The Internet: Also supplies things of great squee

[drakyndra]

I last posted a week ago.

Um, er, whoops?

I meant to update earlier - it's not even as if I had nothing to post about, because I did.

'Cos on Friday night I went with Allan and ...some other people and finally got to see Dark Knight on IMAX which makes my sixth time seeing it overall, and yes I know I have a problem, which was rather nifty once they got the sound mix right (especially my favourite truck flippy thing). And then over the weekend I went up to Swan Hill for my cousin's birthday party on Saturday night, which ended up being less of a party and more a catch-up with Teh Extended Family, as well as rolling my eyes at the kinda pathetic drunk guy who kept falling over. But my Cousin's wife's farm did have an ickle baby foal, which I got to go see. I have pictures! At some point I may put them online.

(If you are reading this aloud, please take some deep breaths here)

...But that's not really why I am posting. 'Cos it's not like most of you guys really care about what goes on in my personal life.

So, onto the fun stuff: Fandom!

Firstly, there's been a number of very good Doctor Who vids floating around lately I've noticed. There's Handlebars by flummery, which is a sort of reflection of just who Ten really is, and displays some of the scarier conclusions (and I sort of hate for getting that song stuck in my head for three days straight); There's Shut Up and Drive by laurashapiro, for which the summary speaks for itself: Martha > you.

And then there's my personal favourite, not because it's a cheery fun vid, but because it's the opposite - it's one of the most painful vids I've ever seen. What We Had by cherryice, which is basically looking at how the Doctor treats the people he travels with (and demonstrates exactly why I utterly loathe the whole companion hierachy thing).

I will admit that in my more cynical moments I hope this goes as viral and meta-producing as that Supernatural vid about the female characters did, because it gives me the same ouchy but brilliant feeling to watch.

And onto more cheery matters. I have been in a ridiculously cheery mood all day, and it's all to do with two things I came across in my half-hour of Internetting before I headed into class.

Firstly, the announcement that there will be a new Fullmetal Alchemist anime.

Now, this delights me on multiple levels.
1. MORE FMA! *\o/* I'm one of those people who loves both the anime and the manga, so I don't care what they do - sequel anime, prequel anime, full manga adaptation, whatever. It's more FMA, and I am thrilled.
2. For the first time, I'll be fannishly involved in a WIP anime. All the anime I've gotten into so far are complete, so this sort of involvement is all new and exciting to me. (Of course, when I saw I've gotten into anime, I basically mean I like two anime/manga series; namely FMA and Death Note. And I'm open to recommendations, hint hint)
3. The glorious, glorious wank that will ensue. It's already bubbling around the edges, and I admit I am going to laugh my arse off when more info comes out and it starts proper.

...All that aside. I never saw that coming. SO MUCH SHINY YAYNESS!

The second thing I found - and probably the biggest reason for my ridiculous grinning - was these new comic scans over at scans_daily (From Superman/Batman #51, to be exact). I'll say no more, except that you really have to see these for yourself, because honest to God (or your higher power du jour), I literally laughed so hard I cried.

And then I toddled down to one of the CBD comic stores and bought the hell out of it. And some other stuff. Yeah, I'm sorta-kinda getting into comics, too. Well, that's what I get for hanging around on scans_daily, but I'm gradually building up a pile of trades (literal pile; I'm running out of bookshelf space, so most of mine are piled up next to my desk). I wish I knew more comics people, so I could get ridiculously fangirly at them. I spent far too much time in Creative Writing today repressing the urge to bring Watchmen into our discussion of symbolism.

...In lieu of this whole thing, I'm making a comics tag. And debating if all my Dark Knight posts should be included in it or not.

And those are the things that are making me happy today. Long may they continue.

Comments

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

cherryice's vid is very well done and very thought-provoking!

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

That it is indeed.

[shadowkitty.livejournal.com]

Vids don't usually click for me, but I found the no handlebars one amazing. Also this to the same song.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I am only really into vids for the shiny pretty, or the lulz. And occasionally the music.

Okay, that's just plain nifty. I'm expecting someone to make a Death Note one any second now.

[everlasting-day.livejournal.com]

Very excited for moar FMA. I also dig the anime and the manga equally, so whatever comes is incredibly exciting. As for recommendations, I'll throw out Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, Toward the Terra, RahXephon, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Fantastic Children, Fruits Basket, Eureka Seven, Claymore (if you like this then definitely hit up Berserk next), The Twelve Kingdoms, Wolf's Rain, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bebop, Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (I adore Gundam and this is the most recent and easily the best since 1999, plus there's a second season on the way!). All series I love and all worth a look - hopefully you'll find something in there to enjoy!

I like how Superman/Batman mainly just seems to be crack now. But yeah, comics are fabulous aren't they? And more addictive than any kind of drug, it's a bit worrying. Have you read any Hellblazer at all? It's my favourite comic and I plug it mercilessly at any opportunity.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Ack, too many names at once! If you're going to throw recs at me, plz give me a reason why you are reccing them - I'd like to know which to watch for the lulz, and which for clever plot, and which for characters. And so on and so forth. (I do know about Cowboy Bebop, though, and must ask one of my friends to lend her copy when I have free time)

I have actually read through a few early trades of Hellblazer a while back. Actually liked what I saw. Which trades/collections would you recommended most to look at?

[everlasting-day.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, I get kind of carried away when recommending titles. You're quite right, summaries and reasons should be included.

Gankutsuou - A retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo transplanted to the future, with lots of mind-bending visuals, high drama, sword fights, twists and tragedy. The Count is one of the most charismatic, mesmerising characters in anime.

Toward the Terra - Dramatic, character-based space opera epic full of Awesome. Takes off after the relatively mundane first three episodes.

RahXephon - How do you feel about giant robots? I know they're not to everyone's tastes, but this series seems to suck people in who aren't too keen on them. By BONES, the same studio behind FMA, it's got one of the best drawn romances I've ever seen in anime. Lots of mystery, action and interesting characters.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - This is very much a series for the lolz and for the win. It's the kind of anime that reminds you exactly why you ever watched cartoons in the first place. It's full of that manic joie de vivre that you can only get when watching a cartoon about combining robots, hot-blooded courage and real, proper heroes who exclaim they'll grab the sun with their hands, and if it burns then they'll bear it.

Fantastic Children - An intentionally oldskool feel makes for a refreshing change to the flashiness of much modern anime. A great plot revolving around white-haired, immortal children, lots of mystery and drama and heartache.

Fruits Basket - Definitely aimed more at girls, but not so much that it alienates boys either. It's a heartwarming, funny story about a girl who moves in with the cursed Sohma family, who turn into animals of the Zodiac. It's just lovely.

Eureka Seven - More giant robots from BONES, but these ones surf! In the sky! It was their first 50 episode series project post-FMA and retains the same consistent animation style.

Claymore - I'm a sucker for dark, medieval fantasy worlds with lots of swords, blood and monsters, especially ones populated almost entirely with wonderful, strong female characters. If you're a sucker for that sort of thing too then you should enjoy it!

The Twelve Kingdoms - The definitive anime fantasy epic. It really doesn't get any better than this when it comes to the genre. Amazing character development is the series' forte, but the plot(s) are no slouch either.

Wolf's Rain - More BONES, and their beautiful visuals come in handy here for the story of four wolves (manifested as pretty men) searching for the mysterious Paradise in a desolate future earth. This one really seems to divide people, but the atmosphere, visuals and characters are absolutely top-notch. I loved it, personally.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - I'm sure you've at the very least heard of Ghost in the Shell. This is the best version, adapted from the manga, with movie-quality animation. A mix of compelling standalone episodes and overall arc plot, it's a bit like a sci-fi, cyberpunk investigating team in a future where the lines between humanity and technology are increasingly blurred! It's not light viewing though, and you may want to watch it dubbed to process the vast amnount of information per episode, but the wonderful music and action sequences makes the overall experience very rewarding.

Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Twin Peaks of anime. Lesbians! Duelling! Mad visuals! Lots of long hair! Symbolism! Crack aplenty! Drama! It's got it all!

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - From the director of FMA, four pretty boy giant robot pilots working for an organisation that wants to abolish all war! Sounds ridiculous, right? The series is well aware of that though and produces an engrossing, gripping, post-9/11 war drama. It takes a while to warm up, but when it does shit hits the fan.

As for Hellblazer, I recommend Dangerous Habits (it's what the silly movie took its inspiration from - Constantine with lung cancer), Haunted (Constantine in a dark revenge drama by Warren Ellis), All His Engines (Constantine gets fucked over by a demon who's kidnapped his best friend's granddaughter) and Joyride (the terrific start of the latest run).

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Ta for that!

You know, that's just reminded me that I have actually seen some Ghost in the Machine - no idea which version, though.

And to continue on with things I already know, I've definitely read Dangerous Habits, and All His Engines seems vaguely familiar, too.

[purple-smurf.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reminder re: vids... all kinds of yays for VividCon! Everyone tells me when I finally visit them in North America that I have to visit in winter, to get over my Australian idea of cold. Except all the cool cons are on over their summer! And frankly, I'd rather SDCC, VVC and D*Con than snow, thanks.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I totally agree with you - if I ever head over the US, it'd totally be there in their summer. Partially because, yeah, all the fun stuff is on, but also 'cos I am really not a fan of the cold.

I really wish there were more big cons in Australia.