Where is this impression that Hyouka has mediocre sales coming from? It may not be a 40k massive hit like K-ON, but its >9k sales are still respectable and better than the vast majority of anime shows.
Among mainstream Western film critics, Kon is probably the most visible Japanese animation director behind Miyazaki, although he would be way behind Miyazaki.
Compared to a few of those on that list, it would definitely be considered mediocre. Even Toradora is beating it(by a slim margin though). Edit: I actually just went through the numbers on that list and I had to go down to Umineko before I saw Hyouka having better sales. Then there are a bunch below Umineko that would wipe the deck with the Hyouka sales.
Among film critics, you're right. However among otakus as a whole in the west, I wouldn't say he's mainstream.
Probably would be nice to understand how the world works in SAO. I might give the LN a try when I learn a little more Japanese. Are the novels written in hiragana and katakana, or is it mostly in kanji?
I wouldn't be try reading this until the summer period. I'm taking Japanese I and II for the school year. By that point, I'll know all of my hiragana and katakana characters, and a little kanji.
My hope is the SAO LN will help expand my vocabulary, since I should know the basic of Japanese. I'll at least know how to write the words anyway, and Google can assist with the translation of certain words.
Would you want to compare it to other KyoAni works(even though that wasn't really what we're discussing)? Even then it would be considered mediocre. I was more stating how many of those franchises are extremely popular to a very large extent that Hyouka isn't. There's a few smaller works(sales-wise) such as Toradora that are on the list but a good majority of them are popular and it seems for a reason. I was stating that if you just looked at sales, that list would be pretty close to what it is barring cases such as Hyouka and Toradora.
If you asked a normal anime-watcher who Satoshi Kon is, I doubt many would know. They might have seen Paprika but again he definitely isn't mainstream to any extent that anyone from Ghibli is. I would also be very surprised if many had seen Perfect Blue. Edit: I'm trying to see if I can find sales numbers for Paprika but not finding anything.
The more and more times I watch SAO the more I realize how well of a VA they chose for Kirito. It fits him perfectly, his vocal reactions are spot-on, and the acting is really well done. It's pretty awesome. Can't say the same for Asuna though... it's good fort the most part but it has moments of bad.
The more and more times I watch SAO the more I realize how well of a VA they chose for Kirito. It fits him perfectly, his vocal reactions are spot-on, and the acting is really well done. It's pretty awesome. Can't say the same for Asuna though... it's good fort the most part but it has moments of bad.
I'm actually trying to work on distinguishing VAs but it's really hard for me unless they either do an exceptionally good or bad job. Wakamoto I can always pick out
those rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
but if they do a mediocre job then it doesn't exactly leave an impression. That might be because I don't speak the native language but I'm working on it.
Just to put it out there... What series of anime closely resemble SAO? On aspect of the series I really enjoy is the fact that Kirito isn't your weak undependable male protagonist. I enjoy the savior complex part of it too (perhaps why I'm digging Kokoro Connect atm as well).
Just to put it out there... What series of anime closely resemble SAO? On aspect of the series I really enjoy is the fact that Kirito isn't your weak undependable male protagonist. I enjoy the savior complex part of it too (perhaps why I'm digging Kokoro Connect atm as well).
Just to put it out there... What series of anime closely resemble SAO? On aspect of the series I really enjoy is the fact that Kirito isn't your weak undependable male protagonist. I enjoy the savior complex part of it too (perhaps why I'm digging Kokoro Connect atm as well).
Just to put it out there... What series of anime closely resemble SAO? On aspect of the series I really enjoy is the fact that Kirito isn't your weak undependable male protagonist. I enjoy the savior complex part of it too (perhaps why I'm digging Kokoro Connect atm as well).
Would you want to compare it to other KyoAni works(even though that wasn't really what we're discussing)? Even then it would be considered mediocre. I was more stating how many of those franchises are extremely popular to a very large extent that Hyouka isn't.
Comparing it to other KyoAni properties would probably be more pertinent to the discussion, along with an addendum about the shift re: recent Kyoani tradition of mega success that seems to have come to a halt with Nichijou and Hyouka.
As I said earlier, if you compare it with some of the best selling shows ever, of course it's going to look mediocre.
There's a few smaller works(sales-wise) such as Toradora that are on the list but a good majority of them are popular and it seems for a reason. I was stating that if you just looked at sales, that list would be pretty close to what it is barring cases such as Hyouka and Toradora.
Popular shows are popular. Your point earlier was that the list would be considerably different had it been directed to a Western audience, but once you actually look at the list, it's filled with properties that are very well known here--ask it to the audience that goes to Crunchyroll, and it'll likely look similar to what was accrued here.
It would change if the question was asked of non-anime/casual fans, but then, that would be the case in Japan as well.
If you asked a normal anime-watcher who Satoshi Kon is, I doubt many would know. They might have seen Paprika but again he definitely isn't mainstream to any extent that anyone from Ghibli is. I would also be very surprised if many had seen Perfect Blue. Edit: I'm trying to see if I can find sales numbers for Paprika but not finding anything.
Please, without going into spoilers or touching the subject above, could you tell me what would motivate her to do such a thing? I ask because it may give me a little more insight than the anime into where her pasions lay.
Defintely something much more focused... SAO and .Hack have some thematic simularities but are extremely different shows. I cant stand the protagonists of the series either... so fucking emo!
Please, without going into spoilers or touching the subject above, could you tell me what would motivate her to do such a thing? I ask because it may give me a little more insight than the anime into where her pasions lay.
Asuna just wanted to continue. She has been pretty much dreaming of that day anyway. I find Asuna a bit creepy in this aspectg just because of how obsessive and protective she is over Kirito. She's just more open to her emotions and showing it to Kirito/others than normal female protags I guess.
Four part OVA that takes place after the regular 8 Man continuity, it seemed to be one of those all-too familiar darker takes on an older property. Thankfully, it worked here.
The first episode opens with the original 8 Man, a superhuman cyborg hero, running away from his identity and leaving the girl he loved, named Sachiko, behind. She's the bridge to the new series as her new life leads her down an all too familiar path. Hazama Itsuru, a private investigator, is poking around the company she works for as he's been hired to find a man named Eddie Schmidt. Her higher ups aren't pleased with this and she becomes involved when they send a hit man out to silence her for feeding the detective info. He realizes this and attempts to save her only to suffer irreparable harm to himself or so we think.
Before he dies, he's rebuilt into a new incarnation of 8 Man to better combat the increasing criminal threat to the city that just so happens to draw its power from the corporation Sachiko works for.
As it goes on, we learn more about Hazama's past, the truth behind the city's crime, witness a political powerplay go awry, see an underworld coup succeed, and watch as Sachiko's life comes full circle.
Sachiko & Hazama. Fans of noses in anime can rejoice.
The setting and tone is utilized well here. I think someone in the thread was lamenting the lack of cyberpunk anime yet here's something dark, gritty, dystopian, and, I'd wager, overlooked. The city is overrun with crime, the corporate CEO running for mayor who laments the fall of the city is also
the local crimeboss responsible for it and making a play to control the city from both sides
, gang members voluntarily give up limbs for cybernetic replacements to better fight turf wars despite the crippling drug addiction they'll develop simply to maintain the implants, and even the police is rife with corruption. It doesn't skimp on the violence either. There's a sense of no one being safe, not even the main characters, it was often fairly graphic with corpses and blood in no short supply, and when 8 Man finally gets involved, well, woe to the gang banger with the cybernetic limb. It's likely to be removed in a spectacular and bloody fashion.
Per the usual, the police were often outmatched until the super hero appeared.
One conceit of mine is I tend to see western influence in some anime. Dog Soldier has elements that reminded me of Rambo II, particularly the suit up scene, and Black Magic M-66 evoked memories of both First Blood and Terminator. Here I see something that reminded me heavily of Robocop. Not so much the consumer culture satire but some visual elements left me wondering. The corporate CEO lamenting the decline of the city & his miniature model city reminded me of Dick Jones and the Delta City project which, conveniently, had its own miniature city.
His existence as the big crime boss in town only helped cement that comparison.
. Hazama becoming 8 Man also reminded me of Alex Murphy's fate although, admittedly, that's how it actually worked in the 60s manga as well so that's tenuous despite the struggles Hazama begins to encounter regarding his remaining humanity. There's also a brain in the jar that brought back memories of Robocop 2 . The disembodied blurry blue face overlaid onto it while it spoke was reminiscent of elements of Kain although combined in this case. I'm sure there was other parallels but they're eluding me at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised if the original was an influence on Robocop and it's just coming full circle here.
Another of the visual elements that reminded me of Robocop.
One issue I did have is the inconsistent dub. Not to say the VAs were bad, they weren't, but the script itself had issues and often contradicted itself. Most notably was identifying a woman as Hazama's fiancee early on then his sister later.
I really liked it though. It scratched the right kind of itch and fills its niche well. Very little in the way of comic relief, it embraces its serious nature and for that I'm grateful. I was also glad because I finally learned where the musical track that plays in the old Orion Home Video anime trailer came from. It was the main theme to this.
Sometimes filler text is distracting and takes one out of the scene.
Comparing it to other KyoAni properties would probably be more pertinent to the discussion, along with an addendum about the shift re: recent Kyoani tradition of mega success that seems to have come to a halt with Nichijou and Hyouka. As I said earlier, if you compare it with some of the best selling shows ever, of course it's going to look mediocre.
Popular shows are popular. Your point earlier was that the list would be considerably different had it been directed to a Western audience, but once you actually look at the list, it's filled with properties that are very well known here--ask it to the audience that goes to Crunchyroll, and it'll likely look similar to what was accrued here.
It would change if the question was asked of non-anime/casual fans, but then, that would be the case in Japan as well.
That we don't know. That could be more due to the sources themselves or the actual anime productions. I mean KyoAni can still bring in the money as shown by the K-ON movie and Haruhi movie. Again even comparing it to other KyoAni works it's still mediocre on the lower end. It's not a complete bomba like Nichijou but it's not even midteens.
I disagree with that. If you asked for people on Crunchyroll to make a list, that would almost certainly look different. Cowboy Bebop would be on there, Akira would be on there, Hellsing would be on there, FMA would be on there, Eureka Seven would probably be on there, Tenchi Muyo would probably be on there, etc. That's mostly due to Toonami/Adult Swim though. Yes there's staples that are popular on both sides of the ocean such as Code Geass, Gundam, and Macross but I do think a list like that would be pretty noticeably different. I doubt it would differ much from the list we did at GAF and would probably conform closer to that.
If we're talking about Sacred Blacksmith, not really. I hated it, however it did have a strong protagonist I guess and it is in a fantasy setting. Now if you're looking for just strong protagonists as a whole regardless of setting then there are probably hundreds of them.
Mangaoh's contents update for the next issue of Otona Animedia confirmed the staff for Psycho-Pass. They took the info down, but not before it was cached! Lol.
Chief Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro
Director: Naoyoshi Shiotani
Series Composition/Script: Gen Urobuchi
I always found it pretty hard to write up impressions for Gintama, not just because it's a comedy but often because the the production is very workmanlike. I gave up even bothering to note anything down, other than my own personal reactions, by about about episode fifty.
