TSUBASA~Reservoir Chronicles--for SERIOUS discussion

1 year 1 month ago

"I find the recent developments a tad confusing. I'm actually embarrassed at my own confusion. *laughs* I think it's just that everything is up in the air and sort of frustrating at the moment. In some respects, I almost wish I'd stayed away from Tsubasa. It's very CLAMP in that in can be a frustrating series with some confusing bits.

I do like how ambiguous Ashura's character is and where this is leading. I too hope the twins curse isn't real, not because I feel compassion for Fai's character, although I do, but because the superstition of a whole population is interesting enough and justifying that superstition makes it kind of boring. Fai's world had a kind of 19th century feel to it and there was still so much superstition about left-handers, moles (on the face), and deformities. It's intriguing to build a fantasy setting and have so much destruction wracked upon two children over superstition. Making it real and founded, rather than unfounded, kind of cheapens the hardship that the twins did suffer. If what they went through was even remotely justifiable than it isn't as interesting. "
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Flame of Recca!!!!!

2 years 1 week ago

"A really underappreciated series in my opinion. Koganei is probably one of the better manga characters created in that younger age group--still a kid but edging on maturity because of his experiences, etc. The anime was really awful and although that isn't usually such a bother (since hey, we can always pretend it didn't happen), with Flame of Recca a lot of possible fans are turned away because they watch the anime before even so much as touching the manga. Most of the jokes fall flat in the anime and there was too little Joker. I love how they handled Kurei in the manga, he's complicated enough that it takes just about the entire series to really grasp what he's like. The manga ending was fantastic."
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Ouran High School Host Club

2 years 1 week ago

"It was definitely a good show. I liked the manga a lot more, but that's fairly standard for most things. Only the occasional series like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun seem to be better animated. Even so, some of the jokes just... worked so much better in the anime version versus the manga version. I really do hope we get another good comedy for the fall anime season to replace Host Club."
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Daft Punk

2 years 4 months ago

"I think Homework is my favorite album too. I'm not a big Discovery fan, it doesn't have quite the strength and versatility that Daft Punk can usually deal out."
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What are the best samurai mangas out there?

2 years 4 months ago

"Blade of the Immortal, hands down. I've read a lot of samurai manga, but this is one that really manages to preserve a lot of historical elements without skewing/sugar-coating them. It's a very gritty series, fabulously detailed, and you really worry after the safety of its characters. People die in it, some are raped, some lose important people, some seek revenge and find it wanting, et cetera. Unlike a lot of shounen series where you get this impression that no vital character is going to die, with Blade of the Immortal... you just don't know."
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...What do you think of yaoi???

2 years 4 months ago

"It's funny, but I doubt even the most graphic yaoi is as "strong" as porn is. I don't think it's graphic enough to be called "porn." lol It's like... erotica is a step away from porn and usually has more of a plot and isn't as graphic. Not that a lot of yaoi does have a plot, but the most popular yaoi titles (which are, ironically enough, namely classics that brought forth a new more emotional shoujo, lol) sometimes deal with actual issues. It's rare, but it happens. I think by labeling it porn though, it's like labeling a rated are movie porn because it has a scant sex scene and you see a nipple and see a bit of rolling around under a sheet. I've read quite enough yaoi to say that with the exclusion of certain magazines that cater to BDSM yaoi fans, it's fairly tame for the most part.

What I mean to say is, I think yaoi also partially appeals to women (and some guys) because it is more softcore. The "kink" of seeing two guys together can suffice to be a candy-coating for an otherwise tame hentai manga. If most of these series were just about a guy and a girl, they wouldn't cause the same kind of waves as they do as yaoi titles.

For me though... I'm adventurous. I just like to read all sorts of things (just like I like to listen to all sorts of music). I find a decent yuri to be as interesting as a decent het manga. Same with yaoi. I don't think I can explain why, maybe I'm just not biased at all? I don't see how it makes a difference. It's fiction and shouldn't be turned into some religious/ethical issue. Plus... this is a manga forum. There isn't really a need to big in the big guns (religion, ethics, and politics) into it. It's manga."
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Slow with One piece

3 years 1 month ago

"Viz releases One Piece, Naruto, Shaman King, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Hikaru no Go on their serialized monthly JUMP so all the graphic novels for those titles are a lot slower than say... Viz's Rurouni Kenshin or Hot Gimmick or something. They just release about two chapters of each of those mangas each month and then they wait a bit before they compile them into volume format and release it that way. If they didn't do that they would probably be on at least volume 16."
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Naruto Manga Edited!

3 years 1 month ago

"

Slimchance may have a point, they did also change Zoro to zolo.

Yeah, but at least with that they did that because 4Kids decided to name Zoro as Zolo instead and they changed it later once 4Kids started releasing the very edited anime version of One Piece. So that one isn't entirely Viz's fault. But yeah, Viz edits out anything they see as too... 'mature' (or immature depending on perspective XD). Viz is probably one of the worst U.S. manga companies right now considering how many titles and experience they should have by now. Their slang usage is a nightmare too. +___+; Preggo? Who uses that word anymore. It burns. lol"
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Full Moon wo Sagashite

3 years 1 month ago

"My biggest peeve with FMwS is that the main character doesn't act remotely her age. She's twelve and she has the decorum and acceptance fate of someone who is in their 60's. So if you're looking for something with good characterization and realistically portrayed characters I'd search elsewhere. If you like shoujo and do want something more realistic, I'd try Paradise Kiss or Nana both are by the same manga-ka and while the art style is different (it almost feels somewhat retro-y to me) it doesn't follow the stereotypical shoujo cookie cutter romance storyline that FMwS strays far from."
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Kiddy Grade

3 years 1 month ago

"I'd toss out the font. I'm not sure if I'd even bother replacing it with something better though. If you center it a little more like dhias suggested than it won't look as blank on the right side so a font would be unnecessary. Another suggestion is the girl's cheek on the right side has a kind of blurry area. It's just a few pixels that look like they need to be re-cged as her hair color and that area softened lightly to smooth the edge."
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Dirty Pair (Flash)

3 years 1 month ago

"In the middle where the water meets the sky you have a kind of black outline. I'd edit that out and use masks to lower the opacity of the top edge of the water (again, where it meets the sky) so it blends better. I think the cliff idea isn't bad personally. Or maybe something just like rocks in the distance would be nice? "
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Kingdom heart wallpaper

3 years 1 month ago

"In addition to the other comments I'd like to add a thought. Besides changing the font I would make the size a little smaller (no matter if you use a new font or not) and put "Forever" so it's below "Friends" instead of side by side. Having it all on one line makes the wallpaper seem too wide and 'open spaced'. The simple design looks good, but with the font like that it draws attention to it negatively."
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Anime Art styles. How much does it count?

3 years 1 month ago

"I'm not overly picky about art since I'm more interested in something with a decent plot and good characterization. I kind of like variety though with style. Too much Gonzo or Bones and I want something different, etc. The really cute art also bothers me though. And the paler pastel look like anakaneh mentioned is easier on the eyes (Fruits Basket anime comes to mind in particular)."
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Favourite Anime OST

3 years 2 months ago

"I don't listen to a lot of anime OST's anymore, but the ones I do like are the oldies like Vampire Princess Miyu, Noir, and Witch Hunter Robin."
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Death By Degrees Wallpaper

3 years 3 months ago

"I'd move the top text so it's a little more off to the right and have the bottom text so it's more to the left and only covering her sword and not her so much. And maybe brighten up the background a little. The BG is a bit dark in contrast to how bright her outfit is. It doesn't have to be as bright... but maybe something inbetween what you currently have and her outfit color."
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Hellsing WIP

3 years 3 months ago

"Maybe some kind of fire/flame effects? Or download some grunge brushes (or make your own by using stock photos and lowering the threshold until it's just black and white and delete the white and change the color of the remaining black however you see fit) to lay over top. Also that very top right side eye is a little too bright, I'd lower the opacity on it. You could also try for some kind of burned edge effect around the edge of your wall.

Just a couple ideas. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful."
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Manga vs. Anime

3 years 3 months ago

"I usually prefer manga, except my concentration is so pathetic that I can't get as sucked into a manga series as an anime series (less necessity to concentrate). Some anime series carry jokes over better, just because they can be more amusing in action. But overall manga tends to lay nicer with me. Too many anime companies cut things they consider unamusing or unnecessary and those end up being some of the best bits. A good example of this is Eyeshield 21."
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Your favorite BLEACH's CHARACTERS

3 years 3 months ago

"Ishida (geek who sews), Zaraki (creepy bloodlust man), Yachiru (super chibi), and Chad (I don't even need to explain this one)."
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Chrno Crusade

3 years 3 months ago

"I thought it kind of dragged actually. I hear the manga is better (but that's usually the case with these things). Plus I saw the ending coming and wasn't even the slightest bit surprised. And while not being surprised doesn't necessarily make an ending bad (surprise endings can usually be the worst), the whole feeling that they were doomed from the start felt too melodramatic for my taste."
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Most Villainous Anime Character

3 years 4 months ago

"I kind of like the bad guys in a lot of series. The villians I tend to really despise are the ones in One Piece just because they're usually idiots or extreme jerks. Ah hah. ^^; Plus its one of those series where you can't not root for the 'good guys'."
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Downloading Anime

3 years 4 months ago

"Grab Azureus and learn how to use it. It's probably the best as far as bittorrent programs go."
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What kind of songs do you listen?

3 years 4 months ago

"Just about anything, and I mean that. I listen to indie stuff, gothic music, trip-hop (my fav genre), electronica, techno, trance, instrumental, and on down the line. Music is my favorite thing."
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your friends

3 years 4 months ago

"I have friends of all ages. Most of them are older with just a few exceptions. It used to be the reverse too. Strange how some things work out..."
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What's your exotic country?

3 years 4 months ago

"I'd love to go to Scotland, Italy, and Greece."
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weird phobias

3 years 4 months ago

"It's weird, I'm not afraid of most things--not heights, or enclosed spaces (I just feel a little dizzy, but it isn't scary) or the 'normal stuff'. I'm mostly afraid of finding something I'm afraid of and not being able to conquer that fear when that situation arises and doing something stupid (like nothing) when this happens. Eh heh."
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