tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63497112443032092482024-03-05T12:33:47.892-06:00I Blog AnimeOpinions about new animes...without spoilers :-)The Evil Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12743893952694628171noreply@blogger.comBlogger1647125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-37134244310510567042020-07-14T15:00:00.000-05:002020-07-14T15:00:14.666-05:00[New][July 2020] Shows that I've Started, and am Considering as of JulySkipping right to it:<br /><br /><u>Shows on the List to Start:</u><br /><br /><u><b>The God of High School</b></u>: I've been reading the comic for...a very long time now. So, suffice to say, I'm your most biased opinion. Long story short: Shounen Battle Genre, but with one of the deepest running intrigue plotlines I've ever seen. It's literally insane, they're <i>still</i> as of last week, pulling more threads out from characters past to weave the narrative deeper. Mind you, the plot may go for broke in depth, but the story and characters are charmingly simple, and I am <u>absolutely<i> invested</i></u><b> </b>in seeing some of the fights animated, if for no other reason than the idle dream I might more fully comprehend just what the hell is going on sometimes. Right, so, <br /><br /><u><b>Recommended</b></u> <br />with a heavy spoonful of Biased Opinion salt.<br />
-----<br /><br /><u><b>Re:Zero Season 2</b></u>: Ready to watch a japanese boy suffer and die repeatedly in another world over and over, again and again just to advance the plot one step forward at a time. You should know the story by now, and if you don't, you need to watch the first season, this is probably a direct sequel, I fail to see how shenanigans in time can be achieved.<br />-----<br />
<br /><u><b>Fire Force Season 2</b></u>: This show got <i>the most</i> unexpected amount of hype out of me in its first season, and I'm still not entirely sure why. On paper, it <i>still</i> reads like a basic shounen battle show, but there's just something so reasonable and mature about it regardless. I absolutely adore this show. <br />Also, in case it wasn't apparent yet, unless stated otherwise, assume that if I recommended a first season and have decided to watch a second, the recommendation carries over if the show maintained or achieved it by the end of the previous season.<br />
----<br />
<br />
<u><b>SAO Alicization</b></u>: I really dig stories about AI, so I'm willing to ignore some Kirito plot-god'n for a conclusion to the story we've been given thus far, and were left hanging with.<br />
----<br />
<br />
===================<br /><br />Right...<i>*squints at list*</i> I think that's everything I haven't started yet...I really should find some way to make wordpad use white letters on a black background, discord and everywhere else has spoiled me with dark themes. My night shifter eyes hiss at the bright whites now. Blogger isn't helping either. Anywho, back on point:<br />--<br /><br /><u>Shows I've started:<br /><br /><b>Monster Girl Doctor</b></u>: Honestly, I debated whether I should wait till I could see the second episode to post this one, because I damn near dropped it in the bin right in the opening 2 minutes. There's a <i>lot</i> to be said about the First Impression you give your audience. Yes, it's not everything, but it sure as shit sets the tone for what your viewers can expect. Ultimately this show is the reason I decided to include Reviewers in the previous post, so I could give the proper context. I can't, in all good honesty, watch and adore that show for its comedy, and then just wordlessly drop this show in 2 minutes. No, I gotta <i>harp</i> on this shit like it owes me money. <br /><br />The entire rest of the episode maintains a very professional air about its conduct, minus the token romantic fucking angst, because god forbid we could have romantic interests without <i>teenage-grade fucking angst and jealousy</i>...Where was I?<br />
Oh right. It maintains a reasonably professional air, almost like it's apologizing for its opening act. <i>This is precisely what pisses me off</i>. You know one thing I won't bash the show "Prodigies in Another World" for? It's opening act. Was it glaringly off-putting? Yeah. But it was also <i>painfully</i> honest. It tells you everything you need to know about what to expect from that show, right in episode 1. Know another show that doesn't apologize for what it is? Ishuzoku Reviewers. If you're going to try and sweep it under the rug after you do something, <i>don't bloody well do it to begin with</i>.<br /><br />The way it should have been done, is with a more reasonably level headed introduction to the world. THEN introduce the doctor doing a breast cancer check, <i>after</i> you have established that he's very dedicated to being professional. <i>Nevermind the female staff member in the same building with him that is probably more than qualified to perform said exam</i>. At least establish <i>some</i> kind of reason he had to do it himself. Hell, by the end of the first episode they already have, they're casting him as some kind of Dr. House-grade diagnostic savant. If they had cracked more lewd jokes, or just shuffled the order around a bit, I wouldn't have cared, but this storyboarding just feels incredibly slapdash to me. Maybe I'm just over reacting, but it sticks out like a bull in a china shop after our next show:<br />----<br />
<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><b>The Misfit of Demon King Academy</b></u>: <i>This</i> is how you do it. By the end of the second episode, the main character is already two girls deep into a harem, and I am 100% <i>okay with this</i>. Which is a god damn first I'll have you know. Know why? Because he's not <i>a fucking air head</i>. He damn well knows what he's doing, and that he's good at it. He knows for a fact that they're interested in him at least partially romantically, and the best part? They damn well know it between each other as well, because they <i>damn well asked each other about it</i> like civilized <u>functioning</u><i> </i>members of a society. They didn't even lose their shit over it! (mind you, they had literally <i>just got done</i> losing their shit over something, but in-world-context justifies that because HaHa, caste-system politics, etc).<br /></span>Suffice to say, I am <b><i>HYPED</i></b> for Demon Lord <strike>Saitama</strike> *<i>cough</i>* uh...I mean...*<i>squints at script</i>* <span class="trunc-desc">Anos Voldigord. Voldigoad? I dunno, something like that. This show gets a full <br /><br /><u><b>Recommendation</b></u><br /><br />No strings attached. It's gonna be a wild ride, I'm sure. <br />----</span><br />
<span class="trunc-desc"><br /></span>
<span class="trunc-desc">and that's it for now folks! <br />I'm also looking forward to Railgun starting back up this friday, if all things go according to previously provided plans, but I don't really think a return from hiatus counts for a post here, so no comment beyond this. Hell, as it is, it's part of such a long running series that if you weren't on board already, I can't imagine an argument that would make you start now.</span>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-11352894309015514432020-07-14T14:10:00.000-05:002020-07-14T14:25:58.421-05:00I'm Back! Covid19 Sucks, Right? Let's skim the past to catch up!So. I'm only able to blame half of the lack of posts on covid, because all it's done so far is royally rape my sleep schedule...actually, just my life schedule in general. I'd never asked for a live test of the extent of comfort a set schedule for life provides, but I got one anyway. I've been flopped around between 1st shift, 2nd shift, three different stores...it's not been a good time, but it's not like I have much room to complain, my life is still pretty lush all things considered. ANYWAY, Back on point!<br />
<br />
I'm just going to rapid fire random shows from my episode list as I read through it and confirm whether I have posted about it before or not. <br />
<br />
They're kind of out of order, haven't actually been taking the time to clean and organize it as shows dropped off and didn't find replacements. Just didn't have the time to watch, plus there just...not being much to watch? at least 3 shows went on Hiatus for Covid reasons, and then several more ended with the season. Now the next seasons starting up...or I missed one? who knows, I'm not on top of the game anymore these days.<br />
<br />
...christ I really haven't done much watching or reviewing have I...?<br />
<b>*AHEM*</b><br />Let's work on that:<br />
<br />
<u>Shows that I have Completed<br /><b><br /></b><b>Tower of God:</b></u> I highly doubt I need to do much pushing for this particular envelope. I live under a rock and even I noticed how much hype they were building for this thing. Funnily enough, I've been using webtoons for a few months now, I've been using it since before the covid outbreak, but once quarantine procedures rolled out, I really started to lean on it, and picked up <i>scores</i> of new comics. I just didn't have enough focus left for the kind of in-depth games that I prefer when getting home from work. YET: I never read Tower of God. Still haven't at time of writing, but now that the anime has completed and there's clearly plenty more left, I'm considering it. Especially since...I'll talk about that later. Suffice to say, this was a really fascinating show, and very well made and told too. Dunno how it stacks to the comic, but I <u><i>do</i></u> know that you need to keep your nose out of the comments no matter what. Bloody busybody comic readers couldn't shut up, or cover their arguing with spoiler tags. God, I wonder if that's what Webtoons comment sections look like, I've never read more than the top comments...hopefully its just a special small and vocal niche created by the overlap of mediums.<br />
<br />
<u><b>The 8th Son? Are you Kidding me?</b></u>: Not quite sure what caught my interest....oh wait that's right, I was just desperate to find something to fill the empty time slot for the day of the week that it was airing, as shows went on hiatus or just outright ended their season. <br />
Having said that, this is actually a really fantastic show. I saw a lot of high ranking comments bashing on it, but I don't really get why? I suppose it may be the same tired old problem, people walking into a door with Fantasy decorations, and getting all pissy when it isn't "SAVE THE WORLD WITH THE POWER OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP" nose dive into a magical feel good adventure. <br />
I'm exaggerating of course,<br />
<img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/whatever.gif" /><br />
but that doesn't make the screaming imp in the back of my head shut up that someone out there probably legitimately thinks like that. <br />
<br />
In truth, this is more a show of medieval politics than anything else. The main character is literally the exact opposite of invested in said politics, but that's the part that makes it approachable and fun for me. If he <i>was</i> invested, it would just boil down to another drama-based show. Instead, it comes across more as a 'modern perspective' kind of nod and analysis of older political structures. There's an intriguing enough set of details running underneath everything, but the show doesn't give much attention to that.<br />
<br />
All told, the show doesn't feel like it has a specific goal in mind, which may be where it garners most of its criticism. That would also be the most probable reason I enjoyed it so much in such an exhausting time. I most definitely Recommend the show, but not enough to put the fancy font and add a post tag for it. That's for another show <strike>later</strike> next post. I would have been happy to give it one, if the show had been <i>just</i> a bit more ambitious with literally any of its story directions, but it's still a fantastic way to pass the time.<br />
<br />
Annnd that's it...oh wait there was one more I suppose. Hmm. Ah well I'll keep it brief.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Ishuzoku Reviewers</b></u>: This show is not intended for the young or the innocent. I am 99.9% sure You must be of legal age in the region in which you live to watch it.<br />
<br />
But at the same time, it's not exactly for mature audiences, since most of its comedy is literally puerile in nature. So watch it literally the birthday you're old enough to do so.<br />
<br />
It is, literally, a story about a group of adventures writing reviews for brothels of all the demi-human races. For someone like me who has had their humanity burned out <i>yeaaars</i> ago, it's comedy fucking gold. <i>Almost</i> literally, I didn't see any gold in the golem shop, or that would be a class S joke right there <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61KUtTkkMzwQoSTYUD_IHOJgMa7XNNRqrx3ATktGn4u33L1rJxGmSoysoLacImdmVogJVmFLj5P6oAvS6NzPXSHnQQad_jodQ-LHIvKR0IGZOiYq21T9YQ0M0WgJ47drsKIbxw0_3qKZI/s1600/Hue.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61KUtTkkMzwQoSTYUD_IHOJgMa7XNNRqrx3ATktGn4u33L1rJxGmSoysoLacImdmVogJVmFLj5P6oAvS6NzPXSHnQQad_jodQ-LHIvKR0IGZOiYq21T9YQ0M0WgJ47drsKIbxw0_3qKZI/s400/Hue.png" /></a>Anyway, so if you're of legal age wherever you live, not a prude, and know how to take a joke about erotica, I think this show's comedy genius. It's my kind of humor, rather than going for over the top slap-stick humor, the "THE THING HAPPENED, ISN'T THAT JUST SO WACKY HA HA HA",<br />
Kind of gags and jokes, it's actually pretty off-the-cuff analytical. <br />
<br />
In other words, context is the base of most of the jokes, although they do make their puns and innuendos of course. Not gonna lie, the old lady is the first thing that has made me physically <i>cringe</i> away from my monitor in a very long time. Just because I know something exists, doesn't mean I want a reminder dammit. The best part is that the show <i>absolutely</i> knows it's doing that. After the initial introduction though, she's a worthwhile contributor to the comedy, but mostly if you watch the after credits little shorts type things that feature her basically being an instructor to whatever demi-humans the main characters visited in that episode. Those were about a 50-50 hit or miss for being funny for me. <br />
<br />
<b>*CLAPS*</b>RIGHT THEN. In the interest of not having another post where the tags are longer than the character limit, I'll cut this post here because uh...that's literally it for shows I've completed. Like I said, physically and mentally I got thrown for a loop the last 5'ish months, but I still don't have much room to complain all told. No one I know has gotten the 'Rona, and I've been fine myself so far despite working with the public. If I just disappear for an entire year with no posting though, safe to assume I died! It would probably be one of the first times it was actually a true accusation about someone disappearing from the net. Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-18213733351412192482020-01-22T10:52:00.001-06:002020-01-22T10:52:52.765-06:00[New][January 2020] In/Spectre, a Refreshing Story and Characters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuz2OedOzFUx92ZjGxmMx0eAQzuGhLMIIr9KYki4T4QLJe3Ns7e4rIq1pv6mV-nl1gl9eL_o3D0S_X_pkrpSvSG8nU-nd4ZA8pZDSk_5LWmDxH3uE7DQfN4CntOCAR2Hp_hNVYZVycmQ/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuz2OedOzFUx92ZjGxmMx0eAQzuGhLMIIr9KYki4T4QLJe3Ns7e4rIq1pv6mV-nl1gl9eL_o3D0S_X_pkrpSvSG8nU-nd4ZA8pZDSk_5LWmDxH3uE7DQfN4CntOCAR2Hp_hNVYZVycmQ/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>When the show just got done Sucker Punching you in the gut,<br />and you never saw it coming...</i></div>
<br />
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 2<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b> <span itemprop="description">(Quoted from <a href="https://myanimelist.net/anime/39017/Kyokou_Suiri" target="_blank">MyAnimeList.com</a>)<br /><br />At the young age of 11, Kotoko Iwanaga was
abducted by youkai for two weeks and asked to become their "God of
Wisdom," a mediator between the spirit and human worlds, to which the
girl quickly agreed... but it came at a cost. </span><span itemprop="description">Now, six years later, whenever youkai wish for their problems to be solved, they make their way to Kotoko for consultation.<br /></span><span itemprop="description">Meanwhile, Kuro Sakuragawa has just broken up with his girlfriend after he apparently fled
alone when the two encountered a kappa. Seeing this as her chance to
become closer with him, Kotoko immediately makes her move, hoping to marry Kuro one day. However, she quickly realizes there is
something more to Kuro. With this knowledge, she asks for his help in
solving the various issues presented by the supernatural, all the while
wishing her newfound partner will eventually reciprocate her feelings.<br />
</span><br /><b>First Impression:</b> An amazing 180 flip of expectations! Even if most of that is because of Crunchyrolls Summary.<br /><br /><b>My Opinion:</b> I wasn't expecting anything from this show, but that mostly has to do with Crunchyroll's summary making it sound like the entire show revolves around romance. It is literally the opposite. <br />The show is so...candid, for short. <br />Hell, they literally just spent the entire second episode on two characters doing nothing but talking about and deducing things about something that was already done in the past, just because one of them "wanted an answer they are satisfied with". In case that flew over your head, that means the show devoted almost all of twenty minutes to <i>dialogue</i> and it was still interesting. <br /><br />In long: I have often praised shows for being "level-headed", which is to say, if the normal response in <i>Anime</i> when someone accidentally walks in on a person using the bathroom is for irrational anger and comedic violence, then the 'level-headed' response is only being angry if they stop and stare instead of immediately leaving and apologizing. Comedy is all well and great, but when comedy becomes the <i>normal</i>, the Status Quo, then its not funny anymore, and I've banged on about that quite enough I think. <br /><br />In contrast, In/Spectre, (which is actually one of the most clever attempts to translate a title I've seen in recent <i>years</i> of Crunchyroll titles, if not the best, by the way), is not <i>just</i> level-headed. It feels...well, realistic, to say the least. That doesn't quite describe the whole impression I'm getting though. Ah, I know.<br />Down-to-Earth. That's it. The show feels very grounded in reality for all that it is clearly 100% supernatural right out of the gate. It's entirely possible that I find that highly appealing as part of a minority, but I'm going to pretend like I'm the majority anyway. The setting of the show is presented in such a way that it comes across as utterly mundane, the normal day-to-day just naturally features things we'd find utterly outlandish. I love it when stories and fiction of all kinds approach the supernatural as if it would have its own special natural laws and physics to obey, if not <i>explicitly</i> in a literal 1:1 ratio of the meaning of Physics. Since, usually, you bend if not break several Physics with supernatural settings and conditions almost as a default. <br /><br />I put some extra emphasis on clarifying that last statement because its very relevant here. This show hasn't talked about anything from a scientific or Physics-based perspective at all, and yet it still feels very <i>real</i>. That has to do with the fact that a lot of times, people on both sides of the writing will mistake excessive details as lending realism. Much in the same way that you'll often find the mistake that making a story and its characters <b>gritty</b> and <i>edgy</i> will make it more Mature or better appeal to adults. In/Spectre is a very nice example of how to tell a viscerally candid and approachable supernatural settings story in a realistic perspective, without drowning the audience in enough scientific terminology to fill an astrophysicists term paper. <br /><br />To talk about it in a much less vague way, despite how much effort I'm putting in to avoid spoilers, the romantic aspect of this show is doing everything absolutely right in my opinion. Without being at all in your face with it. If it wasn't for the fact that it is very clearly a core element of the show, you'd almost be forgiven for thinking it was a background sub-plot for non-main characters with how low-key the show treats it. Personally, as someone who has been an introvert all their life, I say with authority that the typical representation of the Shy, the Timid, the "Tsundere", and other such archetypes finding love by being vague, indirect, and misleading...well it's just straight hogwash. While I actively avoided human contact on purpose until my teenage years, (because children and <i>especially</i> teenagers are prone to stupid ideas, and being convinced they're great regardless), I spent a lot of time watching people. The bottom line is this: People are <i>not </i><u>Psychic mind-readers</u>. Whatever you don't do, whatever you don't say, those things are forever unknown to others. The only way someone finds out that another person likes them, is if they damn well say it...or else are snooping, and that breaks ground into all kinds of especially sketchy territory that I'm not bothering with right now. <br /><br />
In/Spectre hits this nail on the head quite nicely. Kotoko isn't <i>gushing</i> at Kuro, nor is she stalking him. She's being politely forward and honest. Quite frankly, it's only after I watched the first episode that I've realized how de-sensitized to anime's standard romantic methods we've all become, how we naturally take it for granted that romantic interests are going to be comedic and over-the-top exaggerated affairs. <br /><br /><b>[Aside rant]</b><br />While that's fine in its own rights for a show that is <i>meant</i> to be a comedy, it's only now that I've taken a step back and seen the wider perspective of just how <i>pervasive</i> it is across the board. I mean, sure, Japan <u>adores</u> their comedy and anyone can see that just by watching some of their game shows. The bemusing part is how often I'll see a show praised for breaking from the exaggerated romantic tropes...but yet at the same time, without the show having been an anime and placed in that set of standards...would anyone have been commenting about the romantic elements of the shows at all? I can't help wondering that.<br /><b>[rant end]<br /></b>In short, with great joy I give In/Spectre, (a play on "Inspector", btw, something I only realized <i>after</i> I finished the first episode), a full and earnest: <br /><u><br /><b>Recommendation<br /><br /></b></u>You should be watching this show this season, it's gonna be good.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-92203383411697269702019-11-29T14:27:00.000-06:002019-11-29T14:27:24.763-06:00Prodigies In Another World, still couldn't escape the Fan service.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKamBEwjQtjSb54cFKnhcZN_vQvw2CED__maTh-J6mq9l-amWGC9-L2AFgEwU-elOb3SHqPsYtMGneEMxGm4CRx0PsHYN15lcx1cWJHRRX6k0SnBazainbwwGk8BzEs1FJVh1i-YZWns/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKamBEwjQtjSb54cFKnhcZN_vQvw2CED__maTh-J6mq9l-amWGC9-L2AFgEwU-elOb3SHqPsYtMGneEMxGm4CRx0PsHYN15lcx1cWJHRRX6k0SnBazainbwwGk8BzEs1FJVh1i-YZWns/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Look at this lovely Tea Set! Doesn't it just <u>absolutely</u> follow naturally after<br />THREE MINUTES OF FAN SERVICE?</i></div>
<br /><b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 9<br /><br /><img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/throwtable.gif" /><br /><i><b>WHO</b></i> thought that <i>three <u>uninterrupted</u> minutes</i> of Massage Room Fan Service was a good idea?<br /><i>Who</i>?<br /><br />More importantly, <i>why was there no one available to stop them</i>?<br /><img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/redcard.gif" /><br /><br />Specifically, it was three minutes and fifteen seconds. There were literally already comments complaining about that on Crunchyroll, which is both simultaneously surprising, and highly validating for me. I guess I just <i>might</i> not be some screaming prudish idiot who lives under a rock yelling at the young whipper snappers to stop being so lewd, because <i>back in my day</i> and yadda yadda. <br /><br />I hereby bet 5 imaginary dollars that someone, somewhere, was watching this episode and when someone walked into the room and saw literally any segment of that scene, asked them why they were watching Hentai Porn. Clearly, there's a lot of very happy artists and animators over in japan over this mythical "boobs and nipples are not explicit content anymore" or whatever I keep hearing rumors of every now and again.. and also see ever more evidence of as time passes. It must have been a pretty big thing to some parts of the internet, for it to have made its way through the rock I live under. Ultimately, I don't give any shits at all though.<br /><br />Anywho, to get back to an actual point.<br />
I hereby officially declare this show<br />
<br /><u><b>Dead to Me</b>. </u><br /><br />August of 2018 was the last time I made a post that was not either: a show end, new show post, or bulk new and ending shows post. That was so long ago I had to look it up to remember if I had any formatting quirks for how I write off-the-cuff posts. <br /><br />To be perfectly clear, this show isn't <i>bad</i> ... I guess. It's not going to blow anyone out of the park with some amazing or fascinating new development, but it's not a bad way to kill time. It certainly isn't a "Phantom World" that's going to make you wish you could have back all the time it just wasted to no good effect. <br /><br />It's just...I remember talking recently in several posts about how important it is to properly frame your show in the first episode so your audience knows what to expect. I didn't quite expect for that to be so blatantly accepted by a studio. Remember the Nursing Scene in the first episode of this show? Yeah, don't just sweep that under the rug like I did, it was actually, like everything else in that first episode, 100% a sample of what you can expect to turn up in this show later. Actually, while I'm at it, I'm just going to go out of my way to do something a bit silly and present this show with a most prestigious award for<br /><br /><b><span style="color: blue;"><u>Best First Episode Presentation.</u></span><br /><br /></b>There's just literally no other way to describe it. That first episode is literally ALL you need, to know everything there is to know about what this show is like, and what it's going to do. Again, the entire duration of this 3 minutes of Fan Service was played very level headed, and at the end they even reveal it's all for the sake of a punchline!<br /><br /> Even though you <i>know</i> it's Fan Service, it's not <i>acting</i> like fan service and quite frankly...the longer it dragged on the more I wanted them to just <i>kill me</i> or <i>someone</i> <i>in the room</i> or literally anything to make it bloody stop. It's like someone's trying to tell you a joke, and it's already flopped in the first two seconds, but they just keep going for 10 minutes because they're so sure it's <u>amazing</u> and you're going to be on the floor <b>rolling</b>, and you just want to hang yourself to make the <u>cringing</u> <i>stop</i> because you are <br /><img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/internalinjury.gif" /><br /><i><b>dying on the inside</b></i>. <br /><br />Anywho, since "Dead to Me" is a fresh state of affairs, let me explain. Unless this show pulls a <i>whale</i> of a surprise out of its arse, I'm not going to bother writing any more posts about it, even the end post. I'm too much of a freak when it comes to patience for anyone to listen and wait for me to say "I dropped a show". At this point though, I highly doubt Prodigies in Another World has got anything else left to show us that we can't already anticipate. After all, they gave us a sample of <i>literally all of it</i> in the first episode, if you just pay close enough attention.<br /><br />Probably the only thing that will get me to make another post is if they actually have some characters fuck in the show or something. <br /><br />.<br />.<br />.<br /><br /><img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/hopeless.gif" /><br /><i>(by all that is good, please...no. Just No. Don't make me a Prophet)</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-60875496284923559622019-10-12T12:45:00.000-05:002019-10-12T12:45:37.707-05:00[New][October 2019] TRIPLE FEATURE POST! Covering: ORESUKI, High School Prodigies in Another World, and Ascendance of a Bookworm. Alright! Finally got two episodes of each of these down, time to review. I do <i>not</i> feel like throwing down the gauntlet and making the fully detailed post, and from my ... less than stellar performance on keeping up with posting, let's say working in bulk sounds like an efficient idea. I actually was planning on saying I only really cared to write a full post for one of the three...but having just watched the last set, I think we have two promising prospects at the moment. On with the show!<br />
<br />
For all three shows,<br />
<b>Last Seen</b>: Episode 2.<br />
<br />
First up, we have:<br />
<br />
<u><b>Ascendance of a Bookworm</b></u>: Also known as...seriously? *checks other titles* god damn. I guess this is a trend for this set, but whatever, titled in "romanji" it's known as <br />
(Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen)<br />
That is one hell of a mouthful. Anywho, now that I've got that out of the way, lets just establish that I'm going to list the full title for the shows only once, and then after that it's all shorthand nicknames okay? Okay. Okay!<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> Paraphrasing MyAnimeList: <br />
"<span itemprop="description">Motosu Urano, a book-loving college student
who just got her Librarian certification and was supposed to enter the
job of her dreams after graduation, was killed during a massive
earthquake crushing her underneath a pile of her own massive collection
of books.<br />
Wishing for reincarnation in order to read even more, she got
reincarnated to a world with a low literacy level and very few books,
limited only to the nobility of the world. As she reincarnated as
5-year-old daughter of a lowly soldier, Main, no matter how much she
wants to read, there is no way there are any books around. If there are
no books then what do you do? You make them yourself of course... With
her goal of becoming a librarian no matter what, and to live a life
surrounded by books."</span><br />
<span itemprop="description">(<b>Aside</b> okay really though, why do both websites get the spelling of the name wrong? One is Myne, the other is Maine. Even if they wrote it before episode two showed us it in writing, surely a little more effort to spellcheck via studying couldn't hurt? Or at <i>least</i> patch it after the fact! I know Crunchyroll could have, they got it right in the subtitles! <b>Aside end</b>) </span><br />
<br />
There's actually a bit of a fun personal fact to throw at you with this set of three: I've had them sitting on the shelf for a while, explicitly waiting for them all to have 2 episodes ready so I could get a better read on them for making posts here. Initially, the ones I was most looking forward to were Bookworm...and maybe hoping that Prodigies didn't bomb out instantly. Instead, now that I've actually watched them, Bookworm is going first because...it's actually the one I'm expecting the least from. <br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion</b>: Now, It is by no means bad. Just...not my personal style. The core plot point is a very interesting sell on its own rights, the Another World bandwagon is steaming ahead unmolested in japan it seems, so I'm not going to comment on that any further. Instead, I was most interested in the fact that a simple librarian bookworm, even if she had read and perfectly memorized tons of knowledge, would not have the means to actually implement and apply that knowledge in a new, lower tech world. Unless they explicitly framed them studying medieval techniques, but that's just dismissing the challenge instead of meeting and surpassing it for profit. Fortunately, they didn't take that route...it's just...<br />
<br />
The first episode wasn't really to my tastes. It goes out of its way to really deeply establish just how not-serious a tone they're going to have in the show, which is great! Honestly, it really is best to get your tone set right away, unless you're planning a half-way point shocker tone-flip. I doubt that for this show, but getting back on point. It's a bit too...blunt? for my tastes I guess I could say. The main character having to adapt to a new world and all the conditions that come with it is...more or less just hand-waved away in the first episode. Not in sum-total of course, just...cherry picked. Like they went through and said, "okay THIS problem we'll address, and THIS problem, but THESE problems we're just going to drop in the bin and hope no one notices." Most especially it rubs on me the wrong way that the main character doesn't seem to be doing anything at all to try and hide her out-of-character personality shift. <br />
<br />
That's right, they didn't just show up in this world with their own body, nor did they spawn in with a personal fresh body, they reincarnated into <i>someone else's</i> body. Yet, they never seem to pay much attention at all to trying not to act out of character or giving away their new personality. I will take my usual probably-reading-too-deeply route, and take a guess based on the fact that the few times you get her alone to herself, and she broods on the problem, things are a bit...more interesting. I'm going to guess that the source material spends more time fleshing out the "there are two voices" thing that we start out hearing in the first episode. I'd like to talk more about my theory, but spoilers, they're a bummer right? So! <br />
Instead I'll just comment that I'm much happier with the show and the way its progressing as of episode two. Like, immensely. I'm not sure of the blunt methods of the first episode weren't deliberate for comedic effect or not, but I much more so loved the pace and tone in the second episode, so this one doesn't get a recommendation, but it's also not getting any negatives from me, just personal nit-picks. You should absolutely check it out if the premise interests you, and you don't mind that it isn't going to be super detailed and serious.<br />
<br />
On to the next Show:<br />
<br />
<u><b>High School Prodigies in Another World</b></u>: Also known as: *<i>takes a deep breath</i>*<br />
(Choujin Koukousei-tachi wa Isekai demo Yoyuu de Ikinuku you desu!)<br />
<br />
<b>Summary</b>: Paraphrasing Crunchyroll and MyAnimeList:<br />
"<span class="more">Seven high school students are involved in
an airplane crash. When they woke up, they found themselves in a
parallel world where magic and beastmen exist. </span><br />
<span class="more"><span itemprop="description">But they do not panic at their current situation?</span></span><span itemprop="description">None of them is a normal high school
student, each of them are super human high school students that stand at
the top of Politics, Economics, Science, Swordsmanship, Illusions, Espionage, and Medicine!<br />
This is a story of a dream team that possess earth's greatest wisdom and
technology, that without any self-restraint bring a revolution to a
different world with over-technology!"</span><b>My Opinion</b>: In case you missed it in the first shows talk, I was half expecting this show to just bomb itself out in the first episode from reading the summaries. But, I give everything a shot after all, for I have no Humanity left to lose! <br />
<img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/hohoho.gif" /><br />
HA HA HA!<br />
<br />
<b>*ahem*</b> <br />
Getting back on point. This show was...a roller-coaster for the first opening minutes of the first episode. Probably just for me.<br />
They start out by <i>really</i> beating you over the head with a massive underline on the statement that our seven protagonists are amazing and so on. Not with monologue, no, instead <i>each</i> of them gets their own personal introduction, explanation, and a small on-screen demonstration of what they can do. It's basically the first thing they do in the episode, and it is one hell of a janky introduction. Really though, that mostly just made me bored. No, where we really get into the up and down is when our first member of the Seven wakes up, and proceeds to start unpacking the situation, only to be interrupted by some...ah...Nursing? from their resident member of the village looking after their wounds. On my honor of No Spoilers, I'm just going to sum up the emotional nuclear explosion that scene caused by saying that <u>literally</u> the only thing that saved this show from going right into the bin was: <br />
<br />
A) the main characters level headed reaction highly appropriate to his position as a Politician, and<br />
B) That it was interrupted from a Round Two.<br />
<br />
Let me put another underline on that. <u><b>Literally</b></u> the only thing that saved it. Having said that...<br />
<br />
I'm actually rather invested in the show so far, from episode 2. Clearly, they're not playing this one very serious either, on account of the fact that <br />
*Spoiler White Out*<br />
<b>[</b><span style="color: #eeeeee;">One of the characters <i>literally</i> has an American Football sized NUCLEAR REACTOR in their luggage!</span><b>]</b> <br />
<br />
ahh right no spoilers uh...well. Let's just say that for whatever reason, Crunchyroll's translators couldn't figure out that a more accurate translation for this shows title than "prodigies" would have been "Super-humans". Like, their knowledge and expertise literally borders on super powers. Also, <i>as a matter of course</i>, two of them are a samurai and a ninja. Because <i>why the fuck not</i>, it's japan! <br />
<br />
More seriously though, there's a reason I edited the summary to say "Espionage" instead of ninja, because while she does occasionally make that stupid "Nin-nin" sound, and it makes me want to throttle it out of her every time she does it, they frame it that she is basically just a super powered journalist/spy. Which I appreciate. They haven't had much time set for fleshing out the "samurai" yet, but from the OP and ED animations I can guess that she's basically going to file down to the 'muscle' of their team, in terms of combat power. She quite literally has had nothing going for her character yet besides "is really good as swinging a katana". Yet, somehow, I haven't held it against the show. <br />
<br />
I think that draws back to what I said just above here, about how its <i>very</i> important for you to set your tone for the audience in the first episode. Oh boy, and did they <i>ever</i> make sure to set the tone in this show as <b><i>WAY</i></b> crazy over-the-top ridiculous. Wanna know just <i>how</i> ridiculous but aren't sold on watching it? Go ahead and highlight the whited-out spoiler line. You literally cannot understate how absurd this show is going to be after that line. <br />
<br />
Anyway, I'm still kind of worried about the fact that the uh...'Nursing' scene was laid out to us so fast, but if it's handled with the same levelheaded'ness as that each time...well I'll begrudgingly give this show an early<br />
<br />
<b>Recommendation.</b><br />
You should at least check it out, just be braced for impact on how insanely over-the-top it is.<br />
<br />
Finally, last, but <i>certainly</i> not least:<br />
<br />
<u><b>ORESUKI Are you the only one who loves me?</b></u>: Also known as: <br />
(Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo)<br />
<br />
<b>Summary</b>: <strike>Paraphrasing</strike> <i>Quoting</i> Crunchyroll, (good job for once crunchy!):<br />
"<span class="more">Question: What would you do if a girl you
liked asked you out on a date? Now imagine it’s not one, but two
beautiful girls, the cool beauty, Cosmos, and the cute childhood friend,
Himawari!! Of course, you would make plans with both. Except for the
“feelings” they confess to you are…
Asking me for "romantic advice," since they’re both in love with someone
else. Hahaha…
That’s it! I’m not gonna take it anymore! I’m giving up on this obtuse,
harmless persona and going back to my true self. But I can’t give up
hope here. If I give them my advice, at least one of them may fall in
love with me!"<br /><br />Okay so yeah, let's draw attention to the fact Crunchyroll did a great job writing the summary for once. Just saying.<br /><br /><b>My Opinion</b>: This was the show I was expecting the least from, now, instead, I'm giving this show a whole-hearted <br /><br /><u><b>Recommendation</b></u>,<br /><br />You should absolutely be watching this show, this season, every week. <br /><br />By the end of the second episode, it was literally a case of </span><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1023" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDVCrb1K702H8O8kvxnw6bpaF3Yx5L7gKvJb9zhMb-QHVasi6Zy_5u_A2mFMKM1-RWrVI5EcW7Q0z1nf1ktqEZBfsuCTD7BqR10wEO0zb5-THd3_A1nMOCaJ_iNYbLB64jYx4jA38DJux/s320/takemymoney.jpg" width="320" /><br />
<br />
and I'm not even joking, that was the exact meme that popped into my head as the episode cut to the ED animation. <br />
This show strikes a very delicate balance between rehashing the same gag, and ingenious undermining of expectations. Despite laying out the entire plan for you pretty much from the start, it's the little ways they sneak in unexpected tweaks that has you rolling in laughter. <br />
<br />
Honestly, I don't frame this show as a comedy, for all that it had me in stitches laughing. Instead, I think 'Drama' would be a tidy fit. That genre title tends to imply a lot of baggage that I'm not fond of, but at the very least, you can take my word for it that while I suspect this show is going to have at least one, if not more, emotional sucker-punches in it, for the most part it's going to be a pretty level-headed and engaging affair. <br />
<br />
You should absolutely start watching this show. I know it's probably not going to be for everyone, but don't be thrown out by it being the standard high school 'Rom-Com' setup, it is <i>anything</i> but standard, and you'll only need two episodes to be sure. I guarantee it.<br />
<br />
Also, by the third time our main character is asked to "please, have a seat" you'll know in your heart of hearts, who the <i><u>true</u></i> antagonist of this show is going to be, and you'll be looking forward to each and every one of their appearances.<br />
<br />
<b>[Aside]</b><br />
<b>I would like to point out that you should eyeball those tags. Yes, look at that nonsense. There is literally not enough room for me to put in english copies of the names, or even my usual Recommended tag for when an show earns one, because there is a 200 character limit for tagging. God Damn.<br />[Aside end]</b><br />
<span class="more"></span>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-60304720255654289772019-10-04T15:22:00.001-05:002019-10-04T15:22:19.435-05:00[New][End][July 2019] Isekai Cheat Majutsushi (Another World Cheat Magician)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXk1TD0RlYhJcjHdXynMCKBU0m8WKjWCU3TgryhPFNdgw1wvG59ecTVljF1XiKS6ViQ6dlO0vEa8ZveTVXYurpD3ox3DJ4oTaAFFPWD2YcXN6Bo3KUkxuurgcN63NoNTy6Q_ePOCxiFa6P/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXk1TD0RlYhJcjHdXynMCKBU0m8WKjWCU3TgryhPFNdgw1wvG59ecTVljF1XiKS6ViQ6dlO0vEa8ZveTVXYurpD3ox3DJ4oTaAFFPWD2YcXN6Bo3KUkxuurgcN63NoNTy6Q_ePOCxiFa6P/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>You are literally the only one that was expecting to fail here. <br /><u>We</u> know what's up.</i></div>
<br /><br /><b>Last Seen</b>: Completed<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b> Paraphrased from MyAnimeList.com: <br /><br />"<span itemprop="description">High schooler Taichi Nishimura and
his childhood friend Rin Azuma, are on their way to school one morning. A glowing light suddenly appears beneath Taichi, and despite him shoving Rin out of harms way, she jumps back in with him, and it transports them to a
fantasy world full of magical creatures.<br />
<br />
Upon their arrival, Taichi and Rin are attacked by a monster. They are
saved by a group of adventurers, who advise the pair that
traveling unarmed and inexperienced makes them vulnerable to the
recently increasing monster attacks. Taichi and Rin are directed to the Guild, where they can determine their magical aptitude and register as
adventurers. However, the test produces strange
results: It gives a very strange reading for Rin, and Taichi straight up breaks the device! They suddenly find themselves changed from typical high school
students to the ultimate cheat magicians.<br />
<br />
The Guild calls in a specialist to help Taichi and Rin learn to grasp the full extent of their powers and
familiarize themselves with their new world. However, while the duo
seeks to uncover the reason behind their transportation and a possible
way back to their original world, unexpected trouble lurks in the
shadows."<br /><br /><b>First Impression:</b> Favorable, and sustained my interest. Absolutely a better story than Another World Smartphone. (don't mind me, trying to start a new version of the "a better love story than Twilight meme").<br /><br /><b>My Opinion:</b> I remember saying something while talking about Abandoned Sacred Beasts, to the effect of "I feel like I would have liked this more as a book than a show". Let me go ahead and refine that even further with this show: I am <i>certain</i> that I would like this show better as a book, especially more than as an Anime in particular. <br />I think I've pinned down what it was that was off-putting about Sacred Beasts...and that is, unfortunately, the medium. Sacred beasts is very much so a rather gritty and grim setting, meant to be more depressing than anything else really...but that is not something that the conventional art style of Animation lends itself to. Quite the opposite really. <br /><br />It was much easier to notice and pinpoint this time around, because I had the opportunity to watch this series in bulk, filling in blank days where I didn't have new episodes coming out during the week. <br />Cheat Magician suffers from its art style choice to be animated. Despite what the initial impression of the story and setting presents, (hell it has >Isekai< in the title right up front, that's not really a good sign these days), it has a good deal of thought and value in it. <br /><br />I think that it's fair to say that if one wanted an example of an Overpowered character presented well without using One Punch Man's method of comedy, this show is probably as close as I've ever seen...or at least can recall. At least on the point of the character being ridiculously overpowered right out of the gate, almost <i>all</i> anime protagonists eventually become brokenly powerful, but that still can mesh with a typical Heroes Journey style writing archetype. From a literary stand point, starting with your character having the power they would normally only acquire at the end of their journey, right from the start, presents a lot of interesting and unique challenges. Challenges that, if done correctly, can be overcome to make a unique and fascinating story. I believe Cheat Magician pulls this off...<br /><br />It's really <i>really</i> jarring to have the characters and voice actors trying so hard to be serious...and the art style just completely undermining it. I remember this briefly from Slime Reincarnation as well, it may just be a Japanese industry standard of some kind. They shied away from showing any kind of disfigurement of one of the main characters, despite their horrible burns being rather a potent part of their character. Similarly, in Cheat Magician, Rin ends up with what the show <i>clearly</i> wants you to believe is a serious burn wound...but just looks like someone bruised her with something covered in glitter. It was the first time I've ever experienced such a jarring disconnect with a scene that wasn't already a train-wreck to begin with. <br /><br />Having said that, I'm going to do something...unusual. I looked it up, and this was indeed an adaptation from a Novel series rather than a Manga or other source. So, I'm going to present this show with a <br /><br /><u>Conditional </u><b>Recommendation</b>, <br /><br />To check out the show, and if you like what you see after the first few episodes, maybe consider changing over to the Novels instead. <br /><br />I'll be the first to admit, I am acquiring an ever larger preference for Novels over Anime the older I get, and I can't really keep that under a rug anywhere while presenting my opinions. <br />This show however, was the first time where it was very clearly obvious that the normally light-hearted art style anime typically has was under-cutting what the scenes were trying to present. <br /><br />To wit, I can think of a few examples where this was used to great effect: The Saga of Tanya the Evil is an amazing one. There, the cutesy style of anime is actually to the <i>strength</i> of the show, because it's such a contrast to the main characters true nature, and helps the audience see her the same way the world around her does at face value. It then frames it for our enjoyment of that stark contrast. <br /><br />To a slightly less effective example, I would present: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: There, the idea is to mislead you into thinking it's just another normal light anime show...before the show then goes out of its way to make sure you're as completely confused and off balance as possible. I'm not sure that the art style necessarily lends itself to any great effect after the big twist is delivered, but its not like you could (reasonably) drastically change the art style mid-season, not without a budget that would make most companies collectively shit every one of their employees pants I'm sure.<br /><br />I'm almost certain there was another example I wanted to make, but instead I'll just bring it back to Sacred Beasts. There, the studio seemed to be a lot more self-aware of the difficulty of the presentation they wanted to make. The backgrounds and character designs strike a stark contrast if compared to the art in Cheat Magician, they very clearly made the effort to make things as sombre and grounded as possible. That's probably why I could never pin down what was so off-putting. Now, it rather makes sense. The reason I found Schaal so grating and she seemed to stay overly-naive for so long can likely be attributed to how anime's art style probably made her appear far more frail and meek than the author probably wanted her to appear after a certain point in the story. It doesn't help that as a character that wouldn't be prone to monologuing to begin with, a live-playing medium like a TV show isn't going to let you just listen in to a characters thoughts like you can get away with in a book, to really understand how a character is interpreting events and maturing. <br /><br />In particular, I want to go out of my way to point out how amazingly mature the main characters in Cheat Magician are, especially for being high schoolers. These days, I'm as liable as not to just throw out any anime that says the main characters are high schoolers if they're even remotely annoying in the first episode or two. I've just had far too much of that. <br />I think a lot of it may be attributed to how well they play off of each other, and that they really do present to the viewer as actual human beings, rather than cartoon characters playing out tropes. They even had the token "walked in on a girl in the bathroom" scene, and I literally sat back in my chair, un-clenched, and thought "...yeah. that is actually how it would play out in real life. Bonus points for this show." <br /><br />For all my misgivings about the choice of medium, I really do recommend the story on display here. I think it's a good balanced presentation of an overpowered character, and it loses nothing from pulling from the "Isekai" trope that everything in Japan seems to be bandwagoning on. Give it a go, I say it's worth your time.</span>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-88060836724481853472019-09-20T12:58:00.003-05:002019-10-04T14:20:25.897-05:00Several Months in Review: Catching upHokay so, I'm probably going to be moving to a new city for my job soon, (but mostly because I just want out of the dead-end nowhere I am now and from the vultures I occasionally call family), but that's actually absolutely nothing to do with why I forgot that I should be posting here. Anyway, on with the show:<br />
<u><b><br />If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord</b></u>: Last Seen: Episode 12<br />
20$ bet says this was adapted from a light novel. I <b>WONDER</b> what might have given that away without me even looking it up...could it be the <i>absurdly long sentence</i> for a name instead of a simpler title?<br />
Anyway, I'm 85% positive 12 was the finale, so time to talk about it. It's simple and heartwarming. There may or may not be a new genre being formed that you could summarize as "cute girls doing cute things", I don't belong to any kind of loop to be in the know, so don't take my word for it. This is basically a derivative of that, where it's just A cute girl, Being cute, and her guardian gushing over her.<br />
I give the show a very simple <b>Recommendation</b> with no bells and whistles. I'm actually more interested in the lore and world the story is set in than the two main characters, go figure, but whatever. The entire story arc with Maya was especially interesting to me for how many subtle details they managed to convey about the differences between Beast-folk, Humans, and Halfs, without setting aside a monologue for it. Even when they did stop to monologue for an while in an episode, they kept it relevant and interesting to listen to. I appreciate that. Go give the show a try, especially if you want something heartwarming and charming to perk up your day.<br />
<b>[Aside]</b><br />
It would be remiss of me not to mention that I kept getting "Usagi Drop" vibes from the show. I'm not talking about the anime either, I'm talking about the manga which I read from start to finish. Being a social outlier I didn't have the knee-jerk reaction to the ending most people around that time had, I thought it was put together and portrayed properly enough. Idealistic beyond belief and impossible outside of fiction, but that's neither here nor there. I remember thinking at the time that the author would basically never live it down, but honestly I couldn't have cared less one way or the other. I mention it only because I get the distinct impression that ... (okay I'm just going to call it "this show" instead of thinking up a clever shorthand for it), This Show has a very high probability of containing a similar ending in its future. Certainly seems to be laying enough foundations for it, and like in the past, I'm okay with that so long as they are actually doing it to tell an interesting story, and not just for shock value or worse reasons. Anyway, that's my two-bits, take it or leave it.<br />
<b>[Aside end]</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts</u></b>: Last Seen: Episode 12<br />
Again, I'm about 90% sure that was the finale episode for this show, so time to talk about it. <br />
I'm rather on the fence about this show. I really feel like I should have been more invested in it, more hyped for each episode. Yet I continuously wasn't. I can't really put my finger on why either. So, I'll just kind of ramble about various points. <br />
<br />
<b>*</b>-All told, I get the feeling I'd have enjoyed reading this story as a book more than watching it as a show. There are several time's I thought that during the story. <br />
<b>*</b>-Schaal comes dangerously close to being "that character", the one you constantly wonder why the hell they're even in the story, almost completely useless. I think that's because the story feels like it needs her to be a balance to all the violence and war by being a "naive" and "innocent" person slowly being broken in to the horrors of war and humanity. Except...I don't feel like this particular story needed that element in it. Certainly, she needed to be there to be a foil of sorts to our other main lead, Hank, but more as a grounding force rather than a child being led by the hand. It gets better later, but I felt like she stayed "naive-acting" for a bit too long. <br />
<b>*</b>-Really, it would be remiss of me not to admit that while I wholeheartedly support cybernetic augmentation as being straight up better these days, both as a "if I was offered the chance, would I" thought exercise, and also as a plot device...I used to be a huge buff for shape-shifting. Any kind of shape-shifting at all was, and to a degree still is, awesome to me. Especially the limitless shifting you can get out of some pieces of fiction. <br />
So really, this show should have been right up my alley, rubbing up those old nostalgic memories. Instead, I just ended up remembering why I concluded cybernetics comes across better for most of the same plot uses. Biological shape-shifting almost always ends up shoehorned into the same niche as the Super-Human-Soldier tropes, for obvious reasons. It can be really interesting when it's not, but it's usually how it's introduced in the story and world, so the setting can be all about reacting to it from a relatively relatable view point for the audience. <br />
<b>*-</b>If I had to put my finger down on one thing I definitely didn't like about the show, it's how completely and utterly one-sided the Incarnates getting shafted was. While it's fine to get across that societies majority reaction was such, the fact that we see, what? <i>One</i>, maybe <i>Two</i> if we get technical, people accept the horrible situation the Incarnates are in... its kind of awkward and boring. Grant, I did enjoy the "monster of the week" story framework it ended up setting up for Hank, but I'm just splitting hairs at this point.<br />
<br />
All told, I won't give the show an out and out recommendation, but I did think it was quite good at the end of the day. I'm just kind of vaguely confused why I didn't like it more than I do. I feel like I really should have. *<i>shrug</i>*<br />
<br />
<u><b>Demon Slayer, Kimetsu no Yaiba</b></u>: Last Seen: Episode 24<br />
<i>I certainly fucking hope</i> that wasn't the finale episode, but it probably was, and now I'm sad.<br />
<u><b>Recommendation</b></u> with ALL the bells and whistles people. Got it? You should be watching this show. It is literally god-tier at this point. I can not recall a single time in my life where an anime managed to so consistently raise the stakes <i>every</i>. <i>single</i>. <i>episode</i>. Gurann Lagann might count, but took breaks and a lot longer to do it? I dunno.<br />
<br />
Now, especially so as a guy who literally gives no shits about graphical quality, <br />
<i>this show is so God-Damned pretty</i>. <br />
But not in the same kind of way that Ancient Magus Bride was...that was pretty in a very straight-forward kind of way, like every scene could be framed as a painting and hung on your wall. The amazing graphics on Demon Slayer are all in the action, the motion and way things happen...and <i>absolutely</i> in the amazing special effects on the "Breathing Arts" the characters use. Anyway, show is great, 'nuff said.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Dr. Stone</b></u>: Last Seen: Episode 11<br />
If I had to be the one to tell you that this show is amazing, you're doing something wrong. Almost 100% positive this show has a hype train a mile wide, but just in case you live in a hole under a rock like I do, let me lay it out for you:<br />
<u><b>Recommended</b></u> all the way. 'Nuff said.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Fire Force</b></u>: Last Seen: Episode 10<br />
*<i>cracks fingers</i>* Okay, probably going to have to work a little harder to convince people on this one. <br />
SO. Right out of the gate, not gonna lie, this show fits right into your typical Shounen-Genre framework. There is literally no way I can categorize it as anything else. However, don't let that discourage you, I very much think this show has so far shown a lot of promising merits. First of all though, lets get my big-ass-elephant-in-the-room bias out of the way:<br />
<br />
I absolutely <i>adore</i> this shows opening music and animation. I've had the full version of the song playing on loop as my background music while I'm at work for going on 2-3 weeks now (maybe longer I'm terrible with time), only just today turned it back onto shuffle instead of repeat-song. I think I like it for the animation more than the music itself, the music is merely a portable utility to help me rewatch it in my head. Speaking with authority for having looped it for so long, the music itself isn't particularly amazing in any specific way, so I don't think it's a case of the composition being genius or anything. It's probably 100% a personal bias since I can't think of or pinpoint any reason why I like listening to it so much.<br />
<br />
*<i>claps</i>* Right, now that I've got that out of the way. Let's make a quick comparison for reference. Black Clover which is still airing right now, is what I would call a through-and-through Shounen show, right down to its bone-marrow. Fire Force meanwhile, is a show I would say is simply using the Shounen-Genre framework. I would attribute most of this to the absurdly high level of maturity all of the main cast display. I mention this, because of their age.<br />
<b>[Aside]</b><br />
Recently, I've noticed that there is a good 60-90% improved chance of me liking a show if its main character is at least 20-something-plus, and a progressively exponential formula in the opposite direction for every year of life you shave away from them. That is to say, yappy naive youths are utterly annoying to me anymore. Might be because of a job working with the public, but I don't seem to be as wholly apathetic about them as I used to.<br />
<b>[Aside end]</b> <br />
Which is why Fire Force stands out to me for their main cast acting...well, appropriately for their stations in life. Young or not, these are people applying, and more importantly <i>being accepted</i> into a Fire-Fighting Force. Fiction or no, that's a position of immense risk and responsibility. I've heard that on-average Japan treats officers, fire-fighters, and other such positions, with a lot more respect and decorum than the average American, (which from personal experience I will attest to as not being that high of a bar to jump over these days depending on where you live in America). Maybe that's why the cast isn't as typically ... immature? as your standard Shounen protagonist. <br />
Hell, one of the main leads is...well...practically bordering on autistic with his personal self-image, and not a bright bulb by any measure of Watts. Yet, he's <i>functionally</i> eccentric. Rather than feeling like someone let a lunatic onto the force and should lose their job for it, it instead comes off as a person with personality flaws and positives being given the pass for his exceptional ability to actually perform. I think this most comes across in how he's constantly bickering with the main character, and it's straight up admitted that he changed his self-appointed-title to spite him. Yet, when they're actually doing their job, they basically never bring it up unless they get a break to stop for a few moments. In your standard Shounen, that dead-horse would be beaten on literally every two seconds the characters are on screen.<br />
Who knows, maybe I'm just reading into it too much, I have a tendency to do that, but I could tap a few more things about the show that I like as well, more or less along the same lines as this.<br />
I do have to mention that I find the newest addition, Tamaki's ... Lucky?/Unlucky? running gag rather grating, but the way they've framed it is mildly amusing so I'm giving it a pass for now.<br />
<br />
All told, I give this show a solid: <b>Recommendation.</b> <br />
If you gave it a pass because it looked too Shounen for your tastes, I would implore you to give it a second look. By the time the first Infernal has been killed in the first episode, you should already have a good feel for the general impression of the show. Maybe that's a bit intense of a thing for me to say, but I gotta try to be bold at least every once in a while. Give the show a shot.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Midnight Occult Civil Servant</b></u>: Last Seen: <b>End</b><br />
This show was good. ... Well that's about it. Honestly I was hoping for more from it, but it didn't do anything wrong. That's literally the only problem I had with it: I loved the setting and world lore so much that I just wanted so much more of it, and there was only a small serving given to us. The last story arc especially still gives me a nice warm brain-fuzzy, I really liked it a lot. <br />
Other than that though, it's not a particularly outstanding show in any special way beyond it's great level-headed tone and good pacing. They did a fantastic job with the...Anti-hero? in one of the arcs, I <b><i>SO</i></b> wanted to punch that shit-head right in his smug face. You'll figure it out when you get there. It's especially potent because that's <i>the entire point</i> of the story being present from the main characters perspective of being able to actually communicate with and understand Anothers, while for everyone else, the Anti-heroes stance is technically the safe professional way to handle things, even if that's not entirely the reason for him taking that stance.<br />
A good <b>Recommendation</b>.<br />
<br />
--<br />
<br />
Okay that's what I could scrounge out from my, frankly, massive and bloated episodes list of stuff I've been watching/finished. I <i>know</i> there's more in there I should talk about but for now this is what I could skim off real fast. I'll try to remember to post more often here. (shush, I know I've said that multiple times. I'm working on it.) All told, I hit the high notes Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-49048485675780350002019-05-08T14:02:00.003-05:002019-05-08T14:02:48.582-05:00[New][April 2019] Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAvXKN5OU1RUEi1OB3J1Yll1BrNcmfZ91TudhoEBlSTf6MOd91LaeHYksoyLKnWN-KxgxwZefoW9V-JKStGVcVBJrXtSEvujMF35YJYYIL_2LvHnwWtpD-Df-W2-6yzeMsOw8AAWV-D4r/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAvXKN5OU1RUEi1OB3J1Yll1BrNcmfZ91TudhoEBlSTf6MOd91LaeHYksoyLKnWN-KxgxwZefoW9V-JKStGVcVBJrXtSEvujMF35YJYYIL_2LvHnwWtpD-Df-W2-6yzeMsOw8AAWV-D4r/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>So hard to find good spoiler free shots...<br />Really wanted to use some from the fight in ep1...</i></div>
<br />
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 5<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b> <span itemprop="description">(Paraphrased from Crunchyroll and MyAnimeList)<br />Since ancient times, rumors have abounded
of man-eating demons lurking in the woods. Because of this, the local
townsfolk never venture outside at night. Legend has it that Demon Slayers also roams the night, hunting down these bloodthirsty demons...</span><br />
<br />
<span itemprop="description"><span itemprop="description">Ever since the death of his father,
Tanjirou has taken it upon himself to support his family. Although their
lives may be hardened by tragedy, they've found happiness.</span> </span><br />
<span itemprop="description">For
young Tanjirou, these rumors will soon become his harsh reality...</span><br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> Cleverness and practicality! Not two things you see in anime often.<br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> You should watch this. Right out of the gate, I'm giving this a<br /><br /><u><b>Recommendation</b></u>, <br /><br />because this show just <i>screams</i> quality. At first I was afraid of it being just another Shounen copy-paste pile of mediocrity, and I gave it a pass on reading the summary. Then, it got a favorable view from a reviewer I like, so I decided to pick it up and try it. Five episodes later, I wish I had waited until it was done, because now I'm chomping at the bit for the next episode.<br /><br />You only need the first episode to know what you're getting. Despite the very Shounen story and setting, the characters are the driving force so far for me. Which is quite impressive considering one of them can't even talk! Most fights in your standard shounen are very...one-dimensional. I'm not sure how else to describe it, but basically there isn't a lot of thinking going on in the fight. Maybe a lot of thought was put in to <i>making</i> that fight, but the fights themselves are usually very straight forward. Usually with a lot of yelling and emotions... and Emotional Yelling.<br />
<br />
Demon Slayer surprises out of the gate by having an actually clever fight right in episode one. I really really like that, but I can't say literally anything else about it without spoilers, so just give it a shot. Things are a bit quieter after that first surge, but it never disappoints after that, it's just on a slow burn. I'm really looking forward to more episodes.<br /><br />I've seen a few people hyping themselves up over one of the names in the credits, "ufotable", but I've never heard of them before this so I can't comment.<br />
Regardless, now you know, in case you do recognize that name.<br />
<br /><b>[Aside]</b><br />That doesn't mean I haven't liked their stuff, just that I haven't ever tracked studios, actors, authors, or anything like that my entire life. It's a really recent development that I've started to try and occasionally check for new productions from White Fox studios, and I don't think I've even been doing that. So much for my resolve eh? I'm very much a case-by-case consumer.<br /><b>[aside end]</b>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-14785747569114385312019-04-14T16:09:00.000-05:002019-04-14T16:09:07.360-05:00A Quick Summary of Shows that are Worth your Time: Because I'm Daft.RIGHT SO, REAL QUICK NOW:<br /><br /><u><b>Dororo 2019</b></u>: Last Seen: episode 13<br /> Hype. Are you ready to suffer for a good story? YES! Then you best get your body ready, and hop on the Pain Train, because wE AiN't GoT NO BRAKES MOTHERFUCKER, TOOT TOO! <i>wheesh</i>. <br /> Seriously though, it's honestly not always depressing. They have some very heartwarming stories almost every other episode. A clean(if bloody):<br />
<u><b>Recommendation</b></u> <br />
<br />
<u><b>Mob Psycho 100</b></u> <b><u>season2</u></b>: Last Seen: Complete<br />
I felt kind of shaky about the first episode or two, but it's actually even better than the first season, if you can believe that! I absolutely loved my main man Reigen's time in the spotlight, getting fleshed out.<br />
<b>Recommended</b> if you already were watching Mob. It's good stuff.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Shield Hero</b></u>: Is still fantastic, and I'm going to buy literally all of the light novels. 'Nuff said.<br />
100% <u><b>Recommendation</b></u> if you're not a wimp or a Fem-Nazi, because hoo-boi, you gonna hate you a woman so hard, your head might explode.<br />
<br />
<u><b>KONOSUBA</b></u> Season 1-2: Last Seen: Complete<br /> So I saw someone post a couple reaction episodes on youtube to this show, liked what I saw, and then ended up binging the entire series, and making myself sad there isn't more.<br /> It's all comedy, all the way, so it may not be your cup of tea, depending on your personal tastes in humor, but <i>everyone</i> should at least try it hence:<br /> A sound <u><b>Recommendation</b></u> that you at least try it. <br />Love Kazuma, very well balanced character.<br />
Found the bath scene with Darkness headache inducing though, played that joke out way too long.<br />(double posting because I didn't have room to tag it in a previous post. Stupid character limit on tags...)<br />
<br />
<u><b>Overlord</b></u> <u><b>season3</b></u>: Last Seen: Complete<br /> More Overlord, 'Nuff said.<br />I'm seriously frothing at the mouth trying to get my hands on more of the light novels faster, hunting down fan-translations now.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Reikenzan Eichi e no Shikaku</b></u>: Last Seen: Season 1+2<br /> Oddly enough...this turned up in my youtube recommendations. It took me a while to track down the actual name, since it was constantly just called "Powerful Sage". Very annoying. Anywho:<br />First season is <i><b>SUPER PRETTY</b></i>. Second season is <b><i>SUPER NOT</i></b>. <br /> But the story is a bit heavier, and more fleshed out, so I'm happy with both. I'll probably track down the source material for this at some point. I saw a bunch of people complaining about the tone and art shift from 1 to 2, but honestly, the new art style suited the new tone of the story arc they were telling. <br />
That's my opinion on it anyway, it is still <i>very clearly</i> a budget cut, or new animation studio, or both.<br />
Go give it a try. It was very interesting, but just barely falls short of a Recommendation.<br /><br /><u><b>SAO Alicization:</b></u> Last Seen: Completed<br />
I've always been a moderate on SAO. The first season is literally just a shounen that thinks its better than being a shounen, but pretty good as a shounen no-brain action flick. The second season with the fairy game is a train wreck, possibly for entirely personal reasons. The Gun Gale season was mildly interesting, and confirms that Kirito has plot armor so thick it can cut bullets. <br /> Gun Gale Alternative was really cool. I thought so anyway. May just be because interesting things can happen when Kirito isn't on screen, ready to hand-waive everything away with some plot armor.<br />
Finally, having completed it, and therefore safely being able to render an opinion now that I know it won't suddenly tank...<br /> It was really good, for having Kirito in it. It took an entire fucking government backed research development team on a fucking man made island, but they finally managed to peel most of the plot armor off of Kirito. Good. Fucking. Work.<br /> Not that it's in time to matter to anyone. You'd still have to consume the previous shit. GGO Alternate has that going for it, you can literally watch it out of context and its still great.<br /> If you weren't already planning to watch SAO, I don't know why it having a properly balanced season now, would be the thing to change your mind, but hey now you have my opinion. Do as you will.<br /><u><b>Recommendation</b></u> for GGO Alternative with the Pink Devil, and nothing else. Alicization would get one, if it wasn't dragging the Kirito baggage from the previous seasons for you to watch it. Come to think of it...would I recommend it...if it wasn't being considered outstanding for rising out of mediocrity? Talk about having a really low pedestal to climb to stand out.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Angels of Death</b></u>: Last Seen: Completed.<br />
Did I not post about this...*searches* I appear not to have. How odd, could have sworn I would have, but it's not tagged if I did. Regardless, this show gets a solid,<br /><b><u>Recommendation</u></b> for good quality suspense and interestingly unique characters. It's certainly an odd mish-mash of genres. My first instinct is to call it horror, but it absolutely isn't. Say what you want about "Another" and its quality, but nobody is going to disagree when you call that a horror story. Several people might if you try to blatantly call Angels of Death one though. I think you should give it a try, it may not be to your tastes, but it was very interesting and suspenseful.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Killing Bites</b></u>: Last Seen: Completed.<br />I watched a show called Killing Bites. Now I'm reading a Manga called Killing Bites. I do believe, that means I liked it. It's not trying to be especially serious, but some very serious shit goes down in the story...more than a few times. I really like that despite them usually being quite simple, the characters still get some depth to them, frequently. Not sure how much of that is me bleeding the knowledge from the show and the comic together, but regardless I think you should give the show a try. It plays up its fan service in the visual marketing, but I promise there's a good story and characters in there too.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Morose Mononokean</b></u>: Top quality, wholesome, simple and fun
to enjoy. Reminds me a lot of "Yokai Apartments" in tone. It's not
especially complicated, but it gets the job done with a fantastic:<br /><u><b>Recommendation</b></u>. <br />No action to speak of, it's very light-hearted even if it has its serious moments. It's never <i>really</i>
dramatic, but it has the art of telling a soothing and heartfelt story
in its pocket, for sure. Give it a shot if you need something more
peaceful for a few episodes, it's tragically short, and I'm hoping for a
new season at some point. Then again, aren't we all, for one show or
another?<br />
<br />
Okay...I think that covers all of it!<br />Probably not. Oh yeah, even if it's a double post, because I can't be bothered to check again, you should know:<br /><u><b>Dies Irae</b></u>: was shit. Dunno if that's the animations fault, or the source materials fault, can't be bothered to care or to check, but some comments were screaming about it being radically wrong and made-up on Crunchyroll, so maybe that's a thing. So if some of it seems good to you, maybe find the source whatever it was. The show crashed and burned hard though.<br />
<br />
<br /><br />There. Now I think I've posted something about everything I've been watching/finished I hadn't written about. Hope something good turns up for you!Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-91321369865894924422019-04-14T14:49:00.002-05:002019-04-14T14:49:35.854-05:00[New][April 2019] Midnight Occult Civil Servant - Charming and Subtle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBb4jxycTvtNMO4fd9mUckXLkWWv0PTsJVbPk2BrLb8rFvSK6kSRDK0OvqFp5gykymHMJgSCP9Pm4zwlVY-T27vbqJ8kViluRrfmJR6rJk_p8R0ATtEcoM3ij77d_T_wKLD2bWYXnuBnz4/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBb4jxycTvtNMO4fd9mUckXLkWWv0PTsJVbPk2BrLb8rFvSK6kSRDK0OvqFp5gykymHMJgSCP9Pm4zwlVY-T27vbqJ8kViluRrfmJR6rJk_p8R0ATtEcoM3ij77d_T_wKLD2bWYXnuBnz4/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>How to solve a shit-ton of anime and horror plots.<br />My man Seo has you covered.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 2<b> </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Summary:</b> [Quoted from <a href="https://www.crunchyroll.com/midnight-occult-civil-servants" target="_blank">Crunchyroll</a> (They actually wrote a good summary for once!)]<br /><span class="more">When Miyako Arata joins the Shinjuku Ward
Office, he thinks he's gotten a normal civil servant job. But it turns
out he's joined the Night Community Exchange Department, one of which
operates secretly in each of Tokyo's twenty-three ward offices.
Their job is to resolve occult issues concerning non-human beings.
Accompanied by his senpai and department head Sakaki Kyoichi and the
occult obsessed Himetsuka Seo, they work night after night, facing beings whose existence defies the laws of our world.</span><br /><br /><b>First Impression:</b> Extremely calm and charming. I already liked it within the first 5-10 minutes.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i></i><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>My Opinion:</b> There hasn't really been a lot to talk about for a while...is what I would like to say, but honestly I've been watching a bunch of good shows, and just forgot to post anything here about them. But I loved this show so fast that it made me hyped enough to remember this is a thing I'm suppose to be doing. Woops.<br /><br />ANYWHO.<br /><br />Charming. Calm. Normally, when you introduce the supernatural to your character for the first time, they freak out. That our protagonist didn't, was unexpectedly refreshing. I hadn't realized how tired and old that was getting. Having a common response is one thing, have <i>literally</i> no other kind of response in every single story, is aggravating. Viva La Trope, I guess?<br /><br />Regardless, the story seems quite good and well thought out, but that could just be me really appreciating that it's so calm and soothingly paced. It has only been two episodes after all.<br /><br />Regardless, just for being inspiring enough to get me to write again, and that I've got a good feeling about this one, (better start digging my own grave now that I've jinxed it), this show gets a high-speed:<br /><br /><u><b>Recommendation</b></u> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
With no strings attached. That hasn't happened in a while without getting me super hyped up like Shield Hero did.</div>
Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-32665285852533690082019-01-12T11:05:00.001-06:002019-01-12T11:10:15.768-06:00[New][January 2019] The Rising of the Shield Hero: The Rising of my Hype<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sEIPAVwO4kJ2dcB-HbiaFVFbPea12kJAC0u7J-vy1K8ngh6DLfmwjiTH1NrMOF2qJ5ucGBMrvEeCzBvvw9MJ2KYl1Sz48zKsKT9PdfqigzRR84tsibmHnYGCIl0LTVomCN8xbEpHs3om/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sEIPAVwO4kJ2dcB-HbiaFVFbPea12kJAC0u7J-vy1K8ngh6DLfmwjiTH1NrMOF2qJ5ucGBMrvEeCzBvvw9MJ2KYl1Sz48zKsKT9PdfqigzRR84tsibmHnYGCIl0LTVomCN8xbEpHs3om/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>HA! Ha ha, HAHAHAH!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 1<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> (Paraphrased from <a href="https://myanimelist.net/anime/35790/Tate_no_Yuusha_no_Nariagari" target="_blank">MyAnimeList.net</a>)<br />
<span itemprop="description">Stories of old tell of four otherworldly
heroes, wielding the sword, spear, bow, and shield who defended the land
from wave after wave of calamity. With the fate of the world in balance,
the kingdom of Melromarc summons these legendary figures: in modern-day
Japan, the call is answered, and the unwitting heroes are transported
to this fantasy universe.<br />
<br />
Thrust into Melromarc and given the title of "Shield Hero," Casual Otaku
Naofumi Iwatani is labeled the weakest due to his lack of offensive
capability and apparent inexperience, not having any video game experience like his fellow summoned heroes. When the heroes part ways to start
their journeys, he only has one willing companion: the beautiful Myne. <br /><br />However, things soon go horribly astray, and Naofumi is not only branded a criminal, but </span><span itemprop="description"><span itemprop="description">made an outcast
of society</span>, with no money or possessions to his name, and no one, and nothing, on his side, but the Shield he cannot remove that brands him as the Shield Hero.<br /> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span itemprop="description">With hatred filling his heart, he sets out alone, vowing
vengeance against those who wronged him.</span><br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> Standard fantasy material...with a lot of attention to detail. Oh. OH. OH SHIT. Ooh, that got very bad ass, very fast!<br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> This show got amazing, and absolutely <i>enthralling</i>, fast. ... Well, <i>relatively</i> fast. I think it was the studios #1 decision they'll make this year, to have made the first episode double length. If all we had gotten was those first 20 or so minutes of it, I wouldn't have cared much at all. It's attention to detail would have caught my attention, but I wouldn't be literally writhing inside my skull like I am right now, and have been since watching it, with an insatiable craving to see the next episode. That is <u>exceptionally</u><i> </i><u><i>rare</i></u> these days for me. I love this feeling. The <i>need</i> to see more, to know more, to understand more!<br />
<br />
So far, the only complaint I have is a nit-pick, about how fast Naofumi adapts to and begins improvising in his critical state. I mean, there's absolutely plausibility for how he goes about things, and everything he's doing at that point, it just feels like it happened too fast. I'd chock this up to the anime speeding things up. I'd be willing to bet money that a few more transitional mental states occurred in the source material, and some brainstorming to come up with the <i>absolutely fantastic</i> ideas he uses in the later half of the episode. <br />
<br />
It goes without saying that this show gets an astoundingly glowing <br />
<br />
<u><b>Recommendation</b></u>for its first episode, no strings attached!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
[<b>Aside]</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
On a side note...I've been seeing White Fox Studio's name and logo plastered in the credits of a <i>lot</i> of the anime I've been loving in recent years... This time around, it looks like it's just some staff that was borrowed, but I think I'm going to, for the first time in my life, actually pay attention to and try to follow something/someone's work, instead of exclusively hunting on a unit-by-unit basis like I usually do with books, games, and shows. The only other entity to ever receive my attention like this has been From Software, and I've not regretted that yet. Here's to hoping I don't regret this one either!</div>
Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-87349421233106960222019-01-12T09:58:00.001-06:002019-01-12T10:34:52.616-06:00Quick Catch Up: Because I'm a forgetful one.<br />
ALRIGHTY THEN. <br />
Seeing as I forgot about this for...*checks time stamps* about 3 months? Let's just quickly catch up on some stuff.<br />
--<br />
[Ended] Goblin Slayer: Fantastic. In hindsight, I feel like they could have saved themselves some of the drama if they had provided more build up for that first episode punch in the face. Having received all of the available Goblin Slayer Light Novels as a Christmas present, and having read all of them, I am happy to report:<br />
<br />
Goblin Slayer anime is good. <br />
Manga is better.<br />
Light Novel is best. <br />
<br />
The Manga takes more time to emphasis the eponymous Goblin Slayer himself struggling to maintain his humanity, and just how monstrous he appears to the Goblins themselves, by stepping inside of their heads more often than the Light Novel does, and basically <i>at all</i>, as far as the Anime goes.<br />
<br />
The Light Novels take more time to flesh out the world and properly explain things. If I hadn't already read the Novels by the time I watched the Sword Maiden scenes, I wouldn't have understood basically anything that was going on, and would have wrote most of it off as tasteless fan service. As it is, I still think all of her scenes were rather terribly rushed, especially since I think she's a great character overall, very well put together in motivations and personality. <br />
Still, the anime's not bad in any regard. Just not as polished as I would like it to be.<br />
--<br />
[Ongoing, Episode 14] Slime Reincarnation: Why. Aren't. You. Watching. This. Masterpiece. <br />
<br />
Once again, I purchased all three books as soon as I finished the second episode, and having done so, I can happily report that the anime is doing an absolutely fantastic job of literally everything. In fact, they may even have done a slightly better job with Shizue's story. <br />
<br />
It was mostly done to make it work for a live motion medium like Animation, and I do feel like maybe her story had more punch spread out bread-crumb style like it is in the books, but that most certainly wouldn't have gone as well in an anime. So far the only changes I've noticed have all been quality of life touch-ups, things done to smooth over the adaptation, without damaging the main impact of the story and characters. Hell, it may even have improved at least one scene. The Orc backstory was actually a bit misleading with how it was worded in the book, I didn't realize I had misunderstood until I saw the anime episode equivalent. <br />
<br />
The animation is gorgeous, and I say that as someone who literally couldn't give a rat's ass to a cat to care about graphical appearance 99% of the time. I tend to always drop graphics quality on all of my games first thing, to make sure they run smooth and never risk hiccups while playing. In that context, you should properly understand just how god-damn-me pretty the show is. The last show I remember thinking was this pretty, was Ancient Magus Bride. WATCH THIS SHOW ALREADY, AIGHT?<br />
--<br />
[New, Ongoing, Episode 13] SAO Alicization: Eh. It's okay. It's more Kirito, the black hole of Plot Armor, so I don't expect a lot. I actually really like the GGO alternative season they made recently, but I don't have high hopes or anger for mainstream SAO stuff. <br />
<br />
I really don't understand how Hyped and/or Rage'y most people get about SAO. It's just a slightly more pretentious shounen show. Shut off some of your brain cells like you do for the rest of the shounen genre, and just enjoy. (I still call bullshit on season ones 'I can hack this Operating System I know literally nothing about!', and the tentacle hentai in a later season, I have not forgiven, I have not forgotten, I just don't fucking care anymore).<br />
--<br />
[New/Ended] KONOSUBA season 2: I had to stitch my ruptured sides back together after I collected them from all over the room after I started watching, and then proceeded to binge-watch this, stopping only to go to work, sleep, and maybe occasionally remembering to eat. This show is comedy Grade A gold, and if you've skipped it for whatever or any reason at all, like I did, you owe it to yourself to go back and correct this mistake you have made. By all that is good, this show is amazing. I love it to pieces, and I dearly desire another season. It's straight up comedy genius from start to finish, so don't expect any high-brow deep plot or such, but it has a good story and I really like the main character, and for that matter, pretty much the entire cast. I'm pretty sure you're <i>suppose</i> to hate on Aqua though.<br />
--<br />
[New, Ongoing, Episode 14] Majutsu no Index, season 3: HYPE! or I'd like to be. <br />
<br />
I'm super glad to finally be getting more of one of my favorites, but <i>jesus</i> there is a <u><b>lot</b></u> going on, and its going by fast! I tend to be great at keeping up with things, and even I think they're rushing through a lot of stuff, really god damn fast. <br />
<br />
But hey, I got another hit of my Accelerator addiction right into my veins, so whatever, I don't care. Fill the next needle and stick me up baby, I'll take all the side effects and then some for some more of that sweet, sweet, Accelerator goodness! <br />
And yes, that is most assuredly a complete and total personal bias. So sue me.<br />
--<br />
[New, Ongoing, Episode 1] Mob Psycho 100, season 2: Tentatively hyped! The first episode started out kind of weak, then got really good really fast. I am most pleased. I expect good things from this show!<br />
--<br />
Up next...a proper post for <i>the</i> most hype show currently airing....Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-41348748660255897322018-10-22T16:58:00.001-05:002018-10-22T16:58:22.316-05:00[New][October 2018] Goblin Slayer - Edge'tastic Goodness.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jK4T_33oa4OyRZNOZFh2jsqVxYglECjVHDnzLh0W-PUpyUa96e6iLCBk-w8fug9gAQQuU8E69Z0tlBKc5YxacKNa55OZ2zBOKxlGYZuiS1pMD37xPso3qCrCM9eFrgTaBFOAPNJsLDQF/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jK4T_33oa4OyRZNOZFh2jsqVxYglECjVHDnzLh0W-PUpyUa96e6iLCBk-w8fug9gAQQuU8E69Z0tlBKc5YxacKNa55OZ2zBOKxlGYZuiS1pMD37xPso3qCrCM9eFrgTaBFOAPNJsLDQF/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Screenshot does not accurately portray the Cinematography effects of this scene.</i></div>
<br /><b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 3<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b> <span class="more">Rumor has it that, in a certain guild in the middle of nowhere, there is
an extraordinary man who has climbed all the way to the Silver rank, one of the highest possible for adventurers,
just by killing goblins, and only goblins. He does not accept any quest besides goblin slaying quests. <br /><br />Meanwhile, a Priestess fresh from the temple enlists in the adventurer's guild, and as soon as she's done turning in her forms and receiving her nametag, she's approached by other new adventurers like her, and they set off on their very first quest. A simple goblin slaying quest...</span><br /><br /><b>First Impression:</b> Well, this rather seems like your standard setting for fanta...THAT ESCALATED VERY QUICKLY<br /><br /><b>My Opinion:</b> Are you squeamish? No? Then watch this show. By the time the credits were rolling, I felt like I had just finished watching something in a cinema theater, despite being thoroughly disheartened with it in the first few minutes. Of course, that's the effect I'm sure they wanted to impart. The show literally opens with a disclaimer on the top of the screen on Crunchyroll's website 'This show contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised'.<br /><br /> I have literally never seen that before, on any anime. That's saying something, considering I got duped into watching a Hentai's first episode on WatchAnimeNow's website because the summary seemed like your standard slice of life trash, and I needed a filler show. Long story short I shut that shit off as soon as the brother and sister climbed into a bathtub. Together. Naked. With no censoring or anything. And started getting busy. Or maybe they weren't? I didn't stay to find out, but that shit certainly didn't have a 'Viewer Discretion is Advised' warning sticker on it. <br /><br />So yeah, if offensive things offend you horribly, piss off. If you like horror flicks though, this show right here is YOUR JAM. <br />Especially high notes for the Priestess character immediately being likeable as the show goes on. Minus some points for the childhood friend that shows up later <i>literally sounding like a child</i>, figuratively and literally. That one better not have a lot of screen time, or she's going to need a hell of a lot more depth. It's moving in the right direction in that regard by the end of episode 3, so promising prospects all around. <br /><br />I have great confidence in giving this show an all around, <br /><br /><u><b>Recommendation</b></u>, with the only limiter being whether or not you balk at horror-type scenes. Stuff gets bloody and gritty real damn fast when they get into that cave.Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-4291297842071782752018-10-08T12:38:00.000-05:002018-10-08T12:38:05.234-05:00[New][October 2018] That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken) - Looking great right out of the gate!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjOCCjMIMBs0nb83D7pP4rfRae5geKpkgMT2qUJJV1zzjgW-ilFuN0kzMallEsvoULD6gYJo7DRYtz_fhsiAbC-HlGQy9QpN3Qb_q-7sWtdTHIBoj8DhtxwT7xEF2TxZ9f6bpQN6lLEBH/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjOCCjMIMBs0nb83D7pP4rfRae5geKpkgMT2qUJJV1zzjgW-ilFuN0kzMallEsvoULD6gYJo7DRYtz_fhsiAbC-HlGQy9QpN3Qb_q-7sWtdTHIBoj8DhtxwT7xEF2TxZ9f6bpQN6lLEBH/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>PFF, HA HA HA, literally "Get in muh Belleh!"</i></div>
<br />
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 2<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> <span itemprop="description">Satou Mikami is a 37 year old unremarkable corporate office worker, finally well on his way climbing the corporate ladder, and making some good money. He's invited out one day by one of his junior coworkers in the office, so that he can show off and brag to Satou about his new girlfriend. Things go awry, when a man with a knife makes an attempt on their lives, and Satou is stabbed protecting his junior. <br />As he watches and feels his life literally bleed out in front of him, a strange voice begins talking in his head, prattling on about 'Skills' and 'Skill Combinations' in response to everything he's thinking. Finally, with his last breath begging his junior to wipe his hard-drive on his computer at home, he dies...and wakes up again somewhere else, unable to feel heat or cold, to see properly, and unable to feel or use his hands or feet. Slowly, as he feels things out with his new situation, it sinks in...he's now a slime!<br /><br /><b>First Impression:</b> Sweet, a protagonist that's not a teen! Ah shit, there's the teen...AH SHIT THEY KILLED THE MATURE GUY! Well this is going in the trash bin...wait. Huh? Oh jesus not another slime! Oh <i>Great</i>, and he has a "Predator" skill, that's just bloody fantastic...<br /><br /><b>My Opinion:</b> Honestly, I don't know why I decided to put this on the block for watching. Probably just that I'm quickly running out of shows to fill my time slots... I can't eat and play games at the same time, so I like to keep at least one or two shows to watch every day to give myself a reminder to eat. Having just recently been burned by a slime scene in an episode, and by a general "as I expected" result of a series, by all rights, I should have just wrote this off and ignored it. I was probably close to doing that too, since the second episode came out the day after I watched the first one, I left it to sit for almost a week. <br /><br />Things started off great, got rocky, got <i>horrible</i>, and then by the end of the first episode I was drooling for the second. But literally all of that happened inside my head, rather than being objective judgements of the episode. Most of it has to do with Satou monologuing as he's dying, and me taking that a bit too seriously for the generation of the "Predator" skill. To be fair, this is a show from Japan, and I've been burned so many times. My soul must look like a charcoal briquette by now. <br /><br />In short, I'm already <u><b>Recommending</b></u> this show, because it's looking like it's going to be a fantastically stable and mature story and main character. I think that makes a significant difference, one I should, and intend to, pay more attention to in future. The older and more mature the main character is, the self-same the story tends to be as a reflection, since most stories are told from the main characters perspective. Looking back, I've had an almost 100% track-rating of loving shows with mature or older main characters driving the story and the plot forward. </span><br />
<span itemprop="description"><br /> </span><br />
<span itemprop="description">To make a point, there's nothing explicitly wrong with the first episode, I'm just so cynical and twitchy these days I immediately made as many horrible assumptions as I could at the slightest twitch of potential for irritation or outright bad ideas. <br /><br />I remember watching a Youtuber video by a Anime critique/reviewer, and them explaining that the "three episode rule" of deciding if a show that just started is good or not, was a farce, and that you can absolutely tell if a show is going to be trash in its first episode. The longer I use a critical eye to examine shows to decide on things to write for the blog, the more I agree with the idea. Comparing the first episode of this show, to "How not to Summon a Demon Lord" makes for an amazing and stark contrast. <br /><br />While I liked, and enjoyed, that show to its finish, I never did really expect much of it, and to the contrary, it literally gave me exactly what I feared it would...but it was still a pretty nice show, and I do still like a lot of the things it had in it. I just feel like it was tied down by its "harem genre" rather than benefiting from it. Then again, I don't think I've ever encountered a show that 'benefited' from being a harem genre member...just shows that couldn't ever possibly amount to being anything else.<br /><br />Slime Reincarnation on the other hand, had me drooling for more by the first episodes end, with my brain on fire the entire time I was at work playing with all the ideas it had introduced about its setting and story. I was so bloody happy that the next episode was coming out as soon as I got home, and that's a feeling I miss. That excitement, that eagerness. The invigoration of my mind and curiosity. I used to, and still do, love a lot of the anime I've watched over the years for that effect, it's why I love anime so much. <br />It's also why I'm such a downer on shows that, in my eyes, are dragged down and tarnished by japan's anime industry bullshit and fan-service demands.<br /><br />You all should give this show a shot. It may be a bit 'talk-happy' for some peoples tastes, it <i>shows in spades</i> that it was obviously made from a light novel, but I'm beginning to understand that it is for precisely that reason, that I'm enjoying things. I like a somewhat slower, steadier, and more reliable narrative with some thought and detail to it. At least, so long as it's not <i>fucking drowning in detail</i> like "Dances with Dragons" was. I still need to make myself finish that and throw some kind of post up here warning people about how utterly off-putting the show is.<br /> </span>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-78078747705367144742018-08-16T10:39:00.001-05:002018-08-16T10:44:23.415-05:00How Not to Summon a Demon Lord - Harem as it presented. Sometimes, I'm tired of being right. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8bIG0HKuWW_dM4jCs53IvxXIhk9vjEHM6LxvMduseLuShN7ccxcrSIUDj_WIFqYl3wQztEX-GT_EuwB0KF9bO8TfN9EC32Bpbl7T0l8Ypjy3JSv0QPoVj-SpJrU8wyvMAGMGVBmzuwjN/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn8bIG0HKuWW_dM4jCs53IvxXIhk9vjEHM6LxvMduseLuShN7ccxcrSIUDj_WIFqYl3wQztEX-GT_EuwB0KF9bO8TfN9EC32Bpbl7T0l8Ypjy3JSv0QPoVj-SpJrU8wyvMAGMGVBmzuwjN/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The slime was already bad enough, but then <b>THIS?</b> That's called<br /><u>BURNING</u> the clothes,<br />not 'feeding' on the clothes you insufferable inbred retards.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 7<br />
<br />
Thusly I <a href="http://www.ibloganime.com/2018/07/newjuly-2018-how-not-to-summon-demon.html" target="_blank">quote</a>: "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". <br />
<br />
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 <i>knew</i> 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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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 <i>Kill. Me. Now</i>, it's a god damned slime. Really, we're going <i>there</i>?"<br />
<br />
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 <i>rubbed salt in the wound</i> by <u>contradicting</u> itself while it was at it! "A slime that feeds on fabric" it says, followed immediately by it <b><u>BURNING</u></b> the fabric off her, <i>after</i> 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 <i>burns</i>. We all know why the scene is in there, it's to "service some fans". It's in poor taste. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
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 <i>be</i> 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". <br />
<br /><b>[Aside Rant]</b><br />
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. <br />
<br />
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 <i>proper</i> 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 <i>is</i> 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. <br />
<br />
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 <i>was</i> 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.<br />
<b>[Aside end]</b><br /><br />
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. </div>
Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-19852435520571311302018-07-30T13:20:00.000-05:002018-07-30T13:20:46.971-05:00[New][End][April 2017] Rage of Bahamut - Virgin Soul (Season 2)(Shingeki no Bahamut - Virgin Soul)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkycuL-77CRYcvFQITdXbxThBhSg9W1507_0H3J-aFAitoYC_Dy4CGWzg1ZOCkRBodXze-QgJ6uOSTi9UWr2pQ1SHq7_fLifqppX6RtIDVJRwyE48WucvueQbOAGmhrVQiTiTVoMCdrEx-/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkycuL-77CRYcvFQITdXbxThBhSg9W1507_0H3J-aFAitoYC_Dy4CGWzg1ZOCkRBodXze-QgJ6uOSTi9UWr2pQ1SHq7_fLifqppX6RtIDVJRwyE48WucvueQbOAGmhrVQiTiTVoMCdrEx-/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Everything</i></b><i> shall burn, your heart and mind alike<br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Last Seen:</b> All of it.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Summary:</b> <span itemprop="description">A decade ago, humans, gods, and demons joined forces to stand against the threat of the colossal dragon, Bahamut.<br />
<br />
Now, humans in the capital city of Anatae enjoy lavish and prosperous lives. Their progress is largely due
to the newly appointed king, Charioce XVII, who
has stolen a power from the gods, and allowed for the abuse and slavery
of the demon race in the capital after attacking and destroying their capital Cocytus.<br />
<br />
Amidst it all, Nina Drango, a cheerful young bounty hunter, has arrived
at the Royal Capital with hopes of settling down and earning a living.
However, her peaceful life in the capital is quickly thrown into chaos
when she crosses paths with the ominous Rag Demon who is determined to
seek revenge against humans, and Kaisar Lidfard, a noble knight battling
an internal moral conflict.<br /><br />Paraphrased from <a href="https://myanimelist.net/anime/30736/Shingeki_no_Bahamut__Virgin_Soul" target="_blank">Myanimelist.com</a></span><br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> Everything's looking good.<br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> Season 2. <i>Better</i> than season 1. <br />
<br />
Here's the important things you need to know. <br />
1. You need to see the first season before you watch season two, it may not seem like it at first, but you do.<br />
2. This show is an emotional roller coaster. Brace for impact.<br />
3. Whoever's in charge of story-writing has obviously improved, or they got someone better this time around, because the flow of the story feels much improved. Don't get me wrong, I like the first season a lot, but its flaws were much more obvious than this time around.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
4. Rita best character <i>ever</i>, end of discussion.<br />
<br />
...What. It's my opinion, I can do what I want with it. <br />
<br />
Anyway, this show is hands down<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;">GREAT</span></span></b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">and obviously comes with a full <u><b>Recommendation</b></u>, no strings attached...well besides the fact that its a sequel, so you need to watch the first season.</span></span></span></span>Without getting into spoilers, a lot of the show takes for granted that you'll understand the references its making when it talks about things, it just straight glosses over anything from the first season. They genuinely didn't seem to care at all about catering to anyone who hadn't watched season 1, and I think that's the best choice. Yes, season one had its flaws, but it's no train wreck by any measure, it's a wild good time too, so I don't see why they should be expected to bow and scrape before the mouth-breathing thick skulls that are forever screaming some complaint or another. I genuinely don't understand how people can expect a sequel of anything to <i>not</i> expect you to have consumed the first part.<br />
<br />
Anywho, this time around the story has a new central cast, and I think that's a good thing. It shows ... integrity? I think is the best way to describe it...let's just roll with that, for now. I think it shows integrity on the writers part, because it is <i>so</i> easy for story creators, be they books, shows, or games, to just reuse and rehash a new story for the same old characters. Most of the time, that's fine, especially for authors that had more story to tell, or left their worlds open ended enough for the adventures to continue. However, to have <i>already</i> branched out to new characters, <i>and</i> made them fantastic to boot, shows great talent and quality of work somewhere in the creation department. Having seen all of it, I can absolutely see how they could have tweaked things to reorient it to be wrapped entirely around the characters that show up from the first season like Kaiser. That's just how it feels to me, maybe I'm a bit too sensitive around stagnation.<br />
<br />
Well. What are you waiting for? The musics a touch all over the map, so I'm willing to bet you at least 50 m'guffins that you'll hate at least one of the openings or endings between both seasons, but the shows fantastic from start to finish and a wild ride to boot. I suppose the only warning I can give you is that the second season spends a lot of time building up your happiness...don't let it fool you. It's going to punch you in the gut. It's coming. Don't say I didn't warn you. Now get watching.</div>
Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-71922950152931811152018-07-26T12:30:00.001-05:002018-07-26T13:00:17.354-05:00[New][July 2018] How Not to Summon a Demon Lord (Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZiWTYMmGUEVo82YvZZFfDdlso7aJqoZZPRYtCC_YVKdOHcdep7TtKO1IPtMpAflAq2ybuOcwGnOqCHgXgHgHQCHPcBApXTtLu5Lt8s2Tx5WCMhACL7tm7ZU4mL1cnCAHC_bd0pdeuVpz/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZiWTYMmGUEVo82YvZZFfDdlso7aJqoZZPRYtCC_YVKdOHcdep7TtKO1IPtMpAflAq2ybuOcwGnOqCHgXgHgHQCHPcBApXTtLu5Lt8s2Tx5WCMhACL7tm7ZU4mL1cnCAHC_bd0pdeuVpz/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>This was the point I surrendered to the laughter.</i></div>
<br />
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 4<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> <span class="more">Sakamoto Takuma was so strong in the MMORPG
'Cross Reverie' that his fellow players came to call him the "demon lord."
One day, he is summoned to another world in his avatar form, and
meets two girls who both are fighting about who the one who summoned him is.
They cast a spell used to enslave summoned beasts on him, but that
activates his unique ability, Magic Reflection, and the girls end up being
the ones put under the spell!
And thus begins the otherworldly adventure of a demon lord (pretending) who
blazes his own trail through overwhelming power.</span><br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> Ah, shit, it's a harem...but it's...Hilarious?!<br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> I have literally no idea why I find this show so absolutely hilarious. Literally any other Harem show I have watched has annoyed wherever it tried to amuse. Now this. It's using so many common harem or 'ecchi' jokes, but...somehow it's making them funny enough for me to laugh at them. Maybe I'm just getting old, or just far too jaded, but somehow it feels like this one's higher quality presentation. Same material? Yes. But it seems fresh because of the way it is presented, or at least that's the excuse I'm going with while I draw blanks, and laugh my ass off. <br />
<br />
To wit, though, the story is quite good, and the main characters are all interesting. Not so much the elf at first, she was just such a cardboard cut out Harem toon. I didn't like her character, but she was immensely useful for comedic effect, so I ignored it. When they filled in some of her back story though, I don't mind her as much now. I'll avoid spoilers, but it explains some of her personality quirks that make her a perfect Harem girl fit in a decent way. Is that clearly the egg after the chicken? Yes. She was clearly designed to be a Harem girl in a Harem anime, but I will always take a moment to appreciate some thought and detail being put into a show. <br />
<br />
On the flip, the other main female lead up to this point, is a wonderful contrast. I think this has to be the most ... realistic? presentation of the 'Tsundere' trope I've ever seen. It's not just gag-slap after gag-slap, and main character defying gravity to smash into walls left, right, and center, I genuinely think her character is well constructed, as it has been presented so far. She reacts to things in a very reasonable manner, especially compared to <i>literally any</i> other Harem genre show.<br />
<br />
But by far and large, my favorite character of all, is the main protagonist, Diablo. Definitely. I <i>love</i> the way he's presented as thinking about and interpreting everything through a video game lens as a coping mechanism to not have a break down, and cover for his horribly insufficient social skills. It amuses me, and it makes for a good watch, if I do say so myself. I just genuinely like it when a main character is shown as putting some thought and deductive reasoning to work to get by. He doesn't just resort to blasting everything to pieces with his overwhelming power, he's actually trying to understand everything around him and how things are working, even if it is just by comparing it to the game he's used to playing, finding the differences in how things work.<br />
<br />
But really though. Those goddamn bouncing gravity defying boob bounces scenes. <i>Why are they so funny now?</i> I absolutely <u><i>hated</i></u> it whenever any other show would go about this gag-style recurring joke. The only bits of reasoning I can come up with, is the camera doesn't <i>drool</i> over her every time it's happening. It's literally a few frames of animation for comedic effect, and then it cuts straight to the main character or someone else being bothered by it. Maybe that's it. 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, but <i>even then</i> that entire scene with him waking up next to them was <i>just...</i> I don't know. I was laughing, and I was trying to figure out why, and then just laughing harder as the scene kept going. I was having a hard time choosing a screenshot for this post between this one, and "HELP ME, RIGHT HAND!", but I went with this one because it's slightly better out of context on its own, and it's also the point where I just went 'fuck it' in my head, and resigned my self to just laughing and enjoying the whole thing. <br />
<br />
I know better than to put the cart in front of the horse anymore, so I won't put a recommendation on this show...yet. But, for certain, you should check it out. Anything that decides to be the Harem Genre and is strong enough to make me enjoy it, deserves special mention. <br />
<br />
ALSO, DAT WHITE NOVA THOUGH. HOLY SHIT. THAT SCENE WAS FARKING AMAZING.<br />
<br />
<b>EDIT:</b> I FIGURED IT OUT! I went back and re-watched a couple of episodes, and I figured out why I like this shows presentation so much better than literally any other Harem show ever. It's what the show is <i>expecting</i> its audience to do with its scenes. Summon a Demon Lord understands that its making fan service, but it <i>expects you to laugh at it</i>. Meanwhile, other shows will just <i>show you fan service</i>, and expect you to be a drooling mess as long as it is on screen. I think that's why it annoys me so much. Since I'm not the target audience, and the appeal goes right over my head, it just feels like a tortuously long waste of my time, that could be better spent watching the parts of the show I do like. <br />
<br />
I remember a while back when <a href="http://www.ibloganime.com/2016/01/newjanuary-2016-myriad-colors-phantom.html" target="_blank">Phantom World</a> came out, it was a similar affair. I praised it for how the 'fan service' didn't grind the show to a halt every time it was onscreen, and instead it just fluently rolled with it, like it was a natural part of the show's world, instead of the usual earth shattering grind-to-a-halt forces in play when most fan service hits the screen and everything stops for a closer look. <br /><br />Ultimately I expected way too much from that show based on its first episode, and ended up with a bad taste in my mouth after it ended. I'd like to think I've grown a bit since then, and don't invest as easily. Still, it's been four episodes, and this one just keeps getting better, while Phantom World literally started to rot in episode 2. I'll Raise my hopes a bit for Summon a Demon Lord, but I won't place any expectations just yet.Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-78350000207948043092018-07-19T15:40:00.000-05:002018-07-19T15:40:27.525-05:00[New][End][January 2018] Darling in the FRANXX - A Vibrant and touching Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vSV3G40HXpcwyKGR23HGqlVRdtuEmCngYWKTd7-Hb-7Ag6mau7a25rEcR9ghpIyDiw17SoxoPc6hiXjvB1y0oU9f8oldneHFHKOepsVkmLfmgWFoKLKPgbxeH42BSUZycWDuO0eHrZbK/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vSV3G40HXpcwyKGR23HGqlVRdtuEmCngYWKTd7-Hb-7Ag6mau7a25rEcR9ghpIyDiw17SoxoPc6hiXjvB1y0oU9f8oldneHFHKOepsVkmLfmgWFoKLKPgbxeH42BSUZycWDuO0eHrZbK/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>It's not much, But I'll take it.</i></div>
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> <span itemprop="description">In the distant future, humanity has been
driven to near-extinction by giant beasts known as Klaxosaurs, forcing
the surviving humans to take refuge in massive fortress cities called
Plantations. Children raised here are trained to pilot giant mechas
known as FRANXX—the only weapons known to be effective against the
Klaxosaurs...in boy-girl pairs. Bred for the sole purpose of piloting
these machines, these children know nothing of the outside world and are
only able to prove their existence by defending their race. (Quote from <a href="https://myanimelist.net/anime/35849/Darling_in_the_FranXX" target="_blank">MyAnimeList.com</a>)</span><br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> What? Butt-Mounted Controllers? Into the Bin you go. Skipping this.<br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> See first impression for my literal first impression of this show back in January. I hereby declare a prophesy that this show will forever be plagued by this exact first impression. <br /><br /><i>This post literally got so long I put red headers in to help you skip around for TL;DR</i><span style="color: red;"><b>First Look</b></span><br />Japan's culture is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the free reign they give to their artistic liberties allows such wonderful stories like this to find a place to take root and grow. <br />Whereas here in American culture, I can say with all certainty that unless you had a previously established foundation of trust, such as a highly profitable publication of any kind, no editor or publisher would ever approve of "butt-mounted controllers". I can't even <i>type</i> that without giggling to myself. <br />On the other hand, here I am. Giggling. <br />
I think that's a wonderful thing, (*See Aside Rant at bottom \/*), because god only knows how often the 'ecchi' jokes piss me off. It's important to know and notice the difference between a cheap gag, and a well thought out joke. As far as Japanese anime goes, you can generally notice the difference based on how much screen time it gets whenever it happens, and how many different camera angles they use to show it off.<br />
<br /><span style="color: red;"><b>Second Look</b></span><br />So why am I making a post about it, singing its praises? Because I value opinions outside of my own. I always watch every review and first reaction <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/GRArkada/" target="_blank">Arkada</a> uploads to youtube, because he shares a very similar opinion and perspective to me when it comes to choosing what anime to watch, and what kinds of anime we enjoy. I think everyone should have someone like that, a person that has a broader field of view than you, that allows you to broaden your horizons beyond your own limits. I have a job, I have bills to pay. I don't have anywhere near as much time as I once did. I also am far more obsessed with games than anime, and the two are always warring for my time and attention.<br />
<br /><b>[Aside]</b><br />THE STEAM LIBRARY PLAGUE, IT FOREVER GROWS, AND YOU NEVER PLAY THEM FASTER THAN YOU ACQUIRE THEM! <b>CURSE</b> YOU STEAM SALES! MY ADDICTION!<br /><img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/firy.gif" /><br /><b>[Aside end]</b><br />
<br />Back on point: I watched a video he posted on Darling in the Franxx, and while it didn't make me decide to go watch the show, I remember thinking to myself, "ah. So the show isn't just a harem-style running gag of innuendo jokes and 'ecchi' humor."<br />No, what got me to watch the show, was when I tripped over an Upvote Gif on imgur, made out of a scene in the show. (Specifically <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/InvCnUQ/comment/1433849501" target="_blank">this</a>)<br />I remember seeing that and just...being so curious. "What is that show!? I must know! I want to see it!". When I found out it was Darling in the Franxx...I hesitated. But hey, I'm a lunatic who consumed all of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden just to complete the set in my brain of its story. <br />(I totally waited for the second season to end and used a filler episode list to skip all the bullshit though....like, 400 episodes in. My patience could use some Maintenance, it needs a limiter.)<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><b>Beginning of Review</b></span><br />Now, here we sit. There were a couple of times where I worried I was wasting my time, mostly the crunchyroll comments all crying and whining about the ending on almost every episode, telling you to stop at a specific episode, or giving spoilers about what happens to certain characters. <br /><br />They can all go and stuff a cactus up their arse.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><b>Story</b></span><br />The story is well thought out. It's not perfect by any means, there's a few parts near the end that feel forced, but it's not a glaring flaw. It just feels that way because it leans on a more or less common anime trope to stage a raising of the stakes. A new comer would probably go 'huh?', but anyone who's been around anime a bit won't do much more than blink at it. "Ah, so they decided to use this trope eh?" kind of feeling.<br /><br />It primarily follows Squad 13, and a climactic point in their lives, when their battle against the Klaxosaurs is reaching its climax, and how this begins to affect and change the way they're maturing, differently from all of the other squads. A story like this would be a death sentence without a strong cast of characters to fuel it, but there's no worries in that department.<br /><br />Part way through, they have a 'special episode' where they do an interview with the Animation Studios director in charge of the show, and then it starts to go over the shows production and interview voice actors and stuff, but I'm going to watch that after I write this. Once I had heard the directors thoughts on the show, I was well satisfied, and moved on to the next actual episode. That was when I found out that this is an Original Anime, which is to say, it wasn't adapted from a novel or manga comic. I think a lot of the quality and fresh feel of it can be attributed to that.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><b>Characters</b></span><br />The characters in this show are <i>amazing</i>. You will wildly flip from absolutely loving them one moment, to hating their guts the next, to forgiving and forgetting in record-(and heart)-breaking speeds. They crammed so much humanity into the central cast, I'm surprised they didn't explode at the seams. I dig that, in case you couldn't tell. <br /><br />So, to get to the point. Does this show crack vaguely lewd or innuendo jokes? Sort of. The central premise of the show is the Apocalyptic future, and that everyone has mostly forgotten what words that were chosen as names for things mean. Not because it was hidden or a secret, but because it was considered unimportant or irrelevant to their survival, and was never taught. It's literally at their disposal to find out what they mean, and they often do. <br /><br />I think that's something that helps lend credibility and maturity to the show and the character arcs as it progresses. The joke is there for the audience to appreciate if they want, but it's <i>not just a joke</i>. They actually built it into the worlds lore. I think that's amazing, and it would have taken a lot of thought, way more than most studios/authors seem to give, that just stop at 'hey wouldn't it be funny if <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9qNMV9c4Ek" target="_blank">X</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGgKVnEPf2c" target="_blank">Y</a>, or <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/817N9sI" target="_blank">Z</a>?' and then just cram it into the show. In other words, telling the joke, for the sake of telling a joke, and nothing more. For some shows, it works. For others, not so much. No amount of cheap gags can save a shitty story with a shitty cast of characters. <br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><b>Plot</b></span><br /> The only other worry I had, was when the show sort of hit a mid-run climax, like Alice and Zouroku did, and I was afraid it would follow the same path. The comments didn't farking help that. But it <b><i>didn't</i></b> follow in that shows footsteps. I'm here writing because this show is <u><b>Fantastic</b></u> from start to finish. An emotional roller coaster to be sure, and that's not everyone's preference, but I won't let the crying babies opinions be the only voice heard. Good people quietly live their lives, but idiots and criminals scream the loudest, and thus are we convinced that the world is always worse off than it is. <br /><br />I find this a hilarious juxtaposition with the shows own setting. It holds nothing back about telling everyone it's set in a apocalyptic future, and yet all those crying people seem to have just decided to ignore that. The characters were <i>always</i> in a horrible situation, from the start of episode one. I guess they all just decided this was a 'Shounen'-style show and wouldn't go too deep, and weren't ready for the roller coaster to peak, and then jet away at full speed with their fragile hearts and minds. Me? I live for the challenge in my games, and ever since I was a wee mortal, always seemed to insist on taking the harder choices in life for myself, but never the hardest. So I guess I'm more durable these days, decades down the line. <br /><br />So, for the sake of being thorough:<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>This Show will <u>Hurt</u> you,</i></b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />but it will never try to completely crush you. Obviously, this show is<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: lime;"><b>Great</b><span style="color: black;"> <br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br />and receives a <u><b>Recommendation</b></u>, <br /><br />with the caveat that you too will taste the curse that no one outside of the anime fan community will ever listen to you recommend it farther than 'controllers mounted on girls butts'. </span></span></span></span><br /><br />I spent a lot of time trying to think of what to call this show, and I finally settled on a title. I had to revise it a little to prevent spoilers, but I would call this show, a <i>Space </i><i>Opera</i>.<br /><b>[Aside]</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">id est via <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/space_opera" target="_blank">Wiktionary</a>:<br />1. </span><span class="ib-brac">(</span><span class="ib-content">initially derogatory</span><span class="ib-brac">)</span> A subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes space travel, <u>romantic adventure</u>, and <u>larger-than-life characters</u> often set against <u>vast exotic settings</u>.
<br />
<b>[Aside end]</b><br />
<br />
At what point did we decide that being fake and exaggerated was a bad thing? I think maybe that's the appeal of Japan's anime, that they go all in with that part of it, and we've forgotten or rejected it, and are stagnating in the 'gritty' and the 'realistic' being dumped out of hollywood. Perhaps a tertiary relation to why the Marvel movies are so popular recently? A throw back to a previous time, made more accessible for a wider audience?<br />
<b>*shrug*</b><br /><img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/whatever.gif" /><br />
<b><br /></b><br /><b>[^Aside Rant on my Views of Culture and Education]</b><br />
Maybe it's just me, and my isolationist ways, but it feels like my culture shies away from anything vaguely sexual, if not outright ostracizes it, if you aren't past an arbitrary age marker that varies from state to state. Then, when you cross that marker, the reins are off, and you're just dropped into it to run rampant however you want with no one to stop you, like you should have just naturally figured out self-moderation and how the world works on instinct because you are the specified age. <br /><br />We fear "corrupting the youth" too much. To a certain extent, as someone who's single parent had a very hands-off approach to letting me grow up so long as I stayed out of trouble, I can see the perspective that philosophy comes from, because I took a very long and strange road to sexual maturity, because it went unnoticed since in every other way I was slightly above-average(when the average was idiot, but that's a story for another time). It's not often that someone is telling the truth when they say,<br />(PG-13 white out in case you'd rather not, but highlight for a funny snippet from my life.)<br /> <span style="color: white;">"The first time I had a wank was when I was 26 years old. I found it thoroughly unimpressive, and a massive waste of time better spent playing games, which are much more fun, <i>and</i> don't leave behind a mess for me to clean up."</span><br />(white out end)<br /><br />However, that was not a problem of me being exposed to sexual themes or ideas. Literally everyone is at some point in their lives, and it hardly destroys anyone. No, the problem was that it was <i>unsupervised</i> and <i>unadvised</i>. Mother isn't going to be a good one to ask about guy problems, yeah?<br />
<br />
As it is, I think the problem is this 'total avoidance' the general public will seem to go with when you amalgam enough peoples opinions and votes together. It's a valuable part of the human experience, and yes, it can distort some peoples lives when they get obsessed with it or exposed in a traumatic way. But that's no more different than gambling, drinking, drugs, or literally anything in life. You can destroy yourself with anything at all, if you've a mind to. With wise moderation however, all of those things can be an enriching part of life. <br />To summarize, since this is already a monstrously long post, I abhor and condemn the 'bubble-boy' idea of child raising and education, or "shielding" you could call it. The idea that we should totally shield kids from everything, until they're "ready" or "old enough" for it. By making such a big deal out of it, you only <i>attract</i> their attention to it, and then you have to clean up the mess left behind when you've given them conflicting messages about it, later on. How exactly are they suppose to become 'ready' for something they've literally never been exposed to? What happens if those in charge of deciding when they're "ready" are suddenly unable to anymore?(an absence of a parent for instance). You might as well be throwing a baby into a vat full of leprosy . Sure, it <i>could</i> develop an immunity. It's far more likely to come out of it horribly deformed by the experience. <br /><br />Still, humanities ability to adapt is a fundamental part of our existence. If you've never heard of it before, look up the human eye's Blind Spots. There's literally a spot our eyes are physically incapable of seeing, but our brains are just naturally programmed to fill in the blank with what's around it, so we never notice it except in highly specific situations. That's what I attribute to me fixing myself up just fine, once I got out into the world and started interacting with people. Sure, the general public is about as smart as a box of rocks, but that's precisely why I was made to notice, "wow. All of my problems seem <i>really </i>small and petty compared to how amazingly these people are screwing up their lives...and still getting by with it."<br /><br />I think that's something we should incorporate more in our lives, and the raising of the Youth. The more you try to hide something from a child, the more curious about it they often become, and it's precisely that curiosity eventually hitting critical mass and exploding, that causes them to often run head first into way more than they can handle. It's suppose to be a parents responsibility to watch them closely, and keep that from happening, or so I think any way. I think it would be better if things were made to be fed to them in bits and pieces at a time, with the promise of more later. <br /><br />Not "I will tell you when you're older" because you don't want to bother with explaining something to them you're not sure they'll even understand and are worried will be bad for them(or are just lazy). Rather, "I'll tell you a bit now, but you'll need to wait till you're older to learn about the rest of it, okay?" Sure, there will be kids that won't settle for that. But the greatest flaw of the public education system is that it expects everyone to be cut into shape to fit into a round hole. There's a hell of a lot of square, diamond, and other colorful shapes that go through torture and hell because of that. We all are different, get bloody well used to it. <br /><br />There's no easy one-size-fits-all solution to teaching people and growing up, the only good way is going to be individualized tweaks and patching as needed, however much harder that may be. You won't make a better mouse trap by saying 'it will be so hard to improve it any further...'<br />Imagine if we had settled for computers that were built like the old Macintosh, where everything, screen, keyboard, and components, were all a solid block. None of us would have these fancy Smart Phones that are literally getting to be a dime a dozen now. A better tomorrow isn't often found just laying by the side of the road. You usually have to work for it.<br /><b>[Aside end]<br /></b>IN CASE YOU COULDN'T TELL, this show was very inspiring for me, or so I am led to believe after re-reading and spell checking this monster of a post. But hey, I haven't posted in forever, so it's fine...right? Oh well, I tried to break it up with headers anyway, give me some credit for that. So. Much. Editing.<br /><img src="http://holding.ibloganime.com/onion/gif/faint.gif" />Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-38131807278506765892018-06-05T07:58:00.000-05:002018-06-05T07:58:06.876-05:00[New][End][January 2018] Violet Evergarden - A charming light drama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_dLigd5bUFpflEU3kwqm3ABgC_2SP5Pp9g8MePopcIXaR9SahEFDPFJJtjobIktAdKSLrrG5BPNPH7EhuEP9kP_lzWX-43oBOliWfELn4ap4EdPUkNFZ_jAO9v-uN_-uC8UzSLGoGeX-/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_dLigd5bUFpflEU3kwqm3ABgC_2SP5Pp9g8MePopcIXaR9SahEFDPFJJtjobIktAdKSLrrG5BPNPH7EhuEP9kP_lzWX-43oBOliWfELn4ap4EdPUkNFZ_jAO9v-uN_-uC8UzSLGoGeX-/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> <span itemprop="description">The Great War finally came to an end: F</span><span itemprop="description"><span itemprop="description">ractured in two, the continent of Telesis
slowly begins to flourish once again. Caught up in the bloodshed was
Violet Evergarden, a young girl raised for the sole purpose of
decimating enemy lines. Hospitalized and maimed in a bloody skirmish
during the War's final leg, all she was left with</span></span><span itemprop="description"><span itemprop="description"><span itemprop="description"><span itemprop="description"> from the person
she held dearest</span></span> was words, but with no understanding of their meaning. </span></span><br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> I accidentally watched episode 5 first. This in no way interfered with me liking the show, in fact I may have liked it more because of it.<br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> This is one of the best light dramas I've ever had the pleasure of consuming. I've never been much of a history or war buff, but I still think that this show does a fine job of capturing the feeling of a country slowly mending from a devastating war. The focal point for this is absolutely Violet herself, who is so obviously a broken person from the war, but has no self-awareness of it at all, for she has barely any humanity left to her. <br />
<br />
This one keeps begging me to call it an emotional rollercoaster, but after having read an <i>actual</i> emotional roller coaster to it's conclusion recently, (<i>World End Economica</i> for reference), my standard's are a little high at the moment. Instead, I'll call it as accurately as I can: One of the most charming and emotionally valuable stories about a post-war environment I've ever seen. The characters are top notch, no one is 'cheesy', they all feel consistent with the world. They didn't shoe-horn in some arbitrary romantic interest, or daring rival, or dastardly villain. The people feel like actual people. On paper, this show is definitely something I would have skipped. I honestly couldn't tell you why I picked it up and started reading it. Maybe it was on a recommended list from some reviewer I read? After all, a story about a girl running around writing letters for people sounds rather meh, eh? <br />
The reason why it ends up being so amazing, is because it's about the characters themselves, not the things they're doing. <br />
I honestly feel like I should be saying more, but I can't think of good ways to talk about specific parts without dropping spoilers, so I'll just leave it by saying that, honestly, you can absolutely watch episode 5 out of context, and I think I'll go ahead and recommend that you do that. It's got one of my absolute favorite moments in the whole show, when Violet takes something said as a joke as an actual instruction. You won't miss it.<br />
<br />
This show is by far and large, <br />
<br />
<span style="color: lime;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Great</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">and of course gets a full</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Recommendation</b></u></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: lime;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />From me for some absolutely high quality characters, and a beautiful story. It is every bit worth your time, unless all you want is high paced intense action. The show has some action to it, but the over all tone of the show is exceptionally mellow and peaceful, if not explicitly...happy.</span></span></span></span>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-77758299955603958312018-05-10T16:43:00.001-05:002018-05-10T16:43:34.688-05:00[New][April 2018] Wotaku: Koi wa Muzukashii<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtECu_hkegyvdvOczpL7hRONeGNTOWOW3XyDg1WMttTy-488KQvVynk7lQY_zWnV7USuDRVhQwL6JpO0cdYnq_to_KqMFXVcZ2ZzNkyILS7t0xHG7GXWmQNYnP9QG4oOEYDfvGpl0AdsVo/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtECu_hkegyvdvOczpL7hRONeGNTOWOW3XyDg1WMttTy-488KQvVynk7lQY_zWnV7USuDRVhQwL6JpO0cdYnq_to_KqMFXVcZ2ZzNkyILS7t0xHG7GXWmQNYnP9QG4oOEYDfvGpl0AdsVo/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Rathian! That's a Rathian! He's hunting a Rathian!<br />I got the reference!<br />*quiet mental squee*</i></div>
<br />
<b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 2<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> Narumi Momose makes a sudden job change, when the secret she was trying to keep gets discovered: that she's an Otaku, specifically a Yaoi(AKA Boy's Love) fangirl. At her new company, she bumps into someone she was friends with in middle school, Hirotaka Nifuji: An unabashed Gamer Otaku, who immediately blows the secret she swore she was going to keep this time, by asking if she's going to Comiket, right in front of two of her coworkers!<br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> Expected pure gags, got a surprisingly grounded romcom. <br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> This was a surprise. I was giving it a shot mostly because it was in a list of 'anime you should watch this season' and it wasn't an outright reject. Once I started it up, I really enjoyed it, the humors on point, but...there's just one problem. In case the massive amount of weeb'anese in the summary I wrote up there didn't give it away, this show is basically founded on the idea that the people watching either are otaku themselves, or are familiar enough with them from watching anime to get all the jokes. It seems like all of the humor for this one is based on getting all of the in-jokes the characters are throwing at each other from otaku culture. <br /><br />
For point of reference: I kept getting hitched on all of the shots they were showing of Hirotaka playing his game...monster hunter. Which I immediately identified by the sounds, before they even showed it on screen for the first time, since I've been up to the roots of my hair deep, in Monster Hunter World which just recently released. <br /><br />
Specifically I kept eyeballing all of the monsters he was fighting to see if I recognized them, or if they were monsters only in the old Monster Hunter games, because that's what the cuts are, actual footage of an older copy of monster hunter! I just found that so ridiculously charming...which then immediately had me wondering if maybe I shouldn't be slightly concerned with how much it felt like I was looking in a mirror...<br />
<br />
Well in short, that's the feeling I get from this one. If you're familiar with Otaku culture, one way or the other, this show's worth your time to check out. The comedy isn't over the top ridiculous, and the 'romance/drama' is all...rather level headed and mature, like the show's actually taking that part of itself seriously. The Otaku part always seems to be cracking a joke, but whenever they flip the coin, things aren't <i>serious business</i> serious, but much more level-headed than I'm used to expecting from this kind of setup. It's all very refreshing after the recent frog march of low-tier stuff like 'Another World Smartphone' and 'Black Clover' that have come out recently. Stuff that feels like it's hot off the clone stamp machine, y'know? Nothing particularly original about them. <br />
<br />
No recommendation just yet, this one didn't have me in stitches like Hinamatsuri did, but that could just be a matter of time. "<a href="http://www.ibloganime.com/2015/01/ended-i-cant-understand-why-my-husband.html" target="_blank">I can't understand what my Husband is saying</a>" was the last time a setup like this was great in my opinion, and it took a few episodes for that show to grow on me too. (that may have just been the short-show format though, if I'm completely honest).Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-53919225589398659602018-05-09T14:39:00.000-05:002018-05-09T14:39:25.241-05:00[New][April 2018] HINAMATSURI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkTlWkjxo_nVkY615n6PEwYq5bCqp5x747BrWE3lqbyKpLCP3_qrzseSuIxf8jujuKnlkrbuMQm76dxTy0MVDO1cI1o2QZ3b4JyjNi3UYpaEGguMPzLNJDw3p25F9p_vBDkkOmYAJYEY2/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkTlWkjxo_nVkY615n6PEwYq5bCqp5x747BrWE3lqbyKpLCP3_qrzseSuIxf8jujuKnlkrbuMQm76dxTy0MVDO1cI1o2QZ3b4JyjNi3UYpaEGguMPzLNJDw3p25F9p_vBDkkOmYAJYEY2/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Someone stick a fork in me, I'm done. I'm dieing over here.</i></div>
<br /><br /><b>Last Seen: </b>Episode 2<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b> <span class="more">Nitta Yoshifumi is a
yakuza, living surrounded by his beloved pots in his home in Ashigawa.
But one day, a girl arrives in a strange object, and uses her
telekinetic powers to force Nitta to allow her to live with him, putting
an end to his leisurely lifestyle. </span><span itemprop="description">Her powers can come in handy for his yakuza
business... but he also runs the risk of her using them on him! Not to
mention, if she doesn't use her powers regularly, she will eventually go berserk
and destroy everything around her. So their life living together begins...</span><br /><br /><b>First Impression:</b> It's <u><b>COMEDY GOLD </b></u><b>PEOPLE</b>!<br /><br /><b>My Opinion:</b> I haven't laughed so hard in a <i>very</i> long time. Comedy is always a roll of the dice, but this one hit a natural 20 with me. It contains so many dangerously over done tropes, but it's using all of them in such a fresh way, and the jokes are on point. I think perhaps because it relies more on situational comedy, rather than outright slapstick or gags. <br /><br />The show has a serious tone running under it, which helps hold it all together, and keeps it feeling like its moving forward instead of just wasting time spinning its wheels in one place. That's kind of how I felt about Alice and Zouroku after it's big mid-season climax, like it gave everything it had, and then was just finding ways to kill time. Even though you could tell the story was still trying, it was just over-saturated with comedy, so nothing felt like it had any weight or feeling to it anymore.<br /><br />Here meanwhile, this show reminds me a great deal of Kobayshi's Dragon Maid. Comedy is obviously the center, but the show has a serious side when it wants to, without feeling like it's deliberately trying to be edgy. Ah, the word I'm looking for is 'Mature'. When the show is being serious, it feels very mature, instead of like something that fell out of a teenagers edge-lord fantasy notebook.<br /><br />It's only two episodes in, and I swear it felt like I had watched four episodes already. Part of that is because the story arcs were actually divided 2 per episode, but think about that for a second. I had just consumed 4 half-episode time-sized stories, but I still <i>felt</i> like I had watched four full-length ones, because they had that much weight and impact to them, in both comedy and honest story. <br /><br />I think a lot of it can be attributed to one of the main characters, Hina, being the right balance of the apathetic/empty character trope. The show does a good job of framing it that she previously was a hollow vessel, but unlike how a lot of shows seem to think that's an end unto itself, (It's not by the way, that makes the <i>most</i> boring characters ever), she's already growing out of it nicely, if with comedic effect awkwardness. The bar scene in episode two <i>killed</i> me, all the way through, I actually had to be told I could be heard laughing from all the way outside the house. <br /><br />Needless to say, this show gets a 100% pure<br /><br /><u><b><span style="font-size: large;">Recommendation<br /></span></b></u><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">for comedy gold that's right on point. You should absolutely try it, see if the humor tickles your fancy.</span></span><br />Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-64084006701944142012018-04-16T12:26:00.003-05:002018-04-16T12:26:45.788-05:00[New][April 2018] Kakruiyo - Bed & Breakfast for Spirits (Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJmxNhmsJfDHBIITnl11v4-kw_ioz2aN5QTv6I9vPlIw80r7r_u2lbX_x-ZWIF-ONlZuciA0UML4G4CH-OXjQiw58ohd5MVpodiHszkrKTw4tm_BbzMuFfeHBzoVx4uc-ckRU8oMcv4Uh/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJmxNhmsJfDHBIITnl11v4-kw_ioz2aN5QTv6I9vPlIw80r7r_u2lbX_x-ZWIF-ONlZuciA0UML4G4CH-OXjQiw58ohd5MVpodiHszkrKTw4tm_BbzMuFfeHBzoVx4uc-ckRU8oMcv4Uh/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Well, isn't that a pretty set-piece.</i></div>
<br />
<b>Last Seen:</b> 3<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> One of Aoi's earliest memories, is of a kind Ayakashi saving her life. Having been able to see them for as long as she can remember, her mother ends up abandoning her, and she's left to fend for herself, and starve. This is when an Ayakashi appears before her. Thanks to the Ayakashi's kindness, Aoi survives, to be found and adopted by her grandfather, who can also see Ayakashi. He teaches her how to survive on her own, live quietly and avoid trouble with them. She grows up peacefully, until the day her grandfather passes away... and an Oni comes to take her as his bride for a debt of her grandfathers! With her grandfathers name signed on the contract naming her as collateral!<br />
<br />
<b>First Impression:</b> Much better than I was expecting.<br />
<br />
<b>My Opinion:</b> The anime industry is nothing if not demonically-contracted to jump on the bandwagon of anything with even mild success, so when I first saw this show I just assumed it was bandwagon 'copy, paste, repaint, and sell'-class material based on Konohana Kitan since it sounded so similar. In just one episode though, it proved me quite wrong. There is, after all, nothing wrong with innovating on a previously existing idea. The problem is just that a lot of people in a lot of industries read 'innovating' as, 'reselling the same old crap with a new paint-job'.<br />
<br />
Where as Konohana is as shallow as it can possibly get, and focuses on cute'sy feel-goods, this show quickly sets out to prove it has a bit more depth. How much, will remain to be seen in future episodes, but it looks promising to me so far. <br />
(Get your torches and pitchforks ready, and brush up on your angry mob tactics, I'm certainly far more 'willing to believe' than is wise).<br />
<br />
Just in the first episode we have a fair touch more grounding depressive events, with child abandonment and debt-collection. More importantly, none of the characters feel 'trope'-y, yet, even by the third episode. Which is quite impressive honestly, since this show seems to be peeling cards off of Natsume Yuujinchou, Konohana Kitan, and more than a few rom-coms in its future I'm sure. If for no other reason than the main character running around asking for a job, and then when one is actually <i>offered</i> without her asking, she acts surprised. I didn't like that part, she had been a rather strong character until then. Besides that however, the show isn't really pushing romance...at all. As a matter of fact, it's waaay in the background as it focuses on Aoi getting her bearings in this sudden upset in her life of being plunged into the Hidden Realm. <br />
<br />As it continues on, it fixes up right nicely. The main character has the right balance of being utterly mystified by all of the unheard of things she's surrounded by, but at the same time, since she's been dealing with Ayakashi since she was young, and she's now already an adult, she acts like she should, I feel. She barely even blinks when the Oni talks about enjoying eating humans and is more annoyed by how happy he seems to be to point it out all the time, and she doesn't jump at every little new thing and character that comes on screen. I like that. She's acting <i>like she actually <u><b>is</b></u></i> <i>a mature adult</i>. I think that's something I miss in most anime: competent level-headed characters. The show is looking great so far.<br /><br />On the topic of looks though...something about the animation feels...off. Like walking around in a room that has been tilted 1 degree off from being level. I can't quite put my finger on why I think something seems out of place with the animation. Could just be a random impulsive feeling, but I'm here to right my opinion and inform the masses, so may as well mention it.<br /><br />All together, this is a lovely little show so far, and I'm looking forward to it from week to week. Not quite worth a full recommendation yet, as nothing huge or especially interesting is going on, but I believe it's worth most peoples time to try it. Nothing seems ready to crash and burn, and that's actually kind of rare lately. Maybe I'm just not watching enough anime, or have had bad luck picking out shows, but a lot of shows have had shaky starts lately. Well that's my opinion, so may it serve you well.Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-60162516793266359792018-04-15T15:16:00.000-05:002018-04-15T15:16:03.339-05:00[Ended] Alice & Zouroku - Fast climax, slow and steady pan out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH62hKFA6PVtcbhW93fIIaCyLYFoOll17Du-yHY0JS1yH-5mdfASdgVnhPRvumsZErrBr94PxpDnPPBtY6aZv5wB1uY9FBzVAZSEwaoPYyeZ3hOqQrSiZu5aHR0GN8pNNrXkh4mLKGBJg/s1600/cut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH62hKFA6PVtcbhW93fIIaCyLYFoOll17Du-yHY0JS1yH-5mdfASdgVnhPRvumsZErrBr94PxpDnPPBtY6aZv5wB1uY9FBzVAZSEwaoPYyeZ3hOqQrSiZu5aHR0GN8pNNrXkh4mLKGBJg/s1600/cut.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Shh, too lazy to take a screenshot.</i></div>
<br /><br /><b>My Opinion:</b> This show was absolutely and undeniably fantastic. For the first half. After that, it's a roll of the dice and anyone's game. It's not mediocre or bad by any stretch, but by comparison it definitely isn't as strong of an impression or impressive. It <i>EXPLODES</i> right out of the gate with the best it has to offer, and then everything after that just seems a bit dull by comparison. <br /><br />This one is very much a 'come for the fight, stay for the characters'. Which is to say, if you didn't fall in love with one of the main characters right away, after the main climax is over literally when I wrote the first post for this show at episode 5-6, you don't really have a strong reason to keep watching, because it's more or less just those characters, living their lives. Very much a clean fit into the 'slice of life' genre. <br /><br />Personally, I absolutely adore the character Zouroku, and surprisingly, I did like Alice as well. Normally I find the overly eager and rambunctious little girl characters aggravating and in need of a good lecturing and grounding, but uh...Zouroku kind of handles that perfectly so. It ends up being fantastic watching Alice try her best, and Zouroku guiding her down the right path. <br /><br /><b>Impartial Opinion:</b> If you immediately dislike one of the two and half main characters, you have basically no reason to watch past episode 5 or 6. Everything after that mid-show climax is just a slice of life of the old man and a little girl living their lives getting used to each other. Yes, more trouble crops up, but it pans out far less spectacularly than the first half. Zouroku is the punchline, so I liked it anyway, but that may not fly for everyone else. <br /><br />I still maintain this shows solid:<br /> <br /><u><b>Recommendation<br /></b></u> under the provision that it extends only as far as that mid-show climax.
After you see that, everything else is up to your own personal taste.<br />
<br />
Naturally this show gets a rating of <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Good</b></span></span>. <br /><br />Honestly, I shouldn't have been surprised that they couldn't maintain that level of excitement. It was still a let down however, so no Great for this one. <br /><br /><b>[Aside]<br /></b>If I'm perfectly honest, I think the thing that miffs me the most is that Zouroku takes a backseat in the second half for no other reason than he is separated from Alice. While the story is fine and interesting, and I don't really <i>fault</i> them for doing that, I can't deny that the lifeblood of this show is those two interacting together, and I absolutely love Zouroku to pieces and everything he does in the show. Perhaps if he had a stronger presence in the second half, I would have felt better about it. <br />*<i>shrug</i>*<br /><b>[aside end]</b>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-91450052124023739732018-03-12T15:24:00.000-05:002018-03-12T15:24:20.890-05:00[New][April 2017] Alice & Zouroku<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bpeOb3rjBD6-8FOjr50etlo3s6dx2f3WfRtFWyxeWJZZeckGNDc6XhQdZuAlP6S7KCb1ewTU_mnXA2Tnqjfy1kUmUtgMiq6oacE92zbOwGJVAtzTxDe5zvGlZtlSoAhnpZUwWzLACtab/s1600/cut2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8bpeOb3rjBD6-8FOjr50etlo3s6dx2f3WfRtFWyxeWJZZeckGNDc6XhQdZuAlP6S7KCb1ewTU_mnXA2Tnqjfy1kUmUtgMiq6oacE92zbOwGJVAtzTxDe5zvGlZtlSoAhnpZUwWzLACtab/s640/cut2.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSD6F6c60AEsUKF5BKeyRgqmlA_41HDkzjaRVo7C-mEuZtpXrClTXAObrVMUgT2rkbtlkMuj8JRXkIjtKEp7A07ylyXHVyaa7IqTWg1d9_fCEvQ_TdC2iWH8vKjR5KdelaFKAhAi5pexs/s1600/cut.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSD6F6c60AEsUKF5BKeyRgqmlA_41HDkzjaRVo7C-mEuZtpXrClTXAObrVMUgT2rkbtlkMuj8JRXkIjtKEp7A07ylyXHVyaa7IqTWg1d9_fCEvQ_TdC2iWH8vKjR5KdelaFKAhAi5pexs/s640/cut.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>I have never gone from 'eh, villain, just another shitty human' to<br />"BITCH I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU!!"<br />so fast.</i></div>
<br /><br /><b>Last Seen:</b> Episode 5<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b> T<span class="more">he “outside world.” It was filled with
things she had never touched, scenery she had never seen, and people she
had never met... In the face of such a broad new world, she was
surprised, wavered, and her eyes were opened on the impulse of
curiosity.
<br />Sana. <br />She was born and raised at a facility called the
“Laboratory”, without ever knowing anything about the outside world. This
girl has the special power to materialize anything she imagines. Once free, she find's a grumpy old man she judges to be a 'good person', and offers him a deal: She will grant him any wish at all, if he helps her. <br />He flatly refuses.</span><br /><br /><b>First Impression:</b> Expected Cute'sy nonsense on an 'Usagi Drop' scale. Got that, and so, <i>SO</i> much more!<br /><br /><b>My Opinion:</b> What are you doing, why haven't you watched this? It came out in <i>April</i>. Why the hell did it take <b>me</b> so long to watch this? ... oh right, because the anime industry churns out truckloads of shitty copy paste trash that drowns all the gems to the bottom of the abyss.<br /><br />Well, let me sum things up with this: In five episodes, this show managed to have the <i>entirety</i> of another anime's full plot line, and it was goddem <i>fantastic</i> every single step of the way, and <i>it's not even over yet, my mind is so farking blown right now</i>.<br />Meanwhile, I managed to somehow catch myself up on Black Clover, and the shit having dried, doesn't smell as bad anymore. It's alright I guess, but <i>holy shit</i> does putting it next to this show make you really appreciate the <i>vast</i> difference in production quality. <br /><br />Alice & Zouroku goes for what I can only describe as an old-fashioned simple art style that looks like something you might have seen 5-10 years ago, but polished up to modern standards. I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled out a manga, said it was the original material, and took a screenshot of the anime and it looked exactly the same, just colored in. <i>And yet...<br /></i>The animation doesn't cut any corners for the fights I've seen, the CGI is in the background where it belongs, handling objects and set-pieces, and the characters are consistent. I'm not going to bother saying anything about Black Clover because I just can't be made to care anymore now that I have my precious gem. Having just recently gotten back on point writing here, this is a good feeling, a show filling me with so much inspiration to write.<br /><br />But of course, I give this show a full fledged:<br />
<b><br /><u>Recommendation</u></b>,<br />
<br />
and I haven't even finished it yet. It's just that good. <br /><br />To flesh it out some more though, don't be mislead by the simplistic and cutesy art and first impression. This show certainly surprised me with how smooth and <i>mercilessly</i> it refused to pull any punches, and sucker punched me in the gut. It's got a nice level of depth. It's not so far down it becomes Edge-lord'y but it's a nice comfortable level that conveys emotion and realism, without trying to grind your face in the grit, or break your sanity and will to live apart. But, it's only episode 5, eh? I've got more to see, but that will be in the end post.Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6349711244303209248.post-38514051730380163342018-03-06T14:56:00.000-06:002018-03-06T14:56:00.930-06:00Oh Crap. I foRGOT ABOUT THIS!OKAY REAL FAST, HERE WE GO, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:<br /><br /><b>A Centaurs Life (Centaur no Nayami)</b>: <span style="color: blue;"><b>Good</b></span>, Too Short to do source justice!<br /><b><br />Yokai Apartments</b>: <span style="color: blue;"><b>Good</b></span>! Surprising Depth!<br /><b><br />Juni Taisen</b>: <span style="color: blue;"><b>Good</b></span>, under some conditions!<br /><b><br />Konohana Kitan</b>: Simple, Shallow, <span style="color: blue;">Good</span>!<br /><br /><b>B: The Beginning</b>: <span style="color: lime;"><b>Great</b></span>! <u>Recommended</u>! No Spoilers.<br /><b><br />Devilman Crybaby</b>: <span style="color: lime;">Great</span>! <u>Recommended</u>! Ending's a little pretentious in my opinion!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Blood Blockade Battlefront Second Season</b>: Went down without a hitch, more of the same, but shallower this time. Feels like build up to something that we didn't actually get?<br />
<br />
<b>Saga of Tanya the Evil</b>: <span style="color: lime;"><b>Great</b></span>!<br />Jesus did I not write an end for this yet? someone slap me.<br /><br /><b>My Hero Academia Season 1&2</b>: <span style="color: lime;"><b>Great</b></span>! more on this later. (more on <i>everything</i> later honestly)<br /><b><br />Silver Guardian</b>: <span style="color: #999999;"><u><b>M</b></u>ediocre</span>! See that capital M? Mediocre with a Capital M. Not worth a post of its own.<br /><br />Okay, that should SORT OF catch everyone up on everything I've consumed since the last post, plus a few bits and pieces that I haven't been motivated enough to finish or I don't feel like are worth mentioning. <br /><br /><b>[Aside]</b><br />Honestly, I don't know why Silver Guardian is even on here, and since blogger.com won't shut up about the Label(tag) character limit, I'm just going to cut it out of there to save space. If it wasn't for the fact that I've defined the Bad rating for myself as something that's a hot mess, but that has value to watch if for no other reason than to learn what mistakes not to repeat, I'd call that the worst show I've seen in a while. (not the worst ever by a long shot, most Drama and Soap Opera's take that trophy and run the Olympics with it). It has such a chronic case of 'no substance' and having nothing that can offend or impress, that it wraps right back around to being offensive again on the sole accusation of being precious time from our limited life spans wasted. Copy, Paste, Plagiarize, Done: Silver Guardian.<br /><b>[Aside end]</b>Zetrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639623459918289838noreply@blogger.com0