Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

Ah, I've got series 5 and two movies on the shelf so I'm a ways off the end of this it seems. Is Bleach still current? It's definitely the only anime I have that has this many episodes so I was wondering if the whole thing has finished yet? I think series 6 and 7 are available for pre-order in the UK. Any more after that?

I tried getting into Naruto which also seems to have tons of episodes, but I found him a really annoying charater that I didn't warm to in any way.

@SigourneyBeaver Well, the manga is still going, and that's a fair bit ahead of the anime, so I don't see any reason for it to stop there. _{I don't know why I still read it to be honest, it's getting worse and worse.} Although, it's not good news if you like Soul Society, there's less and less of that in the manga. Try One Piece if you want something with loads of episodes (if you haven't already), in my opinion it's far better than Bleach anyway.

I'm not particularly after long running series'. It's just Bleach is the first I've stuck with.
Bamboo Blade is my next to watch once I'm done with Bleach. Any good?

@SigourneyBeaver: Bamboo Blade is a great sports anime. If you like the premise of watching five cute girls practicing Kendo, then you should definitely check it out...

The bolded reason why I try to avoid the series like the plague. While I've heard it's good, I just really don't want to come to the day when I'm questioning why I like watching five very cutesy animated girls practice Kendo.

@V8_Ninja: If you wind up questioning yourself when it comes to the anime you watch(ed), you're doing it wrong...

I've found that most anime contains things that would cause me to question why I started watching it, so I've stopped bothering.

Technically not anime, but I read the first volume of Blue Exorcist today.(It does have an anime. I just haven't seen it.) Pretty good. I liked the idea for the main character. Son of Satan trying to become an exorcist to make sure no one dies. Pretty bold and makes things interesting. I got the manga on sale since the borders I got it was closing. (Also picked up FMA vol. 1 and Soul Eater vol. 4.) The story honestly feels a bit fast paced. I like the characters though. Rin and Yukio are a cool pair of brothers. Complete opposites for twins. I think I'll keep up with the anime for now. On a side note; currently on Medabots episode 26.

That song has been stuck in my head for ages and I've loved every minute of it. Nevermind, I thought that was Butterfly. Didn't see the video before I responded.

I always felt butterfly never actually fit the show at all. Surprisingly the english one just felt right.

After War Gundam X - I don't think I could sing enough praise for this one. Starting with the story, it was very well done - there was a lot to it and it managed to make things very compelling and interesting, and was almost never confusing. I also liked how it seemed to be more clearly divided into arcs (not used to seeing that in Gundam) which I thought helped to create more of an adventurey feel to the story. There were also some genuinely moving scenes, especially near the end of each arc. I was never brought to tears, but they sure did tug at my heart strings, which I must admit is hard to do. The ending was actually quite nice, and I liked that the brothers survived so they can live with their defeat. The only thing I disliked about the story was near the end when they explained Newtypism as being mearly an illusion. Unless I missed something important, that's just a huge cop out.

I also loved the characters, who really made the story memorable. They had both charm and subtle charisma, and there wasn't a single character I didn't dislike, not even the smaller side characters. Most of the main cast was well developed and had interesting back stories. I'd say this is one of the best overall casts in Gundam History, and Garrodo Ran is easily the second best protagonist (and, with Tiffa, making the best couple), just being nudged out by Judah Ashta from ZZ Gundam.

I especially loved the setting. I'm very big on post-apocalyptic settings, more so than space or other sci-fi settings, and I thought this show excecuted it quite well, helping to make the world seem very interesting. Only problem here is that there seemed too be too much greenery and infrastructure when the world, not to mention tons of mobile suits. However, while they never officially explain all of it, I can think of reasons why they'd be there, so it's no big deal, really.

I liked the visuals, too. Everything looked quite nice, and I loved the character designs, which were both unique yet natural. I'd say I even like 'em more than SEED's, which was my previous all-time favorite. My only complaint with the visuals is that I thought the mechs were quite ugly at first, but I grew to like them by the end. Heck, I thought some of the Gundam designs were actually quite amazing.

I don't have much to say about the music, other than I liked it and found it to be quite fitting. Also, both opening themes and the second ending theme have been stuck in my head for quite some time now.

I don't usually compliment Gundam on the fights, but in this case, special attention needs to be given to the combat, as they're simply outstanding for a real robot show. There's a lot of variety and very little overused animation, and it's always intense. Mixed with the variety of the mechas being used, even the large scale battles can be incredibly interesting. Only minor problem involving the combat is that sometimes the bullets from the mobile suits would just bounce off the ground or kick up dust like they're smaller bullets. It's really just an annoyance, though. I can also think of tons of memorable fights that span the entirety of the series, and thanks to them, not a single episode was boring. They really were outstanding.

Overall, I'd say it was a simply fantastic show. I loved just about every minute of it, and thought it was excecuted very well except for a few noted exceptions. It's really one of the greatest Gundam shows I've seen and one of my favorite shows I've seen so far. I even liked it more than Zeta Gundam and ZZ Gundam, two shows I thought would never be surpassed. Most importantly, it's the biggest surprise I've had so far, since I knew very little about it (which was suspicious since I'm a Gundam fan) and wasn't expecting much from what little I did know about it. Really, I'm glad I got to watch it.

Do you mean to say that you've stopped watching anime all together?

I like this: http://www.animecrazy.net/cyborg-009-episode-list/

@Retro: What I've seen of the anime of Blue Exorcist, they made it a lot slower paced. The first episode takes a lot of time building up stuff and having the main character go on a job hunt. Been a while since I skimmed the manga though, not sure if it was already like that...

And I am currently obsessed with Sgt. Frog. Yep.

From what I've heard it does sound like the anime made things slower. I'm pretty sure Rin (main guy) doesn't go on a big Job or anything in the first 2 chapters of vol 1. I also heard they dragged out a certain scene and made it sadder. I'll have to check out the anime later to see for myself.
Sgt. Frog is pretty cool. It's entertaining...

"Ask not what your Gundam can do for you, ask what you can do for your Gundam."

"Good day. I'm of your species. Don't close your shop! I will now buy something so expensive, it will make going out of business impossible! Here take all of my hard-earned money bills!"

Really, you picked a good show to be obsessed with. I normally don't like Japanese comedy, but Sgt. Frog actually does it well. Too bad I only got to watch the first few episodes before they took it off streaming.

EDIT: Nevermind, they still have it up to episode 51 on Funimation's site. Now I know what to watch whil I put off Victory Gundam and Turn A Gundam!

This is for you Mickeymac!

Mobile Suit Gundam Sushi!

I would like to say that I am a happy owner of Baccano! The Complete Collection. I look forward to many episodes of crazy time-jumps and thrilling (and bloody) action.

Also, I watched the first episode of Tegami Bachi Letter Bee, and it's...interesting so far. I'm not sure if I want to say it's above average or simply average yet. It's a very weird combination of average and good that it confounds me.

I just got done watching Sekirei on Netflix.

If I could give it a brief summary, think of Pokemon but with (mostly) well-endowed females with all the types (fire, water, fighting etc.), instead of animals and other objects.

And if you aren't exactly a fan of harem, ecchi or romantic comedy anime, then steer clear. Then again, the action bits are fun.

I meant that I've stopped bothering to question why I started watching it

I wanna be, the very breast, like no-one ever waaas~

I choose you, Boobasaur!

**insert further Pokémon-related boob puns here**

Still not looking forward to watching this one.