Chatterbox - Anime & Manga

Magical Girl hack and slash apparently, it being mobage usually means you the player never actually do a damn thing though.

... I might actually get this game.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Well a 6.4 earthquake in southern Japan about 30 minutes ago. Koutetsujou No Kabaneri's and Assassination Classroom broadcast has been delayed and possibly others today.

Unknown if Netoge will be put on Funi's site, it did air though.

edited 14th Apr '16 9:54:13 AM by Memers

Funi already sent out a FB post that a few of their simulcasts will be delayed directly because of the earthquake.

Fun Fact: that post was the first time i had ever heard of this earthquake.

Just finished Kiddy Grade. It was pretty good. The plot took a while to get started, and was kind of all over the place even after it did, but the characters and action were nice. Even though the show is known for being Aya Hirano's first starring role as Lumiere, I found Eclair to be the more relatable character and holding the stronger parts of the story. The whole thing with Eclair and Lumiere being 'reborn' periodically and changing their appearance was weird, but I guess the show's creators felt it helped them to make their point somehow, so I can let it slide. The voice acting was decent, the soundtrack was quite well done, and as for the animation, it was Gonzo's usual hit-and-miss (some scenes beautifully animated, others filled with cardboard cutouts), although I've certainly seen worse. (In case you're wondering, I do plan to watch Kiddy Girl-and before long, although not immediately.)

Next up is Sakura Diaries. I've heard this was kinda the gold standard of ecchi comedy during the late 1990s. I haven't seen much old ecchi (Agent Aika, Burn-Up Excess, and that's about it), so hopefully it'll be interesting.

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Kabaneri ep 2 is blowing up over 2ch. Someone is gonna pay for voiding contracts.

TIL about "Manabi/Moppy line".

Going to be another Wixoss anime

It's interesting to me how Wixoss has become an anime/manga franchise despite A) the anime being created to promote a TCG and B) said TCG doing poorly

As long as the mobile game is alive, anything is a possibility.

Any other Australian's in the thread might be interesting in Madman's manga sale. They're no longer selling manga online after the end of this month and have single volumes for $6 each amongst other things.

I got myself the Legend of Zelda manga volumes 1-10 for $40.

Here's something kinda interesting:, the story of a Russian voice actor in Japan.

It's one thing to make a spectacle. It's another to make a difference.

Funny how Wixoss was promoted as Essentially Madoka Magica meets Yu Gi Oh, when Yu Gi Oh Arc V fits that in a more thematic way.

Watch Symphogear

Just finished Sakura Diaries. It wasn't terribly impressive. Kind of a 1990s version of B Gata H Kei, but less exaggerated and focusing more on the male lead, and generally lacking B Gata H Kei's comedic brilliance (although it has its moments) and broader satirical elements. The writing kept up a consistent pace, with things happening in each episode to move the story forward, but unfortunately the ending still came across as rather inconclusive. The animation quality was up to par for its era, and although I didn't like the OP or ED, the actual BGM had some good tracks. All told, I don't regret watching it but I doubt it'll end up being very memorable.

Next up (at long last) is Cowboy Bebop. This hardly needs any introduction- I'm pretty sure I'm already the last person on Earth to watch it. I'm not sure what I'm expecting, though, some kind of cross between Trigun and Leviathan Wakes?

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A bit surprised to see ARC-V memes on Joker Game discussions. Thought ARC-V would have a smaller audience to contain all the memes.

I had utterly forgotten how nuts Yuri Mekuru Hibi was. It's too bad that the scanslators seemed to have stopped midway into the second book though. :(

I've been going through Angel Beats! and rewatching Haibane Renmei, which should have both worked as different takes on a redemptive afterlife, one low-key artsy project based on Christian purgatory, the other the well-produced, otaku-aimed franchise based on Buddhist cleansing before reincarnation. Yet Haibane Renmei has a powerful central theme with an iffy execution; but Angel Beats is sincere and sometimes enjoyable but feels hollow because Jun Maeda doesn't understand how stories work. And I'm not talking about the rushed pace.

First, ABe's style is drab but at least distinctive. AB wants to be a Kyoani show but doesn't have the budget or subtlety and is simply bland. Yui looks about right as a design, but instead she looks out of place. The school is every animated high school distilled, even though it's not in our reality! Do something to make it different! Even the action looks awkward until the last few episodes. And why oh why is there no visual cue as to the "obliterations"? I kept thinking they had moved off-screen.

Relatedly, the high school setting makes no sense except as otaku bait. The world of HR is self-sufficient but mysterious at the edges; that of AB keeps raising weird questions (what are they learning about if there's no outside world? what if someone's dream involves going outside?) while being too clichéd to have any sense of mystery. It's just an excuse to have the familiar trappings of a school without such plot inconveniences as attending lessons.

The early plot involving fighting Tenshi is all down to a silly failure to communicate. The rest is better but resolved too quickly, so that is down to the 1 cour restriction.

But what bothered me most is that the characters are either non-entities, or passive victims of a plot that happens to them rather than involving them. Every one of them except Otonashi had no influence over their death for good or bad. Iwasawa is the worst here, and it came right after a promising backstory of someone actually doing something in the face of misfortune. If the Kyoani adaptations pander to otaku afraid of real women, this one feels like it is for and by those who feel they have no control in their lives.

But while Yurippe and Otonashi are genuine characters, Angel is a plot device with white hair. She manages to be bound with the plot every step without ever showing personality, aspirations beyond the plot, or anything close to a mutual relationship. She opens up but it's entirely on Otonashi's advice, and the finale tries to shoehorn a romance in the most contrived and meaningless way that only underlines her lack of human qualities.

And shallow characters give shallow themes. HR is about dealing with past transgressions that you cannot atone for. AB is simply about them fulfilling dreams, that they could not fulfil because of writers' contrivances, in a context where it makes little sense. Angel Beats feels hollow (though not disturbing like other Key dramas).

I will say though that the slapstick is not fetishized and made me laugh a few times. And the music is wonderful. Maeda can do some things very well, but meaningful drama is not among them.

Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.

That's about the last criticism I would ever level at Angel Beats. I'll admit Clannad has probably the best animation I've seen in any TV anime, but Angel Beats's animation quality is still top-tier.

That was done very deliberately. It seems to be implied that people disappearing has a bizarre and somewhat disturbing 'impossible' visual appearance that can't be depicted on-screen.

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Didn't NISA announce that they rescued Cardcaptor Sakura a few years ago? What happened with that?

It's one thing to make a spectacle. It's another to make a difference.

The mangaka of LOG HORIZON..... has been arrested for tax evasion.

Again?

"Please crush me with your heels Esdeath-sama!

..... what do you mean "again"?? :O

That happened last year, he eventually made an out-of-court agreement or something.

"Please crush me with your heels Esdeath-sama!

He has just been sentenced to 10 months in jail, but given 3 years of probation.

Source: http://blog.esuteru.com/archives/8567379.html

What does "but given 3 years of probation" mean?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Probation is usually suspending the sentence; if they do not get into trouble for that period, they are not subject to punishment, if they are condemned for anything they get it on top of whatever new sentence they're given.

Angel Beats certainly doesn't look cheap, but it's trying to do what requires both more money and more skill to work right. Kyoani's artists can make buildings feel lived-in without feeling cluttered, give the characters personality with their mannerisms, and liven up mundane scenes. Basically Kyoani can make talking heads in normal schools look engaging. Angel Beats copies the high school, the generic character designs, even scenes like the concert, but it all ends up looking like I've seen it before done better. The key to selling a story in a crowded market is to capitalise on what makes it different; put the school in the clouds, on a mountaintop, in a haunted forest, make the uniforms reflect funerary shrouds, fill the rooms with items taken from across history, anything to not make it look like a Haruhi rip-off. The epilogue was the epitome: it's like they were reincarnated right where they died. (And why are the concerts better animated than the fights?)

Studio Shaft is notorious for making do on shoestring budgets by throwing at the screen every artbook scrap they have lying around. Love it or hate it, it looks distinctive.

And I can see some reason for not showing the disappearances directly, but could they give a more obvious cue like the guitar falling to the floor?

Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.

@PhysicalStamina: ...It released without incident and was put up on Crunchyroll as well. NISA generally doesn't drag their feet.