Japan Anima(tor) Expo

So...

Anyone watching these shorts? And is anyone downloading these so they're not completely lost forever?

A good chunk of them are pretty fun.

And a few of them are pretty heartbreaking...

edited 20th Nov '15 9:58:06 PM by TargetmasterJoe

Bump.

Seriously though, isn't anyone making an effort to save or download these short films before November 23rd?

Because I'm trying to and it's proving to be pretty weird to say the least...

Again, serious question.

Batches of all the shorts, including English subtitles, have already been uploaded to nyaa, so no need to worry on that front.

Oh.

Cool.

Mind if I ask what're your favorites?

I think mine are (in no particular order):

• Cassette Girl (seriously, is there a way to get this to be a full-length show on Netflix?)
• I can do Friday by Day! (Stealth Sequel to FLCL? Count me in!)
• Hill Climb Girl
• Evangelion: Another Impact (the CG looks killer and I really like the Unit's appearance.)
• Sex and Violence with Machspeed (if only because it's probably the closest thing we'll get to Panty and Stocking season 2 at the moment.)
• Tomorrow From There
• Denkō Chōjin Gridman: boys invent great hero (proof that Trigger should do another Humongous Mecha show that isn't Kill La Kill.)
• and bizarrely enough ''20 min walk..." (even though I will confess it was mostly because the sight of a shrunken nude woman caught my eye.)

Honorable Mentions:

• until You come to me (closest thing we're probably gonna get to a follow-up to 3.33. I do like the nods it made to the other entries, but I'm not entirely sure it's among my favorites.)
• Bureau of Proto Society (this was a...weird one. Like I don't know if this is supposed to be hilarious or what since they're all looking at movies and shows and treating them as though they were serious documents of stuff that actually happened. The ending just served to be even more bizarre. I do like all those references they made to American movies and tv shows.)
• Ragnarok (I'm a sucker for giant robots as much as the next guy, but the soundtrack dissonance and ambiguous ending kinda threw it off for me. I did like how the American robot had Captain America's shield as arm guards.)
• Iconic Field (The main robot looks freakin rad, and the idea of the protagonist building a new head for it reminds me a lot of Megas XLR, but I don't know, there's something about it that's keeping me from putting this in my favorites. Although if I'm honest, all that talk about the heart did make me feel squeamish. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing this go all Machete and go from trailer for fake movie to actual series on streaming site.)

And I wanted to like Robot on the Road since I'm a sucker for ridiculously human robots, but this one...meh.

EDIT: Looked up that website you mentioned. It's a torrent site. Ohh. I was hoping for a different kind of video site.

edited 21st Nov '15 10:24:43 PM by TargetmasterJoe

It might not be ideal source, but since the actual official site isn't even being kept up, there's really no other effective option. And as far as I know there aren't any significant legal issues since the shorts were being put up publicly in the first place.

I haven't seen all the shorts yet, since I was waiting for them to be put together in a one collection, but of the ones I did see that distinctly remember: ME!ME!ME!, Power Plant No. 33, Sex & Violence with Machspeed, Hammerhead, Bureau of Proto Society (my personal favorite), and Cassette Girl.

I really do appreciate how many of the shorts are sci-fi oriented. The fantastic settings compliment the fantastic animation very well.

edited 21st Nov '15 8:06:05 PM by Eschaton

Got my hands on the files and will be posting my impressions on every single one if I can. Yay.

• The Dragon Dentist: Indeed about people who care for draconic dentition, though the job is more than just scrubbing those canines clean. The folkloric aspect of it needs meatier worldbuilding to really deliver, because in this short it comes off as an abrupt character introspection sequence.
• Hill Climb Girl: Standard sports stuff.
• ME!ME!ME!: Sexy, violent and nonsensical. Stinks like quote-and-quote true art. Probably just freaky though.
• Carnage: The grainy art style meshes quite nicely with the pseudo-western atmosphere, right down to the (rather boring) vengeance plotline.
• Gundam key animation: Exactly what it says on the tin. Should be interesting for Gundam fans!
• 20 minutes from Nishi-Ogikubo Station: An amusing little Lilliputian romp. Relatable too, how the weirdest dreams can help you reach some interesting epiphanies.
• Until you come to me: Mehvangelion.
• Tomorrow from There: Nothing like an adventure in a wonderland to brighten up your day. Unfortunately bland and forgettable.
• Electronic Superhuman Gridman: Classic sentai meets classic mecha for a double vanilla delight. Not sure what it was going for with the last bit though— seemed like it would have been better being more straightforward.
• Yamadeloid: Haven't seen samurai this funky since Champloo. Theeen it becomes super sentai. Then a Bollywood dance number?
• Power Plant No.33: Damn that is an interesting setting. Kaiju-powered old-school tech is hot stuff, to be sure, but there's quite a few plot threads you can sift from the short. Like the ethics in caging a living creature as a power source. Or what seems to be commentary on the people's dependency on tech. Maybe throw in some government/corporate conspiracies in the mix... Yup, I like this one a lot, thanks Trigger!
• Evangelion Another Impact: Dem visuals. Yum.

Not sure what it was going for with the last bit though

If my reading is correct, the man is Takeshi, an enemy turned good guy from the original series who has been chosen to become the next incarnation of Gridman. Would love to see Netflix score the streaming rights to this one if Trigger ever decides to give this the full series treatment after their upcoming show.

Mehvangelion

Nice wordplay, bro. Yeah, despite the nice music, the nods it makes to the previous entries of the Evangelion saga, the fact that it (supposedly) takes place after 3.33, and the other fact being that none of us have a clue as to when "Evangelion 3.0+1.0" (or as I kinda want to call it, "Evangelion 4.44: The Search for (More) Money"), I guess it is kinda bland-ish in terms of delivery, huh?

An amusing little Lilliputian romp

After reading the mini-review of it on Anime News Network and watching it myself, I kinda thought it seemed more like "Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis: The Gender Flipped Anime". But your description isn't so bad.

Nice assessment so far. Am I right to assume you still have more thoughts on the others?

And is it possible you'll upload them on You Tube? Or maybe not since Studio Khara might sic their secret squad of ninjas on you for potential copyright infringing maybe?

EDIT: Annnnnnd, Gridman's gone. I though it'd still be there, but apparently it's been gone since 10 am today. Goddamn it. >_<

edited 23rd Nov '15 7:56:26 PM by TargetmasterJoe

Ahh, that last bit does make more sense now.

Still haven't watched the other shorts, I'll post my impressions soon as I get to those. Probably won't be uploading but you can get the goodies on nyaa.

• Kanon: A frenetic somewhat artsy depiction of the trials of a man who tries his hand at playing God after destroying the old imperfect world. Let's just say this Creator might want to think about creating a 48-hour Sunday...
• Sex & Violence with Mach Speed: In one word: vulgar. Not the kind of humor that'll work for everyone, but I'm super okay with it.
• Obake-chan: Failed to lift the spirits, but otherwise inoffensive. I still say let it rest in peace.
• Tokio of the Moon's Shadow: Several cringeworthy art direction flops plus an unexplained power, and a nonsensical ending, but still enjoyed it for what it's worth.
• Three Fallen Witnesses: Tech-powered telemetry! Niiiiiice. Cruel cliffhanger though.
• The Diary of Ochibi: An animation about eating done via stop-motion food in a lunchbox. That's inspired. And now I'm hungry. The other seasons are a visual treat too. This is the kind of five-minute anime I wanna see more of.
• I Can Friday by Day!: Actually already saw this short before I even knew about the Animator Expo. Same impression as before: striking and vibrant, easy-to-follow plot wrapped in the quirky and the absurd, and catchy tune.
• ME! ME! ME! Chronic: More of the same. It got tedious.
• (Making Of) Evangelion - Another Impact: Exactly what it says on the tin. Always like seeing 3D modeling in action!
• Iconic Field: Luscious. Unfortunately doesn't quite come together as neatly as it could, but there are enough things here to tickle the fancy. Giant robot golems! Forgotten magic arts! Immortals! Planes! Mysterious shadowy organizations! Also hilarious how it seemed like the lead became an astronaut because he couldn't forget the first time he copped a feel.
• On a Gloomy Night: Can't say I enjoyed it, but it was food for thought, if a bit too heavy on the flavor.
• Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen: Compliments to the old-timey animation style. A tad disappointed this was a drama instead of a comedy like the first scene suggested.
• Rapid Rouge: Samurai SWAT. Enough said. Plenty of plot to work with too— it even has a next-episode preview!

Last batch of impressions!

• Hammerhead: What we got is nice (look at all the lovingly rendered gore!), though too preachy. If they ever expand this, they could opt for an ensemble cast of characters, and see how they view the titular superhuman and how his existence affects them.
• Conte {Hitman) 1989: I've always found the worlds of hitmen and comedy mesh together pretty well, and this one's no different. The crisp and clean art style helps with the lighthearted atmosphere of the short.
• Bubu and Bubulina: Reminded me of a (rather more comedic and colorful) avant garde French cartoon.
• Endless Night: Impeccable from an animation standpoint. Not a particularly attention-grabbing music video however.
• Bureau of Proto Society: Aside from the awkward "As You Know" bit, this put a grin on my face all throughout. Also bears some similarity to one or two half-baked stories I've penned, so it was a helpful reference.
• The Ultraman: Breathing new life into a classic.
• GIRL: From the makers of ME!ME!ME! comes the third installment of their Trippy Yawnfest series.
• Neon Genesis IMPACTS: Predictable way to end it, but that's not to say it wasn't interesting. Did have to wade through the CGDCT stuff we've seen hundreds of times before.
• Ragnarok: The country-themed mecha were glorious; really liked the Russian one in particular. Music was so off it was funny.
• Robot on the Road: GO WOMAN! PUNCH THAT SYNTHETIC SLEAZEBAG RIGHT IN HIS METALLIC MUG!
• Cassette Girl: The nostalgia factor in animated form. I like to think they were in just some highly intuitive cyberspace, and that that the cassettes and CDs were just shorthands for data formats or packets or something.

edited 30th Nov '15 7:29:50 AM by fillerdude

Also bears some similarity to one or two half-baked stories I've penned

Really? What are the odds of that happening?

Also, what's CGDCT? I can assume CG is "Computer Generated", but what about the rest?

It's a more common concept than you'd think.

CGDCT actually stands for Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, such as seen in K-On and its ilk.

Cute Girls Doing Cute Things. However, IMPACTS is blatantly yuri, while most shows of the CGDCT type are coy about this (lots of teasing, nothing really implicit unless you count, say, Sakura Trick).

Ah, so that's what CGDCT stands for. Yeah, did anyone else feel that the whole yuri thing really caught you off guard or was that just me?

Also, I know that the mission statement or official goal of this series was to essentially "go nuts with animation", but what's the likelihood that any of the guys who made these short films will be like "you know what? This is a really fun idea! Let's make a full-length TV show out of this!" with any of them (or like 70-80% of them since I admittedly can't see them making a show out of, say, Ragnarok or Bureau of Proto Society).

edited 1st Dec '15 12:06:42 PM by TargetmasterJoe

I actually think that a majority of those shorts can easily be expanded into full-length TV series. Even Ragnarok and Bureau of Proto Society, especially the latter.