How did you first discover Simoun?
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Raansu
LonelyDelight
Sibylla Aaeru
Emerald Dominura
8 posters
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How did you first discover Simoun?
Before my visit to Yuri con 2007, I wasn't aware about Simoun at all. Never heard anything about it. Once Yuri con arrived, I entered the building and overheard Erica Friedman and legions of fans talking about it. I had a feeling that this series was gonna be something big for me.
I think I missed a few episodes since I was being a parasite at the dealer's room lol, but I made it in time for Episode 4 "The Nearby War", where Aaeru and Rimone run into the unfortunate soldier from Shoukoku. In retrospect, I'm glad my first episode was #4. It gave me an idea of what the series was about, and what it could evolve into. It's a war story, different from the rest I've seen. There are some amazing action sequences, but it's not about the fighting in this series. It's about the character relationships and the romance between these characters.
In the beginning, Aaeru (Aer) was my favorite character (she's a very close second now lol) She's adventurous, strong and has a determination no like other. Even with Neviril's depression and stubbornness, Aaeru strives to become her pair. We're a lot alike in that aspect of achieving our goals. My favorite character now is obviously Dominura-sama. I'll go over her character in greater detail in a future discussion, but I do wanna say there's a special connection between her and Rimone that came through the screen and captivated my attention.
Simoun is one of the greatest anime series of all time for me. The art is beautiful, the story is very well written and the drama is so powerful, that I found myself in awe of every single episode. I haven't seen a military drama so engaging with characters you truly care for since the 1989 Civil War film, Glory. Simoun has that same emotional thread that binds it's characters and viewers together.
I think I missed a few episodes since I was being a parasite at the dealer's room lol, but I made it in time for Episode 4 "The Nearby War", where Aaeru and Rimone run into the unfortunate soldier from Shoukoku. In retrospect, I'm glad my first episode was #4. It gave me an idea of what the series was about, and what it could evolve into. It's a war story, different from the rest I've seen. There are some amazing action sequences, but it's not about the fighting in this series. It's about the character relationships and the romance between these characters.
In the beginning, Aaeru (Aer) was my favorite character (she's a very close second now lol) She's adventurous, strong and has a determination no like other. Even with Neviril's depression and stubbornness, Aaeru strives to become her pair. We're a lot alike in that aspect of achieving our goals. My favorite character now is obviously Dominura-sama. I'll go over her character in greater detail in a future discussion, but I do wanna say there's a special connection between her and Rimone that came through the screen and captivated my attention.
Simoun is one of the greatest anime series of all time for me. The art is beautiful, the story is very well written and the drama is so powerful, that I found myself in awe of every single episode. I haven't seen a military drama so engaging with characters you truly care for since the 1989 Civil War film, Glory. Simoun has that same emotional thread that binds it's characters and viewers together.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Right so I only ended up watching Simoun back in February because of that humongous snow storm that hit the East coast. I was stuck inside and school was cancelled, so I couldn't teach. I had no idea what to do with myself. Now, I'd heard of Simoun before. I'd seen mixed reviews on amazon.com for it, and one of my friends suggested it as something I might like (she hates yuri but knows I like new stuff and thought this would satisfy my need for action)
So I remembered all this when I was trying to think of something to do. I watched the first episode and was hooked. Over the next 24 hours, I finished the entire series. I'd never done that before (and I tend to watch most of my series in the summer). Being a fanfic author, I had the urge to first seek out any fanfic I could and also to write one of my own. I quickly discovered the measly 19 fics on ff.net. Knowing my fic would be seen by everyone I wrote my first one from Aaeru's POV: Cells Are Stupid.
From there, it's just exploded. I've got 53 fics completed, 75 drabbles for Simoun Kindergarten, 2 chapters of a longshot completed, and near 10 other drabbles written. Suffice to say, Simoun has given me a lot of inspiration and that first fanfic was only the beginning for me.
One thing I will say though is that I absolutely hated Aaeru the first time through until near the end. I was still stuck on Neviril and Amuria and yeah. I just didn't like Aaeru's character at all. Now she's my absolute favorite and the one I identify with most. She and Neviril are my favorite pairing, followed by Rodoreamon and Mamiina, who I only fell in love with as I wrote about them.
I think that would sum it up!
So I remembered all this when I was trying to think of something to do. I watched the first episode and was hooked. Over the next 24 hours, I finished the entire series. I'd never done that before (and I tend to watch most of my series in the summer). Being a fanfic author, I had the urge to first seek out any fanfic I could and also to write one of my own. I quickly discovered the measly 19 fics on ff.net. Knowing my fic would be seen by everyone I wrote my first one from Aaeru's POV: Cells Are Stupid.
From there, it's just exploded. I've got 53 fics completed, 75 drabbles for Simoun Kindergarten, 2 chapters of a longshot completed, and near 10 other drabbles written. Suffice to say, Simoun has given me a lot of inspiration and that first fanfic was only the beginning for me.
One thing I will say though is that I absolutely hated Aaeru the first time through until near the end. I was still stuck on Neviril and Amuria and yeah. I just didn't like Aaeru's character at all. Now she's my absolute favorite and the one I identify with most. She and Neviril are my favorite pairing, followed by Rodoreamon and Mamiina, who I only fell in love with as I wrote about them.
I think that would sum it up!
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Sibylla Aaeru wrote:Right so I only ended up watching Simoun back in February because of that humongous snow storm that hit the East coast. I was stuck inside and school was cancelled, so I couldn't teach. I had no idea what to do with myself. Now, I'd heard of Simoun before. I'd seen mixed reviews on amazon.com for it, and one of my friends suggested it as something I might like (she hates yuri but knows I like new stuff and thought this would satisfy my need for action)
So I remembered all this when I was trying to think of something to do. I watched the first episode and was hooked. Over the next 24 hours, I finished the entire series. I'd never done that before (and I tend to watch most of my series in the summer). Being a fanfic author, I had the urge to first seek out any fanfic I could and also to write one of my own. I quickly discovered the measly 19 fics on ff.net. Knowing my fic would be seen by everyone I wrote my first one from Aaeru's POV: Cells Are Stupid.
XD Reading your story made me realize how many anime series I got into by getting snowed in. I live in NY state, so I'm usually buried under snow. A lot of the anime and manga I never get around to finally get attention and then BOOM, the fandom starts. lol Didn't happen with Simoun obviously, but you know what I mean. ^_^;
Sibylla Aaeru wrote:One thing I will say though is that I absolutely hated Aaeru the first time through until near the end. I was still stuck on Neviril and Amuria and yeah. I just didn't like Aaeru's character at all. Now she's my absolute favorite and the one I identify with most. She and Neviril are my favorite pairing, followed by Rodoreamon and Mamiina, who I only fell in love with as I wrote about them.
Aww, not me. I loved Aaeru from the start. I guess it was because she was so full of energy, while the other Sibylla were so darn serious. Which is understandable, considering the layout of the story. Rodoreamon and Mamiina are my favorite pairing too! <3_<3 Though Dominura will always be my #1 favorite character. She's a mystery to me, intelligent, strong and I love older women in general. Dominura/Rimone is also a top contender on my favorite Simoun pairings. Their bond is like no other. ^_^
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:XD Reading your story made me realize how many anime series I got into by getting snowed in. I live in NY state, so I'm usually buried under snow. A lot of the anime and manga I never get around to finally get attention and then BOOM, the fandom starts. lol Didn't happen with Simoun obviously, but you know what I mean. ^_^;
Yeah Simoun was my new series for the year. It was a lot of fun to watch it over a 24 hour period and see all the ups and downs, followed by that "depression" at the very end of the show.
Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:Aww, not me. I loved Aaeru from the start. I guess it was because she was so full of energy, while the other Sibylla were so darn serious. Which is understandable, considering the layout of the story. Rodoreamon and Mamiina are my favorite pairing too! <3_<3 Though Dominura will always be my #1 favorite character. She's a mystery to me, intelligent, strong and I love older women in general. Dominura/Rimone is also a top contender on my favorite Simoun pairings. Their bond is like no other. ^_^
Well, I suppose there was a lot that put me off about her, especially when she kept bugging Neviril. I had a soft spot for her from the beginning so to see Aaeru bothering her when she was trying to grieve bugged me. Now it just cracks me up. Rodoreamon and Mamiina are a most fun pairing to write, especially post series.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Sibylla Aaeru wrote:Rodoreamon and Mamiina are a most fun pairing to write, especially post series.
YOU'RE WELCOME, FANDOM.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
LonelyDelight wrote:Sibylla Aaeru wrote:Rodoreamon and Mamiina are a most fun pairing to write, especially post series.
YOU'RE WELCOME, FANDOM.
XD I didn't have to even look at the icon to know who wrote this one!
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
LonelyDelight wrote:Yes well that was kind of the intention.
Yes, well it's time for you to provide an answer to the topic good sir
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
I discovered Simoun because of my girlfriend, who later disappeared without a trace in Mexico. I myself have overcome the sadness but I don't wish to discuss this any further on a public forum.
I'm sorry to have to kill the mood, but you did ask.
I'm sorry to have to kill the mood, but you did ask.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Um well I think I saw it advertised on Veoh... that must have been it. Back when I was being a silly noob and watching anime on Veoh. That's also where I first heard of ~Tsukuyomi~ Moon Phase, not that that pertains to this topic. Anyways, I do remember that I watched one episode and I liked what I saw, so I put it on my list. This was back when I was going around watching all kinds of anime at once, so I didn't get back to it until recently. I wish I had watched it earlier but I feel lucky to even know about it; I don't think I'd find it as easily today.
Favorite character is definitely my ~Rodore~ <3 And favorite pairing is Yun/Mamiina/Rodore.
Favorite character is definitely my ~Rodore~ <3 And favorite pairing is Yun/Mamiina/Rodore.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Saw a thread about it on 4chan's /a/ (this was years ago, when the place was vaguely tolerable). I thought it was going to some silly fanservice anime, what with the lesbocopters and all, I decided to watch it anyway. Sometimes silly fanservice is good. But I was blown away by how good it was and it quickly became my favourite anime.
This.Luu Sky Sapphire wrote: Though Dominura will always be my #1 favorite character. She's a mystery to me, intelligent, strong and I love older women in general. Dominura/Rimone is also a top contender on my favorite Simoun pairings. Their bond is like no other. ^_^
Akazukin- Sibylla
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Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Raansu wrote:Veoh
That's how I was watching Simoun before getting the DVDs. Good times, good times. Though I'm not a fan of watching anime online as I used to. I need them on DVD. Perhaps it was Crunchyroll and their constant ads during episode viewin' that scarred me for life.
Akazukin wrote:what with the lesbocopters and all,
*snort*
Simoun took me by surprise, that's for sure. ^^; I started on a later episode as I mentioned on another thread, but I was in awe the whole time during my visit to Yuri con 2007.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:Crunchyroll
*shudders*
Don't remind me of that...
But yeah, I did Veoh for a while. Now I generally download from AnimeA. If I can't find downloads then I suffer through streaming/wait for DVDs depending on series length.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
I think I discovered Simoun just before or just after I got married--I'd run across it on a list of shoujo-ai series, and I started watching it on Veoh the night before flying out to Colorado to move in with my husband (had to clean out a dorm room in another state first), and was so enamored of it I ended up paying for internet at the airport while waiting for my flight to keep watching it.
I got about halfway through that day, and had finished it pretty quickly afterward (it was in January 2008, so of course I was late to the party...but on the bright side, I watched the series more or less in one go). My favorite character on the first run through was Morinas, and also Wapourif--naturally them together is <3 And I love that Simoun's character designer has done little pieces about their eldest daughter [whom I think she nicknamed 'Nana'] and Wauf's little girl [Ururu?]. There's stuff with Nana and Anubituf and Guragief so I guess Morinas makes them babysit?
Every time I listen to the OP song closely, I end up crying--probably some of it's the emotional impact of it, but the lyrics are so fitting for the series as well.
I got about halfway through that day, and had finished it pretty quickly afterward (it was in January 2008, so of course I was late to the party...but on the bright side, I watched the series more or less in one go). My favorite character on the first run through was Morinas, and also Wapourif--naturally them together is <3 And I love that Simoun's character designer has done little pieces about their eldest daughter [whom I think she nicknamed 'Nana'] and Wauf's little girl [Ururu?]. There's stuff with Nana and Anubituf and Guragief so I guess Morinas makes them babysit?
Every time I listen to the OP song closely, I end up crying--probably some of it's the emotional impact of it, but the lyrics are so fitting for the series as well.
Shimy- Sibylla
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Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Shimy wrote:Every time I listen to the OP song closely, I end up crying--probably some of it's the emotional impact of it, but the lyrics are so fitting for the series as well.
I was the same way with the OP song. Well, not anymore...now it's more like "Utsukushi Kereba Sore de Ii is epic!!!". Back then, upon completing the series, it would get me emotional. It's that depressed period after finishing certain anime with so much impact on the heart and soul. Noir, Mai HiME and especially Simoun did that to me.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Ever since my room mate got me hooked on Marimite, I have been a yuri consumer. Unfortunately I can't speak or read Japanese, so I am guilty of reading scans (though if a series I like gets translated, I buy them immediately). I found the Simoun manga from Lililicious. I liked it, but was disappointed how it ended before the story had a chance to properly start, so when I learned that there was an anime that went beyond the manga plot, I was instatly googling for it.
Found the series in Veoh. Because I had already read the manga, I had a good idea how the world of Simoun works and had a bit of idea what some of the characters are like, so I didn't have to spend the few first episodes wtf'ing like I usually do. After episode one I had fallen in love with the art, music and the aircraft designs. Wow, I want more of this! Then, after episode two, and Erif's story, I was also convinced that this wasn't your usual, cheap fanservice anime, but one with an actual story.
When I heard that Simoun was getting licensed, I actually went and changed the settings of my laptop so I could play area code 1-DVDs with it. There had been few "area code 1 only"-releases before, that had made me consider if I should just change the settings and buy all my DVDs from beyond the Atlantic, but Simoun was the one that finally made me do it.
Found the series in Veoh. Because I had already read the manga, I had a good idea how the world of Simoun works and had a bit of idea what some of the characters are like, so I didn't have to spend the few first episodes wtf'ing like I usually do. After episode one I had fallen in love with the art, music and the aircraft designs. Wow, I want more of this! Then, after episode two, and Erif's story, I was also convinced that this wasn't your usual, cheap fanservice anime, but one with an actual story.
When I heard that Simoun was getting licensed, I actually went and changed the settings of my laptop so I could play area code 1-DVDs with it. There had been few "area code 1 only"-releases before, that had made me consider if I should just change the settings and buy all my DVDs from beyond the Atlantic, but Simoun was the one that finally made me do it.
Flying Lesbian- Sibylla
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Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
It seems like Erif's story has that impact on a lot of people. It was definitely when I decided that I was going to stick with this story and this world all through--though I was still pleasantly surprised by just how amazing it turned out to be.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
LonelyDelight wrote:It seems like Erif's story has that impact on a lot of people. It was definitely when I decided that I was going to stick with this story and this world all through--though I was still pleasantly surprised by just how amazing it turned out to be.
I don't think Erif's story had that impact on me the first time. I think it was the sense of loss with Neviril that only continued to develop into other types of loss that hooked me.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Flying Lesbian wrote:When I heard that Simoun was getting licensed, I actually went and changed the settings of my laptop so I could play area code 1-DVDs with it. There had been few "area code 1 only"-releases before, that had made me consider if I should just change the settings and buy all my DVDs from beyond the Atlantic, but Simoun was the one that finally made me do it.
Very few anime forced me to get different region DVDs. Since the quality for Sailor Moon's new R2 DVDs are superior than the ones released in the United States, I had to order them and set my laptop's DVD player to R2 only. With Simoun, I didn't have that problem obviously. It's cool that you purchased the series from over here. Buying anything Simoun related is loyal fan support, so....yeah. XD
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
If I wasn't fully convinced of the plot being there by ep.2, then by the time I saw Angulas' "AA-EE-RU!" *KABOOM*-stunt I was. That was the second major "This is not your average anime."-indicator.
Flying Lesbian- Sibylla
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Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Well I'm just basically a yuri fan so I was searching for yuri anime to watch. I happened to stumble upon Simoun and started watching it.
I did like it at first, but because of the slow start and me being at a college residence at the time with a slow internet connection, I only watched up to episode 11.
A few months later I was bored so I decided to finish the series. I started back from the beginning and watched it all the way through. I really liked it this time. I've watched it two more times since. It's a really amazing series. I'm surprised it's not more popular then it is. I mean I watched it just because it was yuri, but the reasons I ended up liking it was not because of it being yuri. It was just an amazing story with really interesting characters. The music is awesome too. All in all, this series just rocks.
I did like it at first, but because of the slow start and me being at a college residence at the time with a slow internet connection, I only watched up to episode 11.
A few months later I was bored so I decided to finish the series. I started back from the beginning and watched it all the way through. I really liked it this time. I've watched it two more times since. It's a really amazing series. I'm surprised it's not more popular then it is. I mean I watched it just because it was yuri, but the reasons I ended up liking it was not because of it being yuri. It was just an amazing story with really interesting characters. The music is awesome too. All in all, this series just rocks.
The_A_Man- Sibylla
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Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Your reasons there in the second paragraph may resound with quite a few fans. Simoun has a wonderful story to tell, and it often gets pushed aside for more fanservice-y type yuri instead. It's simply a nice surprise gift. You think you know what you're getting into and then you realize you have no idea at all.
Re: How did you first discover Simoun?
Sibylla Aaeru wrote:it often gets pushed aside for more fanservice-y type yuri instead.
Correct. To me, Simoun represented the end of a very fanservicey yuri anime era. Perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough, but everything else I've been watching focused on the fanservice. While I don't mind this, it's textbook clicheness. Simoun was something entirely new, taken seriously, with a more epic storyline.
Thank you for sharing your discovery, Adam.
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