Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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@DuskyPredator
See, you're answering a question that wasn't asked. I'm not asking how these sorts of things work from an in-universe logical sense. I'm asking why ANYBODY thought these story decisions were good ideas in the first place. Allow me to elaborate. Kirito does not exist. Asuna does not exist. Sword Art Online does not exist. They are fictional constructs created by people with ideas and hopes and dreams and FLAWS. The "rules" are completely arbitrary because the writers can make them up whenever they want. When I ask a question on why Asuna sacrifices herself for Kirito, I don't expect a detailed technological explanation on computers and whatnot. I am questioning why these writers felt it was necessary to pull a Disney Death on a character we know isn't going to die for cheap emotional manipulation. Hence, why I brought up the Thermian argument. EDIT: Oh God help it's raining too much and my PMS is driving me nuts. Sorry about that guys. 
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4829 |
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Heh, well actually, I've been accepting the whole "You can overcome the impossible if your will is strong enough" trope. Anime has been feeding me that since my thirteen-year-old days with Toonami. So that's fine.
So.......using video game logic in a video game world where glitches happen.....yes. Yes, I can buy into that. Being a little bit of a gamer taught me that when the game hands you luck in the form of a glitch, you don't question it; you scream "HAWMIGOD!!" and seize that opportunity to win. 
Asuna's death wasn't for the audience to freak out over; it was for Kirito's motivation to stab Heathcliff. Her sacrifice WAS absolutely necessary. He couldn't have won without that short burst of rage. This happens in action anime so much. If it doesn't have a name, I'd like to call it the Death-Rage trope. 
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EmbraceMe
 Posts: 2013 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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My issue with the glitches/exploit argument is that these things are usually found months, and sometimes years, after the game's release (and sometimes it involves reverse engineering the game by looking at code, etc.). Especially in a death game like SAO, you can't take those risks of exploits because of its unpredictability -- maybe some players do but I don't see it as plausible. Additionally, there are also very basic things in games that I don't think the "human will" can ever break and if it ever does, it's just "hax" -- stuff like game ticks (time it takes to refresh and update information).
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Spawn29
Posts: 551 |
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8 Man After - I first saw this anime as a kid on Sci-Fi and I seen the original 8 Man TV series too. This is the first time that I've seen this anime in nearly 20 years and I still enjoy it. I even like 8 Man After over the original series. The original 8 Man is a decent show, but I do like the story and characters in this anime better.
What I like about 8 Man After is the darker and more violent tone. The atmosphere feels darker and grittier than the original series. I also find the characters more interesting and I dig the relationship between Hazama and Sachik. The little kid was alright, but I do like the relationship between him and his father. The other cast of characters are nothing too special and the villains are pretty cool though. What I also like about the story is the themes like "Trying not lose control of your humanity" and how Hazam manage to override his control over his body. The animation is good, but could have been better (I seen anime release in 1993 and before that looked better). The music is also really good too and it really captures the tone of the anime. While this anime is considered to be a sequel to the orignal 8 Man series, you can watch it without watching or reading the original TV series. I also recommended to watch this anime subbed because the Streamline dub is pretty cheesy at times. Overall, 8 Man After is a pretty fun cyberpunk anime. It may not deep and groundbreaking, but I enjoy it for what it is. I would recommend this anime for people who like titles such Armitage III and Ghost in the Shell or Tokustsu superheroes like Kamen Rider and Android Kikaider. I give this anime a 7/10 |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
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Miyori's Forest. I thought it would be a nice movie about a girl learning to become the guardian of the forest, but jeez louise, Miyori was a raging bitch throughout the entire movie. Pretty much everyone in the movie with more than 5 lines of dialog, except her grandmother and the forest youkai, were awful. Some of them got better, but not Miyori! Even after she supposedly learned whatever lessons she needed to learn she was still a jerk. Also, it was a 2 hour movie that should've been an hour.
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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Progress Report
Posted my recap of Code Geass's first episode. I found it delightfully insane. Then I watched my two best friends here have a very long debate that I really feel should have been PMed between them. (Sorry guys.) I think I'll post my recap of Ouran's sixth episode tomorrow. It's the one with the elementary school kid trying to impress a girl who's moving away. Meanwhile, I managed to write plenty of my "How to Build a Better Protagonist (Starring Kirito and Friends)" mini-essay. So far I have written up to the "Creating Empathy" section, and I am currently beginning the "Writing Personality" section. I still have a lot on my plate, especially since I'm expecting to start job training in a few weeks. |
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SnowyLightning44
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I watched Coyote Ragtime Show and kinda felt like the episodes, except for the ones right at the start and the end, were a bit too disconnected and and what story it had felt hard to actually follow. Regardless of that I still enjoyed quite a bit which was the strange, but I guess, even though it was in a ridiculous and cheesy way, it was just a show that was plain fun to watch. Rather than continuing to watch it for whatever plot it had, it was the standalone episodes which made me keep watching, my favourite being episode 4 which was a 'heist' episode where they used a sorts of gizmos and tricks to break into this high security vault which I probably found way too amusing at the time then most would (I don't really watch shows/films like that but I might try to watch more after this). Just like the story the characters felt bland as well, I didn't think any of were particularly 'good' but I out of them all I probably liked Angelica the most and I found Andrew Love's dub performance voicing Swamp especially good.
Sankarea on the other hand had a great story and quite compelling characters (well mostly...but I'll get to that) but it had seriously way too much fanservice in it (especially where Rea was concerned), to the point where it felt off putting which was a shame because that makes kinda of a hard one to recommend. I really liked Chihiro as a protagonist and his situation with Rea was handled well, rather than being a complete win for him, the show delved deeper a shower the difficulties for him and Rea in maintaining control of her life on both the physical and mental side of things. Another thing was that for a 12 episode show there was a bit too many 'flashback episodes', the one with Chihiro and Ranko during there childhood was good, but the other two with Mero and Aria & Dan'ichiro didn't feel very necessary. Speaking of Dan'ichiro... man that guy was creepy, no wondered Rea was so happy after dying and leaving him and it felt like the show wanted to be sympathetic to Aria's situation but she just seemed like an extremely moany person who just drinks all day and takes it out on Rea or whoever's around her. The conclusion was kinda of lackluster overall with Dan'ichiro being seemingly forgiven quite easily but the show wrapped up decently but still didn't feel like it had a proper ending. I did watch the OVA which was meant to act as the 13th episode and it was nice how it showed how everyone carried on after that and Rea continuing to attend school and Chihiro letting loose a bit and being as understanding of Rea's condition but ultimately understanding that there was no point in being worried and stopping her going to school of that basically made him just like Dan'ichiro and her not really happy. It would been fine if it ended there but then it went the route to introducing a new important looking character with knowledge of zombies, right at the end and then closing off there, I mean it hasn't got a second season as of yet which is unfortunate since it ended on such a cliffhanger and I would've liked to watch more if it. |
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killjoy_the
 Posts: 2459 |
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^ The manga is licensed, I believe, so you can catch the rest of the story legally. I feel it's about as good as the anime overall.
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Pbbbbth. Fanservice or not, I'd recommend Sankarea to most people. Who cares about a little nudity? It was a wonderful anime and manga. |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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Progress Report:
None. Absolutely none. Here's a visual representation of how I'm feeling right now. 
I've hit a huge stumbling block in regards to my SAO essays. This is because I've ran straight into a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. My two best friends (who I love and care for dearly) are both on two polar ends of the spectrum when it comes to the main essay topic. I feel like they're both going to be p*ssed off by what I write no matter what I do, especially because I don't absolutely love or hate the series in question. I'm not even certain if I want to publish them at this point.
So, the reason I came here is because I want to watch an anime movie and haven't decided on which one. Maybe a Miyazaki classic? Perhaps Akira? Guys, help me out. I need some desperate cheering up. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Lol, Akane, if you don't enjoy writing about something, there's no reason to force yourself to.
If you DO enjoy writing, write for yourself. Have fun with it. As for me, I'm up to episode 09 of Unlimited Blade Works and am immensely enjoying all the Archer: MY GOD ARE U STUPID. Shirou: NO U. Archer: UR SO STUPID U MAKE MY HEAD HURT. BRAT. STUPID. Shirou: UR SO STUPID THAT U'D WIN A STUPID CONTEST. JERK. STUPID. Archer: STUPID IDIOT BRAT. Shirou: STUPID IDIOT JERK. My reaction: Quit acting like a shoujo OTP before I start calling you "Archou" or "Sharcher"!!!
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louis6578
 Posts: 1861 |
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I had finished Full Moon Wo Sagashite a while back, and while the start was predictable and slow (with hit or miss comedy sprinkled in), I can honestly say that I regret absolutely nothing in spending 52 episodes and a few omake specials with this anime. It's easily the best shoujo I've ever seen... that I can say for certain is a shoujo... and that remains fairly grounded in reality, only using its supernatural elements as more of a plot device than the main focus. So basically, the best one I've seen besides Princess Tutu.
Mitsuki is one of the better protagonists of the genre, considering that she's relatable, yet doesn't come across as a horrible annoyance. She's obviously supposed to be average and somewhat of a self-insert (I don't mean this in a negative way, shut up), but she's one of the rare types of characters who pulls this off while also having her own identity. It's kind of like Okabe from Steins;Gate or Tomoya from Clannad. She represents YOU, but less in a "This is what you are," and more of a "This is what you should strive to be." She's kindhearted and selfless while also struggling with how to deal with certain situations. One plus to her is that she knows from the start that she WILL die within the year, but instead of dwelling on that or lashing out, she enjoys what little time she has left. The supporting characters are amazing at best (with Takuto easily being the best male tsundere this side of Waver), and intentionally hateful or just plain harmless at worst. It is a story for children after all, though while this means the content is easy to follow, it is by no means irrelevant to adults. It never treats the audience like an idiot, always showing that where Full Moon succeeds in her career, other idols fail and get overshadowed, the industry is an unfair place where decisions are usually made ahead of time and tryouts are nothing more than a formality, and the songwriter is often suggested to alter some lyrics in order to make their song more marketable (and by suggested, I mean they're usually told "We will not pass this idea unless you change it to our liking). It's like how in the initial episode of Monster, we immediately see why the Hospital is a horrible place in terms of morality where Dr. Tenma is manipulated into operating on patients with money rather than the ones who need it most, the credit for his genius operations and research papers are given to the hospital director instead of himself, and he is demoted for going against their orders and saving a child's life instead of the mayor's. Except, of course, simplified so a child can easily follow it. The show picks up around episode 20 when certain dramatic relationships become apparent and the best guy starts working his way into Mitsuki's heart. It's one of the few shoujo's to have good romance without making that romance the 100% main plot of the story, instead opting to make it a moment of levity from the harsher realities of the situation. I rated it "excellent" after the ending made me shed a few tears, though I feel like I might view it differently if I rewatch it all at once instead of only watching a few episodes when I find time. I might do that when I have someone to show it to. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Damn straight, son. :'D
There are definitely more shoujo that are like this....and they are usually ones where the heroine has several goals aside from getting her boyfriend. Romance honestly does work better as a subplot for most of these.....otherwise you end up with something like Marmalade Boy....or That Shoujo That Shall Not Be Named.
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
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Still watching Spiritpact. Now with soul-housing swords! And 90% more magical boy transformation sequences!
So Ki was having a really bad day. Stabbed by his spirit-shadow with the aforementioned sword, thus losing all his powers, then having to duel his old master to get some info, upchucking blood like a beer-belch, and then being confronted by his jealous cousin who keeps wanting to kill him. Which resulted in this face: 
Which reminded me immediately of this face:  This show's becoming more entertaining than Hand Shakers. 
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Jose Cruz
 Posts: 1773 Location: South America |
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Been watching now two 2016 shows:
Space Patrol Luluco - It is a mix of Inferno Cop and Kill la Kill. Very self aware parody show and it's just so concise in its narrative: 7 minute episodes without any fat in the narrative. It certainly is a show where you need to be fully focused on the narrative otherwise you will miss major plot points. Essentially it's entertainment in a very compact bottle. I guess after watching this extreme form of entertainment more conventional forms would appear rather boring. Re-Life - Heard about this for a year now. Its an example of the realism of anime: the fact that the more abstract visual environment of anime allows for such realistic dramas. In this case the theme of the show is the feeling of life wasted that a person feels by the time they are in their late 20s and they feel like they wasted their most precious period of life: from the teenager years to their mid 20s. So far the show has been good but the art style is pretty generic looking and not as artistically creative as Luluco. |
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