Jenskott

Honestly, there are "people" that does not understand that there IS a difference between anime and real life, between national stereotypes created by outsiders and reality, and between otaku population and average people:

http://en.rocketnews...ormal-behavior/

This is pathetic and disgusting. Did they seriously think that the stinking garbage churned out constantly by the porn and hentai industries reflects the real Japan? Did they truly think that they could give free reign to their misoginy and perversion and molest people... and it would be tolerated?

Ironically, Japanese and Chinese people are agreeing on something for once.

What are the most tear-jerking moments of all manga or anime that you have read or watched (the ending of Naruto does not count. It was sad for ALL wrong reasons)?

This scene of "Lone Wolf and Cub" is one of the saddest and most touching ones that I remember. It gets me EVERY TIME:

I also shed a tear whenever I read this (from Maison Ikkoku) even if it is happier:

Or when in the "Mazinger-Z versus Great General of Darkness" Kouji cried the night before the last battle, saying that he knew that he could not win and that he would die but he would fight not matter what.

Or that scene of Fist of the North Star where Kenshiro mutters that he lives in a world where children get murdered by a sip of water (although that manga -even if it is renowned by its bloody action- is chockfull with sad moments. Another of them was when Rei said that he did not care for dying if he could guarantee that his unrequited love was able to live freely and happily, even if it was only for a short while).

Or when in Evangelion Asuka was lying naked on a tube after slitting her wrists, remembering her mother's dead and thiking that she had no reason for living because she was nothing but a failure.

Or the death of Heinel in Voltes-V. He was betrayed by the emperor that he loyally served, his subordinates are killed, his lover is dead, he decides that he is going down fighting but he finds out that he was pitted against his father and brothers, and finally dies by burning.

These are some of the moments that got me impressed the most and stuck to my memory. I wonder what are other people's.

Has someone heard talking of this anime over here? It used to be very popular in American fandom.

What does it offer? Blade Runner-style sci-fi. Beautiful, strong-willed and self-reliant female protagonists. Cool mecha. Frenetic, beautifully animated action sequences. Heavy drama. And AWESOME music!

Seriously, check this: There's A Hurricane Tonight

"Okay, but what it is about -other than a sci-fi anime influenced by Blade Runner-?"

From TVTropes (because I think that the article is clearer that in Wikipedia):

In the early 2030s, the world economy (and some of its politics) is controlled by the megacorporation GENOM, whose primary product is the boomer — humanoid robots that can be manufactured for any purpose from cheap labor to prostitution to heavy combat. Opposing GENOM and its plots are the Knight Sabers — four women in astoundingly advanced powered combat suits, led by Sylia Stingray, the daughter of the scientist who invented boomer technology and who was murdered by GENOM's agents when they stole it.

I think that it is awesome (and I love Priss Asagiri -the main character-. She is great). I recommend giving it a chance. Moreover, the first series is eight-episodes-long, so you will not have to go through dozens of chapters to find out whether you like or not.

Happy birthday to... well, me. 

And to all members who are celebrating their birthday, too.

As a bonus, there are less than thirty days left to finish one of the worst years of my whole life.

Edit: In case that someone is wondering, no it is not because Naruto's ending. It is because something way, way more serious. Although it has definitely NOT improved my mood.

Fist of North Star is a bloody martial arts manga. Still it could give Kishimoto several lessons regarding romantic plots. How is that?

- Kenshiro is the soft-hearted, compassionate, gentle main character. Yuria fell for him. She did NOT fall for any of the cool-looking, morally defective martial artists around her.

- Kenshiro was deeply in love with Yuria. He never, ever, EVER moved on. And he did not return the feelings of a woman that he barely knew.

- When Kenshiro's best friend turned evil, kidnapped Yuria and became a monster, Kenshiro hunted him down and killed him, even though it saddened him. And it happened in the second volume! FOTN's creators took two volumes to solve in a logical, coherent way a subplot that Kishimoto solved in an awful way after nearly fifty volumes. And when Kenshiro found out who had screwed Shin up and caused his turn to darkness, he found that person and killed him. Kenshiro believes that responsibility and accountability exist!

- Lynne and Bat were kind of Kenshiro's sidekicks. Lynne had a crush on Kenshiro since she was a little child, but he never reciprocated, and he thought that she would be better off with Bat, since Bat had always been there for Lynne.