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Answerman - Not That Kind of Resolution


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notrogersmith



Joined: 06 Jun 2010
Posts: 192
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:49 am Reply with quote
I treat rewatching older stuff as an experiment to see if it holds up, and I keep my expectations modest. Sometimes, I'm pleasantly surprised, as when rewatching Macross (which I watched for the first time as a part of Robotech). Other times, I get a chuckle, like when I watched the first few episodes of Go-Lion and found some blatant continuity goofs. Even if something doesn't hold up, it can be interesting to see what I noticed now that I didn't see as a grade school kid.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4070
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 12:15 pm Reply with quote
Tenchi wrote:

I know all that, I just happen to enjoy Haruhi Suzumiya a lot more than I enjoy Cowboy Bebop these days so I probably would re-buy it assuming it would look any better on Blu-Ray even if it's really just an upscale.


A better reason would be to replace those crazy Bandai sets. My Haruhi version is the cheap cardboard box set of individual singles. I imagine the Anime Legends version is the single DVDs in some space saving package that makes it hard to take out the disks or a double large case that holds the disks in too tight so that damage is likely?

They really wanted people just to buy the singles.

Quote:

For example, I wholly agree with her Gatchaman Crowds review; it's a fun show with some nicely progressive touches, but it is also damnably naive in its "mo' info = mo' betta'" philosophy, especially when we've seen what kind of cruel craziness "mo' info" leads to in real life.


According to Crowds, it's not mo' info, it's mo' communication that we need. Hajime even points out that the Gatachaman themselves have a communication problem since they can't even understand what they leader is trying to tell them through the art of origami, two of them are uncommunicative, two are blind followers and one's a lying alien. The only one everyone listens to is Hajime. Not that they always understand her but they try.

That review was ... problematic. It's a great series with a lot of depth and substance but you have to think about it. Even in early reviews, it was "Why was that first alien dropped from the main story after Hajime talked to it instead of fighting in it?" Woosh, right over their head...

One of my favorite malapropisms: You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.

My taste in anime hasn't changed in the past 25 years and the shows I liked then, I still like now. I just don't watch them that much since there's just so much that's accumulated over time that I also like. I'm more Tenchi than Cowboy Bebop and always will be. Harems, girls, comedy, girls, fantasy, girls, science fiction, girls, action girls {yes, no comma} and girls. Probably in that order.

Take Love Hina for example; The show's a pretty miserable adaptation with lots of filler, dumb ideas for filler and repeating ideas for filler {Probably could have just stopped at "filler"}. I bought it and still rewatch for the first couple of episodes, especially the Japan travelogue episode. Remember, only in Japan is Godzilla attacking a sea coast town followed by "in other news".
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Bean Bluester



Joined: 16 Nov 2014
Posts: 15
Location: The Rockies
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 12:42 pm Reply with quote
Sometimes your sensibilities change, as does your perception of what is enjoyable. A few years ago, and all through my childhood I was quite into Animal Crossing, and now, while I find the game cute and well-made, it's hard for me to find a reason to play it. To me there are more stimulating games out there like Fire Emblem Awakening. On the other hand, I've been a Zelda freak nearly as long as I've known AC, and the games still hold up or are even better. So some things withstand the test of time, others not so much.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6864
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:09 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I'm reading lots in this thread about the upcoming Haruhi and Lucky Star licenses by FUNimation.
Of course, if it's anything like some of their other license rescues like Pretear, it could be 2017 or later before we actually see those releases in stores.

Animegomaniac wrote:
Take Love Hina for example; The show's a pretty miserable adaptation with lots of filler, dumb ideas for filler and repeating ideas for filler {Probably could have just stopped at "filler"}. I bought it and still rewatch for the first couple of episodes, especially the Japan travelogue episode. Remember, only in Japan is Godzilla attacking a sea coast town followed by "in other news".
Though imo, some of the filler works better than the original material. They took one throwaway manga line about "that doll you found in the basement" and turned it into one of the most emotional episodes of the series. And the introduction of a rival male character helped break up some of the Keitarou harem worship.

Of course, I may be biased, as Love Hina was one of my very "early fandom" series. Even so, I've gone back to it multiple times despite having read the manga, with the 4th time being in 2013 via the 240p-384p TV fansubs, and it's still held up. Sure, it's got its share of digipaint issues as the first such show, and it's not a page-by-page adaptation of 100% of the manga (like most adaptations aren't). But on repeat viewings, I get more out of it not as a harem romcom or manga adaptation, but as a stealth multi-genre parody along the lines of Excel Saga or Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. It runs the gamut, including targets such as monster movies, teen movies, idol shows (quite presciently), Magical Girl anime, RPGs, Saiyuki, detective shows, samurai flicks, and more.

I wouldn't pretend that Love Hina is flawless or masterpiece caliber, but generally speaking, I'd still rather be able to go back to old favorites and enjoy enough middle-of-the road offerings than to refine my tastes so heavily that the old favorites become intolerable and only a small sliver of every season is watchable.
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Usagi-kun



Joined: 03 Jul 2013
Posts: 877
Location: Nashville, TN
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 2:37 pm Reply with quote
My New Year Resolutions for 2015:

1.) Write at least one word a day.
2.) Limit my exposure online.
3.) Continue to tell the truth in the hope that it will make a difference in my life and the lives of others around me.

Perhaps a little more personal than last year...

Anyway, I just wanted to comment on the last question, because it has to do with something I have been doing quite a bit recently. If I find myself home alone with nothing to do, I am intensely going through my collection re-watching shows I considered pure gold way back when. It has been an enlightening experience, for while my glasses may be considered colored for my tastes, I have learned it is truly the experiences that I treasure enough to continue to hold on. The past and the viewing habits I had in the past have made me into the fan I am today, and even if the harshest memories come flooding back, I am affirmed with the reassurance that I have overcome them. I am happy when I watch these shows for that reason, despite their imperfections, and love them even more. I do not personally care about having an educated, well-versed, or perfect collection of shows that define me as a refined fan. I want my collection to reflect my experiences and my evolution as a winding journey rather than a polished result of my fandom. That is intensely personal, as it would be for anyone else, and not necessarily politically correct but suitable at this point. In the past year I have tried to be more open-mined in my media consumption and those experiences are a precious part of me too. Maybe in a year my mind will change about these notions, but I'll just have to wait and see for that.

But I do agree, bad shows can really make you appreciate the good ones and all the facets and whatnot. Not to make light, except in dark places. Very Happy
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rinmackie



Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Posts: 1040
Location: in a van! down by the river!
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 5:13 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Have you ever gone back and watched the cartoons you used to love when you were a REALLY little kid?


It's funny because I bought the complete series boxset to CBS series Dungeons and Dragons a few months back. The opening montage and the end credit score were two of the fondest memories I had of the show, when I was a five-year old.

Watching it now, over thirty years later, Johnny Douglas' score still holds up really well (which should be no surprise) and I still get a kick out of the opening. As for the show itself, it's still just as goofy as any Saturday morning cartoon from that era. I got a kick out of seeing familiar names in the credits, like, Paul Dini and enjoyed the heck out of Peter Cullen's Venger.

Like you say, it's a "new perspective" for something we devoured as kids. I find myself really looking at the background art and having greater appreciation for some of the key art.[/quote]

OMG! I have that box set too! D&D was my favorite cartoon back in the 80's but my mom hated that I watched it because back then, people, especially religious folk like her, associated it with Satanism. I felt so guilty about it that I stopped watching and discovered I only missed the last few episodes.

So of course, I watched up to the last episode. But there were two episodes I can't bring myself to watch. The one about the bear creatures and the one where Eric became the dungeon master. (He was my least favorite character, though I understand and like him a little more than I did back then.) As for how it held up, it's not as good as when I was a kid but I can still appreciate it.

As for anime, I find it hard to find stuff, especially more modern shows, that appeals to me because I'm an adult. But I'm still a fan and I stay on the lookout for something I might like!

Edit: This is response to bob_loblaw. Sorry I lopped off part of the quote.
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nobahn
Subscriber



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 5:32 pm Reply with quote
rinmackie wrote:
As for anime, I find it hard to find stuff, especially more modern shows, that appeals to me because I'm an adult. But I'm still a fan and I stay on the lookout for something I might like!

Have you read through the 2014 Anime in America column?
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Norbie



Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 126
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 5:48 pm Reply with quote
I used to love watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a child many years ago. Recently I watched it again and it's not the same movie that I watched as a child.

With anime I still enjoy watching the shows that I saw at the beginning of my anime indoctrination, which started with Excel Saga, Lain, and Spirited Away along with others.

There is also the problem with so much anime I have yet to watch that I rarely ever have the chance to go back to shows I've seen before. I remember enjoying Inuyasha and Kenshin but I don't see myself going back to them, with the only temptation to return to them being only if they were rereleased in HD.

I recently watched the original Yamato and I enjoyed It more that I did before.
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CrownKlown



Joined: 05 May 2011
Posts: 1762
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:25 pm Reply with quote
Barbobot wrote:
CrownKlown wrote:
I honestly have never got the Love Hina criticism. Was it ever my favorite, no that will always be Tenchi, but its a classic harem, one guy a bunch of girls, no silly dragons or magic, or other nonsense (yes I know the little blonde girl was some kind of magical princess or something like that, but it was never really focused on), just a simple played straight harem in a "semi-realistic" setting. Its not a perfect show, but I still find it enjoyable. I think this is just one show that is has become "cool" to dislike just like its "cool" to think Cowboy Bebop is God's gift to the world.


It likely has to do with Love Hina being potentially the first harem comedy that a lot of people ever saw. That means all the tropes that have been wrung dry through constant use in numerous other harem shows were first introduced there and seemed fresh to some people. Then when they go back to it after a long time after being over-exposed to those exact same tropes and cliches you realize how Love Hina really isn't anything special.


Yeah that is what I meant. People now expect "extras", without them people look at shows love hina and think meh. Or like you said, things that were originally done in Ranma/Tenchi/Love Hina people know see all these other shows that have watered something down to the point of making them cliche and think what do those shows have to offer.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 11:32 pm Reply with quote
It's not even necessarily about cliches, but just how irritating Love Hina is and that anyone would bother with Naru. Other similar anime have aged just fine, but Love Hina spoiled long ago.
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CrownKlown



Joined: 05 May 2011
Posts: 1762
PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:30 am Reply with quote
walw6pK4Alo wrote:
It's not even necessarily about cliches, but just how irritating Love Hina is and that anyone would bother with Naru. Other similar anime have aged just fine, but Love Hina spoiled long ago.


Naru is the definition of tsundere, she is the character that basically codified what is commonly called a tsundere. Sure you had characters like Akane who I guess could be considered a mild example, but that typical acts like always quick to hit the main character for things out of his control basically came from her.

The fact that you don't like a character "type" has nothing to do with aging or not. That character is in basically every show, even non harems.
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4462
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:51 am Reply with quote
Madoka Ayukawa in Kimagure Orange Road was already an archetypical tsundere a couple of years prior to Akane Tendou, both manga and anime-wise.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5886
PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 12:08 pm Reply with quote
I can go back and rewatch almost anything I watched regularly kid or teenager anything except

Tom & Jerry Kids
The 90's Spider-Man series
Shirt Tales
Galtar & The Golden Lance
The original funimation dub of DragonBall Z (ugh)
Flintstone Kids
Any Hanna-Barbera Christmas related special that airs on CN or Boomerang
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