Log Horizon - 20
I'm skipping a lot of impressions because it would just be me saying how good it is but I feel I have to mention the sheer hilarity of this episode.
Rudy's life is quite literally saved by signing a Terms of Service contract. For the sheer balls of that analogy I have to applaud the authour heartily.
About the only qualm I have about the second series is I hear mention of an idol. That tends to ring alarm bells. We shall see!
Lol i never thought about it that way , but you're right.
At least there aren't small characters on that contract
Do not worry about idols, in LH , everything will make sense in context and yet again you'll applaud the author skills to deal with the unexpected. The alarm bells are not needed.
It occurs to me that I didn't actually discuss what I thought of this episode. While I won't go as far as Jarmel it did feel extremely perfunctory. SHAFT essential assembles this show in their production factory by sticking a number of pre-defined shots together into a series of images which audio then plays on top of. While there are occasions where the imagery and the story connect, for the most part it feels somewhat disconnected. All the director is seeking to do is keep your brain occupied so that you didn't get bored by all the talking.
The one element of this that I haven't touched upon is the editing, namely the placement of fairly different looking shots (from a mise-en-scene perspective) next to each other so that we cut from a natural shot with organic elements to a cold shot of rectangular buildings. This contrast also helps to keep the brain busy at it notices these various obvious cuts. I'd normally posit that the director had some greater meaning behind this unusual editing style, after all classical film editing attempts to be seamless while these edits always draw attention tot themselves. However, in this case, I doubt there's any real reason behind this editing style beyond "keep things from getting too boring".
But I don't really watch this show for the direction (save the occasional sequence), like most viewers I'm interested in the story and the banter between characters. On that front, there was precious little that I cared about but then again, most of these arcs open extremely slowly, or at least they have done ever since Bakemonogatari.
Well I have two things to comment on, one being that the episode seemingly came apart when Kanbaru met her 'nemesis'. The whole scene was way too long for the information the audience gathered and it wasn't interesting on a direction level either as the director apparently knew this scene was too long but had no idea how to handle it appropriately, other than throwing some interesting (and they really weren't) backgrounds at the audience in a futile attempt to keep their interest levels.
Earlier parts of the episode had issues with the dialogue running too long like the one on the basketball court where it was essentially a still for more than a minute while characters talked. It's like the director just sort of threw his hands up and said, "Shit's going to be boring so let's save some money while we're at it".
Then the banter was really lacking if not near absent altogether this episode. I'm starting to wonder if this is because Kanbaru needs someone to play off of like Ararararagi as she was a really boring character this episode. I understand part of that is due to her delving into darker material than normal, but I'm really doubting as to whether she can hold up an entire arc seemingly by herself.
Then the banter was really lacking if not near absent altogether this episode. I'm starting to wonder if this is because Kanbaru needs someone to play off of like Ararararagi as she was a really boring character this episode. I understand part of that is due to her delving into darker material than normal, but I'm really doubting as to whether she can hold up an entire arc seemingly by herself.
Ao Haru Ride 7
Both Yuuri and Futaba are making their microadvances on Kou with Futaba not being able to hold in her feelings no longer. Next week is trainwreck of the best kind unless Futaba delays the inevitable for whatever reason.
I would hope that Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso would be up there:
- beautiful trailers
- clearly noitaminA, not newtaminA
- super-popular manga (in Japan if not in the West)
I'm guessing the only reason it's not as hyped as Nodame Cantabile (a very similar sounding show) was before its airing is because Nodame was readily available (legally) in English manga, while KimiUso isn't.
The one element of this that I haven't touched upon is the editing, namely the placement of fairly different looking shots (from a mise-en-scene perspective) next to each other so that we cut from a natural shot with organic elements to a cold shot of rectangular buildings. This contrast also helps to keep the brain busy at it notices these various obvious cuts. I'd normally posit that the director had some greater meaning behind this unusual editing style, after all classical film editing attempts to be seamless while these edits always draw attention tot themselves. However, in this case, I doubt there's any real reason behind this editing style beyond "keep things from getting too boring".
I've posited before that this style is an expression of SHAFT's overt presentationalism, a desire to make obvious the artificiality of the work (and conveniently avoid the expense of attempting realism, or even verisimilitude). It's present in a lot of SHAFT anime but is especially pronounced in Monogatari, where the original text is also very presentational, with characters being aware of their assigned roles, the conscious putting out of personas, etc.
Worse design . There are some seasons where toei didn't have inspiration for this.
In smile they put all their efforts on the main vilains ( joker, wolfrun and so on )
Worse design . There are some seasons where toei didn't have inspiration for this.
In smile they put all their efforts on the main vilains ( joker, wolfrun and so on )
Worse design . There are some seasons where toei didn't have inspiration for this.
In smile they put all their efforts on the main vilains ( joker, wolfrun and so on )
Nah. It could (theoretically) be good but the description I read was
Piano prodigy Arima Kosei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital that resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano even though his hearing was perfectly fine. Even two years later, Kosei hasn’t touched the piano and views the world in monotone, and without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Miyazono Kaori is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kosei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kosei was used to.
I'm certain Kaiki is dead. The creator/being that Shinobu encountered which acts when oddities abandon their traditional role clearly struck him down after all, he was acting 'out of character'. Beyond that, the series can't have two Araragi's and, more importantly, he'd fulfilled his role in the narrative.
the one who strikes him down is just a teenager he scammed. Kaiki says that, and the one who strikes him down makes it clear he's just a kid who is out for revenge on Kaiki and who tracked him down on Ougi's advice. The blob had nothing to do with it.
It's present in a lot of SHAFT anime but is especially pronounced in Monogatari, where the original text is also very presentational, with characters being aware of their assigned roles, the conscious putting out of personas, etc.
Yes, even in the novels, it basically is a self-aware puppet show, so the style is a fairly good fit.
But even taking that into account, I'll agree that the direction sometimes (often, after Bakemonogatari?) feels a bit lazy or uninspired.
(and I'm always annoyed at the continuity mistakes... god damn it, Shaft)
Well..what can I say about this anime? I loved it. It was everything that I wanted after finishing Nichijou (the one with the girls and the goat). The small self contained bits, daily life humor, funny characters, even funnier situations, I liked everything about it. I loved when they made fun of themselves, like in the beginning, with the sponsors being Square Enix and Sunrise.
Something that they started doing in the middle (I guess, can't remember the episode exactly) and I really liked was the High School Girls are Funky parody, almost always in the end of the episode. It cracked me up sometimes the way they joked about high school girls, about animes (I think, my anime mental database is not big) like K-ON, etc. It made a nice counterpart to the male protagonist trio. And talking about protagonists, poor Tadakuni dissapeared in the middle of the anime, but even that I couldn't add as a bad decision, because the other characters filled in perfectly (IMO, obviously), with even more jokes and puns.
Some stories that they told really hit me, like the one where
Hidenori talks how he hates the things Yoshitake does.
I have a friend that I met a long time ago, and it matched perfectly with that sketch.
But, before I talk more about it, I need to make a break and say that my favorite sketch in the anime was the
Librarian Girl
. I absolutely loved it to death, even though I understand why some people may find it unfunny (slow, repetition, etc). Yassan was my favorite female character in the whole anime. Loved how she could go from quiet to very mad.
Talking about females though,
not putting eyes in the protagonist's sisters
made them feel like secondary characters even more.
Also, the secondary characters, if you could call them that, since most had a lot of time in the anime, were very funny. From the very small ones like the bald headed space marine like student to big ones like the student council, all of them had at least one funny line or joke to tell.
Another thing that happened to me, the second time since I started watching animes, were that I recognized a VA. In this anime, she was a cook, but in another one she is Echizen Ryoma. I felt giggly, thinking that this must be what some people are used to endure every day, but to me it was a new feeling.
TL;DR: I loved the anime, wish that there were more of those out there.
Now I want to watch High School Girls are Funky: The Movie: Archdemon vs Silver Devil
I'll leave here one of the jokes that I liked, even though it will not be funny to most people.
Wtf is this shit? I don't like magic girl shows, so uhh, why am I watching this crap? it's got great production values and that's about it. But, I'll press on I guess...
Wtf is this shit? I don't like magic girl shows, so uhh, why am I watching this crap? it's got great production values and that's about it. But, I'll press on I guess...
Wtf is this shit? I don't like magic girl shows, so uhh, why am I watching this crap? it's got great production values and that's about it. But, I'll press on I guess...
Wtf is this shit? I don't like magic girl shows, so uhh, why am I watching this crap? it's got great production values and that's about it. But, I'll press on I guess...
People say good shit happens on episode 3. Do the villains get introduced? Does the show get rid of Madoka and focus only on the yellow hair girl and the black hair girl?
Wtf is this shit? I don't like magic girl shows, so uhh, why am I watching this crap? it's got great production values and that's about it. But, I'll press on I guess...
People say good shit happens on episode 3. Do the villains get introduced? Does the show get rid of Madoka and focus only on the yellow hair girl and the black hair girl?
People say good shit happens on episode 3. Do the villains get introduced? Does the show get rid of Madoka and focus only on the yellow hair girl and the black hair girl?
This show is suddenly going to get very fucked, right? I can tell the writing is on the wall it's too cheerful and happy. Theres something off about how happy everyone is. That white rabbit cat is going to do something fucked up isn't he? This is done by the same guy who did fate/zero right?
People say good shit happens on episode 3. Do the villains get introduced? Does the show get rid of Madoka and focus only on the yellow hair girl and the black hair girl?
Poor Yaya. It is so hard to be the best girl in a show, you must suffer so much. Probably one of the most adorable arguments I've seen this year. Though they kiss and make up in the best kind of way.
