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Shelf Life - Medaka Box


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maximilianjenus



Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 2855
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:07 am Reply with quote
I have not watched teh anime, but from your review it looks like it ends before it starts going full meta and becomes even weirder.
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bassgs435



Joined: 21 Mar 2015
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:13 am Reply with quote
maximilianjenus wrote:
I have not watched teh anime, but from your review it looks like it ends before it starts going full meta and becomes even weirder.

spoiler[It ends just when they step out of the elevator and see that Kumagawa has pinned everyone to the walls with screws, so just before the minus arc]
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4064
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:14 am Reply with quote
Ah, Medaka Box, another victim of the "OMG, our series will be cancelled unless we become a fighting series" editorial technique that plagued a number of WSJ titles. It started as a "we help the hopeless" slice of life parody but it dropped the pretense of liking its audience when it didn't connect. Or is it respecting their intelligence? Anyway, I think of it as the basest form of WSJ audience pandering, the "Isn't it awesome how awesome this all is?" plotting of super empowerment power super battling that got Dragon Ball through arc after arc. DBZ I mean, Dragon Ball was cool. Except for the tournaments.

Ok, I don't know what it exactly became since I dropped it once the characters started to beat the crap out of each other because the WSJ poll declared it necessary- though I don't know why I stuck with DBZ, maybe because it did it first for me. Some later MB plot events I've heard about included multiple character deaths that never stuck and plus, minus or negative student council groups or "Abnormals, Normals and "Specials" people at least tells me that the creators fought to the end to keep the parody elements in it only the audience never got the joke. Wait, I mean "still didn't get the joke". Or did they didn't get it was a joke in the first place?

"They meant it that way all along and the opening 13 chapters/9 episodes was just a pretense" is a new one to me though; It doesn't match what I read... a comedic mix of Haruhi Suzumiya and Flunk Punk Rumble... that dropped that in favor of a mess that only kept Medaka as the main character despite being the most unliked part because changing the name of the series would have been too much of a clue of how little their own premise meant to the creators.

In short, I know what the Medaka Box was in the slice of life part, a suggestion/help box but did it become something else or was it just an artifact title after the series "got gud"?
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Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 12:06 pm Reply with quote
Thank you for the review of Medaka Box. It was very helpful.
Quote:
I enjoyed it, but I have a soft spot for shows that are willing to annoy the audience in order to prove a point. If that doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, you're probably better off looking elsewhere.

I do not like a show that annoys me for any reason, so I will look elsewhere.
Also, the description of how the show changes and what it changes into tells me that it is not for me.
If I could borrow this from the library I might watch the first eight episodes, because that part seems like it is my kind of show.

I sincerely appreciate the warning, and thanks again for the review.
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animalia555



Joined: 12 Jun 2004
Posts: 467
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 12:10 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
Thank you for the review of Medaka Box. It was very helpful.
Quote:
I enjoyed it, but I have a soft spot for shows that are willing to annoy the audience in order to prove a point. If that doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, you're probably better off looking elsewhere.

I do not like a show that annoys me for any reason, so I will look elsewhere.
Also, the description of how the show changes and what it changes into tells me that it is not for me.
If I could borrow this from the library I might watch the first eight episodes, because that part seems like it is my kind of show.

I sincerely appreciate the warning, and thanks again for the review.
Personally I didn't find the manga or anime annoying but everybody has their own tastes.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 12:34 pm Reply with quote
Selector Spread WIXOSS getting its Blu-Ray release is the highlight of this article for me. :D
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Minos_Kurumada



Joined: 04 Nov 2015
Posts: 975
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 12:53 pm Reply with quote
How cute, you think Medaka Box takes 9 episodes to explain what it's about.

Wahahaha.... man, this damn thing changes focus and genera each 25 chapters or so and was 100% self-conscious of it, in one chapter the main villain of the time smashes the 4th wall, turns to the reader and declares:

"This shitty fighting Manga will transform in a shitty love comedy from the next chapter on".

Animegomaniac wrote:
Ah, Medaka Box, another victim of the "OMG, our series will be cancelled unless we become a fighting series" editorial technique that plagued a number of WSJ titles. It started as a "we help the hopeless" slice of life parody but it dropped the pretense of liking its audience when it didn't connect. Or is it respecting their intelligence? Anyway, I think of it as the basest form of WSJ audience pandering, the "Isn't it awesome how awesome this all is?" plotting of super empowerment power super battling that got Dragon Ball through arc after arc. DBZ I mean, Dragon Ball was cool. Except for the tournaments.

Ok, I don't know what it exactly became since I dropped it once the characters started to beat the crap out of each other because the WSJ poll declared it necessary- though I don't know why I stuck with DBZ, maybe because it did it first for me. Some later MB plot events I've heard about included multiple character deaths that never stuck and plus, minus or negative student council groups or "Abnormals, Normals and "Specials" people at least tells me that the creators fought to the end to keep the parody elements in it only the audience never got the joke. Wait, I mean "still didn't get the joke". Or did they didn't get it was a joke in the first place?

"They meant it that way all along and the opening 13 chapters/9 episodes was just a pretense" is a new one to me though; It doesn't match what I read... a comedic mix of Haruhi Suzumiya and Flunk Punk Rumble... that dropped that in favor of a mess that only kept Medaka as the main character despite being the most unliked part because changing the name of the series would have been too much of a clue of how little their own premise meant to the creators.

In short, I know what the Medaka Box was in the slice of life part, a suggestion/help box but did it become something else or was it just an artifact title after the series "got gud"?


This is the funny part: Nisio Isin (Monogatari series) and Medaka box's writer realized this too.

So what he did being the kind of guy he is?

He transformed MB in a deconstruction of WSJ antics, he directly transformed Medaka into a tragic hero trapped by the Shounen Jump hero oath of "I live for those who I love happiness" he transform this in something negative and explores what actually would happen if somebody actually only cared for others happiness while neglecting her own.

Nisio Isin even craps on WSJ famous motto: "Friendship, Hardwork and Victory!" stating that "What Shounen Manga teaches it's not Friendship, Hardwork and Victory! but, that only those with Power are the ones that win at the end, it's the pinnacle of cruel realities".

Medaka Box it's, ironically, obligatory read for those who hate WSJ.
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Calsolum



Joined: 11 May 2010
Posts: 898
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:47 pm Reply with quote
Touma wrote:
Thank you for the review of Medaka Box. It was very helpful.
Quote:
I enjoyed it, but I have a soft spot for shows that are willing to annoy the audience in order to prove a point. If that doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, you're probably better off looking elsewhere.

I do not like a show that annoys me for any reason, so I will look elsewhere.
Also, the description of how the show changes and what it changes into tells me that it is not for me.
If I could borrow this from the library I might watch the first eight episodes, because that part seems like it is my kind of show.

I sincerely appreciate the warning, and thanks again for the review.


hmn i think annoying is a bit strong of a word but i do understand how it can definitely put off some. For instance alot of people i know love Jojojo for its over the top hammyness but i just had to sign off after Dio spoiler[becomes a vampire]. May watch the other arcs since I've heard that was the weakest of them all.

If you can grab the manga I highly recommend it cause its a great series and it has a tendency of acknowledging most shonnen tropes then either subverting or turning it up to 11. Once you understand what youre in for and you like it youre in for an incredible ride.
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Heishi



Joined: 06 Mar 2016
Posts: 1311
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 2:12 pm Reply with quote
I dunno about you guys, but Medaka is really attractive for a blue haired female character.
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thekingsdinner



Joined: 25 Sep 2010
Posts: 1066
Location: Geertruidenberg, Netherlands
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:23 pm Reply with quote
I always forget Medaka Box exists. Watched about 4 episodes back when it aired, but I remember absolutely nothing about it.

Soul Hunter looks right up my alley though. Will look into that one.
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 4:31 pm Reply with quote
Funimation wrote:
Ruko must battle a new group of Selectors as she searches for the truth behind WIXOSS and Tama's disappearance.

Not really: she battles spoiler[Akira again, one new Selector and has a high-stakes WIXOSS battle with someone who isn't a Selector].
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GVentola



Joined: 16 May 2007
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 5:13 pm Reply with quote
So, I guess this means no third series after Medaka Box Abnormal? And it left off on a cliffhanger! It'd be nice if someone could tell me what happens in the manga (supposing the manga and anime mirror one another). Maybe I can get some closure!
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Via_01



Joined: 24 Aug 2014
Posts: 551
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 6:20 pm Reply with quote
The manga itself left a big impression on me because, as someone else said, it's pretty much a very different take on the WSJ formula. Several shonen staples become interesting plot points, such as "the main character HAS to win in the end", "any heavily-designed character MUST be of some importance", "powers NEED to grow bigger and more complicated", etc.

As an example (for those who don't mind minor spoilers), spoiler[one character gets an ability called Devil's Luck, which basically disconnects him from the narrative conventions of the shonen genre: he won't miraculously survive a fatal wound, he won't be there to save the day at the right time, but at the very least, he'll have a chance at beating the main character, because there's no longer anything dictating that the main character must win.]

The show itself looked fairly bland to me, though the action direction was pretty nice. It's clear that they stopped caring by season 2, as both the animation and the pacing took a big blow to the gut.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 7:13 pm Reply with quote
Yeah I'd be incredibly surprised if the shift to battle format was planned, having read the manga it very clearly came off as a last ditch effort to avoid cancelation.

It wasn't particularly good either, it's pretty vanilla as far as shonen goes. Ended up dropping it pretty quickly at that point.
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killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2451
PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 7:18 pm Reply with quote
Medaka Box is my favorite manga and possibly one of my least liked adaptations. It lacked... well, everything. I didn't find the animation nice at all - the art style is very sharp and simplifying it takes a real toll on it. Plus, I quite remember the "two people kicking air directly in front of the other for 2 minutes while a monologue happens" scene. The one and only scene I can think of where the anime elevated the base material was with the "...so I'll kill you" monologue. The music was so bland I don't remember anything about it, including OPs and EDs, most of the characters voices just felt wrong somehow (I always imagine Medaka having a really strong voice, ala Kill la Kill's Satsuki), the pacing taken was kind of bad (stretching the mostly-fluff beginning and sort of rushing the Abnormal plot), but then again considering how long the Minus arc takes they couldn't do much. The last episode is good, if only because Kumagawa's always one hell of an entertaining bastard to watch/read, but it's not like it makes sense for an anime-only watcher and neither like you need to watch the rest of the anime to enjoy it if you've read the manga.
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