Hello: Well it's been a while since I sat down to watch any anime. (the last
time was when I watched the 1st series of LotGH for the THIRD time straight) I
figured I would give Armored Trooper VOTOMS a try. Since none of my local
rental places didn't have it, I bought a copy of Volume 1 (Uoodo City) from my
local game store. (If it turned out to be a bomb... well... Caveat Emptor.)
Upon getting home, I popped some corn, poured myself a whisky and soda, tossed
the tape into the VCR and
watched....
Very, very good! Like all GOOD anime (and a certain American science fiction
program I
could name), ATV appears to have an well-constructed story arc. The
three episodes on Volume 1 kept opening up question after question: Who was
that naked girl in the tube? (Grrrowllll... Hold on! I better get ahold of
myself. I'm getting hot over a cartoon character!") Why is she so important?
What is going to happen? For a tech stance, ATV is a very low tech universe. I
like that. That means there is less PSB to deal with which means you don't
have to suspend your disbelief more than you have to. BTW, I think I know
where a certain Canadian game company got the inspiration for the mecha in
their giant robot game. (IMHO, imitation still is the highest form of
flattery.) Animation style was pretty good. It's not Akira or Ghost in the
Shell, but it's certainly not Speed Racer. Music was nothing to write home
about. If I could remix the musical score, I'd add lots of alternative and
heavy metal (no pun intended.) The series uses the original Japanese dialogue
with subs. Is it my imagination, or is anime better when it's subtitled
instead of a having a new english dialogue dubbed in? We've got a lot of
conversion potential here for DSII and SGII. There is some space combat, but I
haven't seen enough to justify a FT conversion. I've also picked up R.
Talsorian's ATV RPG. Although I'm
not a role-player, the book contains great info on the ATs and other
vehicles of the ATV universe that could easily be put to work for wargaming
purposes. This is one universe I'm going to convert for Mecha Carnage. It's
going to be a little while till I can pick up the next volume the series. I've
got a few bills to pay first. However, this is one series I am definitely
adding to my collection.
I give Armored Trooper VOTOMS: 3-and-a-half stars out of a
possible 4.
> On Wed, 22 Apr 1998, Mark A. Siefert. wrote:
> was that naked girl in the tube? (Grrrowllll... Hold on! I better get
I have to keep reminding myself of that also. My friend and I have a phrase
for that: "She's not hot, she's nicely drawn."
> Japanese dialogue with subs. Is it my imagination, or is anime better
I too prefer sub to dub, but some of friend prefer dub so that they don't have
to keep watching the screen through the whole show. (Some even do other things
while watching so they would rather be able to hear the dialog.) The trouble
I've experienced with dubbing is that they don't put the same effort in to
acting as the original production and hence seems flatter. That's not to say
there haven't been any good dubs. The best I've heard was done for My Neighbor
Totoro and Akira.
> On Wed, 22 Apr 1998, Mark A. Siefert. wrote:
> Japanese dialogue with subs. Is it my imagination, or is anime better
Subtitled is the only way to go. Unless you're literacy-challanged,
ofcourse.
If you don't care zip for the integrity of the original work of art, I can
understand the arguments for dubbing. But I still prefer subtitles, because
that way extra *noise* doesn't bother me so much. I can and will glue my eyes
to the screen when I watch something (if something's only worth watching from
the corner of my eye, I don't think it's worth watching at all), but I can't
stop my wife putting on the washing machine.
> Kyle Klingler wrote:
"I'm not bad. I was drawn that way." - Jessica Rabbit
In article <Pine.3.07.9804231008.A16058-b100000@login>
> kklinglr@freenet.columbus.oh.us writes:
> On Wed, 22 Apr 1998, Mark A. Siefert. wrote:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That is an easy question! So that 'sexually frustrated lonely young
single males' ( -> otaku ) keep on watching the series!!!!!!!!
You guys all know Evangelion right? It is about 14year olds emotional and self
confidence problems ( and a few things that get a bit political in
relationship to the japanese 'system'), with an AMAZING
BACKSTORY about invading ANGELS, GOD, MANKIND and the EVA bio-mechs the
kids 'pilot'.....
Unfortuneately, in Japan, it is NOT the SF backstory that they clamor for here
for the most part, but the girls in their body hugging 'plug
suits'...
> At 23:51 4/22/98, Mark A. Siefert. wrote:
> time was when I watched the 1st series of LotGH for the THIRD time
Looks like I'm in the opposite position from you: I've got access to nearly
the entire run of ATV at the local Hastings (aggravatingly enough, they're
missing all of season 2!) but have only recently been able to latch onto any
translated LOGH.
IMO, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is one of the best, most thoughtful and
intelligent anime series (or SF series of any kind) that I've ever seen.
Rarely have there been story arcs that so well integrated the concepts of
history, tactics, politics and strategy without losing sight of the role of
the individual. Killer stuff. Probably why none of your typical otaku have
ever heard of it.:P
> three episodes on Volume 1 kept opening up question after question:
Who
> was that naked girl in the tube? (Grrrowllll... Hold on! I better get
You find out what she is about midway through the 1st season. You find out who
she is and why she and Our Hero are drawn together by the end of the 1st
season.
I haven't been able to find season 2, but season 3 starts off with a bang. We
get some detail on Our Hero's sordid past, and the feeling we've had all along
that Someone Is Using Them is strengthened considerably. Good stuff.
> a certain Canadian game company got the inspiration for the mecha in
I used to think Heavy Gear was wonderfully original, with a penchant for
picking out the best in anime. Now I realize they're wonderfully good at
borrowing from ATV, with a penchant for adding some original touches (and
killer artwork.)
> Japanese dialogue with subs. Is it my imagination, or is anime better
Much better with subtitles, IMO, but avoid this topic at cons or on
rec.arts.anime... you'll get flamed to death.
> On Fri, 24 Apr 1998, Adrian Bruce wrote:
> You guys all know Evangelion right? It is about 14year olds emotional
I don't know about that... there are countless braindead "courtesy breasts"
shows that just flop. Shows like Evangelion develop character cults because
the actual shows are good.
Though it could be argued that Sailor Moon is an exception...