Godwin’s law is essentially: the longer a conversation goes on, the greater the likelihood someone will compare something/someone to Hitler/Nazis/the Holocaust. Dubs vs subs is the anime equivalent.
I find Durarara!! easier to follow having seen Baccano!, by the same author, which takes a similar anachronic path following a whole mess of barely related characters.
I don’t watch much, if any, of the anime stuff on AS (I’ll groove to the opening to Cowboy Bebop anytime, tho). So I won’t comment on that.
As for the other stuff on AS, I have, until recently, enjoyed quite a bit of it. I can attempt to explain the appeal those shows had, at least for me.
It starts with Space Ghost Coast to Coast. See, remember Space Ghost from when you were a kid? Wasn’t that show popular in the 70’s or something? You can totally tell those dudes were all high when they were making that show, amiright? Totally made no sense, unless you were baked, or like, six.
'ere.
Anyway, man, I was wondering, what ever happened to that guy? Space Ghost. I mean, what happened after all that space adventuring stuff was over with? What’s he doing these days? Dude, pass that around, damn. No, no, no, I mean like, what if, hehe, what if, like, for a job, that guy was like, a talk show host, or something? Celebrity interviews. And of course everybody on the show is still getting freakin’ wasted! Celebrities trying to pimp their movies and junk, and Space Ghost is all, you know, Space Ghost-y. That would be hilarious!
And it was. If you’re really baked. Or, like, six. And then they made Birdman a lawyer. Then they followed up on the fate of SeaLab, and the Venture Bros, a generation after the kid’s shows. And then they got baked and grabbed some fast food and wondered what the hell the fast food company was doing making food item action figures, and they made a show about that. And then there was the night they were reminiscing about their metal days, and wouldn’t it be awesome if…
At some point, the absurdism took over more and more. And I gave up smoking. So I tend not to appreciate the shows as I once did, but, back in the day, they were good, silly fun that lampooned a lot of the campy kids’ shows I grew up with.
Why do I love Metalocalypse? Because it’s hysterical. It perfectly nails the metalheads that I grew up with - you know the ones, the guys in the black Metallica (or whatever) t-shirts that took that shit uber serious? (No, not Butthead.) The ones that would die for their bands? The ones that lived and breathed whatever the lead singer was spouting, not realizing that for the most part, the lead singer just wanted to play music and probably wasn’t as emotionally invested in the lyrics as his (or her) fans? That hardcore fan - the one that “it just speaks to me, man.” That guy. You know him.
Metalocalypse lampoons that guy, brilliantly. It also lampoons metal bands themselves (a little like Spinal Tap did) - it’s such a breath of fresh air when compared to the earnestness of, say, James Hetfield or Lars Ulrich. Is it over the top? Surely. Is it ludicrous and unbelievable? Absolutely. (A band that runs the world economy, you think?) But it’s also brilliant and hysterical and I loves loves loves it.
Thanks, Karrius, Durarara! is about Ikebukuro kinda’, there’s a lot of detail there, plus the story line itself is rotating around city life in a way, with a badass twist to it. I will now pay more attention to the enviroment.
I’ll be sure and check out a little Baccano! if I get a chance Write Handed.
Gotta’ say I didn’t see the dub/sub war coming, but I should have. I appreciate the original language and voice acting, the thing is though…it’s not my language, and in a different language it’s hard to tell exactly where the emphasis goes, which is IMO an important part of voice acting. That’s not to say I’ll turn my nose up just 'cause it’s sub, there have been a couple shows I’ve watched before the english was even released, case and point: Legends of the Dark King.
I used to watch a lot more anime…alot more…it actually sorta’ became a problem, I was spending way too much money on it and had to back off. I was hoping that anime On Demand from Insight would be good, but it seems to just be a giant commercial for Anime Network, it’s like they pick the worst ones and shove them on there.
BTW, thanks, Orr, G (try not to jack off too much), that explains some of it a bit, you’re all freaking stoned! Believe me, I’ve done my fair share of puffing in the past, but it never occured to me that some people just can’t handle the icky green and start watching stuff like that :). It still doesn’t totally explain it though, but I’ll take answer and be satisfied, just wish AS would play more of the good stuff like they used to, maybe they get better ratings now though (hope that’s not the case, their ratings should go down IMO). The thing that’s even more twisted is that it’s based on kids shows. Besides, not only is the artwork bad, the writing is too. Some of the Cartoon Network shows like Chowder and Flapjack seem to be done by the same people, and that stuff is for kids! :smack: Double twisted, and very sick! Okay…okay…I’m calming down now…breathe Train, breathe (talking to self :dubious:).
@Snickers…Maybe you have to be a metal head to get it, that would sorta’ make sense…the only metal I’ve ever liked is FFX Otherworld and a couple others I can’t think of right now…If metal wasn’t so tuneless I may have gotten more into it, but since it hardly ever holds a freaking beat I have trouble following it…plus the fans generally seem way too into the lifestyle it reflects, but that’s coming from someone who likes classical music as much as Bad To the Bone 
, I don’t get into any one lifestyle and prefer to keep out of all of them altogether. I can see why you’d have an interest though, especially if you have a metal history but find the fans funny. I still can’t take the death though, I value human life too much maybe, and I know of way too many ways that people torture other people, and to see it taken so lightly sickens me.
Baccano is pretty awesome, although it’s like they took every scene and dumped it into a blender. It’s crazy, and is like three separate storyline, all connected, all happening in different years, told simultaneously. It’s also on hulu. Really better as a show if you watch it with someone so you can go “WTF was that?” with them.
Durarara!! also has a few references to Baccano. Two of the immortal goofballs from Baccano show up mid-season (I’m not sure how far CN is into the show yet) at bring levity to a relatively awesome point. Also, every time there’s a television screen on in the city streets in Durarara!! it shows clips from Baccano. They’re usually short, but you can catch them if you look hard.
Edit: And how could I forget? There was a real-life Dollars website, of which “Baccano” was the password.
I haven’t been keeping up with DRRR, but Baccano is on Netflix if you’re interested.
I’ve watched [as] for as long as I can remember, and it’s probably what got me into anime, but my favorite original show is probably Sealab 2021 (and the Boondocks). In terms of anime, Bebop is always solid, but I really wish they still had Case Closed and Shin Chan. I didn’t mind Kekkaishi but I’m not as opposed to shonen as other [as] viewers.
In terms of CN, some of the “kid” shows are actually really good. I’m quite fond of Regular Show and Adventure Time, and Scooby Doo Mystery Inc. Plus, if you’re into action-y, toyetic shows, Young Justice is done extremely well and I have high hopes for Thundercats. Batman: Brave and the Bold is very campy (in a good way) but in its last season. My personal favorite, Sym-Bionic Titan, was cancelled. 
You’re Sh**ing me! WTF would they do that for?!? Not that I would ever go to such a site (for fear of some strange law that may be broken, my IP compromised and computer hacked), but I’ve always been interested in stuff like that, mainly 'cause it’s cool that something from a TV show has been made into reality, even if it’s just fan based. Not that I’m some geek who wants to live a fantasy, but I’m semi-geekly in the fact that I like fantasy with some real world stuff in it, like the fact that DRRR! has shots from a real city, even though it’s drawn.
That’s it, I’m watching Baccano! Just try and stop me, even if I have to watch on Hulu from my computer, I’ll hook it up to my 42" flatscreen even (oh yeah, didn’t see that comin’ didya’, right hook). No, it’s not 3D (hate 3D anyway, blurs the image too much IMO) it’s actually just a pathetic thing I got for a damn good price a long time ago :).
Bosstrain, I also highly recommend Baccano! I liked it enough that I bought it. I didn’t understand wtf was going on for the first two or three episodes but after that, things start to make sense so don’t give up on it. After the shows conclusion I watched the first three episodes again and “Ah ha!”, I understood what was happening. I reviewed it again months later in English and I admit (with a nod to Great Antibob), that the dubbing was done well.
I apologize for the “dubbing sucks” comment (should have used a smiley face icon after it). I was simply stating my humble opinion after many years of watching anime in the '80s & early '90s, when time wasn’t taken to adequately train/hire English voice actors (yes, I realize there are exceptions during that period). I acknowledge it has much improved in the new millennium.
I agree, anime has taken leaps and bounds in the past ten years IMO. Not just with the English voice acting, but art and writing as well. A more modern show I found recently that I like is Soul Eater. At first it seems more geared to kids, but as you watch it you find that’s not the case so much, and then you realize something astonishing…the fluidity of the movement and how much of it there is. A lot of it is done with 3D modeling (CG if you must), but it’s very well done to the point where you almost can’t tell if what you’re seeing is drawn or not. For the most part the show is somewhat light hearted and fun, the humor is even pretty good, especially once you get to know Blackstar’s character (the un-stealthy ninja). Towards the end of season 2 it gets way more intense, it even starts feeling more like Bleach, DBZ and Kekkaishi shoved together.
Nah, stuff like this happens all the time. It’s mostly NOT fan based but done by the studios themselves to drum up interest. The Dollars website is one example of this. As I recall, the website was up before the show and might have been one of the first public indications it was in the works (since fans of the novel series would get the reference).
Many other series do this. Of the ones I can recall off the top of my head, the Suzumiya Haruhi website has, on occasion, included easter eggs to give hints about upcoming events and releases. Several other more niche shows have also done little puzzles and things to reveal information.
It’s also not limited to anime. Lots of American shows have been doing similar stuff for years.
Simpsons, for instance, has done it a few times.
The one I remember specifically is Whatbadgerseat.com - it used to be a real website, identical to the one shown on the show. Now it just redirects to the Simpsons website, sadly.
Well, it would be a cool if the fans were doing it, and even cooler if the creators of the show were finding real stuff to put in there, or if someone actually used something from a show on an un-related situation just for their own kicks. Oh well, media will be media, and they’ll always try and drum up interest for their shit…