Godannar

[scorsesefan]

So I would say that I'm somewhat of a newbie when it comes to anime. I've seen the classics (Akira, Princess Mononoke, Ninja Scroll) and watched Robotech when I was a wee tot, but realized after searching through the review database here I have a lot of ground to cover as there seem to be so many great shows. The only problem is with most of them being so damned expensive, I like to be as sure about a purchase as I can be before I lay down my hard earned cash.

So with that in mind, I was wondering how you guys feel about Godannar. I know it's sort of a comedy show, which kinda scares me away from it. I tend to veer more towards series like Gungrave or the Samurai X OAV's then I do, oh, say Full Metal Panic or Inuyasha. But I did really, really love Chrono Crusade. But even that was more for the amazing last two discs than the comedy/adventure of the first half.

So, what I'm trying to say is that I can handle the wacky big mouths and over exaggerated facial expressions if there's a good, solid, emotional core to the show. Is there one to Godannar? Is it at least building up to one? Or is it just another lighthearted comedy/mecha/big boobies show and should I spend my money on Beserk and Twelve Kingdoms instead?

[CrazyAsano]

Berserk and Twelve Kingdoms. Not that mecha and boobies aren't good.

[Speedy Boris]

...I didn't realize Inu-Yasha was a comedy.

Also, Godannar kicks booty.

Don't suppose you've seen Giant Robo, Gravion, or others of the new age super robot shows? Godannar is pure entertainment at heart. It's overly dramatic, over exaggerated, ridiculous entertainment. Its cool, and its fun, and the dub even seems pretty solid, but you can't take it seriously. For most it's probably pretty forgettable, but if you're looking for something lighthearted, you might wind up going back enough for it to wind up a favorite.

But, seriously, if you've yet to see Berserk or 12 Kingdoms...those shows are on a whole nother level. You have to be able to take fantasy seriously to even watch those shows, but if you can, it's well written, dramatic storytelling on both accounts and they must be seen.

[chloes_fork]

There are a nigh-infinite number of better anime to spend your money on than Godannar, especially if you're looking for material of some substance. I bought the first volume, watched it, fought off the incipient coma, and dropped the series without ever looking back.

[Digital Boy]

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chloes_fork said:
There are a nigh-infinite number of better anime to spend your money on than Godannar, especially if you're looking for material of some substance. I bought the first volume, watched it, fought off the incipient coma, and dropped the series without ever looking back.

[/ QUOTE ]

And here I thought we liked the same things. "points at your avatar"

[scorsesefan]

Jesus you guys respond fast. Didn't mean to lump Inuyasha into the comedy category. Just using it as an example of shows that I generally don't enjoy. Seems that your guys opinions are all over the place. I love fantasy to death, and have no problem taking it seriously. I will definitely put Beserk and Twelve Kingdoms on my to buy list.

As for Godannar, I may hold off until I get my bonus and have the extra 25 bucks to spend on the first volume. Hell, I'll give it a shot. The worst that could happen is I have another coaster for my coffee table. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Curse_7781]

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chloes_fork said:
There are a nigh-infinite number of better anime to spend your money on than Godannar, especially if you're looking for material of some substance. I bought the first volume, watched it, fought off the incipient coma, and dropped the series without ever looking back.

[/ QUOTE ]

To be honest, I've been thinking of purchasing this series as well....but I can also see this series being dropped after viewing the first volume.

As much as I like fan-service and comedy, I don't want my anime purchases to be based on that. If I wanted to see something more /images/graemlins/noseblef.gif -ish, I would get a hentai title.

If I want something serious and something I know would be in my collection for a long time. I would get something that I heard is dramatic.

So I would go for certain series (if I were you) like Berserk, 12 Kingdoms, Wolf's Rain, Ghost in The Shell TV series, Princess Nine, Rahxephon, and Cowboy Bebop.

Enhance the Trance,
Curse

[chloes_fork]

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Digital Boy said:
[ QUOTE ]
chloes_fork said:
There are a nigh-infinite number of better anime to spend your money on than Godannar, especially if you're looking for material of some substance. I bought the first volume, watched it, fought off the incipient coma, and dropped the series without ever looking back.

[/ QUOTE ]

And here I thought we liked the same things. "points at your avatar"

[/ QUOTE ]
*points at my sig* How about those things down there?

As for my av, if Mikura appeared in Godannar and had an orgasm, I missed it. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Mark]

Have you seen the ADV trailer for it? It seemed pretty representative of what you'd be getting.

[Gatts]

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Curse said:
So I would go for certain series (if I were you) like Berserk, 12 Kingdoms, Wolf's Rain, Ghost in The Shell TV series, Princess Nine, Rahxephon, and Cowboy Bebop.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just personal opinion, but I wouldn't put Wolf's Rain or Princess Nine in with any of the other series that you listed.

[Nuriko]

Never saw Godannar but I've seen the trailer. Based on the trailer, it ain't anywhere near the level of Beserk and 12 Kingdoms which are arguably masterpieces of anime and possibly in most people's top 10 list. If you know you like the genre, dark fantasy series, go for Beserk first.

Both Berseck and 12 Kingdoms can be bought cheaper because of complete sets. Just bear in mind that Beserk's ending is left open. While 12 Kingdoms isn't all that complete as well, it has a more conclusive ending where I can live with it. But Berserk's ending will literally leave you hanging in mid-air, lol. But I assure you that most fans will say, it's the journey that counts and by that, it is probably the best journey in anime.

[scorsesefan]

This has helped me out alot. I'm probably going to purchase Beserk first, then Twelve Kingdoms. I'm also interested in Wolf's Rain, and Peacemaker as well. As I noted before, I really enjoyed the overall presentation and deep storytelling in Chrono Crusade, and since the same studio is behind Peacemaker, I'll give it a shot. Even though, they did make Full Metal Panic too, not one of my favorites. Any thoughts?

[naiera]

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Hot Otak said:
Don't suppose you've seen Giant Robo, Gravion, or others of the new age super robot shows?

[/ QUOTE ]

Is Giant Robo new age when most episodes are more than ten years old? Is it even a super robot show?

[Fencedude]

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Naiera said:
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Hot Otak said:
Don't suppose you've seen Giant Robo, Gravion, or others of the new age super robot shows?

[/ QUOTE ]

Is Giant Robo new age when most episodes are more than ten years old? Is it even a super robot show?

[/ QUOTE ]

Giant Robo was a superhero show with a highly extraneous Giant Robot.

[chloes_fork]

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Mark said:
Have you seen the ADV trailer for it? It seemed pretty representative of what you'd be getting.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually the trailer makes it look much more entertaining than it is. That's how I got suckered.

[naiera]

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Fencedude said:
Giant Robo was a superhero show with a highly extraneous Giant Robot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly, and there's nothing "new" about it either, so putting it in the same category as Gravion seems very strange.

[Fencedude]

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chloes_fork said:
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Mark said:
Have you seen the ADV trailer for it? It seemed pretty representative of what you'd be getting.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually the trailer makes it look much more entertaining than it is. That's how I got suckered.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lies.

Godannar is even more entertaining than the preview made it out to be.

[CrazyAsano]

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Fencedude said:
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chloes_fork said:
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Mark said:
Have you seen the ADV trailer for it? It seemed pretty representative of what you'd be getting.

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually the trailer makes it look much more entertaining than it is. That's how I got suckered.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lies.

Godannar is even more entertaining than the preview made it out to be.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not convinced anything is ever less entertaining than the preview made it out to be.

[scorsesefan]

Damn! Just when I thought I'd put my passing interest in Godannar to rest, more people show up and say it's actually good. Crap. I'll probably invest in it someways down the road. Is anyone here a fan of Exploitation films? Movies like Girl Boss Guerilla, Sex and Fury, and Thriller? I was just thinking that these movies are basically shameless, and I still love them. So I guess I could stomach an anime that is nothing but shameless sex and violence without much plot, right? Hmmmm...my interest has piqued. If only I had a faster internet connection I could grab the first episode and then make my choice. Though, I would like to state I would never just download an entire series. I love anime too much not to support the studios willing to give me DVD releases of these shows in America. Wow, how did I end up on this soapbox???? /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

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Naiera said:
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Fencedude said:
Giant Robo was a superhero show with a highly extraneous Giant Robot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly, and there's nothing "new" about it either, so putting it in the same category as Gravion seems very strange.

[/ QUOTE ]

Because it's still the benchmark in throwbacks, it was still a new age super robot show when it did come out, and the animation holds up to the other two even today.

[Fencedude]

Wow...Godannar is SO not the anime equivalent of an exploitation film.

[CrazyAsano]

[ QUOTE ]
Fencedude said:
Wow...Godannar is SO not the anime equivalent of an exploitation film.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah... it's not sex and violence, it's giant robot cheese and fan service. If you want shameless sex and violence, Gantz and Elfen Lied are probably up your alley.

Godannar is a leaf in one of the 2 current branches of the New Age Giant Robot Show

One branch is the Giant Robot + Fanservice: this is illustraded with shows like Super HeavyWeight God Gravion/Gravion Zwei and Marriage of Soul and Machine Godannar that try(with different degrees of success to bring back the style of the Golden Age of the Super Robot Show: The 70's, early 80's) and spice it up with big amounts of fanservice

The other branch is the Giant Robot Revival movement that updates the iconografy with new/updated versions of the original properties, this can be seen in shows like Getter Robo Armaggedon, MazinKaiser, New Getter Robo, Darku Maryu Gaiking Neo(not available in R1) that follow in spirit their predecessors with updated animation and are closer in style to them

The Super Robot genre is more of a 2 fisted all out action adventure affair than your normal anime, but at least it got more substance than some of the stuff out there, but even if it not deep, it's still loads of fun compared with some of those super deep, melt your brain to mush shows IMHO YMMV/images/graemlins/stunned1.gif

**This message brought to you by the resident Old Skool Super Robot/Mecha Hardliner fan**

[chloes_fork]

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CrazyAsano said:
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Fencedude said:
Wow...Godannar is SO not the anime equivalent of an exploitation film.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah... it's not sex and violence, it's giant robot cheese and fan service. If you want shameless sex and violence, Gantz and Elfen Lied are probably up your alley.

[/ QUOTE ]
Or Kite and Mezzo Forte, IMO the best pure pulp exploitation anime has to offer.

[Gatts]

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Vicserr said:
One branch is the Giant Robot + Fanservice: this is illustraded with shows like Super HeavyWeight God Gravion/Gravion Zwei and Marriage of Soul and Machine Godannar that try(with different degrees of success to bring back the style of the Golden Age of the Super Robot Show: The 70's, early 80's) and spice it up with big amounts of fanservice

[/ QUOTE ]

Gaogaigar!

I'd probably throw Gear Fighter Dendoh in this group, but it doesn't have enough fanservice (well, besides the mecha that is /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif).

[DiGiKerot]

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Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
Vicserr said:
One branch is the Giant Robot + Fanservice: this is illustraded with shows like Super HeavyWeight God Gravion/Gravion Zwei and Marriage of Soul and Machine Godannar that try(with different degrees of success to bring back the style of the Golden Age of the Super Robot Show: The 70's, early 80's) and spice it up with big amounts of fanservice

[/ QUOTE ]

Gaogaigar!

I'd probably throw Gear Fighter Dendoh in this group, but it doesn't have enough fanservice (well, besides the mecha that is /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif).

[/ QUOTE ]

It does have Hisayuki chara designs and Sahashi music though, which is enough service for me (that, and the blue-haired girl in the OP bears more than a little resembalance to HiME/ZHiMEs Mashiro...) /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[ QUOTE ]
DiGiKerot said:
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Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
Vicserr said:
One branch is the Giant Robot + Fanservice: this is illustraded with shows like Super HeavyWeight God Gravion/Gravion Zwei and Marriage of Soul and Machine Godannar that try(with different degrees of success to bring back the style of the Golden Age of the Super Robot Show: The 70's, early 80's) and spice it up with big amounts of fanservice

[/ QUOTE ]

Gaogaigar!

I'd probably throw Gear Fighter Dendoh in this group, but it doesn't have enough fanservice (well, besides the mecha that is /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif).

[/ QUOTE ]

It does have Hisayuki chara designs and Sahashi music though, which is enough service for me (that, and the blue-haired girl in the OP bears more than a little resembalance to HiME/ZHiMEs Mashiro...) /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, considering that GaoGaigar is the Final Brave show, it doesn't fit the current release patterns, but it's closer in spirit to Revival shows than the Mecha-Fanservice connection

and I don't know much about Gear Fighter Dendoh, but I would probably(at least from the images I've seen) put it closer to Brave shows

[Captain Impulse]

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chloes_fork said:
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CrazyAsano said:
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Fencedude said:
Wow...Godannar is SO not the anime equivalent of an exploitation film.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah... it's not sex and violence, it's giant robot cheese and fan service. If you want shameless sex and violence, Gantz and Elfen Lied are probably up your alley.

[/ QUOTE ]
Or Kite and Mezzo Forte, IMO the best pure pulp exploitation anime has to offer.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the uncut versions anyway. The edited versions are, uh, rather lacking in the actual "sex" department, where as you could drown in it during the uncut versions.

[CrazyAsano]

In Kite, yeah, I wouldn't say anyone could drown in the sex in Mezzo Forte.

[jejune]

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Vicserr said:
[soapbox]
One branch is the Giant Robot + Fanservice: this is illustraded with shows like Super HeavyWeight God Gravion/Gravion Zwei and Marriage of Soul and Machine Godannar that try(with different degrees of success to bring back the style of the Golden Age of the Super Robot Show: The 70's, early 80's) and spice it up with big amounts of fanservice


[/ QUOTE ]

Dangaizer 3?

[Gatts]

[ QUOTE ]
Vicserr said:
Well, considering that GaoGaigar is the Final Brave show, it doesn't fit the current release patterns, but it's closer in spirit to Revival shows than the Mecha-Fanservice connection

and I don't know much about Gear Fighter Dendoh, but I would probably(at least from the images I've seen) put it closer to Brave shows

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm so how about a parody like Mutekioh Tri-Zenon? It doesn't really have fanservice to cover it, but I wouldn't link it back to a revival show either.

[Fencedude]

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Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
Vicserr said:
Well, considering that GaoGaigar is the Final Brave show, it doesn't fit the current release patterns, but it's closer in spirit to Revival shows than the Mecha-Fanservice connection

and I don't know much about Gear Fighter Dendoh, but I would probably(at least from the images I've seen) put it closer to Brave shows

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm so how about a parody like Mutekioh Tri-Zenon? It doesn't really have fanservice to cover it, but I wouldn't link it back to a revival show either.

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel Vicserr is oversimplifying the situation.

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Fencedude said:
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Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
Vicserr said:
Well, considering that GaoGaigar is the Final Brave show, it doesn't fit the current release patterns, but it's closer in spirit to Revival shows than the Mecha-Fanservice connection

and I don't know much about Gear Fighter Dendoh, but I would probably(at least from the images I've seen) put it closer to Brave shows

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm so how about a parody like Mutekioh Tri-Zenon? It doesn't really have fanservice to cover it, but I wouldn't link it back to a revival show either.

[/ QUOTE ]

I feel Vicserr is oversimplifying the situation.

[/ QUOTE ]

well, Do you expect me to make a 20 page dissertation on the matter? I could do it, but it would take some time /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

and just in case, I forgot to say it but I was talking about R1 release patterns /images/graemlins/shy10000.gif

[scorsesefan]

Wow, so I can't throw my hat in here with big boys about the mecha shows or anything, but thanks again for pointing out a few things for me guys. I read about Gantz and it sounds like the Anime Takashi Miike would make. If he ever made one. Which makes it something I should check into. Since I'm a huge Miike fan. After doing a little reasearch, it, Mezzo Forte, and Kite are all shows I'll be buying soon. Anime has so much to offer, I feel like a kid in the biggest candy store known to man. If only I had more money.

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SkullLeaderOne said:
Wow, so I can't throw my hat in here with big boys about the mecha shows or anything, but thanks again for pointing out a few things for me guys.

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't feel intimidated or offended, it's that Giant Robot/Mecha being my favorite genre, I don't like it much when it gets put down, even with a marginal title /images/graemlins/shy10000.gif, it was "the genre" in my time many moons ago and now is a flavor of the week kind of thing, keeping the otaku masses happy is a balancing act /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif... but it's all in good fun, that why the /images/graemlins/tongue.gif smiley was there

[ QUOTE ]
I read about Gantz and it sounds like the Anime Takashi Miike would make. If he ever made one. Which makes it something I should check into. Since I'm a huge Miike fan. After doing a little reasearch, it, Mezzo Forte, and Kite are all shows I'll be buying soon. Anime has so much to offer, I feel like a kid in the biggest candy store known to man. If only I had more money.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gantz is a bloody good time, literally also Elfen Lied, Baoh and Crying Freeman are examples of ultra violent anime that you might like and of course you should check out reviews and do your homework so that you don't get burned by an anime title you don't like /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[chloes_fork]

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CrazyAsano said:
I wouldn't say anyone could drown in the sex in Mezzo Forte.

[/ QUOTE ]
But in those two scenes you could drown in certain ... emissions. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

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SkullLeaderOne said:
After doing a little reasearch, it, Mezzo Forte, and Kite are all shows I'll be buying soon.

[/ QUOTE ]
If you want the unedited versions, just be sure to get the "Director's Cut" of MF and the version of Kite labeled "Uncut" (not the "Director's Cut" in this case, which is still slightly edited). OTOH, if you don't want hardcore sexual content (or are underage), there are versions available that cut out all the porn. Just know you have to shop carefully and do a little research because of the multiple versions floating around.

[Fencedude]

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Vicserr said:

well, Do you expect me to make a 20 page dissertation on the matter? I could do it, but it would take some time /images/graemlins/tongue.gif



[/ QUOTE ]

Mmm...I tend to disagree with how you interpret many Giant Robot standards and such, so I have a feeling I wouldn't really agree with a 20 page dissertation either.

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SkullLeaderOne said:
it sounds like the Anime Takashi Miike would make. If he ever made one.

[/ QUOTE ]

Miike does indeed have an anime-- Salaryman Kintaro. It's not what you may think of as typical Miike, though. But actually, I'm not sure there is a "typical" Miike. He's the type of director who likes to bust a lot of conventions-- even his own.

[chloes_fork]

Though Miike's not involved to my knowledge, an item of related interest might be the Ichi the Killer: Episode Zero anime. It didn't seem to be very favorably received, but I thought it was worth a watch.

EDIT: Actually, according to ANN, Miike did work on the anime ... as a voice actor.

He's not involved with the production, direction, or writing, but he did contribute his voice as the character of Kakihara.

I'm not interested in that, but then again I'm also not really interested in the film itself.

[scorsesefan]

Damn, didn't know Miike had an anime out. Well, he does make like 5,000 movies a year, so it's easy to miss one. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

On the other hand, thanks for forewarning me on the difference between the "Uncut" and "Director's Cut" versions of Kite. It's been a looong time since I've lived under Mom's roof, so it's no problem for me to get the versions with all the glorious sex. I mean, if you're gonna do it, do it right.