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Winter Anime 2017 |OT| John Wick cleaning up KyoAni's mess

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Quasar

Member
nah, horror shonen with a lot of well done cliffhangers.

there are only 32 chapters out right now, so if you are bored I would recommend giving it a read.

I meant more in terms of bad relationships alluded to upthread. I'm still pretty horrified by where Magicians went given my childhood love of Narnia.
 
Tales of Zestiria 24

OMG I can't wait ONE MONTH! THAT ENDING!!! HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIT!! OH MAN! SOREY! MY MAN SOREY!! MAGICAL BOY SOREY FULLLLLL POWAAAAAAH!!! Oh man Sorey is way too cool....I'm crying. Anime Sorey is offcially best Sorey...he just went full Jesus mode....!!!!!!
 
KiraKira Precure A La Mode 01

Cure Whip is surprisingly competent for her first battle. A La Mode isn't as expressive as Heartcatch but it's still early.
 
It's apparently one of those "looks innocent and nice but is actually really fucked up and dark" kind of shows.

I don't mind it going dark, the PV made it seem like it wouldn't just be a light and fluffy adventure. But it needs to go the right amount. It can't go from that PV to Shadow the Edgehog. But, I guess I'll find out from watching the show unless someone wants to spoil me and see if i want to avoid it.
 

duckroll

Member
Still waiting for that Godzilla trailer :(

We probably won't get one until later this year since there wasn't one at Anime Japan. The video they ended up playing at the booth was the introduction of the character designs and their respective VAs apparently. Maybe it's not ready to be shown yet.
 

duckroll

Member
A Silent Voice

This was a pretty hard film to watch at times. There are a lot of moments which will hit really close to home for anyone who has bullied, experienced bullying, or engaged in cliques when they were teenagers. The way the story captures the imperfections and ugly sides of childhood is really raw and pretty powerful. What it ends up saying with all that is even more impactful because it doesn't provide a real moral or solution or lesson other than expressing that sometimes we have to accept that things cannot be perfect and all fixed, and just try our best to work around it.

It's not a perfect film though. I felt the opening moments were really rough. The direction was kinda erratic and there wasn't any good momentum until it started properly after the OP. The pre-OP and OP were really odd choices to open the film with because they felt totally out of place and got in the way of framing the narrative in an informative way. It almost made the film feel like a clipshow edit movie for a TV series instead. I'm also not a fan of how Yamada kept using that camera pan upwards to empty sky with lensflare shot. It felt like she used it 600 times in the film. Every other transition! The pacing in the film was strange too, since the story is very dense. They distilled a lot into the film, and packed them into story vignettes that sometimes lacked connective tissue or proper time lapses. That also contributed to parts feeling like it was an edited compilation of a longer series. Being bombarded by dense storytelling this way also made the film feel like it was 5 hours long.

Those flaws aside though, wow, what a story. It's impossible for me not to appreciate what they set out to do here and what they accomplished. This isn't an easy feel good gimme story about a boy who bullies a handicap girl and then regrets it only to reconnect years later and make it up to her. This is an uncomfortable and somewhat traumatic story about the challenges of communication, how young people can fail utterly at expressing themselves, and the barriers and perceptions we build up around ourselves to shield ourselves from the painful possibilities of reality. Nishimiya being deaf is simply one of several vehicles the film uses as a barrier. It is clearly the main one, but the difficulty of understanding what people mean and what they intent is a theme that carries through for all the characters regardless of handicap. I can safely say that out of all the characters in the film, the only one I liked was Nagatsuka. Honest, direct, and the most grounded of the lot. Kawai is probably the most detestable anime character I've seen in a while. Yet with all their imperfections, the dynamics created in the film make it all work. There is beauty in the ugliness, when put together, and when forced to be together. That in a nutshell, is human society.

I like Kyoto Animation best when they challenge themselves to make films about human relationships told with sharp direction and stunning character animation. I don't care much for their action/fanservice/whatever/DTL shows. A Silent Voice is probably one of the better ones. I'll sooner rewatch Tamako Love Story than this, because it is happier and more digestible, but in terms of thematic success, this is maybe their strongest work since Hyouka.
 

Aki-at

Member
Classicaloid - 24

The one anime I didn't expect to
have a twist actually had a twist.

Liked this episode a lot more than last week's but still the show doesn't work as well as a rolling narrative, its strongest when it focuses on the random adventures of the group.

We probably won't get one until later this year since there wasn't one at Anime Japan. The video they ended up playing at the booth was the introduction of the character designs and their respective VAs apparently. Maybe it's not ready to be shown yet.

Yeah I guess, well November is a long time away and Shin didn't get it's first proper trailer until 3 months before release. Guess we'll have to wait a while before we see anything.
 

jman2050

Member
A Silent Voice

This was a pretty hard film to watch at times. There are a lot of moments which will hit really close to home for anyone who has bullied, experienced bullying, or engaged in cliques when they were teenagers. The way the story captures the imperfections and ugly sides of childhood is really raw and pretty powerful. What it ends up saying with all that is even more impactful because it doesn't provide a real moral or solution or lesson other than expressing that sometimes we have to accept that things cannot be perfect and all fixed, and just try our best to work around it.

Oh hey someone else actually understood what the story was trying to do, that's a welcome change from the frustrations I felt seeing how some people in the manga thread reacted to the latter end of the story.

You understandably singled out Kawai but I'm most curious whether they toned down Ueno's terribleness or not because wow was she a piece of work in the manga.
 

-Minsc-

Member
A Silent Voice

This was a pretty hard film to watch at times. There are a lot of moments which will hit really close to home for anyone who has bullied, experienced bullying, or engaged in cliques when they were teenagers. The way the story captures the imperfections and ugly sides of childhood is really raw and pretty powerful. What it ends up saying with all that is even more impactful because it doesn't provide a real moral or solution or lesson other than expressing that sometimes we have to accept that things cannot be perfect and all fixed, and just try our best to work around it.

It's not a perfect film though. I felt the opening moments were really rough. The direction was kinda erratic and there wasn't any good momentum until it started properly after the OP. The pre-OP and OP were really odd choices to open the film with because they felt totally out of place and got in the way of framing the narrative in an informative way. It almost made the film feel like a clipshow edit movie for a TV series instead. I'm also not a fan of how Yamada kept using that camera pan upwards to empty sky with lensflare shot. It felt like she used it 600 times in the film. Every other transition! The pacing in the film was strange too, since the story is very dense. They distilled a lot into the film, and packed them into story vignettes that sometimes lacked connective tissue or proper time lapses. That also contributed to parts feeling like it was an edited compilation of a longer series. Being bombarded by dense storytelling this way also made the film feel like it was 5 hours long.

Those flaws aside though, wow, what a story. It's impossible for me not to appreciate what they set out to do here and what they accomplished. This isn't an easy feel good gimme story about a boy who bullies a handicap girl and then regrets it only to reconnect years later and make it up to her. This is an uncomfortable and somewhat traumatic story about the challenges of communication, how young people can fail utterly at expressing themselves, and the barriers and perceptions we build up around ourselves to shield ourselves from the painful possibilities of reality. Nishimiya being deaf is simply one of several vehicles the film uses as a barrier. It is clearly the main one, but the difficulty of understanding what people mean and what they intent is a theme that carries through for all the characters regardless of handicap. I can safely say that out of all the characters in the film, the only one I liked was Nagatsuka. Honest, direct, and the most grounded of the lot. Kawai is probably the most detestable anime character I've seen in a while. Yet with all their imperfections, the dynamics created in the film make it all work. There is beauty in the ugliness, when put together, and when forced to be together. That in a nutshell, is human society.

I like Kyoto Animation best when they challenge themselves to make films about human relationships told with sharp direction and stunning character animation. I don't care much for their action/fanservice/whatever/DTL shows. A Silent Voice is probably one of the better ones. I'll sooner rewatch Tamako Love Story than this, because it is happier and more digestible, but in terms of thematic success, this is maybe their strongest work since Hyouka.

Oh, they made a movie of this. I read the manga on Crunchyroll, thought it was well done. It definitely does a good job showing how bullying effects both the bullied and the bully.
 

duckroll

Member
Oh hey someone else actually understood what the story was trying to do, that's a welcome change from the frustrations I felt seeing how some people in the manga thread reacted to the latter end of the story.

You understandably singled out Kawai but I'm most curious whether they toned down Ueno's terribleness or not because wow was she a piece of work in the manga.

I never read the manga, so I can't compare. Ueno is a bad person, but she is bad in an honest way. There is a scene in the film towards the middle/end where Ishida and Ueno are sitting together talking and he doesn't want to admit how they are very much alike. That defines her character for me there - she knows that deep down she and Ishida were the cool kids who were happy being popular and bullying those who stood out or created complications in their friendships. She also knows that was why it all fell apart. She wants things to just be simple again, but Ishida wants everyone to change and be better and happy together even though he himself hasn't changed much. He's struggling to be a better person, but still kinda sucks at it. She doesn't want to struggle at all but acknowledges that she's a bad person. I can understand that. I don't really respect it, and I think she's a bitch, but... that "baka" scene at the very end kinda won me over. T_T

Kawai on the other hand though? Fuck her and fuck her one thousand cranes. Selfish suck up who wants everyone to think the best of her and does anything kind simply out of self interest. Maybe I hate her so much because I actually knew someone like her in the past. :/
 

Cornbread78

Member
Chaika S2 ep.2
zMQPIlF.jpg
Looks like more red Chaika is on the way. They can have a little love spat over Taru. Story direction for S2 should be good with that in mind.
 
Oh hey someone else actually understood what the story was trying to do

now hang on, i understood what the story was trying to do but that doesn't justify the incredibly slow pace towards the end and things that are brought into the story that weren't needed since they're never used (SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA IDK IF THIS REMAINS IN THE MOVIE):
why does the mangaka constantly tease his former "friends"? he never confronts them, they never confront him, its completely pointless, if you're not going to do something with them why have them lingering about all the time?

Kawai on the other hand though? Fuck her and fuck her one thousand cranes. Selfish suck up who wants everyone to think the best of her and does anything kind simply out of self interest. Maybe I hate her so much because I actually knew someone like her in the past. :/

i agree, at least the other one acknowledged she's a bitch so at the very least i can respect that about her. kawai is the worst easily, sugar on top is that she never even grows as a character or at the very least admits that she's a brat if memory serves right.
 

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
Watching though Code Geass now, always nice to have Mech shows where the Mechs are more of a side thing, and aren't the show's focus (Like Escaflowne).

Show is a solid 8/10 so far. Finished season 1 last night, now working though season 2, on Episode 7 now.
 
Watching though Code Geass now, always nice to have Mech shows where the Mechs are more of a side thing, and aren't the show's focus (Like Escaflowne).

Show is a solid 8/10 so far. Finished season 1 last night, now working though season 2, on Episode 7 now.
That's because Code Geass isn't a show. It's an experience.
 

Sterok

Member
Little Witch Academia 12

Everyone is still licking Diana's boots. Really not feeling Ursula as a good teacher, even when Akko is making some progress. Akko impersonating Diana was funny, and aside from those two she did try to avoid causing trouble. If Diana knows she needs the Shiny Rod, she sure isn't acting on it. Akko keeps on getting motivations. She doesn't need more. Give her something else please.
 
Chaika S2 ep.2

Looks like more red Chaika is on the way. They can have a little love spat over Taru. Story direction for S2 should be good with that in mind.

It's a shame that S2 really falls apart by the end. IIRC they tried to time the end of the anime with the release of the final LN volume which is part of the reason why it feels rushed
 

Busaiku

Member
Why in the world would they bring up Yakumo being tbe dad.
This killed the episode and the finale.

Why did they not let it rest.

Augggh
 

kewlmyc

Member
It's a shame that S2 really falls apart by the end. IIRC they tried to time the end of the anime with the release of the final LN volume which is part of the reason why it feels rushed

They were going at a pace of 2 episodes per LN, which was working out. S1 followed the LN to a tee. Sadly, the second season only got 10 episodes. This would have still been salvageable since there's only 12 novels, so having 2 episodes per novel would have still put them in line with ending with the last novel. However, the second season started off with 3 episodes of anime original content, then decided to go back to following the novels, which lead to our rushed ending. Not sure what the writers and directors were thinking with that one.
 
it definitely ruined the finale for me. It was all I could think about. If they had kept it as "who really is the father? Because I don't think it's X!" and she had just said "oh it's a mystery I'll carry with me to my grave" it would have been fine.

But they had to go just that extra step too far.
 

kewlmyc

Member
Didn't ruin the finale for me either, but I can't see any scene with Yakumo and Kontasu in the same light anymore. Also puts Yakumo in a unnecessarily creepy light for all of the second season.
 

petran79

Banned
isn't this the case for 90% of all anime with a mostly female cast.

The fact that the Princess Maker video games got an adaptation catering to young girls, minus the more kinky and electra complex stuff, made me question the real intent of the producers.
Series (Princess Yucie) was great btw
 

Sterok

Member
Aikatsu Stars 49

Oh, so Koharu is still alive after all. I'm almost shocked. But of course she needed to cameo one last time. Yume gave her greatest performance yet. I'm not too big on her performances, but that was good. Of course, Hime is queen for a reason. No one else stood a chance. So that means current S4 won 3/4 of their matches. Not a good look for new S4, though Yuzu gets away with it since she's returning S4. But Mahiru is the real star of this S4. Overall a very emotional and satisfactory episode, which is a bit odd since it's all happy. Goes to show how much we grow to care about these idols over a year.
 
Gundam IBO 49

Gundam IBO is an odd show to me, because I think it does the big moments really really well. However the story and direction in between those big moments varies wildly in quality, and are generally divisive. That said, I can't help but feel pulled in by this show none the less.
 
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