That article headline is a scam! If you actually read the article itself, it appears that the president of IG told the director that yesterday Oshii watched the movie. He had only planned on checking out the opening part, but he ended up watching all of it, and his comment was something like "Yeah, he did a good job." lolol. I guess coming from Oshii, that's considered high praise!
That article headline is a scam! If you actually read the article itself, it appears that the president of IG told the director that yesterday Oshii watched the movie. He had only planned on checking out the opening part, but he ended up watching all of it, and his comment was something like "Yeah, he did a good job." lolol. I guess coming from Oshii, that's considered high praise!
Hmm, well we all know that Oshii is quite happy to rip apart other anime movies, especially if they're made by Miyazaki, so perhaps it is high praise.
Then again, is Oshii allowed to say anything negative about an IG property? He's been working with them for over 15 years, after all. It would seem politically impossible for him to bad mouth it.
According to Google Translate, Oshii was quoted as saying;
"BLOOD -C does not taste you think or or was part interesting in many aspects, or can I almost racy, and has been to work can enjoy also that the position of. and from the creator, and not at the theater to enjoy again and again I think so I think or or was impressive, and there are new discoveries also again after the story has in charged Staff. again today, and if you could try carrying a foot in the theater means. "
Saya's noble efforts to save all those around her have left him choked up and at a loss for words. Well done CLAMP.
That was definitely worth the extra week of waiting. Hatsu and Nen is pretty deep with all the types. I dont think it was explained that well though. Like are attacks of one type just weak to another type, or can people master multiple types or just use skills from them, can one change types. What does a transmuter even do? Hope they explore Killua sometime soon as thats way more interesting than enhance in the context of fighting.
The Hisoka part was hilarious and especially win hunterpedia did it too.
But GON is plain awful, definitely becoming one of the worst lead protagonists of the year
Gon is supposed to be winning.How in the world does one spend four months training, and even learning Hatsu and Nen and still take all those hits from Hisoka. Gon should be destroying Hisoka. This doesnt make sense. Sure he landed a hit by throwing a floor tile but the second he stepped into the ring he should have sent Hisoka flying. Im so glad they dont make Killua lose though.
That was definitely worth the extra week of waiting. Hatsu and Nen is pretty deep with all the types. I dont think it was explained that well though. Like are attacks of one type just weak to another type, or can people master multiple types or just use skills from them, can one change types. What does a transmuter even do? Hope they explore Killua sometime soon as thats way more interesting than enhance in the context of fighting.
The Hisoka part was hilarious and especially win hunterpedia did it too.
But GON is plain awful, definitely becoming one of the worst lead protagonists of the year
Gon is supposed to be winning.How in the world does one spend four months training, and even learning Hatsu and Nen and still take all those hits from Hisoka. Gon should be destroying Hisoka. This doesnt make sense. Sure he landed a hit by throwing a floor tile but the second he stepped into the ring he should have sent Hisoka flying. Im so glad they dont make Killua lose though.
That is because Hisoka is still on a whole other level than Gon even after training. He trained four months, that is not enough time for anyone to catch up to someone as powerful as Hisoka. Even Killua would lose against him. Hisoka is one of the most powerful dudes in the series.
I am going to write this review of Emma: Season Two with the assumption that youre already familiar with the first seasons, so I wont be bothering to go into great depths about the characters and their situations. I apologies to those who havent seen the original season but frankly its very simple its the story of an upper-middle class man who is in love with a maid. Thats the premise out of the way.
As Ive written previously, I had mixed feelings about the original season. While I liked most of the characters in the show and felt invested in their futures I felt that it was really held back by inconsistent presentation issues such as sub-par animation and boring storyboarding. It wasnt a bad show, by any means, but it felt lacking in some very key areas. Thankfully, season two is a really big improvement in these crucial areas and also in areas that I hadnt even had a problem with, like the pacing of the story.
Pacing
To briefly recap the end of last season:
Emma and William had a fairly dramatic and pivotal run in with Williams father which pushed Emma into leaving William to find somewhere else to live and work. After the death of Ms. Stowner she could no longer reside in her old abode.
This season opens up sometime after the events of the finale, or rather, it opens with enough time for the story to have moved onto a more interesting phase. This is one of the first things youll notice about season two if you come into it straight after coming off the original show the pacing is far snappier. Nearly every episode brings in new characters or new locations or new developments for the main characters. When I reflected on the whole original first season it became clear that not much actually happened which isnt necessarily a bad thing as it allowed us to build a natural connection to the character and the setting but Im glad they changed things up here. I mean, I could summon up all the major events of the first season like this:
William Jones, a young gentleman from a businessmans family happens to run into beautiful maid called Emma when he visits his old tutor. Slowly but surely a bond forms between them and William starts to win her over. During this process William is briefly interrupted by his friend Hakim, an Indian price who also tries to land Emma. At the same time, an important girl from a very important family falls in love with William and Emmas mistress falls into ill health and dies. When Emma visits William at his house they run into Williams father, who hits William for even considering having a relationship with a maid. Emma flees from the city of London.
That literally takes twelve episodes and its no exaggeration to say that season two would cover that material in about four episodes. It really feels like theres not a waste scene or even a wasted shot in the season because theyre so busy filling it with content and characters and events. Despite the far speedier pacing than the original work it doesnt feel like its rushed or light it drew me in as successfully as the original work. Its also much more exciting to have an Oh wow, they did that moment every episode.
Story and Characters
The first season of this show had a fairly core group of characters Emma and Ms Stowner, Hakim, William and his family and Eleanor. Thats only really about 8 or 9 characters. The second season introduces over ten new characters so the cast more than doubles which is one of the reasons why theres so much more happening in this season. This is probably the largest factor in keeping the show from getting stale when you consider that what we know about our two leads, after all we
we already know they like each other so theres not that much more that can be done in terms of moving that aspect of their relationship
.
These characters simply make the dynamics more interesting business rivals for Williams family, possible love rivals for the main two characters,
Williams absent mother
and other people who flesh out the shows world.
I suppose the love rival characters are some of the most important for any traditional romance and so it was kind of noticeable how weak the rivals were in the original season. Hakim appeared to be a serious rival early on but gives up completely in no time at all and Eleanor is a nice enough girl that William has no interest in. Its interesting so see that Eleanor is actually fleshed out as a character and
when William proposes to her you can actually understand what pressures and factors have caused him to perform such an act. He has a family to support and a business to maintain and he really wants things to work out for everyone. Of course, this all goes tits up quite spectacularly later on.
The over-arching story also works out quite well and its filled with all the necessary intrigue and interest and tense climaxes that make the work satisfying to finish, even if its all very traditional. The way certain important storylines develop and get resolved add important impetus to the proceedings in a manner that I hadnt envisioned.
A Victorian Romance
One really important that season two nails is the dangerous and damaging nature of inter-class romance. Whereas everyone, well, largely Williams father I suppose, always talked about how it was a bad idea in the original season I never really felt like I understood why. They never sold it to me as a big issue. The second season, however, goes to great lengths to highlight why its such a cause for concerns and we get to witness the serious long-term actions of making these kinds of choices and how they can have an impact that goes beyond the wishes of two people. Which kind of makes
the ending where everything gets resolved magically really odd. But whatever.
Production
An important part of what caused the show to change is presumably due to the change in studios. While the first season was created by Studio Pierrot the second was made by Ajia-do Animation Works. They both have the same overall director but the second season is vastly improved in terms of animation, cinematography and even editing. I dont know if theyre working with a bigger budget or simply more talented artists but the results show. As this work is entirely based around people taking its nice to see the show actually have some decent character animation and physical acting to go along with the strong voice performances.
The Title
Ive always found it a bit odd that they named this anime adaptation of the Emma manga Emma: A Victorian Romance. Thats a bit like calling your show Cowboy Bebop: A Show About Bounty Hunters In Space. I can only assume that it was a decision that came from marketing who assumed that no-one would be interested in a title with a name as simple as Emma. Perhaps they were right, but Emma is a much better name for this show because Emmas self-effacing nature and her entire character really meshes well with a modest, short title.
Overall
I liked it.
Also, this guy agrees with Duckroll on Romeo and Juliet:
Eh, this is basically just a reworking of a story that would involve, say, the Emperor, but with a different important official. It's still funny though.
That is because Hisoka is still on a whole other level than Gon even after training. He trained four months, that is not enough time for anyone to catch up to someone as powerful as Hisoka. Even Killua would lose against him. Hisoka is one of the most powerful dudes in the series.
No use, you're replying to the dude, who loves main shounen protagonists' bs'in their way to victory against with what should be obvious losses to stronger foes and win with their shounen hearts, and friendship and crap compared to HxH's more grounded depiction that Gon is just a part of the cast really.
Kuroko's Basketball - 11
I'm a little concerned at how the show just basically went all One Piece/Toei on my ass, and practically did a 3-5 minute recap of the last 5 minutes of the previous episode, also Moriadama (whatever), singlehandeldly sapped out all the energy in the game with his bs ability, but I suppose that was the whole point.
competent Zenigata was cool and it was great to see the teamwork of Lupin's crew but I should have watched it yesterday morning to make it a more proper viewing. It was a little too "heist oriented" in the end.
competent Zenigata was cool and it was great to see the teamwork of Lupin's crew but I should have watched it yesterday morning to make it a more proper viewing. It was a little too "heist oriented" in the end.
If the ratings hold, it could end up being long-running, meaning whenever the hell the manga ends. Could be a few years from now, could be in a decade.
I like to think that the father in Totoro is a reflection of the kind of father Miyazaki himself wanted to be. Since we've known for a while that he's just not very good at parenting and passing on experience and wisdom in general, it's rather sad to know what might become of him and his legacy. Itoi being cast for the role, thoughman, that just hurts.
An important part of what caused the show to change is presumably due to the change in studios. While the first season was created by Studio Pierrot the second was made by Ajia-do Animation Works. They both have the same overall director but the second season is vastly improved in terms of animation, cinematography and even editing. I don’t know if they’re working with a bigger budget or simply more talented artists but the results show. As this work is entirely based around people taking it’s nice to see the show actually have some decent character animation and physical acting to go along with the strong voice performances.
Asia-Do seems to have a fairly good reputation for their production values, at least when Yoshiaki Yanagida is chief animation director, such as this and You are Umasou - another thing I really need to get around to watching. In light of recent trends in here, it is perhaps relevant to mention that he was also chief animation director for one of the Happy Science propaganda films, Hermes - Winds of Love.
The Title
I’ve always found it a bit odd that they named this anime adaptation of the Emma manga Emma: A Victorian Romance. That’s a bit like calling your show Cowboy Bebop: A Show About Bounty Hunters In Space. I can only assume that it was a decision that came from marketing who assumed that no-one would be interested in a title with a name as simple as ‘Emma’. Perhaps they were right, but ‘Emma’ is a much better name for this show because Emma’s self-effacing nature and her entire character really meshes well with a modest, short title.
I suspect part of the thought was that if it was just called "Emma", confusion could arise with the Jane Austen novel of the same time, also a romance story set in 19th century England, albeit much earlier in that century. Clarifying that this is a Victorian romance distinguishes it from Austen's Regency setting.
Eh, this is basically just a reworking of a story that would involve, say, the Emperor, but with a different important official. It's still funny though.
Gintama does reuse certain plot formulas and ideas - which seems inevitable once you're pushing 250 episodes - but it usually manages to change them up just enough to keep it engaging.
If I had that much Sengoku figures, I would have a hard time justifying breaking them.
I didn't like this episode that much, mostly cause I kept waiting for something to happen that allows them to break pretty much all this hax the other team is having. And, it didn't deliver, so meh.
Heh heh. I certainly wouldn't mind another season. Or more shows like it.
Although I don't want to praise it too much--it's good but it's not as good as, say, Nadesico.
The show as a whole feels cheap.
The space ships aren't cool or interesting looking. That one scene of the Odette opening its sails was the only time in the entire series I was impressed by any of the space visuals. (Gold ship appearance was second behind that I guess.) They've managed to use them effectively to express tense, exciting combat scenes, but I don't exactly feel inspired to buy tapestries or plastic models.
The character design, while not ugly, is a far cry from shows with truly pretty designs like Haganai or Hyouka or Queen's Blade or...whatever shows have pretty men in them (Fate/Zero?). And the character animation and expressiveness isn't anything special either. (Though still better than Shining Hearts, which is my poster-child this season for nice character designs that don't move.)
It's running entirely on the strength of some fun sci-fi details, character personalities, and well-directed tense action scenes.
Honestly, I'm not even sure what I'm looking for in a starship series. Probably something that's serious, but not with its head up its own ass like BSG. Also, something not as bad as anything Star Trek related in the last 15 years or so would help too. lol
I feel like if they took away some of the trappings - since they even acknowledge that the whole "pirate" thing is bullshit (that and using a fucking giant wheel to steer the ship) - some of the exploration stuff would have been more exciting.
There seems to have been so many missed opportunities for character development as well, specifically when it comes to Marika. Of course, we still don't know anything about her father, nor do they really go into her relationship with her mother (she's still the only animu girl that I know that calls her mother by her name, which seems to indicate a different relationship but one that's not gone into).
The show's just in this weird place where I like it just enough that I wish it was better. At the very least, the show is better than its actual title (or former title).
Not as good as the first episode, but better than the second episode. I am aware this means absolutely nothing to people who haven't seen this series but there really isn't much to get - I mean, this is a TRON story.
Just go and watch the first episode, it's still got some of the finest action in an animation that I've seen in quite some time.
It ain't that bad, really. I saw the first episode with my Tron-freak father (not today, mind you), and it had a lot of style to back up its conventional plot and stuff. Will watch the next episodes later.
I do have this show on my agenda. If I may ask some questions: In what way would you say the second and third episodes are problematic? Do you think they're still worth watching? Is this the sort of show where the action animation is all it has going for it?
Kiritsugu and Kirei's fight. Having the fight in a large white room made it looked so much better than other of the other fights seen before. It was also so visually impressive as well.
Saber and Berserker's fight wasn't as nice. I could see they pretty much cut it down to save time for everything else that happened but it was pretty much an afterthought.
So after watching Urda last night and learning a little more about Romanov Higa and how much of his work is apparently a result of one man, I decided to check out a bit more of his work. CR came through as this was available on their site so I made some time to sit down with this. I had little idea what to expect aside from CG and apparently a catgirl and, in turn, received a nice surprise.
This was something of a love letter to 70s exploitation films. The story was nothing special but the setting was great and the characters had a particular charm to them even if they were fairly thin. The highlight of this though is how well shot it was, how much was done to emulate a real camera, and the wonderful choreography in the action sequences. This helped me get over the biggest negative: the actual quality of the CG. While well animated for the most part, the CG isn't that good and it was much like watching a videogame cutscene albeit a well directed one. Still, it was a fun watch and I'm curious what Higa could do with a higher budget. Alas, the screengrabs aren't the best due to the streaming 480p source from CR.
Fun shots that the show seemed to get away from later on.
I do have this show on my agenda. If I may ask some questions: In what way would you say the second and third episodes are problematic? Do you think they're still worth watching? Is this the sort of show where the action animation is all it has going for it?
I would have to say that the action animation is indeed all it has going for it. Bear in mind that it's CG (at least I think it's CG) so it's all about the smoothness and slickness of the action sequences rather than, say, the inventiveness of something like Korra (if we're going to be all westaboo (America-kabure?) in here).
The first episode holds promise because it's visually and aurally striking and mostly focuses on Beck (the protagonist), and the narrative is constructed in a mildly ambitious way for a cartoon. The second episode (which put me off the show) tries to make the audience care about the "good" supporting characters, who are poorly written and uninteresting - although there's still some half-decent action animation, it's nothing you haven't seen in either of the films.
The Tron franchise has always been about the mood rather than the plot, and although it's still nice to look at I just found it a bit dull. This coming from someone who likes Witch Hunter Robin...
