Thursday, August 16, 2018

How Not to Summon a Demon Lord - Harem as it presented. Sometimes, I'm tired of being right.

The slime was already bad enough, but then THIS? That's called
BURNING the clothes,
not 'feeding' on the clothes you insufferable inbred retards.
Last Seen: Episode 7

Thusly I quote: "The main character isn't presented as being ruled by his hormones, he's actually putting up a level headed resistance, and trying to be civil. You know. Not a farking creep or pervert. Of course, this is a Harem genre anime, so eventually that breaks down".

I do get ever so tired of being right precisely when I do not want to be. Episode 6 with the Mana manipulation whatever scene was already enough proof, but I waited for one more episode because I already knew they were going to do it again. Lo and Behold. At least its more of the show itself breaking down rather than the main character, I'd probably trash this show in a second if he devolved.

Anyway, rather than ranting, let's just summarize, hm? I'm sure it's becoming a tiresome thing to hear me rant about how annoying I find these kinds of things. Far more interesting however, is I now have a succinct presentation of exactly the kind I find hilarious, and the kind that makes me want to gouge chunks out of my own flesh to pass the time and ignore it, right here in episode 7. The scene where Diablo is figuring out how to make potions now that he has to manually do it instead of through a menu is subverted by a lewd joke, and I found that scene absolutely funny. It didn't have me in stitches like the scene with Diablo waking up between the girls, but it was still very funny to me.

Follow that up with the scene in the tent with the brother letting the slime out. I really liked how this scene was progressing up to a single point: When he tipped the jar over. Thusly do I quote my own brain as I saw what was coming out of it: "...really? oh fucking hell, just Kill. Me. Now, it's a god damned slime. Really, we're going there?"

Not only did they go there, but they did it in such a way that it destroyed my immersion in a scene I was enjoying, and then it rubbed salt in the wound by contradicting itself while it was at it! "A slime that feeds on fabric" it says, followed immediately by it BURNING the fabric off her, after its been crawling all over her for a minute and causing no damage. It's not even mistranslated, I understand enough of the Japanese to know that Ta'Be'Ru means "eats". It sure as shit does not mean burns. We all know why the scene is in there, it's to "service some fans". It's in poor taste. 

More or less exactly like the scene last episode in the tent with the slave master teaching Diablo and Shera about mana manipulation. "In poor taste" is about the only thing I can come up with to describe why I don't like some of the scenes, but find others hilarious. Of course, of the ones I've named so far, I suppose the primary thing of note is that the ones I find funny are framed to be funny, where as the ones that I hate or are annoying as nails on a chalkboard, are the ones that are framed to be "service".

[Aside Rant]
So I guess I learned a thing today. It's not that I hate lewd jokes or humor. I got to watch pretty much all of season one of the show "Archer" that previously was airing on Adult Swim, and I was in stitches almost the entire time it was playing, I almost asked my friend I was playing a board game with that he'd need to pause it because I couldn't focus on the game at all while it was playing. I'm sure one episode from anywhere in that first season will be proof enough that yeah, I don't give a shit that people are cracking lewd jokes, it seems I enjoy those just as much as anyone.

No, what I hate, is Fan Service. It's a moronic and outdated industry practice that contradicts itself. Interviews with Monster Girls, also known as "Demi-chan wa Kataritai" I believe, presented what I think is the proper way to service your fans, with the school pool scene, which still has one of my most favorite scenes ever, when the boy falls out of the tree. It was just so perfectly set up and framed, and it made me bust a gut laughing. That entire scene is service to the fans, because it understands what kinds of fans are watching the show, and what they enjoy, the reason why they kept watching to this far in the show. Industry Standard "fan service" on the other hand, assumes everyone watching anime, is an inbred drooling retard ruled by their teenage hormones and unable to maintain focus on anything that doesn't flash them some erotica every five god damned minutes.

I find a show that shoves "Fan Service" in my face insulting, and aggravating as a result, because it's assuming that I'm unable to be sufficiently invested in its story without it. Which is bullshit, because as cookie cutter as this show may well be, I'm enjoying it, and was really enjoying the scene with the Prince interrogating Shera, riiight up until he tipped the pot over. The immersion, and the enjoyment, all evaporated right there, and I was disgruntled for the entire rest of the scene containing the slime.
[Aside end]

In other news, I thought Diablos' shock and previous traumas with friendship were presented really well. I'm not about to drop this show, I do still really enjoy it, but it irks me that I was right in predicting that it would come to aggravate me as well.