Support NeoGAF

[survivor]

Attack on Titan 1-7

My brother wanted to watch this since according to him it's the only anime to not feature high school girls in a long time so he got interested in it so I watched it with him. We went through most of the episodes except 6 which didn't really matter. There is a lot of angst and too much characters talking about suffering and whining, but luckily for me he skipped through most of that boring stuff so I didn't waste too much time on it. The action scenes are damn good and the hyped moments from the manga were adapted perfectly, especially the ending of episode 7. The music is good too.

 

[SDBurton]

Gunbuster - 04

Holy shit. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT. Dat GUTS and HAAAAATO! :O

I had my doubts at first with this episode as the first half consisted of Noriko still recovering from her first space fight where she

Spoiler

lost her first love Smith.

Personally for me it was getting tiring and on many occassions I said aloud "

Spoiler

if you would have continued to stay true to your Onee-sama even after she ditched you and didn't try to play both fields you wouldn't have been dealing with this nonsense!

" But then again it was because of

Spoiler

Smith and his well needed death

that gave Noriko the determination to quit her crybaby ways and get her shit into gear, so yeah... Good job

Spoiler

Smith

for being somewhat important.

But that space battle between the ship, the flagship, and then the Gunbuster was so damn cool. Lasers everywhere, amazing explosions, the works! When Noriko

Spoiler

positioned herself to take the flagship head on and Kazumi screamed out to her to stop I thought she was going to be a goner. I mean, the moment Gunbuster got impaled I was like "Well goddamit, there goes my OTP". But no! Guts persevered! Yuri lives to fight another day!

On a side note I gotta say, Jung has some amazing breasts.

 

[Narag]

Hmm, that was a rather lengthy response to a rather throw away Evangelion comment. Oops, sorry Narag.

Will read when I get home. Don't mind the length either as I enjoy your Eva posts!

 

[SDBurton]

Spoiler tagged some more, refresh before you read!

 

[Mr.Jeff]

I watch smut so other people don't have to.

Just so long as you keep posting those screenshots. That way I never have to get round to watching the series while at the same time I get to see all the important scenes! Well the scenes that actually matter anyway.

 

[Jex]

You know, I just had a thought about a few of the rather fantastical shows that are currently airing this season. I don't mean to start a serious discussion, it just occurs me to that all these shows:





despite the fact that they're set in the future or in some other fantasy setting completely fail to have any black cast members. I don't mean to imply that these shows are racist or anything, rather that it's not even a consideration on the part of the creators.

 

[CorvoSol]

Full Metal Panic! - 5

I love the steampunk-like robot that Sousuke pilots in this show. I'm also glad that Chidori retains her teenage persona while in distress. They could have made her into the screaming helpless girl cliché, but instead they kept her in character.

I also wasn't expecting to see Sousuke in a helpless position this early on the show. If Kurz didn't come along he and Chidori would have been screwed. So our main character is just a regular soldier with some good skills, but not an all-powerful tactician Lelouch or ace pilot Kallen. This opens the door for interesting outcomes.

Sousuke sort of is an ace pilot. He's just less so than some ace pilots. And Kurz is super cool. Freaking love Kurz. Sousuke's team in general is cool. The team kinda plays out like this, though: Mao is the squad commander/tactician (the fin on her AS serves to coordinate her team and jam enemy signals or something, iirc), Kurz is the sniper and Sousuke is more their jack of all stats. The SRT/Urzu squad has something like 3 other AS pilots (Urzus 1, 3, and 8) and Urzus 4, 5, and 9 only see ground action in the show.

But yeah, the Arm Slaves are awesome. Even the Laevatein, which is more of a Super Robot in Real Robot's clothing.

You know, I just had a thought about a few of the rather fantastical shows that are currently airing this season. I don't mean to start a serious discussion, it just occurs me to that all these shows:





despite the fact that they're set in the future or in some other fantasy setting completely fail to have any black cast members. I don't mean to imply that these shows are racist or anything, rather that it's not even a consideration on the part of the creators.

I can't speak for the bottom one, but doesn't Valvrave take place in a colony that belongs to Japan? Maybe JIOR just never diversifies.

Everyone on Gargantia ought to have darker skin, though, whether it be from always being in the sun or the fact that any and all races would have mixed on Earth at that point.

 

[RurouniZel]

Guess I need to see this kimono girl then.

And hear. Kanae Ito <3

 

[KirbYuuYuu]

Smile Precure 24

Ooooh maaah god, that's adorable!

And we have a new doomsday counter (but with less numbers). Bad End now has a Super Nintendo.

 

[BluWacky]

You know, I just had a thought about a few of the rather fantastical shows that are currently airing this season. I don't mean to start a serious discussion, it just occurs me to that all these shows, despite the fact that they're set in the future or in some other fantasy setting completely fail to have any black cast members. I don't mean to imply that these shows are racist or anything, rather that it's not even a consideration on the part of the creators.

Valvrave's cast are predominantly Japanese or pseudo-fascist, which would explain the relative "racial purity" of the cast (that sound ridiculously offensive but it's not meant to be!)

Gargantia's only real concession to people of colour is that Ledo's skin tone is albino compared to the rest of the cast, but its the one setting where you'd think racial diversity would be most likely.

I suppose Titan, given its pseudo-European setting, should also be more diverse, but I think the grand tradition of Western fantasy literature adaptations appearing particularly whitewashed isn't much better.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Everyone on Gargantia ought to have darker skin, though, whether it be from always being in the sun or the fact that any and all races would have mixed on Earth at that point.

 

[RurouniZel]

Smile Precure 24

Ooooh maaah god, that's adorable!

And we have a new doomsday counter (but with less numbers). Bad End now has a Super Nintendo.

This episode was definitely one of the cutest! :3

 

[ZachDeKoromaru]

Everyone on Gargantia ought to have darker skin, though, whether it be from always being in the sun or the fact that any and all races would have mixed on Earth at that point.

This was probably brought up several times, but did everyone else notice how Ledo is getting tanner by the episode?

 

[cajunator]

Smile Precure 24



Ooooh maaah god, that's adorable!

And we have a new doomsday counter (but with less numbers). Bad End now has a Super Nintendo.

I kind of fear this episode.
I hope my heart can take it.

 

[Deputy Dangle]

Kemonozume 7-13 END

While I would say that Yuasa's later work, Tatami Galaxy, is a far more refined and visually pleasing version of his style, there's something about the "quicky and dirty" look of the character designs in this that I feel really compliment its rather unhinged story. I mean it definitely looks like they went with some rough sketches for the most part which I could totally see being a turn off. But I thought it was kinda charming.

Although, what really clicked with me the most was that very unhinged story. I find stories about beings (from Replicants to Flesh Eaters) blending in with society and the moral/psychological repercussions that result from it to be pretty fascinating. That's tackled somewhat here, but it's clear that the runaway love story between Toshihiko and Yuka is the main focus. Thankfully, I tend to be a sucker for love stories so this was more of a win win situation for me!

I really dug it! I liked its mostly serious tone with a hint of earned comedy here and there. It didn't pull its punches when it came to showing some of the dirtier sides of these character's lives. Kemonozume feels pretty raw from the violence to the story and especially the art style. And that works quite well in its favor. It stumbles a few times, but the highs, as ridiculous as they are, were very high.

Spoiler

Toshihiko you smooth motherfucker!

I'm thinking I might watch Trapeze or Mononoke next. Felt like it might be a good idea to dive into some of Kenji Nakamura's work before Gatchaman Crowds airs.

 

[Basileus777]

I suppose Titan, given its pseudo-European setting, should also be more diverse, but I think the grand tradition of Western fantasy literature adaptations appearing particularly whitewashed isn't much better.

Well, we don't know much about Titan's world. Perhaps the people living in the walled area are just survivors from a small geographic area.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

You know, I just had a thought about a few of the rather fantastical shows that are currently airing this season. I don't mean to start a serious discussion, it just occurs me to that all these shows:

[IG]http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/Jexhius/Album%202/suisei-no-gargantia_zpsafc5dde9.jpg~original[/IMG]
[IG]http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/Jexhius/Album%202/28341-aniplex_gets_valvarave_header_zps34097e31.jpg~original[/IMG]
[IG]http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/Jexhius/Album%202/attack-400_zpsf9c526fc.jpg~original[/IMG]

despite the fact that they're set in the future or in some other fantasy setting completely fail to have any black cast members. I don't mean to imply that these shows are racist or anything, rather that it's not even a consideration on the part of the creators.

He doesnt count?

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

You know, I just had a thought about a few of the rather fantastical shows that are currently airing this season. I don't mean to start a serious discussion, it just occurs me to that all these shows:

despite the fact that they're set in the future or in some other fantasy setting completely fail to have any black cast members. I don't mean to imply that these shows are racist or anything, rather that it's not even a consideration on the part of the creators.

I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of anime is "whitewashed" when it comes to racial diversity.

 

[BluWacky]

Well, we don't know much about Titan's world. Perhaps the people living in the walled area are just survivors from a small geographic area.

That's true.

I'm not totally up to date with the show yet but I wondered whether the boats they put Eren et al on in episode 2 might connect to the ocean at all, which could have brought immigration from less European climes. I guess that was just a canal boat or something, though.

 

[Mature]

Now, in the movie 2.22 they make a number of changes to this scene which are all for the worse (editing, visual design, music, sound design) and one of the most important ones for this discussion is how they change Unit-1's adversary:

By adding in these extra appendages, probably to look cool and dramatic, they completely move away from the fact that this is a battle between two humans and suddenly it resembles a battle against a monster. When you destroy a monster it's far less traumatic than killing a person.

But that's just it. It's not a battle between two humans. It's a disturbing, otherworldly conflict between a

Spoiler

soulless (dummy plug) machine and an angel.

I thought this scene was one of the highlights of rebuild and an example of how they could create a theatric modernization/re-versioning without stomping on the feet of any subtle symbolism. Is the Eva TV series version of this better? Maybe, but only in the context of it's continuity. I think 2.22's dummy plug scene works pretty sharply within rebuild itself. I also think Kyo no Hi wa Sayonara was pretty well implemented as far as "scenes with sharp juxtapositions of visuals versus audio" go.

 

[cajunator]

I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of anime is "whitewashed" when it comes to racial diversity.

This.
Japan isnt exactly a racially diverse country, and seeing as anime is made for japanese, there is little point in having other races in the cast unless necessary.

 

[Hitokage]

This.
Japan isnt exactly a racially diverse country, and seeing as anime is made for japanese, there is little point in having other races in the cast unless necessary.

Until you get a documentary of Africa with all white people.

 

[darkside31337]

This was probably brought up several times, but did everyone else notice how Ledo is getting tanner by the episode?

And those the shoulder/knee/random body part blushes on everybody elses bodies are actually skin cancer. rip everybody

 

[Deputy Dangle]

You know, I just had a thought about a few of the rather fantastical shows that are currently airing this season. I don't mean to start a serious discussion, it just occurs me to that all these shows:



despite the fact that they're set in the future or in some other fantasy setting completely fail to have any black cast members. I don't mean to imply that these shows are racist or anything, rather that it's not even a consideration on the part of the creators.

She was very briefly shown in the beach episode of Gargantia, but would this count?

 

[Hitokage]

Everyone on Gargantia ought to have darker skin, though, whether it be from always being in the sun or the fact that any and all races would have mixed on Earth at that point.

Actually, you'd have to have an extremely mobile global population for "race mixing" to actually occur. You are right in that the balance of blocking UV to prevent skin damage and allowing UV to promote vitamin D is highly selective for skin color, so a population that has been in tropical latitudes for an extended period of time would be expected to be fairly dark.

Northern Europe is warmer than it should be for its high latitude thanks to the Gulf Stream so you get more habitable climate with much less sun. Leads to lots of pale folks.

 

[CorvoSol]

Yeah, I would imagine everyone ought to look like him or darker, since everyone should be a descendant of every race by this point, but since they're also a bunch of survivors, who can say.

This was probably brought up several times, but did everyone else notice how Ledo is getting tanner by the episode?

I haven't. I'm surprised he hasn't had a sun burn. I will admit that one of the things I like about Amy is that she's permanently sunburned in places.

Actually, you'd have to have an extremely mobile global population for "race mixing" to actually occur. You are right in that the balance of blocking UV to prevent skin damage and allowing UV to promote vitamin D is highly selective for skin color, so a population that has been in tropical latitudes for an extended period of time would be expected to be fairly dark.

Northern Europe is warmer than it should be for its high latitude thanks to the Gulf Stream so you get more habitable climate with much less sun. Leads to lots of pale folks.

But isn't a mobile global population precisely what we have going on here? The only isolation that is experienced is from one ship to another, and since I assume people have been sea faring for awhile, I'd like to think that there's been time for significant interbreeding from ships.

Then again, we don't know who left Earth, so we can't say anything about the starting population.

 

[Dresden]

I think I'd watch a SOL show about tanned engineer girl over Ledo adventures.

 

[Mature]

This was probably brought up several times, but did everyone else notice how Ledo is getting tanner by the episode?

I saw someone mention this on Twitter. I love little details like this. Now if they only wore different outfits!

 

[cajunator]

Until you get a documentary of Africa with all white people.

Does such a thing exist?

 

[Hitokage]

Does such a thing exist?

Laws of the Sun comes close!

 

[Theonik]

Until you get a documentary of Africa with all white people.

Kenya Boy strikes again.

Spoiler

It's more like the story of a naturally brave Japanese man in Africa where the locals learn from the master Japanese culture and black people even turn white.

.

In AOT's case it could be that

Spoiler

black people are especially tasty kinda like the Asians were!

 

[Hitokage]

Kenya Boy strikes again.

Spoiler

It's more like the story of a naturally brave Japanese man in Africa where the locals learn from the master Japanese culture and black people even turn white.

Oh wow, I really need to stop putting this off.

 

[FelixOrion]

Romeo x Juliet 10

Aww yeah this is the good stuff! :')

 

[Regulus Tera]

[EVA 3.33]

http://s835.photobucket.com/user/Jexhius/media/Album 2/Evangelionshape1_zps4111343f.jpg.html

The thing that bothers me the most here is that

Spoiler

it just doesn't make any sense because the bindings are not part of her body. There's no way they allow for that much flexibility. If the EVA were able to change shape that drastically then the bindings should have broken apart.

 

[Necrovex]

Romeo x Juliet 10

Aww yeah this is the good stuff! :')

I loved this show, but the middle portion drags on a bit. The beginning and ending arcs are top-notch though. I have really wanted to watch this show again via the all mighty Blu-Ray.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Attack on Titan 1-7

My brother wanted to watch this since according to him it's the only anime to not feature high school girls in a long time

A little bit of research will prove this assertion is veritably false.

Gunbuster - 04

Holy shit. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT. Dat GUTS and HAAAAATO! :O

I FUCKING TOLD YOU BUT YOU KEPT WATCHING SPACE PIRATES

 

[Crash Station]

You know, I just had a thought about a few of the rather fantastical shows that are currently airing this season. I don't mean to start a serious discussion, it just occurs me to that all these shows:

despite the fact that they're set in the future or in some other fantasy setting completely fail to have any black cast members. I don't mean to imply that these shows are racist or anything, rather that it's not even a consideration on the part of the creators.

Welcome to anime?

I imagine there are black people in Arus since it essentially seems to be America.

 

[jgminto]

Media Blasters has licensed everyone's favorite yuri anime, Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito. No details on release format yet. Also no details on if it'll actually eventually be released at all, but that's a constant worry with anything Media Blasters picks up now, I suppose.

Fuck pancakes!

Hey everyone, just stopping by for a quick knowledge raid of this fine thread. Here goes:

Can anyone recommend an anime series for me and my missus to watch together? We liked Chobits, something like that would be good. We also liked Excel Saga and Azumanga. K-On was alright.

Are there any series around of this calibre at the moment? Everything we try seems to be kind of... ehh.

Watch Hataraku Maou-sama! It's currently ongoing and it's a hilarious comedy. It's also available on Funimation and Hulu under "The devil is a part-timer"

I was kind of thinking it was, but I don't recognize the one with the looped hair.

I'm disappointed you didn't recognise Chiho.

 

[survivor]

A little bit of research will prove this assertion is veritably false.

Right, but I should note that he doesn't care much about the medium so his only exposure to what airs is stuff that I watch or follow on tumblr which is mostly moe high school girls.

 

[Narag]

Now, I'm going to have to fundamentally disagree with you on this point. I think those working on the Rebuild franchise fundamentally fail to understand what makes the actions performed by the Evangelion Units so powerful. They take the form of a human, and shape is very important. They resemble us. When they perform horrific and unspeakable deeds we are affected, in part, because those deeds are being undertaken by something that looks like a human being. As soon as you shift away from that very clear design philosophy you lose that important element.

Good post btw and I think my initial comment should have been relegated entirely to Unit 02

Spoiler

which I'd always thought was the least human of the Evas, particularly because of the four eyes, so I thought it somewhat fit there. Had the same thing happened with 01, I'd have posted a fairly lengthy rant on why that should never have happened as I'm with you entirely on how the berserking 01 was, particularly in 19 which is my favorite episode of the series given how terribly unsettling it is, particularly on initial viewing. Super powerful scene, I think, because it confirms suspicions of those assuming the Evas aren't what they appear to be or, as it was in my case, just turns everything upside down when Ritsuko confesses the armor was actually a method of restraint for the units.

I do think the berserking Eva has become something of a trope I wish they'd get away from though. I think it was used effectively twice, Unit 01 in episode 19 and Unit 02 in EoE. The former possesses this wonderful execution that your screenshots (and that one pencil Anno gif) illustrate so well, the latter for subverting expectations in such a brutal manner.

However, it's become a sort of power up that I'm not a fan in general with this show. I don't enjoy it happening in the Rebuild movies either past any sense of novelty. In Unit 02's case, it was more of a "hey, that's cool!" visual moment that I'd enjoy once as a surprise and roll my eyes at if used subsequently. Checking back on things though, I'd completely forgotten about 02's Beast Mode in 2.22. Pretty sure I didn't care for that then so I can totally see where you're coming from on this matter given what I commented on is the next step from that.

 

[cajunator]

Fuck pancakes!

Watch Hataraku Maou-sama! It's currently ongoing and it's a hilarious comedy. It's also available on Funimation and Hulu under "The devil is a part-timer"


I'm disappointed you didn't recognise Chiho.

The way the art is drawn, those three could be from any moe show.
The left one looked like Chiho but the other one doesn't look much like Emi.

 

[Regulus Tera]

But that's just it. It's not a battle between two humans. It's a disturbing, otherworldly conflict between a

Spoiler

soulless (dummy plug) machine and an angel.

I thought this scene was one of the highlights of rebuild and an example of how they could create a theatric modernization/re-versioning without stomping on the feet of any subtle symbolism. Is the Eva TV series version of this better?

Much better.

The idea is that the shape of the Evangelions (and what is later revealed in the show about their nature) implies a battle between two humans, and that as such the brutality in which EVA 01 massacres Bardiel implies someone actually eviscerating another living person. It's a completely different mindset than just watching EVA 01 kill yet another space alien.

 

[Theonik]

Oh wow, I really need to stop putting this off.

You should. It's the masterpiece that inspired generations to come. A truly visionary film.

Gunbuster - 04


Holy shit. Holy shit. HOLY SHIT. Dat GUTS and HAAAAATO! :O

I had my doubts at first with this episode as the first half consisted of Noriko still recovering from her first space fight where she

Spoiler

lost her first love Smith.

Personally for me it was getting tiring and on many occassions I said aloud "

Spoiler

if you would have continued to stay true to your Onee-sama even after she ditched you and didn't try to play both fields you wouldn't have been dealing with this nonsense!

" But then again it was because of

Spoiler

Smith and his well needed death

that gave Noriko the determination to quit her crybaby ways and get her shit into gear, so yeah... Good job

Spoiler

Smith

for being somewhat important.

But that space battle between the ship, the flagship, and then the Gunbuster was so damn cool. Lasers everywhere, amazing explosions, the works! When Noriko

Spoiler

positioned herself to take the flagship head on and Kazumi screamed out to her to stop I thought she was going to be a goner. I mean, the moment Gunbuster got impaled I was like "Well goddamit, there goes my OTP". But no! Guts persevered! Yuri lives to fight another day!

On a side note I gotta say, Jung has some amazing breasts.

Now watch 05 and 06.

 

[Narag]

Much better.

The idea is that the shape of the Evangelions (and what is later revealed in the show about their nature) implies a battle between two humans, and that as such the brutality in which EVA 01 massacres Bardiel implies someone actually eviscerating another living person. It's a completely different mindset than just watching EVA 01 kill yet another space alien.

I think it's a testament to the TV series that it still evokes this sense of horror and frustration when watching it as I just did to refresh my memory. So unbelievably brutal.

Spoiler

Smiling Gendo and the crushed plug Toji was in just seals the deal.

 

[SDBurton]

I FUCKING TOLD YOU BUT YOU KEPT WATCHING SPACE PIRATES

My bad, I'll continue!

 

[cajunator]

My bad, I'll continue!

Space Pirates is just that addictive.

 

[Mature]

Much better.

The idea is that the shape of the Evangelions (and what is later revealed in the show about their nature) implies a battle between two humans, and that as such the brutality in which EVA 01 massacres Shogouki implies someone actually eviscerating another living person. It's a completely different mindset than just watching EVA 01 kill yet another space alien.

I think the graphic visual imagery of two human-shaped monsters tearing each other to pieces to evoke a certain disquieting element of familiarity is effective, but I don't think abandoning that for this scene in 2.22 perverts the entire foundation of it. It does a perfectly admirable job of showing Shinji's horror as he can only sit back and listen in futility. The parallels of the Eva's and the pilots are nice, but that's just the gravy in terms of what's important in this scene.

 

[Hitokage]

I think the graphic visual imagery of two human-shaped monsters tearing each other to pieces to evoke a certain disquieting element of familiarity is effective, but I don't think abandoning that for this scene in 2.22 perverts the entire foundation of it. It does a perfectly admirable job of showing Shinji's horror as he can only sit back and listen in futility. The parallels of the Eva's and the pilots are nice, but that's just the gravy in terms of what's important in this scene.

I can't agree there. The point isn't just that he's attacking a fellow pilot, but a fellow pilot in a fellow unit, and Gendo's authoritative declaration otherwise conflicting with Shinji's own morals. Reinforces the asshole dad aspect and explains Shinji's alienation afterward.

 

[chickdigger802]

how many animes are there where there is an international cast of main characters, but japan guy saves the day?

Would space bros count?
attack on titan, if we are assuming they are in a europe, and 'orientals' are super people (of whats left of them).

g gundam?

hikaru no go? wait no, he lost to that korean guy.

 

[dakkumauji]

how many animes are there where there is an international cast of main characters, but japan guy saves the day?

I haven't even watched it yet, but that sounds like Infinite Startos.