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This Week in Anime - Bedknobs and Bunny Girl Senpai


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BaronViolet



Joined: 27 May 2018
Posts: 212
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 1:06 pm Reply with quote
If you think all anime boys are bland you obviously have not met Luffy, Killua, Koyomi Aragi or Claire Standfield. And one of the reasons people like the Male lead is because he has more balls than most male leads in romance anime
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Oggers



Joined: 29 Nov 2017
Posts: 360
Location: Ontario, Canada
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 1:48 pm Reply with quote
BaronViolet wrote:
If you think all anime boys are bland you obviously have not met Luffy, Killua, Koyomi Aragi or Claire Standfield. And one of the reasons people like the Male lead is because he has more balls than most male leads in romance anime


They never said all anime boys are bland, and I'm sure they're familiar with at least one or two of the characters you mention. But it's an undeniable fact that the majority of male leads in harem series like this one have almost no personality in order to make it easier for the reader to project themselves onto them. I can't say for certain that Sakuta isn't one of them, though, since I'm not familiar enough with the series.
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WingKing



Joined: 27 Apr 2015
Posts: 617
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 3:11 pm Reply with quote
The original announcements posted here said the movie would be up from 4pm ET on Friday until 4pm ET on Monday, but when I logged in around 1pm yesterday (after signing up so I could watch it), it was already nowhere to be found. I wasn’t very happy about that. That’s the second time I wanted to see it and wasn’t able to.
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Kai Kawasumi



Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 3:16 pm Reply with quote
Oggers wrote:
They never said all anime boys are bland, and I'm sure they're familiar with at least one or two of the characters you mention. But it's an undeniable fact that the majority of male leads in harem series like this one have almost no personality in order to make it easier for the reader to project themselves onto them. I can't say for certain that Sakuta isn't one of them, though, since I'm not familiar enough with the series.


First, idk why people are calling this a harem series, its really not at all. If Bunny Girl is a harem series than so is Golden Time and any other anime where somebody else likes the main character at any point in the series. Secondly, Sakuta isn't bland that is simply untrue. He is a sad boy who has no interest in a lot of the people around him, but he perks right up and is full of gleeful energy, sass, and life when around those he does care about. Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the show but the movie just came off as derivative and a bad attempt at cloning the masterpiece that is The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (yikes). I really wish the story went in another direction because a lot of the elements preceding the movie were excellent and gave us characters rarely seen in the romance genre in anime.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1008
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:07 pm Reply with quote
Kai Kawasumi wrote:
Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the show but the movie just came off as derivative and a bad attempt at cloning the masterpiece that is The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (yikes). I really wish the story went in another direction because a lot of the elements preceding the movie were excellent and gave us characters rarely seen in the romance genre in anime.


aside from some superficial elements and story devices that you can see in plenty of other narratives (Christmas-themed, MC is stuck in an alternate universe), I'm not seeing the Disappearance comparison.

Anyway, I don't entirely see the point in having two people reviewing the sequel film they didn't like to a TV series they also didn't like. It's more enjoyable and interesting to see conflicting opinions and to see the two critics bounce off each other in that way. If they both hate it, that just isn't enjoyable to read (I also think the format in general is strange but that's neither here nor there).



Quote:
she's defensive against every girl in Sakuta's life and doesn't trust him despite them supposedly being in love.


Except??? She explicitly says otherwise? In Tomoe's arc when Sakuta tells her about the "fake boyfriend" deal he made with Tomoe and assures her she doesn't have to worry about his loyalty for her wavering, she agrees with him pretty matter-of-factly. In fact, she implies she's worried about the opposite happening - Tomoe loving him rather than the other way around, which is what happens. She trusts Sakuta pretty clearly and it isn't unfounded.

She's certainly not "defensive" against Futaba, Nodoka, obviously not Kaede, and she gets along with all of them (her and Nodoka's relationship starts off a little complicated when it's time for her arc, but that has nothing to do with Sakuta). The only one she has real reservations about is Shoko, and it's pretty justified in her case, especially when she's proven right.

I realize it's easy not to pay attention when you're watching something you have no interest in, I'm the same way sometimes, but when it's your responsibility to review it, there's less of an excuse.

Anyway I don't feel like rebutting every single point I don't agree with, so my tl;dr of the Bunny Girl Senpai movie is that it's what would happen of Jun Maeda thought up a story concept but didn't feel like doing anything with it so he shoved responsibility of the script onto someone who actually knows what they're doing writing-wise.

Also I don't know how many times people have to say it isn't a harem but I guess some people will believe what they want to believe, even if it takes 5 seconds to realize it isn't true.
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Kai Kawasumi



Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:49 pm Reply with quote
ThatGuyWhoLikesThings wrote:
Kai Kawasumi wrote:
Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the show but the movie just came off as derivative and a bad attempt at cloning the masterpiece that is The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (yikes). I really wish the story went in another direction because a lot of the elements preceding the movie were excellent and gave us characters rarely seen in the romance genre in anime.


aside from some superficial elements and story devices that you can see in plenty of other narratives (Christmas-themed, MC is stuck in an alternate universe), I'm not seeing the Disappearance comparison.

Anyway, I don't entirely see the point in having two people reviewing the sequel film they didn't like to a TV series they also didn't like. It's more enjoyable and interesting to see conflicting opinions and to see the two critics bounce off each other in that way. If they both hate it, that just isn't enjoyable to read (I also think the format in general is strange but that's neither here nor there).


My derivative claim is based on the things you mentioned, but also the entire narrative structure of the movie is too similar for my tastes, and there is an almost identical through line. You might not agree, but the Disappearance movie is my favorite thing ever and I've seen it enough times to feel confident in that claim. I do not agree that the similarities stop at a similar use of plot devices and setting. The books seem to be clearly influenced by Haruhi, but the part of the story covered in the movie took it too far imo.

To your other point, I also was not a fan of having only dissenting views on the series given that it was a popular show that many liked.
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yeehaw



Joined: 09 Sep 2018
Posts: 421
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:18 pm Reply with quote
Kai Kawasumi wrote:
Oggers wrote:
They never said all anime boys are bland, and I'm sure they're familiar with at least one or two of the characters you mention. But it's an undeniable fact that the majority of male leads in harem series like this one have almost no personality in order to make it easier for the reader to project themselves onto them. I can't say for certain that Sakuta isn't one of them, though, since I'm not familiar enough with the series.


First, idk why people are calling this a harem series, its really not at all. If Bunny Girl is a harem series than so is Golden Time and any other anime where somebody else likes the main character at any point in the series. Secondly, Sakuta isn't bland that is simply untrue. He is a sad boy who has no interest in a lot of the people around him, but he perks right up and is full of gleeful energy, sass, and life when around those he does care about. Finally, I thoroughly enjoyed the show but the movie just came off as derivative and a bad attempt at cloning the masterpiece that is The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (yikes). I really wish the story went in another direction because a lot of the elements preceding the movie were excellent and gave us characters rarely seen in the romance genre in anime.


The series is about one guy and several girls, that's a harem show.
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Kai Kawasumi



Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 8:39 pm Reply with quote
yeehaw wrote:
The series is about one guy and several girls, that's a harem show.


That is a ridiculous thing to say. Is every show with fight scenes a shounen now? Is every show with a female protagonist a shoujo now? Is every show with two people in a relationship a romance now? I'm sure you get my point. The show is about one boy and the people he comes across who are also dealing with the syndrome. Go look anywhere you want and you'll notice no site indexes it using a harem tag or label. The only people I've come across who thought it was a harem are people who didn't watch it. Why am I even responding to this >.< I hope you stay safe, 'rona free, and that you find some new anime you enjoy, bye.
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liquidblueocean



Joined: 02 Jan 2011
Posts: 25
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:35 pm Reply with quote
Once again another ANN example where people that found a show that wasn't suited for them, but then do a review on its followup anyway. Why not give the review to someone else instead of wasting everyone's time? They even admit to using their phone while watching it, so not surprising they were even further confused afterwards.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2512
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:53 pm Reply with quote
yeehaw wrote:
Kai Kawasumi wrote:
...First, idk why people are calling this a harem series, its really not at all...
The series is about one guy and several girls, that's a harem show.
Some minutes into this movie, it screamed at me "harem" and I turned it off despite being initially interested having seen most of the series. The reason it registered that way isn't just that it has two or more girls, but that two or more of those it does have are either making moves to become his new girlfriend or jealously trying to keep him away from the other girls because they are his real girlfriend. Not sure what to make of Rio but I keep thinking she would like to be his girlfriend because she maintains a relationship with him despite being "disinterested". This is the core concept and plot drive of about every harem anime in existence and I don't know how you don't see all that (apparently) but it is there. Like in Monogatari....
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rahzel rose
Subscriber



Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Posts: 824
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:20 am Reply with quote
Hiroki not Takuya wrote:
Not sure what to make of Rio but I keep thinking she would like to be his girlfriend because she maintains a relationship with him despite being "disinterested". This is the core concept and plot drive of about every harem anime in existence and I don't know how you don't see all that (apparently) but it is there. Like in Monogatari....

You say you saw most of the TV series, but I'm guessing not Futaba's arc, then? Because her arc clearly shows how she's NOT interested in Sakuta. The reason she "maintains a relationship with him" is because they're actually friends.
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings



Joined: 04 Jul 2013
Posts: 1008
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:44 am Reply with quote
Hiroki not Takuya wrote:
Not sure what to make of Rio but I keep thinking she would like to be his girlfriend because she maintains a relationship with him despite being "disinterested".


She's...his friend? Are we implying that the only reason someone would willingly be around someone else is in hopes that they might have a shot at hooking up with them? That's more than a little bit silly.

Also I forgot to do this before, but I suppose I should elaborate on the in-universe movie ending because it's pretty important. The entire point of that scene was to explain why Shoko is even alive at all in this timeline. The events of Dreaming Girl made Mai want to star in that particular movie, which increased awareness of Shoko's heart condition and spikes organ donation, eventually saving Shoko's life. As far as I'm concerned, it's a pretty perfect and meaningful ending. It's not meaningless self-indulgence. I don't think the explicit explanation was included in the movie but I think the intent was still pretty clear.
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Seagloom



Joined: 04 Nov 2017
Posts: 276
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:52 am Reply with quote
yeehaw wrote:
The series is about one guy and several girls, that's a harem show.


You're forgetting the other component of a harem series: romance. Other than Mai, the only girls to fall for Sakuta are Shōko and Tomoe; and the latter neatly transitions into being his friend at the end of her arc. Actual friend that is--not pretend friend waiting for an opportunity to become his girlfriend while not too subtly competing for his interest.

One the reasons this series is so popular is precisely because it establishes a romantic relationship between the two leads early on. The source material doesn't seem to be breaking this trend as of the current volume either. Out of the six arcs covered by the TV series and this movie, three of them don't even have anything to do with Sakuta as their central conflict.
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Melicans



Joined: 01 Feb 2012
Posts: 620
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:18 am Reply with quote
Personally I really enjoyed the film; but then, I really enjoyed the series as well, so that probably isn't too surprising. It has some flaws of course, but I enjoyed the meat of the story and the emotional side really drew me in.
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CrypticPurpose



Joined: 15 Jan 2020
Posts: 321
PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:24 am Reply with quote
Is there any point in having the sequel movie to a popular series reviewed by two people who clearly disliked the original series and were clearly set to dislike this movie as well?

People who didn't like the show were never going to watch this movie anyway, so there is no real point in posting a review entirely from that perspective; a lot of people really liked the allow however, and likely wanted to know whether or not the movie was a worthy continuation. Those people get nothing but a series of gripes on the main character's personality, which they likely don't share, and nothing over how it compares to the original. Again, people who hated the protagonist are not the target audience of this movie, and those who don't hate him have nothing of worth to glean from this review. Why not just post a review by someone in the actual target audience, i.e., those who enjoyed the series - because that's whom the movie was for, and those are the only people likely to watch it. Those are the other who might want a review. Everyone else is never going to bother with a direct sequel movie anyway, so they don't really matter in as far as the value of a review goes. And now, all we have is "People who hated the series hate the movie". That's like saying "People who hate peanuts hate peanut butter" - we didn't need a review to know that, and it's a waste of an article.
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