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[Porcile]

Buying random anime and Hong Kong movie DVDs that I would see on the shelf in GAME or HMV was definitely good times. Fuck that Nintendo Seal of Quality, these were the only seal of qualities I need. Those trailer sizzle reels had a teenage me salivating lmao.

I miss the days when simply buying DVDs would be enough to open my world to entirely new things and possibilities. That was the best part about being young for me.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

I talk to many U.K. anime collectors. They say it's a tough hobby and expensive (as most anime has to be imported from the States). The Fox anime you mentioned sounds like the same Saturday round-up we had coming through our local stations in 2001 (Shaman King, Fighting Foodons, Sonic X, Kirby Right Back At Ya, Ultimate Muscle). The only one of those I found remotely entertaining was Ultimate Muscle since the predecessor anime to that one (Kinnikumon something???) from the 80's never made landfall in the States.

This is opinion, Akira has astounding animation but a story which I still can't get into today. I never much got into the other mainstream titles like Ghost in the Shell. I'm a simple guy and when stories get too elaborate...I either watch or drop. X the movie for example had great animation but I could never get into the story. It was the same post / near-apocalypse cliche story basically entailing someone's got to destroy the world so it can start again pure...and these heroes are going to stop them.

There are some in this thread who can steer you in the right direction for something retro to watch that's not going to disappoint. I would recommend trying a good OVA like Gunbuster (you can watch it freely for the moment on YouTube).

I will check that one out, thanks!

Yeah, in the UK it's pretty hard to get hold of (unless you use Crunchyroll), and I tend to wait on deals from Anime On-Line (which do a MVM Deal of the Week). Manga Entertainment oddly enough is an offshoot if Island Records! (Who also find Niche Artists, but got big from Bob Marley and U2's Success).

I saw Ultimate Muscle like....twice and I sadly couldn't get into it.

GITS is quite complicated that even I got lost on that one. I understood one film I think?

What's funny is when you look at the Gaming side, SEGA were all over Anime Licensing at the time (before Bandai/Namco got into it more), and most of their games were pretty good (except from some of those terrible ones at Mega Drive launch), but of course SEGA of America and Europe got scared of that and either changed the Boxart to make it less Anime like (Alisia Dragoon, Arrow Flash, Puyo Puyo, Shining Force, Phantasy Star etc), or omitted it from the West entirely (the entire Sakura Wars franchise, SEGAGAGA and Cotton), or in Alex Kidd's case, change an Anime game into an Alex Kidd game. (which made no sense)

It's very strange how on the VG side of things, the American and British side of things didn't think that those would "appeal" to us, despite having various artstyles that were better than either changing it into a Cartoon oddity (Decap Attack), or making it look like a Dungeons and Dragon's Aesthetic (Golden Axe, Alisia Dragoon). We sadly missed out on a LOT of good games that were made from Anime Directors or even based on the Anime themselves. There were some games released though with an Anime Artstyle back then (Chiki Chiki Boys being one), but it was few and far between.

It is so perplexing when back in the early days, you had this Publisher that endorsed that part of the market/crowd and denied their Worldwide Audience of it through either fear or being told by their Western Counterparts that "it wouldn't sell", how would they know unless they tried???

 

[JonnyMP3]

I wasn't anticipating on Studio Ghibli films getting brought up much in this thread. Miyazaki films are over-the-top mainstream and most people know them (including people who don't even like anime). I think I mentioned the big mainstream titles in the OP, too. I appreciate you mentioning Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. You see, I have had the original Vampire Hunter D for a long time but I recently saw a red-cased DVD in my anime collection and found out that I bought Bloodlust without remembering doing so. I've never seen so much as a trailer but my wife suggested I keep it. So, I'll probably put it on now that you mention it. Blood: The Last Vampire was a good cross-over of 2D with 3D movie as well. I think it came out around the same time as Bloodlust (99 or 2000???) and I was impressed. In fact, it's the only thing in the Blood fan series that I actually got into.

Yes, anything 20-years ago is now retro. To me, I don't see the age. If you're heavy watching newer anime with CGI glow, CGI background / effects, blob or noseless physical forms, and digital ink...then, yeah...the stuff from 20-45 years ago looks old. That's why I never imposed this material into the existing Anime / Mange thread. When I finally joined GAF, I found that it's sorta taboo to talk about retro anime and I created this thread in Off-Topic to respectfully not impose on the modern anime community. It seems that those joining GAF are mostly 30's-mid 40's age range and there will always be someone who's been watching older anime and needs a thread to talk about it. I have a lot of respect for the creator of the newer anime community. But, I wouldn't mention retro in that group as there are a couple regulars there that like to troll anything not made in the past 14-years.

When you're talking about Dragon Ball OVAs...do you mean original Dragon Ball or Dragon Ball Z+?

I enjoyed the original Vampire Hunter D as it's pretty much a classic but Bloodlust took it to the next step for me. There was definitely Castlevania elements added into it but the major thing I loved about it was definitely the art style. Compared to the original classic 70s/80s look of character models in the original movie Bloodlust went for the 90s over the top styling from Ninja Scroll which suited the Vampires and Demons look. Hopefully because you didn't watch it or even knew you had a copy of Bloodlust, you'll get to fully enjoy a beautiful story in D's life that isn't just about violence and destruction like the first film but love and life and meaning and companionship. It was quite a cinematic epic.
Blood came out in the same year and I had that on DVD at the time too. That was more of an action horror thriller, I remember watching both in the same year but found myself absolutely loving VHD:B.

As for the Dragonball OVAs, they were mostly the DBZ ones, Tree of Might, Cooler, Android 13, The Broly films.

 

[kunonabi]

I'll suggest Sea Prince and the Fire Child from 81. It's a Romeo and Juliet type of plot but I always dug the art and world. I gre

I'll give Laughing Target a look for sure. I like a lot of her weirder, darker stuff so that works for me.

 

[Space Runaway]

Some more











The vocals get kinda wacky but I eventually got used to it... =P



Japan channeling some kind of hip hop sound with this one...

 

[Happosai]

One series with a digital inking style that visually bugged the hell out of me was season 1 of Granblue



That scratchy inking that keeps fading in and out. It's like they saw animation damaged by dnr and digital clean-up and thought, "That looks great!". I think they dropped it for season 2 though.



Ah I actually lucked into anime at an early age. A series of events ultimately led to me from G2 Transformers to Robotech to buying DBZ eps at a comic convention. I was still in grade school and it was unlike any action I'd seen before. Suddenly Fox X-Men or Batman TAS weren't cutting it. =P Of course I wanted more and comic shops and video stores already had some of it and were carrying more and more. Then next thing you know you're watching Bubblegum Crisis and the Guyver. I'd lend kids at school some of the DBZ movies I owned and it always blew their minds. Sad part is once the anime boom finally hit in the 00s I was largely over it all by then and moving toward obscure releases or just blowing my cash on videogames.



Will do.

One question that remains on my mind is: are the studios (the production guys who finance modern anime) really the ones who decides how and artist will execute these trends? In the 80's, Japan fiddled with CGI because it was new but the scenes in Golgo 13: The Professional clearly show that 1983 wasn't the time for this. In the 90's, I could see the blend of CG and traditional as almost unnoticable and usually just added for flashier titles or supplementing areas where additional cells would be added in production for things like rain or fog. In 1999 I started seeing entire anime that were being digital ink. It wasn't the standard but it was happening. Watching Inuyasha for so many episodes (seeing as this was still early 2000's); I noticed the CG is being used to cut corners on areas they simply didn't want to animate and it gets heavy for those effects. It's not going to take more than 6 fps of cell painting over the background to get a realistic swirling cloud in a storm. But, they cheapened that up by going to the computer artists for it. I think where the degenerative drawing style started to clash with all the digital whitewashing for me was by 2006. Around that time, the trends also changed characters to lack less diverse physical features (namely on the face). You don't see men with muscles unless it's for fan service that often. Most of the men are drawn with sloped shoulders, twig arms, and a rounded moe blobbish face...not unlike the women. I think this was also due to the inspiration of anime moving away from Hollywood pop culture and novelizations and more toward anime imitating anime. The CGI is still not full for most modern anime but it's heavy and seems to be getting applied simply for cheap thrills (e.g. --- look we made an iridescent glowing waterfall behind the character...pretty cool, huh?).

Lucky man, you got to see Bubblegum Crisis and Guyver early on. Most of what I was getting was simply what they had on the shelf. Although I did start to find more diverse titles as the internet shopping pages became more diverse.

 

[Happosai]

I will check that one out, thanks!

Yeah, in the UK it's pretty hard to get hold of (unless you use Crunchyroll), and I tend to wait on deals from Anime On-Line (which do a MVM Deal of the Week). Manga Entertainment oddly enough is an offshoot if Island Records! (Who also find Niche Artists, but got big from Bob Marley and U2's Success).

I saw Ultimate Muscle like....twice and I sadly couldn't get into it.

GITS is quite complicated that even I got lost on that one. I understood one film I think?

What's funny is when you look at the Gaming side, SEGA were all over Anime Licensing at the time (before Bandai/Namco got into it more), and most of their games were pretty good (except from some of those terrible ones at Mega Drive launch), but of course SEGA of America and Europe got scared of that and either changed the Boxart to make it less Anime like (Alisia Dragoon, Arrow Flash, Puyo Puyo, Shining Force, Phantasy Star etc), or omitted it from the West entirely (the entire Sakura Wars franchise, SEGAGAGA and Cotton), or in Alex Kidd's case, change an Anime game into an Alex Kidd game. (which made no sense)

It's very strange how on the VG side of things, the American and British side of things didn't think that those would "appeal" to us, despite having various artstyles that were better than either changing it into a Cartoon oddity (Decap Attack), or making it look like a Dungeons and Dragon's Aesthetic (Golden Axe, Alisia Dragoon). We sadly missed out on a LOT of good games that were made from Anime Directors or even based on the Anime themselves. There were some games released though with an Anime Artstyle back then (Chiki Chiki Boys being one), but it was few and far between.

It is so perplexing when back in the early days, you had this Publisher that endorsed that part of the market/crowd and denied their Worldwide Audience of it through either fear or being told by their Western Counterparts that "it wouldn't sell", how would they know unless they tried???

I enjoyed the original Vampire Hunter D as it's pretty much a classic but Bloodlust took it to the next step for me. There was definitely Castlevania elements added into it but the major thing I loved about it was definitely the art style. Compared to the original classic 70s/80s look of character models in the original movie Bloodlust went for the 90s over the top styling from Ninja Scroll which suited the Vampires and Demons look. Hopefully because you didn't watch it or even knew you had a copy of Bloodlust, you'll get to fully enjoy a beautiful story in D's life that isn't just about violence and destruction like the first film but love and life and meaning and companionship. It was quite a cinematic epic.
Blood came out in the same year and I had that on DVD at the time too. That was more of an action horror thriller, I remember watching both in the same year but found myself absolutely loving VHD:B.

As for the Dragonball OVAs, they were mostly the DBZ ones, Tree of Might, Cooler, Android 13, The Broly films.

I'll suggest Sea Prince and the Fire Child from 81. It's a Romeo and Juliet type of plot but I always dug the art and world. I gre

I'll give Laughing Target a look for sure. I like a lot of her weirder, darker stuff so that works for me.

Starlight Lotice I think Manga Entertainment has had several owners. Their U.S. division used to be in Chicago (not far from where I grew up) but I believe the North American side of that distributor now lies in the hands of one of the big movie network distributors (Starz...I believe).

Ultimate Muscle is hard to get into unless you like something that has a lot of fart jokes. Lol.

About the video game publishers...I got frustrated that many Japanese games were never making it to the U.S. and eventually started buying import consoles and importing the games. I didn't have some of those Saturn epics though. They were expensive at launch and twice as expensive now.

JonnyMP3 Vampire Hunter D (original) was something fairly special for the time and seemed to be getting Western attention up until the 2000's. BLoodlust, I did not know much about and I like the info you gave me on it. It would give me more incentive to watch it. Blood: The Last Vampire, I sold that or lost it awhile ago and regret it. It seems kind of hard to find now. That movie came out before it was a franchise if I can remember correctly.

kunonabi I've heard of it and sounds like something nice to watch that won't increase stress levels during this time. Still shot there looks about like film detail from the 1940's (old Disney, MGM). The whole Rumik OVA series and their mangas were about the farthest stir from her trademark anime storytelling in the 80's. The Chojou (Maris the Chojo), Fire Tripper, Mermaid Scar, and Mermaid Forest were all equally very different from any of her more popular manga. I'm told the Mermaid Saga has been awaiting a blu-ray release for a couple years. However, I wish Viz Media would just give us Maison Ikkoku on blu-ray instead. I've probably mentioned that in 5 other posts already. Laughing Target and Mermaid Scar both have some darker elements that catch the viewer by surprise. I think it's sorta funny seeing as she wanted her original target audience in the 80's to be young adults and teenage girls. i think most would have found Laughing Target too creepy and gloomy to be something marketed at 80's Japanese teenage girls. Those OVAs also deserve a blu-ray release. I don't believe they were ever released on DVD in North America. The last release of Laughing Target was on Laser-Disc and VHS.

 

[Harlock]

Probably nobody here knows:

 

[Happosai]

Probably nobody here knows:

This aired in Mexico (before I migrated), My wife saw it dubbed in Spanish. Pretty cool! Thanks for posting this and keep em' coming. It wasn't super popular in Latin America when compared to Heidi, Mazinger, or Candy Candy. There are still some that remember it. I never saw or heard of this one growing up in the States.

 

[Space Runaway]

One question that remains on my mind is: are the studios (the production guys who finance modern anime) really the ones who decides how and artist will execute these trends? In the 80's, Japan fiddled with CGI because it was new but the scenes in Golgo 13: The Professional clearly show that 1983 wasn't the time for this. In the 90's, I could see the blend of CG and traditional as almost unnoticable and usually just added for flashier titles or supplementing areas where additional cells would be added in production for things like rain or fog. In 1999 I started seeing entire anime that were being digital ink. It wasn't the standard but it was happening. Watching Inuyasha for so many episodes (seeing as this was still early 2000's); I noticed the CG is being used to cut corners on areas they simply didn't want to animate and it gets heavy for those effects. It's not going to take more than 6 fps of cell painting over the background to get a realistic swirling cloud in a storm. But, they cheapened that up by going to the computer artists for it. I think where the degenerative drawing style started to clash with all the digital whitewashing for me was by 2006. Around that time, the trends also changed characters to lack less diverse physical features (namely on the face). You don't see men with muscles unless it's for fan service that often. Most of the men are drawn with sloped shoulders, twig arms, and a rounded moe blobbish face...not unlike the women. I think this was also due to the inspiration of anime moving away from Hollywood pop culture and novelizations and more toward anime imitating anime. The CGI is still not full for most modern anime but it's heavy and seems to be getting applied simply for cheap thrills (e.g. --- look we made an iridescent glowing waterfall behind the character...pretty cool, huh?).

Lucky man, you got to see Bubblegum Crisis and Guyver early on. Most of what I was getting was simply what they had on the shelf. Although I did start to find more diverse titles as the internet shopping pages became more diverse.

I was sad when mecha became cg seemingly across the board. I love seeing that stuff hand animated and cg renditions have a totally different look and feel. Trying to watch Macross Zero and seeing CG mech scenes for me was like, well, not only does the story suck but now I can't even fall back on action visuals. =P Seems the case for vehicles too. Now they try and blend it will cel-shading-like techniques but just the way things move and are directed within the camera is different. Course that's become the new norm and things are now built off of that. Something like Riding Bean is ancient history now.

I was happy with the current season of Grappler Baki though. The prior season they kept switching from 2d animation to cg for fight scenes or anything with a lot of movement. It really looked like shit. The current season they wisely dropped that and it's a much better watch and representation of the comic as a result.

 

[Happosai]

I was sad when mecha became cg seemingly across the board. I love seeing that stuff hand animated and cg renditions have a totally different look and feel. Trying to watch Macross Zero and seeing CG mech scenes for me was like, well, not only does the story suck but now I can't even fall back on action visuals. =P Seems the case for vehicles too. Now they try and blend it will cel-shading-like techniques but just the way things move and are directed within the camera is different. Course that's become the new norm and things are now built off of that. Something like Riding Bean is ancient history now.

I was happy with the current season of Grappler Baki though. The prior season they kept switching from 2d animation to cg for fight scenes or anything with a lot of movement. It really looked like shit. The current season they wisely dropped that and it's a much better watch and representation of the comic as a result.

It is disappointing to see that they couldn't just move onto more elaborate hand-drawn animation for mechas and everything really. If Japan had stayed mostly hand-drawn and focused more on making their drawing trends toward realism...they would likely be rivaling the U.S. in animation. They were rivaling (in some cases better) the American animators in the 80's. The 90's it seemed to calm down to a fan thing. I love 90's anime but during my short stint in the Illinois Art Institute; my animation teachers swore they would never teach anything on anime due to Japan having a trend of low frame use. Now, that was 15-years ago or more. Today, I can't imagine why it would make a difference seeing as both countries are working on digital ink and CGI only to produce a cartoon / anime.


Many wish that modern anime would just cease, but I think it needs to be pushed harder is all. I also appreciate that Japan never stopped because their drive for anime every season also gives inspiration to the art design / direction seen in modern JP video games. It's weird...I can't stand watching more than 5-minutes of any modern mainstream anime but I can stand playing hours of the same design if it's in a game. Not much logic to my thinking in that area. It really comes down to the implementation of them actually trying to animate this crap now. I'll read modern manga and not seem to notice the physics problems so much. However, the moment it's in action...those physics seem to drop off and I can't handle it. I know many of those who watch modern anime could use similar arguments toward some of the stiff animation of the 70's, 80's, and 90's. There was some animation in the past (I'm sure you have samples of this); where they were barely pushing 4 fps. They were literally just cel painting the storyboards and adding a slideshow-like transition in some cases. Of course, that's usually down to economics or spending on the studios' parts.

 

[Happosai]

Buying random anime and Hong Kong movie DVDs that I would see on the shelf in GAME or HMV was definitely good times. Fuck that Nintendo Seal of Quality, these were the only seal of qualities I need. Those trailer sizzle reels had a teenage me salivating lmao.

I miss the days when simply buying DVDs would be enough to open my world to entirely new things and possibilities. That was the best part about being young for me.

Not sure what Nintendo's Seal of Quality has to do with this. However, I get you on the anime distrubtor logos. Here are some I miss which bit the dust 2009 and before.

Note: I believe Anime Works still exists but under different proprietors. The same goes for U.S. Manga (they are now subsidiary under Starz Entertainment I believe). Of course you can't forget Streamline either. AnimeEigo are the only one of the older ones that never bit the dust.

 

[Happosai]

kunonabi
Rough weekend, so the wife and I decided after all these years to check out OVAs 1-5 (still haven't gotten to the remaining OVAs but we will return to them next week. But I wanted to start with 'Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix.'
It lives up to the reviews about it really being a great Tatewaki Kuno comedy.

Notes on the OVAs: Although the TV-series never seemed to be restricted on what the TV writers could embellish or create that was a great story (writing away from Rumiko's at-the-time seemingly unending manga for Ranma); there's definitely a lot more creative freedom in the writing of the general OVAs. This writing formula is the same I used to write a Ranma 1/2 prequel (unfinished and unpubished). It uses the characters and the information we know about them and allows the writer and then, audience to see the characters in completely different scenarios. There is some context needed for viewers watching the Ranma 1/2 OVAs who have never read the manga or seen the TV-series. The manga started in 1987 and the TV series in 1989. The OVAs were not being produced until the mid 90's (apparently with a lot of the same staff who worked on the last episodes of the TV series). If one were to start watching them without seeing the latter TV series or reading the manga -- you'll be lost as to who the characters are and why they do what they do. Many OVAs I have seen of series that aired before or after a series will try to re-introduce the audience to the characters. There's no introduction given and this is mainly because it was a production aimed at existing fans of the manga or TV-series (moreso the TV-series as the characters are written less like the ones in the manga).

One Grew Over the Kuno's Nest:

So, I thought this to be a long-lost OVA (labeled as a TV specially but it's actually the real 12th OVA). Kunonabi informed me that I already had this in my possession. Meaning, if you buy the 2017 OVA / Movie boxset (which is going out-of-print fast...buy it soon!); the set anonymously lists 11-OVAs and 3-movies. That's kind of accurate...but...not. There were really only 2 big Ranma 1/2 movies made and they're both there digitally remastered (whether you buy the DVD or limited edition blu-ray version from Viz Media). The "third movie" is actually a TV-special (which I've already stated is the true 12th OVA...not the OVA spin-off that was made in the 2000's) that is titled in English - Team Ranma vs. The Legendary Phoenix. The basic story is Kuno in some mysterious miscellaneous shop near Furinkan buying what a shop keeper advertises as a Phoenix egg. If the egg hatches, a legendary Phoenix will be born and grant the owner all the power in the world...or something like that. Of course, shop keeper doesn't know if any of this is true. He gives Tatewaki Kuno one last warning which is to not let the egg hatch on a person's head. Well, this happens anyway and you'll have to watch to see the results...not spoilers

Additional notes: This was released as a separate OVA / TV special in Japan (possibly prior to the other OVAS) in 1994. It was released on VHS in North America through Viz Video in 1995 under the title "One Flew Over the Kuno's Nest." The title obiviously equating Tatewaki Kuno to Jack Nicholson's crazy character in Stanley Kubrick's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." The Ranma OVAs were release on DVD prior to the TV-series two separate times in the early 2000's. These OVAs only included the standard 1-11 and completely excluded this TV-special. It would have seemed that they were not going to ever release it on DVD again or blu-ray as it had been ignored since it's 1995 VHS release. I recommend to check Ranma 1/2 out like this: manga > TV-series > OVAs > movies.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Not sure what Nintendo's Seal of Quality has to do with this. However, I get you on the anime distrubtor logos. Here are some I miss which bit the dust 2009 and before.

Note: I believe Anime Works still exists but under different proprietors. The same goes for U.S. Manga (they are now subsidiary under Starz Entertainment I believe). Of course you can't forget Streamline either. AnimeEigo are the only one of the older ones that never bit the dust.

ADV still exists. I believe they are called Sentai now. They even have their own streaming service called Hi-Dive. They certainly aren't the juggernauts they once were.

 

[kunonabi]

kunonabi
Rough weekend, so the wife and I decided after all these years to check out OVAs 1-5 (still haven't gotten to the remaining OVAs but we will return to them next week. But I wanted to start with 'Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix.'
It lives up to the reviews about it really being a great Tatewaki Kuno comedy.

Notes on the OVAs: Although the TV-series never seemed to be restricted on what the TV writers could embellish or create that was a great story (writing away from Rumiko's at-the-time seemingly unending manga for Ranma); there's definitely a lot more creative freedom in the writing of the general OVAs. This writing formula is the same I used to write a Ranma 1/2 prequel (unfinished and unpubished). It uses the characters and the information we know about them and allows the writer and then, audience to see the characters in completely different scenarios. There is some context needed for viewers watching the Ranma 1/2 OVAs who have never read the manga or seen the TV-series. The manga started in 1987 and the TV series in 1989. The OVAs were not being produced until the mid 90's (apparently with a lot of the same staff who worked on the last episodes of the TV series). If one were to start watching them without seeing the latter TV series or reading the manga -- you'll be lost as to who the characters are and why they do what they do. Many OVAs I have seen of series that aired before or after a series will try to re-introduce the audience to the characters. There's no introduction given and this is mainly because it was a production aimed at existing fans of the manga or TV-series (moreso the TV-series as the characters are written less like the ones in the manga).

One Grew Over the Kuno's Nest:

So, I thought this to be a long-lost OVA (labeled as a TV specially but it's actually the real 12th OVA). Kunonabi informed me that I already had this in my possession. Meaning, if you buy the 2017 OVA / Movie boxset (which is going out-of-print fast...buy it soon!); the set anonymously lists 11-OVAs and 3-movies. That's kind of accurate...but...not. There were really only 2 big Ranma 1/2 movies made and they're both there digitally remastered (whether you buy the DVD or limited edition blu-ray version from Viz Media). The "third movie" is actually a TV-special (which I've already stated is the true 12th OVA...not the OVA spin-off that was made in the 2000's) that is titled in English - Team Ranma vs. The Legendary Phoenix. The basic story is Kuno in some mysterious miscellaneous shop near Furinkan buying what a shop keeper advertises as a Phoenix egg. If the egg hatches, a legendary Phoenix will be born and grant the owner all the power in the world...or something like that. Of course, shop keeper doesn't know if any of this is true. He gives Tatewaki Kuno one last warning which is to not let the egg hatch on a person's head. Well, this happens anyway and you'll have to watch to see the results...not spoilers

Additional notes: This was released as a separate OVA / TV special in Japan (possibly prior to the other OVAS) in 1994. It was released on VHS in North America through Viz Video in 1995 under the title "One Flew Over the Kuno's Nest." The title obiviously equating Tatewaki Kuno to Jack Nicholson's crazy character in Stanley Kubrick's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." The Ranma OVAs were release on DVD prior to the TV-series two separate times in the early 2000's. These OVAs only included the standard 1-11 and completely excluded this TV-special. It would have seemed that they were not going to ever release it on DVD again or blu-ray as it had been ignored since it's 1995 VHS release. I recommend to check Ranma 1/2 out like this: manga > TV-series > OVAs > movies.

Glad to hear things worked out well Ranma-wise. It's interesting to hear that the TV writers were under such strict limitations considering how badly they mangled some stories in the TV versions. The OAVs really are superb though.

I'm still working through Lupin III part 2 and man those episodes around 79 - 90 are kind of terrible. I remember the series going off the rails a bit but yeesh.

While not super retro, my 4k copy of Ghost in the Shell arrived so I'll be digging into that tonight.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Glad to hear things worked out well Ranma-wise. It's interesting to hear that the TV writers were under such strict limitations considering how badly they mangled some stories in the TV versions. The OAVs really are superb though.

I'm still working through Lupin III part 2 and man those episodes around 79 - 90 are kind of terrible. I remember the series going off the rails a bit but yeesh.

While not super retro, my 4k copy of Ghost in the Shell arrived so I'll be digging into that tonight.

I'd be interested to hear your impressions on that. I've been debating picking it up myself. I'd like to hear how much better it looks and sounds compared to previous versions.

 

[Happosai]

ADV still exists. I believe they are called Sentai now. They even have their own streaming service called Hi-Dive. They certainly aren't the juggernauts they once were.

Ugh, Sentai Works? Nearly all the old publishers that were not liquidated or bankrupt were bought-out. Seems like ADV filed liquidation in 2009 but I was unaware they still existed in any form. They were great at re-licencing and license rescuing anime titles. They had great presentation and were able to market and distrubute through most of the larger retailers (physical and digital). I'm not into Anime streaming at all (I don't think YouTube qualifies as a streaming service for anime). Ho-hum...it would have been better they just closed altogether. it doesn't appear that Sentai has handled very many post-releasing of ADV titles; seems others are buying that up (like Discotek / Eastern Star).

Warner Music Company owns Discotek / Eastern Star. Warner Distribution now owns VIz Media. All the bigger communications companies are monopolizing these once self-suffficient distributors. In a way, that makes the overall process cheaper and may extend licensing for physical releases. Not all bad.

 

[Happosai]

Glad to hear things worked out well Ranma-wise. It's interesting to hear that the TV writers were under such strict limitations considering how badly they mangled some stories in the TV versions. The OAVs really are superb though.

I'm still working through Lupin III part 2 and man those episodes around 79 - 90 are kind of terrible. I remember the series going off the rails a bit but yeesh.

While not super retro, my 4k copy of Ghost in the Shell arrived so I'll be digging into that tonight.

The OVA writing was definitely better than the TV-series (as a whole). The first few volume (sold as seasons in North America) seemed to be somewhat organized. They eventually lost all insight into character arc and coherency until Studio Deen and Kitty battled out the over-spending -- eventually cancelling the whole thing without a real ending in 1992. OVAs were lower-risk and were being made like 1-month at a time. My only disappointment is that they could have done a bit more with the animation for an OVA. It was kinda bland animation and drawing style seen toward the last 3 volumes of the TV series.

I have yet to restart watching Lupin lll series 2. My wife has never seen anything Lupin. I'm going to introduce her to Lupin via one of the movies. She has no problem with 70's anime as that's what she was watching as a kid. Many today probably wouldn't watch series 1 or 2 of Lupin simply because "it looks older." The same would probably not give a chance to the original Galaxy Express, Macross, Devil Man series, or Cutey Honey...cuz they look old...derp. Actually, many found their place in animation by working on that series and led to some creative ideas for new anime in the 1980's.

I will say that Lupin the 3rd has deteriorated greatly since the 1990's. The demand to continually make movies or spin-offs from the 2000's-present has made Lupin into a boring old fart and just a shadow of the characters he once was. They milked the Lupin franchise a bit too much and far too long. They need to retire it and re-release the original movies in organized blu-ray boxsets. Last sets were released in the mid-2000's and are long out-of-print.

 

[Space Runaway]

Intros get a lot of love but what about ending videos?

Generally less interesting by nature, most are usually just characters walking, still images or dancing chibis but occasionally you run into some that have more interesting components

 

[kunonabi]

The OVA writing was definitely better than the TV-series (as a whole). The first few volume (sold as seasons in North America) seemed to be somewhat organized. They eventually lost all insight into character arc and coherency until Studio Deen and Kitty battled out the over-spending -- eventually cancelling the whole thing without a real ending in 1992. OVAs were lower-risk and were being made like 1-month at a time. My only disappointment is that they could have done a bit more with the animation for an OVA. It was kinda bland animation and drawing style seen toward the last 3 volumes of the TV series.

I have yet to restart watching Lupin lll series 2. My wife has never seen anything Lupin. I'm going to introduce her to Lupin via one of the movies. She has no problem with 70's anime as that's what she was watching as a kid. Many today probably wouldn't watch series 1 or 2 of Lupin simply because "it looks older." The same would probably not give a chance to the original Galaxy Express, Macross, Devil Man series, or Cutey Honey...cuz they look old...derp. Actually, many found their place in animation by working on that series and led to some creative ideas for new anime in the 1980's.

I will say that Lupin the 3rd has deteriorated greatly since the 1990's. The demand to continually make movies or spin-offs from the 2000's-present has made Lupin into a boring old fart and just a shadow of the characters he once was. They milked the Lupin franchise a bit too much and far too long. They need to retire it and re-release the original movies in organized blu-ray boxsets. Last sets were released in the mid-2000's and are long out-of-print.

I wouldn't go that far. Lupin III part IV was a pretty boring slog and the specials do kind of go the through the motions much of the time but The Woman Called Fujiko Mine was pretty excellent aside from the exposition dumps of the last couple episodes and Fujiko's Lie was flat-out outstanding.

I'd also argue that Lupin III part V is some of the best Lupin period. It's an amazing love letter to all of Lupin III that celebrates and reexamines the characters in pretty brilliant fashion.

A lot of modern Lupin III is just kind of there but The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Fujiko's Lie, and part V are certainly quality entries.

 

[Happosai]

Intros get a lot of love but what about ending videos?

Generally less interesting by nature, most are usually just characters walking, still images or dancing chibis but occasionally you run into some that have more interesting components

As I mentioned to kunonabi in the posts above, I started watching the Ranma 1/2 OVAs for the first time this past weekend. My wife studied classic music and tends to like things well orchestrated and I'm a huge instrumental and prog-rock fan. We were blown away by the real orchestral composition and choral arrangement used for the Ranma 1/2 OVA.

Overall, I love anime soundtracks and try to learn the ones I like the most on piano. I have demoes recorded of the GoShogun Time Etranger movie soundtrack.

Anime endings are just as great as openings...sometimes better than openings. My only gripe is when they started letting J-Rock artists / bands lend their shrieking to soundtracks. I've heard it in modern anime but it particularly stood out in that awful intro for the EatMan OVA (the original 97' opening, not 98').

Anyway, here's the Ranma OVA ending. Not short of being a masterpiece and a better conclusion toward the characters ' emotions than any series episode even provided.

 

[Space Runaway]

As I mentioned to kunonabi in the posts above, I started watching the Ranma 1/2 OVAs for the first time this past weekend. My wife studied classic music and tends to like things well orchestrated and I'm a huge instrumental and prog-rock fan. We were blown away by the real orchestral composition and choral arrangement used for the Ranma 1/2 OVA.

Overall, I love anime soundtracks and try to learn the ones I like the most on piano. I have demoes recorded of the GoShogun Time Etranger movie soundtrack.

Anime endings are just as great as openings...sometimes better than openings. My only gripe is when they started letting J-Rock artists / bands lend their shrieking to soundtracks. I've heard it in modern anime but it particularly stood out in that awful intro for the EatMan OVA (the original 97' opening, not 98').

Anyway, here's the Ranma OVA ending. Not short of being a masterpiece and a better conclusion toward the characters ' emotions than any series episode even provided.

I've always really enjoyed the quasi-jazz style of music they employed for a lot of the robot shows in the early to mid-80s period. Every score would have a bunch of tracks with this bass and drums sound, then usually with guitar or horns(Or both) mixed in and laced with some synth or strings(or the synth might be replace the guitar or horns). Some of it reminds me of tracks from old Squaresoft SNES rpgs.

As a kid I used to used associate the sound with "old" and it is old, though I'm not one to consider that a negative at this point. =P

 

[Happosai]

I've always really enjoyed the quasi-jazz style of music they employed for a lot of the robot shows in the early to mid-80s period. Every score would have a bunch of tracks with this bass and drums sound, then usually with guitar or horns(Or both) mixed in and laced with some synth or strings(or the synth might be replace the guitar or horns). Some of it reminds me of tracks from old Squaresoft SNES rpgs.

As a kid I used to used associate the sound with "old" and it is old, though I'm not one to consider that a negative at this point. =P

My kind of music. Aside from prog, I like a lot of jazz-fusion like Weather Report, Traffic, and mid-70's Santana (Borbaletta, Lotus, Welcome, Caravanserei, Moon Flower albums), Van Dyke Parks. However, if you want it all rolled into one (everything you described); I'm sure you've heard this but this whole soundtrack has it all!

 

[Happosai]

I wouldn't go that far. Lupin III part IV was a pretty boring slog and the specials do kind of go the through the motions much of the time but The Woman Called Fujiko Mine was pretty excellent aside from the exposition dumps of the last couple episodes and Fujiko's Lie was flat-out outstanding.

I'd also argue that Lupin III part V is some of the best Lupin period. It's an amazing love letter to all of Lupin III that celebrates and reexamines the characters in pretty brilliant fashion.

A lot of modern Lupin III is just kind of there but The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Fujiko's Lie, and part V are certainly quality entries.

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is the only modern Lupin lll (and one of very few modern anime titles in general) that I bought and watched all episodes of. I had the blu-ray boxset which I believe has already gone out-of-print (although, I'm not sure why Funimation releases are going out-of-print since they typically mass produce). It couldn't have been written during the initial years of Lupin lll as an animated TV series in the 70's or the 80's. Fujiko's character kept undergoing development but leaving a lot of character profile questions unanswered. It's almost like they made the that anime as a time machine of being able to see Fujiko in the past and figure out...why she's kinda a megalomaniac. I haven't seen it since I bought it in like 2013 or so and only watched it once. I recall she had some kind of post-trauma relapses and psychological issues. Obviously, no one buying that should expect it to have any plot with regard to Lupin lll. This also showcases the remodeled Lupin in one scene where he appears emphatic while speaking to Fujiko. Remember, Monkey Punche's Lupin was a crazy man and he really didn't care about anyone. So, that's why I say remodeled Lupin. Basically, Green jacket is the old crazy Lupin and Red jacket is the one which Miyazaki and some others toned down to make him more TV friendly.

There are certain areas of Part V which I couldn't get into because of the changed art-style. Although, he has many features of 90's Lupin; he's been adapted to fit in more with the flatter modern anime digital look. I like it when trademark art styling isn't tampered with over time: such as Go Nagai's designs and the unique art signature of Leiji Matsumoto. Nagai's spin-offs always look really bad and have strayed from his original designs (which were still being assembled well into the 90's). Matsumoto, you can't really change him even with digital ink. His art always stands out and doesn't really conform (probably because he still has a lot of creative direction on anything made under his name).

I'm interested to know more about Fujiko's Lie. It would also be nice if the cheapskates at Funimation re-issued the 8-movie boxsets from the 2000's. Those went out-of-print in 2010 and are hard to come by since. There were some good movies in those sets which have enough adventure, comedy, and eccentric story to get newer audiences into Lupin lll. I'm usually interested that many people know who / what Lupin the lll is; however, this is usually only because they saw Castle of Cagliostro. That movie sort of absorbs and overshadows post and pre Lupin series' / movies due to is being "Miyazaki'sb big debut." For that reason, I tend to ignore that movie...even if it's pretty good. People treat it like Lupin lll was a Miyazaki creation and the man only animated a handful of episodes. Ask a "Lupin fan" who Monkey Punch is and they'll likely have no clue. The mangas also need to be re-issued...TokyoPop released them in the 2000's and then stopped pressing them in like 2009 (causing their availability in the West to be limited or inaccesible).

 

[kunonabi]

The Woman Called Fujiko Mine always seemed like a response to how underutilized and one-note she ended up in part III.

Fujiko's Lie is simple on the face of things but it acts as a sort of rebuttal to those that dismiss Fujiko due to her femme fatale nature and methods. In this time of faux feminism and its assault on female characters it's just the sort response her character needed to make.

It was actually my second favorite anime film of last year behind Okko's Inn. I didn't even have much in the way of expectations for it since Jigen's Gravestone and Goemon's blood spray were pretty underwhelming.

 

[Space Runaway]

If you're of a certain age then you probably know Voltron. Fun kids show from the 80s with a failed cg revival in the 90s and a successful revival among weirdos you wouldn't want to stand near in recent years.

Despite being a total kids show in both it's JP and US incarnations, the Japanese version "GoLion" actually had a ton of violent content. Japan's acceptance of violence was considerable compared to the west but GoLion had just about everything - cannibalism, on-screen child killing, rape, genocide and death galore. The writers also seemed to really enjoy killing character's pets. The editors for the Voltron version of the show definitely had to do a lot of work.

One episode particularly notable for it's excessive gore and violence was episode 38 "GoLion Hunting". Basically the villains send a bunch of military commando guys who proceed to kill the fuck out of everyone before ultimately suicide bombing themselves into GoLion. The kills are bloody with people being sliced apart, more child killing and there's a slaughter scene on a farm vehicle that reminds me of the raft scene from The Burning. If you've only ever seen the Voltron version then watching this is like finding some episode of He-Man where he started ripping people's heads off. =P

Copious gore and violence:

This level of violence was very surprising even for Japan as this was a show for young kids. Like the kind where they include children singing the lyrics during the transformation sequence. I have to assume the people making this show didn't care about about who it was aimed at and were just making what they wanted.

That said I had a lot of fun watching this.

 

[Happosai]

If you're of a certain age then you probably know Voltron. Fun kids show from the 80s with a failed cg revival in the 90s and a successful revival among weirdos you wouldn't want to stand near in recent years.

Despite being a total kids show in both it's JP and US incarnations, the Japanese version "GoLion" actually had a ton of violent content. Japan's acceptance of violence was considerable compared to the west but GoLion had just about everything - cannibalism, on-screen child killing, rape, genocide and death galore. The writers also seemed to really enjoy killing character's pets. The editors for the Voltron version of the show definitely had to do a lot of work.

One episode particularly notable for it's excessive gore and violence was episode 38 "GoLion Hunting". Basically the villains send a bunch of military commando guys who proceed to kill the fuck out of everyone before ultimately suicide bombing themselves into GoLion. The kills are bloody with people being sliced apart, more child killing and there's a slaughter scene on a farm vehicle that reminds me of the raft scene from The Burning. If you've only ever seen the Voltron version then watching this is like finding some episode of He-Man where he started ripping people's heads off. =P

Copious gore and violence:


This level of violence was very surprising even for Japan as this was a show for young kids. Like the kind where they include children singing the lyrics during the transformation sequence. I have to assume the people making this show didn't care about about who it was aimed at and were just making what they wanted.

Looks like Anime Works released GoLIon on DVD in 2008 but it may already be out-of-print. I was laughing at one of the reviews where the buyer was disappointed due to everything you mentioned (the violence, tragedies, graphic nature as they put it). I'm not sure what one was going to expect when you're like, "I want to buy GoLion to watch Voltron just like I did when I was a kid." I remember the edited Voltron metal box releases coming out and selling for like $10 / each. If an American didn't want to be traumatized by the reality of their anime...then they should have bought Voltron and not GoLion.

It's very interesting the way you presented this. I didn't see Voltron growing up, so I was unaware until after reading your post and checking for NTSC releases that any of that ever happened. I just assumed it would have been relatively harmless like Transformers. You said in a post about a week back that you'd been stream GoShogun (TV series). GoShogun was also shown to American audiences under the atrocious title "Macron 5" and with a terrible Westernized soundtrack. Is there anything in the GoShogun series that seems like it would have been strong for the younger Western audience it was shown to (I'm talking about the Japanese version)?

I always figured the reason Japanese anime had more guts in the past was due to networks, video distributors, and producers wanting to target adolescents and possibly some adults (although, I hear that adults watching anime in Japan is considered nerdy and uncultured unlike how reading manga is perfectly normal for adults in JP). Early on when this thread was created someone also mentioned the movie "Ringing Bell." The big difference I'd put over on Ringing Bell being released on VHS in North America was the fact that some of the violence was shown.

<p> I've never liked the Western localization of most anime beyond the 70's. The fact that the violence is as graphic as you've shown in the GIFs and images; further demonstrates that it probably really wasn't intended for children. A bit off-topic but on the same token -- Dream Hunter REM. I'm sure you know the story (I won't share pictures as it violates GAF policies) was originally a hentai. The OVA sold well and producers edited out the sex scenes (although even the edited version has some "hmm" content intact, still) and tried to pass it off as a regular OVA. That almost never happens but the 80's were really something else. I mean, it was repurposed entirely when they discovered it had an audience and not just a bunch of pervs wanting to watch it. I'm sure you know more on the story behind that OVA. <p>

 

[paolo11]

Does anyone of you watch Goshogun or Galactic Gale Baxinger?

also Slam Dunk and YuYu Hakusho are my faves

 

[Happosai]

Does anyone of you watch Goshogun or Galactic Gale Baxinger?

also Slam Dunk and YuYu Hakusho are my faves

Just mentioned GoShogun in one of my last posts and highly recommend you see the movie if you haven't (GoShogun: The Time Etranger). GGB, better ask Space Runaway on that one.

I missed a chance to see Slam Dunk about 12-years ago, will probably get around to it. YYH definitely ran well for most. Ghost Files (Western Funimation name) is still my favorite.

You'll find a lot of people in this thread share your interests. Feel free to post more about your favorite anime classics, GIFs, videos, and more!

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I miss the 80s and 90s violent anime. What was the last truly violent anime film or ova?

 

[TheWanderingOgre]

Urotsukidoji: The Legend of the Overfiend was a big part of my sexual education.

The results, a decade and a half later, are surprisingly VERY positive.

Yes, its hentai and tentacle-horror but its also one of the best, most raw apocalyptic stories in any medium, I dare say.

Great animation. Great OST.

Depending on your sensibilities you might want to give it a watch.

Madonna used bits from it before on her work.

 

[Happosai]

I miss the 80s and 90s violent anime. What was the last truly violent anime film or ova?

Can't say but I know many dislike classic anime for the splatter or gore effects. It was more realistic. I don't think there are anymore OVAs. Are there?

 

[Space Runaway]

Looks like Anime Works released GoLIon on DVD in 2008 but it may already be out-of-print. I was laughing at one of the reviews where the buyer was disappointed due to everything you mentioned (the violence, tragedies, graphic nature as they put it). I'm not sure what one was going to expect when you're like, "I want to buy GoLion to watch Voltron just like I did when I was a kid." I remember the edited Voltron metal box releases coming out and selling for like $10 / each. If an American didn't want to be traumatized by the reality of their anime...then they should have bought Voltron and not GoLion.

They released Voltron and GoLion boxsets at the same time so I assume this person purchased the wrong set. Still the boxes are clearly labeled.

And yeah it's been oop for awhile. A lot of these old school anime releases seem to have really low print runs, especially now. You can't really wait for price drops anymore since they're usually oop before they can shelf warm long enough. =P

You said in a post about a week back that you'd been stream GoShogun (TV series). GoShogun was also shown to American audiences under the atrocious title "Macron 5" and with a terrible Westernized soundtrack. Is there anything in the GoShogun series that seems like it would have been strong for the younger Western audience it was shown to (I'm talking about the Japanese version)?

Right Macron 1 they spliced together GoShogun and Srungle (Which challenges "Fafner" for worst made up word title). I didn't really watch Macron 1 but so far I haven't really run across anything in GoShogun that would need heavy edits save kids getting punched and such. Srungle had people getting shot and nudity but no gore like in GoLion.

I always figured the reason Japanese anime had more guts in the past was due to networks, video distributors, and producers wanting to target adolescents and possibly some adults (although, I hear that adults watching anime in Japan is considered nerdy and uncultured unlike how reading manga is perfectly normal for adults in JP). Early on when this thread was created someone also mentioned the movie "Ringing Bell." The big difference I'd put over on Ringing Bell being released on VHS in North America was the fact that some of the violence was shown.

I've never liked the Western localization of most anime beyond the 70's. The fact that the violence is as graphic as you've shown in the GIFs and images; further demonstrates that it probably really wasn't intended for children.

The weird thing about GoLion is that it was targeted at kids and not even teens but young ones. Perhaps their viewership age differed? Dairugger (Which also became part of Voltron) I know has some degree of bloody violence but I don't know if it has any episodes as extreme as GioLion Hunting.

A bit off-topic but on the same token -- Dream Hunter REM. I'm sure you know the story (I won't share pictures as it violates GAF policies) was originally a hentai. The OVA sold well and producers edited out the sex scenes (although even the edited version has some "hmm" content intact, still) and tried to pass it off as a regular OVA. That almost never happens but the 80's were really something else. I mean, it was repurposed entirely when they discovered it had an audience and not just a bunch of pervs wanting to watch it. I'm sure you know more on the story behind that OVA. <p>

Similar to Yorihisa Uchida's infamous "Guy" OVA. When first released in the US they trimmed all the hardcore pornographic material to sell it as a regular anime release. The uncut version would be released under a different label. In Japan they later released a "special edition" which also cut such material so it would be sold as a standard release.

Though a waste of time as even edited it's still a super sleazy trash fest (Nice production though). It's like Evil Town - even edited you still feel dirty after. Shame Guy ova 2 was nothing like it.

 

[Space Runaway]

Does anyone of you watch Goshogun or Galactic Gale Baxinger?

also Slam Dunk and YuYu Hakusho are my faves

Yes in fact I'm watching GoShogun now and i posted about the J9 shows earlier in the thread.

Slam Dunk and YuYu are classics. I very much associate them with the "16-bit era".

Urotsukidoji: The Legend of the Overfiend was a big part of my sexual education.

The results, a decade and a half later, are surprisingly VERY positive.

Yes, its hentai and tentacle-horror but its also one of the best, most raw apocalyptic stories in any medium, I dare say.

Great animation. Great OST.

Depending on your sensibilities you might want to give it a watch.

Madonna used bits from it before on her work.

I rewatched the Perfect Collection awhile back after not having seen it in years. Overfiend held up great and as long as you can accept the fact that every facet is going to be mega perverted in some way, you really get enjoyable horror.

Demon Womb I didn't enjoy as much. Too melodramatic and less interesting in general.

 

[paolo11]

I am into mecha collecting and when I saw Artstorm Goshogun and Baxinger, I had to watch these anime but I couldn’t find Baxinger on English subtitles on al episodes

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I've never actually seen Urotsukidoji: The Legend of the Overfiend. It may be time to change that. I've heard a lot about it over the years. Is it a ova or series? Is it on dvd?

 

[Rat Rage]

Some more











The vocals get kinda wacky but I eventually got used to it... =P



Japan channeling some kind of hip hop sound with this one...

Crazy how many Mecha Anime Japan has. Man, these openings are so stylish, together with all this soulful 80s/90s animation goodness. Simply amazing.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Crazy how many Mecha Anime Japan has. Man, these openings are so stylish, together with all this soulful 80s/90s animation goodness. Simply amazing.

LOVE Patlabor. Wish I could afford the blu ray set

 

[TheWanderingOgre]

Yes in fact I'm watching GoShogun now and i posted about the J9 shows earlier in the thread.

Slam Dunk and YuYu are classics. I very much associate them with the "16-bit era".



I rewatched the Perfect Collection awhile back after not having seen it in years. Overfiend held up great and as long as you can accept the fact that every facet is going to be mega perverted in some way, you really get enjoyable horror.

Demon Womb I didn't enjoy as much. Too melodramatic and less interesting in general.

Sadly, after Demon Womb it only gets worse.

There are some good scenes here and there but the quality of Overfiend is never to be seen again. Not even close.

And not even in the remake that never got completed.

 

[Space Runaway]

I am into mecha collecting and when I saw Artstorm Goshogun and Baxinger, I had to watch these anime but I couldn’t find Baxinger on English subtitles on al episodes

Yeah only Bryger has been fully subbed. Baxinger about half while Sasuraiger remains completely raw.

I've never actually seen Urotsukidoji: The Legend of the Overfiend. It may be time to change that. I've heard a lot about it over the years. Is it a ova or series? Is it on dvd?

OVA series. The first is a 3-part OVA series while Demon Womb is 2 OVAs. Both were released as movie versions but Overfiend was censored. The Perfect Collection is the best way to watch Overfiend though I think the dvds are out of print.

Crazy how many Mecha Anime Japan has. Man, these openings are so stylish, together with all this soulful 80s/90s animation goodness. Simply amazing.

It exploded in the 70s with the giant robot shows and has never really stopped. Nobody has ever really been able to design this stuff quite like Japan.

Sadly, after Demon Womb it only gets worse.

There are some good scenes here and there but the quality of Overfiend is never to be seen again. Not even close.

And not even in the remake that never got completed.

Yeah I never got past IV. I think there was a V which finished it but bleh. I watched the first episode of the remake and I don't remember anything. =P

 

[kunonabi]

LOVE Patlabor. Wish I could afford the blu ray set

I believe they are releasing a new, cheaper set this year.

 

[Space Runaway]

Some first year Newtype pages with a focus on Z Gundam vs Layzner, which were bumping heads in the ratings at this point

 

[Happosai]

It exploded in the 70s with the giant robot shows and has never really stopped. Nobody has ever really been able to design this stuff quite like Japan.

In theory, did all the re-marketing, re-branding, and sequel making of mecha anime kill off the effect it had? I'm sure there are many more reasons why mecha anime hasn't been something that great in Japan for 20-years or more; seems that getting too much of the same thing can wear down the viewers. I've yet to see it but I'm told that I should invest into watching / purchasing Giant Robo and that it was one of the last unique mecha anime (provided it was a mecha anime...I've only read about it).

 

[DragoonWalker]

I miss the 80s and 90s violent anime. What was the last truly violent anime film or ova?

Everything is fantasy and super powers now... There are still cop and crime anime but nothing has the brain splatters and beautiful blood geysers that use to dominate the scene. Besides the general extinction of mecha shows, the gritty violent modern day/cyberpunk crime and action anime are the real gems of their time. Wicked City is the poster boy, but there are lots of others.

Here's a classic scene, from infamous hentai Kite of all things. Drawings and animation are top notch, choreography detailed, but it's all so grounded:


Doesn't seem like Mad Bull 34 has been mentioned. Or Golgo 13 for that matter (Dezaki was a god of style). The sex, violence, and testosterone levels were through the roof. This is what's really missing from today's stuff:









I also somewhat resent that Satoshi Kon's work became increasingly fantastical, when he started off so goddamn gritty:

 

[Happosai]

Everything is fantasy and super powers now... There are still cop and crime anime but nothing has the brain splatters and beautiful blood geysers that use to dominate the scene. Besides the general extinction of mecha shows, the gritty violent modern day/cyberpunk crime and action anime are the real gems of their time. Wicked City is the poster boy, but there are lots of others.

Here's a classic scene, from infamous hentai Kite of all things. Drawings and animation are top notch, choreography detailed, but it's all so grounded:


Doesn't seem like Mad Bull 34 has been mentioned. Or Golgo 13 for that matter (Dezaki was a god of style). The sex, violence, and testosterone levels were through the roof. This is what's really missing from today's stuff:









I also somewhat resent that Satoshi Kon's work became increasingly fantastical, when he started off so goddamn gritty:

Animators and studios aren't ballsy enough to make anything like this anymore. Not sure when moe came along but that whole "let's be cutesy" trend hurts. I watched a short doc on YouTube recently basically pinpointing why anime has gone so far downhill. Basically, great violent cop anime like MadBull 34 could have been influenced by movies like Lethal Weapon. Today a non-violent cop anime would be influenced by another cop anime. The guy in the doc basically States that modern anime only feeds off itself and fandom and isn't being influenced by much else.

There's a sex scene in K.I.T.E. but I never considered it to be a hentai. People used to give me crap about Wicked City (still like it a lot but I was obsessed with Kawajiri in my teens-20's)...It's not hentai either. K.I.T.E. has too much action and drama to fit in with hentai. Mezzo Forte by the same creator...that's hentai.

Sad that Kon has already passed away. With regard to all the great titles you mentioned and a "nod" to modern anime...I'll leave this quote here:

"It's better to burn out, than it is to rust..." - My, My, Hey Hey (Neil Young, 1979)

He mentions in the electric version of the song "Rust Never Sleeps." I feel anime has simply been rusting and it doesn't stop. Old anime burnt out and there isn't much flame in the heart of modern audiences to go back and check it out for that reason.

 

[Shouta]

A lot of those shows disappearing has more to do with the loss of the OVA format's viability and less to do with changing trends in anime. Changing trends do have a part in it but the fact that they can't just do one-shot or short titles and then turn around expecting to recoup the costs of it anymore. Japan became less flush with cash and letting a random creator do what they want is just too much of a risk.

 

[Happosai]

A lot of those shows disappearing has more to do with the loss of the OVA format's viability and less to do with changing trends in anime. Changing trends do have a part in it but the fact that they can't just do one-shot or short titles and then turn around expecting to recoup the costs of it anymore. Japan became less flush with cash and letting a random creator do what they want is just too much of a risk.

Taking risks in animation is was made it stand out. Almost no does that. I see a lot of financial worry in modern Japan about making an original anime with the blood and guts. Eastern studios are much more strict as to what their product is. It's not about artist freedom like Angel's Egg or NeoTokyo; it's about repeating certain popular formulas that make money. Many here can admit that harem anime like Tenchi could get annoying. That process sold, though. So they repeated it into the 2000's and beyond. Older anime has it's weaknesses and if they were using the same craft now, I suppose it would be under similar scrutiny. Can't bring it back. We can only look back and appreciate what it was. Always like your critiquing. I don't see Western animation doing so well either. I'm fact, Japanese anime (modern) seems to be more impressive than something like modern Simpsons or Family Guy.

 

[Happosai]

Before I begin...what's everyone watching right now? (Try to only list classic anime to keep it relevant to the thread

So, it's August and just finished watching Geobreeders the OVA and Geobreeders: Breakthrough. The first OVA is fun and I don't think it could be classified as a harem anime. I'll explain, unless I'm mistaken...harem anime is when one guy is surrounded by a ton of women who are all attracted to him. Taba (the main male lead in Geobreeders) works for Kagura Total Security which is a company that fights phantom humanoid cats. He's one of the 7 or so employees at Kagura and is the lowest ranking and therefore gets all of the ugly work dumped on him. He's also the sole person to hold all the debts that Kagure racks up from destroying their own headquarters and a number of things while attempting to eliminate phantom cats. The other women (except one) don't seem to treat him any differently or have secret feelings for him. They either ignore him or simply try to take advantage that he's the weaker new guy and they can blame everything on him. Anyway, the first 3 OVA's are not bad for a late-90's anime. The second OVA shows the sloppy animation of the 2000's creeping in, has a lackluster story, and seems to lose continuity quite often. I've seen first OVA about 5 times prior; this was the second (and possibly last) time I've watch Breakthrough. It's not terrible but I can't find the story in it. Akihiro Ito wrote the manga but never completed it. Most sources say he fell ill and had to retire early...leaving Geobreeders incomplete. I've been on many anime webpages and never hear any mention of Geobreeders. I'm not sure why it was never properly promoted by CPM years ago in the West. I've said the same about Maze: The Mega Burst Space. It's a fairly decent 90's anime to me but I've never heard it mentioned in over 4 forums and in past threads of anything.

We're currently watching DNA² the TV series (apparently there was an OVA, too???) which totals about 16-episodes. I watched this years ago and that's why it's still in my collection (the U.S. Manga release). It's weird that I remember almost nothing from DNA² and I know I watched every episode about 9-years ago. On the third episode and I have to say that it's weird. Not necessarily weird in a bad way but it's a strange story. Here's what I get of the story so far. Junta is a regular high school boy who wants to make a big impression on the popular girl in school Tomoko. She basically uses him to try to get her macho boyfriend jealous about cheating on her. Then, the plot comes in. So, there's this girl from the future named Karin and she's on a mission to go back to the past and kill Junta. Why? Apparently, in the future they suffer from overpopulation. Parents with more than two children are killed. This is all the result of many years ago in the 1990's, a Japanese boy named Junta became the "mega playboy." His future states that this ultra-suave persona he becomes made him impregnate 100 different women. Of those 100 women, all bore sons. Each son became another mega playboy and kept duplicating the population every generation until Karin's time in the future. Junta is said to become the mega playboy. So, Karin travels to 90's Japan, lures him into a cafe, tells him about mega playboy then shoots him. She runs back to her space orb to tell her boss she finished the job while Junta lies seemingly dead on the floor of the cafe. However, her boss informs her that she took the wrong bullet to the past and the right one was left in the future. Karin ends up making the problem worse as now Junta's DNA is spliced with the mega playboy and he starts to shift back and forth between personalities. That's the plot basically. So, Karin still has to kill him or somehow stop him from permanently becoming mega playboy. I forgot to mention...Junta has a "girl allergy" in his regular form. If he sees a girl and gets too excited...he vomits everywhere. The only girl that doesn't have this affect on him is his childhood friend Ami. Ami appears somewhat jealous of Junta's new ability to attract Tomoko and that's where I'm at with just 2/16 episodes.

Some other notes: The art style bears strong resemblance to Video Girl Ai (the manga and OVA) and this is supposedly due to the two being from the same creator. Coincidentally, the anime version also has some staff that later worked on the Geobreeders anime which I mentioned above. I'm pretty sure I know where they want to go with the story but it seems they started it a bit out of order. I never read the manga but it seems they should have introduced Ami first and her importance with Junta prior to going into Junta's failed first date with Tomoko. I think they confused the chronology with the first two episodes and now the viewer has to try to figure things out by watching early development or plot keys be revealed later on. For any information about the production history or technical notes...I'd refer to Space Runaway on that. I watch the anime but I only research the ones I like a lot. So, I'm not diving too far in to find out why the anime seems to be starting out-of-sequence with characters. All I know is that if I watched it years ago and didn't sell it...I obviously liked it enough. If I buy an anime and don't like what I'm watching, I sell it and usually don't buy it back.

Thanks for reading even if this is a TL;DR type analysis of current anime I'm watching.

 

[Space Runaway]

Feel free to post more about your favorite anime classics, GIFs, videos, and more!

Some choice MegaZone 23 stuff in overly long gif form =P

 

[Happosai]

Some choice MegaZone 23 stuff in overly long gif form =P

It would be nice to be a chairman for one of these Japanese studios today and sit all the staff down for a modern anime. Pretty much, just show them these GIFs and say: Here's the money, here's your motive, your computers are all in the dumpster in the back lot...get busy. They say if you remove some of the tools from an artists, it challenges them to become more creative...it would be nice to see that again. People can still be sold on good animation and not just proxy stories with CG doing most of the work. I hear many excuses but no real solid reasons for Asian or American animators not to start trying harder with the budgets they have. They could start by not making series that are 26 + episodes long and cut everything down to 8-10 episodes and let them work from that. If Japan did this...they'd be above American animators again (like they were in the 80's).