Forum - View topicShelf Life - Fight to Survive
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CoreSignal
 Posts: 727 Location: California, USA |
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Okay, this could be interesting. Just based on this first season and the first half of the manga, the harem stuff seems like pretty standard stuff but if Nihei (and the anime) does something creative with it then I'm all for it. The harem elements didn't ruin the show for me or anything but I would like to see them do something creative with it. @justsomeaccount, although Nihei has "mainstreamed" his art style for better or worse, that detail and sense of scale he's known for is still there in the mechanical/Gauna designs and backgrounds. And Cptn_Taylor makes a good point. Nihei could've stuck with his old style if he wanted to, and as much as everyone prefers his old style (myself included), I can't fault him for wanting to try something different. But yeah, it's unfortunate that none of the characters really stand out, personality-wise. And pairing up Nihei with another writer would be a great idea. |
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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I like Nihei's stuff especially Blame! For me that's all about the atmosphere and the impact that's created by the size of the environment. The characters are swallowed up by it and due to its size you feel like the MC has been traveling on his quest in this monolithic city for an eternity. KoS is a different beast and surprisingly even with some common giant robot tropes thrown in I've enjoyed it quite a bit.
The space combat in KoS for me stood out. During battles the command bridge would view the status of the pilots and machines, make decisions and relay orders. However, most importantly they would react to what was going on which helped viewers make sense of the chaotic combat and also aided viewers with connecting emotionally with the action. The combat could feel chaotic but we also got a good feeling for the spirit of the pilots and sometimes their fears. This flashing back and forth between the command bridge and the battles really worked for me and was exciting. Visually the mechs and the environment of Sidonia worked well. Some of the pseudo science works for me too. I see a ship built into an asteroid and I think ah, they must be getting some of their gravity from the asteroid plus whatever natural resources it has. That's cool. The Gauna also looked suitably frightening. My biggest beef was the character models and animation. Movement was sometimes jerky for the characters and was the biggest distraction for me. The character models sometimes lacked a range of expression and detail that was at times disappointing. What I've seen of the second season it seems they've improved a bit on the expression and some of the jerkiness (it hasn't all gone away though). Still I have fun with this show.
The Mardock Scramble Trilogy is a different story for me. While I liked it visually, I felt that they wasted a third of its run time in a casino when they could have explored the world a little more. When they weren't showing me their love for gambling games or trying to find out how many associations they could create with eggs (easter, boiled, shell, etc) it seemed that they were dallying in shock value. For me it wasn't subtle and therefore a turnoff. It didn't surprise me that Tow Ubukata ended up working on Psycho Pass 2. I do think it may flow a little better seeing one after the other. The cliffhanger after the first one is kind of a killer if you have to wait a year to see the next movie like I did. As far as the dub goes I disagree with the review. I actually found the dub fairly decent. I've been fairly disappointed with many Sentai dubs and subs in the past. Some dubs alternated from natural sounding to awkward and some of their subs would contradict the dubs or it would seem they would just stop trying to get it right. Except for in one or two spots I thought Mardock Scramble overall was good and didn't have me running for the door or changing it to the Japanese audio. I also usually find animal or magical creature sidekicks annoying but I must say that Oefcoque is one of the few that worked for me. Still it wasn't enough to save the trilogy for me. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Yeah, except every time the mechs got an accel boost by holding hands I just wanted to punch the screen. Space travel doesn't work that way. |
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Wooga
 Posts: 916 Location: Tucson |
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that is a lot of Dreamcast games! Please be my friend!
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taster of pork
 Posts: 594 Location: My House |
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when I read that Knights of Sidonia was done in CG I lost interest since I've never been a fan of that style. But after hearing good things about it I gave it a shot. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed it. I'll be starting on the manga soon.
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Bluenoser
Posts: 39 |
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I didn't read it as being done for an acceleration boost, but rather to keep them in close formation for long distance boosting/transit. I do not recall there ever being any mention of that technique being used for specifically acceleration advantage, but if you are aware of something that said so that I missed, I am more than willing to admit I am misreading it. It just seems to me that in deep space one of the things you most need to manage is keeping your units together over long distances, and this method came off to me as one of the more realistic ways to do so. After all each machine will have slight differences in things like thrust and such that over long distances could well cause some separation. Indeed, I found this for me was actually one of the things I liked about KOS, it dealt with a real problem in terms of keeping multiple military units concentrated in a deep space environment, especially when being used by a society that is clearly resource stretched and has lost at least some of its technical knowledge. Anyway, just thought I'd throw out this alternate explanation for that maneuver, not looking to |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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^
From the animation it was quite clearly an accel boost. And if you want a clear example, remember when the main character and a love interest were stranded in space? Neither Sidonia nor any of its mechs were unable to go back and rescue them, but when the entire defence corps rebelled and united into a 256-mech formation they had the range to go back. Theron even noted the formation boost principle in his 2014 review. Well, kind of: Basic principles of physics apply heavily in spatial maneuvering, and mecha traveling long distances in space unite in clusters to gain a collective speed and range boost. (Nevermind that apart from the speed of light there isn't a speed limit in space, so a mech isn't going to go any faster just because it is holding onto its buddies. But even he had correctly said accel instead of speed the criticism still holds true; that a formation will not accelerate any faster or get extended range. I'm disappointed in Theron for not realising this very basic error.) |
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CoreSignal
Posts: 727 Location: California, USA |
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@One-Eye,KoS had some of the best mecha battles I've seen in a long time for all the reasons you mentioned. That full scale assault in eps 11 and 12 was pretty amazing, imo. Not only do the battle scenes have dynamic camerawork and great pacing, but there's actual teamwork and logistics involved. I personally feel the combat in a lot of recent mecha shows have basically boiled down to mecha jousting. It's mostly opposing ace pilots dueling, while everybody else just looks on. In KoS, it actually feels like the commander is executing a plan and changing strategies based on the situation and you see the pilots backing each up. And although Tanikaze is the MC and best pilot we rarely see him singlehandly win battles.
I definitely second your suggestion for an artbook. While I'm okay with this collector's edition, I can't really recommend it as good purchase. Assuming Sentai picks up season 2, I really hope they include an artbook for next time.
It's too bad that a lot of people passed on KoS because it was CG. Personally, I don't think the CG is as bad as some people say it is. The character designs look plain, but that's also how it is in the manga. The designs in the show actually look very close to the ones in the manga. Yes, the facial expressions and movement is pretty jerky for most part. It didn't bother me that much, but I guess some people have very low tolerance for that stuff. That said, all the gauna and mecha stuff looked great. I thought the staff did an excellent job with the background and enviromental art. In fact, I have high hopes for the upcoming Blame! short knowing that the staff handled the backgrounds so well. @dtm42, I forgot where, (maybe Kotaku?) but I remember seeing a comment on a Sidonia review where someone said that the show is pretty selective on what kind of physics it's realistic about and what kind of physics it's not realistic about. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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^
Oh, I do understand. All giant robots shows not directed by Ryosuke Takahashi have to defy physics in some way. Add space to the mix and they have to defy physics even more. If one is to enjoy those sorts of shows then leeway has to be granted. Still, my gripe is that the mech formations in KoS are so prominent they hurt suspension of disbelief. I'd love to ignore them but I just can't since they stand out too much. |
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jr240483
 Posts: 4385 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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true enough . i really couldnt see anyone other than him or christopher r sabat that could do oeufcoque very well. same with rune. though personally luci christian or kira saint davis would have been better options too. also it seems that any chance of oniai getting an english dub have pretty much went out the window now that its SAVE edition is also getting the sub only treatment. i would expect sentai or media blasters to give an uber ecchi/fanservice series that have brother/sister tendicies the sub only treatment,but not funi at the slightest . definitely a sign of the times when it comes to that genre. |
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Stretch2424
 Posts: 166 |
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For some reason I really like the strange, CG animation of characters (and everything else) in Sidonia. It makes the show stand out somehow, and I think it would be a great mistake to get rid of it. When I try to imagine Sidonia with more conventional animation, the idea repels me. You might say that it's the show's trademark.
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Stretch2424
Posts: 166 |
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There are harems where attractive girls inexplicably throw themselves at guys who are totally devoid of personality, have never accomplished anything and/or are only interested in sex. I hate that sort, because it's totally unbelievable that it would really happen. It's nothing but wishful thinking. Then there are harems where a guy who really has proven himself to be a hero attracts a number of sensible girls--that doesn't bother me, because such things really do happen in the world around me. In Sidonia, the notion that Tanikaze would be popular with the girls doesn't require a particular stretching of my mind. And I like the way he is so laughably naïve that he hardly has any idea what to do about them.
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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He's a war hero who is humanity's best chance of survival, plus he's cute and adorably clueless, and of course he's foreign and mysterious. It would be weird if girls didn't like him. So the harem-esque tone to the early show makes sense. |
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