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Old 01-27-2014, 02:25 PM   #6151
Talon87
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Oh. I don't remember that picture and had completely forgotten that Namie liked Kagerou Days. I felt like I was discovering it for the first time just today with her latest update. Whoops. ^^;
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Old 01-28-2014, 12:19 AM   #6152
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Hey BBB, did you ever read the Nisekoi one-shot I linked you? What did you think of that?
I read about 10 pages of it, then I looked at the total pages and said "FUCK THAT!" when I saw it was 50 pages long. Anyway, what I read was less polished than what happens during the anime....which really says alot.

On another note, I want to marry this artist.(XY Game spoilers) My god that's so god damn awesome.
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Old 01-28-2014, 12:31 AM   #6153
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I recommend reading the one-shot all the way. You might retract your statement because there's actual resolution and character development in the one-shot, although the ideas are indeed rougher than the series proper. Nisekoi is famous as a "art-first" job like Rosario + Vampire (which just ended) but a far worse story, because the whole manga is stagnant for development.
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Old 01-28-2014, 10:22 AM   #6154
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Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Regarding Chi's Sweet Home: just make sure you understand that you're going into a show whose target demographic is probably children ages 6 and under. And more like 4 and under. It's a damn cute show, and it has stuff that will go over little kids heads but make adults laugh or cry. But at the end of the day, it is an incredibly simplistic show for a very, very young demographic.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ANIME ABOUT CUTE KITTENS!

*been a Chi's Sweet Home fan for about five years and running*

I also am able to watch it with full understanding without subtitles. My Japanese listening comprehension is getting better! >:3 fufufu
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Old 01-28-2014, 02:45 PM   #6155
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Double-posting, but I just thought someone might be interested:

I found a manga about intersexuality (people born as neither male or female) and the experiences IS have as small kids, teens, adults and how the people around them feel about it. It's actually super-interesting! I'm not entirely sure if the figure of "1 out of 2,000 people are born IS" is entirely accurate worldwide or even in Japan alone, or maybe it just really isn't noticed...and here I thought it's super rare!

Anyway, the manga is called IS - Otoko Demo Onna Demo Nai Sei. I recommend having a read if you have time for it!
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Old 01-28-2014, 05:58 PM   #6156
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Remember when you were a kid and you had to buy those shitty paper Valentine's Day cards to stuff in kids' shoeboxes at school? Some kids would get Ninja Turtles ones, some would get Power Rangers ones, some would get Batman ones, some would get Disney Princess ones ... And the one thing that all of these valentines had in common was their really lame puns?

Well, apparently there's a trend going around right now where people are making faux valentines in this vein, only now they're doing it based on characters from their favorite animes. And I just saw this one and think it's right up bbb's alley as far as style of humor goes. ^^;

Spoiler: show

I'll link some other ones below.

Naruto: one from Obito (spoilers for Obito's backstory)
Naruto: one from Itachi
Naruto: one from Naruto and Sasuke

Pokémon: one from Metapod
Pokémon: one from Rhyhorn
Pokémon: one from Ash Ketchum

Sword Art Online: one from Kirito

You can find more like these just by searching image sites for valentines and the name of the series in question. For example, the ones above all came from quick searches of Tumblr using #valentine #[the anime's name].
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Old 01-30-2014, 12:26 AM   #6157
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Honestly, I don't get the one you spoiler tagged. I love the Satoshi and Itachi ones though!

Not much of an update, but I watched the latest episode of Inari blah blah blah.

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha
Eeeh....I'm losing my enthusiasm for this show. It's still charming, but it's getting less interesting. Maybe this episode was just sloppy? It would be nice.

Wizard Barristers - Benmashi Cecil
I haven't really talked about this since the first episode. Despite the interesting premise, the show is nothing special. It's so freaking dull. It's not enough for me to want to drop it though. Also it's difficult to feel sympathetic for wizards when so many of them are going on killing rampages. Oh no, they totally don't deserve all those "harsh" laws placed on them when alot of them go around killing people with their powers. Actually it's not much different than gun control laws now that I think about it. I wonder if this anime is trying to complain about gun control in Japan?

Kuragehime (manga)
I decided to read this a while back, but I never bothered talking about it. This had the same great start the anime did, but after about 20 chapters, this manga started fizzling out, and the charm it had in the opening chapters were gone. The humor was dull, and the atmosphere in the whole story was just so damn cold. I still trudged through what was translated of the manga, but it was a depressing read.

EDIT: After rewatching a few episodes of Shimashita, I remembered how awesome the way the main girl talks. Actually the dialogue itself is great.

Last edited by big bad birtha; 01-30-2014 at 12:32 AM.
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Old 01-30-2014, 12:32 AM   #6158
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Originally Posted by big bad birtha View Post
Honestly, I don't get the one you spoiler tagged. I love the Satoshi and Itachi ones though!

Not much of an update, but I watched the latest episode of Inari blah blah blah.
It's an HxH joke. (Morg would probably like the Metapod one.)

I didn't bother picking up Inari. Only got through the first part of the OP and decided I just didn't feel like watching it.
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Old 01-30-2014, 12:42 AM   #6159
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Swap out the Comic Sans and yes, that Metapod card would be a sure winner. =3=
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Old 01-30-2014, 12:53 AM   #6160
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Molester Man - 7/10

What seems like two weeks ago, I challenged BPK to marathon this manga, believing it was only 15 pages a chapter. Wrong-o! I went to bed and he marathoned it like a MAN, then I tried to follow...and failed.

If there's any long-standing truth this manga has revealed to me, it's that I'm mentally too weak to stand "cringeworthy" scenes. I will just have to deal or avoid them from now on, I cannot face them directly. I had to kind of stare into space for some of the worst parts of this story. My brain could not take the immense pressure induced by it.

Barring Molester's consistently painful regressions, this manga was pretty standard actually. Despite being a "real story" it was kind of unbelievable in how much it resembled a manga-esque story. Maybe it's the cynicism borne of my wicked soul, but I just have a hard time believing what happened in this story to be faithful.

(hopefully) BPK shoots his wad now, he's been holding it in for a while to match my horrendous pace.
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Old 01-30-2014, 01:01 AM   #6161
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I marathoned Molester Man a while ago myself when I heard it was by the same author of Onani Master Kurosawa. Don't remember much from it though - maybe because I was skimming so much after realizing how long it was.
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Old 01-30-2014, 01:11 AM   #6162
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The length wasn't an issue. One Piece is long, but I've read through it twice.

The problem was length + painful scenes. I was like a Fire Pokemon trying to take a bath.
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Old 01-30-2014, 01:49 AM   #6163
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Molester Man, based on a true story

The buzz over this manga isn't due to, "lol funny title, it's just like that other thing, The Rapeman!" it's legit! In fact I kinda wish this guy would give his manga more normal names so I wouldn't look like some kind of sick pervy when telling other people about them ("this guy" being the venerable author of Masturbation Master Kurosawa). It's about a dude who gets mistaken for a molester, and he has to go with the girl to the police station to explain the misunderstanding. While he's doing this, he develops a crush on her and tries to scheme his way into a date, relying on 2channel for advice and support. The premise is dumb, and so are the first couple chapters. It's just a big excuse to get an otaku type guy into a situation where he hangs out with a group of girls (her waitress friends).

After the initial slow chapters, I thought the manga got freakin awesome! It's hilarious and has powerful romantic tension. Once it got going, I actually thought it was on pace to surpass Kurosawa ... unfortunately, it doesn't keep the blistering pace of laughs and anxiety up forever, and peters out toward the end. In the end, I still consider Kurosawa to be superior because of its more impactful twists and memorable scenes. Still, pretty damn good! It heavily references Densha Otoko, which I haven't seen ("I will become the next Train Man!" is his mantra). As far as I can tell, the translator did a good job of localizing the various 2channel memes that wouldn't make any sense to the average reader, and providing a 4chan type equivalent instead.

I said "based on a true story" because the story is based on a series of 2channel threads made by a guy who claims to have gotten into this situation. I have my doubts about the authenticity of it all, but hey, as long as he told a good story and entertained everyone I'm willing to overlook it. "true stories" that are fake happen all the time, just look at Tucker Max. Well, Tucker Max is a monstrous douchebag, at least Molester Man is likeable!
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Old 01-30-2014, 02:14 AM   #6164
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What I disliked the most was the gradual reveal that Molester was an otaku and the character degradation. Like a Grade 5 otaku on a scale of 1-5. He isn't initially portrayed as such since all he's shown at first is being accused of stalking, so the initial impression is he's a handsome - if awkward/clumsy college guy. Posting on 2channel is hardly otakuish even in 2004. But he slowly got worse...first it started off with snake collecting and watching weird live action (Grade 1), then it got to Dragonball Z manga (Grade 2), finally we have fapping/hentai/mecha (Grades 3-4) and then Sachiko appears (full blown otaku). Creepy.

I was also not a fan of the manga's end but unlike BPK, it was because I felt it became too much like a story and was unrealistic. Much of the story in fact was unbelievable for me, but I'm a die-hard skeptic so that's not saying much. Too much surreal stuff and Molester's persistent overreaction to everything and complete impotence in public made it seem consistently impossible to suspend disbelief. If he wasn't physically attractive, I don't think this story works at all.

Like 2channel, I LOVED the main heroine. But she kind of...well, softened toward the end. Lost a lot of fire. Her personality didn't evaporate, but it was kind of sickening to see the chaos brewing like it did. I definitely could not stand watching Molester work his magic.
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Old 01-30-2014, 02:53 AM   #6165
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I decided to make some of my own Valentine's anime cards! They're a bit halfassed and lackluster due to an inability to find better screenshots. I'll regurgitate more when I think of some better ideas!

Card 1:
Spoiler: show


Card 2:
Spoiler: show


Card 3:
Spoiler: show
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Old 01-30-2014, 02:58 AM   #6166
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Here's mine. Only one entry though. I haven't watched enough anime to be a smart-arse.

Spoiler: show
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Old 01-30-2014, 05:01 AM   #6167
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Quote:
Originally Posted by big bad birtha View Post
Wizard Barristers - Benmashi Cecil
I haven't really talked about this since the first episode. Despite the interesting premise, the show is nothing special. It's so freaking dull. It's not enough for me to want to drop it though. Also it's difficult to feel sympathetic for wizards when so many of them are going on killing rampages. Oh no, they totally don't deserve all those "harsh" laws placed on them when alot of them go around killing people with their powers. Actually it's not much different than gun control laws now that I think about it. I wonder if this anime is trying to complain about gun control in Japan?
I'm watching this show, and if you don't mind a spoiler about episode 3 that can possibly change your mind, here goes:
Spoiler: show
The episode deals with a stuntman wizard whose manager pretty much forced him to use magic - and then he was accused of murder based on prejudice. Let's just say that there's now an angle that it's prejudice and "normal people" taking advantage of wizards to commit crime that's making all these bad situations happen.

That episode also sheds light on a new interesting character and the over-arching plot, so I highly recommend you at least watch episode 3 before passing up the show.
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Old 02-01-2014, 12:26 PM   #6168
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Mar(r?)y's CM is out. Her character art is pretty.

Next week will probably be Konoha's, then hopefully they'll start revealing new VAs...
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Old 02-01-2014, 02:04 PM   #6169
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Nisekoi
Okay, fuck this show. I can't take the cliche anymore. As of episode 4, this show is dropped. I thought I could stomach it, but this is way too stupid and cliche. It's bullshit a show like this is popular in the first place.
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Old 02-01-2014, 02:06 PM   #6170
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Nisekoi
Okay, fuck this show. I can't take the cliche anymore. As of episode 4, this show is dropped. I thought I could stomach it, but this is way too stupid and cliche. It's bullshit a show like this is popular in the first place.
And I still haven't started it. ^^; Sad to hear that yet another hyped-up romantic comedy fails to impress. I still haven't gotten over how Golden Time has proven to be such a disappointment. (Not necessarily bad as of where I put it down last! ^^;; Just disappointing given the high hopes I had for it. ) I was hoping that Nisekoi would be a solid series and not just another OreImo or Haganai. But it looks like that was too much to ask of it. Le sigh.

Oh well. Still plan on checking it out eventually. It can only go up from here!
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Old 02-01-2014, 02:43 PM   #6171
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No, Nisekoi is intentionally bland/generic. It is literally nothing more than a vehicle for gags, and the author can do better (as indicated by the one-shot) but is handcuffed by the demands of his audience.

BBB dropping Nisekoi, IMV, was probably the most obvious thing in the world, barring the intervention of Shinbo. Unfortunately, it looks like not even SHAFT could deviate too far from Nisekoi's true nature.
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Old 02-02-2014, 02:02 AM   #6172
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I didn't think Nisekoi would irritate me that much. I knew from the start that it was cliche and dumb, but episode 4 pulled out all the stops in pissing me off. Though these are things that specifically irritate me, so it might not be so bad on Suigin's stomach? I guess time will tell.

Also I was so irritated last post that I forgot to mention that I will be starting Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu. It's a witch anime, so it's worth a shot.
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Old 02-02-2014, 02:28 AM   #6173
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Pokémon: Maybe it's the 2am talking, but this is incredible.

Spoiler: show
"Ass Ketchum"!!!!!! Priceless.
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Old 02-04-2014, 01:05 PM   #6174
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I spent so much attention on the other shows that I have almost completely forgotten about the underdog of this season, the pilot anime. I guess I can kind of go on about that.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta
This show has gotten more interesting since the first episode. It tells an interesting story, and I'm curious what they're going to do with the main romance. Actually to me, it went in the most interesting possible direction. Unoriginal, sure, but still neat. I also love the next episode previews. They have this one character being an asshole, and they just suddenly cut him off. Every fucking episode! My only real complaint is that the main guy is kind of dumb with his identity. He doesn't exactly try very hard to hide it.

Mahou Shoujo Tai Arusu
I'm three episodes through this. It's a very interesting show. The main girl is actively working against her friends, but they still buddy up. It's weird, but I like it. I am also wondering what they're going to do with the moral dilemma for the show. My biggest complaint is the animation/art. Holy fuck it's an ugly show. Like, it's ugly enough to bother me! Other than that though, no real complaints.
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Old 02-05-2014, 08:48 PM   #6175
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Watched Episode 014 of Pokémon XY. It was the haunted house episode with Espurr. Last time, I predicted that this would probably -- hopefully! -- be a good episode. So how did that prediction turn out?

Spoiler: show
It turned out great. The haunted house episode in Unova (with Litwick) was one of my favorite episodes in the first year of that series. Already, the Espurr episode takes its place as not only one of the best Kalos episodes we've had so far but as a memorable entry into the franchise's 16-year history.


The episode begins with an excellent first few minutes, then revs down to a lower speed which it coasts at for quite some time before finally playing its ace towards the end. In this sense, I can see why many fans might say that they prefer the Litwick episode (which I think was generally more exciting throughout) than the Espurr episode. But there were quite a few things, good and bad, that happened in the first half or so that I'll bring up.

One thing I liked with the first half of the episode was how far the writers were willing to go to be scary. Given that Pokémon is a kids show, normally they don't get this scary, and even though it's nothing that's going to scare older viewers, it was still a very refreshing change of tone from what we normally experience.

One thing I liked the first two times but then grew to dislike and groan at by the fifth time was how the writers kept having Serena postulate about eerie possible explanations for what they were experiencing only to then clap her hands over her mouth and go, "What am I saying!? " as though she were afraid to jinx them all. It was great the first time, still good the second, but by the third time they did it I was already frowning at the writers. The fourth time? Groan. The fifth time? Grooooooooooan.

One thing I liked was how Team Rocket felt more serious this episode. I think it's because they behaved like actual human beings instead of like spastic cartoon characters. This made them feel more serious and thus more enjoyable. While I love Wobbuffet, his absence from this episode wasn't noticed until writing up this post -- and honestly, I think it was for the best that the writers nixed him for this week's episode. He's just too lighthearted of a character: including him would have ruined the mood, subconsciously reassuring viewers that there's nothing to worry about here. I think one of my favorite scenes in the first half of the episode is the part where James and Jessie are talking to one another immediately outside the mansion as Jessie begins to force her way in. It was just ... very, very good. This is the Team Rocket I want to see more of. James was calm, rational, not spastic. Jessie was eager, yes, but without being cartoonishly overeager.


Of course, it's the second half of the episode where things really shine. Let's start off with Espurr. (For the purposes of this post, I'll call Espurr a she. I didn't really have any impressions one way or another about Espurr's gender while watching.) Espurr's one of my favorite Pokémon lines from XY (even though I didn't use one when I played through Story Mode myself ^^; ), and I've gotta say that the animators did a great job of preserving Espurr's cuteness. I know a lot of people joke about how creepy Espurr is -- and the writers definitely had fun with that in the first half of the episode -- but I've honestly never seen Espurr as being creepy and I was glad to see that the team played up the Scottish fold's cuteness in the second half.

The backstory with the grandmotherly owner of the mansion was of course this episode's biggest selling point, the thing that will have Pokémon fans talking for weeks to come. The anime usually shies away from topics that deal with death. Usually when people are depicted to have died in Pokémon, they're depicted as having been long dead. For example, the owner of Ninetales in Johto died God knows how long ago. The Orange Islands champion who manned that one ship, now sunken, also died a long, long time ago before Ash & Co. met his Ghost types. But the grandmother in XY015 is depicted as having only died relatively recently -- long ago enough that cobwebs began to form, but not so long ago that any of her family had come to deal with the mansion until this very episode. The writers don't come out and say it, but that dates the old woman's death to anywhere from several weeks ago at the soonest (gotta give those cobwebs time to grow!) to several years ago at the latest (the old woman's granddaughter seemed very young, like she was in her early to mid-20s; also, it's unlikely that she would have been tasked with the mansion's renovation or sale had she only been a child when Grandmama passed away). Though we're not given specifics on how recently the mansion's former owner died, the writers make great use of dialogue and artwork to evoke a general atmosphere of recency. And that's what makes this episode really stand out to me: it's the first episode in memory that actually tackles the mortality of family members head on for children.

That's the thing. That's what I loved about this episode. The writers could've taken the easy way out any number of times and they didn't. When they hinted that the old woman was suffering from congestive heart failure, I figured, "Nah, they're just feeding us a red herring." Then when they showed that she vanished, I was like, "Just you watch. Any second now, they're going to reveal that she went to spend several years in Unova with her children and that she's been fine this entire time. The shortness of breath and pain in her chest were just red herrings." As the red car pulled up, I was like, "Oh damn it. Damn it, writers. You could've been daring and written a death episode, but no. You had to take the easy way out." But I was wrong. I was wrong. It's not Grandmama who exits that car but her 20-year old granddaughter. And the writers don't dodge the question of what happened to the old lady: they come right out and say it. "She passed away. " And you see the look of confusion, sorrow, and pain on Espurr's face. Espurr had wanted to see her dear friend all this time. She had wanted to return the necklace to her. And now she was being told that it was too late. That she'd missed her chance. That her friend was dead.

What I think is especially commendable about the writing here is the subtle aspect of the death. Who died? A grandmotherly figure. Who survived her? A child-like figure (Espurr) and a grandchild character (the granddaughter). Seeing as most children's first experience with a death in the family will be the death of one of their grandparents, this episode serves as an excellent way to reach out to children who have already lost a grandparent, helping them to cope, and it also serves as a good subconscious primer for those children who have yet to lose one but will in the near future. The episode depicts mementos and souvenirs (the grandmother's necklace, cherished by Espurr, and the grandmother's estate, cherished by the granddaughter), it depicts not getting to say good-bye while the grandparent is still alive ... it even depicts the all-too-real experience of being invited to the cemetery to say good-bye even though the grandparent is already gone. These are all experiences common to most kids, and it was great to see a Pokémon episode touch on these without feeling too preachy or depressing or serious. The episode really struck the right balance and that was what makes it so great for kids.


And if nothing else: at least Espurr was aaaaaaaaaaaaadorable.
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