FullMetal*Panic!

At my old school's last anime club marathon, I fell in love with this series.

The opening "Asa e no Brilliant Road" is one of my favorite songs now. (pet peeve--combining the particles with words in romanji so it's hard to separate them, ie "Asa eno Brilliant Road." But enough of that.) The image of Shima's Bianca weaving in and out around a Katie (Rice-Box translated it as "Keitty") sticks out in my mind every time I see the opening. Oh, and "I beat my invisible wings. Fly Higher" strikes a chord with me, though I don't understand why. I watched the opening each time, when I normally skip the opening when I watch a series of episodes in succession. There is a slower version of "Asa e no Brilliant Road" which is just as good as the original.

I immediately identified with Shima, as I also had an awkward childhood. Even though I've heard people complain about how much of a crybaby she is, I don't see that. She's a 16(?) year old girl, with the fate of the solar system riding on her shoulders, a perfectionist, and unsure of her relationship with Kouta. It's natural for her to break down and cry. When I first saw her hairstyle, I could only think 'Sailor Moon."

Kouta was probably my second most favorite character. I'm a sucker for the quiet, serious type, I guess. That, and he's just so, well, cute. I'm just unsure why he was initially chosen for the Great Mission, with his mediocre grades. Did Richard-san know something nobody else knew about Kouta?

The blond girl from the Big Four was ... interesting. I liked how she tended to be silent, only speaking words from Shakespeare.

I wish we had learned more about the aliens. For some reason, they reminded me of insects, with their noses "buzzing" in communication, I assume. And how did Hutter-sensei infiltrate his way into such a high position, in the confidence of one of Stellvia's leaders?

Rumor has it there is a sequel in the works, but about Shima's little brother. I'm looking forward to it if that's true.

Samantha

I think i was somebody who was complaining ... about this female version of shinji. (well she was not as bad as shinji but close)

btw Kouta was 16 and he didn't whine moan and cry that much
He was chosen because he always had those grades .. stable as a rock, keeping his cool in any situation yadda yadda..


But Asa e no Brilliant Road was very nice yeah .. i liked the vocal "twists" she did.

...like most of the good anime out there, this is buried SOMEWHERE in
my collection, awaiting the day I can finally dig it out and watch it...
pilots in training, huh? I'm all for char devel & interaction, but if they
got some good flight scenes as well.... BONUS!!

Thx for the recommend, Samantha







Regards

Taurec wrote:I think i was somebody who was complaining ... about this female version of shinji. (well she was not as bad as shinji but close)

That's the thing--girls are much more emotional that boys, especially at that age. Trust me, I was just like that at her age.

Also, I haven't seen Evangelion, other than the first several episodes years ago, so I can't/won't make Shinji comparisons.

HELLFIRE wrote:...like most of the good anime out there, this is buried SOMEWHERE in my collection, awaiting the day I can finally dig it out and watch it... pilots in training, huh? I'm all for char devel & interaction, but if they got some good flight scenes as well.... BONUS!!

Oh, there's beyond good flight scenes, and very humorous flight scenes. There's one scene where the students customize their ships for the first time, and don't update the computer control settings... Oops.

My only complaint is the two robots look like pulp robots. They just don't fit with the sleek shapes of the Biancas and Katies. The Katies have a cool design--reminds me a bit of a manta ray.

Samantha

I enjoyed Stellvia for a while. There were a number of fun parts and the characters were pretty likeable for the most part. I just couldn't get over all the angsting they decided to throw into it. I got as far as the angst-a-thon episode where all four of the girls turned on each other and started sobbing before I gave up on the show entirely.

The music is really good, though. The opening theme is great, though the slower version you mention, Samantha, is the ~Second Genesis~ version, and you can find the full version on the End of the World single. I especially like the instrumentals in the ~Second Genesis~ version, so much so that I listen to the karaoke one over the full vocal one...

If you really like the music, though, angela put out an album called Sora no Koe, which is all songs inspired by the series, as well as the opening theme and the second ending. It's expensive, but I think well worth it.

school anime marathon?!?!?!

NO WAY?!?!?!?!

THATS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Teletha Testarosa wrote:school anime marathon?!?!?!

NO WAY?!?!?!?!

THATS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No. Not really. Trust me.

"Hahaha, look at that guy, he's doing stuff! It's so funny, I just have to tell the whole world right here and now, during the show!"
"SHUT UP!"
"You don't own me! >:o"

Had some spare time and I FINALLY found my UnS discs. Shima's your
basic over / underachiver underdog of anime, Shouta I wouldn't've originally
put up as a lover to Shima... more like a rock-steady calm to her wild-storm
emotional.... or as Yayoi said: "Can you be her strength?" Rinna just
CRACKS ME UP everytime she opens her mouth or cheers on Shima.

I'd also match Xebec's CG work up against Gonzo on this, tho Infinity looked
alittle contrived and had the 'the budget's running out, but we need the
world-saving uber superrobot YESTERDAY!' look to it.

Also figured the first 13 eps would be the world-saving stuff, along with
the usual teen-angst stuff they love putting in shows like this... guess I
was off-base as they're letting the flow of the char relationships dictate
the pacing. All in all, I'm enjoying it so far!

... hope to get some more time to finish this!












Regards

*BUMP*

Picked up disc1 of UnS... tho I'm beginning to think getting the box set
w/ OST (if they were both available) would've been a better buy... OPED
pieces are just SO beautiful!!

Shima's antics STILL crack me up to no end as she struggles to find her
place on Stellvia... a friend of mine's summation of her character:
[Leila]"KATASE SHIMA!! YOUR EGO'S WRITING CHECKS YOUR BODY
CAN'T CASH!!"[/Leila]. I eagerly await Rinna crashing into her life and
REALLY driving her nuts!!

Two things annoy me about Geneon's release: 1) every other month rel.
schedule till December of next year, and 2) 8 vols altogether, so it's
probably going to be a 4+3+3+3+3+3+3+4 arrangement Last Exile's
the same length and they managed to do it in 7 discs!! WTF?!

...counting the days till Dec 7th this year!











Regards