Man oh man only 20 or so episodes left to watch. I feel that empty feeling coming by.
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Man oh man only 20 or so episodes left to watch. I feel that empty feeling coming by.
Yeah, I've re-introduced myself to IRC (wow - it's been years) and did a crash course in downloading via XDCC.
Problem is, you can't schedule or throttle downloads, and I'm not on uncapped anymore :<
Anyhow, seems like TT is up and down, and NT is in the process of moving their server - so I'll just hang on and be patient, and limit my downloads to those things I really want to watch.
I basically just queue my torrents before going to bed - and keep them throttled to a bare minimum until midnight, and then go full speed. So everything comes out of my DL+ allowance (I'm with WebAfrica). With this though, I need to physically start the download myself, and it eats my Anytime bandwidth, which I need to be kinda careful with.
Oh well ... at least it's still available.
I got the 30Gb+30Gb deal with WA because Mweb wanted to be retarded and throttle me to 50% of my line speed most of the time. I just leave all my other stuff to download at about 50-100 kb during the night on my Mweb account, it takes a while but it get's done eventually.
I'm now waist deep into the Chimera Ant Arc, and indeed as promised, it is one of the best Arcs I've had to watch in a Shonen anime. I will admit though, once you're past the 106 mark (I'm currently at 115), the narration can get obnoxious real fast. I'm cool if the narrator shows up for the odd moment to add to the subtleties, but goodness! To have everything telegraphed by the narrator is really not going down good for me as it takes my immersion away and the subtle nature of some of the events are marred...
I feel like the series has always treated me like an intelligent viewer, why become so aggressive with the narration now? I'm pretty sure I can still follow without the smothering narration. If they want to really give exposition, they may as well let the characters themselves be the source of their own exposition, at least it won't completely break the immersion and it would feel a lot more authentic because I'm sure they'd only do so for the subtle moments like the *SPOILER* moment when the team meets youpi for the 1st time while also encountering the Dragon Dive, and every other character marvels at Gon's (followed up by Killua) quick grasp/analysis of the situation.*END OF SPOILER*.
Well, that became more of a rant than I anticipated :o
/end rant
I only rant because I love you Hunter x Hunter.
The narration is also in the manga, I believe it's purpose it to give insight into the characters state of mind and thought without having internal dialogue. I will admit I did annoy me at some points but I got used to it eventually. That being said, if you read the anime after watching the manga it feels like a storyboard more than a manga it is as if they did a complete 1:1 transfer.
Every single character has their own little part to play and progress without the feeling that is it forced to move the story along. Every single detail is played out so well.
Gon's break down gave me chills, he was willing to lose everything for vengeance and no one would stand in his way. Without Killua he would have lost himself and possibly killed Komugi. I can understand his anger he lost Kite and is told to trust the person who killed him, I doubt any sensible person would. Pitou knew that if Komugi died it would be the end of everything and getting Gon to trust her was her only option at staying alive at that point in time.
This scene was amazing... All his anger all his pain, hurt everything came out... He wanted revenge.
http://i.imgur.com/mzSJWUw.jpg
I also love how Knuckle always adds some humor to the whole situation, just by being a total badass.
With you noobs constantly talking about HxH I started watching it last night. So far 12 Eps in:p
I recommend this over Bleach, One Piece and Naruto.
It's a great time to start it's only got 3 episodes left before it moves into an indefinite hiatus for who knows how long. For a bit of perspective, the Greed Island Arc was a series of OVA's that came out on 2001, in 2011 the Series started anew and now in 2014 they have caught up.
Knuckle being a badass :)
http://giant.gfycat.com/UnkemptFrayedDoe.gif
While I am on the topic of Shonen and Naruto it appears the final arc is finally coming to a conclusion, Naruto has officially saved the world. Again.
*SPOILERS*
See, I would argue it even goes further than just losing Kite, and being faced by the very reason of Kite's suffering. The moment they got there they were with what probably looks like a peculiar scene. Killua being Killua was calculating what it all meant and confirming his prior worries about a 3rd party. Gon being Gon on the other hand saw a scene of Pitou over a helpless Komugi, essentially bringing his mind back to the puppet husk that Kite was turned into.
That's already a big trigger, but to add onto that he had expectations of how the confrontation would go (confronting Pitou was already enough to get him fired up), but he expected;
1) To get there and declare a challenge or call for vengeance upon Pitou, and he expected
2) The response to be a fight with Pitou (most things are supposed to be simple in Gon's mind) that would end up in the fixing of Kite's state and simultaneously delivering justice or vengeance (either or considering Gon's idea of morality isn't as clear cut as one would find in a Shonen anime).
3) Instead, Pitou put him/herself in a vulnerable position in order to save Komugi, and also pleaded with Gon to wait (something that a villain shouldn't be doing, essentially putting Gon in a conflict where he might have to be the villain if he decides to fight Pitou right then and there), essentially robbing Gon of an outlet for his already seething anger. At this point, this is not a sequence of events that Gon expected in the least nor is he usually expected to process such a complex scenario (at least for his character). The unfairness of the situation just put over the edge on top all of these factors (the amount of anger + frustration at this point :eek:).
I loved how they also emphasized the temporary role swap. Pitou's known for her/his sinister aura, yet none of that is shown while Gon's aura is rather dark. I absolutely loved the episode:eek:!!!
*Spoilers End*
Our work here is done
HxH > most Shonen anime :D
I haven't watched Naruto in a very long while (hell I'm 9 or so chapters behind on the Naruto and Bleach manga respectively).
Oh trust me by not watching Naruto you are not missing anything, it's pacing went to hell.
The role reversal was awesome and it happens again later, with the other 2 royal guards. You are so close! To the finale, just when you thought the show was good it throws a curve ball of emotion at you.
Pito's gender is a bit confusing, in the manga Pitou's physique is that of a man being flat chested, how ever in the anime while it appears to be flat we see in some scene's the appearance of breasts. Pitou's character is also similar to that of a cat, which can draw some feminine allusions. Pitou's facial structure also seems 'softer' than that of Youpi and Pouf, body structure is also broader at the hips and chest almost making a classic feminine hourglass shape.
Also I noticed when speaking Pitou uses 'boku' which is mostly associated with young boys or men but occasionally women also use it.
So, my presumption would be that Pitou is a... Woman?
Personally I am leaning on the fact that Pitou is female, while it is never revealed by Togashi even in his encyclopedia works most would think him male along with the other two royal guards.
This is sad, discussing the gender of a fictitious character.... what am I doing with my life... XD
When you are done with HxH you should really take a trip down memory lane and watch Yu Yu Hakusho, it is a bit old but still a classic, it too is written by Yoshihiro Togashi who created Hunter X Hunter.
Female is also what I'm thinking, but it's kind of ambiguous, so I don't know xD.
With Naruto (and Bleach by extension), things have just gotten too much, I feel like the stories are just pandering to the fans at this point, sometimes the surprises are good or exciting at least I'll admit, but in terms of story? They're way past their best before dates to be honest. I've felt strongly about Bleach ending after the defeat of Aizen (everything thereafter truely feels like a spinoff and will never have the same effect). Naruto? I guess they strung the fourth war decently enough early on for me not to bemoan it's continued existence (some of the character development was cool, and the greater story elements).
But goodness, they need to stop playing the "Inception" card on Naruto, these continuously new story elements have been feeling forced for a while now (especially considering that there's not much left in the way of character development gas). Nostalgia has become even a huge thing as to how they've been framing things in Naruto... Will it ever end???
Technically Naruto has had his final battle to save the world, the original Sage of the Six paths showed up (out of the blue) and from what I seem to be understanding bring back the dead? I could be horribly wrong and way off the mark but it feels that way at the moment, I am somewhat glad it is eventually ending perhaps Kishmoto can go on to make something different.
Naruto is a good anime and manga but I would never recommend it to anyone that has just started to watch it, there are a plethora of better shows to watch before you seriously want to delve into the depths that is shonen.
Bleach feels like it is slowing down, they just keep jumping between these mini fights or... MAKE MOAR ZOMBEE'S! for Kurotsuchi to fight, who happen to Captains! *SCARRY*
Bleach and Naruto have massive fan bases in and outside of Japan, they are popular and rightly deserve the attention they do get but alas I believe there comes a time when it should move along. Perhaps it's my age? I started watching Naruto shortly after it was released, and thats a whopping 12 years ago.
At some stage you just tell yourself "I can't anymore..."
I must commend this arc's exploration of the concept of being human, or humanity in general. Gon losing a bit of his humanity (even his alliance with Meleoron had some dark subtext vs Killua and Ikalgo's alliance), Pitou showing some of her own, the introduction of Komugi and it's influence on the King as he pretty much gained humane traits, Killua becoming softer as he actually let one of his enemies survive and eventually become an ally.
The drama lama is strong in this thread :D
Still reading this:
http://i.imgur.com/m3KC7xT.jpg
There is even a light novel that is being translated at the same rate as the Manga,i would probably rate it on par with No Game No Life so far.
Completed Gai-Rei-Zero, I liked it, was a bit unconventional with most of the show being a back story that lead to the events that playout in the start and the end of the show. It serves as an prequel to the rest of the manga, so you will feel like the ending is a bit abrupt.
My final verdict 6.8/10 - worth a watch.
Any Claymore manga readers here?
So what's this news I hear of Ghost in The Shell coming to silverscreen?
Going to cast Margot Robbie.
Thoughts?
My personal thought is it won't fly very far, the plot and dialogue is already heavy enough for most casual watchers to give up on early on in the series. A lot of the dialogue is going to be changed as well as character names to fit the American market segment.
Anyone remember the Gantz live action film? I rest my case.
I finished the ant arc. Made me cry :p
Oh! What about the Americanised Oldboy? That was butchered up so badly it was impossible to watch. Sometimes things are best left alone there was a reason animation was chosen as a medium and not live action for GITS.
That scene was without a doubt absolutely perfect, then it got ruined by that fskcing "next episode" tune...
He has had problems for years already.
The show has two more episodes to go AFAIK.
*Edit*
My unpopular anime option of the day! Bleach, Naruto, One Piece and DBZ and just about every long running popular shonen show are terrible, terrible starter shows for people wanting to delve into anime. They are long drawn out and butchered with fillers. The only reason most people recomend them is because almost everyone knows about it. Or they are under the assumption that the simple story will appeal to the watcher. They obviously don't know that people are interested in various forms of art for more than one reason.
I would rather recommend something more meaningful before they dived headlong into a shonen show. Something like Monster, Tengen Toppa, SnK, Code Geass, Death Note, Bakuman, Usagi Drop, Ano Hana, Baccano! and the sorts. Starting from there one would get a broader felling of the varying genres and themes and can cover and assist them in making their own choice of what they actually like.
Your opinion is less popular than you might think. The problem I have with them is that many people tend to focus most of their attention on one show at a time, which means that the long running shows take up all of the time they could use to experience various other series.
I'm actually very happy I started off with a mix of shows ranging from mecha, sci-fi, fantasy, romantic comedy, psychological and horror. It gave me some good exposure to the range of subjects that anime can cover.
For example - my memory's a bit fuzzy - but off the top off my head, the first shows I watched were: Evangelion, Golden Boy, Slayers, Ah! My Goddess, Onegai Teacher, Gunslinger Girls and Serial Experiments Lain. That's about as diverse as you can get.
Might of gotten worse. anyway,
I must admit I did start with pokemon and dbz just bec thats what was on tv before I got dstv. Then I got dstv and very late at night I watched imo My first real anime(was a movie)called legend of the overfiend. Was full of sex and gore and as a 14 year old it was so exciting. Only watched anime movies for a while. I couldn't stand the anime channel bec all the shows never showed in the right order. So I stuck with anime movies for a while. My video store had them so I rented a few, Then I got the net(the day I joined my gaming was the day I got it) and I started downloading random series. :p
The last 2 episodes of the Ant Arc have broken my soul and reduced me to an emotional mush:cry:. Among the best.
I won't lie either, the obvious starters for me were both Bleach and Naruto (apart from DBZ), but as a result of how quickly I initially consumed them, I started watching other shows as well... Shows that were much better and delved into genres that I loved, along with other weird pieces anime. Eureka Seven, Tengen Toppa, Basilisk, Break Blade, Code Geass, Sword Art Online, etc. There's so much out there that peeps can watch as opposed to Bleach and Naruto.
The anime channel, aka Animax aka 'Anifail' was a joke, DSTV should hang thier heads in shame, for having broadcast that. By the time the channel was canned, it had run Gundam SEED about 200+ times. Sci-fi channel used to air anime at some stage too and I recall Cartoon Network would have DBZ during Toonami. Ofcourse that was when DSTV was not being full of crap.
I started at a bit of a young age as well when I got into high school I was introduced to One Piece and Digimon (which is getting a reboot soon) Pokémon did not realy interest me for some reason.
Perhaps I should have specified that I was aiming at a specific age demographic, for kids or young teenagers it would be easy. Dump them infront of Naruto or DBZ like SABC did, it was probably the most watched kids show in South Africa.
For people say, early twenties and older that are interested in anime I would not recomend those types of shows.
I never saw Naruto on tv what year was that?
I remember watching digimon and the other digimon shows on k-tv.