Shangri-La

[RyougaZell]

First episode from a CR rip from Horrible Subs (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=57605)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/RyougaZell/A10246-22.jpg

From ANN


The story of a young woman fighting for her survival in a real "urban jungle." Only 18 years old, Kuniko Hojo finds herself at the heart of the battle for humanity's future when she discovers that the government which rules Atlas intends to continue marginalising the less-privileged masses outside the tower - by force, if necessary.


First episode hooked me. As I expected after seeing the art and the opening, I am definitely following this series this season.

The settings are fantastic. A post climatic disaster age with several issues, including monetary, elitism and guerrillas.

Kuniko is easily entering my list of favorite characters and just after one episode.

I do, however, hope any fansub group takes it. Crunchy Roll, yet again, only offers 480p. Bleh.

[Inazuma]

First ep was excellent. Action, with humor and some plot setup.

Try it.

[Nadouku]

What an energetic main character! The transition from pleasant life to warfare in a matter of seconds was something to be praised too. Kuniko's too much of a tomboy for these guys to handle and Momoko's part was pretty funny too.

[Ryllharu]

First episode hooked me.
Ditto.

It's like LAST EXILE, Real Drive, and Eureka 7 were all smashed together, mixed around, and formed into a delicious cake. I love Range Murata (http://www.pseweb.com/page/gallery.html)'s character and conceptual designs.

Outstanding cast on this one too.

The evil lady, Ryoko, reminds me of the super evil bitch Delphine (http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8121/49516047.jpg) from LAST EXILE a little too much though. It's a great way to make a villainous character that I can loathe immediately, but at least make her look a little different (http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/6100/delphine1.jpg). If you take the first image and split it out, she even looks like that evil little girl, Mikuni.

I recognized the two trannys voices, they usually play pretty manly characters, but I can't place them exactly. Either way, it put a huge smile on my face.

[Pandadice]

well, it wasn't exactly what i was expecting, and I'm not really sure what i thought of it. I was expecting more from the post-apocalyptic, dystopian setting. I was expecting something like Gin'iro no Kami no Agito, what with them both having cities turned to forests and junk.

but it was like.. they got going and some cities (the main one it took place in) i could see the dystopian atmosphere in. But then they show people using computers and there's talk of the internet, and there's all this political and economic structure set in place. and I was pretty put off with it all. and it's a shame, because this was my second most anticipated series of Spring.

I didn't even really particularly care for any of the characters.

well, it has just been one episode, so I probably shouldn't judge it too much right now. I'm definitely going to give it a chance, and I don't see myself dropping it yet.

[Ryllharu]

but it was like.. they got going and some cities (the main one it took place in) i could see the dystopian atmosphere in. But then they show people using computers and there's talk of the internet, and there's all this political and economic structure set in place. and I was pretty put off with it all. and it's a shame, because this was my second most anticipated series of Spring.
Since when is a perfect description of cyberpunk not dystopian? Because that is exactly what you just described.

EDIT:

I recognized the two trannys voices, they usually play pretty manly characters, but I can't place them exactly. Either way, it put a huge smile on my face.

After driving myself nuts for an hour, it went back and racked my brains.

Momoko: 99% certainty, is voiced by Jouji Nakata (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=1030). It hasn't been that long since Geass, but Diethard's voice is distinctive. Toss in Alucard (Hellsing), Kirei Kotomine (Fate/Stay Night), Gaav (Slayers NEXT), and The Count (Gankutsuou). Having him play a really aggressive tranny is pretty funny.

Mi-ko: With 98% certainty, is voiced by Houchu Ohtsuka (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=7134). It's not really uncommon for him to play roles like this, Jiraiya from Naruto, that pervert from Full Metal Panic TSR...

That's enough seiyuu sleuthing for one night.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't know what to think of this show. It wasn't really high on my list to watch, but the OP was nice. It's an interesting take on the environment and all though, and how it's just a system to leach off the weak.

I'll keep at this for a few more eps though, since Momoko is jut that awesome :D

[Board of Command]

So...is this series only shown on Crunchy Roll and/or other online streams? Like Druaga?

[RyougaZell]

So...is this series only shown on Crunchy Roll and/or other online streams? Like Druaga?


Unfortunately.

Here is a 720p version with ripped subs from CrunchyRoll
http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=57720

[Kraco]

I think this won't be a series I'll keep following. A couple of things started to bother me, and I couldn't overcome them, making me struggle through the episode. Destroying tanks with a boomerang... Such things surely happen in anime, but it pisses me off if I'm not expecting such a thing, and I wasn't from this series, which looked like a series with an ecological and scientific message based on the description (not the one in RyougaZell's post). Add to that little girls fooling country leaders, the Atlas organization that treats its employees so badly it shouldn't have any in the first place (who the hell would want to work for this bunch of demons unless your annual salary equals to a lottery win, which I very much doubt?).

I don't know. There are times when some details just click the wrong way for you, and you can't forget them. That happened to me with this series, and that's it.

[Ryllharu]

I think this won't be a series I'll keep following. A couple of things started to bother me, and I couldn't overcome them, making me struggle through the episode. Destroying tanks with a boomerang... Such things surely happen in anime, but it pisses me off if I'm not expecting such a thing, and I wasn't from this series, which looked like a series with an ecological and scientific message based on the description (not the one in RyougaZell's post). Add to that little girls fooling country leaders, the Atlas organization that treats its employees so badly it shouldn't have any in the first place (who the hell would want to work for this bunch of demons unless your annual salary equals to a lottery win, which I very much doubt?).I think this series has a lot of potential and I think you should give it another chance.

Gonzo was being pretty secretive about this series. Given all the weird shit that happened in Last Exile or Eureka 7 (what I got out of that single image they kept showing until they released a promo) nothing in this episode really went so far afield that it would bug me. Perhaps you were expecting something more slice of life from the description they had been providing? When I read about the environmental angle, I immediately thought back to Real Drive (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=5538), so this was pretty much exactly what I ended up expecting.

As for the actually mechanics behind it, there was a hint in the episode. When Kuniko's grandma was lecturing her, they showed a glimpse of the content in the books. It was almost entirely about fabrication processes and other material properties. I imagine this is the major secret to the action in that scene. Momoko also lectured Kuniko about her technique as well (which I was glad to see Kuni make a remark when she hurt herself as a result), so that may go further into it. It largely seems that the tank slicing is entirely due to the very secretive nature of the Metal-age society that she belongs to.

The rest is just exaggeration pretty commonplace in cyberpunk series. The environmentalist message was a little bit heavy handed though for just the first episode. We did not see this in Real Drive until the very end. Cap and Trade already exists for acid rain, and a lot of the same sorts of things happened. Companies would pollute like hell and buy it off, other companies that didn't at all would screw those polluters over by demanding bidding wars for their credits in Sulfur Dioxide emissions. With all the big stink about carbon dioxide today, and how much more common it is in industry emissions, it's entirely plausible that such an absurd market would be created. I have no problem with environmentalism, but a Cap and Trade Market for Carbon would be a nightmare, and seeing it turn into this is not all that far fetched. It also screws over developing and third world countries who have neither the capital for 'greener' industry or the capital needed to bribe it away. They touched on both those issues with Kuniko's city and the girl manipulating the market and screwing that guy over.

As for little girls tricking world leaders, that just continues on the theme running in cyberpunk for years. Younger people are always more in tune with emergent tech than their elders, so I didn't really think it was that alarming that she is a leader in carbon trade. It wasn't that Karin was all that smart with the market, but she did program the best algorithm for analyzing it, which turns out to more or less just be the most powerful AI at the time. Kevin Mitnick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Mitnick) was prominent hacker at his age, so it was just another thing exaggerated from reality.

Lastly, it is a common view that people will often rather suffer attacks on their personal liberties for protection, comfort, and the illusion of safety. Just look at Great Britain or the US. Happens all the time, every single day. If the option is to live in a sinking city like Kuniko and friends, or become a slave to that bitch, mistreated every day for the chance to live in ATLAS, there will be people who submit to it.

If it's not for you, that's unfortunate, but I think this series has a ton of potential to be an awesome cyberpunk series that isn't made by Production I.G.

They did kind of jump the gun by expositing all of those major messages in just the first episode, but I think they can flesh them out more thoroughly over time.

[Pandadice]

yeah, that's what I think about it too, it has a ton of potential, and I'll definitely watch more, but I dunno how much I'm going to like it.

[Sapphire]

*Random child in traditional garb
* Loli bitch who looks like CC/Yin?!
*"funky" traps who are fa-bu-lous (TTGL)
*Idiot world leaders
*Unemotional dominant female captain character and her metrosexual assistant
*Pink haired goddess with not that great of a personality (My HiMe) :(
*Idiot civilian who tries to get smart in the face of military, only to get owned (plot device)
*Everything suddenly stopped and starts vibrating, something amazing is gunna happen! (Scrapped Princess)

Things in this anime keep reminding me of a million other anime, all shows that I haven't seen for years and keep tugging at my mind. Except for the opening sequence, I felt like the first ep of this anime was just a bad amalgamation of every other action anime. D: It was a struggle to just finish this ep, the hot trap making out witht he men could not save me.

[digitalrurouni]

Worth a shot I guess. 720p rip? Perfect! Thanks for that.


What just happened? I dont get it. Ugh that main character was really annoying. Ah well will watch the second episode to see if I can understand this any better. And that girl who was negotiating the contract had a super annoying voice. Sounded like Index's voice tbh which also drives me up the wall.

[Ryllharu]

And that girl who was negotiating the contract had a super annoying voice. Sounded like Index's voice tbh which also drives me up the wall.
That would be because they are both voiced by Yuka Iguchi (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=28316).

She wasn't as annoying in true tears, but she was more annoying in Kamen no Maid Guy and the third Zero no Tsukaima (she was the blue dragon/girl).

[Pandadice]

ep two is out
[HorribleSubs] Shangri-la - 02 [480p] mkv (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=58786)

download this now. I'm not really feeling a rush to watch it though :\

[Nadouku]

Ouch, what a painful way to die. The episode itself was fine since it was an expedition, and a little skirmish to boot. Kind of interesting how the MEDUSA system works better if it's scared.

[Ryllharu]

Kind of interesting how the MEDUSA system works better if it's scared.I thought this was a perfect commentary on how the economic market today works. It's all based on perception, manipulation and fear, rather than a positive outlook or a belief in the success of a product or service. Karin and her two buddies used their massive capital (just like any hedge fund) to start hyperinflating some shit country's credit market, causing investors to surge in the demand and pile on, only to cut completely when it peaks, screwing over all those other investors when they create a false panic. While there isn't anything wrong with buying low and selling high, it is when you have such an enormous supply of capital that you can manipulate it like that for shits and giggles.

I thought the rest of the episode was rather bland.

[Buffalobiian]

I'm finding the show only interesting in a confusing sort of way. There hasn't been any clear cut directions laid out for the show yet, and all we know about the Metal Age is that they're...against carbon credit?

The credit manipulators and the transexual are the only things hooking me in.

[narutosharingan]

I enjoy the OP and ED. Which is a shame because the series really isn't resonating with me. I also don't really know where they are going with all of this, and some of the leader type people are just weird and mean. The common swords idea is interesting, but they haven't done much with it, and they seem to brush it off. It seems like there are a bunch of people doing their own thing, but nothing seems to connect, at least yet. I may watch another episode to be certain if I want to keep going.

[Pandadice]

well, I watched the second episode.

I didn't mind this episode at all. It wasn't like, stunning or great or anything, but it wasn't bad enough to make me want to stop watching the series.

I figure with like 24/26 episodes, there'll be plenty of content and stuff so I figure I'm gonna stick with this one.

thought that was military dude with the knife thing looked familiar in the first ep, and when watching this one I figured he was reminding me of the chick that hooks up with the dude in Last Exile. The chick from the other army, but the side character/friend guy and her still hook up.

[digitalrurouni]

I just grabbed Desire's 720p sub. We have a tornado warning out here, so I may end up watching it tonight. Is that the best group to get the subs for this show from?

[Buffalobiian]

I just grabbed Desire's 720p sub. We have a tornado warning out here, so I may end up watching it tonight. Is that the best group to get the subs for this show from?

Any should be fine, since there's no excuse to get it wrong since crunchyroll is available for reference.

[Buffalobiian]

[Tranquil-Fansubs] Shangri-La 03 [704x396].mkv (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=torrentinfo&tid=59924)

-----------------------------------------------------
Well, just when things started going haywire, and I thought I'd watch this just to find out whatever the heck is going on, they pull out that super-annoying "Hey look, what is that thing?"

You're getting shot for Christ sake. Momoru could well have died saving your sorry ass because you were wondering why you didn't have a big house.

/rant

Otherwise, this whole Atlas-quake, seals keeping suns/moons sealed, and luring outsiders in for what looked like a sacrifice to make "medicines" is somehow still keeping me from leaving this ride just yet. I'm close though, one foot's out already.

[Xelbair]

I'm hooked in this series - by simple curiosity of its world. I really enjoy such world settings(after some catastrophe but rebuilding).

[RyougaZell]

Personally, I prefer things being kept in the dark and slowly being unfolded. Most of the rants I've seen about this show is about not understanding what is going on. It would be boring if everything was explained from the start.

Episode 3 was good in my opinion. Its understandable Kuniko gets flustered upon seeing the real size of Atlas. She's in shock upon seeing that the place could easily hold all those from Doumou, yet they are denied. She's lived her whole life on the underworld after all.

Oh... villan woman makes me puke.

[Buffalobiian]

Keeping the audience in the dark is something that's used all the time. This show just haven't been able to do it in a way that I find engaging, that's all.

[Ryllharu]

So Mikuni, the evil psychokinetic empress, is the Moon (she lives in the Moon Palace after all) and if the guys who work with the evil bitch are right, Kuniko is the Sun.

I don't know if I am jumping to conclusions, but they almost made it seem like the evil bitch was Kuniko's mother. Then again, the "child" mentioned in the dream sequence might not be Kuniko, but rather that boy in the room with all the eyes.

[digitalrurouni]

I dont know wtf is going on with this show. Hopefully all the mysteries will be revealed!

[lilphatboi88]

so what's the consensus now? This anime still worth watching?

@ RyougaZell and Buffalobian: I noticed you guys are basically on GW 24/7. Where do you get the time? I wish I could be like you guys, but I have to worry about school and my future and stuff. What do you do?

[animus]

It's not bad. It's just really not all that engaging yet.

I have no idea what was the point of your @. If you say you don't have the time to be on much, then how could you possibly know they're on 24/7. GJ inserting some "I'm holier-than-thou" statement in there.

[RyougaZell]

so what's the consensus now? This anime still worth watching?

@ RyougaZell and Buffalobian: I noticed you guys are basically on GW 24/7. Where do you get the time? I wish I could be like you guys, but I have to worry about school and my future and stuff. What do you do?

Uhh... my computer is usually on 24/7 downloading stuff
And I leave firefox opened on diverse pages... including gotwoot. I spend most of my day at work...

About your consensus... I won't speak for everybody. But personally I find it worth watching. And I'll keep doing so. Im not a person who decides not to watch something based on other's opinions. I drop shows only if I don't like them even if others do (like Soul Eater)

[Archangel]

About your consensus... I won't speak for everybody. But personally I find it worth watching.

I've been watching the first ep for 2 minutes and 49 seconds and i already know why you won't be dropping it Zell ...

[RyougaZell]

[Shinji]​_Shangri-La​_-​_04​_[E40547E0].​mkv (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=61717)


Archie: What? you offering to make a Kuniko sig?

[Archangel]

You offering to use it? Get me a render

[Buffalobiian]

[Shinji] Episode 05 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=62600)

[Ryllharu]

This episode was pretty good.

Little Miss Smarty Manipulate-the-Market Pants got caught by a bunch of old farts she probably thought very little of, proxied through Kuniko. The shear panic in her voice when her interface started freaking out was priceless given her past attitude toward...everyone. Had herself a little panic attack in her citadel that was only alleviated through the quick destruction of a packet of pocky.

I think it was arguably very stupid of Kuniko to lose her boomerang and the Metal Age tech it contains. While she did get verifiable proof of the reactive stealth armor that ATLAS might roll out, she could have lost a great deal more. One concession is that the true knowledge of the Metal Age tech is contained in her grandmother's books, and the techniques one has to learn in order to use such tank-slicing weapons.

I did also like the argument that Kusanagi had with Kuniko. He's probably brainwashed by the crap all the ATLAS workers and citizens are fed, but one might say that Kuniko is equally brainwashed, despite how much she tries to distance herself from Metal Age. In the end, she's probably right, Kusanagi doesn't live where everything is shitty, Kuniko knows it first hand. It did bring up the interesting fact that not everyone lives in enormous houses in ATLAS. Only people like Mikuni and Ryoko do. ATLAS may only exaggerate the class disparity that we face in our own reality. The privileged only become more so among the already "elite."


Best part of this episode was definitely the end. Given her reaction, the magical girl character shown everywhere in Akibahara is obviously patterned after the proud, age-wizened leader of the Metal Age. I wonder what kind of super weapon Kuniko's grandmother used when she was Kuniko's age.

[Buffalobiian]

[Nipponsei] Shangri-La OP Single - Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare [May'n].zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Shangri-La%20OP%20Single%20-%20Kimi%20Shinitamou%20Koto%20Nakare%20%5BMay%27n% 5D.zip.torrent)


@ RyougaZell and Buffalobian: I noticed you guys are basically on GW 24/7. Where do you get the time? I wish I could be like you guys, but I have to worry about school and my future and stuff. What do you do?

Missed this. Full time uni/casual work. Guess that's why I've got an unfinished assignment due tomorrow night ^ ^ ;

[Buffalobiian]

Shinji - Shangri-La 06 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=64169)

[Ryllharu]

I think the dense economics of this episode went a bit over my head, even with the graphical representations and simplified economic model.

What I got out of this episode:

- Ryoko is disgusting. Everything about her is repellant.

- Kusanagi's mom is awesome, and he wasn't lying to Kuniko. ATLAS has its fair share of poor housing, to make up for the absurdly wealthy like Ryoko and Mikuni.

- Apparently Kuniko is an economic savant, and I don't really have any idea what's going on.

[RyougaZell]

It seems Ryoko perfectly knows Kuniko is with Metal-Age. And the last scene makes me think she sent people to retrieve her.

I LOLed at America bombing that Isle and how they also destroyed Kuwait's economy. Two destroyed countries in just one day. Just because they wanted to train Medusa... lolz.

[Buffalobiian]

Wow. I totally don't get this carbon credit stuff. So low-carbon countries like Japan sell their "quota" to countries who want to output more carbon like Kuwait, for example. I get that much. But I don't get the "price" of their carbon credit...how it lowered due to the Serpent, then money flowed in, but went nowhere and flowed out......argh.



-Kuniko...economic prodigy, or super biocomputer?

[Ryllharu]

It's a market. Japan in the series is very poor in the carbon market, so they use drastic measures like the supergrowth forests and military enforcement to keep the alloted carbon use low. That way, ATLAS and others can sell it.

So a country sells their quota to rich, polluting countries like the US or the EU. Those countries in turn are going back and forth attempting to offer the lowest price they can...that is higher than others. They need the quota, and they can't afford to spend to much, and the countries with a quota can afford to sell theirs for the highest price. That's where it gets way more complicated than a normal economic market.

Disclaimer: I'm quite sure that I am about to get something wrong in the following paragraphs. Do keep that in mind, I only learned this kind of thing from the radio.

It's not that different from oil commodities today. Companies like ATLAS (Ryoko) or Ishida Finance (Karin) will buy and sell these credits back and forth because they have enormous hedge funds behind them. They will sell them back and forth to each other or to other countries before they get to their intended delivery destination (so to speak anyway).

Ishida Finance and Japan bought a shitload of Kuwait, and since Karin is a market leader, everyone buys into Kuwait because it is rising so rapidly (like gold did a few months back). Only after everyone goes in and raises the price even further, Ishida Finance and Medusa pull out rapidly, crashing the price. They make off with a shitload, everyone else gets hosed. Serpent was doing the same sort of thing, but it was a lot more aggressive than Medusa or Metal-Age is, driving the country into ruin rather than just making a lot of money off it before allowing it to settle back down at a reasonable pace.

After that it goes above my head, but the banks falling off of Serpent like scales were like the recent economic crisis. They would invest their money into the fund that the Serpent was hiding as, and then as the Serpent starts going on a rampage to destroy the Kuwait market, most of them get taken out as well by the crashing of the market.

[shinta|hikari]

Finally it makes sense. I just caught up recently, and I was quite confused about the whole serpent thing.

Do you guys think there is going to be some sort of romance between Kuniko and the military guy? I'm kinda hoping for it, but I was honestly surprised how Kuniko went all berserk on him for giving an honest opinion.

[Ryllharu]

Do you guys think there is going to be some sort of romance between Kuniko and the military guy? I'm kinda hoping for it, but I was honestly surprised how Kuniko went all berserk on him for giving an honest opinion.
He seems to have some sense to him, and I'm hoping for a pairing too, but there is something deeper going on.

Kuniko is the "Sun," Mikuni is the "Moon," and apparently, Kusangi is the "Earth." Whatever thing ATLAS and Kyoko have locked up was completely freaking out about Mikuni and Kusangi meeting.

[Buffalobiian]

Shinji Ep7 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=65465)

[Ryllharu]

Ryoko's attendants are such huge douchebags.

It's easy to see why Kuniko is so well respected by everyone after this episode. She doesn't merely live off her relatives' name (Metal Age's leaders). Kuniko will not allow any one she knows to suffer, and will not allow others to suffer because of something she did.


WTF is with Japan and Jupiter again lately? Geass, Gundam, now this. Before that, it was RahXephon and Nadesico. I'm sure that those haven't been the only ones lately either.

[shinta|hikari]

Maybe they are just playing off the previous shows, since it is a bit more familiar to the anime viewers now than let's say, Uranus.

[Ryllharu]

But with Gundam, RahXephon and Nadesico, it was at least a major factor in the plot of each. With Geass, there was zero point to it. I suspect the same may occur here, though they are already calling three of the characters astrological signs.

I can sympathize with Karin. Of all the things that MEDUSA could find interesting (as a financial-focused AI) other than its normal routines, why Jupiter?

[RyougaZell]

Wow... Ryoko has leved up in the bitch scale yet again.

Kuniko was really cool on this episoe. At first I didn't understand why her friend did that, but as the episode progressed it was well explained.

Though girl is definitely going to help Kuniko next episode. I don't see the Metal Age guys arriving through their stupid tunnel.

[Buffalobiian]

They're Metal Age. They've got connections. They don't care about polluting the world.

Therefore.....

....they'll dig a tunnel using shovels.?!

Oh, and I just remembered they've got a ton of money too, after setting that block of graphite.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 8 - Shinji (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=66635)

----------------------

-Was that the same guard who sexually harassed both girls? It reminds me of all those reports of what happens in women's prisons, and once again the corruption in any organisation, even the so called "law enforcers".

-It was pretty cool seeing everybody trying to get Kuniko out, no matter how much they looked like they were in internal strife. I was so sure bomb-girl was serious, and was going to kill Rena right after.

-That bitch did the "right" thing in killing all of those prisoners. Leaving any alive will only come to bite you in the butt later. I still hated her for it though.

-Next episode reeks of Momoko's death. She's even had more wardrobe designs than most anime protagonists. I'm willing to bet the fat transexual will somehow be the cause of it. I never liked her.

-Physics & Chem = much easier to understand than economics, that's for sure.

[Ryllharu]

Next episode reeks of Momoko's death. She's even had more wardrobe designs than most anime protagonists. I'm willing to bet the fat transexual will somehow be the cause of it. I never liked her.I don't know about death, but they heavily foreshadowed that Momoko and Mikuni are directly related. Mikuni mentioned that her single earring is a momento from her father, and of course, Momoko has the matching one.

It's tough to say, but it is a GONZO series (in every sense of the term), so they could pretty much pull any kind of weirdo stuff out of nowhere at this point.

[Buffalobiian]

Shinji - Episode 9 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=67911)

[RyougaZell]

Takehiko is an idiot. He knew Kuniko was going to be executed days prior, yet he kept diggin and didn't bother to check town to see she had already escaped. Oh well, at least it helped for a good shocking scene for Kuniko.

Kuniko seems to be near the breaking point. Losing Momoko-san and finding all her friends at jail dead. I hope for a good next episode.

Karin was hacked? Lolz

[Buffalobiian]

Man, this show sure started out with all those WTF moments, but lately, it's really turned out into something. The abundance of characters in this show that range from weird to completely fck'ed up keeps me watching in a curious manner, while the screams and death scenes got me to react pretty much exactly as they wanted the audience to.

I think it's a bit of a feat how something as all-over-the-place and weird like this can still be held together and make a good story. Not unlike the many Shaft productions, though those have a bit more artistic charm to them.

[Buffalobiian]

A transexual's dilemma

Episode 10 - Shinji (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=69339)

[Ryllharu]

Little Kuniko was so cute!

A lot of this episode seemed to be setup for the next episode. But it did prove that Momoko is pretty much unstoppable. She fucked with Sayoko's mind just by looking at her body closely and letting her know what she found out.

I get how ATLAS, Kuniko, Kusanagi and Mikuni are connected, but I'm still not really sure where Karin fits into the story at all anymore. She doesn't seem to play a role in the Earth-Sun-Moon weird shit storyline, and the economic storyline has started to fall to the side.

[Buffalobiian]

Little Kuniko was so cute!

She sure was! It's almost a pity she had to grow up. :o
I've always found her face right at the end of the ED weird though. It's attractive in a more sexual way than cute, and slightly disturbing because of it.

Anyway, like Ryll said, Karin seems like an outlier now with the story taking the Prophecy direction. Perhaps with Ryouko attacking her like this, Sayako will be forced to take action herself, creating enough disturbance for Kuniko to somehow play a part.

It's easy to come to the conclusion that the knives are vibrating in resonance, but Mikuni's item as well? If I remember correctly, that soldier's blade was incomplete, so maybe the scarf thing contains a fragment.

At any rate, I'll expect Karin to be the main focus next ep, while Sayako's backed into a corner regarding both Mikuni and Karin. The only choice for her now is to take her chance with the wildcard Momoko, since Ryouko is kind of rendering her powerless.

[RyougaZell]

Little Kuniko was so cute!



I third that.

If Sayoko hadn't named her child 'Midori' as Momoko was fucking her mind... for a moment I would have thought Karin was Sayoko's daughter.

[Buffalobiian]

If Sayoko hadn't named her child 'Midori' as Momoko was fucking her mind... for a moment I would have thought Karin was Sayoko's daughter.

lol, I stuffed up I see. (I thought Karin was Sayoko's daughter the whole time when I was writing the above post).

Now I can't remember who Midori was.....

Edit: I don't think there ever was a Midori introduced. Karin might be a pseudonym.


Edit2: Trivia - the ED of this show is sung by a Midori. :)

[Ryllharu]

It's easy to come to the conclusion that the knives are vibrating in resonance, but Mikuni's item as well? If I remember correctly, that soldier's blade was incomplete, so maybe the scarf thing contains a fragment. Mikuni's "item" is also a blade. They showed it in the first episode when the army attacked Doumo and Kusanagi's began to resonate. They showed it a second time when Kusanagi visited Mikuni. Sayoko got distracted by the fact that Kusanagi wasn't killed by Mikuni (because he is not a liar) but they tried to see if they had time to copy it, but ended up just making a casting of it and returning the knife. Sayoko remarked that they were nearly identical.

It's not a pair of knives, it is a trinity. Sun, Earth, and Moon. Kuniko, Kusanagi, and Mikuni.


If Sayoko hadn't named her child 'Midori' as Momoko was fucking her mind... for a moment I would have thought Karin was Sayoko's daughter.I was starting to think so as well. Originally I thought it was Ryouko, but recent events made me believe that anyone coming from the grandma couldn't possibly be that evil to their own daughter. As soon as Momoko mentioned Sayoko had had a child, gears starting whirring in my head and it made so much more sense. Then Monoko ruined it by saying the child must be around 10, and Sayoko confirmed it. Now it's back to assuming it is Ryouko.

I've also entertained thoughts that Sayoko was Mikuni's mother, especially with her fascination about Momoko's matching earring (indicating Mikuni's father according to Mikuni), but with Sayoko even naming her daughter, that's ruined as well.

A pity. Here I was thinking I was finally understanding this series...


EDIT:

I thought it was very weird that Karin said she needed absurd amounts of money to eat with her parents.

[Buffalobiian]

Then Monoko ruined it by saying the child must be around 10, and Sayoko confirmed it. Now it's back to assuming it is Ryouko.

How old's Karin supposed to be? Looks about right to me.




EDIT:

I thought it was very weird that Karin said she needed absurd amounts of money to eat with her parents.

That was weird, but since I was confused with Karin=Midori, I came to the idea that if Karin=Midori, and Sayako promised her daughter they'd be together once they earned enough money, it explains their fixation of earning at every opportunity.

Ryouko flushing out MEDUSA in her evil manner is just too uncaring. She didn't even seem like she knew where MEDUSA was until this episode. I'm putting bets on Sayako right now.

PS: Ah, thanks for that. I totally forgot about Mikuni's blade in that scene.

[Ryllharu]

I was mixing things up, even though I quoted it. This is what happens when you come from work tired.

I have thought over the course of the episodes that Ryouko or Sayoko were potentially Kuniko's mother. Momoko ruined the possibility that it was Sayoko after saying that Sayoko's daughter is around ten, well too young for her daughter to be Kuniko. Now that's back to Ryouko only.

I've never once entertained thoughts that Karin could be Sayoko's daughter.

Sorry for the confusion. This paragraph was all backwards:

I was starting to think so as well. Originally I thought it was Ryouko, but recent events made me believe that anyone coming from the grandma couldn't possibly be that evil to their own daughter. As soon as Momoko mentioned Sayoko had had a child, gears starting whirring in my head and it made so much more sense. Then Monoko ruined it by saying the child must be around 10, and Sayoko confirmed it. Now it's back to assuming it is Ryouko.I was thinking Kuniko when I wrote it.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 11 - Shinji (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=70697)

[RyougaZell]

Nice Karin-centered episode. But... I didn't understand a thing... a ghost? WTF?

[Ryllharu]

This episode really did nothing for me.

I still fail to see how a introverted agoraphobic like Karin has any bearing on the rest of the story. If she turned out to be a Digma like Kuniko, Mikuni, or Kusanagi then maybe, but she's just assisted by the ghost of a previous one? This was kind of a waste of a character development episode, even for Karin. They could have done all of this in a half an episode. Her intense reluctance to go outside has already been established, but I fail to see how massive amounts of money would have helped her to eat dinner with her parents when she refused to ever leave the room.

I'm still left debating what role she plays in this since this episode gave us nothing. Kuniko is a genius level stock predictor herself, and her grandmother is enough of a coder to potentially outclass Karin.

[Buffalobiian]

Well all this started when the cat got in somehow. Maybe that's an illusion too, but I doubt it since it was still remaining after Canary said his goodbye. Karin's a clone now?

The whole building design was a cage no matter how you looked at it. It's like they wanted Karin to be caged in.

WTF to the next level.

Lack of Momoko hurt this episode a bit too.

[Buffalobiian]

Shinji - Episode 12 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=73025)
Shinji - Episode 13 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=73026)

-------------------------------

Karin was pretty cute this episode. Those UAVs seem pretty overpowering. If they can calculate the external forces applied when slicing through planes of varying materials and adjust their thrust respectively, why couldn't they throw off hitchhikers rather than have a friend shoot itself in the back?

I guess I'll have to suspend some degree of realism here, where boomerang >> all.

That stuff about the US and airforce was confusing.

[Buffalobiian]

[Nipponsei] Shangri-La Original Soundtrack.zip (http://tracker.minglong.org/torrents/%5BNipponsei%5D%20Shangri-La%20Original%20Soundtrack.zip.torrent)

[Buffalobiian]

Shinji - Episode 14 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=76125), 15 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=76126), 16 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=76127)

[RyougaZell]

Three episodes?
Oh yeah... I haven't seen this in a while.
I'll set the torrents when I go home for lunch.

[Buffalobiian]

Production quality's always been a strong point of this show, but other than that, I'm still as lost as ever.

Kuniko just seems to sway between the mature leader and OMG-WHAT'S-THAT? little girl, and I can't say I like it too much.

Just like her decision to jump off the clock tower to say she's right. wtf?

[RyougaZell]

Wow... what a trio of episodes.

A great loss.
Mi-ko is gone... somewhat.
Takehiko turns traitor?
Grandma was part of Atlus government.
Weird plants.
Karin's busted.
Kusanagi quit the army.
Mikuni is leaving Atlas.

Can't really express it... just... wow.


Yes. I still like this series. Sue me.

[Buffalobiian]

Otaku Legend releases:

Episode 17: 400p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26145) / 720p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26144) / 1080p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26143)
Episode 18: 400p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26578) / 720p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26576) / 1080p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26577)
Episode 19: 400p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26716) / 720p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26715) / 1080p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26714)

[Buffalobiian]

O-L Episode 20 - Xvid (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26878) / 720p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26877) / 1080p (http://forum.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=26876)

--------------------

Ley lines? Pillar of Heavens? I thought this show was about Carbon Economies? I don't know what's happening anymore...

[RyougaZell]

So I got tired of waiting for Shinji... seems they died. So I marathoned episodes 17 to 23 from O-L

O-L Episode 21 400p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27350)/ 720p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27349)/ 1080p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27348)
O-L Episode 22 400p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27860)/ 720p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27859)/ 1080p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27858)
O-L Episode 23 400p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27863)/ 720p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27862)/ 1080p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=27861)

I never expected many of the sudden twists this thing had. Wow... I hate Ryoko even more now.

[Buffalobiian]

Digitalsubs aren't bad. The timing's not as spot on as O-L at the beginning, but it's perfectly watchable.
Episode 24 (http://www.animetake.com/shangri-la-episode-24-final/)

--------

Amazing. This series was all over the place, covering neo-economics, global warming, legends/ley lines and everything in between. In the end, I can't comprehend terribly much of what happened, but I still found the story engaging enough to have followed it for a good 6 months.

Does Himiko and the Bejeweled Spear of Heaven mean anything in Japanese culture? It would make more sense if she was some priestess from ancient legends, but without knowing that, I don't understand the significance of reviving her.

As for Ryouko, she screwed everybody over huh? I coudln't quite make out if she took over Zeus, or of Zeus took over Ryouko either. The end seems to suggest the latter.

Mikuni and Karin were cute. The otaku who demanded a Karin-tan hug pillow has my approval.

Visually, this series has been pretty damn good. I can't remember an instance where there was a noticeable drop in quality: action scenes were smooth, art always looked sharp and clean.. not to mention Momoko's constant outfit change. (the final one didn't accent her rack as much though.)


"Even if you don't understand it, you can still use it." -Hojo Nagiko

--guess that applies to watching anime too.

[Buffalobiian]

O-L Episode 24: 400p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=28336)/720p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=28335)/1080p (http://www.anirena.com/viewtracker.php?action=download&id=28334)

[Ryllharu]

The Himiko and spear stuff is very similar to the Shinto creation myth where Izanagi and Izanami created the islands by thrusting a spear/staff into the sea. If there is a specific Himiko god, I don't know it though. With the mention of Wa, it is probably referring to this Himiko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himiko_(queen)), a shaman queen who supposedly ruled in one of the most disputed periods of Japanese historical accuracy. She could have either be a tyrant ruler with thousands of slaves, or a socialist-style paradise.

I loved the socio-economic sub-plot of this series. Highlight of the whole series in my opinion. It was a good vision of a terrible "what-if" that might result from the exploitation of Cap and Trade on a global scale. Very timely given the debates coming up in Copenhagen in the next few months. There are people in power who have a great deal to gain by changing policy for everyone, and it will hurt developing or poor countries that aren't satisfied with their place in the status quo.

The series was a bit all over the place towards the beginning, but it all sort of came together around 3/4 through the series. People with high ideals and good natures get their visions twisted sometimes in an attempt to reach those dreams. It might be all about keeping yourself well grounded.

I thought Mikuni was really cute, especially with her archaic dialect, but Karin got pretty annoying towards the end.