Back Into Anime

Now that I have a better Internet connection, I've gotten back into the practice of downloading fansubs. When I was in college, I downloaded a lot of fansubs even though my computer at the time had some trouble playing them. Now, I have a newer computer that can play them with ease and I am enjoying watching them again.

I've downloaded a good amount of stuff recently, but I haven't had the chance to watch a lot of it. Also, since I've been out of the fansub game for so long, there were times that I didn't know where to begin. I haven't bought a new anime since Azumanga Daioh and there are many shows that are now on DVD that I have not seen so much as one second of. I also don't really catch shows on Adult Swim that much. I guess it's funny that the first fansubbed show I've gotten into as of late is a new incarnation of a show I already liked.

That show is Digimon Savers, the newest version of Digimon. It's one thing to be a fan of kids' animated shows. There are plenty of adult fans of shows like Spongebob Squarepants. However, there are fewer people who will admit to being fans of a kids' anime. I have been a fan of Digimon for a while. Even though it's a show about kids who partner up with creatures from the Digital World (or in the case of the fourth season...turn into the creatures themselves), it's always been fun to watch and a lot better than other kids' anime shows like Pokemon or Beyblade.

Digimon Savers breaks some of the traditions of the previous Digimon shows. The hero doesn't wear goggles (all the others did). The characters are older in general (teenage instead of 11 or 12). At the same time, it returns the show to the partner/digimon dynamic that wasn't in the previous season. Overall, it feels like it was made for a slightly older audience than the previous shows. There is still a good amount of humor, but it's not as goofy. I've watched the first three episodes so far and I'm liking what I see. Even though the typical anime archetypes are in this show, that doesn't stop it from being enjoyable.

I've downloaded eps of a couple of shoujo series (Princess Princess and Ouran High School Host Club) along with two shows based on mangas I've read (Eyeshield 21 and Air Gear) and an action series (the recently licensed Black Lagoon). I plan to watch these shows in the coming days and give my thoughts on them here.