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ANNCast - Critical Mass II: The Seasoning


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dragon695



Joined: 28 Nov 2008
Posts: 1377
Location: Clemson, SC
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 9:48 pm Reply with quote
I'm surprised that someone who appreciates prose, like Rebecca, has no problems with SAO's writing, specifically the romantic development between the leads. I wish she could clarify what she means by she's tired of hearing the complaints about Asuna, really.
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:19 pm Reply with quote
As a mecha fan there really hasn't been anything good for a couple of years with SRW:OG: The Inspectors being a fairly entertaining mess as the lone standout. (Though that may also be because the hyped up mecha shows haven't been available for streaming like Gundam Unicorn and Shin Mazinger).

Never bothered checking out Sword Arts Online for the exact same reason that Zac mentioned were it just looks like ./Hacksign with moe parts added in.

As for it having crossover appeal, the usual guy who plays Call of Duty, Battlefield, Mass Effect and Gears of War are not going to watch a show with a moe aesthetic to it(I mean guys who are not already anime fans). Thats why Japanese games have not been able to be anywhere as successful as they were in the previous generations. Half the video game websites will have a "Japanese games are dead" article on the front page at anytime. You cant get gamers to like the way Final Fantasy looks let alone SAO.

To get a crossover appeal the main character would need to be a muscular bald dude who shoots a lot of people.

./Hacksign was released during the anime boon, aired on Toonami, while Japan was still relatively looked favorably in the Video game community and it wasn't a huge hit (if I remember right)
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Cecilthedarkknight_234



Joined: 02 Apr 2011
Posts: 3820
Location: Louisville, KY
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:27 pm Reply with quote
Charred Knight wrote:
As a mecha fan there really hasn't been anything good for a couple of years with SRW:OG: The Inspectors being a fairly entertaining mess as the lone standout. (Though that may also be because the hyped up mecha shows haven't been available for streaming like Gundam Unicorn and Shin Mazinger).

Never bothered checking out Sword Arts Online for the exact same reason that Zac mentioned were it just looks like ./Hacksign with moe parts added in.

As for it having crossover appeal, the usual guy who plays Call of Duty, Battlefield, Mass Effect and Gears of War are not going to watch a show with a moe aesthetic to it(I mean guys who are not already anime fans). Thats why Japanese games have not been able to be anywhere as successful as they were in the previous generations. Half the video game websites will have a "Japanese games are dead" article on the front page at anytime. You can't get gamers to like the way Final Fantasy looks let alone SAO.

To get a crossover appeal the main character would need to be a muscular bald dude who shoots a lot of people.

./Hacksign was released during the anime boon, aired on Toonami, while Japan was still relatively looked favorably in the Video game community and it wasn't a huge hit (if I remember right)


well .hack part one did make the greatest hits list like disgea. The latter problem was the fact the game was split into four different full games and I don't even want to start on how hard it is to get part four.

As an anime that could appeal to mainstream audience that likes anime.. why not gosick from last year?? It has the same vibe as full metal alchemist, with the same dark/twist turns and light humor spread in. The only other series would be stein's;gate but that's up to funimtion's handle on the dub and pop culture localization for a western audience.
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Melanchthon



Joined: 02 Oct 2010
Posts: 550
Location: Northwest from Here
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:34 pm Reply with quote
I have some theories on the current 'incest fetish'. First, it is a phase of the cyclical nature of fanservice, at this point in time it is supreme but in two years time it will be hopefully mostly forgotten.

Secondly, when building an ero comedy, on the biggest questions is how will we get the male and female living together. Living together is key to the shounen romance scene, because close proximity gives a) more chances for ecchi humor, a.k.a the whole falling into the crotch gag, and b) gives at least the illusion of couplehood. If you watch enough of these shows (as sadly I have), one of the first major plot points is always some excuse to have the pair live together. With incest, you don't need contrived reasons like "I've turned you into a supernatural servant" or " I've decided to work as your live-in maid because I'm poor/on the lam/a combat robot with a guilt complex". They live together because they are family. This lack of a creativity lowers the (already low) bar for entry into the subject, makes it easier and simpler to write, allowing for more hack writers to give it a shot, which leads to more bad incest manga and anime. Now, the reason why incest shows have supplanted the maid shows and the like is in part the taboo of it. Call a man a monster enough times and he will believe it. Otaku have been smeared as deviant freaks enough times begin to believe they are deviants, and try to seek out things to prove their own deviancy. I've seen this happen on the internet too many times. If you think that otaku are deviants, and you consider yourself a otaku, then you should like incest shows. And if you don't, well then, you're no True Otaku. That sort of thing. The other reason incest shows have become more popular of late is due to the large number of one child families in Japan. If you're a only child, you might think having a hot girl living with you is great. If you grew up with siblings, you're probably not going to feel that way. At least, that has been my informal survey around the internet.

Incest shows also have the element of dependency that otaku crave. It is similar to lolicon shows. These ero-comedies need to show a girl that depends on the male, to fulfill the gender stereotype of the male provider and to prevent the couple from breaking up. Incest is a cheap way to create this dependency. On a side note, that Pet Girl show takes this idea to the logical extreme. It is essentially a lolicon show, but without the loli.

---
And I do play a little RPG now and then, but yeah, I don't see any of the mainstream western RPG gamers I know watching SAO. It's not the story they would want out of it.
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:43 pm Reply with quote
Charred Knight wrote:

Never bothered checking out Sword Arts Online for the exact same reason that Zac mentioned were it just looks like ./Hacksign with moe parts added in.


Zac didn't seriously say that, did he? Tell me he did not say that SAO added moe to .hack's formula.
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Keichitsu0305





PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:47 pm Reply with quote
I agree that Say "I love you" is just fulfilling the "quiet girl being saved by popular guy" story in most Shoujo. I didn't mind it in other shows which took the concept more idealistically, like Kimi ni Tokode, but I sort of hope this series will have a more negative view on this type of romance. Still think it looks gorgeous though~

From the New World, to me, seems to be going at an awfully fast pace. It's probably so that the audience can get used to (or rather try to piece together) the world and the structure of the school & village life. But, I think it's taking a negative toll on the characters. Three episodes in, I can figure out (a little) why the adults wants the children's powers to be heavily monitored but I can barely remember any of the main characters. They are so flat & uninteresting to me that, once the episode end, I totally forgot their names. I hope once the main conflict kicks in, the characters will be more fleshed out.

Sorry if this derails the tread but...

I really didn't have a problem with SAO other than "wish fulfillment for MMORPG fans" but after ep. 14 spoiler[when both Kirito & Asuna are killed, not only does he become a "virtual ghost" to defeat the creator, both are favored by the creator and get to live. While all the other players who died for real never got a second chance.] That really irritated me. This is why I can understand people who think both he's such a Gary Stu.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18181
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:08 pm Reply with quote
Fencedude5609 wrote:
Charred Knight wrote:

Never bothered checking out Sword Arts Online for the exact same reason that Zac mentioned were it just looks like ./Hacksign with moe parts added in.


Zac didn't seriously say that, did he? Tell me he did not say that SAO added moe to .hack's formula.

Zac did not say that; CharredKnight is doing some very creative interpretation here.

And for those who are shying away from the series because of a supposed heavy moe element: don't. Of the 15 episodes aired so far, only 4 (5 if you consider Lisbeth heavily moe, which I don't) have significant moe elements. It's only a small component of the show rather than a main one.

EDIT: Corrected who I was referring to.


Last edited by Key on Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:16 am; edited 1 time in total
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SHODAN93



Joined: 03 Jun 2012
Posts: 37
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:13 pm Reply with quote
So... When can we expect the best of the 2000's episode? Was getting my hopes up that it was this week. Maybe next week?
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Saffire



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1255
Location: Iowa, USA
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:15 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Zac did not say that; Fencedude5609 is doing some very creative interpretation here.
You mean Charred Knight here, right? And yeah, there's discussion of the moe elements in relation to SAO, but .hack never gets mentioned.

Theron talking about the SAO chatter makes me smile, because man some people just can't leave well enough alone.

I need to catch up on the season, too much entertainment at my disposal to keep up with it all.
Shodan93 wrote:
So... When can we expect the best of the 2000's episode? Was getting my hopes up that it was this week. Maybe next week?
I think it's supposed to be late November?
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SHODAN93



Joined: 03 Jun 2012
Posts: 37
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:17 pm Reply with quote
Shodan93 wrote:
So... When can we expect the best of the 2000's episode? Was getting my hopes up that it was this week. Maybe next week?
I think it's supposed to be late November?[/quote]

Darn, I could had sworn they said it was going to be October.
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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:22 pm Reply with quote
Fencedude5609 wrote:
Charred Knight wrote:

Never bothered checking out Sword Arts Online for the exact same reason that Zac mentioned were it just looks like ./Hacksign with moe parts added in.


Zac didn't seriously say that, did he? Tell me he did not say that SAO added moe to .hack's formula.


No Zac simply mentioned that he heard a lot of people complaining about the moe elements to it, and he never bothered to look into it.

The thing about the show looking like moe ./hacksign was just how I saw it.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:55 pm Reply with quote
SHODAN93 wrote:
Shodan93 wrote:
So... When can we expect the best of the 2000's episode? Was getting my hopes up that it was this week. Maybe next week?
I think it's supposed to be late November?

Darn, I could had sworn they said it was going to be October.


Forgot to mention this as a programming note: Revenge of the 00s parts 1 & 2 will now be our Holiday Special episodes. So you'll get it over Christmas.

Everyone involved is asking for more time. We knew this was going to be the most intensive episode when it comes to rewatching and revisiting and discovering, and the participants are all happy to have more time. Myself included! Though I do apologize for the delays. These shows are immensely rewarding but also immensely time consuming to produce.
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:16 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Zac did not say that; Fencedude5609 is doing some very creative interpretation here.


No, I was ASKING if he said that because I haven't listened to the podcast, and was going by what Charred Knight said.

Not my fault if people phrase things terribly.

Quote:
And for those who are shying away from the series because of a supposed heavy moe element: don't. Of the 15 episodes aired so far, only 4 (5 if you consider Lisbeth heavily moe, which I don't) have significant moe elements. It's only a small component of the show rather than a main one.


>not finding Lizbeth moe

Anyway, the reason to not watch SAO isn't because of the moe, its because its terribly written.

Episode 14 was one of the absolute worst episodes of anything I've ever watched, AND I JUST FINISHED ALL OF GUNDAM AGE.


Last edited by Fencedude5609 on Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:17 am; edited 1 time in total
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:16 am Reply with quote
Charred Knight wrote:

The thing about the show looking like moe ./hacksign was just how I saw it.


Its ".hack//SIGN", please spell it correctly.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:25 am Reply with quote
Fencedude5609 wrote:
Episode 14 was one of the absolute worst episodes of anything I've ever watched, AND I JUST FINISHED ALL OF GUNDAM AGE.


My goodness, all of Gundam AGE? Why would you do that to yourself? You probably lost a year off your lifespan, maybe two (the finale was particularly awful, so I hear).
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