Yeah, I guess they focused on the settings and backgrounds way too much thus forgetting the characters.

I admit you got me curious on that newer anime thing. I already feel the picture shaping up somewhere behind my head - I can't tell anything about it yet, but there's definitely something about it. I'll try to get the pieces together tomorrow or on the weekend.

The most ironic thing about Darker than Black' plot was that you didn't really needed to get a full blown explanation at the end. It was about how that particular world worked, how it lived from day to day and essentially the ending only proved this message being the key element for the story. "Just live as you see right and don't fill your head with overcomplicated philosophical questions - the world is crazy enough as it is" It was very realistic and yet satisfying. Not many shows have such good storytelling.

Yeah, this REC anime is made so light and effortless - like well deserved rest after all those frustrating shipping wars. Though the thing I like the most was its realistic setting and the fact that it was made for more mature viewers. I'm so tired of all those mainstream romance animes. They are either irritatingly stupid and or stuffed with fanservice or just lack any plot whatsoever. Like already mentioned True Tears for example. I actually watched it like some kind of masochist. I just could not believe that sane people could have made an anime that stupid. You know, it was like looking at what complete idiots are doing every day and not being ably to do anything about it except for walking away or shooting them. -_-'

I don't even remember Kimbley from anime anymore. I watched it a long time ago so I remember only the overall story. Though I was under impressing the character they've got best was Mustang. Still you're right - there are a whole lot of great characters in FMA. But as it always works that way the settings and background lacks in development. WE still have just enough information about the world of FMA to get the story, but there was nothing beyond that witch is kinda sad.

Its not that I don't have time at all. More like if I'll start this discussion I'd have to search for the info I used back then like some mechs profiles and technical data and stuff.

Okay, about Graham. What I was thinking was the following: when he got into a fight with Setsuna at the end of season 1, his Flag got completely destroyed and he sustained life threatening injuries. But he was found and saved by Ribbons in a way similar to what he did to Louise. Of course in Grahams case simply attaching a new arm would not be enough. He had to undergone almost a full body reconstruction. Of course that would mean the he'd get all the necessary nanomachines to have "glowing eyes". Because he was the first patient the process wasn't as smooth as it was for Louise and of course he was on the verge of death at the time so as a result he has to wear an encounter suit that protects him from /insert pseudo scientific explanation/ whatever the heck it should. Anyway thins suit would cover his whole body. That would mean that his "mask" would actually be a part of the suit. It should have looked something like these terrorist masks, you know when they take ski hats and cut out holes for eyes and mouth.

This way his motives for joining A-Laws are much more reasonable - he would have owed Ribbons his life. There would also be more ways for the character to develop like for example he could betray Ribbons near the end and save the day. In a way it would have shaped up in a classic Darth Vader sort of style.

Of the top of my head, I can think only of Code Geass (honestly even R2 was enjoyable to watch), Macross Frontier, hmmm… What else… Ahm, can't remember anything good besides those. Though I guess I could if I thought a bit more. I remember though True Tears - it was horrendous, absolute torment to watch. T_T

Also that's only counting the ones in 2008 and not counting the ones I haven watched yet. I'm planning on checking out some of the newer ones. Like Ga-Rei: Zero because I kinda like the manga so I'm curious or Aria coz it was praised by Fisherman and I trust his taste. And if you go back further there's more. For example, 2007s Darker than Black was amazing! ^^

While we're on the subject, I highly advise you to watch REC. It’s a very sweet realistic romance miniseries. There are only 9 episodes something like 20 minutes each. I had a lot of fun watching it. It's more of an adult anime about average life and it's done in a great manner. About real life office worker and a real life wanna-be-seiyu. If I tell more it will be spoiling. Anyways, you can watch it here:
http://animerevolution.v2.vidiac.com...plete%5d/0.htm

The FMA character I like the most is probably Hohenheim. I've just fell in love with his character the firs time he appeared. Remember, in the chapter when he came back home and was acting all aloof with Pinako and Edd and than when his caravan got attacked he showed this "Who do you think your trying to kill? I'm not even human" look; that was sooooo awesome. The second to him would be Mustang and Hawkeaye and than everyone else. No, first gonna go Gluttony and Lust and than everyone else. *Waaaah~ I miss Lust! T_T*

Ahem, I don't have enough time right now to go into mech discussion, but I'll be glad to talk about it a bit later if you don't mind.

Yeah, I also thought it was ridiculously overboard, but it captures the situation with character song CDs precisely. And the chair one is hilarious. ^^

And it is his Code, not the Geass. They are two seperate things. It sort of bothered me that we never got an explanation for where any of these things came from. Like, who makes a weapon that can kill God, but never uses it?
Sorry, you're right! XD In fact, it's because of this that I'm more than sure that in the future (not distant as Taniguchi said) there will be a second series or something like that. We don't know exactly what Geass is, we can just make suppositions, nothing more. T_T And about the people we saw in C.C.'s memories or when there were contacts with Geass, we still don't know anything. Code Geass is a project that still has to say more to all the people who watch it, and I really hope to know why there is this power and why there are different kinds of Geass.

Lelouch simply isn't the romantic type I suppose though he probably just has trouble understanding his own feelings
This is Lelouch's main problem ;_; but after all, I think that even if he doesn't talk about proper feelings, love feelings, he shows them, no matter what he does. And we can just talk about our impressions, nothing more... ;____________;

Not at all, I saved it from pixiv! *--* If you want it http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7...ouchecc157.jpg here you are!<3

I'm not at all convinced. There's just a sliver of hope left that some miracle might happen so that the whole universe won't suck in the end. Otherwise the things we'll be left with (well, technically the ones left with would be the main characters and all the faceless secondary ones of this AD universe, but viewers should be counted in as well as essentially they are the ones who relate to the characters and actually "feel" what character supposed to feel) are hopelessness, misery, loneliness and despair. I really want and pray for this miracle to happen, but looking realistically as how things progressing, there's almost no real possibility for even a miracle to "save the day" i.e. turn the crumbling of the whole world around.

Best case scenario: we'll get some sort of a miracle because of witch bad guys will be defeated, good guys will get sort of a close-to-a-happy-ending resolution and it will end with some PR talk about a bright and fluffy future - all in pink marmalade clouds; where as in truth the world and all the people are still screwed. There's nothing they can do with the world. In CG PR speeches and atmosphere kind of worked though barely and not for everybody, but in G00 it won't work by definition. The show itself is too realistic and dark - for it to be resolved in soap-like naive talk and mushy pinkish peace delusion would be simply ridiculous if not straight up insulting to the viewers.

Anyway, I'm not convinced that anything can be really done at this point. I would be happy to be wrong though. We'll see. If I notice even a slightest chance for thing to work out, I'll be glad.

Also now that I think about it G00 didn't have a single outstanding character. As we stated before - they are all at one mediocre level. Damn, if only they could have made Marina into a reincarnation of Treize, that could be awesome. Of course in that case she should have had a different name, coz this obviously sucks. Or if only they could have made Graham at least a little bit cool and not completely ridiculous. (Witch by the way I figured out how could have been done. ^~ Wanna hear?) There was so much potential for this season and for the whole show for that matter. It saddens me to watch it sunk all for not.

No I haven't watched neither of those two. And stop apologizing for bring something up. Isn't it the whole point of these conversations - to just talk about all and any kinds of stuff if when and as much as we like it? If you feel like bringing something up - just do so and to hell with all that pointless politeness.

Honestly I'm not all that interested in FMA. As far as I heard this time it will be based on manga and I'm reading the manga regularly thus I'm much more exited about things that are happening in the manga right now. Amine essentially will be something like a re-run of the story I already know. And at thins point in manga story line all the most exiting stuff is happening. What I'm trying to say is that I'm more interested in progression of the story that in repeating of it. Though I might pick up these series eventually just because I like the artwork and the story is still very clever and solid and it's not all that bad to rethink it one more time.

About that mecha talk, not so long ago we had a great thread on battle.net forums about the exact same thing. There was a bunch of people with relations to engineering, physic, IT technologies and so on. Basically a bunch of reasonable people with proper background information. (Naturally we kicked all the noobs out of there ^~) It was like 60 pages of serious discussion about all things related to all and any kinds of mecha. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunally after recent redesign of battle.net forums this thread was deleted along with everything else. *sniff* T_T And it was such a good thread. Anyways, if you like me to I can share my views on the matter.

Oh, and just to spice up such a big posting, here's something different:
http://s53.radikal.ru/i140/0902/50/31beb93c6b96.jpg
http://s41.radikal.ru/i094/0902/c4/4c8249dee0d5.jpg
http://i021.radikal.ru/0902/d1/b7f2cce5c886.png

Oh, you get your expectations too high.

This is why I told you I'll be disappointed if I think to what I'd like to see! XD So I'll stop for now. It's better wait, at least... there are still 2 months... T___T

I like to think that that one Newtype cover with them in what looks to be summer clothes is one that takes place after the show, but that is just me.

Which cover? The last one I can remember is the one of Animage with C.C. holding Lelouch's scarf! *-* That is great, and I obviously think the same thing {Hoping that one day I'll see them together again}!<3

but several of her actions simply reflected to me that she didn't understand Lelouch quite that well.
Why? I think that C.C. was surely the person who understood better Lelouch's feelings. She was the only one who can talk with him about everything, the only one who always cared for him till the end, and not just for love. Then, sometimes is impossible to understand a person's feelings, especially in difficult moments.

If Lelouch was dead and she was all alone, I don't think she would be saying something like that so happily.
This is what I thought too. If Lelouch were dead and C.C. would talk that happily, she would be schizophrenic, since she was crying when Zerozaku was going to kill Lelouch in the last episode.

Sharuru is Charles XD I use to call him like this even if I write, sorry! XD But at least, the thing I love for is his Geass in Lelouch's body. u_u

About what you wrote for Lelouch and C.C.'s relationship, I can say I agree in the most of the cases, and there was another thing that came to my mind reading your thoughts.

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5218/lelouch006zw2.jpg
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7126/bscap0377ye6.jpg

Lelouch's different reactions to C.C.'s kiss and Kallen's one.
Even if in Turn 22 the situation was very different (because of what Lelouch was going to do), I think that his face talks alone. With C.C. he was and with Kallen he was XDD
But still, this is just a random thing, that anyway, means something. He could be furious in both cases, but he decided to smile with C.C. and to be something like wtf disappointed with Kallen. I know that if he smiled, Kallen would understand that he proved something for her, but he never thought again to that kiss {apart in the last scene where he thought to all the kisses he had}. At the end, the only thing that we can surely know is that he loves Nunnally (he always thought to her, no matter what he was doing and where he was), but all the things we said reinforce the fact that he proved something for C.C. and that she reciprocated them. Then, we know they were both very proud and as you said, they would never say something like "I love you" directly, but there are too many scenes that hint to their love.

Still, if I have to say completely my opinion on Kallen's love for Lelouch, I think that in S1 she loved Zero because in some ways he was like her brother. Then she realized that he was Lelouch and fell in love with him. If Zero was Rivalz, she would fell in love with him. -_- She was in love with Zero's figure and the will to see her brother in someone that would represent him.

the hanger scene that got interrupted
About this, I don't know if you already saw this fanart http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2713/lelouchecc147.jpg I think that describes very well that part! *-*

Earlier I had hope that Regene was in a way in the same position as Ribbobs was in first season. He looks sinister enough, but there's also some uncertainty about what he really wants. So I really wished that he'd be the one to turn Ribbonses plans around and maybe even with some unexpected help create a chance for things to turn this whole mess around. He would certainly no produce a happy ending single handedly, but there would be a chance.

There also was that thing with Aeolia's plans that I noticed. There is no way that Aeolia had no back up plan in case his body gets destroyed. The man predicted all sorts of things 200 years in the future - he just couldn't overlook something as important as this possibility. The only reasonable guess I could make about his actions was that: I think he made a copy of his personality and imprinted it in the deepest level of Veda. The one that no one has access to. I have no idea of how this would actually work though. Maybe Veda could become sentient - that would be very cool. May be there will be only another message from Aeolia.

But nothing of that sort happened. It just gets worse. Ribbons is going what he wants, CB is trying irrelevant stuff and though their victory is unavoidable by laws of the franchise, but as I sad I wonder how much more suffering everyone is going to go through before the end. Though at this stage it's more of an academic question.

As for Stand Alone Complex it's a funny story. Originally I haven't watched it in order. I just skipped a better half of the series. I was more interested in the main plot and it's resemblance with manga and movie. But it was made in completely different continuity, it had different style, feeling and it had slightly different plot and setting. So I didn't liked it much.

Now I think it was all because of the expectations. Original 95th Oshii movie was like a revelation: it showed exactly what cyberpunk anime should be like. In some respects it was Blade Runner and Matrix combined, but for anime. I watched it very early, just as I started to get into otaku business. ^~ And it is still one of the few anime movies I would categorized as best ever made.

SAC was hugely different. But now while watching it from the beginning I've come to appreciate it more. It's not as brilliant as the movie, but it's a great series - better than many. One of the best things about it is than it carries over the same feeling as manga and movies: even in cybernised future, there are still some things worth while.

Ok, I'm hugely disappointed in 00 at this point. I don't even have any desire to watch the actual episodes anymore. And this feeling appeared a couple weeks back, not just now. It's just like reading summaries on RandomC' is good enough to keep up with the whole story and fairly depressing, but watching the actual episodes would be much more depressing.

I knew for some time already that they won't resolve anything and there's absolutely no possibility for a bright and happy future for this whole universe, but its just becoming worse by every new episode. I'm almost convinced that they have only one goal at this point: to show exactly how desperate and miserable life in this universe is. And deprive the viewers of any hope while at it. Yes, its unavoidable that CB will prevail, but it seems the want to push them to the victory through the most painful way possible. I always thought that "everyone's dead" ending was simply a joke, but this time it seems it will be worse that that. This time I have a horrible feeling that all the main characters will survive and will live on, but will also be thrown into misery of the worst kind. Hopeless, alone and regretful. Honestly suicide would be better...

I understand the wiliness of authors to make the story as realistic as possible, but really! The real world is depressing enough on its own. I personally looking for fictional works to give me something else than the ugliness of our reality. If I wanted that I could watch some news about Africa or something.

Okay, first season was also dark and it did showed some of this ugliness, there was still a sliver of hope. It was unresolved, but there were some possibilities for the whole mess to be resolved in the end. Now there's none. Add authors sadistically making things worse every way they can. Or so it seems.

*sigh* Huh... I wonder, who would like to watch such content, especially understanding things I mentioned above? The ones that don't understand are probably okay with things... Meh, thinking about it makes me depressed. Got things better to do.

I'm rewatching House and Stand Alone Complex now. ;P

About the other question, about C.C. and Lelouch, I have another essay! XD Let's start from the begin. I'm more than sure that Lelouch had strong feelings just for three female characters in Code Geass: Nunnally, Shirley and C.C.. Ok,it is obvious that he had feelings for all the others too, Kallen included, but it was not like these. As for Nunnally, we all know that Lelouch loved her with all his heart and he did what he could for his beloved sister *now I start to cry thinking to Turn 25 when he used the Geass on her saying that he loves her sigh* so I'm not talking about her {after being angry with Nunnally for all the series and more, I ended to like her character even if she was wrong with Lelouch since the begin of S2}. The relationship with Shirley is rather complex, but what I want to say is that Lelouch trusted her very much, and when he could, he asked her about many things he couldn't undertand {I love this part of Lelouch <3}, acting like Shirley explained. I think that this was nearly love for Lelouch, because I never saw him trust a person like this, Shirley was not just a friend, she's the person who addresses him to the power of love, the one that he followed till the end of the story, the one that could let him feeling alive. But she died because of this. She couldn't be Lelouch's lover, and this is Shirley's sad epilogue. ;~; At the end, we arrive to C.C.. Their relationship was very tight since her first 'Mitsuketa watashi no...' in the first episode of S1, where they made the contract. Many things made their bond more solid. At the begin they were accomplice, yes, but piece by piece they started to know better each other, to know the real person that they were {in S2 they both said that they knew the true self of the other, C.C. in Turn 1 and Lelouch in Turn 15}. They know all about the other one, it's true. C.C. was near him since he was a child, Lelouch was the only one who was allowed to access to her memories, the ONLY one who knew who was C.C. and tried to save her from her desire to die. There are many scenes that can let understand what's going on in their minds and hearts, in this case. But the ones I think explain better their bond are in the 15th episode of S1, when Lelouch saved her from Mao {he hold tighthly her hand in the last moments of the episode, throwing his hat, and don't forget he said he made something more with her XD}. In other random episodes XD when C.C. was jealous of Shirley giving him the tickets for the concert, when she was the only one who can comfort him for Euphemia's death, when in the last episode he said that if she was a witch, he would became a warlock and she kissed him {he had such a cute expression one moment later *blushes*} and when he told Kaguya that he chose to take the devil's path -following C.C.-. Then, in S2 there's something more obvious to me. That's not just from C.C., it's from Lelouch too. Apart the fact that he trusted her in Turn 1 when she said that she knew his true self, even if he didn't remember what he did (that's already a meaning), there are too many scenes that are surely to represent something about their relationship.
I'm not going to write them all here XD but a stupid example is Turn 15. Lelouch says "my..." and not always there, he always addresses to C.C. as "my" but he never add anything else XD Stupid Lelouch. It would be easier if in Turn 24 Kallen won't interrupt their hug {and missed kiss, who knows}, but the fact that he said to C.C. that he will keep his promise and doesn't care about Kallen was a proof, no? And when in Turn 23 C.C. hold his hand trying to comfort him... I think that Lelouch never expose himself this much; he did it just with C.C., she was the only one who can fully understand her feelings, and he always counted on her. I got lost among my words, I hope that what I wrote will make sense XD But there are too many things that I'd like to say about them. I really think that their love is reciprocal.

As for Gundam 00, I hope to see something satisfying in these last episodes, I liked the first season very much, this is just... a random sequel, I think. -.-

Don't worry about the wishes! ^-^ I'm happy the same, thank you!<3

{OMG sorry for the double post, but text was too long XD}

So believe in the survival of Lelouch as an immortal with C.C., watching over the world.

You know, this is what I'll always think and continue to believe in. I'm just a kind of person that's calm but when people continue to persist, lost her temper.

Why would it cause you to be upset though?
Because the most of the time I start to think to something I'd love to see in these picture dramas, and if I think too much I can be maybe more disappointed than upset. T_T Lelouch is not supposed to talk, or at least, he's surely not in the cast of the last one. What I was thinking about the last one, will be just a final image with him and C.C. together... T___T And I'm more than sure that my wish won't be granted, so I won't think anymore! XD

And what is this about C.C. playing a harp?
Yes, I have them! *_* Sorry for the quality, but it's a miracle that a girl took these scene with her mobile T__T

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/5310/bscap0000es2.jpg
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7586/bscap0001tu6.jpg

Given time with Lelouch, I'm sure she would probably become less reserved and more happy.
This is the C.C. we always saw when she was with him. As for when she lived with him in the Ashford or in S2 when she was with him in their room. Maybe it's just a way to avoid thinking of what will happen.. how sad.

He viewed her as an important friend in my view as he did the rest of the council.
Yeah, this is what I see too! XD And what people can't understand. I don't know if you read livejournal or not, but I tried to explain this to an anonymous that attacked me because I said that Kallen's poem in the Regret Message is the proof that she's stupid. Meh, maybe it's just that people are blind and tries to persuade the others and themselves too.

I said that the picture dramas are the one of C.C., Cecile, Jeremiah and Lloyd -in dvd 8- and the one with the student council gathering -in dvd 9-. And I said too that I was happy to see that C.C. is not present in the last one, since I think she is with Lelouch! I read the plot in the official site of the dvds, so they're real, not fake ones. Don't worry, I'm happy to explain my POW since you're one of the few people with whom I can still talk about Code Geass! *-* So, I think that Lelouch is alive because of the origami that C.C. was carrying with her in the cart. This could be stupid, but it was just over the carter's head, and obviously, for me, the carter is Lelouch. This is because of his body, clothes and the fact that we can't see his face, hidden in a sunny day. More, C.C. rises her voice when she calls him at the end of the epilogue. Another thing I think about this, is that there were no particular needs to let evolve Lelouch's Geass in both his eyes. So, why? And why Sharuru became superman, holding his neck? I think that all these things that we can consider something without a sense, have a double goal. The thing I'm more into is that he survived because he became immortal thanks to Sharuru's Geass {instead the one of C.C.} and the scene that trust this opinion more than anything else is when Nunnally touches him when he's about dying { ;__; } and sees all the things he made up to that moment. I know that it is said that in Geass.net, the site that Japanese people can access from their mobile, that Nunnally, being blind for a long time, gained the power to see in people's mind just touching them, but since I can't consider her a goddess or something near that, I'd say that this was because it is the power of Geass that allow this visions {as it happened previously with C.C.}. *mumble mumble* I'm trying to remember other things XD Oh, yes, I can include the fact of the last picture drama with no C.C. and no Lelouch, but this doesn't concern the anime. And the open ending is another hint, even if you said that Taniguchi frequently makes ends like these.. I'll add more things if they come in my mind! XD

I don't know about other explainations about the end of Code GEASS, nor from Taniguchi neither Okouchi or others. People just try to let the other think what they want, I hate this way of viewing life.

Yes, I can't really wait to see this picture drama (and the last one XD)! I'm nervous when I think of it... I'm trying not to imagine of what there could be, because it is just few minutes and I'm sure I'll be upset. But I'm unsure about that C.C.'s playing the harp, it's very strange, but rather cute, she knows many things and it's a pity that we don't know her properly. T___T But if she has to act in some ways, I think she will always stay calm as usual. No, don't worry, people usually bother me just when they say that something is canon {like Lelouch x Kallen} when it is not the truth (and there's nothing more than friendship from his part). I'm sure that we all have our opinion, and if at the end Lelouch died I can't still understand why saying that Kallen won, when she just kissed him when he was like a wall and nothing more. T_T I think she would give away a kidney to have the chance to get a random scene like the ones of Lelouch and C.C.. She ALWAYS thought to Lelouch {we have to remember that Lelouch saved Kallen because Nunnally was in the same place, even if he promised that he would do his best to take her away from Britannia's hands}, but I don't think there was a singular scene where she was reciprocated. Lelouch thought just to Nunnally, Shirley and C.C. . Obviously, to the others to, but they were always in his thoughts (with Rolo just after Turn 19).

Maybe it's just my POW then, but I really can't stand Lyle and Anew. <_< Then, FINALLY she betrayed the CB, I'm relieved now. And I hope she will die soon to protect who she wants. -.- At the begin of the second season, Marina was not this bad, but I think that her non-violence way to think is totally wrong. °_° I think that she will act that way till the end at this point! >_> Poor Setsuna ;___; he's still Gandamu after all. XD

I love Ribbons way to slap people! XD I hope that at the end it won't be as you said, because seeing Regene betraying him, would be REALLY foregone (and ironical too), because of Alejandro.. T_T If Mizushima has no ideas, then.. ç_ç At this rate, Graham will just look at all the battles and fight against Setsuna at the end, as in S1. ;_;

Ahahah XD You're right, but I hope she will stay with Alle at the end too {and kill Andrei <_<}