Anime and Manga - It's time for you to finish what you've started and watch JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

[InsaneCommander]

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea S1

A satisfactory ending, but with the same problem seen throughout the season.

Spoiler

Basically, they always get lucky and solve their problems without no planning. Ok, to be fair, this time the literal Chekov's gun was there since episode 2 or 3, but still there was no reason for it to be so powerful. Magically solving problems out of nowhere diminishes the stakes.

 

[majestic]

Finally finished season four of Castlevania after putting it off for a longer while. Half of the season was wasted on Marvelesque, endless action sequences that were neither interesting nor meaningful - although impressive in their animation - and a certain reveal at the very end came out of the left field, with not enough prior setup. Dedicating a full episode to the epilogue was a great idea though, and the final confrontation between

Spoiler

Varney of London, who is Death in disguise,

and Trevor showed that they could actually make a meaningful action scene if all the pieces are in place. Probably would have been better to call it quits after the second season and end the series on a really high quality note, but still, overall, rather enjoyable if one likes vampires and action and can get past Trevor's introduction to the series, which really had me groaning and facepalming throughout. He never really gets any more interesting and is often used as exposition dump thanks to his background, but at least the other characters make up for it.

Edited March 24, 2023 by majestic
end end -> and end

[Bartimaeus]

On 3/24/2023 at 6:30 AM, majestic said:

rather enjoyable if one likes vampires and action and can get past Trevor's introduction to the series, which really had me groaning and facepalming throughout

I made it through about an episode and a half waaaaay back when there was only one season, I'm pretty sure. Don't remember who Trevor is, but Castlevania certainly didn't seem to be my kind of vampire show. Admittedly, I was probably harder on it then than I might be now, but I'm still not much tempted to return.

Frederator apparently animated Castlevania. Same company as My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Fairly OddParents, and Adventure Time, so that's pretty wack.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Bartimaeus

[ShadySands]

I bailed on Castlevania after the first episode. I figured since I was rooting for the bad guys it wasn't for me.

[uuuhhii]

2 hours ago, ShadySands said:

I bailed on Castlevania after the first episode. I figured since I was rooting for the bad guys it wasn't for me.

there are good part but dialogue pacing and bgm are weird

[majestic]

8 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

I made it through about an episode and a half waaaaay back when there was only one season, I'm pretty sure. Don't remember who Trevor is, but Castlevania certainly didn't seem to be my kind of vampire show. Admittedly, I was probably harder on it then than I might be now, but I'm still not much tempted to return.

Frederator apparently animated Castlevania. Same company as My Life as a Teenage Robot, The Fairly OddParents, and Adventure Time, so that's pretty wack.

As far as I know and from articles I've read, Castlevania's production team contained a number of people who worked on various anime series. Which makes the claimes by fanboys that Western Animation(tm) finally strikes back all the more hilarious. Fandumbs are pretty dumb, all across the globe.

Eh, and yeah, I don't think you need to re-visit the series, it is unlikely to change your mind. There's too much focus on (somewhat) pointless action sequences and not enough character development, I'd say.

8 hours ago, ShadySands said:

I bailed on Castlevania after the first episode. I figured since I was rooting for the bad guys it wasn't for me.

The later seasons get more traditional antagonists. I actually liked the setup from the first season, with Darcula being clearly wronged and having a point. The priests and their flock sure had it coming.

5 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

there are good part but dialogue pacing and bgm are weird

Nothing wrong with the pacing of the first three seasons, perhaps a bit too fast in some places, but overall it's fine. The fourth season spins its wheels in place at times as if they couldn't come up with enough content for the amount of episodes they were asked to provide.

Not sure what is weird about the dialogue. It was fine. Voice actors were told to sound as deep and mysterious as possible, I guess.

[uuuhhii]

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

As far as I know and from articles I've read, Castlevania's production team contained a number of people who worked on various anime series. Which makes the claimes by fanboys that Western Animation(tm) finally strikes back all the more hilarious. Fandumbs are pretty dumb, all across the globe.

Eh, and yeah, I don't think you need to re-visit the series, it is unlikely to change your mind. There's too much focus on (somewhat) pointless action sequences and not enough character development, I'd say.

The later seasons get more traditional antagonists. I actually liked the setup from the first season, with Darcula being clearly wronged and having a point. The priests and their flock sure had it coming.

Nothing wrong with the pacing of the first three seasons, perhaps a bit too fast in some places, but overall it's fine. The fourth season spins its wheels in place at times as if they couldn't come up with enough content for the amount of episodes they were asked to provide.

Not sure what is weird about the dialogue. It was fine. Voice actors were told to sound as deep and mysterious as possible, I guess.

pacing of conversation are very unnatural

hard to describe how weird it sound

almost like the one editing the dialogue scene doesn't know how it work

[Bartimaeus]

6 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

pacing of conversation are very unnatural

hard to describe how weird it sound

almost like the one editing the dialogue scene doesn't know how it work

is this meta joke

if so

very hilarious

 

@majestic Did you watch in Japanese or in English...or German?

[majestic]

56 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

@majestic Did you watch in Japanese or in English...or German?

Original English, no need to try Japanese or German dubs. I guess the Japanese dub would be hilarious, but more recent German dubs, particularily on Netflix stuff, haven't been of really high quality. I generally go original with subtitles nowadays, if available.

[Bartimaeus]

21 minutes ago, majestic said:

Original English, no need to try Japanese or German dubs. I guess the Japanese dub would be hilarious, but more recent German dubs, particularily on Netflix stuff, haven't been of really high quality. I generally go original with subtitles nowadays, if available.

I recall trying both and liking the Japanese better is why I asked, which made me curious as to what you did.

[uuuhhii]

7 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

is this meta joke

if so

very hilarious

 

@majestic Did you watch in Japanese or in English...or German?

both english and japanese version have problem

star war vision are worse show but doesn't have this weird dialogue edit problem in english or japanese

some recent dc animated movie have the same problem too

[Bartimaeus]

1 hour ago, uuuhhii said:

both english and japanese version have problem

star war vision are worse show but doesn't have this weird dialogue edit problem in english or japanese

some recent dc animated movie have the same problem too

What problem, man? We still don't know what you're talking about: "weird dialogue edit problem" is not very helpful. Is it too fast, is it too slow, are there inexplicable pauses between lines that sound totally unnatural to you, are there strange cuts in the middle of lines? Ya gotta help us out here.

[uuuhhii]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

What problem, man? We still don't know what you're talking about: "weird dialogue edit problem" is not very helpful. Is it too fast, is it too slow, are there inexplicable pauses between lines that sound totally unnatural to you, are there strange cuts in the middle of lines? Ya gotta help us out here.

weird pause between each sentence in almost all conversation scene

it may work in some conversation but not most

often feel unnatural

[Bartimaeus]

2 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

weird pause between each sentence in almost all conversation scene

it may work in some conversation but not most

often feel unnatural

Okay, yeah, the strange pauses between every line is usually a big pet peeve of mine as well. I think the only anime where I've tolerated what I felt were way too long pauses was Devilman Lady. So I just watched all of episode 4, and I...kind of get what you mean, because while initially I didn't notice it, when I really started to pay attention, it did start to feel like the pauses were just a beat too long. It's not much, but it's there. Please don't make me start noticing that too, I already get annoyed by too many things that I can't fix - this is fine. IT'S FINE!

P.S. The English dub is close to intolerable. Well, Syphas and Trevor are intolerable in the English, rather.

Edited March 27, 2023 by Bartimaeus

[InsaneCommander]

Tomo-chan is a Girl 8-12

Some bullies decided to mess with Misuzu and Carol to get back at Tomo. Why they wouldn’t expect her to find out is beyond me. Not to mention that they knew her surname and it’s the same of the Dojo they are terrified of.

Back in middle school Jun actually thought Tomo was a boy. Even though he had seen her coming out of a female bathroom before.

Misuzu’s new plan: push Jun down the stairs and have Tomo catch him. It didn’t end well. And karma is a bitch.

 

 

[InsaneCommander]

Tomo-chan is a Girl 13

Jun and Tomo go out, but their relationship can’t progress because they are not dating. And they can’t date since her father will only allow it when Jun defeats him.

Funny how Jun creates a complex story in his head about her father wanting someone who can protect Tomo by her side, while her father is just being jealous.

 

Spoiler

Jun manages to land a hit, a pretty decent one, but not enough to finish the fight. However, at this point, Tomo’s mother loses patience and “defeats” her husband.

 

[Sarex]

Even the dogs make faces...

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

38 minutes ago, Sarex said:

Even the dogs make faces...

[InsaneCommander]

Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World 1-6

Didn't know much about this one before watching it. Well, I knew nothing if you don't count memes of maids with colorful hair. I'm finding it very interesting. Could this really be an isekai without an overpowered protagonist?!

I thought Roswaal was suspicious right when I saw him. It makes sense, not only he is literally a clown but he also has Dio's voice.

 

Spoiler

Edit: I hid the spoiler.

Edited April 5, 2023 by InsaneCommander

[Bartimaeus]

Hiroshima ni Ichiban Densha ga Hashitta (1994). I don't know what that translates to, presumably something about trains in Hiroshima - online translators don't like to work with Hepburn/Romaji. A short film (30 minutes) about a young Japanese girl living through the end of World War II. She lives in a kind of all-girl barracks and goes to a little school and works as a kind of concierge for the trains. I didn't understand most of the dialogue (technically, any of it), as it doesn't have subtitles and I don't know Japanese, but it seemed to have what I felt was a thematic focus about lost childhood and the war having robbed unwilling and unknowing innocents just trying to live their lives, children and adults alike. Just people trying to find some small joy in life and move on from it all.

PICTURED ABOVE: The main character's sister...or cousin...or friend...or maybe neighbor, sleeping with an expression most unfitting of a war-traumatized child.

Spoiler

I started to think maybe they weren't going to get bombed. No real build-up to it at all, she's just talking and walking to school with a friend and there's suddenly a flash and that's...that. Barefoot Gen is a way more impressive film by most rights, but I think I preferred this over that. Well, actually, no, I'm sure that I liked this more than Barefoot Gen: sorry kids, but most any girl protagonist is always gonna beat two annoying brothers who won't stop constantly yelling and crying - don't need to be able to read the dialogue to determine that.

I liked it, but it probably would've been better being able to understand the dialogue. Actually, I was trying to figure out why the hell I even have this, considering nobody ever bothered to sub it and I obviously don't usually try to watch stuff where I literally can't understand the dialogue - apparently, Madhouse animated it. Yeah, that would do it, I'll give most anything they made a try.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Bartimaeus
Manually decensored title of film. Also, definitely did not correct a typo.

[majestic]

42 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Hiroshima no Ichiban Densha ga Hashitta (1994).

Semi-unrelated, but still relevant if anyone else wants to look for it, I just spent a bunch of time trying to find information about the short animated film, but there's a typo in that title. It is Hiroshima ni Ichiban Densha ga Hashitta (original Japanese title: ヒロシマに一番電車が走った, with Hiroshima in katakana, not the usual kanji 広島).

The difference between one simple letter is quite hilarious, as the title with no means something like "Hiroshima's first train ran", and with ni it means "The first train ran to Hiroshima" (走る is not specific to trains, it is a general movement verb meaning to move quickly - also used for running in the jogging or sprinting sense, driving with a car, etc). Also some added hilarity here is that none of the online translators deal with the title all too well, for whatever reason.

Note: I do not know if 一番電車 in this context is an euphemism or anything of cultural relevance relating to the bombing. Literally it just means first train, 番 denoting an ordinal number here, as the other meanings of 一番 as "most" or "first turn" make no sense in context, at least not without watching the short.

Edited April 7, 2023 by majestic

[Bartimaeus]

5 minutes ago, majestic said:

Semi-unrelated, but still relevant if anyone else wants to look for it, I just spent a bunch of time trying to find information about the short animated film, but there's a typo in that title.

Whoops...I mean, I don't see anything, . Thanks for trying to puzzle it out, . The girl was basically responsible for getting people on-board while also doing other miscellaneous duties for the conductor. Honestly, they were less "trains" and more in-town trams, if that makes sense.

I didn't see them go anywhere but inside the city. So I'm not sure how that squares with the title.

[majestic]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I didn't see them go anywhere but inside the city. So I'm not sure how that squares with the title.

For verbs of motion, when using に/ni, the subject (marked with が/ga, here the train) moves to (and then proceeds inside) the specified location from outside of said location (家に走った - I ran home, implying I entered my home too). Structured a little differently, that sentence could be made to mean a train/tram existed in Hiroshima which ran, but that is not what the title says. At least, not with the grammar I know. So yeah, beats me, someone with more experience with the language could probably answer that, in light of the context it is probably meant to express "The fist train ran in Hiroshima", but why? No idea.

Edited April 7, 2023 by majestic

[Azdeus]

Found a magical girl anime I can get behind; Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka. A shame there isn't more of it, I really like the premise. Blood and gore, PTSD and such lovely things.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Azdeus

[majestic]

3 hours ago, Azdeus said:

Found a magical girl anime I can get behind; Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka. A shame there isn't more of it, I really like the premise. Blood and gore, PTSD and such lovely things.

You should try 魔法少女まどか☆マギカ then.