I'm a lurker, fairly new to the list, but a long time Ranma fan.  I still 
keep up with the Viz releases, both manga and DVD.

At 09:49 PM 9/16/2003 -0400, Albert Lunde wrote:
>Haven't been trying to keep up with the Viz video releases: there's
>too much new content right now to buy DVDs of stuff I've got in one
>or two other formats already.

I have a rack dedicated to unwatched anime series, of which Ranma, 
InuYasha, and Maison Ikkoku make up a sizeable amount.  Seems like the 
number of great anime shows being released right now outstrips my ability 
to keep up.  Not to mention all the fansubs that suck up my bandwidth.

I'm still on the Animeigo Urasei Yatsura DVD preorders, but I
>haven't gotten around to watching them.

Me, too.  I have the first 20 or so DVDs sitting here, waiting for a time 
when I can finally watch them.  I've avoided the series for years, for no 
real apparent reason than it didn't look terribly interesting.  Now after 
watching the magic of Kimagure Orange Road - another series I avoided - I 
decided to give it a go.  Sure hope I like it as I've sunk a ton of money 
in it so far.

The difference is there is less time lag in both US and Japan than
>their was in the case of Ranma. Viz hasn't been keeping up with the
>manga in real time, but at least they started close to the same time.
>And I think it's been taken for granted there was a US market for the
>anime.

If you follow the fansubs, you'll know that the lag time now on a lot of 
stuff is under a year.  As an example, Haibane Renmei was aired in Japan 
last fall/winter, and the first DVD has already hit the shelves here in the 
US.  If you like something a little different than the usual anime fare, 
give Haibane a go.

>I haven't had time to follow it as closely, but it seems like it's
>a story with a strong audience appeal to both male and female audiences.

InuYasha is a lot of fun.  I've been buying the manga since Viz started 
releasing it, and it's another series who's DVDs are piling up on my 
shelf.  Not sure why it's as popular as it is, but I like it.



>Another random note: I saw something in the US NewType lately that
>seemed to say they were making a TV series of some of Takahash's short
>stories.

As someone else mentioned, it's called Rumic Theater.  I believe Viz 
released the manga some time ago.  Anyway, two fansub groups are currently 
releasing subtitled episodes, "We Suck" and "Live Evil."  If you've got 
bittorrent and a high-speed connection, you can get them from:

http://a.scarywater.net/live-evil/
http://a.scarywater.net/suck/

Looks like Live Evil is currently on episode 8, though I understand at 
least through 11 has aired in Japan to date.

>Video series I'm in the midst of seeing for the first time: "Ai Yori Aoshi"
>and "Snow Fairy Sugar" (both waiting for the US release).

I'm watching these shows, too.  Well, sort of.  Ai Yori Aoshi is high on my 
list, but keeps getting deferred.  All the DVDs are neatly filling in the 
box, so maybe I'll wait until it's complete and have my own marathon.  I 
have recently been watching Sugar.  In fact, I watched the second DVD about 
two nights ago.  Saving the third one as a special treat later this 
week.  It's not deep by any stretch of the imagination, but it's cute.  I'm 
still trying to figure out where it's going.

Other series I'm watching off and on right now include:

Noir (getting really good)
Popotan - currently airing in Japan.  A little echhi but cute.  The best 
part is that after nine episodes, I still don't know what's going on.
Scrapped Princess - also airing in Japan.  Three episodes to go and I can't 
wait to see how it ends.  The only fansub I watch immediately after 
downloading.
Najica - New release from ADV.  Never seen so many panty shots in my 
life!  But the storyline seems interesting.  I'd have to say this one is 
derivative, but I haven't figured what of just yet.
Detective Academy Q - Think Hikaru no Go where the puzzles are related to 
crimes.
Alien Nine - Just plain weird
Onegai Teacher - Love it.  Waiting for the next DVD to be released.
Asagiri no Miko - Only seen one episode so far.  22 more to go.
Narue no Sekai - Cute.  Way behind on this one, too.

Oh, and about 20-30 other series I'm either buying or downloading or 
both.  I did a recent check to see how much it would be to "top off" my 
DVDs to the latest releases, and it came back at $700, so I think I'll wait 
a little before I order all that.

Greg



Greg Teltschik
gteltschik@mindspring.com