I love anime

Okay, I'll admit it. I love anime. Now, that's not to say I'm an otaku or anything. I don't go ODing on Japanese culture. I mean, I can speak every dialect there is, but I didn't learn that. It was programmed into my wetware. Anyway, I started out watching low grade bootleg VHS tapes back in the late 80s/early 90s. I think the first one I saw was Castle in the Sky: Laputa (currently on video from Disney). I also saw Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind (my personal favorite), the first four episodes of Nadia: Secret of Blue Water, Body Jack (which was really bizarre), and Urotsukidoji (let's just say, there are times when having a computerized memory can be a bad thing. Yech!). Back then, the videos came with scripts. English translations on paper created by fans. It was kind of tough for my friends to follow the story on the screen, and the dialogue in their hands at the same time, but they managed. To this day I still prefer subtitled over dubbed anime, though I usually turn them off. Hey, when you can understand the language, who needs subtitles? Of course, the really big thing back then was the Dirty Pair. I've seen a few OVAs and the movies Project Eden and 005 Conspiracy back before Streamline got a hold of them. Another popular one was Bubblegum Crisis. I mean the original 2032 version, though I love the 2040 series.

These days I collect all my anime on DVD. My favorite series right now are Noir (love that one!) and Card Captor Sakura. Yeah, I know it's cutesy, but I still love it. Cowboy Bebop is good too, but the ending sucked. I'm enjoying Big O. It's kind of like Noir, but in a more masculine form. Big robots, big weapons. You know, boy toys.

My favorite movies so far are Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononooke. Heck, Shirow and Miyazaki are my heroes. They really know how to spin a good story.

One series that really has me stumped, though, is Fooly Cooly. I don't get it, but it's funny.