POLL: semaG dnA sagnaM ,seminA

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Instead of asking your own favourite animes, mangas and videogames, I reverse the idea and ask your opinions on anime series, manga series or videogame series I've chosen. Even when I ask about an anime or manga you haven't seen or a videogame you haven't played, please answer anyway, you can tell me what the name sounds like or what you know about it or something you found from Wikipedia then.

Note that some of these are in all the three formats (anime, manga, videogame) so you may decide what format you tell us about or you can tell your opinion on all the formats, if you like.

1. Pokemon
2. Digimon
3. Sailor Moon
4. Yu-Gi-Oh!
5. Naruto
6. Dragonball
7. Super Mario
8. Final Fantasy
9. The Sims
10. Zelda
11. Crash Bandicoot
12. Tekken

My answers:

1. Pokemon

I still kinda like Pokemon. The idea "Gotta Catch 'Em All!" is interesting. I haven't played the games nor watched the anime too much these days but still I remember I had a lot of fun moments with them when I was younger.

2. Digimon

I have fallen love with Japanese Digimon music. They are right now showing some repeats here in Finland and I've assured I tape the episodes I didn't tape last time. I like this series because it virtually has no fillers at all in my opinion. And the sea was scary.

3. Sailor Moon

This anime fought for long with Pokemon over the place that is my favourite anime. It sure is repeative but the girls are just lovable and music good.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!

I still haven't read the manga much and have seen very little of the anime. I first thought it's a silly Pokemon/Digimon copy but then I read the first volume of Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and was delighted to see it didn't remind of those series at all. The Millenium Puzzle idea is very clever.

5. Naruto

I got introduced to this awesome manga last year. Never seen the anime. However, the storyline I've found sometimes confusing because flashbacks just pop up there and there and there's sometimes too much needless text I think.

6. Dragonball

I liked this series a lot at first, but I think Akira Toriyama sadly changed funny humor to a world which is always in danger. Sure there's still humor in the later animes and mangas as well but somehow I grew tired. Now I have begun to collect the manga again though.

7. Super Mario

I have two favourite videogame series, Super Mario and Final Fantasy. I just love Mario games, the difficulty is just right for me (I suck at videogames in general) and the worlds well planned. My favourite Mario games are Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario 64. Got to get to play Galaxy!

8. Final Fantasy

Another favourite. I have played Final Fantasy VII through many times and still not tired of its terrific world and breathtaking music. I used to hate Final Fantasy VIII but now I've noticed it's a great game too. Except the parts where they use ladders.

9. Sims

I've to say I've never played Sims but I don't like the idea. I found the game boring to watch. What's more, I have an unconfrontable memory aobut the game. This friend of mine named a character after me but didn't make toilet door to the house. He said "Mikael peed on the floor!".

10. Zelda

Tried only some of Zelda games. Failed to see the point in them, but if I played them more I'd perhaps learn to like them. I know they are popular games and unlike The Sims, I have nothing personal against The Legend of Zelda.

11. Crash Bandicoot

I used to like Crash but then I compared it more with Mario and saw how limited it is. You can't fly and technically, you can go to one direction only. The worlds are so pathetic when you compare them with Mario. If I didn't like polar bears I wouldn't touch these games anymore.

12. Tekken

Here gameplay is better than graphics. The controls aren't too fast or too slow, unlike some of my friends think. I usually compare this to Dead or Alive which has different graphics. And more girl panties.

[Magmar]

3. Sailormoon

LOVES it! If you're unfamiliar, check out the manga! You can find it pretty much ANYWHERE online.

I'm going to give a manga story synopsis for people unfamiliar, to see if it interested them into checking it out. There are very, very few spoilers; in fact the only spoilers are probably the fact that certain characters survive to be mentioned in the next arc synopsis!

A clumsy girl in 8th grade, Usagi, who almost flunks out of school, is forced to mature because she is the reincarnation of a princess who committed suicide, and as Sailor Moon must fight the reincarnation of a woman, Beryl, in the present (Beryl killed her lover and caused her suicide in the past). Another girl, Minako, is revived as the warrior Sailor V(enus) because she can wield the sword that killed Beryl in the past and must protect Usagi and prevent her from repeating the past. Usagi's friends, Ami, Mako and Rei, are revived as her guardians, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars, with the duty to protect her, as in the past, they fell at the hand of Beryl.

Then once that's all said and done, Usagi's future daughter Small Lady arrives from the future to try to get Usagi to fight the evils in the future that killed the future Usagi and her husband Mamoru. The enemies from the future attack the world of our present, disguising themselves as regular people by killing others through supernatural means (i.e. spontaneous combustion) and taking over their bodies, ultimately kidnapping Mars, Mercury and Jupiter (Venus narrowly escapes). We find out Usagi and Mamoru are the future King and Queen of the new world kingdom, and Sailor Pluto, a woman with unrequited love for Mamoru who guards the Gate of Time alone, has to die in order to save everything, but is reborn. Small Lady awakens as the future Sailor Moon during this arc.

In the Infinity arc, an alien possesses a wealthy genetic engineer, Tomoe, and his daughter, Hotaru. With their wealth he builds a prestigous academy in order to attract the best and brightest students from around the world. These students' souls, their Hoste, will be used as energy to cause Pharaoh 90, an alien demension, to take over this dimension using Earth as its base; the students are sometimes transformed into aliens, but those who fail to transform become vessels for the genetic regressions. Haruka (an all-star athlete) and Michiru (a talented artist/violinist) enroll and are accepted to the academy; they signed up in order to investigate the mysterious auras around the land. They are the reincarnated soldiers, Uranus and Neptune, and are in quite possibly the most well-known and open lesbian relationship in animation of its time. They, with Pluto, have the power of their talismans to fight the aliens, but if their talismans are gathered together and resonate, they awaken Sailor Saturn, who is only summoned to annihilate the current world so things can begin again. Meanwhile, Small Lady has become friends with Hotaru, who is revealed to be the daughter of the man who runs the Mugen Academy, which is presumed to be the enemy headquarters.

The next arc is the Dream arc. Small Lady has matured a lot, and she and Usagi are singled out by Helios of Elysion to awaken the Golden Crystal because they both possess the Silver Crystal (although of different eras). This arc is pretty much the final story of the Sailor Team, and we get to see how they each individually mature and progress through high school to prepare for the real world. Dead Moon, from the Black Side of the Moon, is ruled by the jealous Nehellania who hates that Usagi has survived her death curse from her infancy. She seeks the power of the Golden Crystal and uses Helios as a means to acquire it. Her minions, the Amazones Quartet, have an interesting past about them as well. Usagi learns about the tragedies that occurred before the fall of her kingdom from the past in this arc, and Hotaru also returns.

In the final arc, Stars, alien sailor soldiers "Starlights": Star Fighter, Healer and Maker, come to Earth because their world was destroyed by another Sailor Soldier, Galaxia, who has been possessed by the most basic form of evil of the galaxy, Chaos. Their princess, Kakyuu, had escaped the destruction of their planet, so the Starlights look for her on Earth. Mamoru goes to college in the USA, but before his plane leaves, he is murdered in front of Usagi right after he gives her an engagement ring; Usagi represses the memory of his death. Small Lady also returns to the future. At this point in the story the girls are "grown up" and only have one year of high school left, but Mercury and Jupiter are killed in front of Usagi, who is helpless to prevent it. Usagi falls into severe depression; it takes the deaths of Venus and Mars (this all happens very early in the arc, so it's not really a spoiler) to cause Usagi to ultimately snap and remember that Mamoru was killed in front of her. Usagi then learns that she is Galaxia's final target, and feels at fault for the deaths of her friends and her fiancee. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto return to the outer rim of the Solar System to investigate the origin of the attacks; out of the original team, only Hotaru and Usagi are left on Earth. Meanwhile, Star Fighter (Seiya) is falling in love with Usagi, because she reminds her (yes, Seiya is a woman) of Kakyuu. He realizes she is Sailor Moon early on and gives her warnings and messages about what really happened to Mamoru, since he was one of the only witnesses of his death. To make things more confusing, another little girl appears from the future, who looks like Small Lady and is also a Sailor Soldier, and goes by "Chibi-Chibi" with Small Lady's nickname being "Chibi-Usa". A long and very bloody battle ensues, with transformations, much shorter skirts and much longer legs and larger breasts (as if it was possible); Small Lady (Chibi-usa) returns much older (presumably as Sailor Moon at that point) to join the fight as well.

I hope this got a couple of ya interested; haven't watched/read it in quite a while, but the stories and artwork are excellent. I'm also drunk which is probably why I care enough to write the friggin essay about Sailormoon lol

[Austrian ViceMaster Alex]

1. Pokemon

I got into Pokémon again a few months back and actually managed to get a complete Pokédex minus the Pokémon you could only grab through special events (which are never held in Austria on principal it seems). I even started to do some battling against my friend again and watched the anime. So Pokémon had its second spring for me.

2. Digimon

Never really bothered watching it much except the first season many years ago. I never enjoyed it. It seemed to have jumped on the Pokémon bandwagon with other animes like Monster Rancher. "We run around with our super-special animal friends and beat stuff up".

3. Sailor Moon

I really liked the first season of it, I still remember every word of the intro song and sometimes sing it to amuse my friends.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!

My friend Donna likes it a lot. I watched a bit of it but I really started to hate Yugi. That stupid top-decker who always draws the card he needs. If he'd play against me I'd tear his cards apart when he pulls that stunt or brush them all off the table.

5. Naruto
Not my thing at all. Absolutely dislikable main character. I hate smart-assed kids.

6. Dragonball
That one was awesome till Dragon Ball X, then it started to just get odd. Had a lot of crazy and whacky characters and Son Goku was cute in his innocent ignorance.

7. Super Mario
Finished Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Sunshine withing the last seven days. I guess that says it all. Especially the Paper Mario series keeps old Mario going for me.

8. Final Fantasy
Declined horribly after Final Fantsay 6. The name "Final Science-Fiction" would have suited many of the follow up titles better. FF 7 was the last one I really enjoyed. FF 8 ruined the series for me altogether. Running around on a remote island to gather a screw to upgrade my weapon? /rude

9. The Sims
I only played the original which was some fun for a while but endless games never really kept me interested for long.

10. Zelda
Gotta love this one. It doesn't have the magic of the first three installments anymore but is still worth playing. Twilight Princess was the best Zelda title in ten years in my opinion. Cell shading was original but didn't really do the series good in my eyes.

11. Crash Bandicoot
Poor Crash, anyone remember him? I sure don't miss him, haven't played a single one of his games.

12. Tekken
Never played a single title of that series. Looked awful in the first installments I remember, horrible blocky 3D graphics. I take Street Fighter over this one any day.

[Drago]

1. Pokemon
Pearl hasn't left my DS in a while, though I usually just jump on once in a blue moon to fill up my Dex and smack about my rival (Raoul) a little bit. Or to get walloped by Andrew. The anime... look, it's always been pretty much the same thing, but at least the earlier series seemed less hollow and more entertaining. Nowadays, it's so formulaic and unbearably colourful. And they've decided that every new Pokemon needs to have the exact same voice. And umm the manga... only ever read the first issue back in '98. Which I regret; I hadn't realised the main character was toting my boy Bulba.

2. Digimon
Always been just an annoying cash-in on Pokemon's success to me. Though I must admit thinking about it gives me fuzzy memories of my younger days disliking this anime.

3. Sailor Moon
That's a cartoon for girls, right? Never got into it as a kid, likely never will.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel your monsters in an arena... Sounds familiar again, but after watching an episode back in 2005 (maybe 2004? Not sure.) I got into it. I'll never figure out the card game itself (I mean seriously. WTF?) but that still doesn't stop me from enjoying the anime (though I haven't watched an episode in about a year now). I never liked the fact that Yugi essentially cheated (heart of the card? WTF??) while the superior characters like Kaiba were the 'bad guys'. Yeah, whatever. Kaiba was just an ambitious son of a bitch. Not his fault.

5. Naruto
Never once seen an episode. I note with amusement that the latest game has a 'European version', though. What's up with that? Amusing voiceovers provided by Bob Hoskins? One can only hope...

6. Dragonball
Though technically superior to Z, my younger days waking up in the morning to see if Goku would actually hit Frieza will always make me have a soft spot for the latter. Depends on how much Krillin is present. Lots of Krillin makes the show better. Billions of Goku/Gohan/Goten/whichever stupid Saiyan is popular at the time is not so hot. Means less Krillin, you see. The lord never intended for GT to exist; I honour His intention.

7. Super Mario
Part of my life since 1990. About the only franchise for which I'll trust nearly any spinoff, Mario's all aces in my book. The cartoon was lame, but it gives value now for completely different reasons.

8. Final Fantasy
My first FF was VII... bad idea. It remains one of my favourite video games ever, and as such, the only other FF I've grabbed, X, continues to disinterest me. It just feels to me like a VII wannabe. I try to like it. I really do. If you include it, Crystal Chronicles was an overpriced disappointment that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

9. The Sims
Only ever played it twice. The first time, back in about '04-ish, my friend and I were playing it all day. Was loads of fun, my Sim was a social retard who would cry about having no friends, then go to bed whenever people were over. The second time we played, we spent like an hour creating the place then burnt it down within minutes. Not so fun.

10. Zelda
Like Mario, a franchise I trust. Which was my favourite? I tend to think it's Majora's Mask... not sure. Excuuuuuuuse me, princess!

11. Crash Bandicoot
I had a PlayStation, but I was always a Nintendo man. Crash was an also-ran, and I only ever played a demo of #3. It was passable. I prefered Spyro.

12. Tekken
Again, I'd only ever had much experience with a demo for #3, but now that I work at an arcade, you have to get to know Tekken a little bit (as well as every other friggin' machine in the place) for customer service reasons. I've played a bit of Tekken 5 (and I suck at it. My stupid kangaroo won't just hit people), but now we've got #6 in. I'm pretty excited about it; I've played it a little bit and I suck at it too (my kangaroo looks nicer, but he still doesn't want to hit people... he has a pouch, isn't he a she??); I just love the fact that I can have a Tekken Card with my name and records, so everyone can know who I am and how much I suck whenever they play me.

13. Full Metal Alchemist is angry for being excluded.

[MToolen]

1. Pokemon - Yes, what I'm here for. The cutesy characters aren't what drew me in; moreover, I was hooked by the combat, having never played anything more intuitive. A great starter game for the age it was designed for. This paved the way for my love of RPGs in general. Not to mention I still have almost thirteen hundred cards, all WotC. Oh, and I guess I read the manga and watched the anime, not religiously on either though.

2. Digimon - it's surprising this is still on Toon Disney. I never really got into the show but I can point out a few characters. Whereas Pokemon was well-structured, Digimon, with its endless possibilities, scared me by having too much.

3. Sailor Moon - I watched it when it was on Toonami. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried at a point in what they deemed the movie. Unless you try to get me to tell it to you face to face.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh! - I watched the show and played the game and even got a few video games; no manga. I stopped both about when GX came out.

5. Naruto - I never really got into it; I'll watch it occasionally but I'll be the first one to tell you I'm lost.

6. Dragonball - I got into DBZ then absolutely adored the original DB; never got into DBGT though.

7. Mario - Still an occasional fan, I missed out on the SMBSS by about 5-10 years. Yep, I'm a youngin'.

8. FF - My affection for Final Fantasies comes and goes; I'm more of a casual gamer so I've never been able to finish one, though I've gotten dents in 1, 7, and 8.

9. The Sims - Like FF, I always start, never finish.

10. Zelda - I've at least started every Zelda up to Wind Waker and finished only the last one, though I know from watching others how most end.

11. Crash Bandicoot - I only played the first one and it was enjoyable but not enough to get me hooked.

12. Tekken - Yoshimitsu + Back+Back+Back+Square = fun. I was also a fan of Tiger. Haven't checked anything else out lately, though.

Wow, that was quite a bit of nostalgia. Nice poll, Mikachu.

[firepokemon]

1. Pokemon

You know when I came to the Internet in late 1999, but lets just say 2000. My only knowledge of pokemon was the anime. I was certainly aware that there were games for it, but well I've never been a video gamer. Yeah I've played video games now and then but I never was really into them. I made teams I even rated teams and stuff. But I only played the games on ROMs and I didn't finish any of them either. Surprising my favourite game of the lot, was the TCG Gameboy game and if they ever brought out a DS version, it would make me ever keener to get one.

On that note, one of these days I will be buying a Nintendo DS and enjoy the delights of what the Nintendo DS brings. I've always wanted to read the manga, but its something I've put off for years that one day I will eventually address. As for the anime, I am a huge fan of the anime and yet, I haven't watched most of the movies or anything. And I don't have that fanaticism that still exists in many circles that’s just not me unfortunately. But I do like the anime. I see 2008 in regards to pokemon as being a second coming, where I will finally play a proper pokemon game and stuff.

2. Digimon

I remember when Digimon first came to television in New Zealand. Compared to pokemon it didn’t have the colour and the digimon themselves largely looked pretty silly. But I continued to watch the series and it became rather good. The differences between digimon and pokemon were quite noticeable. Digimon was not episodic like pokemon, rather there were story arcs that connected to one another. The characters themselves were developed well, all having certain flaws connected to their type and I for one found that to be great. And well TK and his digimon Patamon were well beautiful, and I instantly fell in love with. It was quite great the comparisons that were made when Digimon debuted and I thought there were clear separate elements between the two. The first season is in my opinion a joy and one that I would love to revisit again. The second season while alright never had the spark that the first season had, I didn’t like how the pokemon evolved during most of the second season, and I never felt connections to some of the newer characters. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the third season and so on, but it’s something I will have to watch again at some time. Likewise I have never played the games, read any manga connected to it or anything like that. Will I play the games one day? Perhaps but I don’t know.

3. Sailor Moon

I have never seen Sailor Moon nor have I read the manga. One day I will read the manga and watch the anime. I just have no clue when.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!

It has always been difficult to follow the Yu Gi Oh storyline as here the TV schedule was always bad. I’ve watched the anime up till when Pegasus returns for the second time. I’ve read bits and pieces of the manga and read bits and pieces for Yu Gi Oh GX. Unfortunately I’ve had so much difficulty with TV schedules that I end up forgetting when it’s on or it’s not on when it’s supposed to. GX seemingly skipped to the second season and I don’t recall ever seeing the first series on Cartoon Network here so I am well confused. I never got majorly into the anime but it was something that I enjoyed watching and I will one day buy the anime. In regards to the manga, that will be brought one day as well. I never collected the cards nor have I played any of the games. Perhaps one day I will.

5. Naruto

In regards to Naruto, I collect the manga series and have brought so far 26 volumes and I buy Shonen Jump every month and so have seen parts of the shippuden part (even though that’s only in the anime). With the anime the schedule seems to stuff itself up so I have seen the up to Naruto fighting Gaara though the series is repeating during the day so I hope to have caught up with the anime. I must say I like Naruto the character a lot and am not that impressed with Sasuke. It’s an excellent show, but I can’t say I am a fanatic or anything like that. I also keep up with the releases from Japan, though I don’t like reading scanlations just the translations of the dialogue and stuff that is used. It’s an enjoyable series and I hope to have caught up with the movies and TV specials etc. Once again have not played the trading cards or played any of the video games.

6. Dragonball

I’ve only seen a few episodes of Dragonball. Dragonball the manga I have not seen. In regards to Dragonball Z, I’ve seen the Namek and Freiza sagas and the trunks and android sagas and I’ve seen parts of the Buu saga but once again stupid TV schedules have meant that I haven’t seen that many episodes. As for GT I don’t recall that being played here once. I’ve read one or two chapters of the manga. As for everything else, can’t say that I’ve brought them or anything. One day I hope to see everything but well my anime/manga/game list is bloody huge, lol.

7. Super Mario

Well I played a SNES game and that was fun. Good games, rather easy but that suits me to the ground, a variety of differences. I think I had like the first 3 games for NES or something. I can’t really add much more since that’s all I’ve played, but what I’ve played I have enjoyed.

11. Crash Bandicoot

My friend use to have this on his Playstation. Decent game, not really my cup of idea and I didn’t really like the graphics for it. I couldn’t work out the game properly either and I only played it once or twice. Nice overall I guess.

12. Tekken

I always thought Tekken was a disappointment and while the graphics were crappy with Street Fighter, I think it was a better game overall. Some of the characters in Tekken were just bizarre. There’s not that much to say again, because it was just a fighter game, simple enough to pick up. But at the end of the day it’s just a fighter game.

[Blademaster]

Eh, why not? I'll chip in.


1. Pokemon
Followed the anime for the first season (Kanto), the second season (Orange), most of the third season (Johto), and a little of the fourth (Johto... League, I think...?) and fifth (Hoenn) seasons. It just got too stale after all that time...

The games, on the other hand: I've owned and played Yellow, Gold, Crystal, Stadium, Snap, Colloseum, Ruby, Fire Red, Diamond, Pearl, and Battle Revolution. Yellow, Gold, Crystal, Stadium, and Ruby rocked. Snap, Fire Red, Diamond, Pearl were OK. Colloseum and Battle Revolution sucked.

2. Digimon
Always seemed to me like a cheap copy of Pokemon. I later learned that it wasn't, but... meh. Too late for me to catch interest.

3. Sailor Moon
I'm a guy. I never exactly was into Sailor Moon...

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!
I was a fan of the original anime and the early card game; GX made me lose all faith in the anime, and the card game has been so bastardized by UDE, and my interest in it so strained by certain people, that I've given up on it completely.

5. Naruto
I don't watch Naruto. Believe it.

6. Dragonball
Dragonball sucked. Dragonball Z is where it's at. Dragonball GT was a middle ground. Most of the movies were good, but overall the series was just so slow...

7. Super Mario
Hi, I'm Blade! And you are?

8. Final Fantasy
Sephiroth kicks ass. The original NES and SNES Final Fantasies have my respect for more or less creating the RPG genre we have today. But from FFVIII onward, the series means nothing to me.

9. The Sims
Playing a video game about real life? My own real life will suffice, thank you.

...I never thought I'd hear myself saying that...

10. Zelda
Twilight Princess got me into the series. The original was a charming game, ALttP and Zelda II were hard as Hell, and OoT was... nowhere near what I expected, honestly. After Twilight Princess, I can honestly say that the oft-proclaimed 'greatest game of all time' has not aged well, and in spite of its epic bosses and final showdown, it is far overrated.

I've yet to play any of the handheld games or the 'Celda' games (whose cutesy graphics and protagonist repel me), but the next Wii Zelda? If it stars the badass teenage Link of OoT, Melee, and TP, I'm buying it.

11. Crash Bandicoot
Never played it.

12. Tekken
Never played it. Only heard of it through a Dane Cook joke once.

[Crystal Mew]

1. Pokemon:
well I still like it, I mean it was part of my childhood do part of me will always like it...I have no idea whats going on in the anime now (ever since misty left I haven't really watched it..) no idea who all the new pokemon are, haven't played diamond or pearl...I'm kinda lost. but I want the first few seasons on dvd for nostalgic reasons lol

2. Digimon:
eh, never liked it, definitely dont like it now either

3. Sailor Moon:
sailor moon was awesome! I wish it was still on cartoon network. well maybe it is, I have no idea since I never have time to see whats on tv anymore =[

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!:
never liked it

5. Naruto:
too weird and confusing the one time I watched it, also dont like it

6. Dragonball:
dont like it

7. Super Mario:
I love mario!

8. Final Fantasy:
never really finished playing any of the games, but they're cool

9. The Sims:
I love the sims! I play whenever I get a chance

10. Zelda:
one of my favorite video games. they had an april fools joke about a zelda movie, oh how I wish it were true lol

11. Crash Bandicoot:
eh, dont care for it

12. Tekken
dont care for this either.

[Blademaster]

they had an april fools joke about a zelda movie, oh how I wish it were true lol

^What she said.

[midnightangel]

First I'm not a game person and am not really interested in the games much
What I can give is my opinion on the series or the manga

1. Pokemon
The first is always the best. I've watched the anime when it first came out and still continue to watch it and the movies as each comes out. It's always a part of me.
I haven't played the games (except the card game on the computer) as of yet or read the manga. One day I will.

2. Digimon
I never got the chance to watch this and when I wanted to, it was taken off the station. Now I don't care either way

3. Sailor Moon
I watched maybe a handful of episodes. They were ok but I really didn't follow it. When one is busy you don't watch alot of TV

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!
What can I say? Loved the series. The whole concept of the Millenium Puzzle was a stroke of freakin' genius. Enjoyed the whole Egyptian concept made it better. I have to Agree though that Yugi was a bit irritating the way he could pull the right card from his a-- um I mean hand.
But that's what made the show interesting.
I've read the manga through Shonen Jump and it was just as fun as the series.

I didn't watch GX though--just didn't have the heart to watch it after the original series ended

5. Naruto
I watched a handful of episodes on TV, just killing time until Adult Swim was on.
It was ok but I liked the manga better.

6. Dragonball
This was one of the shows I could never get tired of watching. Sure the later episodes were a tad weird but the overall series was fun. My favorite series was Dragonball Z

7. Super Mario
Heard of it. Never played it.

8. Final Fantasy
Heard of it. Never played it. Probably never will.

9. The Sims
Heard of it. Never played it. Probably never will.
Just didn't have the time for a continuing game

10. Zelda
Heard of it. Never played it. Probably never will.

11. Crash Bandicoot
Never heard of it. Never played it. Never will.

12. Tekken
Heard of it. Never played it.

[AntiAsh Superstar]

1. Pokémon - still love the games as a way of killing time, not so into them I'll build teams up to L100 any more tho. The anime I haven't cared for in many years. After about the second season I got fed up with it.

2. Digimon - kinda liked the first two seasons, thought the third was very hit and miss, never played any games beyond a PS1 fighting game that was pisspoor at best.

3. Sailor Moon - detest the dubbed anime due to the horrible voice acting. Never saw the original anime tho the manga is... readable if a bit dumb at times.

4. Yu-Gi-Oh! - I can honestly say I've never seen anything to do with this so can't say.l

5. Naruto - I tried very hard to watch the first episode but couldn't see anything entertaining in it. Should prolly at least try to give it more of a chance but haven't had the time.

6. Dragonball - wasted too much of my mid-teens watching DBZ. It's really crap but I gotta admit it's the kind of crap that ranks it in the 'so bad it's kinda good' category.

7. Super Mario - one of the most consistent game series ever if you conveniently ignore Super Mario Sunshine. I looove Mario platformers (note I don't say 'I love Mario games' as there's been some notable disasters with Mario in the cast) and... hehe, the several attempts back in the 80s to make Mario cartoons were kinds cool in a nostalgic way as well.

8. Final Fantasy - Hit a peak at 6 and 7, dipped in quality then made up for it when 12 was released. :3 I'm not going into anything outside the core games becase everything from Advent Children to side-games like Dirge of Cerebus seems just an attempt to cash in when one of the games actually strikes a chord with somebody.

9. The Sims - well I've spent more time customising Sims 2 than I have playing it. I adore 'create a character/scenario/landscape' things. Need I say more?

10. Zelda - ooh I must grab Minish Cap at some point, it's the only one I've never played. :O I love the series on the whole.

11. Crash Bandicoot - never played it so have no opinion.

12. Tekken - feh, why is this even here? A playable but unremarkable fighting game. Totally dwarfed in its genre by Street Fighter, Smash Bros, Soul Calibur and Mortal Kombat.

[The_Missing_Link]

1. Pokemon: I was totally a fan of it until after Johto. In the beginning, it was innovative, Ash's Pokemon had wonderful and different personalities and Team Rocket wasn't as annoying. After Johto and especially after the voice actor change, it got stale, repetitive and downright a bear to get through. If I see a new episode as I surf the channels, I'll watch but otherwise, it's pretty dead to me. As for the games, I've finished every game except Diamond. Until they finally change it up, I probably won't buy anymore games

2. Digimon: Favorite season was easily Season 1. Such a fan of Tentomon and his evolutions. It's still fun to watch but I was more of a fan during the early seasons

3. Sailor Moon: I think this could've been the first anime I've ever watched but I'm not sure. It's cute and nostalgic but I wish I could watch the later seasons, especially undubbed. I heard it's pretty good. Sailor Mercury was my favorite

4. Yu-Gi-Oh!: Good early on, boring towards the end. Season 1 was the best but afterwards, it slowly went downhill. Like Dragonball Z, it suffered from the "one battle - 10 episodes" malady. Always hated the 'heart of the cards' shtick and the constant reminder of how your friends will always back you up, no matter what. God, it was annoying

5. Naruto: When it first premiered, I closely followed it but after Sasuke fled the village, I stopped watching so much. I continue to watch it whenever I happen to come upon it and I'll watch any episode with Shino as the main focus in an episode (which is pretty rare as it is) but like every other anime, I'm not so much into it anymore

6. Dragonball: Happened to be one of the many who has wasted precious afternoons watching one battle take forever to complete. When I first saw it, I was determined never to watch it again but it sucked me in. I watched every episode of Dragonball Z, most if not all of Dragonball and maybe an episode or two of GT. Still love Vegeta the most

7. Super Mario: One of the best series ever. Almost all of the games are classics. Probably one of the few who liked Super Mario Sunshine, although I never finished it. Never played the Mario Party games though

8. Final Fantasy: Don't play it. I've watched others play it and the more recent games are absolutely beautiful but it's not my type of game

9. The Sims: You buy it, install it, play for maybe a month, ignore it for a while, come back to it again for a little bit and then never play it again. That's what I've done with 1 and 2 and I'm sure I'll do the same with 3. It's one of those games where you play and time just flies by and you don't even notice it

10. Zelda: Ocarina of Time was my first Zelda game and it's become one of my favorite series ever. Same story, but they make it innovative and fun

11. Crash Bandicoot: Played it a couple of times in the dentist's office. It's cute but since I don't have any Playstation consoles, I've never really continued on with the series

12. Tekken: I think I've played it a few times. Cool fighting series

[mr_pikachu]

1. Pokemon
I've got a couple of friends who are into anime. Whenever they ask me what my favorite series is, I have to ask whether or not we're counting Pokemon in the question. Enough said.


2. Digimon
Meh. Never really watched it... looked like little more than a knockoff. I've heard decent stuff about a few of the seasons, but never enough to get into the broad series.


3. Sailor Moon
I'll preface this by saying I've only seen one episode of Sailor Moon that was aired by Kids' WB as a trial of sorts years ago. It could be interesting, based on its execution. I'm not averse to maho shojo, so that's not a problem. The people I know who have experienced the series are split on whether or not it's any good.


4. Yu-Gi-Oh!
Complicated question. Yu-Gi-Oh! was fun to watch in America. I've heard the dub was even better (particularly with the first season, omitted in the U.S.). The manga has also been great; I've read through volume 15 of the Duelist saga.

GX, though, is terrible. What little I've read of the manga seems a bit better, but despite a little more seriousness and wit it's still nothing like the original. Totally lost the original edge, with games having more significance than being just games.

Haven't seen the new series, 5R or whatever it's called. The games, on the other hand, are surprisingly lacking. They can't seem to make a game that both follows the rules of the TCG and has a plotline. As much as Duelists of the Roses might be fun, it's not the real game.


5. Naruto
This series has really, really grown on me. I've been a little stymied by the infamous filler arc, but it's still quite good. Great characters, surprisingly rich plotline, and a basic concept that just blends it all together without being overdone. (For a counterexample, see Bakugan Battle Brawlers. Ugh.)

My only complaint is that the series is too long for buying the anime or even the manga to be anywhere near affordable. Still, that doesn't detract from the fun of watching it on cable.


6. Dragonball
I haven't watched as much of this as I'd like to have seen, but what I have viewed has been good. If this series were released now, it'd be totally stereotypical. Knowing when it started, though, it's easy to see why it set the standard for the supernatural fighting genre in anime and beyond.


7. Super Mario
Never seen the show. The games, though, are classic. I really don't need to say anything beyond that, other than mentioning that Super Mario RPG is one of my all-time favorite games. (It needs to be re-released for the DS.)


8. Final Fantasy
I assume you're talking about the series and not just the first Final Fantasy title. Great games, tremendous soundtracks. I favor FFIX, myself. Some of the best music I've heard in any FF game, and a fun storyline and characters to match. Not to mention the skill-learning system, which is the best of any FF game (save, perhaps, for FFVI).


9. The Sims
Never actually played it myself, though it looks like an engaging time-waster. My main problem with this series is the number of new versions and expansion packs that systematically drain your real-world wallet.


10. Zelda
Another classic series. Link to the Past will always be the best of the series in my book, though the 3D adventures have their merits. I tend to get stuck in numerous places in the new games, unfortunately, and it's not the kind of genre where I feel I should need a strategy guide. My gamer pride gets in the way.


11. Crash Bandicoot
This used to be a good series, but it seems like it kind of fell apart at the seams. The whole thing just kind of lost its spark and became... lame.


12. Tekken
I'm not really much for fighting games, so I don't have enough experience to form a solid opinion. That said, Tekken is one of the top games in the head-to-head fighting genre. It seems like it's lost some ground to the Soul Calibur series, but it's still worthwhile for anyone into that class of games.