Part of the character cast reminds me of Another for some reason, or at least the female characters do. Choosing an Annabel song even and that bloodiness.
Will probably watch like the male character designs and what seems to be magicks?
Ugh. At least the larger plot threads seem to be building somewhere interesting, but the moment-to-moment interactions are tough to watch. I hate how Urobuchi writes academic discussion. The small bit of it in Madoka was bad enough, but it was tiny. This sort of shit is longer and more painful.
It's especially difficult coming directly from that long stretch in Kyougokudou's house during Mouryou no Hako, where something similar was done so much better. That's because Kyougokudou, even when he was dealing with difficult subjects and had to rely heavily on other sources, never let them stand in the way of his own ideas and conclusions. His intellectual mind drove the discussion, and you could see in retrospect how he set the terms to control the discussion. They built towards something.
In Psycho-Pass, the discussions don't build anywhere. They're driven by quotes hanging in an empty void, disconnected. When quotes are used that way in discussion (especially when they're used that way), it's an empty gesture to give an uneducated audience the appearance of intelligence. It's a facade, an elaborate projection meant to hide that the man behind the curtain hardly knows anything. For me, it'd have been better if there were no quotes at all. They draw my attention to the problem instead of distracting from it.
If he actually had any intelligence, he would use his own words to critique or mock the system, instead of borrowing from centuries-old authors.
So many twists and turns. Really huge payoff for everything coming together in such a marvelous and brilliant fashion. The episode actually stayed on my mind the whole night and now morning too.
Kimijima Kou's appearance with the irl Airi and then blasting those bullets was as intense as Frau being saved by Nae as well as Misa slashing those robots. Dont know how Kai will find away to get them out of this situation and onto that plan and he must feel so angry at himself for unleashing all the reports. I think that was the most intense moment just the realization at the mistake he made regarding that. If only they could go back in time. Ah and the mini black holes on Earth thing they want to do combined with the piece of info from the final Gunvarell episode, just so many things made it interesting.
I wonder if in a future series (I assume they will do another in this franchise?), if one will focus solely at people at SERN/Committee of 300?
This is entirely possible ..but they probably won't. if they continue with a ";" serie , it 'll be again some sci-fi science stuff with the committee being the scenes.
With some delicious dodgeflight animation and clothes destroyed by acid...
More characters get some screen time and sasami mom get some develloppement at the most unexpected time.
But it's shaft ... and i was expecting a twist ... i got it it was great !
Wow I started watching this on Tuesday and it is now Friday.
The main reason I found this hard to watch was the simple fact that this episode did an excellent job at making me realise that I'm not giving one shit about the prospect of Sakuraso burning down to the ground, infact this episode did a brillaint job at me supporting the notion. The reasoning behind why it's being pushed forward is hilarious and Ryonouske with the home truths with no solid retorts yet they felt the need to give him a "depressing" backstory to make him change his mind. ¬_¬
This was the only good part of the episode, it at least made me feel something... which I'm sure was a breaking sound, I may have to go get that checked out.
Ugh.. these quote dropping so freaking annoying, this not how you writing for television media, its a shame the actual story subject actually interesting enough but its just fall flat in execution for the medium.
I starting to believe Gen are better when he writing in clear restriction, like rules and subject in other people work like F/Z, his doujin VN etc. No, I'm wrong.. its better if you can give him subject that wouldn't make him fall into his own nerdgasm.
That said, I'll like it to read this as writing medium.. its fun enough nerd fanfict to me.
Blending this with shit production value, directing that without focus, make it even more unbearable.
Jack Kevorkian asked "Am I a criminal? The world knows I'm not a criminal. What are they trying to put me in jail for? You've lost common sense in this society" The world of Psycho Pass has lost their common sense because they have let the system do the thinking for them. And they are willing to treat people as criminals based of calculations rather than results. Of course "society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top." as said by Edward Abbey, which would explain why those with a clouded hue were able to cause chaos so easily because the society was happy to go about it's business for so long that it didn't need to think. They assumed they could just leave it on the boil and nothing could go wrong and so no one saw that "layer of scum" forming. Muhammad Yunus summed it up perfectly when he said they "have created a society that does not allow opportunities for those people to take care of themselves because we have denied them those opportunities." because this clearly shows I'm talking out of my arse and hoping plucking random quotes makes me look intelligent.
Jack Kevorkian asked "Am I a criminal? The world knows I'm not a criminal. What are they trying to put me in jail for? You've lost common sense in this society" The world of Psycho Pass has lost their common sense because they have let the system do the thinking for them. And they are willing to treat people as criminals based of calculations rather than results. Of course "society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top." as said by Edward Abbey, which would explain why those with a clouded hue were able to cause chaos so easily because the society was happy to go about it's business for so long that it didn't need to think. They assumed they could just leave it on the boil and nothing could go wrong and so no one saw that "layer of scum" forming. Muhammad Yunus summed it up perfectly when he said they "have created a society that does not allow opportunities for those people to take care of themselves because we have denied them those opportunities." because this clearly shows I'm talking out of my arse and hoping plucking random quotes makes me look intelligent.
Ugh.. these quote dropping so freaking annoying, this not how you writing for television media, its a shame the actual story subject actually interesting enough but its just fall flat in execution for the medium.
It's not how you write for any medium, let alone TV.
You can only get away with this kind of thing if you're Stephen Fry or someone of similarly vast intelligence, using it to make you sound witty and urbane. The writing in Pyscho-Pass is... not those things.
It's not how you write for any medium, let alone TV.
You can only get away with this kind of thing if you're Stephen Fry or someone of similarly vast intelligence, using it to make you sound witty and urbane. The writing in Pyscho-Pass is... not those things.
But in the words of Pablo Picasso, "Good artists borrow, great artists steal." And is Psycho-Pass not art? I guess, as Newton said, we are all "dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants." And those giants deserve their due.
When I rewatched it, during the beginning part I think that's what
Rika was going to say, or at least that's what Kodaka thinks she was going to say. They got all fired up about making friends and she just sighed, like it was so obvious.
I dunno - I think that cover works quite well at making you uncomfortable. The unseen male figure resting his hand on the chair and the blank look on whatshername's face are anything but titillating.
I could do without the "look up her skirt!!!!!" shot, but otherwise I think it conveys the correct tone admirably.
It basically all comes down to the "look up her skirt!" shot. If she were sitting normally, I think it'd be much more congruous with the tone of the show.
Note: For anyone who may be following my comments, I'm not one to marathon shows so usually I'll probably only watch one episode a day at maximum or if I'm busy with other things I might not watch a subsequent episode until a few days later. Since the show is possibly rather straightforward I may also watch an episode and not really have anything to post. I was also planning on watching this soon anyway so the recent PreCure conversation in the thread was really a non influencing factor.
Also Note: For reference I've seen about the first half of the first PreCure, all of Smile PreCure! and all currently aired episodes of Doki Doki PreCure!
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Cure Happy! -I mean, Cure Blossom!
Look at all those flowers as well! If they were roses you'd almost think Ikuhara was here.
The first episode gets off to a good start with a very nicely animated fight piece between the characters Cure Moonlight and some female working for the shows villainous group. It adds the double hook of introducing a bit of a mystery such as why they're fighting and what will happen due to the subsequent fallout of their battle. With how the show opens I see now how Doki Doki PreCure's initial opening has some parallels with Heartcatch.
Cure Moonlight being voiced by Aya Hisakawa(Ami/Sailor Mercury in Sailor Moon and Miki in Utena) was a nice surprise for me personally. She's now been in two shows that Umakoshi has been involved with, voicing Sonia in Saint Seiya Omega being the other. I also noticed Nana Mizuki voices the shows main character Tsubomi.
The show certainly seems to be going with a flower motif with Tsubomi's name being Hanasaki, her having floral hair pins, being interested in flowers and her family running a flower shop combined with her name being Cure Blossom. Then there is also the symbolism later where people have inner flowers representing the their heart.
Tsubomi seems to be the first shy or more introverted main character I've seen as far with PreCure! All the others are much more friendly and outgoing so that was an interesting change. I'm not sure what to think of Erika yet. How she butted in to Tsubomi's introduction reminded me somewhat of Akane from Smile in how she tries to help out Miyuki when she was fumbling with her introduction. I liked how she has these sparkling eye's often times when viewing Tsubomi and some of her antics were pretty amusing but at the same time her loud, in your face and do whatever she wants forward type attitude was kind of annoying at times too. I did feel bad for her the couple times she looks a bit sad, such as when everyone leaves her fashion club or Tsubomi tells her off shortly thereafter for example.
Obviously these contrasting personality types are intentional though as it's a rather now basic but still highly effective method of character interaction and development. One being more shy and the other being more outgoing will allow them to play off of one another in more of a straight man, funny man type routine I suppose. Erika will help Tsubomi to be more outgoing and Tsubomi will help Erika to maybe settle down a bit and think of others. The story will probably show how these two seemingly opposites will come to develop into the best of friendships.
Speaking of Erika and her antics with Tsubomi, the reaction faces and poses in this episode are amazing! Just in this first episode alone one could fill up a file folder of all kinds of different reaction shots and faces.(This is also making me want to bump Doremi up my watch list.) The little joke moments were pretty amusing as well, such as Tsubomi looking busty around Sasorina with the fairies. The fact that she was more upset at the fact that Tsubomi was busty rather than being suspicious was even more funny. Mascots have a thing for falling out of the sky and crashing into the main heroine too don't they? The lively and dynamically animated movements made the episode all quite eye pleasing to watch overall.
I didn't think I would see a busty joke in a PreCure show.
Along the lines of eye pleasing are the eye catches in the middle portion of the show. The fact that there are a variety of pictures that are flipped through makes the eye catches quite...eye catching, haha. Also eye catching was Tsubomi's transformation into Cure Blossom in the latter part of the episode. The general ending of the first episode of Heartcatch also seems to have some parallels with Doki Doki's first.
I'm really more ambivalent to the monster or Desertrian as they're called. I don't really hate the design but I'm not really that interested either. Honestly the voice work for it is pretty annoying I found personally though. Maybe a bit too high pitched or whiny sounding.
I quite like Umakoshi's character designs but I'm not sure how they translate over into the shows CG dance ending. I wasn't a big fan of Smile's ending at first either and that came to quite grow on me so we'll see. It is kind of interesting how in this shows ending the girls actually start out in their school uniforms, then they are in casual clothes and then finally in their PreCure outfits. Not all the girls are present yet either so that will cause some changes to the ending as well I assume.
All in all a pretty good first episode for this show and I look forward to the next.
The way the fairies were mentioning looking for Cure Flower, I thought it was meant that Tsubomi would be Cure Flower but instead they mentioned she needed to come up with a name and she became Cure Blossom instead. I wonder who Cure Flower is then?
How different is Precure Max Heart and SplashStar from the first Precure? Does it go wildly into a different direction or feel similar due to having the same original two characters?
I seem to recall Gunslinger girl being marketed much more maturely in the past. It wasnt just "omg girls with guns" or at least I dont remember it being like that. Noir was sort of marketed like that though.
they sponsor visas. Anyone here who speaks Japanese looking to get into Japan might be interested. the work sounds boring but if you're a fan of anime, you might like it.
When I rewatched it, during the beginning part I think that's what
Rika was going to say, or at least that's what Kodaka thinks she was going to say. They got all fired up about making friends and she just sighed, like it was so obvious.
I think two bits of it have been shown so far at festivals - Otomo's and Morita's. Don't quote me on this but I don't think Hajime Katoki and Hiroaki Ando's shorts have been shown anywhere else yet (or the Morimoto opening). But that may be wrong!
In light of all the talk focusing in on Toradora lately, I decided to finally give it a look. I had an enjoyable time watching it (so much that I watched it in its entirety in the space of a couple of days), though I do have some misgivings with saying that it was anything other than decent.
It's not the plot contrivances themselves that I particularly have a problem with; it's more the resulting shifts that they seem to usher in. The characters never really felt well developed, and more often than not, a big set-piece moment usually dictated how everyone would act. It wasn't so much the characters dictating the plot, as it was, the plot dictating the characters. In that respect, they seemingly had no agency over their actions. Maybe that is a little reductive of me, but when the basis of your show is almost exclusively on the close-knit relationships of your core protagonists, I want to believe that their interactions are genuine. I mean, that's what we're here for, right? A suspension of disbelief within our fiction? At almost every turn Toradora was breaking that immersion, and I was viewing the plot developments in simple binary terms.
But maybe this is an issue of adaptation, seeing as this is all taken from the original light novels. Not that I profess to hold much (if any) prior knowledge of these, though for the entirety of these to be truncated into these 25 episodes, I'd be surprised if no concessions were made. And in that regard, I'd be curious to hear the opinion of someone who has read them, as I'd like to know if the same issues exist within the source material.
Seeing as this series is much vaunted, I was expecting it to side-step the typical clichés and gimmicks that are commonly used to elicit drama. Unfortunately, I didn't really find this to be the case, and it was often an exercise in frustration. This didn't just arise out of characters simply misinterpreting one another; rather, they seldom act like human. As mentioned, a lot of which seemed to arise out of contrivances to drive the plot forward. Seeing as the cast is comprised almost entirely of teenagers, I understand how this could lend one a little artistic license with how they behave, but even working within that vagueness, it's still something that felt egregious to me. Bi-polar shouldn't be your default personality.
This isn't me saying everything has to be bleedingly realistic, just that I like things to keep some sense of cohesion between episodes. I often felt as though the dramatic moments would have been much more effective, if they weren't immediately undercut with something trivial. With that said, I think I would be doing Toradora a disservice to describe it any plain terms simply as a comedy, because that is rarely the focus. That is clearly on the romance aspect of the genre, and given the shows tendency to veer off into the deeply melodramatic, you'd think that the comedy elements would offer up some sort of respite. If anything, it all just served to contribute to the overriding feeling of tonal dissonance in my own mind.
The culture festival arc was a cacophony of melodrama, and probably the biggest culprit of this. Up until that point, It felt like a relatively good balance had been maintained in the overall tone, but from here on, it became noticeably skewed. Characters were suddenly bubbling with emotion, not that theyd explain any of this to each other. "Minori, why are you so angry about Ryuujis assertions towards Taigas dad?" The answer to which, is something that is withheld from us. There is simply no discernible reason, as to why the characters wouldn't just simply rectify the problem that instant. Though its apparent that all of this functions as the trigger for the ensuing conflict, its still insulting to the audiences intelligence, especially when you consider a lot of the drama relies on similarly flimsy pretences. The suspension of disbelief on which most of this hinges, is disproportionate.
Not that I want my opinion to be perceived as a wholly negative one, because there were aspects that I did enjoy about it. Even if the principle cast were working in the shadows of familiar archetypes, they often showed glimpse of nuance that betray this fact. And by in large, I did like the majority of the ensemble, (though they were some notable exceptions). I think the quieter moments are where the episodes generally thrive, and much of this is down to the two leads. They are certainly likeable, and their chemistry drove me on to finish the remaining episodes. Though, surprisingly, I found Ami to be my favourite character.
This was probably in no small part to her periphery status in the main romance plot. Free of those constraints, she is the least susceptible to wild characterization. She also undergoes the most apparent arc. Her measured interjections always serve as a nice juxtaposition to the surrounding craziness, and its nice to see the subtle way in which she adapts these as the series move forward. She is an emotionally distant character, who is notable for rarely being explicit in her feelings. Her dialogue foreshadows a lot of the developments before others realize, and in this way, its fitting that she floats in and out of the narrative. Her observations make it impossible for her to remain passive in the face of their mistakes. And if the basis of many of my issues lie with the how the often haphazardly act, I think Ami's goal of just wanting to be accepted by someone, is something much easier to empathize with.
And its that sort of empathy which is solely lacking in most of the other ongoing threads. I felt like certain characters never really had all that much development, and were simply defined in how they serviced the melodrama. Kitamura was a particularly egregious example of this, existing as the object of affection, whilst simultaneously being one of the blandest characters. A "Gary-Stu" in every sense, his endearment was an entirely informed trait, and I resented his presence all the more for it. His own dedicated tale suffered from feeling wholly artificial, and dragged down the pacing significantly. Though he was clearly a device to facilitate the primary relationship, it doesn't mean that he should be devoid of any real personality.
We shouldn't feel empathy because the situation dictates it; our investment with the characters should achieve that. It is something that becomes an all too familiar pattern by the time Minori becomes the focus, as you find yourself praying for normality. Instead of dealing with the crux of the matter, everyone bumbles about, acting out against perceived slights. It's only at the end of this, does it feel like the show regains its earlier composure. It's an unfortunate middle-act, and where most of my disappointment lies.
The ending was certainly expected, but it felt like is pre-ordained, rather than a juncture that the Taiga and Ryuuji reached naturally. The whole trajectory of the show was clearly to achieve this result, so why does it feel like its a decision the show rushes us into? Their goals where to confess their true feelings for their respective crushes, and though this course doesn't run smoothly, its not as though that they ever resolve these feelings. The subject of a love-triangle is broached, but I found that a disconcerting consensus is reached, particularly in the case of Ryuuji. This is someone who we are led to believe harboured a crush for Minori a year prior to the series, and yet in the final act these feelings suddenly dissipate. Even if the show takes great pain in depicting Taiga as the one, does it ever feel natural that itd supersede this love so suddenly? The audience is privy to this budding relationship from the start; after all, it is the whole point of the series. And from the 25 episodes which we see this develop, it still feels like its contrived in its execution. Still, it's difficult not to root for any particular outcome, seeing as most of the characters often seem intent on dragging their feet in the most blatant ways imaginable. The noble-sacrifices committed by everyone sort of become a running-joke in itself; how many times can people step-aside from their own happiness?
Putting that gripe aside, the series does tackle the most mature issues as it closes out, and I found myself lamenting a similarly deft touch with earlier episodes. I appreciated how the familial aspect of the romance was taken into consideration here, and these were the most emotionally resonant moments for me. It was great to see that it underlined how successful Ryuuji and Yasukos relationship was, in spite of it flying in the face of normal social conventions. Its admirable that they dont feel the need to adhere to any expectations in this regard, and it was heartening to see this solidified in the finale. This is used to form the spine of how the ending plays out, which initially seems to be heading towards an atypical happy ending. I was anticipating Taiga to elope with Ryuuji, which would have been an overly saccharine ending. So it was pleasing to see that there was a thoughtful bent underpinning this entire development, which questioned their decisions every step of the way. I appreciate the sentiment of the ending, particularly with how it addresses Taiga's behaviour, (and in turn, tsunderes) and how it is entirely unhealthy, and isn't at all conducive to a healthy relationship. Yes, the way in which this outcome is reached (leaving for a year with nothing but a note?) is silly for the sake of trying to wring yet more emotion out its audience; But the conclusion is still a refreshing one.
Aesthetically, the show was always pleasant to look at. Particularly the eyes, which were exploited to elicit a whole heap of emotion out the characters. Which I think it does deserve credit for, as it could have feasibly fell down on this aspect alone. For as much as I may gripe about the particulars of the feelings being exhibited, they were certainly expressed with aplomb. And whilst on the subject of expression, there was also a noticeable animation shift whenever a particularly frantic scene took place. It was a little strange at first, but I think it worked in favour of the what was being conveyed, as it was fitting that the fight scenes felt so aggressive, in comparison to the a style that typically is quite subdued in movement.
Summary: I came into this wanting to like, especially in the light of all the good will it seems to have garnered. And with all that has been said, I did enjoy it, I just wasn't enamoured with it. I guess I like what it's trying to do, just not in the way it attempts to do it. Likeable elements, buried amidst the familiar constraints of the genre.
I don't want this to sound overly negative; it's just that I wanted to verbalize my problems with it, particularly as those who like it are so especially vocal. I at least felt I owed some explanation, pass a dismissive Eh, it was okay.
So I wonder if Toradora just leaves everyone who watches it a broken mess. ;_;
Majestic Prince got a revamp for their official site, and the broadcast date has been announced. It will air on Tokyo MX from 4/4 at 10:30pm. Respectable time slots for respectable shows!
Hirai has got to be trolling us with those character designs. I'm not even sure that it's possible communicate just how terrible those look, and I'm not even someone who has had any particular problem with this work in the past.
