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[Squalor]

Toonami, bring back Witch Hunter Robin, haha.

 

[B-Dubs]

final-ish thoughts on Black Lagoon (the "ish" is because i haven't really bothered to organize this or make much of an effort to write it very well):

Black Lagoon is about juxtaposition. You have all these depressing philosophies and dark concepts, but it’s all wrapped up in extravagant Hong Kong-style action to create contrast and heighten the impact. The best example of this is the Japan arc, where Revy and Ginji assault the bowling alley complete with the requisite bullet-cutting and leaping-through-the-air-while-firing-two-guns. But then the show, again, takes a U-turn. Yukio isn’t the damsel in distress, she chose to be where she is, and she thinks Rock is full of shit. It’s a surprising combination that works almost every time; the Vampire Twins arc falters a bit, but it’s still effective. The show is like a Trojan horse, using its popcorn action to communicate these ideas, and even if things get a little talky at times those ideas never feel like they’re bring drilled into your face, as can be common in anime. The moments of introspection all feel completely warranted and don’t talk down to the audience.

While the handling of that sort of thing is what makes Black Lagoon truly special, the rest of the show is no slouch. Action scenes are well-choreographed and occasionally quite creative, tense confrontations abound, and the direction is certainly high-quality. The characters, however, are the highlight. Their interactions lead to a variety of hilarious situations and arguments, complemented by the strong dub.

However, the characters are one source of the problem as Dutch and Benny are marginalized to the point where they don’t even play a part in the final arc of this series. It’s forgivable when you realize that this is an adaptation of ongoing material and even Rock hasn’t quite finished his character development (and he’s gone through a decent amount already). That being said, anime should be able to stand alone, and it’s not really incorrect to call it a missed opportunity. The trajectory of Rock’s character development also feels a little bit off; he takes a more active role early on before becoming a more passive participant who has moral ideas and bloody lessons handed to him, and it feels like it should be the other way around.

The show peaks a little bit early because of this. The character interactions never quite top Calm Down, Two Men, where Rock stands up to Revy after a bizarre day of running errands. And I don’t think the action or suspense manages to surpass the moment when Rock puts a plan into motion to kill that one guy in the helicopter in the second episode.

It’s a unique show to say the least, exceedingly well-made and indisputably one of the best to air on the block. While I’m not a huge fan of the ending episode, it’s nice to see a show that remained more or less consistently great. We haven’t had many of those.

Anime does that a lot, incomplete adaptations that is. Calm Down, Two Men is great, but there's a moment in Roberta's Blood Trail that's got it beat. The Japan arc is there to set Rock's character up for his actions in Roberta's Blood Trail. What you see him try to do with Yukio is fully realized in the following arc, if you thought his balls were big now you should see them in the OAV arc. For reals,

Spoiler

their sheer size makes everyone shit their pants in fear by the end of it. Fuck, even Roberta wants nothing to do with him after that. He beats everyone in the battle of wits

. This arc was only a set up for his grand appearance as

Spoiler

Rock: The True Villain of Roanapur

.

 

[Gorillaz]

It also shifted from a "biggest badasses of the south China sea" to a breaking bad "fall fast into decent" tone without warning. I think if there was a better divider of when the tone change would happen it would lessen the blow of everyone else becoming a backdrop to rock

 

[Seda]

I'm gonna wait and see if the Black Lagoon OVA happens to somehow pop in during November, if not I'll watch it on my own.

 

[SAB CA]

I looked at this arc as more of one big "nope" to the trope of a kid leader. When Yukio takes control, things don't actually turn around. She gets beaten and kidnapped, and then the family is pretty much disbanded. The one thing she does right with the robbery doesn't really affect anything. Then the cherry on top is that her reasoning for all of this is bullshit.

I can see that, but that's just so predictable and cynical, I suppose. I would have been more OK with this if they purposely framed her and the scheme as completely incompetent and ineffectual, but the way her team didn't have any serious infighting with those close to her, and how no one but the obvious snitchy traitor style guy really seemed to lack belief in her... it felt as if the story was going to avoid the usual plot of disproving that a "kid" leader (who was old enough for us to see dragged around half dressed for fanservice sake) can handle such a burden.

Just browsing at the Manga for comparison, I like the fact that they keep our Washimine clansmen in very traditional Japanese clothes for the final conflict. It helps give off that feeling of them being stuck in an old world that no longer exist. Thus, as ones who cannot keep up with the times, they're purged from history. Another fairly common story device, but at least it gives more weight to how stubbornly Yukio and Ginjo are holding onto outdated, rustic ideals. It helps the whole thing feel more like an out-of-touch tragedy from a romantic novel, which relates well to the fact that she liked to read pretty tragic literature.

Compare that to the show, where she's in a schoolgirl outfit and jacket *which is close to what Revy was wearing in style*, and he looks like an extra from a Metal Gear Terrorist Cell. They looked very similar to a gender-flipped Rock and Revy, that couldn't survive the tale because... we already have our R&R.

And making her reasoning so weak at the very last minute also feels a bit like a failure, again, moreso in the show. I wish they had shown more potholes and weakness in her resolve along the way. At least then it would have felt more fitting.

 

[B-Dubs]

It also shifted from a "biggest badasses of the south China sea" to a breaking bad "fall fast into decent" tone without warning. I think if there was a better divider of when the tone change would happen it would lessen the blow of everyone else becoming a backdrop to rock

That sort of tonal shift is a real danger in a serialized work. Sometimes characters go places you don't expect them to and with a serialized work there's no opportunity to go back and fix it up properly. Calm Down, Two Men really changed the tone of the story in a big and unexpected way. It probably doesn't help that the anime changed the order of the story arcs.

 

[Zonic]

So to refresh my memory I watched Roberta's Blood Trail instead of Inuyasha this week.

Each episode is a very tricky 33 minutes long. Way too long for a half hour block as even cutting off the preview, opening, ending gets it down to 30 minutes. Way too short to juice up to an hour without adding in Kickheart.

What if they were to air two episodes back-to-back? It'd be close to an hour, but I guess there'd be about 3 commercial breaks, so it might not work....

I'd say "just air all of them back-to-back", but that'd be about 3 hours long & I don't know if they'd dedicate 3 hours for Black Lagoon, a show that was on at 2:30 & 3 AM.

 

[Articalys]

On Friday, I decided to grab lunch at GattiTown. I wandered into the back where the games were because I'd never looked around there before and I was surprised to see a Dance Dance Revolution cabnet with the following stage being played:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXssPU4ik00

Heh, that's interesting. Seems that one of Konami's recurring composers for their music games also composed a pair of character songs for Gurren Lagann, so they decided for whatever reason to add Yoko's to DDR Supernova 2.

Speaking of DDR, I don't think I've seen an unmodded DDR machine at a U.S. arcade in a long time.

 

[B-Dubs]

What if they were to air two episodes back-to-back? It'd be close to an hour, but I guess there'd be about 3 commercial breaks, so it might not work....

I'd say "just air all of them back-to-back", but that'd be about 3 hours long & I don't know if they'd dedicate 3 hours for Black Lagoon, a show that was on at 2:30 & 3 AM.

They could always pick up something like Seki-kun to air with it. Shit, we'd probably need something a little more light hearted after an episode.

 

[Soulflarz]

Heh, that's interesting. Seems that one of Konami's recurring composers for their music games also composed a pair of character songs for Gurren Lagann, so they decided for whatever reason to add Yoko's to DDR Supernova 2.

Speaking of DDR, I don't think I've seen an unmodded DDR machine at a U.S. arcade in a long time.

Yeah, is it absurdly easy to mod? Im trying to think of the last unmodded one ive seen.

 

[bigkrev]

Our senior trip was to Disney World, because where in NJ are you going to go for fun if your under 21?

I got perhaps the sickest I've ever been on the 4th day. The flight home was a nightmare

 

[B-Dubs]

Our senior trip was to Disney World, because where in NJ are you going to go for fun if your under 21?

I got perhaps the sickest I've ever been on the 4th day. The flight home was a nightmare

You're in Jersey? You could have gone to Six Flags, there's a couple of then in the tri-state area. That's where my senior trip went. Sadly I couldn't go as I was sick. I hear it was pretty awesome though.

 

[Zonic]

Pretty sure seniors at my school got nothing special, except for getting out of school 2 or 3 weeks earlier than the rest of the school because graduation was (I think) a week after we got out.

 

[Soulflarz]

Our senior trip was to Disney World, because where in NJ are you going to go for fun if your under 21?

I got perhaps the sickest I've ever been on the 4th day. The flight home was a nightmare

8th grade we got to go to DC
Nothing senior year in highschool mrgr

Actually we may go downtown iirc? (Downtown chicago) For a day...meh

 

[bigkrev]

You're in Jersey? You could have gone to Six Flags, there's a couple of then in the tri-state area. That's where my senior trip went. Sadly I couldn't go as I was sick. I hear it was pretty awesome though.

We went to Six Flags in middle school, and then again in High School for some other reason I can't remember. Always thought the place was kinda a dump

 

[LOLDSFAN]

I'm gonna wait and see if the Black Lagoon OVA happens to somehow pop in during November, if not I'll watch it on my own.

Yeah that sounds like a good plan.

 

[Articalys]

Yeah, is it absurdly easy to mod? Im trying to think of the last unmodded one ive seen.

Well honestly I'm pretty sure they're all just DDR cabinets running some variation of In The Groove or Stepmania instead of the actual gameboard that was originally installed.

 

[Soulflarz]

We went to Six Flags in middle school, and then again in High School for some other reason I can't remember. Always thought the place was kinda a dump

Physics day? We went for physics day.

 

[LOLDSFAN]

Attack on Titan's Isayama Gives Fans the Skinny On Female Titan's Bust Size

There are a lot of things we're not really sure of about the titans in Attack on Titan. We know who some of them are, and we sort of know how they work, but we're not really sure of where they come from, or how they came to be.

But, one fan had a very important question that just needed an answer: What are the female titan's measurements?

Luckily, manga creator Hajime Isayama had an answer:
B860, W660, H860.

Welp...

Spoiler

I have no idea what those numbers mean.

 

[Doctor Decimate]

I can see that, but that's just so predictable and cynical, I suppose. I would have been more OK with this if they purposely framed her and the scheme as completely incompetent and ineffectual, but the way her team didn't have any serious infighting with those close to her, and how no one but the obvious snitchy traitor style guy really seemed to lack belief in her... it felt as if the story was going to avoid the usual plot of disproving that a "kid" leader (who was old enough for us to see dragged around half dressed for fanservice sake) can handle such a burden.

Just browsing at the Manga for comparison, I like the fact that they keep our Washimine clansmen in very traditional Japanese clothes for the final conflict. It helps give off that feeling of them being stuck in an old world that no longer exist. Thus, as ones who cannot keep up with the times, they're purged from history. Another fairly common story device, but at least it gives more weight to how stubbornly Yukio and Ginjo are holding onto outdated, rustic ideals. It helps the whole thing feel more like an out-of-touch tragedy from a romantic novel, which relates well to the fact that she liked to read pretty tragic literature.

Compare that to the show, where she's in a schoolgirl outfit and jacket *which is close to what Revy was wearing in style*, and he looks like an extra from a Metal Gear Terrorist Cell. They looked very similar to a gender-flipped Rock and Revy, that couldn't survive the tale because... we already have our R&R.

And making her reasoning so weak at the very last minute also feels a bit like a failure, again, moreso in the show. I wish they had shown more potholes and weakness in her resolve along the way. At least then it would have felt more fitting.

I don't think it's predictable at all; making her a badass yakuza boss is a way more typical route to take. I agree that the shift in her reasoning was abrupt, though.

That sort of tonal shift is a real danger in a serialized work. Sometimes characters go places you don't expect them to and with a serialized work there's no opportunity to go back and fix it up properly. Calm Down, Two Men really changed the tone of the story in a big and unexpected way. It probably doesn't help that the anime changed the order of the story arcs.

I dunno, they kinda gradually built up that Revy has some pretty serious issues; that's what half of the Nazi arc was about.

 

[Soulflarz]

I have no idea what those numbers mean.

Do most guys?

 

[B-Dubs]

I don't think it's predictable at all; making her a badass yakuza boss is a way more typical route to take. I agree that the shift in her reasoning was abrupt, though.



I dunno, they kinda gradually built up that Revy has some pretty serious issues; that's what half of the Nazi arc was about.

Rock takes an unexpected change in direction as a result of that is what I meant. He was supposed to sack up there, probably not as much as he did though. Rock's development took a huge leap there and that changed the direction of the manga.

 

[Gucci Messiah]

Attack on Titan's Isayama Gives Fans the Skinny On Female Titan's Bust Size



Welp...

Spoiler

I have no idea what those numbers mean.

bust, waist, hips, measured in inches

 

[Raxus]

ToonamiGAF on Hellsing night.

 

[UltraGunner]

Attack on Titan's Isayama Gives Fans the Skinny On Female Titan's Bust Size



Welp...

Spoiler

I have no idea what those numbers mean.

Is this the first time a giant skinless woman has made so many people catch feels?

 

[Neoxon]

final-ish thoughts on Black Lagoon (the "ish" is because i haven't really bothered to organize this or make much of an effort to write it very well):

Black Lagoon is about juxtaposition. You have all these depressing philosophies and dark concepts, but it’s all wrapped up in extravagant Hong Kong-style action to create contrast and heighten the impact. The best example of this is the Japan arc, where Revy and Ginji assault the bowling alley complete with the requisite bullet-cutting and leaping-through-the-air-while-firing-two-guns. But then the show, again, takes a U-turn. Yukio isn’t the damsel in distress, she chose to be where she is, and she thinks Rock is full of shit. It’s a surprising combination that works almost every time; the Vampire Twins arc falters a bit, but it’s still effective. The show is like a Trojan horse, using its popcorn action to communicate these ideas, and even if things get a little talky at times those ideas never feel like they’re bring drilled into your face, as can be common in anime. The moments of introspection all feel completely warranted and don’t talk down to the audience.

While the handling of that sort of thing is what makes Black Lagoon truly special, the rest of the show is no slouch. Action scenes are well-choreographed and occasionally quite creative, tense confrontations abound, and the direction is certainly high-quality. The characters, however, are the highlight. Their interactions lead to a variety of hilarious situations and arguments, complemented by the strong dub.

However, the characters are one source of the problem as Dutch and Benny are marginalized to the point where they don’t even play a part in the final arc of this series. It’s forgivable when you realize that this is an adaptation of ongoing material and even Rock hasn’t quite finished his character development (and he’s gone through a decent amount already). That being said, anime should be able to stand alone, and it’s not really incorrect to call it a missed opportunity. The trajectory of Rock’s character development also feels a little bit off; he takes a more active role early on before becoming a more passive participant who has moral ideas and bloody lessons handed to him, and it feels like it should be the other way around.

The show peaks a little bit early because of this. The character interactions never quite top Calm Down, Two Men, where Rock stands up to Revy after a bizarre day of running errands. And I don’t think the action or suspense manages to surpass the moment when Rock puts a plan into motion to kill that one guy in the helicopter in the second episode.

It’s a unique show to say the least, exceedingly well-made and indisputably one of the best to air on the block. While I’m not a huge fan of the ending episode, it’s nice to see a show that remained more or less consistently great. We haven’t had many of those.

That's because that episode isn't the real end. That honor belongs to the Roberta's Blood Trail OVA.

 

[Man God]

That's because that episode isn't the real end. That honor belongs to the Roberta's Blood Trail OVA.

Speaking about the ending of that!

Spoiler

Also super unsatisfying.

Then again I really don't like Roberta much at all. She doesn't fit in this world and is probably a terminator robot. This impression

Spoiler

gets even worse

in her own damn OVA.

 

[Neoxon]

Speaking about the ending of that!

Spoiler

Also super unsatisfying.

Then again I really don't like Roberta much at all. She doesn't fit in this world and is probably a terminator robot. This impression

Spoiler

gets even worse

in her own damn OVA.

Spoiler

It does bring Rock's character development to a close, showing that he has bigger balls than we could have imagined. Plus, we get a more of a gruesome look at Revy's past.

Spoiler

When even Revy is shocked at what you've become, you know you've gone into the darkness.

 

[Neoxon]

Black Lagoon, OVA ending included, was probably among my favorite animes to date. When I can't sleep because of how an arc ended & had to go to church the following week, you know you're on to something.

Spoiler

.........the Vampire Twins, though.

 

[Man God]

Spoiler

It does bring Rock's character development to a close, showing that he has bigger balls than we could have imagined. Plus, we get a more of a gruesome look at Revy's past.

Spoiler

When even Revy is shocked at what you've become, you know you've gone into the darkness.

Eeeh when you watch it again you realize that

Spoiler

Rock isn't a villain because he's suddenly become hard, Rock's the villain of this whole piece because he is going to civilize the place very quietly.

Revy is actually more

Spoiler

relieved at the end of the OVA than anything.

 

[Gorillaz]

Speaking about the ending of that!

Spoiler

Also super unsatisfying.

Then again I really don't like Roberta much at all. She doesn't fit in this world and is probably a terminator robot. This impression

Spoiler

gets even worse

in her own damn OVA.

Blood Trail ending was satisfying because

Spoiler

Rock and his white knight ass got outplayed by Eda and the CIA

.

Roberta ain't shit. She still aint and her last fight in the anime played out way better then manga.

Edit: dont worry I didnt say anything

 

[Seda]

 

[Soulflarz]

Must not click OVA spoilers MUST NOT DO IT

Edit: thanks for adding that gif just in time for my post

 

[Man God]

Blood Trail ending was satisfying because

Spoiler

Rock and his white knight ass got outplayed by Eda and the CIA

Roberta ain't shit. She still aint and her last fight in the anime played out way better then manga.

She's the biggest heavy in the series, also I disagree on who won in the OVA.

Spoiler

Rock and CIA are actually on the same side in this, only L Rock took was that Lovelace and Roberta were beyond saving. Also pretty fucking ungrateful if you ask me.

 

[Gucci Messiah]

We went to Six Flags in middle school, and then again in High School for some other reason I can't remember. Always thought the place was kinda a dump

Jersey or Six Flags?

Spoiler

I kid

 

[Gorillaz]

She's the biggest heavy in the series, also I disagree on who won in the OVA.

Spoiler

Rock and CIA are actually on the same side in this, only L Rock took was that Lovelace and Roberta were beyond saving. Also pretty fucking ungrateful if you ask me.

Spoiler

were they really friend? She didnt want the golden triangle to be taken under control by the NSA. Rock was playing a game of chess against chang because he was the "ruler" of roanpour but it was really eda who was his target. At the end he even mentioned that he lost to someone else out there playing the same chess game

Its a swerve brother

 

[B-Dubs]

Blood Trail ending was satisfying because

Spoiler

Rock and his white knight ass got outplayed by Eda and the CIA

.

Roberta ain't shit. She still aint and her last fight in the anime played out way better then manga.

Edit: dont worry I didnt say anything

But

Spoiler

Rock's the one that brings the CIA into the whole thing if I remember right, it's his plan to contact them so the soldiers can get passage out to the sea. Rock takes no L's in that arc.

 

[Man God]

Spoiler

were they really friend? She didnt want the golden triangle to be taken under control by the NSA. Rock was playing a game of chess against chang because he was the "ruler" of roanpour but it was really eda who was his target. At the end he even mentioned that he lost to someone else out there playing the same chess game

Its a swerve brother

Some next level shit right there but he

Spoiler

basically knows the CIA is behind the Triad, he tells Eda as much when she meets him. By the way they were talking you could even infer he knows she's the contact and she knows that he knows, as she tells him to know his role and shut his mouth.

 

[BassForever]

 

[Man God]

But

Spoiler

Rock's the one that brings the CIA into the whole thing if I remember right, it's his plan to contact them so the soldiers can get passage out to the sea. Rock takes no L's in that arc.

Nope!

Spoiler

CIA via the Ripoff church learn where the NSA soldiers are and tells Chang, Rock figures a bunch of shit out on his own and gets Chang to "hire" Dutch officially.

 

[B-Dubs]

Nope!

Spoiler

CIA via the Ripoff church learn where the NSA soldiers are and tells Chang, Rock figures a bunch of shit out on his own and gets Chang to "hire" Dutch officially.

I was just looking at the manga and

Spoiler

he says they can contact the ripoff church and use them to get in touch with the NSA to buy the soldiers safe passage to the ocean

.

 

[Man God]

Oh I forgot that the OVA leaves out a ton of stuff and there are some interesting wrinkles there.

 

[BassForever]

So who's excited for Hellsing Ultimate?

 

[Seda]

So who's excited for Hellsing Ultimate?

This is kinda silly, but learning Crispin Freeman voices Alucard makes me significantly more excited for it.

 

[Gucci Messiah]

So who's excited for Hellsing Ultimate?

 

[Imperial Bishop]

Attack on Titan's Isayama Gives Fans the Skinny On Female Titan's Bust Size



Welp...

Spoiler

I have no idea what those numbers mean.

Oh myyyyy.....

 

[Gorillaz]

Yea I might have been off. The whole arc is a Vinny Mac "its me Austin" legit shook for 5 episodes.

So who's excited for Hellsing Ultimate?

Interested in it

 

[Neoxon]

Eeeh when you watch it again you realize that

Spoiler

Rock isn't a villain because he's suddenly become hard, Rock's the villain of this whole piece because he is going to civilize the place very quietly.

Revy is actually more

Spoiler

relieved at the end of the OVA than anything.

Spoiler

I meant when she was telling Rock to leave after the Roberta stuff.

 

[Man God]

This is kinda silly, but learning Crispin Freeman voices Alucard makes me significantly more excited for it.

Absolutely nothing silly about that at all. Guy makes everything better.

 

[BassForever]

This is kinda silly, but learning Crispin Freeman voices Alucard makes me significantly more excited for it.

Crispin Freeman makes every thing better just by being in it, nothing weird about it