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Shelf Life - Paradiso Lost

Durararararararararararara is far from the only good show this season guys, come on. Bakatesto is easily the funniest show that's come out in a long while, and Dance in the vampire loli is really awesome too. Depending on if you like moe, Sora no woto is up there as well.

Throw in some shows that are at least worth watching too- Hanamaru, Ookikamakushi, Cobra, Oomori Himari (if you're into eechi)- and this season is actually really good.

Durarara is the best show this season, nice art, good storytelling, with plenty of "gateway anime" potential.

erinfinnegan wrote:

Honestly, the guys in Ristorante Paradiso are a tad old for my tastes.

That's the idea, though. Older guys (with glasses). Personally I thought that aspect was hilarious. I also thought it was extremely refreshing to have a show about adults.

mightymightchell wrote:

I personally cannot believe that "stream-worthy" has been added to Shelf Life. The anime industry already has few enough people actually buying anime because of downloading and streaming and now even ANN is pretty much advertising streaming of even more anime!...

It's true that you don't want streaming to replace DVD purchases - but I can't really see that happening. [snip]...No, what streaming should hopefully replace are the fansubs we watched to preview anime before we buy it.

Erin wrote:

I hate over-reliance on flashbacks. It's not strong narrative structure. As you might remember, I loved Baccano!.

*bangs head on desk.
Young lady, sometimes you confuse me to no end. I'm at a complete loss on how these two statements don't relate to each other, especially given Baccano was nothing but flashback episodes given the story is told through the vice president (whose name escapes me) and Carol.

Ristorante Paradiso...In all honesty, having read the commentary three times, I still can't tell if you liked it or not.

tuxedocat wrote:

Durarara is the best show this season, nice art, good storytelling, with plenty of "gateway anime" potential.

I readily agree that Durarara's production values are top notch - it's a beauty to look at. Good storytelling? Mmm, that's debatable. For example, what story was advanced in the last episode? Well, we learned that Bartender Dude has anger issues that go way back. We learned that his enmity with A-hole Dude goes back to high school (I guess). We learned that Celty might be a little sweet on Bartender? That's about it. Is that good story-telling? Durarara has shown us flashes of interesting stuff, but for me it doesn't seem to be building towards anything. And keeping long gaps in between advancing the various story lines isn't working for me. What's going on with Suicide Girl these days? Will I care by the time we get back to her (if we do)?



Don't get me wrong, I'm obviously interested enough to continue watching, but I also disagree with the show's supposed "gateway" potential. If an already converted anime fan like myself is getting impatient with Durarara's fits'n'starts narrative structure, why do you assume a newbie would be enamoured?

I think in Baccano the story was framed by Carol's investigation - and I didn't like the first episode because of it. I'd rather see the series begin with everyone getting on the train.

If it came out on DVD I'd probably give it a "Rental" rating. (Depending on the release and the extras.)

I guess for me, L'il Slugger was the throughline for all the PA episodes so it made the series seem more tightly knit than Durarara!! seems so far.

But what was developed about his character? Again, all we really found out was that his anger gives him great strength, that he's been that way since a child and that using that strength can cause him self-injury. You really consider that deep character development? That isn't very much to convey over a 24-minute time span.

Durarara!! is definitely not a series I would spring on somebody new to anime. I mean, a newbie COULD end up liking it, but there is nothing about the series that suggests it stands a better than average chance of converting somebody.

Blood- wrote:

I guess for me, L'il Slugger was the throughline for all the PA episodes so it made the series seem more tightly knit than Durarara!! seems so far.

What about the Black Rider? She's like the L'il Slugger of this show. I mean, they explained what she's doing there... but it's all building to something.

Did you miss the hints about the weird sushi restaurant? Simon isn't "just there" - he stopped a big fight - he might be the toughest guy in town.

I think it's all building to one huge fight; Simon vs. the guy who throws vending machines vs. The Black Rider vs. the kidnappers vs. the "Dollars" gang vs. spoiler[that yokai dude]. What are those scientists up to? Something is going down!

Blood- wrote:

But what was developed about his character?

We also found out a lot about his relationships to other characters, why he has the rivalry with another of the central characters, that he is basically a sweet guy but maybe not the brightest bulb on the block, plus the episode was funny. I was entertained. Which is what matters to me. We will just have to agree to disagree.

Oh I didn't mean to suggest that the various storylets we've been introduced to in Durarara!! aren't building to their individual climaxes: i.e. Celty's search for her head, etc. I meant that taken as a whole, I wasn't getting a sense of build given the way one story will be introduced in one episode and then we don't hear anything about it again for a while. With Paranoid Agent, the question of, "What the hell is the deal with L'il Slugger anyway?" formed the central spine and waiting to see what the ultimate answer would be sort of informed each episode.

Blood- wrote:

Durarara!! is definitely not a series I would spring on somebody new to anime. I mean, a newbie COULD end up liking it, but there is nothing about the series that suggests it stands a better than average chance of converting somebody.

You and I must run in different circles. My group read a lot of books. Durarara (and Baccano!) are structured a lot like novels, where the information is not always presented in a linear way. The people I've been introducing to anime really liked Baccano, and are enjoying Durarara as well.

tuxedocat wrote:

Blood- wrote: Durarara!! is definitely not a series I would spring on somebody new to anime. I mean, a newbie COULD end up liking it, but there is nothing about the series that suggests it stands a better than average chance of converting somebody. You and I must run in different circles. My group read a lot of books. Durarara (and Baccano!) are structured a lot like novels, where the information is not always presented in a linear way. The people I've been introducing to anime really liked Baccano, and are enjoying Durarara as well.

But your individual experience with your group of friends doesn't necessarily hold true for a wider sampling. Plus, you have already indicated they have seen Baccano! which I think does have more gateway potential because it is set in the U.S. and the subject matter (gangsters) would be interesting to a lot of non-anime viewers. Again, I'm not saying that a complete anime virgin WOULDN'T like Durarara!! just that it is not a property that screams Anime 101 for Newbs! to me.