Anime - Do you Understannnnnnndu?

[Bartimaeus]

Season 1 of Uchuu Patrol Luluco. "Season 1", which is about 20 minutes long. Tonally, it's basically a completely irreverent OK K.O. that's also on the speediest of speed. "Normal" high school girl wakes up one morning and...

Spoiler

...her single father immediately dies because of alien technology he accidentally brought home from his work at Space Patrol, and in order to resurrect him she's forcibly drafted into the same job and sent back to her school to arrest or kill student wrongdoers. ...Wow, that was a mouthful. Her first job is to eliminate "Save the World", an unknown figure that she needs to identify who is supposedly controlling her school by way of a "blackhole" app that is able to just...make whatever illegal things happen via extradimensional wormholes or something. Yeah, I don't really know. The entire show is explained and wrapped up in those twenty or so minutes - that was, uh, something.

No, this Save the World thankfully does not look or sound anything like Utena's End of the World.

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

  

8 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Not inaccurate - think I told KP that it was a bit wacky and all over the place. The final part is probably the most straightforward (and certainly my favorite part).

I'll see soon enough.

8 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

@Work: Example #523,785,129,816 proving that it basically never pays to overperform or reveal aptitude or talent for something outside of your job description...

 

Spoiler

I was using this mostly as an example for being me and, you know, watching things to its end being the least of the problems.

Well, and to whinge. It might not change anything, but it sure is comforting!

Spoiler

I don't feel underappreciated, and I like having to come up with solutions to "impossible" scenarios, so that was fun. That just spiraled out of control afterwards, and well into territory that not just makes me feel like I'm doing things that are a waste of my time and talents (and therefore the company's money), but also cause extreme mental strain and adverse physical reactions.

Working on this has been taxing to the point where I feel that I need my upcoming vacation, instead of going on vacation just so that my vacation credits don't expire.

 

 

8 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

What a fall for grace for Sakura, . It's always amazing what incredibly talented people are able to make...and then subsequently miss the mark so badly on when they try to continue it.

I really have no explanation for this. As I said, I might be underrating Clear Card, but the drop in quality is so steep its impossible to be objective.

8 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

What a fall for grace for Sakura, . It's always amazing what incredibly talented people are able to make...and then subsequently miss the mark so badly on when they try to continue it.

There are no coincidences. Only inevitability.

Spoiler

Next episode has the actual play, and Sakura and Shaoran and their families are hilariously embarrassed by the gender reversal, mirroring Toya's Cinderella play. I might have mentioned that one before, but Meiling simply kills in her role as evil witch. Fairy. Well, whatever. It's really noticable that everyone involved had fun making these episodes.

So, what did you think of Shaoran and Sakura gifting each other cards now?

 

34 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Season 1 of Uchuu Patrol Luluco. "Season 1", which is about 20 minutes long. Tonally, it's basically a completely irreverent OK K.O. that's also on the speediest of speed. "Normal" high school girl wakes up one morning and...

  Hide contents

...her single father immediately dies because of alien technology he accidentally brought home from his work at Space Patrol, and in order to resurrect him she's forcibly drafted into the same job and sent back to her school to arrest or kill student wrongdoers. ...Wow, that was a mouthful. Her first job is to eliminate "Save the World", an unknown figure that she needs to identify who is supposedly controlling her school by way of a "blackhole" app that is able to just...make whatever illegal things happen via extradimensional wormholes or something. Yeah, I don't really know. The entire show is explained and wrapped up in those twenty or so minutes - that was, uh, something.

No, this Save the World thankfully does not look or sound anything like Utena's End of the World.

 

What in the what now? How did you end up trying that? Heh.

Edited August 5, 2021 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

7 hours ago, majestic said:

What in the what now? How did you end up trying that? Heh.

I have a ridiculous amount of shows I've bookmarked that will probably take me literally a decade-plus to get around to trying all of, which I've bookmarked on the basis of few different criteria important to me. Luluco was a "okay I'm probably gonna hate this, but it does match my criteria and you never know" try-out. Well, I actually didn't hate it, it was decent enough, I think - kind of like Kill la Kill, really. Also, because I have so many things bookmarked, I kind of feel a pressing need to steadily try them out purely for the sake of clearing them out - though because I'm already watching a few other shows as it is, I am focusing on trying out that which I most strongly believe I won't like. The risk I run when I do that is I might end up trying something which I actually do like and only adds to the current logjam of shows I'm watching... Though at least I'm usually watching one or two of them with my other party, which helps make steady progress with at least one of them (Miyu is that one right now, and unsurprisingly will be the first I finish out of everything).

Xiaolang/Sakura: It felt very right, especially after he's given her a couple that really rightfully belonged to him. Nice to see that reciprocated, . He tried to play it off all cold, of course, but it's a little difficult to believe when he's the one that started it, .

Hope you enjoy your deserved vacation!

Edited August 5, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[InsaneCommander]

Violet Evergarden 8-10:

More information about what happened during the war. And when things were getting happier episode 10 came.
 

Spoiler

The major dying in a conquered territory rules out any chance of him being alive somewhere.

Episode 10 was pretty obvious: the mother was leaving letters to her infant daughter because she wouldn't be there for long. Pretty said, but at least they fast forwarded and showed us that the girl would have a happy life.

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by InsaneCommander

[majestic]

2 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

And when things were getting happier eepisode 10 came.

I'm not sure if I'd call episode 8 and 9 "happier" but whatever helps you cope. They did end on a really hopeful note. After getting really, really, really dark for a bit.  

10 was quite a gut punch, huh? It was so obvious but you can't help it. It's just sad.

Spoiler

And then Violet breaks down back at the office, and Cattleya once again proves that she's the best friend you could ever have. Such a perfect scene to show how far she's come.

 

[InsaneCommander]

Happier just in the sense that

Spoiler

she was desperate to find Gilbert and in the end she started to accept that she might never see him again.

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by InsaneCommander

[majestic]

On 8/3/2021 at 12:33 AM, Sarex said:

You should and

  Hide contents

it won't.

Well, maybe it won't devolve into giant mech battles, but the two girls sure as hell found one and are currently destroying half the city in Yuu's attempt to figure out how to use it.

Yeah, uhm, close enough.

[majestic]

6 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

I have a ridiculous amount of shows I've bookmarked that will probably take me literally a decade-plus to get around to trying all of, which I've bookmarked on the basis of few different criteria important to me. Luluco was a "okay I'm probably gonna hate this, but it does match my criteria and you never know" try-out. Well, I actually didn't hate it, it was decent enough, I think - kind of like Kill la Kill, really.

it is from the same studio, so that makes sense. Probably a similar creative team. I can recommend Kill la Kill for the times when you need some sensory overload. It's still a pretty funny parody, anyway, and it does work for the 24+1 episodes it has, so that's fine enough. It just really kills your brain when trying to take everything in.

Nui might have been one of the most batsh*t craziest weirdo antagonists I've ever come across.

Sort of spoilers, I guess.

6 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Also, because I have so many things bookmarked, I kind of feel a pressing need to steadily try them out purely for the sake of clearing them out - though because I'm already watching a few other shows as it is, I am focusing on trying out that which I most strongly believe I won't like. The risk I run when I do that is I might end up trying something which I actually do like and only adds to the current logjam of shows I'm watching... Though at least I'm usually watching one or two of them with my other party, which helps make steady progress with at least one of them (Miyu is that one right now, and unsurprisingly will be the first I finish out of everything).

In that case I doubt I'll catch up, there aren't that many episodes of Miyu anyway. That's fine though.

6 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Xiaolang/Sakura: It felt very right, especially after he's given her a couple that really rightfully belonged to him. Nice to see that reciprocated, . He tried to play it off all cold, of course, but it's a little difficult to believe when he's the one that started it, .

I'll just quote myself, from some time back in May when I watched this episode.
 

Spoiler

Ms. Mizuki causes more "coincidences" like making Sharoan and Sakura play the princess and prince of their school's upcoming Sleeping Beauty play. When they have a run-in with a powerful Clow card, they need to work together to solve it. Sakura gives the card that belongs to them in equal measure to Shaoran. Ms. Mizuki is seen watching them, there's a hint that she might have been behind the two finding the card where and when they did (neither of them have sensed the card, Makoto Kaho probably masked its aura).

Toya was nice to Sakura for a change and almost talked to her about the time when she used Mirror to try and fool him. That's a theme with Toya. Almost. He also almost told Yukito that Ms. Mizuki is his former love a few episodes ago. Instead he just tells Sakura to take care.

Definitely moving towards the end game here. Meilin has a moment where she imagines herself as the princess Shaoran is supposed to wake. This would probably not be so... disastrous when you're watching this as a member of the target audience. All I can see in these scenes is pain, misery and tears for Meilin, which is such a weird feeling with this anime. It's not like I wouldn't enjoy a subplot like that somewhere else, but just like in SuperS, there's a time and a place for certain topics, and Sailor Moon wasn't the anime for completely unresolved and never talked about sexual abuse allegories and Cardcaptor Sakura isn't the place for unrequited love and heartbreak like that.

But hey, maybe they'll prove me wrong. I hope so, but Meilin barely being in this episode doesn't bode too well. She's probably at home crying her heart out already.

Funny how that goes, when they were introduced I was hoping both would go away sooner rather than later, and now I'm sitting here writing overly long posts about a 10 second scene.

Good job show.

Current talk:
 

Spoiler

I really liked that scene, to be honest, I just felt really bad for Meiling afterwards. It was clear as day that this isn't going to end well for her from this point forward.

Yeah so this is hotlinked wikia garbage that doesn't scale right, but it's too late to look for a working picture, or make one myself, but this just screams "Sorry Meiling, you just lost", doesn't it?

Funny, yeah, the Netflix subtitles had "Meilin" spelled out there. Probably because her name in Romaji is Meirin.

 

6 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Hope you enjoy your deserved vacation!

 

Spoiler

I'm sure I will. I'll lock myself away and reduce human contact to whenever I feel like it. Should be great, actually. Some peace and quiet, and lots of backlog to watch.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Just now, majestic said:

Nui might have been one of the most batsh*t craziest weirdo antagonists I've ever come across.

*Laughs in Diavolo*

[majestic]

3 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

*Laughs in Diavolo*

Is that someone that comes up in Stardust Crusaders already?

Not sure what to think of Iggy yet, though. Somehow this just keeps getting weirder and weirder, and whenever you think it can't possibly get even weirder, it just does.

Edited August 5, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

4 minutes ago, majestic said:

Is that someone that comes up in Stardust Crusaders already?

He's in Golden Wind.

5 minutes ago, majestic said:

Not sure what to think of Iggy yet, though. Somehow this just keeps getting weirder and weirder, and whenever you think it can't possibly get even weirder, it just does.

Somehow even with the 6th crusader being Iggy, PORNAREFFU is still the biggest dumbass in the group.

And yeah, that's the JoJo effect man, it really has to be experienced and can't be described without people thinking you're lying.

[majestic]

Finished Girls' Last Tour.

It did indeed have robots, GIANT robots and of course GIANT MECHS, but no battles. Except for one series of flashbacks, but that's fine. Probably could have done without Yuu's extended skinny dipping in the aquarium scene. Chibi style and fanservice, nah, that's a combination that is... nah. Just no. Some of the scenes clearly suggest that the girls are a good deal older than they sound like or behave (fan speculation puts them at around 20, which seems a tad old).

Good thing the anime stopped and didn't adapt all of the manga:

Spoiler

It apparently ends with both of them dying, which would have sucked in the anime.

Anyway, I mentioned it before, but this is a really baffling mixture of lighthearted and goofy nonsense, deeply philosophical discourse on the nature of life and the exploration of the dreary post apocalyptic wasteland of a dying world. Much of the time nothing at all happens and it's glorious to see (or boring, depending on your preferences and tastes, I guess).

Beer is great, right Yuu?

Anyway, there are two things that bothered me throughout watching it. The character models, of course, and uncanny valley CGI camera pans.

My initial impression was pretty wrong, I figured after the first episode that the concept would get stale really quickly, but it didn't. There's something endearing about watching the two trek through a dead city trying to salvage enough food and fuel to continue. Both characters benefit greatly from the absolutely incredible performance by their voice actors, at least in the Japanese original.

All the songs that come up, the intro, outro and the raindrop song, are sung by the VAs, not very surprising there at least when it comes to Yuu, who had a role in Love Live! after all (and those were picked from established j-pop singers).

The raindrop song I already linked, here's the intro:

They even manage to sing in their slightly slow, child-like limited speech pattern way in which they voice their characters.

 

[Sarex]

6 minutes ago, majestic said:

Good thing the anime stopped and didn't adapt all of the manga

I only read the manga...

edit: The next work by the author is so weird I wonder if I should take the plunge.

Edited August 6, 2021 by Sarex

[Bartimaeus]

Part 1 of 2 of Crusher Joe (1989). Man, 1980s anime sci-fi in HD...a great transfer too. But unlike that trash Iczer One, this actually had good writing and dialogue, a solid cast of characters (that it only spent a couple of minutes introducing before getting right into letting them do their thing in the movie proper - a good choice, and one that I wish more modern entertainment would take heed of sometimes), good VAs, great animation (note: not art style, which is also good but distinct from the animation, the actual animation itself is great)...and I was actually really into the plot and action, which is rare for something like this. Just really all around good. Actually, outside of the first few minutes where I wasn't sure what I would be watching (since I don't really investigate random stuff I try very much beyond looking at a handful of screenshots to get a basic feeling for it, maybe a very quick glance at the genres), I was rather reminded a bit of...

Spoiler

the original Star Wars trilogy

...and in a good way.

Basic premise is that "Crushers" are space-faring crack-teams that take care of...well, space problems that need immediate and expert response. Our team, lead by one Crusher Joe, is hired to rescue a small asteroid-moon whose course is going to terminate into its host planet, a dictatorship planet that has been using the asteroid-moon as a prisoner colony for political dissidents.

...Okay, is it just me, or is the box art for this inexplicably a little terrifying?

Spoiler

It's like it wants to be an old-fashioned sci-fi poster but combined it with anime and...wow, that just looks really weird to me.

(e): Part 2 was just about as good as part 1. Good stuff.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

That box art is actually turning me off, kinda. Talk about bad ideas.

[Sarex]

Did anyone watch Great Pretender?

[majestic]

29 minutes ago, Sarex said:

Did anyone watch Great Pretender?

KP did, and thought it was pretty good.

[Sarex]

Looking what Netflix has and came across it. I'll give it a go.

[InsaneCommander]

Violet Evergarden 11-13:

The war was not actually over and they needed to sign a peace deal.
 

Spoiler

A bunch of rebels tried to sabotage it and Violet was forced to fight again. In the end she saves the day and stop a bridge from blowing up, with help from Benedict. I wonder how many medals they received. This could literally have restarted the war.

Violet also traveled to an area where the rebels were fighting and managed to keep a soldier alive until he could dictate letters to his family. Why am I still watching this?

Captain Bougainvillea was forced to accept that Violet is a human being and started to respect her. She even told him that she didn't need any more orders and continued her job now being able to smile when presenting herself.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

10 hours ago, Sarex said:

Did anyone watch Great Pretender?

Yes. It's pretty good and I'd recommend it if you want to see something that isn't overtly fantasy or sci-fi.

[majestic]

Vampire Princess Miyu OVA, Part 2: The Boy Who Wants To Be A Real Puppet.

This felt a lot less disjointed than the first one, but the pacing is still sort of insane. There's barely any time for the storyline to breathe or the characters' motivations to be properly explored. It gets the point across but there's too much going on for the 25 minutes it has, I'd say.

Spoiler

It also manages to make it look like a happy end when a demon turns a schoolboy into a puppet so they can live together forever. Huh. Good job, kind of.

 

[Bartimaeus]

Spoiler

...Didn't Miyu kill both of them? I don't think it's shown, but I thought she said she did. Kind of sad all around, that that was how she had to "win", especially since she seemed to like the boy, but a Guardian's gotta do what a Guardian's got to do...especially when things don't go her way, .

P.S. If anyone knows any other dark/horror animes/cartoons like Miyu (i.e. doesn't have to be a masterpiece by any means, not super action-heavy but some is fine, more character-driven, preferably made between the 70s and 90s...or later if the style isn't totally terrible I guess, I'd at least look to see if I could jive with it), be sure to let me know. I did some searching but was really only able to come up with a couple of okay-ish possibilities. Miyu seems especially rare because it's actually still considered shoujo even though it's dark and horror, so it seems very unlikely I'd find something quite like it again, which would be a shame indeed because this cross-section of genres kind of feels like it could really be my jam if more of it existed.

Edited August 7, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

42 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

Violet Evergarden 11-13:

The war was not actually over and they needed to sign a peace deal.
 

  Hide contents

A bunch of rebels tried to sabotage it and Violet was forced to fight again. In the end she saves the day and stop a bridge from blowing up, with help from Benedict. I wonder how many medals they received. This could literally have restarted the war.

Violet also traveled to an area where the rebels were fighting and managed to keep a soldier alive until he could dictate letters to his family. Why am I still watching this?

Captain Bougainvillea was forced to accept that Violet is a human being and started to respect her. She even told him that she didn't need any more orders and continued her job now being able to smile when presenting herself.

 

 

Spoiler

I don't know why you're still watching this, did you get emotional?

Violet telling the captain that she doesn't need orders any more was essentially one of the best endings to a character arc I've ever had the pleasure to watch. I know the episode continued for a bit with the symbolic mail drop of all the dead and new letters, but it's such a great ending when she tells him that.

Even though episode 12 was a little on the weaker side, it also showed just how far she's distanced herself from war. She does fight because she has to, but doesn't kill anyone, and she only fights to protect the peace.

 

14 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Spoiler

...Didn't Miyu kill both of them? I don't think it's shown, but I thought she said she did. Kind of sad all around, especially since she seemed to like the boy.

 

 

Spoiler

Banished to the "dark" is what the subtitles said, so I'm guessing they're back wherever demons are usually at when they're not haunting people. The last scene also showed them together, so I'm guessing they're good. It's fine for them, I guess.

 

14 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

P.S. If anyone knows any other dark/horror animes/cartoons like Miyu (i.e. doesn't have to be a masterpiece by any means, not super action-heavy but some is fine, more character-driven, preferably made between the 70s and 90s...or later if the style isn't totally terrible I guess, I'd at least look to see if I could jive with it), be sure to let me know. I did some searching but was really only able to come up with a couple of okay-ish possibilities. Miyu seems especially rare because it's actually still considered shoujo even though it's dark and horror, so it seems very unlikely I'd find something quite like it again, which would be a shame indeed because this cross-section of genres kind of feels like it could really be my jam if more of it existed.

Have you tried Puella Magi Madoka Magica? That's pretty dark stuff while still a maho shoujo anime. Might be a little style problem or two for you in there, though, but perhaps you can jive wit hit?

Spoiler

Sorry, could not resist.

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

12 minutes ago, majestic said:

  Hide contents

Banished to the "dark" is what the subtitles said, so I'm guessing they're back wherever demons are usually at when they're not haunting people. The last scene also showed them together, so I'm guessing they're good. It's fine for them, I guess.

 

I guess technically I don't really understand what Miyu is doing to them when she "seals" them away - to my eyes, it doesn't really seem any different then e.g. killing an extraplanar in D&D, which "kills" their form here but really sends them back to their home plane in some fashion. So the implication to me was that she did, for all practical purposes, actually kill them, even if they aren't necessarily in a state of absolute death, .

12 minutes ago, majestic said:

Have you tried Puella Magi Madoka Magica? That's pretty dark stuff while still a maho shoujo anime. Might be a little style problem or two for you in there, though, but perhaps you can jive wit hit?

Edited August 7, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Sarex]

23 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

P.S. If anyone knows any other dark/horror animes/cartoons like Miyu (i.e. doesn't have to be a masterpiece by any means, not super action-heavy but some is fine, more character-driven, preferably made between the 70s and 90s...or later if the style isn't totally terrible I guess, I'd at least look to see if I could jive with it), be sure to let me know. I did some searching but was really only able to come up with a couple of okay-ish possibilities. Miyu seems especially rare because it's actually still considered shoujo even though it's dark and horror, so it seems very unlikely I'd find something quite like it again, which would be a shame indeed because this cross-section of genres kind of feels like it could really be my jam if more of it existed.

Hellsing would be the best for me. Monster is the best regarded, although I still haven't watched it.