Manga (maybe Anime): Random Babbling

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Yeah, I wanted to point out Magnetic Rose too. That one was really, really good! I love the writer (who incidentally, directed Perfect Blue as well, which was incredible as well). However, Perfect Blue is pretty disturbing (has violence and nudity) and is one of the most difficult movies I had to sit through (but still one of the best anime out there).

 

In terms of horror, or at least something like it, 100 Stories was quite interesting. While not exactly a Hitchhock piece, it was a good mystical series and it literally gave me goosebumps at times. Magnetic Rose... might give it a look now that the graphics card on my PC is busted and games are not an option.

 

I didn't know Satoshi Kon wrote Magnetic Rose, I thought all of Memories was written by Katuhiro Otomo. The guy's very good, his other movies (Millenium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers, haven't seen Paprika yet) are excellent.

Shaman, if you're looking for Magnetic Rose look for something called Memories. It's actually three movies done by 3 different people with completely different styles. The other 2 movies in there are also very good, but they're completely unrelated. The 2nd one is a present-day comedy (a hilarious one too) and the third one is just weird but they're all worth watching.

 

Magnetic Rose trumps them in oh so many ways though. Satoshi Kon is amazing, his works are so diverse including feel good comedies, drama, psychological horror etc. showcasing his incredible talent.

I think Katsuhiro Otomo wrote the other two and directed one of the features.

 

I've recently finished reading Death Note and Elfen Lied. Elfen Lied is less consistently good, but still incredibly awesome. I know of no character that's more badass than Lucy.

Spoiler

I did quite dislike how Light suffered a severe case of badass decay at the end of Death Note. He must have entered this battle with some idea that death was a possibility, so why is he so damn whiney about it? Especially after his maniacal laugh/'That's right - I am Kira' speech

Can anyone recommend any others with villain protagonists? I think I'm liking this trend.

 

I think its hard to think of those with villainous protagonists. At best, probably ones with anti-heroes (I consider Lucy an anti-hero, as opposed to Light who is definitely a villain). The problem is, it is hard to elicit empathy for a villain protagonist.

Spoiler

Case in point, which I have mentioned before earlier in the thread: When L died, Death Note really went downhill

 

I wouldn't call Lucy an anti-hero - there's nothing she does that's heroic, either in behaviour or motivation. She's a sympathetic character - but ultimately what she's doing is killing people because she feels like it, with no interest in any greater good or stopping the evil or whatever. That's a villain

 

Actually, you're right. I take that back, I wouldn't consider her an anti-hero. But I don't think she is the villain of the story either.

I didn't really like Elfen Lied as much as I wanted to because I couldn't empathise with her or the main character (can't remember the guy's name. To me, he is the biggest wuss next to Shinji Ikari in anime). I really do like the other characters, style etc. though but since most of the story revolves around two really unlikeable characters, it left me conflicted with my feelings toward it.

 

Hmm - didn't find that a problem.

Spoiler

'I wonder why ... no matter how much I endure, it looks like I still won't get to live happily.' - how can you not feel sorry for this girl ... even if she does follow it up by tearing someone in half? And Kouta's not that wimpy - he doesn't really do much of interest for most of the story, but when he's not randomly grabbing boobs he's likeable enough if not all that well developed... I get the feeling the writer gave up on half the cast in the middle of the story to focus on Lucy and Nana. Yuka and Nozomi's issues are never tied up, and Kouta stops getting much screen time as well.

Although just to make sure we're on the same page here - I'm taking about the manga and not the anime - I gather they're significantly different.

 

I've just finished reading Narutaru (aka Shadow Star).

Dark Horse really should have done the researching before deciding 'oh, hey, this is cute! Let's market this to 8-13 year old girls!'. Even with their censoring, this is the sort of high octane nightmare fuel that's ... just ...

Awesome story though. The ending is a bit wtf in parts, and it's a shame about the censoring and generally how Dark Horse handled it, but it's well worth it anyway ... so long as you can stand HORRIBLE THINGS happening to ... um, everyone, basically.