D'oh. You're right. There's "Mc" in it; I should've known it was at least close to Irish, or from that side of the British Isles. Right, because Scrooge McDuck is supposed to be Scottish. D'oh. I'm just not thinking clearly.

It's just that, there's plenty of instances in anime, in which they give the surname "McDonald" to someone who's supposed to be American, or American equivalent, in the case of a fictitious realm that isn't Earth.

I'm actually re-watching RahXephon for the first time, since it was originally released in the U.S. by ADV (who's now a defunct publisher, e.g., non-existent) back in 2003/2004, whenever it was.

Upon my first viewing, I always thought the first 5 episodes showed something that was an original concept, although, it kind of was shades of Tidus (Ayato) and Zanarkand (Tokyo Jupiter) from Final Fantasy X, even if there was no godzilla beast (Sin) destroying it, but it has that whole being separated from your home shtick. Also, the time differential, and the enemy (Mu) actually having discernible identities, much UNLIKE The Angels from Evangelion.

And then, after the first 5 episodes, as far as I was concerned, it was just a rip-off from Evangelion for reasons I won't spoil here. I didn't find the characters memorable or distinct, and I just didn't care about their plights, whatever they were.

Upon re-watching it, however, I recognize exactly how much I never really understood it to begin with, but re-watching it, and knowing how it ends, the plot twists revealed by the end, you understand how things are supposed to make sense, and you recognize the subtle foreshadowing that they make to those twists beforehand.

Actually figuring out character relationships and motivations is what makes the show for me, because it's definitely not the battle choreography; even if the RahXephon finds itself in a jam, at one point or another, it just powers out of it and destroys the enemy in a single stroke.

Aside from that, I'm enjoying it a lot more now than I did the first time around. But I think watching each episode back-to-back, and not waiting a month between volumes, means it's easier for me to follow, rather than trying to draw upon buried memory from a month ago.

I was probably just tired of having to pay $20 each for individual DVD installments that only had as few as 3 episodes at a time. And RahXephon is THEE LAST anime that I ever bought the individual installments of; I've been waiting for the boxset releases since then, which pack as many as 7 episodes on 1 disc.

I also just got Evangelion 1.11 and Evangelion 2.22. I guess they actually re-wrote the anime, and added a new major character, besides just given the original animation a nice, digital face lift, so it doesn't look so dated anymore.

It's amazing: Back in 2001/2002, Evangelion, on DVD, still looked like it had state-of-the-art animation, for something released back in 1995; back looking at it now in 2012, you can definitely tell how aged it looks.

Evangelion is probably the first and only anime I really, REALLY nerded out over about, and actually looked up fan sites for additional info, and even read fan fiction for. So it's one of those things I can never stop talking about.

I always try to watch animation in the mental context of when it came out and judge it accordingly. Eva's budget circa 1995 was apparently enormous, and it shows.

I still love the art direction of the series. Half the atmosphere and mood was the use of colour to set the tone. I submit the entirety of the very emotionally-draining episode 18 as an example.

True. Just because it's old, doesn't mean it's bad. And just because something's newer, doesn't mean it's good, either:

Case in point:

Watching through Evangelion 1.11 and 2.22; sure, they really suped up the animation quality (they added some really new animations to Ramiel - the diamond-shaped Angel - giving it awesome-looking transformations, further cementing it as my favorite Angel), but they're also abridging the series, some of the impact of certain events is lost, and even in some cases, for a newcomer to the series, they might not understand what's going on, because it seems like certain plot devices and motivations are completely omitted.

For example, when Toji lets Shinji get back at him, they way they drew it out originally enhanced its effect that the two made good; in this new edition, it's just a short side show, and everything's just hunky dory all too quickly.

Also: They made Shinji sound a lot more whinier and unreasonable. I actually originally sympathized with Shinji as a character in the original edition of the series, but in these new editions, they just really make him sound like a piss-ass.

The dub quality is good, but some of the dialogue sounds stinted, as in, people don't actually talk that way, and some lines, they draw out just to match lip flaps.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

I'm only a passive watcher usually only watching what my brother recommends/lends or whatever happens to be playing on Adult Swim/Toonami. Enjoying the hell out of Deadman Wonderland, but I'm kinda pissed it's only 12 episodes long.

So, I ended up watching the first two seasons of Fairy Tale. It's very good, one of the better Anime series I have seen. Like any series it has it's pluses and minuses, but fortunately the pluses far outweigh the minuses. I'm not a fan of the animation style myself (very much like a Japanese comic book), but the overall package makes up for it. The music is fine, I don't really recall any particular tracks (except for the opening music from the first season, which is annoying in an OK way), but it does the job. Basically, the series is like watching a JRPG, which is what I expected. The humor is top-notch, and that's what really makes the series work. Happy (the cat) is hilarious, Ezra (the hot bad-ass female with swords) is hilarious because of the reactions she causes. Lucy (the typical blonde with big boobs) is actually somewhat endearing and somewhat annoying, but her summons are funny! Natsu... lame. OK, he does have his moments, but overall I feel he's about as typical as any anime character, and would fit perfectly in another series. Move him to Dragonball and he would fit right in. He doesn't really do much to be honest, despite the fact that he's one of the main characters. Fortunately, Happy is often with him to make it bearable. Grey is a bit like Natsu only more quiet, and hence more tolerable. Still, the mixture overall is very good, and I've noticed slight allusions to other series, books, movies, which really adds to it. So overall, very good. I hope the remaining seasons will not be a disappointment.

Awesome that you like Fairy Tail so far.  It's a great show. 

I actually just got done watching the first season of A Certain Magical Index and I highly recommend this anime.  It's based in a technologically advanced world where students born with powers (espers) go to school and are studied and ranked, and is also based in a world where magic is a real thing but people don't believe in it.  The story revolves around a guy named Toma a lv. 0 esper who has the worst luck in the world.  But the thing about him is that his right hand can cancel out any attack by an esper or by a sorcerer....He finds out early on that sorcerers do exsist.

It's got a great cast of characters and interesting story arcs esp. Mikoto's, she is living breathing human power plant that can concentrate electric energy and fire a railgun from a single coin (and theres clones of her which you'll find out why).  It's pretty cool.

A Certain Magical Index, go watch it.....Now if Funimation would hurry up with the second season and with the release of A Certain Scientific Railgun....

I just read thru this thread and noticed no one said Serial Experiments Lain. So uh ... Serial Experiments Lain. Watch it.

Now's a great time too since it's out on BluRay.

Same studio / creator made another great series called "Kino's Journey." Check that out too.

Just got done watching Oh!-Edo Rocket.  It is a very funny and wacky show.  The animation is done by Mad House, it's good.  If you want some laughs buy it.  This show doesn't take itself too seriously, I mean how can it!?! 

Anyways it's good fun.  Watch it if your into anime comidies.