I have that. Utterly nuts.
Itās only westerners who insist that āanimeā needs to refer to a particular Japanese style. This gets on my nerves, because it is a Japanese term, and they donāt use it that way.
If thereās something missing from Readās article, itās the fine-toothed analysis of those specifics. For example, CaptainPedge is totally right: an avatar of an 80ās saturday morning cartoon character produced by an anime studio (like many of the other examples in this thread) doesnāt register as this. But a generic doe-eyed schoolgirl with an angry expression? There we go.
Hey, we have that infuser too. Itās great.
But itās Boba Fett, which means youāre likely to misfire and wind up in a toothy vagina.
Donāt fall for that Rebel propaganda bullshit.
True Story:
Grave of the Fireflies is worth seeing as a piece of affecting, well-crafted drama which also happens to be anime.
I /really/ need to watch this series again. Justy Ueki Tylor was made of win. Pretty much literally.
This raises an interesting point. Since all we have here to judge people on are their avatars, their username and the content of what they write, how much influence do those first two have on how someone is perceived on-line? I wonder if there are any other things that we can boil out of the data?
Iām more about Comedy, but Noiseman Sound Insect was also pretty brilliant.
The trick is that in most cases you canāt actually tell much about somebody from their avatar, unless itās an actual photo of themselves. Did they pick it because they like the character in general? Because they identify with the character? Because they just like the way the character looks? Because they happen to think they character looks like them? Because the character has a facial expression that matches their mood?
Letās simplify, and say that itās a reliable indicator of liking anime⦠The sort of person who thinks you can jump from āthey like animeā to being able to tell something meaningful about a person is the same sort of person who draws weird conclusions about muslim/black/gay people.
Every groups has asshats. Asshats are, typically, hypervocal and get the most attention. That doesnāt make them representative.
I mean, seriously, if weāve only got an avatar, a name and the contents of their speech to go by⦠go by the contents of their speech.
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######no.
The Major becomes a Deus Ex in that one! Iād rather see her kick ass all over the place. Seriously though, I like S.A.C. 2nd GiG best. Iām waiting for the english dub of ARISE as well, but I probably just ought to watch it subbed. I think I got turned off to the ARISE subs because I got an early copy with a bad translation thatās impossible to follow.
Damn, have I been missing the party?
What anime is that video from?! 
Innocence is very much a Batou movie, but I like that.
Next week the Arise movie is playing in some US cinemas. Showings on November 10, 11, and 16. I have enjoyed Arise less than SAC/2ndGIG/SSS so far, but the trailer looks good.
I agree about 2nd Gig, probably my favourite version overall because of the accomplished arc and the depth of the stories involved, buuuut⦠I fucking love love love me some Innocence.
And when has the Major not been invincible? Except maybe at the end of the first film , when she rips her own arms off trying to get into the tank, although one might suspect that she deliberately made herself vulnerable as a way of mirroring The Puppetmaster - knowing, as she always does, the whereabouts of her team and that Batou was right behind her with an anti-tank gun.
Arise is⦠*sigh ā¦not up to scratch. Itās still better than most everything else but theyāve sacrificed a lot of the philosophy that usually underpins the story in favour of concentrating on complexifying the plot.
Innocence is probably the most philosophically deep of the lot, and that is for sure what attracts me to GITS.
Itās a music video that Studio Ghibli did to test out their new 3D procedures.
Unfortunately⦠or maybe fortunately (it really works in a short form donāt you think!?) that is it in its entirety.
I liked Innocence a lot. But I just like the tech so much better in the SAC series. Also the socio-political aspects are juicy, and I like whole Stand Alone Complex idea a lot and wish that we could see more of them.
I never quite got the whole purpose of the Catcher in the Rye thing, other than it was initially just a sort of signal that the laughing man incidents were coming to a close and that Aoi had decided to withdraw. But I donāt really get why it became a lasting motif in the rest of SAC. As for the Major destroying her body⦠I always thought that was just something that they like to lampshade in every series/movie. Sheās the most powerful cyborg out there, but even she has her limits. Favorite scene is in 1st GiG when sheās nearly crushed to death by the Umi Bozu guy in the Armed Suit, and she one-hands Saitoās 20mm antimateriel rifle to just reck that guy.
IMO The laughing man becomes the symbol, ne-plus-ultra, of the overall phenomenon of the SAC itself. Being the first such symbol to precipitate into public consciousness as the structure of the memeplex (as well as the first specific instance of it being put into practice) self-assembles in the realm of cyberspace/reality.
And I agree that for sure that there is a major aspect of the films and series concerning the way in which the major is willing to transcend her physical body but she always remains in control whilst sacrificing that piece, in order to gain victory. Which is why I think that mirroring of the destruction of her body, to that of the puppert-masters current state after the truck accident, is no accident. She is seeking transcendence and is partnering with the Puppet Master to achieve it. At least, IMO.
