Hey it's that weird Yume special power plot thread popping its head again.
This is the first episode I can think of that gives even a flicker of backstory to Anna-sensei. Which is nice, since I've been wondering about that for a while now, and was even getting a little annoyed that they never explained why she's the one teaching the Song Class. Not that this explains much, but she's an S4 veteran, so yeah, she can presumably sing well. Even if we've never heard her and there's a decent chance we never will.
I don't think any of the jokes save the help me and age joke have landed with me so far. And you know what? That's fine. I actually like that. I feel like the jokes really rely on how much of a history buff you are, and I can appreciate humor that goes over my head. Kinda makes me want to look up these various people. That said, I feel there is a weird charm in how it keeps nudging my side and saying things expecting me to laugh. It really reminds me of Gyro's jokes in Steel Ball Run tbh, and thats making all these characters a lot more endearing to me weirdly enough.
Amazon has exclusive international streaming rights for all noitaminA shows moving forward I believe. But it seems they have determined that while Japanese and British audiences are worthy of simulcasts, Americans only deserve Attack on Train and nothing more.
It is odd that Amazon buys exclusivity for Noitamina content and then doesn't put it all on the US service, where 90% of the Prime customers are.
Hell that's what got me so antsy, that Amazon buys a global exclusive whilst only streaming to a few countries. Everyone else is forced back to fansubs.
Was a bit put off by the school premise at first but that quickly evaporated as the show's tone continues to skew positive so it was all p. funny in the end. Tone shifts feel natural too which really helps these early episodes flow.
I'm always bothered when any tv show, movie, anime, or any other media have characters from another country speak in the new countries' language while inserting some of their native language into it. Viktor for some reason knows fluent japanese but keep saying some words in english and russian. Though I guess there is no other way for it to work (even more now that there's 2 foreign main characters) without some inconvenient workaround...
I really enjoyed episode 2. Yurio was a better character than I thought he would be, and the show had some funny moments. And the switch-up with the songs, while predictable, was very nice.
Flip Flappers - #2
I like how the worlds they get transported to are all sorts of crazy and distorted (buff bunny was fun to watch for what little screen time it got), but I'm only hoping not all episodes end with one of the girls being in mortal danger, and the other going SSJ to save her.
Magical Girl Raising Project - #2
Nope, killing off characters I barely knew doesn't really make me want to take the story seriously at all. It's almost as if a DBZ villain decided to kill not Krillin, but a random person walking by to show the audience just how evil and powerful they are... you just won't get the same audience reaction if you kill a character that has barely gotten any screen time at all, and the way they shoved Nemurin pretty hard into the latter half of the episode didn't help, either.
Occultic;Nine - #1
I, uh... okay... what?
Will probably watch a couple more episodes to give it a chance, but so far I've seen just a couple interesting things drowned out in a sea of anime-isms that are being pushed really hard and forced into almost every single scene (virgin NEET, Z-cup ditzy girl, cute school idol, campy-as-hell gay man), while the mystery so far appear to be almost an afterthought.
Aniplex of America is offering the Persona 5 anime special as an import BD. Yes, just that one episode. Apparently there's some bonus material, though it's probably not subtitled.
The execution in this episode was definitely a step down from the premiere.
What I remember most from the first episode was Rei's commute to the shogi hall. That train ride was almost entirely free of internal monologue, using lighting, the motion of the train, and ambient noise to communicate the emotional turmoil he was going through. Throughout that episode, water was used as a visual motif to further project the character's emotions onto the world around him. We don't need to hear what he's feeling, because we can see it.
This episode took the opposite approach. Aside from a small handful of Shaftian embellishments on the visual comedy, everything gets played very straight. Instead of the mood being set by the environment and direction, it's established by an overbearing internal monologue that undercuts any effort at visual storytelling. Obviously visual metaphors get explained to the point that they become totally redundant.
If they're going to forget this adaptation is an anime, I may as well read the manga instead. Maybe they'll remember.
The weirdest thing about this is that the directorial choices made in the 1st episode felt like they would be setting the tone for the adaptation but they are then abandoned immediately. It's just weirdly inconsistent. Well, I guess that is the norm for TV anime but it suggests a lack of overarching directorial control and vision.
Shin Godzilla: Tied with Thunderbolt Fantasy for anime of the year. My favorite Anno work since Gunbuster. The atomic breath scene was one of the best kaiju destruction sequences I've ever seen, quite possibly straight up the best one.
I think the last time I mentioned I loved the backgrounds of this show was when I saw the PV so let me reiterate on that - I still love it and it more or less sets a mood for the show really well. That however is countered to an extent with the constant internal monologues which gives some exposition but it can be reduced by a lot.
Narrative wise I can see it is hinting on the characters having been through something painful and they're only beginning or attempting to recuperate although there's no clarity in the direction it is heading which is fine for now. I am still as intrigued as I was in the first episode but there's no denying that the show shines with the silent moments when it is simply taking in the atmosphere around it through visuals. There's a heartwarming feeling as I watch the show which I mentioned earlier is mostly a result of its visuals, so much that I don't mind the tonal shifts as much.
Any chance Shin Godzilla will make it to India (-___-)
Gundam: IBO - #26
I downright forgot it was airing this season, so I'll gladly add it to my seasonal watchlist. I really enjoyed previous seasons, and hopefully this one will be no different.
JoJo DIU - #28
I like how this season's more episodic approach is working, since it lends itself better to having one or two characters heading off on a mini-adventure of their own, rather than having every single episode lead up to a confrontation with the season's big bad.
3-gatsu no Lion - #1
Was okay, but I didn't find it as interesting as some other shows this season. I'd be really disappointed if it ends up doing lots of internal monologues like some of you say ep2 did, though.
I also can say the mood whiplashes are something I wish they could do without, and the spoken sound effects make some scenes feel even more awkward and out of place. Other than that, it's an okay show I could see myself following this season... maybe.
So far, my watchlist this season consists of Flip Flappers, Gundam IBO, JoJo and maybe Girlish Number so far, with high chances of me dropping Magical Girl Raising Project and Occultic;Nine unless they get better in the next couple episodes.
This is a very Japanese movie; the verticality of society, government bureaucracy, and Japan's place in the world post-WWII (especially with regard to America) are all omnipresent themes.
The CG on Godzilla himself is pretty good, but the mechanical CG often looks plastic and fake.
The beam's effects are all great. Shit gets fucked up real good.
The pacing feels a bit off. I know the whole point is to laugh at how long the bureaucracy takes to do anything, but it just feels like the time between action scenes is 3-5 minutes too long.
I don't know if Kayoko is a believable native English speaker to Japanese audiences, but she sure as shit isn't here in America!
Pretty sure that one shot of the missile cruiser is stock footage from the Persian Gulf War or something.
All in all I had a good time, and can confidently recommend it to everyone here, even though it's not-
*sees duckroll's hand hovering over the ban button*
Shin Godzilla: Tied with Thunderbolt Fantasy for anime of the year. My favorite Anno work since Gunbuster. The atomic breath scene was one of the best kaiju destruction sequences I've ever seen, quite possibly straight up the best one.
I haven't seen Nadia nor Kare Kano but barring those two, this is the best thing Anno has ever done. The first half of the movie isn't even really about Godzilla as an entity but rather about the consequences of his arrival. It's an analysis of the limitations of bureaucracy, Japanese senpai/kohai dynamics, and Japanese society post WWII. For example, there is a scene where all the advisors and cabinet ministers are rapidly shooting off questions to the Prime Minister and he replies that he needs more time but they press him to give a response now. The film does a lot to show how the dependency on a structure can slow reaction times or even halt necessary action. There's also the multiple times where Yaguchi is blown off because he doesn't have a senior position or where the female scientist is ignored because the 'experts' disagreed with her
about whether Godzilla could stand upright
. Yaguchi sums it up fairly well, even though in a very blunt fashion, at the end of the first attack that
rather than the issue being Godzilla causing all that damage in two hours, it took the government over two hours to come up with an initial response
. Bureaucracies are not good at handling surprise events, where there is no playbook ready, and the Japanese government just isn't situated for a natural disaster like Godzilla.
In many ways the first half reminds me of Patlabor 2: The Movie in that both view the current Japanese government as almost being drowned in bureaucratic rules and systems. The difference here is that Shin Godzilla doesn't feel like Anno forgot that he was making a movie, rather than an essay. Anno is aware that politics can be fairly boring and so maximizes editing and humor so as to prevent material that is generally dry from becoming so. The editing is one of the real strengths of the film and you can tell the storyboarders were animators as there are tons of quick cuts used that would be more likely found in an anime rather than a live action work. I can think of numerous cases in the movie such as when Kayoko is sliding papers on a table, the movie cuts it up as a way of speeding up the action. There also might be a line where a person says something is impossible and the movie will do a jump cut to someone else saying that same event is occurring, which works both for efficiency and comedy. Patlabor 2 exemplifies the pitfalls of dealing with politics and philosophical questions about the state of Japan and Anno masterfully dodges all of them. He created a work which not only gets the point across but is also fun and entertaining to watch.
Then there's the second coming of Godzilla. That segment might be the best work Anno has ever done in any medium. Flat out. It's why I bought a second ticket and watched the film again back-to-back. There's so many small shots that build up Godzilla's new form such as the camera panning up from a low height to show how tall he is now or the roof shackles shacking due to the mass of his footsteps. The military response obviously took a lot of inspiration from Evangelion, which took a lot of inspiration from early Toho films so I guess it's full circle now. The tank barrage was beautifully shot and I loved some of the camera work tracking the movements of a few of the JSDF tanks. However the film goes into hypernova legendary status when Godzilla reaches Tokyo. The blackouts serve a number of roles such as showing the growing chaos in Tokyo as people are fleeing (as lights represent order and structure) but also work beautifully to highlight Godzilla's glowing form and make him really distinctive not only in the frames but the monster genre as a whole. The shadows help make Godzilla more ominous, which is fitting for the atomic fire sequence. So much of the frame is black so the colors are even more striking. The atomic fire will obviously be the standout moment for the movie as I heard people screaming in excitement the first time I watched it and the second time I heard someone in front of me yell out "Holy shit. This is the most insane thing I've ever seen!". There were people literally clapping in my second viewing after the sequence was over. The first time I saw it, my breath was sucked straight out of my lungs. If there ever is a live action Evangelion movie made, this is the bar they have to pass. It's so impecabbly well directed not only on a visual level but the soundtrack pumps out possibly the best work in the movie (and probably Sagisu's recent output as a whole). It's not even just the atomic fire sequence by itself but the stuff shortly afterwards such as the shot of Yaguchi who is just dazzed or Yaguchi storming into the new headquarters. That whole segment alone is worth whatever the ticket price is for your local cinema.
The part afterwards is the worst part of the film because the script gets a bit lost in technobabble. I was able to follow along with most of it but some of the lines feel unnecessary and aren't particularly interesting. It's when the decision comes down to
use the nukes
where the movie picks up again because it raises some really interesting questions about Japan's history and what type of country they want to be.
The line about NYC was also kinda funny as I watched the movie in Manhattan but it does pose the question of whether other countries could conceivably nuke their own city. I have no doubts the US probably would.
This also ties back into earlier themes in the movie about the limitations of bureaucracies as they have evacuate millions of people in the span of a couple of weeks. That scene where the Prime Minister realized that
he would have to authorize the use of a nuclear attack on his own people
was extremely poignant due to the history of Japan. Unlike the 2014 Godzilla, this felt like a movie that only the Japanese could and should do.
The framing throughout the movie was topnotch and you can tell a lot of effort was made into making even boring scenes look visually interesting. There's a lot of scenery porn (Oshii would be proud) that exhibit either the destruction wrought or the raw number of people such as the ocean of buses. I'm not familiar with Japanese geography but the movie does well enough establishing different locations. Early on there's really creative cinematography such as the camera pointing straight up from a phone receiver. I thought shots such as the top of the lights on a police car were good at establishing the mood in certain events. The only shot I didn't think worked was in the second half as that was behind a computer screen and it comes across as a bit too goofy and try-hard due to the moving objects and blue color. Anno uses sources from a number of different mediums such as real life images of either Nagasaki/Hiroshima and American missiles launching which I thought was effective and showing the actual real life counterparts but I'm sure some people thought it was out of place.
The ending 'battle' felt a bit weak after the second act but it did have a few moments that I grinned at, such as when
Godzilla got back up and lasered everybody
. Godzilla didn't look as terrifying as the second encounter, partially because it's during the day and so the lasers don't look anywhere near as menacing compared to earlier. The problem is that the second act was too good.
Now the wait for the BDs begin. I should mention that the English dialogue was almost always terrible, even from the actual real life Americans in the movie.
Shin godzilla:
anime of the year 2016. i dare say it this may actually beat out love live sunshine! as the most enjoyable anime ive watched all year. anno is completely on point throughout the whole film, creating what might possibly be the closest we'll ever get to anime potrayed in the live action. the government meetings to have meetings to get approval to have another meeting felt straight out of evangelion episode 1 and served as excellent commentary on the inefficiencies of the Japanese government system. Special effects are also on point the cg effectively portraying staple kaijuu movie distraction effects but with a modern sheen. But thats not even bringing up the G-man himself, the viewer is tricked at first by a salamander like creature crawling around tokyo in almost laughable fashion, then when serious business Godzilla shows up, there are no laughs, the atomic breath cuts through buildings like butter and destruction is unleashed with a seriousness unseen in most kaijuu films, the G-man is shown to be neigh invincible. if you have a local showing, and like anno's previous works i cannot recommend seeing this movie enough. cant wait for the bluray,
So a actual ghost is going to be a regular cast member? Or is it going to turn out she isn't actually a ghost...?
Watashi ga Motete Dousunda 02
Lost all of that weight but of course she is still as out of shape as she ever was.
Occult; Nine 02
Much better episode because they slowed the fuck down. I'm actually into the story now and the new characters introduced.
Mahou Shoujo Raising 3
Actually surprised the mascot actually told them he'd kill them if they ranked low. That honesty. Oh and Snow White friend is totally going to die next. The deathflags are all there.
I think theyve already made it clear she isn't a ghost, what with everyone seeing her and her being actually in the class as a student who was missing. The weird ghost orbs on her are probably just there for the gag
OMG finally watching a fall show feels like taking a breath of air after holding your breath underwater until you feel like you're gonna pop. (I'm totally gonna regret watching anime right now since I have a test on monday (and wednesday) that I should be studying for )
T_T
anywho, I was worried with episode 1 since i didn't like these characters as much as working!! or Servantxservice, but the more we got to know them and see them interact I now love them. There's a different interaction structure to the original series where character co-mingle far more often so we see them banter and play off each other more. Liking it more and more with each passing episode and let out a couple of audible chuckles
Also having an adorable baby in a show is always a plus >.<
I gotta give it to working for having a college student with a baby and a bunch of cute girls who are in college/in their 20s as such a large portion of the cast.
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju 1-4
Was the one show I missed this year that I felt I needed to at least attempt prior to AOTY voting, and I can see why the show got so much high praise.
Shin Godzilla
All I really can say is wow, this is such an Anno directed piece of media and I loved almost everything about it. Now is it better then Godzilla 1998? That's a tough question....
It's more Kyubey than Monokuma in all but appearance though, since Fav is more like a cute and seemingly benign mascot that's actually cold and ruthless, just like Kyubey, whereas Monokuma was always Danganronpa's antagonist/instigator.
Basically, this is a copy-paste of Madoka's most superficial elements, coupled with a cast too large to actually leverage correctly, IMO. Of course that much was obvious right off the bat with how it's supposed to be a series about a magical girl battle death game, but I'll probably be watching up to ep4 to see if it improves a bit.
I gotta give it to working for having a college student with a baby and a bunch of cute girls who are in college/in their 20s as such a large portion of the cast.
That's one thing I like about working and servant x service: its far more about the kinds of people that work together rather than age or stuff like that. It makes these shows feel more like sitcoms more than SOL anime.
I'm pretty glad that they didn't go for the exhausted stressed young mom trope too. Having a mom character who was just chill, who smokes and is extremely knowledgeable (if a bit lazy) is surprisingly pleasant. I honestly thought that the whole "WHA- she has a baby?!" was gonna be some kinda gag and that she wasn't actually the mom, but no, no jokes.
It's good, but not exactly perfect. I think the problem here, as some have hinted, it's that it's a too literal adaptation from the manga. If you think about it, the contrast that there is in some scenes between the mopey, faint, 'blue' main character and the more colorful and full of life scenes are less contrasted in the manga, as there is no color and the art style used is the same.
Something similar happens with the sound, the difference can be striking between the quiet, melancholic scenes and when a crazy secondary character appears with a striking voice, but in the manga... well, there is no sound!
Finally, all the Rei's voiceovers with his inner monologue comes from the manga, that uses the same style as that is a more used resource used in mangas.
It's more Kyubey than Monokuma in all but appearance though, since Fav is more like a cute and seemingly benign mascot that's actually cold and ruthless, just like Kyubey, whereas Monokuma was always Danganronpa's antagonist/instigator.
Dung Beetle from Bokurano would also be an acceptable comparison (though Madoka is pretty much a magical girl rip-off of Bokurano in the first place, so that makes sense).
Basically, this is a copy-paste of Madoka's most superficial elements, coupled with a cast too large to actually leverage correctly, IMO. Of course that much was obvious right off the bat with how it's supposed to be a series about a magical girl battle death game, but I'll probably be watching up to ep4 to see if it improves a bit.
To be fair, this is an adaptation of an ongoing 9+ volume long light novel series, so there's likely been enough time to flesh out the large cast in the source material, something a 1 cour anime doesn't really have the luxury of doing.
Which has me wondering if they'll just go the original ending route with super fast pacing and whatnot.
I should have just dropped it.
But I feel like i'd be weak if I didn't finish this fucking rabbit hole...
I finished lance n' masques, I can finish this.
Also the fact this is getting a second season has me very very very very distraught
Really enjoyed this episode. Keeping right up there as one of my favourites. Enjoyed seeing how Rei met up with the girls as well as other bits of back story. Wish I knew how to play shogi though so I could follow that part better.
While the realization is competent, the story itself is boring me to tears. The entire episode was predictable, with the soldiers of the poor little nation dying, the princess speeches to the soldiers, and then the Witch saving them all. She remembered me a wester superhero, throwing tanks left and right like nothing.
None of the two sides of war is being developed, the bad guys are bad guys, and the good guys are good guys, just defending themselves of the oppressor. Character development is also very thin.
Dung Beetle from Bokurano would also be an acceptable comparison (though Madoka is pretty much a magical girl rip-off of Bokurano in the first place, so that makes sense).
To be fair, this is an adaptation of an ongoing 9+ volume long light novel series, so there's likely been enough time to flesh out the large cast in the source material, something a 1 cour anime doesn't really have the luxury of doing.
Which has me wondering if they'll just go the original ending route with super fast pacing and whatnot.
