I didn't mean a connection to their relationship, per se; just a hint to the plot as a whole, but I do get your point. Looking at it from a geographical standpoint, it doesn't make sense either. Joan of Arc was mainly in France, and Robin came from Italy.

Oh well. Can't make ourselves too crazy, but it's nice to speculate...

Yeah, I noticed that, too! And in the same episode, above the note, there's something like, "Am I Joan of Arc? No, I am Robin." I'm not trying to read TOO much into this, but Joan of Arc was burned as a witch...I wonder if there's a connection...

Anyway, you see a lot of weird stuff. I have the complete collection, but I'm STILL not sure I've seen everything that could be seen. Another little fun fact: at the start of Ep. 2, when Karasuma and Amon look at the 1st victim's ID, it says the man is from "Anime-Town". O.o

Oh god...just reading this thread makes me sick (in the literal sense). The first time that happened was when I played Spyro...ugh. Xo I usually don't have a problem with games, just those that have an unearthly amount of camera twirling. Just recently I gave Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion a twirl. Great game, but once you're caught in a corner...whoo.

I can only do it if I like the song itself. The first time I memorized an anime song was purely by accident. One of my fave songs is the ED to Witch Hunter Robin, "half pain". One night my little sister and I were watching it and she was trying to sing the song--keyword: TRY. Always seeking to outdo her, I started singing it without thinking...and I realized I had memorized every word!

I had cases like that while I was awake (but I didn't necessarily dream it) and two cases in particular where it was dream-to-life.

The first:

In this dream, I was walking along the sidewalk on our house, towards my house. Everything was bathed in what looked like the colors of a sunset or sunrise--you know, rosy red, orange, golden yellow. Anyway, I get to the porch and open the mailbox. There's a letter inside, specifically an acceptance from a college that I applied to a couple of months ago in real life. Two days later, in the late afternoon, my mom (who works at the post office) comes home all smiles and gives me a large envelope. It's the same damn acceptance letter! That creeped me out for days. '

Second time:

This is a bit more complicated, so I'll explain as best as I can. This was one of those odd "dreams-within-dreams". The dream-in-the-dream was brightly colored and took place on some kind of island paradise. Suddenly a crowd of strangers with creepy, Stepford-wife smiles on their faces come up and offer me fancy food on silver plates. I decline and turn to leave, and then they start chasing me, begging me to take their gifts. Odd...

The actual dream itself was black-and-white. I woke up early in the morning and went downstairs to talk to my mom about the dream before she went to work.

Now, when I actually DID wake up, it was early in the morning, and I went downstairs and talk to my mom about the dream, just like I did in the dream. Confusing? It was to me too, so much so that I actually looked around and asked if this was a dream as well. My mom assured me it wasn't and left. But just to make sure, I poked myself repeatedly with a needle. I was asleep...and my finger was sore. '

To all Ghost in the Shell fans:

Some of you may already know this, but I'm telling it to those who don't know. Anyway, I came upon this piece of information purely by accident, and at just the right time. I was moping over the ending of 2nd GIG, begging the TV for another season like the crazy person I am. (poor Kuze...he and Major reunited, only for their time to be cut short...T_T)

Anyway, I was looking up songs by Ilaria Graziano, and I saw a song entitled "Replica", apparently from a soundtrack entitled "Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society". Intriguing! So I looked it up and immediately got something.

Apparently, at Anime Expo 2006, they showed/previewed/whatever a showing of a third GITS movie. And there are loud whispers that they don't plan on stopping there, either.

More Major? All right! Thoughts or info, anyone?

First and foremost, Witch Hunter Robin. It's my favorite anime series of all time, but it has one of the most open endings. Honestly, I don't know whose artistic ego they were trying to satisfy when they made the two most important characters disappear. Besides, the creators kinda hung themselves on the last episode when they showed the guard reading his horoscope and someone stepped out of a taxi, just like in the first ep. Was it another replacement? Robin herself, maybe? *shrugs*

I WAS also going to say Ghost in the Shell: SAC, specifically where 2nd GIG left off. It was rare to see that show go in a romantic direction and it was sooo sad when Kuze died. However, I hear a third OVA was released in Japan (GITS: Solid State Society) this year and most likely will come out in the US in 2007. Not only that, but the guys who showed it at Anime Expo 2006 said that they don't plan on stopping there either. Hooray!

I'm kinda tied on FMA. It was an open ending, but it was one I could live with.

Alien 9, because it looked like someone died, but they weren't clear on it. Dangit!

Sailor Moon, sort of, but I've been waiting so darn long, and it looks like nobody's gonna do anything anytime soon. I'm almost past the point of caring. But the manga's better than the anime, anyway, and if the last season is anything like the manga, we already know what happens.

I don't really think FLCL needs a second ending. Just more of the episodes they've been holding back from us. They didn't show ALL of the eps, after all; it originally had 13 or so.

They also need more of Blood the Last Vampire. Blood+ aside, I love Saya. I wanna know where she went. The novelization isn't very satisfying, either.

Whee, long thread.

I'm starting a game thread for everyone here at MT, but I'm also doing it to teach a simple lesson, which I believe you all already know: no matter how different they may be, all anime are connected, and I don't mean by cultural cliches, either. Also, no matter how different people here are, we're all connected by our love of anime.

Here's how the game works. I'm going to mention an anime that I know, and the next person to see this mentions a different anime and explains how they're connected. It could be a common hairstyle, a char with the same last or first name, a common theme in the plot, where it takes place, etc. But there's a catch. If the thread gets big enough, make sure you read it thoroughly so you won't mention the same anime as someone else. If you haven't heard of the anime before you, don't worry--someone else might. I don't know if we can, but let's see if we can mention all the anime that's currently out there. Let's go, everyone!

Since I'm first, I will say "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex". Let's see where it goes from there.

The weirdest place I got a bruise was on my inner thighs, both of them.

I was on a group trip to Japan, and on the second day we went all over Kyoto. On top of wearing a skirt and it being hot, I have a funny way of walking. Add that to walking all around Gion nonstop for hours on end and there you go: purplish-red bruises. They hurt to the point where I couldn't even stand anymore. Fortunately, after which we went to a tea ceremony where we sat for hours on end. The moral of the story: Don't take pants for granted. Oh boy...>_>;

Hmm...well, I meditate daily, so, when I think about it, anywhere can be my place of peace, cause it's in my head.

But also, sitting on the floor, flipping through books when I visit a bookstore, and, most of all, sitting on the porch with my laptop, either working on my book or some fanfiction. The one thing that makes it perfect is when it rains. I LOVE rain...:D

I actually had some in Japan. During a group trip to Japan last year, one of our stops was in Hiroshima. Needless to say, the morning sightseeing left us pretty bummed, but afterwards we had lunch at a okonomiyaki restaurant. (Apparently Hiroshima is renowned for its okonomiyaki.) There, they gave you prepared okonomiyaki that you cooked and flipped yourself on a skillet on the table, and of course you had your sauces. I ate three by myself!

I heard that okonomiyaki is considered the "Japanese pancake". Is there any truth to this?

Three-month-old Cheetos. Me and my friend, and my friend started it. Surprisingly, he's up for anything stale, and even more surprisingly, the Cheetos didn't taste all that bad, especially when we dipped them in ranch dip (non-expired). lol

Let's see, my worst was when I tried to make french fries.

Lesson 1: No matter how shallow the pot of oil is, putting it on HIGH doesn't make it any better.

Lesson 2: Let the fries defrost, because dropping ice-crystal-covered fries in super-hot grease...

Well, long story short, the oven top burned (but only for a while), and when I tried to carry the pot of hot POPPING oil to the sink WITH MY BARE HANDS, I burned my entire right hand. Then I panicked and DROPPED the pot, burning half the rug we put under the sink to catch water as well as my toes, which also had to be bare that fateful day.

The good thing: this all happened in the middle of the night, so to this day mom doesn't know what happened. She does wonder where the rug went, though...

Luckily there's no shortage of Japanese food where I am; we have a Japanese restaurant where I live. Plus I went to Japan last year so I can say from experience.

Tempura-udon, which is noodle soup served with tempura on the side. I adore tempura by itself as well. Then there's ika-tempura: fried squid. A bit chewy, but also good. Miso soup's nice, though it took me a while to acquire the taste.

When I went to Japan, one weekend was spent with a real Japanese family, and one night my "family" took me to (gasp!) a rotating sushi restaurant! It was an hour-long wait, but it was well worth it! I tried so much sushi, I was afraid I was running up the bill! My favorite kind of sushi...I don't know the name of it, but it has barbecued eel on it.

And of course there's Pocky. Specifically I like "Men's Pocky" (what we call the chocolate kind). I brought two boxes back home and got my mom hooked on them as well.

The oldest thing in my fridge is year-old vanilla ice cream. The surprising thing: somebody's still eating it.

I bought it for a dear friend of mine who lives with us for the better part of the time, but then he went away for a while, and he told me to hold the ice cream for him. Well, one week turned into three, then two months, then five. He came back for a while, still eating the ice cream, then just recently left again when he enlisted in the National Guard. Now it's going on twelve months, and he's set to come back in two weeks, and he'll probably STILL be eating it. I swear, that boy has a stomach of steel...OX

Hmm. The longest I went without eating is nearly three weeks if you don't count Slim-Fast drinks and Powerade, which I'm pretty sure you don't. I had decided to go on a diet, and this being my first time, I didn't know a -bleeping- thing about dieting, so I just lived off of chocolate Slim-Fast shakes and Powerade, and even that wasn't very often. I'd grab one in the morning before I got on the bus and it'd fill me up until lunch. Then I'd get a Powerade from the vending machine and ration it out. Finally, one day my mom told me that dieting was about moderation and not starving yourself. Remember this well: porkchops are lifesavers (as odd as that sounds).

Then when I went to Japan last summer, there were a few kids who were being stubborn and keeping away from the local cuisine, and considering that not only were we there two weeks and that our leaders were strict about us "having a genuine experience, food and all", I pitied them. Now that time, I actually ate everything and liked most of it, including barbecued eel and miso soup.

Second moral lesson: When in doubt, Pocky.

Here's a (kind of) exotic flavor for ya: Chunky Munky by Ben and Jerry's. For those who don't know what it is (and/or wondering why I'd eat a poor, defenseless orangutan), it's banana-flavored ice cream with cashews and chunks of chocolate. But as most of you may know, Ben and Jerry's pints come in small quantities, so it doesn't last nearly as long enough. I don't know if this counts, but I love chocolate milkshakes as well. It has SOME ice cream in it; gimme a break...-__-;

Hmm...can't really say, but it all boils down to two characters:

1. Motoko (Major) Kusanagi from "Ghost in the Shell"/"GITS: SAC". Who wouldn't want to be her? She rocks! She has a prosthetic body, so she doesn't age physically; she can take down nearly anybody, her purple hair, red eyes, and attitude, and ever since I watched the series I been wanting a cyberbrain with the mad hacking skills. So much better than broadband...

2. Robin Sena from "Witch Hunter Robin". Never mind that her parents are dead and she was raised in a convent. Being a witch with the power to start fires with your mind has its own perks. Also for her unique hairstyle and her fashion sense (or lack thereof). Walking around in a black dress and red trenchcoat with your hands in your pockets...so ominous.

Midnight? Pfft...that's nothing. Back when Witch Hunter Robin was featured on Adult Swim, it was on at around one or one-thirty or something like that...on weekdays (School nights were killer). When I missed the first showing, I'd simply stay up until four or so to see the second feature. The same went (and still goes for) for Ghost in the Shell: SAC.

I don't know if some higher power is trying to play a joke on me, but now that I graduated from high school, there's no anime good enough to stay up for. ;__;

I have a few possibilities. 1. Motoku Kusanagi, a.k.a the Major from Ghost in the Shell, just 'cause she's so strong and cool. 2: Robin Sena from Witch Hunter Robin 'cause she's a pyrotechnic. 3. Sakura from Card Captors, just because I want cards that hold supernatural power. I used to want to be Sailor Pluto, but standing guard over the Gates of Time for all eternity sounded boring...

If I may add, I'd recommend music from both soundtracks of the anime "Witch Hunter Robin"; Original Sound Scores Volumes 1 and 2. Most of the songs were composed by Taku Iwasaki, and certainly most have that "haunting" feel. Specifically, I'd recommend the songs "Plot", "Sneak", "Kyrie", "Flashback", "Shadow", "Silence" (from the first CD), and "Grave" (from the 2nd album).

I don't have much, either. All I have are both soundtracks from Witch Hunter Robin (Original Sound Scores 1 and 2). Also a friend of mine let me burn their FLCL Volume 1: Addict, but I'm not sure if that counts. What I'd LIKE to have are the Ghost In the Shell: SAC Soundtracks and the Final Fantasy X Soundtrack. Then I'd be happy...maybe.

I've followed Witch Hunter Robin for some time now, and talking with fans, it seems that one of the big mysteries of the series is exactly what time it takes place. We were sure it was set in the near future or the present; we just didn't know the exact time.

But I believe I've finally found the answer. I was watching the DVD when I spotted something in Episode 16, "Heal the Pain" (spoiler!). In this episode, Robin is adjusting to her new and temporary identity as a courier for Nagira. When she gets to her destination, she's talking to this woman at the counter, and the woman hands her what looks like a receipt or something. I saw some numbers, paused the scene, and took note. It said "12/2/2056". It was written in the Japanese style of dating (day/month/year), so it'd actually be written as "2/12/2056", February 12th 2056. It was two months prior to this that Robin first arrived at the STN-J, so WHR takes place in the winter of 2055-2056.

If you own the WHR "Fugitive" DVD, look at that scene closely and you'll see what I mean.

I haven't really given a thought to hair in anime, but I always wondered how Jessie's hair (from Team Rocket in Pokemon) always stood up like that. Also, I can't exactly say it's a fave, but it certainly gets points for originality: Robin's from Witch Hunter Robin. I see that some fans in some WHR inner circles call them "handlebars". Funny, considering that she rides a Vespa.