anime topic

[Wamdue]

Would be fun to discuss some anime and maybe get some tips of what to look for

I´ll start with my very favorites, Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex , completly new gits serie, among the best studios are producing it, it look awesome!

Also, I´ve discovered I like anime-drama a lot, like, Onegai Teacher , Chobits.. cant decide wich on of them that is my favorite, cause chobits is better animated and cuter, and Onegai Teacher has a more engaging love story but less episodes :)

Whats your favorite animes, any tips on something worth seeing?

[Zebula77]

Favourite animes in no particular order:
-Akira
-Ghost In The Shell
-Princess Mononoke
-Spirited Away
-Ah! My Goddess! The Movie
-Ninja Scroll
-Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
-Neon Genesis Evangelion (series)

[HentaiBoy]

Ah, anime. Always a good thing! My favorites are Initial D, and Fushigi Yuugi. Others I really like are Serial Experiments Lain, Evangelion, Trigun, GTO, and Gasaraki.

Initial D is based around a gifted driver and has lotsa cars dueling. Fushigi Yuugi...well I guess people call it a "girl's Anime" But I'm a romantic at heart!! ^_^

[Wamdue]

then you should see chobits or onegai teacher, very very good anime..

for action anime, i gotta say gits:stand alone complex is the best ive seen, that studio is truly the best animators. Production I.G is their name i think.

You could always check their grades and info at www.animenfo.com

anyone seen Witchhunter Robin? same as gits:sac, among the best animation in anime today, kind of a Blade feeling to the enviroments, and cool story, cant say more cause ive only seen 3 episodes yet.

[Lance]

.
i like Tenkuu no Escaflowne [Escaflowne of the High Skies, or, a worse translation, Vision of Escaflowne] because it has some complexity to the story, some characters that are more 3-dimensional psychologically than the usual anime stuff like um... the one-dimensional Brock in Pokemon. ;)
i also like the look, the colour and composition, and some of the animation is very effective.
i have to say that one of its plot secrets was obvious to me, but maybe i'm just more attuned to detecting that particular kind of thing.
my favourite character in it is Folken
.

[zargz]

anybody seen tekken?? :D
I liked it .. to bad anna dies thou ..
my kidbro bought the vhs on a fleemarket
he said there is a second movie too 8)

[AmigoJack]

AKIRA is a masterpiece
and i also like GHOST IN THE SHELL

have seen (not completely yet) NEON GENESIS EVANGELION - aware from the quite interesting story and situations i dont really like the drawings...


im not the huge anime-fan, because the people look too unproportional and most of them drawed too liquidless. AKIRA doesnt belong to that, because the people look like real ones and there are no overkilled gestures with the eyes or the mouth... plus it is a great story and a perfect drawing which couldnt have been made better. and the most surprising: its VERY old! i like AKIRA very well - its also one of my favorite movies


oh - and in case anyone knows it: ive also seen PERFECT BLUE - a perfect psycho movie which entertained me quite much :D

[Lance]

.
perfect blue: :D when those little japanese girls sing the ''perfect blue'' song like mice in hyperspeed, i love it. it's one of those high energy totally warped only the japanese could have created that ambience sort of things. ive not seen the anime itself, though. sounds like it might be entertaining
.

[Nathan Adams]

Production I.G. also did all the cinema's for the Ghost In The Shell game on PSX all those years ago (a fantastic game it was too - fuchikoma's ahoy!)
It's great that they actually used Shirow's character designs, rather than the completely different look of the movie, which I didn't like, being a big fan of the original manga.

I haven't watched much anime of late
I noticed Eva Death:Rebirth is out here now on dvd. madman though just started making all their dvd's region 4 only, rather than dual 2+4 - which means I can't watch it on my comp :( no big loss since it's a useless movie. I'm going to wait till End of Eva comes out (I saw both in japan)

Does anyone know if One Piece is going to get a western release? hilarious show that was that I would quite like to see again if given the chance

[Wiseman]

I'm totally into Beserk! now, myself. :D

LOL, I've even gotten my sister into it... I love what I've seen so far, it has a little bit of everything (well, except being funny, save for a few scenes, but it's a tragic anime, so having too much comedy would destory that).

Probably is going to be my most favorite anime yet (trying to wait until I finish the series to make that full statement, Trigun has made me wary of making any statements of that nature before seeing it all).

[Wamdue]

just began watching Love Hina, its really fun!

[Piranha Advancements]

I'm a hardcore Tekken player and let's just say the anime blows.Horrible animation,story (if there was any in Tekken anyways) and pretty much everything.

I go all out on anime.The ones I absolutely adore is Blackjack,Spriggan,anything from Studio Ghibli or related to it such as Spirited Away,Nausicaa,Totoro,Grave of the Fireflies,Pom Poko and Porco Rosso.Last anime I saw in an Indy Fest which was early this year was the best I've ever seen and that was Millenium Actress.If any of you is lucky enough to have screenings of it near your areas,I heavily recommend you to watch it.

[Lance]

.
i'm currently using Porco Rosso wallpaper. love the graphics and the concept
.

[Hybrid Divide]

I like many different anime series.
Evangalion, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, AKIRA, Ghost In The Shell, .hack, and many others.

Anyone seen The Slayers series? it's great! highly reccomended, very funny to boot!

^_^

[Wamdue]

Many good anime´s mentioned, like Spriggan, awesome animation in that one. Im trying to get my hands on hack//sign, it sounds like a good anime. Anyone got any comments on it? If you guys havent seen Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex yet, go download/buy it now, its the finest animated anime Ive ever come across, in style and design its a masterpeice too.

[xEik]

If you guys havent seen Ghost in the Shell : Stand Alone Complex yet, go download/buy it now, its the finest animated anime Ive ever come across, in style and design its a masterpeice too.
I prefer the style from the movie. By the way, the beers they drink in the movie (in the boat and near the end) are 'San Miguel' a Spanish beer. I don't know why does this appear there. I suppose they sell them in Japan and the author likes them.

PRACTICE LEADS TO PERFECTION !

[Piranha Advancements]

The animation from Spriggan is done by those that did Ghost in the Shell,I think.And Porco Rosso rules!

Weird though,I would think someone would have mentioned Neon Gen Evangelion.Althugh,in my opinion,a rather overhyped series.And don't make the mistake of getting the so-called "ending" movie..whatsisname.."Birth and End" or "Rebirth"..something like that.

[Wamdue]

I like NGE a lot, saw it 1,5/ 2years ago. The ending is pretty weird tho..

You mean Death and rebirth. Why? isnt it any good?

[Piranha Advancements]

Intangible is probably the word for me.Death is allright I guess,the abridged version of the series..which has a somewhat prophetic intros to the characters.Rebirth was disappointing for me.

Maybe I just didnt get into the whole series so maybe you might like it though.It really shows the brutality of Man and some disturbing scenes.But that makes it all the more..memorable i suppose.

[auslander]

How are you guys getting a hold of the new GitS series?

I thought it was just released in Japan last month? I'll probably end up biding my time until the region 1 DVD comes out.

uhm, ok since i haven't posted in this thread before:

I'm Steve Costa, and I like anime:

I have (series) Lain, NGE, Escaflowne, Cowbow Bebop, Some of Gasaraki (got bored of it), One Patlabor, One Big O, One Key Metal Idol (awwweful), One Blue Sub 6 (or whatever - $20 for 20 minutes??)

(movie) Patlabor(s), NGE (both the clips episode - er, movie and the Movie), Metropolis, Akira, GitS, Grave of the Fireflies, Final Fantasy Movie, Princess Mononoke..

.. i'd have more, but i quit my job last year so i was cut off from new purchases until last month :)

aus!

Oh yeah, i'm also *tryyyiing* to get FLCL. It looks great :)

[Wamdue]

Got eps 1-4 of gits:sac now

you really should get flcl, it looks awesome, and is pretty funny too ;)

[auslander]

Got eps 1-4 of gits:sac now


ah, so you got imports?

aus!

[DJ Techno]

Has anybody else seen the movie Tenchi Mu Yo in love or Project Ako 1 and 2 Battle grey and blue?

[Wamdue]

actually, I downloaded them :oops:

[DJ Techno]

What did you think of them?

Funny huh?

[Piranha Advancements]

Yeah,I have the dubbed Tenchi in Love.Couldn't find the subbed one though.I'm like..Tenchi maniac.I have the OVAs,the dubbed series and mangas and whatever.

I find the series much better than the OVAs though.Nice pacing and intros to the characters.

[auslander]

actually, I downloaded them :oops:

No shame if you buy them when they're available. I mean, who can wait a year or more? Originally i had the whole Escaflowne series downloaded because i couldn't stand Fox Kids' Hack and Slash Censoring but when it came out on DVD, i just picked those up and freed up a few hundred megs.

But the GitS series isn't currently scheduled for region 1 DVD in 2003. The few seconds of footage i've seen were awesome, so i'm not going to bother holding out ;)

i just need to find a faster computer or something, they don't seem to be playing well on my P2-300.

aus!

[Asche XL]

BERSERK!!!

[Piranha Advancements]

I'm in K.L. now and let's just say it's ....ANIME HEAVEN!! Cheap pirated wares (hey,you might even call it fan service..ha!) for lesse...2-3 pounds.Even some of those OVA season sets like Trigun or Digi Charat or whatever you ant,they have.Wooha!

I only got X though kuz I have a library full of animes already.So if you want your goods cheap,K.L. is the way.Heheh.

[Chill]

Anyone watch any of Ergo Proxy?? I just saw the first episode, and it lookes awesome!!!

[Xupu]

Ergo proxy looks awesome, My friend gave me it to dubbed!

Hooray for:
Death note
Yu yu hakusho
Love Hina
Fruits Basket
Chobits

And

Ergo proxy!!! :rock

[mdhay]

I'm more into Fullmetal Alchemist, Robotech, and Excel saga.

[Lion]

currently I am following Bleach and Naruto Shippuuden. but I watch the Full Metal Panic! shows when they are around (no relation to Full Metal Alchemist)

Though american, I'd still consider Afro Samurai an anime, and it was good
also, Oban - Star Racers was pretty cool :)

[Medusa]

Just bought FMP Second Raid, haven't got through all of it yet. I guiltily admit that I enjoyed watching Fumoffo...it made me laugh, lame as it was.

Has anyone seen Now and Then, Here and There? What did you think of it? Good bad or really ugly? I was thinking of buying it to watch it.

Fruits Basket - great funny series...Mononoke - very pretty movie. A little too demonic for my tastes though.;)

[Lion]

Has anyone seen Now and Then, Here and There? What did you think of it? Good bad or really ugly? I was thinking of buying it to watch it.Haven't watched it myself, but I've heard a lot of positive comments from friends who have seen it. their other comment is that it's even sadder than grave of fireflys

[Tomahawk]

Erm, seems like I'm not quite up to date in case of mangas. Haven't seen or heard of any of those (except princess mononoke) you've mentioned. The last series I've watched was "Elfenlied". Bought it cause it had a german title and had "The main character tends to be naked. Much blood and gore." written on the back of the box. :twisted I thought it was pretty good actually, not too much nakedness, but really a lot blood and gore, though...

My favourite manga movies are pretty oldschool I guess:

Cybercity 1-3
Ninja Scroll (the movie, haven't watched the series)
Akira
Fist of the North Star

[Chill]

My oldest cousin used to watch Fist of the North Star!!! Haven't seen that one for several years, but I remember just lmao all the time from all the heads exploding!!! :p

[Task]

Cybercity 1-3
Ninja Scroll (the movie, haven't watched the series)
Akira
Fist of the North StarWow: Cybercity Odeo, Akira, and Ninja Scroll. 3 of my favourite all-time classic animes. Good picks! Surprised you don't have Bubblegum Crisis and Mermaid Forest in there! 8 )
Cowboy Beebop and Read Or Die have happened since then, you might want to have a look at them.

A really good site for "what anime should I watch next?" is the "Anime Recommendation Database" (http://www.anime-planet.com/anirec/261.html). Definitely worth a look!

[Lance]

I highly recommend Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. [the U.S.A. title; it might be different elsewhere]

I wasn't as impressed with the original D as I expected to be, but this sequel I really liked a lot. Especially the visuals. It's a fairly simple story, but good and dramatic.

[KevInCal]

Cowboy Bebop! :p

[Chill]

Ren & Stimpy!!! :D

[Tomahawk]

Wow: Cybercity Odeo, Akira, and Ninja Scroll. 3 of my favourite all-time classic animes. Good picks! Surprised you don't have Bubblegum Crisis and Mermaid Forest in there! 8 )
Cowboy Beebop and Read Or Die have happened since then, you might want to have a look at them.

A really good site for "what anime should I watch next?" is the "Anime Recommendation Database" (http://www.anime-planet.com/anirec/261.html). Definitely worth a look!

Nice link Task! *clicks and saves to favs* Thanks! I'll have a look at Cowboy Beebop within the next few months. Looks interesting from what I've seen on anime-planet...

I've got to correct you on one thing, though: It's "Cyber City Oedo 808"... *ducks and runs for cover* :p

[Lance]

And speaking of corrections, even though a search engine would probably find it anyway, it's Cowboy Bebop.

[exarkann]

Zebula77, your list is basically what i start out anime noobs on. i call them "the fundamentals", as they cover the main spectrum of anime styles, and introduce all the basic quirks that we love anime for!

[Airrider]

Lessee... Air the TV, Chobits, Grenadier, Black Lagoon...Gurren-Lagann...

[G'Kyl]

I highly recommend Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.

Now, this IS scary: I just borrowed that movie without looking at this thread. ;) Hope it lives up to the expectations...

Ben

[Lance]

I hope you got the second one; it's based on the third story in the series whereas the first release was pure cel animation based on the first story.

[Medusa]

WOW. If you haven't seen Paprika, SEE IT!! Gorgeous movie, the stuff of dreams manipulated on-screen to a chorus of colour and action...after seeing it once, I think it is vying for my favourite movie award.

[swift killer]

Cowboy Bebop! :p

I used to love that! Anyone remember Outlaw Star?

[kowareta|vojeet]

Ah yes, Outlaw Star was great! :rock
Now I'm going to watch "Scifi Harry".

[KevInCal]

I used to love that! Anyone remember Outlaw Star?

YES! It's very similar to Cowboy Bebop. I love them both. :)

[Medusa]

I see Ergo Proxy was briefly mentioned already in this thread, but I feel the need to rave about it...

It rocks! Dystopian angst and sci-fi futurism taken to the max! Oh, and there's even a good dose of philosophy, mind games, and split personality questions thrown in for good measure. I recommend this show to all wipeout fans, I was reminded of tDR by some of the public announcements in the show ("Citizens...Consume..."etc). I kept waiting for an anti-grav craft to come whipping out of an alleyway...but alas, it wasn't quite that futuristic.

This show is the most un-anime of anything I've seen. It really shows the potential of anime as a medium.

[IH8YOU]

How can a 7 year old thread not have even a blip of FLCL in it?

I'm offended!

FLCL FTW!

Full Metal Alchemist
Last Exile
Stand Alone Complex
Moribito
Samurai Champloo
Basalisk
Cat Soup
Tamala 2010

[RedScar]

oh an anime thread exists eh

Fav is .Hack//sign
to lazy to try and remember all the series I've watched

[SaturnReturn]

I will have to try and read through this whole thread at some point.

I just finished watching Full Metal Panic and Fumoffu recently. Thoroughly enjoyed them both, mainly for the comedy aspect. Also keeping up with Bleach and Naruto, although I'm not finding Bleach to be very good these days. I prefer Naruto now which is the opposite to how the two series started off in my favour.
I watched Chobits recently too and liked it quite a lot - again quite a funny series.
FLCL - couldn't follow that at all, so I think I missed out on all the jokes because I was too busy wondering what was going on.

I've just started watching Ranma 1/2, which is pretty old but is slowly getting to be pretty funny too.

I have a question for veteran anime fans. Did anime characters always have big pointy hair? The characters in Ranma 1/2 seem to have fairly normal looking 'bob' type hair styles, so I'm wondering if this is just particular to that series or if there was a time period where the point hair become a lot more popular/prevalent.

[RedScar]

Saturn, see DBZ and the Final Fantasy series.

[Haywire_Guy]

FLCL is awesome, only one of 2 anime series i have ever completed. To the post above, its actually about a guy growing up, exposure to sexual themes, maturity and basically the pitfalls that society sets for its own citizens. I think i can relate to it, its basically targeted at ppl around my age xD.

Some of the ones i watched a couple eps are:

- Detective Conan
- Dragonball Kai
- Death Note
- Excel Saga (Funniest parody of anything ive ever watched)
- Lucky Star
- Medabots (Anyone still remember this ><?)

The other series i finished was FullMetal Alchemist. Loved it as well, tho not as powerfully as FLCL.

[RedScar]

I was watching medabots the last few days, that show is awesome I don't know why I didn't watch it more as a kid.

[SaturnReturn]

RedScar - Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. Pointy hair is big in Final Fantasy. It's maybe something actually that I associate more with Final Fantasy than anime. Given that I was probably exposed to FFVII and DBZ before anything else, I guess that would explain why it seems like such a big feature in anime to me, even though, thinking about it a bit more, the anime I've watched more recently hasn't featured it too much.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Excel Saga - One of the most batsh*t insane things I've ever watched. I loved how they just pushed the boundaries as far as they could go in Episode 23. They also had to change voice actor for Excel a short way into the series because the original damaged her vocal chords through all the 200mph ranting.

[KGB]

Didn't know this thread existed!

Three older ones that are great are Ninja scroll (total classic), Sword for truth and probably the most touching and saddest one you could ever watch, Grave of the Fireflies.

[DawnFireDragoon]

list of my favourites:

sword of the stranger
howls moving castle
princess monoke
voices of a distant star
sky blue
ninja scroll
spirited away
akira
metropolis
ghost in the shell

of all the above, sword of the stranger is probably the one a lot of anime fans i know have not seen, it's a slow moving touching story, with some good action scenes here and there. i recommend giving it a watch to any anime fan.

[Haywire_Guy]

Excel Saga - One of the most batsh*t insane things I've ever watched. I loved how they just pushed the boundaries as far as they could go in Episode 23. They also had to change voice actor for Excel a short way into the series because the original damaged her vocal chords through all the 200mph ranting.

They did hey? *Hi-fives*

[SaturnReturn]

Didn't know this thread existed!

Three older ones that are great are Ninja scroll (total classic), Sword for truth and probably the most touching and saddest one you could ever watch, Grave of the Fireflies.

I was gonna start one, but had to resurrect this one. Some day I shall start a good thread of my very own. :(

Anyway, yeah, grave of the fireflies is profoundly touching. My flatmate cried watching it. He bet me I couldn't stop myself from crying at it. I did, but I got an immense headache instead from the tension I felt. I think anyone who dismisses all anime as kids' cartoons can be proved wrong quite easily with that one film.

[KGB]

There was a tear or two forming in my eye by the time it finished to.

Another great anime is Macross Plus: The Movie. It works much better in this version than the series. A bit surreal near the end, but then most of them are come to think about it.

Some other that I really like are.


Blood: The last Vampire (Now a film I think)
X
Ichi The Killer (live action version may be better and very violent :g)
Serial experiments: Lain

[SaturnReturn]

I'll see if I get find the Macross Plus Movie. I managed to start watching the OVA series a while ago but it wasn't subtitled. I eventually found some subs for the first one that worked but it was a lot of trouble to find them. :(

I started watching Lain too but by episode 9 it was all way over my head and I had no idea what was going on. I still have it so I'll try to finish it at some stage. Hopefully things will become clearer to me. I'm probably just not smart enough or deep enough to figure it out.

[Lance]

I don't remember if it's been mentioned yet, but one I like is the OAV, 2nd in the 'series', Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Didn't especially like the first one, just called Vampire Hunter D, but the second one I like a lot.

[SaturnReturn]

Imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216651/releaseinfo#akas) has a listing for Vampire Hunter D, with posters where Bloodlust is also shown in the title, and as an alternative title. I saw something of that name years ago. This makes me wonder what I actually saw.

[KGB]

Lain was completely over my head as well Saturn, It was such a really desolate thing to watch that it had a strange affect on me. I remember seeing some artwork for it once (A little girl sat on her own in the rain) I had to watch it after that. I kind of fell in love with her (in a paternal way though). I'm not weird or anything. :rolleyes:

*digging a deep hole here*

[mdhay]

Excel Saga - One of the most batsh*t insane things I've ever watched. I loved how they just pushed the boundaries as far as they could go in Episode 23. They also had to change voice actor for Excel a short way into the series because the original damaged her vocal chords through all the 200mph ranting.

I need to see this again! Thankyou Charlie!

[Lance]

KGB, even I, who am pretty non-parental, and gay besides, would probably feel protective of that little girl.

-----

Sat, the Bloodlust one has the vampire Meier Link [his skin is blue] in it and a great scene on a bridge where he comes out of a coach into the burning sunlight during his attempt to get his love to a castle where a spaceship might be able to take them away from the planet.

[SaturnReturn]

Thanks, I'm pretty sure that's the one I saw. Can't remember much about it now though. I should watch it again. I hadn't realised there was a previous version from way back in 1985 until you pointed it out - that's just after I was born. :D

How old is anime anyway? I wonder if it's as old as Steamboat Willie. Wikipedia here I come.

[Lance]

I hadn't really thought about it; I don't know how old anime is, but I guess that in America, it became really visible with Akira.

[ACE-FLO]

I love anime, anyone seen "afro samurai" and "afro samurai - resurrection" ? very highly recommended, bloody violent - it rocks hard! Resurrection is even better than the first one... the sound score is the best I've heard in any anime. Samurai Champloo and the GitS series are 2 of my faves, but there's so many genre's in anime, it's hard for me to pick a favourite series/movie... but my favourite anime genre is probably the period Samurai one.

[AG-wolf]

this thread is a bit of tl;dr for me because i've since kinda passed my anime phase,,, I'll just list some of the stuff I used to like. I usually just like light-hearted or silly anime, but there are a few more dramatic things I kinda got into... Everything is English dub unless otherwise noted (yes, blasphemy, etc etc, who cares? Sometime I just like the different atmosphere the dub-houses gave a series... DBZ and Samurai Pizza Cats especially)

Shows:
Dragonball Z
Dragonball GT (Japanese dub)
Ranma 1/2
Slayers
Gravitation (Dont know if this was ever in english)
Outlaw Star
Cowboy Bebop
Excel Saga
Cromartie High School
Trigun
Blue Submarine Number 6
Shin-Chan
Monster Rancher
Paranoia Agent
FLCL
F-Zero GP Legend
Vision of Escaflowne
.hack//
Big O
Kirby: Right Back At Ya!
OnePiece (the 4kids dub, actually...)
Yu Yu Hakusho
Samurai Pizza Cats
Samurai Champloo
Speed Racer

movies:
most of the Studio Ghibli films
Galaxy Express 999
Akira
Sonic the Hedgehog OVA
Dead Leaves
Tokyo Godfathers
Arashi no Yoru Ni ("One Stormy Night") (only in japanese to my knowledge)
Karas (& its sequels)
Cat Soup


Ironically I never liked Ginga Densetsu Weed or Wolf's Rain...

I'm sure there are others I'm missing/forgetting... it's been a long time since I've really watched anything. After typing all of these up, though, it makes me want to go find them again :P

[mdhay]

I love anime, anyone seen "afro samurai" and "afro samurai - resurrection" ? very highly recommended, bloody violent - it rocks hard! Resurrection is even better than the first one... the sound score is the best I've heard in any anime. Samurai Champloo and the GitS series are 2 of my faves, but there's so many genre's in anime, it's hard for me to pick a favourite series/movie... but my favourite anime genre is probably the period Samurai one.

Deng! Got that, wierd stuff.

[IH8YOU]

Lain is one of those dementia animes - which isn't my bag. Saw it way back, there is a bit of a story - but there is also quite a bit of random junk just to make it weirder and more surrealist. Granted, I didn't have a fraction of the understanding back then of anime / culture that I do now, but pretty sure I wouldn't like it the 2nd time.

I tend to shy away from just about all of the little-girl / little-boy animes (typical school / coming of age / relationships) - I understand that 90% of them aren't even targeted toward that audience - but I still feel weirded out when I see them. For the record, I disagree about FLCL having that as a base theme - it's a VERY weird anime - but mainly because there is so much going on at all times. Once you piece it together, it's actually quite coherent, and well fit as a story. I personally believe the kiddie / relationship bit in that anime was more of a side-story, and it was more about the characters surrounding Nao than about Nao himself. I find it strange, that friend who is into those kiddie-style animes, never likes the ones I do (Basilisk, SAC, Moribito, ect...)

About the spiky hair - I also associate that with Final Fantasy 7 - that game was my first real experience with the "anime style" drawing - and the game even references the spiky hair several times. (perhaps poking fun at itself) And yes, I do understand Thundercats, Transformers and Voltron could technically classify as Anime considering they all originated in Japan in one form or another.

Last off - Grave of the Fireflies - I have yet to finish that - and I'm going to, as it's very good. But it's hugely depressing thusfar, and given my situation - I'll wait until things (in real life) turn for the better before I complete it.

Sorry for the long post. :redface:

[RedScar]

Lain is a cyberpunk anime with a unique story that is usually love/hate. I haven't watched it since I was a kid and didn't understand it, but its on my list to rewatch.

[KGB]

Is Lain cyberpunk? surely not.

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoO5H_UKCrw) must of been the first anime I watched from the seventies. Still don't know what happened in the end.

[SaturnReturn]

I'm still watching Ranma 1/2. Usually I skip through the theme songs, because they become repetitive and annoying after a while. Despite that, this particular theme song, which could easily be considered repetitive and annoying by design, never fails to cheer me up. I watch it every time. Add a cup of tea and a pair of kit-kats made for dunking, and it's a very simple formula for a few moments of happiness.

Crazy, cutesy, theme-tune-of-awesomeness(:rock) can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S7bCv6t3_s

:)

[guillaume]

Mushishi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushishi) is a great anime, it's beautiful and restfull. There aren't many episodes, you guys should try it if you don't know it yet!

[ACE-FLO]

I just watched the Mushishi movie last week, based on the anime/manga. Bugmasters are bloody cool people!

I liked this one, though it's not anime - it came over well.

[WMJ]

My favorite anime are Berserk, Rurouni Kenshin, Death Note and Grave of the Fireflies. Especially the OVA Rurouni Kenshin Trust & Betrayal is a masterpiece :+.

[z1r0rEi]

Fist of the NorthStar anime movie & Fist of the NorthStar TV series, 1 to 152 chapters.......
aka, Hokuto no ken , its called in japanese , its a classic, recommend ,
Your already dead, u have 3 seconds to live, ur body will explode from within, any last requests before u die, hehe....anybody seen it?

[ACE-FLO]

Yep, I got the VHS of the movie. I remember when I first watched it years and years ago - I loved it. Not so sure anymore - exploding heads etc. The fighting scenes look naff now. Anime houses like Studio Gonzo and Production I.G have raised the bar for anime.

For example, have you seen the Afro Samurai anime series and anime movie yet? Don't wanna miss these, trust me! Awesomely animated fighting scenes, especially in the movie.

Or take Karas & Appleseed, both stunningly animated.

[Sengoku]

If so whats your favourite??

I've been watching Ikki Tousen if you haven't heard of it check it out on youtube. There is 4 seasons of it sooo far, hot babes and martial arts, if your a fan of that then this one is for you.

This is season 1 in english dub! Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/show?p=LCGoBbpGfZw&feature=fvsp

That's my favourite atm anyway, what is yours?? :)

[SaturnReturn]

I'm watching a few at the moment. K-ON!! is probably my favourite right now. Funny stuff.

[Sengoku]

Nice one Saturn i've watched it a few times myself. :)

Thanks for moving my post. Tried searching to see if there was an anime topic but for some reason I couldnt see this one.

Another n00btastic mistake haha :P

[SaturnReturn]

Well as long as you learn from them then the quicker you make mistakes, the quicker you get up to speed. So not a major worry. I should apply that thinking more often in my day job.

There were some others I watched recently that I liked too. I think Toradora was one. I've started watching something else called Mitsudomoe, I think, which is kind of weird but entertaining nonetheless. I like funny anime because a generally funny TV shows and movies might make me laugh, but anime simultaneously make me smile. I just like the language and the constant OTT stereotypes. It always seems like the writers and animators are creating the characters from experience, and taking the mickey out of themselves.

[Sengoku]

Really well Ikki Tousen has it's share of comedy too.

I really love the Harem and Ecchi stuff haha.

Girls Bravo is awesome that definatly has alot of comedy in it.

Lupin the 3rd is and will always be awesome!

On the darker side of things I love Elfen Lied, alot of gore in that though as most anime fans would know.

And of course we cant forget about the Hellsing OVA's :)

[Woopzilla]

I'm currently watching Durarara! (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=6671). Awesome stuff and some hilarious scenes. I love the interactions with the gangsters/troublemakers. :g

Also, decided to start rewatching all of Aa! Megami-sama! (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=2533)... haven't seen it in ages. It keeps a special place among anime for me since it's the first anime I ever saw, it's what got me really into it.

I did also start watching K-ON as there was a lot of talk about it, but I eventually lost interest. :( Not that I hate moe-slice-of-life, but I dunno... maybe I should give it another go. It's just that the dominant category in my anime viewing is probably described best by the tags found on anidb.net: Seinen, Tragedy, Drama, 'Anime-Noir', Thriller. I actually think I watch too much depressing stuff. :P

My all-time favourites are: Juuni Kokuki (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=26), Monster (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1539), Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=6256), Death Note (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=4563) and GunGrave (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1003). Though GunGrave it's only for the first 17 or so episodes.

[Sengoku]

It has to be Adult Anime with me or Mature Anime, the teen stuff doesnt really apply to me anymore, it did though when I was younger. But I still love to check all anime out for the art sake.

I forgot to mention this little baby, just brand new out and for fans of Zombie Horror and of course again hot babes haha! :)

Highschool of the dead! - http://www.megavideo.com/?v=LA11UAT4

[SaturnReturn]

I watched an episode of that one, but no more yet. I will probably watch it eventually though, as it's one of the few new ones I've looked into that seemed decent. Personally I don't pay much attention to the tags and labels. I tried at one point and it usually had no bearing on whether I liked what I was watching or no, so I just give anything a go these days.

[Medusa]

Started watching Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, it's so hilarious but I can only handle so much of it at one time because it's not supposed to be funny (the parts I laugh at anyway). It's just sooo lame I can't stop myself. It's a constant cycle between :blarg and :lol For example, every scene where Kira cries...oh god, how did they manage to get that sound? And that's even if you're not watching the dub version.
Script: Kira sobs. (To get the desired sound, simulate vomiting while shaking head vigorously from side-to-side)

Haven't had time to search out/watch the deep and serious stuff I enjoy the most.

[AspenExcel]

Woo anime! Here's a list of stuff I have watched/plan to watch. :D http://myanimelist.net/animelist/Unctuous

Ikkitousen was pretty fun. Cheesy, but entertaining, the DVD special for "Dragon Destiny" is where it's at, though. *teehee* :hyper

Ecchi is nice, but unless I'm watching hentai I want to have at least some hint of a plot. :P I mostly watch more of the cutesy, romance type stuff, but it's hard to find the really good stuff in that genre. My favorites have been Toradora!, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Kimikiss Pure Rouge, and Ef - A Tale of Memories. I also love the epic sci-fi classics like Evangelion, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and FLCL.

Feel free to throw some recommendations my way!

[Sengoku]

Great taste my friend and to the rest. Ikki Tousen is the best anime ever and yeah you mean the OVA's I've seen them all both from Dragon Destiny and Great Guardians and of course the first 3 Seasons and onto Xtreme Xecutor now, Awesome sooo far, Kanu is the hottest!! :D

Evangelion will always be legendary! When it comes to gundam my favourite is Wing, especially the cheesy dubs, but I love to hear Brian Drummond's acting, the guy who did Zech's. Sooo funny! :)

I reccomend Girls Bravo to all the Ecchi fans out there! And to those who have saw Highschool of the dead, keep watching it! There is 4 episodes out so far and ive watched them all, its getting good! :)

Now all theres left to say is they need to make a wipeout anime lol :D

[AspenExcel]

Hotness indeed. And I need to get around to watching some Gundam and High School of the Dead; they look rather interesting. I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one who would love to see a WipEout anime! :D

[DJ Techno]

anime huh


nice. i know of anime... gotta love the favorite four

Dominion: Tank Police

Macross: Robotech

Tenchi: Muyo in Love, the Universe

Vampire Hunter D

the list goes on.

at the college. I run an anime group there. finished this semesters pretty good. gonna try for the fall semester.

recommend a site i get the dvds for free at. operationanime.com
so so good recommendations...

[F.E.I.S.A.R]

Unctuous,have you heard of an anime titled Digimon? Watched it when I was 5-7 years old.
I'll try to remember all of the anime I've watched before and whether or not they were subbed or dubbed

[AspenExcel]

lol is that supposed to be a joke^^ I don't know of anybody who hasn't heard of Digimon. :P I never really got into that though. I need to finish .hack//Sign, but it's kinda slow-paced; needs more action!

[RedScar]

I'm sry Unctuous, but my favourite series .hack//sign does not need any more action :P Its perfectly fine how it is.

I've kinda stopped watching anime in the last 6 months, nothing particularly great and I've been really lazy to catch up on my "to watch" list which is a mile long now. I currently have wolf's rain and serial experiment lain to finish. After that im not sure, might finally watch Eva, prob won't. I'm angry that the 3rd season of black lagoon is already licensed, considering how Overpriced the dvd's for the first two season are I can't afford to pay for that.

New anime is all fan service or horrible I've found, but if anyone disagrees please recommend something.

[Sengoku]

They really need to make a Wipeout anime, and if characters is a factor maybe the Pilots from the first game, the rivalries and such it could be a new story and interesting too. Im sure theres some Japanese people out there that love the game!

Dominion Tank Police was a true classic! Search on google for animefreak my friends you will love the site ;)

[Lance]

In my opinion, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust was radically better than the original, which I just couldn't take seriously. But Bloodlust is one of my favourite animes. Not that I've seen much.

[Sengoku]

What about Hellsing Ultimate the latest episode Ova 8 should be out very soon, I cant wait to see it! :D

[BulletWraith]

I did a search for it here but there weren't many comments on it
just wondering what people think about Redline, it'll be on at a film festival soon and I was wondering if I should go check it out?
it looks pretty sweet from the trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFkkNxXuqQ0&feature=related)

churr
dreamingthelife

[Sengoku]

Haha awesome kinda reminds me of wipeout only a bit different :D

[Medusa]

Alex Reece spotted at 2:56 of that trailer, but in gold this time. :lol
I love Madhouse's work (everything I've seen so far at least). But all the non-race action (if it was non-race: the flying delta alien-y thingys...:P ) kinda put me off.

But the race action looks sweet! And a lovely soundtrack too, that always helps. Highly reminiscent of Kawajiri's The Running Man in style, I thought. Have to check it out now! Thanks for mentioning it!!!

[Sengoku]

Yeah Madhouse I think does Hellsing too, there a good group.

Watching a few classics myself like Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star

Noir is an awesome series too, well if you like Mafia stuff ;)

[RedScar]

That looks pretty good, going to have to try and follow that when it comes out.

[AspenExcel]

Anybody watching any currently airing series? I've been keeping up with Highschool of the Dead and Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi. HotD is really good; great art, great character design, etc. It's like 28 Days Later, but anime! :D And Ookami-san is cute, especially if you like tsundere female characters. :3

[Chill]

My favorites that I know of in only order of discovery are:

Fist of the North Star

Cowboy Bebop

Ghost in the Shell

Samurai Champloo

Ergo Proxy

Afro Samurai... :D

[Sengoku]

They should make a new Afro Samurai and you cant beat a bit of FOTNS :)

I was more into the GITS movies rather than the series.

Ikki Tousen AMV, the tune isnt bad and the video is pretty good - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clfITpothKo

[RedScar]

I think I'm going to watch "Your under arrest", anyone here seen it and can say its a good or bad?

[SaturnReturn]

Haven't personally, but animelist.com seems to give it a reasonably 7/8 out of 10 kind of rating. I'd give it a go as it was apparently by the same guy as Ah! My Goddess! and I enjoyed that enough at the time I watched it, although on reflection not entirely sure I would so much now. If you do try it then be sure to report back on what it's like.;)

[SaturnReturn]

I just finished watching Bakemonogatari. I really liked the characters, and I like the visuals too. For some reason it reminded me of Ridge Racer Type 4; possibly just the colours and also the cleanness of the empty world the characters seem to live in. Not a whole lot really happened in the story some ways, and I it seemed that what did happen was in quite a short time frame, but there was quite a lot of growth and change in the characters within the course of the story. Anyway, I'm sure it's one of those stories where I'm supposed to think about the meaning of it in some deep way etc., but I just generally thought it was pretty cool.

[BulletWraith]

saw Porco Roso a few days ago, it was amazning
borrowed it of my dad actually, he's got some good taste other than all the war movies he's into

Foo Fighters: Born to Fly with Porco Roso visuals on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3M3rY5Y4LU&feature=fvw)
for you Porco fans who also like the Foo Fighters you'll most like enjoy this

-zer0

[NiktheGreek]

Porco Rosso is a very good film, I can remember spending a rather lazy summer day watching it. Seemed like the perfect mood for it! There's been talk of a possible sequel lately, and that's something I'd love to see.

Next on my "to watch" list is Paranoia Agent. The death of the director, a friend's recommendation, and the fact that I could pick up the whole series for £13 made it something of an impulse buy. I hear it's great, so I'm looking forward to it.

[RedScar]

13 pounds? Link to the site for I need to see if they ship to canada :)

[NiktheGreek]

The site is here: http://www.anime-on-line.com

Looks like they ship internationally! Best check postage prices though, obviously. If they're okay and you're going for Paranoia Agent, you want to pick up the individual volumes (vol.1, 3 and 4 at 99p, vol.2 at £9.99) rather than the collection (£22.49).

[DJ Techno]

what is a good anime

that is comedy and funny from begining to end.

im going to play Comic Party Revolution in Anime group(club) meeting held by myself at the college. but i want to find more idea of what others thought a funny anime made.

so i can add some info to my presentation

[AspenExcel]

FLCL, School Rumble, Azumanga Daioh, and Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU! are very funny. I suggest you check those out. ;)

[RedScar]

"Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU!"
*crys a bit on the inside*
Personally, I hate this anime and do not find it funny at all.

[IDReaper]

:O I thought Full Metal Panic was funny as well as the FUMOFFU! episodes. Lol but different tastes yes, FUMOFFU! is very slapstick I'll admit =D. I'll agree with Unctuous on FLCL, I like Gintama a lot, umm... Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu(over the top and ridiculous), maybe Fairy Tail?(just started watching). I laughed at Kaze no Stigma, but for the wrong reasons I think :D. Can't think of anything else, I don't watch much comedy I'll have to admit. I tend to like darker themed anime with the occasional overly long shounen to watch when I've run out of episodes.

Watching currently:
Fairy Tail
Xam'd: Lost Memories

About to start:
Durarara!!
Ergo Proxy
Darker Than Black: Ryuusei No Gemini

[AspenExcel]

I just finished Clannad. It was soooo sweet! :3

[RedScar]

Ergo Proxy is amazing, but put on your thinking cap because it can be very intense on the story sometimes. Pino (a character) is possibly the greatest character in any anime I've ever watched. Xam'd was meh in my opinion, story never seemed to flow, always broken from episode to episode but not well.

Most humour anime is also fan service type anime, which I use to watch but now I just feel dirty watching it.

[MENGKESHI]

My top 3 are:

1.One Piece
2.GITS
3.Death Note

[Medusa]

In case nobody heard yet, Satoshi Kon has passed away. Go watch a few of his works in his honour. Let's see who can pick up his baton...not likely anyone...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/arts/design/26kon.html
http://www.makikoitoh.com/journal/satoshi-kons-last-words

[SaturnReturn]

That's a real shame. His is one of the only two names I recognise from the anime world. I didn't really get Paprika, but Tokyo Godfathers is one of my favourite two films ever.

[Medusa]

I'm surprised how sad I was at hearing it. Although, there is such a strong connection between anime and its creators, in my opinion stronger than in live action films, that you can really sense who a person is by how they make their shows...if that makes any sense...To reword, it is as though you can understand a person's soul by what they create, and with anime, there is the visual (art and style), the aural (music/voice), and the language (what is being said by characters/narrators), all controlled (albeit in a general sense sometimes) by one person's desires for the outcome.
So I'm saying, I sensed what was in his soul. Reading his farewell made me cry. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me, since his movies made me cry. :redface:

Hi, am I? No, I'm not. But my name is Medusa, and I'm an anime addict too.

[Mr Phlanj]

last night my friend showed me DBZ:Abridged at http://teamfourstar.com/ and DAMN its funny!! i would buy the dvd, its just the same but with comedy voice acting and witout all the pointless crap thats in the show.


p.s. nappa and Mr Popo are my best characters in it :D

EDIT: Also my top 3 are berserk,One piece and samuri champloo. (I used to rate bleach for being the naruto i always wanted but its been down hill since about season 4)

[SaturnReturn]

I've been watching this DBZ Abridged and it's pretty funny. Also quite bored with Bleach myself. I actually watch Naruto Shippuuden and it seems like the tables have turned when compared to Bleacj. I especially dislike the way that every Bleach episode now comes with a preview of the same episode you're about to watch at the start, then a recap of the last one, then about 5 minutes of action, then a preview of the next episode and some crappy 'encyclopedia' entry that no-one cared about and just tells us what we already know. I know it's a similar situation with most anime but Bleach is taking it to ridiculous levels these days.

[A-Tomic_Power]

Strange how nobody has mentioned IGPX. It's sort of like WipEout but with mecha. Also has quite nice music.

[Woopzilla]

Hey, that anime is rated quite highly... I might check it out. ^^

Currently I'm watching a few things:
-Neon Genesis Evangelion (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=22): A classic that I've never watched... thought it was about time to check it out.
-Chrome Shelled Regios (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=5911): Seems quite interesting... though there seems to be quite a bit of fanservice (but isn't too tacky about it).
-Buso Renkin (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=4516): This one has some hilariously eccentric characters and, judging by the comments, seems to end quite well.

[AspenExcel]

Evangelion is one of the best animes ever in my opinion. Some people say it's overrated, but I think it deserves the credit. The Rebuilds are even more amazing.

[IDReaper]

@A-Tomic_Power

I actually have been watching IGPX on the side recently, just haven't said anything xD. It's not too bad, no super complex plot or characters to be found or anything like that but it's fun to watch still. It's like Wipeout meets Armored Core =D

Been watching To Aru Majutsu no Index II and I tried Star Driver but was turned off after the first episode. Didn't Like the characters or how everything that happened in the first episode seems like a series of odd coincidences. It was just wierd O.o. I can't say I like this seasons line up too much actually :\

Oh well, I still have back catalogs to dig through.

EDIT:
Ya I think I'll do like Woop and watch Neon Genesis Evangelion. Maybe tack on something else like Gundam Seed which I skipped.

[Mr Phlanj]

i just wanted to say ive been watching animaniacs recently and its just as awesome as i remember. i thought i was remembering it through rose tinted glasses but it is soo funny :D and the songs are awesome ( here's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn-xTJQbR3g&feature=related) one and a second (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaHTeefeLYw&feature=related) one) but im having trouble finding full episodes, seeing how its its a bunch of shorts i have to look at a episode guide to find the collection of vids to make up a hole episoed.



"okIloveyoubyebye"

[Woopzilla]

I'm enjoying Evangelion a lot. I suppose most people claiming that it's overrated probably forget how old it is. Many plot devices/characters/storylines may actually not have seemed too cliched out back as they would today... so, perhaps that explains why some complain about it appearing in many 'top anime' lists.

@ID I found SEED to be quite enjoyable (and that's even after I had already seen Gundam 00)! Nothing quite like good wholesome mecha-drama. :P I wasn't too keen on completing 'SEED Destiny' though. I think the directing in this case is to blame... but I still completed watching it in the end though.

Gundam 00 and it's sequel were clearly gripping though... really enjoyable. The animators (Sunrise) then went on to animate Code Geass which is equally good.

[AspenExcel]

Anyone else watching Ore no Imouto? Easily one of my favorite series this year. Kirino could not be any more adorable. :3

[Flint Fandango]

One Piece is a great series! Action, humor and lots of exotic gags - although it was designed for younger viewers.
Besides that, I could recommend Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Samurai Champloo. They´re all awesome in their own way.
The best series, in my humble opinion, is still Death Note!
A highly intelligent thriller, that is unmatched in excitement and complexity so far! The story does contain supernatural elements, but these are used in a very clever way.
Hereby, I strongly recommend Death Note!

[AspenExcel]

Sorry, but I love anime too much to let this thread die!

What series have you all been watching lately?

As far as stuff that's currently airing I'm watching Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko. Interesting story with the kind of directing and art like Bakemonogatari. Girl believes she is an alien with supernatural powers due to memory loss until her cousin finally shows her that she is just a normal human being. She is socially inept and her mom is crazy so it's basically up to the cousin to assimilate her back into normal society. It's a light comedy, romance-ish type series.

The other one I'm watching is Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi. You'd probably have to be love harems and generic anime romances to enjoy this one because there's nothing spectacular about it except for character design. It's based off of a visual novel and it's really predictable, but I guess I'm just a sucker for these sorts of cute romance series.

:)

[rdmx]

I've been mainly following Ano Hana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ano_Hi_Mita_Hana_no_Namae_o_Bokutachi_wa_Mada_Shir anai) this season
I've also been watching Denpa Onna, mainly because it's SHAFT (http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/2154/headtilt.jpg) :P

[RedScar]

Anything recent come out that is decent? I haven't watched a new series in a year now and I need something good to jump back in on.

Also, purchased FLCL on BD recently, its so perty!

[rdmx]

The most recently popular one would be Puella Magi Madoka Magica -
Watch at least 4 episodes before writing it off - and avoid plot summaries

[RedScar]

I said something good, not popular :P
Pretty sure I've read a chapter of the manga way back when.

[rdmx]

Oh it's good too (imo), I enjoyed it :P The mangas are adaptions of the original anime though - better off watching the original

If you're looking for more FLCL style gainax craziness, you could check out Panty and Stocking (think powerpuff girls on crack).

[MetaKraken]

I recently started watching Death Note (japanese dub) on Hulu and started to take interest in it. :g

I also watched Initial D in japanese dub, although most of the episodes on Season 2 is missing. Wonder what happened to it? :|

[AspenExcel]

Check out Angel Beats and Ore no Imouto. A few of my favorites from the past year. :)

[Flint Fandango]

Sorry, but I love anime too much to let this thread die!

What series have you all been watching lately?

Second that! 8)

I´ve been watching Cowboy Bebop - 26th session recently, and check this out:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/837/dvd000.png/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/6/dvd001.png/

Yeah, it´s a PSone! :g
A nice way to pay homage to this great console!

Did anyone else notice that? Or even watch this piece of art a.k.a. Cowboy Bebop?

Anyway, just wanted to share this find! :D

[feisar rocket]

I've been watching Hunter X Hunter, you ever heard of it?

Hunter X Hunter 2 started a few weeks back... i wanna dub it because there's no english version :D

[Archon]

I picked up the complete series of Cowboy Bebop on Amazon for $35. You get English voice overs plus Japanese voice overs with English subtitles (but no Japanese subtitles). It was a bargain considering how quality that series is. I plan to buy the Samurai Champloo series to support the creators, but Anime Forever has impeccable subs of the show with historical annotations and very accurate translations.