Anime - Oh No! Oh My God!

[Bartimaeus]

8 hours ago, Sarex said:

Well Clannad is kind of a right of passage for anime watchers, kind of like NG:E. You should give it a go, maybe it surprises you.

Okay, but only for the sake of once and for all fully cementing that there is zero point in me trying to ever adhere by what is "popular" or "important" to the general anime-watching crowd because we will never value the same things, . Unlike K-On, I am 99.9% certain that I will despise this on almost every possible level*, but who knows, maybe we'll get a case like Kill la Kill where I don't but instead it's just not for me - even that would surprise me, though.

Spoiler

it looks like the exact kind of drama that I usually turn off 2 minutes in because it's so laughably terrible and fake-feeling, the exact kind of young male protagonist that I cannot stand and will immediately want to decapitate with a rusty iron spoon, character styles and types that will make Violet Evergarden's look good in comparison (seriously, if I don't hate every single character and how they express and communicate just on a basic style level, I'll be shocked), that art...

(e): Here we go, episode 1 of Clannad:

Spoiler

Alright, so I'm exactly 1 minute and 1 second in and I already know this was a huge mistake.

Literally straight into the faux "drama mode" where everything is completely morose with the most pathetic-sounding piano music to accompany it, while we have two characters immediately going into emotional tirades and monologues. If my perception of this show started at an extremely skeptical "I'm almost certainly going to hate this", it has now graduated to "I should start skipping through the episode to make sure it isn't going to stay this way right now because if it does I'm going to turn it off and never look back". I will refrain from doing that and try to let the entire episode finish at its own pace. Surprisingly, I already know this Dango Daikazoku song that's playing because there's a singer that I like that's covered it.

Okay, I'm exactly 11 minutes and 10 seconds in now, and this is absolute torture. I almost wish I had a recording of myself watching this so you could see the amount of times I've groaned and covered my face while watching this.

I actually yelled "oh my gosh" out-loud here when our idiot face protagonist here went into another freaking monologue to randomly explain why this whatever girl is so strong right as she was about to beat up his friend. This show was made by aliens who designed all of the elements of this show specifically to entice to me as little as humanly possible. Monologues, faux drama, all the characters come across as being mentally disabled, terrible art style, a whole pile of telling instead of showing, I'm getting completely flattened by a brick wall of "PAY ATTENTION TO MY DRAMA REEEEEE" (instead of ever letting scenes play out organically), it's got just about everything that I despise. UGH, MORE PIANO DRAMA RIGHT AFTER. Welp, I'm done, I can't do this anymore. It was a valiant effort, but I have been surely and soundly defeated by ~12 minutes of Clannad.

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Sarex]

2 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Okay, but only for the sake of once and for all fully cementing that there is zero point in me trying to ever adhere by what is "popular" or "important" to the general anime-watching crowd because we will never value the same things, . Unlike K-On, I am 99.9% certain that I will despise this on almost every possible level*, but who knows, maybe we'll get a case like Kill la Kill where I don't but instead it's just not for me - even that would surprise me, though.

  Reveal hidden contents

it looks like the exact kind of drama that I usually turn off 2 minutes in because it's so laughably terrible and fake-feeling, the exact kind of young male protagonist that I cannot stand and will immediately want to decapitate with a rusty iron spoon, character styles and types that will make Violet Evergarden's look good in comparison (seriously, if I don't hate every single character and how they express and communicate just on a basic style level, I'll be shocked), that art...

(e): Here we go, episode 1 of Clannad:

  Reveal hidden contents

Alright, so I'm exactly 1 minute and 1 second in and I already know this was a huge mistake.

Literally straight into the faux "drama mode" where everything is completely morose with the most pathetic-sounding piano music to accompany it, while we have two characters immediately going into emotional tirades and monologues. If my perception of this show started at an extremely skeptical "I'm almost certainly going to hate this", it has now graduated to "I should start skipping through the episode to make sure it isn't going to stay this way right now because if it does I'm going to turn it off and never look back". I will refrain from doing that and try to let the entire episode finish at its own pace. Surprisingly, I already know this Dango Daikazoku song that's playing because there's a singer that I like that's covered it.

Okay, I'm exactly 11 minutes and 10 seconds in now, and this is absolute torture. I almost wish I had a recording of myself watching this so you could see the amount of times I've groaned and covered my face while watching this.

I actually yelled "oh my gosh" out-loud here when our idiot face protagonist here went into another freaking monologue to randomly explain why this whatever girl is so strong right as she was about to beat up his friend. This show was made by aliens who designed all of the elements of this show specifically to entice to me as little as humanly possible. Monologues, faux drama, all the characters come across as being mentally disabled, terrible art style, a whole pile of telling instead of showing, I'm getting completely flattened by a brick wall of "PAY ATTENTION TO MY DRAMA REEEEEE" (instead of ever letting scenes play out organically), it's got just about everything that I despise. UGH, MORE PIANO DRAMA RIGHT AFTER. Welp, I'm done, I can't do this anymore. It was a valiant effort, but I have been surely and soundly defeated by ~12 minutes of Clannad.

 

You need to let go and surrender, let the drama flow through you, fill you up with it's warm goodness.

[majestic]

Must resist. Urge. Must.

I'll show myself out of the door now. Good thing I need to work, otherwise I'd probably check out Clannad too.

Right, and regarding Lady Asuka, my posts look like I'm hating it, but I don't. It's just not particularily interesting right now, so fun through posting it is. That might change, it might not, but it's definitely not even in the same ballpark as X, which was flawed, but at least interesting.

There's also the narrator lady that keeps telling me historical facts I already know. Who knows, maybe it'll turn into some slasher action once the revolution starts. Also, period appropriate dialogue and social ettiquette, ugh. Formal speech is sort of funny in Japanese while you're trying to figure out what's what and which honorifics and pronouns go here and there and whatever the hell keigo is supposed to be, but having Marie Antoinette talk to her mother in very formal language is the wont of the time, but I'm not going to like it. Like, ever.

[Bartimaeus]

10 hours ago, majestic said:

Must resist. Urge. Must.

I'll show myself out of the door now. Good thing I need to work, otherwise I'd probably check out Clannad too.

Right, and regarding Lady Asuka, my posts look like I'm hating it, but I don't. It's just not particularily interesting right now, so fun through posting it is. That might change, it might not, but it's definitely not even in the same ballpark as X, which was flawed, but at least interesting.

There's also the narrator lady that keeps telling me historical facts I already know. Who knows, maybe it'll turn into some slasher action once the revolution starts. Also, period appropriate dialogue and social ettiquette, ugh. Formal speech is sort of funny in Japanese while you're trying to figure out what's what and which honorifics and pronouns go here and there and whatever the hell keigo is supposed to be, but having Marie Antoinette talk to her mother in very formal language is the wont of the time, but I'm not going to like it. Like, ever.

Keep in mind that there's a sequel series that's just as long as the original, and it's literally called "Clannad: After Story"...not to mention a movie! Don't do it! You have so much to live for!

How much do you think I'd like Lady Asuka (the show, not the character)?

City Hunter (1987). I don't really know why I'm trying this, this doesn't really seem to be for me either, but at least it looks nice, especially in HD. Gotta keep trying stuff to figure out what you do and don't like even when it's outside of your interests, after all - there's a reason I just gave Clannad the smallest of chances, after all. There was a very sweet lady that was just introduced like two minutes into the first episode that was waiting for her friend to arrive while out on the street, and a guy rolled up in his car asking for directions and she immediately responded and graciously started giving him detailed directions...and he shot her in the middle of it before driving off. Her friend arrives and she collapses right then...and that's all she wrote: dead. Absolutely brutal, especially for someone I immediately had a positive impression of. Feels bad, man.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Sarex]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

Keep in mind that there's a sequel series that's just as long as the original, and it's literally called "Clannad: After Story"...not to mention a movie! Don't do it! You have so much to live for!

The After Story is the whole point of the series. The first part is the setup.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

4 hours ago, Sarex said:

The After Story is the whole point of the series. The first part is the setup.

That's a lot of show. Not sure if I'm feeling it that much.

[Sarex]

9 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

That's a lot of show. Not sure if I'm feeling it that much.

I mean if you are not liking the first part, really no point in going for the second one. The first part is a slow burn definitely and is really a highschool slice of life afair.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

10 minutes ago, Sarex said:

I mean if you are not liking the first part, really no point in going for the second one. The first part is a slow burn definitely and is really a highschool slice of life afair.

I'm probably going to watch a few more episodes to get a better feel on it. Right now it's ok, but not particularly interesting. 

[Sarex]

53 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

I'm probably going to watch a few more episodes to get a better feel on it. Right now it's ok, but not particularly interesting. 

Sounds like a plan. If you don't feel like continuing, I can give you the rundown on what it's about.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Sarex

[Bartimaeus]

Cardcaptor Sakura stuff:

Spoiler

I'm not sure who's more adorable here, Xiaolang or Tomoyo!

...It's Xiaolang. Proof:

You've been unseated, Tomoyo!

...I've been thinking it was weird and off-putting Eriol never opens his eyes, but he just opened them right now and he's even more off-putting with them open. And Nakaru might be evil or whatever, but her theme song is still great.

Oh no, Xiaolang is going full crush mode for Sakura. Luckily for him, I already like him enough that I won't be overly bothered if he starts going full in/overexpressive, . ..."Sweet Sakura Cards", yep, seems legit, Tomoyo!

Why is Sakura asking Ms. Mizuki via a letter if Clow Reed is dead instead of asking Kero himself literally right after Kero mentioned him as being the only other person besides Sakura that could bind him and Yue? Oh, apparently she DID ask Kero, but it didn't tell us until a bit later when Xiaolang was asking - as far as Kero knows, he did pass away...but that was a very undefinitive claim indeed.

"That's Tomoyo's voice!"...followed immediately by a really loud explosion sound: RIP Tomoyo, your wonderful singing caused you to spontaneously explode, . Also, this is really random, but I had a childhood fear of monster pianos. I don't remember from what exactly (that's a very specific fear so it must've been from SOMETHING), but this piano going crazy just reminded me of it. Man, this piano really hates Tomoyo's voice. Bastard piano. Also, why did Sakura wait until the piano was right at the door before transforming the card she needed? For dramatic effect, I suppose, but woulda made a lot more sense the other way around.

 

9 hours ago, Sarex said:

The After Story is the whole point of the series. The first part is the setup.

Can't tell if joking... Does the show's tone and style change greatly from the original's?

Edited September 14, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

9 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

How much do you think I'd like Lady Asuka (the show, not the character)?

I have no idea. However, if you try, Lady Asuka could potentially confirm the Bleed Through Hypthesis.

Now that you're properly confused, I'm working off this handy chart here:

As you can see, Rose of Versailles could potentially be evidence - or final falsification - of the mythical Bleed Through area ((tm) and (r) by majestic, 2021).

Because so far, well, I'm not really feeling it for Rose of Versailles. The episodes weren't bad, even when the plot of the premise is ridiculous, but it's not something I would continue watching if I were a normal watcher. Or, to convey that in music terms, I wouldn't switch radio stations if it was on air, but I'd not tune in for it specifically either. I might creep over the line in a couple of episode. I doubt it will vector off into trash territory though.

CCS talk:

Spoiler

19 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Oh no, Xiaolang is going full crush mode for Sakura. Luckily for him, I already like him enough that I won't be overly bothered if he starts going full in/overexpressive, . ..."Sweet Sakura Cards", yep, seems legit, Tomoyo!

Was my biggest worry, to be honest. I mean, not that Shaoran goes full shonen ridiculous love expression stuff (spoiler: No ), but that there'd be misgivings about it even being a thing. Apparently it's not, so yay.

21 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

For dramatic effect, I suppose, but woulda made a lot more sense the other way around.

I said it before, I'll repeat it now, the increased stakes of this arc were a large part of the reason why I said it doesn't work as well. It'll eventually stop being this ridiculous until the conclusion comes around, but almost Tomoyo killing moster pianos that trash rooms at school, well, no, that's... a little overboard for a random Cardcaptor Sakura episode right at the beginning of an arc.

I wonder what happened between you and pianos. The vaguely remember a scene in a movie where a piano eats someone. It was a comedy, but I'm not sure which one. Or if it really was a piano. But maybe that was it.

All I remember is someone lying under what I think is a piano and being sucked into it, with the pants hiking up to reveal multicolored stockings. Or weird stockings. Hell if I know. It's something I caught when I was very little.

 

[Sarex]

51 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Can't tell if joking... Does the show's tone and style change greatly from the original's?

Spoiler

Very!

As you are not going to watch it

Spoiler

The first part really sets up the characters and gets you invested in them, then the second part rips your heart out and eats it before your eyes.

 

@majestic Wait where is Rebuild?

Edited September 14, 2021 by Sarex

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

17 minutes ago, Sarex said:

Wait where is Rebuild?

In the anti-universe of the graph.

[Bartimaeus]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Was my biggest worry, to be honest.

Helps when your characters have earned their keep over time. You know, as opposed to immediately drilling into my forehead and attempting to perform a lobotomy on me in the very first episode, . Hey, speaking of both lobotomies and characters earning their keep, where the hell is Meiling?

1 hour ago, majestic said:

I said it before, I'll repeat it now, the increased stakes of this arc were a large part of the reason why I said it doesn't work as well. It'll eventually stop being this ridiculous until the conclusion comes around, but almost Tomoyo killing moster pianos that trash rooms at school, well, no, that's... a little overboard for a random Cardcaptor Sakura episode right at the beginning of an arc.

I wonder what happened between you and pianos. The vaguely remember a scene in a movie where a piano eats someone. It was a comedy, but I'm not sure which one. Or if it really was a piano. But maybe that was it.

All I remember is someone lying under what I think is a piano and being sucked into it, with the pants hiking up to reveal multicolored stockings. Or weird stockings. Hell if I know. It's something I caught when I was very little.

Yeah, I really don't know. Maybe there was some early video game I played with a jump scare piano or something, . One of the earliest games I played was Ocarina of Time and the thing that scared me the most in that game were the...not the wallmasters, but simply the shadow appearing and sound that played as the wallmasters were spawning to fall down from the ceiling. Gave me intense anxiety as a kid - once they were down, no big deal, but the lead-up to it was killer.

How long did it take you to make that graph? Anyways, that bleed-through area totally exists, even if we haven't yet found an example of it - that's more a function of me not trying out enough things you didn't care for or things in general than anything else. Heck, you could probably just about put Utena under there already, right?

@Sarex It would probably help if there was even a small possibility of me liking the characters...alas, .

Edited September 14, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Sarex]

10 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

@Sarex It would probably help if there was even a small possibility of me liking the characters...alas, .

For sure. That is why I said to KP that it only makes sense to go the distance if he likes the first part.

[majestic]

2 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Helps when your characters have earned their keep over time. You know, as opposed to immediately drilling into my forehead and attempting to perform a lobotomy on me in the very first episode, . Hey, speaking of both lobotomies and characters earning their keep, where the hell is Meiling?

Mhm...

2 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Yeah, I really don't know. Maybe there was some early video game I played with a jump scare piano or something, . One of the earliest games I played was Ocarina of Time and the thing that scared me the most in that game were the...not the wallmasters, but simply the shadow appearing and sound that played as the wallmasters were spawning to fall down from the ceiling. Gave me intense anxiety as a kid - once they were down, no big deal, but the lead-up to it was killer.

Ocarina of Time, yeah, I can see how that would be scary when you're really young. OOT was one of these magical experiences for me. Like, I don't know, watching Sailor Moon. Except for a certain season we should really leave unmentioned in the future. That was a bad idea.

2 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

How long did it take you to make that graph?

HOURS.

Spoiler

20 minutes, I slapped that together from a template in an online free diagram tool.

I randomly had the idea after thinking about whether or not there'll ever be an anime that I would hate but you would like. I'm not sure something like that would exist. The inverse is obviously true, and there was born the idea to make a Venn diagram out of it.

2 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

How long did it take you to make that graph? Anyways, that bleed-through area totally exists, even if we haven't yet found an example of it - that's more a function of me not trying out enough things you didn't care for or things in general than anything else. Heck, you could probably just about put Utena under there already, right?

I had Utena next to Kill la Kill for a while, but then deleted it because it looked like you were about to change your rating based on KP's postings. Well, and because a what was it, 5.5 isn't really all that resounding. It doesn't really fit into the bleed through because it's still in the "majestic likes this" circle even if it is just barely and only because of the movie. Only the anime before the ending? Yes, probably.

It's an unclear case, way too much of an anomaly to be real evidence.

3 hours ago, Sarex said:

@majestic Wait where is Rebuild?

Somewhere in between the tentacle porn and the ecchi stuff, because there wasn't enough space to add "useless action things" or "incoherent messes" and all that. But KP's answer is awesome, so I'll go with that one.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Clannad 2

Moar girls, the best friend gets his ass kicked again, and we find out why the protagonist hates his dad. I'm not gripped, but I'm not despising it.

The dad is pretty ****ty, but he's far from the worst anime dad as Gendo sweeps the competition, Ging is the worst who isn't actively malicious, and as dark horse

DIO definitely has a spot

[Bartimaeus]

Serial Experiments Lain (1998). This mixed look of mild confusion, skepticism, discomfort, and maybe exhaustion was basically me the whole time...

...because I'm not sure I get it and I don't really understand what's going on yet. However...

...I'm trusting what this other lady said, because the show does seem...interesting? I'm not a hundred percent sure. It's only 13 episodes long. First episode was very slow and understated but also surreal and off-putting (intentionally). The art and animation is neat...and weird. A show trying to have scenes like the ones in this show (blending "normal reality" and surrealism) would look cheap and awful in anything but animation.

10 hours ago, majestic said:

I had Utena next to Kill la Kill for a while, but then deleted it because it looked like you were about to change your rating based on KP's postings. Well, and because a what was it, 5.5 isn't really all that resounding. It doesn't really fit into the bleed through because it's still in the "majestic likes this" circle even if it is just barely and only because of the movie. Only the anime before the ending? Yes, probably.

Meanwhile, I'm the opposite - without the movie, the show would be sitting at more like a 6, but the movie was like...a 4/10 at best and dragged the overall rating down to a 5.5 for me, .

Alright, Rose of Versailles time. Man, this dad is already making me think a little too much of Eriko's uncle...

Low-key a little terrifying. Yeah, this intro with its visuals and the mention roses and stuff is giving me some flashbacks to Utena. "All were blissfully unaware that in 20 years, the French Revolution would take place." Whoa, spoiler alert, narrator lady!

Man, one thing I really wish anime would never, ever do again is half-draw lips. Full lips? Fine by me. Just a line? Also cool. This half-there crap? Always looks just terrible to me. If you think any character's face (male, female, animal, monster, it does not matter) looks better like this...

...vs just a simple and solid line (and there are more options than this but this is as simple and quick as you can get)...

...then you're completely out of your danged mind as far as I'm concerned, . Okay, back to Lady Asuka. Oh, her father just threw her down a flight of stairs for expressing her own opinion - Eriko's uncle clone confirmed. Except that unlike Eriko, the framing of this show so far doesn't seem to suggest her father is really supposed to be a villain...but maybe that's because her father won't be around long enough for it to matter? And we're already having dumb pride fights in the first episode between Lady Asuka and the other guy. Fighting for pride has to be one of my least favorite conventions in any character - can't help but instantly read the character in question as a dimwit. Slappo. Uh, wait, why is Lady Asuka being charged with treason? Are duels really treason-worthy, especially if they don't even end up with anyone getting killed or even crippled? Whatever.

"If you say not to wear it, rebellious Asuka will surely do the opposite?!" Yeah, I don't know, I probably woulda thought you were dumb enough to fall for that...LMAO, he absolutely decked her right in the face...AND AGAIN! ...And again. I guess that's what she needed to work out her problems. Uh, yeah, I don't know, this isn't terrible by any means, but it's probably not for me, .

Edited September 15, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

55 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

...then you're completely out of your danged mind as far as I'm concerned, .

Sailor Moon Crystal season three was the absolute worst in that regard. It looks so uncanny... horrifying, really.

56 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Okay, back to Lady Asuka. Oh, her father just threw her down a flight of stairs for expressing her own opinion - Eriko's uncle clone confirmed. Except that unlike Eriko, the framing of this show so far doesn't seem to suggest her father is really supposed to be a villain...but maybe that's because her father won't be around long enough for it to matter? And we're already having dumb pride fights in the first episode between Lady Asuka and the other guy. Fighting for pride has to be one of my least favorite conventions in any character - can't help but instantly read the character in question as a dimwit. Slappo. Uh, wait, why is Lady Asuka being charged with treason? Are duels really treason-worthy, especially if they don't even end up with anyone getting killed or even crippled? Whatever.

"If you say not to wear it, rebellious Asuka will surely do the opposite?!" Yeah, I don't know, I probably woulda thought you were dumb enough to fall for that...LMAO, he absolutely decked her right in the face...AND AGAIN! ...And again. I guess that's what she needed to work out her problems. Uh, yeah, I don't know, this isn't terrible by any means, but it's probably not for me, .

Lady Asuka sure ticks off a lot of shonen anime male lead boxes. It makes some sense in universe and for the time period, with aristocratic pride/honor being a thing and with her being raised as a boy, but it really is a bit weird that André would just punch her like that.

It still is what it is, so I'm kind of hoping it'll improve as it continues. So far that's a definite bleed through. I guess I'll have to remake the diagram. Which... no. Let's finish Lady Asuka first, maybe it'll be amazing by the end.

59 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Meanwhile, I'm the opposite - without the movie, the show would be sitting at more like a 6, but the movie was like...a 4/10 at best and dragged the overall rating down to a 5.5 for me, .

The movie answered a couple of unanswered questions, so that was fine. It also didn't have the pacing issues of the show. If anything, it was maybe too fast paced and the Escher academy architecture wasn't my thing either, although that's a personal problem, I guess. Like Geordi's Borg killing image, that messes me up something fierce.

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

Serial Experiments Lain

Anime is really unhealthy to work on, some of that writing staff died at the age of 60 or so.

One of them worked on the newer Calimero series, so... uhm. That brings back memories. The original, I mean. It's another one of those cartoons on TV that virtually every kid my age and a bit younger watched, who then claim to have never watched anime before Sailor Moon.

Anyway, tangent aside, that really does look interesting, even if the artwork isn't exactly my thing, at least it's not making me pull my hair out, gouge my eyes out or... trying to eat me, like these horrible face eating aliens from Crystal.

[Bartimaeus]

4 minutes ago, majestic said:

Anyway, tangent aside, that really does look interesting, even if the artwork isn't exactly my thing, at least it's not making me pull my hair out, gouge my eyes out or... trying to eat me, like these horrible face eating aliens from Crystal.

In terms of at least character design/stylization, it's like halfway through that very late 90s, early 2000s mass re-stylization that was happening around that time that I generally think makes everything from around that period look like garbage, but it's like...just before the critical point where it would actually bother me, which makes sense because it's 1998 instead of...you know, 2002 or something. Probably helps a lot that it's in some pretty quality HD. Anyways, through one episode so far, and I'm pretty sure I can jive with it. Another one of those cases where I'm glad the show doesn't look quite like the posters, because I think the posters look stylistically much worse than the actual show does (a la Sakura).

Not, uh, not the kind of poster I'd ideally want to provide the first look at a show, personally, .

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

Sailor Moon Crystal season three was the absolute worst in that regard. It looks so uncanny... horrifying, really.

No kidding.

Keep it simple, stupids.

17 minutes ago, majestic said:

Lady Asuka sure ticks off a lot of shonen anime male lead boxes. It makes some sense in universe and for the time period, with aristocratic pride/honor being a thing and with her being raised as a boy, but it really is a bit weird that André would just punch her like that.

That must be why she pains me so right off the bat, . It'll never be as obnoxious and hateable as a more modern shonen show, of course, just because the entire style of the show may as well occur in a completely different medium compared to something modern, but still.

19 minutes ago, majestic said:

If anything, it was maybe too fast paced and the Escher academy architecture wasn't my thing either, although that's a personal problem, I guess. Like Geordi's Borg killing image, that messes me up something fierce.

To me, it basically felt like the equivalent of...Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0, where it's super fast-paced and lacks the stuff that made the original show enjoyable in any way, it's SORT OF re-telling the same story but also adding some new things that mostly don't work and are just kind of annoying, and really, it just felt like an insult to my intelligence after having suffered through the original show. I would have preferred to not have seen it and that is about as bad of a way to cap off a series as you can get, .

[InsaneCommander]

Steins;Gate 9-11:

 

I love how Hiyajo is smart enough to all but figure out what is going on.

Spoiler

Although there are plenty of clues, nobody would simply believe in time travel without some pretty compelling evidence. If you find out a friend has a theory on time traveling, it doesn’t mean it works or even worse, that it has already been used. And the most compelling evidence, Okarin’s deep connection to Christina, would much more likely be because he lied and knew her before the time he claimed to have met her.

 

Damn it, can’t Okarin understand that it is already too late?

Spoiler

Russia is already testing their machine, so it doesn’t really matter if they destroy the notebook. The only way to prevent Suzuha’s future is going back and saving Christina.

 

And… I’m stupid to not have noticed before what always happens after the mysterious people appear. Well, it’s the second time only.

Spoiler

But Amane gets hurt at the exact same time. Insane if true, Amane doesn’t know her future husband and daughter have a time machine and she could even end up killing her own daughter.

Or is the operative the woman that annoys Hiyajo, who also seem to be hurt? She is actually much more suspicious.

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by InsaneCommander

[majestic]

11 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

In terms of at least character design/stylization, it's like halfway through that very late 90s, early 2000s mass re-stylization that was happening around that time that I generally think makes everything from around that period look like garbage, but it's like...just before the critical point where it would actually bother me, which makes sense because it's 1998 instead of...you know, 2002 or something. Probably helps a lot that it's in some pretty quality HD. Anyways, through one episode so far, and I'm pretty sure I can jive with it. Another one of those cases where I'm glad the show doesn't look quite like the posters, because I think the posters look stylistically much worse than the actual show does (a la Sakura).

Not, uh, not the kind of poster I'd ideally want to provide the first look at a show, personally, .

Eh, indeed, good thing the actual show doesn't look like the poster.

I'll keep it in mind, although I'm pretty swamped already. So maybe sometime next year?

11 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

No kidding.

Keep it simple, stupids.

No, why. I already... forgot. I... you know what's the worst bit of it, apart from Eternal, Season three is the best looking of Sailor Moon Crystal. During the first few episode of season three I was almost happy to see THAT. Almost. Until everyone became face splitting alien shapeshifters after the first episode.

Not even Setsuna could save that mess. Never thought I'd say that, the second season might be the weakest in terms of plot, more disjointed than the others, strange, wrong, terribly animated and downright disgusting at times, but Pluto was probably the best thing in all of Sailor Moon Crystal. Black Moon arc Pluto is the only thing in Crystal that's actually better than in the original 90ies anime.

And that's really mostly because Chibi-Usa is much more likable at the expense of Usagi and Pluto is her surrogate mother. I liked her enough that even her silly "secretly loves Endymion" plot point didn't bother me.

11 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

That must be why she pains me so right off the bat, . It'll never be as obnoxious and hateable as a more modern shonen show, of course, just because the entire style of the show may as well occur in a completely different medium compared to something modern, but still.

Episode four continues the epic struggle between the Countess du Barry and Marie Antoinette. The episode blurb and preview of the next one promises an end to that silly feud.

Anyway, a serving wench ends up being poisoned by the countess in order to pin the crime on Marie Antoinette or her handmaiden, Lady Asuka's mother. Asuka shows up and threatens bloody murder in case the countess attempts to involve her or her family in her petty struggles again. Sword drawn and pointed. My, my.

Not sure, but Emo McEdgelordface was a better protagonist.

Episode six will be set after a three year time lapse. Maybe that'll help. If not, then there's only the change of directors that'll happen in episode 18 to look forward to. The anime isn't bad by any means, it's just... not very enticing either.

11 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

To me, it basically felt like the equivalent of...Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0, where it's super fast-paced and lacks the stuff that made the original show enjoyable in any way, it's SORT OF re-telling the same story but also adding some new things that mostly don't work and are just kind of annoying, and really, it just felt like an insult to my intelligence after having suffered through the original show. I would have preferred to not have seen it and that is about as bad of a way to cap off a series as you can get, .

Yes, sort of, but not quite a retelling. In a way the repetitive nature of the show and the film are meditative, and the episodes - as well as the film, I guess - are a bit like koans. I can't say that I'm into Eastern philosophy any more than I like Western one. For me, the question "What is the sound of one hand clapping?*" is essentially the same nonsense as "If a tree falls over in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" and completely irrelevant.

Insofar it also really doesn't matter what, say, Tokiko really is in terms of the setting. She comes and goes as she likes, and ages, unlike anyone else at the academy. There probably isn't a logical solution, she was just there to make you abandon your preconeived notions, and to find an answer in a spiritual way, as a sudden enlightenment, spontaneous and aside from logic and reason.

*Probably the most well known koan. There are "better" ones, but hey... *shrug*

[majestic]

I'm sitting here and contemplating whether or not to watch the final K-On!! episode. It's not the last of the stuff there is to watch, just the last regular episode. Well, here goes nothing...

edit: Well... that's the end, specials, OVAs and a movie left. Kind of glad right now that Sailor Moon didn't end with their High School graduation. Would have been a tad weird after the world ending destruction wrought there, but anyway, the mixture of nostalgia and good byes feels a bit like a punch in the face.

Anyway, that was great.

edit 2:

Great, it's 02:45, and I've spent the last hour going over old files from my high school time that I still have lying around. Time to sleep. I wonder if I'll get one of these stupid dreams now. Stupid anime. Really. Why do you end like that.

Edited September 16, 2021 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

6 hours ago, majestic said:

Not sure, but Emo McEdgelordface was a better protagonist.

I assume that's code for X's protagonist?

6 hours ago, majestic said:

No, why.

You're the one that watched it and made the rest of us indirectly experience it with you. For your grave sins, you must face the music, .

6 hours ago, majestic said:

Episode six will be set after a three year time lapse. Maybe that'll help. If not, then there's only the change of directors that'll happen in episode 18 to look forward to. The anime isn't bad by any means, it's just... not very enticing either.

You know, now that you mention it, being the commander of the guard tasked with protecting Marie Antoinette at age 14 doesn't seem quite right to me...

K-On: Sounds like a job well done by the show, methinks, .

Sakura stuff:

Spoiler

Wow, uh, Xiaolang is being a little...sneaky. Don't tell me he's going to make Sakura a stuffed animal and name it himself. It was nice to see all of the girls together and just talking normally, feels like it's been a while since that really happened. Oh gosh, where is Chiharu, someone get a leash on Takashi... Ah, there she is, and there's her trademark "yeah, yeah" ("hi, hi").

"If something makes the person I like happier than being in love with me, I just want them to stay happy that way."

Oh my goodness, Sakura, you are as blind as a...blind person - I think that's as direct as Tomoyo has ever gotten. I kinda thought Tomoyo had been growing out of that at least a little, but clearly not. Guess we've just had too much of a focus on other things as of late for it to noticeably crop up.

Sakura should really be converting a card at the end of each night. Oh hey, Eriol is finally "revealed", along with his cronies...and these people definitely seem straight up evil. Hm, yeah, the first 2/3rds or so of this episode were a good reminder that lower stakes and normalcy are this show's strengths...not high stakes schemes and end of the world stuff like the last third, :p.

...

Wonder if this Kero teddy bear will have any purpose later. "I would really like to meet [Ms. Mizuki] someday." Nah, I think she's good, pal. "Sakura and the Big Teddy Bear." Yeah, I'm thinking the teddy bear is gonna end up mattering after all.

Oh man, this dirtbag kissed her. You done messed up, E-Eriol!

Poor Chiharu. I guess this is what you get for picking Takashi. I mean really, what did you expect?

Lmao, Xiaolang DID make Sakura a teddy bear. Dear lord, it's truly teddy bear gifting season. Oh whoa, didn't think Yukito and Xiaolang would ever get together and interact like this again, but here we are. Good job, show. Oh man, that pan they did of him when he saw her, that was...not something they ever do for this show. Lmao, and he just ran away like a little baby - never thought I'd see Xiaolang stoop so low, he's really in a tough spot. How...HORRIFICALLY UNTRUE TO MEILING YOU ARE!

Yep.

"But if you're giving a gift, isn't food better than a stuffed animal?" On one hand, he's got a point, especially because this is Yukito...on the other hand, she's tried that several times over the year already, so... These people really need to work out their unrequited love issues.

Can't get a much more perfect shot than that. Also, Eriol almost killed Sakura three times in like a minute here - we're quickly getting to the point where he and his crew can't really be conceivably redeemed without it not making sense or feeling wrong unless they have something properly setup here at some point, so...

 

[Amentep]

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