Forum - View topicShelf Life - Dantalian Wine
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Spastic Minnow
 Bargain HunterExempt from Grammar Rules  Posts: 4613 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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ah, another person to notice that the Dantalian ED is most likely a Quay Brothers tribute... kudos to Erin. I normally skip the comments but I watched the comments over the credits for a couple episodes to see if anyone noticed, then I added my own comment about it. Someone guessed Svankmeyer but that's one or two generation too far back. One begat the other and eventually dozens of others influenced by the two and each other.
As for Natsume, I also liked that you mentioned that although the show gives off a relaxed tone these yokai are often fearful creatures. There are some really nasty ones in the current season. The current season also further develops an antagonist for the series, not one that appears constantly but at least an ongoing concern. I consider it a great series and this season definitely shows off a tendency to get better as it ages, containing (In my opinion) not only the sweetest episode (the one with the yokai in the the small tree) but also its creepiest (The desiccated Yukata yokai) and a situation that can even injure Nyanko-Sensei. |
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Aylinn
 Posts: 1684 |
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Can you elaborate on it? I'm interested, because I wanted to watch Gosick, but I have heard a lot of negative opinions about it. People claimed that Kazuya is unable to piece together the basic facts, so he makes an impression of a mentally retarded person. And that the riddles in this show are either so banal that it's easy to guess them, even if you don't pay attention or presented in such a way that one would need to be a clairvoyant to solve them. Basically, you are the fist person who I have encounter that claims that Gosick is better then Dantalian. That's why I'm interested in your opinion. 
On topic, I'm enjoying Dantalian. The opening makes me feel nostalgic and the story, while not great, is solid and interesting enough to keep me watching. Huey is a rare example of a sensible and fairly intelligent man. That's not the sort of character that often appears in anime. Natsume Yūjin-Chō is really relaxing. The third season is ending soon and I hope there will the fourth season. The third Matoba arc, I want the third Matoba arc so badly 
Last edited by Aylinn on Mon Sep 12, 2011 4:05 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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gerbilx
Posts: 138 |
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This. This. This. This. Natsume is easily one of the best shows I've ever seen, and I would recommend it to anyone with more than a 7 minute attention span. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of media I have ever experienced. |
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neocloud9
 Posts: 1178 Location: Atlanta, GA |
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Ooh, I will! Pick me, coach!
People calling Kazuya a simpleton are grossly overexaggerating. He's the Watson to Victorique's Holmes, the audience surrogate. If he wasn't around, Victorique wouldn't bother having to explain her deductions. As for the mysteries being simple, they definitely are. But they're really more of a means to an end, as going from case to case, Kazuya and Victorique wind up piecing together a greater political conspiracy (with an alarming connection to Victorique's birth) and I feel like that payoff is definitely worth it. There's also the developing romance between the two leads, which definitely takes center stage during the latter half of the series. One of my favorite anime couples of the past five, maybe even ten, years. So, no, Gosick is not a show I'd recommend based solely on its mysteries. But everything else? Golden. Rather than going for the typical tsundere lead and nice-guy sidekick (which they easily could have done, based on first impressions) both main characters act like real people and have believable emotional baggage - the melodrama of Victorique's family life aside. 
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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I have one very big problem with Natsume Yuujinchou.
spoiler[His grandma is/was a total bitch.] And he never seems to come to terms with that. All the crap (at least in the 4-5 episodes I saw of the first season) that he has to go through is because of her, and he never seems to admit it. He seems to say 'oh she was just misunderstood' or 'that was just how she is'. No, dude. She's a horrible person spoiler[who gathered up all these ayakashi/youkai/whatever and then (after promising that she would call their names later and bring them back) just left them without being able to do anything by being in that book. And then what is most egregious is that the entire reason for Natsume starting his little journey is because he thinks it is "his grandma's will" that he "does what [she] left undone".] That's just BS. No way. No how. The moment he realizes that she isn't a saint and starts badmouthing her is the moment I will go back to watching it. I actually have a friend who will tell me when that happens, so I'm pretty sure it still hasn't occurred as of yet. I understand why people like it. It's a very well directed series (as one would expect from the director of Koi Kaze/Baccano/etc), but that Natsume lives in denial of that one thing (and that being the source of much of his troubles at least early on) really irritates me. Nyanko-sensei is pretty awesome though. |
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Takkun4343
 Posts: 1503 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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Hey, at least it's one of Arvintel's better dubs. |
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Northlander
 Posts: 901 |
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There's just one snag with this explanation; namely spoiler[Reiko died very young -- I.E. probably a whole lot earlier than she expected, thus she never really had any time to DO anything with the names she collected. (And it's even implied that she might just as well have been murdered by someone.) Given some of the people who frequent the yokai hunter's lodge, it might not have been an actual yokai doing it. Honestly, the only mystery to me is how she had the time to sire a child that would go on to be Natsume's parent between making the book and dying through mysterious (and potentially morally questionable) causes.] Was she a saint? Well... no, and I don't really think Natsume ever says she was. He does call her a "good person", which might've been a stretch, but she's a relative, and one whom he inherited her abilities and all the problems that came with them. She's simply a woman who's basically been through the same thing Natsume has, except somewhat worse, since it lasted well into her late teenage years -- maybe her entire life for all we know, save a scattered few exceptions. But if you honestly think she's really bad, then I would like for you to provide me with an example where she does something truly bad, either with the yokai themselves or the names she takes from them. Just one! (And no, dueling them for their names isn't good enough: the yokai could easily just have refused the duel, in which case she would.... probably drop by later and make another challenge. spoiler[Which was what she did with Madara, after all -- and neither is his name in her book, nor did he suffer any... shall we say, ill effects of her supposed bitchiness.]) And you expect him to badmouth her? I think Natsume understands his own grandmother better than you do -- or give him credit for. |
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Megiddo
Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Sure, the very episode that made me drop the series. Episode 5 of the first season. I just rewatched it so that I would have a clear understanding of what happened. The gist is that Natsume finds an old train ticket that Reiko (his grandma) had tucked away in a book. He goes to investigate the old train station for the ticket and finds a youkai there named Santo. Santo explains that Reiko had made a promise that the very next day she would go with Santo to the next station and help resolve a dispute Santo was having with his friend. This is something that would have taken Reiko an hour at most to do and is quite trivial. She (as always) did not keep her promise and left the youkai waiting there for 40 years or whatever. Because the dispute was never resolved, Santo's friend was consumed by earth spirits and started attacking Santo in the forest. After Natsume helps finally resolve the conflict, Nyanko-sensei chides him for thinking that Reiko had 'something important to do' (Natsume's excuse for his grandma not keeping her promise) and even flat out states that 'that's who she was'. That she would 'forget' things. Promises meant nothing to her. The youkai she met one day meant nothing to her the next. That is an awful person. Someone who makes promises with no intentions of ever keeping them is not a 'good person'. Even after Nyanko-sensei flatly tells him the truth of Reiko's true character, Natsume continues to deny it. |
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The Mad Manga Massacre
Posts: 1166 |
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Yet you watched One Piece and Soul Eater.
Have I been misreading things? I was under the impression Natsume assisted the yokai because he sympathized (empathized?) with them.
Again I'm probably misreading but the yokai (in return for his acts of kindness) later became his friends and assisted him when he needed them. Personally, I think the show is nothing short of a masterpiece but I suppose that's my opinion |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14767 |
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Y'mean.......... talk to other people in high school?! 
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ryonomiko
 SubscriberPosts: 94 Location: Canada |
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You have the issue with the view Natsume has of his grandmother so that's why YOU don't like it. And you haven't touched the series since episode 5? You and the reviewer should watch more of the series before carving your opinions in stone. Episode 1 of series 3 (Ep27 on Crunchyroll) especially watch. Natsume learns about Reiko through the youkai he meets, and learns more as he goes. Open minded he remains; he doesn't pass judgement. Even without the book his life wouldn't be quiet because he can see youkai. For Erin (reviewer): Too many episodes?? Compared to BLEACH or One Piece or Naruto? No, Natsume Yuujinchou isn't ACTION packed, but it's packed well enough with plenty of other wonderful substance. And it does have action, just small doses. You didn't hit any of the episodes. Ep 32&33 (Crunchyroll) (series 3 ep6-7) check out for an excellent example. Ep36 story ends with Ep37. |
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Megiddo
Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Exactly. In my earlier post I said "I understand why people like the series" or something to that effect, and I even praised the director. I can see why that wouldn't be a big problem for other people. We all have different pet peeves and such. However, that is the thing that stops me from watching more. The moment Natsume realizes that he is in denial regarding his grandmother's character (which Nyanko-sensei's comments at the end of episode 5 even seem to prove) is the moment that I will continue watching. |
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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Ooooooh, that was an anime original episode actually (and, if you continue watching, the one with the yokai's name tied to a tree in the second season is as well) and I always thought that the episode didn't quite match the rest of the series, Reiko is never shown to be that forgetful anywhere else in the series, plus as pointed out earlier she died pretty young so there's a good chance she was going to use her book more than she did and possibly give back the names in the end anyway, that just never had a chance to happen. |
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batou37
 Posts: 455 |
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@megiddo
If the opinion that you have formed of Reiko is the only thing that has turned you off from Natsume and you do like the atmosphere and everything else, you might want to give it another shot and bear through it, because at least in my mind you will see something totally different from what you have perceived thus far. I know it's a long time to go (although it does start to show through partway through the second season) but especially the third season seems to be steeped with much more background on her and you learn why she did things as she did. I'm not saying she wasn't a bit of a prankster, but I do think you are judging her character much to harshly without knowing the full story. Pretty big general spoiler of my opinion that I have formed of her that is probably more enjoyable to experience by watching the series through... spoiler[You'll find out how she was an outcast as a child, and at first might have seemed to be picking on the youkai, but in fact they were the only friends she had. This is the main reason I feel Takashi does not think ill of her, since he has been in the same situation all his life. In many cases the mean things she did actually endeared her greatly to them because it either taught them something or provided a type of friendship that they otherwise didn't have. As for the Book of Friends I take that largely as a kid making sure someone would stay their friend. ] Anyway before you make a final judgement on her I would recommend at least watching episode 18 "Tree of Promise." It gives you a little more insight into her depth, and bear in mind this is only one such episode that bears this out. |
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 598 |
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Ugh, I didn't have time to research as much as I normally would this week. I suddenly took a trip to another stat... Anyway, the only reason I mentioned Gosick was because my husband kept saying "I think it's connected to Gosick so you have to mention that". Although now he is totally saying that he never said that. I should've gone with my gut instinct and not mentioned Gosick.
Perhaps off topic, a few years ago I started timing tea as a brewed it with a kitchen timer. 5-7 minutes for the perfect cup, according to the box. In those five minutes I would wander off and start doing something else and by the time the alarm went off I'd forgotten that I was making tea. But seriously folks, I watch something like 20 hours of anime a week to write this column. OK, maybe it's not 20, but it's a lot.
That's true... I also suppose some teenagers sound like adults. In the case of Kashimashi, it sounded like older people trying to pitch up their voices to sound like teenagers unsuccessfully. When you can tell someone is faking another voice in a bad impersonation, that's just bad voice acting.
I've worked at a college for the last year with undergrads. Many of them are 18-19, still technically teenagers. And then there was the high school summer program recently... plus I average five anime conventions per year.
Really? What are the bad ones?
I don't think I explained this very well in the column. Funimation sent me DVDs of the titles you mentioned. DVDs have marathon mode, and I can take them on the road and stuff. I can only watch streaming stuff at home without too much hassle. When it comes to streaming shows I'm supposed to review about 6-8 episodes, or roughly the equivalent of one volume of a DVD release, or at least that's the way anime used to be released... now it's about 12 episodes per volume, or a whole 26 episode series.
Isn't empathy nice?
One of the yokai in the fifth or sixth episode spoiler[invites Natsume to a party to kill him and eat him, and I think that was after he helped out that particular yokai...!] but maybe I mis-remember. I mean, some of the yokai are nice and appreciative. |
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