I think the last entry just proves that David needs a blog of his very own to huggle and feed and pet and love.

And now I bet you’re all expecting me to post my top ten favorite series, but since I delight in being obnoxious and contrary and – in no small part – lazy all you’re getting out of me is a list of series I like, in no particular order:

Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop, Clover, Card Captor Sakura, Fruits Baskets, X, Full Metal Panic, Saikano, Inu Yasha, Hikaru no Go, Nausicaa, Yami no Matsuei, Gravitation, Hunter X Hunter.

The future is today.

Er… well, more like the next decade or so. But still.

What does this have to do with anime? Well, uh… oh yeah, that scene in Read or Die where the american fleet attacks (don’t want to give too much away). Wouldn’t it be cool if we could really do that?

I got my first Amazon Associates gift certificate this morning. Thanks to those of you who bought things by following the link below. I’m thinking this may end up helping to fund a Gamecube purchase (because I know I’ll never be able to talk my parents into getting me one :)). It’s kind of interesting seeing what people bought through me, I should share the report since it is fully anonymous.

Does anyone know if the show follows the manga? I’ve read a little bit of it, but not really enough to tell if it does long term. I just watched episode 52 and it ended in a way I didn’t quite expect and now, as usual, I’m waiting for the next one. It makes me wish for the days when I hadn’t seen all the episodes and could watch a few at a time.

I’m a little behind the times it seems. Today, Lukas pointed me at this network called G4 that I guess has been around for a little while. It’s a cable TV network devoted to video games. That’s right, seven days a week, 24 hours a day of programming to do with video and computer games. From their about page:

G4 is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week television network dedicated to creating a lifestyle brand that is the source of entertainment, news and information about the interactive entertainment industry, including video, computer, online and wireless games, for young adults (18-34) and teens (12-17).

I’ve watched about four hours of it today and their programming is really varied. They’ve got news and review type shows. I’m still not sure how they can fill a full 24 hours (they actually don’t seem to have about 18 hours or programming or so).

I has been hinted at that I should post a list of my top ten favorite shows. I tend to have a hard time doing them because I’m watching new things all the time and the list feels like it is changing constantly. So this is my current top ten list.
10. Ai Yori Aoshi – A show which just finished up within the last month. I think overall it was one of the better shows of the last year.
9. Hikaru no Go – I never would have thought I’d find a show about a board game interesting at all. But it is. I find myself waiting impatiently for each episode to come out.
8. Alien 9 – A show that starts off seeming like a cute little show and just ends up getting kind of weird and disturbing. I loved it though. I kind of wish they’d do some more episodes so I could figure out what exactly was happening.
7. FLCL – Gainax at some of its WEIRDEST.
6. Azumanga Daioh – Based on a four panel comic strip, this show is great. It’s one of the funnest things I’ve watched in a while. I want a stuffed version of the cat that goes CHOMP on Sakaki’s hand.
5. Cowboy Bebop – It’s a classic. One of the first shows I ever bought on DVD.
4. Escaflowne – Another classic, I was collecting this and Bebop at the same time. I credit them with getting me hooked on anime.
3. Saishu Heiki Kanojo (aka Saikano) – Beautifully animated, very good writing, depressing as all hell.
2. Cardcaptor Sakura – I just love this show so much. It’s fun, cute, silly at times. And it’s CLAMP. What more could one ask for?

and at the top of my list.

1. Fruits Basket – The story of a girl and her friends that turn into animals when they are hugged. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes tragic, sometimes disturbing. But always good.

Honorable Mentions go to Full Metal Panic!, Angelic Layer, and Trigun. And probably others that I’m forgetting about right now.

Well, I said I would a while ago, and no one else seems to be posting anything today, so here we go: my top ten list (in a general sort of order) and some basic reasons why I like them.

1) Escaflowne: Because it does everything and it does everything well.
2) Utena: Mindbending subtext fun and abnormal relationships.
3) Trigun: The first thirteen episodes might be a little light, but the last thirteen are an emotional roller coaster (and episode 24 is the best episode of any anime ever).
4) Evangelion: It’s kinda obligatory, isn’t it?
5) Great Teacher Onizuka: mostly because I wish my high school had been like that.
6) Anything UC Gundam: it’s the best hard sci-fi series (and best mech show) I’ve ever seen (Gundam neophytes should note that UC Gundam chronology includes stuff like the original series, Stardust Memory, War in the Pocket, and 08th MS Team, not stuff like Gundam Wing).
7) Cowboy Bebop: do I really have to say why I like one of the greatest modern animes?
8) Hikaru no Go: it makes you really thrilled to watch people play board games. If that doesn’t deserve a spot on the top ten, I don’t know what does.
9) Kare Kano: sugar-laden high school romances by the Evangelion people. It’s both scary and beautiful at the same time! (too bad they ran out of budget for the last two episodes again)
10) Um… I’m not really sure what should go here yet, so I think my list gets cut off at nine after all. Sorry. There are plenty of other good series’ I could list, but they’re only very good rather than exceptional (Giant Robo might end up filling this last slot, but I just finished watching it a few days ago, and I really need more time in order to objectively view its merits).

Hmm, maybe this’ll prompt my co-bloggers into action on similar lists. I’d like to see what their favorites are (wink wink, nudge nudge, HINT HINT).

I saw this over on /usr/bin/girl the other day and ment to share it. I used to believe is a site where people share things they used to believe when there were kids. In my case it was having an imaginary friend. My parents say first he’d be outside watching us eat dinner. Then he moved in at some point. I unfortunately remember none of this. I kind of wish I could have known what I was thinking at that time.

Laurence J. Peter. “If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?” [Quotes of the Day]

I’ve noticed a trend lately with shorter TV shows (the ones around 12-13 episodes long). When they come out on DVD they add in a special ‘bonus episode’. In general these episodes have made me wonder why bother. The one in Hand Maid May was enh, the one in Dual was a little bit better but not much.

Today I watched the OAV episode of Onegai Teacher and it was horrible. Everything about the TV series that had first drawn me to the show was gone. The animation was one of the biggest disappointments. It just felt rushed. The original show actually had pretty good production values for a TV show. The story also felt like it didn’t really fit the series. The best way I can think to describe it is that it was lacking subtleness. The show itself seemed like it was trying to avoid being what one would expect from a show about a student marrying his hot teacher. And the bonus episode seemed like it was going exactly where the show didn’t. Truely a shame IMHO.

(On a good note though. Fruits Basket is out on DVD!)