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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:53 pm Reply with quote
Thank you for the show! The proverbial dropping of the other shoe will either give Flip Flappers the sense of purpose that its artistry cannot fully provide, or else betray much of what it has achieved so far.

On the subject of older Godzilla works, the profound oddity of Godzilla vs. Megalon is worthy of a mention. The awkward climactic dropkicks are quite a sight.

My adoration of Makoto Shinkai's films perhaps arises from their relative lack of plot points, given how I resonate with their emotional content when it is allowed to stand alone. The sales figures would suggest that Your Name offered storytelling of a more concrete variety to the resultant adulation of a broad audience, but hopefully not to the chagrin of existing followers. My breath remains bated.
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:51 pm Reply with quote
Flip Flappers for me has not a bad episode with episode three haveing an actual story arc and tension while Yuri on Ice kind of lost me with episode three as an exercise in animation I enjoy watching it but the character interactions just don't connect with me. Girlish Number is great the latest episode is the kind of biting cynicism I want to see more of.

I really wanted to see Miss Hokusai and Shin Godzilla but neither is playing anywhere near I live or am able to travel to see it oh well I can hope for the DVD release. As far as Shinkai's Your Name goes I'll withhold judgment until I've seen it but Shinkai has gone down in my estimation as a director as often times it feels like he makes the same movie over and over. Although I feel The Garden of Words was his best work.

Izetta: The Last Witch is popcorn fodder for me it's enjoyable but I don;t thinks it is entirely too deep or has too much to say at this point although I do like Finé but that's more because Hayami, Saori is voicing her than anything else.

With March Comes In Like a Lion the tonal shifts are kind of a hallmark of Chica Umino's writing style with broad comedy layerd with in melocnholy nad adrk elements I loved when I was 25 but haveing re-read Honey and Clover it's not something I really feel all that attached to now.


Last edited by Parsifal24 on Fri Oct 21, 2016 5:13 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DmonHiro





PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 2:44 pm Reply with quote
Flip Flapp... episode 3.... WHAT.THE.ACTUAL.HELL! They should rename it to "Mind-fudge, the episode". This was EoE levels... And I loved every single second of it. HEY! Dragon Ball Super! Look at those battles! Take notes, you jackass! That's how you do it!
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 3:52 pm Reply with quote
Zin5ki wrote:
On the subject of older Godzilla works, the profound oddity of Godzilla vs. Megalon is worthy of a mention. The awkward climactic dropkicks are quite a sight.

I saw the monster fight sequence of that movie as a conscious attempt at slapstick comedy, and I think it's pretty funny. Godzilla as actual monster was a ship long since sailed.

What I think is weird about that film is how in the "human" portions of the film (and Godzilla films were shot in separate "human" and "monster" units) there are less than ten people in the entire film. It starts with one of the characters driving down a totally empty highway. It's eerie and surreal.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5400
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 4:49 pm Reply with quote
I agree that Yuri!!! on Ice has been great, but to me it is not the obvious best stuff because March Comes in Like a Lion is also airing this season. I still don't understand Jacob's problem with it switching emotional tones; Your Lie in April also switched tones quite a bit at the start, and Jacob seems to be a fan of that show.

I also want Yuri on Ice to be a well written gay drama. Unfortunately Japanese have to also love that show to get more anime like that made. Because unless CR-Funi sells 300,000 disc copies of it, I don't believe that just the passion of R1 will be enough to make a significant shift in Japan's anime industry.

EDIT: I had zero interest in Neon Genesis Godzilla, but now I want to watch it. Wink


Last edited by Angel M Cazares on Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Izanagi009



Joined: 20 Oct 2014
Posts: 464
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:04 pm Reply with quote
On the subject of Shin Godzilla, I made some comment here

I like the movie a lot. Does it have too many human scenes, yes; at times I do want to get back to the monster but the human scenes are compelling and the way they made Godzilla was interesting from a biology perspective. He's no longer this giant lizard.

spoiler[He seems to be a highly complex organism from a genome perspective with the ability to use nuclear waste heat to catalyze essential biological functions. In addition, it seems to also have highly advanced cells that can become whole organisms rapidly as seen at the end with the tail budding off human sized monsters. Combined with the ability to use radiation in such an impressive way and my Biomedical engineering side is tingling ]

From the effects perspective, which i think is more relative than a biology perspective, he is very well done with what looks like a base human or puppet model being given CG textures that look fantastic. The scene where spoiler[Godzilla has his lower jaw split sideways for the atomic breath] was impressive. The major attack on Tokyo was impressive whether it was model work or CG for the fire.

On a political side, I find the commentary an interesting one for an American viewer as, I hate to say it, but I think America has a case of "the victor makes the history books" and we ignore a lot of the Japanese issues. This movie helps put the politics into a more accessible form; it's hard to understand to some extent but the issues of Japanese society are made more clear than in a textbook.

Ultimately, I would recommend the film if only from a political and effects standpoint. You aren't going to get much story or characters but this movie does kind of hearken back to the original Godzilla in terms of themes
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Jayhosh



Joined: 24 May 2013
Posts: 972
Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:04 pm Reply with quote
I absolutely loved Shin Godzilla. Being as big of an Anno and Goji that I am, I was definitely excited going into it, but I still had some reservations. But in the end the film blew them all away and I came out of the theater really impressed. Yes, there's a lot of dialogue scenes (which happened to be one of those aforementioned reservations), but much to my surprise, I didn't really mind them at all for the most part, and they were actually quite engaging. And coming from someone who knows very little about Japanese bureaucracy, that's quite an impressive feat. It was also surprisingly funny, which always helps.

And going off of that point, the cultural commentary and allegorical sub-text of the film was truly harrowing at times. I could never truly relate to all the pain and suffering that the Japanese must have went though during 3/11, but the film's masterful tone did a brilliant job of conveying those feelings to me. This is the closest a Godzilla film has gotten to being a pure natural disaster film. I particularly loved the initial scene where spoiler[Godzilla's first amphibian form goes onto land and absolutely obliterates everything in his path, all while Shiro Sagisu's godly score soundtracks the background.] And the part where the main character (or the closest we get to one) says that spoiler[Japan must co-exist with the frozen Godzilla, as their self inflicted burden to shoulder,] that ending and its thematic implications was far more impactful than any other Godzilla film I've seen, even the original 1954 film didn't have the same impact. The insanely unsettling depiction of Goji himself I loved, and only added to the sense of dread.

As you might be able to tell from my rambling, I really liked pretty much everything about this movie, and I'll definitely be picking it up immediately when the bluray is released. The only real issue I had is a nit-pick, but it probably could have used a few minutes less of board rooms, and a few minutes more of Godzilla himself. But overall I think the filmmakers managed to balance out Godzilla's scenes much more effectively than the Legendary one. Yes, the serious solo films are not strictly focused on Godzilla, but damn Gareth Edwards, don't constantly cock-tease us by building up and cutting away every single time. Shin Godzilla had a conservative amount of monster scenes as well, but at least when we saw Godzilla, we really saw Godzilla. Wow, I should really stop talking about this.

Oh yeah, and Flip Flappers? Loving that show so far. It keeps its cards close to its chest and doesn't spoon feed its story or world to the audience, which is something I always immensely appreciate, especially regarding anime. I don't really understand the reasoning behind so many people labeling it as a "mind-fudge" (a la EoE) though. I mean, I don't think not telling everything to the viewer off the bat necessarily equates to being a mind-fudge. Everything that's happened so far makes perfect sense, it's been easy for me to follow. I'm just putting my trust in the show to give us answers to the more vague aspects eventually. I have faith in it.


Last edited by Jayhosh on Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:53 am; edited 1 time in total
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 10:07 pm Reply with quote
Oh don't worry, I remember Sky Whiz. I think Funi actually used it in its promotions for FunimationNow, which I thought was weird. Apparently the person who put that together was a fan of the show, which naturally leads to the question "That show has fans?!".

I also remember Upotte! I don't remember it being good. All that I remember is the girls being guns and them being aroused by the one male character pulling their triggers. As to other military otaku appealing shows, I'd probably add Heavy Object to the list. Maybe Legend of the Galactic Heroes though that may lean more towards those interested in geopolitics and international relations.

As to fall stuff, while I wouldn't say it is far and away the best show, Yuri is probably my AOTS. I guess Jake and Zac aren't really interested in Sound Euphonium or Haikyuu, which are up there for me (and others if the ratings are any indication). And then there's Lion. Really, some of the criticisms have fit into something I've seen a lot so far this season, from both fans and critics, which boils down to "It has two tones. Pick one". No I'm fine with a show have more than one tone. Can some of the transitions between them be better? Sure. Are some more cacophonous than others? Yes. But some of the criticisms just seem to say that having multiple tones is bad per se rather than being bad in execution in some cases. Monotonous is not a complement and conversely having more than one tone can be a good thing. Criticize the show for not transitioning well between them or doing so inappropriately, not just for having two tones. Also I am also enjoying Flip Flappers, a show that I was not initially going to pick up but after the positive response to it, I checked out and I do not regret that. We'll see where it goes from here.

As to the movies, I should have seen Shin Godzilla and will probably do so when it comes out. One of my friends from high school is a huge Godzilla fan and he loved it. And the worst part missing out on the theater run was that it played in the movie theater in town. I mean even for Kizumonogatari, I'm going to have to go to one of the larger cities in the county, but for this I wouldn't have had to go even 2 miles from my apartment to have seen it. As to Miss Hokusai, after this I'll probably skip it.

And the Keijo!!!!!!!! butt jokes get me every time, both this week and last week. Laughing More please.

Also, will someone please license The Great Passage. Get on that.
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SejinPK



Joined: 22 Dec 2013
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 2:17 am Reply with quote
Wait...so The Great Passage isn't licensed? Sad I thought Amazon had it. Did they drop it? Or did they do such a poor job of advertising it that nobody knows where to go on their site to actually watch it? If they dropped it, I really hope someone else picks it up, because that was one of the shows I was most looking forward to this season.

I saw Miss Hokusai in the theater last night. I was really excited about it because it's the first anime movie in a looong time that's aired in a theater I could actually get to. I've been interested in the Kizumonogatari movies, which haven't been airing anywhere near me, and I'm still really bummed that none of the theaters near me (or even in my entire state) showed Belladonna of Sadness back during the summer. So I'm glad I jumped on the opportunity to see Miss Hokusai in the theater.

I liked it quite a bit, but I can definitely see how people can have the kinds of complaints that Zac and Jacob did. Even though I liked it, I did feel like there were points where I wanted to connect with O-Ei more, emotionally, but I just wasn't able to. It felt very slice-of-life to me, and I think I'm able to like it more from that angle than if I were to look at it as something that I felt should have more of a dramatic arc, or a stronger or more pointed emotional hook.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15271
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 3:15 am Reply with quote
Parsifal: Well, keep up with the official Miss Hokusai site a little longer. You never know if the film might expand further, depending on how it does this weekend.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 7:24 am Reply with quote
i found the rest of the special effects in Shin Godzilla even more compelling than the monster itself. The destruction of Tokyo seemed remarkably realistic. And, yes, it is more a political satire than a monster movie. Jurisdictional disputes within the bureaucracy and the military arise frequently while Godzilla rampages through Tokyo. The scenes during the Cabinet meeting showed a room full of men with only one woman. She turns out to be the Minister of Defense just like the current occupant of the post. However Inada was appointed by Abe only in August, so she could not have been the model for the movie's character. Abe did appoint another woman Minister of Defense for a brief period during his earlier term as PM back in 2007.

Anno himself appears in an early cameo as one of three scientists brought in to consult. Last I looked at IMDb his appearance is uncredited.
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Assassin Eclipse



Joined: 06 Sep 2015
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 10:53 am Reply with quote
zrnzle500 wrote:
Oh don't worry, I remember Sky Whiz.


Good to know that I'm not the only person who remembers it
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 12:10 pm Reply with quote
SejinPK wrote:
Wait...so The Great Passage isn't licensed? Sad I thought Amazon had it. Did they drop it? Or did they do such a poor job of advertising it that nobody knows where to go on their site to actually watch it?

Amazon Prime UK obtained a licence for this. I understand that they are a separate entity to their US equivalent, which may explain this particular disparity.
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John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1006
PostPosted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:21 pm Reply with quote
Izanagi009 wrote:
On a political side, I find the commentary an interesting one for an American viewer as, I hate to say it, but I think America has a case of "the victor makes the history books" and we ignore a lot of the Japanese issues. This movie helps put the politics into a more accessible form; it's hard to understand to some extent but the issues of Japanese society are made more clear than in a textbook.


This is true, but it's also important to keep in mind that the politics expressed in the movie are a minority view (but one with strong support in the Abe government). The recent collective self-defense laws changes and the constitutional changes are by far the least popular thing about the Abe government, and have been opposed by a majority in polls ranging from those for the liberal Asahi Shimbun to conservative Yomiuri Shimbun (which is pro revision). The government does win for other reasons.

What complicates it a bit is that anti-US alliance views have always been split between those who take a more Left view (which was especially prominent during the Cold War) and the Right populism, so you generally have been able to find a greater number of people who, e.g., feel that Japan is too much of a puppet to the US in foreign policy than would actually support going farther in self-defense than the Abe government proposed revisions.

In other words, while there are many politicians and people who want to Make Japan Great Again, be aware of the debate but don't think that it's a uniform view. Indeed, a greater percentage of Americans think that Japan should play a more active military role in the region than Japanese do.
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invalidname
Contributor



Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 2434
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
PostPosted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 7:13 am Reply with quote
Jake said aloud in the podcast (around 35:25) rather than actually wrote:
So you said you found it a little infuriating? I after seeing so many, like, so many Hollywood movies that are now being produced more homogeneously than they have ever been in history, [expletive] ever. Including the… I am including the 50's… movies are now, studio Hollywood films are now more homogenous and voiceless than they have ever been, to me personally.

Bless you for this. OMG, Hollywood movies now are so unwilling to say or believe in anything, except the blandest platitudes (every CG kids movie that's all "believe in the power of your dreams!") or maybe a inclination towards environmental awareness (if not genuine activism), but that's pretty much it.

Honestly, I think this is one reason I prefer anime. Maybe it's because -- even setting aside famous creators with strong and readily-identifiable voices, like Anno -- so much of the source material comes from individual authors (LNs, manga) or small teams (VNs), that you can get some distinctive outlooks and attitudes. And there's so much of it, produced so cheaply, that there's room for many voices.

Sure, some of it it stuff each of us won't like (you two are beside yourselves with the vicious Nietzscheism in The Irregular at Magic High School, and we're going to have an assload of controversial ideas to unpack once people read Muv-Luv Alternative in English next year), but I'd much rather see intelligent points-of-view I disagree with in my pop culture, than facile themes anyone would believe.
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