War in the Pocket has a protagonist that is 1000 times more infuriating then Renton. Also Parasyte levels of OST choices and of the overbearing way it uses to deliver its themes.
The protagonist of the War in the Pocket is supposed to be infuriating. He's a child in elementary school who's ignorant of the harsh realities of war, who then proceeds to have those harsh realities shown right directly at him in probably the most cruel way possible.
Speaking of English in Anime [a page ago]: In some ways Kiniro Mosaic really should have employed two English girls to voice the two, well, English girls. The scenes where they are back home in England were so bad. And what's more realistic than a Japanese voice actress putting on a 'foreigner trying to speak Japanese' accent? An actual foreigner trying to speak Japanese.
The protagonist of the War in the Pocket is supposed to be infuriating. He's a child in elementary school who's ignorant of the harsh realities of war, who then proceeds to have those harsh realities shown right directly at him in probably the most cruel way possible.
There is a certain point where the levels of brain damage you give to your protagonist at the starting point of his character arc stop being feasible or realistic. And that [redacted] twat has exceeded them by far.
War in the Pocket is pretty solid at what it does, but given how widely this subject has been covered in other mediums in far better ways, I really can't agree with this.
War in the Pocket shows how horrible war is and it does it without having to show you child torture, rape, or even that much violence compared to your average war story.
War in the Pocket shows how horrible war is and it does it without having to show you child torture, rape, or even that much violence compared to your average war story.
Though those things can be perfectly appropriate in a war story and I felt like they were, for the most part, well used in Now and Then, Here and There.
You guys got me curious about War in the Pocket, I might give that a try.
I liked Now and Then, Here and There a lot, watched it all in one sitting way back when. At the end I was just sitting by myself in the dark at like 4am sobbing. Didn't help that it was the first anime I watched after a couple years long hiatus.
"Now and Then, Here and There" excels at putting its characters in the most contrived situations possible for maximum drama, while at the same time keeping its protagonist nice and safe from any real danger.
It's not like it does nothing right, but those elements really hurt the overall show.
Got a tad too dramatic at one point for my taste. Other than that, I still enjoy the parts when Bonefu gets to display her knowledge in the field the most.
"Now and Then, Here and There" excels at putting its characters in the most contrived situations possible for maximum drama, while at the same time keeping its protagonist nice and safe from any real danger.
It's not like it does nothing right, but those elements really hurt the overall show.
Definitely can't say those situations felt contrived at all considering the setting.
The MC, also isn't kept nice an safe from danger either. However, towards the end he does have a couple questionable and very fortunate events happening for him, that I won't deny.
So we get a meanwhile back at the dome episode in order to basically confirm that Re-i is not dead shock upon shocks though that is only the basics here. Indeed there was a lot going on here in terms of world building as this episode was basically exploring the meaning of its own arc words and I actually liked how it handled the deeper implications of a metaphysical question for once. Indeed not only does it show a multitude of different answers and it isn't just navel gazing, it is a central theme behind all of the players and it is woven into the very fabric of the society Hey they even provide a counterpoint in the terms of an automated town that has lost any use of actual function yet the machines still move to their programming. I have not found anything here in Ergo Proxy to be mind blowing but it hasn't lost, for the most part, at all yet. Key word there is yet as I know I have more of this series to get though and the intense hyping around certain episodes is actually starting to annoy me.
Definitely can't say those situations felt contrived at all considering the setting.
The MC, also isn't kept nice an safe from danger either. However, towards the end he does have a couple questionable and very fortunate events happening for him, that I won't deny.
The problem is Shu, or rather the show's treatment of him. Now, I have no problem with optimistic, headstrong, and resourceful characters, in fact I welcome that. I'm forgiving of situations in fiction that stretch the limit of my disbelief. Sometimes, good things happen to the protagonist that allows him to succeed where others would fail, that's just something that happens in fiction.
But the problem with this show is the ludicrous amount of times that things work out great for Shu. I'm talking contrivance after contrivance. The series spends some early episodes putting Shu through the ringer, but as soon as he gets his big stick you might as well have given spinach to popeye holy shit. Escapes from Hellywood and has a large search party after you? No worries!
Nabuca will be the first and only one to find you and let you go.
Giant sandworm in the desert? No problem!
Just find a backpack filled with grenades that the worm will grab with its tongue, pulling the pin out at the same fucking time.
The village you're staying at is ransacked by Hellywood?
NABUCA AND BOO WILL BE THE ONLY FUCKING PEOPLE TO FIND YOU, AND THE MINUTE TABOOL IS ABOUT TO SHOOT YOU THE ORDER IS GIVEN NOT TO SHOOT YOU.
It's baffling, because aside from that I wouldn't call the series that poorly written. Everything that's important is established early on. There's visible character development and characterization. It's just the plot armor that surrounds Shu and Hamdo is clown shoes. It's a show that has a message it really really really wants to tell you, even at the expense of believable writing.
Dagashi Kashi manga is enjoyable. I hope the director manage to capture the comedy.
Osomatsu san 2
I like it. The first part punchline is funny, and their seiyuu really did their best making each Matsuno memorable.
War in the Pocket is pretty solid at what it does, but given how widely this subject has been covered in other mediums in far better ways, I really can't agree with this.
Well, I won't say it's the best of anything out there, but it's certainly among the beat of anything in my personal experience. And I should elaborate that I'm talking about war's impact on ordinary civilians not on the front lines, so narratives that focus on soldiers are not included.
I have not seen that show, but I've heard some strongly negative impressions from those who have. I mostly associate it with Hitokage, God rest his soul, who made several colorful posts about it.
The problem is Shu, or rather the show's treatment of him. Now, I have no problem with optimistic, headstrong, and resourceful characters, in fact I welcome that. I'm forgiving of situations in fiction that stretch the limit of my disbelief. Sometimes, good things happen to the protagonist that allows him to succeed where others would fail, that's just something that happens in fiction.
But the problem with this show is the ludicrous amount of times that things work out great for Shu. I'm talking contrivance after contrivance. The series spends some early episodes putting Shu through the ringer, but as soon as he gets his big stick you might as well have given spinach to popeye holy shit. Escapes from Hellywood and has a large search party after you? No worries!
Nabuca will be the first and only one to find you and let you go.
Giant sandworm in the desert? No problem!
Just find a backpack filled with grenades that the worm will grab with its tongue, pulling the pin out at the same fucking time.
The village you're staying at is ransacked by Hellywood?
NABUCA AND BOO WILL BE THE ONLY FUCKING PEOPLE TO FIND YOU, AND THE MINUTE TABOOL IS ABOUT TO SHOOT YOU THE ORDER IS GIVEN NOT TO SHOOT YOU.
It's baffling, because aside from that I wouldn't call the series poorly written. Everything that's important is established early on. There's visible character development and characterization. It's a show that has a message it really really really wants to tell you, even at the expense of believable writing.
ok, getting long. Did I like the show? Yes. Would I recommend the show? Yes. Is it perfect? Hell no. But at 13 episodes, You could do a hell of a lot worse.
To a large degree I can see all that and, yeh, Shu feels a bit too successful as this traditional adventure hero in this otherwise very harsh show. Frankly, I cared for the show the least when it was him fighting the worm but it didn't last long so meh. However, at the same time his upbeat nature does get bet into the ground from time to time and some of these scenes are simply fantastic. In particular when he's talking to the revengeful villager or Sara (when they meet again).
I dislike how little it affects him mentally, though, and similarly didn't enjoy his display combat-ability. Seems like they weren't quite sure how to progress the story if they had gone a darker route with him or so. Or maybe they wanted to keep him to convey the more heartwarming messages—not sure.
Well, I won't say it's the best of anything out there, but it's certainly among the beat of anything in my personal experience. And I should elaborate that I'm talking about war's impact on ordinary civilians not on the front lines, so narratives that focus on soldiers are not included.
I have not seen that show, but I've heard some strongly negative impressions from those who have. I mostly associate it with Hitokage, God rest his soul, who made several colorful posts about it.
That was certainly an improvement over the original finale to the first season, as it provided a satisfying and relatively comprehensive conclusion to the narrative threads that had been established throughout the season. Despite the slightly monotonous retread of sorts within this episode, as the
attack against Gelsadra that occurred in the eleventh episode
was depicted from a different perspective, it was surprisingly well-paced, smartly avoiding the considerable tedium that would have existed had VAPE played a larger role. Unfortunately, the season as a whole was substantively weaker than the surprisingly enjoyable first, tarnished by a tedious and poorly executed middle that was only salvaged by its bookends, several thoroughly insipid, yet prominent, characters, and storytelling that was excessive in its repetition.
The
idealization of Hajime by society, nearly perceiving her to be some sort of deity
, is a development that appears laden with fascinating potential. Sadly, this notion was effectively extinguished by
Hajime waking
. Had she
remained in a coma
, it would be easy to imagine her as a mythic figure to the public, which would be a thoroughly intriguing and natural complication for Gatchaman to tackle in a hypothetical third season. Of course, even with
Hajime having woken
, such a development could still evolve from the events of this season.
One of the most detrimental flaws within this season was the excessive amount of characters that were needlessly strewn into the story, very few of which were afforded any measure of meaningful development. As a result, the majority of the original cast was effectively relegated to the background, and, in their stead, were a plethora of newly introduced characters that were far less interesting, particularly Tsubasa and Rizumu. Neither of these characters offered even a modicum of worth to the story, instead heavily detracting from several episodes. Jou and Sugane, for example, were, aside from the eleventh episode, almost entirely forgotten, deemed irrelevant by the mere presence of new characters. In short, this season would have benefited greatly by either minimizing the number of characters involved or simply filtering them into the narrative in a more balanced fashion.
The themes that were introduced in this season, similar to the first, were certainly compelling, as the storytelling attempted to illuminate an insight into society that was very intriguing. Unfortunately, the exploration of these themes was, for the most part, weakly executed, only rarely providing any sort of subtlety or nuance. As a result, the thematic aspect of the narrative ultimately seemed superficial, worsened by how often it was repeated with so little variation or added depth. There were, of course, several moments that expertly wove these elements together, such as the melancholic tale told by Tsubasas grandfather, but they were quite rare.
The inclusion of Rizumu and VAPE as villains was terribly handled throughout, as this supposed threat was altogether meaningless, amounting to very little prior to the third episode and absolutely nothing following it. Their sole contribution to the story was the dreadfully unnecessary insight provided by Rizumu. They could have easily served as a secondary, yet straightforward, antagonist to distract from the ideological complications created by Gelsadra, which would have allowed both entities to complement one another, but that would have required a deftness in storytelling that this season largely lacked.
Visually, this episode was noticeably stronger than the majority that preceded it, as its colorful aesthetic was often emphasized in a manner that was rather striking, allowing for some surprisingly beautiful imagery. Unfortunately, the excessive reliance on CG and some occasionally awkward direction notably diminished the effectiveness of the action that was filtered into the season. Thankfully, however, the fight against Gelsadra tangibly elevated itself beyond those familiar flaws, quickly becoming one of the few bits of action that could be considered the highlight of an episode, rather than a tiresome blemish.
The production values, as a whole, were predictably unremarkable throughout the season, particularly weakened by the exceedingly stilted animation and the largely unnecessary abundance of distracting CG. The art direction, on the other hand, was quite charming, benefited by the vibrant backgrounds, which created a consistently pleasant atmosphere. Iwasakis music was, once again, exceptionally strong throughout the entire season, as his contributions succeeded in instilling a perpetually engaging energy into the show.
All in all, this season of Gatchaman Crowds Insight was relatively enjoyable and often strangely unique, but a disappointing regression in quality nonetheless, rarely managing the consistent quality of the first season, which felt considerably more focused and compelling, despite possessing quite a few flaws itself. Though an unremarkable season as a whole, it still excelled in several areas, namely the atypical nature of its world, Taku Iwasakis music, and, of course, Hajime, who, though far less involved, continued to be refreshingly unique and endearing. Through all this, Gatchaman remains one of Nakamuras weaker efforts, never quite attaining the brilliance so often displayed by Tsuritama, Trapeze, and Mononoke. Having said that, I would certainly welcome a third season.
While I haven't watched EP2 yet, I've got to say that's just a very common trope in mystery shows, and at the very least Sakurako is the daughter of an old collaborator of the force. It still didn't excuse how the officers actually allowed her to get off the car, waltz into a crime scene and examine the corpses long before her identity was made known to the police, though.
The way the show focuses on forensics makes it interesting on one side because we probably won't be getting Sakurako cornering perps and them confessing in the corniest way possible once their alibi breaks apart, but it also removes a cathartic moment since, at least from EP1, it looks like cases will end with Sakurako pointing the cops towards the culprit/s and letting them finish the job, with no feedback on what happens afterwards. Then again, this is just based on my impressions from the very first episode, so it's likely that she might end up getting a lot more involved with cases later on.
As was said, this is just a common aspect of detective stories, going back to the Golden Age of mystery fiction. You've got to give some reason why amateur detectives would be poking around murders whose investigation would be properly handled by police alone.
The way the show focuses on forensics makes it interesting on one side because we probably won't be getting Sakurako cornering perps and them confessing in the corniest way possible once their alibi breaks apart, but it also removes a cathartic moment since, at least from EP1, it looks like cases will end with Sakurako pointing the cops towards the culprit/s and letting them finish the job, with no feedback on what happens afterwards. Then again, this is just based on my impressions from the very first episode, so it's likely that she might end up getting a lot more involved with cases later on.
As was said, this is just a common aspect of detective stories, going back to the Golden Age of mystery fiction. You've got to give some reason why amateur detectives would be poking around murders whose investigation would be properly handled by police alone.
I understand that, but it's handled really sloppily here. Usually there is some narrative device used to justify it and enable the suspension of disbelief, but in this show it just makes the police come off as a really casual organization with no real regulations. The incompetence of the police isn't really the main problem.
Good, since I don't think I'd be all that satisfied with Sakurako reading about the perps being brought to justice on the newspapers or through a phone call by the police some days/weeks after she works her magic and shows them where to look.
@Basileus: While I'd rather have the main character actually be a collaborator with the police, them allowing Sakurako to get in crime scenes and help them figure stuff out makes some sense at the very least, and I also seem to remember the kid was kept back by some officers while Sakurako analyzed the corpses in EP1.
Good, since I don't think I'd be all that satisfied with Sakurako reading about the perps being brought to justice on the newspapers or through a phone call by the police some days/weeks after she works her magic and shows them where to look.
Another potentially interesting thing that this show can do is solving the murder of animals, even that over-the-top scene before she starts an investigation shows a lot of animals and it would definitely be cool if they went deeper of the bone structures of different creatures, I think they could make some cool cases with this.
Another potentially interesting thing that this show can do is solving the murder of animals, even that over-the-top scene before she starts an investigation shows a lot of animals and it would definitely be cool if they went deeper of the bone structures of different creatures, I think they could make some cool cases with this.
What makes me uneasy is that forensics are a bit too complicated for the general public to understand well (myself included) without having to devote lots of screntime to exposition on forensic procedures and knowledge that allow Sakurako to piece things together and unravel the truth behind a case, and adding animal bone structures to the mix might make things even more confusing for the audience.
As long as we're talking about Gundam with the new Gundam being out, I feel compelled to say something regarding Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team.
It's a really well made series. That captures the horror or war fairly well. The animation is well done.
Since the combat mostly takes place on earth, the mechs have a very grounded heavy feel when you watch them.
But there's a problem with it, and it's fairly glaring to me.
I think the romance between these two
is fucking nonsense. Holy shit, it feels like they fall in love over the course of an episode. To the point where they betray literally everyone else that's been close to them in the series up to that point.
As long as we're talking about Gundam with the new Gundam being out, I feel compelled to say something regarding Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team.
It's a really well made series. That captures the horror or war fairly well. The animation is well done.
Since the combat mostly takes place on earth, the mechs have a very grounded heavy feel when you watch them.
But there's a problem with it, and it's fairly glaring to me.
I think the romance between these two
is fucking nonsense. Holy shit, it feels like they fall in love over the course of an episode. To the point where they betray literally everyone else that's been close to them in the series up to that point.
