Support NeoGAF

[ZetaEpyon]

Honestly, I sort of like the nicer NIS releases, in terms of balancing price vs content. I picked up the Katanagatari LEs on sale for about $50 each, and they come with both the DVDs and BDs, some nice hardcover artbooks, and quality (if strangely sized) boxes. $100-150 for the whole thing doesn't seem too unreasonable to me, although the lack of a dub will obviously be offputting to some.

The Madoka LEs are pushing it a little, but still come with nice extras, and the Fate/Zero release is, admittedly, a little silly. I'm just a sucker for these sort of things.

As for Madoka's value, I only began to collect anime after the industry moved away from the expensive volume format, so I think we'll never see eye-to-eye on that, hah.

I think this also may have a lot to do with what people find acceptable. I started collecting back in the early days of DVDs, when a full 24-26 episode series could easily run you $200-250.

 

[Envelope]

I remember the first pic, I don't remember the second one. Then again, the time between my watch of episode 1 and episode 2 is like, three weeks.

Hmmm, I don't know how I could have forgotten the second pic.

Edit: Was that kiss a dream sequence for one of the characters?

Nope, those two are a yuri couple.

 

[madp]

Honestly, I sort of like the nicer NIS releases, in terms of balancing price vs content. I picked up the Katanagatari LEs on sale for about $50 each, and they come with both the DVDs and BDs, some nice hardcover artbooks, and quality (if strangely sized) boxes. $100-150 for the whole thing doesn't seem too unreasonable to me, although the lack of a dub will obviously be offputting to some.

The Madoka LEs are pushing it a little, but still come with nice extras, and the Fate/Zero release is, admittedly, a little silly. I'm just a sucker for these sort of things.

The NISA model is definitely the way to go when marketing niche premium anime product. Good packaging, a nice bonus, and (when you're lucky) both disc formats for not much more than a Funimation or Sentai release. I've purchased Arakawa Under the Bridge and Katanagatari from NISA and have been very pleased with their releases. You can tell that they actually make an effort to produce a product that their small buyer base will enjoy without charging an extravagant price.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Master Keaton 6-8

How the hell did Keaton and his dad make a complex windmill/water pump in the span of a few hours? These guys are geniuses.

During the ransom episode, I was kind of expecting the

Spoiler

kidnapper to actually be husband and it was all staged. The evidence was there like him quitting the day of and the photo in the paper. Just needed to get some other guy to do the calls and everything would have worked.

Kind of disappointed it didn't turn out that way.

 

[Makoto]

Nope, those two are a yuri couple.

Hmmm, it must have been a really unsatisfactory shot because my impression of episode 1 (or at least, how I remember it) was very lackluster and uneventful.

 

[cajunator]

I think we can agree that the dirtiest thing of all is Aniplex not even bothering to localize some of their products save for a subtitle track. It's lazy in general, but also reveals their cynicism toward their customer base. If you're marketing your product toward rich collector otaku who will buy your product no matter what, why expend anything other than the least amount of effort possible? It seems exploitative.

As for Madoka's value, I only began to collect anime after the industry moved away from the expensive volume format, so I think we'll never see eye-to-eye on that, hah.

I used to pay pretty dearly when I saw a lot of perceived vlaue in the package.
For example I spent close to 50$ a volume on Scrapped Princess because each came with a nice figurine. I spent similarly on separate volumes in the 00's if stuff came with an artbox and pencil board or a hat, thingsl ike that. I have no problem with charging a dear price if theres value in the package. Now to be fair, Fate Zero did have some nice stuffl ike the drama CD and artbook, but EACH volume of Madoka comes with stuffl ike this, and not just one. I guess its just up to how much someonel ikes Fate Zero I guess.

 

[Steroyd]

I remember the first pic, I don't remember the second one. Then again, the time between my watch of episode 1 and episode 2 is like, three weeks.

Hmmm, I don't know how I could have forgotten the second pic.

Edit: Was that kiss a dream sequence for one of the characters?

The kiss is the first thing Kana sees when she sees the job ad at the newspaper place.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

So, AnimeGAF, would Soul Eater be worth owning?

For shounenbros, absolutely. For everyone else, maybe.

 

[Cwarrior]

So, AnimeGAF, would Soul Eater be worth owning?

pros
-great production value
-really excellent animated fights
-fab ops and eds
-great art, character design, world art
-2 excalibur episodes
- Earlier episode are pretty good, I would say around 15 good to great episodes, best episodes are the ones without maka, which mostly focus on the other 2 side characters

cons
-it's mostly really boring and a chore to watch
-maka the main character will make you want to rip your ears off / not only her voice, but also her action which is mostly just crying,moping,bitching,crying,moping,shouting,bitching,bitching,bitching, talk no jutso, dues ex machine,shouting and bitching while crying.
-the later part of it sucks and it's mostly just mindless sakuga

If you’re a sakuga whore and don't care about the other things ( like your ears) then it’s well worth it, best thing to do is find a way to just buy the good episodes.

 

[cajunator]

The NISA model is definitely the way to go when marketing niche premium anime product. Good packaging, a nice bonus, and (when you're lucky) both disc formats for not much more than a Funimation or Sentai release. I've purchased Arakawa Under the Bridge and Katanagatari from NISA and have been very pleased with their releases. You can tell that they actually make an effort to produce a product that their small buyer base will enjoy without charging an extravagant price.

The NISA model is excellent. I have collected several of them, including the Working! one and Toradora and I have absolutely no problem. NISA even misprinted the front art of Our Homes fox Deity and sent me a free replacement.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

So, AnimeGAF, would Soul Eater be worth owning?

I think it is, on its own, I enjoyed it (blu ray > dvd), probably first anime I watched via renting through netflix completely and then going and buying it all once funimation rereleased it.

Although it goes into non canon territory, its nice to see the world further explored.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

The NISA model is definitely the way to go when marketing niche premium anime product. Good packaging, a nice bonus, and (when you're lucky) both disc formats for not much more than a Funimation or Sentai release. I've purchased Arakawa Under the Bridge and Katanagatari from NISA and have been very pleased with their releases. You can tell that they actually make an effort to produce a product that their small buyer base will enjoy without charging an extravagant price.

Does Arakawa have the same style of boxes as Katanagatari? I think that's next on my backlog list of things to get. The size of the art on the Katanagatari boxes is fantastic, but they don't fit on my current shelves very well.

For example I spent close to 50$ a volume on Scrapped Princess because each came with a nice figurine.

These are one of the limited releases that I absolutely wish I hadn't skipped on at the time.

 

[madp]

I think this also may have a lot to do with what people find acceptable. I started collecting back in the early days of DVDs, when a full 24-26 episode series could easily run you $200-250.

I think that my first experience shopping for anime DVDs was with the first Fullmetal Alchemist. As a broke high school student, I was really taken aback when I found out that the first volume only had four episodes for $30 as opposed to the half or full season I was used to with live action television box sets. I ended up just recording the entire series onto VHS off of [adult swim].

I was also scammed on bootlegs several times before I knew better. I truly believed the "EVERYTHING is cheaper on ebay!" mantra when I was new to the internet, so I never batted an eye at the ridiculously low prices.

Does Arakawa have the same style of boxes as Katanagatari? I think that's next on my backlog list of things to get. The size of the art on the Katanagatari boxes is fantastic, but they don't fit on my current shelves very well.

It's the exact same size and style as the Katanagatari boxes. I have the same shelving issue too, I actually keep my NISA anime with my NISA PS3 LEs because those don't fit on my gaming shelves either, hah.

 

[cajunator]

I dont mind shelling put a bundle on each volume as long as, like I said, theres schwag involved. I think honestly if Fate Zero had been split into three similarly priced volumes with extra shit with each one I would have bought it no question.
Even though Madoka, will add up to about 300$ total all things considered I find it more palateable than dropping 400 bones right away.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I think that my first experience shopping for anime DVDs was with the first Fullmetal Alchemist. As a broke high school student, I was really taken aback when I found out that the first volume only had four episodes for $30 as opposed to the half or full season I was used to with live action television box sets. I ended up just recording the entire series onto VHS off of [adult swim].

I did that with Naruto Shippuden, though I thought it was a far price because the box art, disc arts, looked so cool and I wanted it before it aired on Disney XD, and was so worth it, dont know why Viz ditched the model and just sell collections every two months or so (the single volumes came like every month), stopped at 12.

 

[Makoto]

The kiss is the first thing Kana sees when she sees the job ad at the newspaper place.

Oh shit. You're correct, I am able to verify that this is in fact the case. Now I don't at all remember why I was interested in this show in the first place. I guess it wasn't for the yuri.

 

[Envelope]

Nisemono 9

That was actually... fairly boring. I wonder how much of this is the source material's fault versus SHAFT, since introducing

Spoiler

(presumably) villains this late in the game doesn't work too well.

Oh I guess there was some more loli molestation this episode, too.

 

[Cwarrior]

I must be the only person that preferred the second OP

I like both,also I like the second one more

 

[Envelope]

The first Soul Eater OP is one of the best ever, second isn't even close to it.

 

[Steroyd]

pros
-great production value
-really excellent animated fights
-fab ops and eds
-really nice art
-2 excalibur episodes
- Earlier episode are pretty good, I would say around 15 good to great episodes, best episodes are the ones without maka, which mostly focus on the other 2 side characters

Does not compute.

 

[cajunator]

The only purchase I actually regret is buying the first two season of Inuyasha. for osme reason I was pretty into the show until he got the

Spoiler

windscar attack

. After that I really didn't give a shit anymore.

Other than that, I've been pretty satisfied all things considered.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

The first Soul Eater OP is one of the best ever, second isn't even close to it.

The first one didnt really feel like it fit the series, the only highlight was medusa dancing. The second one has the better singer, and feels way more like it fits the theme of Soul Eater.

 

[Ice Lightning]

After going through both the English and Japanese dubs of the anime titles I own, English dubs may be easier to watch, but Japanese dubs truly have a richer experience despite reading subtitles for hours. Oh how naive I have been thinking dub>sub.

 

[madp]

I did that with Naruto Shippuden, though I thought it was a far price because the box art, disc arts, looked so cool and I wanted it before it aired on Disney XD, and was so worth it, dont know why Viz ditched the model and just sell collections every two months or so (the single volumes came like every month), stopped at 12.

Ultimately, the volume model is unsustainable for interminably long series. I recently ordered all of Inuyasha used from a site for a dollar a volume, and some of them arrived still sealed with $25 price stickers from Best Buy. There were 55 volumes in all, so if someone had purchased every volume at that price, they theoretically may have had to spend $1375 (or even more) for the entire series. Imagine the total cost for shounen series two and three times as long as this and still ongoing--even the most ardent fans will tire at that pricing model after so long.

I feel sorry for the people who were buying Naruto, Bleach, and OP before they switched to a season format (it would drive me insane for OCD reasons, even if you end up getting more for your money), but long, mass-market series switching to a more affordable format was an inevitability.

 

[Narag]

If it weren't for the unfortunate presence of Gundam 000 Season II I could safely say that you're watching some of the finest anime around!

I've a soft spot for Gundam! That and I never finished the second half of the show and figure I ought before I potentially blind myself from the 00 movie.

 

[cajunator]

Saint Tail episodes 1-2

Do you like HNNG?
Well then have I got a show for you!

Saint Tail is a magical girl show that came out around the same time as Sailor Moon about a little thief who steals back items from actual burglars and gives them back to the rightful owner. By day she is a student at a Catholic School. By night she is pursued by one of her classmates, who is trying to become a junior detective to help his father solve crimes. Naturally, Saint Tail never gets caught and she finds him getting angry to be really adorable.
DID I MENTION THIS SHOW IS HNNNG?

I watched some of it long ago, but after acquiring the series recently and giving it a rewatch, it is every bit as fun as I remember.
I reccommend it to Magical Girls fans easily, and her henshin scene will possibly kill you.
I only wish I could get my computer to play my DVDs in a right-side-up fashion so that I could screen cap this show and show you just how cute it is.

 

[Thoraxes]

pros
-great production value
-really excellent animated fights
-fab ops and eds
-great art, character design, world art
-2 excalibur episodes
- Earlier episode are pretty good, I would say around 15 good to great episodes, best episodes are the ones without maka, which mostly focus on the other 2 side characters

cons
-it's mostly really boring,
-maka the main character will make you want to rip your ears off / not only her voice, but also her action which is mostly just crying,moping,bitching,crying,moping,shouting,bitching, talk no jutso, dues ex machine and shouting.
-the later part of it sucks and it's mostly just mindless sakuga

If you’re a sakuga whore and don't care about the other things ( like your ears) then it’s well worth it, best thing to do is find a way to buy the good episodes.

To the person asking about this, Maka's voice was pure earsex, and I enjoyed all the things in there about her.

 

[jman2050]

The only purchase I actually regret is buying the first two season of Inuyasha. for osme reason I was pretty into the show until he got the

Spoiler

windscar attack

. After that I really didn't give a shit anymore.

Other than that, I've been pretty satisfied all things considered.

Inuyasha is a pretty awesome 2-cour series!

 

[Envelope]

To the person asking about this, Maka's voice was pure earsex, and I enjoyed all the things in there about her.

Chiaki Omigawa is a delight to the ears and heart.

 

[cajunator]

Inuyasha is a pretty awesome 2-cour series!

Until it got to episode 50-something it was actually pretty watchable. then it just kind of got fillered to death and I lost interest.

 

[Uchip]

To the person asking about this, Maka's voice was pure earsex, and I enjoyed all the things in there about her.

isnt it the same VA as the mamimi in FLCL?
or am i delusional

 

[ZetaEpyon]

isnt it the same VA as the mamimi in FLCL?
or am i delusional

It's not.
Soul Eater was her (Chiaki Omigawa) first VA role, as far as I know.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

After going through both the English and Japanese dubs of the anime titles I own, English dubs may be easier to watch, but Japanese dubs truly have a richer experience despite reading subtitles for hours. Oh how naive I have been thinking dub>sub.

I think Ill always be a dub > sub. Mainly its the same issue I have with video games that lack voice acting, it gets tiring just reading subs or similarily struggling to focus on on screen action or words. I also struggle to truly feel Im getting my moniers worth if Im buying sub only anime, but I guess I still do (Star driver).

Though with watching more and more jpn anime starting to like some of the jpn voice actors, and in some action intense anime I end up zoning out of the subs and just interpreting whats happening in the scene, bleach one piece naruto gundam ageetc.

Ultimately, the volume model is unsustainable for interminably long series. I recently ordered all of Inuyasha used from a site for a dollar a volume, and some of them arrived still sealed with $25 price stickers from Best Buy. There were 55 volumes in all, so if someone had purchased every volume at that price, they theoretically may have had to spend $1375 (or even more) for the entire series. Imagine the total cost for shounen series two and three times as long as this and still ongoing--even the most ardent fans will tire at that pricing model after so long.

I feel sorry for the people who were buying Naruto, Bleach, and OP before they switched to a season format (it would drive me insane for OCD reasons, even if you end up getting more for your money), but long, mass-market series switching to a more affordable format was an inevitability.

I never did find Naruto volumes, I had to end up buying all of them in the season sets on iTunes, though Shippuden I have all on disc luckily. I cant even imagine having like 320 episode of Naruto on 4-5 episode discs for 30$ each, thats like $2400 on Naruto alone...

 

[Uchip]

It's not.
Soul Eater was her (Chiaki Omigawa) first VA role, as far as I know.

Ah ok
they sounded similar, but maka was kind of more grating

 

[Articalys]

For anyone interested, the third part of ANN's "Anime Economy" feature is now up, discussing the streaming side of the industry.

 

[cajunator]

The dubs on these ancient releases of Saint Tail and Agent Aika are surprisingly great.
Dubs used to be so hit or miss. These shows actually tried.

Ok, well Agent aika's is not so great. Its merely good.
But I forgot how SHAMELESS this show is. To a ridiculous degree.

 

[chickdigger802]

Ok I lied. That movie wasn't too bad, even though I hate how they didn't follow the better manga ending.

This gif will have much use with E3 coming around soon.

 

[cajunator]

Ok I lied. That movie wasn't too bad, even though I hate how they didn't follow the better manga ending.

This gif will have much use with E3 coming around soon.

Cant wait to watch this.

 

[madp]

Until it got to episode 50-something it was actually pretty watchable. then it just kind of got fillered to death and I lost interest.

It was always episodic, though, with the exception of the Shichinintai arc a little over halfway into the series. I think it would be more accurate to say that you merely got tired of the formula

Spoiler

I think I'm probably the only member of AnimeGAF who actually likes Inuyasha, not even ironically.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Madoka 2-6

Someone give cutie Kyubey a

Spoiler

flippin' Scumbag Steve hat.

Edit: Also

Spoiler

someone smack Madoka upside her head...continuously

 

[dakkumauji]

Ah My Goddess: The Adventures of the Mini-Goddess 01-06
Well, this is definitively a complete 180 turn from the OAVs. Throw out the whole romance angle, shrink the goddess for no good reason, replace Keiichi with a rat and why not toss out Belldandy into cameo appearances into all comedy, with no story.
And, I like it. They are all short episodes, so it doesn't take too long with the same story, the characters are still fun with the rat being the straight man, and I like the short stories they have done so far.
I do wish the ED didn't take about 2 minutes of a 7 minute show.

 

[cajunator]

It was always episodic, though, with the exception of the Shichinintai arc a little over halfway into the series. I think it would be more accurate to say that you merely got tired of the formula

Spoiler

I think I'm probably the only member of AnimeGAF who actually likes Inuyasha, not even ironically.

Yeah thats probably the case. I did get really tired of everything. 54 episodes with the same characters just gets old. Especially the repetitive nature of a show like IY.

 

[Makoto]

The first one didnt really feel like it fit the series, the only highlight was medusa dancing. The second one has the better singer, and feels way more like it fits the theme of Soul Eater.

I disagree. The first one does a really good job of establishing a brief glimpse of the world and what the viewer should expect from the universe of Soul Eater.

 

[cajunator]

how good are the fight scenes? I saw a MAD of it and it looked pretty intense. Is that typical of the series?

 

[Envelope]

how good are the fight scenes? I saw a MAD of it and it looked pretty intense. Is that typical of the series?

The series has a very high level of animation quality throughout.

 

[Risette]

I suppose hobbies don't need to be reasonably priced, but I think they do so that as many people that want to enjoy them can.

You don't even buy anime at the current American prices, why are you doing this again?

So, AnimeGAF, would Soul Eater be worth owning?

Yes. On Blu-ray.

 

[Thoraxes]

Ah ok
they sounded similar, but maka was kind of more grating

I really liked her yelling voice.

how good are the fight scenes? I saw a MAD of it and it looked pretty intense. Is that typical of the series?

It's pretty well done the whole way through.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Think im going to keep watching Fairy Tail. There is alot I dislike about it but I do like the characters.

 

[Thoraxes]

Yes. On Blu-ray.

Those blurays are cheap too. Only $30 for one half and $35 for the other on Amazon right now.

That's a shitload of episodes for that price.

Ok I lied. That movie wasn't too bad, even though I hate how they didn't follow the better manga ending.

This gif will have much use with E3 coming around soon.

It's OK though.

Season 3 is this year.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Think im going to keep watching Fairy Tail. There is alot I dislike about it but I do like the characters.

Great decision, the second major arc is one of my favorites with the way it was handled, galuna island.