Anime and Manga - I respect the first human to have eaten a mushroom

[HoonDing]

I don't miss anime at all.

[Bartimaeus]

Princess Mononoke (1997), but in Japanese this time. Hearing stuff like "I was prepared the moment I let my arrow fly" or "it's your fate so you can see with eyes unclouded by hate" sounds way more dumb when you hear it out loud in comparison to when you just read it, so I thoroughly endorse the Japanese version over the English. Having to listen to Jada Pinkett Smith play as an angry Japanese lady was an especially atrocious casting decision by Disney even back when I watched this film the first time. Still not my favorite Ghibli film (in fact, I still can't say that I really particularly like it), but at least it was better.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Bartimaeus

[Sarex]

Is there any other way to watch anime than in glorious Nipponese.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

7 minutes ago, Sarex said:

Is there any other way to watch anime than in glorious Nipponese.

It depends, if the dub is hilariously bad and if the sub is boring or bad, then I'd watch the dub in the same way I'd watch awful trash movies that are more of a meme. I think Ghost Stories is the best example of this and for me I'd throw in Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend as well.

[Bartimaeus]

5 hours ago, Sarex said:

Is there any other way to watch anime than in glorious Nipponese.

I don't really care what language something's if it's good. Madoka Magica's and Steins;Gate's Japanese dubs both made me want to fill my earholes in with cement, while I am a big supporter of NGE's original English dub; contrarily, watching Cardcaptor Sakura in English would merit your execution, and Sailor Moon is good in either. All about direction and how well it's pulled off. In specifically Princess Mononoke's case, I actually like the direction of it for the most part (lot of really good voice cast choices...besides Jada Pinkett Smith), but the writing in that film comes across as sounding so dumb that it's still difficult to listen to in my own tongue at times. If characters weren't constantly saying stupid stuff all the time, it'd probably be fine.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

15 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

I don't really care what language something's if it's good

[Sarex]

42 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

I don't really care what language something's if it's good. Madoka Magica's and Steins;Gate's Japanese dubs both made me want to fill my earholes in with cement, while I am a big supporter of NGE's original English dub; contrarily, watching Cardcaptor Sakura in English would merit your execution, and Sailor Moon is good in either. All about direction and how well it's pulled off. In specifically Princess Mononoke's case, I actually like the direction of it for the most part (lot of really good voice cast choices...besides Jada Pinkett Smith), but the writing in that film comes across as sounding so dumb that it's still difficult to listen to in my own tongue at times. If characters weren't constantly saying stupid stuff all the time, it'd probably be fine.

I can't remember an instance where I liked an English dub more that the original. Maybe Ghost in the Shell. But saying that the Serbian dub is always going to be the best for TMNT.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Sarex

[Bartimaeus]

2 minutes ago, Sarex said:

I can't remember an instance where I liked an English dub more that the original. Maybe Ghost in the Shell. But saying that the Serbian dub is always going to be the best for TMNG.

Of the shows that I have watched and enjoyed(-ish), I really like the Sailor Moon, Ranma, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Revolutionary Girl Utena English dubs; The Vision of Escaflowne's is fine as well. In contrast, I'd say that the English dubs for Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Paranoia Agent, Samurai Champloo, Cardcaptor Sakura, Princess Tutu, and Girls' Last Tour were all between poor and terrible. If I'm forgetting anything in this list, it's either because I forgot them, didn't notice they had an English option, or because I didn't really enjoy the show in question, . The few modern shows I've watched and have checked the English dubs out for have had pretty terrible English dubs - Girls' Last Tour and Madoka, for example. Unlike 90s and earlier stuff, that doesn't seem to be the fault of casting or production values but instead just deliberately atrocious direction. I don't know why they do that, but you can usually tell pretty fast when a bunch of VAs are putting on what are clearly "false" voices that make them sound unnaturally anime-esque.

[majestic]

Poor K-On!, don't cry, he wasn't intentionally mean to you, it's just that you have a really rough beginning and the better parts are a bit later and are actually called K-On!!. *pets*

This week's Komi has insane stalker girl bring Komi chocolates on Valentine's day. They all look like stalker girl's face, and when she gives them to Komi she tells her to "lick me, eat me, suck on me until I become a part of you!" which... wow, is another low that I think matches the kneeling and sausage part, but your mileage may vary.

Edited June 30, 2022 by majestic
cholocates? can't into psellnig

[Bartimaeus]

24 minutes ago, majestic said:

Poor K-On!, don't cry, he wasn't intentionally mean to you, it's just that you have a really rough beginning and the better parts are a bit later and are actually called K-On!!. *pets*

Hey, I provided three different explanations...one of which didn't apply (you know I checked out the English, we talked about it), but that still leaves me possibly just forgetting about it. But I didn't, I just didn't enjoy K-On enough to mention it - had to be a 6/10 or better show, and K-On was a "solid" 5/10, . K-On's English voice direction was pretty bad. Literally has the Sailor Moon VA as the main character, but somehow the direction is off and everyone sounds wrong. At least the Japanese was mostly fine. Sawako, go directly into the dumpster, do not pass go.

33 minutes ago, majestic said:

This week's Komi has insane stalker girl bring Komi chocolates on Valentine's day. They all look like stalker girl's face, and when she gives them to Komi she tells her to "lick me, eat me, suck on me until I become a part of you!" which... wow, is another low that I think matches the kneeling and sausage part, but your mileage may vary.

Just seven more seasons of that, and you'll finally be free, .

[majestic]

58 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Hey, I provided three different explanations...one of which didn't apply (you know I checked out the English, we talked about it), but that still leaves me possibly just forgetting about it. But I didn't, I just didn't enjoy K-On enough to mention it - had to be a 6/10 or better show, and K-On was a "solid" 5/10, . K-On's English voice direction was pretty bad. Literally has the Sailor Moon VA as the main character, but somehow the direction is off and everyone sounds wrong. At least the Japanese was mostly fine. Sawako, go directly into the dumpster, do not pass go.

K-On! is one of the rather few cases where having to tough it out through the first season turned out to be a boon. I mean, the first season is... what it is. Although I really enjoyed the last two episodes, and some of the middle parts. I got lucky that it went on to be a good deal goodlier in the second season.

Considering it has Sawako and that dreadful Christmas episode, a 5/10 is quite the endorsment there.

K-On! also has Sailor Saturn and Sailor Mars in the English dub lineup. Kind of funny how one can waste all that voice talent.

58 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Just seven more seasons of that, and you'll finally be free, .

Oh come on. That's... oh dear god, imagine this will run for as long as Pretty Cure. Oh noes...

Edited June 30, 2022 by majestic

[Sarex]

[Bartimaeus]

23 hours ago, majestic said:

Oh come on. That's... oh dear god, imagine this will run for as long as Pretty Cure. Oh noes...

Hey, it could be worse: you could also have some atrocious-looking manga to read as well, .

[Sarex]

44 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Hey, it could be worse: you could also have some atrocious-looking manga to read as well, .

It's glorious!

[majestic]

I am fairly certain that the manga is a whole lot less offensive than the anime is. I base this on my experiences with Sailor Moon vis a vis Crystal. Animation, music and sound add many different layers to the assault on my senses.

In the case of Komi, it's most voice actors who just add their crazy in an overbearing manner. Holy hell Najimi is annoying. They're* one of the nicer characters around, but their voice acting is so atrocious I just can't stand it. At all. Ugh.

*Gender might be intentionally left open, but that she sleeps with the girls at the school trip but doesn't go into the girl's bath is pretty telling. That should have been handled better, I guess.

 

[majestic]

Guys, in like two days My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World will be released, and not much later Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World. Are you as excited as I am?

Anyway, what to do to tide me over, perhaps watch Date A Bullet: Dead or Bullet? Questions, questions...

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

15 minutes ago, majestic said:

Guys, in like two days My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World will be released, and not much later Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World. Are you as excited as I am?

Anyway, what to do to tide me over, perhaps watch Date A Bullet: Dead or Bullet? Questions, questions...

I do love the very long names of these animes, but I will never watch them.

You know what should tide you over

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable - the most lighthearted part that's pretty much a bunch of Sailor Moon filler episodes surrounding some wacky kids in their struggle against a David Bowie impersonator with a hand fetish.

[majestic]

On 6/30/2022 at 1:34 PM, Bartimaeus said:

Princess Mononoke (1997), but in Japanese this time.

I, too, am done rewatching the film. It's been twenty or so years now, and a couple of things have changed since then. I do have a slightly larger knowledge of some cultural aspects, for one. There's also the fun aspect in reading the subtitles and smiling at the creative liberties taken in translating, some which are pretty good, some where aren't, although it still feels like a broader understanding of anything, really, is still far out of reach.

I don't know what it is exactly about films or anime in general that is set sometime around the 15th century, but it's just not very interesting to me most of the time, and もののけ姫 is no real exception. Fun fact, the word hime - 姫 - which means young lady of noble birth, is most often translated as princess, but a king's daughter, specifically, is 王女 (oujo). Statistically, hime has a much higher usage in anime, visual novels and novels than live action drama (there's a fun database that tracks word usage across various media sources).

On 6/30/2022 at 1:34 PM, Bartimaeus said:

Hearing stuff like "I was prepared the moment I let my arrow fly" or "it's your fate so you can see with eyes unclouded by hate" sounds way more dumb when you hear it out loud in comparison to when you just read it, so I thoroughly endorse the Japanese version over the English. Having to listen to Jada Pinkett Smith play as an angry Japanese lady was an especially atrocious casting decision by Disney even back when I watched this film the first time. Still not my favorite Ghibli film (in fact, I still can't say that I really particularly like it), but at least it was better.

The nice thing about German is that it makes for a much better medieval sounding language if done well, to a point where I actually like the translated Lord of the Rings better than the original, and it takes a bit of Tolkien's, say, somewhat, uhm, unengaging writing style out of it. Ah, right. Still, regardless of language specifics, my reaction to the film is about the same as I remember it being. It, next to Akira, is kind of the reason why I didn't watch too many anime movies.

It's not a bad film, and it certainly is visually pleasing, and I appreciate the attempt at making characters with different motivations that act not based on where the story needs to go but what their desires are, however, it ended up being just an attempt. That pretty much everyone is an idiot doesn't help. The film also tries to not paint the ongoing conflict in black and white terms, something that would work much better if Ashitaka's position wouldn't be the only sensible one and so clearly right that it is almost painful at times. The effort to be multi-facetted just evaporates in the light of there being clearly one best way to handle the situations, and no one else seeing them.

Alas, such is the fate of the one destined to see with both eyes open, unclouded by hate.

Quote

“If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.”

edit: Addendum: Clearly, given the success of the film, I find myself thinking that I am not the intended target audience. I suppose I shall have to live with it - unless my preferences were cooked with a candle, or something.

Edited July 2, 2022 by majestic

[InsaneCommander]

7 hours ago, majestic said:

My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World

Anime names are getting longer and weirder, aren't they?

Be sure not to miss My Stepmom's Daughter is my Ex as well.

 

7 hours ago, majestic said:

Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World.

I think I heard about something like this before. Oh yes. Be careful, this is just an article about the anime , but just reading about it is bizarre enough. Not to mention the picture in the article...

Edited July 3, 2022 by InsaneCommander

[majestic]

7 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

Anime names are getting longer and weirder, aren't they?

The Isekai ones at least are, yes.

7 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

Be sure not to miss My Stepmom's Daughter is my Ex as well.

That will most certainly be an interesting character drama with some humor in it, right?

Right?

7 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

I think I heard about something like this before. Oh yes. Be careful, this is just an article about the anime , but just reading about it is bizarre enough. Not to mention the picture in the article...

Normally, this would be a decent case for the "WAT?" meme, however, I do know that in real life, there are actually forums where - mostly men, for obvious reasons I guess - discuss the merits and abilities of prostitutes. A pseudo-humorous anime about such talk doesn't surprise me in the least. I guess at least it doesn't demean actual people providing a service that is almost always in demand but usually vilified, leading to all sorts of problems, but on the other hand it might normalize the idea.

Sheesh. Working hard for that five star rating gets a whole different meaning, huh?

Edited July 3, 2022 by majestic

[HoonDing]

The new Bastard adaptation is already finished and new furry chapter of Utawarerumono is out as well. Can't be arsed to get into it.

[InsaneCommander]

4 hours ago, majestic said:

The Isekai ones at least are, yes.

Ok. I googled it and here is a list of the animes with the longest names (supposedly). It has some pearls like The Story In Which I Was Kidnapped By A Young Lady’s School To Be A “Sample Of The Common People” and Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?.

There is also Banished From The Hero'S Party, I Decided To Live A Quiet Life In The Countryside, that was on Fumination and now is available in Crunchyroll.

But the biggest names I ever saw were in the episode titles of Don't Hurt Me, My Healer. Notice those paragraphs are not the episode description, but in fact the episode names. The first one for example is called: In this world where monsters are rampant, Alvin (male lead/armored warrior) is trying to make it as an adventurer in a land ravaged by monsters and other such baddies when he ends up getting the bad end of a fight with a bear-like creature only to be saved by the dark elf healer girl Carla (female lead/dark elf) who happens to be passing by except her personality being what it is things turn into an argument which confuses the bear creature even more and then something not in the original manga happens where they get taken back to the bear's house and some of the manga fans are like "Huh?" but see this is based on a manga that was published online before the comic was serialized called "What Story Is This?" that was set in the same world so the anime staff and manga creators asked to use this space to explain what's going on also there's no codes or hidden messages in this just so you know and that's the deal with episode 1.

I tried watching this anime but it is quite boring.

[Bartimaeus]

15 hours ago, majestic said:

Still, regardless of language specifics, my reaction to the film is about the same as I remember it being. It, next to Akira, is kind of the reason why I didn't watch too many anime movies.

I'm glad to have had the good fortune to watch some that I did like before being subjected to a bunch that I thought were somewhere between lacking and embarrassing. Most of the older "greatest anime movies of all time" fall in the former (lacking) category, while most of the newer ones fall in the latter (embarrassing).

15 hours ago, majestic said:

The film also tries to not paint the ongoing conflict in black and white terms, something that would work much better if Ashitaka's position wouldn't be the only sensible one and so clearly right that it is almost painful at times.

I didn't think about that, but maybe that's why I hate him. Too strong, too right, and too little personality...and he also makes everyone else come across as patently stupid because he thinks and does what everyone else seems unable or unwilling to, which only draws more attention to how dumb and shortsighted they all are (while also coming across as being kind of unreasonable himself - more on this later!). I guess it's not as bad as your slapstick or ecchi shonen protagonist, but those kinds of crap-tier protagonists aren't found in films of Princess Mononoke's calibre in the first place. I don't know if you've played Half-Life 2 (I think you have?), but it comes to mind as a comparison because of Alyx Vance. Everyone who's ever played that game always loves her, but I've always disliked her because she feels like she was designed specifically to stroke the player's ego for doing everything and anything throughout the course of all three HL2 games, and it's always felt kind of weird and gross to me. Although accomplished in a different manner, that's more or less what Ashitaka seems like as well: he's clearly supposed to be a stand-in for the viewer, and he says and does everything that the viewer would ideally do if they were as strong as him while in his position with the same lack of personal perspective that he displays (after all, the only reason he doesn't belong to any side and can thus be "the reasonable one" constantly shouting "why can't we all get along?" to everybody is because he doesn't have any strong ties to any of the different groups, same as the viewer - if it were his own people/family at stake, he would immediately choose the relevant side and become unreasonable the same as everyone else). It's like the movie is constantly telling us "yes, you the viewer are right for thinking the way you do!", and I kind of hate it.

I don't want protagonists that would be like the ideal version of myself if I were dropped into this story with no personal stakes in order to solve it - that would be awful. My favorite protagonists tend to be well-meaning but totally divergent characters that do things in a completely different fashion than I would (sometimes more effectively, sometimes less!)...while actually having some kind of personality combined with their own motivations that makes them different and interesting. I think you could pretty easily consider San to be literally mentally disabled to a degree as a result of her wolf upbringing, but I still would've much rather seen her be the protagonist than Ashitaka. Plus, then we would've seen her grow independently without being totally dependent upon Ashitaka as the shonen protagonist crutch that solves and makes everything better - see what I mean in that he makes everyone around him look stupid while not being interesting or fun himself?

Edited July 3, 2022 by Bartimaeus
cirumventing the censor filter because **** YOU, I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME

[Sarex]

The reason for those long manga names comes from Novels. They figured out that people are too lazy to read the back cover, so they started putting the story hook in the title itself and as most Isekai manga are originally novels/web novels they just kept the names.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

24 minutes ago, Sarex said:

The reason for those long manga names comes from Novels. They figured out that people are too lazy to read the back cover, so they started putting the story hook in the title itself and as most Isekai manga are originally novels/web novels they just kept the names.

No One Reads The Back: How We Told You The Hook In The Titile And Became A Bestseller