Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

You should check out definitely Nichijou if you like Lucky Star.

Strike Witches is getting picked up by one of the UK distributors this year, so I guess I'll be checking it out at some point. Really don't know anything about it myself. If it's all just loli pantsu then I'm giving it a huge wide berth xD

Started watching brand new show Usagi Drop (currently streaming on Anime On Demand in the UK). It's a fantastic pure slice-of-life family drama. 30-year-old Daikichi meets a young 6 year old girl he's never met before at his grandfather's funeral, and discovers she's his grandfather's illegitimate daughter. Daikichi's never been a family man and he has a busy life, but when the family decide that they don't approve of the girl's situation and that she should be placed in an orphanage, he takes her in as his own. Cue wonderfully heartwarming tale of a single parent struggling to bring up a daughter he never expected to have, featuring animation that looks like it's been taken straight from the cover of the manga (detailed, smooth shading).

If you want something with explosions or laughs, you won't find either here, but for me this is the Summer season off to a great start. Fans of things like Five Centimeters Per Second should definitely give this a look.

I think I might have to subscribe to that site.

I finished watching the first series of Bleach last night. Parts of it were really good but I can see it getting a bit dull if it's episode after episode of hollow fighting.

@SigourneyBeaver The thing about Bleach is that it clearly wasn't planned to go on for so long. It would have been fine if it was just two seasons but because it's so popular they keep churning out new story arcs with increasingly unimaginative plot-lines. The whole thing feels like a 1960s house with a battleship tacked on the end (read: It's a complete mess).

So. I've just started watching Mushishi and so far so good. The first episode was great, it threw you in the deep end a little bit by not explaining very much, but that's the sort of thing I quite like. It's episodic which is another plus. It's similar to Monokoke if anybody has seen that, but less sensory and mysterious. The second episode though, was ridiculously slow, it took about half the episode just to explain the basic setting and for the main character to arrive. When he did finally turn up, things got pretty interesting, I just wish he'd show up a bit earlier. Hopefully this isn't a recurring theme.

Bleach is actually less interesting once it stops the Hollow fights IMHO.

@Jango-Forest

I've heard of Mushi-Shi, but I don't know what it's about. If it's episodic I may check it out someday.

So, does anyone here have any anime merchandise? Personally, I just have some Gundam Models and action figures. I just got the Gundam Alex model kit in the mail today, which is the Gundam in my Avy. I'm really excited to start woking on it. It seems easy enough. I'm actually very impressed with the people who design these models - they have so many parts and little details. I wonder if the models were factored in when they were designing the Mobile Suits for the show? If so, then a lot more work goes into Mecha shows than I thought.

I've got a couple of NGE and GITS figures and the odd T shirt that I got years ago, but I generally don't but them. However, I do have a rather amazing Fruits Basket wooly hat with Kyo's cat eyes on it. I don't wear it out.

If you're going to check out Mushishi, make sure you pick up that and not Musashi - Dream of the Last Samurai. The latter is dull as dishwater.

@Mickeymac Yeah, it's definitely episodic, with no over-arching plot. I'll try to do a short summary: So the main character is a "mushi master", meaning he's in the know about these "pure" life-forms called "Mushi". They're basically ethereal jellyfish that seem to cause numerous problems/diseases that this "mushi-master" sorts out for people. Expect plenty of tragic stories. And that's pretty much all there is to it, just one man going around the place, getting rid of Mushi. It seems good so far though.

Neat. The hat sounds really nice. I'd grab one of those figures myself, but they're a little out of my budget.

A friend of mine recommended me to watch an anime called Outlaw Star. I haven't really watched a lot of anime. The last show that I watched was Cowboy Bepop and it took place as my favorite anime. However, I think its place is now threatened. I have only watched 8 episodes of Outlaw Star so far and I am so hooked on it. I like its story, its characters, almost everything on it.

Oh yeah, Outlaw Star is another classic. I haven't seen it in a long time, and I remember being really confused by the beginning, but once it gets going, it's non-stop awesome.

I was also pretty confused after the first 3-4 episodes. However, now that I've watched it more it has come pretty awesome series. Hopefully it'll stay awesome to the end.

Yeah, I wish I remembered the ending, it's probably pretty good.

Anyways, I'm watching Mobile Suite Gundam yet again. I swear this show never gets old.

It's amazing how good One Piece is that I don't even mind watching filler. I just finished the G8 arc earlier, and it was pretty damn good. Now I have to start watching subs, though. Not that I mind, but the dub is pretty pleasant...

@PiribroH: Ah, Outlaw Star, great show. It's one of the three series that I own, though it's been years since I last watched it. I should definitely give it another viewing soon...

Question time, folks: Favourite character design in anime?

I love XAM'D Nakiami's character design, she's like a kinder version of San (Princess Mononoke) with some cool steampunk clothing and headwear (and the one-pilot plane to go with it)... which kind of reminds me a bit of Nausicaa. Perhaps a little Ghibli inspiration in this anime.

Lelouch.

Not only is he my favorite anime character of my favorite anime, but his design is also awesome. He's just got a bada** vibe emanating from him!

@Kingbuilder He looks awesome, what anime is he from?

@mariofanatic128 Code Geass. It's a really great show. I definitely recommend watching it.

@Kingbuilder I might try it at some point then but theres a lot of other anime I plan on watching so it could take a while before I do start watching it as I like to get through quite a few episodes of the most recent one I started watching and I don't like to watch more than 7 anime at once so that I don't fall further than I already am with anime.

my favorite Jyu-Oh-Sei it has great animation and a decent story for only 11 episodes. and im starting to like Nura clan: Rise of the yokai