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Catseyetiger
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
Posts: 779
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 Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 11:08 pm
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Honestly liked the manga feel the director is off in this portrayal. I still watch it though.
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mangaka-chan
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
Posts: 283
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 11:48 pm
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I was curious about this show so I read the manga, and honestly, I feel kind of torn about it. On the one hand I'm glad it's trying to bring up social issues through the normalized lens of everyday life. But it also does get a bit heavy handed at times with the way it delivers its message. The whiplash nature of the plot also makes it hard for me to enjoy, as one chapter will be about how a Jewish boy survived a concentration camp during WW II and the next chapter will inexplicably switch to a silly story about three mischievous toddlers. I wonder if the anime will try to stick with the bigger story or if it will also follow the manga's trajectory of making wide thematic jumps.
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Zin5ki
Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:01 am
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| Key wrote: | | So far this series is on my "drop because I don't have time for it" list, but if it really does start delving heavily into the politics of racial equality then I might have to force it onto my schedule. |
Strange, I would have thought this show would be right up your alley. Were you fond of recent forays into the monster girl genre?
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Key
Moderator
Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18188
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:48 am
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| Zin5ki wrote: | | Strange, I would have thought this show would be right up your alley. Were you fond of recent forays into the monster girl genre? |
Oh, I liked Interview With Monster Girls enormously; while I don't think it will make my list of the year's best titles, it's easily on my list of my favorite titles for the YTD. But the specific characters of the girls (especially Hikari) and their interactions had a lot to do with that, as did the more analytical approach to the natures of the monster girls. OTOH - and I'm sure this would surprise some people - I wasn't anywhere near as much of a fan of Monster Musume. While it was mildly entertaining, fan service + substantial physical deviation from human form doesn't work for me at all, and centaurs definitely fall into that category. Hime's personality and interactions with the others didn't stand out in the first episode, so this one will have to offer something else to get me to find time for it on my schedule (which isn't full now but will starting being so again when school work resumes in a couple of weeks).
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ChibiKangaroo
Joined: 01 Feb 2010
Posts: 2941
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:37 am
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| Key wrote: | | ...fan service + substantial physical deviation from human form doesn't work for me at all, and centaurs definitely fall into that category. |
Since you brought it up, this is something that actually intrigues me. I wonder what proportion of monster girls fans are into the idea of monster bodies as a fetish, rather than just fan service of cute human girls with special ears and tail. It definitely seemed to be a huge part of Monster Musume as you indicated, but not much if at all in Interviews, which was more just cute human girls with quirks. I think Dragon Maid was a little more toward the Monster Musume end, as the main girl's dragon body was often used in double entendre. I am wondering if the trend will shift one way or the other.
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TasteyCookie
Joined: 19 Jan 2017
Posts: 421
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:18 am
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| ChibiKangaroo wrote: | | Since you brought it up, this is something that actually intrigues me. I wonder what proportion of monster girls fans are into the idea of monster bodies as a fetish, rather than just fan service of cute human girls with special ears and tail. It definitely seemed to be a huge part of Monster Musume as you indicated, but not much if at all in Interviews, which was more just cute human girls with quirks. I think Dragon Maid was a little more toward the Monster Musume end, as the main girl's dragon body was often used in double entendre. I am wondering if the trend will shift one way or the other. |
Definitely would be interesting to see. I would think it depends on the fanbase for the specific show. Since MonMusu was way more sexual in nature, a lot more people (I would assume) are watching it to see fetishistic portrayals of monster girls, rather than the SoL nature (like Interviews.) I for one loved MonMusu both because the girls were super cute, but also it was hilarious. But Centoria was my least favorite character since horse girls are not my thing.On the flip side, I'm really enjoying Hime not because of a sexual fetish, but because I think her character is adorable.
However due to the tonal whiplash some other members brought up, I do think this show will suffer from the polarized audiences. As there won't be quite enough fanservice/sexual angle for the MonMusu fans, and not enough SoL elements for the Interviews crowd.
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Yttrbio
Joined: 09 Jun 2011
Posts: 3652
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 12:29 pm
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I think part of what made MonMusu so much fun for so many people was that you didn't need a monster girl fetish to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. In fact, I'm not sure any of the monster girl shows actually specifically target the monster girl fetish fanbase, so much as they're recognizing that there's a lot of room for interesting stories (comical or otherwise) in the juxtaposition of wildly differing physical characteristics with the most routine storytelling frameworks.
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mangamuscle
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:14 pm
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| Yttrbio wrote: | | I think part of what made MonMusu so much fun for so many people was that you didn't need a monster girl fetish to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. |
IMO the monster part of monmosu was (is, second season when?) the perfect justification (in the mind of many) for having sexually aggressive girls (at least trying) to get their way with out hapless self insert character. Remove the monster part and many people would feel uneasy, with thoughts going from "hooker" to "gross" when a female gets hornie and wants to get on top of Kimihito Kurusu (aka That guy Cruz).
Centaur Life is cute, but I do not take it too seriously since we have "angels" with halos floating over their heads in what supposedly is a non magical world.
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Chrono1000
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:36 pm
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| ChibiKangaroo wrote: |
| Key wrote: | | ...fan service + substantial physical deviation from human form doesn't work for me at all, and centaurs definitely fall into that category. |
Since you brought it up, this is something that actually intrigues me. I wonder what proportion of monster girls fans are into the idea of monster bodies as a fetish, rather than just fan service of cute human girls with special ears and tail. It definitely seemed to be a huge part of Monster Musume as you indicated, but not much if at all in Interviews, which was more just cute human girls with quirks. I think Dragon Maid was a little more toward the Monster Musume end, as the main girl's dragon body was often used in double entendre. I am wondering if the trend will shift one way or the other. |
While the uncanny valley is less of an issue with animation it wouldn't apply to a dragon but it might apply to a centaur. I don't think that A Centaur's Life goes as far as Monster Musume but it is the first anime since than which might go into the uncanny valley for some viewers. It is hard to say how much of a factor the uncanny valley is since for animation and I don't think a serious study has even been done on it.
| mangamuscle wrote: | | Centaur Life is cute, but I do not take it too seriously since we have "angels" with halos floating over their heads in what supposedly is a non magical world. |
There is a strand at the back of the halo that is holding it up so I think it is supposed to be part of their hair.
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mangamuscle
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:19 pm
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| Chrono1000 wrote: | | It is hard to say how much of a factor the uncanny valley is since for animation and I don't think a serious study has even been done on it. |
Uncanny valley only applies to creatures we see with our own eyes in real life, everything you see on a flat 2D screen (even live action) does not trigger the uncanny valley reaction.
| Quote: | | There is a strand at the back of the halo that is holding it up so I think it is supposed to be part of their hair. |
Yeah, but I can't take seriously such an approach on a non-magical setting. Horns? Ok, they are good for offence and/or defence. Wings? They might not allow human sized creatures flying but gliding can be useful. Gills, it is quite useful under the sea. Amalgam creatures (centaurs, lamias, harpies, mermaids/tritons) might be the result of accelerated evolution (see Guillermo del Toro "Mimic").
A piece of hair that connect to a circle above your head? I see no reason for such a gimmick to happen on any species and it must be quite bothersome if we think about it. The mangaka therefore subscribes to the Rumiko Takahashi school of "don't let logic obstruct storytelling". So I am not surprised when I hear this series varies wildly from chapter to chapter.
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hinugundam
Joined: 09 Apr 2011
Posts: 57
Location: USA
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:53 pm
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| mangamuscle wrote: |
| Chrono1000 wrote: | | It is hard to say how much of a factor the uncanny valley is since for animation and I don't think a serious study has even been done on it. |
Uncanny valley only applies to creatures we see with our own eyes in real life, everything you see on a flat 2D screen (even live action) does not trigger the uncanny valley reaction. |
Not true, people have reported "uncanny valley" responses such as eeriness and repulsion with CG animation, like in The Polar Express and Grand Moff Tarkin in Rouge One.
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mangamuscle
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:14 pm
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| hinugundam wrote: | | Not true, people have reported "uncanny valley" responses such as eeriness and repulsion with CG animation, like in The Polar Express and Grand Moff Tarkin in Rouge One. |
In 2004 some people might have thought the CGi in the polar express was life like, same for Rogue One in 2016. But I can assure you that A Centaur's Life does not have the kind of photorealism to entice such a response in anyone.
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Chrono1000
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:31 pm
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| mangamuscle wrote: |
| hinugundam wrote: | | Not true, people have reported "uncanny valley" responses such as eeriness and repulsion with CG animation, like in The Polar Express and Grand Moff Tarkin in Rouge One. |
In 2004 some people might have thought the CGi in the polar express was life like, same for Rogue One in 2016. But I can assure you that A Centaur's Life does not have the kind of photorealism to entice such a response in anyone. |
The uncanny valley is a response that can be caused by robots, computer animation, and dolls. While realism makes a difference I think that in some situations it can be caused by 2D animation.
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encrypted12345
Joined: 25 Jan 2012
Posts: 718
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 8:34 am
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I have only read up to volume 4 or so, but I honestly don't think that the manga is trying to take a political side and is only showing the positives and negatives of a left-wing authoritarian government as neutrally as possible. I instinctively view it as a dystopian nightmare, but the manga doesn't try to condemn nor actively dissuade that instinct. There is some good and some bad in the government like most systems of governments, and it does seem to be a necessary evil. Of course, you could also be cynical enough to think that the taught history is mostly propaganda rather than mostly truth, and exaggerated tales of past genocide and oporession are an excuse to keep sheeple in line, but if nothing else, I doubt the manga supports that theory.
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hinugundam
Joined: 09 Apr 2011
Posts: 57
Location: USA
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 5:16 pm
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| mangamuscle wrote: |
| hinugundam wrote: | | Not true, people have reported "uncanny valley" responses such as eeriness and repulsion with CG animation, like in The Polar Express and Grand Moff Tarkin in Rouge One. |
In 2004 some people might have thought the CGi in the polar express was life like, same for Rogue One in 2016. But I can assure you that A Centaur's Life does not have the kind of photorealism to entice such a response in anyone. |
I am not arguing that Centaurs Life can cause that reaction, merely responding to your statement that nothing on a 2d screen, including live action, could elicit an uncanny valley response.
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