All right, so this page will deal with my current anime obsessions, meaning the ones that are likely to lead to me inflicting some gawd-awful fanfic (probably of the yaoi variety) on some poor unsuspecting soul. However, they are probably not going to lead to me making a separate page for each one. (Darn it, I haven’t got enough time for everything I need to do as it is!) They should be in reverse order, newest first, but knowing me, that’s no guarantee.
Mirage of Blaze
Poking around in the anime section of Media Play, I randomly picked up this DVD. What a silly title, I thought. But I read the back and . . . well, let's be truthful; probably it was the bishounen on the front that really induced me to buy. ;) I took it home, and it sat on my desk for two or three weeks, because at the same time, I had bought the first DVD of Yu Yu Hakusho, and was trying to get into that. (And can I just say . . . the subbing of YYH sucked.) Even after finishing the YYH disk, it still sat there; for some reason, I was just reluctant to start watching it.
Now I know why.
Finally, I popped it in to the player. And got blown away. Absolutely beautiful animation, a complex, intruging storyline, and by the way? The two guys from the cover standing in a very lover-like pose in the opening sequence! *swoon*
So, you ask, why do I know now why I was so reluctant? Because only 2 volumes have been released; the next one isn't due out until 10/28/03. I am already going through massive withdrawl. (Of course, it probably didn't help that I watched six eps in one day. *grin*) This is the first series I've watched that hooked me so right from the very first ep. Even when I started watching Escaflowne, it took at least two eps for me to really get into it.
Quickly, the premise: In modern day Japan, the dead walk the earth. Spirit armies are fighting so their ghostly leaders may have control. Some even possess the bodies of the living, driving out the original personality, so that they can persue their work. This comes home to high school student Ougi Takaya when the spirit of Takeda Shingen, a long-dead warlord, tries to possess the body of his best friend, Narita Yuzuru. To drive Shingen out of Yuzuru's body, Takaya must team up with Naoe Nobutsuna. Naoe tells him of the Uesugi Spirit Army, and of the five wandering spirits charged with exorcizing the "evil" ghosts of the Feudal Underworld Army. Naoe is one of these exorcists, who are reincarnated time after time. Takaya is another, known as Kagetora.
Of course, having been reincarnated over the course of 400+ years, there's going to be some history involved. Since Kagetora's memories are locked up inside of Takaya, there is quite a bit of frustration on both sides, as Naoe insists that Takaya help him and use his power, and Takaya is adamant that he's not Kagetora. Delicious angsty hints of that past come up whenever Naoe confronts the baddies. *grin*
Pairing of choice: Naoe/Takaya, of course, though from the rampant bishounen, I can already see it's going to be a smorgasbord.
Fanfic?: Not yet, but that doesn't mean I'm not considering it verrrrrry closely.
Weiss Kreuz
Guess what? This is all Randy’s fault. Again. Another addiction . . . *sigh*
"More yaoi-boys! Whoo hoo!" Horrible, yes, I know, but that was my first thought upon receiving the first DVD. I’d seen a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of fic for this anime on the web, but I’d never read any.
The premise: Four pretty boys with checkered pasts work as assassins in a group called Weiss (German for "white"). By day, they pretend to be florists, and contend with hordes of fangirls, in whom none of them show the slightest interest. (Well, one of them does, but she turns out to be his half-sister.) Excuse me, what’s NOT to slash about this show? *grin*
The good guys:
Of course, you can’t have the good guys without the bad guys . . .
Pairing of choice: Ran/Ken (apparently not just mine, but the most prevalent in the fandom), followed (but not too closely) by Yohji/Ken.
Fanfic?: No, not yet. But I’m sure there will be.
Yoroiden Samurai Troopers
This one is my own damn fault. I found the first 2 DVDs for $9.99 or so apiece at the local comic book/hobby store and said, “What the heck.” Ooops.
Another sentai show, similar to Gatchaman and Voltron, except the "token female" and "the kid" are not actually part of the troop; they’re just kind of on the sidelines. And very annoying (but that’s just me).
Rekka no Ryo- Ryo of the Wildfire. Real name: Sanada Ryo. Virtue:
Jin (Rightousness). Weapon: Twin katanas.
Ryo is the leader of the Troopers by
acclamation, more or less. He’s hot-headed almost to a fault; not surprising,
as his "resting place" (i.e., where he goes to heal his armor
when it’s severely damaged) is Mt. Fuji (a volcano). He takes everything
very seriously, especially failure. Somehow, I think of him as still quite
innocent.
Tenku no Touma- Touma of the Heavens. Real name:
Hashiba Touma. Virtue: Chi (Wisdom). Weapon: Bow and arrows.
Touma is the second in command of the Troopers, the one the others, especially
Ryo, depend on for planning. I see him as very serious and studious, and extremely
intelligent.
Kongo no Shu- Shu of the Stone. Real name: Shu Lei
Fan (he’s of Chinese descent). Virtue: Gi (Justice). Weapon: Kind of a naginata/nunchuku
cross breed.
Shu is solid and strong, with a big appetite and a big heart to match. He’s also
got a pretty short fuse, which tends to get him into trouble a lot.
Suiko no Shin- Shin of the Torrent. Real name: Mouri
Shin. Virtue: Shin (Trust). Weapon: Spear or Yari (though I’ve also seen it called a
"mancatcher", which set my mind off on a happy little tangent . . .)
Shin is the peacemaker of the group, which isn’t to say that he’s the least
effective in battle; he’s just as fierce as the rest. He’s probably my favorite
(despite his depressing lack of screen time), closely followed by Ryo (who is a
cute little screen hog *grin*).
Kourin no Seiji- Seiji of the Nimbus. Real name: Date Seiji. Virtue: Rei
(Grace). Weapon: Datchi (I believe that’s what it’s called. It’s a sword, but
not a katana.)
Seiji is the one with a kind of air of mystery about him. I'm not
sure why, but Seiji is probably my least favorite of the Troopers.
So now the pretty boys in their flashy armor have taken over. And I haven’t got anyone to blame. *sigh* But they ARE fine eye-candy, aren’t they?
Pairings of choice: Shin/Ryo (yes, in that order. Funnily enough, I see Ryo as more uke than Shin); Seiji/Touma (yes, despite the fact that Seiji is my least favorite. That doesn't mean I DON'T like him . . . just not as much as some of the others).
Fanfic?: Again, not yet. But dang it all, despite what Phoenix said about Shin/Ryo being the most common pairing, I can NOT find enough. Hardly any. There’s lots of Seiji/Ryo, LOTS of Seiji/Touma, and LOTS of Shu/Shin. Shin/Ryo? Pfft. I’ll have to write my own. So yes, there WILL be YST fanfic here . . . eventually.
These images (poorly) scanned by me. Maybe someday I'll get around to replacing them with better ones . . .
Gundam
NOT Gundam Wing, though that’s on my list of series to get, but the original Mobile Suit Gundam that started it all, away back in 1979-80.
I got this partly because I didn’t know where to start to get into the Gundam universe. I wasn’t sure if (or how much of) Gundam Wing would make sense if I didn’t know any of the "back story". But it’s a very interesting story in itself, and I found myself identifying with the characters more than I thought I would. In the end, I found that some of the bad guys weren’t all that bad (but yes, some of the others were REAL pieces of work). I liked Char, I liked Amuro; I liked most of them, though I really didn’t care that much for either Fraw or Sayla. Unfortunately, the series was only available dubbed (which I usually avoid). But when I heard the original seiyuu (which wasn’t until I bought the Gundam movies), I found that most of the English voice actors were pretty close to the originals. I even liked Mirai’s English voice actor better than the original seiyuu, and that is something that has NEVER happened.
Afterwards, I bought Char’s Counterattack, which, sadly, I did not find as interesting. The premise was a little weak and the new characters uninspiring, I thought, though, of course, the ending was quite a blowout.
Pairing of choice: Amuro/Kai (but I think that I’m only ever going to get just the one story out of it. It’s just that kind of series). I might fool around with other pairings, but I’m certainly not going to do Char/Amuro.
Fanfic?: Well, technically, yes, but it’s not posted here for a variety of reasons, the main one being that I’m planning to submit it to a ‘zine and the ‘zine has a strict policy of not being able to post for a year after the printing. Not that I mind, of course.
MARS
Not an anime, but a manga that I’ve gotten hooked on. It’s the story of Aso Kira, a sensitive artist, and Kashino Rei, whose goal in life is to make it as a motorcycle racer. Rei is a bad boy; he smokes, cuts class, and doesn’t want to go to college, because it doesn’t really matter to him. All he wants to do is ride and race. Kira is the good girl; she’s timid to the point of being meek, and almost painfully shy. She plans to go to college and become an artist.
Guess what? They fall in love. It ain’t easy, that’s for sure. Of course, this is shoujo. Nothing’s easy. *grin*
But they both have pasts that come back to haunt them throughout the series. Rei is estranged from his father, his mother dead many years. Kira’s father was killed in an accident caused by a motorcycle gang, and she lives alone with her mother. But all is not really as it seems. What of Rei’s twin brother, Sei? What of Kira’s stepfather?
This manga is absolutely beautifully drawn. The characters’ eyes are wonderfully expressive (though Kira tears up too easily, sometimes). The characters are drawn with great attention to detail, and the style of art is very powerful.
15 volumes. Published by Tokyo Pop. (Go on, you know you want to . . .)
Pairing of choice: Rei/Kira, of course.
Fanfic?: I’d say probably not. Unlike Escaflowne, this may have an ending I can stand. (As of this writing, only 9 volumes have been released, so I don’t know. This may change.)
Gatchaman
Yes, it has its own page, but this was the first time I actually noticed that I was obsessing over an anime. That’s the only reason why it’s here.
Fanfic?: Ya know, for all the time I spend writing Gatch, I haven’t got many finished stories to show for it. But yes, there is a smattering of Gatch fic . . . somewhere.
Voltron
Again, it has its own page , but it is the original obsession. I mean, Good Lord, look at the amount of fic I’ve written for it!
Anime FanGirl Page