Anime recommendations

[Chenghiz]

Bleach started boring me after the Soul Society arc. Maybe not every battle is worth watching within it, especially with the side characters' battles, but Ichigo's fights are pretty cool. Especially Kenpachi and bankai stuff with the main captain that comes afterwards.

This is basically how I feel about Bleach.

[Simond]

The trick to Bleach is reading the manga instead of watching the series, then downloading specific episodes for any particular fights you want to see animated.

[Hoax]

That's the problem though, I need a list of the episodes that tells me if there is story advancement, just filler, boring training bullshit, or if a fight happens or is setup.  Then I could skip to just the decent stuff.  It seems like it should exist but I haven't been able to find it. 

For example, after Soul Society arc ends, obviously you skip the Bount anime-only filler bs but there might be one good fight that has consequence later in the show, or once you've skipped it where to you start up.  Clearly there is going to be some lame warm up to get Ichigo away from the living realm and the first few Arancar fights are going to be a joke.  So where does the interesting stuff start.

[Lantyssa]

Seen both. Yes. Toradora is cute & funny in a way, but Kodomo was fucked up. I think I stopped watching after one of the lil' ones did a very naughty thing in the first ep.

Kodomo tackles some serious stuff in the manga.  Made me like it even more.

[Vash]

That's the problem though, I need a list of the episodes that tells me if there is story advancement, just filler, boring training bullshit, or if a fight happens or is setup.  Then I could skip to just the decent stuff.  It seems like it should exist but I haven't been able to find it. 

For example, after Soul Society arc ends, obviously you skip the Bount anime-only filler bs but there might be one good fight that has consequence later in the show, or once you've skipped it where to you start up.  Clearly there is going to be some lame warm up to get Ichigo away from the living realm and the first few Arancar fights are going to be a joke.  So where does the interesting stuff start.

It mostly depends on how much you care about Ichigo's struggle with his inner hollow/becoming a Vizard* and the story/motivation for them going to Hueco Mundo(sp?).  If you don't really care about either then you'll be skipping a significantly large chunk of episodes (other than maybe 2-3 where some Arancar come stir up some trouble in the real world) to get to where the fighting starts to pic up in Hueco Mundo.

I could probably put together a general list when I get home from work if I remember and have time since I still follow the anime as a guilty pleasure.

*The anime makes a big deal out his struggle with his inner hollow, even incorporating it into the Bount stuff iirc, and Ichigo basically goes emo for quite a while.  You should probably check certain important parts of that out though or the fighting later on may get confusing.

[stray]

i cared about what was happening to ichigo, as far as the hollow thing goes, and i did stick with it for a bit -- but it never answered anything. i gave up. if they've answered something by now, that's still at least 40 or 50 eps from where the soul society arc ends. to heck with that. i don't care to know anymore.

 plus, the plot isn't that interesting.. he was trying to rescue a girl in the soul society arc.. i don't need to see the same basic plot again with the hollows. with a less crucial female character at that.

[Hoax]

That's the problem though, I need a list of the episodes that tells me if there is story advancement, just filler, boring training bullshit, or if a fight happens or is setup.  Then I could skip to just the decent stuff.  It seems like it should exist but I haven't been able to find it. 

For example, after Soul Society arc ends, obviously you skip the Bount anime-only filler bs but there might be one good fight that has consequence later in the show, or once you've skipped it where to you start up.  Clearly there is going to be some lame warm up to get Ichigo away from the living realm and the first few Arancar fights are going to be a joke.  So where does the interesting stuff start.

It mostly depends on how much you care about Ichigo's struggle with his inner hollow/becoming a Vizard* and the story/motivation for them going to Hueco Mundo(sp?).  If you don't really care about either then you'll be skipping a significantly large chunk of episodes (other than maybe 2-3 where some Arancar come stir up some trouble in the real world) to get to where the fighting starts to pic up in Hueco Mundo.

I could probably put together a general list when I get home from work if I remember and have time since I still follow the anime as a guilty pleasure.

*The anime makes a big deal out his struggle with his inner hollow, even incorporating it into the Bount stuff iirc, and Ichigo basically goes emo for quite a while.  You should probably check certain important parts of that out though or the fighting later on may get confusing.

I would kill for there to be a decent, thought out, not written by a > 16 year old guide to the general story arcs post Soul Society.  Having to skip around each episode or spoil each one before I watch it to see if I want to even watch it is fucking retarded.  The show isn't that good in the first place.  But I don't mind watching it with my brother when it isn't sucking donkey balls, in fact some of the fights and characters are fun so I like seeing what happens to them.

\/\/\/\/  I detest manga so that's not going to work.  \/\/\/\/

[NowhereMan]

With both Bleach and Naruto I long ago gave up on watching the anime because the actual main plot line and fights are drawn out enough already. The filler is just annoying. Mangas for both are entertaining enough and show some actual character progression and world changing which is actually a nice change having grown up with Marvel/DC retcons and reboots. Of course it's still sloooooow.

[Strazos]

A series fails if you need a guide for it. Sorry.

This is why I hate Shonen Jump-type shit. Obnoxiously-long series with tons of pointless episodes.

[Hindenburg]

A series fails if you need a guide for it. Sorry.

This is why I hate Shonen Jump-type shit. Obnoxiously-long series with tons of pointless episodes.

Yeah, uh, that's the sign that you should start moving towards seinen.

[Hoax]

A series fails if you need a guide for it. Sorry.

This is why I hate Shonen Jump-type shit. Obnoxiously-long series with tons of pointless episodes.

For the same reason I'll continue to watch summer blockbusters and try out various rpgs (even though I haven't finished one since ff7) I still find myself drawn to the Gundam/Naruto/Bleach/Inuyasha/Whatever type shows.  Its a rule that you really can't even do 51 episodes without filler in anime, that the art quality will dip at bad times and that there will be gimmicks designed to consume a bunch of time.  OTOH though there is something fun about a story (until it completely falls apart and sucks) where the characters grow and hopefully occasionally get killed off and whatnot.  So having a guide to what has no redeeming quality and what will satisfy the desire to catch the actual plot advancement and/or cool fights would be a way to have the cake and eat it too.  Nothing wrong with that.

[stray]

So are you enquiring about post Soul Society story arcs, or have you not seen that either? Cuz I'd just say fuck it and watch through it. It's entertaining enough. I don't know.. Skip through the Chad episodes maybe. He's boring and looks like a doofus. The guy who kicks his ass though is cool (flamboyant capt in the chick's kimono), maybe that's worth watching. Ichigo's Bankai training is boring too.

[NowhereMan]

I gave up on the Bleach and Naruto animes years ago but I'm still reading the mangas. It's slow moving but I just can't deal with tons of filler crap and like Hoax said it's nice to actually read a series that involves the world and characters changing without expecting it all to get retconned to fuck 5 years laters (if that). Both of the Manga series are pretty decent and if you can find somewhere to batch download them I'd say just do that. If you really like a fight and just have to watch it animated then go find it, much better way of watching long term stuff like this.

[Hoax]

@Stray:  I watched Soul Society from 3X to the end in pretty much one sitting on Hulu.  I still had to skip all the Ichigo training for bankai stuff and I wish I had skipped the Chad fight because he's a lamer.  So yeah I want to watch the Arrancar stuff but I'd like to skip around without having to spoil every episode ahead of time by reading the description and then guessing.  I'm also willing to watch some of the Bount stuff if there is some meaningful character development or a cool fight somewhere in that shit filler, which I wouldn't know without watching it.

@Nowhereman:  Good way to do it, except I hate hate hate manga.  I just hate it.  I think comic books are pretty terrible but manga, fuck, makes western comics a dream.  I don't like the way they do action, there is never enough text, I have to force myself to read really really really slow and make sure I'm catching the visual nuances, fuck it pisses me off just thinking about it.  So that option sadly is out for me.

@Vash:  Still waiting...     guide me!

***

I'm through the first 13 eps of Soul Eater, its not amazing and I'm not sure I would bother posting in this thread about it if I wasn't posting already but I really loved the test episode, thought it was really funny.  I'm sick of Death the Kid and his guns though already, which is a bad sign.

[Vash]

@Vash:  Still waiting...     guide me!

***

I'm through the first 13 eps of Soul Eater, its not amazing and I'm not sure I would bother posting in this thread about it if I wasn't posting already but I really loved the test episode, thought it was really funny.  I'm sick of Death the Kid and his guns though already, which is a bad sign.

I started putting a rough guide together, then got distracted, shouldn't take too long to finish up though.

I enjoyed Soul Eater as well, but the group I was downloading subs from got a cease and desist notice, dropped the show, and I haven't bothered looking for a new place to get it yet.  The sucky part is that I'm pretty sure they were one of the few groups subbing the uncensored(unedited?/late night) version.  I didn't notice any harsh language or graphic content though so I have no idea what difference that would make.  The only thing that could even qualify I guess is the one cat/witch, but even that is only suggested nudity similar to an Austin Powers movie opening credits iirc.   

[rk47]

They have censorship in japan? I mean c'mon now!

 

Taken from ToplessRobot.com...

There'll be a new anime airing on Japanese TV shortly, titled Qwaser of Stigmata, based on a manga (and yes, it's possible it should be "quasar" instead of "qwaser," but this isn't the important bit). In it, the Qwasers -- part of an Eastern Orthodox school called Saint Mihailov Academy -- a group of powerful people called adepts. It would be your standard dark fantasy series, except that the Qwasers gain their powers through... er, breast milk. Which means they have to nurse. A lot.

[Simond]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv7nqJU_gGA
Haruhi S2 ED.

[Bzalthek]

Maybe they'll finally air that.  Took em long enough.

[Simond]

'Finally air that' ? What, you think KyoAni are some sort of Republic serial villain?
They aired it five hours ago. 

[Vash]

They have censorship in japan? I mean c'mon now!

 

From Wikipedia:

The anime was regularly broadcast Mondays at 6:00 pm on TV Tokyo. The official Japanese website of the Soul Eater anime series announced that each episode will air in two different versions: the regular Monday 6:00 p.m. version and a late-night "Soul Eater Late Show" version. Special footage was added at the start and end of the commercial break; the next episode preview was also different from the regular version. The dual broadcast of this supernatural action series was being billed as the "world's first evening and late-night resonance broadcast". The "resonance" term refers to a story concept in which the characters, such as the heroine Maka and her living weapon partner Soul Eater, achieve maximum power by synchronizing their souls.

[Yoru]

'Finally air that' ? What, you think KyoAni are some sort of Republic serial villain?
They aired it five hours ago. 

Fuck. Yes. 

Edit: Subs are already out. I  internets.

[AutomaticZen]

The anime was regularly broadcast Mondays at 6:00 pm on TV Tokyo. The official Japanese website of the Soul Eater anime series announced that each episode will air in two different versions: the regular Monday 6:00 p.m. version and a late-night "Soul Eater Late Show" version. Special footage was added at the start and end of the commercial break; the next episode preview was also different from the regular version. The dual broadcast of this supernatural action series was being billed as the "world's first evening and late-night resonance broadcast". The "resonance" term refers to a story concept in which the characters, such as the heroine Maka and her living weapon partner Soul Eater, achieve maximum power by synchronizing their souls.

Eh.  The only thing in that direction in Soul Eater was the 'breasts abound' variety, and even then Ikkitousen and Queen's Blade are far far worse.  I watch first episodes of everything, and Ikkitousen was bad in the first episode, and the trailers make it seem like it's gotten worse, and Queen's Blade has a demon who shot acidic breast milk at her enemies.

Otherwise, Sousei no Aquarion had the closest 'union' in that way.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBext0VnGrc

Watch from :35 on.  Actually, it seems the American dub toned it down a bit.

[Bzalthek]

'Finally air that' ? What, you think KyoAni are some sort of Republic serial villain?
They aired it five hours ago. 

Nice, I had been waiting and seeing dates that never amounted to anything I stopped paying attention.  I am happy now.

[Vash]

Eh.  The only thing in that direction in Soul Eater was the 'breasts abound' variety, and even then Ikkitousen and Queen's Blade are far far worse.

Yeah, that was my mistake, it's been a while since I watched it and for some reason I mistakenly thought the "late night" version had some sort of uncensored content instead of just extra clips and a different next episode preview.  Like I said, I didn't think it had any censor worthy content.

So, I've managed to finish my post Soul Society arc Bleach guide for those interested.


Enjoy 

[Strazos]

Holy hell, that is just too much.

Who has time for stuff like this anymore? 

[Hindenburg]

The target audience.

[rk47]

Mmmmm followed Team Medical Dragon for a while. I'm really hooked. Good stuff.

[AutomaticZen]

Mmmmm followed Team Medical Dragon for a while. I'm really hooked. Good stuff.

The manga or the Jdrama?

[rk47]

i'm not much of a tv guy, i read the manga. Wonderful art and although I'm unfamiliar with most of the medical terms the issues they brought up was pretty nice read, unfortunately they render the bad guys so badly it hurts my eyes looking at them for too long. 

[Vash]

Holy hell, that is just too much.

Who has time for stuff like this anymore? 

It's only 21-22 minutes per week* so not exactly a huge time commitment if you've been following it casually since the beginning.  It's just been airing for over 4 years now, the equivalent of more than 8 seasons, so it's definitely not something you just decide to start watching and get caught up in a weekend.

Plus, if you decide to start watching it after it's been going this long, you have the added benefit of being able to just skip the filler episodes that people who follow it regularly have had to endure for weeks/months/years.

* 15-17 if you don't count intro., credits, plus the obligatory recap at the start and preview of the next episode after the credits.

[Bzalthek]

You can do my dragonball technique.  Character looks constipated = skip ahead 2 minutes.

[Simond]

Speaking of Dragonball ( ), they've apparently reached in 7 episodes of Kai what took somewhere over twenty in DBZ. That's a hell of a lot of filler cut out.

[Stormwaltz]

Speaking of Dragonball ( ), they've apparently reached in 7 episodes of Kai what took somewhere over twenty in DBZ. That's a hell of a lot of filler cut out.

I wish someone would do that with fucking Reservoir Chronicle. I've never had a series bore me to sleep so often. Jesus.

[Jain Zar]

The current Mazinger Z remake is pretty awesome. 

And could someone tell me if its worth my time to seek out Ideon?  I know it ends with what made Tomino famous, but if its not that good I won't waste my time.

Even if I so want the Soul of Chogokin toy.  3 pounds, 1 foot tall.  So pretty!  Also too goddamned expensive.

[Fabricated]

I actually like the Team Medical Dragon manga a lot. Of course most of the medicine is kinda bunk but it's basically all an excuse for shitting on the Japanese hospital system and all of the inside baseball regarding malpractice/backscratching/money-whoring at a hospital.