asuna was good until she got harem'ed
-
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 2015 |OT| The Disappearance of YEAARRT!
- Thread starter TUSR
- Start date
- Status
asuna was good until she got harem'ed
If you want to see that story from Asuna's prospective you should really take a look at SAO
rogressive (The manga);
Progressive is really Asuna's story and it turns Kirito into her Dorkey Sidekick/On-again-off-again love interest.
That and Argo is Bender and therefore the best one of the three.
rogressive (The manga);Progressive is really Asuna's story and it turns Kirito into her Dorkey Sidekick/On-again-off-again love interest.
That and Argo is Bender and therefore the best one of the three.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Can someone explain to me why the Time of Eve blu-ray cost $50 bucks?
Twin Tails
Member
Cause someone is gonna buy it at that price.
Cornbread78
Member
Because Japan would rather sell to no body than sell to anyone other than a lazer focused group of nerds?
It is stupid in real life as well.
TheKaeptain
Banned
I wouldn't trade the CDs and behind the scenes documentaries for artbooks, imo.
The insight into the production is really nice and the documentaries cover a lot.
That's definitely symptomatic of the compressed story telling (See also Star-burst Stream) but I never thought it went that far mostly because there was not enough episodes for it to do so before everything went to absolute hell with Fairy Dance which absolutely destroyed Asuna's agency as a character.
If the Author ever gets a chance to do a "SAO: Progressive" rewrite of Fairy Dance, that's the one thing I would wish he fixed with sinking the Leafa shipping a marked second.
Crash Station
Member
Owari no Seraph 4
Took me years of rehab to quit humanity. Dude is legit.
Took me years of rehab to quit humanity. Dude is legit.
No Mask, No WRYYYYYY, 0/10 would not watch untill we go full Federation vs Zeon.
I watch them if there's a lot of good stuff in there.
Mostly the TTGL BD-BOX and KLK sets have been the only good ones i've seen and purchased so far. The TTGL BD box has fucking insane extras, and i've gone through pretty much all of them over the course of about a month.
The Ponycanyon releases have been pretty good on this front too. They give you a ton of stuff.
"Anime can't just be iyashi-kei ["healing" style] and pretty girls." - Based Tomino
The Space Dandy first half BDs are pretty good. Better than I expected. But it always had a really fantastic source as is, so it should've been really hard for them to mess up anyways.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Armored Trooper VOTOMS END
I must say that I never expected the story to go the route it did from the opening episodes, but it was an interesting ride. Scopedog is a great design, Chirico is a better character then every Gundam protagonist, themes don't feel heavy handed. All around I liked it a lot.
Also someone on the staff really liked 2001
I must say that I never expected the story to go the route it did from the opening episodes, but it was an interesting ride. Scopedog is a great design, Chirico is a better character then every Gundam protagonist, themes don't feel heavy handed. All around I liked it a lot.
Also someone on the staff really liked 2001
Jex
Member
Well I'm sure much of it is simply a result of the source material, as you surmised. It's just not very good; neither the characters or the story feel like they have time to breathe.
You're right to say that the Kyousougiga ONA contains some of that, but ultimately you're supposed to care about the story and characters in BBB in a very different way. Kyo was very much a collection of mini-stories that were basically there to be entertaining and look cool. Unfortunately BBB needs to do more then that and it quite can't achieve it.
So I just started City Hunter and wrapped up the first 5 episodes, and I'll be honest I'm not the one who typically writes about a show after watching only an episode or two, and instead opt for one final review at the end since I have time to digest everything and make my thoughts more clear and coherent, or at least a midway review to summarize the first half, however since this is a long show (51 episodes) I thought that I'd at least write down my first thoughts on the show. Whether or not I keep you all up to date on a constant basis is down to if anybody is interested in reading my ramblings I guess!
Again, I won’t go into episode specifics, as I find that too spoilery and I don’t want to rob people of their first viewing, so I guess this might be a bit light on content. In any case, City Hunter is a TV series by studio Sunrise and directed by Kodama Kenji, who is known for directing shows such as Kekkaishi and Detective Conan Case Closed. I have to say, going in I was very excited at what this show may bring, as I’ve been eying it up for many years, so I finally jumped in with high hopes and much excitement on this Saturday night. Right off the bat this show clicked with me, and quite frankly hasn’t let go within the 2 hours I’ve been watching it for. Things like the intro are pretty important to me and it’s generally the thing that attracts me to a show, and although you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, I’d be lying if I said that said tactic hasn’t been paying dividends thus far. From the punchy 80’s song to the striking visuals, I felt truly at home from the get go, as I tried to sing along with the lyrics in my head clumsily. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this? The ending credits are equally addicting! I feel that I might have to add this soundtrack to my playlist along with Macross and Patlabor when I finish, with the repeat button firmly pressed.
So what is City Hunter about? Well apparently crime is lurking around every corner in this city, and its one man and his partner’s job to keep it at bay…well if there’s a beautiful lady in the mix of course! The main character, Ryo is hilarious, with his thirst for a lady palpable, and who blames him? The ladies in this show are beautiful! Something about those 80’s character designs man, I’m telling ya!
Of course as it always goes, the comedic tone is used in order to set up the more serious moments, showing how the protagonist of this comedy isn’t as heartless as you’d like to think! The show drops those feels on you with each and every episode, to great effect. Ryo is easily a favourite of mine already, and I can’t wait to see more of him. He’s a perv, but damn it he’s lovable and means well! The girls seem to agree, as they all end up swapping using his head as target practice to a face they can trust as they end up seeing him for what he is, a guy who just wants to protect beautiful ladies, many of which hold their own weight mind you!
The first episode was exhilarating with a sad, emotional end, with plenty of laughs in between, and that's a great way to summarize this show thus far and each of the four episodes that followed. The show had me laughing the whole way through, with the urge to press next on the controller hard to resist. The soundtrack is also awesome, and straight up my alley.
I’m loving what I’ve seen so far, and if it wasn’t for the fact that It’s almost 6am right now, I’d watch a lot more that’s for sure! What feels like a mix of GTO and Bebop, it’s hilarious and highly addicting, and although the night is young, I can see myself adding this to the favourites when it’s all said and done.
I've read some of the manga and haven't bothered to check out the anime but it really does sound like Rie Matsumoto's doing her absolute best to try and elevate the really bland and threadbare source material.
Jex
Member
You should probably check out the movie, Tamako Love Story, if you haven't.
I pretty much only check out commentaries that are with key creative decision makers.
euphonium - 1
This is good. Kumiko is a fun lead, and I'm attracted to the sport-anime angle of the show. There's only so much mileage you can get out of having 'cute' designs.
Bothered by a few things. One being the wax-sheen flush on the cheeks of all the girls, another being the assembly line intro of the cast in the opening. I wish Ishihara would stop doing that. It's so... KEY.
There's also the way the camera will often take a "breath" in but never breathes out, leaving shots out of focus.
There's also issues with how things are composed in certain shots, leaving them detached from the background. In those moments there's no sense of proper space at all, an effect that was achieved admirably in something like Hyouka. That bench scene was particularly bad. There's the sloped wall and the road atop it, and then there's the bench and the two characters. It gives it an unpleasantly flat look, the background losing its ability to convey dimension, leaving them with the feel of actors on stage.
This is good. Kumiko is a fun lead, and I'm attracted to the sport-anime angle of the show. There's only so much mileage you can get out of having 'cute' designs.
Bothered by a few things. One being the wax-sheen flush on the cheeks of all the girls, another being the assembly line intro of the cast in the opening. I wish Ishihara would stop doing that. It's so... KEY.
There's also the way the camera will often take a "breath" in but never breathes out, leaving shots out of focus.
There's also issues with how things are composed in certain shots, leaving them detached from the background. In those moments there's no sense of proper space at all, an effect that was achieved admirably in something like Hyouka. That bench scene was particularly bad. There's the sloped wall and the road atop it, and then there's the bench and the two characters. It gives it an unpleasantly flat look, the background losing its ability to convey dimension, leaving them with the feel of actors on stage.
VOTOMS - end
It ends with
That such a day will never come is implicit, and yet they go through such a hellish ride over the course of the show that even this
feels like a worthy reprieve. It feels earned. It was a good ending, and it must be mentioned that God Is Dead.
It ends with
Chirico and Fyana freezing themselves to wait for a day when war is no longer a thing.
suicide, essentially,
Jex
Member
There's a few things to note about City Hunter. Firstly, as you've probably noticed, the show is extremely formulaic. Every episode Ryo gets some job that will lead to him crossing paths with a pretty girl, Kaori will get mad and some bad guys will get shot. Rinse and repeat.
What makes the show work is that even though the characters are predictable, they're so goofy and silly that they're always fun to watch. Ryo oscillates from being a lecherous goofball into a badass and the support cast play off him really well. Moreover, the entire show is incredibly stylish and well directed making each episode an enjoyable romp.
It's probably worth pointing out that City Hunter was animated by Sunrise and it's one of the best looking non-mecha shows out there. There's some really top notch action animation in a number of episodes and the quality of the production is generally excellent.
At this point I'd normally drop some gifs or something equivalent from Sakugabooru but, er, they're sorely lacking in City Hunter content so it's probably just better to check out the OP's to get a feel for the series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re8d36wQy9w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07uUSEPeP4A
It really was no wonder why Kodama made a good fit for Detective Conan.
Jex
Member
As mentioned before, please find below a list of resources for anyone looking to learn more about anime. Apologies for the bad formatting but I lack the skill and tools to create a more pleasing layout.
GAF's very own anime recommendation threads!
So you're probably wondering: what anime should I watch? What's the best anime from last year, or the best dubbed anime, or maybe just the best show of all time? While you can always ask for specific advice in the general anime thread, Gaffers have written extensively on this subject over the aeons and their combined wisdom can be found within:
THE METALIST
The Metalist is a semi-comprehensive list of GAF's anime advice and recommendation threads, sorted by category. Whether your query is general or painstakingly specific you'd be surprised to see how often and how thoroughly Gaffers have written about it in the past.
NeoGAF Anime of the Year Lists - Because popularity matters
While popularity isn't a guarantor of quality, it's certainly a useful indicator. These threads aren't worth reading simply to see what anime ranked where, but to read the thoughtful reviews written by Gaffers.
Reviews, comment and insight about anime from Gaffers
There's a million and one anime blogs on the internet, but most of them aren't worth your time. Here's a snapshot of a couple of blogs that you should check out.
Posts and features which focus on how anime is made.
Podcasts
GAF's very own anime recommendation threads!
So you're probably wondering: what anime should I watch? What's the best anime from last year, or the best dubbed anime, or maybe just the best show of all time? While you can always ask for specific advice in the general anime thread, Gaffers have written extensively on this subject over the aeons and their combined wisdom can be found within:
THE METALIST
The Metalist is a semi-comprehensive list of GAF's anime advice and recommendation threads, sorted by category. Whether your query is general or painstakingly specific you'd be surprised to see how often and how thoroughly Gaffers have written about it in the past.
NeoGAF Anime of the Year Lists - Because popularity matters
While popularity isn't a guarantor of quality, it's certainly a useful indicator. These threads aren't worth reading simply to see what anime ranked where, but to read the thoughtful reviews written by Gaffers.
Reviews, comment and insight about anime from Gaffers
- Dirty Pair - Project Eden by Instro
- Elfin Lied by phoenix296
- Giant Robo by Jexhius
- Giovanni's Island by Branduil
- Ghost in the Shell (1995) vs Innocence (2004) by Duckroll
- Gundam Build Fighters: Episode 21: Amid the Glittering Particles by CorvoSol
- Hells by cosmicblizzard
- Hunter x Hunter Narag
- Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade Typographenia
- Log Horizon by Jexhius
- Ninja Scroll by Typographenia
- Patlabor by Jexhius
- Pupipo! by hosannainexcelsis
- The Big O: Thoughts and analysis by CorvoSol
- The Mystical Laws by BGBW
- The Snow Queen by Instro
- The History of AnimeGAF - Nafe
- List of Sakuga Anime - Self explanatory.
- BlueSakuga's - a page that features an excellent collection of MAD's, videos that focus on hihglighting particular animators or techniques.
- Sakugabooru is a collection of sakuga, in gif and webm form.
- Sakuga Spreadsheet - does what it says on the tin.
- Sakuga: The Animation of Anime Panel - a series of videos that serves as an introduction to the concept of Sakuga. This involves a general overview of the subject, an overview of different styles a detailed look at specific animators. A must watch for anyone interested in animation.
There's a million and one anime blogs on the internet, but most of them aren't worth your time. Here's a snapshot of a couple of blogs that you should check out.
- Anipages - Easily the best blog for those looking for discussion about the actual art of animation. The author of this blog, Ben Ettinger, has a such a comprehensive knowledge of the field that can generally recognise who animated a scene simply by watching it.
- Golden Ani-Versary 1963-2012 - A year by year history of anime, except that in this case each year is written up by a different writer. As you'd imagine, this means that the quality of the content here is fairly uneven. It's still useful in so much as it gives a general introduction to what came out in a given year and why it mattered.
Posts and features which focus on how anime is made.
- The anime production line - A really great post by Ben Ettinger which gives an overview of how an anime is actually produced.
- The Anime Economy - A series of ANN features about the business reality of producing and distributing an anime.
- Anime Sales - An up to date guide for about sales figures for anime DVD's/BD's actually mean.
- Anichart - See when the next episode of a show will air in Japan.
- Catsuka - A French language animation resource.
- ANN - The most well known English language anime resource. While their coverage is truly extensive the quality of their reviews is questionable and their encyclopaedia is not always accurate.
- What is moe - Well, what is it?
Podcasts
- ANNcast featuring Chard Kime from Geneon/Pioneer
- ANNcast featuring Robert Npaton from Bandai Entertainment
- Bravo Whiskey Cast - Featuring AnimeGAF's own firehawk12
- Anime Word Order - Whilst this cast is irregularly updated it has an extensive backlog and it particularly good at covering older titles
- The Pegbar and Grill Podcast featuring Aya Susuzki - A fascinating interview with a English/Japanese animator who worked on The Illusionist, Wolf's Children, The Dream Machine and The Wind Rises, among other things. This is probably one of the more informative interviews I've had on what it's like to work in the anime industry as it covers stuff like working hours, pay, working conditions, work flow, staffing, skill expectations etc.
MikeHattsu
Member
All of them. Except for ads for other shows.
CheapJuice
Member
Arslan Senki - 04
Narsus seems like he'll be a fun addition, I like his relatively simple goals. I knew I recognized the voice, man I miss Hisoka. Daryun is more clever than I thought.
I frequently forget that the main character Arslan is present, he's overshadowed by the currently more interesting characters.
Narsus seems like he'll be a fun addition, I like his relatively simple goals. I knew I recognized the voice, man I miss Hisoka. Daryun is more clever than I thought.
I frequently forget that the main character Arslan is present, he's overshadowed by the currently more interesting characters.
Arslan Senki Episode 4:
I don't remember Arslan being this much of a wet blanket in the original OVAs but I am working off of faded memories at the moment. Anyway, bit of a cooldown episode as we do some SRPG recruitment before moving onward to more interesting and important events.
I don't remember Arslan being this much of a wet blanket in the original OVAs but I am working off of faded memories at the moment. Anyway, bit of a cooldown episode as we do some SRPG recruitment before moving onward to more interesting and important events.
Tamako Market is a classic, and the fact that people here generally classify it as "Another disappointing post-Hyouka effort from KyoAni" in the same category as Chuunibyou or fucking Kyoukai no Kanata is a goddamned travesty.
hehee. I guess sometimes.
names2hard4you
Member
I remember liking it, but it sure didn't surpass Hyouka in my eyes. I am still waiting a sequel to the latter, it was one of my favorite slices of life alongside SNAFU.
Basileus777
Member
The Tamako Market film was pretty good, unfortunately the TV series was insipid trash outside of one episode.
Theonik
Member
Come on it was more than one episode. Maybe even 3. And the rest wasn't bad Chuu2 was bad. KnK was insipid.
Basileus777
Member
Chuu2 and Knk were foul and worse shows, but Tamako Market's brand of dull and lifeless is something I'd call bad too.
Theonik
Member
I enjoyed it.
Admiral Woofington
Member
What they were selling, you weren't buying.
The bigger problem was the failure at turning the Market into an interesting setting with a fun cast. With that kind of slice of life show, the novelty of the setting is important. The Market looked colourful but there wasn't anything fun about it compared to a regular Japanese Market. And the residents were largely one note, I doubt I could remember more than 2 or 3 of them, and only as general character traits.
Theonik
Member
But what would they use as a projector then?!
BBB 4
I still have trouble following this, just doesn't have any hook. I can't see any satisfactory ending either, it's just a well produced manga ad and I don't care about the managa either from what I looked.
dropped.
Fate S/N 16
This was just back to being bad again...
I made a huge mistake aka Hestia whatever 1
This is like taking everything that was good about SAO, augment it ten times and fill it in one episode. Even MC shamelessly has Kirito's voice, that pandering!
DROPPED
I still have trouble following this, just doesn't have any hook. I can't see any satisfactory ending either, it's just a well produced manga ad and I don't care about the managa either from what I looked.
dropped.
Fate S/N 16
This was just back to being bad again...
I made a huge mistake aka Hestia whatever 1
This is like taking everything that was good about SAO, augment it ten times and fill it in one episode. Even MC shamelessly has Kirito's voice, that pandering!
DROPPED
Admiral Woofington
Member
BBB ep. 4
A definite improvement after the lackluster episode last week. The upbeat attitude of the characters alongside the more serious situations surrounding them seem charming right now. Even if it's starting to seem like they might have too many characters and not enough time to expand on them.
A definite improvement after the lackluster episode last week. The upbeat attitude of the characters alongside the more serious situations surrounding them seem charming right now. Even if it's starting to seem like they might have too many characters and not enough time to expand on them.
And I think a large part of it was the really dumb fantastical elements they shoehorned into it, taking away time that should've been spent fleshing out the actual market and it's residents.
Show By Rock!! 04
I can see some of the same spirit that's in Punchline running through this show. The ridiculous situations that the characters are fully invested in. It's a good way for the audience to get invested in that sort of thing, too. Moa's alien heritage is becoming more interesting, and the Long Named Japanese Band made a favorable impression. I see that Megumi Han is using something much closer to her Kyuemon voice than her Hime voice here. And the fashion show did bring up some good points - a group's outfits can certainly enhance a performance (see any idol show), but the music is the real selling point.
And I want the insert songs for this show. So something's working.
I can see some of the same spirit that's in Punchline running through this show. The ridiculous situations that the characters are fully invested in. It's a good way for the audience to get invested in that sort of thing, too. Moa's alien heritage is becoming more interesting, and the Long Named Japanese Band made a favorable impression. I see that Megumi Han is using something much closer to her Kyuemon voice than her Hime voice here. And the fashion show did bring up some good points - a group's outfits can certainly enhance a performance (see any idol show), but the music is the real selling point.
And I want the insert songs for this show. So something's working.
ultimatemegax
Member
I was excited for Tamako Market when I first heard about it and even moreso when I read the interview with Naoko Yamada and Reiko Yoshida in Animage's January 2013 issue. Similar to a lot of other people, I fell out of the show during its run due to the content not being what I expected and that bothering me.
However, Tamako Market taught me how to watch a show for itself and not what I wanted it to be. The show isn't trying to be a deep characterization of the market nor trying to show a lot of romance. "Everybody loves somebody" doesn't mean romantic love; it's about all kinds of love: familiar, friendship, parental, social, etc. It's a fun show that's covering the events that happen throughout that year at the Usagiyama Shopping District and similarly detailing the sides of Tamako without focusing on her specifically. That's what Yamada had in mind for the TV series and it went over the heads of a lot of people. Due to that decision, she chose to introduce an outsider (Dera) as the relationships are already formed outside of Shiori.
Everything about the show is meant to be seen from the perspective of Tamako; it's a bright shopping district and happy life. We're shown her struggling with swimming, not academics, as it's a humorous fault in her character instead of something more realistic. We have longer tying threads such as her mother's song that end up being resolved quickly and unexpectedly (like life). It's a very cute and mochi-like show.
Contrary to the TV series, the movie has a different atmosphere instantly with Yamada's focus on the filters being more bitter and a lot less bright and cuddly. This emphasizes her theme of "adolescence" in the film from the very first shot. It's in great comparison to the comedic Dera short that ran right before it as that kept the standard Tamako atmospheric filters. The substance (romantic love, future decisions) are more grounded in reality than what the TV series had and so it needed different colors and construction than the brightly old-fashioned filters/colors Market had.
There's fair complaints to be had about Tamako Market; the disjointedness of the episodes with few tying strings makes it hard to follow week to week (though it would've been interesting to see it with the 4-cour production Yamada and Ishihara had wanted), there's too many characters to really develop outside of Tamako and her friends due to the limited screentime, and the atmosphere can be offsetting to some people who like darker-types of shows. Overall, I think anyone would like it going into it with the right mindset. It's a fantastic booster show that you can enjoy anytime; it just isn't the type of show that moves a lot of discs.
However, Tamako Market taught me how to watch a show for itself and not what I wanted it to be. The show isn't trying to be a deep characterization of the market nor trying to show a lot of romance. "Everybody loves somebody" doesn't mean romantic love; it's about all kinds of love: familiar, friendship, parental, social, etc. It's a fun show that's covering the events that happen throughout that year at the Usagiyama Shopping District and similarly detailing the sides of Tamako without focusing on her specifically. That's what Yamada had in mind for the TV series and it went over the heads of a lot of people. Due to that decision, she chose to introduce an outsider (Dera) as the relationships are already formed outside of Shiori.
Everything about the show is meant to be seen from the perspective of Tamako; it's a bright shopping district and happy life. We're shown her struggling with swimming, not academics, as it's a humorous fault in her character instead of something more realistic. We have longer tying threads such as her mother's song that end up being resolved quickly and unexpectedly (like life). It's a very cute and mochi-like show.
Contrary to the TV series, the movie has a different atmosphere instantly with Yamada's focus on the filters being more bitter and a lot less bright and cuddly. This emphasizes her theme of "adolescence" in the film from the very first shot. It's in great comparison to the comedic Dera short that ran right before it as that kept the standard Tamako atmospheric filters. The substance (romantic love, future decisions) are more grounded in reality than what the TV series had and so it needed different colors and construction than the brightly old-fashioned filters/colors Market had.
There's fair complaints to be had about Tamako Market; the disjointedness of the episodes with few tying strings makes it hard to follow week to week (though it would've been interesting to see it with the 4-cour production Yamada and Ishihara had wanted), there's too many characters to really develop outside of Tamako and her friends due to the limited screentime, and the atmosphere can be offsetting to some people who like darker-types of shows. Overall, I think anyone would like it going into it with the right mindset. It's a fantastic booster show that you can enjoy anytime; it just isn't the type of show that moves a lot of discs.
- Status