• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Fall 2013 Anime |OT| When is Crunchyroll coming to GTA Online?

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
Nafe said:
The Mystical Laws

mhUv5JD.jpg


---

ijLXojav19ieC.gif


Oh man, this show is so bad, haha. While maybe not quite the caliber of Garzey's Wing, it's certainly up there for totally bonkers, off the wall, bat crazy plot combined with an awesomely bad English dub. I can see now why it's part of "The List".

It takes place in the year 202X (presumably because the bad guy hasn't decided yet,haha) and you have the Not Nazi regime called the Godom Empire, which is led by a guy who played too much Street Fighter in his youth and is Chuunibroing it up as a wannabe Vega. He also used his funds to hire that villain guy I saw in the Iron Man 2 ads to make him an electric whip apparently. They've secretly been collaborating with countries to amass their power and now want to take over the world. Oh yeah, and they've got "The Ultimate Weapon" which could destroy the world and that's its tentative name because it's not quite completed yet but when it is THEN Mr. Vega wannabe, actually called Tatha Gata Killer, can name it.

Another secret group called Hermes Wings is also working behind the scenes to stop them and the protagonist of the show, Sho Shishimaru, is part of them. He also experiences "visions". Clearly dipping a little too much into that "Happy Science" apparently.

Anyway, that's how things start out and I was kind of mixed on it. On the one hand what was happening was so random and goofy it drifted into that so bad it's good range but often times for me it was just so bad it was bad (and boring). Then I got to about the halfway point (spoilers) where this happens. There were definitely hints there like the urn or in one of his visions
I thought did I just quickly see a UFO?
The way that was introduced though was just "are you kidding me?!" Haha.

After that I thought it went so crazy with its plot that it was so bad that it was amazing for the rest of the movie. It even kept topping itself in terms of its craziness, haha. Almost like Valvrave or Code Geass or something in terms of all these crazy twists. The end battle turns into some random Shin Megami Tensei battle and there's even an evil spirit space dragon or something fighting Yamata no Orochi. There's also Konohana-no-Sakuya-Bime whose name they don't bother to translate at all in the English dub, haha.

I think the guys line "Who cares? I'm hungry" is how most of the voice people felt when recording their lines. They also...make...so many...pauses...when talking. In the original Japanese you've got Takehito Koyasu (who voiced Touga in Utena) voicing Shishimaru and the guy who voiced Rei in Free! does the voice for Tatha Gata Killer.

Other than the ugly CG the visuals look fine and there's even some really nice looking backgrounds or the scenes with the Sakura/Cherry Blossoms when talking with Konohana are pretty nice looking as well. The part with all the different languages being spoken at the end was actually kind of cool too. The end speech is like some shonen hearto thing but just really out there,haha. It was more fun reading (bunch of unmarked spoilers) BGBW's comments right after and I could see AnimeGaf having a lot of fun trying to get together to watch this and doing a mystery science theater commentary or something.

Anyway, it's not really something I would watch again but if you're looking for a laugh from a crazy movie sometime then you might want to give this a go.
Click to expand...
The Mystical Laws is a mixed bag in that it's one part semi-legitimate story, and one part unfiltered Happy Science craziness. There's a certain progression in the recommended order for Happy Science films. First you'd start with The Laws of Eternity, which is basically a tour through the afterlife outlining the basic theology of the group while also trying to be inclusive of other belief systems to the point it becomes comedic. After all, any story that has Thomas Edison as an angel is clearly operating under broken criteria. Then you'd watch The Rebirth of Buddha, a movie which is more ordinary and mundane on its face as it stays in contemporary Japan, but quickly breaks any suspension of disbelief in how the conflict between the good religious group and the evil religious group plays out. Then there's The Golden Laws, which is more in the style of an educational family film as two kids time travel to various points in history considered important to Happy Science. After this there's The Laws of the Sun, which goes over the creation of the universe and human pre-history before touching on aspects left out in the first three films. Why the presentation is more dry than the other films, it also goes into some of the more stranger beliefs of the group without holding anything back. Last is Hermes: Winds of Love, which was placed last to be a cooldown movie as it would be a fairly standard if not well produced greek mythology story if it didn't remember that it had to throw in a little bit of craziness.

Considering all this, I'd probably put The Mystical Laws at the back end in this order. It's a lot like Hermes in that it's fairly subdued for the first half in a setting more akin to The Rebirth of Buddha, but much of the weirdness directly builds on what was introduced in The Laws of the Sun. I don't think watching this film first really spoils the overall experience, as it is important to remember that there are many things that The Mystical Laws doesn't touch upon and that all of the movies are fairly different outside sharing the same underlying beliefs. In fact, the movie never actually mentions the overarching father-god in the Happy Science pantheon by name! That said, the whole business about
space lizardmen waiting for a legal exception to intergalactic anti-invasion treaties
does steal one of the big laughs in The Laws of the Sun.

I have yet to go back and listen to the original Japanese voice acting, but so many characters in the dub cast were perfect. The stereotypically old Buddhist monk, the AI from that old PC game Outpost posing as the spirit of Japan, and all the various stooges in the Godom empire and Japanese government. It's not enough that the film scripts in blatant strawmen in the support of militarization, but it has to oversell it by making them sound as silly as they do. On multiple occasions it tries to emphasize certain lines through repetition, but quickcuts to a flashback quote making the whole exercise a comedy routine. That's not even going into all the silliness in the rest of the film itself, which clearly follows well established anime ideas and tropes when not doing something that's actually Happy Science.

Also, who knew that all they had to do under fire was ask nicely?
 
S

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Diabolik Lovers Episode 3: Still the worst and most sexist anime I have seen all year, everybody involved in the production of this show still needs to be drawn and quartered.
 
E

Envelope

sealed with a kiss
Noirulus said:
I'm gonna go with this show for now because I heard good things about it. Didn't really enjoy the manga too much, though.
Click to expand...

Code Breaker anime is one of the better ones in recent times, don't judge it by the manga, just embrace its wonderful cheese, surprisingly compelling plot, and the wonderfully consistent animation .
.
Nafe said:
Windy Tales (Fuujin Monogatari)

---

Ah, such a great show. It was a good thing stumbling across AnimeGaf as I came to find out about some more niche shows like this one.



There was the backlog season that a few people participated in a few seasons ago and this was one of the titles. I didn't watch it as the time but was certainly interested in taking a look at it based off of things like its unique art design. Recently then this past season I went through the show and quite liked it. I was hooked on the first episode and it got better and better to me as it went along.



I wasn't sure what to expect out of the show other than it dealing with the theme of wind as the title suggests. There's a neat little element (about the wind,haha) that's introduced in the first episode. I won't spoil it but how things progressed into the second episode it seemed like it was going down a different path then it looked like it might right at the beginning. From the third episode on though you see that the show seems to be more like a slice of life but kind of episodic as each episode kind of focuses on a particular theme about life.

The show is just really well made and it does a good job of showing rather then telling. Even in the fifth episode Nao has a bit of a cold/fever and goes to the nurses office to take some medicine and lye down for a little bit. There's a teacher who likes to hang out in there to get away from things and another teacher comes in to visit. The whole episode is more or less in the room with people just talking but how it's done I just found it interesting and never really boring despite that.



Episode 6 with the game Kick the Can I think is only the second time I can recall seeing it featured in an anime other than Higurashi I believe was the other. It has a very mono no aware atmosphere by the end of the episode. The whole show does really by the end. The last episode features some time skips which initially might be a bit confusing but you see how they're done quick enough. It's nice then how it kind of carries on as a regular episode but also shows glimpses of the future without being too dramatic about it either.

It's just a really well made show and I enjoyed every episode. Normally I'm not sure about recommending shows to others but I think this one is a bit of a hidden jem that I'm not sure how many people know about let alone watched. If this write up catches your interest a little bit or if it sounds interesting if you look it up some more later then I think you should definitely at least give it a shot. Hopefully you come to like it as much as I have. :)

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

Every time someone watches Windy Days Envelope feels the world grow just a little brighter
 
M

Midonin

Member
Stella C3 Bu
Midonin Bites the Bullet

I'm glad to be a fan of Yukarin, because Fear was a cute role of hers. The gap moe going on with torture weapons and a schoolgirl is... I'm being informed this is the wrong C3, give me a moment.

My relationship with the girls and military subgenre is best defined as "confused." Lime-iro Senkitan/Ryukitan interested me for their curio factor, and I love Strike Witches. Shirley's one of my favorite Koshimizu roles, and the ending of the movie was pretty moving.

Upotte!, while being the closest to the daily life shows I love so much, I felt went a little too heavy on the gun trivia, confusing me as to what I was liking about the characters, and what was about the weapons. GirlPan, while breezy and fun to watch, I felt focused more on the tanks than the characters, and the technical discussions that occurred around it at the time at my other board just distanced me further. I wanted more civilian scenes, and hardware shouldn't feel more important than the humans. I don't dislike military otaku, but having a discussion would be problematic.

So going into C3 Bu, what I wanted was a high degree of character interaction and, going by Lime-iro and Strike Witches, maybe a little magic. I got that, and something else entirely.

I kinda liked Yura a little more with long hair, but her short haired self also works. One thing I'll give C3 credit for is that it had a minimal amount of weapons porn. The names of guns were only mentioned, like, twice. And even then in battle, the camera was never about the gun specs, but the human specs. The desire to have fun, and the role that played.

I liked Yura's delusions. Which is why episode 4 was a big turning point. Implying some degree of magic or supernatural powers can make a series better for me, because the idea of some things in the world being influenced by events outside our control always intrigues me as a concept. Yura's delusions faded (intentionally) as the series went on, but the final one in episode 12 in that pink mindspace was kind of amazing to see. I wouldn't have minded an entire episode set inside the fantasies.

The show really was Yura and Sonora's story. Seeing Yura attempt to live up to her role model, and her role model's friend, always felt like a natural progression of her character to me. She seems like the type who's kind of susceptible to new ideas but, in her mind, at least trying to do the right thing. It became hard to watch at points, but it never felt like it wasn't leading up to somewhere. The writers understand dramatic tension. I understand this part deviated from the manga, but when viewed on its own, it was interesting to watch, and had some ideas it clearly wanted to communicate. Rin was never portrayed as the bad guy either, even if her school has more gray and black than I'm comfortable with. It was all good character-based comedy/drama.

While it had a very strong through-line with Yura, it came at the expense of everyone else. Karila, Yachiyo, Honoka and Rento mostly ended up as the peanut gallery, commenting on the action more than they participated in it. I wanted more of Yachi and Kari's hijinks. I was also interested in Rento because her voice actor is a newbie, and distinct in a way that, if she gets any future roles, I'll recognize her for sure. Standard reference to Ai Kayano's chameleon-like voice.

I'm glad the show had some fanservice. While TBS' broadcast standards mean that a panty shot may never be shown, meaning it was a bit tame, I like shows that sexy things up a bit. Episodes 4-6 were my high point of the series. (Also 13, which gave the not-SonoYura members a chance to shine). The flag moment with the shell/leaf bikinis was wonderful. And SonoYura are also a good choice for a yuri couple, though SonoRin also has potential.

The opening is pleasant, and the ending (especially once its proper animation kicks in. Between this and Neptunia, schedules can be tough) was one of the catchiest of the season (non-cover category). A good march gets the body moving.

Final Thoughts: I came in looking for some schoolgirl hijinks, because I can accept cuteness in the context of nearly anything, and I got a surprisingly strong character arc with some supernatural furnishings that proves maybe military anime and I can get along. Could've used more of the other four club members, but they'd be fleshed out a little more in a different kind of story. My final verdict? A sleeper hit.

Now I'm really looking forward to Sabagebu. It has Ohta directing and more importantly, it has a platypus. I can't hate anything with a platypus in it!
 
D

dakkumauji

Member
Servant x Service 13

The last few minutes of the episode reminds me how much I just love the supporting cast in this show.

Well a fun ride. Totally doubt we'll get a season two so oh well.
 
G

Gazoinks

Member
Black Lagoon 3

Can I just say again how awesome this OP is? Kinda hard to take seriously because of the singer's engrishy pronunciation at times, but still awesome.

Summary of this episode: Character development and then Revy beat the crap out of everyone. And it was awesome.

Y'know what the one thing Michiko to Hatchin really spoiled me on? Outfit variety. In that show, every character had a new outfit every day and now it always stands out when characters don't in other shows.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
The Flowers of Evil 6

Well, I can no longer deny it. I am well and truly hooked. Like a good book, I cannot put this show down. I need to know what happens next. And the best part is that, horrid, disreputable, and disgusting as some of the things that transpire here are, I am compelled, if only by human nature, to admit that in many ways, I relate to young Kasuga. I have very much been in the place of a young man who could not let go of an error, no matter how long after the point where I needed to forgive myself and move on. Kasuga needs, I would say, someone to tell. Someone other than Nakamura. If he doesn't confess, this secret will fester in him.

On a purely surface level, it's frustrating to see Kasuga obey Nakamura. He should have destroyed the clothing as soon as he could, and put any evidence from his mind. Perhaps years of being challenged by others has made me think that Kasuga should have looked Nakamura in the eye, lied to her face, and stood his ground, conscience be damned. Especially if she were to accuse him before others.

But moving beyond that, Nakamura's power over Kasuga is entirely something he delivers to her. His surrender to evil, to the devil, to Nakamura, is entirely voluntary. Whatever it is about evil that allures us, in Kasuga's place his own incapacity to forgive himself, fear of social retribution, and of course, the almost undeniable fact that he wants, on some level, this manner of excitement, is the reason he cannot break free of the devil's grasp.

The thing is, though, Nakamura is not the devil. She is not the embodiment of evil. She is not the destroyer. She is a teenage girl, and skilled as she is at this game, she isn't invincible. Maybe I'm different from Kasuga in this regard, but I don't really think so: Nakamura can only push him so far. His self-guilt is going to let her push him beyond limits that most would considerable reasonable, but when she hits the limitations of that self-guilt, there's going to be some blow-back. If I were him, I'd take it and take it until I couldn't, and then there would be something very, very frightening on the other end of that.

And you can see it. On the surface, it looks like Kasuga is just struggling impotently before her, but on the other hand, his anger is growing more pronounced, more volatile, or just plain more every time she interferes. He's growing more bold, more violent, just as Nakamura is getting more desperate in her need to see him do something perverse. This situation cannot hold, and in the end, it is going to get really, really ugly.

Or, in other words, by God ladies and gentlemen there had better be a knifing at the end of this show. Or at least something equally spectacular.

Moving along from that, the other interesting element is Saeki. Now, of course, Kasuga's put the girl up on a pedestal as an angel, but it is clear from her behavior that she is very kind and very brave. She appreciates Kasuga's standing up for Nakamura, and she reaches out to Nakamura, and is shown having to be concerned for the girl.

Or is she? Disregarding for a moment Nakamura's silly accusations of perversion (Saeki is a teenager, of COURSE she's thinking about sex. The sooner humanity realizes teenagers do this all the time, the sooner we can all try and make Junior High less of Hell.) Saeki is a nice girl, sure, but she's also pretty, popular, and, it would appear, sheltered. What could she possibly know about an outcast like Nakamura? Is she really sympathetic to her, or is her worry more the pity of the rich, beautiful, and sheltered for those unfortunate not to be born into similar circumstances? Saeki's pity is likely not something Nakamura needs or wants, and while it may show the girl as kind (and her inviting Nakamura to lunch and risking her social situation to reach out to her is inarguably brave), it's also not purely altruistic. For all one knows, Nakamura may be a subconscious charity case in Saeki's view. Who knows? No one is that easy to read.

And I dare say that having said this much, I've proven that the show really does have me hooked.
 
F

FelixOrion

Poet Centuriate
Seraphis Cain said:
Toradora 11 (rewatch)

Urusai count = Episode: 3 Total: 23

And so begins the "Taiga's father" storyline, as well as the school festival arc. Probably the first time the show really ramps up the drama.

Also I was looking for a certain gif for this post since I'm too lazy to fire up GifCam, and I found this instead:



I need this. Oh god I need this so bad.
Click to expand...

I...I don't even buy figures and this calling to me...something's wrong with me...

Seraphis Cain said:
Holy shit, you guys.

http://toradora.xyz.is/

The Toradora PSP game is being translated! And they're 87% done!

:D :D :D
Click to expand...

I don't even have a PSP...

jman2050 said:
Yep. The anime not having a pregnant Taiga ending is indeed a hole that needs to be filled expediently.
Click to expand...

I second this motion.

chickdigger802 said:
time to catch'em up.

yamato 2199 7

animegaf.
iJtKdfCKFFf75.gif
Click to expand...

...

that is really is basically me, except I'm not fat in the least.

chickdigger802 said:
my orange is ready.

Jeremiah00.jpg
Click to expand...

Look at this sexy mofo. He
raises tomatos
doesn't afraid of anything.

Tenumi said:
Infinite Stratos: 11 & 12 (END)



Well, that was certainly a fun show. Very good show, actually. Kinda surprised about that. Well developed characters given the show length. All the IS battles were very fun to watch. And of course, the Harem lives on...
Click to expand...

Season 2? Season 2. I need that Charlotte.

chickdigger802 said:
and hentai ova are also allowed for aoty.
Click to expand...

Are people still doing that "hentai wednesdays" or whatnot?
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Toradora OVA (rewatch)

Urusai count = Episode: 1 Total: 25

I decided to watch this now since it pretty much fits in right around episode 13 (still has the first OP/ED,
Taiga still gets nervous around Kitamura
, etc). And yeah, total filler. Still pretty funny, though. And man, Japanese boxed lunches look so damn good.
 
B

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Wait, people have been seeing Mystical Laws and I didn't notice?

I need links everyone's reviews!
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Muromi-san OVA

God, I'd forgotten how lewd this show could get. Cucumbers...

Pretty funny though, especially the part where Muromi essentially
buys smack
.
 
S

Shergal

Member
Hmm, they uploaded some stills from the first ep of Kyoukai no Kanata along with a plot synopsis here. The usual thing they do.

Still the weakest part of the show, visually speaking, is the overall digital composition and colour management I think. Especially in 'afternoon' scenes dominated by oranges it looks way over-saturated.

still_04.jpg
still_07.jpg
Click to expand...

It's as if they run the whole thing through a filter, add some bloom and call it a day. It lacks the selectivity Hyouka had in how it painted the screen- for scenes similar to the above, it was far less saturated, with more prominence of darker shades and little effort touches here and there- some greenish hues, more variance in the skin colour of the characters, accounting for different light sources.

Some of the other screens look better, and there's a glimpse of nice action/effects. Looking forward to that.
 
D

DeadRockstar

Member
Yozakura Quartet OVA: Hoshi no Umi

Very well animated borderline nonsense. The concept is interesting enough, the action is fairly well choreographed and occasionally absurd(barrage of planes?!) and at least the central thrust of the plot is easy to grasp. The same studio seems to be doing the TV series that starts this week, so I'll probably give that a shot. The PV suggests the action will either match or beat the quality of the OVA, so fingers crossed.
 
W

wonzo

Banned
duckroll said:
I'm not really happy with it to be honest. I just made up shit to fill the slots and there isn't a real sense of thematic progression. Help! :(
Click to expand...
If someone can give me the mangled names of the Big Green DBZ dub cast then I can totes work some magic.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Hardware Unboxed - Is High-Speed Memory Worth It For Gaming? Stock vs. EXPO/XMP
9
895
luca_29_bg replied
DF Direct Weekly #172: PS5 Pro Still Coming in 2024? No Man's Sky Mega Update, Intel CPU Instability
1
354
proandrad replied
[Digital Foundry] Handheld PC Triple-A Gaming: Lenovo Legion Go vs OneXPlayer 2 Pro vs AyaNeo Kun vs Asus ROG Ally
Analysis Review
21
2K
DJ12 replied
MVG: What was the N64 Expansion Pak actually used for?
Retro Hardware
17
3K
Astral Dog replied
Animal Well | Review Thread
Analysis Review
4
1K
Fbh replied
Top Bottom