Rate these Geneon Anime [Archive]

DanielJr

05-19-2006, 11:04 PM

As per the main news page on this site, Geneon is throwing a 45% Off sale at DVDPlanet.com/DigitalEyes.net/AnimeOnestop.com. I have quite a lot of geneon anime, but I'd like to take advantage of this sale before it goes away.

So... my pool of interest are below. If you could be so kind as to rate them?? Perhaps give a little comment on why you liked it or disliked it? (Optional) What will definitely sell me on a series is the conclusion of the story... do any of these have a solid finale?

Rate these
Requiem from the Darkness (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012621)
ROD TV (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012609)
Rumiko Takahashi Anthology (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012618)

ricecooker

05-19-2006, 11:30 PM

I haven't seen Requiem of Darkness but I'll give my two cents about the others.

ROD the TV: I thought it was a pretty solid TV series. Lots of interesting characters and the second half is very dramatic. The ending was satisfactory in my opinion. It might help to watch the original OVA for background information.

Rumiko Takahashi Anthology: Basically 13 self-contained stories with a message/theme to go along with it. Some episodes are more humorous than others; the episodic nature might turn some people off but if you're a Takahashi fan, it might be a winner.

DanielJr

05-19-2006, 11:37 PM

Thanks for the reply, ricecooker (cool name. /images/graemlins/happy.gif)

I've seen the ROD OVA. I liked it, not for the story or characters though, I thought it had great animation and incredible action to go along with it. The babes were cute, but nothing memeroable. How does the OVA compare to the TV series? Is the series' action toned down?

And I love Takahashi, I'm just not a fan of her massive series with no endings (InuYasha and Ranma). Maison Ikkoku is bloody brilliant though, I love Takahashi if anything for Maison Ikkoku. I do enjoy her characters though, they're all pretty fun.

JackProton

05-20-2006, 12:05 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
Rate these
Requiem from the Darkness (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012621)
ROD TV (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012609)
Rumiko Takahashi Anthology (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012618)

[/ QUOTE ]

These are all very good choices!

Requiem from the Darkness has a very nice new wave comic book style going for it. Its essential a group of horror mystery stories with a connecting plot. Good Japanese horror tales in something of a gothic style and a very sexy mystery woman whose team seems to always be somehow involved in the nastiness.

ROD TV reminds me a lot of the old Avengers TV series when things started turning surreal. Great action sequences and over-the-top villianous plots for world domination. Great fun!

Rumiko Takahashi Anthology is a set of unconnected Takahashi short stories. Takahashi is at the top of her game here with lots of funny and touching observations about being human. Lotsa heart. Don't miss it!

bctaris

05-20-2006, 12:09 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
Thanks for the reply, ricecooker (cool name. /images/graemlins/happy.gif)

I've seen the ROD OVA. I liked it, not for the story or characters though, I thought it had great animation and incredible action to go along with it. The babes were cute, but nothing memeroable. How does the OVA compare to the TV series? Is the series' action toned down?

And I love Takahashi, I'm just not a fan of her massive series with no endings (InuYasha and Ranma). Maison Ikkoku is bloody brilliant though, I love Takahashi if anything for Maison Ikkoku. I do enjoy her characters though, they're all pretty fun.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then you'll probably enjoy RTA very well, it's full of some of the best characters she's invented, in every age and situation.

For ROD TV, there's still plenty of action, much far outpacing what the OVA did, though everything is of course more drawn out. There's also a more improved focus on the characters and their development, making them and the whole experience, at least for me, far more memorable than the OVA. The overall story, with some minor tie-in to the OVA, is also better developed and more intriguing, I thought.

DanielJr

05-20-2006, 12:19 AM

Thanks for the replies JP and bctaris. I seem to be leaning towards the Takahashi Anthology now. I'd like to see Takahashi at some of her best. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

Though Requiem's sexy female main character may persuade me as well... /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

raistlinmajere

05-20-2006, 12:40 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
Rumiko Takahashi Anthology (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012618)

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I saw 2 eps and decided it wasn't for me. It bored me. Can't say for certain it doesn't get better later though.

itsuka

05-20-2006, 01:22 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
As per the main news page on this site, Geneon is throwing a 45% Off sale at DVDPlanet.com/DigitalEyes.net/AnimeOnestop.com. I have quite a lot of geneon anime, but I'd like to take advantage of this sale before it goes away.

So... my pool of interest are below. If you could be so kind as to rate them?? Perhaps give a little comment on why you liked it or disliked it? (Optional) What will definitely sell me on a series is the conclusion of the story... do any of these have a solid finale?

Rate these
Requiem from the Darkness (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012621)
ROD TV (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012609)
Rumiko Takahashi Anthology (http://www.dvdplanet.com/Details.cfm?info=PIO012618)

[/ QUOTE ]

ROD TV is absolutely the must-have of that list. It's a great series, very exciting adventure anime, and the ending is quite satisfying without loose ends. The style of the OVA is not exactly the same as the TV series, as some people prefer the TV series over the OVA (and vice versa as well). I like the TV series better than the OVA. There is more room for characterization, and it has a more interesting plot (though related to the OVA of course).

ricecooker

05-20-2006, 09:21 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
I've seen the ROD OVA. I liked it, not for the story or characters though, I thought it had great animation and incredible action to go along with it. The babes were cute, but nothing memeroable. How does the OVA compare to the TV series? Is the series' action toned down?

And I love Takahashi, I'm just not a fan of her massive series with no endings (InuYasha and Ranma). Maison Ikkoku is bloody brilliant though, I love Takahashi if anything for Maison Ikkoku. I do enjoy her characters though, they're all pretty fun.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess I kind of had the same opinion of the OVA as you did (except I thought Yomiko's passion for books was funny). For a while I didn't even consider getting this series and decided to blind buy when Geneon announced the box with the last volume. Now I don't regret it. /images/graemlins/happy.gif ROD the TV serves as an epilogue to the OVA and takes place a few years later. Aside from Yomiko you'll meet the 3 paper sisters, each utilizing their powers in a unique way. Yomiko and Nancy reappears in the second half and if they weren't interesting last time, maybe they will be for the TV series.

As for Anthology, there were some good episodes and a few dry ones. I can tell you that each episode is resolved so you won't be left hanging.

Herufaiya

05-20-2006, 10:12 AM

Requiem from the Darkness: Only if you're way into the horror genre(or sociology), this is all about the evils of man(made more so by demons), and the implications in society and the individual mind. While I liked it for the first five episodes(exactly) for its blending of darkness, character and comedy, it loses its comedy element by ep6 and doesn't bother to make up for it in the character department, as by the end of the series we know little more of Ogin, Mataichi and Nagamimi than we did at the beginning, character-wise. If you're into horror, darkness, violence and unique animation stylings, this might just be for you.
ROD TV: While I loved the OVA for keeping things fun and interesting, the show attempts to master "character" into the equation for 26 episodes, which, while working at first, falls flat half way into the series, as more and more hard details of the storyline go unexplained, by series end leaving a mine field of plotholes, which largely prevent the character from developing past a certain point. The action stays strong, and if you don't mind the characters(as people) suddenly hitting roadblocks 1/2-2/3 of the way into the series, then it makes for an interesting show.

guido7

05-20-2006, 11:00 AM

My only experience is with ROD the TV. I really liked it all the way through, though there were some patches where it wasn't very stellar at times, but I stuck through 'til the end. It's a good show---

BUT the ending is so hokey and corny that it insured that I probably won't ever own it (I rented it the first time around). I would have given it a 9 before the last volume, a 7.5 afterwards.

DKL

05-20-2006, 11:52 AM

Yeah... the ending of ROD the TV was kinda... off...

I would've prefered Koji Masunari's "the beauty of tragedy" approach

 The end of the OAV and the end of the first-half 

as opposed to what he did with the last episode... his style didn't really "fit" and it seems like he was trying to do something like what Miyazaki did in Princess Mononoke at one point, but sort of failed (it was really clunky and somewhat anti-climactic here, I have to admit)

I actually think like this since I watched PM right after... it was a coincidence though, but I totally spotted the connection... anyway, it was better in Mononoke

 The part where San gets stuck in that bore dude's body... yeah, they were somewhat similar in feel (although, ROD the TV didn't feel as desperate) 

But, I dunno, just my speculation...

anyway, the end doesn't seem to have the same punch as the other highlights of the series

But overall, I loved the series, it's awesome.

Leon_Belmont

05-20-2006, 12:30 PM

For ROD...I bought and loved the OVA, bought the first of the TV series and rented the rest. Didn't care too much for the series....outside of the first episode.

But that only confirms the motif in the thread that they are different beasts. One lukewarm on one might find it worth checking out the other.

carlosesca07

05-20-2006, 02:55 PM

I strongly recommend ROD the TV, as well as the OVA.

The TV has great music, action scenes an drama, the story is great (with some minor faults in the end) and the character development is awesome, you'll fall in love with the characters and this will heighten your enjoyment of the action scenes and the story itself.

Redcoffin

05-20-2006, 03:29 PM

Requiem from the Darkness: haven't seen it -- looks good.

ROD the TV: Strong story becomes weaker and more scattered as it goes along until you just want it to end, please. Character designs become looser as it progresses. Not as cool or hip as the opening titles (which G used as the preview) would have you believe.

Rumiko Takahashi Anthology: The strong parts of these largely independent stories are the wonderful facial expressions and humorous encounters that go on throughout. The majority of the stories are OK, though they tend to become sort of sappy and fall into "happy endings" at the last moment which aren't really justified by what came before. But definitely worth a watch.

DanielJr

05-20-2006, 04:40 PM

Thanks for all the great replies, everybody. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

So far I'm still leaning a bit to the Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, though ROD TV is getting more consideration at the moment. I don't know if I want to spend $100+ on a series where the ending a bit questionable... What do you mean it's a bit off? Is there a conclusion? If it's anything like the OVA ending though, it should be fine.

Requiem is looking good. Though again, the RTA self-contained stories is something that's poking my curiosity for some reason. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Thanks again for the replies! /images/graemlins/cool.gif

Azumangaman

05-20-2006, 05:07 PM

I've seen the first 3 volumes of ROD the TV, and I own the first volume.
I personally enjoy ROD the TV more than the OVA, because the TV show really gets you into the characters, and it's pretty funny. The OVA is lacking in character development while there is a lot more action.
Be warned, because in episode 10, there's some detailed upper-frontal nudity. Not from any main characters though. When I buy the whole series eventually, I'll probably rewatch the ones I've seen except for 10 /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif
Anyway, I'd just get a couple volumes, (unless you want the whole series). You can get ROD the TV reg. edition vol.1 for 6.98 at this (http://www.animecornerstore.com) very trustable site, but get the others at DVDP.

Captain Impulse

05-20-2006, 09:05 PM

I'm feeling lazy today so I'll just rate them on a 1-10 scale.

R.O.D. the TV - 8.5
Requiem from the Darkness - 7.5
Rumiko Takahashi Anthology - 8

pianocello

05-20-2006, 09:31 PM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
Thanks for all the great replies, everybody. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

So far I'm still leaning a bit to the Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, though ROD TV is getting more consideration at the moment. I don't know if I want to spend $100+ on a series where the ending a bit questionable... What do you mean it's a bit off? Is there a conclusion? If it's anything like the OVA ending though, it should be fine.

[/ QUOTE ]

I liked the ending. Most people may not have liked it because it was not action packed enough and there were not as many deaths as they prefered. That and Yomiko became a total wuss in the end.

Magic_Knight

05-20-2006, 10:33 PM

The ROD the TV ending is very solid and there is nothing really "weird" about it at all. It makes perfect sense and fits in with everything that happened prior to it. Chris did give the final volume an 'A+' for a reason. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

itsuka

05-21-2006, 02:42 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
I don't know if I want to spend $100+ on a series where the ending a bit questionable... What do you mean it's a bit off? Is there a conclusion? If it's anything like the OVA ending though, it should be fine.

[/ QUOTE ]

I always wonder why people say the ending is off. It baffles me. I really can't see why that is the case. I heard rumours before seeing the show that it had a weaker second half, and that the ending was off, but me and everyone around me was totally baffled about those comments when we actually watched the whole of the show. The story gets resolved. Mysteries get explained. There is emotional closure. The plot is dealth with. And we didn't think the second half was weaker at all, it was more focussed and more tightly plotted than the first half. So, yes, the ending is at least comparable with the OVA ending, maybe better. The only thing that was less in the second half was the fanservicy bits. Duh. Like a good show needs those...

Sometimes, when people complain about the ending, I can see where they are coming from. Last Exile could have handled some items better. Berserk stopped halfway, and His and Hers even didn't have one. But ROD TV is NOT in that list. Maybe people wanted a different ending, though I can't see why they were so upset about the one they got. What did they want? Massive yuri sex scenes?

DanielJr

05-21-2006, 02:58 AM

Heh... =p

Quick question... is there romance in ROD TV? (Non-Yuri or Non-Yaoi?)

itsuka

05-21-2006, 04:42 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DanielJr said:
Heh... =p

Quick question... is there romance in ROD TV? (Non-Yuri or Non-Yaoi?)

[/ QUOTE ]

That's difficult to answer. There is lots of love involved, but in various ways. Love between friends, between sisters, between parent and child, and also some romantic love. But it doesn't get a real focus. And there are some yuri overtones, but nothing explicit.

DKL

05-21-2006, 05:34 AM

... uhh...

I was expecting the "beauty of tragedy/destruction" approach... it really would've been better, but I'm still pretty okay with the end to be honest

 Heck, the disappearance of Mr. Gentlemen into the whatever should've at least been put into the focus a little more, that would’ve worked... but yeah, everyone had that "priceless" look on their face after the fact, so it was cool I guess

But yeah, I didn’t think for a moment that Anita would be dead, so… you know 

Disregarding the clunkiness (which is something I usually do anyway)

The whole feel of the end was... too optimistic and kind of detracted from the atmosphere (which would get dead-serious on occasion thanks to the nice execution) that I generally really liked during the end of the OAV and the first-half...

for example:



I really liked the scene where Nenene is lying in the chair over at Dokusensha and having her last conversation with Lee; the music and the character's direction was pretty spot-on... I mean, you could FEEL Nenene's frailness from all of the tests and stuff

I got this tingly feeling all over watching Nenene struggle in her state while answering why she wouldn't take the program thingy (perfect language something) in … it had a lot of emotional resonance

and the entire destruction of Dokusensha helped accentuate the feeling of loss and exhaustion or whatever that was carried over from when Lee was killed… it had this… fleeting feel to it, which was awesome and helped bring the climax home (ending with Nenene and Anita calling out to Maggie and Michelle, which was also a nice touch)

Yeah, it was really neat



The climactic parts of the ending sort of didn’t have this, which is why I felt that it was “off”

Also, I really liked the second-half… it was cool watching all the mind games and whatever… what really stood out for me was:



The scene where Maggie contemplates to herself on whether or not she should turn Nenene over to Wendy…

I really liked how the confrontation scene with Nenene came out, it was perfect

(err… in terms of feel anyway… I have to admit that J.C. Staff would go extra cheap on the character detail at times… this ain’t exactly a picture-perfect production)



Anyway, all this talk, but what it comes down to is:

Buy the damn show. (har har har)

And if this is incoherent, I’ll apologize in advance

guido7

05-21-2006, 06:24 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Itsuka said:
I always wonder why people say the ending is off. It baffles me. I really can't see why that is the case. I heard rumours before seeing the show that it had a weaker second half, and that the ending was off, but me and everyone around me was totally baffled about those comments when we actually watched the whole of the show. The story gets resolved. Mysteries get explained. There is emotional closure. The plot is dealth with. And we didn't think the second half was weaker at all, it was more focussed and more tightly plotted than the first half. So, yes, the ending is at least comparable with the OVA ending, maybe better. The only thing that was less in the second half was the fanservicy bits. Duh. Like a good show needs those...

Sometimes, when people complain about the ending, I can see where they are coming from. Last Exile could have handled some items better. Berserk stopped halfway, and His and Hers even didn't have one. But ROD TV is NOT in that list. Maybe people wanted a different ending, though I can't see why they were so upset about the one they got. What did they want? Massive yuri sex scenes?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, for me, it wasn't necessarily that the second half was weaker. The second half, for the most part, was very very strong, but the ending, especially the dialogue was very very contrived, corny, cheeseball, whatever you want to call it. The show, at least in my mind had been written really well---and then, at the end it was if they decided to bring in different writers to write sappy, overwrought, cliched dialogue.

Having written dialogue for various things, I really notice it when it's bad and ham-fisted. And at the end of ROD the TV, it's really, really bad.

Herufaiya

05-21-2006, 09:30 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Itsuka said:The story gets resolved. Mysteries get explained. There is emotional closure. The plot is dealth with. And we didn't think the second half was weaker at all, it was more focussed and more tightly plotted than the first half. So, yes, the ending is at least comparable with the OVA ending, maybe better.

[/ QUOTE ]

What do you mean the story gets resolved? There are tons, nigh-literally tons, of plot holes. Who is Donny, Yomiko's apparent boyfriend that causes her to destroy the Library, and where is he being held(as Joker threatens)? What is Anita's school, where all the student's minds are wiped and they live in a robotic existence? Why are Joker and company evil, there is no character progression from OAV to TV, and you can't just say it was because of their beliefs because we never truly delve into their characters. How are Paper Masters and Deeps created? WHO is Mr. Gentleman, what's his past, how does he possess these powers? Who created the original "Great Men" from the first series, as though they are lead by the Japanese poet he had to be created much the same as the rest.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg, the series' second half mills about trying to finish the story, and in the process fails to further the previous half's level of character development and STILL leaves the plot unresolved.

DKL

05-21-2006, 11:39 PM

I can sort of answer the thing about

 Anita's school

...

it was actually the test site for the Beta version of Dokusensha's perfect language system thing... but this one could manipulate reality (like what was happening to London... when Mr. Gentlemen was completely revived, he would supposedly use that to write-up a perfect society)...

but, I assume everything went back to normal after

Oh, and I think that the Ijin (cells/DNA/something) were created/dug up by the British Library so that they could stuff Mr. Gentlemen into one of them...

but... uh... that plan didn't work when Dokusensha stole the stuff (actually, they were suspected of doing it... but it was most likely them)... I assume that they were the ones to actually revive them... for their purposes, I mean (but... they kind of lost control and thus the Ijin incident happened)

...

I think

...

Oh, and I think Joker and crew are "evil" because they believe too much in their goal of reviving Mr. Gentleman and bringing glory back to England... like... ummm... blind patriotism?

But yeah, we don't necessarily see WHY they all dedicated themselves to Mr. Gentlmen... we can only assume that the dude totally rocked everyone's boxers 

But yeah, you're pretty spot-on about some of the stuff being unresolved...

I think we need to read the manga or something, but the point is... a lot of stuff isn't resolved or explained like TOTALLY airtight in the anime itself...

but then... typing all this up... there are ample clues as to what's going on, so I don't think I can really complain about it

oh, and I have to concede to Guido on some stuff

 For here, we did get the "you're all running away from reality" speech after all (or something like that)... I can't deny the haminess of that... Joker still had the right suave attitude though, which was nice

Herufaiya

05-22-2006, 12:41 AM

I'll concede to the stuff about Anita's school, but the British Library talks about using the "Great Men's" cells to create and house Mr. Gentleman, this did not necessitate their individual creation however(unless of course we play into the Dokusensha theory), as that would be bringing back 10-15-some-odd people just to, in effect, mutilate them, though this may work into the "darker side" of the British Library, the lengths to which we're forced to go to summon up even these pseudo-answers indicates poor narrative.
But back to Joker&co., yes their patriotism is very clear, but there's no transition from their apparent "goodness" in the OAV to their states in the TV series.

DKL

05-22-2006, 01:06 AM

... oh, sorry if I wasn't clear on that... but:

 The cells/DNA/something of the great men were dug up (like... in books the great men owned or something) and they were kept by the British Library in some lab somewhere (forgot what it was called)... they just needed the most suitable candidate

Had they had the ability to revive the things(which they weren't able to do I think), it would've just been the most suitable candidate for Mr. Gentleman's knowledge that would've been brought back to life

but then they were stolen (supposedly by Dokusensha)

and whoever stole it (I'm really assuming it's Dokusensha, even Wendy said so)

revived a bunch of them, not for Mr. Gentleman, but for the sake of... doing stuff (like, furthering evil anti-British plans for their bookshop or whatever)

... but they (supposedly) dropped the ball and weren't able to control the Ijin and that's how the stuff in the OAV went down 

As for the "putting the logic together" thing...

...

Well, it's not as bad as Evangelion, at least >_>

*man, I'm having a hard time with that one... we need to open up a new discussion sometime since I can't put all the evidence together because of how spread-out everything is... dammit, Anno is making me work hard for this... but then, I could always read the manga though since Sadamoto is a little more lenient on the evidence exposition, from what I recall reading*

As for the transition... how'd it go again? I think Hideyuki Kurata was the one that said it:

 "They were always like that... but no one noticed"

... this is a little arguable for Wendy though... she's a real bitch now (pretty cool though... and sexy... man, I want the fan-servicey inserts! :x )

The only real connection I really need to see in more detail is WHY Mr. Gentleman is a such a brilliant man... it would actually help further enhance the basis for the reasoning of why everyone is willing to be his bitch (har har har)

there are really only hints (like, people say that the great authors and whoever were totally inspired when they met and talked to him)

... but then... I still think that the hints given off where fairly ample clues and that it isn't really totally necessary to overextend the detail in this area... but that's just me

Talking about that, that Ikkyu guy from the OAV was actually inspired by Mr. Gentleman, it seems

But again, nuanced

Herufaiya

05-22-2006, 01:21 AM

I understood what you were trying to say previously, I'm just annoyed that it needs to be said at all.
As for Mr. Gentleman's relevance, he's become more symbol than man, while he did lead England, in secret, for a great many years, inspiring the nation to greater heights, and so forth, the country simply couldn't let him go, and, as the ages went on forcing them to discover new methods by which to extend and restore his life, he had been spliced and restored so many times that he had become a being of pure energy, hence his ability to alter the fabric of sapce-time and so forth.
But once again, we're stretching somewhat to arrive even here, it's just bad narrative.
And nothing that I've seen disproves the issues with Donny's existence, what is the supposed to be the linchpin of Yomiko's inherent and unresolved rage and relationship is totally and utterly dropped and ignored. Furthermore Yomiko's relationship with Nenene, which was presumed as so strong, is never that evident in the TV series, and shortly after being reunited Nenene hardly seems to care as much.

DKL

05-22-2006, 02:06 AM

Well… Masunari can’t just spoon feed us all the answers, so it’s nice that I get to put some evidence together to form an idea of… stuff…

That’s not to say that he leaves evidence around the place rather haphazardly (again, I’m looking at Evangelion when I say this), in fact, most of the time, I think it’s pretty clever…

Like…



how there was this brief moment where it was hinted that Anita was a possible subject other than Junior (it was on the paper thingy that Joker was reading… although, I actually saw the thing where the key screwed around with Anita coming at the end thanks to this hint… well, that and they spoil it at the beginning of the series)

... okay, that wasn't the best example, but yeah, something like that



Evidence gathering is pretty fun, so why not?

Also… I dunno… I don’t seem to be stretching. I presented a lot of evidence through specific examples… but yeah, I could be off… only human after all

And… I have to take a different stance on some stuff:



Strange… I must have taken it in differently, because I’m under the impression that Mr. Gentleman lived for like… a long long time, and that they only scrambled about with a revival solution later on when there were hints of him dying.

So far, there have only been a few solutions:

-Put his knowledge into someone else (which didn’t really work)
-Put his knowledge into a “great man” (Which would’ve worked, but it was halted)
-Put his knowledge into various books (that used some kinda whack DNA paper)

but… none of them have really ever been successful (and the trend continued in the end)

(I remember this being discussed during Wendy’s monologue thing… so yeah, we could speculate around that episode for evidence just in case I’m wrong)

I also thought that his main power was… like, his knowledge and personality... oh, and he lives long, it seems.

The manipulation of reality in London was the machine thingy right? Which were actually being worked over by the brains of various authors…



But yeah, I dunno… I could be wrong after all

As for the answers to some of the stuff you're talking about, those are actually in the MANGA, I think

But yes, that does mean that the series has some openings here and there that aren't necessarily explained in the context of the series

 Donnie Nakamura is a good exmaple... was that his name?

Although, I do think that the relationship between Nenene and Yomiko was strong... the initial meeting was pretty neat and evidence of this

as for "she didn't seem to care," I'm not following... they don't need to glare over it to present the fact... I mean, it should be more seamless anyway... and their interaction was up to speed from what I could tell...

Herufaiya

05-22-2006, 02:22 AM

I don't mind taking apart things and thinking up theories...I love it, in fact, but there are shows that strike me as doing this because they want to leave the viewer something to toy with, and there are others that make me feel like they just left things half-done...
As for Gentleman affecting London, I assumed that the matrix created from his books fueled the brains of people like ACDoyle, but it has been awhile, I could be looking at this the wrong way. I still feel liek we're saying similar things on this matter, Mr. Gentleman grew older over the years and the British Library tried new ways of keeping him alive, this is all that I meant, but, as said, it's been awhile.
What I meant by Nenene and Yomiko's relationship is that, in the first half of this series you're told of how strong their bond is, and how much Nenene truly loves Yomiko, but, when Yomiko is actually introduced, they don't feel terribly close, as if the introduction of Nancy somehow destroyed their chemistry, which would be a poor excuse considering how close they were supposed to be.

guido7

05-22-2006, 04:42 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Herufaiya said:
I
But once again, we're stretching somewhat to arrive even here, it's just bad narrative.
And nothing that I've seen disproves the issues with Donny's existence, what is the supposed to be the linchpin of Yomiko's inherent and unresolved rage and relationship is totally and utterly dropped and ignored. .

[/ QUOTE ]

This is one thing that did somewhat annoy me towards the end of the show, because it seems as if Yomiko gets let off the hook way too easily here. I mean, didn't people die when she burnt down the Library? If so, I would have liked to understand what actually happened to Donny in order to justify her rage. The fact that it isn't ever explained very much taints Yomiko in my mind.

And though this isn't a sore point in terms of the plot necessarily, I found Nancy to be a very unsympathetic character for huge swaths towards the end. I can't remember why now, but she definitely wasn't very likable at times. I think that was on purpose, however.

pianocello

05-22-2006, 05:12 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Itsuka said:
Maybe people wanted a different ending, though I can't see why they were so upset about the one they got. What did they want? Massive yuri sex scenes?

[/ QUOTE ]

That would probably make it the best ending ever. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

Captain Impulse

05-22-2006, 07:10 AM

DKL

05-22-2006, 12:29 PM

[ QUOTE ]
piano_cello_conducting said:
[ QUOTE ]
Itsuka said:
Maybe people wanted a different ending, though I can't see why they were so upset about the one they got. What did they want? Massive yuri sex scenes?

[/ QUOTE ]

That would probably make it the best ending ever. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

...

I'm sort of considering this mindset as well /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

But yeah, I'm just screwing around

[ QUOTE ]

 This is one thing that did somewhat annoy me towards the end of the show, because it seems as if Yomiko gets let off the hook way too easily here. I mean, didn't people die when she burnt down the Library? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Well:

 When you think about it, wasn't it only the British Library and people tied to it that really knew about this? *I could be wrong... but it did seem like the Jinbocho owners weren't really aware of why she disappeared... same for Nenene... but yeah, I could be wrong since I'm a little fuzzy on it right now*

... it's not like the British Library can do anything now though since they were sort of considered outlaws after everything

*I think... what was that news report that broadcasted their faces after the series? I didn't pay more attention, so I kinda missed it*

But I think they kept the details of why the placed burned down secret because of what the were doing...

And yes, Nancy was a hella brat in the series...

ooga

05-22-2006, 12:58 PM

Requiem from the Darkness
I'd give it a B to B-. It was pretty interesting, but I felt it fell apart at the end.

ROD TV
This was a very good show. I give it an A. No real complaints.

Rumiko Takahashi Anthology
I was bored after watching the first disc so I dropped the whole series. Not as funny/interesting as Takahashi's other works. Its a C+ at best for the first few episodes.

Isuzu Inugami

05-22-2006, 03:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
DKL said:

As for the answers to some of the stuff you're talking about, those are actually in the MANGA, I think

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I think the show assumes you've not only seen the OAV, but also read the manga (where Donnie has a lot more presence) and maybe the novels too....

DKL

05-23-2006, 01:04 AM

I'm actually sorta following the manga... it's pretty fun

ZhenJi

05-23-2006, 09:38 AM

[ QUOTE ]
DKL said:
I'm actually sorta following the manga... it's pretty fun

[/ QUOTE ]

It's the new one out yet? This is the only manga I've been reading, I couldn't think of a life without paper masters /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif/

--Zhen Ji

DanielJr

05-24-2006, 11:10 PM

Well you guys are going to kill me.

Anybody here seen Paranoia Agent (http://www.dvdplanet.com/details.cfm?info=PIO012607)? Pretty wild, right? I completely had forgotten this was a Geneon anime!! Had I known this information beforehand I probably wouldn't have made this thread. /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif Following along in the vein of 'atypical' anime I decided to go along with Requiem from the Darkness. I realize ROD TV is a very good series, but at the moment perhaps I'm in the market for something a little different from the norm --something more gritty and not so colorful. The Takahashi Anthology has a little too many mixed reviews so I put it off for now. Perhaps next time I have more cash on me I'll get both ROD TV and RTA, but for now, I think these will do just fine for me.

$43.97 - Requiem from the Darkness Collection
$54.97 - Paranoia Agent Collection
-----------
$98.94
$3.85 - Priority Mail
-----------
$102.79
(7.00) - MOTHERMAYI Coupon
-----------
$95.79

I'd like to thank everybody who has replied to this thread, some great insight there. I'll be bookmarking this thread for future reference. Thanks a lot people! /images/graemlins/happy.gif