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  1. - Top - End - #271
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Rodin View Post
    Also, Nezuko in episode 19:

    Spoiler
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    She saves Tanjiro first by body blocking the razor wire causing major damage to herself. Then when he's about to sacrifice himself in return by performing a mutual kill on the spider demon, she reveals her special demon blood power, destroys the silk wires, and adds power to Tanjiro's sword so that he's able to cut through the bad guy's neck.



    It's one of the things I like about the show - for the most part Tanjiro doesn't win the fights on his own. He would have been wrecked by the temari demon if Yushiro hadn't given him the spell that lets him see the arrows, and he doesn't wind up being the one to beat her - that's Tamayo. Tanjiro was on the ground with broken bones at the time. He might have beaten the swamp demon dude on his own, but he would have lost the people he was protecting if Nezuko hadn't fought to protect them while he was underwater. Even with the spider demons he was screwed because his sense of smell was overwhelmed - it took Inosuke using his beast senses to sniff out where the enemy was.

    And if you're just going off the manga I don't see how I can really explain why I watch the show. It's GORGEOUS, beautifully animated, and has haunting music with a "who's who" of shonen voice actors. I don't go back and re-watch Naruto or Bleach for the plot. Goodness me no. I go back and watch the fights, and the moments where the characters I loved did awesome things. Demon Slayer absolutely fits the bill here.

    I find it hard to look at Demon Slayer at less than 20 episodes and judge its depth against Naruto (700+ episodes) or Bleach (350+) or One Piece (nearly 900 and still going). At this point in Naruto he was still fighting freaking ZABUZA. Ichigo was recovering from his first meeting with Byakuya and we had yet to begin the arc that really gave Bleach legs as a show. I've never watched One Piece because I've never been able to get into it, so no comment there. Even Hunter X Hunter was still in Hunter Exam at this point, and that's the faster paced 2011 version.

    I will say that I'm bugged by the gag on Nezuko. I like how they've worked around it to give her character, but still...REALLY? I can't help but feel the show would be better if she had an actual speaking role. Heck, even her just being mute from the trauma would be an improvement.
    There wasn't an anime at the time when I read it~

    Also, the Zabuza arc IS probably in like the top three of shonen battle manga plot arcs. It carries so much weight and power to it's themes. It's squandered horribly by the rest of teh series, but I don't think that diminishes how powerful the Zabuza arc is. So... again, comparisons

    While I don't particularly like Bleach, that's actually around where it was it's best, and it had a lot of depth to it already. I have no words to defend Hunter x Hunter though.

    Yeah the gag on Nezuko is part of why I do hate her character so much. She does almost nothing in the manga, and the gag stops her from having any dialogue at all. She's basically just a weapon in the main character's arsenal that he cares about, and that's why I dislike how she's treated. She's just a tool.
    Last edited by LaZodiac; 2019-08-15 at 09:18 AM.

  2. - Top - End - #272
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    There wasn't an anime at the time when I read it~
    And? You asked why I enjoy the anime given that you read the manga and thought it sucked. I responded that I'm judging the anime based on criteria that do not apply to the manga in any way.

    Also, the Zabuza arc IS probably in like the top three of shonen battle manga plot arcs. It carries so much weight and power to it's themes. It's squandered horribly by the rest of teh series, but I don't think that diminishes how powerful the Zabuza arc is. So... again, comparisons
    We'll have to agree to disagree here. It's good, but I don't find it to have a whole lot of depth and they lost me when Sasuke survived. There's much better, even within Naruto itself.

    While I don't particularly like Bleach, that's actually around where it was it's best, and it had a lot of depth to it already. I have no words to defend Hunter x Hunter though.
    Bleach got good in the Soul Society arc, and this is just prior to that. Before that it was mostly just monster of the week stuff. Pretty good monster of the week stuff, but then what do you think Demon Slayer has been up to this point?

    Hunter X Hunter is my favorite anime of all time, so that goes a long way to showing how different our tastes are.

    But to return to the overall point I'm trying to make:

    Bleach has a lot of ups and downs, and there's a lot of arguments about where the show peaked and where it became crap and yadda yadda yadda. There is pretty universal agreement that by the time the Hueco Mundo arc was well underway the show was on a downward slope. And yet, many of my favorite bits to re-watch are from that era of the show. The plot was crap, the pacing was crap, there was zero depth, but the FIGHTS were excellent. They were well animated, well choreographed, with fantastic music and fun characters. And that's all I need in a show sometimes.

    Demon Slayer HAS that. It's been big fight -> brief respite -> big fight. And it's awesome for it. Sure, I hope that it grows some depth. But it isn't needed. And if you're looking for something more, then I wouldn't recommend it.

    There's a dude, he's gonna fight demons, and it looks gorgeous. Let's go.

  3. - Top - End - #273
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    Use of sexual content in a way that does not enhance the show in any way.

    Specific examples:
    Spoiler: content warning
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    The series opens with a rape scene, there's another out of nowhere rape orgy because they managed to bean a paladin in the head with a small rock, I believe they need to violate women to produce more goblins, and the goblin army kidnaps and rapes women, the nails them to shields to use in battle during the big war scene at the end of the current anime.

    sounds like berserk.


    Also, did you watch it?


    Quote Originally Posted by Aotrs Commander View Post
    Note to self, permenent hard pass on that...

    You guys ban animes left and right...

    Maybe it is the worst anime, to ever exist, but you should at least let it earn the spot.


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  4. - Top - End - #274
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by ellenate View Post
    sounds like berserk.

    Also, did you watch it?

    You guys ban animes left and right...

    Maybe it is the worst anime, to ever exist, but you should at least let it earn the spot.
    I read all the manga covered by the anime. It's not like Berserk at all, since Berserk has a point to it's violence, and doesn't use overt sexuality in it's violence except for a few very specific instances, and unlike Goblin Slayer it isn't designed to titilate.

    He's not ****ing banning it he's saying he won't ever watch it himself. What about that post made you think he wants to ban it outright?

    ------

    Regarding our discussion on Demon Slayer, anime without depth, and personal taste: yeah I completely see why someone would enjoy the anime, and thank you for explaining it!

    I just wish Demon Slayer was trying harder to appeal to ME, is all. I want to watch a series with beautiful fight scenes and music! But if there's no connection, no reason for me to watch BESIDES that animation style, I can't do it.
    Last edited by LaZodiac; 2019-08-15 at 09:59 AM.

  5. - Top - End - #275
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Rodin View Post
    Hunter X Hunter is my favorite anime of all time, so that goes a long way to showing how different our tastes are.
    Its one of mine too, though I'd say the Yorknew city Arc and the Chimera Ant arcs are my favorites of those and most of the favorite comes from Chimera Ant: that arc is almost a completely different anime than the rest of Hunter X Hunter because of where it goes and what it explores and how well done it is. Meruem is one of the most fascinating characters I've ever seen for how much he develops as a character yet never becomes fully human in his mindset.
    I'm also on discord as "raziere".


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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    It's not like Berserk at all, since Berserk has a point to it's violence, and doesn't use overt sexuality in it's violence except for a few very specific instances, and unlike Goblin Slayer it isn't designed to titilate.

    wow...


    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post

    He's not ****ing banning it he's saying he won't ever watch it himself. What about that post made you think he wants to ban it outright?

    Golly gee! You mean he doesn't plan on banning it for everyone?


    This is such a relief, I thought I wasn't going to be able to watch it anymore.


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  7. - Top - End - #277
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by ellenate View Post
    You guys ban animes left and right...

    Maybe it is the worst anime, to ever exist, but you should at least let it earn the spot.
    No ta, inadverently seeing Violence Jack once was enough for one lifetime for anything even remotely adjacent, thank you. (And, for the record, if there IS a worse anime to exist than that I genuinely do not want to know.)

    As a writer, you have INSTANTLY lost me at any point at which you go "and the bad guys have to rape people [usually females] to procreate." Just NO.

    Never mind the rest of it.



    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    He's not ****ing banning it he's saying he won't ever watch it himself. What about that post made you think he wants to ban it outright?
    I mean sure, when I actually take over the everything, people attempting to use rape in that fashion might be find that the new rules include having to justify themselves VERY QUICKLY over a pit of very sharp spikes aimed at their reproductive organs or something - because I take A Very Dim View, to put it mildly, of something I consider a soul-crime several shades worse than murder (and also because I'm Evil) - but ban it? Nah.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Aotrs Commander View Post
    people attempting to use rape in that fashion
    You mean using it in general or do you think it has its place?

    I've only seen it used effectively in stories that are heavily grounded in reality. It always seems gratuitous, whenever it's thrown into a story otherwise.


    you ever watch sword art online?


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  9. - Top - End - #279
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    I read all the manga covered by the anime. It's not like Berserk at all, since Berserk has a point to it's violence, and doesn't use overt sexuality in it's violence except for a few very specific instances, and unlike Goblin Slayer it isn't designed to titilate.
    {Scrubbed.}
    Last edited by jdizzlean; 2019-11-30 at 07:48 PM. Reason: clean up

  10. - Top - End - #280
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Okay so I forgot a lot of scenes, but none of them are actually designed to be ENJOYED by the viewer, whereas in Goblin Slayer they are. They also serve the same "world building" purpose, in a variety of ways. And to say there's only the one scene in Goblin Slayer is as dumb as my mistake about there only being a few in Berserk.

    I did completely forget about the trolls though. Mea culpa on that. I do think overall the story makes use of it as an actual plot point than Goblin Slayer (the horse was demonized into that form due to Fernise's overwhelmingly lust for Gutts and her attack by it is symbolic of her own destructive tendancies)

    But you know, you're right. Berserk is pretty problematic in a lot of ways and I wouldn't recommend it to people without caveats. I wouldn't recommend Goblin Slayer at all, though.
    Last edited by LaZodiac; 2019-08-15 at 01:02 PM.

  11. - Top - End - #281
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by ellenate View Post
    You mean using it in general or do you think it has its place?

    I've only seen it used effectively in stories that are heavily grounded in reality. It always seems gratuitous, whenever it's thrown into a story otherwise.
    First off, let me qualify that I think there IS a difference (and quite a large one) between something like CSI doing an episode where the victim was raped and something that goes on and actually having it "on-screen" and showing it. (Hense "in that fashion.")

    So, there are places and times where it is... I'm going to say "acceptable," for want of another word, to deal with that issue, provived, that, y'know, it is dealt with in a mature fashion. (Which which I mean emotionally mature, not "because it has naked people (well, let's be honest, 99.99% of the time it's naked ladies) in it.") (I'm wise enough to be believe entirely in unilateral rulings, because the universe is a complex place.)

    But as a source of titilation or "look how realistic this is" or "look how bad the villains are," though? Never.

    (Context of what everyone has said around said show does not strike me as it being a very serious examination slash allogory of some of the most horrible inter-tribal/ethnic conflicts that appear in Africa or something, where "goblisn rape women and tie them to their shields" might very vaguely be "acceptable" as some sort of commentary on how dehumanising it all is or something.)

    Like I said, I would let people justify themselves, but I would very much want to quash the idea that it is okay to have rape so you can show some tits, basically, because that is, honestly, not okay.



    (I mean, if you want to do porn, do porn; I ain't gonna stop you, metaphorical horny lady or gentleman, even when I is in charge. The double-standard of violence being more okay to show than sex (let alone nudity being equated to sex) is complete arse-backwards ridiculous; and I say that as someone for whom the current status quo (i.e. where it is more okay for dismemberment than naked people) would be the preferrable way around! So, go right ahead and make your titilating thing. But just, y'know, bear in mind that Consent Is Not Optional*.



    *Obvious, likely needless, but stated anyway clarification of "must be of appropriately adult age as well as being able to unambigiously communicate said consent.")



    Quote Originally Posted by ellenate View Post
    you ever watch sword art online?
    No, nor do I intend to. I've heard enough of that and the treatment of its female characters I'm keeping as well clear of that as I am of, say Game of Thrones, to name one more thing that I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole for less... Potentially sensitive issues, shall we say.

    (And of Berserk, as with Gantz, HBI2k's comedy abridged series is as close to that as I want to come, thanks.)
    Last edited by Aotrs Commander; 2019-08-15 at 01:36 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Aotrs Commander View Post
    No, nor do I intend to. I've heard enough of that and the treatment of its female characters I'm keeping as well clear of that as I am of, say Game of Thrones, to name one more thing that I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole for less... Potentially sensitive issues, shall we say.

    (And of Berserk, as with Gantz, HBI2k's comedy abridged series is as close to that as I want to come, thanks.)


    I'm surprised that alongside it pacing, all the creepy rape undertones were never brought up in its heyday (i see a few breakdowns now though).


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  13. - Top - End - #283
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    This is a strange argument to be having - nobody ever needs to provide a good reason why they won't watch something. Over twenty new anime air each season, and there are hundreds more that you can go back to and either re-watch or discover for the first time; it's completely natural to pick and choose based on the premise, or the thrust of the conversation (or in the case of Goblin Slayer, heated arguments and slapfights) within the community.

    As for my two cents: nothing is off-limits when it comes to art. You can depict rape, even graphically. You can even do it in the first episode. But it has to make sense with the whole of it; there has to be a narrative purpose. "So everyone knows for sure that goblins are super bad" is good enough for some, but not good enough for me.

    (Being exposed to all the chatter, in this thread or elsewhere, only reinforced that notion. The only way goblins can both be a species that procreates by raping the females of physically stronger and more intelligent species and be considered a mostly harmless nuisance that only an antisocial weirdo would actually bother doing anything about is if everyone in that world is an idiot. That works great in comedic fantasy, not so much in dark fantasy. I suspect this is also at the core of why Berserk is okay and Goblin Slayer isn't, for the people that think that.)
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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Silfir View Post
    (Being exposed to all the chatter, in this thread or elsewhere, only reinforced that notion. The only way goblins can both be a species that procreates by raping the females of physically stronger and more intelligent species and be considered a mostly harmless nuisance that only an antisocial weirdo would actually bother doing anything about is if everyone in that world is an idiot. That works great in comedic fantasy, not so much in dark fantasy. I suspect this is also at the core of why Berserk is okay and Goblin Slayer isn't, for the people that think that.)
    Yeah that's a big part of it.

    On less depressing topics I've started watching Samurai Champloo with a friend. It's real good!

    Also yes I'm aware I said "less depressing topics" only to segue into Samurai Champloo.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Silfir View Post

    (Being exposed to all the chatter, in this thread or elsewhere, only reinforced that notion. The only way goblins can both be a species that procreates by raping the females of physically stronger and more intelligent species and be considered a mostly harmless nuisance that only an antisocial weirdo would actually bother doing anything about is if everyone in that world is an idiot. That works great in comedic fantasy, not so much in dark fantasy. I suspect this is also at the core of why Berserk is okay and Goblin Slayer isn't, for the people that think that.)
    I'm not entirely sure why people think this is some kind of narrative disconnect for the series.

    The setting is very much a generic fantasy (heavily D&D inspired) setting. There are MUCH bigger threats, and goblins don't tend to bother the larger cities. SO they're a threat mostly to peasants, and often not even peasant villages, but lone farms in the middle of nowhere.

    They are generally weak enough that newbie adventurers can generally handle them, but not always (see level 1 D&D parties having a run of bad rolls), so higher level adventurers focus on bigger (CR appropriate) threats that are more dangerous, pay better, and give them more glory.

    The world is under constant siege by demons, dragons, and meaner and nastier monsters than goblins in 99% of situations, with the only outliers being Goblin Lords.

    The entire conceit of the series is based on that. Goblin Slayer is a Hero of the People, though his motivations are very much based on a personal obsession borne from childhood trauma, and a large portion of the series is spent breaking him out of the mindset that he needs to eat, sleep, and breathe goblin slaying until he finally gets killed by them (which he probably subconsciously WANTS). While he might be said hero to the small folk, he's also ultimately wasting his time in the grand scheme. An adventurer of his rank has resources and skills that could be put to use killing higher tier monsters that threaten vast loss of life to larger towns and cities, but he doesn't.

    The goblin situation in Goblin Slayer is a lot like that of the Wandering Inn, where goblins, even hordes of goblins, are no threat to a band of maybe a dozen trained soldiers. But under the direction of a particularly powerful Chieftain they become a threat to towns and villages, under Lords they can be a national threat, and Goblin Kings are a multi-continental menace because of their relatively high levels and powerful tribe/army/race-wide Skills respectively.

    Goblin Kings and Lords (each of which is basically a nascent King, elevated by bringing more of the goblin race under their banner) are threats worthy of Gold ranked or Named adventurers, same as in Goblin Slayer (which has a very similar ranking system), but a standard goblin tribe is a Bronze rank threat, Silver with a particularly powerful Chieftain.

    This isn't some inconsistency, it's the natural result of an RPG-like system (where Goblin Slayer is literally a D&D campaign from the perspective of the PCs/Goblin Slayer as an ascended NPC and Wandering Inn is just a very game-y universe).

    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    Yeah that's a big part of it.

    On less depressing topics I've started watching Samurai Champloo with a friend. It's real good!

    Also yes I'm aware I said "less depressing topics" only to segue into Samurai Champloo.

    Champloo is *mwah*. I liked it better than Bebop honestly, which I could never get super into.

    You should watch Space Dandy afterward! It's even more lighthearted, but hilarious and well worth a watch.
    Last edited by Rynjin; 2019-08-15 at 03:45 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    I've seen Space Dandy, I'm not sure my friend would like it but we'll see.

    Also, I'm just gonna call it personal taste at this point. The jokey-joke "this is just a DND universe, to the degree everyone has explicit character sheets" feels completely out of tone with the sexual violence for me.

    In any actual table top setting Goblin Slayer (the guy) would be kicked after session 2.
    Last edited by LaZodiac; 2019-08-15 at 04:19 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Well, Goblin Slayer is an NPC, not a PC.

    Apparently the "joke" is that he's a weird NPC the GM added on a lark but the PCs (the elf/dwarf/lizard combo) found him fascinating and keep trying to get him to come along on stuff.

    I find this amusing, but I guess I can see how it would be jarring with only surface level knowledge of the series; it's about 40% grimdark and 60% oddly charming and cute character interactions.
    Last edited by Rynjin; 2019-08-15 at 04:22 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Rynjin View Post
    Well, Goblin Slayer is an NPC, not a PC.

    Apparently the "joke" is that he's a weird NPC the GM added on a lark but the PCs (the elf/dwarf/lizard combo) found him fascinating and keep trying to get him to come along on stuff.

    I find this amusing, but I guess I can see how it would be jarring with only surface level knowledge of the series; it's about 40% grimdark and 60% oddly charming and cute character interactions.
    He's the main character. He's got an actual past we get to hear about. This is his story. He is a PC.

    Please do not insult me with this "only surface level knowledge of the series" comment. I've read a lot of it! I kinda like the other PCs, I wish they didn't exist in this series. It'd be like if Slayer's had a random edgelord setting instead of being comedic overall in tone, even when it is serious.
    Last edited by LaZodiac; 2019-08-15 at 04:30 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    I was actually thinking about this recently. People wanna dog others for their tastes, and I figured out that I could put together a list of shows I hated that would make me just seem like a troll. Note that these are all also in my usual genres. I didn't go out of my way to watch shows I knew I'd hate just to hate on them (like...oh, sub watchers going into dub-based threads or discussions just to be pricks).

    Tsurezure Children (avg rating 7.83): I don't need 20 main characters in a show that is already half length. Holy crap. I'd like more than three minutes with each character in a show that is supposed to be about relationships.

    Little Busters Refrain (avg rating 8.3): Wow. Season 1 is a relatively harmless show about a group of friends coming together, and going through their individual problems. Then Refrain turns everything upside down and gives the most BS, convoluted story ever that makes zero sense.

    Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san (avg rating 7.89): Starts off cute and funny, quickly becomes repetitive as all hell and completely predictable. Actual relationship progression is light at best.

    Violet Evergarden (avg rating 8.62): It's at least nice to know I'm not the only one. Great animation and one emotional episode does not make a great series.

    Your Name (avg rating 9.11): What a confusing mess of a story. The initial premise is cool, but then it goes off in weird directions, similar to Refrain. You know it's bad when there has to be blogs explaining the timeline.

    Tamako Love Story (avg rating 8.07): I didn't like Market, and this is a little better. Mostly due to the fact that the bird ruined the main show. But this isn't really all that better. Overall the franchise is still quite boring.

    Kimi ni Todoke season 2 (avg rating 8.1): Season 1 is one of my favorite shows. Season 2 is twelve episode all based on one incredibly beyond stupid misunderstanding. The awkwardness of Sawako in season 1 is supplemented by her friends helping her out., But in season 2, it's all awkward, and it's just not fun anymore. And when all that awkwardness is created by something that could not possibly have existed in reality, well...

    Spice and Wolf season 2 (avg rating 8.41): The entire entertainment from this show for me is Holo being Holo. The constant boring as hell merchant speak makes this show far worse than what could have been. And season 2 features a nice little arc where Holo isn't even in the show at all. Take away the one thing that makes the show good, the banter between the two characters, and you're not left with much.

    Shirobako (avg rating 8.41): I gave this show two tries, but I can't go any further because I was just so bored.

    Asobi Asobase (avg rating 8.23): Comedy is subjective, but I just do not get it here.

    Kaguya-sama: Love is War (avg rating 8.47): two very unlikable characters, jerkasses to the max. Both in love with each other but try to "trick" the other into confessing. Repeat. So it's Takagi-san, but the characters suck. Also, the narrator having the majority of the dialogue is stupid. I don't need the narrator to tell me what the characters are thinking and feeling.
    Last edited by Pendulous; 2019-08-15 at 04:50 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    He's the main character. He's got an actual past we get to hear about. He is a PC.

    Please do not insult me with this "only surface level knowledge of the series" comment. I've read a lot of it! I kinda like the other PCs, I wish they didn't exist in this series. It'd be like if Slayer's had a random edgelord setting instead of being comedic overall in tone, even when it is serious.
    Oh! I actually didn't know that. You kept talking about how you didn't want to watch the show/wanted nothing to do with it (or did I get you mixed with another poster over the past couple of pages?), so I assumed you hadn't.

    That was the part that got me so irritated back when the show first aired actually was people discarding the show entirely because of what other people said about it and never giving it a shot.

    If you gave the manga a fair shake and don't like it, that's cool, and puts the rest of your arguments into a better focus.

    Also more lighthearted pedantry: just because he has a backstory and is the main character doesn't mean he's a PC.

    ...It means he's a GMPC. =p

    He's even got the "shows up all the actual PCs" and "hogs the spotlight" schtick down.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    You disliking a show doesn't inherently make you a troll, so I don't necessarily get what you're coming from with this.

    That being said Your Name was super easy to understand for me, but then I've always been good at unraveling that kinda stuff in my head.

    ----

    Yeah you got mixed up Ryn, I have read the manga.

    I definitely gave it a shot! I'm mad because the art is pretty cool (if a bit derivative of Dark Souls. It wears it's heart on it's sleeve) and the writing isn't BAD when it's not being stupid edgy. It just feels like it's not trying as hard as it could to be more than just a violent, sexually graphic shlock.

    I contest he's not a GMPC but he's just the only person here who knows how the DM operates. He knows the DM likes crappy over-realistic stuff so you have to worry about things like "this sword is too big to swing in a goblin den" and stuff.
    Last edited by LaZodiac; 2019-08-15 at 04:49 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    I haven't even heard of some of those, but most seem to be in genres I don't much care for anyway (like Tamako Market, which I only know has a sequel because of your post).

    Tsurezure Children is interesting because it's a series that held no interest whatsoever for me on reading about it, but is somehow the parent series for one of my favorite anime of the year it aired in (The Unlimited Hyoubu Kyousuke).

    Turns out the adventures of anime Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants P.A.N.D.R.A. squad is more interesting than yet another middle school superhero drama.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    I disagree with most of these, but then I knew mine and Pendulous' tastes don't align from back when he hated on Hinamatsuri. (If I remember that wrong I apologize. Substitute Asobi Asobase in that case, that show is drop dead funny if you ask me.) The most egregious case would be Shirobako. I loved that show immensely, though I suppose I haven't checked whether it holds up to a rewatch. What did hold up to a rewatch is Your Name - I consider it close to a perfect movie.

    Definitely agree that Kimi ni Todoke became a massive drag in the second season, however.

    What's odd about is that we seem to attempt to watch the same shows, by and large, we just come away with different impressions. Our genre preferences match, but our senses of humor don't, and we have different expectations. Still trying to get a feel for it.



    Just to double check, Pendulous, what's your stance on this season's Machikado Mazoku? I've been loving it; it's kind of like Madoka Magica in that it puts the entire magical girl genre through the wringer, but it does so very gently and humorously as opposed to, well, what Madoka Magica does. Never fails to put a smile on my face, that's for certain. Though my overall favorite season favorite is still Maidens of the Savage Season.
    This signature is boring. The stuff I write might not be. Warning: Ponies.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by LaZodiac View Post
    Also, I'm just gonna call it personal taste at this point. The jokey-joke "this is just a DND universe, to the degree everyone has explicit character sheets" feels completely out of tone with the sexual violence for me.
    It's not so much of a joke, really.

    It's something that throws the premise of the series into relief, which is that the problems of the little people are still problems even when the big important adventurers are off doing their more important and glamorous adventures.

    Of course the premise ran out of steam after about 20 issues and it should have been a limited series all along.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Silfir View Post



    Just to double check, Pendulous, what's your stance on this season's Machikado Mazoku? I've been loving it; it's kind of like Madoka Magica in that it puts the entire magical girl genre through the wringer, but it does so very gently and humorously as opposed to, well, what Madoka Magica does. Never fails to put a smile on my face, that's for certain. Though my overall favorite season favorite is still Maidens of the Savage Season.
    I like the "magical girl" shows that aren't a psychologically dive into the abyss. Therefore, Hina Logi, Leviathan, and this season's Demon v Magical Girl are the kinds that I prefer. It's nothing too special so far, but it's enjoyable (haven't watched today's episode as I type this).

    Hinamatsuri I didn't hate, I just felt like it tried to go in different directions based on what character was the focus. Also they didn't really bother spending time explaining exactly what was going on. The humor was fun when it was Hina being herself or Hitomi's situations. But they tried so many different things, like one episode which was one big long setup for the joke at the end.

    Some of the most consistently funny shows I've seen: Sansha Sanyou, Mitsuboshi Colors, Haganai, Working!, B Gata H Kei, Good Luck Girl. Though four of the six shows I've given a 10/10 are romance focused. Nothing heavliy comedy, closest is ReLIFE maybe.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    So, as I began corrupting Pestbag, my five-year-old nephew yesterday, I once again looked at Centurions and went, "yeah, this is totally a magical girls show, only they replaced the magical girls with burly 1980s men." Looking it up, it was apparently made by the same studio that did Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne and Code Guess.

    Centurions is thus totally the best magical girl anime for boys and therefore falls into the purview of this thread.

    (Fight me!)



    Yes I just occasionally feel the need to wax lyrical about how awesome Centurions is and how it is the only one of its contemporaries that not only holds up but it better when looked back at. Bite me!
    Last edited by Aotrs Commander; 2019-08-15 at 06:54 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Drascin View Post
    I, on the other hand, will happily bash the show. Not only is it exploitative as **** with all the cheap rape and violence, as well as edgy, misogynistic, waifu-baiting, and Hard Man-wanking, it is also incredibly dumb. Nothing about the worldbuilding makes any goddamn sense on the IC level. It's a "deconstruction" of fantasy tropes by a DM who only has the most passing knowledge of what fantasy tropes even are.
    Eh. I thought it seemed like an anime version of a pretty normal D&D campaign. Once the adventuring party formed, especially. Not really a deconstruction so much as something that felt more like the result of players sitting around a table than most fantasy does.
    Quote Originally Posted by Harnel View Post
    where is the atropal? and does it have a listed LA?

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Goblin Slayer does have a point to make with it’s incredibly vile main villains and their actions. The first is the dangers of apathy. You see the setting sure does have all those demon lords and devil kings or what have you that pop up here and there, but no one ever actually has serious trouble stopping them in the end. But there is always a race to be the strongest best paid adventurer you can be so you can get the prestige and the money. Meanwhile a race of what is implied to be literal alien rapist sociopathic monsters incapable of making peace that multiply like rabbits continue to decimate rural villages and the poor in cities because no one considers them a big enough problem to pay enough to send anything but the weakest and least experienced newbie adventurers, who then die en masse unprepared for the real threat of the goblins. That leads into the second point the series wants to make, that adventuring if it were a real job would deadly dangerous and that unless you were one of the lucky few to start picking up levels fast and get some good die rolls to survive those risky early levels you are just gonna die. Preparedness, maintaining your equipment and bringing the correct weapons for the correct situations, wearing proper armor, checking your corners, and never underestimating even the meekest or enemies, and above all lateral thinking are all keys to success. Its an actual plot point that in cosmic terms the Goblin Slayer never actually rolls dice, because if he did he would never roll above a ten. Instesad he just prepares and trains and shapes the situation until he never has to roll dice and that’s why the gods find him fascinating. Not the kind of D&D game everyone likes but it’s something I’ve always appreciated from my players when they do it. The last important thing, about why having the goblins be so unabashedly vile is important, is that what the main character plans is genocide. The goblins really truly are the worst of the worst because if they had even one sympathetic moment or one goblin who didn’t seem to be just as bad as the rest then the plot falls apart and the main character loses all sympathy. I get it if Goblin Slayer is to much for someone, or if it’s just not your cup of tea whatever. But saying it is just edgy for its own sake and has nothing to say because you don’t like it is insulting.
    Last edited by Dragonus45; 2019-08-15 at 09:51 PM.

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Aotrs Commander View Post
    *assumes a boxing stance*

    My good sir of invivid persuasion, I must counter that transforming, posing and speeches are standard fare for Japanese superheroes, dating back to before the screen or even the comic book as we know it. Magical girls are based on a secret, wondrous ability or tool which gives them a taste of adult agency and responsibility; "being a superhero" is a highly-marketable but ultimately rather modern way of accomplishing this, which consequently is the type most likely to receive Western release.

    In short, the best magical girl anime is Bernard's Watch!

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    Default Re: General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

    Quote Originally Posted by Dragonus45 View Post
    Goblin Slayer does have a point to make with it’s incredibly vile main villains and their actions. The first is the dangers of apathy. You see the setting sure does have all those demon lords and devil kings or what have you that pop up here and there, but no one ever actually has serious trouble stopping them in the end. But there is always a race to be the strongest best paid adventurer you can be so you can get the prestige and the money. Meanwhile a race of what is implied to be literal alien rapist sociopathic monsters incapable of making peace that multiply like rabbits continue to decimate rural villages and the poor in cities because no one considers them a big enough problem to pay enough to send anything but the weakest and least experienced newbie adventurers, who then die en masse unprepared for the real threat of the goblins. That leads into the second point the series wants to make, that adventuring if it were a real job would deadly dangerous and that unless you were one of the lucky few to start picking up levels fast and get some good die rolls to survive those risky early levels you are just gonna die. Preparedness, maintaining your equipment and bringing the correct weapons for the correct situations, wearing proper armor, checking your corners, and never underestimating even the meekest or enemies, and above all lateral thinking are all keys to success. Its an actual plot point that in cosmic terms the Goblin Slayer never actually rolls dice, because if he did he would never roll above a ten. Instesad he just prepares and trains and shapes the situation until he never has to roll dice and that’s why the gods find him fascinating. Not the kind of D&D game everyone likes but it’s something I’ve always appreciated from my players when they do it. The last important thing, about why having the goblins be so unabashedly vile is important, is that what the main character plans is genocide. The goblins really truly are the worst of the worst because if they had even one sympathetic moment or one goblin who didn’t seem to be just as bad as the rest then the plot falls apart and the main character loses all sympathy. I get it if Goblin Slayer is to much for someone, or if it’s just not your cup of tea whatever. But saying it is just edgy for its own sake and has nothing to say because you don’t like it is insulting.
    You can do that without fetishy rape ****.

    Also it's cool to get confirmation that apparently in universe Goblin Slayer the person is actually just broken stupidly powerful to the point that he breaks all the rules, apparentely.

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