Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

@mamp Gatchaman Crowds is amazing if you like Hajime(the main character) she turns off most of the people who try to watch, but it's my favorite character! it's got nothing to do with the old gatchaman except some few references to the "old Gatchaman", some masks used by random people and the main villain's name. but it only gets really great after the episode 4!

Edit:
just watched episode 9 of Gatchaman Crowds! it only gets better!!!! its sad that it'll end soon... only 12 episodes...

Just saw the second episode of Fate/Zero. The first episode was kind of boring, but this second episode was great!

@GuSilverFlame Just saw Gatchaman Crowds and went on a marathon (LOL) because it was really good. I can also understand why people would hate the main character personally I don't care for those type of characters but I don't hate them either although I kinda liked her for 2 reasons 1) She seems like those wise kind of cheery people 2) she looks like Haruhi suzumiya LOL. Probably the only time she bothered me was SPOILER that one episode where her allies almost got killed and she still shows up all happy and cheery as usual, I was just like "seriously!? The other guys got beat to near bloody death and you just show up to have a happy conversation with the villain WTF!? SPOILER ENDS

Just finished up through chapter 225 of History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi!

SPOILERS

Since my last update, the "D of D" martial arts tournament has gotten underway, with the protagonists' three teams, "Ryozanpaku" (Kenichi & Miu, the female lead), "Ganryu X" (one of Kenichi's masters in disguise), and "Shinpaku Alliance" (Kenichi's friends, Ukita, Takeda, Freya, Kisara, and Thor) all advancing through the first round!

During the night, however, after that day's matches had concluded, Yomi's leader (Kanou Shou, I believe) came to kidnap Miu & unleash her inner hatred. During this, he crippled the three strongest fighters of the "Shinpaku Alliance", which will hinder their chances in the second round. Luckily, with the surprise help of Ryuto (the "First Fist" of the now defunct Ragnorok group), Kenichi was able to get through to her, and foil Shou's plans, but not before Shou vowed to kill Kenichi, and revealed surprising information about Miu's father (who disappeared during her infancy).

The next day's tournament battles have begun, with Yomi's representative team, the Lucha Libre using "Castor Siblings", being the first up to strut their stuff. How will this unfold?

Also, during this time, Sakaki Shio & Shigure (a couple of Kenichi's masters), are working behind the scenes with the FBI & Marines, in order to expose the corrupt tournament, and destroy it forever.

SPOILERS END

Toonami Saturday night!

Bleach - Finally, a filler episode that wasn't terrible. It wasn't great, mind you, but it was decent enough. Although I was a little irked that 5 run of the mill hollows somehow managed to get the slip on 3 near-captain level Soul Reapers.

Naruto - An ominous message from Orichimaru regarding Sasuke's future, and a victory by a guy with a serious bug problem (just gross, lol).

One Piece - Just 3 episodes into this little filler arc, and it's 10X better than the Davy Back arc ever was. Seriously, these three episodes have all been very enjoyable, and the intrigue about what's going on has me hooked. (also, the bit with the raft building was humorous).

Soul Eater - Umm, did Black Star just give Maka a Hitler mustache... WTF (was WWII even a thing in this world?). Very good episode, though, especially the rematch between Black Star and Mifune. Oh yes, and there's also an evil cross between Pinnochio and Mr. Monopoly, which is instant win.

Sword Art Online - Great episode! The mystery was solved, and I would have never guessed what was really going on with the "murders". A pretty dark and gloomy story, but the last few moments were really touching & uplifting.

Also, they reviewed Dragon's Crown for PS3 tonight (8/10)! Wow, two game reviews in a row! Keep 'em coming! (their little game review/advertisements have to be my favorite little side feature they have going)

so i just finished Neon Genesis Evangelion which for some reason i never saw till now ._. (oh yeah till someone recommended it again to me so thanks)

it was pretty good for a 90s anime the last few episodes though were weird the ending to it was what confused me out of dub anime again sigh >.< i guess its all sub anime from here on

@DarkNinja9

Was it I who recommend it? Well, if you want the true ending, you'll need to watch End of Evangelion now, effectively replacing or being a companion to (depending on your view) to the last two episode.

Yes, feel free to watch End of Evangelion if you want to see the biggest and most pointless Mind**** this side of Anime land. Trust me, those last two episodes will make more sense - they're a character study, laying bare the themes and ultimately the very point of the show. I understood it pretty well after a few rewatches of just those two episodes, and if you don't want to do that, there's always Wikis to help you make sense of things.

I've finished up through chapter 250 of History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi!

SPOILERS

The second round matches of the "D of D" tournament have come to a close, with two of the protagonists' teams, Shimpaku Alliance & Ryozanpaku, both making it through to the third round. The "Castor Siblings" (representing the evil Yomi group in the tournament), also made it through easily.

Behind the scenes, Kanou Shou (the leader of Yomi) killed one of the competing teams, in order to force his way into their spot (so he could face Kenichi, and kill him, during the tournament). Also, Ryuto (the leader of the defunct Ragnorok group) continues to leave the audience wondering if he's friend or foe.

As the third round is about to get underway, The U.S. military (with the help of Kenichi's masters) inact their plan to destroy the event, and arrest the audience & event organizers (who are all influencal members of the criminal underground).

While the tournament officially shut down during the opening of the third round, Kenichi (with Miu) and Kanou Shou have stayed behind, in order to finish out the event in spirit, and settle the score once and for all. Kenichi is getting beaten to a bloody pulp, but has finally managed to land in a light hit! Will his determination find him victory?

Also, during the frenzy of the military intervention, the event's main organizer, Fortuna, has snuck off, and is now aiming to kidnap Kenichi's friends (who he was impressed with during the tournament). Will they find their way out of this?

SPOILERS END

I started gash bell(the manga) it's much, much better than the anime! so many cool parts were cut in the anime!

@DarkNinja9
That's a matter of opinion, I personally think that there are far too many loose ends for the original ending to be good, whereas End Of Evangelion provides a definite conclusion, and while confusing is NOT pointless, @CanisWolfred clearly thinks this of the finale, but the show movie isn't pointless...exactly.

The ending is definitely left open for interpretation.

You're really powering through it, aren't you? I'd be reading the spoilers, but this is one I was actually planning to watch/read someday. It's got some pretty hilarious moments judging from clips I've seen.

Anyways, alongside more Toriko, I've also watched a few episodes of Victory Gundam. I'm up to episode 21 now. I gotta say, despite my problems with the show, it really is interesting how different it is from other Mecha series, and yet still manages to do right a lot of things other series do wrong. For instance, it really lays down thick the whole "horrors of war" aspect without really showing much, and overall it feels very believeable in that aspect. It doesn't pull any punches, yet it's not doing it to shock people, instead it feels like there's a genuine purpose: to build tension, to add to the story's believeability, and to show war as it is without being too heavy handed. I haven't seen that happen in ages, maybe not since Dougram, or even the original Mobile Suit Gundam.

Then there's the battles - these have to be some of the best battles I've seen in Mecha, and honestly, a lot of that stems from the frequent character death: Characters, with names, faces, and motivations die very frequently in this series. Not quite to the point where its in every episode, not to the point where you can expect it and become numb to it, but just to the point where the threat of death is not only ever-present, but a very real threat. It makes these battles, which are not only well choreographed and thought-out, but also featuring very competant grunts on both sides (again, unlike most other mecha series), feel extremely tense. You never really know if they're gonna succeed, and even if they do, you don't know if everyone's gonna come out in one piece. I feel like true tension is the biggest thing a lot of modern mecha anime are missing (well, that along with good writing across the board...), so it's really refreshing to go back and watch an older show that gets it so very right.

I know and it only gets better I feel like re-reading it now XD

It's pointless. There are so many aspects that add absolutely nothing positive to the experience that I can't even begin to discect it, and really just muddle the entire point of Evangelion. In fact, that's probably my biggest beef with the movie. It was obvious the entire series was about Shinji coming to terms with himself and realize he's not as useless as he thinks he is. What happens in End of Evangelion? He bes a completely useless twerp, failing at everything, brings on the end of the freaking world, and instead of coming to terms with himself and joining humanity, instead decides he hates everybody and separates himself from all of humanity. What the hell was the entire point of this then? To finish off the plot? Hell, even the director didn't care about the plot. It was just a tool to express his themes. There was no need to resolve everything, not like this. So long as he got his point across, that was good enough, and you know what? He totally got his point across in the last two episodes, you just have to pay attention and look for it a little. There was no need for End of Evangelion other than to satisfy some stupid fans who missed the point and sent Anno death threats over the series ending. And that's without even getting into all the pointless crapola that littlers the entire movie.

Again, opinions @CanisWolfred
I'm fine you dislike Evs, but I greatly enjoy it, so could we agree to disagree?

You know, you're really boring to disagree with. :/

@CanisWolfred
Would you prefer me to defend Eva, even though I see clearly anything I say would just sound like a fanboy's praises and wouldn't influence you at all?

Hey, does anyone know if Broken Blade is any good?

You talk as if I'm hard-headed. I was hoping for a debate, since you do seem to have opposing opinions on the series, and thought that perhaps you could provide a different outlook on the movie. Those were genuine questions I posted that I still want answers for.

Dude, I wrote essays on how good that was back in March, but I guess nobody read them...anyways, yes, it's good. The story is a little typical, but that shouldn't be a problem for someone who hasn't seen much mecha, and overall it's very well done. The fights especially - while it isn't Victory Gundam good, it's still up there as some of the best action I've seen in the genre. Top 10 at least.