• 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.

Spring Anime 2013 |OT -7| My Giant CG Pony Can't Possibly Read This Much Baudelaire

Status
Not open for further replies.
Aku no Hana 1

I could almost stand the rotoscoping, it was the terrible sound/voice acting/lip syncing that broke me. I don't think I can survive another episode. What a waste of that background art.
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Why would they do this?

At least they look better than CG queen from Futari wa.

I think I'll just sit back and watch your inevitable subtle transition from hatred to tolerance to grudging acceptance to open enjoyment of the CG dances. It happens to everyone whether they want it to or not; just ask Narag.
 
saoe08.jpg

saoe02.jpg

game of the year.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
[Chihayafuru 2] 13

Both Chihaya and Megumu really suck as leaders. This match would be a lot more enjoyable if they focused on the other bozos in the Mizusawa team. Also, lots of reused stills of the audience watching the game. Madhouse is starting to look bad in this episode. :/
This is the problem with being slavish to the source material and not either rejiggering the material to make better use of the characters beyond just still shots of the characters with the actors trying to monologue the character's internal thoughts. Or if that's too much work, just skip some of this stuff entirely.

I'm sure this is "fine" as a throwaway manga chapter in the middle of a story, but it's just not interesting television.
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
[Fresh Precure!] 10
Ah, the good ol' switcheroo plot. Smile featured a similar premise early in its run, but I have to give Fresh the upper hand as the comedy worked much better since Tarte is a much more enjoyable character than Candy. If only Chiffon weren't here Fresh would have the 2nd best mascots (Heartcatch being the victor, natch).
Super low-budget , but it made up with lots of gag faces. Yellow Precure bias showing up again; Buki is getting all the cool episodes!
I dunno, her behavior when Tsubomi was introducing herself to the class and just trading food without permission was pretty rude. I mean, she means well and just wants to be friends, but still. Reminds me of my mom's dog.
Erika is just being direct, dawg. Best Precure. Anyway, I'm glad you are watching this!
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
Hataraku Maou-sama! 01

The first 4 minutes and 20 seconds is an anime I would have loved to watch. Lovely art and animation, kick ass action, swords and fantasy. Fuck yeah.

After that... well at least there was a :chet girl to keep me happy. Otherwise... at least the animation stayed fairly nice.
 

trejo

Member
Devil Survivor Two (2) Episode One (1)


Attack of the killer CG ice cream cones

So far I'm liking it better than the P4 adaptation but of course that might have something to do with the fact that I've never played the game and as such have no point of reference nor any expectations whatsoever.

Quick question. Is Mara also recruitable in the Devil Survivor games? I'd like to know if I should get my hopes up.

I disagree, particularly about the character designs.
I found them to be pretty distinctive.
the show was generally very pleasing to look at.

And you're certainly entitled to hold that opinion.

Why would they do this?

I know, right? Frankly, I think they should stop now that they have been so thoroughly bested.
 

CorvoSol

Member
OH MY GOD I AGREE WITH TIERIA.

Ribbons: BLAH BLAH BLAH SUDDENLY INNOVADES AND INNOVATORS ARE DIFF'RENT.
Tieria: THAT'S UTTER NONSENSE!

Gundam 00 S2 24

Isn't anything better on?

THE LIGHT OF SETSUNA'S LIFE AND I ALWAYS WANT TO BE WITH YOU AND HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO UNDERSTAND AND BALH BLAH BLAH THE INNOVADETERSAA RE THE HUMANITYR OF THE FUTURE AND SHINY MENTAL BRAIN DEATH.

This is a terrible show.
 

Syrinx

Member
Hearcatch Precure 2

So Cure Blossom totally fucks up her first fight and gets herself boned, but then some guy bails her out. And it turns out her grandma is a retired Pretty Cure. That's actually kinda cool. How many show have ex-magical girls who are retired?

So Cure Blossom has quite the frilly transformation sequence, doesn't she? Sure is smiley. And she does better the second time and wins. Then she joins the Fashion Club.

So the new mascots aren't nearly as bad as Mepple and Mipple, mainly cause there's no "MEPERU MIPERU MEPERU MIPERU" going on. They still talk too much.

I'm gonna lay in bed with bloodshot eyes tonight running "Change! Change! Hearto Catchu! Chance! Chance! Hearto Catchu! Dance! Dance! Hearto Catchu!, etc." in my head all night long. I know it. *sigh*
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Hearcatch Precure 2

So the new mascots aren't nearly as bad as Mepple and Mipple, mainly cause there's no "MEPERU MIPERU MEPERU MIPERU" going on. They still talk too much.
Chypre and Coffret get less annoying as the show goes on. Heartcatch has the best mascots, in my opinion.
I'm gonna lay in bed with bloodshot eyes tonight running "Change! Change! Hearto Catchu! Chance! Chance! Hearto Catchu! Dance! Dance! Hearto Catchu!, etc." in my head all night long. I know it. *sigh*
Haatocatch Purikyua saa minna de~
 
Date a Live 1

ixAt8r0tCZEyj.jpg

Best girl until clock face arrives

So that was fucked, and didn't take itself seriously at all. Plot is dumb but completely understandable, will continue watching for more buttshots.

Also, imoutos voiced by Ayana Taketatsu of Spring 2013 tier list:

Kotori > Kirino
 

Syrinx

Member
Chypre and Coffret get less annoying as the show goes on. Heartcatch has the best mascots, in my opinion.

Haatocatch Purikyua saa minna de~

Good. Makes sense that they'd shut up a bit as the new Precure's start to figure shit out.
Oh yeah, they also don't end everything they say with "mipo" and "mepo". Holy HE'LL that was annoying.
 
Detective Conan 179:
Okay, that was a bit excessive. I feel like there would be simpler ways of carrying out a murder than causing a truck to crash through a window at a cafe while you're in the bathroom. Then the culprit had to go and give an evil smirk while standing right next to a police officer, too.

Overall, I guess it was middle of the road as far as AOs go. Decent enough as a way to pass the time for about 25 minutes, but not much more.
 

dimb

Bjergsen is the greatest midlane in the world
Death Billiards
This was quite excellent. There are a bunch of small little touches here that really are in line with creating a product I find to be very complete, and it does all of that in such a short run time.

Billiards keeps the viewer lock step with the characters in many ways, and it kind of makes everything seem more personable. Information of the situation is doled out to both simultaneously and when emotion hits it winds up feeling very fresh, and it was easier for everything to carry over to me. Watching something seems more like an active experience when you're attuned to the participants from the word "go". The cold setup for the characters combined with the mad exploratory dash establish the setting and help define the situation.

The twists both big and small feel earned, and even with everything seeming simple up front there are many swings. Even when it appears things have fallen as far as possible the rug gets pulled out from beneath. I loved the
iterative flashbacks
. Even though we come into this world knowing nothing it builds up everything going on while embellishing enough of a fun history.

I have seen complaints voiced about the ending, but I actually quite liked it.
I feel like this is a situation where the answers aren't necessarily that important or the focus of what the show was trying to deliver. It's more fun to have a little something to mull over.
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Good. Makes sense that they'd shut up a bit as the new Precure's start to figure shit out.
Oh yeah, they also don't end everything they say with "mipo" and "mepo". Holy HE'LL that was annoying.
Well... they end everything with desu. How did you miss that?
 

duckroll

Member
I think most people who find the ending in Death Billiards to be unsatisfying are missing the point.
Our lives are what we make of it, and what happens after that is something which no one can really say for certain. Despite what each person believes in - religion, karma, superstition, etc, no one can say for certain where we will go after death. How we live and what we do defines us, and in terms of the narrative, what happens in the short is what truly matters, and what happens after is up for debate but should have no bearing on the actual work.

tl;dr - Clean endings are overrated.
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
[Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon] 033
Usagi showing her priorities and the moment everyone waited for. Episode would have been more HYPE if they had fleshed Venus' introduction a little bit more. She's literally there as a cameo and then only shows up to save the day. Lame. On the other hand, seeing
Tuxedo Mask get shat on by his last-minute saving crap
was extremely satisfying.
I'm glad you passed Math class, Artemis-kun.

P.S. Gratuitous Queen Beryl fanservice oh my.

P.P.S. Gratuitous Kunzite fanservice bleh.
Oh...I don't know. Fuck.
I guess the subtitles don't point this tick out. lol
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Death Billiards:

It had lavish backgrounds and nice, fluid character animation, but the ending was too muddied for me to feel satisfied by this. I don't mind ambiguous endings at all, but they require a certain finesse that this lacked with its violently-swinging pendulum of reversals and conflicting signals after the big twist. Over the course of the story:

- The winner of the game goes to heaven and the loser goes to hell.

-Except not! Their destinies were predetermined by their actions on earth and the young dude would have gone to hell anyway because he's an NTR-ing piece of shit.

- Except yes! Because Bartender Ginko reaffirms that the match had the power to change fate.

- Except not! Because the piano wires of destiny come to drag the young dude to hell even though Ginko declared him the winner of the match.

- Except whatever! Because the bartender was able to foresee the outcome of the match and then the game just stops mattering because young guy redeems himself with his grand speech on HUMANITY and the UNFAIRNESS OF LIFE.

- Except what? Because the old guy is whispering into Ginko's ear and then grins malevolently as he gets in the elevator to hell as if he was evil all along and knew he was going to hell and his flashback completely skimmed over the despicable parts of his life.

It's not a thought-provoking set of events, it's just a mess and brings into question what the hell any of it was for in the first place. Even the fundamentals of the game itself were designed with elements that end up going nowhere--
the organ balls were just sort of there. Pocketing them didn't actually cause anything to happen, which would have been much more interesting if the purgatory element didn't exist and the short was an examination on human psychology. At least then, the psychosomatic effects that getting pocketed had on the young guy might have meant something more than just being a red herring to distract the viewer until the real nature of the game was revealed.
I like stories that involve hypothetical life-and-death situations because of the tension from wondering who's going to snap first and this at least partially delivered on that front, but even that aspect was the means to a greater end.

It's okay, but not among Anime Mirai's best.
 

Branduil

Member
I think most people who find the ending in Death Billiards to be unsatisfying are missing the point.
Our lives are what we make of it, and what happens after that is something which no one can really say for certain. Despite what each person believes in - religion, karma, superstition, etc, no one can say for certain where we will go after death. How we live and what we do defines us, and in terms of the narrative, what happens in the short is what truly matters, and what happens after is up for debate but should have no bearing on the actual work.

tl;dr - Clean endings are overrated.

I think I got the point, I just find it uninteresting and trite.
 

LordCanti

Member

Aku no Hana 1

I could almost stand the rotoscoping, it was the terrible sound/voice acting/lip syncing that broke me. I don't think I can survive another episode. What a waste of that background art.

It was kind of distracting. I don't know if they did it digitally to look like it was rotoscoped or what, but there was a disconnect between the gorgeous background art and the rotoscoped characters.

I'm interested to know where the story is going though.
 

cajunator

Banned
Hataraku Maou-sama 1

Working!! meets MMY with what appears to be an actual budget? I'm in.

That is a pretty promising description.

Hearcatch Precure 2

So Cure Blossom totally fucks up her first fight and gets herself boned, but then some guy bails her out. And it turns out her grandma is a retired Pretty Cure. That's actually kinda cool. How many show have ex-magical girls who are retired?

So Cure Blossom has quite the frilly transformation sequence, doesn't she? Sure is smiley. And she does better the second time and wins. Then she joins the Fashion Club.

So the new mascots aren't nearly as bad as Mepple and Mipple, mainly cause there's no "MEPERU MIPERU MEPERU MIPERU" going on. They still talk too much.

I'm gonna lay in bed with bloodshot eyes tonight running "Change! Change! Hearto Catchu! Chance! Chance! Hearto Catchu! Dance! Dance! Hearto Catchu!, etc." in my head all night long. I know it. *sigh*

just wait until ED2.
The tomorrow song is a ridiculously fun earworm.
I hope you enjoy gospel.
 

CorvoSol

Member
Gundam 00 Final(Minus that movie)

So, I've finally noticed that for whatever stupid reason, this show does NOT match up. As in, last episode Tieria goes "Lemme tell you bout Aeolia's plan, bro" and then credits roll. Now Suddenly Setsuna is in his Gundam fighting Ribbons. This has happened MULTIPLE TIMES. Fucking hell this show is poorly written shit.

I don't know which is worse about this show: that 900% of it is phoned in, or that the original stuff is all ass pulled bullshit of the highest caliber.

FUN FACT: Did you know I don't normally swear and that I used to avoid it like the plague? Nothing truly demonstrates the revulsion, the vulgar sense of utter disgust I feel watching filth like this, Rah Inceston, and Gundam AGE quite like those beloved three-to-five letter words so despised by polite company.

FUN FACT: This is an awful show and I hate it and I think it did travel to the future and kill my mom.

Whycome the villain never has an original mobile suit? They always have cheap knock off Gundams. Epyon (which was awesome), Providence, Gundam whatever that was in AGE, and now this. I retract an earlier statement I made about Char piloting mook level suits being lame. At least he didn't have to steal the hero's suit to make for a suitable final boss. (Granted Zechs and Heero traded, and nobody knows quite how Treize made Epyon, other than that Treize is goddamn TREIZE.)

And I have to disagree with what was said in the Gundam OT about Setsuna winning this fight on his own. Being a Purebred Innovator is just as much bullshit as the rest of the GN magic, since it was literally made up in the last five episodes. And also bullshit Veda Tieria distracting Ribbons and now he's pulled the Trans American Airlines out of his ass.

How is it Setsuna wins this fight on his own? Oh yeah, he doesn't, because now he's doing that bullshit teleport shit.

Look, I'm not against the hero having last minute powers or real robots going super at times. I'm not. But that Setsuna NEVER wins a fight on his own is crap. Heero and his gang were in GI mook suits all the time. Meanwhile, Setsuna can't do crap on his own.

OH GOD SLASHING THROUGH TO THE FUTURE AND NOW THAT SHIT SONG OH GOD WHY WHY WHY WHAT LETTER WHEN THE FUCK WAS THAT A PART OF THIS FUCKING PLOT HOW CAN SHE LOVE HIM THEY HAVE BARELY EVER EVEN SEEN EACH OTHER WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT THIS IS SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

Okay, so this is a terrible show, but here is the break down:
THE GOOD:
-The music, this godawful song not withstanding.
-The action, but then, even AGE could do that.
-Lockon I, Soma Pires, Smirnov and Orange Haro were good characters.
THE BAD:
-The plot is utter nonsense. Don't defend it, because it makes no fucking sense and is utter bullshit.
-Nothing in this show is original, in spite of that.
-So many damn characters that nobody gets good development at all.
-Setsuna is probably the worst actual Gundam Protagonist. Yes, worse than Kou. I discount Flit because he was the villain.
THE UGLY:
Nina Trinity
Ribbons Hallmark
Hallelujah
Aeolia Schenberg's so called plan.
Killing Lockon to bring him back to life as a worse character.
Deciding last second that Innovades and Innovators were a thing.
Really the entire show, actually.
 
Phi Brain - Kami no Puzzle 01


Protag can probably solve all them puzzles, but can he explain how a reflection works?

Ok, I hate myself already since I'm jumping from an ugly show about a children's card game to a slightly off looking show about puzzles. At least there will be some variety since it's about puzzles and there are so many of them, but it just looks off. Not just one character, but like everyone looks 'off'.
 

wonzo

Banned
Death Billiards

deathbilliards.jpg


Yeah, this was pretty nice to look at and all but the ending was just so confused that it made the entire thing feel perfunctory. It's also pretty disappointing they didn't give the balls any actual physical consequences when they were pocket outside of the psychological stuff but it's not like that would've amounted to anything anyway given the setting. At least it made for a half decent anime episode of The Twilight Zone.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom