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[firehawk12]

I think MPD handles tonal shifts beautifully. B/c of the excellent editing I feel like it is less a chaotic jumble and more like mixing cheese and fruit together to complement each other in ways you didn't think of. Or, uh, something.

I'd disagree with that, if I didn't come to believe that MPD as a text is an absurdist project.

Red Garden 16

This just turned into a battle shounen. Therefore I am contractually obligated to like it.

:cosmic

I dropped Iroha somewhere in the teens. Do I miss anything if I skip everything from after the mother reviews the hotel to the last few episodes?

You could probably just skip to the last two episodes, really.

Anne of Green Gables 44

I get a bit tired of writing about this show. Partly because it's rather long but also partly because it's really consistent throughout. The characters, the writing, the direction and presentation, it's just a great series throughout it's run. The fact that I can actually relate to these characters and situations because they are reminiscent of things that actually happen to human beings speak volumes about the quality of the shows writing.

While I haven't quite finished the show yet it seem likely that I will rate this as one of the best anime television series ever made. Isa Takahata is an excellent director and the subject matter and tone present across his works is so different from the majority of people working in the anime industry that it's always refreshing to watch something from him.

How much of that is the anime and how much of that is the book though? I mean, there's a reason why Anne has survived for a hundred years anyway.

 

[Branduil]

You guys realise Denpa Onna still hasn't finish yet right?
I'm still waiting for the last 2(or 1?) episodes. Fuck you Shaft for being Shaft.

Art is never finished, only abandoned.

Of course in SHAFT's case it's more like they fall asleep and the episode gets sent out to the networks before they know what's happened. I'm pretty sure that's what that Hidamari Sketch episode was actually about.

You could probably just skip to the last two episodes, really.

I'm not sure you're the most objective person about this.

 

[Jex]

I dropped Iroha somewhere in the teens. Do I miss anything if I skip everything from after the mother reviews the hotel to the last few episodes?

I wouldn't really suggest that 14,15 and 16 are great episodes. 14 and 15 are definitely something to skip.

 

[Defuser]

Nako is best girl.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I dropped Iroha somewhere in the teens. Do I miss anything if I skip everything from after the mother reviews the hotel to the last few episodes?

What episode exactly did you stop at? 11-13 is a must-see arc, 14-15 are totally skippable without missing anything, 16-17 have problems but do set up a plot thread which impacts later events, 18-20 are decent, 21-23 start heating up, and 24-26 are amazing.

Anne of Green Gables 44

I get a bit tired of writing about this show. Partly because it's rather long but also partly because it's really consistent throughout. The characters, the writing, the direction and presentation, it's just a great series throughout it's run. The fact that I can actually relate to these characters and situations because they are reminiscent of things that actually happen to human beings speak volumes about the quality of the shows writing.

Clearly more anime needs to be written by L.M. Montgomery!

 

[MotionBlue]

All this Denpa talk makes me want episode 13 all the more.

 

[Jex]

How much of that is the anime and how much of that is the book though? I mean, there's a reason why Anne has survived for a hundred years anyway.

While the show is adapting from a strong source material that's no guarantee that the show itself will be good. There's no easy transition, I imagine, from book into anime television series. Credit has to go to everyone involved in directing this adaptation, as well as to the original author.

 

[firehawk12]

While the show is adapting from a strong source material that's no guarantee that the show itself will be good. There's no easy transition, I imagine, from book into anime television series. Credit has to go to everyone involved in directing this adaptation, as well as to the original author.

You should watch the live action movie adaptation just as a basis of comparison then!

 

[hellclerk]

Mawaru Penguin Drum 7
Yep. While rose petals flew to comical levels, the subtext behind this whole

Spoiler

obsession of Ringo's is becoming darker and darker. I do wonder if they'll unearth the source to Ringo, basically put a mirror up to her

. If it's going to happen, it's looking like next episode, but I'm curious as to how the ball is going to drop on episode 9 like people are saying it is...

Also, is it just me, or is

Spoiler

Slingshot Girl

a bit tsundere for Kanba?

 

[Dresden]

Also, is it just me, or is

Spoiler

Slingshot Girl

a bit tsundere for Kanba?

Nah there's no connection between them whatsoever. I wouldn't pay much attention to it.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I really want to watch Chaos;Head, even though some people say I shouldn't.

 

[cajunator]

Denpa Onna's OP is GLorious. I have decreed it so.

 

[firehawk12]

You're just bitter that it isn't cliched enough for you to predict every turn and that character progression is handled in a nonlinear manner! Harrumph!

That's one way to spin it, yes.

 

[Uchip]

Denpa Onna's OP is GLorious. I have decreed it so.

the cherry on the shit cake?

 

[hellclerk]

Denpa Onna's OP is GLorious. I have decreed it so.

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE FOR MONTHS. NO ONE BELIEVED ME. Why does AnimeGAF never believe me at first when I say something's cool. ;____;

Mawaru Penguin Drum 8
Welp, shit has officially hit the fan. And I was right about the mirror thing too. An interesting twist with that biker, but such important elements have been foreshadowed. Let's see how Ringo deals with suddenly having her own destiny again...

 

[Regulus Tera]

K-ON!, aka The Salvation of the Anime Industry 02:

• 
  
  
  I can't say why, but character introductions like this one remind me of the nineties. Total nostalgia overload for no reason whatsoever.
• Why would anyone pay money to count how many cars or pedestrians pass by? I've never heard of a job like that.
• I actually thought they were implying Mugi had a sugar daddy until she came out as the president's daughter. I've read too many hentai doujinshi.
• Mio is adorable. My heart is torn between her and Mugi.
• This show is like, My Little Pony! Great animation, cute girls doing cute stuff, an overtly exuberant male fanbase, and all that hullabaloo. AnimuGAF and PonyGAF are truly closer than they wish to admit.

I'm liking this a lot. I'm not jaded anymore.

Etsuko Yakushimaru has a great voice.

She's the girl who sings the Penguindrum OPs?!

 

[Morris]

Oniisama e 16

Oh Saint-Juste-Sama, always keeping it Fabulous Max~

Mariko got a new prey, yay!

Son, I have seen comical amounts of flying rose petals in my day, and that ain't nothing by comparison.

After seeing the Utena movie, i'm inclined to agree with this. Altough, I would say that an excess of flying rose petals is always a good thing!

 

[GaimeGuy]

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL PEOPLE FOR MONTHS. NO ONE BELIEVED ME. Why does AnimeGAF never believe me at first when I say something's cool. ;____;

Mawaru Penguin Drum 8
Welp, shit has officially hit the fan. And I was right about the mirror thing too. An interesting twist with that biker, but such important elements have been foreshadowed. Let's see how Ringo deals with suddenly having her own destiny again...

 

[Crash Station]

Mirai Nikki 8

Alright, the best male character has shown up! This is also the start of one of my favorite arcs with tons of twists and turns. Already seeing a few people fall into a trap with the speculation. Being handled pretty well so far which is no surprise with how stellar this adaptation has been.

Still, don't really see the point of the censorship. I mean

Spoiler

it's still a dismembered arm just lying on the ground. I don't think showing a bone sticking out makes it much more graphic.

I really want to watch Chaos;Head, even though some people say I shouldn't.

I liked it though I didn't understand a lot of it.

 

[cajunator]

bricks will be SHAT

 

[Uchip]

Still, don't really see the point of the censorship. I mean

Spoiler

it's still a dismembered arm just lying on the ground. I don't think showing a bone sticking out makes it much more graphic.

thats kind of how i feel with when they put white bars on hentai images
its not really any less obscene and just looks like someone took to it with mspaint

 

[hellclerk]

Mawaru Penguin Drum 9
Well that felt like a gyp. Seriously? I mean sure, plenty of character background and such, and some of the visuals now make more sense, but I figured they'd come together on their own eventually. Instead we get a nice little "Yup, you get to roast for a week" episode. Damn good thing I don't have to wait that week, I might not have done it.

Glorious.

 

[Branduil]

I hope you're ready for some bad animation. Like, DEEN levels of bad.

 

[Defuser]

I hope you're ready for some bad animation. Like, DEEN levels of bad.

More like Gurren Lagann Ep 4.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Mawaru Penguin Drum 9
Well that felt like a gyp. Seriously? I mean sure, plenty of character background and such, and some of the visuals now make more sense, but I figured they'd come together on their own eventually. Instead we get a nice little "Yup, you get to roast for a week" episode. Damn good thing I don't have to wait that week, I might not have done it.

That was not the response I was expecting.

More like Gurren Lagann Ep 4.

In before 7th.

 

[Uchip]

the character design is certainly the weakest aspect of penguin drum

 

[GaimeGuy]

doomed is reacting to all of penguin drum in kind of a weird way. He should just relax and enjoy the ride

uchip: Wat

 

[Uchip]

uchip: Wat

it just feels very anime, right down to girly men and giant eyes

 

[cajunator]

it just feels very anime, right down to girly men and giant eyes

I dont...it's.....how.......WHAT?

 

[Branduil]

the character design is certainly the weakest aspect of penguin drum

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12082922/penguins/8pUMS.gif

No, the weakest aspect is Keiji Gotoh.

 

[Regulus Tera]

it just feels very anime, right down to girly men and giant eyes

I have the perfect gif for this post, but it would spoiler something for doomed, so...

what the hell?
edit: haha it was that gif

 

[Uchip]

No, the weakest aspect is Keiji Gotoh.

I take it he has something to do with that weirdly animated episode?

 

[Branduil]

I take it he has something to do with that weirdly animated episode?

He only directed and animated the whole thing himself.

 

[Uchip]

what the hell?

Sorry, just not digging the designs. Its that simple.
especially the androgynous male characters, but i guess thats just ikuhara style :|

He only directed and animated the whole thing himself.

what was the reasoning behind this?

 

[Branduil]

what was the reasoning behind this?

That's a pretty good question.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Sorry, just not digging the designs. Its that simple.
especially the androgynous male characters, but i guess thats just ikuhara style :|

Not liking a particular style is cool, but

it just feels very anime, right down to girly men and giant eyes

Surely you see the irony.

 

[Branduil]

Penguin Drum has good character designs, but it's sometimes hard to tell due to bad animation direction.

 

[Uchip]

Not liking a particular style is cool, but

Surely you see the irony.

not really
i was implying that it has a generic anime style
especially with featuring a seemingly real world setting and events while having characters with coloured hair go super deformed mode for comedic effect
it only works because the direction and use of music is very strong

 

[Regulus Tera]

Penguin Drum has good character designs, but it's sometimes hard to tell due to bad animation direction.

Imagine if Ikuhara went to work at KyoAni.

not really
i was implying that it has a generic anime style
especially with featuring a seemingly real world setting and events while having characters with coloured hair go super deformed mode for comedic effect
it only works because the direction and use of music is very strong

I completely disagree with this statement, but this is a much easier argument to swallow than "anime looking like anime".

 

[Defuser]

Imagine if Ikuhara went to work at KyoAni.

Mother of God. *Brain explodes*

 

[dimb]

Mirai Nikki 08
Same stuff bothers me as always. Yukki is only capable of falling down backwards on to his butt. Well, that might be a little unfair. He is also able to insert himself into dangerous situations by constantly being a moron. Somehow the craziest person around (Yuno) consistently comes off as the most levelheaded. Irksome and all, but the show doesn't really leave much room to dwell on weird plot things. The show is snappy, paced well with a good mix of lows and highs, and tends to just look good on a cohesive level. It goes by quick, it's easy to watch, and it's fairly enjoyable.

Real talk though, wait a little on the blunt panty shots Asread. They introduce a tomboy and I barely have time to start crushing when BAM; I've got some suspiciously well drawn panties in my face. You're coming on way too strong for me.

 

[Articalys]

Weekly DVD/BD/CD sales for 11/21-27

DVD
*1, 13,702 *,*13,702 Usavich IV
*2, 11,362 *,*11,362 Hakuouki Sekkaroku vol.5 Limited Edition
*3, 10,958 *,*10,958 Gintama' vol.5 Limited Edition
*4, *9,245 *,**9,245 Persona 4 The Animation vol.1 Limited Edition
*5, *9,213 *,**9,213 Detective Conan Movie 15: Quarter of Silence Special Edition
*6, *6,401 *,**6.401 Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 1000% vol.3 Limited Edition
*7, *4,912 *,**4,912 Detective Conan Movie 15: Quarter of Silence Standard Edition
*8, *4,867 *,**4,867 Ao no Exorcist vol.6
*9, *3,819 *,**3,819 Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai vol.6 Limited Edition
10, *3,723 *,**3,723 Crayon Shin-chan Movie 19: Arashi wo Yobu Ougon no Spy Daisakusen
11, *3,683 *,**3,683 Natsume Yuujinchou San vol.4 Limited Edition
12, *3,675 *,**3,675 Sekaiichi Hatsukoi vol.6 Special Edition
13, *3,657 *,**3,657 Working'!! vol.2 Limited Edition
14, *2,999 *,**2,999 Tales of Symphonia: Sekai Tougou Hen vol.1 Collector's Edition
15, *2,896 *,**2,896 Precure All-Stars DX the Dance Live: Miracle Dance Stage e Youkoso
16, *2,785 *,**2,785 Bleach Hamen Metsubo Hen vol.10
17, *2,444 *,**2,444 Starry☆Sky vol.10 Special Edition
18, *2,358 *,**2,358 Hidamari Sketch x SP Limited Edition
19, *2,006 *,**2,006 Dog Days vol.5 Limited Edition
20, *1,703 *,**1,703 Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo
21, *1,637 *,**1,637 No.6 vol.3 Limited Edition
22, *1,614 *,**1,614 Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyou vol.3
23, *1,509 *,**1,509 Tiger and Bunny vol.7
24, *1,420 *,**1,420 The iDOLM@STER vol.2 Limited Edition
25, *1,413 *,**1,413 Hidan no Aria vol.6
26, *1,259 1,105,863 My Neighbor Totoro
27, *1,238 *,**1,238 Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! vol.3
28, *1,212 *,**1,212 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira vol.3 Limited Edition
29, *1,071 *,**1,071 Beelzebub vol.6

Blu-ray
*1, 24,120 24,120 Persona 4 The Animation
*2, 20,517 20,517 Tiger and Bunny vol.7 Limited Edition
*3, 19,676 19,676 Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai vol.6 Limited Edition
*4, 12,676 12,676 Steins;Gate vol.6
**, 10,891 10,891 (Macross Frontier Super Live Cosmic Nyaan)
*5, *8,047 *8,047 Working'!! vol.2 Limited Edition
*6, *7,032 *7,032 Hidamari Sketch x SP Limited Edition
*7, *5,375 *5,375 The iDOLM@STER vol.2 Limited Edition
*8, *5,176 *5,176 Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love 1000% vol.3
*9, *5,132 *5,132 Natsume Yuujinchou San vol.4 Limited Edition
10, *4,793 *4,793 Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko vol.5 Limited Edition
11, *4,614 *4,614 Dog Days vol.5 Limited Edition
12, *4,557 *4,557 Mawaru Penguindrum vol.2 Limited Edition
13, *4,524 *4,524 Nadia, the Secret of Blue Water Blu-ray Box Limited Edition
14, *4,441 *4,441 Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo
15, *4,413 *4,413 Detective Conan Movie 15: Quarter of Silence

Single CD
*5, 44,759 44,759 Fate/Zero "oath sign"
10, 28,070 28,070 Guilty Crown "My Dearest"
22, *7,418 *7,418 Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai "Watashi no Ki Mo Chi"
36, *3,872 16,279 One Piece "We Go!"
43, *3,235 32,973 Fate/Zero "Memoria"
46, *2,968 *2,968 Tales of Symphonia: Sekai Tougou Hen "Ho N To U So/ Su Ki Ra I"
51, *2,387 *8,734 Shakugan no Shana III (Final) "Light My Fire"
53, *2,183 28,968 The iDOLM@STER "Change!!!!"
54, *2,164 *2,164 Hidamari Sketch x SP "Kimagure, Jankenpon!" "nora"

Now we all know what the real best OP of the fall season is. I knew this would happen because LiSA is awesome.

 

[duckroll]

33k for the first volume of Persona 4 is a really good start. Definitely one of the heavyweights this season as expected. The Persona brand is strong.

 

[dimb]

Blu-ray
*1, 24,120 24,120 Persona 4 The Animation

What a horrible world we live in.

 

[Regulus Tera]

those Persona 4: The Cartoon sales

 

[hellclerk]

doomed is reacting to all of penguin drum in kind of a weird way. He should just relax and enjoy the ride

uchip: Wat

This is me relaxed and enjoying the ride. Because I'm relaxed, I notice things alot closer. It's a more meticulous pacing than the usual shit I get excited over, so I tend to notice more. The same thing happens with Oshii works and similarly paced titles. The main problem is that rough spots that others wouldn't notice, I do. Oshii is actually a master of the meticulous pace, so it's really very hard to find something wrong in his consistent, smooth setup. MPD is a different sort of beast. While meticulously paced, it's pacing is also uneven due to perspective shifts and naive narrators and thus it's much easier to spot the rough spots. I can take a roller coaster like Mirai Nikki, Hidan no Aria, or Code Geass and ignore the blatant mistakes because the shows move at a pace where nothing is dwelt on long enough to pick out the problems. I mean so far the narrative is very competent and believable, it's just got these slight issues that stick out like a sore thumb, and without anything totally AWESOME that sticks out as much to counteract the rough spots, I have a harder time forgiving the rough spots.

Still I'm enjoying it, and it's on my good side with some admirable presentational and formal risks, most paying off, some not so much.

 

[Regulus Tera]

What a horrible world we live in.

Keep on hating, haters.

 

[GaimeGuy]

doomed, yeah, MPD is probably the most oddly paced and structured show I've seen.

 

[Defuser]

Glad to see Gintama is doing well as usual.

 

[duckroll]

As expected, vol2 releases for new shows have all taken a dip. Penguin Drum Vol2 is down to 4.5k (from 5.2k for Vol1), and Working!! is down to 11k for DVD+BD (from 15k for Vol1). If Penguin Drum stabilizes at about 4k per volume from here on out, it can't really be said to be a success at all. But the good news is that such poor sales will probably help to hasten a cheap license which Sentai can pick up, and they can release the entire series on a cheap BD box set with no dub in 2012! Lolz. Think positive!