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Old 03-30-2012, 08:45 AM   #3851
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Old 03-31-2012, 02:26 PM   #3852
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A Little Busters promo has surfaced. Having played the VN, I'm not as super excited as alot of people, but I still look forward to it. I am curious as to what parts they'll put in, and how they'll execute everything, since restarting is kinda part of the story. Also, the kick-the-can match they had would be amazing if animated.

Inu x Boku SS
I watched the last episode of this. Surprisingly, this show turned out to be really entertaining. I mean, the main romance was dull as fuck, but the new characters they started to introduce after episode 3 made the show so much more entertaining. This S&M guy was almost on Hosaka's level of batshit insane and amazing. Here's the best version I could find of his ending. One other nice and rare part of this show is that it has gender balance. It's not all girls hareming around one guy, or all dudes, it's pretty much even, with one transvestite. So this is kinda like a reverse of High School Boys. This show started out really dull, but got better as the show went on. I think this show deserves a 7.5.

Daitarn 3
First episode watched! Good god was it stupid. I know it's an old show and I'm taking it into consideration, but it was kinda lame. Maybe I'm being overly critical, so I'll watch more before deciding the show's dumb as hell.

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Old 03-31-2012, 04:00 PM   #3853
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I think this'll be only the first LB anime. The tradition with KEY seems to be giving their series to some random studio (Toei, DEEN) then redoing it right with Kyoto Animation. Undoubtedly, I think KyoAni learning from the mistakes of the first show really help them up the quality of their productions.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse also had a trailer debut today. Warning! Watching it is a spoiler for MLU and MLA, so if you don't want to hear any spoilers, watch it with the sound off!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSMgfkwuueU

There are also some screens from MLU: TDA 02, but I shan't share them here. Suffice to say, I don't like how the cast of characters in MLA and MLU: TDA are overlapping. In MLA, you got the sense that Walken and Sagiri had divergently different destines in MLU compared against MLA, but Sagiri is back in full-on yamato damashii regalia and has a stand-off with Walken in the latest TDA.

There's also an NTRCPR scene. x_x

I declare, in 15 minutes, I shall start anime again!
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Old 03-31-2012, 04:40 PM   #3854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doppleganger View Post
I think this'll be only the first LB anime. The tradition with KEY seems to be giving their series to some random studio (Toei, DEEN) then redoing it right with Kyoto Animation. Undoubtedly, I think KyoAni learning from the mistakes of the first show really help them up the quality of their productions.
Wait, what? There have only been three Key works to be turned into animes so far: Kanon, Air, and Clannad. And of these three, Kanon is the only one to support your theory. Air and Clannad have only ever been animated by one studio: and that singular studio was Kyoto Animation. Yes, the googly-eyed faces of Air that many a 4chan troll has made fun of were done by none other than KyoAni. So ...

1. I don't really see where you're getting this "Isn't it obvious? Key has a tradition of letting Kyoto Animation do it second" theory from.

2. It's not as though Kyoto Animation has never flubbed. Many people I know online and IRL point to Air's faces as some of the worst they've ever seen in the history of anime. (Whether you want to blame that on Key, on KyoAni, or on both, you decide. I personally didn't think that they were that bad ... but they do have their moments. ^_^; )

Does Kyoto Animation rock? Generally, yes. Do they always categorically rock? No. Lucky Star and K-ON! are two other examples of animes which were pretty poorly animated because they were done during "off seasons" in between the house's bigger budget productions. (Lucky Star falling between Haruhi and Kanon 2006, K-ON! coming hot off the heels of Clannad After-Story.) Granted, as K-ON!'s popularity soared to astronomical levels with the paying otaku fanbase, the series got a cash injection to the jugular and it definitely shows in Season 2. But still: you need only look at how Yui's fingers are animated in a lot of the early S1 episodes to see what I mean.

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe there's some secret Star Wars Holiday Special older version of Air or Clannad that I am not aware of.
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Old 03-31-2012, 05:41 PM   #3855
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Air and Clannad have only ever been animated by one studio: and that singular studio was Kyoto Animation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clannad_%28film%29

I stand corrected on Air, I thought there was a Toei version preceding it, too.

Yeah, there was.

Two works hardly constitutes a tradition, unless we're counting LB. But a KyoAni remake is yet to come!

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2. It's not as though Kyoto Animation has never flubbed. Many people I know online and IRL point to Air's faces as some of the worst they've ever seen in the history of anime. (Whether you want to blame that on Key, on KyoAni, or on both, you decide. I personally didn't think that they were that bad ... but they do have their moments. ^_^; )
True, but since Haruhi they've been deified as a studio. Especially by weeaboos who love lolimoe anime. :o

It's not without justification - as KyotoAni and KEY's works have risen in profile, so has the force of budget behind their works. Even if they were mortal in the past, it's less likely they'll have an Achilles Heel these days.

Compare against Gainax's new Medaka Box anime, which looks awful given the amount of budget they pumped into garbage like Shikabane Hime.

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Does Kyoto Animation rock? Generally, yes. Do they always categorically rock? No. Lucky Star and K-ON! are two other examples of animes which were pretty poorly animated because they were done during "off seasons" in between the house's bigger budget productions. (Lucky Star falling between Haruhi and Kanon 2006, K-ON! coming hot off the heels of Clannad After-Story.) Granted, as K-ON!'s popularity soared to astronomical levels with the paying otaku fanbase, the series got a cash injection to the jugular and it definitely shows in Season 2. But still: you need only look at how Yui's fingers are animated in a lot of the early S1 episodes to see what I mean.
Hah, I wasn't aware of any of this, since I didn't even touch those two shows.
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Old 04-02-2012, 04:57 AM   #3856
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This is nice. Two VNs I've been paying attention to have been translated. The first one is the second part of Monmusu Quest. More strangely appealing monster girl fun with a surprisingly good plot. The second is Hoshizora no Memoria -Wish upon a Shooting Star. I'm not sure what to expect, but the art's nice atleast.

Saint Seiya Omega
I watched the first episode of this. I'm not fully sure what to expect, since I don't know enough about the plot yet to judge. Though, from what I've seen, it seems like a standard shounen. It'll take a while to get used to the main guy's voice. His VA is great (he voices Natsume Kyouske in Little Busters), but he's using this really weird, winy voice, and it just sounds fucking weird. Obviously I like the art, and the music is pretty good as well.
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Old 04-02-2012, 06:02 PM   #3857
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Watched the first episode of Kimi to Boku S2 today! \o/

Eee this show is so adorbs~ I couldn't stop laughing at the part when Kaname's mom kept trying to listen in on the boys' conversation. Poor Kaname. ^_^; Seeing him fumble around his face in search of his glasses to push when he got flustered was a really cute touch as well. <3

Biggest surprises this episode:

Spoiler: show
WOAMG THE CAT IS CANON. O___O

And Chizuru's fluffy bangs~


It's totes a girls' show and it's really obvious on occasion. X__X For example, I doubt guys would ever peep on another guy in the bath ^_^; But I love it~

The new OP is pretty nice. :o Wintry~ The ED animation is... interesting haha. The song is relaxing though~

Speaking of music... ohgosh I missed the insert song so bad. ;_; April 25th release date! \o/ Can't wait~

I also finished watching Persona 4. Not much to say about it though. ^_^; But, uh... is it just me, or were some of the shots of the MC and the villain in the last episode kinda suggestive? >_>;
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Old 04-03-2012, 08:59 PM   #3858
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After a looooong hiatus from watching any anime consistently, I've finished Lodoss War TV.

It's Mediocre at best. What I was confusing for a lack of courage was really a lack of interest, because after the first arc it became freaking boring, predictable and oh-so deplorably bland.

Ashram is a good villain. Not a great villain, but good. He's got enough complexity and introspection to be interesting, and shafting him for the likes of Wagnard and Khardis was quite unfortunate.

Wagnard I absolutely hated. He's a Necromancer, the kind of character I love playing in role playing games (especially Baldur's Gate) but is a complete, simple-minded fool. His paper thin motivations irritated me to no end.

The dichotomy between good and bleh in Lodoss was painful. It was almost like the anime was deliberately trolling me, so I need to sit down and watch the OVAs.

Gonna go eat, and buy milk. Then I think I'll polish off what I have of Yes 5. I'm resolved now.
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Old 04-04-2012, 06:59 AM   #3859
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Today I watched Princess Mononoke. It was really good, my favourite Miyazaki film so far (the others I've seen are Spirited Away and Nausicaa).

One of the coolest things about this movie is its gritty portrayal of medieval warfare: Samurai, archers, and very early gunpowder weapons, like hand cannons, grenades, and land mines. The story is all about a stronghold built in the middle of a forest called Iron Town. It's come under the command of an ambitious woman named Lady Eboshi, who wants to harvest the nearby forests to build even more advanced firearms, and one day rule the world. The whole men vs women rivalry in Iron Town is very amusing. Miyazaki is famously feminist, so I was expecting some bias, but it's actually quite fair, with both sides airing their grievances and making some good points.

The forest creatures aren't too pleased about their home being destroyed to fuel Lady Eboshi's dreams of expanding her Iron Town empire, and they ain't no friendly Disney critters either! There's different tribes of war pigs, giant wolves, and scary ass gorillas with glowing eyes. I wanted to see them get in on the action, maybe demonstrate some ... GORILLA WARFARE oh lol! But no, they just throw stuff at people who get too close, and make idle threats about eating the flesh off their faces. With the wolf tribe is a feral human girl whom they raised, the titular Princess Mononoke, and she frequently attempts to assassinate Lady Eboshi. There's also the Forest Spirit. It looks like an elk with a creepy baboon face by day, and at night, it turns into a giant 1,000 foot monster. If only the poor animals in our world had that kind of firepower. The dinosaurs need to make a comeback ...
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Old 04-04-2012, 07:00 AM   #3860
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Old 04-04-2012, 11:38 AM   #3861
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One last thing! There's a kinda shocking scene in the movie that has some gore. The sole purpose of this scene is to show how a curse on the protagonist's arm has imbued him with superhuman strength. So much strength that he can decapitate people with arrow shots! Basically, it's because of this one scene that Disney could not give it the PG rated that they wanted for the North American release. Miyazaki refused to let them censor it, so they had no confidence in the movie, and gave it a limited release with zero marketing. Yeah, if the guys went flying off their horses or something instead of being decapitated, it wouldn't have made much of a difference.

Now don't get me wrong! I admire Miyazaki and Disney for not censoring the movie, and it was ultimately the right thing to do. But at the same time ... it's a damn shame, because with a wide release and proper marketing, it could have been huge. It's the kind of movie I could imagine people going to see over and over again, back in the 1990s. Hell, it happened in Japan, where it became the highest grossing movie of all time. Don't even call attention to the fact that it's anime. Just be like, "Hey guys, remember Disney's THE LION KING? Well, get ready for DISNEY'S next big movie, Princess Mononoke!"
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Old 04-04-2012, 11:57 AM   #3862
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The Japanese setting would have helped the film shed any anime association, too.

Mononoke is one of my top movies, I think I gave it a Masterpiece because it stunned me when I saw it. I always missed the first ten or so minutes and thus didn't get to see Ashitaka kill Nago, and was so spared from the CGI Miyazaki so hates to use.

Looking back, I think it's a bit of a confused movie. It starts off great and the battles remain awesome, but thematically it's a bit messy - what's the commentary on conservationism? We know Miyazaki is pro-nature but the film isn't very firm on that because of Eboshi's excellent leadership qualities.

The "romance" was also not developed enough. The ending didn't sit well with me, but at the time I might have been too immature to accept it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsweeney View Post
Time for a BBB-style joke.

What's the difference between dinosaurs and mammals?

Spoiler: show
65 million years.
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Old 04-04-2012, 01:11 PM   #3863
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I've watched the first episode of this. For the most part, the first episode was really good. How the lady suddenly got attached to the boy was a little hard to believe, but I think they will end up giving a reason for it. I look forward to continuing this.
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Old 04-04-2012, 01:46 PM   #3864
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When I first saw Princess Mononoke, I thought it was overhyped. That was also the last time I saw the movie. So ... I'm probably due to revisit it. It's been over a decade at this point and back when I last saw it I was a very different sort of viewer. It would probably also help if I didn't watch it dubbed. Billy Bob Thornton as the ugly peddler guy with the geta was incredibly distracting. And ...

(actual spoiler)

Spoiler: show
... his voice took all the suspense out of that final fight. It was just so fucking absurd that the final fight of the film was between a heroic knight and ... some random goofy peddler voiced by Billy Bob Thornton. I could not take that geta-kickboxing scene seriously at all. I'm not sure I even could today at 27.

When I watched it, I felt that the movie was boring and confusing. In fact, all of Studio Ghibli's movies that I have seen have thoroughly confused me save one (Grave of the Fireflies). Totoro is confusing the first time you watch it but I loved it (what kid doesn't love Totoro or the catbus? ) and so I watched that one quite a few times. Spirited Away was confusing. Howl's Moving Castle was confusing. I think part of the reason Ghibli's movies so frustrate me is that they don't seem to have a clear or consistent goalpost: it keeps changing as the movie continues. That stated, I still haven't seen some of the more recent fare like Tales of Earthsea (have wanted to see that one for years), Ponyo, or Arietty, so who knows. In general, though, the fandom seems to have a love affair with Hayao Miyazaki that I simply can't join in on.

One last thing about Princess Mononoke ...

(actual spoiler)

Spoiler: show
The part where the wolf's head goes "CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP" along the forest floor and then LEAPS up off of the ground and bites off the woman's arm is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in a film and one of the few clear memories I still have of this movie. It was just ... fucking ridiculous. Absurd. Here's this decapitated wolf head and it's chomping along the floor like one of the chompers from Donkey Kong Country or like the old Milton Bradley toy Crocodile Dentist. And then it just suddenly leaps off of the ground (uh, how? ) and tears this poor woman's arm off.

Aside: apparently Milton Bradley changed the game in the years since my mom bought this toy for my sister in the early '90s. Our version of Crocodile Dentist is like the one in the commercial linked above: you use tweezers to pull the crocodile's teeth out. I guess parents complained that that was encouraging children to rip one another's teeth out or to be cruel towards animals or something? Because it looks like now the toy has been remodeled so that you depress the teeth with your finger. Bizarre. It doesn't even make sense anymore. Now it's teaching kids bogus biology.
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Old 04-04-2012, 03:41 PM   #3865
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You're crazy, Talon. Billy Bob Thorton is awesome. Him kicking Ashitaka's arse was completely believable!

Quote:
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In fact, all of Studio Ghibli's movies that I have seen have thoroughly confused me save one (Grave of the Fireflies). Totoro is confusing the first time you watch it but I loved it (what kid doesn't love Totoro or the catbus? ) and so I watched that one quite a few times. Spirited Away was confusing. Howl's Moving Castle was confusing. I think part of the reason Ghibli's movies so frustrate me is that they don't seem to have a clear or consistent goalpost: it keeps changing as the movie continues. That stated, I still haven't seen some of the more recent fare like Tales of Earthsea (have wanted to see that one for years), Ponyo, or Arietty, so who knows. In general, though, the fandom seems to have a love affair with Hayao Miyazaki that I simply can't join in on.
Yes, I agree. Although this is something I've only awakened to as I've gotten older.

I think the biggest point of contention with you and other Ghibli fans is world-building. You're not a fan of it, but for others the visual spectacle of being taken to an exotic world in animation with sprinkles of real world detail tends to dominate memories and colourize opinions of Miyazaki's work.

Miyazaki tries to pound in the same themes (ecology, conservation, anti-war) in everything he does, and that tends to work into the world building. For example, I hate Howl - it's the only Ghibli film I actually loathe - despite an interesting premise. A big part of why Howl sucks was it moved away from that premise and roped in some distant war plot to setup Howl's transformation troubles. This caused a major disconnect from the main characters and I found myself not caring about the movie 2/3 of the way through.

Quote:
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Aside: apparently Milton Bradley changed the game in the years since my mom bought this toy for my sister in the early '90s. Our version of Crocodile Dentist is like the one in the commercial linked above: you use tweezers to pull the crocodile's teeth out. I guess parents complained that that was encouraging children to rip one another's teeth out or to be cruel towards animals or something? Because it looks like now the toy has been remodeled so that you depress the teeth with your finger. Bizarre. It doesn't even make sense anymore. Now it's teaching kids bogus biology.
The new version is scarier. At least with the original, you were putting pliers into the crocodile's mouth. Hearing the spring action in the modern version reminds me of something very painful.
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Old 04-04-2012, 05:46 PM   #3866
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I think part of the reason Ghibli's movies so frustrate me is that they don't seem to have a clear or consistent goalpost: it keeps changing as the movie continues.
I feel kinda the same way. Most of the Miyazaki films I've seen (Mononoke, Castle in the the Sky; Kiki's Delivery Service was too long ago for me to recall anything specific) bored me since they seemed to drag on purposelessly, though it might have also been due in part to the fact I watched them dubbed. I do have fond memories of Spirited Away, but more for the experiences surrounding the viewing. Plus my impression might have been hyped up by its popularity (just like with Disney!) and my weeaboo phase at the time. I have seen it subbed since, and didn't experience any particularly strong feelings one way or another. For the most part, I personally find Studio Ghibli films are just colorful eye candy for kids and who the heck cares about the story. ...Just like Disney. *shot*

I still have yet to see Totoro though. It was being shown at a museum during a Miyazaki exhibit a few months ago, but unfortunately I didn't get to go with my friend. She has the DVD though; we plan to watch it together at some point.

For the record, Grave of the Fireflies and Arrietty weren't directed by Miyazaki. (Also for the record, I didn't care for Grave of the Fireflies when I first saw it. *bombed* Haven't rewatched it since.)

Time for a random animé round-up!

Ano Natsu de Matteru:

I've heard my friend namedrop this title every other week without expanding on it, but he seemed to look forward to it so much I finally decided to see what it was about. Imagine my surprise when I saw a very familiar looking cast of faces. Ignoring the MC for a minute, the blue-haired girl looks identical to young Tsuruko when she's in middle school, with the same side-ponytail and barrette. Also lol at how they continued with the Endless Eight references by giving the bishounen the same outfit Itsuki first wore on the rooftop in a festival episode. Plus he's also holding a reflector board right there (although his outfit resembles Poppo's here =3=). Not to mention his one-sided feelings for a certain someone is probably what made him my favorite character.

Speaking of unrequited feelings, even more lololol at how...

Spoiler: show
He echoed Yukiatsu by kicking a fence to let out his feelings... Only this time in sandals so he blistered his foot. XP Owch, that's karma for you. ^^;

At least he didn't try to dress in drag.


Setting aside the strikingly similar character designs, I went on to read the description: "When a group of friends decide to make a movie over a long summer holiday, they end up learning a little about filmmaking and a lot more about each other and themselves. What begins as a simple way to avoid the summer doldrums quickly turns into something much more complex, intimate and revealing, as the maturing relationships between the members of the young cast take on new, and sometimes very unexpected, turns." (Source: Sentai Filmworks)

More summer friendship nostalgia? Sold already. Then I learned it was actually a new installment in the Onegai series. Ano Hana + Aliens with a dash of Sighs? Color me officially intrigued. The ED is also appropriately soft and bittersweet. It alone produces a sad sense of yearning.

So I marathoned it all in one night. In the end, I'd say it was "very nice". Though hardly resembling Ano Hana in terms of story, their overall progress felt similar. Started out good with a few clunky moments - like Ano Hana it suffered from unnecessary and awkward fanservice only more so (see 1:00 of the OP) - but nothing major, and it straightened itself eventually. There were some really wonderful gems of moments scattered throughout the series: some humorous, some genuinely touching, and on opportune occasion a mix of both.

One thing they shared in common was how delightfully fresh and bold they were in execution. I think this captures a certain charm of amateur filmmaking in that respect. People's private lives can be very different from the masks we expect/put on in public. When the "raw self" is suddenly exposed, and that spontaneity is caught on camera, whether or not it's beknownst to the actor/actress (especially from the POV of those of us watching at home), it makes that person feel very real and relatable. There were a couple characters whom I thought I'd dislike because they seemed cliché and cardboard, but my expectations were proven dead wrong when they revealed they had their honest reasons for acting the way they do "offscreen". It was a very humbling experience.

Unlike Toradora, I found myself immediately invested in the romance of this series. Perhaps because it was clear from the get-go who was hopelessly lusting after whom, and no curveballs were thrown in at the last minute.

Spoiler: show
I'm so glad the loli didn't turn out to be harboring any hidden crushes. She was way more awesome than that. B)


Minori, on the other hand... *rolls eyes and sighs* Although I've said before I'm a true sucker for unrequited crushes, especially when they're "obvious" in my eyes to everyone but the object of affection, ha. And my goodness this series had them in spades, like School Rumble only completely linear. It certainly was heartwrenching to think someone would have to lose in order to break the chain, and sadly it had to be *SPOILER*. But it could have been any one of them and it still would have sucked for the poor soul. All of them were sympathetic in his/her own way.

Plus the biggest bonus for me: Despite the romantic tension, friendships always prevailed.

Unfortunately, like Toradora and AnoHana it kinda fell more to forced melodrama at the end. But the conclusion itself wasn't bad by any means; effort was clearly put into driving the momentum, and it carried through to the very end. Despite a few hiccups, you could always tell this series was being handled with a lot of tender love and care, just like any personal home production. Even it it's not perfectly polished, the creators take pride in it and it shows. I think such an earnest approach is very commendable.

As for whether the ending was happy or not - well, that's for the viewer to find out on his or her own. Depending on your preferences, your own interpretation could differ.

Overall, I rate Ano Natsu a score of "8 - very good", on par with Ano Hana. Would recommend to fans of romance and sci-fi. I'll also attest it does not require any previous knowledge of the franchise to enjoy.

Rurouni Kenshin: Shin Kyoto Hen

This was... Uh... Pretty bad. =| I mean, you'd know just from the words "OVA retelling" it'd be rushed and unnecessary, but seriously, did they even try? You'd think the animation would at least be improved, but it looks awful. Voice acting also felt flat and weak, though that might've been because the version I watched had bad audio. They made some changes to the plot, one of which was disappointing because not only did a character's method of death get swapped, but I don't recall the fight even being animated. Plus it was obviously done to cut time; they didn't even bother to explain his ability. The new material that really stood out though was, of all things, a rather graphic bedroom scene. WTF. Do not want bandage sex. >.<; Whoever thought this was a good idea needs to be fried. Extra crispy.

I don't get what the point of even making this was. If it's to try and improve upon the original series to satisfy older fans, it clearly failed. I can't believe it's meant to drum up interest from a newer generation, because who is going to follow such an oddly paced and out-of-place story, with so much context information missing? '~' Weird.
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Old 04-07-2012, 01:22 AM   #3867
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I finally decided to start playing this. I started off with a really bad impression, since every female character is voiced, but the males aren't! That's one point for it being a generic harem-shit VN. EDIT: I just met twins. They even apply this rule to twins. The female twin is voiced, but the male isn't. The main character's personality, and his interactions with the girls are also harem cliches. One good thing, is that atleast the males are drawn as well as the females, so they're not uglier than them or generic looking. Actually, the art in this VN is wonderful. So even if things go bad, I'll have something pretty to look at. Actually, it's much prettier than Koihime Musou. The plot doesn't seem like anything special, but you never know. As for the gameplay....it's incredibly simple.

I decided to randomly pick up 3 new shows: Accel World, Acchi Kocchi, and Space Brothers. Accel World and Acchi Kocchi are just random pickups, which I'll likely drop on the first episode, and Space Brothers seems like it'd be good. Space Brothers scored high on ANN's review stuff, but that doesn't count for shit, since they just like anime they can stick their pinky up to and pretend they're sophisticated.

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Old 04-07-2012, 03:10 AM   #3868
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On a whim, I decided to look at some anime reviews for Spring 2012. By chance, I discovered the existence of Polar Bear Cafe. "LOL WHAT? " I thought to myself. You're probably thinking the same thing yourself. Like the title suggests, this is a show about a polar bear who runs a cafe.

And it's pretty damn cute.

BORKED

I've only watched the first 11 minutes so far but Yuki's strongarmed asked me to wait and watch this one on CrunchyRoll with her and Daisy. *sigh* Iiiiiiiiiiiii guuuuuuuuuuuuess I can do that. So we'll be watching this one one week later than the episodes come out. A thread for the show will probably be forthcoming (no clue who will post it, I'm just sure someone will post one by the time we see Episode 01 if not before then ) so we'll probably discuss it there. But yeah. Be sure to check this out if you like cute, warm-and-fuzzy stories since that's what the first 11 minutes make it seem like it'll be.
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Old 04-07-2012, 05:44 AM   #3869
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That penguin made me think of the sore throat lozenges I bought one time.



Those penguins just think they're so cool.
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Old 04-07-2012, 08:35 AM   #3870
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
A thread for the show will probably be forthcoming (no clue who will post it, I'm just sure someone will post one by the time we see Episode 01 if not before then ) so we'll probably discuss it there.
I nominate Honey so the first post will be filled with all manner of SQUEES~ 83
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Old 04-07-2012, 10:42 PM   #3871
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"What was the Spring Anime Season like 10 Years Ago? An anime fan on 2ch dug up or created a chart showing which series made up the spring anime season 10 years ago."

It's pretty interesting to see that there were so many famous shows in that particular season but there were also so many forgotten ones. I always thought that Chobits was a Summer 2002 airing, not a Spring 2002 one, so that's interesting to learn. But here are the mega-super famous titles I see listed there, in the order they appear:
  • Azumanga Daioh
  • .hack//SIGN
  • Ai Yori Aoshi
  • Tenchi Muyo (although it's GXP)
  • Digimon (although it's Frontier)
  • Chobits
  • The Twelve Kingdoms
Then there're the silver medalists fame-wise, like ...
  • Tokyo Mew Mew
  • Full Moon wo Sagashite
  • Rockman.EXE
  • Jing, King of Bandits
  • Happy Lesson
  • Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
So I wonder: how will Spring 2012 stack up? So far we've got Fate/Zero (24-karat gold), Polar Bear Cafe (we're all excited but how will it stack up?), and that's it so far, for me anyway, for spring's showings. Everything else is a continuation from previous seasons. (And really, even Fate/Zero belongs in that category.) So hmm.

Since I really loved Planetes, I should check out Uchuu Kyoudai. I still haven't watched Moonlight Mile either. Other than that, not really sure what all Spring 2012 has to offer me.
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Old 04-08-2012, 05:00 AM   #3872
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I've got a lot of anime to catch up on, watching now. Very robust posting in the near future!

Something that I wonder about - a lot of these anime aimed at young children (PreCure?) feature thin/athletic characters or mascots wolfing down sweets like the world was made of candy. With little to no physical activity. Doesn't this set a bad example?

Incidentally, I had a doughnut craving period after I started watching Fresh! PreCure.
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Old 04-08-2012, 02:13 PM   #3873
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Accel World bites into uncomfortable territory for me. Like the "Uncanny Valley" effect in regard to perceived tolerance of realistic-appearing images, the Accel World's VR is repulsive to me.

I'm not sure I could accept being perma-plugged into a Matrix-like system. My whole being would reject it, since my personal philosophy is very much governed by the boundaries of "Lawful Evil" - I don't like having the rules of the system I operate in easily manipulated by outside forces. Hence why I've never really felt much toward "pro gaming" a la StarCraft were parametres can be adjusted by programmers.

In any matter...I think I might drop it pretty soon. The main character is designed to piss me off. He's voiced by the same guy who did Ouma Shu in Guilty Crown and Shion in No.6. Not as pathetic as Hiro Shimono, but he's carving himself quite the niche.

The ending held my interest a bit, enough to watch Episode 2, but if this anime griefs me any further I'll give up on it.
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Old 04-08-2012, 05:27 PM   #3874
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I've watched some things. Off to give my thoughts!

Accel World
I can't say I share the same opinion as Dopple. I really liked the first two episodes of this, and it has potential to be a really good show. While it does kinda pander to the whole "kid who is good at nothing but videogames does something good with his talents", I still sorta do like that part, since he's using his talent for something other than making videos of himself beating Super Mario World in 10 minutes. I was excited when watching the first two episodes, so I hope for good things. However, I was also really excited when watching the first few episodes of Mirai Nikki, and I can't even take the damn show seriously anymore.

Acchi Kocchi
Another 4-koma slice-of-life. The first episode was pretty boring, and it wasn't very funny. However, when some of the Konata clone's scenes came in, I felt my chest tighten. Her scenes are really heartwarming. Though her moe buttons are pushed a little too much. For the most part, this show is like Lucky Star, with a little romance, gender balance, and less cliche main characters (they're still a bit cliche, just not AS cliche). So on that note, I don't recommend this show to anyone. I'll continue watching it though.

Space Brothers
This show is really down-to-Earth. Ahahahaha, space joke. I'm so witty. Anyway, the show had a strong start, and it tells its story really well. It's a solid show, and does throw in a little humor in every now and then to keep it from getting boring. I look forward to continuing this.

Next I have to watch Saki......Haaaah, I dread this.

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Old 04-08-2012, 08:33 PM   #3875
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Tried to watch the first episode of Hiiro no Kakera, bored five minutes in. Yeah, no thanks. Looks like just a dull and cliché reverse harem.

Sankarea

This was weird, in a good way I guess. Zombie girl's supposed to be cute though her voice is kinda irksome. Will see where this goes.

Felt bad for the poor cat, being subjected to MC's strange obsession. Surprised the carcass never decomposed/MC's family never smelled it in his closet. >>;

Animé Boston

Had a good time. Day one my friend and I went to the Artists' Alley first, I in search of a Natsume Yuujinchou cosplayer whose post I saw on Tumblr the day before. Couldn't find the person, but my friend and I picked up some adorable keychains. She got some ponies, while I got a Piplup and a Chikorita. There were so many other cute 'mons it was hard to choose though. Sadly no Corsola (as expected).

After that we went to the Dealer's Room. Again, I was searching for a Nyanko-sensei plushie, which I was certain they had after reading a post on Tumblr. I scoured the entire place but couldn't find anything - though there was a line of cat toys that looked strikingly similar. ...It got to the point where I felt they were mocking me as I passed.

We then stopped by the AMV Contest, though only managed to catch the tail-end of it. The main attraction we decided to go to was the "Trivia For All", which we watched some of last year. We planned to only watch again but got roped into playing. Despite our lack of mainstream animé knowledge, we actually didn't too bad, considering a lot of the questions referred to older series. My friend knew practically nothing, but squealed as soon as they asked, "What animal-centric show started airing in 1965?" I bet none of you could answer that off the top of your head. ^~ I know I wouldn't. o.o;

Spoiler: show
It's "Kimba the White Lion", her favorite show growing up.


As for myself, I was rather pleasantly surprised by what little obscure facts I knew that no one else did, in large part thanks to my time spent on UPN. There was a picture round where we were required to "Name That Sidekick", and lo and behold, one of them was Gourry from Slayers. *insert fangirl squeal* Had no idea he was a sidekick though. XD I also managed to correctly guess the name of a character who had series titles named after him with the suffixes "___ in Tokyo" and "___ in Love". (FYI, it's not "Godzilla", which was another team's response.) It was just a stab in the dark, but some discussion with Muyo long ago tickled my memory, and my hunch of "Tenchi Muyo" turned out to be right. *fistpump*

I blame Talon for getting the name "Kaijura Yuki" stuck in my head though. When they asked for the name of the music composer for Cowboy Bebop, I totally blanked and could only think "Kaijura". Should've known it was "Yoko Kanno"... x.X

As we wandered the halls, we ran into a girl we knew from our high school dressed as Zelda. She had actually poked me as we passed in the food court earlier, but I lost her before I could inform my friend. As they were chatting while I stood there looking around awkwardly, I saw a flash of silver hair, and... A NYANKO-SENSEI BACKPACK. TARGET MODE ON. I chased her down and asked where she got it, though I could already somewhat tell her answer would be that she made it. I then asked if she knew were to find plushies, and she claimed she saw some down in the dealer's room. Well, I grabbed my friend and we toured the booths once more in desperate hope of finding some form of Natsume merchandise, but no dice. So we decided to call it a day. At this point I was beginning to think these fans must not have been real fans and most likely bought the knock-offs instead. However I later checked the Tumblr image and no doubt about it, there was an honest-to-goodness Nyanko-sensei, specifically with a red scarf to boot. My friend asked the poster where she got one, and she stated they all sold out of stock by afternoon Friday but they apparently still had keychains on Saturday.

Thus, our first order of business today was to head back to the dealer's room for Round 3. (My friend also wanted to get some pony hats she couldn't the day before since her credit card wasn't working.) Third time's the charm, they say. Shortly enough, I managed to spot a Nyanko pencil case. Not quite the same as a plush, but at least it's fluffy, and I suppose I could stuff the inside with something soft.

With small consolation prize in hand, we turned our attention to the events, of which there were several prospective options to choose from: Cosplay Chess, AMVs... "Oh look, they're showing Gakuen Alice," my friend said, pointing to videos. ...But wait, what's this? "Crunchyroll Presents: Natsume Yūjinchou"?! I dragged her with me asked if she'd like to go check it out and she responded sure, she's curious. We arrived to find out they were starting with the fourth season, which made me a little nervous about my friend's first impressions - especially since we missed the first few minutes of exposition. Fortunately it turned out the important recap about the Book of Friends and Reiko was later in the episode, and being the first episode of a new season it did try to work in brief explanations of the characters' roles for new viewers. She enjoyed the first episode and said she wanted to keep watching, so we stayed for the full four. Given the options, I think the sequence was coincidentally a satisfactory way to introduce her to the series, since each offered a different flavor of the show's overall themes. The first two episodes made up a dramatic arc. While I thought this might've been off-putting at first, in hindsight it was probably advantageous to end the first on a cliffhanger so her interest would remain piqued. The next two were classic one-shots, which I would've originally tried to start her on if I had to give a sample. The first was of the warm and fluffy/unbearably cute variety; the second was a tragic romance. Both strong components of the show's appeal.

In the end, she said she liked what she saw. She especially loved Nyanko-sensei, including his voice. XP With a little more push, perhaps I'll get her to watch more of the series someday. ^-^ She also expressed interest when I showed her the Polar Bear Café OP, going so far to ask if there was a way to watch it online. =O Good signs so far~ \o/

After that, we just had time to visit the end of "10 years of AMV Submissions", though IMO there weren't that many interesting among the ones we saw. My friend greatly enjoyed the "DBZ Silent Movie" though. We also got to witness the wonderful "What What (In the Butt)" Ouran AMV we were so scarred by last year again. Sadly there was no repeat of "Don't Touch Me!" (Speaking of, not as many Usa-chans this year. Instead the theme seemed to be plush pigs for some reason.)

We were starving by this time so we got lunch, and by the time we came back everything was closing. We thought of trying to catch the end of "Anime You've Never Heard Of (But Should)", but on our way there I spotted a girl holding a genuine Nyanko-sensei plush, identical to the one I saw on Tumblr. I tackled stopped her and asked where she got it: The dealer's room, she claimed. Lolnoway. How on earth did I keep missing it? We even tried to get there early this time, right when the dealer's room opened. We raced back down, but the vendors were all packing up. Argh.

We went back up to find the panel was closed as well, so we took that as our cue to bow out. All in all, still a very winsome weekend, and I'm happy I got something at least.

Oh, and as for cosplayers, there weren't a lot of noteworthy ones that I can recall. I did see an armored Gilgamesh. There was also a Shadow Link playing an ocarina in the main hall. Oh yes, and a giant Pocky box. Everytime we saw it my friend joked she wanted to chase after and beat it open with a bat like a pińata. In the theater showing Natsume there was actually a girl dressed as Nyanko-sensei (could tell by the ears on the mask beside her and the symbol on her back - even my friend recognized the character by comparison to the screen and wondered if I'd noticed). Never did find the cosplayer from Tumblr, though we visited the Artists' Alley several times. I discovered her table eventually, but there was only a notice that she was walking around. Perhaps just as well, because the only Natsume piece she had on display was yaoi. x.X

On a random note, aside from encountering a friend from high school, we also ran into one of our old teachers... Small world.

Last edited by lilboocorsola; 04-08-2012 at 09:21 PM. Reason: Argh, typos.
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