There are very few good three minute anime experiences. If you know more, please, share them with the thread. (Also, I never used the phrase 'wasting time')
Miss Critical Momenet is actually a great series of three minute shorts. I'm sure you'd like it.
You ain't a fan of ghost in the shell/SAC? Or just not a fan of this movie? LOL and I just noticed it was a cat. Thought it was some weird rug before that.
You ain't a fan of ghost in the shell/SAC? Or just not a fan of this movie? LOL and I just noticed it was a cat. Thought it was some weird rug before that.
Angels egg - A haunting and truly beautiful experience, I'm not so sure what exactly the film was "about" but I presume the themes revolve around "faith" and "lack of faith" in a oppressive and dark world, with the titular angel's egg being symbolized as a "object of faith" or so I assume, there was also a number of biblical references that I found interesting (such as the great flood, christ-like imagery etc) and the ending was great in that it opened up a bigger mystery in the context of a already mysterious world, which gave off a really haunting feel after it ended.
Otherwise this was a excellent film with beautiful art direction, good atmosphere, great direction etc, and further proof that oshii is GOD and a master of his craft.
now I need to get around to watching beautiful dreamer and gosenzosama banbanzai! next
Leaving aside the melodrama of evil wheelchair girl force feeding people macaroons, I don't think the central "conceit" of BRS is handled very well at all. The actual Black Rock Shooter scenes are nicely animated and action-packed, and obviously they reflect what's been going on in the real world. The fact that they're so separate, however, rather misses the point - they may as well be a completely different show.
I feel that it's kind of a copout that it was deemed necessary to dilute BRS-world with the moe schoolgirl plot at all. I would have much rather had an action series with the fantasy setting fleshed out and original backstories for BRS and crew. The BRS-world aesthetic used in the OVA (not the shitty pink and purple macaroon and lego explosion of the series) was more than stylish enough that it could have been an enjoyable series without much effort being expended on plot, but they just had to go after dem joshikosei-fetish yens and turned the supposed selling point of the show into bits of hamfisted, painfully-obvious symbolism that punctuates scenes of girl drama.
I think my BRS disappointment is feeding into my Eureka Seven AO pessimism even though there's no relation between the two. I need a new episode of MARU! soon
I feel that it's kind of a copout that it was deemed necessary to dilute BRS-world with the moe schoolgirl plot at all. I would have much rather had an action series with the fantasy setting fleshed out and original backstories for BRS and crew. The BRS-world aesthetic used in the OVA (not the shitty pink and purple macaroon and lego explosion of the series) was more than stylish enough that it could have been an enjoyable series without much effort being expended on plot, but they just had to go after dem joshikosei-fetish yens and turned the supposed selling point of the show into bits of hamfisted, painfully-obvious symbolism that punctuates scenes of girl drama.
I think my BRS disappointment is feeding into my Eureka Seven AO pessimism even though there's no relation between the two. I need a new episode of MARU! soon
I don't really know if focusing on the BRS world would be a good idea. It's inherently goofy because it's about a girl in a bikini wielding a giant gun. I think what they did with the OVA was fine, I just don't think there's anywhere interesting to go after that. There's only a limited number of times you can use the jealousy angle before it becomes stupid, and with the BRS creators that number is apparently "1."
I don't really know if focusing on the BRS world would be a good idea. It's inherently goofy because it's about a girl in a bikini wielding a giant gun. I think what they did with the OVA was fine, I just don't think there's anywhere interesting to go after that. There's only a limited number of times you can use the jealousy angle before it becomes stupid, and with the BRS creators that number is apparently "1."
The appeal of the Black Rock Shooter world is almost certainly the aesthetic; I think any attempt to do a BRS-only anime would end up something like Casshern Sins, more interesting as a mood piece than as something to really get your teeth into.
The other thing I forgot to mention being puzzled about is the OP. Can I use this thread to ask what the appeal of Vocaloid is? Is it the moe girls that are associated with them? Because the voice synthesising is CREEPY.
Hmm, I'm glad I'm not the only who finds it particularly annoying when fairly minor things like anime OP's get pulled from YouTube: Dear Toei, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT YOUTUBE.
He pretty much nails it on the head by stating:
Also, and this is a complaint that extends to the anime business, what possible harm is there in that 90-second sequence-- the sequence that was created specifically to advertise your show-- being freely available online? That's how people find out about shows, that's something that catches their eyes. It's supposed to.
Hmm, I'm glad I'm not the only who finds it particularly annoying when fairly minor things like anime OP's get pulled from YouTube: Dear Toei, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT YOUTUBE.
He pretty much nails it on the head by stating: Indeed.
I think it's more of an extension to just how awful their understating of the internet and its potential not only drumming up interest but also selling their shows.
I don't really know if focusing on the BRS world would be a good idea. It's inherently goofy because it's about a girl in a bikini wielding a giant gun. I think what they did with the OVA was fine, I just don't think there's anywhere interesting to go after that. There's only a limited number of times you can use the jealousy angle before it becomes stupid, and with the BRS creators that number is apparently "1."
Japan apparently takes BRS seriously enough that someone in a position to write a series actually thought that it could give depth to a story about two teenage girls in a friendship spat. That's more than a little sad considering that it's nothing more than emo Vocaloid art.
I agree that the OVA handled it acceptably, but BRS has such an appealing and firmly-established aesthetic that it feels like a waste for it not to be at the forefront; checkered tiles, wastelands, flaming eyes, and all. It's all incredibly goofy, but I don't see how that can't make for good entertainment, much less better entertainment than what we're being subjected to now, at least.
The other thing I forgot to mention being puzzled about is the OP. Can I use this thread to ask what the appeal of Vocaloid is? Is it the moe girls that are associated with them? Because the voice synthesising is CREEPY.
I thought that Japan just went crazy for the character design, and when more characters like Rin, Kaito, Luka, etc. were added they just started creating some ridiculous fanon for them like Touhou. I suspect that only a fraction of Vocaloid fans care about the actual software that the characters are associated with. I've never liked the sound of it myself and I think its only real achievement is giving the world the Nyan Cat song.
There are very few good three minute anime experiences. If you know more, please, share them with the thread. (Also, I never used the phrase 'wasting time')
Miss Critical Momenet is actually a great series of three minute shorts. I'm sure you'd like it.
People were expecting 90 minutes of dog fights or something, I suppose.
ANNCast this week:
Bamboo Dong, Lauren Orsini and Courtney Kraft stop by the podcast to chat about sexism in anime and anime fandom, and the results are EXPLOSIVE! ...or are they
I knew that that picture taken earlier would come back to bite the team... Or not. Kind of anticlimactic, but whatever.
I wish finding the treasure hadn't been completely straightforward, since it would have provided a little bit of variety from the battles.
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Only in battle shounen.
There was a surprisingly good musical track which helped make the battle somewhat exciting to watch, at least in the first half before it boiled down to power levels, yelling, and "I'm still standing!" once again.
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Kobayashi is a pretty swell guy.
Didn't guess that the elegant Team Marilyn would turn out to be a military unit.
If you're trying to finish things quickly, you shouldn't be standing around chatting. I suppose that comes with the territory though.
Some halfway decent art this episode.
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The backstory was boring as usual, but I liked the comedic moments and the battle overall was decent.
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The production values dipped again this episode, but the back-and-forth tactics at least were fun to watch.
How in the world did Ueki get there?
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Marilyn must be one of those genetically-engineered super-soldiers.
The whole subplot with Ueki made little sense, but at least it provided for a dramatic reappearance. Who the 10-point necklaces ended up on was so predictable.
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Join the club. I'm not a fan of these Level 2 powers - they seem a cheap thing to pull out - but whatever.
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Ghosts have feelings too!
It was announced earlier that this fight would be over in ten minutes, but it's been a lot longer than that. I suppose you have to assume that there's time elongation in these sorts of shows.
It was amusing to see Ueki win by the power of backstory.
There was some surprisingly nice animation this episode.
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Ueki's moments of naivety still make me shake my head.
The whole sequence with Ai trying and finally succeeding at discovering what her power is was hilarious stuff.
The move at the end was total BS. There should have been some organizational oversight to prevent something like that from happening, and the author could just have easily matched Ueki up with Team Barrow from the start if that's what he wanted to happen. We're already well-aware that Hanon is evil.
Bamboo Dong, Lauren Orsini and Courtney Kraft stop by the podcast to chat about sexism in anime and anime fandom, and the results are EXPLOSIVE! ...or are they
The other thing I forgot to mention being puzzled about is the OP. Can I use this thread to ask what the appeal of Vocaloid is? Is it the moe girls that are associated with them? Because the voice synthesising is CREEPY.
The early Vocaloids, such as Rin and Lin, sound rather awkward, but I like the sound of the more recent Vocaloid software, with Luka being my favorite. As a musician, I like the possibilities it opens up to a composer to explore manipulation of the electronic sound, as well as freeing them from needing to find a vocalist to sing their music.
I don't know if they do have English subs myself, but you can either buy from Amazon in Japan or from CD Japan (this is the listing for Bluray 1). You can also try YesAsia, but they're a bit slow.
While I don't currently have the time or the inclination to sit down and watch Sky Crawlers right now I had no problem setting aside part of my day to watch Je' Taime because it's only 10 minutes long.
Je' Taime is to Oshii as Change and Aska is to Miyzaki - a small piece that nevertheless manages to capture nearly the all important foibles, interests and tendencies of the director who created it.
It's not very hard to describe the plot because nothing much really happens in the movie. It's just tale of a basset hound (well what did you expect?) going about his daily business in the city. Oshii sure loves intricately drawn basset hounds and the animators in production I.G. did a great job making the dog look heavy and realistic - you can really feel when he's running low on energy and is struggling to drag his heavy body around.
The direction is typical Oshii - slow, deliberate, effective at building up an atmosphere coupled with his usual fondness for numerous city shots to create a sense of place. Music is used very effectively in this short as well - as one would expect from a movie with no dialogue.
As for the content of piece:
practically nothing is established about the city or world of the film - it takes place in what appears to an abandoned city where no human resided. Some unexplained calamity has clearly and neatly wiped out those pesky humans. Unfortunately this leaves the poor hound to search for food, fruitlessly attempting to get the robot to play ball with him. The way she exploders erratically suggests that she's been on patrol for quite some time and is therefore on the verge on something happening.
The early Vocaloids, such as Rin and Lin, sound rather awkward, but I like the sound of the more recent Vocaloid software, with Luka being my favorite. As a musician, I like the possibilities it opens up to a composer to explore manipulation of the electronic sound, as well as freeing them from needing to find a vocalist to sing their music.
Fair point - I can see it being a really great compositional tool.
I guess I'm too tied to the idiosyncracies of the human singing voice in actual performance to enjoy listening to it, though. To compare Black Rock Shooter to, say, My Dearest, by the same composer, I find there to be a thrill in Koeda belting up to the second note of the chorus after she floats it in the opening of the song because of the effort behind it, whereas certainly when Hatsune Miku sings Black Rock Shooter every note has the same emphasis and vocal quality.
But then musically Supercell's stuff is still better than the infinite versions of Happy Material that seemed to get released when the first Negima anime aired, so I guess I shouldn't complain.
Fair point - I can see it being a really great compositional tool.
I guess I'm too tied to the idiosyncracies of the human singing voice in actual performance to enjoy listening to it, though. To compare Black Rock Shooter to, say, My Dearest, by the same composer, I find there to be a thrill in Koeda belting up to the second note of the chorus after she floats it in the opening of the song because of the effort behind it, whereas certainly when Hatsune Miku sings Black Rock Shooter every note has the same emphasis and vocal quality.
But then musically Supercell's stuff is still better than the infinite versions of Happy Material that seemed to get released when the first Negima anime aired, so I guess I shouldn't complain.
Certainly vocaloids are no substitute for a real human voice, just as a synthesizer is no substitute for a piano. Electronic instruments will always lack the humanity and subtle artistry of real musicians. But I enjoy the soundscapes that can be created with them by skilled composers. Some vocaloid songs have even managed to move me emotionally, most notably Last Night, Good Night by kz.
Ok, the anime is starting to grow on me a little. The last 10 episodes ranged from zzz boring to very awesome. Don't really see the point of the new character but whatever, not a big deal.
I still think this bounty system is is very flawed. You can't just give 1.8 millions reward to a dude that was defending someone. His flashback clearly showed he was just protecting the girl by stealing the gun
Be real firehawk - you are not only never going to watch the movie, you're never even going to break that non-resealable wrap. Thus it should be sent to a good home in which it will be loved and cared for, like mine.
Ikuhara himself was the one who said he only did a certain scene in the movie (you'll know it when you see it) because it looked cool, but he was lying. You have to think of him as something of a professional Socratic troll.
Hmm, I'm glad I'm not the only who finds it particularly annoying when fairly minor things like anime OP's get pulled from YouTube: Dear Toei, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT YOUTUBE.
It went from a awkward and ecchi beginning to a pretty awesome and creepy second half. Although I'm starting to dislike Yukki, Yuno is quite an awesome character. The opening and ending themes are pretty awesome too.
Just a question. I'm interested in continuing the series from the manga. Is there a good place to jump from the anime to the manga? I like to do so particularly if there is a spot where the anime becomes pretty bad while the manga is still good.
