firehawk12
Subete no aware
But are you a better manager now?Silh said:
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Spring 2011 Anime Thread of ZAWA ZAWA, Money, emo Cyclops, and fun^10xint^40=Ir2
- Thread starter InfiniteNine
- Start date
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DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Steroyd said:
Anime's most skillful troll
Crash Station
Member
MCD said:Toujo's first scene in the Manga:
And here is the Anime:
Taken from AniDB.
Welp, they sure fucked this up.
Wow, that's bullshit. Guess I got no more reason to wait for the anime to get better. I'll still watch the Toujo fight though.
Haha. The fact that it's aimed towards business people is pretty much forgettable, especially in the last two episodes when veers towards melodrama which it kind of failed to deliver. I would've liked to see something like the team being moved to tears after finally seeing success instead of what little we saw, as teased in the ED. Maybe the live action will handle this better, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see the same story in a different medium.firehawk12 said:
Jex
Member
Emma 1-4
Leaving any jokes about elephants, maids and harems aside (which is frankly quite a painful thing to do) and you seem to have a typical 'anime romance' story that just happens to be set in Victorian England. Look, the slightly awkward male who can't confess he's feelings talk to the shy girl who keeps her thoughts to herself! Will they ever sort themselves out? Cue three seasons of bullshit non-plot and painful misunderstandings!
Lots of anime romances have a similar 'core' and they tend to be, by and large, utter rubbish. But that isn't because there's anything inherently wrong with that concept, it's just become clichéd due to overuse. That, coupled with dog-awful quality of the writing and directing, is enough to sink those shows faster than a lead whale. Even when production is acceptable the pacing tends to be...well, I won't name anyKimi Ni Todoke names. You get the idea.
Emma succeeds where so many other shows fail because it isn't written like the author has grown up watching crappy anime romance shows. Where lesser shows have the characters explain all the innermost thoughts every five minutes, characters in Emma may say only a couple of lines, and maybe not even that. We read their thoughts and emotions in other ways, through their faces, their actions and the visual language of film. That's right, this show is subtle! This isn't a rare thing when we're talking about romance in general, but it's certainly a breath of fresh air for anime. This is the biggest difference between Emma and other works, but it's not the only worth noting.
All the production work, courtesy of Studio Pierrot, is excellent. We've got lovely character designs, background art and animation. I wouldn't bring this up, except that the team had to work quite hard to sell us on the unique setting of Victorian England, so this means fancy locations, clothes and elaborate hair. If they hadn't done their work here then the world would have felt flat and the charm of the setting would have been lost to the ether.
The director is a little guy named Tsuneo Kobayash, who you may know from The 12 Kingdoms and not much else. While he only directed and storyboarded three of the twelve episodes in this first season his work on the first episode is noticeable, if only that it sold me on the rest of the series. Having people talk to other people all episode can easily be very boring indeed, which is no doubt why many anime spice this formula up with wacky hijinks and general hilarity in an effort to stop the viewer from drifting into unconsciousness. SCROTUM. See how smooth that was?
Shinbo, the man behind such talk-fests as Bakemonogatari, relies heavily on jarring and lively camera work to inject the scene with some semblance of action. You can, however, do it the 'classic' way. With a nice script, believable acting and sharp pacing. Emma largely relies on this approach to move things along. Without going in to great length about all the techniques at play all I can say is that the approach taken on this show makes such sequences 'charming' rather than 'boring'. Unexpected moments of hilarity will crop-up to give the audience a smile, but they feel like a natural part of the flow rather than a heavy-handed joke.
In other words, it's a good start to the show!
Leaving any jokes about elephants, maids and harems aside (which is frankly quite a painful thing to do) and you seem to have a typical 'anime romance' story that just happens to be set in Victorian England. Look, the slightly awkward male who can't confess he's feelings talk to the shy girl who keeps her thoughts to herself! Will they ever sort themselves out? Cue three seasons of bullshit non-plot and painful misunderstandings!
Lots of anime romances have a similar 'core' and they tend to be, by and large, utter rubbish. But that isn't because there's anything inherently wrong with that concept, it's just become clichéd due to overuse. That, coupled with dog-awful quality of the writing and directing, is enough to sink those shows faster than a lead whale. Even when production is acceptable the pacing tends to be...well, I won't name any
Emma succeeds where so many other shows fail because it isn't written like the author has grown up watching crappy anime romance shows. Where lesser shows have the characters explain all the innermost thoughts every five minutes, characters in Emma may say only a couple of lines, and maybe not even that. We read their thoughts and emotions in other ways, through their faces, their actions and the visual language of film. That's right, this show is subtle! This isn't a rare thing when we're talking about romance in general, but it's certainly a breath of fresh air for anime. This is the biggest difference between Emma and other works, but it's not the only worth noting.
All the production work, courtesy of Studio Pierrot, is excellent. We've got lovely character designs, background art and animation. I wouldn't bring this up, except that the team had to work quite hard to sell us on the unique setting of Victorian England, so this means fancy locations, clothes and elaborate hair. If they hadn't done their work here then the world would have felt flat and the charm of the setting would have been lost to the ether.
The director is a little guy named Tsuneo Kobayash, who you may know from The 12 Kingdoms and not much else. While he only directed and storyboarded three of the twelve episodes in this first season his work on the first episode is noticeable, if only that it sold me on the rest of the series. Having people talk to other people all episode can easily be very boring indeed, which is no doubt why many anime spice this formula up with wacky hijinks and general hilarity in an effort to stop the viewer from drifting into unconsciousness. SCROTUM. See how smooth that was?
Shinbo, the man behind such talk-fests as Bakemonogatari, relies heavily on jarring and lively camera work to inject the scene with some semblance of action. You can, however, do it the 'classic' way. With a nice script, believable acting and sharp pacing. Emma largely relies on this approach to move things along. Without going in to great length about all the techniques at play all I can say is that the approach taken on this show makes such sequences 'charming' rather than 'boring'. Unexpected moments of hilarity will crop-up to give the audience a smile, but they feel like a natural part of the flow rather than a heavy-handed joke.
In other words, it's a good start to the show!
Dedication Through Light
Member
Finally finished Bakuman. Glad it went a tad bit furthur than where I read in the english volumes (v4), though they had some wonky thing going on with final episode and final chapter when viewed in total (ignoring Miho), while the manga didnt cover why Hattori isnt their editor anymore. Excellent cant wait for season 2 and hope Fukuda gets serialized, he deserves it.
Now to watch this week's releases...oh and am surprised Fairy Tail is finally into Edolas, should pop in and watch, edo Natsu.
Now to watch this week's releases...oh and am surprised Fairy Tail is finally into Edolas, should pop in and watch, edo Natsu.
Hellsing321
Member
I have three 24hours all access passes for Crunchyroll if anyone wants them. Figure its better to use them than let them go to waste.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
I also have a 24-hour Crunchyroll all-access guest pass if Hellsing's passes run out and someone still wants them.
Detective Conan 3
I like how these three elementary school students see a dead body stabbed with a knife and their reaction isn't horror or disgust but "Oh boy! We need to become friends with Conan so we can see more dead bodies!" Must be all that desensitizing violence in media.
Detective Conan 3
I like how these three elementary school students see a dead body stabbed with a knife and their reaction isn't horror or disgust but "Oh boy! We need to become friends with Conan so we can see more dead bodies!" Must be all that desensitizing violence in media.
Jex
Member
Vampire Princess Miyu TV 1
I would say that this isn't exactly what I was expecting but as I wasn't sure what to expect that isn't strictly true. It certainly feels very Japanese horror, specifically the notion of having
reminds me of Requiem from the Darkness (have you seen this, Hitokage?), as both works lean heavily on the trappings of horror, rather than just a supernatural story.
Speaking of horror trappings, a hugely important element in generating horror/suspense is the use of an oppressive, disturbing atmosphere, which in this episode was achieved largely with the use of Kenji Kawai's impressive, dirge-like (shitty word, I know) score. Importantly this score wasn't just reserved for say,
but rather every scene was scored with a different piece so that the mood was maintained throughout the show. This is basic, but important stuff that other directors tend to somehow forget.
The camera work was very restrictive, in that we had a lot of close-ups. These restrict the information available to the viewer, constantly forcing them to imagine what might be going on outside their field of vision. Once again, this is another technique common in horror works. It's also a little weird to see shots like these so frequently (for example, the repeated imagery of staring down at ones feet) so it also unsettles the viewer. Like the sound, this cinematography is present throughout the episode, so that the mood is maintained.
Of particular note is the scene
Is there anything else to say? Oh yes, I see they
I would say that this isn't exactly what I was expecting but as I wasn't sure what to expect that isn't strictly true. It certainly feels very Japanese horror, specifically the notion of having
a supernatural group cleanse evil spirits from this world while having some interaction with a 'normal' human
Then again, they even killed the 'normal' guy, so the audience is left without a tether point to relate with. Although he was kind of a dick, so seeing him tumble to his death wasn't entirely unsatisfactory, even if it did seem a tad extreme.
Speaking of horror trappings, a hugely important element in generating horror/suspense is the use of an oppressive, disturbing atmosphere, which in this episode was achieved largely with the use of Kenji Kawai's impressive, dirge-like (shitty word, I know) score. Importantly this score wasn't just reserved for say,
killing scenes,
The camera work was very restrictive, in that we had a lot of close-ups. These restrict the information available to the viewer, constantly forcing them to imagine what might be going on outside their field of vision. Once again, this is another technique common in horror works. It's also a little weird to see shots like these so frequently (for example, the repeated imagery of staring down at ones feet) so it also unsettles the viewer. Like the sound, this cinematography is present throughout the episode, so that the mood is maintained.
Of particular note is the scene
where the teacher first comes home and talks at her chameleon. The whole scene is certainly weird to look at, but the repeated use of that odd, grating noise whenever she's finished talking is especially disturbing. It's not even a noise that sounds like anything you've ever heard before.
Coming home and talking to your pet isn't that odd, even if it has obvious implications about loneliness, but things get a slight more freaky after the boy mentions that the teacher has no boyfriend, which of course leaves us to think of the chameleon as a poor substitute for a boyfriend, after all it's companionship qualities seem rather doubtful. However, we later see the teacher pressed naked on a giant Chameleonoid figure, making the earlier sexual implications more pronounced and disturbing.
Of course, the Chameleon itself is a simple metaphor. It changes it's colour to pretend to be something it isn't. The teacher tells her students that's she isn't like them, she isn't a thief. However, isn't this just her claiming to be one thing when actually she's another? Much like chameleon itself.
Coming home and talking to your pet isn't that odd, even if it has obvious implications about loneliness, but things get a slight more freaky after the boy mentions that the teacher has no boyfriend, which of course leaves us to think of the chameleon as a poor substitute for a boyfriend, after all it's companionship qualities seem rather doubtful. However, we later see the teacher pressed naked on a giant Chameleonoid figure, making the earlier sexual implications more pronounced and disturbing.
Of course, the Chameleon itself is a simple metaphor. It changes it's colour to pretend to be something it isn't. The teacher tells her students that's she isn't like them, she isn't a thief. However, isn't this just her claiming to be one thing when actually she's another? Much like chameleon itself.
Is there anything else to say? Oh yes, I see they
reserved some animation for that brief fight at the end. Surprisingly well animated and thoroughly gory. Great.
Moshidora 6-10
Episode 8 was going so well that the end hits hard.
Episode 9 had a sad start, then there was Minami's rant, which felt a bit cheesy here and there, but quite understandable, and I liked when Jiro tells her to shut up and she turns around and tells him "no you shut up". Ayano's tackle was majestic. I didn't like how Minami being there or not during the game was such a pivotal element in them changing around their mood, but I can overlook that because...
Episode 10 was great. It hits all the right spots with me and brings a nice closure (Yunosuke's batting,
, the songs) to what I feel was a great show.
I still can't completely get over
Damn it, Yuki! Why!!
Episode 9 had a sad start, then there was Minami's rant, which felt a bit cheesy here and there, but quite understandable, and I liked when Jiro tells her to shut up and she turns around and tells him "no you shut up". Ayano's tackle was majestic. I didn't like how Minami being there or not during the game was such a pivotal element in them changing around their mood, but I can overlook that because...
Episode 10 was great. It hits all the right spots with me and brings a nice closure (Yunosuke's batting,
Yuki's "ghost"
I still can't completely get over
Yuki's death, it was too sad considering she was the reason Minami became a manager in the first place, and Minami had to get together with her damnit!.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Ah, it tries to tell a story then? I may catch up with this last week just to see what happens.Silh said:
I had no idea there was going to be a live action adaptation though. :lol
Wonderful troll.Jexhius said:
Endless Eight checklist complete!
I will say that, having seen one episode of Enma, I'm not sure how you can compare the two on those terms. It'd be like comparing the multiplayer modes of Call of Duty and Farmville.
---
But anyhoo:
(Missed the Chris Ware panel to get that, but oh well!)
The Natsume Ono thing was slightly disappointing in that it was mostly an hour of Deb Aoki trying to cover all of her work and trying to get Ono to talk about her work. She did give off the air of the insular manga artist, but she eventually opened up a bit (she started off by saying she had no real influences or favourite artists, before then mentioning that she grew up on American cop shows and Edo period drama).
A girl asked an embarrassing weeaboo question - would she ever write BL manga - but at least she was kind about it.
I do find it amusing that Ristorante Paradiso was essentially inspired by a magazine focused on pictures of old men with glasses. Old man moe indeed!
Oh, I did get a chance to ask her what she likes that's recent and she says she loves Hyouge Mono, so there's a shout out for Sengoku Tea Time GAF.
Hellsing321
Member
Tiger and Bunny 6
Another awesome episode. Looks like we're getting deeper into the conspiracy with Orouboros.
Another awesome episode. Looks like we're getting deeper into the conspiracy with Orouboros.
Joe Molotov
Member
How do I get an invite to #AnimeGAF? Am I not cool enough? Do I have to pledge my allegiance to Team AnoHana or HanaIro first?
InfiniteNine
Rolling Girl
Pledge Team AnoHana or read the second post in the OP! Preferably the first one.
Joe Molotov
Member
InfiniteNine said:
Ah, I seen thanks. I didn't know the server had moved to Rizon, and when I tried the old server it said the channel was by invite only.
Crash Station
Member
Hajime no Ippo 1
And so the training begins. This is something I could really grow to like over time and maybe learn a bit about boxing in the process.
And so the training begins. This is something I could really grow to like over time and maybe learn a bit about boxing in the process.
Emma 1-2
What a classy and charming show! It had been recommended to me before but for some reason I never got around to it. Boy, was I missing out on what appears to be a nice little story. It's definitely got my attention now.
C 4
Wow, that's probably one of the most horrible things I could imagine being done to someone and yet the teacher seems to be taking it rather well. At least Kimimaro is finally getting some motivation.
CG people are still very noticeable and distracting.
What a classy and charming show! It had been recommended to me before but for some reason I never got around to it. Boy, was I missing out on what appears to be a nice little story. It's definitely got my attention now.
C 4
Wow, that's probably one of the most horrible things I could imagine being done to someone and yet the teacher seems to be taking it rather well. At least Kimimaro is finally getting some motivation.
CG people are still very noticeable and distracting.
Those YuYu Hakusho BDs Funimation is putting out look pretty swanky.
InfiniteNine
Rolling Girl
Not really a surprise considering the Japanese release looks great.Takao said:
Crash Station
Member
Takao said:
Damn, I might seriously have to get this. Looks great.
Hellsing321
Member
They're just trolling at this point.Dance In My Blood said:
A Black Falcon
Member
Gosick 15 - Great episode, this is certainly one of the year's best shows so far. This episode concludes this arc, which was episodes 13-15. It's the best arc set on the school campus to this point by a wide margin, as in it's the first actually great arc set on campus. The clock tower is an interesting building, I love how this show keeps coming up with interesting architecture and environments for the mysteries to be set in. It's really an important part of the show, and they do a fantastic job with it.
The reveals in this episode about the alchemist's backstory and the truth of what he was were really interesting too. They clearly were thinking of Rasputin in this alchemist's character design, but he's not exactly Rasputin, he's his own character too.
Also, this arc continues to move forward the show's central plot, that of what Victorique is and why she is there, and the connected backstory about World War I, and the coming World War II. I do kind of dislike the conspiracy theorizing here, but at least it's this show's own conspiracies, not anything I've heard before. Also, the setting, in a peaceful country but with the great war in the near past and with suggestions of the future conflict present, is unique and well done. The other element is superpowers of course, most notably Victorique's "Chaos" which which she reconstructs what happened in mysteries. But whether she actually has a superpower or whether she's just smart isn't entirely made clear, and up to this point in the show she has been debunking magical elements as much as she has anything.
But the show has been on both sides of that so far, with prophecies and Victorique's amazing ability to figure things out on the one hand but the lack of any other powers on the other. This show could go full in the direction of Chiko, daughter of the phantom thief, or something, in confirming the magical/superpower side, or it could stay as it is and be sort of in between, or it could ditch them entirely (unlikely but possible I imagine); I will be very interested to see which direction it takes. I'm hoping for the middle option, myself. On that note, in this episode we learn more of Victorique's family's history.
Overall, very good episode. More people should be watching this show.
Aria the Scarlet Ammo 02 - This show is so horribly bad... might drop it now.
This main character guy is really annoying too, why, exactly, enable the annoying girl like that? She demands that you become her partner and moves in, etc, so he just lets her and buys her food when she demands it? Don't do that!
Aria has nothing on IS.
Denpa 01 - Amusing show, everyone is completely insane... Might watch more.
He also said something about whether someone was affected by the MMR vaccine, as if that made her crazy... yeah, he's got a solid crazy score too.
It's too bad that they're going to tear down the building, because it's a cool building...
The reveals in this episode about the alchemist's backstory and the truth of what he was were really interesting too. They clearly were thinking of Rasputin in this alchemist's character design, but he's not exactly Rasputin, he's his own character too.
I did not guess that the alchemist was actually one of the blacks who the previous king had had killed to hide the secret of the gold, interesting plot twist there, and it explained the whole arc's mystery effectively. Great work, another good mystery for sure!
Also, this arc continues to move forward the show's central plot, that of what Victorique is and why she is there, and the connected backstory about World War I, and the coming World War II. I do kind of dislike the conspiracy theorizing here, but at least it's this show's own conspiracies, not anything I've heard before. Also, the setting, in a peaceful country but with the great war in the near past and with suggestions of the future conflict present, is unique and well done. The other element is superpowers of course, most notably Victorique's "Chaos" which which she reconstructs what happened in mysteries. But whether she actually has a superpower or whether she's just smart isn't entirely made clear, and up to this point in the show she has been debunking magical elements as much as she has anything.
The alchemist in this episode for instance, most obviously (she proves how the alchemist didn't have any powers), but also other things in past episodes.
Her father was a fan of the alchemist, and also saw World War I coming. He wanted the alchemist to make him homunculi, so that they would have soldiers unafraid of death to fight for them in the war. Of course the alchemist had no powers and ended up dying. He told her father to instead make her, a being with special powers supposedly (her being a Grey Wolf)... but our hero mostly sees her as a human, and her human side is clear when you spend time with her as he does. She's not some unthinking monster who can't love or feel emotion, she's a person just with some abilities most people don't have. And our hero is the only one who can see that fact. It's sad, and it makes me wonder where this plot is going to go... will other people see her as a person mostly, eventually, or not? Will she be forced to do things, and will the two of them end up separated as the prophecy says, thanks to the coming war? What will that mean for both of them... I wonder, it'll be interesting to see the direction the plot goes in.
Overall, very good episode. More people should be watching this show.
Aria the Scarlet Ammo 02 - This show is so horribly bad... might drop it now.
This main character guy is really annoying too, why, exactly, enable the annoying girl like that? She demands that you become her partner and moves in, etc, so he just lets her and buys her food when she demands it? Don't do that!
Aria has nothing on IS.
Why hate something based just on the voice actor though? It's not like it really matters...mAcOdIn said:
Denpa 01 - Amusing show, everyone is completely insane...
Might watch more.Mostly, except the guy isn't exactly normal either.Jexhius said:
trejo said:
He also said something about whether someone was affected by the MMR vaccine, as if that made her crazy... yeah, he's got a solid crazy score too.
How can you hate on Kinji? Compared to Ichika, the dude that gets hit on by all the girls and doesn't get it even once, Kinji is actually cool in is own passive way since he has some clue about what goes on around him.A Black Falcon said:
Aria has everything over IS simply by not having a complete retard (as of episode 2) as a main character and actually having some humor that doesn't put you to sleep.
Infinite Justice
Member
Dance In My Blood said:Beelzebub 16
Because Cool Baby needed a filler pool episode after a filler beach episode.
If its the one where Furuuchi ends up at the pool due to Oga, got in some fight with a gang and uses beel to get rid of them then its from the manga.
They may have added some extra to it though.
trejo said:
I'm disappointed with all this filler and Toei should have fucking waited a bit imo.
NeonZ
Member
flawfuls said:
Popularity with Otaku = DVD/Blu-Ray Sales, which is what the list is measuring.
Kid shows usually can survive just fine without selling many DVDs because they generally still have merchandising sales, with toys, or games in this case, and also higher ratings than the otaku stuff, so they actually get money with advertising, rather than the backwards "pay for the timeslot" way of the late night shows.
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