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Kyogissun
Joined: 17 Aug 2007
Posts: 676
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:52 am
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maaya wrote: |
Kyogissun wrote: | Hmmm... I know the story is fairly serious, and has that amazing quality of art from Production I.G. and such but... I'm just sick of the overly serious anime offerings from Adult Swim... There is, ironically enough, too much of it. |
While Guardian of the Spirit is anything but a comedy, it isn't "overly serious" ... while I'm not so sure what you mean by that, since Gurren Lagann hardly seems "overly serious" to me, it doesn't fall into the "shonen/action based genre" you mentioned. So I think you could like it, unless you're looking for pure comedy.
But Guardian of the Spirit is a lot about its characters and their relationship to each other. Seeing them interact can be a lot of fun, f.ex. Torogai, the shaman's, cunning comments always managed to put a smile on my face. Or as Chagum gets used to his new live style there are a few episodes that could be considered slice of life, which were simply relaxing and made the whole setting a lot more complex. Also there is no black and white, which made the story really interesting, imho ^^
The author of the novels, Nahoko Uehashi, is an ethnologist and this reflects on her works I think. The fantasy world, its legends and different races seemed very realistic to me. There are a lot of parallels to Japanese history as well as aborigines.
I'm so hoping for a second season based on the other novels >.< |
...I dunno what Gurren Lagann has to do with any of this, I'm talking specifically about Adult Swim's failure to offer anything outside either the serious, action based, action-comedy hybrids and the like. I'm sorry but it's about time Adult Swim attempted to look outside their clearly bland spectrum. And I don't mean what they PICK is bland, but that their taste and decisions on what to air are. Again, my problem is ENTIRELY with Adult Swim.
God forbid they be adventurous. Oh wait, anime never does well on TV according to them! So THAT'S why they keep wasting money on airing it. GOD KNOWS they would loose such a MAJOR importance in their viewing audience and that there's NO WAY they could restore saturday night. It's not like their comedy offerings overpower the anime broadcasts anyways.
OH WAIT...
I guess I'm feeling cynical and it's not that I don't appreciate the offerings, it's that if they have such a negative view on airing it, then why do the even bother? They've never really... Explained a good reason for their whining. Really, their anime lineup is the epitome of someone shooting themselves in the foot.
I'm fine with not getting anime on TV anymore if they decide that. I get enough of a fix online today with the offerings from iTunes and the growing attempt from japan to air more recent animes. After all, I may not be able to see it subtitled, but I can still watch Code Geass LEGALLY over Keyhole TV.
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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5143
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:01 am
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Having just seen Moribito, I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised that: The art is very good;
The plot (thus far, at least) is quite serviceable; and
The Soundtrack sounds good as well.
It's a pity that they have to put it in such an inconvenient time slot.
One last thing: Is it my imagination, or are the lips of Moribito the same as Saya's in the movie Blood+?
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Tortoiseshell Tabby Girl
Joined: 24 Jan 2007
Posts: 153
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:29 am
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nbahn wrote: | One last thing: Is it my imagination, or are the lips of Moribito the same as Saya's in the movie Blood+? |
Actually, the Moribito isn't Balsa the Spear-wielder. Prince Chagum is the Moribito or "Guardian of the Sacred Spirit." I won't say what a Moribito is, though, since I don't want to spoil it for people who like to "accidentally" spoil themselves.
But, other than that matter, yes, I totally understand what you're trying to say. Balsa's lips do remind me of Saya's lips, not only from the Blood: The Last Vampire movie, but from the Blood+ TV show. They also remind me of Major Kusanagi's lips from Ghost in the Shell. I just figured that maybe there's a certain look that Production I.G likes to shoot for, or something, although it doesn't appear as if the character designer listed in the encyclopedia has done any other I.G work since his name isn't highlighted with a link to a list of work. Those lips are definitely not the lips I imagined Balsa to have when I read the original novel, but the anime is its own thing, so that's okay with me. She still looks like she was designed with the knowledge that she is a character who is a fighter at heart, and that is what is most important.
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maaya
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:36 am
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Kyogissun wrote: | ...I dunno what Gurren Lagann has to do with any of this, I'm talking specifically about Adult Swim's failure to offer anything outside either the serious, action based, action-comedy hybrids and the like. |
I'm sorry, I thought Gurren Lagann was airing on Adult Swim, so I wasn't sure what kind of "overly serious" shows you were referring to. But either way, Guardian of the Spirit is quite outside of "serious and action based" or "action-comedy hybrids", so at least to me it looks like they're doing what you're asking for? Or I don't understand what kind of shows you would want them so show.
nbahn: they look a bit similar, but at least the character design isn't done by the same person. Balsa's lips are still a bit more "discreet" afair ^^
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enurtsol
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14886
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:06 am
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Fronzel wrote: | Two weeks? So they can air ROD and Alpha again? Why? |
Sci-Fi is probably giving time for the Gurren Lagann dubbers to catch up, especially airing 2 eps/week.** Now and Then, Here and There's dub is long finished, but the timeslots breakdown by inserting R.O.D and SF Alpha probably didn't work out for it, so it was skipped too.
[** Think of it kinda like the Japanese inserting filler eps to give the manga time to catch up.]
v1cious wrote: | they have no right to complain if this show does bad. they put it at the end of the lineup with no advertising or promotion whatsoever. |
Don't worry; Adult Swim compares ratings to other shows in the same timeslot, not across different timeslots. So, being at 1:30am EST is irrelevant to that, though it does show they don't have much expectations (and thus, not much to complain about).
Kyogissun wrote: |
I'm just sick of the overly serious anime offerings from Adult Swim... There is, ironically enough, too much of it.
Maybe that's their problem. They don't offer anything outside the shounen/action based genre. Maybe they'd do better to... I dunno, expand? But I'm sure broadcasting expenses and such are just too much for them. |
If you're thinking of it as Adult Swim "anime," that's actually a misnomer. When Adult Swim started, it was actually Adult Swim "action" and Adult Swim "comedy." And thus for that part, action-based as marketed to advertisers and sponsors.
Though you could argue why didn't they expand beyond that since then, but that one probably only Adult Swim knows. Maybe it'd be too much work and resources to go re-branding when both blocks (despite some successes here and there) are still just in, shall we say, "ratings infancy" (not too much ratings yet, still just growing, especially "comedy" - "action" is more fragile, still trying to solidify itself).
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Kyogissun
Joined: 17 Aug 2007
Posts: 676
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:36 am
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I guess I really should just give up on their ability or willingness to broaden their horizons...
Adult Swim and their opinion on anime. Aiming for the mark of 'just enough to get by'. ~_~
Granted, they made a good call getting CG R2's airing rights immediately following season one but that is ALONE their best move in a long time.
Again, they have too much of a balance of hits and too much of a balance of misses. Let us not forget the ****bomb that was Trinity Blood.
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melonbread
Joined: 09 Jan 2008
Posts: 317
Location: UK (London)
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:08 am
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1:30am? That's a pretty pathetic time-slot.
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MH Knights
Joined: 27 Feb 2002
Posts: 71
Location: Madison, WI
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:28 am
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Is there a streaming version somewhere? I missed last nights showing.
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maaya
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:43 am
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Kyogissun wrote: | Adult Swim and their opinion on anime. Aiming for the mark of 'just enough to get by'. ~_~ Again, they have too much of a balance of hits and too much of a balance of misses. Let us not forget the ****bomb that was Trinity Blood. |
I don't know your tastes, but Guardian of the Spirit is clearly far above "just enough to get by". To me it's one of the best anime series I've seen, ever and maybe even the best fantasy anime I know. And I think it's great for such a series to get a bit more attention, since it didn't really have that much success back in 2007 I think.
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Sutafuzz
Joined: 20 Jan 2007
Posts: 4
Location: Texas
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:34 am
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Yay! I really loved this anime series, its extremely deep in some areas. Oh yes my favorite part: "TAMAGO!"
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hikaru004
Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 2306
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:40 am
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Missed it too. I hope they do stream the first ep.
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Lackshmana
Joined: 31 Jul 2003
Posts: 34
Location: Orlando
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:32 am
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Guardian of the Spirit is a fantastic show, and I am very happy with the choices made for the dubbing cast.
As soon as I heard Balsa speak last night I thought, "Fantastic!" and enjoyed the show from start to finish. In my book it is right up there with the best animated series.
The characterization is excellent and on par with Twelve Kingdoms and Avatar, and the occasional action sequences are the equal of Justice League Unlimited, Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell.
I must say that I agree with the sentiment that Adult Swim is setting this show up for failure, as I don't personally think it is even appropriate for it to be on AS in the first place.
I miss the days when Toonami was actually a legitimate programming block rather than the half-hearted parody that it is now. Back in the day Guardian would have made an excellent addition to the later portion of Toonami.
I also think the ratings on AS would be higher if they mixed the anime and american productions up they way they used to back when the channel was still growing in popularity. Segregating the two completely destroys the opportunity for crossover appeal and leads to the comedy block being perceived as just for the frat crowd and anime for the weaboos.
But I digress, it makes me sad that all the discussion about this series on the web is essentially over how badly Adult Swim is mismanaging its schedule and line up. Guardian of the Spirit deserves better.
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BellosTheMighty
Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 767
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:49 am
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Dear God, you people piss me off. You gripe about how AS obviously hates anime, is about to kill off their block in favor of more doofus comedy, etc., and then when they actually do pick up something great you gripe that it's the same old stuff and they're obviously trying to get by with minimal effort. What, you want the sun and the moon on a silver platter, via a convenient drive-thru window? Cry more n3wb.
Those who complain about AS's refusal to be more 'adventurous' in a lineup should consider the wisdom of trying to explore uncharted commercial territories in a time when the economy is weak, the anime boom is over, and stateside companies are getting a rude awakening to the realities of the market. Not to mention the fact that CN's attempt to broaden their market tend to run up against the fact that the broader market doesn't exist. They aired Prince of Tennis, remember that? It crashed because noone cares about sports anime. They aired Paranoia Agent, which I thought was pretty good, and after first airing it vanished without a trace because people were either uninterested or confused. They went old-school and aired Evangelion, and noone gave a crap. They went REALLY old-school and aired Lupin III, and it never caught on. Their showings of Miyazaki movies are ignored- typically we watch something else that night and grumble on the boards that we didn't get to see the next episodes of the series' that we one week later hold up as evidence that they hate us. If you want AS to air more than their usual faire, maybe first you should make sure that faire has a snowball's chance of actually SUCCEEDING. You cannot reasonably make it a requirement of your patronage that a business be actively trying to run itself into the ground.
Christ...
I am so sick to death of all the whining that goes on around here. If the rules of a game are unfair, you either work the unfairness to your advantage, or you play another game. You don't yell at someone to change the rules, especially when your proposed revisions are in conflict with the realities covering the situation. The more criticisms I see of Adult Swim, the more I'm convinced that their primary audience is a bunch of spoiled-rotten brats who don't appreciate good art OR good business. Sit down and drink your goddamn TEA, or go away and play somewhere else, but in any case shut up. Noone cares about your armchair-quarterbacking.
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Hagaren_Otaku726
Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 137
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:56 am
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I really enjoyed the first episode. Balsa reminds me of Motoko from Ghost in the Shell.
And yeah, the 1:30AM time slot isn't the most attractive one to have, and there was no promotion (I only found out about this premiere Saturday morning courtesy of "The Click" column), but hopefully lots of people will watch it...
I'm pretty much clueless about business, and the like, so I won't comment on adult swim choice of time slots in general.
I didn't know Scholastic released the novel version o_o;;
I may have to find this.
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angieness
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 162
Location: Columbus, OH
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:09 pm
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They have been adventurous in the past. They had Super Milk Chan on for a while and it did terribly since they chose to go with the version with the original Japanese references.
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