Which is to say you don't really care about the quality of the narrative itself; you care about the quality of the direction, art, animation, etc. There's nothing wrong with that.
I care about the quality of the narrative if a work puts a strong emphasis on the narrative, though. But I still care equally about everything else no matter what!
Like, for example, I think FMA Shamballa is a bad movie even though it's well animated & directed (maybe), because of how horrible the narrative is along with how much importance the movie itself places upon it & takes seriously. It's impossible to like, turn your brain off and enjoy the pretty colors because of how essential the horribly dumb writing is to the movie.
I guess, what I feel is that a narrative isn't essential in general to works within a visual medium, but they can be essential to certain works. And if they make it essential it damn well better be good.
Right off the bat the show looked crisp, that would probably be the best word to describe it. Then They started talking about the earths bio-rhythm and I started to become less and less interested. I started to drift off into sleep WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN...
She showed up.
What?! A full figured woman in anime who is also a badass fighter! Man, this is great, I really hope the show doesn't completely invalidate it's efforts to include women of different proportions by basically fetishisizing them and having them identify as heavy....
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Then the show goes all in with the ocean science biorhythm stuff and I lost interest.
I'm keeping my end of the bargain and watching Door to Summer tonight or tomorrow, promise!
The first episode is probably the least subtle about the fact that there's kind of an.......alternate aesthetic for the characters at work here. It becomes much more focused on the scientific aspects from here on out, though that might be a bad thing if it's already boring you, hahahah. Regret not asking for a more specific recommendation yet?
It's mostly in episodic format and therefore pretty hit-or-miss with its episodes, so don't worry if you're not into the ocean stuff. It's mostly used as a visualization for the cyberbrain diving, and the actual content of the show is much more varied than this.
Don't start making promises you won't keep. Feelings might get hurt...
My feelings
The first episode is probably the least subtle about the fact that there's kind of an.......alternate aesthetic for the characters at work here. It becomes much more focused on the scientific aspects from here on out, though that might be a bad thing if it's already boring you, hahahah. Regret not asking for a more specific recommendation yet?
It's mostly in episodic format and therefore pretty hit-or-miss with its episodes, so don't worry if you're not into the ocean stuff. It's mostly used as a visualization for the cyberbrain diving, and the actual content of the show is much more varied than this.
I never said they were. Obviously the best situation is when they work in tandem to create a strong piece of visual storytelling. That doesn't always happen though, and often you have situations where either the writing or the visuals is of considerably higher quality than the other. In such situations I am more inclined to appreciate the work where the writing is strong, but I take no issue with someone who prefers the opposite.
I guess, what I feel is that a narrative isn't essential in general to works within a visual medium, but they can be essential to certain works. And if they make it essential it damn well better be good.
That's not really what he's saying. He's saying that while all those elements are clearly important to the narrative there is still the quality of the writing to consider and how the story, characters etc have been handled by the writer (or writers) for works where that is appropriate.
There are, of course, works that are purely visual (or works that lean towards the opposite end of the spectrum) and the balance between that and the how well the story is told visually and through, say, dialouge will differ from work to work. Something like Redline is clearly way over in the 'visuals' camp.
I wouldn't mind if they hired writers to make anime original stand-alone comedy episodes. Surely some of the episodes are anime original anyway, like the two "clip" shows.
Ah well, maybe it's a good opportunity to rewatch the series or something.
Every time I watch Paprika I dislike it more, so I can't stand by this assessment. It's got so many crippling problems that I'd have trouble recommending it to anyone.
It's hard to rank them for a number of reasons. Firstly, I don't usually directly rank TV shows and movies against each other.
Secondly, I've seen Paprika about six times, so everything I like and dislike about the movie have become very clear to me. I've only seen MPD and Mind Game once each.
Still, I really liked Mind Game when I first saw it and I wasn't bothered by A) the pacing or B) the 'overindulgence'.
I watched Paprika once while it was playing on TV. Had no idea what was happening but I remember it looked pretty cool. I will probably give it another watch sometime.
Well when I say "overindulgent" it really is just a gut feeling. I don't have any solid criteria for what I enjoy/don't enjoy except for what my instincts tell me.
Well when I say "overindulgent" it really is just a gut feeling. I don't have any solid criteria for what I enjoy/don't enjoy except for what my instincts tell me.
I'm not saying you have no right to hold that opinion - it would be insane to say that your innate reactions to a particular text are in any way unreasonable. They usually hint at something about the text which you could directly extract and analyse, if you so felt it.
The fact that multiple people have said the same tells me that it is part of the text itself.
Well when I say "overindulgent" it really is just a gut feeling. I don't have any solid criteria for what I enjoy/don't enjoy except for what my instincts tell me.
I can think of some specific scenes in Mind Game I found overindulgent:
the constantly changing character designs and voice actors for God, the ballet scene and body-paint scene in the whale
, among others. They are elements that don't have much relevance to anything else in the movie and are there for the sole purpose of being a cool visual idea.
I could also point to the love scene, which is incredible to look at but doesn't sell the couple's relationship very well, certainly not like the love scenes in Kemonozume do.
Well, as I said above, I disliked it a bit more each time I watched it. Which isn't to say that I disliked it the first time I watched it (if you see what I mean).
I can't really remember all the fine details, because it's been so many years, but I think it goes something like:
1st viewing - I watched it alone.
2nd and 3rd viewing - watched with (different) friends.
4th viewing - watched Blu-ray
5th viewing - watched in memory of Satoshi Kon
6th viewing - watched in the cinema (the first time that I'd seen it in on the big screen) because it was screening for free.
I can think of some specific scenes in Mind Game I found overindulgent:
the constantly changing character designs and voice actors for God, the ballet scene and body-paint scene in the whale
, among others. They are elements that don't have much relevance to anything else in the movie and are there for the sole purpose of being a cool visual idea.
I could also point to the love scene, which is incredible to look at but doesn't sell the couple's relationship very well, certainly not like the love scenes in Kemonozume do.
This is kind of why I like the movie. Its fun eyecandy and just entertaining as hell. I dont really watch Mindgame to get anything useful from it. Regarding the whole
Nanako doesn't pull punches with the big bro accusations. Dojima's reaction to the gigolo remark was spot on too.
There are so many small gems of interaction and comedy like that that it's a little saddening. It was one thing when it was just a uniformly bland and sub-par show for Persona 4 fanservice, but it actually shows flashes that it could have been a legitimately pretty good show if the effort was put into it : (
Justeen still doesn't have a release date, but I'm hoping for a Summer release. I'm one starved mecha fan when it comes to new releases, so I'm hoping for the best.
Well, as I said above, I disliked it a bit more each time I watched it. Which isn't to say that I disliked it the first time I watched it (if you see what I mean).
I can't really remember all the fine details, because it's been so many years, but I think it goes something like:
The closest thing to a harem we'll get on this show.
Uh, still pretty good. I did hit the halfway point of the show at least. I would like less episodes about the rat and more stuff on the goddesses. I did like their idea about making a band, that didn't really go anywhere.
This is all really just a flashback of the main character when she was six. She ends up horribly lost in a forest known for playing host to gods, spirits and possibly demons. Her father is never shown, so I assume he comitted seppuku for being the worst parent ever and allowing this event to actually take place. Losing your child in Walmart one thing, but in demon forest? That doesn't even have a loudspeaker system!
So anyway, back with uh...oh right, Hotarubi. Thanks Wikipedia. Hotarubi our beautiful female protagonist meets with Gin,
our masked male protagonist who, if first impressions count for anything, appears to be a teenage boy who frequents Urban Outfitters and is trolling this innocent six year old for lols
, this story is about the two of them.
He calls that stick "The Attitude Adjuster"
Sounds simple and it really is simple, but at the same time I found this 45 minute one-shot to be profoundly deep on many levels. The interaction between the main two meanders between sweet, funny, charming, thought-provoking and romantic, sometimes even in the same conversation and scene. Of course it's not really so simple as all that;
Gin is one of the spirits of the forest, blessed with boyish good looks and the ability to wear the same clothes and always smell fresh.
The catch is that if he's touched by a human, he will disappear. This obviously causes a problem for Hotarubi and while perhaps somewhat of a contrived plot device, how it's used is golden. Watching Hotarubi be silently jealous of the spirits who could touch him. This becomes all the more profound as the years go by, each year Hotarubi coming to visit in the summer.
Of course it's used to comedic effect too, such as Gin almost-catching a falling Hotarubi from the tree she climbed. Given the giant MONSTER HAND that appeared from a tree a mere five minutes earlier, you'd think the chick would think the better of climbing trees in the forest of crazy shit. The event though, was certainly funny and just a bit cute too. Rather than be upset, she's thankful that Gin didn't catch her so he wouldn't disappear. From a moment of complete humor to tears, this movie goes at 100 miles an hour but it's blended so well that I didn't even notice untill I sat down to write this. This is quality stuff from Brain's Base.
I hear they're looking for exorcists in the area...
So yeah, it's an emotional rollercoaster that includes many tropes you would expect from just such a plotline. We've got the expected
"Someday I'll be older than Gin" (No you won't, don't you understand how age works?) along with the "It's going to be a cold Winter? What will Gin do, especially as he doesn't wear many clothes?" (Simple, he's going to BE A FREAKING SPIRIT)
, all of these and so much more come and go as quickly as that, but all leave a lasting effect.
Due to the blending of so many different emotions, it really came as no surprise that
the ending itself was bittersweet. Normally I don't care much for these endings, but this one was somewhat satisfying.
Really though, I enjoyed this movie quite a lot. The animation was good, looked basically just like anything else from Brain's Base (that's good), the music was fitting and the narrative shone above all.
I can think of a hell of a lot of worse ways to spend 45 minutes;
- Watching two episodes of Nisemonogatari.
- Reading one of A Black Falcon's posts.
- Making a Garzey's Wing x Linkin Park AMV...
...to name but a few. If you have said 45 minutes spare and you haven't seen this yet. Do yourself a favor and try it out.
TL;DR This is a 45 minute episode of Natsume Yuujinchou.
Well, this doesn't seem quite as silly and dumb as you folks have been making it out to me.
I mean, these main characters seem frankly rather bland. I've seen there kind many times before, and usually with slightly better character designs. Nothing to write home about here.
There's some pretty action that takes place in an undefined location that doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to look cool. I'm kind of bothered by how there's apparently no consequences for any of this action and destruction, but not so much that I can't enjoy the spectacle.
Anyway, at least the animation isn't too bad and the pacing is reasonable. I wouldn't mind watching mor-
Well now, that may have been some incredibly nonsensical melodrama, but it was far more memorable than the content that preceded it. I'm actually okay with this. This is entertaining, perhaps not in the way originally intended by the director, but who cares about them anyway?
What I'm not okay with is a show actually having counsellors - how are kids supposed to deal with problems by themselves if adults keep butting in? Well, at least she dispatches terrible advice.
Redline is no more or less coherent, nor effective in what it sets out to do narratively. Those are pretty low standards for narrative in the first place, but I suppose this is anime we're talking about.
Personally I'd like movies unlike both Sword of the Stranger and Redline going forward for variety is the spice of life. :3
I disagree with how effective the narrative was in Redline especially
when the Red Line race began.
It was the weakest part of the movie for me because all the characterization beforehand was for naught when there were no stakes. And if there aren't any, why should I be attached to anything that's happening on the screen?
For a good laugh read a random entry about nisemonogatari from randomc. Pure hilarity.
Even if this episode made you uncomfortable, the sheer ingenuity of NisiOisiN in penning the now-infamous scene, Shibou Akiyuki for translating words on a page into animation, and Shaft in bringing this scene to life, cannot be denied. Together, they have succeeded in crafting an episode that would not have nearly the same effect if it wasn’t an anime – and one that is also completely unique even within anime itself (as far as I know). For better or worse, Nisemonogatari’s eighth episode sets a new standard in anime, one that will be discussed for a long time to come.
I can't laugh at that, it's all true. Well, apart from claiming that Shinbou had anything to do with the episode. For all we know he wasn't even in the office!
Well, this doesn't seem quite as silly and dumb as you folks have been making it out to me.
I mean, these main characters seem frankly rather bland. I've seen there kind many times before, and usually with slightly better character designs. Nothing to write home about here.
There's some pretty action that takes place in an undefined location that doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to look cool. I'm kind of bothered by how there's apparently no consequences for any of this action and destruction, but not so much that I can't enjoy the spectacle.
Anyway, at least the animation isn't too bad and the pacing is reasonable. I wouldn't mind watching mor-
Oh.
Oh.
I see now.
Well now, that may have been some incredibly nonsensical melodrama, but it was far more memorable than the content that preceded it. I'm actually okay with this. This is entertaining, perhaps not in the way originally intended by the director, but who cares about them anyway?
What I'm not okay with is a show actually having counsellors - how are kids supposed to deal with problems by themselves if adults keep butting in? Well, at least she dispatches terrible advice.
I can't laugh at that, it's all true. Well, apart from claiming that Shinbou had anything to do with the episode. For all we know he wasn't even in the office!
What I'm not okay with is a show actually having counsellors - how are kids supposed to deal with problems by themselves if adults keep butting in? Well, at least she dispatches terrible advice.
There is the "throw them into the pool and let them learn to swim" approach, then there is the "tie weights to their feet and then throw them in" approach.
This is kind of why I like the movie. Its fun eyecandy and just entertaining as hell. I dont really watch Mindgame to get anything useful from it. Regarding the whole
I would be more favorably disposed towards Mind Game if it were a series of shorts. As a film which promises at the outset that it has a story to tell, characters to develop, and themes to discuss, I think it is less than successful. Which is not to say I dislike it.
Well, this doesn't seem quite as silly and dumb as you folks have been making it out to me.
I mean, these main characters seem frankly rather bland. I've seen there kind many times before, and usually with slightly better character designs. Nothing to write home about here.
There's some pretty action that takes place in an undefined location that doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to look cool. I'm kind of bothered by how there's apparently no consequences for any of this action and destruction, but not so much that I can't enjoy the spectacle.
Anyway, at least the animation isn't too bad and the pacing is reasonable. I wouldn't mind watching mor-
Oh.
Oh.
I see now.
Well now, that may have been some incredibly nonsensical melodrama, but it was far more memorable than the content that preceded it. I'm actually okay with this. This is entertaining, perhaps not in the way originally intended by the director, but who cares about them anyway?
What I'm not okay with is a show actually having counsellors - how are kids supposed to deal with problems by themselves if adults keep butting in? Well, at least she dispatches terrible advice.
[Black Rock Shooter TV - 1]
There's some pretty action that takes place in an undefined location that doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to look cool. I'm kind of bothered by how there's apparently no consequences for any of this action and destruction, but not so much that I can't enjoy the spectacle.
Nanako doesn't pull punches with the big bro accusations. Dojima's reaction to the gigolo remark was spot on too.
There are so many small gems of interaction and comedy like that that it's a little saddening. It was one thing when it was just a uniformly bland and sub-par show for Persona 4 fanservice, but it actually shows flashes that it could have been a legitimately pretty good show if the effort was put into it : (
