Something I noticed about eroges

[Ericridge]

K Nargrakhan.

I'm going to watch nadia's anime now. Never quite got around to it but i must. I would've watched it years ago but my warhammer 40k hobby kept me away.

[Nandemonai]

It's got issues. Namely it got expanded to 39 episodes but they didn't have material to put into 39 episodes, so they just kinda inserted filler into the middle. Also, Nadia herself is incredibly unlikeable, to the point of ruining the show. For me, at least.

[DarkFusion]

The rest of the cast manages to save the show, especially Grandis and co. (after a few episodes)

[Nargrakhan]

K Nargrakhan.

I'm going to watch nadia's anime now. Never quite got around to it but i must. I would've watched it years ago but my warhammer 40k hobby kept me away.

Actually, I don't like Nadia... character or the series. I just happened to find a few pics of Rei and her togther.

Rei > Nadia.

[DarkFusion]

While I wholeheartedly agree that Rei and her series is superior, I have to admit I have a bit of a soft spot for the Nadia series. I'll admit the first few episodes aren't that good, but once the main story starts things pick up noticeably. The conflict between Nemo and Gargoyle made for an interesting story with both action and mystery enough to keep me entertained, which sadly means the side characters are more interesting than our main characters. I also liked how when things were taking place on the Nautilus they were able to keep a similar feel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which the show is loosely based on) in how they were showing the underwater journey.
If you watch the series, skip the filler episodes (though I will admit episode 29 makes for a good chuckle), and avoid the movie sequel at all costs.

[michelous]

rei is even better in rebuild

[TDOMMX]

rei is even better in rebuild

Indeed she is. I highly recommend the dub; I'd seen You Can (Not) Advance three times before in Japanese, but the dub actually made me cry. Twice. One "single Indian tear" and one "they flow like waterfall". That's a very, very good thing. I don't think I need to tell you which scenes. Spike, Trina, Brina, and Tiffany did a superb job, even if the rest of the voicework was a bit inconsistent.

[Nargrakhan]

rei is even better in rebuild

Indeed she is. I highly recommend the dub; I'd seen You Can (Not) Advance three times before in Japanese, but the dub actually made me cry. Twice. One "single Indian tear" and one "they flow like waterfall". That's a very, very good thing. I don't think I need to tell you which scenes. Spike, Trina, Brina, and Tiffany did a superb job, even if the rest of the voicework was a bit inconsistent.

The fact that rebuild Shinji - of all people - has a yandere mode, makes it worth it's weight in gold alone.

Do not get that man's way, when women are involved.

[TDOMMX]

Indeed. If you'll pardon the cliches: one line gave me chills, and the next had me grinning ear-to-ear as manly tears poured out for the entire scene that followed.

Shinji (deathly calm): "I want Rei."
Shinji (eyes change color): "GIVE HER BACK."

I stand behind my belief that Spike Spencer is the definitive voice of Shinji Ikari. No offense, Ogata, but Spike outdid you in every way possible.

Care to guess what the other tearjerker moment for me was?

[michelous]

shinji pretty much turning the eva into a god awesome to the max

[Nargrakhan]

Rebuild Shinji: Accept No Substitutions.

[TDOMMX]

Rebuild Shinji: Accept No Substitutions.

Who're you kidding? Shinji can't smoke without coughing his lungs out! Also, you forgot the penguin (because everything's awesome with penguins).

[DarkFusion]

Rebuild Shinji: Accept No Substitutions.

Hey, where's Mari?

On a side note, finally got around to watching the second Rebuild movie and it totally blew my expectations out of the water. End result, the NGE fanboy in me (especially in regards to Rei) has reawakened and I can now understand the popularity of Mari in all those douji-err I mean amongst the fanbase

[TDOMMX]

End result, the NGE fanboy in me (especially in regards to Rei) has reawakened and I can now understand the popularity of Mari in all those douji-err I mean amongst the fanbase

Amen. After screening Evangelion 2.22 for a friend of mine, he revived the fanboy in me and convinced me to co-host a pair of Eva panels with him at Otakuthon 2011.

I feel I should note that Anno designed Mari to be a deliberately superficial character in order to prove a point, ie: that the current generation of anime fans is more attracted by the layering of moe stereotypes than any semblance of actual depth to the characters or story. Compare, say, K-On, Haruhi Suzumiya, or Azumanga Daioh with Monster, Moribito, or Twelve Kingdoms and note the link between the use of moe tropes and commercial success (hint: Moribito's US broadcast was cancelled and Monster's DVD release was discontinued despite its critical acclaim and awards). That might help you understand the longevity of Da Capo, Galaxy Angel, To Heart, or Angel Tails despite the fact that very little of note actually happens in those franchises.

I'll admit, I'm intrigued by Mari and the direction her story could go, but as it is, there isn't enough substance to her to be able to judge either way; claiming she's "awesome" or "badass" based on less than ten minutes of screentime is entirely too premature (kinda like claiming someone is your soulmate based on a single first impression).

Sorry for the rant. It just gets under my skin when, for instance, a misanthropic hobo with delusions of grandeur and a very loose grip on reality gets hailed as a badass for hiding behind a mask and belittling everyone that isn't himself, or when a silver-haired leather-clad sociopath is regarded as awesome for betraying his allies, slaughtering the innocent, and ranting endlessly about what happened to his mother. (Sound familiar? They should.)

[Ericridge]

Mari? Asuka blows Mari out of water! But, i haven't watched the rebuild of evangelion tho. Only read the manga and that's enough for me xD maybe someday in the future i buy up the entire series.

[TDOMMX]

Mari? Asuka blows Mari out of water! But, i haven't watched the rebuild of evangelion tho. Only read the manga and that's enough for me xD maybe someday in the future i buy up the entire series.

In other words, "I think someone I've never met is automatically worse than someone I already know". With all due respect, I hope you realize how ridiculous that sounds. What you've said is the same as lambasting a game you've never played or a band you've never heard. The formal term for that: prejudice.

[Edit: If you're using my previous post as your basis for comparison, I'll take back my words. I just don't respond well to prejudice of any kind.]

That said, having seen / read all three official continuities (minus Rebuild 3.0 and 4.0 and manga Volume 13, which have yet to be released), I can objectively say that the manga adaptation is the worst of the three(*). The pacing of Volume 5 in particular is horribly rushed (an attempt to make up for the two year hiatus between Volumes 4 and 5), and many, many important events in the TV series are simply omitted from the manga continuity. Some characters are portrayed very differently (Gendo and Asuka especially; if you like Asuka's manga incarnation, you'll probably love the anime original). I'll concede that the manga better fleshes out a few of the characters (Kaji and Kaworu especially), but this is often at the expense of others (Rei's sentimental side is explored more in the manga, but, as a tradeoff, Asuka's more sympathetic moments from the anime are skipped over). As of Volume 12, Gendo's motivations have been rewritten entirely; sadly, this change is for the worse and eliminates the depth he had in the anime. Major scenes play out very differently (no two versions of the Bardiel / Eva-03 battle are exactly alike); knowing what happens in one version of events definitely does not mean you know the whole story.

In short, the manga of Evangelion is about as faithful to its source as the first anime adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist (hence why a reboot of FMA was even necessary). Personally, I think all three versions of Evangelion complement each other quite well, though there are some irreconcilable differences (Gendo's attitude toward Shinji, the fate of Eva-03's pilot, and the events in the hospital room, to name a few). I'd highly recommend watching both the original series (including The End of Evangelion) and Rebuild, in that order (just make sure you get the Director's Cut versions of episodes 21-24) To top it off, the manga version doesn't contain any of the aspects that made the series controversial in the first place....

* Naturally this ranking will be revised depending on how good 3.0 and 4.0 turn out to be when they do hit the silver screen. So far, Rebuild has surpassed the original series, in my opinion.

[DarkFusion]

End result, the NGE fanboy in me (especially in regards to Rei) has reawakened and I can now understand the popularity of Mari in all those douji-err I mean amongst the fanbase

Amen. After screening Evangelion 2.22 for a friend of mine, he revived the fanboy in me and convinced me to co-host a pair of Eva panels with him at Otakuthon 2011.

I feel I should note that Anno designed Mari to be a deliberately superficial character in order to prove a point, ie: that the current generation of anime fans is more attracted by the layering of moe stereotypes than any semblance of actual depth to the characters or story. Compare, say, K-On, Haruhi Suzumiya, or Azumanga Daioh with Monster, Moribito, or Twelve Kingdoms and note the link between the use of moe tropes and commercial success (hint: Moribito's US broadcast was cancelled and Monster's DVD release was discontinued despite its critical acclaim and awards). That might help you understand the longevity of Da Capo, Galaxy Angel, To Heart, or Angel Tails despite the fact that very little of note actually happens in those franchises.

I'll admit, I'm intrigued by Mari and the direction her story could go, but as it is, there isn't enough substance to her to be able to judge either way; claiming she's "awesome" or "badass" based on less than ten minutes of screentime is entirely too premature (kinda like claiming someone is your soulmate based on a single first impression).

Sorry for the rant. It just gets under my skin when, for instance, a misanthropic hobo with delusions of grandeur and a very loose grip on reality gets hailed as a badass for hiding behind a mask and belittling everyone that isn't himself, or when a silver-haired leather-clad sociopath is regarded as awesome for betraying his allies, slaughtering the innocent, and ranting endlessly about what happened to his mother. (Sound familiar? They should.)

Hence the doujinshi joke. I do understand the rant, there's a certain popular funny eyed crazy kid well known for downtalking and backstabbing every ally he makes and has made it his goal to kill everyone in his hometown down to the last infant while ranting about his family (who from the looks of it were mostly murderous douches)...and he's considered a hero amongst the fanbase

[Ericridge]

Dood, Mari didn't immediately appeal to me while asuka does. I dont know anything about her at all other than she's from usa, that wrecked eva base which got smooshed from what I know in the manga.

U need to calm down, i'm picky, some girls don't immediately appeal to me while others does.

[DarkFusion]

I dont know anything about her at all other than she's from usa, that wrecked eva base which got smooshed from what I know in the manga.

Actually she's from the European NERV base. You probably should see the movie when you get the chance, it's really good. Also Asuka gets more screen time than Mari and subsequently a more active role.

On a side note, considering the events of End of Evangelion and the 2nd Rebuild movie, does that make Unit 2 the equivalent of well... 2:29 of this? :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPMrlY8 ... re=related

[Kimuzukashii MEIJI]

Compare, say, K-On, Haruhi Suzumiya, or Azumanga Daioh with Monster, Moribito, or Twelve Kingdoms and note the link between the use of moe tropes and commercial success (hint: Moribito's US broadcast was cancelled and Monster's DVD release was discontinued despite its critical acclaim and awards).

As I understand it, Moribito's US broadcast on [adult swim] wasn't actually canceled so much as put on hold because of some issue with the licensing agreement. While it was off the air for some time, they did eventually restart and show the complete series. If that were not the case, I wouldn't have seen the show. (By the way, of the anime I have seen, Moribito ranks up there with the Ghost in the Shell universe for me, which should give you an idea of how much esteem I hold for it.)

[Nargrakhan]

I feel I should note that Anno designed Mari to be a deliberately superficial character in order to prove a point, ie: that the current generation of anime fans is more attracted by the layering of moe stereotypes than any semblance of actual depth to the characters or story.

Mari was also designed to be a rival for Asuka, in that she usurps her position, to which Asuka would overcome and surpass Mari later on. Some of Mari's combat traits are taken from "original Asuka" (the animalistic rage part), which the new Asuka does not exhibit anymore (she's a finesse fighter now; compared to Shinji's natural talent and Rei's analytical approach).

IIRC, there was some issue during the development of second movie, because the director and producer had disagreements how Mari was supposed to be used. Adding Mari was already known; but the means and amount were changed throughout the production phase.

All that being said: we still don't know if Mari is really an ally or enemy to Shinji. Her actions so far have been largely self serving (she wants to pilot an Eva more than anything else) or for her unknown superiors (is it Steele, the Euro branch, or something else entirely).

I'm still waiting for Jet Alone to show up.

[michelous]

i want to see mari vs asuka in movie 3 and then there is the rebuild version of karou

[TDOMMX]

Dood, Mari didn't immediately appeal to me while asuka does. I dont know anything about her at all other than she's from usa, that wrecked eva base which got smooshed from what I know in the manga.

U need to calm down, i'm picky, some girls don't immediately appeal to me while others does.

Fair enough. If you're only comparing first impressions, that's fine by me. I was under the impression you were weighing all of Asuka's character from the manga against what little screentime Mari has in 2.22.

I really need to keep in mind that the internet can't accurately convey when I'm being smarmy. On that note, Mari is British, and Asuka is German-American. Nerv-02 in Nevada was smooshed unceremoniously in all three versions of events, but Mari was in Russia (Bethany Base) - enroute to Japan - at the time. Just straightening your facts out.

Mari was also designed to be a rival for Asuka, in that she usurps her position, to which Asuka would overcome and surpass Mari later on. Some of Mari's combat traits are taken from "original Asuka" (the animalistic rage part), which the new Asuka does not exhibit anymore (she's a finesse fighter now; compared to Shinji's natural talent and Rei's analytical approach).
[...]
All that being said: we still don't know if Mari is really an ally or enemy to Shinji. Her actions so far have been largely self serving (she wants to pilot an Eva more than anything else) or for her unknown superiors (is it Steele, the Euro branch, or something else entirely).

True enough. Basically, Asuka without all of her emotional baggage and a slightly warped idea of what's fun. I did enjoy her "pet the puppy" moment when her plea for Shinji to run backfires and encourages him to rush back to Eva-01's cage. Still, that's not enough to judge her character on. Like you said, she could easily switch from friend to foe. We do know that she is cooperating with Kaji to an extent; to what degree they're using each other, we can only guess.

I'm still waiting for Jet Alone to show up.

Complete with the Hispanic rendition of Decisive Battle ("She said, 'Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred'.") would be nice.

i want to see mari vs asuka in movie 3 and then there is the rebuild version of karou

Misato: "The eyepatch wearing captain crosses blades with the ship-stealing Problem Child in an epic maritime battle, but what will become of the booty they're both after? And who is this mysterious otherworldly messenger? Find out in Evangelion Theatrical Edition 4.0: Finale! And don't forget, more fan service too! Especially for you fangirls!"

[jTarget]

Okay... spill the beans. Where is this from?

[DarkFusion]

Third movie's been announced for Fall 2012:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... -fall-2012

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2011/08/2 ... ing-dated/

Edit: Anyone besides me find the idea of an Evangelion movie coming out in 2012 funny?