"Guin Saga" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Rud]

Summary from somewhere:
Guin, a man with no memory, has the highly trained body of a warrior, the reflexes and fighting style of a large cat and, mysteriously, the mask of a leopard firmly fixed over his head. After the Mongaul invades the kingdom of Palos, Guin rescues the regal preteen "twins of Parros," Rinda and Remus, from a Mongaul patrol pursuing them through the Forest of Rood. Guin and the headstrong twins band together to fight their mutual enemies, but Janos, the weaver of fate [which by the way guarantees hes a jerk], has other plans for them.
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Anyhow, Its based on a long ongoing 124+ volume novel series of the same name, and the author of berserk said it was a major influence on him with berserk so good enough for me.

anyway, it starts of with the kingdom Parros, which is under attack by what appears to be an evil empire, the king and queen tell their twin kids Rinda and Remus to run away and are instantly killed afterwards, some old Parros guy tries to warp the kids to a safe place with a magic teleporting machine but it goes wrong and they get sent to the middle of nowhere (in hostile territory), nice move. It becomes clear early on that Rinda, the sister, inherited all the balls and courage while her brother Remus is a huge wimp. Anyway, they get attack by some knights, waking up Guin, a huge guy with a leopard head, whose also clearly made of pure badass seeing as how he owns the knights in seconds with his bear hands. Also, he has amnesia.

They join forces, Guin trying to find out who he is and why he has a Leopard head, and the kids, i dunno, trying not to die (lets go with that).

I liked it and will watch more.

[GWOtaku]

This simply has to get licensed. We have a solid, meat-and-potatoes fantasy adventure story, a glorious score by Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame, and lush artwork and animation that demands your full attention. No doubt as the journey goes on the twins will grow up and become more self-sufficient, and the odd mysteries surrounding Guin will slowly reveal themselves. I have particular hope that Remus will eventually develop into more of a man, given how many times he needed a helping hand in the first episode. Rinda is definitely the adult twin.

Guin's introduction was spectacular, by the way. As Rinda says, he truly did fight "like a God."

If you care anything for fantasy, you have no good reason to overlook this one. Serious fans of the genre may see familiar ground, but the sad fact is that for some reason there is not a lot of top-quality animated fantasy. So, animation fans should sit up and take notice. I'd say that this is shaping up to be the best animated fantasy to come along since the Record of Lodoss War OVA, and it could even join the ranks of that and the Rankin-Bass classics (The Last Unicorn and Flight of Dragons, specifically) in terms of quality.

[garfield15]

Like seriously, just give Chuck Norris a leopard's head and you have Guin.

I watched his fight scene at least three times before I picked my jaw off the floor.

[Ryusuke]

This simply has to get licensed.

Apparently, it's already being dubbed. Jamieson Price is Guin.

http://www.guinsaga.net/special/movie3.html

[garfield15]

Apparently, it's already being dubbed. Jamieson Price is Guin.

http://www.guinsaga.net/special/movie3.html

As in the guy who did Chad and LordGenome? Okay, sure, let's see it.

[GWOtaku]

Yeah, I noticed the English trailer. The one catch, though, is that there hasn't been a license announcement in the news. I even googled for a simple press release and didn't find anything. At the same time the English trailer bit is unusual, so I'm not quite sure either way.

I do think (and hope!) that it's inevitable. And I would like to see these actors used, because I thought that the English trailer sounded great.

[Rud]

My hope, seeing as how they have 126+ volumes of Novel material to work with, is that this series lasts a very very long time, they just have to make it that long.

[Ryusuke]

Yeah, I noticed the English trailer. The one catch, though, is that there hasn't been a license announcement in the news. I even googled for a simple press release and didn't find anything. At the same time the English trailer bit is unusual, so I'm not quite sure either way.

I do think (and hope!) that it's inevitable. And I would like to see these actors used, because I thought that the English trailer sounded great.

Yeah, I found that odd. About the no press release or anything.

But, if they're using the same actors, it's probably either Sony or Bandai Entertainment....or ViZ.

On another note, imo, this is Nobuo Uematsu's best score in a long time. The ending theme was very pretty.

And, garfield was right. o_o Guin really is Chuck Norris with a leopard head. Freaking extreme, man...

[TheVileOne]

Kinda looks like Escaflowne. Anyone else seeing that?

[zoid9000]

Kinda looks like Escaflowne. Anyone else seeing that?

In the character designs (of the children, especially) yes. I knew it reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it.

Anyway, it's great to see a real traditional fantasy anime. I've been wanting one ever since I finished the Lodoss OVA a year or so ago. Episode 1 was definitely impressive. At first, I thought the Leopard head mask would freak me out, but it fits into the show rather well. The cliffhanger was a big tease though, curious to find out if they fight or run in the next episode. Also, I've seen it listed in a few places that this is going to be 26 episodes, which I find rather interesting since the novel series is quite long. Hopefully we'll get some details about Guin's past/origins before it ends, or maybe they'll be another season. From what I've heard though, the first arc of the series spans 5 books and it seems that is what this anime will cover.

EDIT: I forgot about the dub trailer, I really liked the cast from what we heard. Hopefully some sort of announcement about that will be made in the future.

[TheVileOne]

Some parts of the trailer looked good, but some of the trailer editing was just really bad.

You don't put goofy subtitles like THE MAN WITH THE LEOPARD HEAD in a trailer like that.

The kids yelling "mother, father" in sync was a little lame.

[FlyByNite77]

Hey so I realize Miura of Berserk fame said that this influenced him. As I understand it Guin is still continuing as manga, is the mangaka less flaky then Miura?

He doesn't plan to quit writing Guin and just post comments on nicovideo or play MMO's for instance? I don't want to get involved in another long running manga like Berserk and not be sure if the author will actually deliver a conclusion because even if the anime of Guina ends the manga is there to continue/finish the story. Which is what I thought when the Berserk anime ended, but yea Miura would rather play online then draw Berserk.


Anyway thoughts on the first ep... Just uh wow. That has to some of the most complete pwnage I have seen from a character in their introduction. He punched a guy and the momentum of his smacking into a tree caught the tree on fire. He karate chopped a dude 5 feet into the ground... CWAAAAZY

[GWOtaku]

There is a manga, but I think it all started with a novel series that has been going for a VERY long time. Since 1979, in fact.

[FlyByNite77]

There is a manga, but I think it all started with a novel series that has been going for a VERY long time. Since 1979, in fact.

30 years of novels? Christ and I thought fantasy authors like Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind dragged out their stories. They've got nothing on this guy then...

[Lelouch]

Plot:

"The story centres around a mysterious warrior named Guin, an amnesiac with a leopard mask magically affixed to his head. Remembering nothing but his fighting instincts and the word "Aurra", he confronts a world laden with danger, intrigue, and magic. "

Based on:

"Guin Saga is the title of a best-selling heroic fantasy novel series by Japanese author Kaoru Kurimoto, in continuous publication since 1979. A record 100 volumes were originally planned, but as of 2009 the total stands at 124 volumes and is the longest continuing single-writer's work in the world with total circulation exceeding 28 million worldwide."

Well, I guess because of the success with the novel they decided to make it into an anime series. Thanks to Wikipedia for the Plot and history, since I am not the best at describing things like that without rambling.

To be honest, I was just browsing through some of the new series of this Anime season and decided to check this one out.

To start out, I think the animation is beautiful (oh and the background music is amazing). The first episode wasn't spectacular, but I decided to keep with it and I am rather happy that I did. The second episode proves to be pretty awesome and I am in the middle of watching the third as I type this up. The premise itself is a bit odd, but I think if told right, it will work out.

One of my complaints? The two twins of Parros (also the Heirs) are kind of annoying, I am hoping they develop to be a bit tougher, or at the very least less whiny.

I don't think this is the best anime I have seen, but for those looking for a new series to help pass the time, then by all means I suggest watching it, and don't be put off by the first episode!

[GWOtaku]

There was a thread made, so merge time!

I saw episode 2 and it was more of the same, which is to say it was great. Quite a few badass moments for Guin. Also glad to see they waste no time introducing what will likely be the other supporting characters, starting with this mercenary fellow.

Speaking of which, that elder brother that we saw falling off the balcony in episode 1 probably isn't dead I bet. We aren't shown the outcome of his fall, and given that he appears in the ending...yeah, he'll turn up somehow.

[Mynd Hed]

Yeah, I can't decide whether to take that English trailer as evidence that it's licensed (or deeply in talks to be licensed) and they simply haven't announced it yet, or whether they made that as a way of crying out, "Hey, you wacky gaijin! Here's some swords and sorcery and whatnot! Come license it!' (-:

Anyway, the animation and the score are certainly top-notch, but I honestly haven't seen anything in the first three episodes to really make me sit up and take notice. It's just kind of a random hodgepodge of standard fantasy tropes so far. Heir(s) to a kingdom sent into exile by invading army? Check. Amnesia? Check. Big hulking barbarian dude? Check. Smart-aleck swordsman? Check. Creepy evil count? Check. Useless little wiener who'll have to learn how to be a man by the end of the series? Check. Chick with wacky magic vision powers? Check.

The tendency to name-check random historical / mythological elements without there really being anything behind it is a little off-putting. I mean, the bad guys are called Mongolians, but they look like the Black Knight from Monty Python and they move like ninja. Would it have been so hard to think of a different name for them if they have absolutely nothing to do with the historical Mongolians? The Tower of Janus was a cute reference, I guess, but dude, you do NOT name one half of a set of twins "Remus" unless the other half is named Romulus. That's just dumb.

All that being said, it was entertaining if nothing else, so I'll probably stick with it for a little while to see if it goes anywhere.

[Lelouch]

(Sorry! I should've searched it before I made a thread)

But anyways, I saw episode three and I really liked it. I was kind of sad that Orro (I believe it was, the orange haired kid) was killed off, as I was hoping he would become a regular, but I suppose they don't want to run into a problem with too many "main" characters to balance. Looks like the Crimson Mercenary may be joining up though, which I am all for, I'm slightly dissapointed we didn't get to see him and Guin fight, but in the long run I suppose that is for the best.

Can't wait to see the next episode!

Edit: And I agree Mynd, nothing has really made this Anime really stand out so far for me, but I'll stick with it to see if it begins to become something more.

[CottonSwab]

Well I loved the first episode, especially the part whwere Guin made the tree catch on fire with the velocity of his attack, very cool. Guin looks a lot like King from Tekken (like a lot of people think), but since the novel was made in the 70's I guess we can all say that King looks a lot like Guin, hehe, but still, I enjoy the character designs and I look foward to seeing where this series goes plot wise, it's definatly one of my favorites to come out this year (and I am basing this off of 1 episode). I look foward to catching episodes 2 and 3 today, and with any luck this series could get subbed and added to either the Adult Swim lineup or AniMondays on Sci-Fi, that would be fantastic!

[CottonSwab]

Not a lot of discussion on this series as of late, are people not enjoying it? I'm still wondering if there is any chance at a home release in the U.S with english dubb's, I certainly hope so. Well, episode 6 should be good, hopefully we get some more action, I love watching Guin tear dudes up, dude's got skills. LoL