majestic Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 (edited) More Nanoha talk: Spoiler On 10/24/2021 at 11:52 PM, majestic said: Spoiler Presea's daughter perhaps perished in the accident, and whatever Fate is... isn't her daughter, or else they're both posessed by some cosmic space horror. Fate has memories of her mother calling her Alicia, and last episode Presea said Alicia is running out of time. I originally thought Alicia would be the controlling cosmic space horror thing behind it all, but maybe not. The Space Cops send two platoons to apprehend Presea, and they find a blond girl in a kolto tank that she calls Alicia. Whatever Fate is... is not her daughter, not really, or just a copy. Maybe a familiar, like Alph. Regardless, the Space Cops attempt to make Presea come with her, and oh surprise, that works about as well as the Cowled Wizards trying to apprehend Irenicus. She cackles madly afterwards, but is otherwise a lot less hammy than David Warner was in her place. A pity, what a missed opportunity to go full SHATNER. Oy, she goes into full psychological torture mode instead. I was partially right, the real Alicia died in the accident, and Fate is Presea's attempt to resurrect her through creating an artificial body with the memories of the original. There doesn't seem to be a cosmic horror that controls Presea, she just really went off the deep end when Fate didn't turn out to be exactly the same as Alicia. Whatever she wants the Jewel Seeds for, she hasn't gotten enough of them, so she says she'll put an end ot it all. Not before telling Fate what a worthless waste of time and space she was. "You were just a toy I made to console me while I work on a way to revive the real Alicia. I no longer need you." Well Presea, saying that to Fate in front of Nanoha, weren't you paying attention? Keep this up and she won't set the Ion Cannon to stun... Link to previous thread: Edited November 3, 2021 by majestic 1 No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartimaeus Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 ACCA Jusan-ku Kansatsu-ka, episode 1: It's like a...seinen political drama, animated by Madhouse. After watching the first episode, I just read the plot of each episode (it's not a long series) and thought "...I guess that sounds alright and well-made enough, but I'm just like...super not into this". Good decision by me, I think. One series out of the way, anyways. I should watch either more Sakura or Champloo instead, methinks. 22 minutes ago, majestic said: Nanoha and Fate have a nice JRPG like duel until Nanoha decides she's had enough and just flat out tells EVA to turn into the Ion Cannon an obliterate her. + last post Sure sounds like a whole lot of "serious mode" story stuff all of a sudden. 1 Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 3 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said: Sure sounds like a whole lot of "serious mode" story stuff all of a sudden. Yes, it's like watching the tail end of a Sailor Moon season. It's a bit less disjointed perhaps (actually a lot less, arguably some thought was put into setting everything up!), but really... serious. The show didn't have many comedic elements before, except every now and then, but it went full storry and much less character interactions now. I'm pretty much at the end though, two episodes left. 4 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said: I should watch either more Sakura or Champloo instead, methinks. I vote for Sakura, because of course I would. 1 No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 8 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said: It's like a...seinen political drama, animated by Madhouse. Speaking of Madhouse, I thought about trying to get a copy of Cyber City Oedo 808. That's short and looks visually impressive. Not sure about the content, but a three episode OVA with 45 minutes each wouldn't be too much of a time waster. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartimaeus Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 1 hour ago, majestic said: Speaking of Madhouse, I thought about trying to get a copy of Cyber City Oedo 808. That's short and looks visually impressive. Not sure about the content, but a three episode OVA with 45 minutes each wouldn't be too much of a time waster. Yeah, I've got that bookmarked too. I did a whole search through Madhouse's catalogue a while back and picked out the ones I liked the look/sound of. 1 Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 Triple post power, because why not. Sue me! Although nope, it took too long to type and there was a reply in between! I'm done with Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Due to episode five I can't really recommend that to anyone. The rest is... well, what else is there to say than what I said before: It is occasionally good, mostly nice, and a whole lot derivative. It is also a little more serious than other magical girl shows, and apart from having a changing room scene with a collection of hypersexualized minors of various age levels (from nine to seventeen) that's where the target demographic mostly shines through. It's really tough to deal with that scene. There's fanservice and then there's blatant sexualized nudity. I'm just going to reiterate that so it sticks - we're not talking about Magic User's Club level of just embarrassing or Sailor Moon occasionally doing an unecessary upskirt because the animators felt like sneaking one in. Sadly the rest of the anime isn't free of that either, but it just pales in comparison. I'd also have less of a problem with a scene like that if all the charcters involved would have been the adults on the show. Then it would just be unnecessary, but thankfully over quickly. There's a lot less silly than in Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura, and that's fine. It isn't entirely fine when what you're looking for is silly girly stuff. However, it's not all stupid serious mode action either. Spoiler The final confrontation with Presea even ends without a fight. Technically Fate teams up with Nanoha, but not to defeat Presea in combat, but to offer her a way out. She offers her hand, but Presea rejects it, falling into "imaginary" space (there's some sci-fi technobabble in the show). Presea wasn't controlled by a cosmic horror, but obsessed by a legend: Al-Hazard, the technomage version of Mu, Atlantis or Hyperborea. She wanted to revive her real daughter there, which is a surprisingly low key goal. That happens in the second to last episode of the season, and the show does a very sensible thing in dedicating an entire episode to the epilogue. It's a wonderful episode full of character moments, beacuse the story's all wrapped up. Sailor Moon could have really benefitted from one of those after the end of Sailor Stars' storyline. I guess, if you're ever bored out of your mind and want some magical girl action you can try Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, just as long as you skip 95 (I counted that - 95 - NO LESS) seconds in the fifth episode the moment you see two women leaving the changing room. The rest of the episode is embarrassing then, but at least won't make you feel like clawing your eyes out - and in case it doesn't, then perhaps it's time for you to get yourself into therapy before something problematic happens. Spoiler Pedo. Also, don't expect a whole lot of funny situations. There are some laughs, but it's not the focus. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartimaeus Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 (Y/N) If you could go back to when you were considering the show, would you tell past you to watch Nanoha? Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK htiw klaw eriF Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 32 minutes ago, majestic said: Sue me! Ok, and I'll take away your shojo for a month. 1 "Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman run the 21st century version of MK ULTRA." - majestic "you're a damned filthy lying robot and you deserve to die and burn in hell." - Bartimaeus "Without individual thinking you can't notice the plot holes." - InsaneCommander "Just feed off the suffering of gamers." - Malcador "You are calling my taste crap." -Hurlshort "thankfully it seems like the creators like Hungary less this time around." - Sarex "Don't forget the wakame, dumbass" -Keyrock "Are you trolling or just being inadvertently nonsensical?' -Pidesco "we have already been forced to admit you are at least human" - uuuhhii "I refuse to buy from non-woke businesses" - HoonDing "feral camels are now considered a pest" - Gorth "Melkathi is known to be an overly critical grumpy person" - Melkathi "Oddly enough Sanderson was a lot more direct despite being a Mormon" - Zoraptor "I found it greatly disturbing to scroll through my cartoon's halfing selection of genitalias." - Wormerine "I love cheese despite the pain and carnage." - ShadySands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartimaeus Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) Here it is, finally...Neon Genesis Evangelion, the original Human Instrumentality: Spoiler This isn't as frustrating, confusing, or inexplicable as I originally found it. ...But it's still a very bizarre ending. Strangely, The End of Evangelion is the "supplemental" ending, but it feels more like the original last two episodes should be the supplement to help more fully and directly explain all the characters and their feelings and motivations (as opposed to mostly just Shinji like in TEoE). I burst out laughing when we went through Shinji, Misato, and Asuka in episode 25...and then the stage appeared with another Shinji and Misato behind it, and Shinji literally said "what the hell is this?!". Yeah, probably a feeling shared by a lot of people the first time they watched this, Shinji. A few "observations": The music in NGE/TEoE is incredible, and it kills me to think how much music has changed and may not be to my taste anytime soon...or maybe ever again within my lifetime. I literally cannot remember a single note from Rebuild that wasn't simply a copy of the original show's music - the music in this show is incredibly memorable and stirs my soul in a variety of ways all by itself, while Rebuild's music, as I noted at the time, actively took away from its already meagre offerings. It sucks for me on a totally personal level. The animation - yeah, enough said. The show is what I'd consider to be "prestige" 2D animation that will, similar to above, likely never be created or matched ever again. Asuka and Rei are still awesome...but I have grown to appreciate both Shinji and Misato a lot more as well. I remember despising Shinji with every fibre of my being, but...like, everything he does and says sadly makes perfect sense here, especially viewing him as an actual person, like yourself, going through this instead of as a character. I thought Kaworu was around for longer than he actually is - he just suddenly appears, he and Shinji fall in love, and then he's dead in the blink of an eye. An actual show using all of these characters in the style of the alternative reality where they all go to school together would be super weird, awful, but also potentially hilarious. Also, I am a complete child, because I almost died laughing when Asuka's defending Shinji from Weird!Rei because...the Japanese subtitles say she says "who are you, leaping to his defense like that - are you two an item?", but the English...the English dub instead says "who are you are and why are defending him - are you RIDING HIS BALONEY PONY?!". That is the worst bit of creative localization I think I've ever heard in my life. The intended and ultimate lesson about self-value (and the warning about the flaws of self-perception and evident "reality") sure comes through stronger in this than TEoE...and then suddenly, the show ends. What? Lmao. "Congratulations!" indeed. ...And this ultimate lesson, these themes, feel so much more satisfying after having watched Nadia, as it feels almost like a bit of a riposte to Nadia and what that stupid show was seemingly trying to impart. I gave Nadia a 7/10 while deliberately ignoring the episodes that were not a part of Anno's vision as a part of that rating, but after having finished NGE again, I have to say, that was MUCH too generous - the reality is that I when I finished NGE and gave it a 7/10, I saw myself being able to re-visit it sometime in the future, and I had found value in it even if it had trouble coming across in the first viewing. I cannot see myself ever re-visiting Nadia - there is nothing there for me, and it thankfully feels as though Anno grew significantly as a person between Nadia and NGE, as hard as that may be for the rest of you to believe. If any of you ever watch Nadia, I think you'll be able to see what I mean in the way it clumsily tries to hammer home some of its themes over and over. The show (NGE+TEoE) as a whole goes up to an 8 in my book - it is memorable, enjoyable, special, weird, unique, and no longer nearly so frustrating or annoying enough as it originally was (plus I watched it over a much longer time-span which greatly helped its digestibility) and it deserves it. It should be noted that the jump from a 7/10 to an 8/10 is not nearly the same as a 6/10 to a 7/10: my rating scale is not exactly logarithmic, but there are similarities: an 8/10 is a "great" and an extremely rare and difficult rating to accomplish, something that I almost never give out because I reserve it for that which has deep personal meaning and appeal to me. This re-watch, then, was well worth the time and trouble. The director's cut versions of episodes seem like they were intended to help supplement TEoE, not the original ending. There were bits and pieces of the director's cut versions that seemed like they were repeated in the original ending...but which did not appear in TEoE. Odd. Rebuild of Evangelion is absolute **** that lacks literally almost everything that made the original show ultimately work and feel worthwhile, enjoyable, or satisfying on any level - themes, characters, plot, lessons, animation, music, emotion, even the action (which is what usually I care the least about)...literally everything that I can think of. That, or there's something else there completely that doesn't work or appeal to me on any level that offends my sensibilities on every level that completely flew over my head. What a disgusting and deeply/personally dissatisfying display that entire sorry mess was. Edited October 25, 2021 by Bartimaeus 1 1 Quote How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything - spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking. And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying'. I tried with all my heart. In my dreams, I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) 10 hours ago, Bartimaeus said: (Y/N) If you could go back to when you were considering the show, would you tell past you to watch Nanoha? There's a lot to unpack, and that feels a bit like the joke about a physics professor asking their students whether hell is endo- or exothermic in nature. Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: Directly after episode 5 this would have been a resounding no. Much much longer answer: It wasn't all bad, actually. Take out the really terrible parts of episode 5, and you're left with one embarrassing episode and a few transformations that are a little too sketchy, and some fan service that should not have been in there, but isn't too overboard. Ultimately, most of the show's runtime is just as you predicted it would be. The biggest issue is the schizophrenic attempt at welding a Cardcaptor Sakura age group magical girl cast with an attempt at mature storytelling and an adult target demographic. This was made specifically to attempt to appeal to the demographic that watched Sailor Moon as adolescent boys, I guess. It's familiar enough to "feel" right, it just really messed up with the erotic/suggestive content in episode five and the age of Nanoha, because much of the runtime you simply don't buy that she's a nine year old. Spoiler There's the loss of a daughter as the driving force behind the villain, which was a very welcome break from the usual end of the world apocalyptic "I just want to set everything on fire, motives be damned!" approach similar animes have, but it is ultimately in service of being overly cruel to Fate, who plays the biggest doormat in the universe by giving her mother one last chance. However, she too is only nine years old, or as Nanoha said, she's about her age. What else would you expect from a girl that age when it comes to her mother, however, this attempt at one final reconcilliation is part of a willful, very deliberate attempt by Fate to cut off the cord, so to speak. Nanoha and Fate also don't exactly behave like girls their age should, and all the adults think nothing of putting them in life and death situations, not even Nanoha's parents. In contrast to something like NGE, where that was a big point of the show: 14 year olds expected to save the world, and what that strain does to them. Nanoha and Fate are, ultimately, adult minds with a child's view of the world. It only adds to the schizophrenic feel of the show. In the end, when I said I wish the girls would be aged up a little in Cardcaptor Sakura to make way for darker or more mature episodes every now and then (doesn't need to be grimdark), Nanoha is what happens when you do that and not age the protagonists up. When Sakura talks to Meiling about her feelings, it strains credulity a little, but you can let it rest because that episode was all around wonderful. When Nanoha gears up and walks headlong into a battle that may very well kill her and ends it with Usagi's typical "We fought, don't you think it's time to try and be friends now?", all you really get is the incredibly Japanese thing to do: Make characters far too young for their own good. It also adds to the JRPG feel, because that is a very prevalent thing in JRPGs too, when young boys or girls are inadvertantly thrust into a situation beyond their ken, but resolve to do something about it anyway. Usagi spends an entire season not wanting to accept her responsibilities, and only truly does so after she's lost everything. All Nanoha needed as a nine year old was finding a magical ferret and a talking red marble with an AI turning her into a techno-mage, and two episodes to properly learn how to control it. Still, and that says more about what I've watched recently than it does about Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, it's been enjoyable enough. Unlike with Lady Asuka, Love Live! and Magic User's Club, I was actually looking forward to finding the time to watch an episode or two. That only stopped dead in its tracks after the loli incident. The most damning thing is, there's no real reason to watch this, in the same way that there's no real reason to play random JRGP #2321. Visually and in terms of music it's not impressive, but at least not offensive. The storyline is fine, but not great, and the writing is... fine too. It's a bit messy and sometimes confused, tries to add too much in too short a span of time (space ships, technobabble and the space cops are all things that could easily have been dropped without making any difference) near the end. It really is much like an anime version of random JRGP #2321, but it's nowhere near as bad as X is. What I liked about it, for the most part, is one thing that carries an undue weight for my enjoyment of entertainment - atmosphere. I loved the feeling the anime gave off when it wasn't trying to be disgusting. It's the same feeling I get when thinking back to playing Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy or the journey of your character in Illusion of Gaia or Terranigma. It's much less about how good the sum of its parts are, how good the parts are, or how well they go together. That is, however, preciously little to go by as far as recommendations go, and I doubt you would find anything in it that would lastingly appeal to you. You might tentatively not hate the first few episodes, but the serious mode and the storyline, yeah, no. That's not character driven enough, and episode five would make you delete all anime you still wanted to try. edit: Oh, and welcome to the secod thread I ever made on the Obsidian forum! Figures, the first one was to provide the BISIMGs to download, the second one was foisted upon me, but I like this approach with splitting off the end of the old thread more than the lock and repost. That was a good idea, @Gorth. Edited October 25, 2021 by majestic 1 No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarex Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 I think the issue was that there was no room to include the last few previous post in the new thread. "because they filled mommy with enough mythic power to become a demi-god" - KP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Sarex said: I think the issue was that there was no room to include the last few previous post in the new thread. In the grand scheme of things these were smaller posts, really. Edited October 25, 2021 by majestic 1 No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK htiw klaw eriF Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Wow new thread. Too bad it isn't titled "Return of the Magical Girls" or "Puella Magi Anime Magica". 1 1 "Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman run the 21st century version of MK ULTRA." - majestic "you're a damned filthy lying robot and you deserve to die and burn in hell." - Bartimaeus "Without individual thinking you can't notice the plot holes." - InsaneCommander "Just feed off the suffering of gamers." - Malcador "You are calling my taste crap." -Hurlshort "thankfully it seems like the creators like Hungary less this time around." - Sarex "Don't forget the wakame, dumbass" -Keyrock "Are you trolling or just being inadvertently nonsensical?' -Pidesco "we have already been forced to admit you are at least human" - uuuhhii "I refuse to buy from non-woke businesses" - HoonDing "feral camels are now considered a pest" - Gorth "Melkathi is known to be an overly critical grumpy person" - Melkathi "Oddly enough Sanderson was a lot more direct despite being a Mormon" - Zoraptor "I found it greatly disturbing to scroll through my cartoon's halfing selection of genitalias." - Wormerine "I love cheese despite the pain and carnage." - ShadySands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 19 minutes ago, KP the meanie zucchini said: Wow new thread. Too bad it isn't titled "Return of the Magical Girls" or "Puella Magi Anime Magica". Changed it to your liking! 1 2 No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK htiw klaw eriF Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Just now, majestic said: Changed it to your liking! THIS HURTS YOU! Spoiler 1 "Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman run the 21st century version of MK ULTRA." - majestic "you're a damned filthy lying robot and you deserve to die and burn in hell." - Bartimaeus "Without individual thinking you can't notice the plot holes." - InsaneCommander "Just feed off the suffering of gamers." - Malcador "You are calling my taste crap." -Hurlshort "thankfully it seems like the creators like Hungary less this time around." - Sarex "Don't forget the wakame, dumbass" -Keyrock "Are you trolling or just being inadvertently nonsensical?' -Pidesco "we have already been forced to admit you are at least human" - uuuhhii "I refuse to buy from non-woke businesses" - HoonDing "feral camels are now considered a pest" - Gorth "Melkathi is known to be an overly critical grumpy person" - Melkathi "Oddly enough Sanderson was a lot more direct despite being a Mormon" - Zoraptor "I found it greatly disturbing to scroll through my cartoon's halfing selection of genitalias." - Wormerine "I love cheese despite the pain and carnage." - ShadySands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 I guess I asked for it, huh? No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK htiw klaw eriF Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 22 minutes ago, majestic said: I guess I asked for it, huh? "Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman run the 21st century version of MK ULTRA." - majestic "you're a damned filthy lying robot and you deserve to die and burn in hell." - Bartimaeus "Without individual thinking you can't notice the plot holes." - InsaneCommander "Just feed off the suffering of gamers." - Malcador "You are calling my taste crap." -Hurlshort "thankfully it seems like the creators like Hungary less this time around." - Sarex "Don't forget the wakame, dumbass" -Keyrock "Are you trolling or just being inadvertently nonsensical?' -Pidesco "we have already been forced to admit you are at least human" - uuuhhii "I refuse to buy from non-woke businesses" - HoonDing "feral camels are now considered a pest" - Gorth "Melkathi is known to be an overly critical grumpy person" - Melkathi "Oddly enough Sanderson was a lot more direct despite being a Mormon" - Zoraptor "I found it greatly disturbing to scroll through my cartoon's halfing selection of genitalias." - Wormerine "I love cheese despite the pain and carnage." - ShadySands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amentep Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 I cannot - yet I must. How do you calculate that? At what point on the graph do "must" and "cannot" meet? Yet I must - but I cannot! ~ Ro-Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) Lady Asuka, Episode 11: Well... Duke Someface just shot a three year old in the open street. The preview of the next episode has Asuka going for the obvious shounen solution to the issue: Challenge the Duke to a pistol duel. I think I'm finally seeing how this appeals to a fan of Cardcaptor Sakura. Astounding. Lady Asuka, Episode 12: Lady Asuka deflects the Duke's bullet with her pistol and shoots his out of his hand. Oh boy... this just keeps getting better all the time. 28 episdes to go. Yay... Edited October 25, 2021 by majestic 1 No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's. The intro has tansformation sequences in spades, all with the accompanying magical girl nudity. The episode begins with a girl in a wheelchair, soft piano music (which made me think of @Bartimaeus and had me randomly burst out in laughter, and hearing a voice at the back of my head: Roy from IT Crowd going "I'm disabled!") and an ominous book in chains that's sitting on the girl's shelf. She begins reading something else, and at midnight the unthinkable happens, the ominous, chained book suddenly starts to move, breaks it's seal and starts talking German. We're off to a really good start here, I think. Judging purely by the book's voice modulation, it's probably a magical thingmabob like Raising Heart and Bardiche. More as the episode progresses... Spoiler Wheelchair girl is apparently the antagonist of this season. That explains the ominous German talking book on her shelf. One of the new bad guys has brought power packs to the battle and, while actually breaking a sweat, defeats Nanoha by just plugging the Mana batteries into her magical device, which is a, uhm, German talking war hammer. While Nanoha's and Fate's English talking devices aren't the best speakers, their grammar is okay. The German one... is not. For a moment it looked like the season will break genre conventions because Nanoha just blasted Vita (the new bad guy's enforcer girl) with her Ion Cannon and damaged her a good bit, but that just caused her to enrage and subsequently thrash Nanoha about. In that regard, really, feels a bit like a new Sailor Moon season. Anyway, half the episode was character driven, then it got a really long action scene that is slated to just continue in the second one. Yeah, this doesn't waste much time at establishing the new threat and jumping right into serious mode. Ominous talking book is called the BOOK OF DARKNESS, by the way. Just in case it wasn't clear enough that the book is, like, ominous and sort of evil from speaking the universal language of ominous, evil things and being all ominous and chained up. Edited October 25, 2021 by majestic No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 16 hours ago, Bartimaeus said: Here it is, finally...Neon Genesis Evangelion, the original Human Instrumentality: Hide contents This isn't as frustrating, confusing, or inexplicable as I originally found it. ...But it's still a very bizarre ending. Strangely, The End of Evangelion is the "supplemental" ending, but it feels more like the original last two episodes should be the supplement to help more fully and directly explain all the characters and their feelings and motivations (as opposed to mostly just Shinji like in TEoE). I burst out laughing when we went through Shinji, Misato, and Asuka in episode 25...and then the stage appeared with another Shinji and Misato behind it, and Shinji literally said "what the hell is this?!". Yeah, probably a feeling shared by a lot of people the first time they watched this, Shinji. A few "observations": The music in NGE/TEoE is incredible, and it kills me to think how much music has changed and may not be to my taste anytime soon...or maybe ever again within my lifetime. I literally cannot remember a single note from Rebuild that wasn't simply a copy of the original show's music - the music in this show is incredibly memorable and stirs my soul in a variety of ways all by itself, while Rebuild's music, as I noted at the time, actively took away from its already meagre offerings. It sucks for me on a totally personal level. The animation - yeah, enough said. The show is what I'd consider to be "prestige" 2D animation that will, similar to above, likely never be created or matched ever again. Asuka and Rei are still awesome...but I have grown to appreciate both Shinji and Misato a lot more as well. I remember despising Shinji with every fibre of my being, but...like, everything he does and says sadly makes perfect sense here, especially viewing him as an actual person, like yourself, going through this instead of as a character. I thought Kaworu was around for longer than he actually is - he just suddenly appears, he and Shinji fall in love, and then he's dead in the blink of an eye. An actual show using all of these characters in the style of the alternative reality where they all go to school together would be super weird, awful, but also potentially hilarious. Also, I am a complete child, because I almost died laughing when Asuka's defending Shinji from Weird!Rei because...the Japanese subtitles say she says "who are you, leaping to his defense like that - are you two an item?", but the English...the English dub instead says "who are you are and why are defending him - are you RIDING HIS BALONEY PONY?!". That is the worst bit of creative localization I think I've ever heard in my life. The intended and ultimate lesson about self-value (and the warning about the flaws of self-perception and evident "reality") sure comes through stronger in this than TEoE...and then suddenly, the show ends. What? Lmao. "Congratulations!" indeed. ...And this ultimate lesson, these themes, feel so much more satisfying after having watched Nadia, as it feels almost like a bit of a riposte to Nadia and what that stupid show was seemingly trying to impart. I gave Nadia a 7/10 while deliberately ignoring the episodes that were not a part of Anno's vision as a part of that rating, but after having finished NGE again, I have to say, that was MUCH too generous - the reality is that I when I finished NGE and gave it a 7/10, I saw myself being able to re-visit it sometime in the future, and I had found value in it even if it had trouble coming across in the first viewing. I cannot see myself ever re-visiting Nadia - there is nothing there for me, and it thankfully feels as though Anno grew significantly as a person between Nadia and NGE, as hard as that may be for the rest of you to believe. If any of you ever watch Nadia, I think you'll be able to see what I mean in the way it clumsily tries to hammer home some of its themes over and over. The show (NGE+TEoE) as a whole goes up to an 8 in my book - it is memorable, enjoyable, special, weird, unique, and no longer nearly so frustrating or annoying enough as it originally was (plus I watched it over a much longer time-span which greatly helped its digestibility) and it deserves it. It should be noted that the jump from a 7/10 to an 8/10 is not nearly the same as a 6/10 to a 7/10: my rating scale is not exactly logarithmic, but there are similarities: an 8/10 is a "great" and an extremely rare and difficult rating to accomplish, something that I almost never give out because I reserve it for that which has deep personal meaning and appeal to me. This re-watch, then, was well worth the time and trouble. The director's cut versions of episodes seem like they were intended to help supplement TEoE, not the original ending. There were bits and pieces of the director's cut versions that seemed like they were repeated in the original ending...but which did not appear in TEoE. Odd. Rebuild of Evangelion is absolute **** that lacks literally almost everything that made the original show ultimately work and feel worthwhile, enjoyable, or satisfying on any level - themes, characters, plot, lessons, animation, music, emotion, even the action (which is what usually I care the least about)...literally everything that I can think of. That, or there's something else there completely that doesn't work or appeal to me on any level that offends my sensibilities on every level that completely flew over my head. What a disgusting and deeply/personally dissatisfying display that entire sorry mess was. I don't have much too say on account of Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion, having just watched it recently and written what feels like a dozen essays on it, especially in light of making that terrible decision to follow suit and be a good anime thread lemming by watching Rebuild, so don't take me not writing half an essay in response here as a lack of interest. I pretty much agree, except for changing my outlook on characters in a different way than you over the course of the show's run. Mostly because I really started out disliking Asuka for her attitude, didn't find Shinji too annoying and loved Misato. Misato is a type of character that triggers a deeply set affection, in the same way Makoto does - and Rommie from Andromeda. There's also a readily observable pattern, all characters that are determined and strong / have a determined and strong facade while also being emotionally vulnerable. They're also all female, but that's only because who creates male characters like that (honest question, I can't come up with a decent answer)? So if anyone would want to make a character for me in any show, hey, that's the easiest - not the only - way to do it. Add a little mystery and we're all set, I'll boost your ratings for as many seasons as you'd like. The only thing that did not work for me was my own expectations regarding the ending of the original show. I don't know what I expected, but I thought I would find something that makes no sense. Instead it was an narrative unending and a well written thematic closure that people to this day mistakenly (in my opinion) praise for its avant-garde art sequences. That wasn't planned, they were just simply unfinished because the time ran out and Anno made the best of it - just like the entire ending. It still worked, which is the really impressive part. Having that said, it feels really weird to retroactively reduce a rating, right? Not that I really do ratings all too often, but that happened with Love Live!. No, that would never have gotten a good rating, really, but what little there was enjoyable in this show ended up being a copy from K-On!, which just means that watching K-On! made Love Live! worse. Strange how that works. 1 No mind to think. No will to break. 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InsaneCommander Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 1-5: Wow. This one doesn't take its time, right? This is exactly what I needed: no boring/filling episodes and plenty of crazy stuff happening when you least expect. Spoiler I definitely had no idea about what this was all about. I'm pleasantly surprised. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majestic Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 10 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said: plenty of crazy stuff Yeah, you haven't seen anything yet. 2 No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PK htiw klaw eriF Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 1 hour ago, InsaneCommander said: This one doesn't take its time, right? I'll be honest, I got completely sidelined by the Stone Mask being... well the Stone Mask. So the tail end of episode two really had me going "...vampires?" But yeah, JoJo's is usually fast paced. It's close to a straight adaptation of the manga so aside from part 4 everything pretty much barrels forward. Part 4 is different but is still very good, think of it like the best of Sailor Moon filler but absolutely insane. A main character fights a plate of spaghetti. 1 hour ago, majestic said: Yeah, you haven't seen anything yet. He's seen Spoiler JoJo blow up Jack the Ripper with breathing techniques But yeah, In like 10 episodes he will be into some very weird territory. Just wait until he finds out about STANDO POWAH. 1 1 "Akiva Goldsman and Alex Kurtzman run the 21st century version of MK ULTRA." - majestic "you're a damned filthy lying robot and you deserve to die and burn in hell." - Bartimaeus "Without individual thinking you can't notice the plot holes." - InsaneCommander "Just feed off the suffering of gamers." - Malcador "You are calling my taste crap." -Hurlshort "thankfully it seems like the creators like Hungary less this time around." - Sarex "Don't forget the wakame, dumbass" -Keyrock "Are you trolling or just being inadvertently nonsensical?' -Pidesco "we have already been forced to admit you are at least human" - uuuhhii "I refuse to buy from non-woke businesses" - HoonDing "feral camels are now considered a pest" - Gorth "Melkathi is known to be an overly critical grumpy person" - Melkathi "Oddly enough Sanderson was a lot more direct despite being a Mormon" - Zoraptor "I found it greatly disturbing to scroll through my cartoon's halfing selection of genitalias." - Wormerine "I love cheese despite the pain and carnage." - ShadySands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InsaneCommander Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 It's full of surprises. Spoiler "Ok, Dio is not a nice guy." "What? Why did you hit the dog?!" "The dog!" "Wait... vampires?" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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