Ouran, because I laughed and cried and this will probably be the only vote it gets.
Summer Wars because I got my entire family to watch and enjoy it.
The Grand Search for the Best Anime of the 2000s
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airichan623 - Posts: 704
- Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 4:21 pm
- Location: TARDIS
*~Ouran High School Host Club~*
(you are not alone, Airichan!)
So goodness, why this series? It's one of the best types of shows. You start watching it because it's insane and fun; yet from these crazy antics of the characters, a beautiful story blossoms and slowly warms your heart throughout*. It gives you more than what you came for. It's like buying a coffee** and getting a cinnamon roll for free.
-Summer Wars-
This will be one of the very few times I'll vote for Summer Wars. It deserves to win this whole tourney actually, no doubt, but I don't want it to win.
Though, this round, I will vote for it because it's a brilliant and touching movie that shows the power of family and friendship can overcome all odds. I recommend it to anyone who has not seen it yet.
*Except Mao's, apparently. :<
**NO WORDS, HAT
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goldenspines - Posts: 4869
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 8:42 am
- Location: Up north somewhere.
Let me just preface this by saying I haven't seen Ouran or Summer Wars. They're on my To Watch list, but until I do, I have no qualms about voting for these two movies.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time: I love how relatable the characters are and how it tells the story simply and beautifully without lots of bells and whistles. It's not perfect, but I've seen little that is. On a personal level the theme of fear of change, the future and growing up is close to my heart.
Tokyo Godfathers: Okay honestly the end of this month will be 3 years since I last saw this movie, but I remember that it was a wonderfully quirky Christmas movie and of course: Satoshi Kon.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time: I love how relatable the characters are and how it tells the story simply and beautifully without lots of bells and whistles. It's not perfect, but I've seen little that is. On a personal level the theme of fear of change, the future and growing up is close to my heart.
Tokyo Godfathers: Okay honestly the end of this month will be 3 years since I last saw this movie, but I remember that it was a wonderfully quirky Christmas movie and of course: Satoshi Kon.
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GeneD - Posts: 1969
- Joined: Sat Nov 10, 2007 10:43 am
- Location: South.
Ouran: The girl who leapt through time from what I hear is a masterpiece, but I've seen Ouran and loved it. It had enjoyable cast of quirky characters balanced off by a straight woman protagonist to excellent effect.
Summer Wars: Mostly because Tokyo Godfathers just holds no appeal for me and when in doubt I vote for Science Fiction.
Summer Wars: Mostly because Tokyo Godfathers just holds no appeal for me and when in doubt I vote for Science Fiction.
Most warriors would find it beneath them to attack a girl. Especially when she wasn't looking. No person with any honor or pride would ever do such a thing. I bid you farewell and good riddance. You're not even worth lamenting.-Uryu Ishida
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KnightOfFive - Posts: 256
- Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:24 pm
- Location: Pendragon, Texas.
[color="DeepSkyBlue"]The Girl Who Leapt Through Time[/color]
I have previously and largely exposed my love for TGWLTT and I'm sure I'll have more chances to do so in this tournament in the upcoming rounds, so I'll take this chance to try to elaborate a bit on my apparent animosity against OHSHC (hopefully, this time I will manage to do so without being insulting to its fans.)
First, allow me to reiterate that I don't believe that OHSHC is a bad series. It is certainly entertaining, at some points extremely funny, and yeah, eventually heartwarming. If someone asked me for a good, clean comedy series, Ouran would most likely be in the top 5 series that would jump to mind to suggest. So why all the bile I have displayed throughout the past 3 rounds? Simply put because while I believe Ouran is a good series, it has nothing to do among titles that are competing for the title of the "best" of the latter quarter of this medium's life. Why not? Allow me to elaborate.
Ouran is largely derivative, which is a fact that's not readily apparent for newer fans of anime as it derives from titles and themes that were popular in anime in the first half of the nineties -back when an important number of our members were barely learning to speak. If you took some old VHS tapes of Ranma 1/2 and Clamp Campus Detectives, threw them into a paper shredder and then duct-taped together the little fragments of magnetic tape, spooled it into a cassette and played it, the result would be something very similar to OHSHC, making only a few concessions: Ranma 1/2, like Ouran is a romantic comedy (plus silly martial acts, but lets pretend that most of those parts got stuck into the shredder and the few left were assigned to Honey) that occurred at a school and presented the main character with an array of love options, each of them an archetype of a personality trait or a comedic cliche. The main character -by the way- for certain reasons has to pose as a member of the opposite sex from time to time, meaning that he also gains suitors of his own gender for his great chagrin. Also, there were lots of fanservice. Clamp Campus Detectives, on the other hand, is about a group of perfect, pretty, rich kids who spend their time catering to the needs of the female students at their school. Most of the things that I saw in OHSHC I already had seen in those series. What I loved about Ouran, I had loved better in those series; what irritated me from those series was magnified tenfold in Ouran.
Now you'll say that most anime nowadays is derivative to a certain extent and that's true. People who know me, know that I appreciate originality above most other features in my entertainment, precisely because I know how hard is to come with something new and different, or that a least looks like that. That's not to say that utterly derivative stuff cannot be great: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is mostly a pastiche of several other great series and it's completely amazing... but that's because it pulls the robbery of ideas with panache and style and clever writing.
Ouran is indeed a bit more self-aware and self-mocking than both Ranma and CCD, but not enough to set it apart from its muses. Like those series, it is also, largely predictable, ("Oh, a strong-headed but poor female gets hilariously immersed in a world of vapidly selfish rich boys! Surely it won't end in the boys learning humility and compassion lessons from her while falling in love with her, because that would be too surprising for my poor heart!") formulaic and a bit too self-indulgent: The vapid boys, time after time refused to develop their character or negated what little growth should have occurred because they needed to stay vapid and selfish for most of the series to be able to pull the running gags just once more, while only changing a bit the setting (Beach? check. Jungle? check. etc.) In the end, the boys had to rushedly do some growth to acknowledge the intention of the series, and then it ended while concluding almost nothing at all.
Moreover, while trying very hard to sell the idea of a strong, intelligent woman as a lead, Ouran accidentally ends pushing the opposite agenda: Haruhi is but the exception that confirms the norm in a world filled with weak, shallow, easily impressionable and manipulable women and the men that by exhibiting an artificial courtesy, are unwittingly looking down on them. Similarly noxious ideas (such as Haruhi only being able to be perceived as beautiful and feminine by "cleaning up" and dressing and acting in certain ways, etc.) are continuously pushed, likely without bad intention but with a profound lack of insight.
That takes me to my last point which was the one I most extensively touched last time so I'll just briefly glance it now: for such a flawed (if not truly bad) title to achieve such popularity, I'm tempted to point my finger towards the fanservice. The story is not very compelling, the themes are recycled, the characters are vapid and obnoxious 80% of the time, the production values are nothing to call home about... but it is full of emotional candy allowing the viewers to live the fantasy of either being the object of affection of gentlemanly pretty rich boys while being the one to iron their small personality defects, or of living in a world where girls are just waiting to be wooed by being presented with a flower along a pompous flourish and a trite pick-up line. It also succeeds (it needs to be said) in cheekily lampooning that very premise from time to time to keep more critical spectators along... However, in the end it proved to be more earnest homage than cheeky parody if that "ending" is anything to go by.
In short, I believe it's a decent, entertaining and funny title, but vastly overrated and definitely not worthy of being among the 16 top titles of the medium in the latest 11 years. This is especially true when you take in account the caliber of narrative, emotive and self-introspective quality of several other series that didn't make the cut (for my detractors: I really don't believe that Code Geass should have advanced
). The fact that Ouran advanced in the place of a series like Haibane Renmei is something that I'm still trying to wrap my mind around.
I sincerely apologize if you love Ouran and have great personal reasons to do so. I'm ready to admit that I simply didn't truly "get it" and I assure you that my dismissal is a purely personal rant that I inflicted on you because I needed it out of my chest and never intended to imply dismissal towards you along it. If you feel like sharing your reasons, it will probably allow me to understand the worth that you see in it.
@Goldie: You know, I like your metaphor. After what I initially expected from Ouran, it ended giving me a surprise cinna-bun with my coffe. My main problem with it is that it has trumped titles that offered us a full gourmet banquet and actually delivered it.
[color="DarkOrange"]Tokyo Godfathers[/color]
I've already said too much in this post, so I'll try to be brief here: Summer Wars is a gorgeous production, filled to the brim with great ideas, delving in beautiful and important themes, but which climax is terribly flawed from a storytelling point of view by abusing confusingly presented mechanics and convenient plot devices. Like Ouran, it's a title that by making one very strong and positive female character, accidentally reduced all the others to comparably contemptible caricatures of expected roles.
Tokyo Godfathers, on the other hand, is -in my opinion- a flawless and incredibly touching commentary on the meaning of family and on the fact that below external appearances that normally allow us to self-righteously judge others, people are people -capable of loving and suffering and sacrifice. No other piece of fiction had driven more clearly the point of the importance of not judging others since I read Charles Dicken's The Chimes several years ago.
I have previously and largely exposed my love for TGWLTT and I'm sure I'll have more chances to do so in this tournament in the upcoming rounds, so I'll take this chance to try to elaborate a bit on my apparent animosity against OHSHC (hopefully, this time I will manage to do so without being insulting to its fans.)
First, allow me to reiterate that I don't believe that OHSHC is a bad series. It is certainly entertaining, at some points extremely funny, and yeah, eventually heartwarming. If someone asked me for a good, clean comedy series, Ouran would most likely be in the top 5 series that would jump to mind to suggest. So why all the bile I have displayed throughout the past 3 rounds? Simply put because while I believe Ouran is a good series, it has nothing to do among titles that are competing for the title of the "best" of the latter quarter of this medium's life. Why not? Allow me to elaborate.
Ouran is largely derivative, which is a fact that's not readily apparent for newer fans of anime as it derives from titles and themes that were popular in anime in the first half of the nineties -back when an important number of our members were barely learning to speak. If you took some old VHS tapes of Ranma 1/2 and Clamp Campus Detectives, threw them into a paper shredder and then duct-taped together the little fragments of magnetic tape, spooled it into a cassette and played it, the result would be something very similar to OHSHC, making only a few concessions: Ranma 1/2, like Ouran is a romantic comedy (plus silly martial acts, but lets pretend that most of those parts got stuck into the shredder and the few left were assigned to Honey) that occurred at a school and presented the main character with an array of love options, each of them an archetype of a personality trait or a comedic cliche. The main character -by the way- for certain reasons has to pose as a member of the opposite sex from time to time, meaning that he also gains suitors of his own gender for his great chagrin. Also, there were lots of fanservice. Clamp Campus Detectives, on the other hand, is about a group of perfect, pretty, rich kids who spend their time catering to the needs of the female students at their school. Most of the things that I saw in OHSHC I already had seen in those series. What I loved about Ouran, I had loved better in those series; what irritated me from those series was magnified tenfold in Ouran.
Now you'll say that most anime nowadays is derivative to a certain extent and that's true. People who know me, know that I appreciate originality above most other features in my entertainment, precisely because I know how hard is to come with something new and different, or that a least looks like that. That's not to say that utterly derivative stuff cannot be great: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is mostly a pastiche of several other great series and it's completely amazing... but that's because it pulls the robbery of ideas with panache and style and clever writing.
Ouran is indeed a bit more self-aware and self-mocking than both Ranma and CCD, but not enough to set it apart from its muses. Like those series, it is also, largely predictable, ("Oh, a strong-headed but poor female gets hilariously immersed in a world of vapidly selfish rich boys! Surely it won't end in the boys learning humility and compassion lessons from her while falling in love with her, because that would be too surprising for my poor heart!") formulaic and a bit too self-indulgent: The vapid boys, time after time refused to develop their character or negated what little growth should have occurred because they needed to stay vapid and selfish for most of the series to be able to pull the running gags just once more, while only changing a bit the setting (Beach? check. Jungle? check. etc.) In the end, the boys had to rushedly do some growth to acknowledge the intention of the series, and then it ended while concluding almost nothing at all.
Moreover, while trying very hard to sell the idea of a strong, intelligent woman as a lead, Ouran accidentally ends pushing the opposite agenda: Haruhi is but the exception that confirms the norm in a world filled with weak, shallow, easily impressionable and manipulable women and the men that by exhibiting an artificial courtesy, are unwittingly looking down on them. Similarly noxious ideas (such as Haruhi only being able to be perceived as beautiful and feminine by "cleaning up" and dressing and acting in certain ways, etc.) are continuously pushed, likely without bad intention but with a profound lack of insight.
That takes me to my last point which was the one I most extensively touched last time so I'll just briefly glance it now: for such a flawed (if not truly bad) title to achieve such popularity, I'm tempted to point my finger towards the fanservice. The story is not very compelling, the themes are recycled, the characters are vapid and obnoxious 80% of the time, the production values are nothing to call home about... but it is full of emotional candy allowing the viewers to live the fantasy of either being the object of affection of gentlemanly pretty rich boys while being the one to iron their small personality defects, or of living in a world where girls are just waiting to be wooed by being presented with a flower along a pompous flourish and a trite pick-up line. It also succeeds (it needs to be said) in cheekily lampooning that very premise from time to time to keep more critical spectators along... However, in the end it proved to be more earnest homage than cheeky parody if that "ending" is anything to go by.
In short, I believe it's a decent, entertaining and funny title, but vastly overrated and definitely not worthy of being among the 16 top titles of the medium in the latest 11 years. This is especially true when you take in account the caliber of narrative, emotive and self-introspective quality of several other series that didn't make the cut (for my detractors: I really don't believe that Code Geass should have advanced
). The fact that Ouran advanced in the place of a series like Haibane Renmei is something that I'm still trying to wrap my mind around.I sincerely apologize if you love Ouran and have great personal reasons to do so. I'm ready to admit that I simply didn't truly "get it" and I assure you that my dismissal is a purely personal rant that I inflicted on you because I needed it out of my chest and never intended to imply dismissal towards you along it. If you feel like sharing your reasons, it will probably allow me to understand the worth that you see in it.
@Goldie: You know, I like your metaphor. After what I initially expected from Ouran, it ended giving me a surprise cinna-bun with my coffe. My main problem with it is that it has trumped titles that offered us a full gourmet banquet and actually delivered it.
[color="DarkOrange"]Tokyo Godfathers[/color]
I've already said too much in this post, so I'll try to be brief here: Summer Wars is a gorgeous production, filled to the brim with great ideas, delving in beautiful and important themes, but which climax is terribly flawed from a storytelling point of view by abusing confusingly presented mechanics and convenient plot devices. Like Ouran, it's a title that by making one very strong and positive female character, accidentally reduced all the others to comparably contemptible caricatures of expected roles.
Tokyo Godfathers, on the other hand, is -in my opinion- a flawless and incredibly touching commentary on the meaning of family and on the fact that below external appearances that normally allow us to self-righteously judge others, people are people -capable of loving and suffering and sacrifice. No other piece of fiction had driven more clearly the point of the importance of not judging others since I read Charles Dicken's The Chimes several years ago.
[font="Tahoma"][SIZE="1"][color="YellowGreen"]There is no point to lessons that don't bring with them pain. People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something, after all.
But once you have successfully endured that pain you will gain a heart that's stout enough not be overcome by anything. Yeah, a heart made fullmetal. [/color] -Edward Elric[/SIZE][/font]
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Maokun - Posts: 1135
- Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:55 am
- Location: The Valley of the Wind
Ouran High School Host Club gets a vote because it tackles some very relevant issues in our time: growing inequality, the noblesse oblige of the privileged classes, and how hegemony and nepotism affect the next generation. Or maybe it's because Maaya Sakamoto and I got to see hints of my ship develop. Who knows?
Summer Wars gets a vote for now solely because of this beautiful bit of foreshadowing.
Summer Wars gets a vote for now solely because of this beautiful bit of foreshadowing.
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blkmage - Posts: 4529
- Joined: Mon May 03, 2004 5:40 pm
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a worthy successor to the original story, beautifully rendered and for the most part consistent in its premise and execution.
Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers is appreciably better than Summer Wars (brought to you by the same people who gave us Tokikake). I found the former touching, the latter eventually collapsing under the weight of its overstated premise.
Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers is appreciably better than Summer Wars (brought to you by the same people who gave us Tokikake). I found the former touching, the latter eventually collapsing under the weight of its overstated premise.
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -- C.S. Lewis
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ClosetOtaku - Posts: 927
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 3:12 am
- Location: Alexandria, VA
Ouran High School Host Club
First, I'm just going to point out that I'm voting this way because no matter what the anime adaptation is like, I would definitely vote for the Ouran manga over TGWLTT. And here's why:
I grew up on sci-fi, and I dearly love it to this very day-- and if that sci-fi includes time-travel, I often love it even more. And thus, I thought TGWLTT was excellent... right up until near the end, where they then decided to just completely ignore some rather important plot points
(among other things... but I'll just leave it at the fact that it was disappointingly unsatisfying for me).
On the other hand, the Ouran manga, which starts out as a parody and then gets (somewhat
) more serious later on, is excellent in ALL respects. Its parody and other humor is hysterical 
:lol::lol:; its serious elements are surprisingly involving; and I did not expect how much I would truly come to love its characters 
, nor that it would become one of my favorites... but I did, and it has.
And to top it all off, it was supremely satisfying!
Now, all that said, I have heard that the Ouran anime is not a complete adaptation (which is why I haven't watched it), and thus it is possible that the anime could also be unsatisfying for me in that specific way (a way which has the ability to annoy me to no end, as some of you know). However, my enjoyment of the original story is such that I have no problem at all voting for the anime here.
Summer Wars
Because sci-fi.
...Just kidding. I mean, yes, of course I loved the sci-fi (which made perfect sense to me from start to finish, BTW 
), but that's not all-- I also loved the visuals, the music, the family dynamics, and everything else. It was also quite touching, and (again) very satisfying; so, Summer Wars gets my vote.
First, I'm just going to point out that I'm voting this way because no matter what the anime adaptation is like, I would definitely vote for the Ouran manga over TGWLTT. And here's why:
I grew up on sci-fi, and I dearly love it to this very day-- and if that sci-fi includes time-travel, I often love it even more. And thus, I thought TGWLTT was excellent... right up until near the end, where they then decided to just completely ignore some rather important plot points
(among other things... but I'll just leave it at the fact that it was disappointingly unsatisfying for me).On the other hand, the Ouran manga, which starts out as a parody and then gets (somewhat
) more serious later on, is excellent in ALL respects. Its parody and other humor is hysterical :lol::lol:; its serious elements are surprisingly involving; and I did not expect how much I would truly come to love its characters , nor that it would become one of my favorites... but I did, and it has.And to top it all off, it was supremely satisfying!
Now, all that said, I have heard that the Ouran anime is not a complete adaptation (which is why I haven't watched it), and thus it is possible that the anime could also be unsatisfying for me in that specific way (a way which has the ability to annoy me to no end, as some of you know
). However, my enjoyment of the original story is such that I have no problem at all voting for the anime here.Summer Wars
Because sci-fi.
...Just kidding.
I mean, yes, of course I loved the sci-fi (which made perfect sense to me from start to finish, BTW ), but that's not all-- I also loved the visuals, the music, the family dynamics, and everything else. It was also quite touching, and (again) very satisfying; so, Summer Wars gets my vote. Saved by grace.
MAL (Anime) - MAL (Manga) - MAL (Profile)
(^ And if you also have a MAL account, please feel free to send me a friend request there! )
MAL (Anime) - MAL (Manga) - MAL (Profile)
(^ And if you also have a MAL account, please feel free to send me a friend request there!
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MangaRocks! - Posts: 1264
- Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:10 am
- Location: A room full of wonderful books... :)
@blkmage: can you please elaborate on that foreshadowing for all us non-japanese readers? Also, I wouldn't say that Ouran "tackles" those issues. It merely glances them or uses them as running gags. Had it tackled them, it'd definitely place higher in my affections.
Anyhow, let us see the results of the first matches in these finals!
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 7
Ouran High School Host Club 5
Summer Wars 7
Tokyo Godfathers 5
Now, please vote in the matches for day 2 of Round 2:
Please remember to briefly (or not) let us know the reasons behind your vote! Voting will be open until Wednesday at 20:00 EST
Also, I wouldn't say that Ouran "tackles" those issues. It merely glances them or uses them as running gags. Had it tackled them, it'd definitely place higher in my affections.
Anyhow, let us see the results of the first matches in these finals!
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 7
Ouran High School Host Club 5
Summer Wars 7
Tokyo Godfathers 5
Now, please vote in the matches for day 2 of Round 2:
[SIZE="3"][color="Red"]Paprika[/color] VS [color="Orange"]Spice & Wolf[/color][/SIZE]
[SIZE="1"]Battle of the redheads[/SIZE]
[SIZE="3"][color="Yellow"]Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood[/color] VS [color="Plum"]Princess Tutu[/color] [/SIZE]
[SIZE="1"]Battle of the redheads[/SIZE]
[SIZE="3"][color="Yellow"]Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood[/color] VS [color="Plum"]Princess Tutu[/color] [/SIZE]
Please remember to briefly (or not) let us know the reasons behind your vote! Voting will be open until Wednesday at 20:00 EST
[font="Tahoma"][SIZE="1"][color="YellowGreen"]There is no point to lessons that don't bring with them pain. People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something, after all.
But once you have successfully endured that pain you will gain a heart that's stout enough not be overcome by anything. Yeah, a heart made fullmetal. [/color] -Edward Elric[/SIZE][/font]
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Maokun - Posts: 1135
- Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:55 am
- Location: The Valley of the Wind
Paprika: While truly a rather mind-screwy Satoshi Kon film, Paprika reaches into the depths of the human mind in such an exceptional way that other movies try, but usually fail to even grasp the surface of.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Besides the fact I haven't exactly seen Princess Tutu, FMA Brotherhood is a really good series, with an improved ending over the original series. (even if styalisticially, its not as pretty.)
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Besides the fact I haven't exactly seen Princess Tutu, FMA Brotherhood is a really good series, with an improved ending over the original series. (even if styalisticially, its not as pretty.)
- Zeldafan2
- Posts: 676
- Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:11 am
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goldenspines - Posts: 4869
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 8:42 am
- Location: Up north somewhere.
I was abstaining last round even though I didn't say so. If I had decided on one, it wouldn't have changed the outcome anyway. I enjoyed both of them (Ouran and TGWLTT) immensely, have rewatched them both, and wouldn't hesitate to watch them again.
Also, I didn't feel right voting for Summer Wars without seeing Tokyo Godfathers.
As for this round...
Spice and Wolf -
I haven't seen Paprika, but Spice and Wolf is unlike anything I've seen. Ecenomics, trade, travel, wolf girl, a protagonist that isn't a teenager...
I also really like Holo, she is an excellent character.
And this next round...*deep breath*
[SIZE="5"]WHYYYYYYY?! щ(ಥДಥщ) [/SIZE]
They had to be paired up right off the bat.
Blurgh. I'll be back tomorrow with my answer...
EDIT: Aaaand I was out later than I thought I would be, and hence missed the deadline. S'cool, though, the one I was going to vote for won anyway.
Also, I didn't feel right voting for Summer Wars without seeing Tokyo Godfathers.
As for this round...
Spice and Wolf -
I haven't seen Paprika, but Spice and Wolf is unlike anything I've seen. Ecenomics, trade, travel, wolf girl, a protagonist that isn't a teenager...
I also really like Holo, she is an excellent character.
And this next round...*deep breath*
[SIZE="5"]WHYYYYYYY?! щ(ಥДಥщ) [/SIZE]
They had to be paired up right off the bat.
Blurgh. I'll be back tomorrow with my answer...
EDIT: Aaaand I was out later than I thought I would be, and hence missed the deadline. S'cool, though, the one I was going to vote for won anyway.
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Vii - Posts: 622
- Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:29 am
- Location: Northish
I don't have any idea what I should do for this round.
I guess I'll vote for Paprika, because the description looks interesting, and because I watched a couple of episodes of S&W but didn't get into it.
And I'll vote for FMA, because I watched one episode of Princess Tutu and didn't feel like watching any more of it.
And that's the book-cover judgement for this round.
I guess I'll vote for Paprika, because the description looks interesting, and because I watched a couple of episodes of S&W but didn't get into it.
And I'll vote for FMA, because I watched one episode of Princess Tutu and didn't feel like watching any more of it.
And that's the book-cover judgement for this round.
- skreyola
- Posts: 1046
- Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:49 pm
- Location: Northwest Florida
Paprika. Not my favorite Satoshi Kon, mind you, but accessible and interesting. Doesn't flinch from showing some rather disturbing scenes and very flawed heroes.
Princess Tutu, because it dares to dance on Tchaikovsky's grave with a series of leaps and hops, and yet [spoiler] still comes out with a denouement that is, in a sense, true to the original.[/spoiler]
Princess Tutu, because it dares to dance on Tchaikovsky's grave with a series of leaps and hops, and yet [spoiler] still comes out with a denouement that is, in a sense, true to the original.[/spoiler]
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -- C.S. Lewis
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ClosetOtaku - Posts: 927
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 3:12 am
- Location: Alexandria, VA
Love your picture choices for the face-offs by the way Moakun 
As to my votes this round, Hmmm
Spice and Wolf: I have a weakness for the wandering protagonist and this series delivers in rare form. I mean managing to make medieval merchant activity into a series, it's practically a dream come true!
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood With a twisting plot, a well-balanced ensemble cast, and an astonishingly appropriate mix of humor and drama. It is only natural that the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise make an appearance in this contest if not rise to the top. It is set up to be one of the most enduring anime series's of all time.
As to my votes this round, Hmmm
Spice and Wolf: I have a weakness for the wandering protagonist and this series delivers in rare form. I mean managing to make medieval merchant activity into a series, it's practically a dream come true!
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood With a twisting plot, a well-balanced ensemble cast, and an astonishingly appropriate mix of humor and drama. It is only natural that the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise make an appearance in this contest if not rise to the top. It is set up to be one of the most enduring anime series's of all time.
Most warriors would find it beneath them to attack a girl. Especially when she wasn't looking. No person with any honor or pride would ever do such a thing. I bid you farewell and good riddance. You're not even worth lamenting.-Uryu Ishida
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KnightOfFive - Posts: 256
- Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:24 pm
- Location: Pendragon, Texas.
Paprika
This film seemed (like Paranoia Agent) to combine the more demented aspects of Perfect Blue with the humour style of Tokyo Godfathers, so I knew I had to watch it, I loved the simple mindf of dreams and reality this film gives out to you. The animation was superb not to mention it has its twists and turns right across the story and a lot of things actually made sense in the end and I loved that.
And voting for Princess Tutu due to the fact that it made me love ballet.
This film seemed (like Paranoia Agent) to combine the more demented aspects of Perfect Blue with the humour style of Tokyo Godfathers, so I knew I had to watch it, I loved the simple mindf of dreams and reality this film gives out to you. The animation was superb not to mention it has its twists and turns right across the story and a lot of things actually made sense in the end and I loved that.
And voting for Princess Tutu due to the fact that it made me love ballet.
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Neane - Posts: 1996
- Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:12 pm
- Location: Candlekeep, Faerûn
Paprika- I was mesmerized by every moment. And it probably helped that I should have been sleeping when I watched it. That being said, it's definitely one of the best animated films period.
and I'm going to regret this...but...
Full Metal Alchemist:Brotherhood. I love them both very very much. But FMA in general is not only a great gateway anime, but is fantastic to critics and fans alike. And it gave me many feels. (but Tutu did too). All in all, I would feel horrible if Tutu beat FMAB.
and I'm going to regret this...but...
Full Metal Alchemist:Brotherhood. I love them both very very much. But FMA in general is not only a great gateway anime, but is fantastic to critics and fans alike. And it gave me many feels. (but Tutu did too). All in all, I would feel horrible if Tutu beat FMAB.
[color="Magenta"][SIZE="4"]愛理ちゃん六二三[/SIZE][/color]
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airichan623 - Posts: 704
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Well, I get to sadface because of TG last round. DARN my unstable internet! ;.;
Anycase, gotta go with
Paprika - Not a moment of this leaves me bored. While I think S&W has one of the best, most mature romances I've seen, the economics dragged it out for me. I don't have a head for any of it.
Princess Tutu - Both this and FMA:B have their issues, but while I enjoy FMA, Princess Tutu is an underrated, wonderful show that brought me to a very deep appreciation of something that I... well, didn't.... and also managed to be a touching and deep show. You can't say that about most mahou shoujo. Shounen has a longer history of it, so I have to steal FMA's thunder a bit.
Anycase, gotta go with
Paprika - Not a moment of this leaves me bored. While I think S&W has one of the best, most mature romances I've seen, the economics dragged it out for me. I don't have a head for any of it.
Princess Tutu - Both this and FMA:B have their issues, but while I enjoy FMA, Princess Tutu is an underrated, wonderful show that brought me to a very deep appreciation of something that I... well, didn't.... and also managed to be a touching and deep show. You can't say that about most mahou shoujo. Shounen has a longer history of it, so I have to steal FMA's thunder a bit.
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Atria35 - Posts: 6295
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Atria35 (post: 1593383) wrote: the economics dragged it out for me. I don't have a head for any of it.
If it wasn't for the fact that I am rather tired now due to midterms I would type out why the economics in Spice and Wolf is greatly flawed and unrealistic.
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Neane - Posts: 1996
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- Location: Candlekeep, Faerûn
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Atria35 - Posts: 6295
- Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2010 7:30 am
Paprika - Hands down one of the most visually arresting movies I've seen. A gorgeous piece of work that also takes some chances with it's story. While it's a bit muddled, it's still the better piece of work of the two by far.
Princess Tutu - Truely a classic in every since of the word, with great uses of music, ballet and an amazingly fun story. Both have great writing, but I'd say that Princess Tutu achieves a similar impact to FMA:B in less than half the episodes.
Princess Tutu - Truely a classic in every since of the word, with great uses of music, ballet and an amazingly fun story. Both have great writing, but I'd say that Princess Tutu achieves a similar impact to FMA:B in less than half the episodes.
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mechana2015 - Posts: 5025
- Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2003 12:33 am
- Location: Orange County
Let me just preface this by saying I haven't seen Spice & Wolf or Princess Tutu. I wonder if all my votes are going to start this way.
Paprika: This is the roller coaster of movies. There's never a dull moment and the music and visuals make for a thoroughly trilling ride.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: When I finished this (and the manga around the same time) I felt like I had found a new benchmark in storytelling, not just for anime but other media as well. I love that even with such a large cast there were no (that I can remember) unnecessary characters, how even though only the main characters get to lay down the actual punches, everyone had their role to play, however big or small, to contribute to the final victory. Everyone is different, has different goals and demons they have to face, but the story doesn't get bogged down with it. I love how everything that happens to the characters has an effect on them right until the end. Arakawa knew exactly where she was going with the story and got there in style.
Paprika: This is the roller coaster of movies. There's never a dull moment and the music and visuals make for a thoroughly trilling ride.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: When I finished this (and the manga around the same time) I felt like I had found a new benchmark in storytelling, not just for anime but other media as well. I love that even with such a large cast there were no (that I can remember) unnecessary characters, how even though only the main characters get to lay down the actual punches, everyone had their role to play, however big or small, to contribute to the final victory. Everyone is different, has different goals and demons they have to face, but the story doesn't get bogged down with it. I love how everything that happens to the characters has an effect on them right until the end. Arakawa knew exactly where she was going with the story and got there in style.
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GeneD - Posts: 1969
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- Location: South.
Atria35 (post: 1593383) wrote:Well, I get to sadface because of TG last round. DARN my unstable internet! ]
If it's any consolation, your vote wouldn't have been enough :/ RIP Tokyo Godfathers. I'm not particularly chagrined because Summer Wars is good as well, but TG is one of those movies that everyone should see at least once in their lives.Neane (post: 1593387) wrote:If it wasn't for the fact that I am rather tired now due to midterms I would type out why the economics in Spice and Wolf is greatly flawed and unrealistic.
I'm kind of interested in hearing this. I hope you get some time at some point.
My votes:
Spice and Wolf: The beautiful start of a romance among two mature adults, strung along an interesting and unconventional setting. Am I alone in wishing there were more anime like this?
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: It left me beautiful lessons (see sig) while entertaining me greatly. I have to admit I haven't watched Tutu (one of only three titles I haven't in this leg of the competition) but I'm pretty sure that as good as it might be, it won't leave me that nostalgic fondness that nowadays make FMA:B seem to me like one of the favorite things from my childhood, in spite of only having watched it a few months ago.
[font="Tahoma"][SIZE="1"][color="YellowGreen"]There is no point to lessons that don't bring with them pain. People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something, after all.
But once you have successfully endured that pain you will gain a heart that's stout enough not be overcome by anything. Yeah, a heart made fullmetal. [/color] -Edward Elric[/SIZE][/font]
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Maokun - Posts: 1135
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- Location: The Valley of the Wind
Maokun (post: 1593409) wrote:Spice and Wolf: The beautiful start of a romance among two mature adults, strung along an interesting and unconventional setting. Am I alone in wishing there were more anime like this?
Not completely alone at least. I wish there were more like it as well.
Most warriors would find it beneath them to attack a girl. Especially when she wasn't looking. No person with any honor or pride would ever do such a thing. I bid you farewell and good riddance. You're not even worth lamenting.-Uryu Ishida
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KnightOfFive - Posts: 256
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Spice and Wolf : I must admit I actually paid money to see Papika in the theatres. It was billed as a total mind trip dream thing and I was really excited to see it, but it just didn't grab me. Yes, the visuals were great but the plot and characters just didn't pull me in at all. Spice and Wolf had a bit of a slow start (sometimes i wonder if is worth it to watch 1st episodes of anime series) and Wolf's voice in the early episodes in the dubs is a bit annoying, but it grows and grows and I just want to see more of it.
FA:B A coworker knows I host an anime night and asked what were good shows he could use for a family anime night and this was one of the first ones I could think of - just a great show. It is meant for a younger audiance than what I generally like to watch, but it has not just great writing and characters but really thought-provoking themes as well. Can't say anything about Tutu, it is just not the kind of show I would gravitate towards, but because it has gotten this far in this contest I may roll an episode someday.
FA:B A coworker knows I host an anime night and asked what were good shows he could use for a family anime night and this was one of the first ones I could think of - just a great show. It is meant for a younger audiance than what I generally like to watch, but it has not just great writing and characters but really thought-provoking themes as well. Can't say anything about Tutu, it is just not the kind of show I would gravitate towards, but because it has gotten this far in this contest I may roll an episode someday.
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Hugo Bernhardt - Posts: 38
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- Location: My Office
Results for day 2 of Round 2 are in!
Paprika 8
Spice & Wolf 5
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 7
Princess Tutu 4
Today's matches:
Voting will be open until Thursday at 20:00 EST.
Paprika 8
Spice & Wolf 5
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 7
Princess Tutu 4
Today's matches:
[SIZE="3"][color="RoyalBlue"]Monster[/color] VS [color="DarkRed"]Spirited Away[/color][/SIZE]
[SIZE="3"][color="YellowGreen"]Baccano![/color] VS [color="Yellow"]Durarara!![/color][/SIZE]
[SIZE="3"][color="YellowGreen"]Baccano![/color] VS [color="Yellow"]Durarara!![/color][/SIZE]
Voting will be open until Thursday at 20:00 EST.
[font="Tahoma"][SIZE="1"][color="YellowGreen"]There is no point to lessons that don't bring with them pain. People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something, after all.
But once you have successfully endured that pain you will gain a heart that's stout enough not be overcome by anything. Yeah, a heart made fullmetal. [/color] -Edward Elric[/SIZE][/font]
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Maokun - Posts: 1135
- Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:55 am
- Location: The Valley of the Wind
[B]Monster[/B].
It is a superb anime adaptation of Urasawa Naoki's best work to date. Although it's 74 episodes long, the story remained fresh all the way through due to its deep character developments and shocking plot twists. And I cared for all of the major players in this series as the story progresses, even the minor characters I encountered along the way. But what I love about this series the most is that it artistically weaves in up-lifting, Good Samaritan examples into a noir plot that sustains its dark shadow over every episode, creating a feeling of conflict between an ever-present, overwhelming evil and the little seeds of good that perseveres to overcome an unstoppable evil.
And now let's talk about Durarara!! for a moment.
The good: I liked alot of the side characters, especially Izaya, now there is a magnificent ******* for you! Sort of like what you get if you cross David Xanatose with some kid who likes to play pranks on people. And he gets away with it all with just a black eye to show for it, now there is a smooth criminal. Shizuo, Simon and Celty were pretty cool too. Hell even Kadota and his freinds were alright, this series would have been alot better if any of the above people were the protagonists instead of those three chumps who got the lead.
I also kind of liked the point about how everyone has some crazy secret, well I'm not sure if everyone really does have a crazy secret in real life, but I do anyway so that kind of resonated with me.
Now for the bad things I didn't like.
This is the third most contrived anime series I've ever seen, and I hated the way things just fall into place for no reason. Did they think "hey what if M Night Shymalan wrote baccano?"
And also I really didn't like the three protagonists, Anri was probably the most tolerable of the three though she didn't have much to offer. Both sides of Kidas bi-polar personality were extremely irritating, either he was acting like a cross between a playboy and pinkiy pie or he was acting like some kind of angsty emo. But Ryugamine was worst of all, I don't think I can remember a more useless protagonist off the top of my head. He goes around acting like a less whiny version of Fam and furrowing his non existent eyebrows at everyone while blindly fumbling through all these dangerous situations. I hate his non existent eyebrows so much.
So yeah, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't that good either, I think Baccano! was definately the stronger series.
And so I am voting for Baccano!
It is a superb anime adaptation of Urasawa Naoki's best work to date. Although it's 74 episodes long, the story remained fresh all the way through due to its deep character developments and shocking plot twists. And I cared for all of the major players in this series as the story progresses, even the minor characters I encountered along the way. But what I love about this series the most is that it artistically weaves in up-lifting, Good Samaritan examples into a noir plot that sustains its dark shadow over every episode, creating a feeling of conflict between an ever-present, overwhelming evil and the little seeds of good that perseveres to overcome an unstoppable evil.
And now let's talk about Durarara!! for a moment.
The good: I liked alot of the side characters, especially Izaya, now there is a magnificent ******* for you! Sort of like what you get if you cross David Xanatose with some kid who likes to play pranks on people. And he gets away with it all with just a black eye to show for it, now there is a smooth criminal. Shizuo, Simon and Celty were pretty cool too. Hell even Kadota and his freinds were alright, this series would have been alot better if any of the above people were the protagonists instead of those three chumps who got the lead.
I also kind of liked the point about how everyone has some crazy secret, well I'm not sure if everyone really does have a crazy secret in real life, but I do anyway so that kind of resonated with me.
Now for the bad things I didn't like.
This is the third most contrived anime series I've ever seen, and I hated the way things just fall into place for no reason. Did they think "hey what if M Night Shymalan wrote baccano?"
And also I really didn't like the three protagonists, Anri was probably the most tolerable of the three though she didn't have much to offer. Both sides of Kidas bi-polar personality were extremely irritating, either he was acting like a cross between a playboy and pinkiy pie or he was acting like some kind of angsty emo. But Ryugamine was worst of all, I don't think I can remember a more useless protagonist off the top of my head. He goes around acting like a less whiny version of Fam and furrowing his non existent eyebrows at everyone while blindly fumbling through all these dangerous situations. I hate his non existent eyebrows so much.
So yeah, it wasn't horrible but it wasn't that good either, I think Baccano! was definately the stronger series.
And so I am voting for Baccano!
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Neane - Posts: 1996
- Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:12 pm
- Location: Candlekeep, Faerûn
Abstain: I've heard a lot of good things about both Monster and Spirited Away, but since both sound equally good, and the fact that I haven't seen either, I can't make a good decision here.
Durarara!!: Taking from some of what Neane said, Durarara!! has some extremley badarse characters that are just a blast to watch. Not only that, I found most of the characters enjoyable, and the plot was very enjoyable to watch, and the plot twists were in my opinon, a marvel to behold.
Durarara!!: Taking from some of what Neane said, Durarara!! has some extremley badarse characters that are just a blast to watch. Not only that, I found most of the characters enjoyable, and the plot was very enjoyable to watch, and the plot twists were in my opinon, a marvel to behold.
- Zeldafan2
- Posts: 676
- Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:11 am
I haven't seen either title of the first match, so not voting for that, and while I have seen Durarara, and enjoyed it (The art style especially so. It really feels like the downtown of a big city. The sharp character designs and *cough*bishies*cough* are also nice to look at.) I can't in good conscience vote for it having not seen Baccano.
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Vii - Posts: 622
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