Black_Knight's Reveiw of Gunsmith Cats…

[Black_Knight]

I just saw Gun Smith cats and I must say it I was impressed with almost everything… The animation, humor, storyline… The claim of fame that this series… It's preciness to weapons and the back drop being Chicago… Both exceded my expection and thoughts… The only minus would have to be the ending… Which was predicable… But then again… you can't kill the main charas… :heh: Also not enough service for the lecherous…

[orochi X]

well another satisfied person!;)

[death]

Good.

[MP2100]

what do you mean not enough fan service.
what do you want rally and may busting into some goons place buck naked....... O.K i see what you mean.:p

[Black_Knight]

Originally posted by MP2100
what do you mean not enough fan service.
what do you want rally and may busting into some goons place buck naked....... O.K i see what you mean.:p

LMAO!

[MP2100]

Originally posted by Black_Knight


LMAO!

look sorry i forget what LMAO stand for :eek:

[Black_Knight]

Laughing My Ass Off…

[Wolfpac]

Well I'm Glad you enjoyed it Black_Knight. I actually think alot of people who watches this Anime, enjoys it. It has a good mix of action, comedy and great animation. Also each episode is like a different style. The first episode has the Shoot em up Style. The second episode has the car chase Style. While the last episode has the Cat and Mouse Style. Each episode borrows a bit from each other to form a great 3 part series.

[Black_Knight]

Originally posted by Wolfpac
Well I'm Glad you enjoyed it Black_Knight.

Thanks…

I also must congraulate the staff for mapping out the backdrop of Chicago so well… From the Marina Tower with the Marshal Fields Clock in the foreground to the rasieing bridges of the Chicago river and of course… The Sears tower… And the elevated train too…

[Project Akira]

I'm sorry while I do agree that Chicago was well made in this series, I have yet to be impressed by it at all. In fact, I have yet to be impressed by anything that has been made by Kenichi Sonoda. Gunsmith Cats is an hour and a half that I will never get back.

[Black_Knight]

Well mr. Sunshine… Stop mooping and see some other good animes then…

[Butters]

Originally posted by Project Akira
I'm sorry while I do agree that Chicago was well made in this series, I have yet to be impressed by it at all. In fact, I have yet to be impressed by anything that has been made by Kenichi Sonoda. Gunsmith Cats is an hour and a half that I will never get back.

*loosens collar*

Is it getting hot in here or what? :redhot:

[MP2100]

damn stinkin' hot butters
:redhot:
:kaioken:

[Black_Knight]

I think it's AP which is making it hot around here…

[MP2100]

Originally posted by Black_Knight
I think it's AP which is making it hot around here…

AP ????
:confused: :confused:

[Black_Knight]

Oops… PA…

[Project Akira]

Sorry for having an opinion about things rather than just agreeing with the rest of the pack.

[MP2100]

Originally posted by Project Akira
Sorry for having an opinion about things rather than just agreeing with the rest of the pack.

no no it's O.K. we're just joking. no problem
just keep it going by giving us reasons so we can understand where your coming from and new ppl can weight the balances.
;)

[Project Akira]

I just find Gunsmith Cats to be completely unexceptional. Maybe it's because I read good crime comics like 100 Bullets or watch the really good crime caper type movies like Midnight Run (still the best and funniest film representation of the life of a bounty hunter).

The action sequences in the series and in the manga are nowhere near the quality of anime and manga such as Blade of the Immortal, Akira or Neon Genesis Evangelion. While the sequences in Gunsmith Cats are clean in execution, they seem to be lifeless and dull.

To me the characters are practiaclly lifeless and predictable going through similar situations with similar reactions each and every time. To me the only difference in characters between Rally and May is that one excessively uses guns while the other excessively uses bombs. The characters are basically cardboard cutouts with no real depth. Plus the plots are just variations on each other.

I'm sorry but I have not yet been impressed by a single episode or issue of Gunsmith Cats. It isn't the worst but it isn't the best one I've seen. To me it's one of the most underachieving series I've ever seen.

[Black_Knight]

I'm going to have to take that as a hostile response… But you have the right to think in your opinion…

[MP2100]

Originally posted by Project Akira
I just find Gunsmith Cats to be completely unexceptional. Maybe it's because I read good crime comics like 100 Bullets or watch the really good crime caper type movies like Midnight Run (still the best and funniest film representation of the life of a bounty hunter).

The action sequences in the series and in the manga are nowhere near the quality of anime and manga such as Blade of the Immortal, Akira or Neon Genesis Evangelion. While the sequences in Gunsmith Cats are clean in execution, they seem to be lifeless and dull.

To me the characters are practiaclly lifeless and predictable going through similar situations with similar reactions each and every time. To me the only difference in characters between Rally and May is that one excessively uses guns while the other excessively uses bombs. The characters are basically cardboard cutouts with no real depth. Plus the plots are just variations on each other.

I'm sorry but I have not yet been impressed by a single episode or issue of Gunsmith Cats. It isn't the worst but it isn't the best one I've seen. To me it's one of the most underachieving series I've ever seen.

no really PA don't hold back:lol: :lol:

that's O.K. but it is only 3 half hour EPs, so they can't go too deep into characters without bogging it down. you can do that in EVA or BGC because you've got 20 odd EPs :)

[Black_Knight]

Amen to that brother!

[Project Akira]

Originally posted by MP2100
no really PA don't hold back:lol: :lol:

that's O.K. but it is only 3 half hour EPs, so they can't go too deep into characters without bogging it down. you can do that in EVA or BGC because you've got 20 odd EPs :) Fair enough. Well you say that 30 minutes isn't enough to devlop character but in roughly a little over the same amount of time (about 110 to Gunsmith's 90), the series Devilman made me care about characters and had a good level of depth to it. So I think that if the effort is put in you can make a series with characters of some depth and quality.

[Butters]

Originally posted by MP2100
that's O.K. but it is only 3 half hour EPs, so they can't go too deep into characters without bogging it down. you can do that in EVA or BGC because you've got 20 odd EPs :)

I think you've both got a point. I mean, you can't really work with 3 episodes can you? And yes, come to think of it, they are pretty close to cardboard cut outs. Despite this, just b/c it lacks depth in character analysis, doesn't mean you still can't enjoy it on a superficial level.

I'm a bit of a liar, but if you tone down expectations, you'll find that you'll enjoy a lot more rather than bitching all the time ;)

Oh yeah and the action scene in the first episode - fake. I love GSC, but - fake! Sif those 3 or 4 guys would just stand there and say "Ooo lets get shot by that pretty lady"

[Black_Knight]

Well it's better than being shot by an ugly man! :D

[MP2100]

Originally posted by Butters


I think you've both got a point. I mean, you can't really work with 3 episodes can you? And yes, come to think of it, they are pretty close to cardboard cut outs. Despite this, just b/c it lacks depth in character analysis, doesn't mean you still can't enjoy it on a superficial level.

I'm a bit of a liar, but if you tone down expectations, you'll find that you'll enjoy a lot more rather than bitching all the time ;)

Oh yeah and the action scene in the first episode - fake. I love GSC, but - fake! Sif those 3 or 4 guys would just stand there and say "Ooo lets get shot by that pretty lady"

i agree butters, we watch action films (die hard, last action hero) we know there impossible, we suspend reality. we enjoy them. same with GSC. :cool:

P.S butters go back to BGC for my response (Mr Geosync);)

[Butters]

Butters is Geosync master!

[jetalone]

Originally posted by Butters
Butters is Geosync master!

*cracks up* :lol:

Um, I wasn't horribly impressed by the first episode, but 2 and 3 were pretty darn good.

I wasn't expecting anything ball-breakingly revolutionary. What I got was action, fun, and women. And for Superficial Jet, that's enough. :D

[Black_Knight]

Originally posted by Butters
Butters is Geosync master!


Er… I'd get the joke, but only if I knew was Geosync ment… :heh:

[jetalone]

Butters and MP2100 were arguing over the proper radius of a geosynchronous orbit.

Butters lost.

:lol:

[death]

How did that crop up??

On second thoughts Never mind....

[Black_Knight]

Well, I wouldn't really want to know…

[Westlo]

while i enjoyed gunsmith cats pa's comments about the shortness and non character development is right.

For a three part ova done right check out read or die which is fairly new with only 2 eps being done so far. I'll take those two eps of read or die over eva and its 26 eps and movies anyday. Think how much i'll like it if the last ep is as good as the first two

[MP2100]

Originally posted by Westlo
while i enjoyed gunsmith cats pa's comments about the shortness and non character development is right.

For a three part ova done right check out read or die which is fairly new with only 2 eps being done so far. I'll take those two eps of read or die over eva and its 26 eps and movies anyday. Think how much i'll like it if the last ep is as good as the first two

whats "read or die" about???:confused:

[Westlo]

I'll give you a review off this review site i go to sometimes



Read or Die

seen: 1-2 of 3?
type: OAV
grade: exemplary
source: fansub
form: sub

Synopsis
Note: Spoiler Warning I can't provide a synopsis without ruining the really nice opening of this show (to some extent). If you have access, and any faith in my taste, then feel very free to skip this section. This sort of applies to all synopsis though.

The essence of the story is that a young female book-worm is having a problem with some literary figures. And I don't mean that she's doing some tough research, I mean that they're trying to kill her. While she seems mostly normal, albeit almost completely obsessed with books and not that well connected with the real world, she also leads a life as "the paper", an agent for a powerful but secretive organization. An agency that is currently having a problem that needs her help. Then again, someone tried to steal a book she found, so she actually managed to get herself involved.

More specifically some enemy force has begun hunting down certain books for an unknown purpose. They're completely ruthless and extremely powerful. Their power coming from the fact that they can `manufacture' powerful individuals from history and give them the `power' they dreamed of. Thus historical figures, their powers amplified and their dreams forged into reality, form the opposition. "The paper", and two other agents, must not only try to stay alive, but also recover the books and try and find out the ambitions of the enemy. And, given the amount of power they have, it seems clear that something serious is being prepared.

Review
The nice thing is that even if I do spoil the opening a little bit there's still lots more fun to be had. And that is because this anime has multiple strong elements and they all combine very, very nicely. The first being the characters, who are wonderful. As soon as Yomiko Readman wakes up in her impossibly book dominated building we start to get clues as to her character. A cloud of dust as a pile of books tumbles, lots of notes to herself, and getting to watch as she goes book-shopping. It's cool, it's unusual, and it's very well done. And the other members of the team, the leaders of the organization and even the enemy have similar depth. There's an awesome confidence and skill in the character work.

The second major part being the sense of design and environment. There's a huge amount of detail on display here. Much of it being the real world, such as fighting it out on the streets of India or Japan. There's a real feel of `place' that makes the story so much richer. The technology is excellent as well with weaponry and tools, both modern and invented, being very convincingly depicted. The profusion of planes and tech toys, and the sheer delight in such powerful toys as attack submarines, is impressive without being over-bearing. And, finally, the social environment is just as well depicted. The leadership of the organization, and of the enemy, providing a solid and believable frame to the story.

However the major part of this show is some of the best action I've seen in quite a while. It's well set up, well animated and extremely imaginative. There's no boring `power' blasts between foes, rather an ongoing sequence of moves while the two sides duel for position. Powers, technology and the peculiarities of the environment all being called upon to determine who will win. And, since both sides are plenty tough, the action tends to be serious. It's beautifully handled, impressive, exciting and well supported by the other elements I mentioned. It's also, needless to say, got a pretty cool sense of style to make the ride even more enjoyable.

However there's also another, less obvious, element. The degree with which these elements are mixed, the attention to detail and the sheer liveliness of the production are awfully impressive. There's a sense of humor lurking in the background, a sense of cheerful excessiveness in some of the interaction and a wonderful balancing of action and calm. And, when it wants to do action, the pace is fast and maintained. With all the flash it's easy to overlook the skill in this piece, or write it off as a piece of empty action, but in fact it's very neatly and tightly put together. The fact it still manages to have so much personality and charm, and be so satisfying in such a low episode count, simply confirming this. It also draws from all sorts of spy/action movies but doesn't feel derivative.

That said the animation is a little weird at times. The character designs are somewhat low detail, tending to only use detailed anatomy or coloring when they want to do a `pose' shot. As such the degree of complexity in the artwork varies a little. I suspect this is related to either computer assistance in the artwork and/or being able to animate all the yummy action. However since the backgrounds are so detailed, although often quite dark, you sometimes notice the difference. Still, this doesn't stop it from being some of the nicest animation I've seen in a while. It's convincing, smooth and very interesting to watch. The voices are excellent, I love the leads sometimes `weak' mumble, and the music is impressively good. Nice deep stuff with a lot of energy that echoes the more exciting sounds amongst the `bond' films.


Hope that helps check it out its one of the best animes ever made

[Butters]

Originally posted by jetalone
Butters lost.

:lol:

Well, I didn't lose depending on the way you look at it :dodgy: I support old school Kepler, not some bunch of tossers in Nasa. Hmm, I thought you would have been on my side - backstabber! :dot:

[MP2100]

thanks Westlo for that ;)

[MP2100]

Originally posted by Butters


Well, I didn't lose depending on the way you look at it :dodgy: I support old school Kepler, not some bunch of tossers in Nasa. Hmm, I thought you would have been on my side - backstabber! :dot:

:tongue3:

[Black_Knight]

Hey! Stop that!