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Summer 2012 Anime |OT3| Where All the Waifus Are Made Up and the Points Don't Matter
- Thread starter Branduil
- Start date
- Status
For picturing a garbage heap, that is one beautiful cover!
Please god tell me thats gonna make it here.
One movie I have not yet bought.
I want a bluray.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
I would say "Of course it'll be released here!", but then I remember that we never got the Perfect Blue BD. Here's hoping!
What I don't understand is that, even though the release of the DVD version in Japan did have English subtitles, this one apparently doesn't includes those...
Clearly, one who places SAO's story into something as structurally sound as an "arc" is ill-informed.
Jex
Member
I don't want to say you're wrong, because you're not, but I do want to say that the writing in that episode is pretty much on par with the series as a whole, for all that entails. You should be used to it by now.
Sword Art Online - 12
I can't believe he used his one chance to
, just to create a tamogochi, what the deuce!?
Well what you call the last two episodes? "The Yui Saga"?
I can't believe he used his one chance to
hack into the system
Well what you call the last two episodes? "The Yui Saga"?
Jex
Member
For picturing a garbage heap, that is one beautiful cover!
Hmm? Isn't that the same picture as the DVD release of Tokyo Godfathers? It's the same one I have on my shelf. Surely you've seen it already, unless you folks in America got a 'sanitised' cover.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
Now I feel cheated.
Jex
Member
Oh, I take it all back, Hossana. You American's get cheated out of nice covers in every field of entertainment.What I have:
I remember that, when Satoshi Kon was still alive he wouldn't sign 'Americanised' covers of his movies.
.hack//SAOign
"The Big Mistake"
What I have:
Takes anime to a whole new level!
Ultimadrago
Member
Hidamari Sketch x365 7
Yuno's meeting with Sae starts a bit rough by making too much noise hitting Miyako on the head! In any case, this episode is their entrance ceremony.
Her blunt innocence is a reason why she's great.
Misato, an alumni, returns to Hidamari Apartments briefly. I remember seeing a scene with her in season 3 where she's
. She is an upbeat character, most likely was the "troublemaker" around the apartments in her school days.
It's fun seeing Yoshinoya's demeanor on the first class day because by this point a regular viewer would already know what she's truly like. Of course, the student can't take her seriously.
In more news: Miyako is always poor...
The television perspective used during the gang having snacks was nice. It all ended with Yuno looking forward to her future at Hidamari.
Side note: Will Oyasan ever find the drive to stop smoking?
Don't flip others' eggs without asking!
Yuno's meeting with Sae starts a bit rough by making too much noise hitting Miyako on the head! In any case, this episode is their entrance ceremony.
Miyako's "long-face!" comment when the Principal presented was a real laugh.
Misato, an alumni, returns to Hidamari Apartments briefly. I remember seeing a scene with her in season 3 where she's
deciding her future of travelling with her roommate Riri
It's fun seeing Yoshinoya's demeanor on the first class day because by this point a regular viewer would already know what she's truly like. Of course, the student can't take her seriously.
In more news: Miyako is always poor...
The television perspective used during the gang having snacks was nice. It all ended with Yuno looking forward to her future at Hidamari.
Side note: Will Oyasan ever find the drive to stop smoking?
Yes.
Jex
Member
Of course, in this and many other cases 'European artwork' essentially means that we keep the original Japanese box art.
[Gunslinger Girl] - 12/13/Finale
This show....this god damn show.
A near masterpiece.
One of the first anime finales to nearly bring me to tears. Masterfully executed.
You also get boring black and white spines for your games, and those are what are most often visible on a shelf, so it all evens out. My EU DS/PSP/PS3 games really stick out like a sore thumb among the rest, hahah.
Jex
Member
But it didn't take you all the way, huh? Perhaps you have no heart!
The Ambition of Oda Nobuna - END
I liked this show enough to see it through to the end.
I loved the character designs, it had consistently high-quality drawing and some very pretty animation at times, and some impressively well-directed scenes. Watching it alongside a cheaper-looking show like Kokoro Connect is striking.
And of course it's got plenty of attractive characters.
But there's some things that bugged me the whole time I was watching it.
I liked this show enough to see it through to the end.
I loved the character designs, it had consistently high-quality drawing and some very pretty animation at times, and some impressively well-directed scenes. Watching it alongside a cheaper-looking show like Kokoro Connect is striking.
And of course it's got plenty of attractive characters.
But there's some things that bugged me the whole time I was watching it.
Even to the very end, this show (was it like this in the novels?) goes out of its way to never show the girls clearly kill anyone. They knock soldiers around or knock them unconscious, but all the clearly lethal bloody stabbings, slicings, and shootings in the show are always done by men.
Even Nobuna vs. the last boss ends with her only ambiguously cutting his face, and he gets to die due to to stepping backwards into falling burning pillars instead of by her hand directly.
This had a couple of weird effects on my impression of things.
One was that Hanbei--who supposedly has a dislike of bloodshed as one of her character traits--actually came off as the most vicious of them all, because she's shown having the most immediate cause-and-effect relationship of ordering soldiers to fire their guns, followed by enemy soldiers spurting blood as they're mowed down.
The other is the contrast between how the girls are presented and what's actually going on.
Things wouldn't be so weird if the show were simply non-violent in general, but that's not the case at all. Soldiers die by the thousands. But the only character who even gets any token scenes of worrying about them is Yoshiharu.
(Yoshiharu, by the way, still comes off as an asshole for (1) caring about saving an enemy general because she's pretty, but not any of the soldiers he had to fight through to get to her, and (unrelated to that) (2) for demanding "the most beautiful girl in Japan" be presented to him as a reward for his services.
These bits were somewhat reminiscent of Rance in Alicesoft's Rance series of eroge RPGs, except Rance is clearly presented as a horrible person whereas this show seems to want me to genuinely like Yoshiharu.)
There's a scene in episode 10 where one of Nobuna's retainers lectures Nobuna that if you're going to unite Japan, you have to accept that some people are going to die--a topic which only comes up because Nobuna's close friends, her retainers/generals, are about to be put in danger--as if this was a revelation that Nobuna hadn't thought about during the previous nine episodes of ordering soldiers into battle.
The girls (well Nobuna mostly, with the others acting on her orders) regularly send soldiers to die for pride or other emotional reasons.
They also casually allow enemy commanders to go free multiple times, while cheerily saying things like "Let's meet on the battlefield again!" They don't even take them prisoner, much less kill them, even enemy characters who have repeatedly made direct efforts to kill our heroes in despicable ways.
I assume this behavior, along with never showing the girls stab or dismember anyone, is done to present them as cute lovable characters rather than pragmatically cold warriors, but the problem is it causes unnecessary repeat matches with said enemy characters where thousands more soldiers will die.
The end result of all that is the girls come off as sleazy politicians disconnected from their soldiers, feigning innocence even as they cause bloody conflicts for petty reasons.
Nobuna is the most ridiculous of them all, because virtually all we see of her is her behaving like an immature child, not a charismatic and masterful leader. (Apparently the novels have detail showing her engaging in behavior more appropriate to her position and her supposed shrewdness, but that was cut in the anime to focus on the more dramatic and emotional parts.)
I understand at an intellectual level that I'm "doing it wrong."
It's a harem anime, with standard static relationships and our hero can't even get his promised kiss in the final episode.
The war is just background, just a set up for the various scenes showing the girls smiling, laughing, teasing, blushing, frowning, shouting, and crying.
Things only matter if one of the girls feels they matter.
But it's hard for me to let go and enjoy it like that.
I'm still wanting the story to clearly treat all the background death as black comedy or otherwise indicate to me that I'm not supposed to worry about it, but it doesn't do me that favor, instead reserving the right to treat it dramatically when it feels like it and ignore it the rest of the time.
I think I'm still suffering from some vestiges of culture shock in regards to this type of fiction, works like this that arbitrarily shift between being comedy and serious on a whim.
It's not the same thing as comedic relief in a serious story or serious moments in a comedy--it's as if the entire purpose of the story world is fluid and subject to change as convenient to show the various attractive traits of the girls.
Even Nobuna vs. the last boss ends with her only ambiguously cutting his face, and he gets to die due to to stepping backwards into falling burning pillars instead of by her hand directly.
This had a couple of weird effects on my impression of things.
One was that Hanbei--who supposedly has a dislike of bloodshed as one of her character traits--actually came off as the most vicious of them all, because she's shown having the most immediate cause-and-effect relationship of ordering soldiers to fire their guns, followed by enemy soldiers spurting blood as they're mowed down.
The other is the contrast between how the girls are presented and what's actually going on.
Things wouldn't be so weird if the show were simply non-violent in general, but that's not the case at all. Soldiers die by the thousands. But the only character who even gets any token scenes of worrying about them is Yoshiharu.
(Yoshiharu, by the way, still comes off as an asshole for (1) caring about saving an enemy general because she's pretty, but not any of the soldiers he had to fight through to get to her, and (unrelated to that) (2) for demanding "the most beautiful girl in Japan" be presented to him as a reward for his services.
These bits were somewhat reminiscent of Rance in Alicesoft's Rance series of eroge RPGs, except Rance is clearly presented as a horrible person whereas this show seems to want me to genuinely like Yoshiharu.)
There's a scene in episode 10 where one of Nobuna's retainers lectures Nobuna that if you're going to unite Japan, you have to accept that some people are going to die--a topic which only comes up because Nobuna's close friends, her retainers/generals, are about to be put in danger--as if this was a revelation that Nobuna hadn't thought about during the previous nine episodes of ordering soldiers into battle.
The girls (well Nobuna mostly, with the others acting on her orders) regularly send soldiers to die for pride or other emotional reasons.
They also casually allow enemy commanders to go free multiple times, while cheerily saying things like "Let's meet on the battlefield again!" They don't even take them prisoner, much less kill them, even enemy characters who have repeatedly made direct efforts to kill our heroes in despicable ways.
I assume this behavior, along with never showing the girls stab or dismember anyone, is done to present them as cute lovable characters rather than pragmatically cold warriors, but the problem is it causes unnecessary repeat matches with said enemy characters where thousands more soldiers will die.
The end result of all that is the girls come off as sleazy politicians disconnected from their soldiers, feigning innocence even as they cause bloody conflicts for petty reasons.
Nobuna is the most ridiculous of them all, because virtually all we see of her is her behaving like an immature child, not a charismatic and masterful leader. (Apparently the novels have detail showing her engaging in behavior more appropriate to her position and her supposed shrewdness, but that was cut in the anime to focus on the more dramatic and emotional parts.)
I understand at an intellectual level that I'm "doing it wrong."
It's a harem anime, with standard static relationships and our hero can't even get his promised kiss in the final episode.
The war is just background, just a set up for the various scenes showing the girls smiling, laughing, teasing, blushing, frowning, shouting, and crying.
Things only matter if one of the girls feels they matter.
But it's hard for me to let go and enjoy it like that.
I'm still wanting the story to clearly treat all the background death as black comedy or otherwise indicate to me that I'm not supposed to worry about it, but it doesn't do me that favor, instead reserving the right to treat it dramatically when it feels like it and ignore it the rest of the time.
I think I'm still suffering from some vestiges of culture shock in regards to this type of fiction, works like this that arbitrarily shift between being comedy and serious on a whim.
It's not the same thing as comedic relief in a serious story or serious moments in a comedy--it's as if the entire purpose of the story world is fluid and subject to change as convenient to show the various attractive traits of the girls.
Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning
Does what it says on the tin.
For those who're curious about the metrics of how the movie breaks down, approximately the first forty minutes of the movie cover the first two episodes of the TV show with a few new cuts here and there - maybe about 5-6 minutes worth, fit around what we saw on TV without retconning anything. Also a new OP sequence to make sure that you notice the ALL NEW SPONSORSHIPS they've adorned some of the heroes with (Fire Emblems Dominoes Pizza got a huge laugh from the audience for some reason).
Pretty much everything after that point is new content, slotting in between the end of the second episode and the beginning of the third.
Talking more specifically about things (spoilered for those who don't want to know anything...
On a non-spoiler level, there's probably more Rock Bison in this movie than there was in the whole of the TV show (which is great, because I like Rock Bison), and most the supporting cast get more play in the movies second half than they would in an episode of the show which wasn't specifically one of their character episodes, which was pretty nice to see. I said it in the spoiler section, but much of the new Blue Rose content is incredibly gratuitous and fanservicey (like, almost full-scene ass shots on a number of occasions). The edits to the episode 1 and 2 content cut out most the stuff I found grating about the TV show, and the new content is pretty entertaining. It doesn't set the world on fire or anything, but it's a solidly entertaining movie, and as far as superhero flicks go, I'd say it's above par.
The movie does end with the trailer for Tiger and Bunny: The Rising. Doesn't show a huge amount, but what it does show looks pretty dramatic...
Does what it says on the tin.
For those who're curious about the metrics of how the movie breaks down, approximately the first forty minutes of the movie cover the first two episodes of the TV show with a few new cuts here and there - maybe about 5-6 minutes worth, fit around what we saw on TV without retconning anything. Also a new OP sequence to make sure that you notice the ALL NEW SPONSORSHIPS they've adorned some of the heroes with (Fire Emblems Dominoes Pizza got a huge laugh from the audience for some reason).
Pretty much everything after that point is new content, slotting in between the end of the second episode and the beginning of the third.
Talking more specifically about things (spoilered for those who don't want to know anything...
The second episode probably took the brunt of the edits, whilst most of the new stuff is shoehorned into the content from the first episode. Specifically, there's a lot of additional footage of Tiger prior to what was his initial appearance in the TV show. Whilst TV episode one started essentially in media res with the bank robbers fleeing, Tiger not showing up until he appears on the monorail track briefly looking as though he may be competent, the movie starts with Tiger getting a call to action on his watch, and they interweave the other heroes dealing with the crime with scenes of Tiger getting ready and travelling to the scene.
It's kind of clear that these sequences were added with existing fans of Tiger and Bunny in mind - they're incredibly goofy, and completely undercuts the initial impression of Tiger you get in the show. Otherwise, they added few scenes with Tiger leaving the Heroes awards with him moping around, clarifying his motivation to be a heroes and giving us a quick flash of the new villain. They cut out pretty much everything with Tiger trying to prove he's still popular with the trading cards and all that. They added a few new cuts with Blue Rose here and there, which are incredibly gratuitous for the most part. One of them in particular is pretty hilarious, though.
The second episode is pretty much straight from the TV show, except they cut everything with Ivan the douchey bully skater - no scenes of him bullying, no scene of him running after the NEXT kid in the car at the end, and no scene of him knocking over Kaede at the rink. I always thought that was a little too cheesy and abrupt a change in manner in the TV show, so I'm fine with them cutting it.
The rest of the movie is new stuff - the bulk of it is an extended action sequence as the heroes try to apprehend the new villain as he flees through an amusement park. It's kind of lacking in tension simply because we know how the TV show ends up going after this point, though it's still pretty entertaining. Given Tiger and Bunny's relationship at this point in the series, the power they gave the villain leads to some pretty amusing scenes between the two. It's all T&B in it's "tongue-firmly-in-cheek" mode more than serious, thankfully. Animation is pretty much at the higher end of Sunrise TV quality - it's not spectacular in a movie sense, but it's missing most of the jank of the TV show, and it's at least consistently at a decent level.
It's kind of clear that these sequences were added with existing fans of Tiger and Bunny in mind - they're incredibly goofy, and completely undercuts the initial impression of Tiger you get in the show. Otherwise, they added few scenes with Tiger leaving the Heroes awards with him moping around, clarifying his motivation to be a heroes and giving us a quick flash of the new villain. They cut out pretty much everything with Tiger trying to prove he's still popular with the trading cards and all that. They added a few new cuts with Blue Rose here and there, which are incredibly gratuitous for the most part. One of them in particular is pretty hilarious, though.
The second episode is pretty much straight from the TV show, except they cut everything with Ivan the douchey bully skater - no scenes of him bullying, no scene of him running after the NEXT kid in the car at the end, and no scene of him knocking over Kaede at the rink. I always thought that was a little too cheesy and abrupt a change in manner in the TV show, so I'm fine with them cutting it.
The rest of the movie is new stuff - the bulk of it is an extended action sequence as the heroes try to apprehend the new villain as he flees through an amusement park. It's kind of lacking in tension simply because we know how the TV show ends up going after this point, though it's still pretty entertaining. Given Tiger and Bunny's relationship at this point in the series, the power they gave the villain leads to some pretty amusing scenes between the two. It's all T&B in it's "tongue-firmly-in-cheek" mode more than serious, thankfully. Animation is pretty much at the higher end of Sunrise TV quality - it's not spectacular in a movie sense, but it's missing most of the jank of the TV show, and it's at least consistently at a decent level.
On a non-spoiler level, there's probably more Rock Bison in this movie than there was in the whole of the TV show (which is great, because I like Rock Bison), and most the supporting cast get more play in the movies second half than they would in an episode of the show which wasn't specifically one of their character episodes, which was pretty nice to see. I said it in the spoiler section, but much of the new Blue Rose content is incredibly gratuitous and fanservicey (like, almost full-scene ass shots on a number of occasions). The edits to the episode 1 and 2 content cut out most the stuff I found grating about the TV show, and the new content is pretty entertaining. It doesn't set the world on fire or anything, but it's a solidly entertaining movie, and as far as superhero flicks go, I'd say it's above par.
The movie does end with the trailer for Tiger and Bunny: The Rising. Doesn't show a huge amount, but what it does show looks pretty dramatic...
Isn't this the show were all the historical figures are turned into little girls?
Why are you writing so much about it?
R_thanatos
Member
Actually you're not doing it wrong at all as most of your reactions are the result of the adaptation into anime.They did a good job at keeping the feelign of war and as a result skipped stuff.
This very hard to express in anime as the novel do tell why they behave that way better.Action was priorised over too much exposure on each character.
yn-neko hates a cat
Banned
[Gunslinger Girl] - 12/13/Finale
This show....this god damn show.
A near masterpiece.
I've always been afraid to watch (hence haven't) this show but I'm sort of a little punk in that I'm afraid to watch children die. So do children die? Does the show leave you feeling emotionally drained and dehydrated from tremendous loss of tears? Will I have to cut just to displace the pain in my heart if I watch this? I'm totally being serious here except for the cutting part
maybe 
Ah you're right.
Thanks for the review.
Still, can you elaborate on what the trailer showed? I don't mind spoilers for it.
A ridiculous premise isn't a reason not to judge a work on its own merits.
dakkumauji
Member
Kuroko no Basketball 24
Major props for recapping last episode in the OP. Bonus points all around.
But, this was an amazing episode. I can see they were saving all their budget for this set of episodes and it shows. Extremely exciting throughout the entire episode, this can easily become one of my favorite matches in the series so far.
Major props for recapping last episode in the OP. Bonus points all around.
But, this was an amazing episode. I can see they were saving all their budget for this set of episodes and it shows. Extremely exciting throughout the entire episode, this can easily become one of my favorite matches in the series so far.
Did you actually read Kagami's post? I may have no interest in the show, but what he's actually written is quite interesting. If you want to avoid spoilers, read the last two paragraphs only.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Damn it. lol
I can see why with a certain plot twist. And boy, does it look worse than I remember.
I was just thinking of how to turn Rainbow into a ringtone.
Hahaha.Eureka Seven AO 21 has the most epic wonzo crowd scene maybe ever. How far BONES has fallen.
Yep. Very bland.
Did the Best Girl (Mitsuhide) ever actually do anything? I take it from your spoiler that
Nobuna didn't actually get stabbed in the back.
Jex
Member
[Gunslinger Girl] - 12
This episode is just a tiny bit disappointing. The last couple of episodes had shed this series' formula of 'Girl and her Handler have relationship problems -> Girl has to go on mission -> action sequence -> resolution of conflict between girl and handler' where as this episode sticks pretty closely to this structure. Another problem with this episode is simply the nature of the problem that Angelica's issues seem rather low-key after the last arc - it feels like the show has essentially explored every aspect of this Girl/Handler dynamic and there isn't really anything interesting left to say about it.
While the story has covered Angelica and Marco before I suppose some of the stuff we're seeing here is different - Angelica clearly feels that Marco is treating her too coldly but the opposite is actually true - Marco concedes to all of Angelica's demands even though that may not be wise because he's simply trying to make her happy.
On a character note, the final sequence is some pretty powerful stuff.
As a side note, we're also treated to some more 'behind the scenes' office politics stuff regarding Section 2 and how well the cyborg program is doing compared to it's original mandate. I really like these scenes because they do an effective job of positioning Section 2 inside of a more fully fleshed out world. At the same time we never dwell on any of the specific details of these behind-the-scenes characters, which I think is a good thing because obsessing over those details would do nothing to further the stories of these particular characters, nor would it enhance the show in any conceivable way. Compare and contrast this to, say, something like Darker than Black which gradually became obsessed with the 'back-story of the world' even though that had nothing to do with why the show was good in the first place. This series is remarkably understated on many levels and the way it handles, or rather doesn't handle, this greater 'plot' is just another example of the carefully honed storytelling on display.
Oh, the action scene was really, really good this time. The action doesn't really serve a role in the greater story but boy does it look great. The way the action is choreographed easily rivals anything that Section 9 does in Stand Alone Complex.
Also - a particular couple make a 'guest appearance' to great effect.
This episode is just a tiny bit disappointing. The last couple of episodes had shed this series' formula of 'Girl and her Handler have relationship problems -> Girl has to go on mission -> action sequence -> resolution of conflict between girl and handler' where as this episode sticks pretty closely to this structure. Another problem with this episode is simply the nature of the problem that Angelica's issues seem rather low-key after the last arc - it feels like the show has essentially explored every aspect of this Girl/Handler dynamic and there isn't really anything interesting left to say about it.
While the story has covered Angelica and Marco before I suppose some of the stuff we're seeing here is different - Angelica clearly feels that Marco is treating her too coldly but the opposite is actually true - Marco concedes to all of Angelica's demands even though that may not be wise because he's simply trying to make her happy.
On a character note, the final sequence is some pretty powerful stuff.
Claes smacking the crap out of Angelica and Angelica telling all the girls that they will die 'without ever knowing anything' is fairly serious material.
As a side note, we're also treated to some more 'behind the scenes' office politics stuff regarding Section 2 and how well the cyborg program is doing compared to it's original mandate. I really like these scenes because they do an effective job of positioning Section 2 inside of a more fully fleshed out world. At the same time we never dwell on any of the specific details of these behind-the-scenes characters, which I think is a good thing because obsessing over those details would do nothing to further the stories of these particular characters, nor would it enhance the show in any conceivable way. Compare and contrast this to, say, something like Darker than Black which gradually became obsessed with the 'back-story of the world' even though that had nothing to do with why the show was good in the first place. This series is remarkably understated on many levels and the way it handles, or rather doesn't handle, this greater 'plot' is just another example of the carefully honed storytelling on display.
Oh, the action scene was really, really good this time. The action doesn't really serve a role in the greater story but boy does it look great. The way the action is choreographed easily rivals anything that Section 9 does in Stand Alone Complex.
Also - a particular couple make a 'guest appearance' to great effect.
The Rising trailer? It was just a bunch of quick flashes of stuff, making it tough to remember, but from what I recall
it showed the silhouette of a new villain, then flashed through shots of all the heroes laying on the floor defeated. There's a long-shot of the city in ruins with the moniker "The End of Sternbild" or similar, then ends with Tiger and Bunny in armour, facing off like they're about to beat the crap out of each other a subtitle suggesting that's what is about to happen.
The movie isn't out until next year, though (the slide at the end actually said "Autumn 2013", which made my British self smile), so obviously there's probably not that much they can show.
I'm not so sure on that.
An arc is a story inside an overarching story, best examples to use would be shounen's like Dragonball Z, One Piece, Naruto etc, which are rife with them.
Ironically thanks to Dragonball Z, I've always thought of Saga's as a bunch of arcs put together (Get worfed by new enemy arc + collect dragonballs and get revived arc + Training arc + move to a new location arc + final battle arc = Namek Saga).
Mitsuhide had a fight scene with Matsunaga Danjo that was reasonably cool.
Beyond that I think the most significant thing Mitsuhide did was
save the Monkey's life by stripping naked and hugging him to keep him warm in a cave.
while many may be happy with just taking a plank of wood to the plot holes and using it to walk over them, I approach the plot holes with a mechanical digger and try to make them even bigger.
Also Asuna is wearing the "corpse" of her "daughter" around her neck as a fashion accessory.
I'm okay with this.
KO Traveling Hobo
Member
The episode just came out yesterday. Can we at least pretend to care about spoiling things?
A Retrospective of Hyouka Part 2
With the one week anniversary of Hyouka finishing I thought I'd post part 2 of my retrospective thoughts.
Honestly I personally liked Hyouka from the very first episode and as the show carried on it became my favorite of the season and the one I looked forward to each week the most.
Despite remarking that many of the visuals were perhaps more in your face with their presentation I do have to remark and say they were quite eye pleasing. It reminded me of Tsuritama and Yuki quite literally drowning in social anxiety, personally I which more shows would experiment with this, being a visual medium and all. Even episode 6 gave us some memorable visual metaphors such as the chibi angel Chitandas.
It's true they could also be more subtle in presentation as well, such as this quick shot here:
There's the saying that opposites attract and this couldn't be more true for the characters of Chitanda and Oreki, or even others such as Satoshi and Oreki. The dichotomy of the characters really acted as foils to each other and allowed one to play off of the other. It's interesting though that for as many perpendiculars that existed amongst the cast, there maybe exists just as many parallels, that even extended out into the supporting members.
Many people mention Episode 6 as being a low point of the show for it's somewhat vapid and unremarkable mystery. In a way I find it somewhat ironically humourous that the very vapid nature of the mystery is what has led to it's preservation amongst peoples memories in contrast to some of the more interesting memories which are forgotten in time. Plus, isn't it only natural that many of the vapid and everyday moments in our lives are the ones we remember the most sometimes? Episode 6 did have some interesting use of framing I felt such as the following shot here:
For me I focus on the conversation beforehand as I found it much more interesting and much more important than people seem to realize. The conversation about the deadly sins focuses directly on the character traits that existed and will be further explored in future episodes. The episode itself works as a very nice duel layer window which reflects on what has been presented and gives you a glimpse of what will be explored. The very context of this conversation is so neatly woven into the themes that permeate throughout the entire story, the idea of "expectations versus reality" and "hard work versus talent."
It's amazing how these simple lines of dialogue will be explored in the show. The sins of pride and sloth are explored in the very next arc with Irisu confronting Oreki about his abilities and how he perceives them himself. The idea of anger and whether or not one should allow themselves to succumb to it. Their exists a parallel in Satoshi's feelings of how he views Oreki. An anger that exists because his hard work was not meeting the expectations he puts upon himself.
Looking even how this is explored with the supporting cast is interesting. Chitanda is friends with Irisu and looks up to her and has developed her own expectations based on how she perceives Irisu's abilities at persuasion. Trying to mirror these actions she's stuck with the reality that this type of personality is maybe not what she envisioned and not how she wants to be after all. Mayaka is in the Manga club and looks up to work from former members. She puts her own expectations on herself to meet this level of talent. Seeing her seniors abilities she too realizes that she can't ever meet the reality of the expectation she imposes on herself but at the same time she can relate with her senior as even though she may be better than Mayaka there is someone she admires that she too cannot hope to match.
The visuals of the anime do such a great subtle job of delivering these messages. An example being this shot here:
I feel they can hold so many meanings where Chitanda in shown in shadow and Oreki in the light. Maybe it could symbolize the darkness of ignorance for Chitanda as the relationships of siblings were not as she expected and Oreki having one, is in the light of knowledge for knowing the reality. It could also be more of a display of her feelings rather than character in her disappointment that the reality did not meet her expectations. Going back to the festival arc and the theme of expectations vs reality and hard work versus talent,
The parallels there are, again, quite amazing.
Seeing the story from mostly from Oreki's perspective the whole way, the final episode really shows how much he has grown such as
It also shows maybe at how much of a standstill Chitanda's life is by comparison.
Adding to all these character traits and themes which seem so human, I find the subtle little movements the characters make, such as during conversation, to be quite eye pleasing. Adding to the insane amount of detailing KyoAni would put into their environments the subtle animations the characters portray is equally amazing. Many times in anime characters just sit there and blink or in some occasions background movements are made as part of a visual joke. For example, the characters in Hyouka will take a chocolate and maybe play with the wrapper afterwards while listening to another talk, or play a bit with their comparative notes they've compiled regarding a mystery. This happens in many episodes and it's these little but ever omnipresent subtle displays of body language which really brings forth the characters as being more than just simple, one dimensional cardboard cutouts.
Many people don't talk very much about the music in shows they're watching despite being a visual medium but it's amazing how much music can really add to the mood of a scene or conveying a characters emotions just as much as the visuals. In contrast, in amazing how much improper usage of music can detract from these two things. With that I found the music in Hyouka quite pleasing. It's true that many of the songs are reused but in that respect I feel like you can get to know them and they sort of become another set of characters you can become familiar with. I feel this interaction adds to certain scenes more than perhaps it would initially otherwise such as the scene where Oreki is going to investigate a mystery of his own will.
Since this action breaks the status quo this character has established thus far into the story the others are naturally surprised and ask if he's okay. The particular musical piece that plays is usually used to represent something more ominous in nature and becoming familiar with it and having it play with and off of the other characters reactions I felt just really added to the whole joke in that scene.
---
There's honestly probably so much more one could discuss about Hyouka and I'm not sure if I really did a proper or interesting job with my post and the flow of it but I'll leave it at that and say that I thought it was a great show and one my my favorites for not only the two seasons in which it aired but for the whole year.
-Thanks for reading.
With the one week anniversary of Hyouka finishing I thought I'd post part 2 of my retrospective thoughts.
Honestly I personally liked Hyouka from the very first episode and as the show carried on it became my favorite of the season and the one I looked forward to each week the most.
Despite remarking that many of the visuals were perhaps more in your face with their presentation I do have to remark and say they were quite eye pleasing. It reminded me of Tsuritama and Yuki quite literally drowning in social anxiety, personally I which more shows would experiment with this, being a visual medium and all. Even episode 6 gave us some memorable visual metaphors such as the chibi angel Chitandas.
ki ni narimasu...
It's true they could also be more subtle in presentation as well, such as this quick shot here:
Alone together with someone to lean and depend on
There's the saying that opposites attract and this couldn't be more true for the characters of Chitanda and Oreki, or even others such as Satoshi and Oreki. The dichotomy of the characters really acted as foils to each other and allowed one to play off of the other. It's interesting though that for as many perpendiculars that existed amongst the cast, there maybe exists just as many parallels, that even extended out into the supporting members.
Many people mention Episode 6 as being a low point of the show for it's somewhat vapid and unremarkable mystery. In a way I find it somewhat ironically humourous that the very vapid nature of the mystery is what has led to it's preservation amongst peoples memories in contrast to some of the more interesting memories which are forgotten in time. Plus, isn't it only natural that many of the vapid and everyday moments in our lives are the ones we remember the most sometimes? Episode 6 did have some interesting use of framing I felt such as the following shot here:
For me I focus on the conversation beforehand as I found it much more interesting and much more important than people seem to realize. The conversation about the deadly sins focuses directly on the character traits that existed and will be further explored in future episodes. The episode itself works as a very nice duel layer window which reflects on what has been presented and gives you a glimpse of what will be explored. The very context of this conversation is so neatly woven into the themes that permeate throughout the entire story, the idea of "expectations versus reality" and "hard work versus talent."
It's amazing how these simple lines of dialogue will be explored in the show. The sins of pride and sloth are explored in the very next arc with Irisu confronting Oreki about his abilities and how he perceives them himself. The idea of anger and whether or not one should allow themselves to succumb to it. Their exists a parallel in Satoshi's feelings of how he views Oreki. An anger that exists because his hard work was not meeting the expectations he puts upon himself.
Looking even how this is explored with the supporting cast is interesting. Chitanda is friends with Irisu and looks up to her and has developed her own expectations based on how she perceives Irisu's abilities at persuasion. Trying to mirror these actions she's stuck with the reality that this type of personality is maybe not what she envisioned and not how she wants to be after all. Mayaka is in the Manga club and looks up to work from former members. She puts her own expectations on herself to meet this level of talent. Seeing her seniors abilities she too realizes that she can't ever meet the reality of the expectation she imposes on herself but at the same time she can relate with her senior as even though she may be better than Mayaka there is someone she admires that she too cannot hope to match.
The visuals of the anime do such a great subtle job of delivering these messages. An example being this shot here:
After the onsen trip
I feel they can hold so many meanings where Chitanda in shown in shadow and Oreki in the light. Maybe it could symbolize the darkness of ignorance for Chitanda as the relationships of siblings were not as she expected and Oreki having one, is in the light of knowledge for knowing the reality. It could also be more of a display of her feelings rather than character in her disappointment that the reality did not meet her expectations. Going back to the festival arc and the theme of expectations vs reality and hard work versus talent,
I think this simple image does a great job at carrying so much weight and meaning behind it.
The parallels there are, again, quite amazing.
The tears are actually Mayaka's but you could also interpret them as her upperclassman crying through the image.
Seeing the story from mostly from Oreki's perspective the whole way, the final episode really shows how much he has grown such as
more easily being willing to do things for others such as being in the parade, whereas he wouldn't have given it a second thought to refuse earlier.
Adding to all these character traits and themes which seem so human, I find the subtle little movements the characters make, such as during conversation, to be quite eye pleasing. Adding to the insane amount of detailing KyoAni would put into their environments the subtle animations the characters portray is equally amazing. Many times in anime characters just sit there and blink or in some occasions background movements are made as part of a visual joke. For example, the characters in Hyouka will take a chocolate and maybe play with the wrapper afterwards while listening to another talk, or play a bit with their comparative notes they've compiled regarding a mystery. This happens in many episodes and it's these little but ever omnipresent subtle displays of body language which really brings forth the characters as being more than just simple, one dimensional cardboard cutouts.
Many people don't talk very much about the music in shows they're watching despite being a visual medium but it's amazing how much music can really add to the mood of a scene or conveying a characters emotions just as much as the visuals. In contrast, in amazing how much improper usage of music can detract from these two things. With that I found the music in Hyouka quite pleasing. It's true that many of the songs are reused but in that respect I feel like you can get to know them and they sort of become another set of characters you can become familiar with. I feel this interaction adds to certain scenes more than perhaps it would initially otherwise such as the scene where Oreki is going to investigate a mystery of his own will.
Oreki, are you in there?!
Since this action breaks the status quo this character has established thus far into the story the others are naturally surprised and ask if he's okay. The particular musical piece that plays is usually used to represent something more ominous in nature and becoming familiar with it and having it play with and off of the other characters reactions I felt just really added to the whole joke in that scene.
---
There's honestly probably so much more one could discuss about Hyouka and I'm not sure if I really did a proper or interesting job with my post and the flow of it but I'll leave it at that and say that I thought it was a great show and one my my favorites for not only the two seasons in which it aired but for the whole year.
-Thanks for reading.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
dubbed. I like Motoko, Togusa and Batou's english voices alot.Do you guys watch it dubbed or subbed? Ive seen both subbed, it was great but too much conversation and reading subtitles.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
The Oda Nobuba finale had both a
(even more than I predicted last week) and a
. Yet, somehow, I still think it's the best of the stupid battle harems this year. Go figure. lol
copout ending
non-ending set up to a sequel that probably won't happen
Jex
Member
[Gunslinger Girl] - 13/Finale
Okay, so, I guess I was a little bit wrong in my assumptions regarding certain events that occurred last episode.
So yeah, Gunslinger Girl is a really great series and I recommend that everyone checks it out. I can't really think of a bad thing to say about it. The story they managed to tell given the premise of Gunslinger Girl is completely remarkable and I tip my hat to the team that put together such an excellent series.
Okay, so, I guess I was a little bit wrong in my assumptions regarding certain events that occurred last episode.
Apparently the problem with Angelica isn't anything to do with her emotional state, or a minor physical problem, as you might have assumed from her condition last episode. Her body is deteriorating fast and there's nothing that can be done for her which explains her inability to carry about her duties. Whatever work Section 2 did on these girls frames to bring them back from the brink of death seems to have come with a very high price indeed as it appears that none of them have particularly long to live and it's not just a deterioration of their mind that they have to worry about either. Angelica's body is clearly suffering from some kind of irreversible collapse that cyborg implants cannot fix. It's never explicitly stated in this episode but it seems that the conditioning that these girls go through after their surgery and implants drastically reduces their lifespan. It seems a little ironic and cruel to fix these girls up only to have them die shortly after.
Regardless, this isn't a situation that we've previously explored on the show before. Marco and the other's must have been aware during the events of last episode that Angelica was nearing the end of her lifespan and this throws some of the events into a new light. It's particularly painful to see Marco fruitlessly attempt to find Angelica a dog, as if such a thing could make it all or better or absolve him of the guilt that he's clearly feeling. Despite his appearances and the way in which he interacts with Henrietta it's clear that Marco cares deeply about Angelica but he can't bring himself to get to close to her because of the pain that he's already experienced. In the end it's Henrietta that, apparently, persuades him to do the right thing and spend time with her during her final hours.
It's pretty hard to discover what the girls themselves think of their predicament. They always seem to be putting up a front when they talk to their handlers and so we can't discover their inner intentions or feelings. Henrietta tells Marco, apparently from her heart, that she doesn't mind the fate that she's been assigned to face yet she even admits that it "might just be the conditioning speaking". In another scene we see Henrietta tell Guise that she's not really bothered that he can't make take her to see the Meteor shower but as soon as she's back in the security of the girls dorm she's crying over it.
The final scene with the aforementioned Meteor shower suggests that the girls are certainly bothered by their short lifespans and they all have their own ways of dealing with the reality which they face. It's better to miracle at the wonders of creation than be controlled by things that you cannot change.
Angelica's death scene is extremely powerful considering how little screentime she's had. The way that she and Marco interact is pitch-perfect. You never see Marco's reaction to discovering that she's died and all the emotions that come with that. They don't need to revel in that kind of material because they're aware that the sequence itself is sad without slapping the audience in the face over how it's a big tragedy.
Regardless, this isn't a situation that we've previously explored on the show before. Marco and the other's must have been aware during the events of last episode that Angelica was nearing the end of her lifespan and this throws some of the events into a new light. It's particularly painful to see Marco fruitlessly attempt to find Angelica a dog, as if such a thing could make it all or better or absolve him of the guilt that he's clearly feeling. Despite his appearances and the way in which he interacts with Henrietta it's clear that Marco cares deeply about Angelica but he can't bring himself to get to close to her because of the pain that he's already experienced. In the end it's Henrietta that, apparently, persuades him to do the right thing and spend time with her during her final hours.
It's pretty hard to discover what the girls themselves think of their predicament. They always seem to be putting up a front when they talk to their handlers and so we can't discover their inner intentions or feelings. Henrietta tells Marco, apparently from her heart, that she doesn't mind the fate that she's been assigned to face yet she even admits that it "might just be the conditioning speaking". In another scene we see Henrietta tell Guise that she's not really bothered that he can't make take her to see the Meteor shower but as soon as she's back in the security of the girls dorm she's crying over it.
The final scene with the aforementioned Meteor shower suggests that the girls are certainly bothered by their short lifespans and they all have their own ways of dealing with the reality which they face. It's better to miracle at the wonders of creation than be controlled by things that you cannot change.
Angelica's death scene is extremely powerful considering how little screentime she's had. The way that she and Marco interact is pitch-perfect. You never see Marco's reaction to discovering that she's died and all the emotions that come with that. They don't need to revel in that kind of material because they're aware that the sequence itself is sad without slapping the audience in the face over how it's a big tragedy.
So yeah, Gunslinger Girl is a really great series and I recommend that everyone checks it out. I can't really think of a bad thing to say about it. The story they managed to tell given the premise of Gunslinger Girl is completely remarkable and I tip my hat to the team that put together such an excellent series.
Joe Molotov
Member
"The Big Mistake"
What I have:
Yeah, we got the non-messianic edition.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Man, even the Jinrui short has a way of making things seem oddly disturbing at times. lol
---
Second Life 12
Hey, they can't be THAT lazy can they?
Oh, it turns out that they can!
I also think this is the funniest thing to happen in the series since the
suicides
Jex
Member
Possibly the funnies thing in anime during this whole season!
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Come to think of it, that's probably true. lol
Joe Molotov
Member
SAO is comedy gold!
- Status