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Shelf Life - The Polar Express


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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2632
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:13 pm Reply with quote
Penguin is not a jerk! Sad

But other than that I am very glad to see Polar Bear Cafe mentioned on Shelf Worthy and to see it get a stream worthy rating. It has become one of my favorite series of 2012. It just makes me incredibly happy while watching, a good show to sit back and forget your troubles for awhile.
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:20 pm Reply with quote
I like Dirty Pair Flash more than Erin did. I guess I didn't have a problem with it being different from the original in so many ways; that was kind of the point, wasn't it? And while the three OVA production runs get increasingly inane, the first one delivers the only serious story of any merit to bear the name "Dirty Pair". That's not saying much since something called Dirty Pair almost never tries that, but I liked it.

I'm not sure how much I feel sorry for the "Vomiting Point" salaryman, though. He's so pathetic partly because he's not very good at anything and has been coasting on an unearned favor his whole life.

Also, let's all take the time to be annoyed that P&S won't be released on blu-ray in this country because of that country.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:42 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
It's painted on cels, which looks insanely dated in this day and age


I'm not sure what you're trying to convey here. That all analog anime look dated, or just tired efforts like DPF? Was that OVA even remastered like all of the other DP properties? The Dirty Pair OVAs looked fantastic, but I know nothing concerning DPF as far as visual upgrading.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15279
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:46 pm Reply with quote
I remember a "You know you're an otaku" list which included boycotting Dirty Pair Flash and Bubblegum Crash out of "principle". Laughing
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:52 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I loved the curvy old '80s character designs, replaced here with angular '90s designs (now also hideously outdated).


Huh? I mean, this literally makes no sense. What makes the 90's designs (which are very stereotypically 90s) more dated than the 80s designs (which are just as stereotypically 80s)? I can get preferring one over the other, but this criticism just doesn't make sense.
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PCGOD



Joined: 27 May 2012
Posts: 20
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:53 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I'm not sure what you're trying to convey here. That all analog anime look dated, or just tired efforts like DPF?


I was wondering the same thing myself. An anime from '94 that only used cells is hardly unusual, most did until about the 1998-99 season. I see what Erin means about the series looking faded though, I thought the same thing when I saw it back in 2001. My impression was that the 'washed-out' effect was intentional. I actually liked most of the character designs, but in retrospect I do wish that they had kept the original look from the 80s, although that kind of artistic fidelity is unusual in most anime. I mean, even the Ghost in the Shell series couldn't stop from altering Shirow's classic angular style to fit with contemporary taste.
As a side-note, I've always felt that the Dirty Pair is one of the biggest "lost opportunities" in anime. The concept is simply excellent, but it's various manifestations never fulfilled what could have been done with it.
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JohnnySake



Joined: 22 May 2008
Posts: 582
Location: Auburn Hills, MI
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Eventually I found that as long as I could pretend this wasn't Dirty Pair, I could reasonably enjoy the show.


After getting a few minutes into the first episode I felt the same way. This Key & Yuri was nothing like the one of old, and I disassociated the two shows pretty quickly that way. I'm watching some of the last episodes of the third disk even as I type this. I like this show enough I'd rate it a keeper (shelf). What initially caught me is the first arc was just that. Not individual eps like you might have seen in the original series. I also enjoyed the painting on cels look to the show as well. You can tell there really was some effort spent on what you were watching.

Did you notice what they did to Mughi in Dirty Pair Flash? Poor Mughi. Wink

Considering they brought back Slayers for some relatively recent adventures, I wonder if there are any plans to bring the Lovely Angels back.

(And yes, Kei and Yuri are my icon for the moment. Smile )
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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:19 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
After an initial flirtation with booger-based humor, P&S turns into a clever parody of American animation. The two part episodes, the flat-flat-flat 2D designs, the style of humor, and even the story credits on the title cards all strike me as a send-up of/tribute to everything from Kim Possible to Ren and Stimpy.


I don't know. To say P&S is an homage to American animation (or more specifically, adult swim style American animation) seems fair. From what I've seen though, to call it a parody or credit it with any sort of subtlety seems questionable. Just generally mimicking the style and tropes of something doesn't make your work a parody. You have to actually do something with that. Comment on it, deconstruct it, or at least mock it by taking it to ridiculous extremes. If you don't...well all you've really done is make a show in the style of (that type of) American animation. You haven't made a parody but rather an imitation.
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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2632
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:25 pm Reply with quote
I have not watched P&S so maybe I am off base with my comment but maybe homage would be a better term to use than parody or imitation?
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:34 pm Reply with quote
Starcraft 2 fan huh? Razz

Anyways, I haven't seen any of those three series so can't mention much on those. Nice collection though with the Tsubasa Chronicles manga, PMMM posters, K-On! and Clannad stuff.
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Keichitsu0305





PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:44 pm Reply with quote
Maidenoftheredhand wrote:
Penguin is not a jerk! Sad


If anything, he's a lovable dork. Every time Panda ignores Penguin as he tries to explain something in vain, I can't help but laugh at his expense. Smile
Love this show: great voice actors, the characters are fun to watch, and Polar Bear's puns are so unbearable. Anime hyper
I'll probably rent Dirty Pair Flash since I really enjoyed Kei & Yuri as adults in the original series. Maybe I'll enjoy them as teens too.

I really want those Eden of the East & Rebuild of Eva posters. Anime cry
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braves



Joined: 29 Dec 2007
Posts: 2309
Location: Puerto Rico (but living in Texas)
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:47 pm Reply with quote
Maidenoftheredhand wrote:
I have not watched P&S so maybe I am off base with my comment but maybe homage would be a better term to use than parody or imitation?
Yes, it's an homage to American animation; the same way Gurren Lagann is an homage to mecha shows and not a parody. The staff have made it clear that they're fans of American animation (see these gifs done by Yoh Yoshinari; Imaishi also said on his Twitter a while back that he's a fan of Adventure Time).
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Tessou



Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 18
Location: Iowa
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:52 pm Reply with quote
The shelf displays a copy of Oblivion, yet a map of Skyrim is on the wall with nary a copy of Skyrim itself in sight...
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:57 pm Reply with quote
PCGOD wrote:
Quote:
I'm not sure what you're trying to convey here. That all analog anime look dated, or just tired efforts like DPF?


I was wondering the same thing myself. An anime from '94 that only used cells is hardly unusual, most did until about the 1998-99 season. I see what Erin means about the series looking faded though, I thought the same thing when I saw it back in 2001. My impression was that the 'washed-out' effect was intentional. I actually liked most of the character designs, but in retrospect I do wish that they had kept the original look from the 80s, although that kind of artistic fidelity is unusual in most anime. I mean, even the Ghost in the Shell series couldn't stop from altering Shirow's classic angular style to fit with contemporary taste.
As a side-note, I've always felt that the Dirty Pair is one of the biggest "lost opportunities" in anime. The concept is simply excellent, but it's various manifestations never fulfilled what could have been done with it.


That "washed out" look seems to be a thing that happened to anime in the early 90s. Justin can probably go into it better, but it looks like the film stock was lower quality for many projects. I've seen it on Here is Greenwood, Please Save My Earth, Ah! My Goddess, Video Girl Ai and several other projects; the colors just look faded and the overall look is unsharp. Is this due to the film or the masters? What would a BluRay restoration do?
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist


Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 598
PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:10 pm Reply with quote
JohnnySake wrote:
Did you notice what they did to Mughi in Dirty Pair Flash? Poor Mughi. Wink

I love the original Mughi! Arrgg!

walw6pK4Alo wrote:
Quote:
It's painted on cels, which looks insanely dated in this day and age

I'm not sure what you're trying to convey here. That all analog anime look dated, or just tired efforts like DPF? Was that OVA even remastered like all of the other DP properties? The Dirty Pair OVAs looked fantastic, but I know nothing concerning DPF as far as visual upgrading.

All analog anime does look dated. I suspect the OVAs were restored in some way that DPF was not, but I have no evidence of this.

Fencedude5609 wrote:
Quote:
I loved the curvy old '80s character designs, replaced here with angular '90s designs (now also hideously outdated).

Huh? I mean, this literally makes no sense. What makes the 90's designs (which are very stereotypically 90s) more dated than the 80s designs (which are just as stereotypically 80s)? I can get preferring one over the other, but this criticism just doesn't make sense.

Both styles are dated compared to 2010-trends. But the 80s designs look all different and retro in a way that appeals to me... (I suppose I have seen far fewer anime series from the 1980s than I have from the 1990s.) 80's media from Japan, probably because of the economic bubble, strikes me of having a "good old days" quality to it.
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