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Winter Anime 2015 |OT| ZA WARUDO is not square!

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J

javac

Member
High quality shots of the Kill la Kill #2 UK Blu-ray, I guess, complete with obi (No Kotaku review this time :p)
Fe15VYh.jpg

kDJNQdV.jpg
Click to expand...
 
X

/XX/

Member
VRMN said:
Unfortunately, I hear it bombed fantastically and that a second season is probably never going to happen. I started reading the manga recently; I miss the rotoscoping style; the manga doesn't look like that at all. It's not bad, it's just different. More typical, I guess.
Click to expand...
javac said:
Doesn't surprise me, massive shame but was to be expected :(. That's why I'm planning to just buy the manga and forgo any hopes of the anime finishing.
Click to expand...
The producers themselves expected that outcome after all!

I'm fairly sure that your (or everyone's) exposure to the story itself was the primary objective, and that is why you guys who keep following the original publication did good! :-D
 
J

javac

Member
/XX/ said:
The producers themselves expected that outcome after all!

I'm fairly sure that your (or everyone's) exposure to the story itself was the primary objective, and that is why you guys who keep following the original publication did good! :-D
Click to expand...

Pretty much the response I expected from them to be frank, it makes sense. It's the feeling I got from the get go, it's something that will have a following for years to come for sure. I'm glad, can't wait to get stuck in the manga :)
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Sailor Moon R 35

JSM5vtI.jpg
Click to expand...

Everybody starts hating ChibiUsa, and then Sailor Moon shows up and ruins everything ;P

Nah, but ChibiUsa shows off her power level and a familiar looking character lurks around in the future. Looks like there'll be time travel soon.



Clov said:
They're pretty cheap. Only $15 per season, and the sets include the OVAs. I might pick them up myself at some point.
Click to expand...

Well, I'd have to get somebody to get them for me since Funimation doesn't ship outside of NA :p
 
V

VRMN

Member
phaze said:
Flowers of Evil 11-13 END


Somehow I don't think thats quite the result Nakamura's father had in mind when
he invited Kasuga to his house. And neither did I. After the confrontation in the rain where he admitted to being empty and not as special as he imagined himself to be, I kinda figured he'd start on his path to redemption.
Well judging by that S2 teaser, this is clearly not happening. RIP

Throughout the duration of the Flowers of Evil, I was baffled by the behaviour of some of the characters and after finishing the show, I remain puzzled.
Saeki's infatuation with Kasuga feels more unnatural and forced than anything in Nisekoi. Maybe the manga explains it somehow further down the line but as it is, I couldn't buy it all. Second thing that irked me was total lack of resentment of Nakamura on Kasuga's part. She tortured him for the first half of the story but after their classroom stunt they suddenly become best friends. No matter how cathartic that moment was for the both of them, the sudden, subsequent 180 turn in their relationship rubbed me the wrong way.
I suppose I just don't get these people. The show ended in a fairly logical place to leave things hanging but given that tease of future events (talk about pouring that salt into the wounds), one gets the impression those 13 episodes were more of a prologue and the meat of the story begins now.

Flowers of Evil has a real knack for creating a dense, tense atmosphere. I never suspected a series about a bunch of ordinary (hmmm) high schoolers could be this suffocating but Aku no Hana manages it with ease. And I must say that I've grown to really like the rotoscoping. Sure it does have its drawbacks (dunno whether they're inherent to the method or just something that was fumbled here) – the lack of facial detail in the long shots and its gradual, disturbing pop up + some lip synch/movement issues but with its realistic character models (duh) and naturalistic movement and detail, it brought much more to the game than it took out. I've no idea how financially draining it is compared to the traditional animation but I wouldn't mind more shows being done this way. I'll take it over CG any time. Combined with the immense amount of Pablo background porn and stellar direction, it manages to create a very good looking and visually distinctive series.

Bonus points for amazing opening and ending songs.

Anyhow really good if heavy show. Can't wait for Season 2 which undoubtedly is just around the nearest corner !
Click to expand...

Now that I covered the part where you're going to need to pick up the manga to complete the story (Vertical published it in English; there are 11 volumes), let's get to the substance here. I will note here that I have not passed the anime in my reading of the manga version, so I'm bringing nothing to the table but my understanding of the characters in the anime. I'll center this on our three main characters so as to not ramble forever.

Let's start with the first thing to clear up. These are middle school students, not high school students. I know; the use of adult actors and actresses to animate the series did not help, but it is stated explicitly. Weirdly, given some of their behavior, I do think this helps explain the characters rather than making them more strange.

Kasuga is basically a mild chuunibyou (8th grade syndrome) case, not the stupid, played up for comedy stuff you see in series every now and again. He has delusions of grandeur; that's what chuunibyou is: a kid thinking they're more special and powerful than they really are as they start thinking about what they want to do in life. We all get it to some extent.

He's fascinated by these deep books he reads and considers himself just as deep and special for reading them. But he succumbed to his baser urges (as we all do to some degree) and spends the series hating himself for it. He's really the easiest to understand; he discovered something dark within himself and Nakamura, who hates the boring everyday and wants something interesting, is okay with it. She found that something in Kasuga and damn if she's going to let him get away from her.

I don't know if I'd call what Nakamura has for Kasuga is love; I'd probably term it a kind of kinship, however messed up it is. From Kasuga's perspective she's someone who accepts the "real" him. It's really not that complex; it kind of is that simple. She's someone who knows what he's done and reproaches him for it, but (crucially) doesn't isolate herself from him.

As for Saeki, this is again something that's explained easier once you get past that they're middle school kids.
Kasuga was probably the first person who ever told her that they liked her. There's an attachment there, rightly or wrongly, which also goes to her budding sexuality. She doesn't want her first love to be this fucked up thing it is. Moreover, she feels threatened by how close he is to Nakamura and there's a kind of "if she can accept you, I can too" deal there. She probably thinks Nakamura is trying to steal him from her. Again, she wants this to work and is trying to avoid being hurt. Thus she's unreasonably willing to forgive his transgressions, in part because she sees them as proof of a connection.

Of course, this doesn't work because, to Kasuga, Saeki's supposed to be this unreachable goddess when of course she isn't.
That she's willing to get down in the mud to be with him tarnishes her; the thing he aspired to. "If there's no good in the world, then what the hell am I doing?"
He can't deal with that.

TL;DR: Flowers of Evil is freaking amazing. Please let me know if I'm misremembering anything.
 
G

gashikunFLCL

Member
[Aria the Natural] - 06

でっかい poor President Maa, I mean President Aria.
I much でっかい prefer Alice school hairstyle than her work one.
Athena dropping でっかい truth bombs, and that でっかい nice smile at the end.

[Poyopoyo] - 1~52 END

でっかい...
Roundcats > Mars cats.
 
C

Clov

Member
Huh, so it looks like I read something wrong with those Funimation releases. Darker Than Black S1 is still coming to BD, but as a premium set limited to 5000 units. It's going to be around $100. Can't say I saw that coming.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
gashikunFLCL said:
[Aria the Natural] - 06

でっかい poor President Maa, I mean President Aria.
I much でっかい prefer Alice school hairstyle than her work one.
Athena dropping でっかい truth bombs, and that でっかい nice smile at the end.

[Poyopoyo] - 1~52 END

でっかい...
Roundcats > Mars cats.
Click to expand...
I like the Maru, enough to buy a plush of him, but come on!

---

I'm sure I'm LTTP, but I'm discovering the trend of "subscribe to a box of shit every month" services that seems to be the new business model to have taken hold, and I found this:

http://oyatsubox.com/
fpimage31-414x350.png


25 bucks to ship a box of Japanese snacks to you every month. Wish I had thought of it, since it seems like a complete no brainer. lol
 
J

jbug617

Banned
Funimation is doing a Premium Set for Darker Than Black Season 1. They say they are only making 5,000.
http://shop.funimation.com/Complete...ent=Darker_Than_Black_Bluray&utm_nooverride=1

Premium Edition includes
Complete First Season on Blu-ray
Specialty ''classified'' packaging
48-page art book
Display easel
Episode Commentaries
Cast Auditions
Production Artwork
U.S. Trailer
Trailers
Click to expand...

MSRP is $99 but Funimation Store has it for $74.99

Funimation other May releases:

PUCHIM@S Season One - FUNimation Exclusive DVD Release Date: 5/19/2015
PUCHIM@S Season Two - FUNimation Exclusive DVD Release Date: 5/19/2015
Solty Rei Box Set - S.A.V.E. DVD Release Date: 5/5/2015
Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Complete Series - Anime Classics DVD Release Date: 5/19/2015
.hack//Roots Complete Series DVD Release Date: 5/19/2015
Michiko & Hatchin Complete Series - S.A.V.E. DVD Release Date: 5/12/2015
Michiko & Hatchin Complete Series - S.A.V.E. Blu-ray Release Date: 5/12/2015
Darker Than Black Complete Second Season - Anime Classics Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: 5/12/2015
Darker Than Black Complete First Season - Premium Edition Blu-ray Release Date: 5/12/2015
Click to expand...
 
D

Dedication Through Light

Member
Still angry at who ended up being the choice for the LN ending for BroCon. awful.

Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! Episode 7
B-Eda_bCQAErkBS.png:large
B-EefQcCIAAVe0O.png:large
Click to expand...
Io x Ryuu reconfirmed canon. Loved all the lines for it and how both were so amazed at each other in the bath, and also how the others also see them together. Everyone sees through he womanizing act.

One of the best beach/hot baths episodes in anime, up there with Hyouka's for me.
 
V

VRMN

Member
dan2026 said:
Shirobako

Does this girl have severe mental problems?
She doesn't even seem to be able to talk!
How on earth did she get a job at an animation company?
Click to expand...

She seems excessively shy, but she can draw. Being a good animator seems like it's pretty high on the list of qualifications for animation.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
Narag said:
Guh
@FUNimation: Any Contractors out there? Good news! #DarkerThanBlack is coming to blu-ray in North America! http://t.co/Pb3Bj1qR0o http://t.co/Oc9SlVKPcR
Click to expand...

Thats....out of left field a bit. Still might double dip. But maybe not...

Clov said:
So, Funimation announced their May releases. Of interest is both seasons of Puchimas, coming to DVD as an exclusive on their web store, I think. Both seasons of Darker Than Black make their way to the 'Anime Classics' line on BD, with Bubblegum Crisis 2040 joining the same line on DVD. Meanwhile, Michiko & Hatchin gets tossed in the SAVE line on BD.

There's also another .Hack anime and something called Solty Rei. That's about it.
Click to expand...

Thats a whole lot of DVD only disappointment. Except Puchimas wouldnt matter much.
Solty Rei was a unique series. I have it on DVD already from a thousand years ago.

javac said:
High quality shots of the Kill la Kill #2 UK Blu-ray, I guess, complete with obi (No Kotaku review this time :p)
Click to expand...

Very nice! I quite love my US KLK sets. Both regions got a good release.

Narag said:
Brave takes the meh crown.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Yeah Brave is my least favorite. Merida is a cutie though!

firehawk12 said:
I like the Maru, enough to buy a plush of him, but come on!

---

I'm sure I'm LTTP, but I'm discovering the trend of "subscribe to a box of shit every month" services that seems to be the new business model to have taken hold, and I found this:

http://oyatsubox.com/
fpimage31-414x350.png


25 bucks to ship a box of Japanese snacks to you every month. Wish I had thought of it, since it seems like a complete no brainer. lol
Click to expand...

Ohhh shit. My coworker subscribes to a gaming and nerd box one of these. THIS looks relevant to my interests though!

chu~
 
K

Kansoku

Member
firehawk12 said:
I'm sure I'm LTTP, but I'm discovering the trend of "subscribe to a box of shit every month" services that seems to be the new business model to have taken hold, and I found this:

http://oyatsubox.com/
fpimage31-414x350.png


25 bucks to ship a box of Japanese snacks to you every month. Wish I had thought of it, since it seems like a complete no brainer. lol
Click to expand...

I take it that you don't know about Japan Crate?
 
T

Tenumi

Banned
dan2026 said:
Shirobako

Does this girl have severe mental problems?
She doesn't even seem to be able to talk!
How on earth did she get a job at an animation company?
Click to expand...

VRMN said:
She seems excessively shy, but she can draw. Being a good animator seems like it's pretty high on the list of qualifications for animation.
Click to expand...

I didn't know I was in an anime.

I wish I could draw well again.
 
N

nintendoman58

Member
Lord of Lords: Ryu Knight - 8

Hahaha, the fantasy hijinks in this show. It's not enough for the shounen protagonist and the ninja to get eaten by a massive frog in this episode.

No, they also have to fight five magical girls all in the same episode in order to move forward.
 
D

dan2026

Member
VRMN said:
She seems excessively shy, but she can draw. Being a good animator seems like it's pretty high on the list of qualifications for animation.
Click to expand...

I can't decide is she is supposed to be funny.
She just seems kinda sad and annoying.

All the other characters seem fairly normalish, then there is this bizarre girl.
 
P

phaze

Member
VRMN said:
Now that I covered the part where you're going to need to pick up the manga to complete the story (Vertical published it in English; there are 11 volumes), let's get to the substance here. I will note here that I have not passed the anime in my reading of the manga version, so I'm bringing nothing to the table but my understanding of the characters in the anime. I'll center this on our three main characters so as to not ramble forever.

Let's start with the first thing to clear up. These are middle school students, not high school students. I know; the use of adult actors and actresses to animate the series did not help, but it is stated explicitly. Weirdly, given some of their behavior, I do think this helps explain the characters rather than making them more strange.

Kasuga is basically a mild chuunibyou (8th grade syndrome) case, not the stupid, played up for comedy stuff you see in series every now and again. He has delusions of grandeur; that's what chuunibyou is: a kid thinking they're more special and powerful than they really are as they start thinking about what they want to do in life. We all get it to some extent.

He's fascinated by these deep books he reads and considers himself just as deep and special for reading them. But he succumbed to his baser urges (as we all do to some degree) and spends the series hating himself for it. He's really the easiest to understand; he discovered something dark within himself and Nakamura, who hates the boring everyday and wants something interesting, is okay with it. She found that something in Kasuga and damn if she's going to let him get away from her.

I don't know if I'd call what Nakamura has for Kasuga is love; I'd probably term it a kind of kinship, however messed up it is. From Kasuga's perspective she's someone who accepts the "real" him. It's really not that complex; it kind of is that simple. She's someone who knows what he's done and reproaches him for it, but (crucially) doesn't isolate herself from him.

As for Saeki, this is again something that's explained easier once you get past that they're middle school kids.
Kasuga was probably the first person who ever told her that they liked her. There's an attachment there, rightly or wrongly, which also goes to her budding sexuality. She doesn't want her first love to be this fucked up thing it is. Moreover, she feels threatened by how close he is to Nakamura and there's a kind of "if she can accept you, I can too" deal there. She probably thinks Nakamura is trying to steal him from her. Again, she wants this to work and is trying to avoid being hurt. Thus she's unreasonably willing to forgive his transgressions, in part because she sees them as proof of a connection.

Of course, this doesn't work because, to Kasuga, Saeki's supposed to be this unreachable goddess when of course she isn't.
That she's willing to get down in the mud to be with him tarnishes her; the thing he aspired to. "If there's no good in the world, then what the hell am I doing?"
He can't deal with that.

TL;DR: Flowers of Evil is freaking amazing. Please let me know if I'm misremembering anything.
Click to expand...

Them being in the middle school certainly slipped past me unnoticed. The manga character models make much more sense now. I thought they were looking exceedingly childish there compared to the adaptation.

I can certainly agree there are some extenuating circumstances for those actions, they're just not strong enough for me to make some of those scenarios plausible. I mean, how
many girls would accept a boyfriend who steals their gym cloths and later wrecks the classroom leaving them there
. Not many. (I hope) The show does have 2 or 3 such - over the top moments that I struggle to buy, especially given the seemingly more realistic vibe it appears to aim for.
 
K

kinger256

Member
Turin Turambar said:
The main difference is pace, the hunter arc is tighter and more brisk in the 2011 adaptation. The first 30 episodes of the first anime are 21 in the 2011 adoption. One episode can be explained because the 2011 tells the Kaito part later, but the other 8 is just slower pace and a bit of filler, as the manga was running around that time and they couldn't run a lot.

Of course the original anime doesn't reach the part of the Chime Ant arc, I suppose the pace would be the same there...
Click to expand...

That's interesting. Hope its not another situation where the faster pacing comes at a price of less character development. There seems to be this notion that all fillers are bad, but they help in fleshing out characters sometimes.

Tuck said:
Don't expect much growth from Gon. Not saying he gets none, but he very much remains the same stubborn kid.

That said, hunter x hunter is known for deviating from standard shonen tropes.
Click to expand...

Sucks for Gon, but all the other lead characters seem much more interesting so it doesn't seem that bad.
 
M

Mr.Jeff

Member
Samurai Flamenco - 07
....the fuck?

I had some vague memories after reading the spoilers for this episode a while back but that was certainly not what I expected. Especially after such a grounded plot point about Masayoshi's past at the mid-point.
Either this is just going full crazy or
this is all a really elaborate setup by that production company guy
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
Mr.Jeff said:
Samurai Flamenco - 07
....the fuck?

I had some vague memories after reading the spoilers for this episode a while back but that was certainly not what I expected. Especially after such a grounded plot point about Masayoshi's past at the mid-point.
Either this is just going full crazy or
this is all a really elaborate setup by that production company guy
Click to expand...

Its the former.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
MikeHattsu said:
Sailor Moon R 35



Everybody starts hating ChibiUsa, and then Sailor Moon shows up and ruins everything ;P

Nah, but ChibiUsa shows off her power level and a familiar looking character lurks around in the future. Looks like there'll be time travel soon.





Well, I'd have to get somebody to get them for me since Funimation doesn't ship outside of NA :p
Click to expand...

Chibiusa sucks. Never liked her.

dan2026 said:
Shirobako

Does this girl have severe mental problems?
She doesn't even seem to be able to talk!
How on earth did she get a job at an animation company?
Click to expand...

All she has to do is draw!

Vito said:
Denpa Kyoushi TV anime is directed by Masato Sato at A-1 Pictures, series composition is handled by and Isao Sugimoto is the chracter designer. http://www.ytv.co.jp/denpa/
Click to expand...

I like the character designs

chu~
 
C

CheapJuice

Member
Hunter x Hunter - 56

Aww shit, this ending. The last 10-15 episodes have all been great in one way or another, this Yorknew stuff is wonderful and it doesn't seem to stop.
I keep thinking "just one more episode then I'll stop for the night" over and over. I love how they build up the cliffhangers at the end of the episode with the soundtrack.
 
Jex

Jex

Member
On Hunter x Hunter vs....Hunter x Hunter
Turin Turambar said:
The main difference is pace, the hunter arc is tighter and more brisk in the 2011 adaptation. The first 30 episodes of the first anime are 21 in the 2011 adoption. One episode can be explained because the 2011 tells the Kaito part later, but the other 8 is just slower pace and a bit of filler, as the manga was running around that time and they couldn't run a lot.
Click to expand...

I'd really hesitate to call the modern adaptation 'tighter'. It's certainly faster but I feel like the original adaptation does a far better job of establishing the characters and world than the 2011 adaptation. The 2011 adaptation really sacrifices a lot of that character work and 'grounding the setting' so that it can rush to the 'new' content e.g. the content that hadn't been adapted.

As for the 'filler', I feel like it only enhanced the material.

This is all without taking into account the quality of the direction, production etc.
CheapJuice said:
Hunter x Hunter - 56

Aww shit, this ending. The last 10-15 episodes have all been great in one way or another, this Yorknew stuff is wonderful and it doesn't seem to stop.
I keep thinking "just one more episode then I'll stop for the night" over and over. I love how they build up the cliffhangers at the end of the episode with the soundtrack.
Click to expand...
But which version! Oh, I think it's 2011 right?
 
Jex

Jex

Member
Chibi-Usa is a god-tier character and I feel sorry for those who cannot enjoy what she brings to the table. You're missing out on fun.
 
G

gashikunFLCL

Member
[Aria the Natural] - 07

They could stay lost forever, that music...but the
cats are assholes, if they didn't want them there they could just send them back instead of trapping them
.
 
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