Really wanted to check out that series. It's high on my to-do list. Sad to hear that the ending is rushed.

Watching Toradora right now. Pretty uninteresting at first, but it's pretty good now. Nothing special but a pretty solid Slice of Life series.

That's disappointing that the movie isn't very good. :(

Definitely check out the series. The first episode is kind of goofy (with some hilarious American stereotypes I might add) but it gets gripping really quickly. I love the overall concept, and while I normally don't like Japanese comedy very much the comedy bits they did have in here were appropriate and well placed.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFvRgIR5re0[/youtube]

Goddamn, that animation!

That scene is from Sword of the Stranger if anyone's interested. It's a good film; well worth checking out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoJ9dTjM2l8[/youtube]

Just now getting into anime. Not sure if I should be ashamed with how much it entices me.

What shame

Technically my first anime was Speed Racer, and Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli.

I'm currently watching Rosario + Vampire

The first anime I ever saw was when I was very little, it was the 70s anime movie adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk, I remember being afraid of beanstalks for a while after watching that movie. I've since come to learn that it was directed by the same guy who did the Street Fighter II anime, so props to that guy for introducing me to the medium.

There was some shame when I first got into an anime series as a kid.

Of course it didn't help that that anime was Sailor Moon.

I got into anime intensely from the age of 7. Love Hina was my first anime.

I consider Yu Yu Hakusho to be my first real anime, when I was about 10 or 11, though I'd been watching DBZ for over a year by then.

I'd seen anime as a kid, stuff like Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and Pokemon, but I didn't distinguish them from the Western cartoons I watched at the time. It wasn't until a friend showed by Hellsing when I was around 18 that I realised that there were a large number of animated shows and films aimed at an older audience and that a significant majority of them were made in Japan.

So Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

I liked it but kind of meh for Bebop to be honest. It's beautifully animated but the movie feels stretched about twice the length it should have been (and yet certain characters really don't get enough context even considering that). Bebop's strength was largely in its episodic nature. They told some longer arc stuff and it worked but this just didn't fully connect. They also botched Spike's characterization (until some correction at the end) and had the characters saying some things they wouldn't ordinarily say. Also it coming about 3 years after the show some of the characters just do not seem as into their roles (Beau Billingslea in particular as Jet feels off). Music was great as always of course but it didn't quite have the same perfect shot for shot rhythm as the original show. Not sure the writing was quite up to par either. Again I want to stress that I like the movie but if I were to rank it amongst Bebop episodes there would be very few it would go in front of.