My College Anime Club

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My College Anime Club

Postby SManBeyond » Mon Aug 30, 2004 2:35 pm

The college I go to (Cornell University) has an anime club called the Cornell Japanese Animation Society. They show anime series from 8-12 each Saturday night. We had our first meeting this series, and I actually saw a large number of series. I wanted to post what I saw and my initial thoughts on them (although I'm not going to attempt to briefly summarize the story behind each anime because anyone can find that out with Google) mainly because I'm still an anime newbie and I'd like to know what people think about these series.

And yes, thankfully we watch all these series in their original Japanese form with English subtitles.

Here is a breakdown of all the series I saw:

First, the "regulars" that will be shown from 8 to 9:45 each night. This means that we watch one episode a week while the school year is in effect.

Azumanga Daioh: Well, I've been told this series is pretty funny. And, well, I guess how I could see it could get hilarious later on. However, they only showed the first episode tonight, and while it had its moments, it wasn't as continually funny as, say, Excel Saga. Still, I'm going to hang with this series. The setup looks intriguing.

Martian Successor Nadesico: This was reasonably funny, but still not as funny as Excel Saga. I'm told it gets hilarious later on the line, though, until it gets more serious in the latter half. I was laughing a lot towards the end, though. The animation was a bit old, though.

Princess Nine: Standard shojou anime. This is not going to be as good as Fruits Basket. Still, there is some charm in the heroine, so I'm going to hang with it. The animation is also a bit old, though. And what's with the cliffhanger? It's not even a cliffhanger...is it? I mean, I think I know what's going to happen...Then again, maybe what the series will surprise me. Oh, and based off of the two choices in males for the heroines just based on this first episode, I can already tell you how it's going to end. :)

Last Exile: Ah, finally an anime that amazed me. When this series was loaded in the DVD player, there was applause. I can now understand why. The setup for the story is intriguing, although it kind of reminds me of the video games I've seen. The animation...well, it is more modern, and it's certainly better than most, but I have a few complaints. The shots were the CG is mixed with the animation or where animation is shown on a spot that CG was used to show that same spot (or vice versa) sometimes doesn't work and can be a bit distracting. For instance, when the flags are shown, they look a bit weird. Another example would be where the kids launch their ship from the place they kept it inside. As they launch it, it looks animated. Then it starts flying down the path, and it looks all like CGs, giving it a different look. Still, I'm being nitpicky. I guess I'm not a fan of this style of animation. Still, it does look good most of the time, and I do like the current storyline, so I'm looking forward to seeing more of this series...

Then afterwards, we took a break until 10:00 and then watched our wildcard series. So here's what I saw of those:

Someday's Dreamers: Ah, now here's shoujo done better. It's all done in animation like Fruits Basket (in fact, I'll bet the same company drew them), and in fact, I preferred this look and animation to Last Exile's. I also like the ideas that mages have their own trainers and beauracracy, that they have to go through training and that they serve the government. Of course most of the people are basically good (except for the mean guy at the top of the beauracracy. Why are they always mean?), but I'm liking this.

Kenshin: The Kyoto Arc: Ah, finally I get to see Kenshin! Well, I saw one episode before, and I liked it. It seemed very intelligent in how it chose to tell its story and about swordfighting techniques. We saw one episode of this, and I also liked it a lot. The story looks particularly intriguing. The animation style is older, but it didn't bother me. I personally don't like the idea of showing the blood, though. It's never gory or anything, but it's not toned down a lot either. I personally like a style like Noir or like the Matrix (or at least, when you're in the Matrix) where you don't see blood (or at least, rarely see it) no matter how gory it'd really be in real life. And maybe it's just me, but I dislike Kenshin's seiyuu. He's way too high, making him sound too young more like a adolescent kid than an experienced monk of a swordfighter. Still, all the other voices are cool, and I am really looking forward to watching more.
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Postby Ssjjvash » Mon Aug 30, 2004 2:53 pm

I wanna' be in an anime club when I get to college! *whine* lol.
I know someone in an anime club.

I've seen Nadesico and Kenshin, but nothing else outta' all of those.
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Postby christianfriend » Mon Aug 30, 2004 2:58 pm

I wanna be in a club too! It sounds so fun!
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Postby Raiden no Kishi » Mon Aug 30, 2004 3:04 pm

I think the point with Kenshin's VA is similar to Vash the Stampede's.

If they wanted to stress that Vash was this superhuman invinicible gunslinger, they could have given him more of a rougher voice, and the voice would still fit with his appearance. But Vash isn't this tough-guy Clint Eastwood-type. He's a lovable doofus who happens to be a legendary gunman. Just like they could have made Kenshin "badder", but that's not who he is (well, he is in Battousai-mode, but that rarely happens). Kenshin is supposed to be lovable and innocent, despite being a legendary ex-assassin. I'm personally pleased with Kenshin's VA.

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Postby Ingemar » Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:39 pm

Kenshin's VA?

Do you mean Richard Hayworth or Mayo Suzukaze?

They both have their plusses and minuses:
Richard
(plus)--he does Kenshin's serious and gentle side down pat
(minus)--when in fighting mode, or goofy "oro" mode, he sounds wierd. The way he says the techniques is totally awful (but this is made worse by the addition of unnecessary and poorly done reverbs). He doesn't sound forceful at all.

Mayo
(plus)--has all the force and a wide range of nuance that Richard lacks.
(minus)--SHE'S A WOMAN. I don't want to sound sexist, but I get really annoyed when women play adult male roles in anime. I know Japanese people are different, but darn it, I still don't like it!
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Postby Hitokiri » Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:13 am

Richard Hayworth did both Kenshin and Legato Bluesummers in Trigun. Thier's others but I forget :)

anyways...Kenshins soeryu (can never spell it :lol: ) and voice actor sound pretty good to me. I have no qualms bout them.

My college has one, I just need to locat eit and join it. They had one last year (my friend was in it) and it was headed by the Japanese language teahcer.
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Postby Ssjjvash » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:00 am

Ingemar wrote:
Mayo
(plus)--has all the force and a wide range of nuance that Richard lacks.
(minus)--SHE'S A WOMAN. I don't want to sound sexist, but I get really annoyed when women play adult male roles in anime. I know Japanese people are different, but darn it, I still don't like it!


Yeah, I agree with you about that-- :evil:
buahaha! I'm a girl, so I can get away with saying this!

Just kidding!! *dodges tomatoes*
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone
And so hold on when there is nothing left in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!' ...you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling


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Postby Technomancer » Tue Aug 31, 2004 9:44 am

Doesn't sound like a bad club. I've been a member of my own university's club pretty much since it started (around '97 I think). It's been a blast, and there's always a lot of variety, so I keep giving them my dues. We're also open to the general community as well, so we get a fair mix of members.
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Postby SManBeyond » Tue Aug 31, 2004 1:47 pm

Yeah, I like it. And yes, the VA I was referring to was the Japanese seiyuu Mayo Suzukaze. Now, I'm not against female seiyuus playing male characters. For instance, I like the fact that Yuki's seiyuu is female, as it indicates that Yuki is very feminine. However, I just didn't think the voice for Kenshin worked, although I probably will get used to the voice as I continue watching.

Yeah, this club is pretty good. Last year they showed Excel Saga, Fruits Basket, Slayers TRY, and Noir as the four regulars, while the other wildcards included Kenshin (1-24), Full Metal Alchemist, Read or Die, Banner of the Stars, GTO, and Millenium Actress. I just saw the four regulars though, mainly because I didn't want to stay too late...

*Runs away from the tomatoes thrown by angry anime fans who can't believe he didn't watch the others*
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Postby agasfas » Tue Aug 31, 2004 3:16 pm

Princess Nine: Standard shojou anime. This is not going to be as good as Fruits Basket.

How many episodes of Princess 9 have you seen? I would stick w/ it like you said, it gets a lot better and more interesting. At least the series doesn't end on a cliff-hanger (in my opinion). And the ending wasn't predictable at all. So many things happen towards the end of the series it's hard to tell what will happen.
[spoiler="Princess 9"] The girls play in the semi-finals at Koshien Stadium against Takasugi's team. Takasugi tells Ryo to throw her fast ball, as she does Takasugi hits a home run and the girls loose. Although they loose the episode ends w/ the impression that next year will/may be their year to win.[/spoiler]
Though some series just aren't for some people, kind-of-like Escaflowne isn't my type of series. Anyways, I goto Texas State and I'm thinking of joining the anime club, although i have no information on them like where they meet and etc... But the list of anime y'all have been watching are for the most part are awesome: GTO, Banner of Stars, someday dreamers, Azumanga Daioh, Milenium Actress are all good stuff. But i have to say, GTO ALL THE WAY!
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Postby SManBeyond » Tue Aug 31, 2004 5:01 pm

agasfas, thanks for that note on Princess Nine. I actually thought it looked interesting, but I thought it looked like a typical shoujo anime with a cookie-cutter formula plot, but it looks like I'm wrong. That's good to hear, although I didn't read the spoiler because we're watching it one episode at a time...

I've just seen the first episode, and the cliffhanger I was referring to was where they stopped just as [SPOILER] She was going to pitch the ball at the famous high school baseball player in an attempt to strike him out. He has two strikes since he came in as a relief hitter, so...[/SPOILER].

I mean, I think I know what's going to happen, which is why I was surprised that that the episode just stopped...But then again, perhaps I don't know what's going to happen...

In any case, I'm glad to hear that it gets better. Some series surprise me like that. Fruits Basket was my least favorite after the first meeting last year, but now it's on my favorite list...
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Postby agasfas » Tue Aug 31, 2004 6:06 pm

yeah the first episode does leaves off on a cliff hanger, but your'll be surprised what happens in the next episode, it's hard to tell what will happen next. Does the club watch one episode of each anime every meeting? Anyways, I've only seen the first episode of Fruit baskets, it's not bad for what i've seen but i still need to see more to make a fair ruling of the series.
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Postby Raiden no Kishi » Tue Aug 31, 2004 6:56 pm

Yeah, I was referring to Mr. Hayworth. I had forgotten that he did Legato's voice too. Wow, talk about different. Legato and Kenshin are like night and day.

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Postby SManBeyond » Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:07 pm

We watch one episode a week of the "regulars" and one to two episodes of the "wildcards".

And yeah, I thought the first episode of Fruits Basket was okay, but I assure you it gets way better after that episode...

Anyway, I'm surprised I'm not hearing from Azumanga Daioh fans...
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Postby Gypsy » Tue Aug 31, 2004 8:41 pm

SManBeyond wrote: Princess Nine: Standard shojou anime. This is not going to be as good as Fruits Basket. Still, there is some charm in the heroine, so I'm going to hang with it. The animation is also a bit old, though. And what's with the cliffhanger? It's not even a cliffhanger...is it? I mean, I think I know what's going to happen...Then again, maybe what the series will surprise me. Oh, and based off of the two choices in males for the heroines just based on this first episode, I can already tell you how it's going to end. :)

I loved that series - and don't be so sure about knowing how it will end - I thought I knew what was going to happen too. If you can get past the old and, dare I say, bad animation, it's an excellent series to watch. Shameless plug: here's a review I wrote about it. And Izumi was just plain cool. ;)
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Postby agasfas » Wed Sep 01, 2004 11:41 am

Gypsy wrote: loved that series - and don't be so sure about knowing how it will end - I thought I knew what was going to happen too. If you can get past the old and, dare I say, bad animation, it's an excellent series to watch.


Well put, I couldn't have stated it any better. Great series.
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Postby Kisa » Wed Sep 01, 2004 1:41 pm

OO OOO! I want a anime club at our school!
So lucky! *jealous stare*
I know there are people here that like anime too, I always pass by windows with people watching it or I meet people who are talking about it, lol.
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