Some non-"Tsubasa" watchin'

So I just finished watching the sub of "Tsubasa", but I'm not going to talk about that just yet; I want to see one more translation before I make up my mind (though that version seems pretty well done). Let's just say that though I'm thrilled to be watching another Bee Train series, and that it's got great little touches to it, it's going to take me a couple of episodes to get "hooked". After all, .hack//SIGN took nearly two whole DVDs to convince me, so I can be patient.

Anyway, speaking of "two whole DVDs", during the Blogger "troubles" last week, I attempted a review of Bee Train's earlier "Wild Arms" disc 2. Now I'll try again, seeing as Blogger's gotten less finicky. I posted earlier about disc 1 in my entry titled "Where's Mashimo?", and the question still stands. It's still a mildly entertaining show, and overall pretty good in the quality department. It just wears thin after a bit, and the second disc doesn't really go anywhere that the first disc didn't. But, it's not costing me much but time to pursue this thing through in hopes there'll be a Mashimo-directed one in there somewhere. We'll see, I guess. And all that said, if you blend "Wild Arms" with .hack//SIGN, you kind of sort of get "Tsubasa Chronicle"... No, I'm serious! Try it for yourself and see!

This past weekend (and still with the 2nd-disc theme), I tried volume 2 of "Miami Guns" (Vol. 1 reviewed here). The frantic parody pacing continues. I think I mentioned that I had sampled some "Excel Saga" recently, and there's a lot of similarities, though "Excel Saga" wins the most insanity points. I think I prefer the humor in "Miami Guns" more, though. That said, both of them get tiresome in large doses, so I'm going to lighten up the pace a bit. Of course, I've got the second disc of "Najica Blitz Tatics" on the way, and that'll just make my head go "pop" anyhow...

Finally, I tried the first disc of the "Vision of Escaflowne" series. I was prepared to really dislike it. My friends, having seen the preview to the movie on my "Cowboy Bebop" disc, went and rented it at Blockbuster. And hated it. Now, these are my friends who've really enjoyed what I've sent their way along these lines, and their tastes are pretty similar to mine. But that said, maybe the movie is really mediocre or totally incomprehensible or something, because the series wasn't so bad. It's not entirely my thing as far as the fantasy genre goes, but it had some reasonable story development and character performances, and it seemed worth sticking with it. So I'll give it at least another disc's worth of a chance and see where it takes me.

Speaking of seeing if something is "worth sticking with", for some reason, I really can't stick with "Mai Hime". I mean, I've tried to lighten up from my earlier "juvenile quagmire from which no redeeming qualities can escape" comment. The middle of episode, uh, 9 I think; I just clicked "stop" and said "no more". Something about this show is actively trying to alienate me. But damned if I know what it is! I mean, there's nothing in there that isn't present in most every other show that I've found passably watchable. I'm starting to think that maybe it's not something that's "in there", but something that's missing. I think I'll try to subject myself to a little more to see if I can put my finger on it.