Support NeoGAF

[wonzo]

Asura

This is without a doubt, an incredibly brutal and unforgiving tale on the seemingly nonexistent difference between man and beast. The very first scene in this film starts with a town ravaged with the aftermath of a famine and a fire from the uprising due to it. This is when we see a pregnant woman walking along a street filled with decomposing corpses, she later ends up giving birth in an abandoned temple. Due to starvation and the need to give sustenance to her child, she ends up resorting to eating rotting corpses and eventually

Spoiler

throws her baby into a fire to cook it for food, only to run away screaming when she finally realises what she's done.

Eight years later, we see a small little "boy" carrying a huge axe whom roams the lands killing families for sustenance. It's not long after his latest feeding he comes across a priest whom after a fight with the "boy" gives him food and the name Asura. It's here that this tragedy truly begins.

Visually speaking, this CG movie looks really, really good thanks to not only the filtering that gives it this really nice ink washed look to it, but also the fantastic use of colour contrast seen constantly throughout the film. This is easily the best use of CG I've seen yet in any Anime production, even BRS TV. It's a must watch just for that reason alone, though thats not to say the soundtrack's no slouch either.

 

[Brazil]

ZOMG IT'S FINALLY HERE. From the guy who brought to you Bloody Slam and Sono Chi no Slamdame.

Dribble Tendency - Quad City vs Taku Iwasaki vs Lotus Juice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3tkaVcYgPA&list=UUzOYGoqIGOPf_mIdfG74Vew&index=1

00:00 Slamalon (Avalon)
03:20 Overtime (Overdrive)

"This video doesn't exist."

Nooooooooooooo

http://0taku.livedoor.biz/archives/4430829.html
from http://twitter.com/Ikari_Gendo/status/319377939290550272

Actual :Chet in a KyoAni production? The good times are back.

 

[BGBW]

"This video doesn't exist."

Nooooooooooooo

Works for me.

 

[RurouniZel]

Actual :Chet in a KyoAni production? The good times are back.

Touka (Chuu2) was fairly :chet.

As was Chitanda in Episode 11 of Hyouka. :chet

 

[Brazil]

Works for me.

And now it's working here too.

Wut.

It's beautiful.

Touka (Chuu2) was fairly :chet.

As was Chitanda in Episode 11 of Hyouka. :chet

Mild :Chet.

 

[Kurita]

I think I'll never get tired of Quad City DJs mash ups.

 

[Theonik]

Sailor Moon 29

TL at dangerous levels

Harume Kosaka is now solidified as my favourite unsung Sailor Moon Director! (she also worked on Jinrui!) Very funny episode overall with some of the best gag faces and puns in several episodes!

Spoiler

So much infact I took 97 screens of this ep.

 

[cajunator]

Oreimo is getting attention on the gaming side. They announced a new PS3 game so there is a thread and the PSP picture of Kuroneko's sister was posted.

Isnt it adorable? she wants to be pregnant just like mommy!

little witch academia -

Sucy > Diana > Lotte > Akko

Admittedly I liked them all but no post is complete without arbitrary waifu rankings.

---

Best anime mirai offering in its three-year history; all hail Y.Yoshinari; based Trigger; et cetera, et al, so on and so forth. (Little Witch Academia and Kizuna Ichigeki are the two 'must-see' projects, I think.)

It just feels really assured and confident in its ability to deliver the simple story--perfectly paced for its runtime, wonderfully expressive and vibrant, with the score and the great background art complementing the release.

This is the correct ranking.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Sailor Moon 29

Harume Kosaka is now solidified as my favourite unsung Sailor Moon Director! (she also worked on Jinrui!) Very funny episode overall with some of the best gag faces and puns in several episodes!

You would love that other show about flying goldfish.

 

[Theonik]

You would love that other show about flying goldfish.

On the to-do list but I won't get to it until it is at least completely subbed.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Looks like were getting a new ending theme for Hunter x Hunter (new) (YUZU - Nagareboshi Kirari", which was previously sung by Han Megumi, Ise Mariya and Hirano Aya).....but Im guessing were still keeping Departure! for the OP.

 

[fertygo]

Looks like were getting a new ending theme for Hunter x Hunter (new) (YUZU - Nagareboshi Kirari", which was previously sung by Han Megumi, Ise Mariya and Hirano Aya).....but Im guessing were still keeping Departure! for the OP.

Oh man.. screw this.

Change that goddamn song already.

 

[wonzo]

Oh man.. screw this.

Change that goddamn song already.

I'm down with it if it's this version which kinda owns.

 

[R_thanatos]

Oh man.. screw this.

Change that goddamn song already.

i second this ..it's time to use another music lol.

 

[Kurita]

Kind of ironic that a song named Departure never goes away.

 

[Syrinx]

Dammit, somebody posted that infernal pic over on gaming side? Aaaaaaaawwwwwww maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. What a mess that must've been.

 

[wonzo]

For reals though, the second version of "Departure" is the shit. Makes you wonder why they just didn't use this from the beginning since it actually owns.

 

[/XX/]

This thread needs a little bit of 'art nouveau' up on it, don't you think?

Well, we already talked about what type of talented 'trainees' TRIGGER Inc., took under their wing, but still, in my opinion, this is the kind of project that could present as more beneficial for a training project than any other, because it simply inspires imagination without extraneous or a pretentious conditioning, instills a initial joy for the medium they could work for... like Shiny Chariot also inspired Akko into admiring what she could do, to the point of her going to the Academia against all obvious hardships just clinging to the wonders she experienced at that show. All in a way someone like Mr. Yoshinari, with his broader, more open view and 'connoisseur' of styles outside the normal reach of their somewhat 'inbreed' industry, could provide.

This seems a work of loving the characters expressiveness in it, loving the process of creating such characters... making them seem alive and putting them in a setting exploiting visually that lively approach. Not as means of putting safer self-inserts of the viewer to direct easily a moralizing message, but as better accomplishing a very own creator's fantasy that absorbs the spectator on their imaginative vision in which these characters are properly rooted into, on that strange world, to explain and hit harder with said moralizing message of (precisely) never ceasing to believe (even if in a fantasy like this one, is a sensible remark)... how those characters in their unique situation tackle such crazy, and splendid, and magical happenings awakens our enjoyment like no other, I think.

The FX were also fucking crazy.

Oh yes! Director's specialty, isn't it?

'Menos mal que el Sr. Yoshinari no se quedó mucho tiempo en Production I.G, ¿verdad?'

 

[sonicmj1]

Mouryou no Hako 13

Well, I'm glad I did my mouryou research post before watching this episode, because otherwise a lot of the stuff that happened here would have gone straight over my head. Did you read it, Metrotab?

Building off of last episode, I like how the show used brief closeups and cuts to show the perspectives of all the people in the room. There are notes of insanity all over the place, but they're unique for each individual.

Some of the payoff at the end lost a little of its sting due to the show's lengthy digression in the middle act. When the details of what happened were being explained, I wonder if there were clues presented that I missed, or if a lot of the details were just kind of absent. I don't think the twists were necessarily bad, I just felt like I was missing some context.

I feel like showing this scene near the end completely would be a bit of a spoiler, but the imagery was quite beautiful. There's real poetry in how the show sometimes juxtaposes its symbols and its characters.

Either way, below the plot level, there was some interesting stuff going on.

Spoiler

Whatever the facts were about Kanako's case, the way they were presented revealed a lot about what mouryou are, and how they guide all these characters who are fascinated with the boundary between life and death that those spirits reside in. You can see how that fatal train of possession goes back from Mimasaka through Youko, Kanako, Yoriko, and then everyone else.

In that way, I like how everything came together thematically at the end. Not only were all the mysteries resolved, but it crystallized the meaning of larger symbols in the show. It wasn't a mind-blowing payoff, but it was a satisfying one.

END

I know some people don't want anime to challenge them or make them think hard about things. Mouryou no Hako is not for those people. Perhaps it's fitting that Clamp handled the character designs here; it's not a show that treats its audience with care. That isn't to say that Mouryou no Hako loathes its viewers. It just demands a lot of attention. It expects you to take notes on everything that happens, because all of this is going to be on the test at the end and it's not going to give you a review session just because it's difficult. But really, it's for your own good. It respects you enough to believe that you can overcome the challenge and learn something from the experience.

I liked that about the show. Every piece mattered, and the task of keeping up motivated me to pay attention. Far from reducing reliance on exposition, the decision to keep things barreling forward allowed them to go deeper into explaining smaller details, and each part they mentioned was something they hadn't said before. Because of that, I was glued to the screen no matter what the characters were talking about. The visual metaphors used also invest a lot more meaning in seemingly insignificant conversations that might otherwise be ignored. There's some really creative artistic direction worth recognizing.

The biggest weakness of the show is probably its middle episodes, especially Kyougokudou's extended lecture on Japanese spirits, priests, mediums, and so forth. It's not that this part wasn't interesting (at least, for me). But it shoots a gaping hole in the pacing of the show, and for the rich symbolism it adds, it removes focus completely from other elements of the plot that could have benefited from more attention.

It's not a show I'd recommend to many people, but I'm glad I watched it, and I got a lot out of it in the end. When I started it, I loved how it tackled post-war Japan (a road less traveled in anime, for sure), but it ended up somewhere very different from where I thought it'd go. It's a dense, multilayered mystery show that demands more from the viewer than just following the plot, and while it doesn't necessarily nail all of its ambitions, it's an experiment worth seeing if you're interested in that idea.

It wasn't the best of this backlog season, but it was a worthy addition.

 

[Steroyd]

For reals though, the second version of "Departure" is the shit. Makes you wonder why they just didn't use this from the beginning since it actually owns.

That would be perfect for the chimera ant arc, if they do that, then them not changing the OP tune after all this time would be forgiven.

 

[mAcOdIn]

I feel like I should get into anime again soon. Would love for reccomendations of stuff that's aired within the last year or so.

My favorite anime of all time is Spice and Wolf. I'm also interested in some kind of magical girl anime, as long as it's not too stereotypical. Cowboy Bebop was cool, too.

Props for loving Spice and Wolf, it's all down hill from here.

I don't watch any magical girl stuff but, uh, try Twelve Kingdoms. It's the best anime ever.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm happy that Railgun's finally getting some attention, best thing about that universe by far.

Index is a terrible series though. Especially after they reduced Kanzaki to just another shitty haremite. Now the only good parts of Index are the ones without Index(how the fuck does this work?) and with Misaka(who has her own better show/manga/stuff), so really, why bother with Index in the first place?

 

[Steroyd]

why bother with Index in the first place?

Accelerator.

If he migrates to Railgun and everything church related gets nuked, it'd be the best thing ever.

 

[Basileus777]

That Oreimo thread is starting to hit critical mass.

 

[Steroyd]

That Oreimo thread is starting to hit critical mass.

Senran Kagura butt bashing gif detected!

 

[RurouniZel]

That Oreimo thread is starting to hit critical mass.

It's quite fun to watch. :3

 

[Ultimadrago]

This thread needs a little bit of 'art nouveau' up on it, don't you think?

Thanks for sharing your impressions, /XX/!

 

[/XX/]

Thanks for sharing your impressions, /XX/!

'I did it all for youuuu, oh youuuu'〜♬

'I know it's all driveeeel but accept it, as it is coming from the bottom of my heaaaaaart'...

Shit! I missed the NHK WORLD imagine-nation of today featuring animemirai, and from what I've seen people comment (thanks Gyfaill, for the late reminder), it was dedicated almost exclusively to LWA, with even an interview to Mr. Yoshinari included! No more repetitions for now... how convenient!

Anyone here saw it?

 

[Metrotab]

I respect Mouryou no Hako for challenging me. And I really tried my best at keeping attention. But ultimately I didn't enjoy the spiritual side of the mystery. To me, the spiritual side consisted of several bits of information that I simply couldn't connect properly enough to follow Kyougokudou's reasoning. There are also lots of small things I still can't relate to the plot (the order of the novels, for example). So whatever climax happened at the end didn't leave a strong impression to me simply because I didn't experience it as a climax.

At least I was able to follow the mechanical side of the plot and keep the characters apart (which got a bit hard at the end when they all started entering the narrative in more and more confusing ways).

Having four different detectives (of different types even) on the case also caused a lot of perspective changes and information differentials. Didn't make it easy to follow either.

 

[fertygo]

Macross SDF - 02

#TeamMinMay

Fuck off Misa, you look like a men.

And dat falling sakuga, anime has declined.

 

[mAcOdIn]

Macross SDF - 02

#TeamMinMay

Fuck off Misa, you look like a men.

And dat falling sakuga, anime has declined.

Dude, you're a rare beast, choosing Minmei over Misa. Also, you're crazy!

 

[Hellsing321]

The Oreimo thread on Gaming side is just too much. My sides are destroyed.

 

[Mature]

Macross SDF - 02

#TeamMinMay

Fuck off Misa, you look like a men.

You'll come around.

 

[fertygo]

Dude, you're a rare beast, choosing Minmei over Misa. Also, you're crazy!

Its a early pick, but MinMay actually look like girl.

 

[Reknoc]

Macross SDF - 02

#TeamMinMay

Fuck off Misa, you look like a men.

And dat falling sakuga, anime has declined.

Crazy. Though I probably would have chosen Minmay early on, give it a few episode and you'll move to the right team.

 

[fertygo]

So its seem I always on minority when its come to macross waifu

 

[mAcOdIn]

So its seem I always on minority when its come to macross waifu

Always? Did you pick Ranka in Macross Frontier?

 

[fertygo]

Always? Did you pick Ranka in Macross Frontier?

Come at me bro.

*runs*

 

[ponpo]

For im@s friends http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm20506643

 

[Taruranto]

That Oreimo thread is starting to hit critical mass.

I hate stupid-LN and their fucking retarded titles as the next guy

Spoiler

with good taste

, but watching normal-friends losing their shit over them is always pretty entertaining.

 

[Metrotab]

Legend of the Galactic Heroes - 37: The Child Kaiser's Abduction

~ You can't clear a path through a dense forest without uprooting some trees and rocks. ~

Spoiler

Goddamn, the Kaiser is one annoying brat. The way he treated that teddy bear was pretty psychotic.
Sad to see another Admiral sacrificed. This all better work out for Reinhard because he's putting a lot on the line for this plan.

 

[Narag]

Macross SDF - 02

#TeamMinMay

Fuck off Misa, you look like a men.

And dat falling sakuga, anime has declined.

smh

 

[amishpriest99]

It's quite fun to watch. :3

I dunno. It's always the same old crap every time one of these kinds of threads gets made on the gaming side.

Though seeing that Senran Kagura gif again did make me smile .

Crazy. Though I probably would have chosen Minmay early on, give it a few episode and you'll move to the right team.

Misa is the only correct choice.

 

[7Th]

Hope it's not chu.v2.

We're getting Chuu22 later this year, anyway.

 

[Crash Station]

I'm down with it if it's this version which kinda owns.

I don't have any problem with Departure, it just feels REALLY inappropriate for what's to come. Hell, it already was once Yorkshin started.

 

[Krauser Kat]

Oreimo 1-5

Well this show was awwwwkward as hell for the first episode. I think me and the kyou were having the same thoughts. does she really want to get fucked by an older brother or is she just in it for the moe. Thankfully they cleared that up.
Its also sad how much shit the brother is going through to help her, that friend of hers was totally into him and he had to act like a pervert to get them back together. The otaku friends are the good people, the cute little lolita is funny and her constant hate. I think ill stick with it.

Girls Un Panzer
11-12
Soooo goood.

Spoiler

I want to see her and her sister team up and go to nationals.

 

[Syrinx]

Oh shit, bish locked the thread.

 

[Chet Rippo]

http://0taku.livedoor.biz/archives/4430829.html
from http://twitter.com/Ikari_Gendo/status/319377939290550272

Wait, this is an actual show? What is this? I can't read moon runes.

 

[Narag]

Oh shit, bish locked the thread.

It's for the best.

 

[MoonLightWave]

Girls und panzer any good? Seems like a fun concept.

 

[Branduil]

It's for the best.

.