Heroic Age
Most colleges, including mine, received a notice by the RIAA to stop anyone downloading files via BitTorrent. Needless to say, it put a real damper on any anime and manga watching, not that I was seriously interested in watching or reading anything besides One Piece and Bleach. However, I've recently been rediscovering my childhood my one true love animanga, and after two_if_by_sea's recommendations and judicious application of Google, I found CrunchyRoll and began watching this spring's new series. So far, I've watched Bokurano (eps 1 - 2, ch 1 - 41 of the manga), Claymore (ep 1 - 2) and Heroic Age (ep 1 - 4).
All three are worth watching, particularly Bokurano. I'm collecting my thoughts on them so far, but right now I want to rant at you about Heroic Age, or, as I have nicknamed it, Mecha, and the Psychics Who Love Them.
I'm still not entirely sure I grasp the plot completely, but Heroic Age is almost compulsively watchable. The production quality, for one thing, is very high and the first four episodes have been universally pretty. For another, it helps a lot that Age reminds me of Luffy, the epitome of the endearing shounen hero who is Unique Deep Inside (and who is always, always thinking about food, which I find ridiculously cute). For one thing, Age is an Artist, and quite a good one, without having to make a huge deal of his Inner Pain. For another thing, he can withstand the vacuum of deep space. (He can even talk in it, but I attribute that more to wacky anime physics, whereas everyone in the series makes a big deal of the fact that he's not explosively decompressing before their eyes.) He carries his mecha around in his right eye. His 'mecha' (really, I use this for the lack of a better term, since that is Age, for all intents and purposes) is called Bellcross. Bellcross is Age's Daddy. The ship that crashed on Oron, Age's home, is his Mommy. His best friend is a tentacle monster named Fuuto who likes poles, cats and whose tentacles Age rips off (playfully), has his mother process and eats when he's hungry. He then feeds Fuuto the trees he grows in his backyard so they can continue their lovingly twisted symbiotic relationship. He is so crazy deep inside. How could I not love him?
Bellcross deserves his own side note. Bellcross is beautiful. As far as I can make out, he's almost certainly part organic (made from stardust, if I were going to be poetic about it) with armoured parts. His head is strikingly beautiful; it resembles nothing so much as the head of a great white shark. I'm left wondering if the teeth are functional as well - I suspect they are. Though Bellcross floats 'upright' in space mostly, his hands and feet are shaped more like three-fingered paws. Again, Bellcross is one of the most beautiful mecha I've ever seen.
The absolute second best thing about this series is Iolaus, with his father coming in a close third (how often do you see prolifically spawning generals in anime? With children that do not carry massive emotional scars?). Iolaus is adorable, a high-ranking mecha pilot who wields a purple saber and is in love with the princess, is able to teleport and is quite, quite jealous of Age. It's enough to make any self-respecting yaoi fangirl salivate, even without the entire Greek mythology and patron saint of pederasty context to add to it. (Of course, Age == Hercules; child of the gods and humans, preternaturally strong, etcetera do we even need to carry on?) He is the (saner) Sanzo to Age's Goku (the comparison is impossible to avoid since Iolaus insists on calling him "monkey"), the world-weary Han to Age's Luke, the Heero to his Duo (I could go on). Better yet, his sisters are not above teasing him about his crush (and making him pay for pictures they take of her on the sly), nor his princess above making him babysit Age. For another thing, the princess and her role in the film is rather fascinating. I'm not sure I've seen a psychic used quite like this before in other series; I like it. Deaneira (spelling as yet to be determined) is their princess, but she is also early warning system, prophet and guide/mother figure. She's very, very useful as a leader, and actually communicates with her generals about attack/defense strategies, who in turn rely on her for advice. Maybe I'm just a cynic after too much Fullmetal Alchemist/Square Enix, but it's refreshing to see something of a united, cohesive government/martial front. (Then again, this is just the Argonaut, so I might be speaking too soon.) Also, I start giggling whenever Deaneria astrally projects herself places, because, astral projection XD
Anyway, my point is: I am destined to write Iolaus/Age stories. Destined.
If anyone wants episodes, I'd be more than happy to provide downloads. It's currently being subbed (and I kid you not) by Your Mom Fansubs (#Your-Mom at irc.rizon.net).
(NB: CrunchyRoll is 'free', but you can get downloads and high quality online episodes if you pay fees as well. They also have many old favorites, so long as they haven't been licensed. I've found a few other sites where you can watch episodes online but none with such a large library or with downloads like CrunchyRoll's. Another good route I've found, but which requires more work, is through tracking new releases on fansub group pages and downloading them through their IRC channels. I'm working on a small resources list of these, so if you know of any other good ways that don't involve BT, please send them my way. Better yet, if you know of any good series communities that regularly post downloads or have any interest in setting one up, let me know.)
Edit: Fic Rec - HP: War Wounds, H/D, NC-17 by silentauror. Summary: Some wounds take longer to recover from than others. This is a story about finding the way forward. Themes of alcoholism, dubious fidelity, and a love triangle. Long, well plotted fic; I found it appealing for its realism.
All three are worth watching, particularly Bokurano. I'm collecting my thoughts on them so far, but right now I want to rant at you about Heroic Age, or, as I have nicknamed it, Mecha, and the Psychics Who Love Them.
Click to viewI'm still not entirely sure I grasp the plot completely, but Heroic Age is almost compulsively watchable. The production quality, for one thing, is very high and the first four episodes have been universally pretty. For another, it helps a lot that Age reminds me of Luffy, the epitome of the endearing shounen hero who is Unique Deep Inside (and who is always, always thinking about food, which I find ridiculously cute). For one thing, Age is an Artist, and quite a good one, without having to make a huge deal of his Inner Pain. For another thing, he can withstand the vacuum of deep space. (He can even talk in it, but I attribute that more to wacky anime physics, whereas everyone in the series makes a big deal of the fact that he's not explosively decompressing before their eyes.) He carries his mecha around in his right eye. His 'mecha' (really, I use this for the lack of a better term, since that is Age, for all intents and purposes) is called Bellcross. Bellcross is Age's Daddy. The ship that crashed on Oron, Age's home, is his Mommy. His best friend is a tentacle monster named Fuuto who likes poles, cats and whose tentacles Age rips off (playfully), has his mother process and eats when he's hungry. He then feeds Fuuto the trees he grows in his backyard so they can continue their lovingly twisted symbiotic relationship. He is so crazy deep inside. How could I not love him?
Bellcross deserves his own side note. Bellcross is beautiful. As far as I can make out, he's almost certainly part organic (made from stardust, if I were going to be poetic about it) with armoured parts. His head is strikingly beautiful; it resembles nothing so much as the head of a great white shark. I'm left wondering if the teeth are functional as well - I suspect they are. Though Bellcross floats 'upright' in space mostly, his hands and feet are shaped more like three-fingered paws. Again, Bellcross is one of the most beautiful mecha I've ever seen.
The absolute second best thing about this series is Iolaus, with his father coming in a close third (how often do you see prolifically spawning generals in anime? With children that do not carry massive emotional scars?). Iolaus is adorable, a high-ranking mecha pilot who wields a purple saber and is in love with the princess, is able to teleport and is quite, quite jealous of Age. It's enough to make any self-respecting yaoi fangirl salivate, even without the entire Greek mythology and patron saint of pederasty context to add to it. (Of course, Age == Hercules; child of the gods and humans, preternaturally strong, etcetera do we even need to carry on?) He is the (saner) Sanzo to Age's Goku (the comparison is impossible to avoid since Iolaus insists on calling him "monkey"), the world-weary Han to Age's Luke, the Heero to his Duo (I could go on). Better yet, his sisters are not above teasing him about his crush (and making him pay for pictures they take of her on the sly), nor his princess above making him babysit Age. For another thing, the princess and her role in the film is rather fascinating. I'm not sure I've seen a psychic used quite like this before in other series; I like it. Deaneira (spelling as yet to be determined) is their princess, but she is also early warning system, prophet and guide/mother figure. She's very, very useful as a leader, and actually communicates with her generals about attack/defense strategies, who in turn rely on her for advice. Maybe I'm just a cynic after too much Fullmetal Alchemist/Square Enix, but it's refreshing to see something of a united, cohesive government/martial front. (Then again, this is just the Argonaut, so I might be speaking too soon.) Also, I start giggling whenever Deaneria astrally projects herself places, because, astral projection XD
Anyway, my point is: I am destined to write Iolaus/Age stories. Destined.
If anyone wants episodes, I'd be more than happy to provide downloads. It's currently being subbed (and I kid you not) by Your Mom Fansubs (#Your-Mom at irc.rizon.net).
(NB: CrunchyRoll is 'free', but you can get downloads and high quality online episodes if you pay fees as well. They also have many old favorites, so long as they haven't been licensed. I've found a few other sites where you can watch episodes online but none with such a large library or with downloads like CrunchyRoll's. Another good route I've found, but which requires more work, is through tracking new releases on fansub group pages and downloading them through their IRC channels. I'm working on a small resources list of these, so if you know of any other good ways that don't involve BT, please send them my way. Better yet, if you know of any good series communities that regularly post downloads or have any interest in setting one up, let me know.)
Edit: Fic Rec - HP: War Wounds, H/D, NC-17 by silentauror. Summary: Some wounds take longer to recover from than others. This is a story about finding the way forward. Themes of alcoholism, dubious fidelity, and a love triangle. Long, well plotted fic; I found it appealing for its realism.