@D_A: The OVA was before Madoka, I'm talking about the TV series.

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Well, perhaps not so much Kuroshitsuji, but I still do consider xxxHOLiC minimalist. As agas said, there aren't any screentones, little use of shadows (except to make things dramatic, and they're not gradients, they're solid black shadows), etc.

Another CLAMP work, Clover, is also in a way minimalist. There's lots of use of "negative space", although there is tons of detail in other ways (i.e. in characters' clothing or the mechanical wings).

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I agree. BRS is a huge disappointment. It looked very cool and had a neat concept, but it failed in many ways.

First, the concept of the alternate world and personas was good, but explained so poorly that it really makes no sense (at this point, anyway; I'm waiting for a better explanation than what we have so far).

Second, the dark and oh-so-dramatic scenarios that really aren't. I mean, what's with the girl having a mental breakdown because her friends are making other friends? I can't feel sorry for her. I just want to tell her to get over herself and move on. Or the school counselor who randomly becomes creepy and hurtful and then becomes nice again later on?

Basically, the characters are so cliche and their development is so random and nonsensical that I really couldn't care less about them.

So really, all BRS has going for it is the cool action scenes and the soundtrack.

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In other news, I am really impressed with the fourth season of Natsume Yuujinchou. The latest episode almost had me in tears, it was so heartwrenching and beautiful ;A;

@D_A
Lol you just had to have the last words x)

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Since my laptop has been fixed, I can finally catch up with Mirai Nikki anime! Those 2 lovers in the game were a tear-jerker >.< Was wondering, that scene where Marco saves her from being (possibly) raped, was it in the manga? I can't recall that scene somehow o__O

This post is probably a bit delayed, but remember my earlier rants about how many Shoujo manga styles turn me off because of their overly large eyes, with overly small bodies, nose and mouth in comparison? I now understood the reason why...
I mean, look at what their proportions remind me of!!

@rogue:HA!

Nice. I can't top that.

@Ivana: Because you're insisting on something that I don't agree with

Fine fine I don't feel like giving a good retort anymore anyways xP

@Ivana: I try my best not to engage others in a debate, but sometimes it can't be helped
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Did I mention that Bleach is ending? That story is as pointless as pointless could be and it could only be stretched out so far.

I once had a weird dream that Bleach will end at chapter 494. I'm sure that would not be the case, but I'm interested in looking at where this final story ends.

Bleach is ending?! Wow, that's rather shocking. It's about time, too. But if there's only one more arc, well...that could take forever in itself >_>

@Aeternus: Yep, Bleach is ending.

A group of people who seem to be Quincys declare war on Seireitei. Their names have a German theme to it, kinda like how the Hollows and Arrancars had a Spanish theme going on. Ran a check on Ishida and the only non-Japanese-named stuff he has was in German, so I guess the new enemies were some variant of the Quincy. They're wearing Hollow-like masks, so...

@Suigintou: Oh, okay. Black rock Shooter fanstuff spawned earlier than Madoka, so I assumed BRS was made first.

@agas:
Haha, the quincy thing sounds like a new BIG arc just like Aizen's there. Completely predictable and dang pointless.

Maybe this will take long time there XDD

Bleach is ending? Why can't it be Naruto instead? It's overdue already, I think.

Weeeelll, Bleach makes less and less sense as it goes, so I'm happy it's ending. I haven't read Naruto yet, so I don't know how badly overdue it is.

Both Naruto and Bleach are overdue for an ending, but I think Bleach needs it more, IMO.

Each arc is really just a repetition of the one before it - a new race/species appears (Shinigami, Vizard, Espada, Fullbringers, the new Quincies or whatever), there's a conflict, and then there are long, drawn-out battles that take forever to finish. Said battles usually follow this formula: good guy beats up bad guy, bad guy reveals super secret powers and beats up good guy, then good guy reveals he's also been hiding a super secret power and then beats the bad guy. To make things interesting, occasionally a different character will show up and save the day. This process may or may not repeat a few times until the battle is truly over.

And usually, there are multiple battles occurring at once, so we get treated to this process over and over again.

Naruto, last I checked, at least had some real plot progression, making the reader at least feel that the story was moving forward instead of going in circles.

Yeah, Bleach is far more complicated with shinigami association, souls, blah blah blah but wait...Naruto is complicated too. :o

Ar, just have to wait and see how they would end--and I hope they don't have such a...blunt ending like Korean movies

I'm guessing that Bleach's end will Ichigo became the real shinigami and his friends also somehow followed up and stood as captains/high officers. XD

Don't exactly know what's going on in Naruto, so I have no idea.

Speaking of endings, my brother said that Shakugan no Shana Final is going to end next week. I'm not watching, so I don't really know.

Agree with Aeternus. There's no real "story frame" in Bleach so the stories are just nonsense added in from nowhere.

I've heard people say this 'Madoka' something anime is great. It starts off like one of those sailor moon types power up girls then turns into horror/tragedy. Not sure if I got the title right but it looked interesting.

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You mean "Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica" aka "Puella Magi Madoka Magica"?

You pretty much got it summed up. Even the OP would lead you to believe it's a happy, cutesy magical girl anime, like Card Captor Sakura, but it's actually quite dark. I think it got overhyped a bit, but it's still a good series and worth watching.

I just started reading Battle Royale after somebody mentioned it's kind of like Hunger Games.

I had hated Hunger Games for having good potential and delivering so terribly (character inconsistency, author's fail description of impoverished life, etc) so I wondered what kind of story Battle Royale has.

Yes, it has a similar premise to Hunger Games, if not even worse and more twisted. You're going to have to kill your own friends that you may have known for your entire life. It's insane. And I find myself intrigued.

I peeked at BR 2 and whoa. The mouse-faces totally undermine the grimness of the plot. The realism was the most appropriate to deliver the intensity of the issue. Who hired that artist?

Uh what? Like Hunger Games? o_O You're kidding right? =s

BR put any of those horror/scary mangas to shame. A good manga that I'll never touch again though. (couldn't stand the gore)

BR2's artworks are a piece of !@#$. I'm not complaining though as long as the gore is toned down a LOT.