Kind of surprised there haven't been any posts in this subforum yet!

Anyone following any series currently?



I'm watching a couple right now, which are the following:

Hellsing Ultimate: The OVA adaptation of the popular vampire manga Hellsing. Ultraviolent, insanely gory, but very stylish and atmospheric. Definitely worth a look. However, only one episode is released every six to eight months, which is a bit of a long wait. The production values are very high, however, so that compensates it some.

Devil May Cry: Yes, they're currently airing a series based on the Devil May Cry franchise. So far, I've only seen one episode, but it seems promising. Smooth animation, decent voice acting ... Dante doesn't seem as crazy in the anime as he was in DMC3, but there's room for improvement still.

Naruto Shippûden: This one I'm not so enthusiastic about, mainly because the animation quality isn't very good, and the pacing is way slow (probably in order to prevent 'running out of storyline', like they did in the first season of the anime). I'll wait and see how this one evolves.
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I knew I'd get a chance to mention that I immediately knew where you got your nick from.

Yeah, I still watch the Naruto anime too. More out of old habit than because it's actually any good anymore. I followed it almost from the start, and for the first fifty or so episodes it was really good. After that it started to get old, but was still pretty decent until that mess of filler episodes started. Thought I'd give this new series a chance, but if it doesn't pick up soon I don't think I'll waste any more time with it.

Not many series I watch regularily right now, as several I watched just ended. But there are a couple; Darker Than Black is one. Can't give you much about the backstory for this because the anime hasn't told much of it. It's set in the near future, some event has caused certain powers to materialise in some people, some become killers and others hunt them down. Sounds very typical and boring, but this one's pretty well done. Not brilliant, but decent.

There's an OVA going on right now called Freedom, three out of six episodes have been made so far. It's set on a moon colony, a couple of centuries in the future. Earth is uninhabitable due to a catastrophic climate change centuries earlier, or so the rulers of the colony say. The colony is situated on the dark side of the moon, and the side from which you can see Earth is off limits due to radiation hazards. One guy gets reason to suspect there is more to this than the government lets on, and decides to have a look. Story is pretty good so far, and I'm looking forward to the rest of this.

Also I'm still waiting for the Shinsen-Subs to release the final episode of Ergo Proxy. Other groups have finished it long ago, but Shinsen's are so much better with with their translation notes and explanations, which really helps in this series. Basically, it will remind you a lot of Ghost in the Shell, at least to start with. Also set in the future, also very philosophical about existentialism. But it turns out to be an entirely different take on it anyway. Extremely good series of 23 episodes, which I heartily recommend.
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Hellsing Ultimate
I only have the 1st volume, 2nd will be released 06/12/2007. Link.

Ergo Proxy
Have 4 volumes so far, 5th will be released on July 21st. Will not watch them until the series are finished, 6 volumes in total.

Karas
Only 2 episodes, 2nd will be released 09/25/2007. Watched the first so far, awesome stuff!!! Link.

Texhnolyze
Have the complete series, but haven't watched it yet. Oz still has the DVDs. Link.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Haven't watched yet. Link.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig
Haven't watched yet. Link.

Latest series I watched were all the episodes of Full Metal Alchemist which were also great.

Awesome anime series I've seen so far, which are my favorites are:

- Cowboy Bebop 10/10 (Link)
- Trigun 9/10 (Link)
- Heat Guy J 9/10 (Link)
- Hellsing 7/10
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Most recent I've watched has been the Ghost in the Shell series and Full Metal Alchemist.

Other than that I've not watched much else recently. I'm always interested in seeing anything I've not encountered before so will be checking out some of the series the rest of you have mentioned here.
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Something I find funny is that anime pretty much seems to appeal to people of any age - young and old alike - whereas 'western' cartoons (with some exceptions) generally are aimed at the young/young adolescent only. When you think about it, the subject matter in anime (and manga) is unimaginably diverse: there is something for everyone, from those who love space opera, to teenage drama, from political thrillers to vampire fiction, from medieval fantasy to post-apocalyptic sci-fi. Even the most controversial topics have been used as the basis for a series or full-length movie.

Ergo Proxy has been recommended by two of you, so it must be good. I'll have to hunt that one down
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Anime/Manga has always been more graphic novel centred in terms of style and story, and I think this comes from the historical art of the Far East. This compares to western cartoons that were originally designed and aimed at children and tended to be more about slap stick humour than anything else and who's origin originated with vordaville acts in the US.
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Hmm, vampire fiction? haven't run into that yet!
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Vampires have been the subject in dozens of manga and anime series, actually. Just to name a few (bold titles are the ones I've seen):

Black Blood Brothers
Shingetsutan Tsukihime
Hellsing
Vampire Hunter D
Blood: The Last Vampire
Blood+
Karin
Trinity Blood
Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase-
Vampire Princess Miyu
Nightwalker
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I've seen that Blood movie and the following Blood+ series. If you're looking for something new to watch, these aren't a bad choice. They're pretty decent but not fantastic.

I didn't care much for Black Blood Brothers. It's not been that long since I saw it, and yet I don't remember very much from it which should tell you something. I do remember I wasn't very impressed with it, but I did see all the episodes I think.

Hellsing is pretty good, if you don't mind that it ended up straying far from the manga. The manga storyline is much better apparently (I haven't read it) and those new OVA's mentioned earlier in the thread is supposed to follow it much more closely.

I also saw a Vampire Hunter D movie some years ago, but don't remember which (there are several, right?). I thought that was pretty good too.
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I didn't particularly care for Black Blood Brothers either ... it was a bit too generic for my tastes. An okay watch for when you're bored, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get the series.

There are two Vampire Hunter D animated films out: Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. I don't remember much of the plot, frankly, but I think they were alright.

The Hellsing OVA does indeed follow the manga more closely, and as far as I know, they're intending to animate the entire manga storyline. The manga will soon be wrapped up, as far as I know, but considering it's taking so long for each new OVA episode to come out, it will take a good while before we can see the end on film.
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