was the Euphemia scene winning best scene just because it was unintentionally hilarious, and the Kamina scene was much better simply because the ending was completely subtle and works much better than Taniguchi, and Okouchi having Euphemia, and Lelouch basically mug for the camera.

KabaKabaFruit wrote:

I wouldn't blame anyone for having been angry at FUNimation for not honoring those who had purchased the ADV singles only to be told that they have to buy the boxsets in the end. FUNimation made a very wise move to respect the ADV fans and release the singles so the fans could complete their collection. Sure, the industry is changing to boxsets but that's no excuse to leave those who had started their purchases on ADV singles out in the cold.

Well, they still have a ways to go on that sainthood yet ... Kanon 5 is still sitting in eventually-land because some copies leaked out and folks who bought Shana on singles are missing the OVA (and precious box.) Glad they righted their course on some of them, just wish they would clean up the rest.

Charred Knight wrote:

What series that wasn't liscensed could be best of 08? Code Geass R2 sucked and Gundam 00 season 2 is still only half way over. The only series that I could think of was Soul Eater but most people think its even worse that R2.

who are you speaking for excactly? cause it certainly isn't "most people" (although Gundam 00 does suck)

Last edited by nightjuan on Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:35 pm; edited 2 times in total

Charred Knight wrote:

What series that wasn't liscensed could be best of 08?

There are several candidates, especially if unfinished shows were to be included in the running, but I am absolutely fine with fansubs not being considered because, among other things, it allows fans to legally acquire almost any of the series in question. I can see that as a plus, not a minus.

Quote:

...the Kamina scene was much better simply because the ending was completely subtle...

Those two scenes you mention weren't in direct competition though, as the Kamina scene could well have won the other, perhaps more fitting category, as the article made clear. It is certainly subtle, but then again that ending is taking a page directly from a certain classic. I think the Claymore scene was a good alternative on its own merits. Can't speak for Dokuro-chan.

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