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The Summer 2023 Anime Preview Guide


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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 648
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 6:10 pm Reply with quote
instantradio wrote:
Full disclosure: I like Love Live a lot, and I'm really enjoying Genjitsu no Yohane, but I understand that not everyone will agree with me, and not everyone likes idol or idol-adjacent anime. However, I take some offense to Caitlin's complaints about Aika Kobayashi's performance and Hanamaru's "vocal tic." Thinking a character is cliche or annoying doesn't mean their VA is doing a bad job. Also, Hanamaru doesn't have a "vocal tic," she is speaking in a dialect, a real one, from Shizuoka prefecture. Calling that a vocal tic when it's very easy to learn otherwise is rather racist in my opinion.

This actually caught my attention, because I have a degree in linguistics and Japanese so this is pretty much my field. I wasn't familiar with the Shizuoka dialect (although I do speak Kansai-ben better than I speak standard after living in Himeji for two years), so I decided to look it up. It didn't sound right to me that a character would end every sentence with the same verb form and have it be perfectly natural, regardless of dialect. Per the wikipedia description:

Quote:
The conjectural particles zura (ずら), dara (だら), ra (ら) and tsura (つら) are used across Shizuoka. The particles ra and zura are used in the same manner as darō (だろう) in standard Japanese, expressing conjecture about something in present or future tense. Although both ra and zura can attach to verbs and adjectives, only zura can attach to nouns.[14] In contrast to ra and zura, tsura is used for expressing conjecture about something in the past (equivalent to -ta darō (-ただろう)). In eastern Shizuoka, be may be used in combination with these particles. Predominantly in the west and centre of the prefecture, the particle zu (ず) can be used to indicate something of high certainty (ikazu (行かず (she's) probably going to go). In recent years, the newer expressions dara (だら) and tara (たら or tadara (ただら) have been increasingly used in place of zura and tsura, respectively.[13] Dara is believed to have originated from an attached ra on the copula, da (だ).[14]

So, while it is grammatical, she's basically expressing uncertainty in every sentence! It's like ending every sentence in English with, "...I think." While "vocal tic" may not be the most accurate descriptor, it's certainly exaggerated and I think I am justified in finding in irritating, because god knows I'd be annoyed by it in English too. It's a gimmick, plain and simple. Furthermore, even if it were just the Shizuoka dialect itself that I found annoying, calling someone racist for not liking a dialect that isn't racialized is absurd bad faith on its face. Classist? Arguably, though I repeat, I do not have an issue with the dialect itself. But not racist, unless there is a specific racial minority population in Shizuoka it's associated with.

And yeah, I thought Kobayashi's performance was bad. I speak enough Japanese and have spent enough time with real Japanese people that I can spot bad acting in the language, unlike most English-speaking fans.
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Nate148



Joined: 24 May 2012
Posts: 504
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 6:30 pm Reply with quote
And before someone goes nuts thinking a performance is bad is not saying that the voice actress is a bad person or that your bad for liking it.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2652
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 6:32 pm Reply with quote
tintor2 wrote:
About Mushoku Tensei...I wonder if I'm not the only one kinda shocked by the rape joke....

Not shocked but seemed very out of place and hardly a "joke". I can't think of a good reason to hint at lesbian tendencies for the princess that way, if that was what was going on, only to dismiss it the next moment. However, I wondered if this was part of the "horny" elements the author put in the story?
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Daerian



Joined: 04 Dec 2011
Posts: 233
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 6:38 pm Reply with quote
spacedin wrote:
Wouldn't be a surprise if Ryza piles on the fanservice early to get viewers and will then drop it in favor of a more faithful adaptation of the games for the remainder of the series.

Hopefully.

spacedin wrote:
Neither would have making the yuri subtext that a very vocal minority insists exists in the games text (because this minority is exactly that).

I mean, light yuri subtext clearly exists and people mentioning that aren't anywhere near "very vocal minority". If anything, it's other way around - people who deny this light yuri subtext exists in series are very vocal and very small minority.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2648
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 6:57 pm Reply with quote
vashfanatic wrote:
Just piping in to note that the mange of Ooku didn't use "Elizabethan English," it just used awkwardly constructed English that the translator thought sounded archaic and it's why I could never get into the series. If the anime subs have ditched that terrible choice, I may finally start the series.

Yes, I ought to have said "pseudo-Elizabethan," but I got a little edit-happy when I decided to excise my language rant. Mostly what I like about the manga language is the use of the second person informal (thee/thou), which I think adds nuance that modern second person usage can't always capture.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18420
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 7:33 pm Reply with quote
Hiroki not Takuya wrote:
Not shocked but seemed very out of place and hardly a "joke". I can't think of a good reason to hint at lesbian tendencies for the princess that way, if that was what was going on, only to dismiss it the next moment. However, I wondered if this was part of the "horny" elements the author put in the story?

Oh, there were more sexual references than just the "rape joke;" listen closely to the princess's conversation with her knights at the very beginning. Ariel is no blushing innocent.

Granted, this could just be part of the franchise's emphasis on not forgetting that Humans are Horny (and a whole debate could be waged on whether that's a deliberate point being made or just prurient interest), but including that at the beginning seems conspicuous enough that the princess's more earthy side could come into play later.

And while I agree with Richard that this "episode 0" could have been done as an OVA or a pre-season warm-up, I disagree that it's a problematic way to start the season. It's apparently a direct lead-in to circumstances that will heavily impact the main events, features a character returning to major supporting character status, and resumes the style and tone of the first season. I will agree that the episode saw more animation shortcuts than normal for the franchise, but it's still the best-looking debut (by far!) so far this season.
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2507
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 8:55 pm Reply with quote
I'm surprised there's even a shocked sub-thread here about the 'rape joke' in Mushoku. By the standards of some of the stuff particularly in the early parts of season 1, I felt that scene was barely noticeable.

Separately, thought the Mushoku artwork was fine; no incredible standouts, but not every episode in the original absolutely went wild, and even if it remains at this quality it will be impressive. Ambivalent on the Sylphie episode 0 choice; this is one of those cases where I think a double-length premiere actually would have made sense, to make room for filling in Sylphie's story while also pulling us back into Rudeus's and Eris's stories.
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Shay Guy



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 2285
PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 10:34 pm Reply with quote
all-tsun-and-no-dere wrote:
So, while it is grammatical, she's basically expressing uncertainty in every sentence! It's like ending every sentence in English with, "...I think."

So she's a Shizuoka version of Chiaki Nanami? Razz (For my part, if you talk about a character ending things with -zura, I'll inevitably think of Uzura from Princess Tutu.)
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11577
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 12:20 am Reply with quote
Zura ja nai! Katsura da! (sorry, but someone had to do it. I'll see myself out now...)
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09jcg



Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 535
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 8:49 am Reply with quote
Hiroki not Takuya wrote:
tintor2 wrote:
About Mushoku Tensei...I wonder if I'm not the only one kinda shocked by the rape joke....

Not shocked but seemed very out of place and hardly a "joke". I can't think of a good reason to hint at lesbian tendencies for the princess that way, if that was what was going on, only to dismiss it the next moment. However, I wondered if this was part of the "horny" elements the author put in the story?
Its actually a key part of Ariels character and noble society as a whole. It gets explored more, but it wasnt exactly out of place in this episode. The opening scene is Ariel and Luke discussing their preference in nipples afterall (although hidden behind euphamisms).

Put it bluntly, Ariel is a sex fiend. I would even say that moment with silphy wasnt a joke. It was an invitation, and when she saw Silphy wasnt cool with it she backed down and said it's a joke
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maximilianjenus



Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 2902
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 9:51 am Reply with quote
I read this scene differently.

There are a lot pf bisexuality references in the series, i won't elaborate more unleas asked, but there is that context. With that context, i read thia sceen as Ariel trying tp seduce silphie , then stopping when she was sure silphie was uncomfortable. Thats a parallel to her ua8ng silphie as a bodyguard bit then stopping ot when she made aure it waa way top risky , assassins being sent, silphie can now stand on her two feet as the shock from.the disastee has calmed down.

Overall i liked it, the trailers helped to refine my expectations, while not as.gpod loomong as the best parts of the first season, ota still a nice looking show, i worried more about them rushing the plot because that is how you ruin this, but the pacing is fine.
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myfairx



Joined: 29 Sep 2016
Posts: 87
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 9:53 am Reply with quote
I thought I was the only one complaining Mushoku drop in quality (relative to the original). after Onimai I hoped they'll ramp up even more in quality department, alas.

BTW just finished level 1 demon ep1 and thank god it look OK. They changed the script to be less risque but overall it's A-OK Very Happy . I like the color palette and ED song.
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moozooh



Joined: 30 Sep 2022
Posts: 151
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 10:55 am Reply with quote
Yeah, I approve of the script changes in lv1 Maou as well, and it'd be even better if only they had changed that butt close-up to something less gratuitous. Ultimately this is a good series with a fun plot and a lot of heart and charm to its characters, I hope the reviewers stick with it to the end.
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Saeryen



Joined: 26 Aug 2020
Posts: 977
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 11:32 am Reply with quote
Horimiya: The Missing Pieces is really good so far! I felt pretty bad for Miyamura and Sengoku, poor guys.
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DamianSalazar



Joined: 25 Jul 2017
Posts: 759
PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 12:57 pm Reply with quote
I get the feeling that Ayaka was supposed to be animated by GoHands, but after GoHands got the plagiarism accusation for Tokyo Babylon and subsequently got dropped from that project that it led to an unamicable split between certain companies within production committee and GoHands.
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