Uncool wannabe

No, I'm not talking about the days when I owned an electric guitar... Instead, I gave "Outlaw Star" a try.

And I pretty much gave up halfway in to the first episode. I could tell right away that it held no redeeming value whatsoever, and I really didn't feel like wasting my time. I suppose if I had to say something nice about it, it would be that the sci-fi inspired designs looked alright. But really, the animation was rather sub-standard, the characters totally lame, and the whole experience rather vapid.

It's often brought up in threads about "what to watch if you like 'Cowboy Bebop'", and I've always been skeptical of that connection. It's a show that reeks of being developed by a committee that saw the success of "Bebop" and decided they wanted in on that action. Total poseur of a show. Bleh.

In a slightly different vein, I also caught disc 2 of "Trigun", and while I think the various little "serious" notes it started to hit made it a little more interesting, I realized something: it's following the exact same formula that I saw in "Chrono Crusade". Well, vice-versa, actually, as "Trigun" preceeded "Chrono" by a while. But it's the exact same "silly meets faux-seriousness", almost to the episode. Go figure. I think they're both from the same studio, too, though I'm too lazy right now to go look up any other parallels. I'm sure this formula probably runs rampant through the anime universe anyhow. I guess it's still entertaining enough for lite viewing, so I guess I'll keep up with it for another disc at least.

Also entertaining, and I think quite underrated, is disc 3 of "L/R: Licensed by Royalty". I would also call it "clever". It's simple, lite fun, and leans big-time on the Anglophile side. Well, except for the baseball game. I figure I'll finish this one, though it's not quite purchase-worthy.

Finally, somehow, I wound up renting disc 1 of "Rurouni Kenshin". I suppose I just started desperately clicking anything that looked slightly good on the GreenCine review lists. And really, it isn't all that bad. The characters are a bit interesting, the animation isn't too bad, and the typical anime-comedy bits aren't too off-putting (I must be getting used to that or something...) But it's a samurai show for girls, it would seem, and I'm having a hard time maintaining interest in it beyond what I've mentioned. It didn't quite hook me like "Escaflowne" did, so I don't think I'll keep up with it.