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Winter 2012 Anime Thread 2.22: You Can (Not) Outpost Cajunator

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Branduil

Member
I really do recommend this book of Miyazaki essays. It’s hard to go a few pages without coming across some great stuff, such as:

Haha, that's some Marxist frustration in the second quote. It's obviously true that anime does a bad job of developing good protagonists most of the time. That's true of most mediums.
 

Jex

Member
All of these are pretty sound motivations. Is this part from the 80s or 90s or 00s?

1988. I assume he means that the characters have no reason to do what they do beside the fact that it is their role - but we're not given a reason for them to be in that role. I trimmed the quote somewhat.
 

Risette

A Good Citizen
1988. I assume he means that the characters have no reason to do what they do beside the fact that it is their role - but we're not given a reason for them to be in that role.
You can say the same for a lot of actual real people too. Not everybody is a multilayered person with reasons for everything.
 

jman2050

Member
Zetsubou Sensei = pantsu
ef = eyepatches
Maria Holic = crossdressing
Natsu no Arashi = belly buttons
Bakemonogatari = everything
Vampire Bund = loli, vampires
Arakawa = uhh...poverty? mental illness?
Soredemo = meidos
Madoka = mahou shoujo costumes
Denpa Onna = feet
Nisemonogatari = toothbrushing

Denpa Onna = MILFs and futons.
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Not much is as WTFAWESOME As Gurren Lagann though. That shit was special.
Mostly because it just threw normal mech design out the window entirely.

I suppose its success wasn't enough to inspire the already-dying genre to take more risks with its mecha designs.
 
Stellvia of the Universe 9

stellvia9%203.png


Hahaha
Ultima got destroyed by deadly radiation from an exploding star!
hahaha I guess that means Stellvia wins the Astroball tournament! Wait what? When did this show start to get serious? I didn't skip an episode did I? 9 comes after 8. Was there an 8.5 which was a stereotypical anime onsen episode set to the backdrop of a
neighboring star going supernova
? Or maybe I've just been trolled. All this happy atmosphere and light hearted character banter has been setting us all up for the fall.

stellvia9%201.png

The people of "Somewhere in Japan" look on with nonchalance at the impending devestation.

So I mean really, we start the episode by learning that
another radiation wave had obliterated Ultima. Thankfully the local resident hot chick Rinna (the one Haly watches porn of) had escaped an episode earlier to play space jousting with Shima. Not only that, but we learn that in TWO DAYS the fallout will reach Earth. Time for the "Great Mission"? Already? But uh...it's episode 9 guys, that can't be right?

Anyway, shit does indeed get serious and all of Stellvia locks down to prepare for shock from the impact etc. These exploding stars are apparently dangerous stuff, with explosions reminiscent of Captain Falcon defeating Black Shadow with a Falcon Punch that simultaneously destroyed the entire galaxy. The first wave from the star exploding (189 years previously) nearly destroyed all of humanity and it was only electromagnetic. Now the second wave will have er..."pieces of the star"...right...anyway...it'll be presumably more dangerous.

The plan for Stellvia is to prepare and maintain a barrier over themselves, the Earth and Luna. A last line of defense, if you will. To add to the dramatic effect, this episode intermitently reminds you how long till it all goes down. It's actually really effective.

stellvia9%204.png

This SHAFT headtilt brought to you in glorious forced 16:9

It's not all doom and gloom though, instead (to my relief) Stellvia retreats to it's more familiar territory of coming of age themes, comedy, romance and of course, character development.
Shima and potential love interest Kouta are doing training in their Biancas of firing the field generators, or something. Anyway, Kouta does really well. Again. This guy is supremely talented but seemingly has a morbid fear of anyone finding out.

Buckling under pressure, Shima is Shima and messes up. She gets down about it, of course and phones her family. It's an emotional call, with equally emotional music. I've not really commented on the music so far, but it's been really good and always appropriate. Her family are preparing to move into bunkers and are all too aware of the danger Shima is in. She tries to keep smiling though and tells them to call her the day after tomorrow. Smooth.

This whole episode could almost be the stereotypical "night before", but in typical Stellvia fashion it's really an episode to itself. Shima's tears, a standard already, were there in droves. Her confidence built, she's ready for the Great Mission and so am I! Let's do this! Cue end credits. Ok maybe it was a stereotypical "night before" episode, but I enjoyed it anyway. Also we had the first murmurings of
Shima's romantic feelings for Captain Awesome Kouta.

If AnimeGAF has taught me anything it's don't play the shipping game and if you do, don't play it with Chihayafuru. This time round though, it should be fairly easy. What's the worst that could happen? For now, there's bigger fish to fry and for the first time this show ends with a cliffhanger. Bring it on.

stellvia9%205.png
 

Branduil

Member
You can say the same for a lot of actual real people too. Not everybody is a multilayered person with reasons for everything.

Sure they are, it's just that a lot of the time, the reasons are mundane.

Generally, though, you shouldn't use boring people as protagonists.
 

Mecha

Member
Not much is as WTFAWESOME As Gurren Lagann though. That shit was special.
Mostly because it just threw normal mech design out the window entirely.

Not really, I guess if you compare it to a Gundam it does but there are other mecha that look similar that came before it.

2961f1a7559342dff74b773.jpg
 

/XX/

Member
Sure they are, it's just that a lot of the time, the reasons are mundane.

Generally, though, you shouldn't use boring people as protagonists.
Mundane people working on mundane projects for mundane spectators, with mundane protagonists in (sometimes) exciting situations... I see it as something normal if you want to connect with the viewer, to let identify themselves with the state of affairs.

The problem is that Mr. Miyazaki believes he is some kind of outcast from society, or something!
 

Branduil

Member
Mundane people working on mundane projects for mundane spectators, with mundane protagonists in (sometimes) exciting situations... I see it as something normal if you want to connect with the viewer, some kind of self-identification.

The problem is that Mr. Miyazaki believes he is an some kind of outcast from society, or something!

Well, I didn't mean to connect "mundane" and "boring." My point is you can have good, interesting protagonists with mundane jobs, and bad, boring protagonists with incredibly interesting jobs. It's about the inner life and development of the character, not their outer circumstances.
 

Ultimadrago

Member
GAF just needs to make an anime, it would be full of references to Garzey's Wing, Glass Fleet, Arjuna, and School Days.


And end in Blood C.

I haven't left the asylum yet. That would add at least...7 more years mandatory stay.

Zetsubou Sensei = pantsu
ef = eyepatches
Maria Holic = crossdressing
*snip*

Can't help but think Guilty Crown should be added somewhere in this list.

There's something to fit with it, but can't put a finger on it
 

RurouniZel

Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
But do you brush your sister's teeth as well?
That's important!

N...nooooooooooo?
Actually no.

I had bought an electric toothbrush the day it aired, it felt so wrong that day.

Inu x Boku - 09

DEAR MOTHER OF GOD!!!

*Imagine hnngazawa's voice*

792ar.jpg


sSIkf.jpg


JXl0L.jpg


The Another hnng gif would be perfect for this, but here's a substitue.

IDu8o.gif

!(◎_◎;)

\(//∇//)\

☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆
 

Jex

Member
Just to clarify, in this particular essay Miyazaki goes completely off the rails and starts linking stuff together without much reasoned argument. For example:

Loss of motive. Japanese animation is a testimony to the horrors that occur when people keep producing works that don't assign independent motivations to protagonists based on some sort of value system. You can't revile opponents just because you're a player on the Yomiuri Giants baseball team and they're on the Chuinchi Dragons, the Hiroshima Carp, or the Hanshin Tigers. If that's the case, everything merely devolves into a situation where no one wants to lose and everyone's in the same boat. Lots of robot-space war anime shows like this have been produced, and the cast of characters is usually little more than a crown of scattered young people. Young viewers originally saw this is a simulation of society that they would eventually have to participate in and accepted the schizoid deception as reality, but they also quickly sickened of these shows.
He also doesn't seem to understand how sports work!
 

Steroyd

Member
Well, I didn't mean to connect "mundane" and "boring." My point is you can have good, interesting protagonists with mundane jobs, and bad, boring protagonists with incredibly interesting jobs. It's about the inner life and development of the character, not their outer circumstances.

Reminds me of Chihayafuru being good despite Karuta, and Planetes being a great watch despite it basically being binmen in space.
 

Jex

Member
Well, I didn't mean to connect "mundane" and "boring." My point is you can have good, interesting protagonists with mundane jobs, and bad, boring protagonists with incredibly interesting jobs. It's about the inner life and development of the character, not their outer circumstances.

I think it's more to do with their hair. How spiky is it? How many colours does it contain? These are the important questions.
 

Jex

Member
Reminds me of Chihayafuru being good despite Karuta, and Planetes being a great watch despite it basically being binmen in space.
Well to be fair they also
fight terrorists from time to time, and there's the whole Von Braun plot itself. Your point still stands though.
 

Jex

Member
Sounds kinda like his movies for the past several years

From numerous articles that I've read, old Miyazaki would not be a fan of new Miyazaki at all. In fact there are numerous times where he criticizes stuff that you'd find in Ponyo or Howl's Moving Castle.
 

Jex

Member
I don't see a problem with current mecha designs, it's not like TTGL was "extremely original" or anything.
Well, it's not like there are many places left to go with mechanical design that are completely 'out there'. After four decades of creations, of all shapes, scales, textures and aesthetics it's pretty difficult to be 'wholly original'.
 

cajunator

Banned
"I-It's not like I want to watch Nise, I just need to make sure it doesn't get too trashy, that's all!"

He's so tsundere for it. It's adorable.

I'm ok with tsunderes by the way, as long as they arent Kugilolis.
I guess that schtick is just played out to the point where Im completely sick of it.
 
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