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Fall of Anime 2012 |OT2| O cursed spite, that ever I was born to UUURRRRYYY!!
- Thread starter kayos90
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It's good to see that I am not alone in my viewing experience of From the New World. I spent several minutes last night and this morning trying to figure out why the episode was not as good as I thought that it should have been. My initial answer was that the show was not creating enough dramatic tension. All sorts of scenes that should have been filled with an atmosphere of danger, seemed to me to be flat. Then I read the above post, and I couldn't agree more. "Frustratingly pedestrian" captures perfectly how the story was being hindered by the story telling. I will keep watching the show for the story, but I really hope that the storytelling improves.
Maybe I can auction it off for some decent coin in a couple of years to collectors.
Hyouka
Shitchanda
dropped
Some asshole broke into my house last week and took my DS Lite. Thankfully I only have a desktop and they left my game collection alone. I suppose I needed to get a 3DS at some point anyway. But still, assholes.
So you don't think there's an ulterior, or even, subconscious motive for Satoru's actions? I feel like the show has been too smartly written up to this point to resort straight to "Yeah, this must just be happening so we, as viewers, can see Cantus Powers". I definitely believed while watching that this dynamic exists for a reason that's yet to be fully explained. Could be wrong, but I think it's too soon to assume one way or another.Warning - text incoming.
[From the New World] - 6
This is about as much explanation as Satoru gives for going off to hunt trash-mobs:
Is that really necessary? Couldn't they, you know, run away and look for the rest of their group? I understand that we need to see Satoru in action to see the frightening power of Cantus but frankly we already saw that back in episode four when the monk went all out. Saki does try and argue with Satoru but only for a minute before giving in. She attempts to dissuade him again a little bit later in the episode but still, I can't really understand their motivation for doing what they're doing.
Warning - text incoming.
[From the New World] - 6
It's not very hard to point out what's wrong with this episode - about 3/4 of it are devoted the build up to an action sequence or an action sequence itself. Even if these sequences were done well, which they aren't (more on that later) that's not what I'm looking for from this story. More over I'm not entirely sure why the characters are doing what they're doing. This is about as much explanation as Satoru gives for going off to hunt trash-mobs:
Is that really necessary? Couldn't they, you know, run away and look for the rest of their group? I understand that we need to see Satoru in action to see the frightening power of Cantus but frankly we already saw that back in episode four when the monk went all out. Saki does try and argue with Satoru but only for a minute before giving in. She attempts to dissuade him again a little bit later in the episode but still, I can't really understand their motivation for doing what they're doing.
I actually thought this was fine as it show Satoru is going insane with power similar to that Emperor. There seems to be something linked with the TK gene where people get off using their powers in abusive ways. He was essentially going on a sadistic killing rampage. I thought this highlighted how necessary the restrictions on the TK society were.
Either way, these past two episodes have been a drop off a cliff in regards to quality.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
Speak for yourself. If anyone jerks to my art I'll be damn proud. Though I'll admit... that isn't entirely my point when I sit down and draw.
Train of Midnight
Banned
Start Driver - 01
That shit. Was. Fucking. Dope.
Animation is top notch!!!!
That shit. Was. Fucking. Dope.
Animation is top notch!!!!
I'm glad you liked the animation. You'll be seeing it lots in the future.
Jex I'm not sure where we stand with spoilers these days so I'm covering up some of what you've said for those who haven't watched the episode.
I felt this was covered slightly by the conversation Saki has with Satoru while still
.
I know you're being flippant by saying that
, but that's really not the case at all. As per episode 5,
. With Satoru's
, and the fact that
, he's offering to help because he was asked to.
Satoru has always been presented as gung-ho and reckless with his Power - this is emphasised in episode 3
.
As for Saki, I don't think her lack of assertiveness is particularly out of character either.
. Her dislike of
has been well-documented, again in episode 4 in particular, but she merely voices her concerns rather than actively trying to act on them.
While Satoru's sudden maturity is a little odd compared to the very childlike way he acted in the earlier episodes, I still don't think the character motivation here is completely off the wall.
Now this I agree with - the start of the episode was just plain poor. While I thought the idea from a storytelling point of view was interesting, the execution of it lacks clarity.
I felt this was covered slightly by the conversation Saki has with Satoru while still
underground
They have no idea where the others are - or, indeed, where they are. They're only going to get more lost.
I know you're being flippant by saying that
Satoru is going off to "fight trash-mobs"
Squealer asks Saki and Satoru for help in defending his Queen and the colony
Power/Cantus/whatever restored
the Bakenezumi refer to all those with Power as "gods"
Satoru has always been presented as gung-ho and reckless with his Power - this is emphasised in episode 3
in how he over-exerts himself with the boat and when he plays the trick on the haythatcher egg
He's looking to prove something at all times, and is frequently undermined by Shun in particular. I don't think it's outside of his character to try and "play the hero" for Squealer's colony.
As for Saki, I don't think her lack of assertiveness is particularly out of character either.
While she was the one who drove the interrogation in episode 4, that makes sense because she's curious and open-minded about the world
aggression against other creatures but particularly the Bakenezumi
While Satoru's sudden maturity is a little odd compared to the very childlike way he acted in the earlier episodes, I still don't think the character motivation here is completely off the wall.
Now this I agree with - the start of the episode was just plain poor. While I thought the idea from a storytelling point of view was interesting, the execution of it lacks clarity.
Positive thinking will help you with Star Driver, I assure you.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
my life is complete
Jex
Member
I certainly agree that, after Satoru gets a taste for power he certainly revels in, at the cost of his own health. That's clearly meant to demonstrate the danger of an uncontrolled, untrained TK user. However Satoru makes his decision to engage on this mission before he's even used his TK for combat. He's determined to do it right off the bat.
I'll agree with your characterisation Satoru up to a point but I really don't think he's interested in defending the queerats. From what we've seen Saki is the only one who cares about their lives and everyone else has just treated them like shit. I don't think Satoru cares whether they live or die, perhaps he's looking for a fight for some other reason.
I think that particular angle is made apparent fairly early on in the episode even prior to Satoru getting a taste of his power, however it continues to beat the point throughout. This wouldn't necessarily be a major issue if the action was exciting to watch, but its not. Failing as an action episode, it leaves the viewer to focus on the other problems in the episode too. By the 2nd half the episode feels like it is just dragging its feet from one ambush point to the next where Saki will make another halfhearted plea and Satoru will continue to ignore her. Most of the story and character elements present in other episodes stall and fall away, outside of Satoro's development which isn't particularly well handled in itself either.
This episode was like watching a turn based random encounter RPG in anime form, but lacking any of the good parts of that system. The characters walk a certain distance and get attacked, the monsters go first and then Satoru attacks 2nd, battle over. Rinse and repeat about 3-4 times.
Master Milk
Member
Is no one watching Panzer? I don't remember seeing any gifs of that fish dance.
I know duckroll and myself are, not sure who else. It's a fun show, without a lot of lazy fanservice that you would usually expect from something like this, plus a bunch of cool tank shit.
Fish dance was hilarious btw.
Jex
Member
Now, a number of people have described the action in the sixth episode of From the New World as bland or boring and I'll certainly agree with that. However, it's worth briefly looking at how one scene is put together so we can see what, exactly, he did wrong. Here's the pond ambush in full (click to see a larger image):
The above images captures all the camera movement in the scene. As you may have noticed, there's practically none. It's a series of images that follow onto each other but with no smooth transitions in the way of camera movement or match-on-action or match-on-image. It's a series of hard cuts which is very noticeable when you look at the scene all at once - there's no attempt to hide the edits between the shots and they stand out like a sore thumb. As there's no camerawork to speak of and the editing is extremely flat there's nothing dynamic or interesting about this action scene. If there's no tension and no excitement then what's the point of an action scene? A couple of reaction-shots aren't going to suddenly make things interesting.
Compare and contrast with another show from the same. I know this might be considered a little unfair because Ando is one of the greatest action directors in anime but I think it's helpful to highlight how wide the gulf is between a bad action scene and a good one (click to see larger image):
It's pretty clear how much more camera work there is in this scene. On multiple occasions the camera will track a character as they move around the shot, something which barely happens at all in the scene from From the New World. In fact, the camera never stays still, sometimes it's panning, or tracking or rolling with a character, it even switches to a POV shot at one point. It's always doing something interesting to put the viewer into the action. You can also see how superior the editing is here - the transitions between images is considerably smoother given the sequence a really smooth flow.
The above images captures all the camera movement in the scene. As you may have noticed, there's practically none. It's a series of images that follow onto each other but with no smooth transitions in the way of camera movement or match-on-action or match-on-image. It's a series of hard cuts which is very noticeable when you look at the scene all at once - there's no attempt to hide the edits between the shots and they stand out like a sore thumb. As there's no camerawork to speak of and the editing is extremely flat there's nothing dynamic or interesting about this action scene. If there's no tension and no excitement then what's the point of an action scene? A couple of reaction-shots aren't going to suddenly make things interesting.
Compare and contrast with another show from the same. I know this might be considered a little unfair because Ando is one of the greatest action directors in anime but I think it's helpful to highlight how wide the gulf is between a bad action scene and a good one (click to see larger image):
It's pretty clear how much more camera work there is in this scene. On multiple occasions the camera will track a character as they move around the shot, something which barely happens at all in the scene from From the New World. In fact, the camera never stays still, sometimes it's panning, or tracking or rolling with a character, it even switches to a POV shot at one point. It's always doing something interesting to put the viewer into the action. You can also see how superior the editing is here - the transitions between images is considerably smoother given the sequence a really smooth flow.
What prompted this?
PdotMichael
Banned
I talked with Duckroll about it sometimes but this thread is the wrong place for GuP.
[Shin Sekai yori]
I know that. The differences simply made me wonder how faithful each adaptation is really.
If you've read the manga, would you say the events of the TV series are closer to those of the novel?
Why? I've been sort of interested in watching it for a while, but I've never really gotten around to it.
Train of Midnight
Banned
Because the reuse a lot of it? Sure seems like it.
From The New World - 06
Yeah, I'm not to happy with this episode. Others have already mentioned all of the flaws, and I really must agree how poorly directed this was. While the fifth episode had a different style of direction, it definitely wasn't as bad as this, the scene transitions were handled so poorly that it was quite a chore trying to follow everything that's going on. The beginning was especially weird, the hallucination had no importance whatsoever for the episode, but I'm hoping it will be touched upon later.
Visually, I'm glad we're back to the standard character designs and there were some nice looking scenes but the CG was so bad it ruined the episode, it really did. This show has doesn't use shading, everything is drawn to look as flat as possible, and it gives it a really nice style. How the fuck are you going to use CG stones that look 3D and are so out of fucking place that it completely destroys any form of visual identity the show ever had. Fuck. I really hope they change that shit for the BD release.
Yeah, I'm not to happy with this episode. Others have already mentioned all of the flaws, and I really must agree how poorly directed this was. While the fifth episode had a different style of direction, it definitely wasn't as bad as this, the scene transitions were handled so poorly that it was quite a chore trying to follow everything that's going on. The beginning was especially weird, the hallucination had no importance whatsoever for the episode, but I'm hoping it will be touched upon later.
Visually, I'm glad we're back to the standard character designs and there were some nice looking scenes but the CG was so bad it ruined the episode, it really did. This show has doesn't use shading, everything is drawn to look as flat as possible, and it gives it a really nice style. How the fuck are you going to use CG stones that look 3D and are so out of fucking place that it completely destroys any form of visual identity the show ever had. Fuck. I really hope they change that shit for the BD release.
Tekkonkinkreet
I know, I know, super late to the party on this one.
While Tekkonkinkreet is a beautiful film, I will admit to finding it a little boring, mostly because the characters felt too shallow. White's "mystical autism" or whatever you want to call it moved from endearing to irritating to baffling over the course of the film, and Black's psychological instability didn't really ring true to me. Of the adults, although I liked the asexual detective I felt the rest were too close to "stock film characters", with predictable story arcs I didn't care for.
I personally wouldn't fault the film visually - I loved the Noiseman Sound Insect-esque cityscapes (I didn't realise that Koji Morimoto had directed a pilot version of this film!), and thought everything from Kiddy Kastle onwards was almost flawless to look at. It's just a shame that I wasn't really very invested in what was going on.
I know, I know, super late to the party on this one.
While Tekkonkinkreet is a beautiful film, I will admit to finding it a little boring, mostly because the characters felt too shallow. White's "mystical autism" or whatever you want to call it moved from endearing to irritating to baffling over the course of the film, and Black's psychological instability didn't really ring true to me. Of the adults, although I liked the asexual detective I felt the rest were too close to "stock film characters", with predictable story arcs I didn't care for.
I personally wouldn't fault the film visually - I loved the Noiseman Sound Insect-esque cityscapes (I didn't realise that Koji Morimoto had directed a pilot version of this film!), and thought everything from Kiddy Kastle onwards was almost flawless to look at. It's just a shame that I wasn't really very invested in what was going on.
dakkumauji
Member
Pokemon B/W Rival Destinies 38
Catch up with old friends, love triangles, funny episode though.
Catch up with old friends, love triangles, funny episode though.
Master Milk
Member
I wasn't feeling the first episode that much, but after catching up on the other three I definitely agree.
The wrong place? Where else would you talk about anime but in the anime thread? Or do you mean that most here aren't going to appreciate a lighthearted tank anime? I . . . I can actually agree with that.
Well at least you have something animated unlike.. JoJo ;__;
=======================
[K] - 05
We finally have Miyano x Fukujun showoff but what a shame they doing this with goddamn uninteresting character, arghhhh...
The fight is hella awesome, still proving this show providing many of the best animation this season. Shitty CG, Filter and repeated background ruin the potential hype.
A whim coming off the harem antics of Asobi ni Iku yo.
Well now, that's a bit interesting. I didn't know he was working on something else.
Wonder if his tirade will hurt its chances of making it into an anime?
Charlotte is so cute!
You got that right sir!
Because there were rabbits in the source image.
I can agree to this. I'm used to slow paced shows, and even a fan of many of them. Its a case of having to be in a specific mindset with plenty of time to absorb an episode. If you try to rush an episode paced like that you wont get far. Shows like this should continue to be made, however, because frenetic pace and heavy storylines aren't always what a person wants to see. I like shows that sometimes sit back and observe living at a leisurely pace. what I DO NOT like though, is boring as fuck events given false importance for the sake of drumming up audience excitement. Its forced and unnecessary.
I didn't expect supernatural events like FTNW, but I did expect some sort of deeper mystery to suddenly befall the cast that would take several arcs to resolve. Instead we got the festival arc, which was I suppose a fitting substitute, although disappointing.
Crash Station
Member
Still no power, but it looks like they kept the thing in Cod Breaker that really pissed me off. Excellent :/
People seem to put a lot of weight on the festival arc. I thought it was great, but I never thought of it as the meat of the show. For me, Oreki's progression in the larger narrative has always been my favorite thing about Hyouka. I guess I just like KyoAni male leads, since Tomoya and Kyon were big reasons for me enjoying After Story and the Haruhi series, and I'm really enjoying Yuuta in Chuunibyou and feel that he has an interesting dilemma coming to him.
Jex
Member
Its glorious bro. LOL
Ultimadrago
Member
I'm not sure if Ogami's good ol' burning to the face will ever get old.
Oh man Noiseman Sound Insect. Such a unique piece of animation.
I think it partly inspired Tweeny witches, which you should really check out ASAP if you are a fan of Studio4C at all. It has similarly crazy world design, pursuing little creatures, and trippy animation/events. Its really fun.
I hope not!
It's currently tied with Kaibutsu-kun for my favorite of the season.
I'm not very talkative, though.
No because it is shit. Duckroll especially is shit. Your taste is shit, all your favorite anime is shit, and even your favorite food is shit.
Girls Und Panzer is bad and everyone who likes it should feel bad.
PdotMichael
Banned
I think it's a big turn off if people using the Holocaust to make the show bad. It's not just missing the poin but absolutely tasteless too.
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
Don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel.
I was going to drop the series after the first episode, but I feel compelled to continue now to see what is garnering such a strong reaction.
Master Milk
Member
So what you're saying is, it's your favorite show of the season?
Doing what now?
See, normally I don't really mind what anime picks as its subject, but taking WW2 and turning it into a game for little high school girls is a little... I want to say "bit too much," but the show is still pretty harmless and I don't want to act like I'm on some sort of sensitivity high horse here.
Better to just call it a dumb show and kind of tasteless.
Firehawk doesn't like the appropriation of WW2 German military imagery for a show about cute girls driving tanks, and made this very clear in the last thread.
I am surprised more people aren't watching the show - I know Pdot's quite big on military stuff in general but I'd have thought the show would have more appeal than that. I have no interest in cute girl shows OR tanks, which is why I'm not watching it, but I'm hardly reflective of other people's tastes.
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