So, I confess, I never actually finished the first season of Code Geass until last night, because...well, it's one of the few shows I can definitively accuse of jumping the shark, and I really did drop it when the writing hit that very rock bottom around about episode 22 and, from what everyone else was telling me, it never actually recovered.
That said, it turns out I missed out on a pretty damn good war sequence in the last two episodes of the season. The finale there had everything I liked about the early episodes - epic urban KMF combat, backup plans of backup plans of backup plans, Zero playing everyone like a harp despite the fact that it's obvious to the audience he's making **** up as he goes along, characters I don't like getting shot, Orange, ridiculous troll plot complications that don't make we want to die - on a significantly higher scale.
I wouldn't even have minded the last scene, really, if I hadn't already been told that absolutely nothing comes of it. It was a good cliffhanger.
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Yesss, enter the path of recognizing seiyuu by voice alone! It's a very fun way to train your memory and hearing. You start with easily recognizable voices like Norio Wakamoto or Nobuyuki Hiyama, and one day you might end up Houko Kuwashima! And that's quite a feat, because she sounds completely different in almost every role. Woman got talent.
Well... I recognize some of the more distinctive voices, but I guess I'm a bit better when it comes with western VAs. For example, while playing Fallout: New Vegas I noticed that Yosuke escaped the dulcet tones of Kid Flash and was screaming at me about how he won the lottery, Rise Kujikawa let me interrogate a Centurion in McCarran Airport and Akihiko was an Elvis Impersonator trying to extort some caps off of me just to see his boss.
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A well-placed bullet can stop anybody with an oversized sword.
In real life that is.
Everywhere else, you're screwed.
Yay! Tell us your thoughts and theories as you progress, I am most eager to read what someone with no foreknowledge thinks of everything.
Having just started with the first arc, I can already say three things for sure:
- The music is awesome.
- I have fallen in hate at first sight with Eva.
- Higurashi has made me very paranoid, as my notes will probably show whenever I post them .
It certainly is, heh I even have a few tracks on my calm-music play-list.
I'm currently playing through the early phase of ep4, so its fun to see your thoughts.
So, I confess, I never actually finished the first season of Code Geass until last night, because...well, it's one of the few shows I can definitively accuse of jumping the shark, and I really did drop it when the writing hit that very rock bottom around about episode 22 and, from what everyone else was telling me, it never actually recovered.
That said, it turns out I missed out on a pretty damn good war sequence in the last two episodes of the season. The finale there had everything I liked about the early episodes - epic urban KMF combat, backup plans of backup plans of backup plans, Zero playing everyone like a harp despite the fact that it's obvious to the audience he's making **** up as he goes along, characters I don't like getting shot, Orange, ridiculous troll plot complications that don't make we want to die - on a significantly higher scale.
I wouldn't even have minded the last scene, really, if I hadn't already been told that absolutely nothing comes of it. It was a good cliffhanger.
The worst part of Code Geass is indeed the potentials that're gone to waste....
The worst part of Code Geass is indeed the potentials that're gone to waste....
Oh, that's the case with so many things! I will always claim that the settings of Naruto and Bleach are great and let you create awesome stories and adventures. What the actual series do with them, though, is a huge letdown.
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It certainly is, heh I even have a few tracks on my calm-music play-list.
I'm currently playing through the early phase of ep4, so its fun to see your thoughts.
For the record, I liked Eva at first sight.
They don't call them sound novels for nothing.
I first properly started thinking about the characters once I had finished the first arc and as I was beginning the second. Out of all the adult characters Eva left the strongest impression based on the first arc, as I recall. Although I must admit I liked her about as much as Natsuhi (not much at all) personality-wise, though as a character she is quite interesting.
And I too had my fair share of paranoia brought over from Higurashi, which did make getting into the atmosphere in Rokkenjima that much easier.
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Last edited by Atelm : 06-07-2011 at 05:26 AM.
Reason: typo correction
I on the other hand came in without any information, I had just seen this novel recommended and not really read much about it. (I'm generally extremely cautious for spoilers when I'm going to read/play something)
Whatever paranoia I may have I've built over time.
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And witches are bastards. I got hooked about as deep as Battler in ep3, even though I constantly had this nagging voice back in my head reminding me of what I've seen about the witches earlier. I suppose I'm just that naive.
But I wont be fooled twice. I wont, dammit!
Okay, so I was kind of disappointed when it came up two episodes ago but the new episode of Steins;Gate made me snap.
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Don't teach people such nonsense about biology!!!!!!! Food doesn't affect you child's sex, at all. (Maybe unless you have twins of different gender and one food happens to kill one of the twins but...) Grrr....
Also, since I'm posting on it anyway. Anyone has an idea how they got their SERN data when they never had an IBN in the current timeline? Just something that bugs me.
Huh, noticed that Kugimiya's the lead role in two shows this season. I almost gotta feel sorry for how typecast she is (heard that she's a bit bitter about it all) with the scant few roles she gets that aren't pissy girls who look roughly 6 years younger than they really are (Rise Kujikawa's about the only one I can think of since Rise's a bubbly happy chick for the most part who latches onto the Protag like a fanboy latches onto his dakimakura).
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A well-placed bullet can stop anybody with an oversized sword.
In real life that is.
Everywhere else, you're screwed.
Rise also happens to look like a non-insane version of one of Teh Rie's other characters who's...well, more sociopathic than bitchy, and actually looks older than she acts. And also latches onto the protagonist like a lamprey, although her job and slaughtering random civilians comes first.
Admittedly, Nena Trinity is a minor character, but she's still a character.
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Welp, just finished Legend of the Golden Witch and the Tea Parties. Damn, that was bloody. And awesome. And bloody awesome. And awesomely bloody. Spoilers ahead with thoughts, guesses, suspicions, paranoia and some random stuff.
Spoiler
- The witch is so real it hurts. If anything, the fact that no one except Maria and the servants was willing to even consider the possibility, coupled with the "everyone dies" ending, seems to indicate that. Not to mention she sharing black tea in the Tea Parties with everyone, heh. Add to this some meta-thinking on my side: Ryukishi07 loves playing with expectations, and he surely wanted to try and send Higurashi veterans a sign that things were different in Rokkenjima.
- There are probably ways to explain the strangest things that happened during the story (letters appearing out of nowhere, the deaths of Eva and her hubbie in a closed and locked room, butterflies everywhere and, well, the fact that Beatrice was right there in front of both Natsuhi and the kids), but for now I don't feel I have enough information to even begin doubting. I don't think Battler will have an easy fight here if he's really going to prove Beatrice's non-existence...
- That said, there's something weird in Kanon's death. Beatrice could move around without bothering to open doors or windows, yet the door to the boiler slammed shut and attracted Kanon to his death. Then, when the rest came rushing in, the killer had opened the other door and had escaped through it. He or she vanished afterwards in the courtyard, but still. That leads me to believe that there's someone with a physical body (and probably human) helping Beatrice along. That someone is probably not part of the eighteen.
- I'd say "surely not part of the eighteen" above if it wasn't for the fact that I can't believe that the body burning in the furnace was Kinzo's. Call me paranoid (and you'll be right at this point), but it was stated outright that polydactyly was hereditary, so this body could easily be one of his dead sons (or daughters, sex couldn't be confirmed) which were locked inside the storehouse. After all, the killer can open any lock, padlock included, right? And yeah, I know that Kinzo is listed as dead in the end, which probably means that all bodies were found and accounted for. I'm still doubtful. How about illegitimate descendants?
- Nobody ever tried to even think a bit seriously about the riddle? Seriously? Come on, guys, it was right in your face and it still took you half a day to even put two and two together and realize that, yes, those six were the sacrifice that the epitaph talked about. Sheesh. As noted in the tea party by the sane (i.e., non-Battler) team, solving that is the most direct way to defeat the witch.
- Talking about the riddle, something that flashed randomly in my mind while thinking about something completely unrelated: what if the siblings' weird names were a clue for the enigma that Kinzo started planting who knows how many years in the past? He's been said to be able to foresee the future, and that his actions towards far away goals are sometimes hard to understand, so I wouldn't put it past him. Then, what if solving the riddle requires looking at the alternate readings of the kanji that form it?
- The magic won't be complete unless everyone believes, hm? I'm starting to wonder if Battler is supposed to be the hero or the (unwilling) villain here. It's his stubborness about finding a rational explanation to everything that's keeping everyone from resurrecting in the end. Never mind the fact that there's a bloody ritual with eighteen killings going on before that...
- It's kind of weird that the story of this chapter is told (mostly) from Battler's perspective, but the notes inside the bottle that gave birth to the legend were signed by Maria. Nice Higurashi throwback with her (?) final words there, by the way.
- The One Winged Eagle worries me, even if its presence in Kanon's, Shannon's and Genji's clothes (and skin in Shannon's case!) was explained. The patterns in Beatrice's dress look quite similar to it. Eh, probably more paranoia.
- The stakes don't work against people with high magic resistance. Battler has very high magic resistance. I smell a future plot point here.
- Oh, and hello, Bernkastel, witch of Fragments. You sound familiar for some reason I can't quite pinpoint... Seriously, Bernkastel's possible (probable? likely? sure?) identity is the only thing I've been half-spoiled about so far, and well, after watching the second Tea Party, it's hard not to think that way. I'm not touching her friendly chat with Beatrice (aka Beato) with a ten foot pole at this point, though, although I'll keep in mind the "Beatrice is not a single entity" hint, just in case.
Plot points I want to see expanded on. The orphanage, the servants, the sacrifices and their relationship with each other. Genji and Kinzo, and what the second did for the first to earn his utmost and lifelong devotion. The paintings: are they portals to the witch world or something? The cover certainly seems to point that way, and Beatrice and Maria were walking towards it at the end... Also, what's with all those girls in the cover? More witches? Kids from the orphanage? A fellow with a monocle? Flying bunny girls? What?
Character-wise, my hatred for Eva faded a bit in the end when she showed her more sympathetic side. Just before dying, of course . I didn't mind Natsuhi too much. She seemed honest, although her way of expressing herself left a bit to be desired, and she did make some stupid decisions. Then again, no one was being specially smart in Rokkenjima in this chapter, I think. I'd love to see Kyrie survive a bit longer in the following chapters, she looked like the most intelligent person in the house, and she should know when to stop "turning the chessboard around", something Battler couldn't seem to grasp. You can't think like the enemy if you don't even know who your enemy is, sheesh. George and Shannon were cute together, but I'd love to see more of the Jessica/Kanon side, just because I think they're so mismatched they just have to work well together somehow .
Funnily, the one I ended up disliking the most of the whole Ushiromiya family was Rosa, even more after it was revealed that she didn't like Maria because she probably saw her as an obstacle for her remarriage. Ugly. Oh, and Gouda (I'm calling him that from now on and there's no way anyone can stop me), who for the short time he was alive looked like a bastard of the worst kind hiding behind his nice manners and forced smile. And delicious cooking, hmm...
Oh, there's Maria, too, of course. I kind of like her, but damn, she's out-creeping Rika and Rena. I'll take "nipa-"s and "uso da!"s over "kihihihihi"s any day of the week, thank you very much. That phone call with her singing on the background had to be her best moment. What's with this saga and terrifying phone calls, by the way? At least this one didn't have a DAT FACE moment at the very end, I wouldn't be sleeping much tonight otherwise...
Overall, a very pleasant opening to the story. I'm already itching to dig into the next slice of delicious, bloody cake. But only if Bernkastel brings her plum tea along.
Man, I've been rather lagging on the anime front lately. Hard to know what's good and what isn't. It's been a long time since anything mindblowing came along.
Although I am hopelessly addicted to Gintama It parody at its finest!
Um... Okay. Anime isn't my thing, but I came here to discuss my... numerous issues, with Cowboy Bebop as it's started to affect my actual life now, and not in a good way. However I'm not sure how to put with without making everyone angry or accidentally make myself look like a troll in the process... I guess I'd like to ask if you're all okay with me speaking my mind about the series, which might be rather long. I could also talk about it through PM's if that would be more preferable.
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We don't mind reasonable critic I dare say. (Me not liking too lengthy posts os another issue but tohers here don't share my distaste for it)
So, if you feel like you get enjoyment out of it and as long as you won't make a troll post, go ahaed and state your problems with what is one of the best animes ever
Um... I'm not sure if how I describe my issues is reasonable, I'd like to PM someone who could take a look and let me know if it is considered too offensive and applies as trolling please.
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Yeah, true. That's about why I asked first Still, I really need to let it out somehow as it's all I've been able to think at this time, and it's started to affect my school grades, with exams coming in about a week or two
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Well... Alright then... BTW I always mince my words when discussing CB; if I didn't... you'd rather not know
Spoiler
IMO Cowboy Bebop is still considered one of the best animes of all time only because it's running solely on nostalgia. It's more on the lines of Neon Genesis Evangelion in terms of quality (without all the confusion barring a couple episodes) I didn't watch CB until awhile ago, so I don't have the understanding of it's nostalgia. I freely accept something for what it is, which in CB's case is it's art design and music... and that's about the only things I'll gladly and openly compliment about.
My biggest problem with the series hands down is the protagonist, Spike. IMO he is too badass and cool for the shows own good; there's such a thing as doing it wrong after all. Because of the fact Spike is so cool and badass, he is basically the solo contributer to the plot and is so important the show is better named "Spike Spiegal" than "Cowboy Bebop". He seems to be one of the two people that is not affected by reality in the show, as a result I see a lot of stuff he does too improbable for the series, like deflecting sword swings with a dated gun, or that horrible episode where Spike steals Kira Yamato's plot armor, improves it, and uses it during the fight with Vicious in the cathedral early on in the series; actually that was around the point where I thought the series Jumped The Shark. It seems everything Spike is that appeals to people I just despise.
Speaking of Vicious, he's the second biggest problem with the series; his design is atrocious, almost a ripoff of Sephiroth depending if FFVII came first or not. He has the most uninteresting English VA, and his personality is way too flat and ststic for the lead antagonist. IMO he's one of the most badly-made main antagonists I've seen in anime. He's also the other person that isn't affected by reality with his use of dual katanas and his plot armor in the cathedral fight. IMO the show would have improved 10-fold if he died there.
And the third biggest problem I have? Spike's love interest, Julia. I find her too flat and static for her role, in fact I find her very cookie-cutter to the point where she almost applies as a Purity Sue. I found Lalah Sune a better character than her, and she wasn't one of the better highlights of Mobile Suit Gundam. Because of all this, the finale pissed me off more so than anything (perhaps barring the cathedral fight), I have no clue why it was called one of the greatest finale's ever, I thought it was really bad with it emphasizing the biggest problems I had with the series.
And when I think about it, I feel I can compare Cowboy Bebop to a mediocre fanfic with Spike being the OC inserted into the fic whose character, backstory, and plot threads eventually overtakes the entire plot; that's what Cowboy Bebop felt like to me.
...I hope this wasn't too offensive, just thought I'd say my issues with it.
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So how is this affecting your personal life, exactly?
Mostly in the way that I never stop thinking about it; it distracts me often from my schoolwork that I should be getting done. What's worse is that I know no one in real life that knows about Cowboy Bebop, so they don't understand when I talk to them and makes the conversation meaningless, it only frustrates me more so.
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This thread has inspired me to pick up Cowboy Bebop again and finish it.
Thanks, Starsign, I hope this therapy session has been as good to you as it has been to me
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I didn't see Cowboy Bebop in full until the last few years. I'd always seen parts of it but at random on TV.
Anyways while I don't dislike it persay, its always bothered me that it does not infact have a plot. Its a collection subplots with no connection to one another. Only it tries to pretend otherwise. Except Spike's tale doesn't need Faye or Jet in it, Ed ends up just an amusing comedy show, and Ein goes nowhere. I understand this is somewhat the point but it doesn't quite get there.
Still enjoyable (and of course with great music) but I've never understood why its elevated above countless other series.
For the most part, I enjoyed the episodic content. I felt they did a decent job with it, and it was nice to just watch nearly any episode without the context of the last. Note, I don't have a preference for plot-heavy or episodic content, nor am I making such judgements, I just happened to enjoy the narrative in which Bebop handled itself.
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. I didn't mind Natsuhi too much. She seemed honest, although her way of expressing herself left a bit to be desired, and she did make some stupid decisions. Then again, no one was being specially smart in Rokkenjima in this chapter, I think. I'd love to see Kyrie survive a bit longer in the following chapters, she looked like the most intelligent person in the house, and she should know when to stop "turning the chessboard around", something Battler couldn't seem to grasp. You can't think like the enemy if you don't even know who your enemy is, sheesh. George and Shannon were cute together, but I'd love to see more of the Jessica/Kanon side, just because I think they're so mismatched they just have to work well together somehow 
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