Joe Molotov
Member
I imported the vita version a while back, and I could tell just from the tutorial video I was in the right place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J6SP4WYBKc
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Summer 2013 Anime |10th Dimensional OT| the first ignoble truth: all of life is anime
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I imported the vita version a while back, and I could tell just from the tutorial video I was in the right place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J6SP4WYBKc
R_thanatos
Member
That's a good question.
Nope.
But but but, the Tricolore Airline dance is so PERFECT. Beats Watashi no Jikan any day in my book.
...I just wish I could find a higher-quality video of it. Dammit 3DS you need moar direct feed.
Yes.
KirbYuuYuu
Member
Oh boy, I pretty much found out details on 29-32 for Doki Doki Precure. Some shit will go down
And there's new merchandising. However, apparently they only bother to bring up Mana, so it shows how little fucks they care about the others.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
Asura
The manga artist George Akiyama is no stranger to controversy. In 1995, he published a work entitled An Introduction to China: A Study of Our Bothersome Neighbors, a stridently nationalist work blasting Chinese as cannibals and denying the Rape of Nanking. It became a bestseller. This film is an adaptation of a decades earlier manga of his, one which also concerns itself with cannibalism but places it not in the context of ugly xenophobia, but in the far reaches of Japan's own history, namely mid-15th century Kyoto, just before the beginning of the Sengoku period. Against the backdrop of drought, flood, and general distruction, a desperate, starving woman turns to human flesh for nourishment, even making an attempt on the flesh of her infant son. (The issue of Weekly Shounen Magazine that this ran in was banned in several regions of Japan due to the content.) This is the story of that son, Asura, named after devils by a monk who wanders in and out of his life. In him and those around him the war between beast and man rages.
This is a CG film, and it does suffer somewhat from lack of detail in the base models and mechanical-looking character animation that can crop up with CG. However, it is able to compensate for these issues with extremely strong art direction.
Typically, when art direction is worthy of praise, it is because it creates landscapes of breathtaking beauty. Here, it creates landscapes of terrifying ugliness. With grays, browns, washed-out lighting, dust, dirt, blood, grime, it paints the portrait of a withered land with a withered people, only a small step away from total desolation. From the screen leap out cries of suffering and pain, stifled by the stagnant air before they can reach any ears.
The CG models fit into this world thanks mostly to the texture work, using variegated colors and shading that draw out a character's life, or lack of it. The hatching used in the hair also adds a layer of visual interest. The models thus avoid the artificial, plastic feel that even much more technically polished CG animation can have, a feel that would have been detrimental to the environment this film is trying to establish.
It's worth noting that the film makes use of 2D animation for water and fire effects, which adds a lot to the scenes which call for them. It blends in well with the CG, and is more convincing than CG effects would likely have been.
The sound direction compliments the bleakness of the art direction. It sucks you into the film's world even before the film proper starts, when booming thunder rolls underneath the crashing waves of the Toei logo. From then on, the unease rarely stops, carried by tight editing and imposing camera work. The oppression works itself under your skin and stays there, which is a mark that the film has succeeded at evoking the feeling it set out to evoke.
Whether the film succeeded in giving a satisfying narrative and thematic arc is something I'm less sure of. It's so unflinching in its display of human misery that I began to wonder if there was anything meaningful beyond that. While there's a climax, it lacks a catharsis that would relieve the built-up tension. The ending comes a bit abrupt as a result.
I get the feeling that there's elements of Eastern religion at work here that I, being a stranger to that world, am not able to understand or sympathize with. If I studied more of its theories of suffering, the material world, and renunciation, I might be able to make better sense of the story. So in the end, I do feel there's more to this than tragedy for tragedy's sake, even if I can't fully grasp it.
At any rate, I think this is a film that will stick with me for a while. Well worth my time.
The manga artist George Akiyama is no stranger to controversy. In 1995, he published a work entitled An Introduction to China: A Study of Our Bothersome Neighbors, a stridently nationalist work blasting Chinese as cannibals and denying the Rape of Nanking. It became a bestseller. This film is an adaptation of a decades earlier manga of his, one which also concerns itself with cannibalism but places it not in the context of ugly xenophobia, but in the far reaches of Japan's own history, namely mid-15th century Kyoto, just before the beginning of the Sengoku period. Against the backdrop of drought, flood, and general distruction, a desperate, starving woman turns to human flesh for nourishment, even making an attempt on the flesh of her infant son. (The issue of Weekly Shounen Magazine that this ran in was banned in several regions of Japan due to the content.) This is the story of that son, Asura, named after devils by a monk who wanders in and out of his life. In him and those around him the war between beast and man rages.
This is a CG film, and it does suffer somewhat from lack of detail in the base models and mechanical-looking character animation that can crop up with CG. However, it is able to compensate for these issues with extremely strong art direction.
Typically, when art direction is worthy of praise, it is because it creates landscapes of breathtaking beauty. Here, it creates landscapes of terrifying ugliness. With grays, browns, washed-out lighting, dust, dirt, blood, grime, it paints the portrait of a withered land with a withered people, only a small step away from total desolation. From the screen leap out cries of suffering and pain, stifled by the stagnant air before they can reach any ears.
The CG models fit into this world thanks mostly to the texture work, using variegated colors and shading that draw out a character's life, or lack of it. The hatching used in the hair also adds a layer of visual interest. The models thus avoid the artificial, plastic feel that even much more technically polished CG animation can have, a feel that would have been detrimental to the environment this film is trying to establish.
It's worth noting that the film makes use of 2D animation for water and fire effects, which adds a lot to the scenes which call for them. It blends in well with the CG, and is more convincing than CG effects would likely have been.
The sound direction compliments the bleakness of the art direction. It sucks you into the film's world even before the film proper starts, when booming thunder rolls underneath the crashing waves of the Toei logo. From then on, the unease rarely stops, carried by tight editing and imposing camera work. The oppression works itself under your skin and stays there, which is a mark that the film has succeeded at evoking the feeling it set out to evoke.
Whether the film succeeded in giving a satisfying narrative and thematic arc is something I'm less sure of. It's so unflinching in its display of human misery that I began to wonder if there was anything meaningful beyond that. While there's a climax, it lacks a catharsis that would relieve the built-up tension. The ending comes a bit abrupt as a result.
The monk's moral of 'people can live despite suffering' merely shrugs its shoulders at what happened, and Asura becoming a monk himself doesn't seem entirely justified by his character arc.
At any rate, I think this is a film that will stick with me for a while. Well worth my time.
Smile Precure 15
Episode was telling kids that for their Mother's Day gifts, it's the thought that counts and that it doesn't matter if their present sucks.
I wish this show let the main five play off of each other a little bit more. I don't know exactly how to put it, but it feels like the group is less than the sum of its parts so far. I like the characters well enough I suppose, though I'm not all that high on Miyuki or Reika, but as a group, they're just not gelling that well together. Maybe it's that they introduced all of the characters too quickly and weren't able really to delve deeper into their personalities and then let those parts of their personalities interact with each other. They do have plenty of time I guess.
Episode was telling kids that for their Mother's Day gifts, it's the thought that counts and that it doesn't matter if their present sucks.
I wish this show let the main five play off of each other a little bit more. I don't know exactly how to put it, but it feels like the group is less than the sum of its parts so far. I like the characters well enough I suppose, though I'm not all that high on Miyuki or Reika, but as a group, they're just not gelling that well together. Maybe it's that they introduced all of the characters too quickly and weren't able really to delve deeper into their personalities and then let those parts of their personalities interact with each other. They do have plenty of time I guess.
Joe Molotov
Member
Theres no such thing as too much uweeeeeeeh
No. Also NOOOOOOO
R_thanatos
Member
Yea.
Yes its pretty good as long as you have tolerance for genki girls.
owned
Glad someone else finally checked it out! I didn't know about the author's history which is kinda uh, interesting and I definitely agree with you on the somewhat underwhelming nature of the ending in retrospect.
CornBurrito
Member
Uhhhhhhh...
Do
trap
he's in love with her and he kills her...and then dresses up as Rin.
Moretsu Pirates/Bodacious Space Pirates Episode 6: So we finally get started with the real adventure, and honestly it is a step down from the past couple episodes, being a pretty bog standard training episode dedicated to molding Marika into a worthwile captain and indeed deeping the fucking tsudnere friendship (loveship?) with Chiaki. Also, who knew being a pirate involved so much paperwork? Well, then again, Japan doesn't really seem to know the word privateer exists, which is what the people actually are.
You jerk! ;_;
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Blade Play - Chapter 4
Manga redeemed.
Hmm....
I'd just wait until it's done at this point. You'll have better opinions to weigh on it then.
So Precure-GAF, what's the general consensus on Candy? I kinda like her. I think it works in her favor that she's the only mascot (well, aside from Pop, but he really isn't used) around, so there's room to give her spotlight without having to worry about mascots overtaking the Precure as the focus.
My general mascot ranking still works like this:
Not Mepple/Mipple>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.Mepple/Mipple
My general mascot ranking still works like this:
Not Mepple/Mipple>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.Mepple/Mipple
Unfortunately this remains a major problem throughout the entire show, and is part of my primary complaint of the show being too scared to use the tools it has effectively.
KirbYuuYuu
Member
Just going to let this out in that Smile Precure tells you just about everything you need to know about the characters in the first few episodes, because it doesn't really develop them afterwards, it just plays with those aspects. Reika doesn't really get better because she stays boring throughout the whole thing (there's reasons why we call her Reikabot/Reika the Robot).
EDIT: Hito gets it. Don't know how I missed his post.
Would I lie to you?Hmm....
If you're interested just watch it and see for yourself.
Hmm....
Its not bad. Its visually pretty interesting. Give it a watch!
Dedication Through Light
Member
Brothers Conflict Episode 7 Breaking Point
Well this conflict is getting intense. Still on team Futo
.
Outside of that the drama
Well this conflict is getting intense. Still on team Futo
easily making the best progress though Yusuke getting their on the slow but good pacing, while Futo has to keep using these sneaky methods, which I like. The scene with him always getting to Yusuke and then just being difficult for the sake of joking (or is he?), is hilarious.
Outside of that the drama
, well done with the medical issue, I dont even know what will happen with them now and if someone really needs to do a dangerous operation, please survive
"Interesting" is a good codeword for "bad in a unique way."
Is it bad that I can't wait for details on the next season now?
Also, doesn't help that I'm like 4 episodes behind.
Your posts are always interesting, dimb.
gashikunFLCL
Member
Ojamajo Doremi Dokka~n! - 32
How would you feel if you discovered your parents are stalkers?
How would you feel if you discovered your parents are stalkers?
Hana-chan wouldn't last without her mamas around.
[Watamote] 1-6
Im really enjoying what Ive seen. It strikes a precarious balance between serious and light - because it is actually quite a dark subject to tackle, and Id probably be deterred if they simply played that for laughs. Conversely, itd probably be an exercise in tragedy, had it gone wholly the other way. I can see some real poignancy (or at least the potential) coming out of this, because the presentation is such, that it seems like that sort of turn could really strike a chord. Kind of similar to how K-ON! achieves that transition from detachment, into full-blown lamentation towards halcyon days.
Tomoko's certainly an endearing character, and although her plight is really extreme, Im sure that her adventures in awkwardness are relatable to everyone, at least in some form.
As an adaption, it all seems elegant in its execution so much so, that I didnt even question whether it was one, initially. Though having not read the manga, that could be a little presumptuous. The use of cuts and imagery seems like a real strong suit of the anime, and they really enjoy leveraging the macabre nature of the whole thing, so Id be curious to see just how much they have embellished/added to the existing source material.
All in all, it's been a pleasant surprise.
Im really enjoying what Ive seen. It strikes a precarious balance between serious and light - because it is actually quite a dark subject to tackle, and Id probably be deterred if they simply played that for laughs. Conversely, itd probably be an exercise in tragedy, had it gone wholly the other way. I can see some real poignancy (or at least the potential) coming out of this, because the presentation is such, that it seems like that sort of turn could really strike a chord. Kind of similar to how K-ON! achieves that transition from detachment, into full-blown lamentation towards halcyon days.
Tomoko's certainly an endearing character, and although her plight is really extreme, Im sure that her adventures in awkwardness are relatable to everyone, at least in some form.
As an adaption, it all seems elegant in its execution so much so, that I didnt even question whether it was one, initially. Though having not read the manga, that could be a little presumptuous. The use of cuts and imagery seems like a real strong suit of the anime, and they really enjoy leveraging the macabre nature of the whole thing, so Id be curious to see just how much they have embellished/added to the existing source material.
All in all, it's been a pleasant surprise.
Gonzo.
ideafuck
Interesting in a bad way is nevertheless interesting.
Tomoko does drive her brother crazy. That fanart is appropriate.
Is this your way of saying you think Gatchaman Crowds is a good looking show?
KirbYuuYuu
Member
Indeed. It's an area Yes Precure 5 beats Smile soundly at.
Not really. I'm probably going to comb through Doki Doki to see what it hints at for the next series/
No, it was just a joke.
oh. how funny.
You mean "how interesting."
Isn't Yes 5 supposed to be one of the lower-tiered series, like above Max Heart but below pretty much everything else?
It looks great. Nice and colorful and visually different from thr norm.
Palette is nice but the art sure takes a shit when the production gets rushed as it has been.
Yeah but thats true of just about all anime.
Yes 5 might take its characters marginally more seriously than Smile, but in exchange they're also largely paper-thin mouthpieces for nonstop moralizing and the extollation of sugary idealistic virtues to small children. Structuring an episode's narrative entirely around teaching a particular moral is a problem in all Precure series, but it's relentless in Yes 5 with no comedy or character chemistry to offset this. It's an ugly, boring, simplistic series with nothing to stimulate or entertain the adult viewer.
KirbYuuYuu
Member
YMMV, but I wouldn't really put it below Suite though. That one's the second worst.
R_thanatos
Member
if i was given 1 cent everytime someone used citizen kane on gaf ....
You still couldn't afford the Fate/Zero complete set.
Dark Souls, obvs.
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