Chatterbox - Anime & Manga

It depends on how you define "awful".

A character being a Classical Anti-Hero or an extremely flawed or even bad person doesn't make them a bad main character, what makes a bad main character is if they're boring or the narrative tries to pretend they're not awful when they actually are.

Sorry for the double post, but I just wanted to draw attention to this interview I found with Studio Trigger where they talk about Marvel, the animation process, and other things: http://www.anigamers.com/interviews/trigger-superheroes-studio-culture-animenext-2016

I think the most interesting part is how they describe what it's like to work under the big guys at Trigger (basically Imaishi and Yoshinari).

Imaishi takes a lot of the staff's input into consideration and is more than willing to go way out there with the suggestions of his staff provided they take responsibility, which is why so many people enjoy working under him.

Yoshinari is basically a genius who can do everything by himself, but doesn't talk to his staff as often because he's kinda shy.

This was just Hiromi Wakabayashi's impressions of working under the two men but it's consistent with what've seen from their respective works, brings to mind that one infamous episode of TTGL that looked pretty different and got a lot of people mad. And of course Yoshinari's virtuoso draftsmanship skills are well-documented, the guy basically does everything and sets the bar while he's at it :'p

By the way, after read you constant praising of Re:Zero, i actually want know your opinions of this article.

I just read the first LN of Re:Zero, and it was good, it works as a prologue of the series, the real desconstructive and cynical elements are introduced in the second LN, right? And honestly...i do not really dislike Subaru (is obvious who the guy is a bit selfish and considerably inmature, but he is still likeable), and i liked Emilia honestly, i`m interesed of know more about the past of that girl.

And, i`m really interesed in this comment from the blogger Froggy-kun

edited 30th Aug '16 8:59:19 PM by KazuyaProta

Watched Monster Strike: Mermaid Rhapsody. Poor Ren and Lyra. I thought they can actually get together near the end. But apparently she has been revived. Hpoefully this development means they will meet again in regular series.

Seen it, the author misses the point of the series entirely and had no idea what she( or he, I don't know) was getting into.

In many ways, it's similar to how Evangelion was initially talked about when it aired.

Deconstructions should not attack the audience, they should make them think through their fiction and its implications. Nadeko Medusa was saying that a certain type of otaku's ideal girl (think Visual Key heroines) is not just unrealistic but would be quite dysfunctional in normal life. Nadeko is contrasted with the other girls who can't really be called realistic but do have real-world struggles, ambitions and ways of life. Masara's "Glasses" webcomic does this in reverse by giving the Kancolle girls independent sexualities and the very otakuish admiral can't take it. They are not trying to lambast otaku, they are saying that their attitudes to women and sex are self-harming, and fiction that panders to it is part of the problem.

Whereas the first in the by-otaku-against-otaku genre, Evangelion, for all its valid points does engage in a lot of hammering into Shinji that he is just too cowardly and unmanly. It is ironic (but natural) that it Hideaki was trying to tackle self-loathing but ended up mired in it.

But looking at that paragraph alone, I think the blogger is missing the point. Re:zero is not revelling in making an otaku stand-in suffer, it's saying that a lot of suffering would be the logical result of this sort of wish-fulfilment fantasy.

edited 1st Sep '16 2:15:09 PM by Reymma

"They are not trying to lambast otaku, they are saying that their attitudes to women and sex are self-harming"

Isn't that a form of lambasting someone, given that "lambaste" means "to criticize harshly"?

I'm rereading the World God Only Knows for a bit. Wow, this series had great art from day one didn't it?

That's not a big surprise, when the author is already experienced.

That does makes sense. It was still a pleasant surprise.

The dynamic between Keima and Elsie is also a lot more fun than I remembered it to be (at least in the first chapters???). I remembered Elsie as a bit of an airhead, and was only barely following Keima's dating sim logic, but I completely forgot even she was completely aware of how trashy and awful he is as a human being.

edited 3rd Sep '16 11:32:27 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Finished Ping Pong The Animation. I basically marathoned the show, it's been on my backlog for a while and I really loved the first 5 episodes I saw so I just wanted to finish it and stop procrastinating.

Excellent character drama and a visual tour de force, easily one of my favorite anime now.

Who was your favorite character? Mine was the engrish teacher, Wenge, and the dude with glasses. Really though by the end it's hard to actively dislike any of the core cast.

The last one's arc was a bit of a tough watch. Any story that deals with mediocrity or never being good enough gets me hard.

Also, which epusode was your favorite and why was it Episode 10?

edited 4th Sep '16 9:04:45 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

I love the whole cast honestly but my favorite character is Smile. I guess I have a soft spot for that type of sensitive loner character, but out of the whole cast I think he's the one I relate to most strongly.

I wasn't really expecting Peco and Smile's friendship to end up being the main focus of the series, I wasn't really even sure what was going to happen to the former, but I was really happy to see that he came back with a vengeance.

All the members of the core cast have strong showings, but I rooted for Akuma the most. It's not usual to see an anime character accept that he's not good enough, and find happiness elsewhere. That said, I'm most enamored with Kong Wenge's development as he gradually (and eventually, officially) integrates into Japan.

It's not "conventionally" pretty but it sure looks a hell of a lot more interesting than most of the more "polished" looking shows that come out most seasons.

Threoing things at a wall and seeing what sticks seems to be Masaki Yuasa's thing.

When it doesn't work, it's easy to make fun of. The scenes and imagery that does stick, though, sticks. In the case of the last two episodes, it can be gorgeous and breathtaking.

Christ i need to watch Tatami Galaxy.

edited 5th Sep '16 2:51:36 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

The guy's turned off-model animation into an art form. A deranged, kinetic mess that fits the lightning quick plays in ping pong.

Damn, definitely watch Tatami Galaxy. Cemented me as a Yuasa fan.

am i too late for the Ping Pong discussion? love that anime.

Tōken Ranbu Sword Hotarumaru Reconstruction Finished

ｓｗｏｒｄｂｏｙｓ

Ping Pong love here is so strong. That's great.

@filler: Noted

@majora: Jesus fuck that's a lot of phat cash. People must really love their swordboys

edited 6th Sep '16 3:02:49 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

I never heard of this Ping Pong thing so I looked it up and... it was painful to look at. Was it intentionally made that way? I can hardly believe a mere incompetence would produce something this horrible.

Sorry guys, maybe the plot is great or something, but visually speaking it's an atrocity.

It wasn't made that way due to incompetence, no. It's an adaptation of a manga by Taiyo Matsumoto, whose art is a bit...unconventional.

I will freely admit it's a bit of an acquired taste, or just won't be up everyone's alley regardless, but while watching it I could tell that the people responsible legitimately understood something about drawing and staging scenes. The lines may be crude, but the actual drawings a lot of the time are actually solid. This isn't an amateur work, by any means.

Honestly, screencaps from the series don't really do it that much justice, because from them you don't really get the kinetic energy that permeates the animation and adds a lot to the experience. There doesn't seem to be any straight lines in the entire show's art, even stuff like tables and robots have slight deformations to make them look more organic and wavy.

To be frank I find Ping Pong's "ugly" visuals a lot more interesting and engaging than a lot of anime out there which basically looks the same.

Also, yeah the writing in the series is awesome. It's optimistic but not in a juvenile, grating way while still managing to capture that elusive "essence of life" quality where the characters and situations feel very genuine, which puts it a step above a lot of anime on that merit alone.

edited 6th Sep '16 3:40:05 PM by Draghinazzo

It resembles rotoscoped footage put through an LSD filter, which fits the tone and what the series is going for. It's a deep exploration of the minds of characters with big dreams, and their inner demons.

It's a lot more pessimistic than many other sports anime, but all the right ways. It portrays the sport as a wonderful, exciting thrill ride that can set you free and is full of opportunities but also a cruel, merciless competition that has a hard glass ceiling for people who aren't good enough, and won't give second chances for the smallest of slip ups. It's characters giving their all, falling, and coming to terms with their limits and situations.

Now, if you want a more-conventionally good looking tennis series with awesome, awesome character writing the Baby Steps anime...

...Actually, thay looks like shit. It's A+++ though, and the manga looks loads better. It is much more idealistic and shonen than Ping Pong, but when is that ever a bad thing?

edited 6th Sep '16 5:08:26 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Ping-pong was just too ugly for me, and I loved Masaaki's Kaiba. Just makes my eyes strain.

I finished Tide-Line Blue, and I can recommend it for all it does well. The animation is on the level of an American cartoon and makes good use of movement to distinguish everyone, every scene has a wealth of background details, the cast is lively, the slapstick is genuinely funny and the action uses semi-realistic military vehicles and tactics. One of the most atmospheric post-apocalyptic worlds I've seen, starting off with a birth that feels perfectly fitting. But it is let down by two big flaws.

The obvious one is the pacing, which starts off normal but gets badly rushed by the last episode, and still leaves a lot hanging. Isla ends up doing nothing of relevance. It's obvious that things had been planned for at least two cours. But the other is that the conflict that drives the plot doesn't make sense.

Why are these nations fighting over resources when they could put the effort into reclaiming what the sea has covered? These are organised governments, not bands of raiders. How is Gould able to scare them into peace when the New United Nations, with its much bigger fleet, is unable to? And the New UN has maps of the submerged resources, which they could use as incentives for peace. It seems they aren't interested in pushing for peace, yet still devote their forces to defeat Gould. And even in the context of this conflict, the attack that opens up the series makes no sense. Gundam 00 uses a similar idea but makes it work.

But I will add that while it's annoying that Isla does nothing but childcare and laundry, Aoi is one of few women in the medium who is over fifty and looks it, is relevant to the plot, and is not there to die and be mourned.