ANIME + MANGA > SaishuuHeiki Kanojo

[dudemqnguy]

..or "She, the Ultimate Weapon". May be a title of interest - About a frail, clumsy schoolgirl who is also a death-dealing cyborg, due to a horrible military experiment. Isn't that always how it is? Anyway, lots of poignant romance stuff and tender sentimentality interspersed with moments of gratuitous violence and carnage. Now that's how a guy likes his love stories. Not available yet here, as it's just coming out in Japan, but those of you with broadband can find fansubs on IRC right now, and probably p2p networks like KaZaa some time later on.

I've seen a picture of the main character sporting exposed mechanical parts like angel-wings, and a gigantic cannon for a right arm, so if that kind of thing bakes your bread, keep an eye out for it.

[dudemqnguy]

Just an update on Saishuuheiki Kanojo: I've seen it on peer to peer sharing networks like KaZaA lite and Direct Connect in subtitled english. The file is usually found under an abbreviated name - Saikano. All such anime are encoded in divx, so you need the latest version of the codec to watch it. Also, unless you are a really patient person, it's a good idea to have a Broadband connection like adsl or cable to download it.

The most likely place to find it is Direct Connect, but be aware that this is the elite of filesharing environments, and it is not the most userfriendly place for the E-tarded. Instead of a straight-foreward search and download system, there are theme based 'hubs', sort of like chat rooms. Depending on who created the hub, there may be a minimum sharing requirement of 15 GB of files, including music, videos, and applications. That's alot of stuff. Connect to a hub, and then search for the file you want. The more users in a hub the better, obviously, but sometimes stricter requirements as well.

Anyway, if you have the space and the files to share, that's the place to be. Downloads of 70KB/s are not unheard of with the T-3 lines in here - That's a twenty minute wait, and then you're watching a new anime episode - But only under ideal conditions, so expect it to be that fast and easy less than half of the time.

I've just started using it myself, and I'm still figuring things out.

Good luck,
DMG

[Chise]

More info, including a bunch of wallpapers can be downloaded from http://www.saikano.net

Episodes 1-10 can be found on Usenet, or on irc.aniverse.net. The specific channels i leave as an exercise for the reader. Be forwarned that you need a pretty fast connection to even consider grabbing from the avaliable servers!

Oh, and it looks like it's a 13 episode series, fansubbed manga is also avaliable on irc, and currently episode 11 has just been shown in Japan

[Chise]

Some more info on this series. I found a group that is actually fansubbing the manga o.o They're doing a really good job of it too

http://toriyamaworld.com/saikano/

Oh, and if you actually find the series, just a little warning ^^; The anime is one of the most touching and saddest stories i've ever seen. If you've watched anime like "Grave of the Fireflies", or "Now and then, Here and there", SaiKano turns out to be a lot sadder then those, so don't start watching it unless you're prepared go through misery and pain! I haven't been able to get much sleep after finishing episode 10 @.@

-Syl (who could have used a warning, espically right after finishing "Now and then, here and there" -.-)

[dudemqnguy]

My first post on the subject was made before I'd seen any of the episodes yet. I don't think I can so cheerfully recommend it now. The character Chise is tiny, weak, slow and clumsy; an innocent who has little understanding of what has been done to her. Watching someone so helpless and child-like, someone so deserving of protection, go through physical agony and emotional torment is difficult enough, but to know it's only going to get worse is even harder.

If you would like to save yourself an emotional drubbing, avoid this anime and manga series. If, however you have a masochistic streak or just hold a virulent hatred for yourself, by all means go ahead. I'm going to finish it out, but then again I very am stupid, and need to have my ego flogged.

(If you want a more cheerfull anime to watch, try RahXephon: Only 85% of the cast are killed horribly by the end of the series.)

[KOS-MOS]

Thank-you for all the information you two. I will be checking out the series, simply because I am an addict and must view/read all that I can with robotic female characters.

Can either of you report on the robotic content of this series?

[Chise]

Emm... sure, why not. I'm going to finish the series anyway even though the fansubbers try to warn you away at the end of episode 10. There's a reason 2 million Japanese love this series, and i fully agree with them.

Robotic content is not the point of Saishuuheiki Kanojo. Chise is human and is struggling to remain human. The only robotic parts would be in the first episode ( or was it 2nd, i don't remember) where there's the famous photo of Chise with her right arm morphed into a gun, the mechanical wings that she has throughout the series, and the emm... missiles that come out from her back ^^;

I guess she does malfunction, if you can call it that, but not in a classic robotic kind of way... and when she flips out, it's both scary and sad at the same time.

At the core, Saishuuheiki Kanojo is a tragic love story and should be watched with that in mind. IMO, the character development in this series is head & shoulders above anything released on US tv.

-Syl.

[KOS-MOS]

Thanks to Syl/Chise I have started watching SaiKano and am very much enjoying the series. As much as I like the series, it is not due to robot related factors and I doubt most of this group would find the series worth their time if looking at it strictly for their fembot fix. So far each episode has had a few shots of Chise in her weapon form, but it is never more than, say, 30 seconds.

Screen captures from episode 1 are now up and I will go through the rest of the series grabbing mostly just the few robotic scenes.