AnoHana

[lilboocorsola]

I really wish I knew what you guys were talking about. And who that guy sitting next to Anaru is. >>;

(Maybe I'll take another trip to the library this weekend...)

[Doppleganger]

Originally Posted by Talon87

2. PLEASE DON'T REPLY WITH RIDDLES. What do you mean, "compare the image with my avatar"? I have done so. Ten times before writing up this reply. And I DO NOT SEE the connection you think I should see. What the heck does your Muv-Luv avatar have to do with two teens awkwardly sitting next to one another in a karaoke booth?

It isn't obvious?

He looks like Takeru, in that scene with that expression. I was really excited seeing him on screen for like a second there, only to be horrified a bit later. You may disagree on the grounds that such a generic-looking face would normally be impossible to ID even with game exposure, but for me it was insta-recognizable. Especially since even animated Takeru looks NOTHING like his game counterpart.

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

It isn't obvious?

He looks like Takeru

I was afraid you were going to say that. -_____-; NO HE DOESN'--

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

You may disagree on the grounds that such a generic-looking face

YES!

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

but for me it was insta-recognizable.

NO! >_<

They look nothing alike.

They're both Caucasian Japanese with brown hair and brown eyes. THE END. The AnoHana character designs look nothing like the Muv-Luv ones. I ... I ...

Everything with you is Muv-Luv! >_< [/angry little sister character]

Is that seriously what you were going for? hahahaha Well ... I guess you were in for a rude surprise when your boy "Takeru" decided to show Anaru his One Piece Blu-Ray collection. (HAHAHAHAHA! HE WAS A ONE PIECE FAN, TOO! Oh man, that must have really stung! ) Poor Doppel. ^^; He gets all excited and then ... HORRIBLE TASTE IN MOUTH.

[lilboocorsola]

Tee hee. Dopple reminds me of how I was a few years ago when I played LoZ: Ocarina of Time. (How I wish I still had that passion...)

I actually think Muv-Luv would work well as an animé, and I'm a little surprised there hasn't been an adaptation yet. Even knowing Unlimited and Alternative turn the rom-com harem plot completely upside-down, that just makes me look forward to seeing an animé with such a unique combination of genres even more. Kinda like how TMoHS mixed sci-fi and school life successfully to create an original story that can appeal to everyone.

[Doppleganger]

Hey, I'm not obsessed. JilPoong17 is obsessed, he's been making blog posts for ML (and pictures on each of the characters birthdays) since like 2006. That is age worship. I'm just a casual in comparison.

Once upon a time, I had a phase like this for Fate/stay night, but even my FSN fever didn't burst thermometres like ML does. It's subsided for the most part. Maybe, four years from now, I'll be all burnt out from ML, then age starts releasing OVAs and animated side materials, and you decide to investigate those anime and the VN. I start watching a series of seven movies and get drawn in again. o.o

Originally Posted by Talon87

They're both Caucasian Japanese with brown hair and brown eyes. THE END. The AnoHana character designs look nothing like the Muv-Luv ones. I ... I ...

You got me thinking with the doujin comparison post from earlier, because while I recognized Anaru and Kyou, I didn't get Fate or Saten until you told me who they were supposed to be. So I guess, barring clothes and hair, I've got to look at face and expression to make mental matches.

It's like, once upon a many years ago, I told my Dad Jim Carrey played The Grinch in How The Grinch Stole Christmas and he looked exactly like Carrey. My Dad asked what exactly in The Grinch costume looked like Carrey, and I couldn't really answer except for the expressions, which isn't right. His face is entirely different, as is his voice. So how? It's facial information I'm getting that I don't quite understand. So for some reason, I got that same info from our would-be maburavuboy.

Originally Posted by Talon87

Is that seriously what you were going for? hahahaha Well ... I guess you were in for a rude surprise when your boy "Takeru" decided to show Anaru his One Piece Blu-Ray collection. (HAHAHAHAHA! HE WAS A ONE PIECE FAN, TOO! Oh man, that must have really stung! ) Poor Doppel. ^^; He gets all excited and then ... HORRIBLE TASTE IN MOUTH.

Yeah that bugged me too, but One Piece fans now are really bad, it was more portent to me than even asking her out. I was honestly surprised at that development, not only did I not think Ano Hana had the potential for it, it was kind of-

Spoiler: show

Well, rude, wasn't it? Isn't that guy "Kyou" I think one of Anaru's friend's boyfriend? So why the heck would she be so willing to let that guy date rape Anaru? This isn't freakin' Aki Sora, what the fudge?!

Originally Posted by YUKI.N

Tee hee. Dopple reminds me of how I was a few years ago when I played LoZ: Ocarina of Time. (How I wish I still had that passion...)

I actually think Muv-Luv would work well as an animé, and I'm a little surprised there hasn't been an adaptation yet. Even knowing Unlimited and Alternative turn the rom-com harem plot completely upside-down, that just makes me look forward to seeing an animé with such a unique combination of genres even more. Kinda like how TMoHS mixed sci-fi and school life successfully to create an original story that can appeal to everyone.

Extra would work.

Unlimited and Alternative, never.

AyuMayu Theatre even makes fun of the Muv-Luv cast because they'll never get a dedicated anime.

[lilboocorsola]

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Extra would work.

Unlimited and Alternative, never.

AyuMayu Theatre even makes fun of the Muv-Luv cast because they'll never get a dedicated anime.

Granted, I haven't played Unlimited and Alternative yet, but I don't see why it couldn't. Wouldn't it just be similar to a series where a hero gets sucked into a fantasy world, but with mechs? They could make each part its own season.

[Talon87]

"With friends like those, who needs enemies" might be taking it a bit too far, but I think it's definitely safe to say that those girls aren't true friends for Anaru. They're people she can hang out with and have a fun time with, but they're not good, caring people. They won't be there for her when the chips are down. If anyone's going to benefit most from Menma's ghost visiting Jinta, I honestly think that it'll be Anaru. Hell, I'd rank 'em like this:

Anaru > Yukiatsu > Jinta >>>> Tsuruko > Poppo

Anaru gets away from a very bad influential crowd and rediscovers her own voice.

Yukiatsu is able to heal and get over the death of his first love.

Jinta is able to heal and get over the death of his first love and best friend. (Though less scarred than Yukiatsu, so ranked lower.)

Tsuruko's only benefit is that the guy she's interested in has been broken for 10 years but now stands to be healed.

And as for Poppo? You could say "he gets to have all his friends back" but the dude seems perfectly happy leading a Bohemian life abroad, so it's not like he was -- nor is -- going to be hanging around with them much for very long anyway. Is it still a happy, good thing for him that the gang's back together? Of course. And you can just feel the warmth he radiates, he's so happy everyone's back together again. But I'd say he (so far) seems to have been hurt least by the passage of time and by Menma's death and thus stands to benefit the least of anybody in the group.

[Doppleganger]

Talon:

Spoiler: show

It seems a bit too obvious that the reason Menma appeared to Jinta and not Yukiatsu is because she had strong feelings for him, and Jinta obviously felt the same way, but there are countless cases of girls loving guys and one of the two dying tragically throughout history, probably in Ano Hana's too. So why Menma is here now, in this particular day and age, is still the big question rather than why she's here at all.

While I agree that Poppo was harmed the least, I think Jinta is still the worst. Anaru's core personality seems to be intact even though she's been trying to change her image. Jinta's the only one who had a complete meltdown from who he once was, and given how reticent and pliable he's become, he'll need skillful hands to mold him back into a man.

Originally Posted by YUKI.N

Granted, I haven't played Unlimited and Alternative yet, but I don't see why it couldn't. Wouldn't it just be similar to a series where a hero gets sucked into a fantasy world, but with mechs? They could make each part its own season.

It would be like trying to make Avatar in 1968.

[Talon87]

I don't think becoming a NEET is a fate worse than becoming a coke-addled hooker. The latter was the path Anaru was on, the former the path Jinta was on. That's why I say that I think Anaru's benefited the most from this ultimately. I definitely agree though that Jinta was a husk of a man in need of help.

LOL if the show trolls us by revealing Poppo's the most broken character. Actually, no lols about that. I'd be really sad. Poor Poppo. I love that guy. Please let him really be as happy as he seems to be.

[lilboocorsola]

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

It would be like trying to make Avatar in 1968.

I don't quite get this comparison, partially because I've never seen Avatar. But I know it uses heavy CGI.

I assume it will make a lot more sense after I actually play through Unlimited/Alternative.

*zips mouth about ML stuff lest Talon unleash his fury*

Originally Posted by Talon87

LOL if the show trolls us by revealing Poppo's the most broken character. Actually, no lols about that. I'd be really sad. Poor Poppo. I love that guy. Please let him really be as happy as he seems to be.

I mentioned it before, but my friend's heard the theory that Poppo is lying about his travels:

Originally Posted by My friend

Some people don't think Poppo really travels, given that he talks so big about it, but doesn't have much proof on when or how he did it. He's responsible to do all this alone even though he dropped out of school and was the silliest out of the bunch of kids? Also, he has the money to travel all around the world, but he lives in a dirty clubhouse?

I too hope he doesn't turn out to be that delusional, but this show has already proven it's not afraid to hit us in the face with harsh, unexpected twists. >>;

[Doppleganger]

Originally Posted by Talon87

I don't think becoming a NEET is a fate worse than becoming a coke-addled hooker. The latter was the path Anaru was on, the former the path Jinta was on. That's why I say that I think Anaru's benefited the most from this ultimately. I definitely agree though that Jinta was a husk of a man in need of help.

I disagree, primarily because I played Chaos;Head and the main character was a disgusting, reprehensible NEET, whereas Jinta is merely a disgusting NEET. In the former case, rehab is definitely hardest on the hikki because the trauma has warped his personality. It's like...something I heard in G-Senjou I thnk, "someone who's gotten drunk on leisure will never work again". Menma was enough to get him to attempt school, but that was only 10% of the way path to healing. I can easily see a good chunk of the story rehabing Jinta after everyone else gets their catharsis.

And Anaru wasn't on track to being a hussie. As I said earlier, at her core, she's still the semi-sweet otaku girl who crushed on Jinta as a child. She's in an adult body, in a low-class school and hanging out with low-class girls, but she's fundamentally the same person. It wouldn't take much, IMV, for her to sway away from that sordid path.

Originally Posted by Talon87

LOL if the show trolls us by revealing Poppo's the most broken character. Actually, no lols about that. I'd be really sad. Poor Poppo. I love that guy. Please let him really be as happy as he seems to be.

Possible, but from his banter with his friends, I find it unlikely. He's big, loud, and loveable, and that doesn't seem to change even when he's interacting with people outside of his childhood buddy squad.

Originally Posted by YUKI.N

I don't quite get this comparison, partially because I've never seen Avatar. But I know it uses heavy CGI.

I assume it will make a lot more sense after I actually play through Unlimited/Alternative.

*zips mouth about ML stuff lest Talon unleash his fury*

One last quip, then -

Avatar had insane production values. It wouldn't have been possible without computers. Likewise, even with the budget of Akira, a Muv-Luv Alternative movie, OVA, or TV series wouldn't faithfully reproduced unless a genius director and staff were in charge of the project. If James Cameron could be called genius, he was a genius with a deep pocketbook, and that allowed him to craft Avatar. Currently, no one in Japan except Hayao Miyazaki holds as much individual power, and I doubt even a Miyazaki movie budget could do justice to Alternative.

Keep in mind, Alternative is reputed to have some of the highest production values for a VN...ever. It's like comparing Star Wars to The Twilight Zone, or Half-Life (in 1999) to everything before it.

And I'm not even talking about the crazy-arse plot mechanics.

[Talon87]

We're just going to have to disagree then. Not going to repeat myself. lol

Lil' Blue, if your friend turns out to be right about Poppo, I will be very sad about that outcome and very angry with your friend and his sources for jinxing the show. >.< He makes some good points, but I think he also overestimates the fact that Poppo's squalid living conditions in Japan are a reflection of his income. One has to wonder what his source of income is, but obviously he's not a penniless child: he has a moped and he can afford to pay for its fuel so that's something. Then there's the fact that he threw a party (with no guarantee people would bring quality food for him to munch on) and upfront deposited cash for some food and for grill materials (like charcoal). That's not something you'd do if you were dirt poor. It'll be interesting to find out Poppo's story, certainly: where are his parents? Since when and why has he desired to go abroad? Does he have any friends that he's made since the group fell apart? Why did he quit going to school? I'm thinking Poppo either comes from a negligent family or else his parents are both dead, one or the other, as that would answer the school and where-are-his-parents questions. But anyway ... yeah, 1:10am, rambling.

[big bad birtha]

I watched the episode as well. I thought it was another pretty good episode overall. We got to see Yukiatsu do something outside the realm of massive dickery.

Like always, I look forward to the next episode.

[Bluejolteon]

Originally Posted by big bad birtha

We got to see Yukiatsu do something outside the realm of massive dickery.

Its his day job But he did show guilt and remorse at the beginning so give him some credit, also jintas STILL THINKING MENMA COULD BE AN HALLUCINATION?! My god after 5 episodes hes still thinking that......?

Good episode though, great pacing and its good to finally get some more backstory and reasoning to charicters like yukiatsu since he got barely any before. On the non hentai bit.......all i can say is why do the japanese get this stuff but us westerners miss out hehe

And that train scene.......yukiatsu must REALLY like his chances for him to be that blunt Episode was great overall though

[lilboocorsola]

Watched episode five. Great as always, loved the train scene.

@Talon & Dopple: I thought you guys were being literal about "Takeru's" One Piece Blu-ray collection. XD In which case I would've tsk tsked at the show overdoing the geekiness, and been even more confused at your horrified reactions. Instead I fell for the same trap, ha ha. ^^;

Spoiler: show

Like BBB said, it's nice to see Yukiatsu's healing nicely and even starting to show some good points. I'll admit I am a little disappointed the issue was resolved so quickly in one episode (You win this round, Talon). ^^; Ah, well. There's always dark fanfiction.

Tsuruko doodling in class = Totally me. Cool to see her reveal some selfish aspects too, shows she's not the Miss Perfect Stoic she makes herself out to be. Yep, this girl's officially my favorite kuudere, gunning for position of favorite female next to Nagato. <3

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by YUKI.N

I'll admit I am a little disappointed the issue was resolved so quickly in one episode (You win this round, Talon). ^^;

Part , part ^_______^. Now I just have to hope I win the Poppo fight. Your friend's going down! (I hope! )

[lilboocorsola]

XD I should clarify that my friend doesn't necessarily believe in any of these theories. He just reports what he hears, and then I parrot back to you.

Here's another interesting idea he read about that has to do with the show's name:

Originally Posted by My friend

I don't quite remember all of it, but basically someone just said that they'd totally freak if it turns out that her wish was to find a forget-me-not flower together with everyone. Turns out the meaning still works in Japanese, with the name of it being wasurenagusa. Almost literally the same.

So what, do they finally realize what the wish was, only to realize that all this time they had in fact never forgotten about her even though they had forgotten about the wish/flower? She seemed more serious in the ep1 flashback though, for it to just be about a flower. But obviously that was before Anaru asked if they liked each other, so I doubt it was a confession wish or anything.

Mostly, I hope it doesn't turn out to be so silly, since it's a bit...cheekily, cheesily obvious, maybe? But still, it was a bit of a mind=blown interesting moment, and almost fits a bit with the whole warm silly feeling of summer nostalgia. But yeah, in fact, the silhouette of the flower from the OP does resemble the outline of a forget-me-not...

[Talon87]

Someone already reported something very similar on gg's website. I dunno. I don't think it's a spoiler, but out of respect for our community and since a few people freaked the fuck out on gg's blog-site about being spoilered, I'll go ahead and reply in a spoiler box:

(spoiler that isn't really a spoiler because it's speculation about a show no one knows how it'll end except for the writers ¬¬)

Spoiler: show

The guy on gg's site said that he figured Menma's wish was to never be forgotten. The idea of a forget-me-not flower is symbolic and meant to be a hit-you-over-the-head-obvious clue about the nature of her wish.

Some people then replied that they rejected this theory on the grounds that no one forgot Menma anyway. In fact, some (Jinta, Yukiatsu) have pathologically been unable to put her out of mind.

But personally, I reject the logic of these rejectors. Because even if the gang haven't forgotten Menma, that doesn't preclude not being forgotten from being Menma's wish. It just means she had a wish and, whether they remembered it or not, they made good on that wish. To be honest, that may be the tearful climax of this series if you think about it:

In life, Menma wished that they never forget her. But now in death, she wants them to forget about her and move on with their lives. That could quite possibly be the tragic and tearful farewell that awaits us in Episode 11. She strongly wished to never be forgotten, but that wish horribly backfired ("be careful what you wish for!", as the saying goes!); and now Menma's come back from the dead to try and help unbind the group from her final living wish. Only by unbinding them can she unbind herself and, no regrets, pass on to the afterlife.

Problem is, this is all speculation on my part. And it's horrid speculation of both camps -- both the forget-me-not Pros and the forget-me-not Cons -- to affirm or reject this theory so soon. After all, the forget-me-not may merely be a symbolic side-dish and have absolutely nothing to do with Menma's wish, just as it would have nothing to do with Yukiatsu's grades or the characters on Jinta's t-shirts. Speculation can be fun -- especially when it yields positive results as it did with Episode 04 -- but it can only take us so far. Ultimately I await the cold, hard evidence. And I expect a fun story to bring me to it.

[lilboocorsola]

Speaking of the characters on Jinta's shirt, what do they say?

Btw, I've been meaning to post this MAD since there's been talk of Madoka lately. Safe if you've seen episode 04. ^~

[Doppleganger]

Originally Posted by Talon87

In life, Menma wished that they never forget her. But now in death, she wants them to forget about her and move on with their lives. That could quite possibly be the tragic and tearful farewell that awaits us in Episode 11. She strongly wished to never be forgotten, but that wish horribly backfired ("be careful what you wish for!", as the saying goes!); and now Menma's come back from the dead to try and help unbind the group from her final living wish. Only by unbinding them can she unbind herself and, no regrets, pass on to the afterlife.[/spoiler]

I like this. But!

Spoiler: show

We have no reason to conclude Menma wants them to forget her in death. True, she can now see how horrible an effect her death had on everyone, but they're recovering. And I doubt she wanted that when she first came back. The thought could have crossed her mind though.

So the development in my mind's eye would be something like -

Menma: "I wanted to be remembered."
Menma: "No! Please forget about me, I'm causing you all pain. "
Everyone: "No, Menma, we love you! If we could go back in time we wouldn't do it any differently!"
Menma: "Everyone..."
Guy: HIKARI NI NARE!

[Talon87]

@Doppel:
By telling her to "become the light," are you asking her to cross over?

@Lil' Blue:
Jinta's shirts change each episode:

• He has one red shirt that says 西へ東へ that he wears in the OP. This means "To the west, to the east."　
• He has another red shirt that says　地底人 that he wore in Episode 01. He's also wearing it in the official art for the ED single. I had to look the first part of this one up. 地底 means "the depths of the earth". 人 is "person". And the compound word? Not in my dictionaries. But I'm guessing it's the Japanese term for the English equivalent "mole people." I'm dead serious.
• He starts off with the same red shirt in Episode 02 but soon changes into a green one that reads 無用心, "insecurity".
• He then changes into a yellow shirt later in that same episode. It reads くま殺し, "bear killer".
• In Episode 03, he changes into his school uniform and wears casual clothing (no text) for most of the episode. But for the barbecue, he puts on an orange-red and yellow shirt that has the word 火山 "volcano" written on the front.
• In Episode 04, he wears the volcano shirt for the first half before changing into a blue shirt that reads 光速, "lightspeed" for the second half.
• He wears the lightspeed shirt for the first half of Episode 05, and then changes into a shirt I can't really see for the second bit (where Poppo pays him a visit). It has a 7 on the top left and then a fraction on the bottom right. All I can see of it is the 1/2, but one angle of the shirt suggests that there may be another number to the right of the 2. Anyway, it doesn't say anything in Japanese.

[Doppleganger]

That's how I'll imagine she'll go, dissolving into a sea of shining stars.

[lilboocorsola]

Wow, UTW's translation really is choppy. I found out they completely botched the "One Piece" conversation as "shopping for one-piece dresses". XD So I misinterpreted your reactions even further. (I plan to download the entire series once it finishes airing, so for now I just watch the first stream I find.)

But now I'm still confused. What's so bad about One Piece fans? o.O;

[Talon87]

Originally Posted by YUKI.N

But now I'm still confused. What's so bad about One Piece fans? o.O;

Nothing. You seem to be confused about what I wrote here:

Originally Posted by Talon87

Well ... I guess you were in for a rude surprise when your boy "Takeru" decided to show Anaru his One Piece Blu-Ray collection. (HAHAHAHAHA! HE WAS A ONE PIECE FAN, TOO! Oh man, that must have really stung! ) Poor Doppel. ^^; He gets all excited and then ... HORRIBLE TASTE IN MOUTH.

What I was saying was ...

"decided to show Anaru his One Piece Blu-Ray collection"
I was speaking in tongues so that you wouldn't get spoilered. Sometimes I get sick and tired of using the spoiler tag since it makes posts look really ugly, like when they have lots of quote boxes. So this I figured was easier. You wouldn't know what it meant but Doppel would. Unfortunately, you held onto this and tried to really apply it to the episode, it seems. Bad Yuki.

"HAHAHAHAHA! HE WAS A ONE PIECE FAN, TOO! Oh man, that must have really stung! "
I was just saying that it must have stung that the series' creepiest / biggest douchebag was a self-professed fan of One Piece, that's all.

"Poor Doppel. ^^; He gets all excited and then ... HORRIBLE TASTE IN MOUTH."
Get it now? I was remarking to Doppel that he must have been excited to see the introduction of a new character who was a fellow One Piece fan ... only to see what kind of character he was a few moments later.

There's nothing bad about being a One Piece fan afaik. What was bad for all One Piece fans was that this douchebag was "representin'", as it were.

[lilboocorsola]

Ohhhh, I see now. =x I thought the "excitement" you were referring to was over "Takeru's" animé appearance. ^^; Didn't know Dopple was a fan of OP too.