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Winter Anime 2015 |OT| ZA WARUDO is not square!
- Thread starter Narag
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Aim for the Top! Gunbuster Ep. 1-3
This is a big one on my Pile of Shame. I know a few people who consider this one of their favorite anime of all time. I'm not well versed in the Super Robot genre in general, so I thought this would be a great place to give it a go.
There's a lot of interesting stuff here. The show was clearly produced with a lot of love from the design side. The mechanical design is amazing. I don't love all of it, but even the stuff I don't like I admire. All the ships and mechs look unique and interesting, yet they all have clear reasons for being designed how they are. It is somehow simultaneously over-the-top super robot and still feels grounded in reality. The world has been given equal attention. The show does a really great job taking advantage of the vastness of space. The stuff dealing with the repercussions of relativity is absolutely fascinating and I hope they explore it more.
One of the things I most admire about these first 3 episodes is the dedication the show has to the build up. It's amazing that half way through, we've yet to get a good glimpse of the enemies or even the main robot. They remain an enigma, and that builds their prestige. It really made the first major fight in episode 3 feel frightening and overwhelming. These attacking blurs that we have little clue what they are or where they're from carried a lot of impact.
The show isn't without its problems, though. The cast is pretty terrible. There's just nothing there yet. The main character is as bland as she could be and the supporting cast has nothing really to offer aside from some unique designs. It makes the drama hard to care about. The high school style drama in general just really falls flat for me. In the vastness of a terrifying space conflict, to care about who gets along with who and why doesn't really work, especially when I don't care about the cast. Perhaps that's the point. Showing the pettiness of our day-to-day conflicts in the vastness of the universe, but if that's the case it hasn't sold itself well on that front.
Which brings me to my main disappointment so far. The show isn't all that thematically daring or subversive. There isn't much to set it apart outside of its mechanical design and animation. Coming in with all these "one of the best of all time" reviews, I expected way more. To be among the top, I want a show to really try to push itself in some way that's beyond animation, and so far this hasn't done that. Perhaps that's just a huge side-effect of the build up heavy first half. I fully bet it is, but right now the show isn't anything all that special and that's making me a bit sad. I'm still excited to see where it goes, because it has potential to do something really interesting if it wants to.
This is a big one on my Pile of Shame. I know a few people who consider this one of their favorite anime of all time. I'm not well versed in the Super Robot genre in general, so I thought this would be a great place to give it a go.
There's a lot of interesting stuff here. The show was clearly produced with a lot of love from the design side. The mechanical design is amazing. I don't love all of it, but even the stuff I don't like I admire. All the ships and mechs look unique and interesting, yet they all have clear reasons for being designed how they are. It is somehow simultaneously over-the-top super robot and still feels grounded in reality. The world has been given equal attention. The show does a really great job taking advantage of the vastness of space. The stuff dealing with the repercussions of relativity is absolutely fascinating and I hope they explore it more.
One of the things I most admire about these first 3 episodes is the dedication the show has to the build up. It's amazing that half way through, we've yet to get a good glimpse of the enemies or even the main robot. They remain an enigma, and that builds their prestige. It really made the first major fight in episode 3 feel frightening and overwhelming. These attacking blurs that we have little clue what they are or where they're from carried a lot of impact.
The show isn't without its problems, though. The cast is pretty terrible. There's just nothing there yet. The main character is as bland as she could be and the supporting cast has nothing really to offer aside from some unique designs. It makes the drama hard to care about. The high school style drama in general just really falls flat for me. In the vastness of a terrifying space conflict, to care about who gets along with who and why doesn't really work, especially when I don't care about the cast. Perhaps that's the point. Showing the pettiness of our day-to-day conflicts in the vastness of the universe, but if that's the case it hasn't sold itself well on that front.
Which brings me to my main disappointment so far. The show isn't all that thematically daring or subversive. There isn't much to set it apart outside of its mechanical design and animation. Coming in with all these "one of the best of all time" reviews, I expected way more. To be among the top, I want a show to really try to push itself in some way that's beyond animation, and so far this hasn't done that. Perhaps that's just a huge side-effect of the build up heavy first half. I fully bet it is, but right now the show isn't anything all that special and that's making me a bit sad. I'm still excited to see where it goes, because it has potential to do something really interesting if it wants to.
I strongly disagree with that but I'll wait until I finish the show before doing a big write up.
The first half is kinda shit, so I can understand.
I can too but man, I can't think of a worse stopping point to reflect on things.
ZachDeKoromaru
Banned
can't truly write off until you see THE POSE.
In writing up old shows, breaking into halves or quarters is just a super easy way to break it up. Just ended up working against Gunbuster this time.
I haven't written off anything. Episodes 1-2 were pretty bad, but I'm already seeing the seams in Episode 3 where the show can explode into something great. How much I like that great thing and how much of there terrible first few episode I can forgive remains to be seen.
That's also the fun part of breaking reviews up this way.
Gunbuster starts with Hideaki Anno channeling Osamu Dezaki's style and flair for melodrama (particularly with the many transparent references to classic sports title Aim for the Ace!) and, speaking more broadly, combining lots of elements from what otaku found to be fashionable at the time. If you don't quite have similar sensibilities and an open mindset when approaching the series, you might well come out of the initial set of episodes with that sort of mixed to negative impression.
It's the rest of the show that makes Gunbuster shine, but as a fan of that kind of Dezaki melodrama, I will never say that the first episodes are bad, despite readily acknowledging they are clearly not for everyone.
It's the rest of the show that makes Gunbuster shine, but as a fan of that kind of Dezaki melodrama, I will never say that the first episodes are bad, despite readily acknowledging they are clearly not for everyone.
Crash Station
Member
Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha 1
Everything about the way this progresses is ridiculous. Starts off as your typical fake incest story before going nuts with a genre shift presented in a way I can only describe as "pure chuuni". There's no buildup for it and just unapologetically adds layers to the premise without a hint of cohesion.
Will keep up with it.
Everything about the way this progresses is ridiculous. Starts off as your typical fake incest story before going nuts with a genre shift presented in a way I can only describe as "pure chuuni". There's no buildup for it and just unapologetically adds layers to the premise without a hint of cohesion.
Will keep up with it.
Basileus777
Member
Having read some of the manga, this beginning is probably the most interesting part of it all. After this it becomes pretty standard fare.
ZachDeKoromaru
Banned
fluffy programmer secret best Golden Boy.
I detect bias!
You think?
I won't deny it, since Gunbuster represents a lot of what I enjoy about anime both past and present, but I do think there is value in having a mindset that is friendly towards the use of retro-style techniques in anime production, even if some of them have become inevitably dated in the eyes of a newer or simply more critical audience.
tbf 90's is a really mixed bag when it comes to chara designs, some are great and some are just awful.
p.s.
VOTOMS ep3
a distinct lack of Woodo's bitter coffee but next ep looks hype
Gunbuster is still top 5 mecha series at least IMO
fuck Diebuster
Basileus777
Member
Is this where we quote otaking?
Basileus777
Member
That's kind of how I feel about the entire franchise.
no oshii.
Femmeworth
Banned
General director and character designer: Kazuchika Kise
Director: Kazuya Nomura
Screenplay: Tow Ubukata
Animation director: Toru Okubo
Basileus777
Member
So we should expect more Arise.
Arise is also getting TVA series from April. Probably just rehash of the ones out.
Femmeworth
Banned
Going by the staff it's most likely a continuation of the Arise continuity, which I assume has not been good.
The background looks CG.
Fuck that shit if that is the case.
What is Oshii up to nowadays?
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Never have I gone from pure hype to zero in such a short time...
Ugh Arise was so darn bad.
Ugh Arise was so darn bad.
Doing the real life Patlabor stuff.
Basileus777
Member
Some Arise episodes have been decent, most have been mediocre bordering on poor.
Meh, seems like he is wasting his time.
Admiral Woofington
Member
you people and your fuwa fuwas.
SliceSabre
Banned
Considering GiTs isn't very good in the first place and is simply highly over-rated I don't see why anyone expected Arise to even be halfway decent or anything. I expect very little out of this movie.
~wan
~wan
Basileus777
Member
It has two excellent films, but the rest hasn't been great, so maybe you're right.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Hmmmm. Now I'm curious what's the top rated sci-fi anime. I mean I'm sure Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Yamato 2199 will be there.
Femmeworth
Banned
May you never lose that avatar.
i agree with this proposition
wrong Stand Alone Complex is probably better than your favourite Anime.
Steins Gate apparently. Though I guess it depends on how you define sci-fi.
SliceSabre
Banned
Kaiba will never be topped in my book.
Turn A Gundam 5
Claw machine prize
You know I really admire the fighting spirit of the Earthlings. Despite being vastly outmatched technologically they certainly haven't chosen to simply bend over and let the Moonrace take what they want and they actually see to think things through and plan despite all these disadvantages. That said there is something morbidly hilarious about a person with a hammer hitting a mobile suit. I'm curious to see if and when an anti-war faction begins to grow strength among the Earthlings.
~wan wan
Ah Okay that makes more sense simply changing the name to
limit of life
Xenoglossia.
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