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(The) Skull Man (TV).


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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 9:08 pm Reply with quote


(The) Skull Man (TV)

Genres: horror, mystery, science fiction, supernatural
Themes:

Plot Summary: Set in an alternate history of Japan, freelance journalist Hayato Mitogami returns to his hometown of Ootomo to investigate rumors of a man wearing a skull mask committing murders there. Once in the city, he discovers connections between the victims and a local pharmaceutical company, a new religious sect, and strange half human, half animal creatures. Along with a young photographer, Kiriko Mamiya, he decides to find out who the Skull Man really is.
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From what I understand about Skull Man is that he is the ultimate Bad A$$. He's the kind of guy who would shoot through the hostage just to get the guy on the other side, which to me is alright. This series sort of started off a bit later then most of the other series this spring and I was a bit concerned that no one was going to pick it for subbing, this is probably the last show I will do this spring unless I find time for Guardian of the Sacred Spirit/Seirei no Moribito. Back to Skull Man for a moment , Skull Man is based off a manga of the same name and it's original creator is none other then Shotaro Ishinomori. You might say who? And I'd hope not but just look at his resume, it speaks for itself he's done some BIG things. As for the Anime it's being handled by Bones and is scheduled for 25 episodes, directing with be Takeshi MORI who has some pretty big titles under his belt.

Spoiler for episode one beware.

I am a bit confused with this show is it your standard action slick or will they go with the horror type angle. Certainly some scary blood screams as the episode leads into the OP.

OP is just completely bleh for me, the song didn't do anything the anime look nice but it's nothing that's super amazing especially with some of the other shows currently airing.

When I first reading the subs at the start I though the one character said that this town is called Otomo city....but just a miss read. I don't exactly ride a lot of trains but I've always wonder about stove aways it seems like you be able to hide from ticket counter and then enjoy your trip....I wish I took a train to work, but then again I bet that train would be bumpy and very uncomfortable to ride in not like the cushy one I rode from NY to Boston.

I love when subbers include little notes to help clarify thing, because if the line "rice cake on a shelf" appeared with no note I'd be so freaky confused. It really gives ya that feeling like the people are from Japan. .hack always had a few cool cultural things that were interesting to learn about, such as cherry blossoms.

At the half way point in this show I am a bit concerned with this show, perhaps I will be delightfully surprised later on, I mean Black Lagoon felt like it dragged a little bit to start but that certainly turned out awesome.

I didn't realize that Japan had gravestones, I figured that most everyone had cremation, perhaps there is a small percentage that still gets buried.

Ahh yes nothing like a strong independent women on a bike, I love it, and of course the red hair....Alright car throwing now were getting to the goods of the show, whoa damn so Skull Man finally makes his appearance and damn does he sound evil I love. I guess I was partly right look like things pick up a bit, I am intrigued.

Ending theme, it just wasn't working for me. The song was really wrong tone considering the last scene where skull man enters and is this amazing badass.

Verdict: The foremen is willing to give this show a few episodes to live up to the potential....because this season is already way too crowded, and not only that I just have a feeling that Bones can make this a winner.
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digitalkikka



Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 462
Location: Chicago, Illinois
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2007 10:13 pm Reply with quote
I watched the first episode the other day and really enjoyed it. The pace was somewhat slow but allowed me to get into the setting of the series. And setting and atmosphere are very important to me and so far, SM looks promising on that front. I also like how the action involving the Skull Man was kept to a minimum- it makes him seem much more mysterious and exciting.

I was reading some of the summaries over at Wikipedia and it looks like this is going to be a pretty interesting series. I'm not sure how closely it will follow the manga- or which version it would follow, but either way, I think there's a lot of potential for an awesome series. I don't really have the time for another show but this is still one I'd like to follow. I'm definitely interested to see where it'll go and I can't wait for episode 2.
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Gadwin



Joined: 21 Jan 2006
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 7:07 am Reply with quote
Im really excited about this series as I've read the original manga, so i have alot of hope for it. I think this story is a different arc entirely to the manga, as the first episode is not like the beginning of the manga at all.

It took me two watches but on the second watch i realised that this series could be something really good. I can wait to see more and as for the pace, its just right.I see this as more of a mystery type anime then horror and action and a little bit dramatic as well.

I cant wait to see whats in store for this gem.
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LuckySleven



Joined: 13 Mar 2007
Posts: 426
Location: Refer to page 2
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 8:14 am Reply with quote
Deltakiral wrote:
Verdict: The foremen is willing to give this show a few episodes to live up to the potential....because this season is already way too crowded, and not only that I just have a feeling that Bones can make this a winner.

I Second that motion. I just watched it an seemed interesting but the beginning does seem slow. It seems that the story revolves around Hayato Minagami and his work. Though I just only seen the 1st episode, it's like Spider-man mashed up with The Punisher with Blood+. I hope for episode 2 to come out soon.
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Jedi General



Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 2485
Location: Tucson, AZ
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 11:01 am Reply with quote
Heh, I looked at the picture of Skull Man in the encylopedia. He reminds me of Ghost Rider just without the flames. Him having a gun screams Punisher. Sounds very cool. Since this is a BONES title, I'll surely check this one out. But yeah, there's just too much great new stuff this season. Combine that with my current concentration on watching the anime in my collection and I'm just swamped with stuff to watch. Heck, I've got Darker than BLACK, El Cazador and Romeo and Juliet on the back burner right now. The fansubbed series I'm concentrating on the most right now are Claymore, Murder Princess and Hayate the Combat Butler.
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BrothersElric



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 1996
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 1:51 pm Reply with quote
Oh yes, I most definitely HAVE to check this series out, sometime in the future maybe.

Just simply the fact that it's done by Bones (can anyone find the pun in that? Wink) makes me want to watch it. I mean, Bones has always been a win for me with everything I've seen from them, so I'm sure this will be no different. But for sure, the biggest draw for me is how Marvel/D.C.-esque this series seems to be. Even the picture I saw in the encyclopedia reminds me of what has already been described as a Ghost Rider/Punisher crossover, which to me just sounds and looks awesome. I just love stuff like this!!! Anime hyper

Of course, my problem is the same as Jedi General's and digitalkikka's, whereas I've got like a billion other shows to watch right now, and even a few on hold, which this one has definitely got to be on the hold list for now.

I mean, lets see......I'm of course still following D.Gray-Man and Death Note, Obviously Naruto Shippuuden and Bleach, and of course Claymore, 2 episodes of [AS] repeats of Inuyasha to catch up with the series a day, and my newly aquired Zeta Gundam, followed by the rest of the UC Gundam series, and Darker than BLACK, the Hunter X Hunter anime and Blue Dragon, as well as this series on my waiting list.
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 12:10 pm Reply with quote
So I don't know if anyone is sticking around with this series or not but damn things are getting weird. I happened to watch episodes 2-4 last night and holy crap let me tell yaspoiler[People are becoming lions and angels and all sort of the other beast. The Skull Man is still as freaky as I originally thought he/she would be. Also I like how Skull Man uses a Mauser it's not a weapon you hear a lot about anymore. Anyways so are Journalist is hot the trails of digging himself a grave considering he was targeted by Skull Man, thank goodness for his PI friend otherwise it would of been Game Over. ]

I think watching this show in Batches helps had I been watching this episode by episode I'd probably been bored of it. But now I am so pumped I can't wait for more episodes to be released so I can watch another batch of three.
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 1669
Location: Columbus, OH
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:02 pm Reply with quote
Deltakiral wrote:
I think watching this show in Batches helps had I been watching this episode by episode I'd probably been bored of it. But now I am so pumped I can't wait for more episodes to be released so I can watch another batch of three.


The first episode by itself didn't move me, but I marathoned episodes two through five and recently watched six, and I have to say that it's quite an appealing mystery. There's little focus on the title character himself, but I trust Izubuchi enough to pull it all together by the end.

It helps that the technical side is about as sound as you can get for a television series and the archetypal characters are have such amusing quirks thrown on them that it's hard not to grow attached to 'em.
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 1:24 pm Reply with quote
HellKorn wrote:
It helps that the technical side is about as sound as you can get for a television series and the archetypal characters are have such amusing quirks thrown on them that it's hard not to grow attached to 'em.


I couldn't of said it better, I also am growing quite fond of the odd couple. As much as I shouldn't their "quirks" sure make this series interesting. I can't wait for more, and surprisingly without spoiler[Skull Man being in most of the episodes this series really is fascinating. ]

P.S. It's good to know that people are still giving this show a chance. I fell behind with all the madness of this season.
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BrothersElric



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 1996
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:01 pm Reply with quote
Well this series is definitely one that I want to check out, but I think I've just decided since it's already licensed, I'll just wait for it to be released for me to check it out, since I already have like a million other things I want to watch right now. Definitely going to check it out though.
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:07 pm Reply with quote
BrothersElric wrote:
Well this series is definitely one that I want to check out, but I think I've just decided since it's already licensed


From what I understand it's not Licensed, at least not like Guardian of the Sacred spirit that was pre-licensed. I know that Geneon logo show up at the end but I don't which Geneon that is, and according to the Encyclopedia it's unlicensed and most fansub hubs have it unlicensed. That's not to say it won't be sooner or later.
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Jedi General



Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 2485
Location: Tucson, AZ
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:12 pm Reply with quote
The manga is licensed by Tokyopop (and also out of print I believe), but not the anime. It's probably Geneon Entertainment, Inc. which is based in Japan unlike Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc.

Anyway, I haven't gotten around to check this out yet, but I plan to. There's just too much great anime this season.
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BrothersElric



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 1996
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:21 pm Reply with quote
Deltakiral wrote:
From what I understand it's not Licensed, at least not like Guardian of the Sacred spirit that was pre-licensed. I know that Geneon logo show up at the end but I don't which Geneon that is, and according to the Encyclopedia it's unlicensed and most fansub hubs have it unlicensed. That's not to say it won't be sooner or later.


Ah, I see. I thought I remember you saying that Geneon licensed it before the series even began just like Viz did with Blue Dragon, but it looks like it was a different Geneon in Japan. Though I'm sure our Geneon will likely get it eventually.

Anyways, yeah, I think I'll get around to it eventually. I've just got so much I'm watching right now. Although there will be an opening coming up soon for me to do so, according to the download site for Death Note I go to, which says there are only 4 episodes left. It'll definitely get in there though.
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 1669
Location: Columbus, OH
PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:46 pm Reply with quote
Deltakiral wrote:
It's good to know that people are still giving this show a chance. I fell behind with all the madness of this season.


Heh, well, I've been keeping track of this ever since fansubs came out, and considering even then there were issues... Well, I stuck faithful to it, because I do love a lot of anime that BONES has done. (If you haven't checked it out, Kurau: Phantom Memory, is being released by ADV right now, and I fully recommend it.) That it is actually a pretty good series in its own right helps, too...

I'm actually only keeping up with nine series this season even though I have fourteen titles that I'm "currently watching. (I haven't rated Oh! Edo Rocket yet as only the first episode has been subbed, damn it.)

The Skull Man is at least providing that sort of feel you don't get in anime often enough: genuine mystery and intrigue. As previously mentioned by both of us, spoiler[the Skull Man himself makes sparse appearances, though I wonder if this is to play up the importance of whenever his character does appear.] Even though I'm sure a few would be/are disappointed in that, I think that it's for the better as a detective's story lends more interest -- at least to me -- than a typical revenge story with a vigilante super hero. (So I say this while being a fan of the Batman comics, as well as The Animated Series.)

Besides, we're only six of thirteen episodes in, so there's still a lot left unsaid.

And as for licensors... Well, I see this as either a Geneon USA or ADV Films series. Anyone else would come as a real surprise.
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Dorcas_Aurelia



Joined: 23 Jul 2006
Posts: 5344
Location: Philly
PostPosted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 7:32 pm Reply with quote
I think I'm going to need to rewatch this series after it's over to try to understand it. Stuff like why the Skullman targeted spoiler[Sayoko] in addition to more obvious victims, or what the point of the midnight train was. The more I learn, the less I understand so far. Also, too many of the male characters look alike. It's incredible that despite them showing who the Skullman is in the opening, I still couldn't tell who it was until they actually showed him putting on the mask in that one episode.
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