Any anime fans?

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Regarding Kill la Kill, all I can really say is make up your own mind about it..

Just... don't go in listening to the hype because .. well, a show about near-naked questionably aged girls will of course elicit a lot of attention. Throw in the fact that it's been originated by practically the same team behind Gurren Lagaan * and that's icing on the cake for the hype machine.

So ignore all that and just watch the show on your own merit. Take in what you see on screen and if you like it, great. If not, then never mind. But be prepared for a lot of nudity, and a lot of yelling...

(*I don't know what this is, but from what I've learnt, it's one of those anime that has legendary status in certain circles because it was the first of its type in the USA, just like Cowboy Bebop and FLCL)

^Thanks, I'll give it a try and see what I think.

Gurren Lagaan is actually one of my favorites. If the skimpyness gets as bad as Yuko's style choices, then I don't think I'll mind.

finished bokurano. was very good, but i was a little unsatisfied at the ending, i think blankcanvas, you said there was a manga correct? i'll be checking that out as well then.

watched tsumiki no ie/house of small cubes. 12 min long about an old man who lives alone, has to continually build upwards because of rising water levels. short and sweet. no dialogue.

Yes. I can't remember if I said it earlier, but the fallout from Gonzo's adaptation of Bokurano was that Mohiro Kitoh (the originator) refused to have any more of his works adapted into anime. The Bokurano manga carried on independently of the TV series for 11 volumes, ending at Chapter 65 in 2009. It satisfactorily resolves issues that the tv series had to leave ambiguous so I recommend you read it, though be warned, it does get more intense/bleak in places than the tv show does.

Like Shadowstar Narutaru before it (also by Kitoh), Bokurano (the anime) suffered the same problem a lot of anime by Gonzo had: an abrupt ending due to Gonzo's massive financial problems at the time. In fact, two years after Bokurano (the tv series) ended, Gonzo filed for insolvency and most of its properties were up for grabs. A very much smaller Gonzo nowadays mostly provides animation support for other projects (mostly cutscenes in video games) though they do get the odd anime out ocassionally (usually cheap otaku-pandering fetish material like last year's Dog and Scissors, urgh).

Anyway, I'm glad you really enjoyed Bokurano. Works like Kitoh's don't come very often so when they do, it's like "wow", y'know?

And funnily enough, I saw La Maison en Petits Cubes the year after it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film -- sure gave Disney a run for its money (who submitted a cheap Cars spin-off "Cars-Toon" at the t.ime, if memory serves). Very simple but very nicely crafted film -- It was about time Kunio Kato's interesting shorts got some recognition (he's been at it since 2001)...

Regardless, glad you like that too.

Really enjoying Seirei no Moribito right now -- now that I'm on episode 7, it's a bit of a slow-burner but definetely one of the prettiest, most visually detailed anime I've seen from Production I.G. Definetely had the telltale signs of being adapted from a novel, as the plot's been pleasantly unpredictable, and a lot more care has been put into building up the characters, their personalities and motivations.

Mentally snipping out Steve Blum (I can't stand his voice, but that's my own personal taste), the dub has been pretty good to listen too. Wonderful series. And it's good to hear L'Arc du Ciel on a daily basis again with 'Shine'. It's become my must-watch anime this spring (even if it is seven years old).

wow, you seem to be really knowledgeable regarding all the studios and whatnot! once again i applaud you for filling me in with extra info and stuff, i don't seem to have the attention lately to seek out stuff like this but i do enjoy it.

i have lots of new stuff on my to-watch list thanks to this thread, but nothing is really calling out to me so i guess i'll take a break from watching any anime for now.

My grandmother and I started Eden of the East tonight. We both like it a lot.

And with the 8th episode of WIXOSS, it has hit an entirely new level of creepy, only in the episode did it suddenly dawn on me exactly some of the implications that the series had built up. The truth of Lrig, is something you will not expect, and might be on par of a certain reveal from a certain magical girl show. I am positive it is something very unlike other card game anime.

Really makes one wonder if that want the audience to play any card games at all.

Well, it is being more marketed at teenage girls, so perhaps WIXOSS will follow more of a "product placement" rule of thumb than the usual card-game marketing aimed more at children/teenage boys?

By that, I mean my theory is that whilst the WIXOSS card game serves the backdrop of the story, it won't strongly dictate where the plot will go. So in that respect, WIXOSS is markedly better than say, the material Bushiroad are putting out, because it doesn't appear to be the sort of anime where poorly-written deux ex machinas will occur that serve only to introduce new decks, moves or strategies.

In fact, I'm starting to wonder whether mismarketing/misconstruement on my part affected my perception of what this anime is setting out to do...? So, yes, I think I'll wait until Funimation dub it and reconsider watching WIXOSS...

On that note, I hope you enjoy where the series decides to go.

Got an interesting heads up about an upcoming project due to air on Noitamina in July (Funimation will be streaming for the US, whereas Anime Ltd will have it for the UK).

Something penned by Cowboy Bebop/Space Dandy's Shinichiro Watanabe, but uncharacteristally for him, he's going for something more thriller-based. Zankyou no Terror (Terror of Resonance) begins with an unidentified explosion rocking central Tokyo. Two boys are the culprit, calling themselves "Sphinx" and from there.... -- is all the information I have. I'll be keeping an eye on this methinks... sounds intriguing. And Kazuto Nakazawa is on board (famous for the anime parts of Kill Bill, and a certain Linkin Park video...) .. excellent...

I finished Usagi Drop aka Bunny Drop, and I enjoyed it so much that I just ordered the full set of manga. It has a lot of cute moments, but the story really captured my attention and I want more. It's the story of a single guy in his 30s who takes in his 6-year old relative and has to adjust to being a parent. The child, Rin, is really smart but kind of shy, and comes across as completely genuine. I found Daikichi, the adult, very likable and easy to relate to.

I might have warned you about reading the original, as the anime only covers the first half of the series, after which there is apparently a change in tone, and the ending is controversial.

I could see the dark clouds on the horizon, Bradleigh, and I want to know how things turn out, even if it makes me feel sad.

Continuing to enjoy Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and Rowdy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro here, which is why I've said nothing for a long time.

Tried watching Knights of Sidonia, but the low-frame-rate CGI kept distracting me from the story; felt like I was watching the short-lived Storm Hawks or Skyland all over again. It's a shame really, because I could see some really interesting potential with Sidonia's story, sort of like a less optimistic Seirei no Gargantia. But as shallow as it sounds, Sidonia was visually very boring to look at with a fairly limited colour palette and unimaginative character designs. So I gave up three episodes in.

I'd recommend Knights of Sidonia to anyone looking for a mature and fairly serious sci-fi mecha series (a bit like the 90s Gundam series, or a far less abstract Evangelion). There's definetely an interesting world to explore in Sidonia with what remains of humanity floating around in a giant space ark, (the Sidonia), meddling with evolution (cloning, asexual reproduction, human engineering and human photosynthesis are all considered normal activities) and fending off giant strange aliens called Guana. If you can look past Polygon Pictures' awkward CGI, I think it'll be a rewarding experience.

Just my two cents...

It does have some god awful character CGI, but several episodes in it managed to catch me in with story, it somehow manages to make injuries look painful and tragedies feel intense. As I said tit was not drawing me in and the style was turning me off until the episode with the emergency manoeuvre.

Real life got in the way so my anime watching had to take a short hiatus.

That said, I recently dipped a toe into Hataraku Maou-Sama again, now that it's been finally dubbed into English as The Devil is a Part-Timer. Initially, I was quite worried about it, as it's one of Funimation's experimental projects (ie. they're testing out a lot of new voice actors) but having heard it in English recently, it seems to be turning out quite well indeed.

Josh Grelle (Maou), Felicia Angelle (Emi) and Tia Ballard (Chiiyo, who thankfully in English is nowhere as ear-grating as Nao Tōmaya) are doing just fine under Mike McFarland's direction. Most definetely on my wishlist for DVD this year.

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Looking onto the recently released Summer anime list, I'll still be keeping an eye on the new Sailor Moon series, Sailor Moon Crystal.

I'm also thinking of looking into Akame ga Kill but only because White Fox are adapting it. After Steins;Gate and the Devil is a Part-Timer, I want to support White Fox, as so far, they've not strayed into the typical sort of anime material more at home with Studio DEEN (ie, Sankarea, Is This a Zombie?, Sakura Trick...)... with the exception of that Super Sonico thing...

Anyway, I also might look into Glasslip by P.A. Works. I'm hoping is more like Hanasaku Iroha (slice of life with actual character development), and less like Tari-Tari (cute but choppily paced). We'll just have to see...

Speaking of which, I finally got my hands on the Hanasaku Iroha movie, Home Sweet Home, so I'll be enjoying that.

Otherwise, I have The Love Song of a Certain Pilot to enjoy momentarily; Adapted from a completed light novel by Koroku Inumura, TMS's adaptation is well animated and seems to be off to a good start so far.