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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
So, 3 2cour fall shows ended this weekend. Robotics;notes, From the New World, and Psycho-pass.
Robotics;Notes had a great last episode. It finished the show off with a bang and gave great emotional closure. However, the show as a whole was still pretty weak, and the ending didn't change that. While the characters do grow on you, they're pretty unlikable at first. The plot flips and flops between multiples threads with no real direction, the pacing is pretty abysmal, and the last couple episodes really feel like they have too much crammed into them relative to how relaxed the show was earlier. However, the characters loved giant robots, the show loved the characters loving giant robots, and I love giant robots so I continued watching it and I'm glad I did because I had fun. If you go in with lowered expectations and don't expect another Steins;Gate you'll probably have fun too. Still only a 6/10
Psycho-pass had an ok last episode. It didn't really flub anything, but it was pretty clearly where the show was going as soon as we got into the last arc. Also, I firmly disagree with the idea that the show needs a second season. It doesn't, that ending was fine. Looking back on the show as a whole, it had surprisingly tight and straight foward direction, and Akane and Ginoza both ended up far more developed than I was expecting from Gen. Do note that he still dropped the ball on all of the other characters, and he still has a terrible problem with telling instead of showing, but this really wasn't a bad effort from him. I'd rate it below Madoka but above Fate/Zero. Looking forward to Gargantia, maybe he'll be slightly more ambitious in his ideas next time. A high 7/10.
From the New World (Shin Sekai Yori) had a fantastic last episode. All the characters got the kind of send off they deserved, still floating questions were answered, and it let you look back on the series with new eyes. 10/10 ending, it could really teach Psycho-pass a thing about how to end dystopian fiction. Looking back the show had some rough points, but man the high points were amazing. Its a real shame that its sales tanked as badly as they did. Probably being affected by the strength of the ending and forgetting how bad some of the episodes were, but right now this a a solid 8/10.
I also recently got around to watching A Letter to Momo and Wolf Children, but I can't really think of anything to say about them besides the fact that they were excellent, and the Wolf Children really shows how good Hosoda is getting. I would recommend them.
Next week, we'll have Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Sasami@ganbaranai ending, then onto April and spring season.
Also, it looks like Ikuhara is going to do it again: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...a-arashi-anime
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kato
Ah, okay. It wasn't anyone in particular it just seemed to me the show was considered good and... well, it really wasn't. But I'm satisfied if my tastes don't clash with everyone else's again on this.
On the topic of Haruhi Suzumiya, I finally got myself to watch Disappearance (a year late... or two by now?)
Spoiler
Show
It was pretty good. Maybe not the masterpiece some people make it out to be but pretty damn good.
I guess my main two complains I could make are 1) you really can't watch it unless you know the show (I think) because you'd hardly be able to follow anything... It's pretty common with movies that are part of a genre but it's still kind of a downside. 2) A bit more troubling... most of the cast is really little involved in the plot. Yeah, Kyon obviously is the main character and luckily he's damn enjoyable to watch but he and Nagato take up what feels like 80% of the screen time and attanetion. It's not terribly but it somehow makes it feels more like an arc for the show (like, instead of half of THAT OTHER ARC n the last season) than a movie involving the whole brigade.
Anyway, I did enjoy it... even though... am I a bad person because I started laughing at the climax when Asakura showed up and stabbed Kyon... again?
And regarding Nagato, it's pretty much her story, if you didn't notice from the fact that the entire thing revolves around her actions and emotional state. It's basically the climax of Tanigawa's kick of wanting to make her the main character (and her character development also, I guess).
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
On the next thread...
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Originally Posted by
Terraoblivion
Why not just make some joke about Twelve Kingdoms as has already been suggested? It's far simpler, shorter and more straightforward than most of what has been suggested.
Because I don't know enough about Twelve Kingdoms to make jokes about it? :smalltongue: Sounds like a decent source though.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
Matthias2207
I don't think you're supposed to watch it without having seen the series. That would be like watching Harry Potter 5 without watching 1-4 first.
Well, yeah, but I guess I just think a great movie should be watchable on its own even if it belongs to a certain franchise. With Potter it's obviously something different (even though I'm not that much of a Potter fan anyway) since it's based on a series of books and... yeah. It's a minor complaint :smalltongue:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Nerd-o-rama
And regarding Nagato, it's pretty much her story, if you didn't notice from the fact that the entire thing revolves around her actions and emotional state. It's basically the climax of Tanigawa's kick of wanting to make her the main character (and her character development also, I guess).
Really? I hardly noticed because it was so subtle. :smallbiggrin: No, it was... kind of obvious to the point where it was almost a Kyon/Yuki shipper fanfic... It was still enjoyable but for the movie to the show it could have had more of the other characters.
Also, I thought the fans were much more obsessed with Yuki than Tanigawa or whoever... or at least a big part of the fanbase. (Every generation needs their Rei, I guess)
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kato
With Potter it's obviously something different (even though I'm not that much of a Potter fan anyway) since it's based on a series of books and... yeah.
Well, Haruhi Suzumiya is ALSO based on a series of books.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
tensai_oni
Well, Haruhi Suzumiya is ALSO based on a series of books.
The movie as well? I'd assumed it was an "original" (so to say) piece of work.
Anyway, can't I think a great movie should be watchable without knowing the rest of the franchise or are we just discussing formalities?
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Disappearance is the fourth book in the series. I'm kinda surprised that you've managed to avoid discovering that, given how much the show has been talked about and how frequently that comes up.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kato
The movie as well? I'd assumed it was an "original" (so to say) piece of work.
Anyway, can't I think a great movie should be watchable without knowing the rest of the franchise or are we just discussing formalities?
List of novels and their respective anime.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
Terraoblivion
Disappearance is the fourth book in the series. I'm kinda surprised that you've managed to avoid discovering that, given how much the show has been talked about and how frequently that comes up.
You'd be surprised how much someone can miss if he's only superficially interested in a fandom :smallwink:
Okay, my bad. But I really have little knowledge about the Light and Visual knowledge scene of any franchise and I tend to not pay much attention to it when it comes up.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kato
Really? I hardly noticed because it was so subtle. :smallbiggrin: No, it was... kind of obvious to the point where it was almost a Kyon/Yuki shipper fanfic... It was still enjoyable but for the movie to the show it could have had more of the other characters.
Also, I thought the fans were much more obsessed with Yuki than Tanigawa or whoever... or at least a big part of the fanbase. (Every generation needs their Rei, I guess)
Tanigawa stated in an interview (or was it authors' notes?) that after writing her and noticing what an interesting character she was under the surface, he kind of wanted to make her the protagonist. Disappearance was almost certainly a bit of self-parody in that respect, and from there he moved on to doing more balanced stories about the rest of the ensemble.
The fanbase has more than taken up the torch on that, though. And whoever writes the Melancholy of Yuki Nagato manga.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
Nerd-o-rama
Melancholy of Yuki Nagato manga.
Why do I suddenly get the image of a manga issue consisting entirely of pages upon pages of the same three panels of Nagato reading a book?
And why do I feel like I would totally watch an anime episode adapting that issue?:smallconfused:
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sith_Happens
Why do I suddenly get the image of a manga issue consisting entirely of pages upon pages of the same three panels of Nagato reading a book?
And why do I feel like I would totally watch an anime episode adapting that issue?:smallconfused:
Wasn't that what the last episode of season 1 was anyway? :smallbiggrin:
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mallorean_thug
From the New World (Shin Sekai Yori) had a fantastic last episode. All the characters got the kind of send off they deserved, still floating questions were answered, and it let you look back on the series with new eyes. 10/10 ending, it could really teach Psycho-pass a thing about how to end dystopian fiction. Looking back the show had some rough points, but man the high points were amazing. Its a real shame that its sales tanked as badly as they did. Probably being affected by the strength of the ending and forgetting how bad some of the episodes were, but right now this a a solid 8/10.
I am so glad to hear this [only have the last episode to watch but this will have to wait till Thursday] and certainly the best fall anime series for me.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sith_Happens
Why do I suddenly get the image of a manga issue consisting entirely of pages upon pages of the same three panels of Nagato reading a book?
And why do I feel like I would totally watch an anime episode adapting that issue?:smallconfused:
It's (sadly?) a manga about moe-moe alternate Nagato from Disappearance and her shoujo love triangle problems. Basically a "what if the alternate universe kept going, complete with an alternate Kyon, somehow?"
Less philosophically interesting than robot alien shenanigans, but arguably more hilarious.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
So I just watched the 2nd nanoha movie today and I'd have to say I liked the series more. It seems that they truncated some things oddly and Admiral Lindy just happening to have Durandal on hand struck me as odd. I also missed the shadow puppeteers that the TV show had.
One thing that I LOVED though was everything Signum related (as is only right and proper). The revision to the bow in the climax scene and the attack just made had me laughing with the awesome absurdity of it. If those two companies keep up this sequence of tribute chicken we're going to have a cannon crossover in a Super Robot Wars game that will have the most ridiculous scene ever with Lamia, Excellen, and Signum.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
Prime32
Random thought, re: mecha anime (particularly Gundam).
Legs are useless in space. Funnels are useless in an atmosphere. Why has no one ever built a mech with legs made out of funnels?
Ok, I know this post was made nearly a month ago, but I saw it and it bugged me. Funnels can be used in an atmosphere. I can distinctly remember to instances of this, one in ZZ with Ple's Qubeley inside of Axis (don't remember if the Funnels actually moved besides falling after she faints, but they were definately still flying and functioning) and one in X, with the Bertigo's bits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keBiLkiRABM
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
Sciina
Ok, I know this post was made nearly a month ago, but I saw it and it bugged me. Funnels can be used in an atmosphere. I can distinctly remember to instances of this, one in ZZ with Ple's Qubeley inside of Axis (don't remember if the Funnels actually moved besides falling after she faints, but they were definately still flying and functioning) and one in X, with the Bertigo's bits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keBiLkiRABM
I'd point how this defies all physics, but really no mobile suit should be able to fly in a gravity well anyway so funnels that somehow can is not that much worse.
Speaking of, though, I really hope we get an actually good Gundam series again sometime soon. 00 has grown on me a little, but the second you have a character named Mr. Bushido you lose all dramatic credibility. And Gundam AGE is just... I can't even properly enumerate all the things wrong with Gundam AGE.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
HamHam
I'd point how this defies all physics, but really no mobile suit should be able to fly in a gravity well anyway so funnels that somehow can is not that much worse.
Speaking of, though, I really hope we get an actually good Gundam series again sometime soon. 00 has grown on me a little, but the second you have a character named Mr. Bushido you lose all dramatic credibility. And Gundam AGE is just... I can't even properly enumerate all the things wrong with Gundam AGE.
I rely on the Universal Century timeline for better quality gundam- Gundam Unicorn hasn't let me down yet...
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
Mercenary Pen
I rely on the Universal Century timeline for better quality gundam- Gundam Unicorn hasn't let me down yet...
Unicorn is an OVA though. Which accounts for the higher quality but it does mean it's a lot shorter.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
HamHam
Unicorn is an OVA though. Which accounts for the higher quality but it does mean it's a lot shorter.
I used Unicorn only as the most recent example, though I'd say that the universal century as a whole tends to have a better and more consistent technological progression- and even in the cases where funnels and bits work in atmosphere they usually address how and why this happens (for example the funnels on the Kshatriya constantly needing to redock and recharge under those conditions and the reflector bits of the Shamblo being designed solely for atmospheric operation and not incorporating their own weapons systems)- I feel a similar level of technological consistency is present across most other UC Gundam series, with the possible exception of Double Zeta (where the mobile suits felt more toylike to me than in other Gundam series in the same timeline).
I think I could do with revisiting Crossbone Gundam at some point in the near future, I barely remember the details of it.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
I rather liked 00 for the most part. Oh, it surely wasn't the best but it was enjoyable enough and I actually loved Mr Bushido. (Though, Graham more)
And AGE.... well, it was so bad it was good? Kind of.
I still need to catch up with Unicorn to see if it actually holds up to all the praise I keep hearing....
On an entirely different note it seems we will have Gantz' finale within the month or so. Thoughts?
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
I had high hopes for AGE. I wanted to like it, because it seemed to bring fresh air into Gundam, and because everyone whined about its cartoony artstyle. Unfortunately, the artstyle turned out to be the least of its worries.
I haven't caught up with Unicorn and I don't think I will. Its action is good but the characters are paper-thin and the Zeon apologism annoys me.
I stay by the statement I made some time ago: the Gundam TV shows are at best okay. If you want really awesome Gundam, check out the OVAs and mangas. My favorite is Crossbone, which is a manga, followed by 08th MS Team, which is an OVA. Of course, neither of these is exactly new...
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Unicorn was okay, but I got bored after a few episodes. I don't think I'll bother going back to finish it.
I haven't read any manga, but 08th MS Team was pretty awesome. I also really liked A War in the Pocket, Stardust Memories, and the original series.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
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Originally Posted by
Tengu_temp
I haven't caught up with Unicorn and I don't think I will. Its action is good but the characters are paper-thin and the Zeon apologism annoys me.
This amuses me since the history lesson on the UC called out the lie of Zeonism straight to the face in clear language... and then we get to see it at Palau. RIP Mr Bancroft, you set the record straight and were a hero too.
Seriously while Banagher I can take or leave (like most Gundam protags actually) the support and especially the bit characters in the show are just awesome.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Scarch
Unicorn was okay, but I got bored after a few episodes. I don't think I'll bother going back to finish it.
I haven't read any manga, but 08th MS Team was pretty awesome. I also really liked A War in the Pocket, Stardust Memories, and the original series.
Really? I mean, of course I agree with 8th MS Team, and War in a Pocket was great as well (Stardust was more okay-ish) but even if it was good for it's day (I guess) nowadays I can see little appeal in the original series. It's not the worst in the franchise but...
A friend of mine has been following the Wing manga sequel and is praising that quite a lot, though maybe more for all the crazy that's happening.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
The original Gundam has some 70s derpiness to it, but overall it was an enjoyable watch for me. The development the characters gain over the course of the show is pretty great, and the setting is really nicely constructed (although many of its elements are delivered in a blink-and-you-miss-it moments, like Tomino likes to do).
Let me shill the Crossbone manga for a while. What makes it so awesome is:
- A cast of likable protagonists who do their best to spare enemies without coming off as self-righteous jerks about it (hello, Kira Yamato).
- An awesome protagonist. Tobia is hot-blooded without being an idiot about it, shows real human emotions without falling into the trap of angst, and is genuinely smart and resourceful.
- Instead of Newtype hax or plot shields, the characters rely on ace pilot stunts and outrageous tricks to win the day. What happens in this manga can get really over the top at times, while staying firmly within the realm of real robots at the same time.
- The message of the whole thing is clear and goes against the stupid views many hardcore Zeek fanboys/Ganotas show. Newtypes are not better than Oldtypes. Aristocratic government is not better than democracy. Human souls are not weighted by gravity.
- The pacing is really good. The way Tomino tells stories can drag on a bit in anime form, but works really well for a manga format.
- It's Happy Tomino, not Depressed Tomino, but the stakes are high nevertheless. There's a lot of dramatic moments, usually with awesome "hell yeah" resolutions.
Are there faults? Yeah, you could find some. There are very few important female characters, which seems to be the curse of all Gundam in general, and the main villain is cartoonish at times. Also, the artstyle might not be up everyone's alley, though I personally think it really fits. Overall, it's still probably the best Gundam I know.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Considering that I actually liked F91 and that Seabook is somehow one of my favoured Gundam protagonists, I really should find some time to check out Crossbone.
It's UC 131 in Crossbone, right? By that point, Newtypes are largely legend, no?
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
UC 133. A few Newtypes appear, but their existence seems to surprise most people.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Oh, right, 133. Not sure why I keep 121 for F91 and 151 for Victory in my head at the same time as 93 for CCA, and while remembering separately the 30 year gaps.
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Re: General Anime Discussion: Area 11
Thread name idea:
General Anime/Manga Discussion XII: Twelve Kingdoms, One Thread
If there's some element of the series that it would make sense to replace "Thread" with, then that would probably be funnier.