Animesou.com

Disclaimer: This list is in no way shape or form THE list of top anime songs of the world. This list IS a compilation of the anime songs that I have come to be fond of over the many years of watching anime. Everybody has their own list and I respect that. Just do not get the wrong idea that I am telling people what they should be listening to. Also, if you want to sample the music listed, you might be able to find an upload from YouTube. I would have linked the music here, but I could not find any official streams. Too bad :(.

AZU feat. Seamo – Jikan yo Tomare (Itazara na Kiss):

The ending theme song to Itazara na Kiss, one of the best drama anime that I have seen. From AZU’s lovely vocals to Seamo’s seamless plugs, this song is great. Jikan yo Tomare has been in my playlist for a while and will continue to stay. The beat just takes me in. I cannot help but bop to this. It was a very tough choice, between the song below, but I cannot help but think about how this song just stays fresh even after listening to it for a very long time.

May’n – Diamond Crevasse (Macross Frontier):

The ending theme song to Macross Frontier, my favorite Macross of the Macross universe thus far. May’n takes the singing role of Sheryl Nome (not seiyuu role), a singer in Macross Frontier. The show has action, drama and a bit of romance to keep viewers interested. May’n’s vocal in Diamond Crevasse is awesome. The beat also brings the most out of her voice. As I have stated earlier, this could have been my number one, but after a while, the mood of Diamond Crevasse gets tiring. Do not get me wrong, this song is very good, it is just, I prefer the quicker beats of Jikan no Tomare over the slow and calming beat of Diamond Crevasse.

Mikuni Shimokawa – Arekara (Full Metal Panic):

The ending theme song to Full Metal Panic, one of GONZO’s top mecha anime series, Arekara is a slow song. The song focuses on the calming voice of Mikuni Shimokawa. The beat plays like a melody and I can feel her emotion as she deliver the words of this piece.

Maaya Sakamoto – Yubiwa (Escaflowne the Movie):

This song is from Escaflowne the Movie, one of the best animated films you can find. The music score is top notch and the animation takes on a more mature tone than the TV series did. Every time I listen to this song, I can never get enough of the flow of the lyrics delivered by Maaya Sakamoto. It is a very smooth listening experience.

Uverworld – D-technolife (Bleach):

The first song to break from the ending theme roll is Bleach’s opening theme by Uverworld; D-technolife is a rock song that gets you jumping. Honestly, I am more of a R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop person, and any time a song of the rock genre gets my attention, I have to give it props.

Maki Ohguro – Anata Dake Mitsumete’ru (Slam Dunk):

Back to another ending theme. This song comes from Slam Dunk, an anime about Japanese high school basketball. I have been watching the show since I was thirteen or fourteen years old, and I can still remember this song. So you can imagine how deep of an impression it has implemented in me.

Yuuka Saegusa IN db (U-ka saegusa) – Whenever I Think Of You (Tenshi na Konamaiki):

“Whenever I Think Of You,” stems from the anime series, Tenshi na Konamaiki . As the music flows out of my speakers, the sound of the water waves is not only soothing, but merging it with the voice of U-ka saegusa makes it superb. The pace of the song is slow, yet it picks up at certain points to give it that rollercoaster feeling.

L’arc en Ciel – Driver’s High (Great Teacher Onizuka):

This song is an example of when an opening theme meshes really well with the anime. Driver’s High is the opening theme for Great Teacher Onizuka one of the best anime ever produced. From the engine start to the electric guitars, I felt lost in the music for the song’s elapsed time. Definitely one of my favorite L’arc en Ciel pieces.

angela – Hikari, Sagase Naku tomo (Shikabane Hime: Kuro):

The ending theme to Shikabane Hime: Kuro. I remember watching the ending theme intently. I mean, who the heck does that? Seriously though, anyone who has seen the show knows what I am talking about when it comes to the nice fan service images of the ending theme. Anyways, the song is amazing. I love the chorus. And just to say it again. I was watching/listening to the ending theme intently because of the SONG, not because of the images. HONEST!

Siam Shade - San Bun no Ichi no Junjou Na Kanjou (Rurouni Kenshin):

Aside from TM Revolution and L’arc en Ciel, Siam Shade is the other early Japanese band that I have came across while watching anime. San Bun no Ichi no Junjou Na Kanjou is the ending theme to Rurouni Kenshin, I forgot which arc because it has been a while, but I did not forget the song. Again it boils down to, me not being a rock fan and when I come across a rock song that I bump my head to, that is how I can tell it is a good song, for me at least.

Honorable mentions:

May’n – Iteza Gogo Kyuji (Don’t Be Late) Macross Frontier:

SilC – Himegoto (Vandread):

Yoshida Jungo - Aruite Iko (Rental Magica):

Suga Shiako – Tsuki to Knife (Honey & Clover):

What’s Cute, Fuzzy, and Interesting?

In the last decade since I’ve been introduced to this hobby, I’ve often questioned myself what this entity that kept me interested and still interested up to date is. I mean sure, it’s anime and we all know it’s something we watch on TV, but what is it about it that’s so attracting? The characters or maybe the plot? Or how about the music and visuals unlike anything Hollywood can provide us with? Well, that may be so but dig a little deeper and our typical every day use of “anime” becomes something outside of just cartoon we watch through a box. When we use the term “anime” and go up to someone and ask “hey, do you like anime?”, what meaning does that receive? The reality of it is that the term “anime” is used so generally for everything that we can easily miss this subculture as a whole. From here on, I will attempt to run through aspect not of “anime” viewing but of everything that is “cute, fuzzy, and a little bit interesting”.

Don’t Read it. Chances Are You Won’t Understand it
Now that Newtype has died in America, Animerica has been reduced to nothing but semi-annual mini-booklets stockpilled for free at Best Buy and so forth, what is there left? Admittedly saying that it’s somewhat of a tragedy to see this happen, many “new” options are there for people. After all, how many people want to buy a magazine after a long day’s worth of reading a science or English textbook to only read more? “Not I!” said the one who’s writing at the moment. But for other options, people just have to look, or in this case, read the rest of the paragraph. For example let’s take Megami magazines. To give an idea of what it is, take the latest anime that are out in Japan, add them to about a dozen posters you can cut out (or not) to display and character and anime introductions and there you have it in a nut shell. It’s not a magazine solely for reading but one to indulge people visually. Surprisingly enough, Megami has been around for ten years now and is still going up to date. I wonder why? Either way, it’s a neat little magazine for less than the price of a Newtype, before or after the price hike and death. Beside that one, there are many other ones like Dengeki, Newtype jp, and so forth that can be eye openers for people who has never realized such things exists, that or maybe they don’t care either. Who knows? But don’t worry, you’ll still be an anime fan in my book even if you don’t bother with things with magazines. After all, anime is something you watch right?

Show it All!

Well, on my path to unpack those that are “cute, fuzzy…etc etc”, I’m going to introduce probably one of the most expensive area outside the realm of “anime”: figures. Say you walk into a Best Buy and realize there is a boxset of a certain anime. Say it cost around $60 and you decide to pick it up. Now imagine walking into an anime store filled with figures from your favorite anime ranging from $50-$120+ and you want more than one. Yeah believe it or not, thousands of dollars can be spent in a single day on just half a dozen of those things. I know right, it’s not a PS3 or a 360 so you technically can’t play with most of them. But as silly as it sounds, many gladly spend that money without hesitation to show off the artistic value they see in certain anime characters in the form of plastic, metal, whatever. When there is a chance, get off that chair and visit an anime store to check it out in person. Buying one isn’t even necessary but it doesn’t hurt to appreciate another form of art.

A White Wall in Every Room?

A white wall has it’s purposes sometimes I guess. It can be used when thinking or calming the mind. For the most part however, they are very white, very plain, and very uneventful. So what then you ask? Take anime wallscrolls, magazine cutouts, posters, and anything else in the same field and put it up there. Maybe it isn’t that good to look at when trying to think, but it sure beats the other categories relating to “boring”. Wallscrolls aren’t too expensive or hard to find in general, but posters on the other hand can be completely opposites. We’re not talking about bootleg ones either but more like ones you on display on Japanese anime shop windows. Some can go for a lot of money but in the eyes of certain people, it’s worth it to have a room filled with something one won’t mind seeing coming back or waking up in the morning to.

The Tip of the Iceberg

In the above, I’ve only mentioned a few things people involve themselves with on top of the dozens if not hundreds of things there are out there like collecting dakimakuras (anime body pillow covers), making doujins, going to anime conventions and beyond. Over the years, I’ve realized how the term anime has become the staple word many people use and neglected when referring to this subculture and fandom that’s much bigger and grander. Even though I can’t deny the fact that anime is meant for watching and a term used on a common basis, the fact that so many things stem off from that source allows each to be a part of anime and possess an unique identity itself. For example, certain people who go to anime conventions can potentially not know anything about anime, but they still go because the atmosphere is attracting. Certain people will also buy figures of characters they know nothing about because the beauty just happens to catch their eyes. So how exactly are we supposed to define it if everything can’t be called anime? Maybe it should be called ” a part of the anime subculture in Japan”? The answer is really up to the individual. In my case, I wanted to present everyone with a title such as ” Fairly Cute, Fuzzy, and Interesting” to show that there are so many untapped, undefined things revolving around anime but not necessarily anime itself that ties our interest with each other in this vast area of Japanese subculture. For me, I’ve gone through many phases when it comes to “anime” but I guess for now, I don’t mind things that are “fairly cute, fuzzy and interesting”.

Main Idea of this Rant?! - I hope this has been somewhat of an eye-opener and the start for people to check other things out. Don’t think you won’t be interested.

Closing Statement(s) - Enjoy everything that this subculture offers.

On January 13, 2005, the Animesou.com staff did a Watcher on Appleseed the Movie. We had fun with the Watcher and so did Friday of SoulKool, LLC. After submitting the feature to her, she was delighted and proceeded to send me some goodies. The goodies included: 6 Appleseed posters (7 if I count the one I got from the New York to Tokyo special screening), 11 postcards, and 2 figurines. She also tossed in a special something something for me (Her friend’s band, Call Florence Pow CD). She was a great person to deal with and with all these goodies, I cannot possibly selfishly keep them all. With the title of Vice President to my name for my university’s anime club, I decided to dish them out during an anime meeting. So here are some pictures my assistant and I took while at the meeting. Enjoy!

On our way to the university. That is about 35 miles, so I decided to turn on the NOS.

I slowed down a bit, due to the Five O’s ambushing this area (cops). :P

And so my assistant and I arrived to the meeting room after about a 30 minutes drive.

Look at the garbage anime clubbers feast on. Potato chips and soda? Comon! (Oh yeah, I was the one that bought the chips ^_^;;).

The contest rules were this: Members of the club (excluding me) draws out a paper to see what they will be winning. Supposedly we were to ask questions, but due to the poor time scheduling of the club, the turn out was not great and there were enough prizes to give to everyone so the questions were omitted. (Friday, 7:00PM, that is when everyone is home chillin’ or warmin’, whatever you want to call it). But for those who did show up, I gave them the stuff the paper they drew out wrote.

For an odd reason, all the ladies got posters :). This thing is rigged!!!

This guy looks unhappy, even though he just received a Deunan figurine from me! What an unappreciative bastage!

This dude, just got Briareos and the dude with Deunan still looks dazed… maybe he is just lost?

Finally!!! A reaction from the dazed one! *Laughs*

Hmm… a rare sighting. The club president actually got a poster.

So here are the talkative members discussing about various things, everyone is smiling and into it, it seems like they liked the stuff they got. :)

While everyone is busying chatting down, this feature cannot be possibly complete without a picture of me and what once used to be my poster. :-(

My assistant here, was down on what he picked out from the papers, saying, “I went to this anime meeting and all I got was this lousy postcard.” After I took him to the corner and beat some sense into him, he was happy with what he got :).

In the end, I leave without anything… but hmm… I do believe I brought in a bag of other screening materials in case the club meeting has time for it. Where could that have gone?

This fool thinks he can get away, looks like someone will be walking home tonight.

Main Idea of this Rant?! - Giving back to the community can be quite fun.

Closing Statement(s) - The club meeting time is just horrendous. I mean, who goes to club meetings on Friday nights? Everyone is out partying or at home relaxing. If I did not plan to give out the Appleseed promotional items, I would not have gone to the meeting. But in any case, I liked this event for Animesou. It shows that we do not only sit on our behinds all day and watch anime, we actually try to do stuff to promote it. Also a big thanks goes to Friday, who has been so kind throughout the whole process. I certainly will look forward into working with her on other projects. And Raymond Tse, my assistant. He made my drive to the meeting much more enjoyable and helped out with various of things, such as, carrying the bags :P. Thanks brother man!

It’s been 12 exciting years since I’ve officially proclaimed myself an otaku. Give me anything animated, with big eyes, from the land of the rising sun and I’d devour it. 5-10 hour marathon viewings were the norm. You name it, I’d seen it.

Now back in the early 90’s, anime wasn’t very well known. It was special. A niche hobby only few discovered and supported. Expensive as it was, I found a way to get those $30, 2 episode, VHS tapes. It was almost taboo to even talk about Japanese anime with someone who didn’t watch it. They’d think it was a term used only for animated porn. “It was far from animated smut”, I’d tell them. Sure there was the occasional hentai but that was only a category like how horror is only a genre of movie. Based on that if everyone thought horror was what a movie was in general, they’d be missing out on an entire medium. Non fans let that fly right over their heads and stayed narrow minded.

These were not cartoons! Not the ones made for kids that come on after school and Saturday morning. These were mature stories no different than movies we pay good money to see every weekend. They just happen to be animated. There was just something that pulled me in. The art, originality, quirky writing, offbeat humor, and to be honest, yes some of the unexpected nudity and fan service. It all clicked and it was like magic. That was all about to change though.

In 1995 the DVD format finally began it’s overtaking of the VHS. This seemed like an anime fans dream, a cheaper, clearer, more portable version of a laser disc. Not only that, it settled the everlasting argument, sub or dub, for the anime purist, since both were available on one disc. I couldn’t have been happier! I started to see more and more great anime get released, plus all the companies had a back catalogue of awesome classics to work with.

This would reveal itself to be a double edge sword. Pokemon and Dragonball Z were taking over the airwaves introducing millions and millions of new fans. Countless shows were being released, edited for the masses. My once secluded hobby was being over exposed. Companies began licensing everything in sight, good or bad. Now you’d have to do a lot more research to not get burned by a crappy show. This may be one of the reasons anime in general these days has lost its luster to me. The market has grown so big that most shows are being made from a worldwide, mass appeal approach, instead of being based culturally where they are from, Japan.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still diamonds in the rough, but with the ever expanding shelf space in the marketplace, it’s getting increasingly harder to find. A few of my new favorites are Marmalade Boy, Boys Over Flowers, and Kodacha. Notice something there? These shows are all from the early to mid 90’s. To be fair, there are current titles that got it right like, Kino’s Journey, Samurai Champloo, and Great Teacher Onizuka.

What titles are missing these days is characterization. There’s just that something that’s missing in a lot of the newer titles released. Most of the time I don’t even know the characters name by the end of the show. Things just seem one dimensional. I don’t know if it’s the digitization of the animation over the warmth of handrawn art, writing ability laid to flat, lack of originality or simply lack of breast. Ha ha, laugh if you must, but a characters reaction to seeing breast told a lot about them.

All in all, it boils downs to Hollywood influence, technology taking away some of the pureness, and phasing out the naughtiness that made anime fun and different to begin with. After having this hobby for as long as I have, what else could I expect? With that said, I’m still an anime fan. I’m just not addicted anymore.

Who are we dealing with?

As Anime increasingly makes it’s presence in the United States, bootleggers and private individuals are finding many ways to seek profit and personal gain by taking advantage of people involved in this phenomenon.

So who has the right to release Anime?

To get things started, as many people already know, eBay is a great place to find deals unimagined compared to retail stores. But when is a deal too good to be true to make you suspicious of the credibility of the item you buy? If one was to type in and search “Anime DVD”, 95% of all the items you see are most likely bootlegs. For those who do not know what bootlegs are, they are DVDs containing content released by a person/company who/that does not possess the licensing agreement to distribute it. In other words, anyone who does not have rights or a license to an Anime, may not be allowed to freely take that content and sell it legally. Next, how can one tell the difference between bootlegs and legit DVDs?

One, Two, or Three? What is the correct number?

Most of the time an Anime DVD contains around 3 to 4 episodes. So in other words, if it is a 26 episode Anime, you would expect (generally) 6 to 7 DVDs. Most 13 episode Anime series contain 4 DVDs. This is one of the most obvious things to know when looking to buy Anime DVDs. When there are 3 DVDs for something that is 26 episodes or 1 or 2 DVDs for 13 episodes series, then most likely it is bootlegged. Although there are times where some DVDs contain 5 episodes. But knowing the Region Code of the DVD should be the next thing to understand.

There should only be ONE type of DVD…right?

There are 8 Regions for DVDs including Region 0 or Region Free to Region 7. For example, Region 1 is North America, Canada. Region 2 is Japan and so forth. The Region to look out for when trying to distinguish the different between bootlegs and real DVDs is “Region 0″ or “Region Free.” This is the Hong Kong Regional Code. When you see an Anime DVD that says Region 0 or Region Free, 99.9% of the time it is a bootleg. However, there are Region 0 films that are NOT bootleg (exp. Initial D:LA). But when it comes down to Anime, avoid buying any of them that has to do with Region 0/Free. So why is Region 2,3,4 brought in? That is because people may mistaken for example, region 2 and 4 as bootleg. For North American people, buy ONLY Region 1! Next subject is the language package.

A language barrier?

If there is Chinese subtitles in a DVD, then chances are it is a bootleg. Most simply it is because Region 1 DVDs are Billingual or sometimes Trillingual and subtitles are usually just English. Just remember to avoid Chinese subtitles DVDs. Next point is the artwork of the DVD.

“Covering” the truth

Most of the time, the company that license an Anime will have an artwork that is universally seen at all stores. To find what the REAL artwork looks like go to sites such as Deepdiscountdvds.com, Rightstuf.com, or www.animeondvd.com. So before buying the DVD, make sure you can compare the artwork the person is selling with a trusted store. Even Bestbuy’s website will help you with this because there are no stores (other than pawn shops and second hand stores) that will sell bootlegs. Also in most cases, bootleg DVDs do not copy the DVD artwork from legitiment DVDs. Final point is, be careful of the price.

Truth or a lie?

Most people have probably heard the saying, Iif it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. Well, it’s the same thing when it comes to eBay. If at any point you think the price is way too good, have your doubts in mind. If anything, ask the person who is selling questions about the item. Do not be afraid to be blunt with how to talk to them. Bootleg dealers will find any way to get you to think what they sell if real by saying “factory sealed” and such. But in reality, anyone can “factory seal” a set of DVDs with plastic wrappers and a hairdryer.

Main Idea of this Rant?! - Why am I writing all this? Because many people are not realizing that they are buying bootlegs. I have checked out many feedbacks of bootleg sellers to see how almost everyone thanked the seller but saying like “I didn’t expect it to be foriegn” or “DVD quality is bad”. These replies are from people who are ignorant of what they are really buying until it is too late. Thank you for reading all of this and I hoped it contributed to being part of something you did not know.

Closing Statement(s) - There are many ways to fight the spread of bootlegs, but it can only start with the next person: the person you inform.

Rant-ON

Things That Annoy Me To No End ——————————————–

By: Alpha

1) Urinals that people used and too lazy to flush. (The flusher is right there bum!)

2) Speaking about urinals, how about toilets that people just warmed up for you? (Man that is some disgusting shiznit)

3) People that tailgate me when I drive. (Dude I’m going to going slower the closer you get hah!)

4) People that cut in front of me because they wanted to drive that extra 1-2 MPH. (It isn’t like you’re going to get to your destination any faster than I am)

5) People that talk loudly in a quiet area. (Cell phones, music from the computer, which part of quiet don’t they get? ARGH!)

6) People that think I am mean, because I was born with that face. (No comment :p)

7) People that try to act someone they are not. (You’re not gangsta f00!)

8) Females with the potty mouths, males as well. (Can we not use that famous four letter F word and express ourselves intellectually?)

9) People that cannot type with their lives at stake. (ya noz wuts ima sayinz yo?)

10) When the Yankees get clobbered. (The pitching can stink badly sometimes.)
  

  

Main Idea of this Rant?! - THINGS THAT ANNOY ME (Yeah all caps annoy me too haha)

  

Closing Statement(s) - Man there are so many more things that annoy me, but I just cannot recall it in my mind right now :(. I will do a part two if they come back to me hehe. Hoped you enjoyed my stupid little article <3.

Rant-ON

Submitting to Fan Service is NOT a Good Thing ——————————-

By: Alpha

Recently I was watching an anime series. It was a shounen / ecchi humor title. The series was good, although I would have liked a little more extension after the climax. Anyways it was an alright show. It was fun to watch. After the final episode was over, I went onto the OAV. This was when the disappointment started to rear its ugly head.

All of a sudden this show went from ecchi humor to hentai. The already established characters are now pornstars. What the hell? Why even bother making the TV series if everything was going to end with a hentai OAV? I mean, the difference between a hentai title and a normal title is that you find a way to connect with the characters of the normal title (although some of you will say otherwise). As for a hentai title, all you do is watch the action. It is 95% action and 5% story most of the time.

So then anyways, I continued watching, and when there is a normal respectable character who all of a sudden turns into Ron Jeremy; the expected reactions of the character are now out of whack. Here is an example: In the TV series the character I am speaking about was a wuss about girls, and doing the dirty with girls was just not in his repertoire. Now in the OAV, he is all macho about it? (O_o?).

Wow. Just freaken’ wow. It has finally come to my attention as to why most anime creators leave series as is, no matter the pressure from the fans. This experience of mine was just a bad case of when anime creators cared too much for the fans. If they wanted to make a sequel, just make it like it was, following the path of the original series. Do not go show a few sex scenes and call it an end. That is just stupid, brainless, crappy, dumb, and whatever synonym you want to throw at it.

Here is an outline as to why a normal series should not go hentai:

1) Established characters in the viewers’ minds, doing something uncharacteristic.

2) As much as you think you would like to see more from an ecchi humor title, believe me, you do not. It is that urge to want to see more that drives your interest!

3) No story, bad story, kills the story.

4) Fun (likable) characters are now crap characters.

5) Leave it to those doujinshi, save yourself (the creator’s) the embarrassment.

6) Closes out the possibility of a ‘real’ sequel. What will the series I am talking about do now? It had a very good chance of a second season with the ending of the first season. But now, the OAV made it a hentai and the characters already, got down and dirty. So I guess second season will have to be hentai as well, if it were to exist.

7) If we want hentai, we will go get a hentai title, no need to make this soft hybrid stuff.

These people have ruined my day. I started to really like the show too. And now I will always have this bad experience on the back of my mind while watching another ecchi humor. What is next? Love Hina, Ai Yori Aoshi, Vandread, Please Teacher or Mahoromatic in a hentai sequel? Oh God, please no.

  

Main Idea of this Rant?! - Why anime creators submitting to the fans’ is not always a good thing!

  

Closing Statement(s) - Well there you have it.   We as anime fans should know by now that, all good anime will always have bad endings.   This is not because the ending actually sucked, but because we feel attached to it, and we do not want to let go of the fun times that that particular anime has given us.   Hence, whatever ending we get, we never become satisfied.   Fans have to learn when to let go, and creators really have to know when to let go to avoid this disaster that I have experienced :(.

Rant-ON

Terms Used By Reviewers of Anime ————————————-

By: Alpha

1) Fluff - Another word for a BS time filler in an anime.

2) Wack - A better word to use, than the traditional four letter word that begins with the letter S. Oh, do not forget to add the ‘ty’ at the end.

3) Interesting - Yeah sure, it caught my attention for 2 seconds only.

4) Amazing - To the point that I was sleeping.

5) Awesome - Another word for cool. Something being awesome means that something else in it is awful.

6) Killer - Double meaning. Could mean good or bad according to the use of it.

7) Good - Below average, had no better word to use, my vocabulary sucks.

8) Bad - Really below average, my vocabulary really sucks.

9) ‘Name a company’ within the review - Free advertising and ‘Wipe that unknown brown substance off your upper lip.’

10) Oppose fansubs within the review - Shut up! You are probably reviewing with some fansubbed material right now.

11) I don’t know… - Why are you even reviewing?   Idiot.

  

  

Main Idea of this Rant?! - Fun terms used by all anime reviewers!!!!

  

Closing Statement(s) - Haha, I am just kidding about everything.   The only actual terms and definition are “Fluff” and “Wack.”   As for all the others, I was just trying to have some fun, so take lightly of it.   I am sure that I have probably committed into using some of those terms listed above.   I wrote these terms to make fun of myself and no one else in particular.   ^_^;;.   Do not be offended if you use any of those things heh.

Rant-ON

Random Thoughts Part. 3 ————————————-

By: Alpha

1) Those Dodge commercials on TV that go “Hit it!”   Uhh… I missed something.   What exactly do you hit?

2) The NFL is back, MLB is at its heights and NBA is on the horizon.   Got no time for anything else.   :P.

3) Being selected as the vice-president of your university’s anime club is cool.

4) Nextel text messaging is BS.   I receive messages from my girlfriend who has another provider the next day after I have sent my message.   WTF?   I pay $7.50 per month for unlimited crap like this?

5) If you have not seen Jackie Chan’s Thunderbolt, you are not a true fan of his.

6) Samurai Champloo is funny, cool and exciting!

7) Diamond Dust is quite interesting.   And no… I am not referring to any illegal drugs.

8) After watching Excel Saga for a few times, I noticed the comedy is pretty garbage.

9) The Get Backer’s manga distributed by TokyoPOP is a good read.   The anime should be even better ^_^.

10) Anyone care to donate me some DDR RAM, Hard drive, graphics card or any other computer upgrades, email me hehe :).

11) Do people still watch WWE?   The ending to No Mercy was stupid and corny.

12) Ever heard of that song “Goodies”?   The beat sounds like some junk beat that nobody wanted and trashed it, before the singer (do not know her name) picked it up and wrote a crap song with it.   That radio / satellite interference sound is so freakin’ annoying.   Argh!

13) Join me and the rest of the Animesou.com gang at the forums.   I am out.   Ja ne.

  

  

Main Idea of this Rant?! - Random thoughts from me!

  

Closing Statement(s) - Look forward to part four.   :)

Quote: ‘OMG! Anime Clubs DO breed F****TS! GOD!!!! THEY’RE ALL FUCKING F****TS! F****TS TO NO END!!!!!!!!!! GOD!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!’

The quote is just too funny for me to pass up. I mean just look at how this person typed out his comment. What is with the caps? It does not take much energy to move your little pinky finger to tap the caps lock off, just so that you do not sound so stupid when you made this statement. I have to agree though. As a member of an anime club, there are quite a few people in which I despise; know-it-alls and Japanese wannabes. There are times where I want to potato sack them, just so they can keep their mouth to themselves (Just kidding).

Anyways, there is no denying that anime clubs are the best ways anime fans can get together and share a common interest. For those who are fortunate to be in a well established anime club is truly a remarkable accomplishment, due to the fact that the United States was and I emphasized on WAS dominated by American animation. Japanese animation is taking over!

One of my online buddies brought up a very controversial topic to the Animesou forums; American animation versus Japanese animation (Anime). He posted a link to another forum where a bunch of Batman or just American animation fans in general lurk. In that particular forum, the topic being discussed was ‘Batman’ the new series. Funny enough, they start comparing another show, ‘Teen Titans’ to this new Batman. Okay, so what if Teen Titans is aimed towards kids? After all it is called “TEEN Titans” and women and children are the number one targets for business right?

Let us start with the anime bashing, first comment up is from an anonymous person, who said, ‘…but let’s face it. The animation (anime) itself is incredibly cheap, unlike any Batman cartoon.’ Take a look at these picture comparisons.

compared to

Look at ‘any Batman cartoon’ and compare it to the any anime. Does not that make whoever said that statement look like a complete idiot? In another comment made by the same person goes like this, ‘… at least most American cartoons feature characters who look like they’re speaking the dialogue rather than just opening and closing their mouths rapidly, or any other of those cheap sequences. I understand really really old animation being like that but for today’s standard, heck, for the 80s’ standards, it’s just pathetic. I’d go bonkers seeing Batman done that way. And I think it’s safe to say he won’t be.’

Sigh… maybe if you would stop watching crappy dubs from broadcasted television you would see that the lip movement and the dialogue are in sync for anime in Japanese. What the heck is the problem with mouths not syncing anyways? If you want them to sync, go watch a live movie. And what is this about anime being cheap? How is it that when something with as much detail as it does in every cel or scene be cheaper than something that almost has no details in the background whatsoever? Here see for yourself, here are two examples of those ‘any other cheap sequences this person was commenting about.’

Ok, it is not fair to use Macross Zero as “cheap sequence” examples. Here is something that is fairer.

So look at the difference. Jackie Chan Adventures which is created way after Urusei Yatsura and still Urusei Yatsura has better quality than Jackie Chan Adventures. Hmm…

I am not writing this to put down American animation or put up Japanese animation, I am merely defending my hobby from the inane comments from ignorant people. I just want to point out that if a person does not watch something in its pure form, how can they possibly make any intellectual comment on it? In this case, that particular Batman fan.

Enough with my opinion, here is what Stikz had to say about this issue (Note: This was a reply post taken from the Animesou forums), ‘Their remarks had no weight to them. They seem to have only seen anime on broadcast TV and have associated it with cartoons for kids, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Batman is a good cartoon but its cheap dark color scheme and decent animation can’t compare to anime at all. And for them to say that the animation of Jackie Chan adventures beats the heck out of anime is just plain insane. I’d like to know what anime they were referring to. I love Jackie Chan adventures but the backgrounds are basically forgotten and the animation is focused on more because of it, but better than most anime, it is not.’

Are you getting my drift? Show me a modern day American animation that looks better than a modern day Japanese animation, please.

Main Idea of this Rant?! - My two cents about the change in times.

Closing Statement(s) - I know backing up something you love is the point of being a fan, but do not force it into anyone who clearly has a separate view from yours. Do not go bashing anime just because you are in favor of American animation, vice versa. Am I American animation bashing? Nope.