Lately (and by lately, I mean the past year or so) I’ve had sort of a problem. I’ve been downloading a whole lot of series and buying a ton of anime DVDs without setting aside the kind of time I need to actually watch them. I’ve been out of college for a good five years now, but for some reason I never got the memo that I no longer have the luxurious free time I once had to watch anime and play video games (and sometimes finish my homework).
I came to the conclusion that I would have to take charge and make the time to watch all of these shows, or be buried beneath a pile of old DVDs (at least digital files and streaming video don’t take up any physical space). My goal is to chip away at the pile by tackling one series or OVA a week until I’m caught up (meaning that I’ll be completely set until the world finally blows up). I’m kind of torn about whether I should announce the prospective candidates or not, but here are a few things to start off with (they’re some things that I’ve picked up recently for low low prices and which now occupy the shelf in my office):
Earth Girl Arjuna
Living for the Day After Tomorrow (I’ve seen half the series but I’m probably going to have to start it over just because it’s been a while)
Human Crossing
Now and Then, Here and there
Someday’s Dreamers
Project Blue Earth S.O.S
Blue Drop
009-1
So far, there’s a pretty decent variety in there, and that’s just the DVDs I have sitting here in my “inbox.” So, hopefully, I should have some thoughts on a few of those in the coming weeks, and I’ll finally be getting my money’s worth from them.
"Someday's Dreamers" is superb, but you have to get into the rhythm.
"009-1" is a Cold War-era / Bond-style product, which you either dig for the atmosphere or don't. I dug it, even though I knew it was not much more than a nostalgia item brought up-to-date.
"Human Crossing" you either find terribly preachy or riveting; it's based on a manga series called "Human Scramble" which has the same flavor. It illustrates in a minor way the cultural differences between East and West in terms of how palatable it is to have moralization in your fiction.
"Now and Then" is devastating.
I'm pretty used to those type of slice-of-life, magical realism shows. I'm also interested in seeing how it compares to/with its spiritual successor, which I have seen a couple times already.
"Now and Then" is devastating.
Can't wait, I haven't had a good cry in quite a while :P