Forum - View topicShelf Life - Wag the Dog
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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On Amazon vol.1 is selling for a mere $189.98 (not including shipping). 
I ended up getting the standard edition. I just wish it didn't say standard edition right on the front. They sure know how to rub it in. 
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st_owly
 Posts: 5234 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland |
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Nice shelves! You have both volumes of X-Day. This makes me jealous.
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14758 |
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That may be a killer on Adult Swim. That's a month and a half for the AS audience - they may not wait that long! 
Anyways, old-skool VHS on the week shelf!!! Ya sure that's just 7 years collecting? (Unless that's a 3-yr-old letter....) |
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Charred Knight
 Posts: 3085 |
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I have been watching Durarara and it's an interesting show but a complete pain to get into. The second episode in particular had someone (Celty I believe) narrating what was going on for 10 minutes. A narrator is good to have but it quickly got old, and simply became annoying. |
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Stretch24
Posts: 107 Location: Ohio |
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What bothers me about Durarara is that throughout it I was assuming that the main problem was the missing object that Celty was looking for, and that the series would come to a climax when she found it. But she never does, in fact that plot thread pretty much fizzles out and is forgotten, at least as far as the anime is concerned. I thought Celty was infinitely more interesting than the romantic triangle which wound up getting the lion's share of the attention, and felt kind of ripped-off at the end.
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Shenl742
Posts: 1524 |
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Well, you need to consider 2 things when you watch Durarara: 1-It's based on a novel and a novel that's pretty much an anthology at that. Multilple characters with multiple storylines, occasionally intersecting with people jumping in and out of the spotlight and various instances depending on the focus at the time. I suppose you can argue how well the anime replicates this or whether or not it's a detriment. Then again, a major theme of the series is how seemingly ordinary and unasumming people can have incredible secerts and be amazing in their own way...especially in groups, as episode 12 (13?) shows. 2-It's based on an ongoing novel series at that. So either the author hasn't created an end to certain plot-lines (like Celty's search for her head) or the anime just doesn't cover that part yet, and we'll just have to wait for a second season if it happens. |
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bravetailor
Posts: 817 |
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I like narrators, at least when they don't state the obvious. The problem in DRRR is that this happens a lot. Instead of telling us about something we're not seeing, much of the time it tells us what we already know and ARE seeing. Books are not film!
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 598 |
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Right, I said I'd write about that... It's becoming a common romantic ending in anime (and other Japanese media, like dramas, or even an original Takarazuka play I saw) for the lovers to spoiler[spend a great deal of time apart before getting back together, if they can get back together at all.] Drops of God (the drama) has this ending spoiler["I have to study in France for two years so we can't be together"] and so does that new Battleship Yamato live action movie spoiler["I have to heroically sacrifice myself and leave you to raise our unborn child alone"] and even GaoGaiGar has this ending, which I think is handled as a parody spoiler[the protagonist leaves to explore space and his 12-year-old girlfriend sees him off in a wedding dress]. If you don't care about being spoiled for Allison and Lillia, here's what happens: spoiler[Allison gets pregnant, but doesn't tell Will, who goes to join the secret service. 12 years (or was it 14?) later, they start dating again but the kid doesn't get to learn that Will is her father.] Noah and I questioned a Japanese friend after that Takarazuka play we saw about why the two lovers weren't together at the end. Our Japanese friend explained that "to wait is beautiful." He thought it was more romantic if the lovers couldn't be together in the end, or at least not right away. After that I started to notice the "I'll wait for you" ending across Japanese media. As an American, I'm often unsettled by the "I'll wait for you" ending, especially if there are children involved. I'm uncomfortable with long distance relationships in general and have seen very few of them work out well. I know there's a statistical pattern of U.S. servicemen impregnating their wives before shipping out; "I'm going to leave you to raise our small child alone while I either die or am painfully absent from your life for several years." To me, that sounds rather tragic, and not romantic at all! And yet, in the case of Allison and Lillia, spoiler[that is exactly what happens! Will agrees to change his name leave Allison after a long speech from Allison's estranged father, who did exactly the same thing. Will seems pressured into it artificially, it doesn't seem like something his character would do. And Allison is totally cool with that?! Normally she's so headstrong! Why would she agree to that?] So Allison and Lillia is a decent show with a formulaic "romantic" ending tacked on. I'm interested in seeing part two (or season two, or whatever) so we can get away from that artifice. |
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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Well, Allison was probably adapted as a kind of children's series (it was produced by NHK and later broadcast on NHK educational), so it's possible that the novels are a bit more mature (haven't read them yet). The anime just turned out very childish ... and way too childish to enjoy after having seen and liked Kino's Journey oO; |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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It's interesting you mention this. I have the exact opposite problem with American films. I hate that the couple always gets together at the end of the movie. To me, that is much more cliched and tired. I absolutely loved Hoshi no Koe for its themes of waiting. If you're willing to wait for something like that, to me it's more powerful than the standard American trope of It Always Ends With A Wedding Or Prom. Last week when I watched TO, I was incredibly struck by the ending of Elliptical Orbit. spoiler[The last two minutes reveal that the captain of the Flying Dutchman is the other ship captain's mother. Because she only ages 2 years for every 15, she's still young (30s?), although her son is already well into his 50s.] It's heartbreaking when you think about the lives of both parties. |
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Akukame
Posts: 117 |
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I think there are other problems that you can be bothered by that are unrelated to the themes of waiting in Allison and Lillia. I mean, I overall rather enjoyed the series. I thought it was rather solid and overall well done. To me it felt like a japanese take on Scooby Doo.
It just seems like the suspension of disbelief gets bigger and bigger as the series goes on. This makes the 2nd half of the series feel worse than the 1st half of the series. The characters all remain quite like-able though, and you kind of get to see them as they age. I honestly do wish Shinkai would stray a little away from the trope of waiting. It seems like all he can do. |
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Shenl742
Posts: 1524 |
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I guess the idea of "waiting" and never-ending loyalty is just something that's been ingrained in japanese culture. Hachiko is a good example, even though that's not a romantic love.
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
Posts: 598 |
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I don't think I was clear about this, but I was absolutely obsessed with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in junior high (when they were on TV). The show absolutely doesn't hold up... That aside, it sounds like we agree on this week's titles.
The narration bothered me a lot on my first watch through, but somehow on my second viewing it doesn't bother me anymore.
That seems crazy to me... I think the second episode is dull, but the pace is just fine until the last third of the show. I think someone mentioned Mushishi earlier, and Mushishi is way too slow for me.
I suppose I'm much more cultured to accept the couple getting together, and even to expect that will happen. The "Now we're in a super-sad long distance relationship ending" still blindsides me. I could accept the Allison and Lillia ending if it grew more naturally out of the plot. I was willing to accept the unhappy ending of the Nana anime because a lot of things built up to that ending. It's already an angst-y show to begin with. Allison and Lillia is a lot of fun, so the ending seems incongruous. The rest of the show isn't cliched, why just the ending? I suppose the kind of ending I like the most is one that's satisfying yet unexpected, like the ending of The Graduate. spoiler[I could not have guessed they'd ride away on a bus together, and you don't walk away thinking it'll all turn out OK for the couple, either.] It's kind of a melancholy movie with a melancholy ending.
I don't think there are themes of waiting throughout Allison and Lillia. Just at the very end. Early on we never get to see much of Will's life when he's not hanging out with Allison, for example. Is he waiting to see her again? We never see her missing Will while she's in the air force. Also, I think the series is consistently unbelievable. There are a ton of far-fetched coincidences in the first arc. Like, Tokyo Godfathers levels of lucky coincidence. Since the show is consistent, I was able to accept the unbelievable stuff as a kind of rule of the show's universe. |
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Ashen Phoenix
 Posts: 2908 |
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Yes, I'm waiting on a DRRR!! box set. My heart cries every time I hear something new about it as it reminds me in a chastising tone, "You haven't bought it yet!" but my wallet simply can't survive expelling that type of green at this stage in my financial life, so I have to wait. Not buying it isn't even an option. But still, I have to wait.
As a small side note: I'm with you for everything mentioned about this arc. Celty is an amazing character in a show chock full of amazing lads and ladies, so that's really saying something. I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree with you about Freeman's performance as everyone's favorite badass bartender, though; while I positively love Ono's portrayal I leapt for joy when I first heard his dub counterpart. I would argue the energy and enthusiasm imbued into the role is the same, but that's my opinion. I'll hardly begrudge you yours. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2261 |
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I've seen the whole waiting thing done in manga and usually one person is going off to study overseas leaving the other person behind. I guess you can think of it also as possibly that if their love is passionate and pure enough they will find their way back to one another. I'm ok with this romanticized notion except sometimes it just seems to come out of left field or tacked on at the end. |
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