Theonik
Member
I liked all the shows I've seen so far this season besides UBW which remains UBW though it is quite pretty.
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Spring Anime 2015 |OT| The Disappearance of YEAARRT!
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Triage X is airing https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCFPiG3UAAAM_Ar.jpg:orig may be considered NSFW, personally I got no words to comment this...
Pretend it's a crow
Every once in awhile, on extremely rare occasion, I find that my opinion of a work is wrong. That I came at it the wrong way and judged it unfairly for what it was not, rather than what it was. This has happened like, maybe four times ever. Maybe. Cuz I'm usually awesome.
Anyway, when it happens, I like to come in and chew a chunk of myself off, because that's what you do when you're wrong. After my initial reaction to the work in question, I was tempted to write it off as intolerable and bad and not good at all. Like the times I was wrong about Eureka Seven or Hyouka, I do it because I find myself curious about the opinion gap.
So let's jump in on this.
Patlabor The Movie 2
I loved Patlabor, so I gave this another chance because I'd been "on the same page" as everyone right up till this movie. I hated it the first time, and even now I'm tempted to rank it beneath the rest of my Patlabor experience. Instead, I've taken Jex's comments to heart and am treating it separately. And honestly? It works pretty damn well that way.
The movie feels, in a way, a bit like a noir detective story. We follow our cynical Sam Spade through his black-and-white world of crime and corruption as he works the case. There's a beautiful woman with a secret and a connection to the crook. There's not much in the way of a Maltese Falcon, I guess, but there's plenty of shady leads to follow.
Of course, the film has its political commentary as well. It came out in the early 90s, which was a time of great political turmoil for the world. When the Soviet Union fell and the Cold War ended, the world was cast into quite a bit of doubt and confusion. That doubt and confusion is reflected in the film. Numerous scenes of the JGSDF blundering about situations as the villain employs jamming to set a fog around the city and make them feel the way he and the men who died on his mission felt fighting one of the many post Cold War cleanup battles.
Which makes sense. Tokyo stands as a symbol for all of Japan and really, the way the entire world felt in this era. If old Super Robot stories were a way to create new heroes and defenses for a Japan that had no army to defend itself at the height of the Cold War, then the Ingrams are hopelessly small tools to cut through the confusion of a terrifyingly large and suddenly empty world.
The feeling of emptiness is a present theme of the Patlabor film trilogy. Each movie follows a similar pattern, as does the Longest Day arc of the OVA: a man forgotten by the world sends one last message to it that their machines are not perfect and that humankind is getting shoved aside despite that. In the first movie we have the mad scientist's Maverick Virus infecting the labors of the Babylon Project and threatening to level Tokyo. One of the most memorable scenes from the film is Matsui's investigation into the Doctor's life, during which he moves from one abandoned slum of a seemingly empty city to another. In this second movie, Arakawa and Gotoh have a conversation about the unused, hidden train station they're hiding in. Gotoh calls it a place that was forgotten and never meant to be found. The station is emblematic of the hollow feeling that the Japanese must have had when the height of their economic troubles was suddenly coupled with the living political nightmare that was the end of the Cold War.
The second film, despite being far more oppressive and serious in tone, actually reaches a more positive conclusion than the first. While the first film has the heroes barely manage to achieve the less-bad of the villain's no-win scenario, whereas the second film concludes with Tsuge, the movie's villain, remarking to himself that the city of Tokyo may yet have a future, set to the image of a sunrise.
The story revolves around four main characters. Five if, like Sonicmj, you include the City of Tokyo as a sort of silent character of the movie. These are Captain Gotoh Kiichi, Agent Arakawa Shigeki, Captain Shinobu Nagumo and Tsuge. There are other characters, but these four have the lion's share of the movie's screen time. They are arranged here into pairs. Gotoh and Arakawa and Shinobu and Tsuge. Arakawa hardly interacts with anyone other than Gotoh, and Tsuge has no major connections to anyone aside from Shinobu. The key link between the pairs is Shinobu and Gotoh's relationship.
Now, I'm still not the biggest fan of the fact that Shinobu and Gotoh never got together and that Gotoh seemed to given up on her because she was still hung up on a mass murderer, but let us set that aside. The film does offer a fair amount of insight into their relationship. Gotoh's feelings for Shinobu are an open book, given statements like "If it's a favor to you I can't refuse" and the sheer number of ways he puts himself on the line for her. Shinobu, however, has often been extremely guarded. In this movie we see why.
Her relationship with Tsuge ruined her life. Notice that in all Patlabor materials, she has no close relationships. She has a curt relationship to her mother, and her friends from school she keeps at a distance from herself, refusing to spend time with them. Gomioka, her subordinate from the TV series, has never been any more than that. Her closest relationship is with Gotoh, and it that alone explains why she refuses to reciprocate his feelings.
Her affair with Tsuge landed her out on the puny island and relatively unknown position she holds there. Let's not pretend that the Special Vehicles is anything other than the Tokyo PD's dumping ground for talented personalities. Gotoh is a tactical genius, but he's also a squirrely cynic with a penchant for giving no fucks about the rules. Asuma is the son of a trillionaire with a bad attitude and a tendency to crack wise. Ota is a loose cannon cop on the edge 900% of the time. Izumi is a talented pilot who is far too naive and sentimental. Hell, even Kanuka is speculated to be sent there because the NYPD couldn't handle her. So it makes sense that someone as capable as Shinobu who happens to have as sordid a connection a man with as bad a reputation as Tsuge would wind up there.
So that she should meet Gotoh, who, like Tsuge, was brilliant, older, and into her, is about as much of a stroke of bad luck as she could have. Shinobu maintains extremely professional relationships with everyone at the SV2 (despite the fact that literally no one else there takes their job so seriously. Not even Ota or Kumagami), but Gotoh she has to hold apart from her because any whiff of an involvement with him would put her back into that situation she was in with Tsuge and she justifiably will do everything she must to never go back to that. The pain of that fall out is an inextricable aspect of her character.
It also puts an exchange between Gotoh and Arakawa in a different light. At one point Arakawa reaches for a word to use to describe Shinobu's relationship to Gotoh. Gotoh supplies that she is his co-worker. Arakawa responds to this sarcastically, and Gotoh answers that HQ does not look kindly on fraternization between officers. In retrospect I'm no longer certain if this is Gotoh's excuse for not more actively pursuing Shinobu or if it's what he has concluded is the reason she goes out of her way to not return his affection.
For his part, Gotoh is the perfect protagonist for the story Oshii is telling. Cynical, older, observant and skeptical, Gotoh is a man who, despite his fondness for Shinobu and his team, is exceptional at divorcing himself from a situation and looking at it form every angle. As he works to unravel the spell of misdirection Tsuge has placed Tokyo under, Gotoh is confronted time and again by the hypocrisy of the government he serves. Arakawa is the perfect foil to him. A crooked public safety agent, Arakawa has many of the same tendencies to circumvent procedure and distaste for bureaucrats Gotoh does. His malcontent had lead him to ally with Tsuge early on, and so he becomes the possible end of the line Gotoh stands on at the same time that he serves as a man who is both similar to him in attitude and outlook and wildly different in the conclusions he has drawn from that shared pool.
The man of the hour, Tsuge, is clearly a charismatic man who once believed in both technology and the system. When we first see him he's young, his hair is dark, and he's on official business using official technology based on theories he proposed. When we meet him again at the film's mid-point, he's old, haggard, and working to destroy a system in which he was once a major player. At one point, Gotoh asks Arakawa who is going to judge the city. In a sense, Tsuge is attempting to be that man. He judges the whole thing one great big mirage, and after failing to persuade him that it isn't, Shinobu is left to wonder if she, herself, doesn't happen to be one to him, too. When he clasps back her hand, the pain in her face is evident.
I've said it before, but for completion's sake let me reiterate it: Patlabor is an expert at the use of body language. All over the movie there are just amazing facial or posture cues that tell you how characters are feeling or what they're thinking. Arakawa's lazy eye is ingenious in that sense because it makes it harder to judge what he is thinking or how he is feeling.
This branches into the last point I want to bring up, which is the whole thing's visuals. In addition to those wonderful physical cues, the film has an astounding amount of detail in nearly every location and the mechanical animation is a true delight to behold. Most notable of all to me, though, was the film's use of color in the construction of its moods.
The first scene not withstanding, the movie begins with a bright and colorful series of scenes, beginning with Asuma and Noa goofing around like the two of them always do. Gotoh is introduced at sunset, and not long after we see Shinobu, whose first scenes are in dark rooms, sunset and then dusk. From there the movie's color palette becomes considerably more dull, even the ones during the day. There is no return to color until the conflict has ended, the sun has risen over Tokyo, and Gotoh smiles down on his cheering friends.
This same scene, which I previously took rather negatively, can be read another way. The way I suppose it rather obviously was meant to: whatever comes between Shinobu and Gotoh in the future, he still has his friends. They came when he needed them, from all over the place. Having families, moving up the ranks in the organization, getting transferred to other places, none of these things really changes the fact that they're friends. I'm sure Kanuka would've come, too, if she could have, but the pace at which things moved sort of precludes her from getting there without some kind of excessively fast plane (granted she totally would grab one, but still.) The point is that, just as Tokyo still has a future (and by extension Japan can still have a future despite its then present turmoil), Gotoh still has a future, too, with his friends.
In conclusion, I am sorry, I was wrong. It's not my favorite Patlabor movie. I still struggle on where to incorporate it into the rest of my experience with the franchise. But I don't hate it, and I see where the admiration comes from. It is an extremely well put together product, and a compelling story that is rich both in meaning to its central cast and the world as it was when it was written, if not to what I had assumed was the main cast of the entire series or the world as I had understood it based upon the rest of my experiences with the franchise.
Awesome.
Canjunitor, while the show actually shows great promise in what it is dabbling in, I have to admit I have not personal connection to the band club aspect and it left me cold. Not saying that one is a bad show since it has substance to it, I am saying it is nothing for my palette.
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
It was drawn by the guy who made highschool of the dead but was not written by the same guy.
So I guess thats a plus...
CheapJuice
Member
The sequel to Glasslip that we always wanted.
OMG NAnatsuiro Drops <3
Someone else remembers it!
Mo-o~
I dont understand it. I just dont..
Damned right nobody has swag like Sawa!
again, somebody notices this. Her popularity is skyrocketing and she isnt even that special. I think its the boob rope or whatever.
RIP
I liked Inu Boku SS (I like many things) and I remember it had quite good sales when it debuted. Not a very discussed series however. Karuta is a moenuke.
I think I'm in love with YuruYuri.
Join us!
Sound! Euphonium - 01
-This show makes me nostalgic as fuck. All these situations are realistic for a real band. The competitions, tears, emotions, rankings, a contrabass for a concert band... All there.
-Conducting animation didn't line up with the performance at the start. The one at the end did.
-The audio performance was as bad as Kumika thought it was lol. I'm glad they did bad studio recordings for the bad performances in the show. I don't know if normal people can tell or not, but yes, it was accurate. It was cool that they even got a fast-tempo piece closing conducting style correct for how you finish a piece for the Offenbach at the end.
-They actually took the time to say that a baritone and euphonium are different instruments.
-Dat tuner
-Dat background audio and general band room pre-rehearsal warmup
-Tuning the concert band with a b-flat from a b-flat clarinet (the audio was actually a b-flat too). Concert bands use this pitch compared to orchestras, which tune on A starting with an oboe moving from winds to strings, who then will tune all of their open strings accordingly.
-Dat 4th valve on the euphonium.
-Those performance markings on her sheet music.
-Those trombone slide positions!
-Sucking at trying to buzz in a mouthpiece for a beginner; The struggle is real for many newbies. I loved the learning how to buzz section. Though, using a V isn't the best method for a beginner lol. Making a tight circle with your thumb and pointer finger is way easier.
-Onee-chan is rocking a high-quality trombone. Dat trigger.
-I can't fucking believe they actually used an Alfred Reed arrangement/edit. Like holy shit. I performed that version for concert bands at least 6 times over my time as a performer. He's a prolific concert band arranger/composer. I'm really excited that they will be using legit concert band arrangements and compositions.
-Even their seating arrangements are spot on. It is odd to be using tiered podiums, though this could be a Japanese thing.
-Where are the french horns (which is supposed to be called just horn, for all you who don't know)? There are horns in concert settings.
-They have way too many saxophones lol. Like jesus.
This will probably be my favorite show this season on premise and art alone.
This is the one review I fully trust. AWESOMEBEAR knows what he's talking about!
By the way, ask BEAR to link to his orchestral stuff. Dude is mad talented.
I second this and further if necessary. Watch this show please!
Train of Midnight
Banned
I see the smut is strong this season.
Speaking of, when are we getting that Devil Sister anime on Bluray?
Speaking of, when are we getting that Devil Sister anime on Bluray?
R_thanatos
Member
Still covering the important parts i guess ??
CheapJuice
Member
First volume is out
Cornbread78
Member
Monogatari ep. 1-15:
I mean, the entire series has been pretty twisted thus far at times, which is great, but this whole "Monogatari" series has become really dark and dire to our main protag. They made it as a joke at the end of the "Medusa" arc, but that truly feels what they are trying to do at this point. I don;t like the overall tone of it at this point, and to me, it feels like cheap story telling by creating
out of nowhere, I don't know, these arcs have a totally different feel to them than the previous ones and not in a good way. I thought you'll said I would be happy with these? Ugghh, it's like a mix of Madoka and the School Days right now. I think I'm going to lose my head watching the rest of these.
I mean, the entire series has been pretty twisted thus far at times, which is great, but this whole "Monogatari" series has become really dark and dire to our main protag. They made it as a joke at the end of the "Medusa" arc, but that truly feels what they are trying to do at this point. I don;t like the overall tone of it at this point, and to me, it feels like cheap story telling by creating
the worst possible outcomes for each of the previously helped friends
hosannainexcelsis
Member
Welcome to the world of anime merchandising.
Truly cowtits.
Spot on. Me and my fiancee were both in highschool band so this was super nostalgic for us as well. I lol'd at the recruiting sign that said 'especially boys!', so true. Near the end of highschool we had lost almost all of them with the exception of me and I think one other.
Theonik
Member
The arrow outfit is much more hilarious. *NSFW*Triage X is airing https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CCFPiG3UAAAM_Ar.jpg
rigAbsolutely disgusting ...
that it's Aoi and not Tarou in that art..
With great harem comes great responsibility. Shagararagi was just not worthy.
Train of Midnight
Banned
Triage X OP http://a.pomf.se/xekqgv.mp4 ED http://a.pomf.se/biiirv.mp4
Do not click on the arrows in fear of your life.
Wish Upon the Pleiades begins streaming today on CR! 3:15 ET
Wow, I did not know a lot of anime merchandises were like that. Gosh, people actually buy those? I'm pretty sure if others saw me with it they would look at me all funny. It would be pretty embarrassing!
Cornbread78
Member
With great harem comes great responsibility. Shagararagi was just not worthy.
I fear that is definately the case coming up, as has been forshadowed now, but, that was not the tone of the series up until now. The tone and feeling of the series has been great thus far, but now I'm starting to feel like I don't want to see the final arcs now, since we already know the ending, and aside from that
you already know my fav girl, Shenjo dumps him
This is even more awesome
Figured CR would get this.
You have some incorrect spoilers)
You should watch it till the end. Koimonogatari aka "Hitagi end" probably is the best ark in second season due to its narrator.
Edit: ^ Oh was it about that ? I don't want to spoil anything but I think you should just keep watching.
@Cornbread78
I'm unsure what is it you spoiled yourself on and as the anime hasn't had a proper ending yet (only light novels from which the Tv show is adapted ) I'm not gonna highlight it. I don't really know how to advise you, imho the next two arcs of Mono are probably the best of that season and Tsukimonogatari is the best arc of the franchise but then, I believe we find enjoyment in different parts of this series. And I have to say, I didn't really find Monogatari that tonally different from the rest of the franchise, Mono and Hana are all about bringing closure to the arcs that started in Bake and that isn't going to change. I do not however believe it ever descends into Madoka levels of despair territory. At least so far. Not to mention the other one.
@Cornbread78
I'm unsure what is it you spoiled yourself on and as the anime hasn't had a proper ending yet (only light novels from which the Tv show is adapted ) I'm not gonna highlight it. I don't really know how to advise you, imho the next two arcs of Mono are probably the best of that season and Tsukimonogatari is the best arc of the franchise but then, I believe we find enjoyment in different parts of this series. And I have to say, I didn't really find Monogatari that tonally different from the rest of the franchise, Mono and Hana are all about bringing closure to the arcs that started in Bake and that isn't going to change. I do not however believe it ever descends into Madoka levels of despair territory. At least so far. Not to mention the other one.
Sir Blaming
Member
Holy shit. Looks like someone is not watching that.
Thats not quite true Corvy kun.
Im not surprised this exists. I kind of like the artwork on the left but poor Aoi has enough to deal with
Strike while the iron is hot. Shirobako is popular so you should expect to see things like this.
It really is. My coworkers wish they were into anime so they wouldnt have more damaging vices like smoking/drinking
You seem to say this about every season though. Its a common theme among many in here that every season is trash but ultimately people find enough every season to stay satisfied.
Funi sucks
But I have done the same. Over two years for a anime preorder has to be some sort of record!
Agreed EXCEPT for Chiaya, who I shall never forget
I dont have personal connection either but I find the culture and traditions of it quite interesting. I was never musically gifted but I was always fascinated by the allure of being in school band. where they held their mythical music rituals, the strict military like practice regimens, the expensive instruments, the seeming outpour of absolute talent that resulted. It was cool!
Cornbread78
Member
Uggh, I think I'm just scared then, uuggh, I don't know, I'm watching the #3 summary right now, it helps make sure I didn't miss any minor details. Just hitting the play button on the next couple arcs is pretty tough to imagine... Maybe they just make it sound worse than it is? uggh. I started the Shinabu part and now I'm aprehensive...
I don't know where the hell you read those spoilers. I have a rough idea of where the series is going and I know those spoilers aren't true. Not even remotely. Like I am legit confused where you would even read that. Is it because the last arc is called Hitagi End?..because the monogatari titles are often either meaningless, intentionally misleading, or symbolize something.
You do know the ending hasn't been animated yet right? It doesn't end with the season you are watching or the smaller seasons afterward. Shaft has confirmed they will be animating all the novels and there are quite a few left.
Cornbread78
Member
WTF were those Google headlines I saw then? So confused here. I mean, I'm glad they are wrong, but I think I types in Ararigi's girlfriend the other day, so I could get the correct spellign for Shenjou's name, and a bunch of other links popped up....
I think it is a bit more profound this season since we are coming off the back of some very strong seasons beforehand.
I am at a loss here. Don't trust the internet?
Dedication Through Light
Member
I want a Haru bday item good outfit.
good outfit.
Jeez, how about she just skip the middle man and go full nude instead? Is there a point to wear like that?
Edit:
Absolutely Disgusting.
Triage X 01
I knew what I was getting into this - one of those special agent type shows. Not really here for the gun porn, more for the lewd. And an urge to dub over Mochizuki's voice with the senile, cranberry-loving Dr. Hoffman in my head. Pretty much what I expected - watching for the girls, and Pleiades remains the real highlight of Wednesday for me... in a little bit.
I knew what I was getting into this - one of those special agent type shows. Not really here for the gun porn, more for the lewd. And an urge to dub over Mochizuki's voice with the senile, cranberry-loving Dr. Hoffman in my head. Pretty much what I expected - watching for the girls, and Pleiades remains the real highlight of Wednesday for me... in a little bit.
You know, there are quite a lot of people who ship Araragi with Hanekawa. Or with Shinobu. There is quite a big possibility that you read something like that...
That or people just trolling.
phoenix296
Member
Araragi doesn't deserve happiness anyways.
KuwabaraTheMan
Banned
Are we? The last couple of seasons definitely had some strong shows, but I don't see this season as being too different in that regard.
The jury is still out on the season for me, but it seems to me like it should at least be on par with the previous couple of seasons.
Link pls.....for scientific purposes.
Nisio wrote about this kind of guy ih his other series)
And Araragi is a good guy at the end of the day. It's just that his flirting with other girls shouldn't be percieved as something serious)
Ore Monogatari OP http://a.pomf.se/hlqtjx.mp4
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