The original was kind of annoying (yet addictive), but Shippuden is much better. Much more mature and deeper. Well worth a watch. One thing that the authors of Naruto did well was invent an entire fleshed-out universe with it's own tech level, economy, etc. I think that makes it rather absorbing.
Code Geass? Deeply silly show that took itself far too seriously, and didn't so much have characters as random agglomerations of personality traits. The dub was great, though, despite a mediocre start, and if nothing else, I really want whatever the production team was smoking during R2.
FLCL is the closest I hope to ever get to an acid trip.
Depends on the show. Some have good dubs, like Geass, Baccano, and Full Metal Panic. El Hazard: The Magnificent World even had the original creators deem the English version superior. Others... don't. TTGL, for instance, is infinitely superior in the original Japanese.
Depends on the show. Some have good dubs, like Geass, Baccano, and Full Metal Panic. El Hazard: The Magnificent World even had the original creators deem the English version superior. Others... don't. TTGL, for instance, is infinitely superior in the original Japanese.[/QUOTE]
I myself generally dislike dubs, but to be fair, anime dub actors are usually put in an untenable position. From what I understand, they're basically given a script and then expected to start recording right away; little chance to watch the episode beforehand (unless they have taken it upon themselves to do so on their own time), rarely a chance to do a cold run. Talk, record, print. Speed is king. There are of course exceptions, but these days if a dub is bad, I think it's usually due more to time constraints as opposed to lack of caring.
Oh god. I remember that.
Oh god. I remember that.
1 - Nobody characters who become gods when you put a weapon in their hands. They wrote Kira an excuse, but I still didn't like it. As an extension of this ... the kids. Why is every ship run by teenagers?! And why are they competent, even if they only started their job like ... yesterday.
It's my favorite Gundam series.
You speak truth, on both accounts. I love the relationship/rivalry between Amuro and Char so freaking much. Especially in Zeta Gundam, when they sort of end up on the same side. They've got a respect for each-other, but also a history that's hard to get past.
1 - Nobody characters who become gods when you put a weapon in their hands. They wrote Kira an excuse, but I still didn't like it. As an extension of this ... the kids. Why is every ship run by teenagers?! And why are they competent, even if they only started their job like ... yesterday.[/QUOTE]
Eh? Seems an odd complaint. You'd sort of expect obscenely powerful superweapons in that sort of setting, especially given that the shows tend to have an anti-war bent and are made in Japan. Is it more the way they're handled that bugs you?
Seems more like a result of a limited animation budget than anything else, especially when you consider the other problems the shows, SEED especially, had in that regard. Don't forget that the 08th MS Team, one of the best at averting this, also had one of the highest budgets due to its OVA status. Also, the Archangel at least had an in-story justification for how shiny it was - namely, the same phase-shift tech as the Strike. A bit visually irritating in that show, probably due to the relatively primitive CGI they were so fond of, but at least they came up with some sort of handwave.
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I suppose so. I watched up to the halfway mark on 00 and then just sort of ... forgot about it.
Maybe I wasn't specific enough. While I was writing that, I was thinking in particular of the Gundams, which are head and shoulders above the competition in the later Gundams. Think Kira, firing all of Freedom's weapons at once, and destroying seven to ten enemies, all with non-lethal shots to the pilots.
Eeh. Excuse or no, it still irritates me. I loved in Zeta Gundam, when they would get into a particularly brutal fight, and then you'd see them trying to repair the ship in the next episode or two. I'm not sure if I'm making this part up or not, but didn't it become a plot device at one point, when they weren't able to repair the catapult before the next battle?
Sure there was a plot. There's a difference between a story not revealing everything so you can speculate and not having a plot. I thought it examined the jaded attitude of pre-teenagers really well. There's a sexually desirable, musical instrument-wielding antagonist who's making life very complicated for him--using him and messing with his head.
I think there's plenty to be explored. And sure, some if it is nonsense, but that goes for lots of anime that is much worse and yet much more appreciated.there was a box set of robotech remastered released a couple years back. comes in a cool blue box and everything
I suppose so. I watched up to the halfway mark on 00 and then just sort of ... forgot about it.[/QUOTE]
Ah, we had different notions of superweapons in mind. I was thinking of nuke-equivalents like GENESIS and the Apsalus. Certainly, the invincibility of the Gundam (especially outside the Universal Century timeline) is a bit of an issue - it's difficult to have a good story without meaningful conflict.
Ah, so less a question of aesthetics, and more a question of creative use of battle-damage in-story. I can agree with that - certainly, the first twenty-odd episodes that weren't already clip-shows could have used some narrative variety - though I could have sworn that there were some instances of the Archangel getting damaged in a plot-relevant manner.
Well, mobile suits would drive out tanks in much the same way that tanks drove out trenches. But I would have liked to see more effective infantry. I mean, you're only really dealing with a giant person (albeit one made of metal). Trip it. Blind it. Engage it in locations where it cannot go. I dunno ... cook up giant vats of superglue and then shoot the barrels at it's joints.
Well, it's a bit of both. Aesthetically, I wish the Archangel would have fit in better with the EAF fleet. I mean, they're all steely gray, and then you get this pure white ship with red highlights showing up? And the shape of the thing ... I mean, I know aerodynamics don't matter in space, but what the hell kind of shape was that? The problem only gets compounded when you consider that this thing does eventually operate in the atmosphere, which makes even less sense.
Well, mobile suits would drive out tanks in much the same way that tanks drove out trenches. But I would have liked to see more effective infantry. I mean, you're only really dealing with a giant person (albeit one made of metal). Trip it. Blind it. Engage it in locations where it cannot go. I dunno ... cook up giant vats of superglue and then shoot the barrels at it's joints. [/QUOTE]
