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Summer 2013 Anime |10th Dimensional OT| the first ignoble truth: all of life is anime

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C

Crash Station

Member
Pumpkin Scissors 18

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Dat :wonzo
 
S

Shergal

Member
Anne of Green Gables 32
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Takahata did Porco Rosso first.
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This is one of the most enjoyable and joyful episodes of anime I've ever seen. It probably has something to do with all these extremely well-written characters that I've become attached to being allowed to breathe and expand in episodes like this one where "nothing" happens. The whole episode -a visit to Diana's aunt in Charlottetown- is telegraphed in the first few lines, and it carries straight through in a most satisfying fashion.

They really went all-out with the background art this time. A ton of new locations and layouts, all finely crafted, to depict how fascinating Charlottetown must have been for humble Anne. The effect worked on me as well; after 31 episodes of being accustomed to nature and rural landscapes, seeing the big city in full splendour was actually refreshingly enjoyable.

The animation was quite tight as well, and there were some refreshing expressions, from Anne in particular.

I don't know, I'm still high on the whole episode, it was just that good. Playing with the "narrator over stills" thing by actually having Anne narrate this time was very clever, and towards the end of the episode there were some particularly poignant lines of dialogue. I completely expected Anne to say she loved green gables, and it was so lovely when she did.
The very last scene is pure genius. The series of shots goes from the whole family on the frame, to Marilla -who is again caught off-guard by Anne's charm-, to Anne -in an almost meditative, blissful state-, to three shots (1, 2, 3) getting progressively farther away, but always with the lit window at the center of the frame, giving us a continued connection to this lovely home I've come to adore. The warmth, soul and subtle power of this can't be stressed enough- it's probably my favourite scene in the series so far.

Anime of the forever.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Megas XLR 203

Yo, Coop's cousin Skippy is a horrible human being. How are you bored in a giant robot that flies to the goddamn moon? If my cousins had one of those, I'd like them a lot more. Another interesting point: While I figure that Kiva, as some manner of advanced post-human probably needs less food, she's still capable of eating, and does so often enough, and while we've addressed that you aren't supposed to ask where Kiva lives, I've taken the liberty of assuming she lives with Coop.

So how is it that Coop's mother not only doesn't react to Coop bringing a woman to live with him, she never rags him about not like, getting with her? Coops mom needs to be doing some more nagging.

The stealth segments with Megas make it out to be a truly terrifying mech, btw, and also Kiva is waifu material.
 
Y

yami4ct

Member
Revolutionary Girl Utena: Black Rose Saga

Finished this up a few days ago. Since I haven't posted thoughts after the
Wakaba
mini-arc, I felt I'd much rather collect all my thoughts on the arc in one place rather than try and play catchup. In short, I adored it through and through. So many great moments. This was an arc about letting side characters really develop into their own and get their time in the sun. Not many series really devote time to doing that. Looking back, what surprised me the most is how little the overall plot moved.
The main threat in the arc is introduced and dispatched within its boundaries
. In a way, it feels like a way to expand the world without really forcing the story forward in ways that may have been unnecessary.

The arc does introduce and begin to develop Akio both as
Anthy's brother and a potential big bad
. If I'm putting my prediction hat on, I'll say that a lot of this is smoke and mirrors. What they're doing with him in a lot of scenes feels.......wrong. His interactions with
Anthy don't feel right. They don't feel like a real brother and sister.
Taking the last scene of the arc in particular where we see
Anthy transform into the young boy who was manipulating Mikage
and I even more feel like he's a red haring. Akio isn't the
End of the World, but someone who's also being manipulated by it
. What this means going forward, I'm not sure.

What this arc did best, though, is develop the story telling techniques that have been used so far to new extremes. Visual abstraction for the sake of drawing out thematic importance is taken to a whole new level. Between the desks in the battle arena, the elevator shaft, and the pointers used in one particular flashback to great effect, it's clear that the director has really thrown out conventional storytelling for the sake of conveying exactly what he wants. It's fascinating. A particularly great example is the change in how the puppet shows are presented. In the student council arc, they are separate scenes. They are a chorus to be cut to between acts. The Black Rose Saga changes that by integrating them right into the action. It changes the whole tone and meaning of those moments. They now feel less like a set of commentators in another world and more integral to the goings on. It's interesting. I'm wondering how deep this abstraction will go as the story develops in its final acts?

If I had a major complaint about this arc it's that it sort of leaves its main characters of Utena and Anthy out to dry without much to do. It's not an arc about them. Utena feels like she exists just to sweep in at the last minute and dispatch the next duelist. Anthy feels like almost a step backwards from where her character is left at the end of the Student Council Saga. There, we see her open up and become more human. As soon as
we meet Akio
, she closes herself right back down again. Still, these are minor complaints in the scheme of things. The series has plenty of time to work on these guys and I'm sure it will. I'm really glad they used that time to really work on Wakaba, the Student Council and other side characters of at least minor importance. It really does feel like it will help the show in the long run.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
H

hosannainexcelsis

Member
More staff leaked for Takahiro Omori's upcoming noitaminA show Samurai Flamenco:

Series Composition: Hideyuki Kurata (Kamichu, R.O.D.)
Music: Kenji Tamai (Genki Rockets)
Character Design: Yoshimitsu Yamashita (Mushibugyo)
Animation Production: Manglobe

Incidentally, this marks the first time Omori has directed a show outside Brains Base since 2006.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Yami: much of the Black Rose Saga's importance, at least in my opinion, doesn't become very clear until the end of the show, particularly in regards to how it handles Anthy. I think it would be great to revisit your stance on her afterwards.

corvo (end of Utena spoilers don't read if you haven't finished):
Utena may have been a moral compass, but that doesn't mean she was a good moral compass. Episode 33 shows how easily naive individuals like her can be manipulated by people they trust in. Utena's sin, both in The Prince Who Runs Through The Night and the rest of the show, is that she is far too innocent and idealistic to realise when she's being duped, something which Anthy remarks when she betrays her "prince". This is why I can't help but feel people misinterpret her character as somehow less noble just because she slept with a dude --the point is that she's too noble to begin with.
 
Y

yami4ct

Member
Regulus Tera said:
Yami: much of the Black Rose Saga's importance, at least in my opinion, doesn't become very clear until the end of the show, particularly in regards to how it handles Anthy. I think it would be great to revisit your stance on her afterwards.]
Click to expand...

This already feels like a show I immediately rewatch after I finish it the first time to catch what I missed, as I did with both Eva and Cowboy Bebop. Heck, I suspect it might end up being a show I like so much that I end up rewaching it like every 1-2 years or so. I can already tell there is a ton more I'd catch watching it again rather than the first time.
 
M

Milamber

Member
I've been lurking this and the past few threads for too long. Uchoten Kazoku is by far my anime of the season. Silver Spoon's animation, disappointed me greatly.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Regulus Tera said:
corvo (end of Utena spoilers don't read if you haven't finished):
Utena may have been a moral compass, but that doesn't mean she was a good moral compass. Episode 33 shows how easily naive individuals like her can be manipulated by people they trust in. Utena's sin, both in The Prince Who Runs Through The Night and the rest of the show, is that she is far too innocent and idealistic to realise when she's being duped, something which Anthy remarks when she betrays her "prince". This is why I can't help but feel people misinterpret her character as somehow less noble just because she slept with a dude --the point is that she's too noble to begin with.
Click to expand...

FURTHER UTENA SPOILER DISCUSSION

My problem isn't that Utena slept with Akio in and of itself. Its that Utena knew that Akio was engaged and, I've only seen the show the one time so I could be wrong, but she'd met his fiance, I thought? Utena knew full well what she was doing was wrong, and that's what costs me. That and other things. Her time spent with Akio tears her down, and she plays right into his hands. It's such that Akio himself throws it in her teeth in the last episode. He tells her flat out she cannot beat him and she cannot win because she slept with him knowing he was engaged to another.

Also, innocence, naivete, and nobility are not one and the same. Utena's flaw can be that she naively clung to an image of nobility that is most definitely broken to tiny pieces in the end of the show, but I don't think its that she was too moral. Nobody is holding Utena up as a pillar of saintly perfection. She had things she did that were normal for a petty teenager, such as indulging in a bit of teasing Nanami, ignoring Wakaba in favor of Anthy and Akio, and the like. No one will tell you that Utena is a perfect person prior to sleeping with Akio, but she was a better person prior to that point. It might not be the first thing Utena does wrong, but its definitely the biggest one.

Like, I'm not in league with the person behind that picture pitching that fit because Akio fucked Utena. Her having sex isn't the issue for me, it's her having sex with someone when she knew she was indirectly hurting someone else. That's something you'd expect from Rat Bastard Saionji, not from Utena. That's the problem I had with it, anyway. And by problem I mean that is the reason I viewed her doing it as something negative, and not as an element of the show I thought was problematic.

Turn A Gundam 12

The weirdest part of this entire show is the opening credits having some vaguely British guy go "TUHN EY GUNDAM." Anyway, we get some hot robot on robot action this episode, with the Turn A fighting . . . whatever the hell it is that Corrin Nander was piloting. Corrin is totally bonkers, by the way. Dude is OFF HIS ROCKA. Lots of Loran x Kihel shipping going down in this episode, too. Which is good because fuck Sochie. What has she done but fail to successfully pilot a mech this entire show? Anyway, Lord Guin Rhineford is down and out, since his town's been sacked, but the dude is too charismatic to stay down long. For all the atrocities that the Moonrace is committing (and really, when the Terrans have nothing better than dinky Zoks and airplanes that cannot actually hurt your-taller-than-a-Gundam WaDoms, you and you alone are capable of escalating and committing atrocity on the battlefield), I still think Lord Guin Rhineford is going to be the main villain of the show, and not a Lunarian.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
Man this computer can do anything. Its like being unshackled and free to squee anytime all the time :D
How will it affect my anime viewing? Who knows!
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Dai-Guard 4

So there's a ton of friction between the Security Company and the Japanese Army in this episode, over who gets to keep Dai-Guard. This boils down to increased friction between Akagi and Shirota, who already don't like each other and have fairly incompatible personalities, one being hot blooded the other being no nonsense. There's a subplot about Ooyama, one of the other Office Bunnies, trying to get Akagi to notice her and also trying to get Shirota to play nice with the rest of the gang. Don't confuse Ooyama, the girl, with Aoyama, the male pilot.

Anyway, the Heterodyne this time is basically if you took NGE's Remiel and cut it in half and swapped the drill for tentacles. It's gonna blow up a nuclear power plant, but some quick thinking by Shirota saves the day. Meanwhile, Akagi has managed to use Dai-Guard to save a man trapped on top of the Heterodyne after some bickering over whether the life of the one outweighed the life of the many.

I like how the Dai-Guard is always breaking down, like its generator is stalling and stuff. And I mean, I don't always like this plot line (see Attack on Titan where I want to punch a goddamn writer every time they use the "gear doesn't work at an inopportune moment!" plot device." but Dai-Guard manages to make this work, and presumably it will find different ways to make the point that the Dai-Guard, being an ancient experimental prototype, is not the most effective machine it could be. That or the thing will get some updates and become efficient.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
[Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon Sailor Stars] 175
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Gotta hand it to Minako. Even in her two three-timing endeavours she never loses her impetus.

Moon Therapy Kiss has to be the weakest finishing move since Moon Tiara action. It's just Spiral Heart Attack while standing up. :(
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Boy I miss the nineties.
CorvoSol said:
FURTHER UTENA SPOILER DISCUSSION

My problem isn't that Utena slept with Akio in and of itself. Its that Utena knew that Akio was engaged and, I've only seen the show the one time so I could be wrong, but she'd met his fiance, I thought? Utena knew full well what she was doing was wrong, and that's what costs me. That and other things. Her time spent with Akio tears her down, and she plays right into his hands. It's such that Akio himself throws it in her teeth in the last episode. He tells her flat out she cannot beat him and she cannot win because she slept with him knowing he was engaged to another.
Click to expand...
Oh, she totally knew. That said,
I think it's clear Akio having a fiancé isn't really what bothers her, but that she slept with her best friend's (possibly romantic interest at this point?) brother. At least up until the point she realises they are also having sex with each other.
CorvoSol said:
Also, innocence, naivete, and nobility are not one and the same.
Click to expand...
In the context of the show, they totally are, or at least they go hand in hand.
You see the same team of innocence being abused in all the other noble characters in the show --Juri, Miki, Onion Prince, and more strikingly in Dios himself, who is the actual embodiment of "princehood" and childhood. The latter one soldiers on much like Utena does in disregard of Anthy's opinion on the matter, and it ends up with him moribund and his sister impaled for all eternity (the symbolism of which I think is obvious to everyone).

I think one of Utena's most important themes is that, while nobility isn't itself bad, it comes with a big deal of sacrifice. That Utena perseveres and "revolutionises" Anthy's world doesn't mean Utena is any less of a fool for believing in childish ideals such as princes. The fact that Utena doesn't learn this even by the end is, to me, the biggest tragedy of them all.
CorvoSol said:
Utena's flaw can be that she naively clung to an image of nobility that is most definitely broken to tiny pieces in the end of the show, but I don't think its that she was too moral. Nobody is holding Utena up as a pillar of saintly perfection. She had things she did that were normal for a petty teenager, such as indulging in a bit of teasing Nanami, ignoring Wakaba in favor of Anthy and Akio, and the like. No one will tell you that Utena is a perfect person prior to sleeping with Akio, but she was a better person prior to that point. It might not be the first thing Utena does wrong, but its definitely the biggest one.
Click to expand...
I find it curious you mention Wakaba, since
at no point in the show is there any evidence of her relationship with Utena somehow becoming fragmented because of her friendship with Anthy. You even have some scenes with the three of them hanging out together. There is a clear distance between the way Utena approaches her old and new friends, but it is never put under a damning light by the text.
 
W

wonzo

Banned
Chihayafuru S2 24-25 END

chihayas225.jpg


Well, that's that I suppose. I found the second last episode to suffer from the usual issues I had with the overall pacing and flow of the narrative but I'm glad it only took one episode to complete. I can't say I'm disappointed with the complete non-ending either as that's par the course for adaptations of currently running series. Still, I did enjoy the last stretch of episodes far more than the meandering ones before them.

also i'm firmly on team arata now as taichi's a completely spineless scrub that deserves the spergy mess that is chihaya. yeah thats right arata x queen all da way #otp
 
R

RyougaSaotome

Member
Finished volume 2 of Baccano!.

I love how the books divide up the Flying Pussy Foot incident.
The main Jacuzzi narrative all takes place in this first half, and the second book covers what was going on with all the other characters. It's really neat how this first chunk runs all the way to the train arriving in New York, that way you feel like you got a complete story even though it's just the first half.

Also it goes without saying that the fan translators don't really capture what's so appealing about Narita's writing style.

It's funny too, since the way he goes about writing his books goes entirely against the main principals of light novel writing. He and Nisioisin completely throw those rules out a window and it's kind of hilarious to watch.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Regulus Tera said:
I find it curious you mention Wakaba, since
at no point in the show is there any evidence of her relationship with Utena somehow becoming fragmented because of her friendship with Anthy. You even have some scenes with the three of them hanging out together. There is a clear distance between the way Utena approaches her old and new friends, but it is never put under a damning light by the text.
Click to expand...

I disagree. Wakaba herself
makes it very clear that she does not appreciate the way that Utena has been neglecting her more and more for Anthy's world and the Student Council club. She says it prior to her duel with Utena. Sure, she's under the influence of the Black Rose at that time, but since the Black Rose is supposed to bring out the negative things in your heart, it is evident that on some level, Wakaba doesn't appreciate that Utena spends all of her time with Anthy and associates, while basically kicking her to the curb.

I would think that that entire sequence demonstrates in and of itself the rift that has opened up between them. Wakaba and Utena were best friends, but by the time Saionji crashes in her pad, Wakaba doesn't even bother letting Utena know. Then Wakaba, under the Black Rose's influence, tells Utena precisely how she feels about all this, deep down. And while things return somewhat to normal following that, they're never quite as they were in the beginning. Utena's sudden disappearance is something Wakaba just seems to accept, because Utena had already become vacant in her life, as opposed to Anthy, who had become more and more prominent.

Whether or not the show fully intended this or not, I can't say, but I'd think it's pretty clear that
Utena drifted away from Wakaba and that on some level, Wakaba was heart by that.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
wonzo said:
Chihayafuru S2 24-25 END

chihayas225.jpg


Well, that's that I suppose. I found the second last episode to suffer from the usual issues I had with the overall pacing and flow of the narrative but I'm glad it only took one episode to complete. I can't say I'm disappointed with the complete non-ending either as that's par the course for adaptations of currently running series. Still, I did enjoy the last stretch of episodes far more than the meandering ones before them.

also i'm firmly on team arata now as taichi's a completely spineless scrub that deserves the spergy mess that is chihaya. yeah thats right arata x queen all da way #otp
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Arata X Queen is something I can support!
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
[Utena]
CorvoSol said:
I disagree. Wakaba herself
makes it very clear that she does not appreciate the way that Utena has been neglecting her more and more for Anthy's world and the Student Council club. She says it prior to her duel with Utena. Sure, she's under the influence of the Black Rose at that time, but since the Black Rose is supposed to bring out the negative things in your heart, it is evident that on some level, Wakaba doesn't appreciate that Utena spends all of her time with Anthy and associates, while basically kicking her to the curb.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah I see what you mean now. Yeah you are right on this one.
CorvoSol said:
Utena's sudden disappearance is something Wakaba just seems to accept, because Utena had already become vacant in her life, as opposed to Anthy, who had become more and more prominent.
Click to expand...
Are you referring to the end of the show, here? Because I think
that has more to do with how everyone in the academy forgets Utena, not just Wakaba. It's part of the mechanics of leaving Ohtori.

And while we are on the issue of Wakaba, watch the first scene of the show again followed by the "epilogue" in episode 39. Blew my mind.
 
F

fertygo

Member
E7 : Pocket of Rainbow
What a crock of shit.

I must admit the last 20 minute are nice but its doesn't erase some of the most awful thing that I've seen in fiction.

All of this Gekko's crew are 17 year old? bwahahahaha.. and those lazy fucks not even bother to redesign so there's little consistency on their bullshit
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Regulus Tera said:
[Utena]

Oh yeah I see what you mean now. Yeah you are right on this one.

Are you referring to the end of the show, here? Because I think
that has more to do with how everyone in the academy forgets Utena, not just Wakaba. It's part of the mechanics of leaving Ohtori.

And while we are on the issue of Wakaba, watch the first scene of the show again followed by the "epilogue" in episode 39. Blew my mind.
Click to expand...

It could be just that, but I dunno. Either way, I just watched their duel in the English dub. I feel so dirty. It was just all wrong. WRONG. Them voices was wrong I tell you. None of it made sense and she kept pronouncing Wakaba wrong and Anthy's voice and NO. It was all WRONG.

fertygo said:
E7 : Pocket of Rainbow
What a crock of shit.

I must admit the last 20 minute are nice but its doesn't erase some of the most awful thing that I've seen in fiction.

All of this Gekko's crew are 17 year old? bwahahahaha.. and those lazy fucks not even bother to redesign so there's little consistency on their bullshit
Click to expand...

E7 Astral Ocean and PFoR are two of the most hateful, spiteful, loathsome pieces of shit I have ever seen. I did not know it was possible for me to hate an anime that much.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
[Utena]
CorvoSol said:
Either way, I just watched their duel in the English dub. I feel so dirty. It was just all wrong. WRONG. Them voices was wrong I tell you. None of it made sense and she kept pronouncing Wakaba wrong and Anthy's voice and NO. It was all WRONG.
Click to expand...
Don't be a cajunator. Don't support Utena's dub.

P.S. I was referring to this girl. Wakaba is a lucky one.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
Glass Fleet 7

Cleo is a bitch. A GIANT bitch. That's like all I got out of this episode. Frankly all of the characters are petty, bitchy, or stupid. And if any of them aren't, their awful character designs are enough to make me not care anyway.

Anyway. I watched this episode.

HOLY SHIT MICHELLE IS A WOMAN I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING NO SIR YOU HAD ME FOOLED UNTIL BOOBS.
 
P

Pooya

Member
商願2013-54510 iM@S CHANNEL アイマス チャンネル
商願2013-54511 iM@S SATELLITE アイマス サテライト
商願2013-54512 SHINY TV

new imas game probably incoming
 
Theonik

Theonik

Member
miladesn said:
商願2013-54510 iM@S CHANNEL アイマス チャンネル
商願2013-54511 iM@S SATELLITE アイマス サテライト
商願2013-54512 SHINY TV

new imas game probably incoming
Click to expand...
Or an IM@S TV channel!
 
P

PdotMichael

Banned
miladesn said:
商願2013-54510 iM@S CHANNEL アイマス チャンネル
商願2013-54511 iM@S SATELLITE アイマス サテライト
商願2013-54512 SHINY TV

new imas game probably incoming
Click to expand...

More Yayoi or bust!
 
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