Feel free to chime in here with whatever you want relating to anime. I will be providing reviews and rants, generally concerning the state of all things animation or whatever esoteric film or show I happen to have watched recently.
The lowdown: The guy who did the manga for this, Junji Itou, is famous for his disturbingly weird and dark horror series. He also wrote Uzumaki and Tomie. This OVA adaptation was highly anticipated since the manga is beloved by many. UFOTable turned Itou's work into a 1.5 hour animation, combining traditional animation with CGI in places. It's a horror story about parasites of unknown origin that take over the ocean and begin to migrate onto the land.
Why you should watch it: These friggin' guys. Land sharks? Land sharks. That's entertainment right there.
MOAR: The first half of the OVA is actually very good. My only complaint is that it goes by just a little too quickly. All the elements of a great "cheese" horror story are there. It makes me think of movies like "Megashark VS. Giant Octopus", only actually good.
The second half is where it just gets... weird. Like, uncomfortably weird. Without spoiling anything, if you're easily grossed out, this might not be for you. Still, I wouldn't count that against it, since I enjoy craziness like this. I will take points off for the abrupt pace of the story, though. Because the movie is only 1.5 hours long, a lot of the nuance and pacing of the manga is thrown out the window. Some of the scenes, such as the carnival, just feel abrupt, out of place, and forced. It feels like the film would have gained a lot from an extra hour, or even an extra half hour, of background and dialogue. There's just barely enough time to care about the relationships and interactions between the characters that they're trying to set up.
Overall: 7/10. This is a fun one to bring out on party nights with friends.
Would you look down on a person for watching certain anime's that are considered "not-good" yet have still been shipped over to the US for money-making purposes? I ask because a friend... blah blah, a lie no one believes.
And is always better to watch with sub-titles for us casual viewers?
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I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
"Not good" has a great deal of subjectivity to it. There are things almost everyone likes, like Bebop, and things almost everyone hates, like Garzey's Wing, but if it's your thing, go for it, I say. It's also OK to enjoy some things about a show (say, the show is about trains and you happen to like trains) while admitting it has flaws (the plot is terrible, etc).
And I guarantee that you can't possibly like worse shows than me (unless you're into Kodomo no Jikan et al :weird2:), so by all means, go for it. I don't judge (much)(OK that's a damn lie but whatever ;)).
So if you're asking if I will judge you as a person for liking things like Bleach and Naruto, of course not; that's just silly. However, if you start trying to say that sort of thing is the best show ever (in comparison to other shows) and has no flaws and ignore any legitimate criticisms, you rightly deserve to be told off. Am I making any sense here? It's OK to like something while admitting there are things wrong with it.
Regarding subtitles: There are some dubs which are generally preferred because, well, they're good. Bebop, Baccano, and by most accounts Hellsing (Ultimate) all have very watchable dubs. I've watched Escaflowne and a handful of others dubbed. I just prefer subs because 1) it's how the audio of the show was originally broadcast, meaning more of the jokes and cultural things make sense, and 2) I can practice learning Japanese. I've gotten to the point now where I don't even notice the subs for half of the dialogue (although I definitely still need them to fully understand what's going on).
Eh, I used to be all "rawr subs only" back in the day, but I honestly haven't seen any truly objectionable dubs made in the past few years. Plus it's easier to follow stories and overall more immersive when you don't have to disregard dialogue in a language you don't understand, with inflections and other things you don't understand, in favour of trying to pull that same level of nuance out of subtitles that, honestly, aren't always that accurate (I've seen some impressive liberties taken with subs, anyway). Plus on a practical note it's easier to follow along with a dubbed anime when you've got that on one monitor and an MMO on the other. Then again this is coming from a person with an Inuyasha avatar so salt grain, take with, etc etc.
And if you kids want to talk about facepalm-inducing anime, your Naruto and Kodomo no Jikan viewings probably aren't worse than me watching the likes of Loveless or Princess Princess.
I'd love to hear you're thoughts on my two favorite animes, Legend of Black Heaven and Bakuman.
NOT Bakugan. Bloody anime.
Also, on the subject of subs vs dubs... I can't keep up with subtitles. So, there's that. I read slow.
Well, I can tell you this about them - they're both on my "to watch" list because they both look very good.
There was an excellent article about Bakuman in this month's Otaku USA magazine. Honestly, the idea of a manga about writing manga tickles my creative fancy, and given that it's written by guys who actually work at Shonen Jump - about working at Shonen Jump - it seems like it would be informative as well as entertaining. OUSA said that the anime doesn't quite stack up to the manga just because of the nature of the thing, and that sounds like it would be right. It's hard to beat the design novelty of a manga about making manga. Also according to them the drawing montage scenes work much better in manga form, again just due to the nature of the medium.
Black Heaven has been on my hit list for a while simply due to being in a number of AMVs and looking great. Once I looked it up and read the premise, I was sold. I mean this:
Once he was Gabriel Tanaka, lead guitarist for Black Heaven, the hottest band around. His life was filled with passion and excitement, but no longer. Now he's just Ouji Tanaka, saddled with a mundane job, little pay, a shrewish wife, and a young son. The only thing he has left are the memories of his youth until an odd and beautiful woman asks him to pick up his guitar once more, and help save the galaxy with his song.
Being neither of those things does help with the enjoyment of those series, yes.
Although on the subject of Loveless, I think it's a little depressing that I could probably pull off an amazing Agatsuma Soubi crossplay (and on that note, I can say from experience I can do a decent Zoisite from Sailor Moon). And the fact that I look pretty much exactly like Jade Curtiss from Tales of the Abyss is both amazing and depressing at the same time.
Well, I can tell you this about them - they're both on my "to watch" list because they both look very good.
There was an excellent article about Bakuman in this month's Otaku USA magazine. Honestly, the idea of a manga about writing manga tickles my creative fancy, and given that it's written by guys who actually work at Shonen Jump - about working at Shonen Jump - it seems like it would be informative as well as entertaining. OUSA said that the anime doesn't quite stack up to the manga just because of the nature of the thing, and that sounds like it would be right. It's hard to beat the design novelty of a manga about making manga. Also according to them the drawing montage scenes work much better in manga form, again just due to the nature of the medium.
Black Heaven has been on my hit list for a while simply due to being in a number of AMVs and looking great. Once I looked it up and read the premise, I was sold. I mean this: This is awesome.
Good to hear that. Yes, the Bakuman anime isn't quite as good as the manga (Which is my favorite manga) and Legend is my favorite anime. It's... You'll love it. I would track that down soon. It's getting harder and harder to find.
I read a lot more when I was living in Japan and I still go to see the in-laws and pick up a few books.
I am currently following Nichijou (obvious from my avatar, no surprise there) and generally like a good amount of the "slice of life" manga with a twist or two.
Mainly I watch the Japanese period dramas. Love me some Abarenbo Shogun, Mito Komon, and Onihe Hankacho.
The lowdown: It's a 2 hour movie based on a war-romance light novel by Koroko Inumura. Madhouse and TMS did the animation. It's set in an alternate world that's an eclectic mix of past and future - fighter planes evoking a 1950s feel exist alongside electrolytic fuel cells that run on sea water.
The good: I was skeptical of the movie for the first twenty minutes or so. The strength of a romance story like this (a male and female lead on a long journey together) absolutely comes down to the successful development of the characters. Thankfully, I was not disappointed; there is plenty here to like. The female lead seems stereotypically helpless when we begin our journey, but - surprise - character development actually begins to happen once she's left familiar surroundings behind. She calls out the male lead for assuming she can't do things. She gets drunk - on purpose. Kudos to the writer for creating a strong female lead to fill a role that could so easily have been just another cliche damsel in distress. Likewise, the male character is relatable, and forced to deal with personal moral quandries other than which beer to swig before riding off into the sunset. The strong characters are what make this film work.
The not quite as good: The planes look great for what they are... and of course, what they are is CGI. If you don't mind CGI, it's great. I've never been a fan of it, so the animation lost a few points from me there. All told, though, it's a beautiful show. Another thing that I would have liked to see is more development of the backstory for the setting. We know the main character belongs to a racial group that is discriminated against, but the cause is not made especially clear, especially given that there aren't really any distinguishable visual cues for the viewer. I would have liked to learn more about the world, the technology, and the history of events that led up to the situation the movie presents.
Now that we've hit episode 9 of 12, I've begun to look for major plot developments to crop up any time now: hints of what will be the final battle, perhaps a surprise defection or kidnapping. We're almost at the point of no return - any new developments have to show up either now or in the next episode in order to leave time for a proper resolution. That's why this episode surprised me: things seem to be pretty normal. Almost nothing happened that I didn't expect. In a sort of reverse-psychology way, the fact that nothing surprising happened was itself surprising. At least, that was my initial reaction. But the more I think about it... the more I'm beginning to think they may be slow-rolling something major. I'll get to that in a minute.
The few things that did change are certainly interesting, make no mistake. Miku was introduced to the team and allowed special access to HQ. It's debatable whether this may have future implications. I remain skeptical for now. Genjuuro made special effort to patch things up with Kurisu (Interestingly, this led to her jumping through the closed window of an at least 14-story building. She does have a flair for the dramatic.), although he still hasn't managed to recruit her, and it's unclear if he ever will. Tsubasa fully recovered, and decided her new lease on life called for a playdate with Hibiki and Miku - who were late as usual. Hibiki took a cue from Pokemon and picked up a new "earthquake" style attack, and an extra-super-charged punch.
But the most interesting change is certainly the reveal that since Tsubasa has recovered more or less fully from her swan song, she's decided to go back on tour. Eager to put past feelings behind her, I suppose, she performs once again at the venue which holds so many tragic memories for her. She's also been introduced to a new character, one Mr. Glazer, who is connected with plans for an overseas tour. At first pass I didn't think much of this guy, but I've begun to reconsider. Conspiracy theories aside, the very amount of screen time this guy gets, in particular this shot, makes me suspicious. Why introduce a new, unique, named character now? By episode ten we'll know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me now if this guy turns out to be the missing plot-twist, and he's just a little slow in getting started.
Regardless of what happens, I'm still anxious to see what tricks Fine has up her (proverbial) sleeve. This episod
The Princess and the Pilot was good. A simple story that went from point A to point B, but begs to be expanded on. At the end with the simple afterword, it left me saying, "That's it? I want moar!"
Just finished watching Umineko no Naku Koro ni. I guess I was expecting more of a murder mystery instead of another 'endless summer' with everything can be explained by 'magic' sort of deal. It was hard to keep track of all the characters and their relationships to one another. I suppose I should have suspected that it'd be like Higurashi, but that's what I get for just walking into it. I really wanted more closure to the series, but I guess that's why it's a murder mystery...
So, recently: Gyo
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Trailer (possibly NSFW violence)
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The lowdown: The guy who did the manga for this, Junji Itou, is famous for his disturbingly weird and dark horror series. He also wrote Uzumaki and Tomie. This OVA adaptation was highly anticipated since the manga is beloved by many. UFOTable turned Itou's work into a 1.5 hour animation, combining traditional animation with CGI in places. It's a horror story about parasites of unknown origin that take over the ocean and begin to migrate onto the land.
Why you should watch it: These friggin' guys. Land sharks? Land sharks. That's entertainment right there.
MOAR: The first half of the OVA is actually very good. My only complaint is that it goes by just a little too quickly. All the elements of a great "cheese" horror story are there. It makes me think of movies like "Megashark VS. Giant Octopus", only actually good.
The second half is where it just gets... weird. Like, uncomfortably weird. Without spoiling anything, if you're easily grossed out, this might not be for you. Still, I wouldn't count that against it, since I enjoy craziness like this. I will take points off for the abrupt pace of the story, though. Because the movie is only 1.5 hours long, a lot of the nuance and pacing of the manga is thrown out the window. Some of the scenes, such as the carnival, just feel abrupt, out of place, and forced. It feels like the film would have gained a lot from an extra hour, or even an extra half hour, of background and dialogue. There's just barely enough time to care about the relationships and interactions between the characters that they're trying to set up.
Overall: 7/10. This is a fun one to bring out on party nights with friends.
Next up: The Princess and The Pilot
Would you look down on a person for watching certain anime's that are considered "not-good" yet have still been shipped over to the US for money-making purposes? I ask because a friend... blah blah, a lie no one believes.
And is always better to watch with sub-titles for us casual viewers?
the KK
And I guarantee that you can't possibly like worse shows than me (unless you're into Kodomo no Jikan et al :weird2:), so by all means, go for it. I don't judge (much)(OK that's a damn lie but whatever ;)).
So if you're asking if I will judge you as a person for liking things like Bleach and Naruto, of course not; that's just silly. However, if you start trying to say that sort of thing is the best show ever (in comparison to other shows) and has no flaws and ignore any legitimate criticisms, you rightly deserve to be told off. Am I making any sense here? It's OK to like something while admitting there are things wrong with it.
Regarding subtitles: There are some dubs which are generally preferred because, well, they're good. Bebop, Baccano, and by most accounts Hellsing (Ultimate) all have very watchable dubs. I've watched Escaflowne and a handful of others dubbed. I just prefer subs because 1) it's how the audio of the show was originally broadcast, meaning more of the jokes and cultural things make sense, and 2) I can practice learning Japanese. I've gotten to the point now where I don't even notice the subs for half of the dialogue (although I definitely still need them to fully understand what's going on).
And if you kids want to talk about facepalm-inducing anime, your Naruto and Kodomo no Jikan viewings probably aren't worse than me watching the likes of Loveless or Princess Princess.
NOT Bakugan. Bloody anime.
Also, on the subject of subs vs dubs... I can't keep up with subtitles. So, there's that. I read slow.
I would honestly rather stab myself in the eye with a spork - twice - than watch Kodomo no Jikan, thanks.
Loveless and Princess Princess aren't that bad. They're just not something most straight guys would watch. Nothing wrong with that.
Well, I can tell you this about them - they're both on my "to watch" list because they both look very good.
There was an excellent article about Bakuman in this month's Otaku USA magazine. Honestly, the idea of a manga about writing manga tickles my creative fancy, and given that it's written by guys who actually work at Shonen Jump - about working at Shonen Jump - it seems like it would be informative as well as entertaining. OUSA said that the anime doesn't quite stack up to the manga just because of the nature of the thing, and that sounds like it would be right. It's hard to beat the design novelty of a manga about making manga. Also according to them the drawing montage scenes work much better in manga form, again just due to the nature of the medium.
Black Heaven has been on my hit list for a while simply due to being in a number of AMVs and looking great. Once I looked it up and read the premise, I was sold. I mean this: This is awesome.
BTW, here's my favorite Black Heaven AMV.
Being neither of those things does help with the enjoyment of those series, yes.
Although on the subject of Loveless, I think it's a little depressing that I could probably pull off an amazing Agatsuma Soubi crossplay (and on that note, I can say from experience I can do a decent Zoisite from Sailor Moon). And the fact that I look pretty much exactly like Jade Curtiss from Tales of the Abyss is both amazing and depressing at the same time.
Good to hear that. Yes, the Bakuman anime isn't quite as good as the manga (Which is my favorite manga) and Legend is my favorite anime. It's... You'll love it. I would track that down soon. It's getting harder and harder to find.
I am currently following Nichijou (obvious from my avatar, no surprise there) and generally like a good amount of the "slice of life" manga with a twist or two.
Mainly I watch the Japanese period dramas. Love me some Abarenbo Shogun, Mito Komon, and Onihe Hankacho.
Signature done by perv90210
My Trade Thread | Random Buy List
Pikachudansen | Pika Pika Yukai
Wahaha... | MyAnimeList
Iso is Batman | Tamiyo lulz
Official Anime Enthusiast of [TheCrafters].
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
------------
Trailer
------------
The lowdown: It's a 2 hour movie based on a war-romance light novel by Koroko Inumura. Madhouse and TMS did the animation. It's set in an alternate world that's an eclectic mix of past and future - fighter planes evoking a 1950s feel exist alongside electrolytic fuel cells that run on sea water.
The good: I was skeptical of the movie for the first twenty minutes or so. The strength of a romance story like this (a male and female lead on a long journey together) absolutely comes down to the successful development of the characters. Thankfully, I was not disappointed; there is plenty here to like. The female lead seems stereotypically helpless when we begin our journey, but - surprise - character development actually begins to happen once she's left familiar surroundings behind. She calls out the male lead for assuming she can't do things. She gets drunk - on purpose. Kudos to the writer for creating a strong female lead to fill a role that could so easily have been just another cliche damsel in distress. Likewise, the male character is relatable, and forced to deal with personal moral quandries other than which beer to swig before riding off into the sunset. The strong characters are what make this film work.
The not quite as good: The planes look great for what they are... and of course, what they are is CGI. If you don't mind CGI, it's great. I've never been a fan of it, so the animation lost a few points from me there. All told, though, it's a beautiful show. Another thing that I would have liked to see is more development of the backstory for the setting. We know the main character belongs to a racial group that is discriminated against, but the cause is not made especially clear, especially given that there aren't really any distinguishable visual cues for the viewer. I would have liked to learn more about the world, the technology, and the history of events that led up to the situation the movie presents.
Overall: 7.5/10
This is a good one. Recommended.
Spoilers for Symphogear.
Review: Symphogear, Episode 09
“A Sentinel’s Song”
Now that we've hit episode 9 of 12, I've begun to look for major plot developments to crop up any time now: hints of what will be the final battle, perhaps a surprise defection or kidnapping. We're almost at the point of no return - any new developments have to show up either now or in the next episode in order to leave time for a proper resolution. That's why this episode surprised me: things seem to be pretty normal. Almost nothing happened that I didn't expect. In a sort of reverse-psychology way, the fact that nothing surprising happened was itself surprising. At least, that was my initial reaction. But the more I think about it... the more I'm beginning to think they may be slow-rolling something major. I'll get to that in a minute.
The few things that did change are certainly interesting, make no mistake. Miku was introduced to the team and allowed special access to HQ. It's debatable whether this may have future implications. I remain skeptical for now. Genjuuro made special effort to patch things up with Kurisu (Interestingly, this led to her jumping through the closed window of an at least 14-story building. She does have a flair for the dramatic.), although he still hasn't managed to recruit her, and it's unclear if he ever will. Tsubasa fully recovered, and decided her new lease on life called for a playdate with Hibiki and Miku - who were late as usual. Hibiki took a cue from Pokemon and picked up a new "earthquake" style attack, and an extra-super-charged punch.
But the most interesting change is certainly the reveal that since Tsubasa has recovered more or less fully from her swan song, she's decided to go back on tour. Eager to put past feelings behind her, I suppose, she performs once again at the venue which holds so many tragic memories for her. She's also been introduced to a new character, one Mr. Glazer, who is connected with plans for an overseas tour. At first pass I didn't think much of this guy, but I've begun to reconsider. Conspiracy theories aside, the very amount of screen time this guy gets, in particular this shot, makes me suspicious. Why introduce a new, unique, named character now? By episode ten we'll know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me now if this guy turns out to be the missing plot-twist, and he's just a little slow in getting started.
Regardless of what happens, I'm still anxious to see what tricks Fine has up her (proverbial) sleeve. This episod
Signature done by perv90210
My Trade Thread | Random Buy List
Pikachudansen | Pika Pika Yukai
Wahaha... | MyAnimeList
Iso is Batman | Tamiyo lulz
Official Anime Enthusiast of [TheCrafters].
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Signature done by perv90210
My Trade Thread | Random Buy List
Pikachudansen | Pika Pika Yukai
Wahaha... | MyAnimeList
Iso is Batman | Tamiyo lulz
Official Anime Enthusiast of [TheCrafters].
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻