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

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V

Ventara

Member
Ben-To Episodes 1-6

Man, what did I watch? lol Anyways, I like it. The absurdity of how serious the characters are and the fact that they're fighting over half-priced lunch sets is hilarious. Outside that, this is a nice comedy/harem (kinda) anime. This 6 episodes seemed to be a complete story arc, so I'm looking forward to see what the rest of the episodes will be.
 
Q

Quasar

Member
R_thanatos said:
Ahj my godess is a special franchise for me ..it's one of the first few things i've watched in japanese ( anime related ) i'm a fan ever since.
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It was my first anime that I watched when I decided to try anime as a adult. And probably due to netflix only having the dub, its a show where I like the dub. Which is kind of a bit frustrating as none of the subsequent ovas got dubbed.
 
J

javac

Member
S9rcKBTl.jpg
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Neo Tokyo (Manie-Manie) is a compilation film consisting of 3 short little gems each directed by a different person. The film overall is pretty short, clocking in at just under 50 minutes, however in this short amount of time you’ll find yourself mesmerized by some of the most beautiful and spellbinding animation and choreography seen in anime, period.
So I guess some setting up is in order. Neo Tokyo was released in 1987, a period when high quality and often experimental animation was customary from the land of the rising sun. A time when a film could exist, just because it could. A proof of concept, a passion project, a walking talking sketchbook, call it what you will, Neo Tokyo is a prime example of such a time and I’m grateful for it. You see, as I stated in my previous review on the equally fascinating Angel’s Egg (1985), what I often appreciate from works is not what it was about but much rather what it made me feel and when I watch something in the vain of Neo Tokyo, I’m reminded in regards to just why I’m so infatuated with anime in the first place.
Labyrinth Labyrinthos
The first of the three shorts is called Labyrinth Labyrinthos and what at first glance appears to be nothing other than a simple but imaginative short ends up being probably the most profound of the three here. On the surface it just seems to just deal with a cute but peculiar looking girl named Sachi and her equally strange cat as they bounce around their house, interacting with everything in the environment. This short in particular was directed by Rintaro (Ginga Tetsudou 999 (Movie), Metropolis) and is masterfully directed.
The story opens up as it slowly zooms into what looks like an ancient Aztec structure, with a face bearing an open mouth. The camera follows its path into the mouth until it’s swallowed up by the gaping structure, as the whole screen turns to nothing but darkness. The camera then appears to catch sight of a desolate landscape in the far distance, one that looks worn out and dark, foreboding and sinister as Gymnopédies No. 1 plays in the background, gentle and relaxing as it lulls you in. The camera continues to zoom in, without haste as the silhouette of a circus tent takes shape. “Cicerone” a soft female voice calls. “Cicerone…where are you?” The first words the audience hears as the camera enters the opening to the circus tent, blowing in the wind. The girl continues to call the name as finally her silhouette takes shape as she dances around in an exaggerated fashion.
At first glance the story here seems to be non-existent, and instead seems to just focus on the little girl, the cat and their interactions on the world. This however would be very wrong of you to assume. Labyrinth Labyrinthos is actually a deep short, and one that touched me emotionally. The idea in general here is to show how whacky the world looks in the eyes of this imaginative girl. A woman is cutting some food, and yet the angles used to show her doing so almost gives off the impression that the kitchen knife is a guillotine of sorts, swaying up and down, with heavy focus on the woman’s red nail varnish. The pendulum on the grandfather clock swinging from left to right, the cat running around the house, everything is exaggerated. Everything is beautiful. The girl opens her Moms lipstick, and as she twists it open it starts to pulsate as she applies two strokes to each cheek, creating cat whiskers of sorts.
As she goes off to chase her cat, the world comes to life as toys dance and move in the shadows, whimsically to the sound of Georges Bizet’s Ouverture. What proceeds is a dream-like sequence like one out of Alice in Wonderland as the girl is transported into an unknown world, through the mirror, through the rabbit hole we go, following her every move. The girl and her companion cat walk down a meandering alleyway as they come into contact with all sorts of people and objects as they follow a clown, gesturing at them to follow him.
The short ends with them entering the very same circus tent we had seen at the start. As they walk into the center of the circus a spotlight beams onto them, illuminating them as they look around. The light then moves onto the red curtains in front of them as they open. The camera pans into the darkness. What exactly is beyond the darkness? It seems like the rest of Neo-Tokyo is as we are promptly transitioned into the next short. Is this the end of Labyrinth Labyrinthos? We’ll see, but for now, the next short begins…
Labyrinth Labyrinthos is a deep and powerful short, one about childhood and the way in which the young inject life into everything they come into contact with. A lipstick tube becomes face paint, the toys come to life in the dark, people are cardboard cutouts, shadows move like liquids, the walls shift into different perspectives and everything is fun. But surrounding her is a constant reminder that one day she’ll become old, she’ll be one of the many working people she comes into contact with. The clocks tick, the pendulum swings. Time is running out. Sooner or later, you will get old. You will. You could say that the clown is the antithesis to this notion. He’s old, and worn out, but also injects life into everything that he comes into contact with. Unlike the other adults in this short, he has retained his childlike nature. He lives to work, while the other works to live. At the same time, he can be seen as a creepy figure, one that is sucking in the young girl, taking her away from reality and from her family.
This I feel is how Rintaro, the director felt when directing this piece. These directors live to work. They live to bring these worlds to life, to leave their audience spellbound and enthralled. Everything is fun and beautifully animated at 24 fps, with passion in every stroke and every drop of paint. Rintaro is channeling this notion through his art, of having fun with the world and how we should all strive to be like that little girl. It’s a short full of nostalgia and memories of a time gone by. But as mentioned above, you shouldn’t lose your grasp on reality; it is just a movie after all, and when the film ends, you return to that reality.

Running Man
I’ll keep this one short. Running Man is a short about a racer who can’t and won’t stop in a race to the death. He’s been doing this for 10 years and is the undefeated champion. He injects himself into the role to such a degree that he loses all senses and becomes one with the car, using his hidden abilities in order to sabotage the other racers, killing them one by one. It’s gritty, dark and well animated, visceral in its depictions of the races and the deaths that inevitably ensue but simple in its story. The film itself takes form from the eyes of a reporter, watching on from the side-lines among the crowd who bet amongst each other on who will win and who will ultimately die. This short is both written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll), with Kawajiri also directing the animation and helming the design of the characters. Running Man is exhilarating, short and most importantly straight to the point.

Construction Cancellation Order
Construction Cancellation Order is the final short in Neo-Tokyo and is both written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, a year before he would go on to direct the critically acclaimed Akira with Otomo also in charge of the character design here. It’s a story of an everyday salary man named Tsutomu Sugioka who has been told to go personally to a construction site and cease all work due to the new government not being on board with the project, dubbed Facility 444 and as such the company is losing millions. Tsutomu is dumped onto the island alone until he can stop the project, but there’s a catch. The person in charge of the construction isn’t a person at all, but a robot whose ultimate goal is to see that the project meets its deadline, and stops at nothing to see this come to fruition, with anyone coming in his way seen as a threat that must be eliminated.
This is no doubt the more narrative driven of the three. The story is very funny, with animation reminiscent of Akira, which is to say that it’s beautiful, but looks lived in. The characters here are the most fleshed out of the three and the story is very memorable and probably the one that will entertain the audience the most. Great cinematography, strong character designs as well as mechanical designs are ripe in this brief, but highly entertaining short.

END
The camera zooms out, the red curtains close and the clown jumps out. The show is over. The girl from the first short, Sachi is standing there in the circus we left at the start with her cat. It seems that they too were watching the aforementioned shorts. The clown does a few tricks, conjures up a bunch of creepy looking monsters and they all dance to the fanfare as fireworks go off and the girl leaps into the clowns arms, overjoyed and full of happiness. The camera freeze-frames on her face as she smiles into the camera.
The camera further pans out as we see Sachi and her cat watching this all on a big 80’s TV while some laughs are heard in the distance. This could be seen as random for the sake of being so, but I actually think this may have a deeper meaning. This could be seen as a comparison to you the viewer who is also watching this on a TV, although a thinner and higher quality one I’d assume, drawing parallels between you and Sachi. I feel like the idea was that Rintaro was hoping that the viewer would channel some of Sachi’s imagination and inject it into their own world, but reminding them that this is just a film and they will sooner or later have to return back to reality.

Summary
In the end, these shorts are truly worth your time. They're short, but full of life with beautiful animation, imaginative characters and scenarios and a very fitting soundtrack. It's under 50 minutes for the whole lot, and there's a lot worse you could watch in that amount of time. Don't come here for the story, come here to be whisked away by a word full of excitement and imagination. As the poster for the theatrical release (which was shared with Silent Mobius: The Motion Picture as a double feature)states, Neo Tokyo...it's not just a city...it's a state of mind.
Beautiful animation
Great soundtrack
Short, straight to the point but also imaginative
Great character/mechanical designs
9/10
*This review is longer than I expected it to be, but I was listening to Gymnopédies No. 1 on loop during the whole thing, so that might have had an impact on things :p
 
M

Mothman91

Member
M0nochromatic said:
Hello Anime Gaf! I'm looking for any comedy or light hearted anime recommendations. I marathoned Nichijou before it was taken off Crunchyroll, and... that's really the only comedy anime I've watched.
Click to expand...

Barakamon.

I think it's more on the light hearted side but the comedy is in there for sure.
 
L

Lee Chaolan

Member
What are some other short episode anime other than Hetalia and Himegoto? Was kinda nice watching 4 minute episodes, I have a tendancy to drift away when attempting to binge full half hour episodes. Wondering if there's any other good ones on Crunchyroll or Funiapp?
 
J

Jarmel

Banned
You know what, I'm actually starting to get angry at how bad the writing is in Try.

Oh wow, this character is so important that nobody has brought him up or really interacted with him prior to this episode. Yet he's supposed to be the old rival. No, five second cameos in previous episodes don't count when the character is sulking in a corner. THE WRITERS DIDN'T SET ANY OF THIS UP. So now they have to cram his entire backstory into this episode because the directors and writers were too busy wasting episodes on the prelims instead of establishing important rival characters. Not to mention they do it in the most rote manner possible.
ibxsbGSgguypFN.jpg
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And oh wow what an amazing story it turns out to be. "I wanted to be stronger". Oh for fucks sake. This is just completely shallow, to the point of me just wanting to stop listen whenever he opens his mouth. I love how deranged they make whatshisname in the final shot too.
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In case you guys haven't realized, he's a bad man. They haven't put in any of the necessary character work for this to feel emotional at all.

The problem isn't just this arc but all of them at the national stage. The show wastes time on these extravagant two-parters but there's no character work for the side characters. Instead we just get tons of bloat to get to that cliffhanger. Hell there's barely any character work for members of Team Try. I mean when has Yuuma even said something of note? The only notable situation he's been in recently is being the damsel in distress.

Then I keep asking myself why the show has a team format? It's gotta be for the Gunpla sales, because it's sure not for any good narrative reason. Why we even have the teammates just literally standing there instead of trying to actively help their teammate in trouble.

At least the animation looks nice. Sometimes.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
Shinmai Maou no testament - 07

Well that was over quickly !!!!

Shinmai%20Maou%20no%20Testament%20-%2007.jpg

Oh a ray of light showed up at the most unexpected moment !!
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The guy that felt the most dangerous didn't lift a finger and the MC when haxxor level 3 times because ..... well because !!!

Next time : " Erotic Succubus out of control"

HUm i guess i'll watch next week episode then ...
 
M

Midonin

Member
Two Invasions and a Wedding (Zvezda OVA, Date a Live II OVA, Ika Musume OVA 3)

Idols! Dates! Police officers! A fun assortment of shows all around. I wish we had more Ika, especially if it meant a chance to see Keiko. In her one appearance, she made a strong impression - plus it has MiyuYayo attached to it. For the Kurumi OVA, while she's not my favorite girl in the series, this shows she does have a sincerely nice side of her... somewhere deep down. Wonder if this is going to factor into the upcoming movie in any way. As for Zvezda, Roboko remains great, and I realize just how different this is from Yatterman, even if they start with a baseline. Yatterman Night is being silly about serious things, while Zvezda was usually serious about silly things. Also, idols are still in - but Roboko's dance makes for a great way to end the episode.
 
I

Instro

Member
M0nochromatic said:
Hello Anime Gaf! I'm looking for any comedy or light hearted anime recommendations. I marathoned Nichijou before it was taken off Crunchyroll, and... that's really the only comedy anime I've watched.
Click to expand...

Off hand:

Azumanga Daioh
Princess Jellyfish
Dirty Pair(most of it anyway)
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu
Excel Saga
Yuyushiki
Lucky Star
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
Gundam Build Fighters Try 19

So Sekai trained in Guiana with his master.
Hmm that almost sounds familiar to another place a Gundam protag trained with their master. Might've been called Guyana, even?

Junya's gunpla was damn sexy. Might buy a kit of that.

Episode dragged in a few spots but the highlights were great.
But most importantly

FH46AHH.gif


DAT DEMPSEY ROLL SON

I can feel it. Next episode. Erupting Burning Finger.

----------------------------

javac said:
​
Neo Tokyo (Manie-Manie) is a compilation film consisting of 3 short little gems each directed by a different person. The film overall is pretty short, clocking in at just under 50 minutes, however in this short amount of time you’ll find yourself mesmerized by some of the most beautiful and spellbinding animation and choreography seen in anime, period.
Click to expand...

Hmm, nice post. May give these a watch sometime.

Jarmel said:
Devil Testament-7

QUALITY

https://data.archive.moe/board/a/image/1424/29/1424294117303.webm
Easily one of the worst animated fights I've seen in awhile. And that's pretty impressive. Bravo IMS.

giphy.gif
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At least it's better then that one from Soul Eater NOT! lol
 
M

M0nochromatic

Member
TUSR said:
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-Kun
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Puruzi said:
SABAGEBU
Click to expand...

Mature said:
Do as TUSR says.
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Envelope said:
Polar Bear Cafe
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki
Love Lab
Tekkyuu(????)
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Andrew J. said:
Excel Saga
Binbougami-ga!
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AquaWateria said:
Barakamon my friend.

Far better than Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun :)
Click to expand...

Mothman91 said:
Barakamon.

I think it's more on the light hearted side but the comedy is in there for sure.
Click to expand...

Instro said:
Off hand:

Azumanga Daioh
Princess Jellyfish
Dirty Pair(most of it anyway)
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu
Excel Saga
Yuyushiki
Lucky Star
Click to expand...

WOW. That's quite a list of recommendations! Thanks! I'll look through them and report back.
 
J

Jarmel

Banned
June said:
Red Dragon is getting an adaptation this summer and the studio is Silver Link: http://otakomu.jp/archives/226468.html

For those who want context this is an RP played/written by Nasu, Urobuchi, Narita, and some other dude.
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I must be mistranslating this. I can't find anything on the director and surely they didn't hire a roleplaying writer for the anime adaptation.

Edit: Apparently they are with Sho Aikawa assisting.
317.gif


2nd Edit: Wut? Sakimoto is composing? How in the fuck did they get him?
 
C

Clov

Member
Jarmel said:
So the director for Red Dragon seems to be Masato Matsune. This whole thing is just weird.
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Thought this was an anime version of that Hannibal Lector movie when I saw the title. That's just how tired I am right now.

It sounds like it might be interesting, so I'll give it a watch. I wonder how that director will do, though?
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
John Blade said:

Just got my recent catch. The complete You`re under arrest season 1 TV series, the movie, and the Japanese live action show (for free). Miss the short mini series sale. Still, a show I am kinda interested and trying to get them in my collection so I can start watching them.
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If macodin was still around, he'd be proud. lol
 
C

cajunator

Banned
John Blade said:

Just got my recent catch. The complete You`re under arrest season 1 TV series, the movie, and the Japanese live action show (for free). Miss the short mini series sale. Still, a show I am kinda interested and trying to get them in my collection so I can start watching them.
Click to expand...

Excellent choice. You are on a roll!

M0nochromatic said:
Hello Anime Gaf! I'm looking for any comedy or light hearted anime recommendations. I marathoned Nichijou before it was taken off Crunchyroll, and... that's really the only comedy anime I've watched.
Click to expand...

Binbougami Ga
Sabagebu
Love Lab
Nozaki kun
B Gata H Kei

Ventara said:
Ben-To Episodes 1-6

Man, what did I watch? lol Anyways, I like it. The absurdity of how serious the characters are and the fact that they're fighting over half-priced lunch sets is hilarious. Outside that, this is a nice comedy/harem (kinda) anime. This 6 episodes seemed to be a complete story arc, so I'm looking forward to see what the rest of the episodes will be.
Click to expand...

Have you chosen your queen yet?
better be Ice Queen

chu~
 
X

/XX/

Member
Jarmel said:
Can someone verify or debunk this rumor?
Click to expand...
@liborek3 watched live the streaming event (http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv208382116) where it was said, and also mentioned that quote himself:

リボレクさん on Twitter: "13000 animation drawings for episode 1...."
https://twitter.com/liborek3/status/566925175082713089

Mature said:
I believe Angel Beats ep.1 had 12k drawings?
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11000. One that featured as many animation sheets as 12000 (in totally a unrequited effort at that) was Kannagi's 2nd episode episode worked on by Seiya Numata.
 
P

phaze

Member
Naruto Shippuden 400

There's apparently a limit to the amount of flagellation I'm willing to subject myself to and this has exceeded it by far.


Boogiepop Phantom 01
001382x3kwd.png
Click to expand...

Welp. If this show isn't a one way ticket to the mindfuckland then I don't know what is.

So far it's like a mix of Lain, maybe Parasyte and uhhh Sailor Moon ? That's the vibe I got from what I assume is the titular phantom.
 
J

Jarmel

Banned
/XX/ said:
@liborek3 watched live the streaming event (http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv208382116) where it was said, and also mentioned that quote himself:
Click to expand...

Thanks. I don't know why they went Jerusalem though for research. Seems like they should have gone to New York.

I'm also a bit surprised that the song in the PV is from the soundtrack. I thought for sure that was going to be the opening theme. Looks like they're going for vocal jazz instead of just instrumentals.
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
Seakano - 05

About to drop it ... while kato is a nice character overall , the rest of the cast just isn't on par..it's like they want to do drama , but then retract that idea at the last moment
*
I'm tired of this

Saekano%20-%2005.jpg

Saved for any future Sao discussion.
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