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Winter-Spring 2014 Anime |OT3| People incapable of guilt usually do have a good time

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J

JoeFu

Banned
that third madoka movie... I see what everybody was talking about now. such a weird thing that probably didn't need to happen
 
D

darkblade77

Member
I don't put too much stock into ratings.

If a show manages to move me, connect with me on some level, or even titillate me, I consider it better than (percentage-from-my-ass)90% of other shows. And I know that's a pretty lenient way to judge things.

It seems mentally exhausting and masochistic to sit down and judge every show as an objective sum of its parts. Partly because that would bear out that the percentage of shows without value would escalate to something like (relative)99.9%, and that the process would lead me to dislike shows I once enjoyed. And partially that for all the lack of ability/foresight/planning/sheer luck that many of these shows that are 'objectively poorly-made' end up exemplifying, I would like to recognize that there are hundreds of man-hours and passion that went into them. I know that reviewing in general can end up recognizing this effort by placing the material under a microscope, and I respect the efforts of those who go the extra mile to make objective breakdowns of show material(especially the few in GAF), but by and large I feel focusing on this myself would instead have the opposite effect on me.

To me, if a creative work elicits an emotional response from me, or gets me invested, it's already passed a major hurdle that sets it apart from its peers. That's enough for me. And that stance doesn't jive all that well with ye olde 10-point review scale or 'objective quality' of creative material, so I can't put much stock into it.
 
D

Deputy Dangle

Member
Hidamari Sketch - 1-12 + Specials
iic1ByccsjBJi.JPG
Click to expand...

Fun show. Each of the four girls had a distinct enough personality that bounced well off of each other, which made the slice of life approach feel consistently pleasant and enjoyable for me. While all four were fun to watch together, Miya and Yuno were definite favorites. Their contrasting personalities of forward and outgoing vs shy and introverted as close friends became a strong highlight within the show's more relaxed atmosphere. If I had any complaints with how the cast was handled, I'd probably cut back on the Yoshinoya gags. She became a little too tiring near the end whereas the other side characters, like the Landlord and Natsume, got barely any screentime.

Its production may have also been a little on the cheap side, but I was able to get used to it rather quickly. Knowing that it does get better in that area has me looking forward to more, except for the real life objects. Those were always jarring.
 
S

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Deputy Dangle said:
Hidamari Sketch - 1-12 + Specials


Fun show. Each of the four girls had a distinct enough personality that bounced well off of each other, which made the slice of life approach feel consistently pleasant and enjoyable for me. While all four were fun to watch together, Miya and Yuno were definite favorites. Their contrasting personalities of forward and outgoing vs shy and introverted as close friends became a strong highlight within the show's more relaxed atmosphere. If I had any complaints with how the cast was handled, I'd probably cut back on the Yoshinoya gags. She became a little too tiring near the end whereas the other side characters, like the Landlord and Natsume, got barely any screentime.

Its production may have also been a little on the cheap side, but I was able to get used to it rather quickly. Knowing that it does get better in that area has me looking forward to more, except for the real life objects. Those were always jarring.
Click to expand...

Oh man, you are gonna be blown away by the first episode of x365. The difference is immediately noticeable. It looks so much better.
 
H

Hitokage

Setec Astronomer
How you quantify how much you like or dislike a show, or how you quantify how good or bad something is both leave a lot of wiggle room. It's just kind of silly, for one, to be given a range to work with and only use one end of it.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
darkblade77 said:
I don't put too much stock into ratings.

If a show manages to move me, connect with me on some level, or even titillate me, I consider it better than (percentage-from-my-ass)90% of other shows. And I know that's a pretty lenient way to judge things.

It seems mentally exhausting and masochistic to sit down and judge every show as an objective sum of its parts. Partly because that would bear out that the percentage of shows without value would escalate to something like (relative)99.9%, and that the process would lead me to dislike shows I once enjoyed. And partially that for all the lack of ability/foresight/planning/sheer luck that many of these shows that are 'objectively poorly-made' end up exemplifying, I would like to recognize that there are hundreds of man-hours and passion that went into them. I know that reviewing in general can end up recognizing this effort by placing the material under a microscope, and I respect the efforts of those who go the extra mile to make objective breakdowns of show material(especially the few in GAF), but by and large I feel focusing on this myself would instead have the opposite effect on me.

To me, if a creative work elicits an emotional response from me, or gets me invested, it's already passed a major hurdle that sets it apart from its peers. That's enough for me. And that stance doesn't jive all that well with ye olde 10-point review scale or 'objective quality' of creative material, so I can't put much stock into it.
Click to expand...

Yup.
this is how I gave Yami a 10/10
 
N

nintendoman58

Member
CorvoSol said:
Would you believe the film's handling of it is the exact opposite of the TV series' handling of it? In the TV show Hikaru strings Misa and Minmay along for years after Minmay has strung him along for a long time and that kiss she has with her brother? That's a full-fledged relationship in the show that also gets drug out for YEARS.

I loved DYRL for cleaning that mess up so well.
Click to expand...

Seriously? That's crazy. Almost like an entirely different show.

R_thanatos said:
question for those who have seen the madoka movies , if i have seen the TV show , watching the third movie is fine , right ? or is there something in movie 1 or 2 that is required ?
Click to expand...

DON'T DO IT. If you fell in love with the original series, then DO NOT WATCH THE THIRD MOVIE.
 
D

dimb

Bjergsen is the greatest midlane in the world
darkblade77 said:
It seems mentally exhausting and masochistic to sit down and judge every show as an objective sum of its parts.
Click to expand...
No, it's fun.

It's okay to say something was just alright or bad in spots. That doesn't mean it is completely void of merit.
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
I've only read spoilers about what happens in the movie and that was enough for me to stay the fuck away. Urobutcher doesn't butcher just the characters. He also butchers the last glimmer of hope I had for the series
 
J

JCG

Member
Honestly, at this point I'd only tell people to watch the third Madoka movie when they actually make yet another sequel (a season two or a movie four) that will make all this messing around seem worthwhile, or at least that's what I hope for. If they really wanted an excuse to continue profiting from this property, then they'd better do something else with it.
 
J

jman2050

Member
darkblade77 said:
I don't put too much stock into ratings.

If a show manages to move me, connect with me on some level, or even titillate me, I consider it better than (percentage-from-my-ass)90% of other shows. And I know that's a pretty lenient way to judge things.

It seems mentally exhausting and masochistic to sit down and judge every show as an objective sum of its parts. Partly because that would bear out that the percentage of shows without value would escalate to something like (relative)99.9%, and that the process would lead me to dislike shows I once enjoyed. And partially that for all the lack of ability/foresight/planning/sheer luck that many of these shows that are 'objectively poorly-made' end up exemplifying, I would like to recognize that there are hundreds of man-hours and passion that went into them. I know that reviewing in general can end up recognizing this effort by placing the material under a microscope, and I respect the efforts of those who go the extra mile to make objective breakdowns of show material(especially the few in GAF), but by and large I feel focusing on this myself would instead have the opposite effect on me.

To me, if a creative work elicits an emotional response from me, or gets me invested, it's already passed a major hurdle that sets it apart from its peers. That's enough for me. And that stance doesn't jive all that well with ye olde 10-point review scale or 'objective quality' of creative material, so I can't put much stock into it.
Click to expand...

I feel like the more you examine the inner workings and mechanics of fiction, especially in regards to narrative and structure, the more selective you become in what elements you judge and how heavily scrutinized said elements are. You also learn that you can never divorce context from a creative work no matter how hard you try.

That last statement is probably the core reason why I think numerical ratings are for chumps. It's trying to contextualize every work of a particular category into one frame of reference and by my reckoning that just plain isn't possible. Or at the very least it's intellectually dishonest.
 
N

nintendoman58

Member
K

KuwabaraTheMan

Banned
The 3rd Madoka movie is best appreciated as an exercise in complete trolling. It's almost exquisite how masterfully they troll the entire audience, the characters, the world and all memories you have of the series.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
JoeFu said:
that third madoka movie... I see what everybody was talking about now. such a weird thing that probably didn't need to happen
Click to expand...
It's weirdly AMAZING is what it is.

Admiral Woofington said:
I've only read spoilers about what happens in the movie and that was enough for me to stay the fuck away. Urobutcher doesn't butcher just the characters. He also butchers the last glimmer of hope I had for the series
Click to expand...

JCG said:
Honestly, at this point I'd only tell people to watch the third Madoka movie when they actually make yet another sequel (a season two or a movie four) that will make all this messing around seem worthwhile, or at least that's what I hope for. If they really wanted an excuse to continue with this property, then they'd better do something else with it.
Click to expand...

I know I'm the crazy one who enjoys thematic closure more than narrative closure, but I think the third movie is perfectly fine as a standalone film. Sure, you could make more, and they probably will make more, but the way it ends is just so thematically satisfying - given all the Homura suffering of the series - that it just worked for me.

It's a reboot movie that manages to both honor the original and end it on its own terms in a manner that, I would argue, is much better than the original's ending.
 
D

Dedication Through Light

Member
World Conquest Zvezda Plot Episode 12

Seemed to lose its way at the start but I loved the recovery, life message, and future prospects. I would be interesting in more fun with Zvezda especially if it can be as actiony and fun as it was here. Probably its best episode yet with the instrumental versions of Be Mine in it and then Be Mine playing as well as best composer having his best zvezdas songs on display. 6/10.
 
K

KuwabaraTheMan

Banned
firehawk12 said:
I know I'm the crazy one who enjoys thematic closure more than narrative closure, but I think the third movie is perfectly fine as a standalone film. Sure, you could make more, and they probably will make more, but the way it ends is just so thematically satisfying - given all the Homura suffering of the series - that it just worked for me.

It's a reboot movie that manages to both honor the original and end it on its own terms in a manner that, I would argue, is much better than the original's ending.
Click to expand...

I don't really agree, not because of wanting narrative closure, but because I don't find the third movie to be thematically satisfying in any way. It basically feels like it goes against all of the themes of the series and especially the ending of the series.
Homura basically becoming the devil doesn't really line up with any of the messages of the series, to me.

The TV version of Madoka presented a bleak world in which death was common, powerful entities which seemed to offer you opportunities would abuse you, and life just got progressively more unfair as it went on, but it also ended by telling you that there was still hope to be found by going outside of the system and making everything a little less painful. The movie basically says
none of that matters, no matter what everything is going to get screwed up, and trying to fight a false reality is just going to lead to you becoming evil.
 
D

darkblade77

Member
dimb said:
No, it's fun.

It's okay to say something was just alright or bad in spots. That doesn't mean it is completely void of merit.
Click to expand...

I'm just referring to myself. I know there are plenty of people in this very thread that enjoy the process.

And I don't disagree with your second statement, but that's part of why I don't like review scales, because that's essentially what they're made to do--make a summary judgment of the work's merit. What goes into them is so subjective, even with regards to the same person reviewing different shows, that IMO they often don't convey meaningful information. In the end, unless you're given the reasoning behind the number, the number itself is not very useful. So why even have a number to begin with?

jman2050 said:
I feel like the more you examine the inner workings and mechanics of fiction, especially in regards to narrative and structure, the more selective you become in what elements you judge and how heavily scrutinized said elements are. You also learn that you can never divorce context from a creative work no matter how hard you try.

That last statement is probably the core reason why I think numerical ratings are for chumps. It's trying to contextualize every work of a particular category into one frame of reference and by my reckoning that just plain isn't possible. Or at the very least it's intellectually dishonest.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I agree 100%.
 
F

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Admiral Woofington said:
From what I read of the manga it isn't like servant x service. In fact I have a feeling the anime will be one of those short anime episode shows, considering each chapter is only a couple of panels. I didn't get too far to see if it eventually turns into a good romance.



So basically I have a ride with this. I better finish up shorter shows before starting this though, seems all of the shows I'm holding off on until the summer are those 100+ episode shows.
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A little disappointing
cajunator said:
****** girl so kawaii~



those thigh highs...zettai rrrrrrrrryouiki



Youll shatter his dreams :(
Click to expand...
Zettai ryouki indeed
Ice Lightning said:
This is from the author of Doujin Work, so I would expect something a bit closer to that maybe. Still disappointed the Drama CD cast was replaced for the anime, but I do hope this gets licensed.
Click to expand...

I see, thanks
 
N

nintendoman58

Member
KuwabaraTheMan said:
I don't really agree, not because of wanting narrative closure, but because I don't find the third movie to be thematically satisfying in any way. It basically feels like it goes against all of the themes of the series and especially the ending of the series.
Homura basically becoming the devil doesn't really line up with any of the messages of the series, to me.
Click to expand...

And that's another thing.

Remember when Madoka was about a bunch of teenage girls falling victim to a cruel system where one girl's wish saved them all from despair?

Well now Madoka is about a conflict of literally godlike proportions! Homura is Lelouch while Sayaka is Suzaku. THIS IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT SOUNDS, PEOPLE.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
KuwabaraTheMan said:
I don't really agree, not because of wanting narrative closure, but because I don't find the third movie to be thematically satisfying in any way. It basically feels like it goes against all of the themes of the series and especially the ending of the series.
Homura basically becoming the devil doesn't really line up with any of the messages of the series, to me.
Click to expand...

It depends on whether you see the show as a series about the premise of magical girls or a psychological horror about the constant emotional torture that a girl must go through.

I mean, in the third movie,
Homura is literally living inside her own head and, by association, her own psychosis
. Because of that, to me the ending was a liberating and emotionally satisfying experience.

The fact that Urobuchi had to be convinced to add the ending
(since he wrote it so that it ended with Homuhomu reuniting with Madoka and then living happily ever after)
only works to convince me that the ending was great. lol
 
P

PshycoNinja

Member
Nisekoi 2

Well what a riot of a follow up. Love the OP. ED is alright. A lot of moments had me laughing hysterically. I love the premise. It's executing well so far. Music is great and so is the animation. The sounds they make when their scared and how the characters play off each other make for excellent comedic timing.
 
J

JCG

Member
nintendoman58 said:
And that's another thing.

Remember when Madoka was about a bunch of teenage girls falling victim to a cruel system where one girl's wish saved them all from despair!

Well now Madoka is about a conflict of literally godlike proportions! Homura is Lelouch while Sayaka is Suzaku. THIS IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT SOUNDS, PEOPLE.
Click to expand...

Such a concept is only good when the story is already set up like that or at least building to it.

Not when you suddenly decide to take things in that direction (or probably whatever else they could have come up with) in a tacked-on sequel movie.
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
firehawk12 said:
It depends on whether you see the show as a series about the premise of magical girls or a psychological horror about the constant emotional torture that a girl must go through.

I mean, in the third movie,
Homura is literally living inside her own head and, by association, her own psychosis
. Because of that, to me the ending was a liberating and emotionally satisfying experience.

The fact that Urobuchi had to be convinced to add the ending
(since he wrote it so that it ended with Homuhomu reuniting with Madoka and then living happily ever after)
only works to convince me that the ending was great. lol
Click to expand...

Somebody had to convince the butcher to make it more grimdark? Fuck those people.
 
P

PdotMichael

Banned
I think the Madoka movie would have worked better as a second season like the tv anime is way superior than the two recap movies. Too much stuff happened in a short time.

Though the movie is basicaly perfect cockteasing in several ways.
 
K

KuwabaraTheMan

Banned
firehawk12 said:
It depends on whether you see the show as a series about the premise of magical girls or a psychological horror about the constant emotional torture that a girl must go through.

I mean, in the third movie,
Homura is literally living inside her own head and, by association, her own psychosis
. Because of that, to me the ending was a liberating and emotionally satisfying experience.

The fact that Urobuchi had to be convinced to add the ending
(since he wrote it so that it ended with Homuhomu reuniting with Madoka and then living happily ever after)
only works to convince me that the ending was great. lol
Click to expand...

I actually see it as much as anything as being about the horrors of a capitalist system (this might just be the marxist in me making these connections), although that ties in somewhat with the torture that girls go through.

Kyubey shows up and offers contracts to young, unsuspecting people who are promised to be able to achieve all of their dreams and fix their lives, while also doing a job that seems to be good work, only to discover afterwards that they've (literally) sold their souls in the process and found themselves as part of a corrupt system which will consume all of their life and destroy them, turning them into the same thing they're supposed to be fighting while presumably a new generation of unsuspecting girls are drafted into the system. The ending carries such weight because Madoka goes outside of the system set up and fundamentally alters things to keep people from being abused by that system anymore. This makes the show not one about a group of people trying to rebel against a corrupt system, but a show about how you can change things by escaping the entire cycle and altering the entire relationship.

The movie basically comes along and says 'well, none of that actually mattered and
people who try to smash up the system are now the villains who will just try to create an even worse hell
'. I found it to be a betrayal of the core themes of the series; at least the themes that I personally read into it and that spoke most strongly to me.
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
firehawk12 said:
Meanwhile, the movie was one of my favourite films of last year to the point where I'd consider buying it if it wasn't for Rightstuf issues. Go figure. lol
Click to expand...

That's a lie. You can't possibly hold any film from last year up to the same level of regard you have for GRAVITY.
 
J

jman2050

Member
KuwabaraTheMan said:
I don't really agree, not because of wanting narrative closure, but because I don't find the third movie to be thematically satisfying in any way. It basically feels like it goes against all of the themes of the series and especially the ending of the series.
Homura basically becoming the devil doesn't really line up with any of the messages of the series, to me.

The TV version of Madoka presented a bleak world in which death was common, powerful entities which seemed to offer you opportunities would abuse you, and life just got progressively more unfair as it went on, but it also ended by telling you that there was still hope to be found by going outside of the system and making everything a little less painful. The movie basically says
none of that matters, no matter what everything is going to get screwed up, and trying to fight a false reality is just going to lead to you becoming evil.
Click to expand...

Honestly,
the movie's willingness to take the themes of the original series and turn them on their head was one of the main things I liked about it.
 
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