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Shelf Life - Antiques Rogueshow


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Jrittmayer



Joined: 13 Oct 2009
Posts: 304
Location: New Jersey
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:11 pm Reply with quote
Cool shelves this week, I'm surprised that more of the figures didn't fall over. Guess those bases really work! Glad to see that theres not too much damage!
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swienke



Joined: 18 May 2009
Posts: 245
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:30 pm Reply with quote
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who actually really loved the ending to Black Butler instead of endlessly whining about how it doesn't follow the manga. I mean, sure, it's always nice to have a faithful adaptation, but the anime end played with a lot of really interesting themes and was unusually uncompromising in its stance, at least until spoiler[the second season came around and kind of ret-conned it...]

I particularly loved the episode where spoiler[Ciel is talking with his parents in his mind, and they try to convince him to give up on his quest for revenge.] In almost any other show, their viewpoint would be the one that the audience is expected to sympathize with, and that the hero is eventually swayed towards. But not here. spoiler[Ciel's impassioned response, that he cannot give up on revenge because it has become a part of his identity, and that to abandon it would mean the end of him, is presented in a heroic, albeit tragic light that's tons more interesting than the traditional portrayal of revenge and its effects on people.] It's powerful stuff, even if it doesn't really fit within the bounds of traditional morality.
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:36 pm Reply with quote
Jrittmayer wrote:
Cool shelves this week, I'm surprised that more of the figures didn't fall over. Guess those bases really work! Glad to see that theres not too much damage!


Forget the earthquake! Can't believe his wife let him keep all those in a typical 20 tatami Tokyo apartment! Laughing

And there's some old ones in there. Is that Kimagure Orange Road?! Shocked
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:51 pm Reply with quote
Antique Bakery is not a yaoi series despite that the author penned yaoi doujinshi.

Gunslinger Girl is a lolicon series because the author penned lolicon doujinshi.

Thanks for clearing that up! But seriously, not surprised in the least by this week.
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 598
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:57 pm Reply with quote
Oh, Megiddo... always sharing the love.

Megiddo wrote:
Antique Bakery is not a yaoi series despite that the author penned yaoi doujinshi.

Gunslinger Girl is a lolicon series because the author penned lolicon doujinshi.

Thanks for clearing that up! But seriously, not surprised in the least by this week.

It's more like, most people don't consider Antique Bakery to be yaoi. Most people don't consider Gunslinger Girl to be lolicon. It depends on a wide range of subjective definitions and casual uses of those terms that vary from east to west. I've learned a lot from writing Shelf Life.

Geese look a lot like ducks, you know? A lay person can't always tell the difference between waterfowl.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:06 pm Reply with quote
But if I recall correctly, you spent half a review on a later Gunslinger Girl series about how your definition of lolicon was from some awesome source in Japan and how you were right.

I just think it's funny that you're trying to apply the opposite approach to something that you said previously. (Instead of, because author wrote Y in the past, this must also be Y, it is now just because author wrote Y in the past doesn't mean that this is also Y).

It's a complete mindset switch, and I have to wonder if it's just because how one is more male-targeted and the other female-targeted. Can you not agree that there was definitely some sort of switch in your thought process regarding the past author's works in relation to the current product?


Last edited by Megiddo on Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:07 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Kyjin



Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 126
Location: Los Angeles
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:07 pm Reply with quote
Cakes buffets are amazing. While I was in Japan over the last year, I've been to "Sweets Paradise" cake buffet three times, including once for my birthday with a mix of guys and girls! I have seen a group of all guys there once, but usually it is just women or couples on dates. The fun thing with cake buffets is that they have pasta, sandwiches, drinks, and ice cream in addition to cakes, plus special events depending on the year. (Like pictures with a guy in a reindeer suit for Christmas.) You should go when you're in Japan!
http://www.sweets-paradise.jp/
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 598
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:14 pm Reply with quote
I tried hard this week not to judge one way or another whether Antique Bakery is yaoi.

Quote:
One homosexual character ought not make a title “yaoi,” but the anime has far more yaoi overtones than the manga.


Quote:
Yaoi or not, the bulk of the content...


If I loaned Antique Bakery to a male friend, and he said, "Why did you loan me yaoi?" I would not be surprised or scandalized. I could see why he would think it was yaoi. His definition of yaoi might include Antique Bakery.

I thought Gunslinger Girl was for fans of lolicon, and the forums were surprised and scandalized that I would make such an accusation, even though the author has written lolicon doujinshi of his own property.
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Echo_City



Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 1236
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:26 pm Reply with quote
Wow, are those Uchuu no Stellvia figures? I had almost forgotten that they made those. Sadly, they're some of the few figures in that collection I actually recognize. Most of the other ones I recognize are labeled, which doesn't help me out here--not recognizing these figures is making me feel like my fandom is weak. Anyhow, I noticed a Strike Witch, that counts for something, right? Wink
Quote:
The fun thing with cake buffets is that they have pasta, sandwiches, drinks, and ice cream in addition to cakes, plus special events depending on the year.
So it's like the misnamed Cheesecake Factory?

On Guin Saga, why does "high fantasy" always seem to entail the same medieval setting, typical magic powers, and so on. It's like no one wants to do anything besides rewrite The Lord of the Rings. Sometimes I find a "high fantasy" property which has the stereotypes but has other redeeming qualities, like Legend of the Seeker (the show, not the rather prosaic books) where the characters and fight sequences let the show rise above its meager beginning. Not to mention the cool scenery & cinematography.

Guin Saga certainly didn't have those redeeming qualities. When Guin punches a guy into a tree with so much force that there is enough friction to set the tree on fire I about laughed myself to death. Before that, Guin punches a guy into the ground, leaving his head exposed, as if he were Donkey Kong in Super Smash Brothers. The dude so punched into the ground was also perfectly fine; his skull wasn't split by the force of the impact, say.

Unrealistic combat leads down the path so many fantasies take--not playing by any rules save their own, which are never firmly defined, and employing deus ex machina as the sole plot device. Guin looked like it was going down that well-worn path.

Was the dub really that bad? I haven't heard it, but I don't want to stumble upon a Sentai Filmworks failure without being truly forewarned. It's been a long time since I've heard a truly bad dub. I agree with Shelf Life on the "ham factor" of the Golgo 13 dub, but I ask--can any show (besides Halo:Legends) featuring David "Golgo 13" Wald truly have a bad dub? Also, I find it weird that Matranga could be the downfall of a dub. I'm powering through Canaan now (which IMO was horrible in sub) and he's been pretty good so far. Though come to think, I've only heard him in a few shows. But he does get more respect IMO now that I have seen that he followed through and actually did the public cross-dressing stunt that was foretold Wink

Someday I'll see Black Butler...someday
Quote:
I thought Gunslinger Girl was for fans of lolicon
Edit: I thought so too. I thought The Professional (Leon) was a great movie, and I was told GSG was basically the same thing, just more fleshed out. I can see where they're coming from, but the emphasis on the emotional vulnerabilities of the girls & other moe elements blocked me. I tried, really, I did, but I just couldn't get into it. The only difference in fandom between my GSG-loving friends and I is that they're into lolicon & I'm really not.


Last edited by Echo_City on Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:27 pm Reply with quote
Exactly, your role switched from "this is lolicon" to "this isn't necessarily yaoi". If you can't tell the difference between those two stances, then that's fine. I won't take this any further.

I think your mini-review of Antique Bakery was quite improved compared to Gunslinger Girl. You actually went over plot-points, gave a brief introduction to the main characters, and overall did the series justice.

I hope to see more of those kinds of write-ups, even if the show is targeted at some niche and not the mainstream, as they are definitely more helpful to the readers in my opinion.
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wandering-dreamer



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 1733
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:43 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Guin Saga is one for you ladies who carry around very large books of the epic fantasy variety.


You rang? Been meaning to check out Guin Saga anyway, guess I should see those episodes that Anime Network put up recently....
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Sanosuke_Inara



Joined: 23 Nov 2009
Posts: 1662
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:46 pm Reply with quote
Just started watching Guin Saga when Anime Network put it up on their On Demand TV channel last Thursday, and I thought it was a great first episode. I honestly don't think the dub is nearly as bad as this review does, even though I've only seen the 1st ep.
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Taiyz



Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 202
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:49 pm Reply with quote
I'm not gonna get into this yaoi/not-yaoi fight about Antique Bakery, but I will attest to something.

I don't watch yaoi anime, but I came across Antique Bakery with a vague description of what it was about; the description said nothing about any yaoi content. I previously enjoyed Bartender so I thought "why not?"

The yaoi elements honestly didn't surprise me too much because of the blatantly pretty-boy characters and they didn't really effect my opinion positively or negatively. They were just there, and served as some character development.

So my perspective on the series is just, don't bother telling anybody that it's yaoi or not (and especially don't do the overzealous anime fan thing where you overwhelm them by talking about the whole debate.)
Just tell them that it's a good slice-of-life-y kind of show about some smooth dudes who run a bakery. At the end of the day, that's what it is.
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doctordoom85



Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 2091
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:42 pm Reply with quote
Wait a minute, does Erin really think Guin Saga is more aimed at women, or was she just trying to get it to fit the "theme" of this week? I haven't seen it yet, but it seems to be more of a seinen series.

Though as a guy, I loved Black Butler right from the start. I admit, the staff was kind of lame, but Sebastian is such a badass it didn't really bother me. The story only gets better as it goes on, though I've heard Season 2 falls apart, so I may just stick to Season 1 (still need to order Part 2) and the manga.

IIRC, Zac and Justin enjoyed Gunslinger Girl, at least Season 1. Is anyone REALLY going to try to argue that those two are lolicon fans? Confused I love Gunslinger Girl for the record (only S1 though, have not seen S2), but if anyone said that automatically made me a lolicon fan, I'd try not to slap them (this isn't aimed at Erin but more the discussion at hand).
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neocloud9



Joined: 06 Oct 2008
Posts: 1178
Location: Atlanta, GA
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:45 pm Reply with quote
Glad you liked the second half of Black Butler! Man, I loved that in-character audio commentary, though... Hilarious! Laughing
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