• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Summer 2014 Anime |OT2| Or, where Jexhius finally watches more Doremi for Hito.

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jman2050

Member
Psychological Intellect said:
are there fans of that scene in this thread? 😟
Click to expand...

The two most predominant responses I've seen are either legitimate shock and disgust or maniacal laughter at how absurd and over the top the whole thing was, even for this show. Either way it's certainly earned its infamy, that's for sure.

You also have those guys who try to coax some non-existent commentary and/or allegory from the whole thing but you'd have to be some kind of asshole to do that.
 
C

CorvoSol

Member
jman2050 said:
The two most predominant responses I've seen are either legitimate shock and disgust or maniacal laughter at how absurd and over the top the whole thing was, even for this show. Either way it's certainly earned its infamy, that's for sure.

You also have those guys who try to coax some non-existent commentary and/or allegory from the whole thing but you'd have to be some kind of asshole to do that.
Click to expand...

Stop giving me good ideas.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
Akame ga kill - 05

JUSTICE !!!!!

There's nothing but true justice to tell your pet that his meal will be 5 prison guys awaiting execution.

Seriously.
 
D

DiscoShark

Banned
Aldnoah Zero 4-5

... Kinda disappointing progression for the series! I had high praise for the series up until this point but I think the last couple episodes have taken a decidedly different approach to threat management and it kind of subverts the main reason why I think the previous 2 episodes were so good in their execution. Episodes 2 and 3 created a believable situation for how and why the Earth forces were totally screwed over when the initial attack from Mars came down on them. They were exposed to a decidedly "alien" type of technology that they had no real defenses against. The protagonist found himself in a situation where:

1. He Survived an initial attack from someone
2. Was able to test the properties of this technology and its potential limitations in a controlled environment.

And this was fantastic! The show showing off the process of learning how the technology works, explaining its potential limitations given the way it works, and then adapting to it stands as one of the highlights of my limited experience with mecha shows. The protagonist handled the threat not in a shounen style of burst of rage of incredible piloting skills but with the knowledge that he gained from surveying his previous attack.

Episodes 4 and 5 took a different approach to that though. No longer is the situation that the protagonist is just some observant kid against an overcocky opponent really all that believable given the piloting prowess thats displayed by him. Remember that he's just some highschooler that up until this point has had no formal combat training outside of what is required by his school. There's no reason that his PILOTING skills should be any better than whats displayed by the actual soldiers with much more extensive training in the suits. But this isn't what's shown. The actual soldiers acted more or less like sitting ducks when the Orbital Knight with the sword began his attack, no dodging or ducking or even attempting to catch the arm that held the blade. If there was but a single soldier who had the competence to stop shooting their gun and try to engage him in close quarters then the others could have easily shot down and disabled the single Knight. And this same behavior is mirrored in the way that the soldiers handle the Knight in episode 5 as well. It seems that our protagonist is the ONLY pilot capable of actually using evasive maneuvers during a fight and as a result it looks like he's pretty much the only competent fighter the Earth forces have shown to actually have at their disposal.

It amounts to a really disappointing shift after episodes 2 and 3 and where I was willing to commend the series for how they handled the actual skill of an untrained protagonist before now it seems they're willing to hunker him down with plot armor that brings down the show as a result. I'm in agreement with others about the way the ceasefire was handled, if they had at least used that time to properly train the protagonists and show off and give some credit to the skill of other Earth soldiers I think we could have easily delayed the fight with the Sword wielding Orbital Knight and created a situation where at least his maneuverability was an explainable phenomena. Instead we have a situation that just sort of takes you out of the action of the series which is unfortunate.
 
K

KirbYuuYuu

Member
fertygo said:
What? that guy's dead? not escaping teleporting or something like that? the hell..
Click to expand...

Well Jadiete does get decked really fast in the manga actually, but it sure doesn't look like it was him dying here in particular.


Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki kun 5

Nozaki has the weirdest obsessions for people, but I can see how someone could loathe Maeno.

RIP Kashima's feelings
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Finalow said:
you should read the manga, it's pretty great. also the ending of the anime was just a clusterfuck trying to show what's next, and I'm not even sure if a season 2 is confirmed at all.
Click to expand...

Hm... Maybe sometime. And with those sales I don't think they'll make a S2 :p



Rhapsody said:
Been clicking on YT stuff and somehow got to Kyle Landry's Clannad arrangement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw1mlIwfACk

Really feel like watching it again.
Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xZhQO8tJNw :p
 
P

phaze

Member
Psychological Intellect said:
well nisemonogatari was mostly shit, big let down from bakemonotagari.

8 episodes into the second season and it's seems like a return to form.

question though, the monogatari series has to be extremely popular in Japan right? the budget has to be fucking insane! the production value is so high for every episode, all the backgrounds,art, edits and the animation, fuck man. It made more sens with the two previous series weren't very long but are they gonna keep this up for 26 episodes?
Click to expand...

If I recall correctly, there's no action scenes on the level of Kanbaru or Kagenui beat downs, so its inferior at least in that respect.


When is Hana coming out anyway I thought it was somewhere in August ?

Edit: Ah 16 of August, alright.
 
F

Finalow

Member
BassForever said:
Sailor Moon Crystal 3

I actually like this version of Rei a lot better, ever if Usagi's obsession with how beautiful Rei is was weird. If I didn't know that was the death of Jadeite I'd honestly have no idea with how the anime depicted it. Oh well can't win them all I guess
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure that he's not dead, he just ran away with his light speed powers or something.
 
B

BassForever

Member
fertygo said:
What? that guy's dead? not escaping teleporting or something like that? the hell..
Click to expand...

Here's what it looks like in the manga

3OkdSpm.png


AZcqvZG.png


Now they could have Beryl kill him in the next episode for failing again like they did in the original series, but more likely they'll just show this scene from the end of the same chapter in the manga

sAQJgF9.png


Just started episode 3 with "I can't believe Jadeite got beaten by the Sailor Senshi" derp derp derp
 
R

Rhapsody

Banned
B

BassForever

Member
I totally forgot why I originally entered this thread

Sword Art Online S2 E5

LOL of course DG would show up there and of course he's a member of the laughing coffin guild. This is hilariously dumb
 
M

Midonin

Member
Nozaki 05

Chiyo has much smaller role than I thought she would. The comedy's still pretty good, and the focus on the tanuki was enjoyable, and the character dynamics are what I expected, but I'm finding as this season goes on that the majority of my most enjoyable shows are at the start of the week.
 
P

PshycoNinja

Member
PK Gaming said:
Toradora 3

BIG HIT COMIN UP, YEA-YEA-YEA ♪

Talk about a sweet episode! Main love interests tend to be boring, Kushieda's endlessly entertaining. Forget about being best girl, I think she's straight up the best character on this show.
Click to expand...

Minorin is awesome. This is a fact that cannot be argued.
 
K

KirbYuuYuu

Member
Midonin said:
Nozaki 05

Chiyo has much smaller role than I thought she would. The comedy's still pretty good, and the focus on the tanuki was enjoyable, and the character dynamics are what I expected, but I'm finding as this season goes on that the majority of my most enjoyable shows are at the start of the week.
Click to expand...

That's something I found out when I actually read it. Chiyo isn't as big as one would expect, given it spends quite some time with other characters as well.
 
F

Femmeworth

Banned
Knights of Sidonia Ep. 3

This is so bad. Make it stop. :( Duckroll, you vouched for Polygon Pictures.
Andrew J. said:
You seem oddly fascinated with this show. Hatewatch incoming?
Click to expand...
Nah, just curious why it looks so bad.
jman2050 said:
The two most predominant responses I've seen are either legitimate shock and disgust or maniacal laughter at how absurd and over the top the whole thing was, even for this show. Either way it's certainly earned its infamy, that's for sure.

You also have those guys who try to coax some non-existent commentary and/or allegory from the whole thing but you'd have to be some kind of asshole to do that.
Click to expand...
Episode 8. Dental hygiene. The last great point of this series.

To me, firstly, this episode is goddamn hilarious. The primary joke of the second half is, “brushing teeth should not be this sexy,” and that joke only works if the audience can feel how sexy it is for those characters. And this team is obviously gifted enough to know how to pull off a scene like that.

And that's impressive enough on its own. But what I really think this episode is doing, what I think the point is from the beginning straight through the end, is talking about Intimacy.

I think, and this is pure hypothesis, but it seems pretty reasonable to me, that Shinbo asked himself, “what do people who love fanservice get out of it? Why are they watching an anime, and not just porn? What does this show have that actual direct sexual gratification lacks?”

Intimacy.

The toothbrush scene is so erotically charged because of the intimacy involved, and everything in the show/episode leads into this. First, Karen and Araragi's relationship always has a weird, semi-flirtatious charge to it, as they've moved from younger traditional antagonistic siblings to one of those bicker-flirting couples. Then, everything Karen does at the start of this episode is designed to put Araragi off his guard and in a place of intimacy/discomfort. Her outfit does so much work here, and it's all her intentional, meaningful decision. First, it serves as a striking contrast against both her normal outfit and her personality – the bee exercise outfit is absolutely her, androgyny is absolutely her, carefree sexlessness is absolutely her, and putting her in such a constricting, gendered, sexually charged outfit serves to throw off all preconceptions Araragi has about interacting with her. Second, the fact that it isn't her outfit, and in fact doesn't fit her at all, puts her in a place of vulnerability, and this also throws off Araragi. Finally, it directly is designed to be sexy, and prove she's in control of her sexuality, which is something Araragi has clearly been struggling to come to grips with as he attempts to act like a role model for his sisters. All of these things further Karen's goals in this episode – make Araragi so uncomfortable he'll agree to introduce her to Kanbaru. All these are choices of the character, not the learing cameraman, and the effect these choices have on both Araragi and the audience is very much the intended effect. Everything else she does – the confession about how his insults used to really get to her, her basically physically assaulting him – all these further that one clearly understood goal.

But I was talking about intimacy. So, what the actual toothbrush scene does obviously builds off this place of discomfort/vulnerability/overt sexuality she's been intentionally provoking. It combines this with the relationship these two have been building, a great deal of bantering buildup, and a close monologue from Araragi to place the sex stuff in a position of complete emotional honesty. Sure, it's also played for humor – but the humor is mostly based on the fact that it's funny brushing teeth can be this sexy, and as I said, for that joke to work at all, the audience has to truly understand that this scene is sexy to these characters. Most powerful moments in most media are powerful not just because of the audience's emotional reaction to a situation, but because they can empathize with a character's emotional reaction to a situation. This effect drags us further into the text/film/show and girders our connection with the characters involved – at that moment, we feel for them more deeply than we do for ourselves. Thus, all the prep work of this episode works to help us understand these characters completely at this moment, and when they react to this scene as if it's incredibly erotic, we can understand it to be erotic as well. The connection between the characters is honest, and the way the show is conveying their emotions to the audience is honest as well – intimacy is really just another word for honesty. This honesty, which makes this scene so strong, is a part of why most fanservice is so bad – because it's dishonest to the characters, and portrays them as sexual objects when they're not actually feeling like sexual objects in that moment. But more than that, this honesty is almost entirely lacking in conventional pornography. Conventional pornography is generally a collection of soul-deadened actors performing a service for a fee – sure, they're naked, but it's the furthest thing from intimacy you could possibly imagine. To find someone disrobe emotionally, you have to look to art. And so the point of this scene is "Even in a scene as ridiculous as this, honesty can make it ring true."

One last tangent, but it was very interesting to me, and I never would have thought of it if not for the strong points raised by Nisemonogatari. I think this intimacy issue is a large part of why something like K-On is so damn successful. This is a kind of fractured and difficult point to make, mainly because the characterization in K-On is very difficult to describe as “honest,” but I think from the point of view that these are valid characters, K-On attempts to create a continuous mood of emotional honesty and friendly, unabashed intimacy. It invites the viewer into a safe, loving environment free from any of the hidden motives and defenses that characterize the real world, and is always completely honest with the viewer. For those who watch Community, K-On is basically like the ultimate Abed experience – a world based on rules you understand entirely that loves you unconditionally, and is willing to share all of its emotional secrets with you. Intimacy porn. I mainly bring this up because there was a thread a few days ago where someone said they like K-On because the characters feel “real.” Now, to anyone who knows anything about character writing or, frankly, human beings, that's a ridiculous statement – but I think what was really meant there was that the characters feel honest, which, though they are very fabricated constructions, is certainly true within the context of that show.

So yeah, the toothbrush scene forced me to reevaluate and perhaps legitimize the emotional appeal of “cute girls doing cute things”. And I think that's exactly the point Shinbo was trying to make – that sex will never be as appealing as honesty, and that intimacy is ultimately the core of the erotic. And that this, in addition to the issues about male gaze, camerawork, storytelling, and perspective he's already addressed, is why fanservice normally hurts shows - it's impersonal and dishonest.
Click to expand...
http://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18p3lt/nisemonogatari_and_the_nature_of_fanservice/
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Garden of Words

It looks really really nice, but I liked the story in 5 Centimeters Per Second better.

I don't think it really built towards that big emotional outburst at the end enough so it felt a bit unwarranted.

It's still good, just not great, and the eyecandy levels are high as said.

7/10
 
B

BassForever

Member
Akame Ga Kill 5

Whelp now I understand why the manga fans scream about death flags every month when a new chapter of this series comes out, I'm enjoying it but damn!
 
N

NaDannMaGoGo

Member
MikeHattsu said:
Garden of Words

It looks really really nice, but I liked the story in 5 Centimeters Per Second better.

I don't think it really built towards that big emotional outburst at the end enough so it felt a bit unwarranted.

It's still good, just not great, and the eyecandy levels are high as said.

7/10
Click to expand...

Yeah I think that outburst towards the end is most folk's complaint.

I think of it similarly. I've given it a 8/10 on MAL in the end because the visuals are just so ridiculously damn good and I still quite like the characters and the story.

But the ending just pales so much compared to 5cm/s Though that one is just a bit stronger in pretty much every regard as far as I'm concerned (animation quality is rather equal to me, even if Garden of Words is obviously more detailed).
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
NaDannMaGoGo said:
But the ending just pales so much compared to 5cm/s Though that one is just a bit stronger in pretty much every regard as far as I'm concerned (animation quality is rather equal to me, even if Garden of Words is obviously more detailed).
Click to expand...

Yeah, too bad they've not released 5cm/s on BD in the UK, only got the DVD of that. (And yeah, I know the Japanese one is region free)
 
S

survivor

Banned
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaku-kun 5

Strongest episode so far, lots of different gags and creative scenarios. Next one should also be good as well with the new character they are adding.
 
Jex

Jex

Member
[Aldnoah.Zero] - 5

This was really bad. If this continues to head down this route it'll find itself dropped.
 
K

KirbYuuYuu

Member
survivor said:
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaku-kun 5

Strongest episode so far, lots of different gags and creative scenarios. Next one should also be good as well with the new character they are adding.
Click to expand...

Hope you enjoy Waka, as he's the magic that will allow Seo to have more screen time
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

E3 2001-2003 Show Floor Games
Event Retro
46
4K
Hudo replied
TGS 2024 official live stream program schedule
36
2K
SyberWolf replied
Modern Vintage Gamer: Playing Retro Emulators on the Nintendo 64
Retro Trailer Hardware
1
867
magnumpy replied
Digital Foundry: Retro Marathon: Sony PlayStation/ PSOne - Every Launch Game Tested!
32
2K
sachos replied
Sony Interactive Entertainment announces full TGS 2024 lineup, schedule
News
32
2K
Punished Miku replied
Top Bottom