Y'all should try watching some Don Bluth movies without the nostalgia glasses. It might be an eye-opening experience. He's really not all that, and lacks a distinctive voice compared to many of the more peculiar JP directors.
Even besides the fact that half of them movies out-and-out suck. (Fuck you, Rock-a-Doodle!)
While it's true that after All Dogs he went on a steep downward spiral he never really recovered from, I think mostly everything prior to it is still wonderful to this day.
Now I'm wondering, though, what do you all think of Ralph Bakshi? I must admit to this day I'm still somewhat intrigued about his original vision for Cool World. Could've made for a pretty neat film, I think.
Oh man, my memory is super hazy when it comes to dates but sure, okay. Let's see:
Late 80's: Like many others I watched tons of anime without knowing what it was. Stuff like Mazinger Z, Robotech, Heidi, Conan el Niño del Futuro (Mirai Shōnen Konan), Remi (Ie naki ko), La Abeja Maya (Mitsubachi Maya no boken), La Ranita Demetán (Kekkoro Demetan), Las Aventuras de Gigí (Minki Momo), etc.
Early 90's: Was when I finally discovered cartoons were actually made by people and didn't come from some magical cartoon land as I previously thought and it wasn't until Los Caballeros del Zodiaco (Saint Seiya) that I discovered some of the cartoons I watched came from some country called Japan. It was also around this point, and thanks to that show's massive success, that anime exploded in popularity over here.
90's: Something of a golden age for anime over here. We got stuff like Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2, Escaflowne, La Princesa de los Mil Años (Shin Taketori Monogatari: Sennen Joō, Los Justicieros (Slayers), Supercampeones (Captain Tsubasa), Las Aventuras de Fly (Dai no Daibouken), Arale (Dr. Slump), Ironman 28, Candy Candy, Zenki, Bt' X, Samurai Warriors, Mikami la Cazafantasmas (Ghost Sweeper Mikami) and the list goes on. Most of them with above average dubs and localizations, too.
At some point during the late 90's I finally learned of the term "anime" and what it referred to. Previously I and everyone else just knew them as japanese cartoons. Coincidentally, it was about at this same point that I learned of the term "hentai". My teenage self was mostly intrigued by all these new discoveries.
00's: Once I was in college, anime was a mostly a phase I was starting to leave behind, given that practically none of the new stuff on TV caught my attention. Stuff like Pokemon, Digimon, Medabots, Sakura Card Captors et al seemed all too childish to me and I was a grown up now! It seemed like my anime days were over.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) some friends of mine saw it fit to show me the wonders of fansubs and exposed me to a ton of stuff I had previously never even heard of. Stuff like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Record of Lodoss War, Urotsukidoji, Love Hina, Ah My Goddess, Noir, Miyazaki films and so on. Anime was amazing again and I was hooked once more. Eventually, I stopped depending on my friends to get my fix and Last Exile became the first anime I watched concurrently as it was airing in Japan.
I'm apparently one of the few people that wasn't totally blindsided by Utena 33. To be honest, I'm still confused as to how people can be so shocked by it. I mean,
Utena and Akio are hanging out in a hotel room, there's no way that won't end well, right?
Honestly, while I did see it coming, actually watching it unfold right there before my eyes did come as something of a shock. Though it was mostly just me screaming internally stuff like: "omg no, not like this" "NOT LIKE THIS".
Since Tommrow is the end of the longest, most beautiful journey in animation i have ever had, Im going to end the debate.
Pokemon (First 26 Episodes) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Digimon (First 26 Episodes)
Digmon (Last 26 Episodes, First Season to Middle 3rd of 3rd Season) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pokemon (Last 26 Episodes, Through all of The Orange League, Most of Second Season, up to the Misty/May Switch.)
Pokemon (May Switch to 4Kids Loss of Rights) > Digimon (Last Third of Season 3, Most of Season 4)
Since Tommrow is the end of the longest, most beautiful journey in animation i have ever had, Im going to end the debate.
Pokemon (First 26 Episodes) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Digimon (First 26 Episodes)
Digmon (Last 26 Episodes, First Season to Middle 3rd of 3rd Season) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pokemon (Last 26 Episodes, Through all of The Orange League, Most of Second Season, up to the Misty/May Switch.)
Pokemon (May Switch to 4Kids Loss of Rights) > Digimon (Last Third of Season 3, Most of Season 4)
Moe-Ochi!, a "girl moe" rakugo CD featuring voice actress Yu Kobayashi (Mariya in Maria Holic, Setsuna in Negima!), was released earlier this month. The four stories in the CD are inspired by Akihabara and otaku culture, with stories on topics such as a manga artist consulting her friend about a title for her first manga release at Comic Market, grim reapers who cannot find significant others, and fans of street idols.
According to Kobayashi, she first began listening to rakugo stories a decade ago, upon the recommendation of other voice actors. A release event for the CD that reportedly drew over a hundred fans was held in Akihabara on August 5. The 77-minute Moe-Ochi! CD is being sold for a retail price of 1,890 yen (about US$24).