Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Just Because!
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Zin5ki
Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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I have no reason to disagree here, though while it may be the case that someone's school memories vary between the unpleasant and the mundane—to the extent that they are glad for such a time to be over—this needn't impede the enjoyment of anime that practically consecrate the same period. Such an enjoyment might be vicarious to the extent that it embraces a possible school life that isn't tainted by exams, bullies, cliques and an overarching sense of alienation, yet at the same time this enjoyment might entwine with an appreciation of spending time edifyingly and forging intrinsically worthwhile relationships; things we often gain only once our school years are past us. A case of relating to an adolescent through that which one learns after adolescence ends, if you will. So while I admit that this sort of enjoyment is a pseudo-fantastical, escapist pleasure, it can nonetheless accord with the sentiments we eventually gain in our own lives despite the inaccuracies of its source In other words, people like me who were emotionally stunted due to the requirements of school curricula can use these shows to revisit our own youths, albeit once we've had enough time to catch up. |
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Alan45
Village Elder
Posts: 9812 Location: Virginia |
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@Zin5ki
Agreed, I actually enjoyed a number of anime and manga stories set in high school. However it was not because it invoked any aspect of my own past. It was the same kind of enjoyment I got out of Konosuba or Black Lagoon. I wouldn't want to be there except in imagination. I really doubt I would do any better socially if I found myself re-experiencing high school. The main difference is that I would understand what my mother meant when she said "this too shall pass". High school doesn't last long enough to sweat the details, but you can't convince kids of that. |
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Galap
Moderator
Posts: 2354 |
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Can you explain the twitter tantrum? I don't know aobut this. Also, I liked the multiple animation directors. I like when there are multiple artists' takes on the same thing at once; consistency never really interests me and is frankly a bit boring IMO. As for ruminations on high school, I don't really see why people think the characters' high school experience is particularly idealized; It all seems pretty mundane to me (which is something that I really like). My own experience was a mixture of positives and negatives (like so many things), and it seems like for the most part theirs is too. I distinctly remember being really aware that everything was going to change after I graduated and that there's no way to predict what you'll be doing in the future. I know this because I remember writing a story at around the time I graduated with this as the main theme. It was kind of interesting that I felt compelled to write that kind of 'coming of age' (in a sense) story right after my own 'coming of age. |
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vonPeterhof
Posts: 729 |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Posts: 23669 |
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I didn't think the second episode was a visual mess at all.
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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Neither did I, this definitely isn't a gurren lagann episode 5. |
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GoldCrusader
Posts: 1021 |
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I also disagree that episide 2 eas a visual mess. I like the many details the characters' movements have. The show is looking really great so far. Episode 3 was fantastic. The comedic moments were on points, every character interaction were full of meaning on how they felt. That's the type of show that speaks through visuals. It's great. We need more ambitious project like this.
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Galap
Moderator
Posts: 2354 |
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Thanks for the link. Regardless of whether it's intentional or not, I like the results; it's really interesting to see somehting that's simultaneously low-key and nuanced and rough. One of my favorite series, Noein had no series AD, so the episodes varied significantly, and that was part of the appeal to me. I recognize that ADs in certain productions do more serious correction and enforce consistency more than others, and I tend to like the results of the looser ones. And I am always interested in the uniqueness of different key animators. |
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myskaros
Posts: 598 Location: J-Novel Club |
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I think you're looking for the name "Hazuki," not "Hatsuki," which seems like a confused mix between "Hazuki" and "Natsumi" >_>
I also have a personal problem with the prodigious use of first names in reviews of very Japanese shows since we only tend to hear last names in the actual show, so I always have to spend a minute reaffirming who's being talked about. I don't know a good solution to this, though |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Posts: 23669 |
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Ah, young, tender hearts... I was glad that Haruto's confession wasn't dragged out any longer than it was. Actually, by usual anime romance standards, a confession from a main cast member at episode 4 would qualify as "break neck speed." Haruto, understandably, didn't want to hang around for an explanation, thus blowing his chance to say something clever, like, "Why??? Are you, like, a LESBO or something???" Anyway, not a good start to the New Year for Baseball Boy.
I groaned inwardly when we saw the birth of Mio's crush on Haruto: the tried and true "dude loaned chick his eraser, thus creating a love slave for all eternity." Gotta say that anime girls are pretty uncomplicated. Save them from a barking dog or loan them an eraser (which was the inciting incident for a crush in last season's Love and Lies) and you're gold. I have to correct a few points in Nick's review:
Mio's feelings for Haruto were hinted at long before this scene. I'd have to go back and check, but I think this was telegraphed as early as episode 2. Nor was she "putting out emotional feelers to see if she's still interested" - my interpretation is her feelings for him have never wavered. I also question Nick's assertion that Eita was in a sense "rejected" by Mio. Rather, my interpretation is that the upshot of their exchange is that Mio may, for the first time, be clueing into the fact that Eita might have feelings for her. |
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myskaros
Posts: 598 Location: J-Novel Club |
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Eita learning that Mio won't confess in order to hold on to her feelings of love could be construed as a sort of an indirect rejection, or like a realization that he won't have a chance so long as she believes she has a chance. I also want to correct the idea that "she fell in love because he gave her an eraser." In my eyes, it's not that "that's the moment she fell in love with him," it's just "that was the trigger to make her interested in him." As is commonly described in fiction, love usually doesn't just spontaneously occur, it's an afterthought that describes the feelings you've accumulated over time. It would be hard to answer "when did you fall in love?", but it's much easier to answer "when did you first become interested?" as well as "when did you realize you were in love?" Since the latter is usually a personal realization that may or may not be tied to a specific event, it's just easier to show the former since, again, there's usually a specific trigger. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Posts: 23669 |
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@ myskaros - re:eraser - I don't disagree with your point, but the fact is that that is the scene we were shown to illustrate how the ball got rolling and it's a pretty hackneyed one. This is a pretty good show and I was surprised to see them fall back on a pretty stale and uninteresting device.
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myskaros
Posts: 598 Location: J-Novel Club |
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I dunno, I can't really think of anything else that wouldn't be equally as overused.
Like, I understand your point, but these are normal high school kids going to a normal high school. High school dramas are incredibly overdone, so pretty much every possible, plausible trigger is going to have been done. I think the show is well executed too, but I also freely admit that nothing about any of the characters or settings or events is particularly unique; it seems weird that you would complain about the eraser and not about any of the other countless tropes. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Posts: 23669 |
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Actually, I don't think this show relies as much on tropes as other romance shows, so I actually don't have much to complain about in that respect. And even when they do tread on the familiar - i.e. an outing to an aquarium - they generally put their own spin on it (in this case Haruto interacting with Hazuki's younger brothers). Probably the eraser thing stuck out for me because I had just seen it last season on the first eppie of Love and Lies (which I dropped shortly after ... nothing to do with the eraser, though).
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AholePony
Posts: 330 Location: Arizona |
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Yeah I had to reread that a few times because I figured I had the character names mixed up. Wasn't her crush the entire point of the "I'll kill you" thing from episode 1? Eita saw her mooning over Haruto in middle school and put 2 and 2 together and when he cornered her on it she said she'd kill him if he told anyone. Or did my brain make all that up? |
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