Re: Help with anime classics

In article <fiej12$1b7$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, Martin Etteldorf
<etteldor@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Wasabi <blue@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > Martin Etteldorf <etteldor@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > 
> > That list seems to be stuff I used to see mentioned in trailers on my
> > VHS tapes but never bought, plus stuff people used to mention as
> > "classics" but I never saw.

> A pity. Most newer series still aren't able to hold a candle to
> Patlabor, AMG, KOR or Nuku Nuku. The old stuff may lack visual effects
> and stuff like that, but storywise they're still better than 90% of what
> came out since 2000. If you don't know what I mean, I highly recommend
> watching "Angel's Egg".

> > - Evangelion (let's get that one out of the way first!)

> No comment :->

I don't mind. The biggest trouble with Eva is the fanatics. The series
itself promised much and, when it failed to deliver, many made much of it.
There are some that, for whatever reason, still insist that it is the best
thing since sliced pan (not to mention those that have fetishes for at
least one member of the female cast) but the only thing I've ever heard
agreement on is that the lead chara, ****nji, is the biggest wet blanket in
anime!

> > - Vision of Escaflowne (anime version of Forbidden Planet/The Tempest
> > in which Robbie the Robot is ... well, a giant robot called
> > Escaflowne... Caliban becomes a bishonen boy (or girl?)... and the
> > monsters of the Id become the Fate Alteration machine that destroyed
> > Atlantis).

> Sweet series, yes.

I certainly like it. It's not the absolute best, and some bits can make me
cringe, but it works overall. 

> > - Serial Experiments Lain (horror/cyberpunk ground-breaking series) -
> > Haibane Renmei (Abe Yo****o**** branches out on his own with a metaphor
> > for life)

> Both are intriguing, but not exactly what I'd call a "classic".

Can't comment on the latter title, but Lain is one of those series that
you need to have your brain "switched on" to really get into. It is
certainly demanding, so you won't necessarily find a consensus of fans on
it. I could also include Key the Metal Idol here, which has a similar
basis, albeit with a different outcome) but it really depends on the
definition of "classic" that you might be using.

> > - Azumanga Daioh (high-school comedy whose appeal transcends genres) -
> > Higura**** no ****u Koro ni (be afraid, be very afraid! The most
> > original and scary horror/thriller of recent years)

> Never seen these two.

Azu is a firm fave with me. It's one of the most original titles I've seen
in a very long time, and has all the potential to produce a stable
fanbase, something I can't really say has been the case since the original
Tenchi OAVs or, possibly, Eva. 

> > - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (SF/comedy story in which the
> > title character has no idea as to what is really going on, and the
> > narrator is in denial about who he really wants)

> Nicely drawn, more or less okayish story -- but nothing memorable. It's
> one of the better series from the last years, though.

I've heard too many people "pu****ng" this one. I tend to mistrust a new
title when it gets pushed like that.

> > - .hack//SIGN (deconstruction of the meaning of online existence
> > masquerading as a music video)

> I never understood what people find that interesting about all the
> .hack//WHATEVER stuff. They're (IMO) mediocre at best. The ideas behind
> .hack are fascinating, but the anime fails at delivering them to the
> viewer.

Pass.

> > - Sailor Moon

> Without doubt a classic, but definitely not my cup of tea.

That's the problem when trying to define classics. However, I agree that
it certainly rates as a classic as, between it and the original Cutey
Honey stuff, the magical girl shows were really born. So many shows since
then can be referred back to what Usagi and company did back then!

-- 
 //\  // Chika <miyuki><at><crashnet><org><uk>
//  \//  "Word to the wise guy; be nice or be dog food!"

.... Television is so dull that children are doing their homework.