Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (The World is Still Beautiful) (manga and anime)

Just do it.

Give the God Eater game thread some love!

Dammit, you beat me to it. And if it weren't for her boots, her shoes would be the subject of reference.

Also fits, considering that her personality is of a 'just do it' mentality.

Same as usual.... Wing it.

Beat you to it? Come, on, you had four episodes to come up with that, and that's not even counting the manga.

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Well, if we were to get technical, Nike does make boots...

... has that been said in the anime yet??

....OH it's a pun! .... heh heh..?

edited 30th Apr '14 10:44:44 AM by kyun

Crunchyroll's translation uses "ethnicity" and related words when they talk of her outside status. I found it out of place, not only too modern but also not a word that the genuinely prejudiced use even today. It's too detached and academic.

It is rather odd for a king to abolish the class system, but I do know of several monarchies such as Austria-Hungary where the rulers were allying with the lower classes against the aristocracy. Partly because those at the top can afford to be more high-minded, but more often because those at the bottom do not have ambitions to rule, unlike everyone at court.

And it's a rare case where I wish things would go slower. Must be a lot of source material if they are skipping things.

A blog that gets updated on a geological timescale.

Episode 5. In which there's a ring.

Okay, it's just bad swordmanship to drag the tip of the blade on the ground like that.

Small detail, but she did close her eyes before she did that. Smart.

That chanting feels very arcane.

I wonder what kind of magic could split the ring in twain like that.

Moodbreaker.

Yeah, I expected them to talk about something like that. It all built up to it.

I wonder about that stage. The audience is sitting so far down they can't possibly see anything.

That's a great time to let your curiosity rule your judgement.

I wanted to see that punch.

Oh, right, one thing I've forgotten to mention, but this is probably the one anime I've seen where people don't get sick at a drop of rain.

Yeah, it's very fast. They got chummy before we had time to blink.

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My favorite moment?

"Don't cry!"

"Aaahahahaaawww....."

Same as usual.... Wing it.

Yeah, this might've been a good episode/series but I feel they screwed up the pacing. I'm a fan of the basic setup but this skipped over the best part where the pair gets to know each other and establishes that they work. Maybe that happened off screen, since suddenly the two are just inseparable and I'm left with a situation where I don't care enough about either of them because I didn't have the time to get to know them yet the series forces them on me in the "just look at them, aren't they cute together!^10" sense and it just puts me off the whole thing.

Shame.

On the other hand, it's kinda relaxing to actually get to that part rather than be stuck in a will-they-won't-they-get-along kind of relationship you see everywhere else.

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The show skips two whole arcs, by the way.

Yeah, I'm not saying they should've spent in excess of 12 episodes on it. But a few. Like three or four. In addition to what we have thus far, since I can't really count them.

Besides, there's ways to cover that development without any will-they-won't-they kind of stuff.

I'm aware, but I'm not reading the manga, I'm watching the anime. Manga doing the pacing better doesn't really improve the anime.

edited 3rd May '14 7:26:55 PM by GabrieltheThird

Again it seems that the production is aiming to end the anime at a specific arc, so they cut out the arcs (particularly the one with Duke Bardouin, Livi's uncle), where these bits of "understanding" actually happened.

And yes, you're not alone in feeling that the anime skipped on development. Because it did.

edited 3rd May '14 7:30:27 PM by MyssaRei

I'm aware of that as well. I'm simply stating that in doing that they've made a mistake. However good the point where they want to end the series is, it doesn't matter if they managed to completely water down any potential payoffs on the way there.

edited 3rd May '14 7:32:21 PM by GabrieltheThird

So what you're basically saying is that you can't invest in a couple that's already together from the start.

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Honestly, I have no problems with them skipping that stuff. As has been said, not only do we have way more than enough anime about that step, and only that step, of a relationship, but this is perfectly watchable as it stands. These last few episodes are just as said - just as if the two were together from the start of the work.

edited 3rd May '14 8:49:33 PM by burnpsy

I'm Ok with skipping the way they did. I mean, given the concept, will-they-or-won't they is stupid, I'm fine with skipping it and having them face things as a couple and getting to the real plot.

Well, if the thing he hates most is losing, it's good he picked her I guess..

edited 4th May '14 2:23:23 AM by kiukiuclk

Will-they-or-won't isn't the only way to cover the getting to know each other phase of a relationship. Looking at it that way is limiting in many ways and it is what holds back many a good fictional romance, as many authors are stuck on that gear as well. I'm as tired of it as the next person.

Secondly, I have no problem with couples that are couples from the start of the narration. In fact I consider that to be a fairly fresh approach (in anime). Yet that's not what they did here. They get a glimpse of each other in the first episode, meet in the second, are willing to sacrifice important things by the fourth and are slobbering soul mates in each others arms by the fifth. Basically it feels like they've known like a week or two and are now inseparable without really even interacting. Thus I'm not invested in their relationship, seeing as I don't believe in it. It's not like they even make the case that this is Love at First Sight.

They behave like they've known each other for ages, yet that's not what was shown. Not a problem for you? That's OK. For me it's a sign of poor execution and puts me off the whole thing. Thus we arrive again at: Shame. This could've been a lot better.

edited 4th May '14 3:53:23 AM by GabrieltheThird

I think you are the one limiting your own brain here, but we can agree to disagree.

Same as usual.... Wing it.

Certainly not, but I was speaking about getting to know each other in general. But for actually knowing each other, they're hardly there yet. There's still a significant distance between them. I think it's much less that they're behaving like they've known each other for ages, and much more acting like they're determined to know each other for ages to come. It's a promise, not a result.

Livi just wanted someone with a neat power he could use. Then he found out that for all her flaws, she's a great person who helps him relax, and she reminds him of his mother. A little Freudian or whatever, but it works to make him not want to lose her too. That's the emphasis of his relationship to Nike.

Nike on the other hand got married off to a distant, powerful, and menacing king. She accepted that fate and became determined to come out on top of that deal. Then she found out who he actually was, and that determination changed to wanting to show him the beauty of the world. She's a people-helper, and she found a person to help; someone she's going to stick with, marry, and live with for the rest of her life. Sure, she has the option to run away. Would she? Is Nike the kind of person who would run away from a challenge? No, and she's determined to make their relationship work.

It's not about love. It's not about knowing each other. It's about working for it. Which honestly is a far better stance to take than Love at First Sight or soul mates or whatever romantic crap you see elsewhere, especially in shoujo.

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Yeah, that's a great sentiment as well. Would completely support them if they did it that way. They didn't though, not a single line to that effect. Granted, you are free to add that subtext to the show if it enhances your enjoyment of it and be better off. I tend to be a purist though, in the sense that if you have to go out of your way to find a subtext which by most standards isn't there to make something work better, that's a flaw in the product and thus points should be docked.

Horrible example time.

It's like you buy one of those painted figurines of Nike I'm sure they're selling somewhere in Akihabara if not now then sooner or later but for some reason the skin on that figurine is blue and the books have a silly looking logo on them. Perfect pose, perfect cast, just what you'd want but the skin doesn't match what it's supposed to be. It's not marketed as the "Cerulean Nike" nor does there appear to be any other reason for this. Now luckily you're really good at painting and have some paints that'd work so it's not a big deal, you use a bit of time and voilà, you have the best figurine out there. As an extra bonus, you can even tune the color slightly yourself to fit your preference. Still doesn't mean that the original figurine didn't have a profound flaw.

Anyway, the point is not that "this show is horrible, how can anyone enjoy this!" The point is that if you look at the anime and the anime alone, there are fairly heavy pacing issues that lead to it being docked some points in the overall game of life. It's not as good as it could be. This can be objectively stated, as far as anything. With better pacing this would be... better. Thus I condemn it to the bin of "not perfect" and "good if you can get past the flaws". Feel free to love it regardless. I did the hell out of that with Nagi no Asukara and a dozen of those silly sports shows. Kare Kano is one of my favourite shows ever and some of that was animated with popsicle sticks.

Learn to take "this work has a problem" as something simple as stating that, without added moral judgment. I can deliver those as well, but I tend to state thus clearly and very, very loudly.

It's not so much subtext as actual text, though. Livi has tried to protect Nike so he wouldn't lose her, like he lost his mother. Several characters have said he's more relaxed and an all around better and happier person with her around. Nike has certainly shown the determination to get her will through. She has tried to make him see the beauty of the world. She has tried to make him a better person in several ways she could think of. She's shown sympathy for him and his past, and shown that she cares. She's shown and said that she's going to stick around.

Nothing of that is painted on by anyone who's not the animators. That example doesn't correlate at all to what I said. Nothing in need of addition. It's a take-it-as-it's-presented kind of deal.

The conclusion of that isn't about subtext, it's about summarising the overall theme of all those bits. Most of those details are about trying, about working for a goal.

Sure, better pacing making it better is an objective statement. But it's subjective to say that the pacing here isn't right, or doesn't work. There's a source series to get material from. There are a number of episodes to place a story in. Not everything is going to fit. Not everyone wants the focus on the same thing. Not everyone thinks this is bad pacing.

Learn to take "this is what I see in the series (and why I disagree with you)" as something simple as stating that, and not some condemnation against any negative thought about the series being equal to it being complete trash.

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Honestly, the main flaw in this is Livius isn't really all that good a character by himself. It's hard to take him seriously as a someone who did the stuff he supposedly did. At least he actually kinda did something this episode. After the first episode I had hoped this would be about relationship developing between to two strong but very different characters. Given that isn't the way it went and Livius is mostly a foil for Nike, I think it's better to get them into couple mode and work as a team fairly quickly. They mentioned that a couple months passed before the ring arc started, so it doesn't really disbelief to much.

Nike is great, but she has to carry the whole thing by herself unfortunately.

edited 4th May '14 11:45:45 AM by kiukiuclk

What I noticed most was the strained animation, and the tricks they used to get around that. They seemed to be taking after the master, [Studio Shaft Akine Shinbo], but only got it halfway right. It's jarring to go four and a half episodes with normal art then jump into cartoon. Hope more studios try to be artistic and expressive with their limited resources.

I think the big problem is indeed that we're told and not shown all of Livius's achievements.

And it's a bizarre building they used to get married. Most of the audience can't see them because they're too low down.

A blog that gets updated on a geological timescale.

I don't think they actually got married here. This was an engagement ceremony. Thus why they're able to pull the "I'm his fiance" card on a new character in the next episode preview.

edited 5th May '14 7:09:34 AM by burnpsy