Once a Stranger

Spiral, Twelve Kingdoms, Otogi Zoshi, Kino no Tabi, Haibane Renmei, wolf's Rain, Princess Tutu.

All of which you've probably already seen.

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Only 3 1/2 on 7! Haibane Renmei didn't held my attention, Kino no Tabi was interesting, but not enough for me to want to procure the rest of them. I don't know Spiral and Otogi Zoshi.

I did love Claymore, btw, thanks for that rec ^^

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Spiral is kind of High School Detective where the lead gets caught up with a group of people his brother was investigating when he disappeared. It stops more than it ends, but you might like watching the characters out-logic each other nonstop.

Otogi Zoushi starts out a supernatural but very well done adaptation of the myth of Minamoto no Raiko and his 4 generals, only with Raiko's crossdressing sister as the lead, but the second half deals with the characters reincarnated in the present and dealing with the aftermath of their adventures 1000 years before, while also dealing with urban myths come to life. Both parts are very good, and I'm particularly fond of how it approaches reincarnated lovers. One couple doesn't fall in love again (though there's nothing saying they couldn't in the future) and of the other, the one who remembers the past realizes that she isn't actually the same person and can't be expected to think or act or feel the same, and comes to appreciate her for her current self.

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Hmm, they both sound fun, especially Otogi Zoushi (*loves reincarnation as a trope*)

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"We are reincarnated so we must be in love again and either avert our tragic fates or redo everything" gets a bit old, but I like when different things are done with it.

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It's one of those horribly melodramatic trope which I love even when it's done straight (as long as it's tragic and painful enough :D), I guess it just scratches my id, it's a bit embarrassing at times.

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I just finished watching Spiral, that stopping rather than finishing is very frustrating! *whines* Do you know whether it's worth checking out the manga? And if so, do I need to read everything or can I just start at wherever is the point the anime stopped?

I thought the plotting wasn't bad, and the fact that all female characters were awesome was really nice, as well as some of friendships/teamworking/family between characters; but it's a bit heavy on the "what do you mean this is not awesome" and the "but why do they even bother with such complicated mind games in the first place? ^_^;". Although I didn't care for the graphic style, but that's not really a big problem for me ^^

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I love how Hitono manages to be a total Genki heroine and still kick butt and be even tougher than the hero.

I've read the first 2 volumes of the manga. It's good, though it's a bit odd how everyone is 10. I have vol 3-5 but haven't read them yet. Not from lack of interest, but because I know it's still primarily the material (though there are significant differences) that I've seen in animated form multiple times.

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Yeah, I really loved Hiyono's AWESOME moments as well, she's quite something, and her and Ayumu are really cute together ^_^

Hmmm guess I'll have to figure out whether to read the manga on my own then. Thanks :)

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Err...everyone LOOKS 10. Not is 10. The manga also has some amazing emo lines, especially with Eyes. Observe:

My earliest memory is from when I was three. There were these ants. And as they all marched in a row, I picked them up one by one and crushed them. For God knows how many hours. Then it was butterflies, crickets, grasshoppers...I just loved killing them. When I was five, I strangled out pet husky with wire. That was when my mom started to realize that something was wrong. She tried to occupy the hands of her son who desired bloodshed by tying him to the piano day and night.

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Dude, I was already pointing and laughing every times Eyes was on the screen. This line? NOT HELPING XDDDDDD

Although I think that sekreetly Eyes wants nothing but be a deadpan comedian actor. It's not his fault he looks like such a silver haired angst muffin pretty boy. He was just drawn this way. But nobody gets his humour. Tragic.

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Watch Eyes dubbed. Seriously.

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*hits You tube* ROFL. Poor, poor guy. OMG, how do they pick voice actors in the US??

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hamsterwoman

Click. The cave's been so terribly laggy, lately... that's probably why they're slow to fledge (my eggs have been kinda slow, too).

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yeah, it's been pretty annoying; I think it's due to the Automn eggs :(

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You could try the anime version of Natsume Yuujinchou. First season is over, at least.

Oh, and Seirei no Moribito, if you haven't already.

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Good point on Natsume. I'm bit afraid I won't like it cause I like the manga so much so I wanted a bit more distance, but it's tempting...

Seirei no Moribito rocked my world, but it's a bit early for a rewatch ^_^

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I swear I can't remember who watched what anymore.

Mmmm, what else. Baccano! is fun, but the amount of characters for such a short story can be a bit discouraging, and I don't know if it's your kind of thing. And did you watch Mononoke already?

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I didn't review it when I was done cuz I was lazy.

I didn't watch Mononoke! But I meant to, thanks for reminding me! Is Baccano! related to it?

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Oh, not at all. Baccano! is about mafia and immortals (and immortal gangsters, of course) in the 1930's, particularly an event happening on a luxurious train. It's mostly action with a bit of suspense.

What is related to Mononoke is Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, particularly the last arc (called Bakeneko). It's a sort of prequel, but you can understand it without it -however, the last Mononoke arc is less interesting that way.

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... okay that sounds crackful and possibly fun!

Is Ayakashi also interesting on its own?

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They licensed it in the US before I could download the whole thing, so I wouldn't know. I just found the Bakeneko arc on the LJ comm. I've heard the other arcs weren't so good, but no clue if they were biased opinions or not.

Also, Baccano is kind of short and underdeveloped because they just animated one story from the light novels it was based on. The characters are fun, nonetheless, once you get used to them and the broken narrative.

Edited Date: 2 December 2008 01:03 am (UTC)

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solesakuma

Are you accepting dorama/manga requests as well?

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I'm a rec-ho, I accept everything!

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solesakuma

Hm, lemme think...
Have you read Kimi wa Petto [Tramps like us], for example? Maybe it's way too... josei for you and it lacks tragedy of epic proportions, but the characters are very real and it is more respectable than most shoujo. XP So if you need a new Shoujo Guilty Pleasure That Is Not As Guilty...
Right now, I can't think of anything else. Because I really haven't read much this year. XP

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I've read and loved Kimi Wa Petto, and, what do you mean too josei??!!??!! Josei is perhaps my favourite genre of manga ♥ of course I love josei best when it's got some elements of supernatural and melodrama, but ^_^

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solesakuma

I think I was thinking too slice-of-lifey. But yeah, it is an awesome manga.
[And I serially rec it because josei in general is so unfairly unloved, you know? Specially since, in RL, I'm surrounded by the kind of anime fan who thinks watching Lovely Complex is an ADVENTURE!]

So since I'm out of geeky recs, I'll go with intellectual ones. I suppose you've read Borges and Cortazar, but have you read Silvina Ocampo? She was a fantasy writer of the same period and God, is she great and amazing.
AND READ MORE AUSTEN! Specially Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility. Oooooooooh, and the snarky goodness that Northanger Abbey is. It's like she parodied Twilight! all it's missing it's the vampires.

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yeah, it is good, and I agree with you on josei. It's criminally underepresented. Ofcourse lots of josei are classed into shoujo anyway, so it doesn't help...

I haven't read Borges, Cortazar or Ocampo, actually.

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solesakuma

Oooh, so there you have three recs.
The three of them wrote fantasy (and were close friends), but the Argentinian kind. That is, don't expect dragons. Expect man-eating dresses. Or coins that won't stay out of your mind. All of them wrote mostly short stories, not novels.
Borges is more... rational and cold than Cortazar or Ocampo. He's also waaaaay more meta. He has a lot of fun with references and with mirrors and labyrinths. 'The Aleph' or 'The Book of Sand' are nice to start reading the bastard.
I don't really like Cortazar but I'm sure you will, because he's quite good. He's less cerebral than Borges. He writes beautifully, at least in Spanish. 'Todos los fuegos, el fuego' [All the fires, the fire] is my favourite book of him.
And Silvina... I'm sure you'll adore her. Most of her stories are weird and disturbing. She's basically out to weird the fuck out of you. XD

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Thank you! That does sound interesting, I love references to mirrors and labyrinths and meta stuff.

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wingblossom.livejournal.com

I second the Borges! I was reading The Book of Imaginary Beings recently, and was constantly surprised by how much fun it was; he pulls out references on everything from Eastern mythology to the Manticore to Robert Graves and back. There's just so much material -- it's impossible to list all the factoids and details he comes up with, but he pulls off everything with genuine creativity and style.

(I actually copied down one of the sections about mirrors, it was that cool.)

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rebbe

Supposedly SOUL EATER is amazing, if you've never seen it.

edit; okay, that was badly worded. WHAT I MEAN IS THAT IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SOUL EATER, YOU MIGHT WANNA GIVE IT A TRY

Edited Date: 2 December 2008 03:32 am (UTC)

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HOW IS THIS SHOUNEN DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER SHOUNENS?

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rebbe

IDK I HAVEN'T SEEN IT

BUT ALL MY FRIENDS SAY THAT IT'S GOOD OKAY

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ROFL

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rebbe

I DON'T WATCH ANIME YOU REALIZE

IT'S ONE OF THE FEW SERIES THAT I KNOW OF

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You should, there are lots of good anime!!

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rebbe

Haha, I dunno, I've never really liked anime or tv shows or movies or anything like that. I think it's 'cause you don't interact with it at all; with video games, you have to earn your new material, and with books and manga you have to flip the pages and read. I can't really do the "passively watching" thing laksjdflk;sjdf

I don't doubt that there's good anime out there, but it's just not my cup of tea!

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wow, really? Fascinating!

So, Avatar's one of the exception?

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rebbe

That's the conclusion I've come to, haha.

Pretty much! I stopped watching TV when I was nine because all shows bored me |D the fact that I like Avatar surprises me to this day.

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twhitesakura.livejournal.com

I recommend "Rose of Versailles" but I think you saw that already. There's also "Skip Beat" which is a good mood-lifter. But it's also somewhat shoujo and is a WIP. If you want an addictive horror/thriller, try "Monster".

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