Forum - View topicShelf Life - The Idolmeister
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Keichitsu0305
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Oh, I didn't know that you reviewed it!! Silly me; even more reason to buy Utena! I'm glad you respect APH! Even if you didn't, I understand that the show isn't for everyone. At first, I thought the show was kinda stupid. But, after watching it on the Funimation YouTube channel (will buy DVDs), I'm a total fan girl for it!! ^__^ |
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Weazul-chan
 Posts: 625 Location: Michigan |
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PlatinumHawke
Posts: 204 |
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I think I found the cel gallery of the guy that submitted to Shelf Life. Very envious of all those Marimite production pieces.
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Umino
 Posts: 43 |
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These shelves look familiar... >_o... Like they've been featured on here before.
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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You people have insane memories. I'm 80% sure I haven't posted these shelves before, but I could be wrong......... |
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rti9
 Posts: 1241 |
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@erinfinnegan: I'd just like to point out that your review is fine. I just felt the need to post on this thread because Michi considered that everyone who had no interest in the games would probably not like the TV series. A few people here already pointed out that is not the case. Another person who probably didn't play the games, Zac, didn't hate it. There will be lots of people who will agree with you 100% and will probably hate it with a passion, I don't think there will be a "good episode" that can make you like this show. Like most things, it's just not for everyone.
A Japanese idol is usually a young multitask entertainer who can usually sing, dance, act, and model. One does not simply walk into an entertainment industry (unless you already possess great connections). You usually have to go through a lot of small jobs until you get a chance to audition to something big. Just like in most arts-related careers, the vast majority will never get these opportunities. When you wrote "I felt ripped off at this turn of events. I mean, when it comes to idol singers, they don't play instruments and they're not original, so the colorful matching costumes are a huge part of the act" it seems like you expected them to be a pop band. Idols in this case are more like girl groups such as… Spice Girls? Of the girls from Production 765, only one seems to want to seriously pursue a musical-only career. If I recall correctly, she worked as sound engineer in the third episode. The basic Japanese idol knowledge I got comes from a Japanese friends who love idols like SMAP and Mika Nakashima. There are a lot of ANN staff members whom you can consult that know a lot more about idols than I do. I know Carlo Santos is a big AKB48 fan. Michi and dormcat probably should know a lot too. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14756 |
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Dance and model, probably. But sing and act, the abilities tend to be marginal. 
Not if you're like Morning Musume or AKB48, who audition girls as young as 8 years old. They simply select girls based on the looks and attitude, then they teach them the rest.
Incidentally, here's the gist of difference between j-pop idols and k-pop idols: J-pop idols: 
K-pop idols: 
Notice the difference in emphasis?
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Anymouse
 Posts: 685 |
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And as I have mentioned before Marxy has had some good articles on pop singers from a more critical perspective. You must remember that Idols are not self employed, and only make money once they have reinforced their brand name.
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potatochobit
 Posts: 1373 Location: TEXAS |
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lol I think I've met that guy I've seen his shelves before
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 598 |
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I know what idols are by definition, I've read a lot about them, and I even listened to that ANNCast episode you're talking about. I guess what I'm asking is why do idols appeal to you, personally? I'm probably just stuck in a mindset about music formed when I was 14, which is, according to this episode of soundcheck, pretty normal. When I was 14, Kurt Cobain killed himself, and so Nirvana was formative to my music tastes. I expect bands to (mostly) write their own songs and play their own instruments, or at least be proficient singers (notable exception: punk bands, who need not be proficient). None of that stuff is the point of idols at all, and I know that. But then, what is the point? I understand being a fan of something, so I can somewhat understand obsessed idol fans... but I don't get the cultural phenomenon of idols. Talento make slightly more sense to me. I read a lot of Skip Beat in ShojoBeat. |
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Macron One
 Posts: 151 Location: Netherlands |
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Looks like my shelves actually got featured. Very cool!
While i was hopeful that my pictures might make it into shelf life, i did not anticipate it happening so quickly (less than 4 days after i submitted the pictures).
The main reason i double-dipped on Utena was indeed because of the remaster and extra features. It being a Nozomi release made it a special priority, as i'm very fond of the company's habit of picking up good series that get overlooked by other R1 distributors and putting a lot of work into creating a quality product. The Sailor Moon box sets cost me a pretty penny, as i purchased them after they had already been out of print for years. My insistance on buying everything in new-condition (shrinkwrapped) didn't help matters. Season 1 cost me $260, R was $300, S cost me $280 and SuperS was $145. I obtained the movies for a very reasonable $20 each. Fortunately for me, i had no such problem with the CCS box sets, which i purchased immediately upon their initial release.
You're quite correct. Those three cels are my favourites from my collection of Cardcaptor Sakura pieces. They're also the most expensive ones. The cel of Sakura and Tomoyo in their school sports outfits is the single most expensive item in my collection. It's from the episode 22 Kero Corner segment and cost me about $1200 . The other cels were $650 and $600 respectively. The cel of Sakura in battle costume is especially interesting, as it's the only cel from the whole TV series in which she appears in that particular costume. The cel is from a scene in ep. 49 in which Tomoyo imagines new costumes she wants to make for Sakura, each of which appears only briefly as a single pan cel.
That's my cel gallery allright! As far as Marimite is concerned, my focus has mainly been on acquiring as many layout sketches from the Season 4 Naisho specials as possible (i currently have just over half of them). I haven't had much luck with sketches from the main series itself, though. I've been outbid on most of the better pieces i've seen auctioned, including the pre-Opening intro sketch (I'm still kicking myself for not bidding more on that one). Sadly, i've never seen a single sketch for sale from the first three seasons. It's highly likely that the animation studio had those destroyed 
If you're interested in acquiring original Marimite sketches yourself, a good place to look would be the Yahoo Japan auction site. Marimite season 4 layouts show up pretty frequently. There's currently an auction for a set of four sketches on there that's ending in about 4 days. Last edited by Macron One on Thu Aug 25, 2011 4:41 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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rti9
Posts: 1241 |
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I guess none. As I said, the things I know come from people who are idol fans. I understand what you are saying about musicians. Maybe I'm already used to how industrialized music has become. Sound engineers can probably make anybody sound at least decent through computers nowadays. Looking at the credits of anime, it is incredibly common to see theme song performers who aren't composers of the songs featured on openings and endings. Perhaps a crude analogy would be that the girls are part of a big machine. Even as bad as it sounds, the girls need to work incredibly hard to be where they are and end up depriving themselves from a lot things. Imagine the composers never achieving anything without the help of this machine. A good song that never became a hit. Maybe because he/she was too shy when performing. Maybe because his/her voice wasn't good enough. Maybe because he/she wasn't pretty enough. At the end of the day, it is still a machine providing lots of jobs in an incredibly harsh and demanding environment. Very few bands like Pearl Jam and Radiohead can defy the current system. By re-reading my posts and Bamboo's, I get a feeling that one of the reasons for me to be sympathetic towards the characters is that they aren't so far out from a normal person. They aren't "the genius" or "the poet". Just ordinary pretty girls. It is very likely that I'm part of a minority, but the appeal in Idolm@ster to me is to watch some hard-working girls trying arduously to achieve a big dream. It's like Gunbuster to me: a couple ambitious girls diligently fighting against merciless odds. I remember watching a documentary called A Decade Under the Influence. There is this scene in which someone is talking about Rocky in the movie theaters during the 70's and how some people would shout "Go Rocky! Go!" from their seats. I feel a bit like that when watching this series. |
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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Aren't singers like Britney Spears or boy groups like Backstreet Boys basically the same? People become fans of them because they're cool or cute, and they might have some catchy songs, but they don't really care who wrote these songs, nor whether these people are actually good singers. |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I love snark, so I can imagine that the niconico comments are the only thing that makes Uta-Pri worth watching. Haruka's Basilisk/Mountain Dew coated freaky eyes were enough to turn me off. I hate that color! Plus, it's over-the-top enough to be a comedy, but they expect me to watch it as a drama?! What were the creators thinking??? (Out of curiosity, what is the reason Haruka's idol crush and the student she met look identical?)
I get plenty of snark material out of the way Blue Exorcist uses religion. "We're being attacked by an evil demon! Let's recite Christian scripture, summon Shinto gods, and use a Buddhist staff against it--all at once! This is all sanctioned by the Catholic Church!" Sure! 
Otherwise, I love the show. It's a fairly unoriginal premise and setting, sure, but the characters are closer to being 3 dimensional than other shonen stereotypes tend to be. (Hey, I like shonen stereotypes!) The protagonist seems easygoing, balanced and interesting. In fact, I'm finding it hard to believe the backstory that he was an isolated delinquent his whole life, considering his ability to see the best in his peers, make friends easily, and refusal to give into his rival's bait. The shy girl (Shiemi) gets noticeably stronger and more assertive every episode, the rival/smart one (Bon) can be quite reasonable, and he obviously works hard to stay on top. (Memorizing scripture is hard! Although, I'd be more impressed if he actually recited it in Latin. Native language translation is lame). And the mean girl (Izumi) already got schooled but is not sacrificing all of her personality traits in order to change. In other words, the characters are a breath of fresh air. I'm significantly less impressed by fanservice chick, and Yukio, who I suspect is being set up for a Sasuke-like heel face turn, which would be awful. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the show! (And hoping my library gets the manga in sometime soon!) |
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Anymouse
Posts: 685 |
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Is this good? I would say no, and I remember actually trying to get into Morning Musume when I was younger. I realized it just wasn't my taste. |
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