i have no idea if this was mentioned before, but Reign: The Conqueror (also known as Alexander) will be airing on Adult Swim at midnight. Does anyone know how much of it will be censored and all that?

-- yakov grinberg (yakov@griphus.net), February 07, 2003

Answers

Well not to sound so reminiscent of 1997 but what is going on? The artwork is great, (and so refreshing, whoa! the layouts per cel)! Linework and the fantastic perspectives, in fact it sure is nice to see 'Chung' again. Got an actual shock and thrill when the credits rolled and the Peter Chung went by:) However; what is this thing all about? I can't pick up the thread, philosophically speaking. Anyone?

-- Barb e. (Suesuesbeo9@cs.com), March 04, 2003.

The nudybits, which I hear there is plenty of. Just be glad cartoon network is showing it at all though.

-- Logo (vosepherus@aol.com), February 07, 2003.

man, Cowboy Bebop only just started airing over hear, I spose reign 'il take about 2 more years :(

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), February 08, 2003.

Reign played last night at the witching hour. I'm pretty happy with CN's treatment of it, overall. A few comments:

Jack Fletcher's dubbing is excellent, for anime -- about on par with the Vampire Hunter D film. However, John Lee doesn't do the narration anymore... I take it this means he wasn't available for the whole series. A shame.

Though the pacing is much more deliberate than Aeon Flux, you'd swear this was co-directed by Peter Chung (lookit those clouds). The intro of Ep. 1 is especially spectacular. Kawajiri and Rintaro- san's love of cinematic camera movement seems to have rubbed off on the director (lots of pans and zooms).

The new title and logo are lame; more befitting a generic fantasy series than Madhouse's creation. You can still see the Alexander logo in the opening credits; they should have kept it as Alexander.

And finally, this wasn't censored -- much. A flash of nudity was taken out of the birthing scene, but the gore and missing limbs are intact (Hooray for American double standards).

Get thee to a television set! (geek)Oh, and catch Lupin as well (/geek)

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 11, 2003.

SAM YOUR SUCH A DUMBASS NOT ONLY HAS ADULT SWIM BEEN PLAYING FOR ABOUT 2 YRS THEY DID AIR REIGN

-- Chad (iamnotputtingmyemailon@here.com), February 12, 2003.

Reign is on RIGHT NOW! As soon as I saw it I had to see if it had anything to do with Peter Chung. So that's my question. Does "Reign" (or "Alexander") have ANYTHING to do with Peter Chung. The artwork looks just like some "Aeon Flux" shit.

-- internalbleeding (internalbleeding@mchsi.com), February 12, 2003.

Over here in NZ, Adult swim is WAY BEHIND. M'kay?

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), February 12, 2003.

yes, Reign is Peter Chung

-- Park (trvax@excite.com), February 12, 2003.

what the hell was that show? Been away from a tv set for a while only to find that Adult Swim sucks now!!! I've never liked Peter Chung. Aeon Flux was lame, the whole Phantom series was lame, and now this Alexander series is lame.

-- Bodhi Sonnans (electric_tears@hotmail.com), February 13, 2003.

you went on an Aeon Flux board to talk about how much you don't like Aeon Flux and Reign? Seems like a bit too much effort for me.

-- yakov grinberg (yakov@griphus.net), February 13, 2003.

Is the Phantom series available anywhere? That came and went pretty quick.

-- Ness (apontois@yahoo.com), February 13, 2003.

Reign is just getting better and better (sorry, Sam). Anyone see last night's, with the space-age version of Babylon? That's one interpretation of "hanging gardens", heh. Very Mobius in it's look. Fantasy backdrops to die for. And I love how much attention to detail was put into the characters; even the most minor ones have complex, Chungian facial features. Nice twisty plotlines, and check out that Platohedron! Is that thing cool looking or what? Yes, I plan on gushing about each and every installment :P

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 13, 2003.

Well, last night's wasn't TOO bad. A little less rocking than Ep. 3, but still watchable. I dig that assassin character with the body mods; brings to mind Scafandra in AF, only more so.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 14, 2003.

The first episode made me kinda dizzy with all those hip level camera angles. The Character designs are pretty cool though. I just wish the animation was a little smoother sometimes. Chung's character designs are very detailed so I wonder if his stuff is harder to animate then typical japanese character designs?

By the way, how many cast members from Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust are in this movie? I think I've counted at least three so far.\

And if I had to mention just one defining characteristic of the show so far, I would comment on the characters' sensuous lips. Sure makes all those closeups easier on the eyes.

-- Logo (Vosepherus@aol.com), February 15, 2003.

Chung already mentioned that one of the VHD artists worked on Alexander :P Yes, I noticed that too.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 15, 2003.

Hell, I'm just psyched that Toshihiko Seki did Alex's Japanese voice. (Yipyip!)Oh, and I'm glad CN had the guts to go with the pantless look on one of their time slots- America has too little focus on thighs if you ask me.

-- Eruko (arc3y3ris@hotmail.com), February 16, 2003.

IMO, barring "Thanatophobia", "The Purge" and "War" (all of which trounce Reign visually), Reign's animation is even better than Aeon Flux. Maybe it's all the flashy colors and camera angles distracting me; but with Reign, I tend to forget I'm watching a cartoon. At no point did I think "oh yeah, someone drew this"; it just melts into one continuous cinematic display.

On the other hand, the episodes could be a little longer. I don't like getting the story in small pieces like this... epics need space to breathe, and watching one in 20 minute clips is a bit frustrating.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 16, 2003.

I totally disagree with you there, Inu. Reign's characters, set designs, and even the whole color scheme are so fantastical that I never forget I'm watching an animation; which is good in my opinion. I like that sense of the unreal. So far though, the animation has been rather limited. There's a lot of dialogue and most of that consists of talking heads. I guess they need stay within budget somehow. No doubt there'll be a climactic battle seen at the end where they blow their animation wad and we the viewers are left staring at the screen with glazed eyes and slack jaws, completely spent. Anyhow... If you want to enjoy the show in bigger chunks, just tape it and watch the episodes consecutively, or, *gasp*, buy the DVDs.

-- Logo (Vosepherus@aol.com), February 16, 2003.

Don't get me wrong. Reign is definitely surreal. But that surrealism is executed in a very convincing way. With Reign, I feel less that I'm watching a cartoon, and more a film that never existed (keep in mind I'm speaking from a purely emotional standpoint).

Oh, I thought you meant the action was choppier than Aeon Flux. I see what you mean, it is kind of a trade off.

And who said I wasn't buying the DVD's? It's not right to fade out every twenty minutes in a two-hour movie, though; and since Reign is written that way, my criticism stands.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 17, 2003.

I enjoyed the first 4 episodes. Tonight's (episode 5)left me disappointed. I was not happy with the voice actor change and I am wondering how much we are missing because of the editing demanded by the idiots in charge.

-- tanya (theseafoxx@yahoo.com), February 18, 2003.

Agreed. Whose bright idea was it to turn Diogenes into Yoda?

I'll just add that I think Logo and I are seeing the same thing from different angles here. Cartoon-like to me are the other programs on Adult Swim; Home Movies, Brak, Lupin, YYH... (not that any of those are necessarily *bad*) Of course "cartoon" doesn't have to mean crudely done. That's just how it's commonly used.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 18, 2003.

What? Yu Yu Hakusho looks like anything but a cartoon, it's the typical anime style. It just seems to have that 80's feel to me. The characters designs and all. If anything, Reign seems to drift from anime style. The simple coloration. The backgrounds and characters seem like what I would expect a little from Marvel. Lupin the Third I find hard to believe as an anime by far. It too reminds me of 80's style drawings... Reminds me of Inspector Gadget for some reason...

-- Viandroto (Viandroto@aim.com), February 19, 2003.

i think reign has the feel of a movie but the look of something new,its not traditional or retro,its just different.If reign can spark this much of a string of answers and questions on animation,then i believe it is worthy of some recognition on its ability to get people involved in a shows animation,rather than a soundtrack or the fact its made by some special producer.(however i will admit i like a little more gore in a battle scene.)

-- levi-san (lisense@world-of-nintendo.com), February 19, 2003.

Of course, I had to move out and do without cable now that Alexander is on Cartoon Network... oh well. I'll wait for the DVD, I guess.

You know, I've realized lately... as much as I love Peter's stuff, I really haven't seen much of it. A few commercials, and Aeon Flux, of course... but "Matriculated" is maybe only the second major project I've seen of his since Aeon. It's strange, isn't it... his work is sort of floating at the outskirts of my mind. I think I know it when I see it, but then, I've seen so little. Needless to say, I'm infinitely eager to see more, get a better sense of what his work is about.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), February 19, 2003.

I love the story so far. I only wish the animation didn't look so choppy at some points. You can really tell where they just moved the characters with computers (a la "X-Men: Evolution"), especially when they're showing large groups like Alexander's army on the march.

-- C. Smith (rushfan385@aol.com), February 19, 2003.

Mat, I think you'll recognize the "Chung style" in a second when you see Reign ;-)

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 19, 2003.

Me too Mat, I'm always excited by the prospect of seeing more of Peter's work, especially, having seen so little. It's a positive perspective to put on the discontinuation of Aeon Flux; that new work from its creator has the potential to be just as good or even better. Although, I think that as long as Peter keeps working, AF doesn’t have to be regarded as a dying memory, but rather as a piece of work that is further complimented and enriched by what its originator proceeds with, and vice versa.

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), February 19, 2003.

I thought it was interesting that the ads for Reign tout it as "Peter Chung's Reign" especially since most people probably don't even know who he is (no offence Peter). Obviously his character designs give the show it's unique look that everyone is commenting on, but I don't think his role went much beyond that. It terms of plot and dialoge, the show certainly lacks the nuance of Aeon Flux, although there are some nice visual touches thrown in here and there. I wish he had worked on the animation though, I miss those dynamic pan and zooms.

-- chronos (vosepherus@aol.com), February 20, 2003.

All right, all right, I get the picture. I want to see more of my work produced too. Since AF, I've been involved in developing several animated projects, none of which made it to production for various reasons. It's extraordinarily difficult in the U.S. to get an adult animated project made. Also, the process of doing Aeon Flux for MTV was such a difficult and demoralizing experience, that knowing what I know now, I doubt I'd have the energy to do it again. I feel in some ways that I've wasted a lot of prime years directing meaningless commercials-- though they're hard to turn down when they're offered. In a way, they allow me to reap financial rewards from the recognition gotten from AF-- which was financially ruinous.

I hope you enjoy Matriculated. But the best is yet to come. And thanks to all of you for sticking around.

-- Peter Chung (pkchung@sbcglobal.net), February 20, 2003.

Uhm, wow.

To Reign is pretty damn incredible, it really makes my head spin. I know only like seven episodes have aired but the epic scale makes it seem there was more that I saw.

The great thing about the cartoon is that it does not talk down to its audience. I love all the mysteries in the plot and not knowing what exactly happened and having to back the tape up 30 mintues and rewatch the episode I just saw. It really forces me to pay attention, and that's something not a lot of art does well.

Yeah, I just called a cartoon art. Then again, I think Grant Morrison and Alan Moore are the greatest writers alive today.

-Jesse

-- Jesse (jesse122378@hotmail.com), February 20, 2003.

does anybody know where i can find the opening music for rein from? i really like it but i don't know much about it.

-- Bri (zatizala@earthlink.net), February 21, 2003.

This is for Bri -

If you use Limewire, I found the tv version on there. I hear that the DVD will have the original long opening and that there's a longer version of the song to go with it. It's supposed to play if you watch the dub. It's also an original song, totally different than the original long song. Try searching Limewire for Reign and Worthy of Your Soul as 2 different searches.

Hope that helps!

-- Madeline (mtoriko@yahoo.com), February 21, 2003.

I know some people aren't thrilled with the voice changes, but honestly, the show is so beautiful (wtg Peter) and so well-written, that as a whole show it all meshes well together.

They probably didn't want to go union to complete the show, and from what I hear of CN not paying a dime for any show, it's understandable they didn't want to pay for the Jack Fletcher's and John Lee's out there. (sorry guys) I think I recognize several of the new cast names and they all have pretty extensive experience with this stuff and I think they did a good job.

If anything, the worst thing about Reign is that it's only 13 episodes... any chance of any more episodes? Does the show leave you hanging or does it finish out Alexander's life historically? don't leave us hanging!! :)

My $.02

-- Madeline (mtoriko@yahoo.com), February 21, 2003.

Seeing as how there's only 13 episodes...can anyone give me an estimate of how long until Reign restarts it's run?

my cable has been down for a while now, and it won't be up until next week (the earliest). and since sharing the show has been mentioned, i'll guess i'll mention the fact that i have a TV-capture card. Although, much like it would have been with Aeon if not for the stock, i'm pretty sure most of us will end up buying the DVD sets anyway.

-- yakov grinberg (yakov@griphus.net), February 21, 2003.

Reign is getting pretty freaky. Who saw the last ep, with the 100- year flash forward to Alexandria accompanied by techno music? I'm a sucker for cityscapes, and that was a great one.

Also, despite all the mystical allusions, I'm convinced that the Platohedron is some form of computer. We've seen a ridiculous level of anachronisms so far. What else could hold "all the knowledge in the world", as the Persian bandits said? I think a computer program holds Reign's universe together, and the "happy ending" will consist of Alexander dying in the middle of cracking the code. Or maybe I've watched too much cyberpunk anime...

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 21, 2003.

What surprised me the most about Reign is how non-Western it's outlook can be at times. Reign contains some very pointed comments on imperialism -- witness the "world map" scene in episode two -- that feel more like the viewpoint of a country that lost the war than the typical heroic depictions of Alexander.

Lupin has a rather "outsider" take on Western culture as well; a jaw-dropping scene has Lupin stealing the statue of Christ from Rio, which winks and forgives them. At one point a character is beaten up by Israeli airport security; something you'll never, EVER see in an American show. I find it frankly fascinating to see elements of our pop culture (the Greek drama, the caper film) refracted by an alien one (of course, our modern viewpoint would be alien to that of the ancient Greeks).

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), February 21, 2003.

Hey everybody,

Someone mentioned to me about Reign a few episodes into the run. I was wondering if anyone here knew when Cartoon Network was going to start reruning them. Thanks.

Keith

-- Keith Buck (maxwelldemon1970@yahoo.com), February 23, 2003.

It should start repeating on March 4 since Episode 13 is March 3 according to AS website.

-- Madeline (mtoriko@yahoo.com), February 23, 2003.

Thanks Madeline for that info. I appreciate it.

Keith

-- Keith (maxwelldemon1970@yahoo.com), February 24, 2003.

Not an answer but a Question? How long was Reign out before they started putting it on CN? And where can I usually find Aeon Flux?

-- Alexander Grant (rigel7_2000@yahoo.com), February 25, 2003.

i'm not sure about how long it was OUT...but i remember seeing an advert for it (with Alexander and the Platohedron) back in late '98 and early '99 in Wired (George Lucas was on the cover if you need to find the back issue)

i'm not sure what you mean by "finding" Aeon Flux, but it hasn't been on air in ages...Kazaa is your best bet, or one of those bootleg VCDs they sell on ebay

-- yakov grinberg (yakov@griphus.net), February 25, 2003.

Reign Volume 1 just released today. (eps 1-4) There are 3 more volumes, 3 episodes each. It was never "out" before going on CN. Screenmusic never released it after doing the 1st 4 episodes.

Madeline

-- Madeline (mtoriko@yahoo.com), February 25, 2003.

Hey, did you guys watch Episode 11? I'm confused. I started watching around Episode 4 I think, and I'm still having trouble with names. :/

But the army commander who was stoned...did he die?

-- (aeris02@hotmail.com), February 27, 2003.

Historically, yes. He also dies before his father historically. There are 3 books that recently came out (the last one some time last year) about Alexander the Great by Valerio Massimo Manfredi which are pretty good. So far, Reign is mostly accurate eg we don't really focus on his"friendship" with Hephaestion. Insidently there are two movies about AtG in that should be released in 2004. Baz Lahrmann (Moulin Rouge) is directing Leonardo DeCaprio and Nicole Kidman in one and Oliver Stone (JFK) is directing Collin Farrell,....fyi if anyone out there is as geeky as me...but I'm sure none of them will be as visually pleasing as Reign. Leo verses the anime, ummmm, I take the anime any day....

-- erica (erosher@hisnocc.com), February 27, 2003.

jesus, i really don't want to see the Alexander story turned into some boy-meets-girl bullshit.

-- yakov grinberg (yakov@griphus.net), February 27, 2003.

Weren't they talking about Russell Crowe playing Alexander? After "Gladiator", I think people expected him to be up for that role.

The anime does seem like it'd be more interesting than an actual movie, but I'd still be excited to see an Alexander movie. Neat stuff.

Back to my original question though: In the anime, the army commander was still alive when Alexander came out to try to save him. But what happened? I mean, they weren't really clear about it. Did Alexander "put him out of his misery" or something like that? Must...watch...tonight's episode!

-- (aeris02@hotmail.com), February 27, 2003.

"Friendship" with Hephaestion? I knew it...

He's incidentally one of my favorite characters thanks to his mysterious nature.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), February 28, 2003.

Haephaestion is my favorite, too. Definately a cool dude.

And my opinion is that Philotus (I know I butchered the spelling) was alive when Alexander came, and Alexander *may* have tried to help him, but passed out from the poison before he could.

If you watch the next episode when Clytus (sp??) returns, he's upset with Alexander for letting Philotus get stoned to death, but Ptolemy stops Clytus from going after Alexander, and says something about Alexander wanting to stop it. And then there's good ole Hephaestion ready to nail Clytus with his knives :D Sweet!

Now CN/AS just needs to bring back InuYasha and my witching hour will be complete!

-- Lasgalen (cuprysa@yahoo.com), March 01, 2003.

If you notice, Ptolemy is the only character shown getting some action from the palace girls. That leaves the door open for any number of slash fics.

(Also, we're never shown what Alexander's "wild parties" consist of)

I watched the first DVD last night. The "behind the scenes" material is at least three years old (we have Peter Chung talking about the premier of Alexander), but fascinating nonetheless. I was surprised at how personable Rintaro and Maruyama came off; no Hollywood ego there. They seem like great guys to work with.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), March 01, 2003.

Japanese trailers just utterly smoke their American counterparts, don't they? For the Japanese Alexander, we get J-pop, choice battle scenes and a plethora of special effects. For the dubbed Initial D, we get Playstation graphics and some guy trying to sound like Limp Bizkit.

Although that may be a reflection of the show's qualities more than anything else.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), March 01, 2003.

hephaestion was actually Alexander's lifelong lover historically. he died of typhuus in india and Alexander, aggreived and a little out of his wits because he died, began to drink a lot and he died ten months later. but before he died, he went to the oracle at ammon or somewhere to ask if Hephaestion was a god, and the oracle told him that he was a hero, a person one of whose parents is a god. by that time, alexander, convinced that he was a god himself, thought he would surely meet hephaestion in the afterlife, and that is what i think began his degenerative decline. sorry for giving you guys a history lesson. i love reign a lot, because of the art and the accuracy in a lot of the events. that is cool to see.

-- morgan (rueroyale15@hotmail.com), March 02, 2003.

I have to say, this is definitely the most homoerotic cartoon I've ever see, especially the last couple of episodes. Maybe codpieces will make a comeback soon.

Cool history lesson, Morgan.

-- Logo (vosepherus@aol.com), March 03, 2003.

I noticed the codpieces too (well, how can't one, I suppose?) I hate to identify Peter's work by the common element of the codpiece, but I guess that appears to be one of his trademarks in character design. Or, is it just a coincidence of elements between the S&M style of Aeon Flux and the near-nude fashions of the ancient world? Anyway, I like it. It seems like most of the costumes bear more skin below the leg than above and somehow it seems to work (sort of seems the opposite of today's fashion tendencies).

I love Peter's designs to say the least, especially his architectural designs in Pella and the uniforms of the Persian guards. If I recall correctly he made a comment in the press conference clip on the DVD that this is one of the better utilizations of his designs that he's seen, and I have to agree -- his style of linework and expression (or my perception of what that is, anyhow) seem to fill almost every frame. It almost seems as if he's animated it himself in parts, or at least it seems comparable to efforts we've seen in the better Aeon Flux episodes. I noticed some Korean staff in the credits, maybe there's a connection there?

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), March 03, 2003.

L.A. Times 03-02-2003

-- Peter Chung (pkchung@sbcglobal.net), March 03, 2003.

Try to find an animated work that DOESN'T have Koreans working on it, Mat. They're the work horses of the world's animation industry.

Is it just me or did the character designs in the last episode look very different than usual? There were a lot more very detailed closeups. Overall I would say the series was just OK. Visually, it was an experience just to see all the crazy designs and buldging male crotches, but narratively I thought it left a lot to be desired. Paradoxically it seemed to me that there was just too much going on with very little actually happening. And the episodic nature of the series sorta killed the overall momentum, which is something that Inu pointed out near the top of this thread. I would have liked to see less philosophical intrigue and doomsday soothsaying and more battles.

-- Logo (vosepherus@aol.com), March 04, 2003.

Thanks for the article Peter, very insightful. Your comment on how you approach character design (anatomically) explains a lot about your designs -- they make more sense to me now. It reminds me of when you said once that you'd have drawn Aeon naked if you could have. Ironically, I've always been more drawn (forgive the pun) to your clothing designs, but then I've always been interested in clothing. Nevertheless, the lean, skintight look of the characters in "Alexander" really interest me. And it seems to fit the ancient era, even if the tendency to explore "ancient" motifs has been blunted. For the longest time, I've been interested by the images on pottery and such from the ancient Greek world, and intrigued by the possibility that there might have been times and places in which nudity or near-nudity was the mode. I found it downright alien as a kid, but fascinating. So I guess the designs in this show interest me in that way, at least.

This article reminded me -- I love the Pythagorean agents. They got my attention from the moment they hovered silently in the first scene, looming in the shadows. I've only seen the first four episodes, and I'm really interested to see how this group plays a role in things later.

-- Mat Rebholz (matrebholz@yahoo.com), March 04, 2003.

I think Reign is the suckest show i've ever seen so far. It should get off the air, i cant even watch 2 minutes of that show. MAN!!! it sux, for y'all Reign fans out their, REIGN IS STUPID

-- Sesshou Maru (Reign_sux@yahoo.com), March 05, 2003.

PLEASE SOMEONE EMAIL ME AND TELL ME WHERE I CAN GET THE WHOLE STORY PLOT TO THIS SHOW ALEXANDER ON ADULT SWIM!!!

-- JASON (JASONMYCOL@YAHOO.COM), March 06, 2003.

i've watched all but two episodes, and as i haven't see the original episodes, or even heard of reign before three weeks ago, i can't tell you how much of it is censored. i will say this: this is without a doubt the coolest shit i have ever seen in my life! I fucking love this series.

-- Busty Sinclair (Dorie_chei@ yahoo.com), March 10, 2003.

Hello! I was searching the internet and I found this. I just thought I'd say something ^_^;;

I love Reign! I first saw it on Anime America Feb. issue, and I thought it was dumb. But when I saw the MARCH issue... well... *heh heh* Ok, you have this sexy man, love brown hair, in an outfit that barely covers his body... well... I just had to check this out. I watched my first episode yesterday, and I loved it!

He walks around in the most sexiest outfit ever, his friends do as well. You have amazing old figures that I am familair with - very nice!

My friend tried to convice me that I wouldn't like this anime, but of course I wasn't going to let her keep me away from that sexy anime! Loved it! Very good! Very Dramatic.

Question: Tell me... What other work did Peter Chung do? O_O

-- Venus Wheeler (Vmwpoc@yahoo.com), March 11, 2003.

Venus, have you seen Aeon Flux?

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), March 11, 2003.

Alexander IS hot!! TOO hot for his own good...and yes, his outfits are incredibly sexy as well....*sigh*....

-- Kaitlyn (princess_diva45@msn.com), March 18, 2003.

Oh yeah, and I couldn't help but answer a question posted a while back ago...Alexander allowed Philotas to be stoned because there was nothing he could do about it--he was poisoned at his own wedding by that freaky exotic stripper/dancer and there was suspicions flying about of an direct assault on the king. All this would have caused a rebellion and Philotas knew of the soldier's complaints yet did not notify Alexander, therefore signing his own death warrant, as Cassandra later explained to Cleitus...

-- Kaitlyn (princess_diva45@msn.com), March 18, 2003.

Morgan- I am so glad to read someone else go on about the actual history. I just posted it on another thread, and felt a little geeky, but I love ancient history (especially Greece), and I love the whole Hephaestion thing.

Definitely the most homoerotic cartoon I've seen. Love it. Of course, it helps that the first ep I ever saw was the one where Alexander battles the Sacred Band of Thebes--

(warning: more real history)

-- because the Theban army was comprised totally out of pairs of lovers, so that none of the men would flee during battle. They fought something around three hundred and sixty battles, and until facing Alexander, they never lost once. That's the power of love.

Of course, in the anime, Alexander's troops had mech armour, which may be slightly more powerful than love, at least when battle is concerned *grin*.

-- Anne Marsh (DanaksZoul@hotmail.com), March 21, 2003.

I agree with ppl who hate Reign. It does Suck! for one thing, it's poorly drawn. their abdomens are so freakin' huge. because of the way it's poorly drawn, all the guys look like girls and some people think either they're gay, or the illustrator can't draw right. I'm just glad it's moving to the back of the bus since Trigun is coming, although i'm gonna think Trigun will suck but at least Inu-yasha and Cowboy Bebop arn't being taken off (THANK GOD! *huggles Ed and Inu*) AND they're being moved 30 minutes earlier (Yes! more sleep for me!) so in conclusion, Reign is the crappiest anime ever and it doesn't deserve to be aired. If i ran adult swim, this would be the lineup: Futurama, Home Movies (only the good episodes), Inu-yasha, Cowboy Bebop, Yu Yu Hakusho uncut, and Ranma 1/2 uncut. i also wish they didn't take off yu yu hakusho for lupin and reign. now we have to watch the crappy cheap dubbed version. Uncut is SOOOOO much better. it has more detail. at least we can see Rescue Yukina. i guess that's good.

-- Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (edward_bebop57@yahoo.com), March 31, 2003.

One more thing, I think the title "Reign: The Conqueror" is supposed to tell how they conqueror absoloutley nothing but stupidity. it's a disgrace to to the actual Alexader the Great, who was NOT poorly drawn and actually existed.

-- Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (edward_bebop57@yahoo.com), March 31, 2003.

Trigun is cool.

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), March 31, 2003.

I find Ranma highly attractive.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), March 31, 2003.

His Dad's pretty cute too.

-- Sam (janecherrington@paradise.net.nz), April 01, 2003.

...The hell?

Ranma Eminem Sailor Moon Hentai Doujinshi

I love the dialogue in the second photo.

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), April 02, 2003.

Damn Lusenet text boxes. Damn them to all hell, I say!

Let's try that again: Link

-- Inu (paul@nadisrec.com), April 02, 2003.

Trigun is ok. Yu Yu Hak. is pretty cool. I can't stand the animation for home movies but the cartoon is funny. Futurama kicks ass. Inu Yasha kicks ass. Cowboy Bebop is cool. Fay is hot (for a cartoon). Lupin III animation is cheesy but the show is funny sometimes. Oh, the voice of that red haired guy in Yu Yu Hak. annoys the hell out of me. Reign (Alexander) is cool except I wish they would give the dude some pants or something. And I didn't like how Diogenes sounded like Yoda. Those pythagorean guys are fucking badass.

-- Runkey420 (filterd420@hotmail.com), April 03, 2003.

How DARE you diss Kurama-sama, the coolest guy in YYH ever. have some respect for my love. i agree, Lupin is kinda cheesy but it's pretty funny. I like trigun too. it's so hilarious! i didn't watch it yesterday cuz i was watching South Park but i saw it during commercials.

-- Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (edward_bebop57@yahoo.com), April 03, 2003.

"Reign is the crappiest anime ever and it doesn't deserve to be aired."

Um...not meaning to be rude or anything, but is there some logic for coming to an Aeon Flux board and insulting Peter Chung's work that I'm not grasping?

-- Byrony (CMKeene@ev1.net), April 04, 2003.

Hueh.... Reign's historically correct. That's a good one... AHEM. Well, historically incorrectedness aside, I think that Reign is a superbly interesting show, and a good watch. It's innovative in the way of design, and I like the way Chung portrayed Greece... Very strange, but fun to watch nonetheless.

My God I hate the dub theme though. OH A HERO OR SOMETHING OR A LEGEND BLAH BLAH FIND A KINGDOM I SUCK. It goes something like that I think.... ^_^ Anyways, so far, the dub sounds fine to me. Other than that song of course.

But, I do agree with the short episode thing... Dammit! If I have to stay up till freaking 12:30 on a schoolnight to watch Reign, I want my sleeplessness worth!

Well, good work Peter, I'll be pleased to see more stuff from you.

-- Matthew Collier (Apollyon@zeuxworld.com), April 08, 2003.

Matthew Collier, that's a different opinion than from what I usually see. ^^; Most of my friends hate the show Reign, but they love the english theme song. So, I was just surprised by your thinking. Way to be different!! xD Anyway, that's just a random observation, don't mind me ^^;

-- Topaz (topazina@hotmail.com), April 08, 2003.

I just read an interview with Peter Ching, in a recent issue of The Onion.

I believe he says that, for Reign, he did maninly design (especially character design)--but did not direct or write the series.

-- Seth Joseph Weine (sethweine@aol.com), May 11, 2003.

Reign so sucks that they make Lupin look good. Ugly drawing, suck histoyr, and well it look gay. Trigun, Inuyasha, and Kenshin will kill reign, that weak punk

-- Inuyasha Rules!!! (whoknows@yahoo.ca), May 13, 2003.

Ugly ass show, they should get cut, i don't kno if this is a hate forum r a fan forum.

but REIGN SUCKS!!!!

-- Reign is gay (nomail@inuyasha.it), May 13, 2003.

Umm...this is mostly a fan forum.

-- Kaitlyn (princess_diva45@msn.com), May 13, 2003.

A lot of us here are into Reign, but for those who aren't, here's a thought - if you don't like Reign, don't watch it.

....

Amazing - think I'll tackle the greenhouse effect problem while I'm at it.

-- byrony (CMKeene@ev1.net), May 14, 2003.

YAY! THey took off Reign! *dances* Bad news: they put Lupin back and moved Bebop to the back of the line, so now it's Futurama (YAY), Family Guy (Ok, but perferred Home Movies), Lupin (snarl), Inu-yasha (WHEE), Trigun (Hn), and Cowboy Bebop (WEEWOOWEEWOO).

-- Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV (edward_bebop57@yahoo.com), May 29, 2003.

Reign is back on, its been on... i'm only a little confused as to how many episodes they have? Is it 7?

-- maegan (nothanks@yahoo.com), June 24, 2003.

Thirteen total. Released on 4 DVD discs, with 4-3-3-3 episodes respectively.

-- byrony (CMKeene@ev1.net), June 25, 2003.

hey! I caught reign at about..the 4th episode I think. but yeah! it really rocks! It's a way different kind of style and atfirst I thought it was ugly, but now I like it. yay for codpieces! sorry..couldn't help it. anyways...I think this might have been talked about before but. I was wondering. is there any relationship between hephastian and alexander. cuase if I remember from my history class...wasn't alexander in love with that one soldier dude? and then the guy died? I dunno. I started watching the show in hopes that alexander would be gay...but ohwell. guess not. Long live Alexander the Gay...

-- pitpot (kr_cube_die@yahoo.com), June 27, 2003.

In earlier, more enlightened times, male homoeroticism was considered to be a natural part of adolescence in many cultures. As men became adults, most were expected to "move on" to women, but that was related to siring sons rather than any moral judgement. A group of 150 devoted couples known as the Sacred Band was historically amongst the Thebes that Phillip & Alexander fought at the beginning of the series (not that that they were distinguished in the anime)and so impressed Phillip that he allowed Thebians to construct a monument near the gravesite. Story here: http://members.aol.com/matrixwerx/glbthistory/thebes.htm

As far as Alexander & Hephaestion, that's still contested since no contemporary actually recorded that they were lovers. Personally, I think they were so close that it would be unrealistic to say that their relationship didn't include a physical aspect, but it wasn't the defining characteristic. Excellent article here: http://www.pothos.org/alexander.asp?paraID=42

The most obvious reference comes in episode 10 when Alexander announces that he has been dreaming about a woman and singles out Hephaestion as the one whom the remark would bother, i.e. turning around to look behind him and asking, "What is troubling you, Hephaestion?" with a nasty little smirk. Poor Hephaestion - I would have told that smartass *I* was dreaming about the headache I was going to have every night for the next month. >:P

-- byrony (CMKeene@ev1.net), June 27, 2003.

"Lupin the Third I find hard to believe as an anime by far. It too reminds me of 80's style drawings... Reminds me of Inspector Gadget for some reason... " -- Viandroto (Viandroto@aim.com), February 19, 2003.

Lupin III is from around 1977. That's why it has that old look to it. I'm sure the animation has been re-drawn and re-dubbed though.

Reign is an amazing and education cartoon. I was sad to find out only thirteen episodes were made. I hope there will be more in the not too distant future. The episodes are very short and the show itself only provides a small glimpse into the life of this great god.

Much better than Aeon Flux. Why has no one ever made a hollywood movie about Alexander? Actually it would probably suck. There would be a big battle, a love scene, a battle, and than it's over. Another cliche pile of crap movie that ruined a chance for people to learn about the Great King Alexander.

Perhaps someone out there will hear my plea. Go forth and create a stick figure movie depicting Alexanders great life.

This alone would be the way to make a decent movie these days. God speed to you all.

-- WodzGodOfNar (alexander@theelite.com), December 18, 2003.

Actually, Miyazaki did a Lupin movie some time ago, and the animation style is very much as it is in the original series -- which is, in turn, very like that of the manga. I don't think the look will ever change -- until they do the stupid live-action movie that's in the works. Alas...

As for Reign/Alexander: It *is* interesting, and a really wonderful work. But it's not in itself educational; Aramata plays fast and loose with the facts of Alexander's life. Let the series be an inspiration to learn the history.

Richard Burton starred in a movie about Alexander (called, funnily enough, "Alexander the Great") in the 1950s. In addition, there are currrently two movies in different stages of production: one by Oliver Stone and starring Colin Farrell as the great king, and another from Baz Luhrman ("Moulin Rouge") which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as same.

-- Aimee Powell (arpowell@cox.net), December 22, 2003.