I would go if I could to be honest.
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Gay and Bisexual thread |OT2|Bears and Twinks and Otters. Oh My!
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I would go if I could to be honest.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
I don't know, orgies can get pretty messy.
So cool, too bad is in the US. Then again, one in here...might be quite crappy if it's like the Comic-Cons and Game Conventions from every year...*shrugs
Awesome seeing Ellen McLain (GLaDOS) giving her support. XD
michaeltraps
Member
My straight best friend actually pointed this out to me. He was in a tizzy all last week over the Chick-Fil-A nonsense and felt he needed to donate to this (which was awesome). I gave too at a level that gets me a ticket. Who knows, maybe in a year I'll take a trip to San Fran if possible.
You need to watch:
- Monster
- Mushishi
- Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen / Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal OVA
- The Twelve Kingdoms
- Legend of the Galactic Heroes
But I've already read Monster! I don't have any interest in Ruroni Kenshin, and I don't have any way of acquiring the last two, but I'll check out Mushishi. I've been wanting to get into it, but, like with most things, I vastly prefer the manga's art. If you like it though, I'll give it a shot.
Reading Monster is an acceptable alternative! And you might think you have no interest in Rurouni Kenshin, but you should still give it a chance. It is completely different from the manga or the televised anime in style, content, tone, maturity, etc. It's a really, really great OVA that deserves every bit of acclaim it has, so if it is your experience with other parts of the series that turn you off, you might still like it.
And Mushishi is definitely worth it and is available officially on Youtube!
umop_3pisdn
Member
Also Revolutionary Girl Utena, even if it doesn't really match any of the others already mentioned in terms of genre.
^ When are you going to watch Monster, Dead Man?
Are you my subconscious telling me I need to finish that?
Are you my subconscious telling me I need to finish that?
umop_3pisdn
Member
Yes (well, I guess not if you want to be literal), but it has easily become one of my favorite series, and we share similar tastes in some respects, so I would recommend it. I found the first half a little difficult, and you can skip the black rose arc if you want, but dat latter half...
Is that even available to watch somewhere? For the life of me I can't find it.
It's more that samurai series don't do much for me. For instance, I remember the topic of Vagabond coming up in the plug.dj room and everybody praising it, and while I recognize the series is good, I don't really like it. I find the time period interesting, but the book itself is too slow, and when I see the thirty-some odd volumes of Ruroni Kenshin in my library (en español, which is why I haven't given the series a serious crack) I can't help but think I'll have the same problem with it. I actually owned that OVA for a good eight years and recently sold it on Amazon for a good $20 because I figured it wasn't going to make any sense to me. If the story stands on its own, I'll give it a try.
And I just put Mushishi on hold; I can't watch shows on my computer. I'll try to watch it quickly and report back on how I like it, although I've been trying to go through My-Otome for dragonlife.
Utena's the series with the girls who pull swords out of their chests, right?
umop_3pisdn
Member
Well, the person the sword is being pulled from tends not to do the pulling themselves, but sure.
So another girl grabs the first girl's chest and just yanks a sword out?
After I finish Mushishi? I've still got heaps of it to watch yet!
umop_3pisdn
Member
Why are you fixating on this particular point? It's not really gender specific and it's not even a crucial point for the series so much as a visual allegory to suggest testing a bond against another in the context of the duels
which end up not even being very important
I wasn't fixating on it, that's just the only thing I know about the series, and I was making sure my memory of the show was correct. I don't know why you'd think I'm saying anything about the show's substance, considering I don't know anything else about it and don't have an opinion one way or another.
My second post wasn't entirely serious either. Didn't mean to bother you; sorry about that.
Yes.
There are DVDs, even.
No skipping! I was on episode 13 or 14, though, when I took a break.
Oh.
Actually I think you're conflating series that really shouldn't be compared with one another like that. They're very different time periods, for one. Vagabond is set in the late 1500s; Kenshin is set in the late 1800s. Vagabond is based (a bit loosely at times, but...) on Musashi, Eiji Yoshikawa's literary treatment of Miyamoto Musashi's life, and is a more mature seinen type of manga (though the Kenshin OVA is closer in tone and style to Vagabond than to the original manga, which is more in line with the shounen Big Three demographics, along with a more sizable female audience). It also takes place at a time when there actually were samurai and sword schools all about. Kenshin by contrast takes place ten years into the Meiji era, after the samurai had been abolished. Even the prequel (which technically has samurai) is mostly about the main character's involvement in a civil war that resulted in, among other things, the abolishment of the samurai class.
But yes, the story stands on its own.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
You lost me at visual allegory.
umop_3pisdn
Member
Sorry, I don't really know either. Some of the trappings can be a little odd and something about how you said it made it sound pretty stupid, and I guess I just assumed that that was your intention, which bristled against my opinion that it's one of the most accomplished series that I know of from a literary perspective. It's just rather... postmodern? (for a lack of a better term).
Just watch it, I don't really consider myself qualified to comment on anything.
Apparently I'm the only one who doesn't think this is a hot idea.
Then again, I volunteered at a con and I really don't see the appeal. I suppose if they were able to actually get people to go to it (i.e. like Ellen McLain) and have it as a real con then it might be worthwhile. I just don't see how you'd get headliners to this over any other con especially since this would be more likely to draw less people.
If you could get LGBT industry workers to support it, you might have something. But, yeah... I just don't see the point of it personally.
Gay nerd orgies. Gay nerd orgies EVERYWHERE.
Is it plotted the same way though? My issue with these types of stories is that they're really slow (and I'm really broke so I can't afford to buy each volume), and watching characters gradually move up in rank and status doesn't strike me as interesting, and the little I read of the first volume (again in Spanish, so I'm probably misunderstanding 90% of what was going on) had the sort of bumbling idiot, yet actually incredible swordsman, cliché that usually turns me off. Your description of the OVA sounds interesting though, so I'll give it a look. It's not in my library, and as much as I respect your opinion, I'm not ready to spend the exorbitant price it's going for, but if I come across it, I'll make sure to watch it.
I have a knack for making things, especially things I enjoy and I'm trying to recommend, sound really stupid when I try to describe them, so it wasn't my intention to disparage the show.
Seriously. So much gay sex. Don't touch the controllers.
umop_3pisdn
Member
Honestly, it's okay, there's something incredibly ridiculous about me being offended by a perceived criticism of an anime.
Stop that. I have an insane, deep sense of guilt about everything and I'm not done apologizing yet.
That's my shtick.
It's never going to end.
Back off. There's only enough guilt for one of us.
umop_3pisdn
Member
Hahaha, well guilt is a weird feeling, it seems important but it rarely really helps anything...
haha shit.
SpaceBridge
Member
No thanks.
The video says that straight people are welcome too, as it's all inclusive, so it won't even have that.
I like the idea of the con, but I'm not sure what would differentiate it from any other convention. Seeing Alison Bechdel in one of the videos sort of sold me, but they haven't even name dropped possible attendees, so having well-known people tell me how great the idea is isn't much of a pitch. If I'm going to spend money to fund a convention, I want to at least know it'll be decent.
Are you saying that feeling guilty over the time in kindergarten when I bit my arm and then told the teacher that the kid next to me did it because I didn't want to sit near him isn't worth feeling awful about thirteen or so years later?
Haven't watched the top two yet, but the bottom three are all in my favorites.
If I had to put forth a few more recommendations
Ookiku Furikabutte(Big Wind-up)- This is a baseball series, that actually puts emphasize on play rather than Shounen magic and is largely, by far the most realistic adaption of a sport series yet. It also has wonderful character development, where they introduce everyone right away. Keep focus on your two main ones, but slowly bring in everyone else and expand the group. Some will complain the show is slow, but its slow in the sense that Legend of Galactic Heroes is slow. It takes it time to do it right. So while most expect Major or H2. You are getting something that puts as much time into developing characters as it does to portraying baseball.
Paranoia Agent: Kon's only TV effort and still largely my favorite from him. He loves his psychological dramas and given the expanded format. I think this suited it wonderfully.
Baccano!: A series that does the multiple perspectives telling a single event and how all their lives intertwined at that point. Basically its funny, clever, good cast of characters, and well paced. You'll have no idea what you watched with the first episode, but everything comes together with one hell of a conclusion.
Revolutionary Girl Utena: I will also back this proudly with my Utena Gaf Shirt.
On the LGBT Gaming convention: Only if I can cosplay *Wiggle*. Honestly, I'm not quite feeling it. Just this instinct that its going to be more of a hook-up con, rather than something I'm genuinely interested in attending panels for.
You'll actually be surprised how easy it is to get some players. First year cons do have a harder time, but even if they are expecting 2-3k people. They probably can get a few companies with some booths, some media people to come talk, etc. Its largely dependent on the quality of people running the show. And since it is clearly supporting a specific group, it will actually be easier for attention to get drawn to it. Rather than just another generic gaming con.
One time when I was little, I was playing on the back of my dad's truck and the neighbor kids came over to play too. They were younger than me and really annoying. They were trying to get on the back of the truck pretending it was a boat. I reached down pretending like I was going to help them get up. Instead I put my hand on the latch and pulled. Down they went as the door kinda fell on them and knocked them to the ground. They were crying and wailing about it. It was a real Mufasa/Scar "Long live the king" sort of moment. I'm not sure if I feel guilty about it.
umop_3pisdn
Member
Hahaha, yeah I know what you mean. I think I must have some kind of prideful personality because I seem to hold on to past embarrassments as much as anything I should really feel guilty about. You can learn to "let go" though, it's a really interesting skill to get the hang of and in my experience it's the only thing that really works. You just sort of look at it, and go "Ok" and give it permission to exist while ceasing to hold on to it, and it either disappears all at once, or more gradually if it's something more compulsive.
No, quite different. Vagabond is essentially biographical fiction, with an emphasis on the fiction. As you stated, it is basically a story of him rising up in rank and status (and developing as a person) into the legendary figure he eventually becomes. Kenshin is structured more like a conventional shounen series. You have the protagonist (already legendary figure), who is regularly confronted with low level challenges (e.g. Monster (or Former Samurai Who Doesn't Like Social Change, as it were) Of The Week), with small arcs that introduce new important characters. It eventually develops a season-long arc with a consistent goal and a more serialized plot structure (as opposed to to the first 20-ish episodes / 7 volumes' episodic plot structure with looser connections between episodes), but the goal is still in the sense the same as the earlier seasons, writ large. If you've ever seen any shounen anime or manga, from Dragon Ball to One Piece, you'll recognize the essential structure.
The OVA is very different; it's a four episode (~30 minutes each) mini-series that essentially consists of four acts. It tells a more straightforward story that basically explains some backstory stuff that had been a mystery up till that point in the series; how Kenshin got his scar and why he went from being an assassin who killed for money into someone who refused to kill (but apparently has no problem beating people over the head with an iron stick, but I digress). You don't necessarily need to know anything beyond that - or even those things, frankly - to get it.
Baccano! is also very, very fun. Not in my very favorites, but I enjoyed it a lot. I need to watch Baccano! and Paranoia Agent, though. I hadn't heard of Ookiku and I have no interest in baseball, but I felt the same way about boxing and go when I started Ippo and HikaGo so I might give it a try anyway.
SpaceBridge
Member
Whoa, at least my story was something that I feel remorse about. You hurt children and got some sort of sick pleasure out of it. You win this round.
I'm sure it isn't healthy, but while I was (slightly) joking about having an awful sense of guilt about the kindergarten incident, I do return to things I wish I had done better, in hope that the guilt that builds up over those events will inspire me to act differently in the future. That particular event isn't something I return to, as there's not much I can do now, and I certainly wouldn't act the same way again, but there are other things that nag at me.
That sounds good then. It looks like my library has the first three volumes of Samurai X. I only have the most passing familiarity with the series, so is Samurai X just the dubbed version of Ruroni Kenshin, or is it a reboot or sequel to the series? Is it worth watching?
I'm neck deep in shows to watch now.
I'm not really much of a fan of baseball either. I think its boring to watch and I only played it thanks to lovely father figure.
But the show keeps it fairly ground(The unbelievable portion of it is that the amount of depth in their play is more reserved for college play, rather than 14-15 year old kids) to reality. There is no super, gyro ball to bail young Guro out. Nor can Ippo dig deeper to do a move that doesn't exist at all in reality. Its Calculating. It lacks that shounen touch most shows have and sticks with a very logical point of view. It doesn't mean its heartless or without its own touch. Its very cute and the characters are really wonderful. Lots of dramatic bits, comedic moments, and some of the typical anime trap falls. Which isn't a bad thing either, since as I said, the characters are wonderful. And how she introduces them through the series. They are largely introduced as a team at first. Most background and she slowly adds life to them, gives them more play, and its very much like what you'd expect with a team. Not finding a secret talent and having an emotional moment to get them to join. But rather getting stuck with a bunch of players and getting to know each other. While improving and developing as time goes by.
I also think what helps it gives its unique flavor is the author is a woman who spent years conceptualizing what she wanted to do. It lacks the distinctive male PoV like most sport series have and the second... most sport series are shounen. This is not. Its Seinen. Some characters are more cartoonish than others, but development has come in a very natural way. Though I will note, the beginning is definitely the weakest, because it does introduce most of the questionable points and lead problems right off the bat. Once it gets going, the following 16-18 episodes are better. With season 2 refining it even more.
I wish I was better at explaining things, because this is a series I do feel full heartily is worth watching and absolutely fantastic.
shin, I'll give it a try if you'll try Monster. 
Where do you live? In some countries (e.g. the United Kingdom), Rurouni Kenshin was released as "Samurai X", and all associated material is under that name. In the United States, the anime and manga series are referred to as "Rurouni Kenshin", but the OVAs and movie were released as "Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal" (the one you want), "Samurai X: Reflection" (don't waste your time, non-canonical), and "Samurai X: The Motion Picture" (still non-canonical, middling quality if you're a fanboy).
You really only need to watch the first OVA mentioned.
Where do you live? In some countries (e.g. the United Kingdom), Rurouni Kenshin was released as "Samurai X", and all associated material is under that name. In the United States, the anime and manga series are referred to as "Rurouni Kenshin", but the OVAs and movie were released as "Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal" (the one you want), "Samurai X: Reflection" (don't waste your time, non-canonical), and "Samurai X: The Motion Picture" (still non-canonical, middling quality if you're a fanboy).
You really only need to watch the first OVA mentioned.
I'm in the United States. And it looks like those three volumes are labeled Disc 1: Trust, Disc 2, Betrayal, Disc 3: Reflection, with the first two discs each containing two episodes each, which makes it sound like the OVA, although I'm not sure why it's split across three discs. I'll put it on request and watch it then.
You've hyped this up for me to an insane degree, so it better be good. 8)
umop_3pisdn
Member
I think the need to 'remind ourselves' is just another kind of obsessional thinking. In my experience it has a kind of ironic effect in that my dread paralyzes me when confronted with the same situation (it's like a moment of "Oh shit, this is it?! Wait, is it?? Yes! Fuck, what now?!), and then I end up making the same mistake just to resolve the issue and bring an end to my borderline panic attack. This is maybe a pretty extreme example, but I don't think it works as well as it might in theory. It's just that to me the only way it seems we can have the energy that's needed to make a constructive change is to forgive ourselves, if we refuse to do that all of our energy goes into the black hole of beating ourselves up instead we're left too drained to really do anything about it.
I think guilt is momentarily useful, like if events in the present tense would prompt it or while we still have the ability to affect change. But past that it kind of just traps us in a kind of thought-loop that drives a wedge between us and what is really happening. Which is unfortunate, because if we made the habit of always being aware or present to what is happening, we wouldn't really make negative decisions like that just as a natural consequence, and all with no need to sado-masochistically drive the message into ourselves. It's really counter-intuitive, though, I only felt the pressure to adopt this perspective because the alternative was making me really unhappy.
Evil.
shin, I'll give it a try if you'll try Monster.
Well in my defense, I actually have it. I just haven't been able to ever watch it while in that mood. It always struck me as a slower, more depressing show. I'm not really good with my emotions, so I can't always watch shows like it a lot of times. More to longer shows since they'll drain me for a long period of time.
I have a similar effect with books and movies. I can't watch many classics/rewatch movies I've seen before, without having to be in a certain mood. Otherwise its going to affect me too much and I'm not really going to be able to enjoy the show.
I had something that happened recent-ish that brought up that exact same reaction and complete feeling of dread, although the circumstances were different, or I might have made the same decision I did the first time. I'd like to think that the complete guilt I felt over the first event was what prompted my different response, but considering that I'll still think about it, it's probably past the point of being healthy, or even particularly useful.
I like your perspective, and I should probably adopt it myself, as what I have going now isn't exactly doing much for me, and I'm sort of falling into a cycle of overthinking everything I do and beating myself up over it.
I love depressing stories, so I'm not the best person to respond, but I don't think Monster is particularly depressing. It's certainly dramatic, but outside of the first volume (which should translate into the first four episodes or so), the plot becomes more of a mystery and character study, rather than a tale of the protagonist's guilt, which is what the setup first appears to be.
Bel Marduk
Banned
Why would you do that? We're prime time. The last thread wasn't moved to community, either.
Psh, it's still nerds. I'm sure the reason you'll avoid touching anything won't be because of sex.
I'm about 80% certain that was a joke.
excelforward
Member
Thus far the only one I haven't watched yet. Did I tell you I finally watched Mushishi and Eden of the East? Both were really good. I'm trying to get my buddy Sean into FLCL, but I don't want to use the English translation.
Mumei, what's your favorite episode from Mushishi?
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