A heaping helping of my own words...

[Nev]

Right. So now I must dine on every crappy thing I've said about Naruto for the last two years. Up in the SF Bay Area and watched the first episode. I'm not going to fall over backwards and proclaim it changed my life or anything, but I enjoyed it muchly and felt some real, actual, good feelings while watching it.

*ahem* So, yeah, I apologize for my crankinesses. Now let us never speak of this again.

[Eric]

*random complaint about the crap filler*

*Praise about the manga*

*Discussion about it's origins and inspiration from DBZ*

*Random Zeus DBZ dis*

*Eric ownz Zeus*

*Everybody happy, Nev joins the family of Narutards*

[Zeus]

Ah, you've been reeled in by the anti-DBZ awesomeness of Naruto. You'll see, you're going to go home and average 10 episodes a day for the next 3 months. If you think people get addicted to Warcrack, wait 'til you've gotten to about ep 20, you'll be up all night watching it.

Just remember, eps 100-104 and after ep 135, the show is in filler. You'll notice an ENORMOUS drop in quality, almost to the point of unwatchability after ep 160. However, keep the faith, there is A LOT of stuff going on in the manga and it will eventually get better. Those feelings of wanting to hurt yourself as you're watching those eps? Just stay strong and remember that it will be over soon.

Suggestion: after about ep 30, watch the first Jump Festa special. Then the second after about ep 85 or so. Then, watch the first movie after ep 104 (the end of the first filler; the Aoi arc) then the second movie after ep 135 (the start of the new filler). Those are the approximate time periods where they take place anyways (second Jump Festa is earlier, but you won't want to break before then, trust me) and will provide good breaks for ya. Also, you won't be watching non-manga related stuff all at once near the end.

BTW, the best eps to get are the AonE/ANBU ones, they have the best translations. www.gotwoot.net

[Anarky]

[Flip]

Lol, thats good. I love the Magic cards in the background.

[Nev]

Ah, you've been reeled in by the anti-DBZ awesomeness of Naruto. You'll see, you're going to go home and average 10 episodes a day for the next 3 months. If you think people get addicted to Warcrack, wait 'til you've gotten to about ep 20, you'll be up all night watching it.

Just remember, eps 100-104 and after ep 135, the show is in filler. You'll notice an ENORMOUS drop in quality, almost to the point of unwatchability after ep 160. However, keep the faith, there is A LOT of stuff going on in the manga and it will eventually get better. Those feelings of wanting to hurt yourself as you're watching those eps? Just stay strong and remember that it will be over soon.

Suggestion: after about ep 30, watch the first Jump Festa special. Then the second after about ep 85 or so. Then, watch the first movie after ep 104 (the end of the first filler; the Aoi arc) then the second movie after ep 135 (the start of the new filler). Those are the approximate time periods where they take place anyways (second Jump Festa is earlier, but you won't want to break before then, trust me) and will provide good breaks for ya. Also, you won't be watching non-manga related stuff all at once near the end.

BTW, the best eps to get are the AonE/ANBU ones, they have the best translations. www.gotwoot.net

Actually, I doubt I'll be watching much Naruto of my own accord, but I will watch it if others are around.

The one I'm more interested in finding at present is the newest Astro Boy...

[Zeus]

Actually, I doubt I'll be watching much Naruto of my own accord, but I will watch it if others are around.

The one I'm more interested in finding at present is the newest Astro Boy...

That would seriously be your loss

I'm a little skeptical of the new Astroboy. Demonoid has all 5 discs, although you have to request seeders. My cousin is grabbing the first two (I don't have room) and we're going to check them out, but they look like new-age anime versions of the 80s, which isn't necessarily a good thing as they might be like the new Transformers and be more like Pokemon than they should be.

You can get the 80s Astroboy for $20 now from DeepDiscountDVD.

[Nev]

Zoosey, I think this marks the first time in Shrine existence that I've actually been irked with *you*. We will get along much better if you do not presume to inform me as to what types of entertainment are and are not likely to entertain me, and/or lift my spirits...I enjoyed Naruto's first episode, but it was nowhere near a life-changing experience or whatnot. Yes, I'm sure it's a great anime, and the etc., etc., but I doubt that it is likely to shape my philosophical existence and etc...besides which, I increasingly just don't watch that much non-interactive media at all these days.

The fact that you, who are usually one of the *least* telling-people-what-to-do-sort-of-people on the Shrine, are presuming to tell me what I would be best served watching, says to me that even if I did start watching Naruto, I'd probably have to hide it from other Naruto fans. I have no desire to state that I enjoy Naruto, for instance, and then watch whatever conversation I was having be immediately subverted to the cause of discussing which of the episodes in the eight seasons' worth of material or whatever is the best, at great length, with the type of fanboyism that tends to glaze my eyes over and make me want to put people in ovens and cook them. If I do watch the series in its entirety, it will probably be because I want to look at it from a perspective of looking at how the series creators have managed to entrance so many people, and what I can do similarly in my own creative work to gain mass appeal, rather than for the subjective enjoyment experience.

So, please accept my detente in the spirit it was originally meant - which is to say, "Hey I'm sorry I verbally crapped on the anime you guys enjoy, it looks like good entertainment after all, even if it's not 100% my thing", as opposed to "zomg zomg zomg i saw naruto watch my sexy no jutsu!!!!!!" I have not really joined the Naruto nation per se, and if being a rabid fanboy is not only accepted but actually *required* in order to converse with members of said nation, then perhaps it's best if I don't actually watch it after all...

Sincerely yours,
Nevkins

[Zeus]

Whoa, man, really didn't mean to set you off. That was my way of sayin' "coo, but I think you're going to miss out".

[Eric]

Whoa, man, really didn't mean to set you off. That was my way of sayin' "coo, but I think you're going to miss out".

Zeus likes Resident Evil. I will countinue to glare and be angry with him until Transformers comes out and sucks and all will be forgiven. ;p

[Nev]

And I think that was my way of saying "I should under no circumstances post messages during periods of intense sleep debt" - I have since napped rather refreshingly.

Sorry about that, man. All copacetic now, I hope.

[Zeus]

Whoa, man, really didn't mean to set you off. That was my way of sayin' "coo, but I think you're going to miss out".

Zeus likes Resident Evil. I will countinue to glare and be angry with him until Transformers comes out and sucks and all will be forgiven. ;p

Hey, man, they got the original voice for Optimus voice him in the movie! We gotta have faith! *crosses fingers*

And I can't wait for RE: Extinction :-)

[kali o.]

And I think that was my way of saying "I should under no circumstances post messages during periods of intense sleep debt" - I have since napped rather refreshingly.

Sorry about that, man. All copacetic now, I hope.

aka. "I took my meds"

[Eric]

Whoa, man, really didn't mean to set you off. That was my way of sayin' "coo, but I think you're going to miss out".

Zeus likes Resident Evil. I will countinue to glare and be angry with him until Transformers comes out and sucks and all will be forgiven. ;p

Hey, man, they got the original voice for Optimus voice him in the movie! We gotta have faith! *crosses fingers*

And I can't wait for RE: Extinction :-)

I can't wait for RE: Extinction either, it's the last time Paul Anderson will get to butcher my beloved Resident Evil series with his crappy directing, and low budget Matrix rip-off action sequences. But omg I hope Alice gets to fist fight a Tyrant this time around! Or maybe one of those giant fuckers from RE4!

[Zeus]

Zeus likes Resident Evil. I will countinue to glare and be angry with him until Transformers comes out and sucks and all will be forgiven. ;p

Hey, man, they got the original voice for Optimus voice him in the movie! We gotta have faith! *crosses fingers*

And I can't wait for RE: Extinction :-)

I can't wait for RE: Extinction either, it's the last time Paul Anderson will get to butcher my beloved Resident Evil series with his crappy directing, and low budget Matrix rip-off action sequences. But omg I hope Alice gets to fist fight a Tyrant this time around! Or maybe one of those giant fuckers from RE4!

He didn't Apocolypse either

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318627/

He's now the producer while he's working on other projects like AvP2 and Castlevania, although he's still writing the scripts. As long as they keep the budgets around the $60mil or less range (Apocolypse's budget) and they keep making big coin for Sony (both the films made a nice return on relatively cheap budgets), you can bet your ass the sequels are going to be along the same lines as the first two, especially since he's already been green-lighted for the fourth.

You're shit out of luck, Eric, just like I am with Bay doing Transformers :-)

[Nev]

And I think that was my way of saying "I should under no circumstances post messages during periods of intense sleep debt" - I have since napped rather refreshingly.

Sorry about that, man. All copacetic now, I hope.

aka. "I took my meds"

Not for several years now in fact! And, aside from the occasional, enraged, psychotic break, I've never felt healthier. You know how it goes.

[SineSwiper]

The first set of episodes are mildly amusing. It doesn't get good until about ep. 7 or 8, with the Mist Village story. And of course, the test episodes (ep 13 or so to about 50 episodes) are the shitnznzz.