October 03, 2010
Little Girl, Big Gun
A couple of days ago, Steven was talking about an anime fetish/trope/whatever, namely, "Little Girls with Big Guns." Last night, while I was waiting for my broadband connection to get fixed, I stumbled upon another example or two: Gretel from Black Lagoon 2nd Barrage.
You've gotta love the cute little plushy fob hanging from the barrel, neh?
In case you're wondering, it's a M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR. Sort of halfway between an assault rifle and a machine gun, I suppose it's the predecessor of today's SAR.
Now, one can debate if Gretel actually falls into the category of "Little Girl," but that's an argument for another day.
You've gotta love the cute little plushy fob hanging from the barrel, neh?
In case you're wondering, it's a M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR. Sort of halfway between an assault rifle and a machine gun, I suppose it's the predecessor of today's SAR.
Now, one can debate if Gretel actually falls into the category of "Little Girl," but that's an argument for another day.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:06 PM
| Comments (6)
| Add Comment
Post contains 113 words, total size 1 kb.
September 23, 2010
"Explosions and Cool Vehicles!"
So I'm sitting around, doing this and that, when I get a message from a friend of mine. Here's the pertinent portion of it:
Now as you know, my tastes don't exactly run towards "explosions and cool vehicles." I'm much more of a slice-of-life kinda guy, and there sure ain't any 'splody bits in Kanon '06. So I turn to you, my loyal readers. Give me your favoriteist splody anime... and it's gotta be available on DVD, so no fansubs. We've got a chance to create a couple of new otaku here, so let's get them started on the right foot!
Here's a picture of a cute girl as a thank you:
Oh, and no Evangelion.
Did I ever tell you that my friends and I watched the first episode of
Popotan the other day on Netflix? Um, extremely bizarre and a little
disturbing. That was months ago. Lately we find ourselves still
talking about it. It was only one episode. We may have to watch more.
Is this how the addiction starts? If that's the case we'd prefer anime
with more explosions and cool vehicles. Got any suggestions for a
bunch of anime noobs?
Now as you know, my tastes don't exactly run towards "explosions and cool vehicles." I'm much more of a slice-of-life kinda guy, and there sure ain't any 'splody bits in Kanon '06. So I turn to you, my loyal readers. Give me your favoriteist splody anime... and it's gotta be available on DVD, so no fansubs. We've got a chance to create a couple of new otaku here, so let's get them started on the right foot!
Here's a picture of a cute girl as a thank you:
Oh, and no Evangelion.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:34 PM
| Comments (21)
| Add Comment
Post contains 199 words, total size 1 kb.
September 21, 2010
Question for the Pond Readers
Anybody seen Tokyo Tosho recently?
Picture unrelated; I just wanted to post a Kanon '06 shot.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:31 PM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 21 words, total size 1 kb.
September 19, 2010
The Ships of Strike Witches ep11
In this episode, the Powers That Be have decided that it's time to go on full attack with (mostly) conventional forces against the Neuroi Hive that's sitting over Romagna. The 501st will be reduced to escorting the naval vessels involved. Well, we all know that won't last for long, but let's take a look at the ship list the show provides us with, because it's a doozy!
The first thing that leaped out at me was that it appears that I got my aircraft carriers wrong. Allegedly. The Chitose and Chiyoda would have been lousy choices to escort the Yamato halfway around the world. They were poor carriers, unsurprising since they were actually converted seaplane tenders. They weren't particularly fast, nor were they long-legged. Meh, so I'm wrong, because that's what's up there on the screen.
Of course, there's also the Amagi. A member of the Unryu class, which was based off the Hiryu, in real life the Amagi's career was pretty much limited to the Inland Sea before it was sunk in harbor at Kure Naval Base by USN planes. It capsized to port, with its starboard-side island nearly parallel to the water. So how exactly did the producers of Strike Witches miss this:
Yeah, the island is on the port side. Whoopsie. I'd write it off to alternate-universe, yadda yadda, but they've been so good about how the ships looked up until now.
Ignore the flying battleship, the Amagi's island is on the bloody wrong side! Whoopsie.
There's another big mistake in the order-of-battle in the first picture. The Amagi's plane guard destroyer is the Hatsuzuki, which in real life was sunk at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. That's fine and all, but please note that the Hatsuzuki is also shown as being off the Yamato's starboard bow. Whoopsie again. The Imperial Japanese Navy built some fantastic destroyers in WWII, but none of them were good enough to be two places at once.
The USS Nicholas (DD-449) was commissioned on June 4th, 1942, and had a busy war. She was decommissioned in 1970. The USS La Vallette (DD-448) was put in service August 12th, 1942. She took an aerial torpedo off Guadalcanal, then suffered crippling damage from a mine in February 1945. She was retired shortly after the end of the war. She stayed in the reserve fleet until 1974, when she was sold to Peru as spare parts. I'm guessing the "USS HEY" to starboard of the Chiyoda, is the Heywood L Edwards (DD-663), named after the captain of the USS Reuben James, the first US ship sunk in WWII. The Edwards was commissioned January 1944 and was transferred to the Japanese Naval Self-Defense Force in 1959 as the Ariake.
The doesn't appear to be a destroyer named the Federico Nani in the Regia Marina during WWII, though there was a submarine called the Nani. I can find no information regarding who Mr Nani was, other than a brief note that he commanded a fleet in defense of Venice against the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. It'd make sense that a ship would be named for him, but I'll be darned if I can find one.
I'll ignore most of the battleships. They're easy to identify for the most part, and easy to find information on. I will mention one, though. In the lower-right, there's a "HMS HO" listed, and I thought that the producers had made another mistake. After all, the HMS Hood was a battlecruiser, not a battleship. Turns out that the last of the King George V-class was the HMS Howe, which was also the last British battleship built that served in WWII (the Vanguard was completed after the war ended). In fact, four of the five KGV's are in the order-of-battle, and are in line in the order they were completed (only the namesake isn't listed).
I still don't think that those were the Chitose and Chiyoda, though.
The first thing that leaped out at me was that it appears that I got my aircraft carriers wrong. Allegedly. The Chitose and Chiyoda would have been lousy choices to escort the Yamato halfway around the world. They were poor carriers, unsurprising since they were actually converted seaplane tenders. They weren't particularly fast, nor were they long-legged. Meh, so I'm wrong, because that's what's up there on the screen.
Of course, there's also the Amagi. A member of the Unryu class, which was based off the Hiryu, in real life the Amagi's career was pretty much limited to the Inland Sea before it was sunk in harbor at Kure Naval Base by USN planes. It capsized to port, with its starboard-side island nearly parallel to the water. So how exactly did the producers of Strike Witches miss this:
Yeah, the island is on the port side. Whoopsie. I'd write it off to alternate-universe, yadda yadda, but they've been so good about how the ships looked up until now.
Ignore the flying battleship, the Amagi's island is on the bloody wrong side! Whoopsie.
There's another big mistake in the order-of-battle in the first picture. The Amagi's plane guard destroyer is the Hatsuzuki, which in real life was sunk at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. That's fine and all, but please note that the Hatsuzuki is also shown as being off the Yamato's starboard bow. Whoopsie again. The Imperial Japanese Navy built some fantastic destroyers in WWII, but none of them were good enough to be two places at once.
The USS Nicholas (DD-449) was commissioned on June 4th, 1942, and had a busy war. She was decommissioned in 1970. The USS La Vallette (DD-448) was put in service August 12th, 1942. She took an aerial torpedo off Guadalcanal, then suffered crippling damage from a mine in February 1945. She was retired shortly after the end of the war. She stayed in the reserve fleet until 1974, when she was sold to Peru as spare parts. I'm guessing the "USS HEY" to starboard of the Chiyoda, is the Heywood L Edwards (DD-663), named after the captain of the USS Reuben James, the first US ship sunk in WWII. The Edwards was commissioned January 1944 and was transferred to the Japanese Naval Self-Defense Force in 1959 as the Ariake.
The doesn't appear to be a destroyer named the Federico Nani in the Regia Marina during WWII, though there was a submarine called the Nani. I can find no information regarding who Mr Nani was, other than a brief note that he commanded a fleet in defense of Venice against the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. It'd make sense that a ship would be named for him, but I'll be darned if I can find one.
I'll ignore most of the battleships. They're easy to identify for the most part, and easy to find information on. I will mention one, though. In the lower-right, there's a "HMS HO" listed, and I thought that the producers had made another mistake. After all, the HMS Hood was a battlecruiser, not a battleship. Turns out that the last of the King George V-class was the HMS Howe, which was also the last British battleship built that served in WWII (the Vanguard was completed after the war ended). In fact, four of the five KGV's are in the order-of-battle, and are in line in the order they were completed (only the namesake isn't listed).
I still don't think that those were the Chitose and Chiyoda, though.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
12:47 AM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 665 words, total size 6 kb.
September 07, 2010
Rocket Girls Ep12: A Wrapup
Over three years ago, in the midst of one of my occasional bouts of blog-self-loathing, I mentioned that I had some thoughts about the final episode of the show Rocket Girls. Shortly thereafter, I forgot that I even mentioned it and away it went into the depths of the internet. Flash-forward to last week, when Pete Z won the fourth installment of the "Name This Mystery Ship" contest... which brings with it the winner's choice of a blog post. His selection was for me to write up those thoughts on Rocket Girls ep12.
To be honest, I had no idea what he was talking about. I found the post where I mentioned it the first time, and that jogged no memories. I had no idea what I was referring to! Still, a promise is a promise, so it was off to the show to watch ep12 again, see what sprang to mind.
By the end of it, I knew exactly what I meant.
If you remember, JAXA's manned two-seat capsule, the Mangosteen, had made rendezvous with NASA's space shuttle Atlantis in an attempt to rescue a space probe destined for Pluto. The problem was that the probe had reached an orbit too high for either the shuttle or the capsule to reach individually. After an amazing kludge, however, the shuttle gave Mangosteen enough of a boost so it could reach the probe, fix it, and send it on it's way. While unlikely, I could roll with that; it made for good story after all.
However, all is not well. Due to a data-entry mixup (ain't that always the way?), it turns out that the Mangosteen won't be able to return to Earth without burning up during re-entry. Some quick thinking on the part of both NASA and JAXA gives our heroines, hot pilot Yukari and mission specialist Akane, one chance: a skip re-entry. This involves the capsule rebounding off the atmosphere a couple of times so as to slow down enough to come through okay. Okay, I can buy that... it's been done before. But there's a snag: there's a whole slew of numbers (Coordinates? Drag coefficients? Shoe sizes?) that are needed so's the capsule can perform the maneuvers correctly. One tiny mixup and poof, they're burned to a crisp... and the crew of the Mangosteen traded away their pens to the NASA astronauts. No problem! Akane is a super-geeeeenius and can memorize any long sequence of numbers you care to throw at her. Okay, I can buy that, too.
Re-entry begins. The G-forces build. Akane, frail little flower that she is, passes out leaving hot pilot Yukari to just wing it. Soon enough, the stresses build enough to drop Yukari as well.
And this is where I began to get really angry at Rocket Girls.
more...
To be honest, I had no idea what he was talking about. I found the post where I mentioned it the first time, and that jogged no memories. I had no idea what I was referring to! Still, a promise is a promise, so it was off to the show to watch ep12 again, see what sprang to mind.
By the end of it, I knew exactly what I meant.
If you remember, JAXA's manned two-seat capsule, the Mangosteen, had made rendezvous with NASA's space shuttle Atlantis in an attempt to rescue a space probe destined for Pluto. The problem was that the probe had reached an orbit too high for either the shuttle or the capsule to reach individually. After an amazing kludge, however, the shuttle gave Mangosteen enough of a boost so it could reach the probe, fix it, and send it on it's way. While unlikely, I could roll with that; it made for good story after all.
However, all is not well. Due to a data-entry mixup (ain't that always the way?), it turns out that the Mangosteen won't be able to return to Earth without burning up during re-entry. Some quick thinking on the part of both NASA and JAXA gives our heroines, hot pilot Yukari and mission specialist Akane, one chance: a skip re-entry. This involves the capsule rebounding off the atmosphere a couple of times so as to slow down enough to come through okay. Okay, I can buy that... it's been done before. But there's a snag: there's a whole slew of numbers (Coordinates? Drag coefficients? Shoe sizes?) that are needed so's the capsule can perform the maneuvers correctly. One tiny mixup and poof, they're burned to a crisp... and the crew of the Mangosteen traded away their pens to the NASA astronauts. No problem! Akane is a super-geeeeenius and can memorize any long sequence of numbers you care to throw at her. Okay, I can buy that, too.
Re-entry begins. The G-forces build. Akane, frail little flower that she is, passes out leaving hot pilot Yukari to just wing it. Soon enough, the stresses build enough to drop Yukari as well.
And this is where I began to get really angry at Rocket Girls.
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:02 PM
| Comments (9)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1050 words, total size 8 kb.
August 22, 2010
Strike Witches 2 Loves Me
I just finished watching ep07 of Strike Witches 2, and while that particular episode was extraordinarily silly, it was the preview for ep08 that made me sit up and take notice. Certainly this was nice:
I mean, who doesn't like a good Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 fighter once in a while, right? Probably an A6M2, considering the year the show is set in.
But that wasn't what made me drool in anticipation. No, this one quick shot was what did it:
We already knew the Yamato was going to be showing up, so no surprise there. No, it's the other two ships in this screencap that got me excited. I am tentatively identifying them as the Zuiho on the left and the Shoho on the right. Note the lack of islands on the flight-decks, which do not appear to stretch the full length of the hull. While that alone doesn't preclude them from being one of the IJN's escort carriers (like the Unyo or Taiyo), which also have those same traits, you'll note on the lefthand carrier there is a wire mesh-like object extending out from the starboard side.
There's a similar object on the other carrier as well, though it's mostly hidden behind the Yamato. That's actually the ship's radio masts, which could be cranked down for flight operations. I don't think the escort carriers needed such a system. The true giveaway, though is that both ships look like they have "wings" off the stern end of their flight decks. That was a feature that allowed pilots to check their positioning out of the corners of their eye as they landed, and the Japanese CVEs didn't have those, but the Zuiho and Shoho did. We'll just need to wait for ep08 to be released to be sure... but I feel pretty confident.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what it's like being a Pacific War otaku.
I mean, who doesn't like a good Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 fighter once in a while, right? Probably an A6M2, considering the year the show is set in.
But that wasn't what made me drool in anticipation. No, this one quick shot was what did it:
We already knew the Yamato was going to be showing up, so no surprise there. No, it's the other two ships in this screencap that got me excited. I am tentatively identifying them as the Zuiho on the left and the Shoho on the right. Note the lack of islands on the flight-decks, which do not appear to stretch the full length of the hull. While that alone doesn't preclude them from being one of the IJN's escort carriers (like the Unyo or Taiyo), which also have those same traits, you'll note on the lefthand carrier there is a wire mesh-like object extending out from the starboard side.
There's a similar object on the other carrier as well, though it's mostly hidden behind the Yamato. That's actually the ship's radio masts, which could be cranked down for flight operations. I don't think the escort carriers needed such a system. The true giveaway, though is that both ships look like they have "wings" off the stern end of their flight decks. That was a feature that allowed pilots to check their positioning out of the corners of their eye as they landed, and the Japanese CVEs didn't have those, but the Zuiho and Shoho did. We'll just need to wait for ep08 to be released to be sure... but I feel pretty confident.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what it's like being a Pacific War otaku.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:53 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 321 words, total size 2 kb.
August 14, 2010
Funi Comes Through With Ga-Rei Zero!
I haven't been this excited about a licensing announcement since Nozomi announced it was going to be releasing the ARIA franchise! Ladies and Gentlemen, in early 2011 Funimation will be releasing Ga-Rei Zero!
I'm honestly surprised it took this long for a company to get the rights to the show; it seems tailor-made for the American market. Cute girls, swordplay, supernatural beasties, good story and artwork, cute girls, Pocky... really, what more could you ask for? And when it goes over-the-top, it really goes over-the-top... it's great!
Okay, it isn't the greatest anime ever, but it IS good, and it IS fun, and it WAS well worth the time I spent on the writeups. I'll be getting it as soon as it's available, for sure.
And if you'd like, here's the links for the episodic writeups, by entry:
ep01 ep02 ep03 ep04 ep05 ep06 ep07 ep08 ep09 ep10 ep11 ep12
I've been meaning to do that for a while now...
A tip o' the chapeau to commenter Siergen for the pointer!
Yomi & Kagura seem less than thrilled.
Of course, I'm thrilled, no matter what the Monochrome Schoolgirls think. I'd like to think that my episodic writeup of the show helped Funi make up their mind in some tiny way... I doubt it, but I'd like to think so. I'm honestly surprised it took this long for a company to get the rights to the show; it seems tailor-made for the American market. Cute girls, swordplay, supernatural beasties, good story and artwork, cute girls, Pocky... really, what more could you ask for? And when it goes over-the-top, it really goes over-the-top... it's great!
Okay, it isn't the greatest anime ever, but it IS good, and it IS fun, and it WAS well worth the time I spent on the writeups. I'll be getting it as soon as it's available, for sure.
And if you'd like, here's the links for the episodic writeups, by entry:
ep01 ep02 ep03 ep04 ep05 ep06 ep07 ep08 ep09 ep10 ep11 ep12
I've been meaning to do that for a while now...
A tip o' the chapeau to commenter Siergen for the pointer!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:49 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 225 words, total size 3 kb.
August 11, 2010
How Wonderduck Discovered He Had No Life
So I'm watching Strike Witches 2 ep06 when this streaks across the screen:
My reaction to seeing it was "Huh. I didn't expect to see that in an anime." There just aren't that many people who have ever heard of the Macchi C.202, let alone know what one looks like or know why it was a good choice for the Regia Aeronautica Romagna airforce to be flying against the Neuroi.
My next reacton was akin to this:
...as I realized that there's a reason most people haven't heard of the C.202: most people don't have a fascination for the... shall we say obscure?... planes used in WWII. Most people wouldn't even care. Hell, most of the people watching Strike Witches 2 wouldn't care.
SW1 brought us the A5M, SW2 the C.202 and an Emily. I've geeked out with every new piece of military hardware they've brought us. I have no life.
My reaction to seeing it was "Huh. I didn't expect to see that in an anime." There just aren't that many people who have ever heard of the Macchi C.202, let alone know what one looks like or know why it was a good choice for the Regia Aeronautica Romagna airforce to be flying against the Neuroi.
My next reacton was akin to this:
...as I realized that there's a reason most people haven't heard of the C.202: most people don't have a fascination for the... shall we say obscure?... planes used in WWII. Most people wouldn't even care. Hell, most of the people watching Strike Witches 2 wouldn't care.
SW1 brought us the A5M, SW2 the C.202 and an Emily. I've geeked out with every new piece of military hardware they've brought us. I have no life.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:31 PM
| Comments (6)
| Add Comment
Post contains 158 words, total size 2 kb.
July 28, 2010
Ikkitousen Xtreme Xecutor Omake... Dear Merciful Heavens!
Okay, while I haven't managed to get I:XX into my viewing stream yet, I can tell you one thing: the omake are going to be awesomely ecchi! I'm talking Dragon Destiny-level pervy here, kids.
The first one was released recently and while it hasn't been subbed yet, you don't need words to know what we're looking at!
Oh. Oh my. NSFW "below the fold" as they say in the newspaper biz.
more...
The first one was released recently and while it hasn't been subbed yet, you don't need words to know what we're looking at!
Oh. Oh my. NSFW "below the fold" as they say in the newspaper biz.
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:39 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 94 words, total size 1 kb.
July 17, 2010
Four More First Episodes
With the Summer Anime season in full swing over in Japan, of course I've been watching. In my first post, I came up with three keepers and a possible fourth. This time around, let's look at four more series and see what shakes out, shall we?
more...
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:37 PM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 568 words, total size 5 kb.
July 11, 2010
Four First Episodes
The Summer 2010 anime season has gotten underway over in Japan, and I'm rather optimistic this time around. In the Spring, I wound up following only two shows: Angel Beats and K-On!!, with a third, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou, ending up on the shelf after I watched half.
This season, though, I'm already hooked on four series, and there are two others that I haven't had a chance to watch yet. Let's take a look, shall we?
more...
This season, though, I'm already hooked on four series, and there are two others that I haven't had a chance to watch yet. Let's take a look, shall we?
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
12:22 AM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1113 words, total size 9 kb.
July 01, 2010
Angel Beats
I haven't written much about anime recently, simply because not much this season grabbed me (and there wasn't a duckie to be seen anywhere!). Heck, I was only watching three series: K-On!!, which is still running, thankfully. There was also Ichiban Ushiro no Daimou, which I like but it didn't make me watch it, so I'm stalled on ep07.
And then there's Angel Beats.
Wonderduck's One Word Review: Frustrating.
Wonderduck's Many Word Review: There have been many anime series that would have been improved by having fewer episodes. DBZ, for example, could have had half the series cut out and it would have been a tighter, more interesting show (and I gather that the "new" DBZ Kai is doing just that). One of my favorite shows, Kanon '06, could have cut out a few of the Makoto eps and I would have been perfectly fine with it, particularly if they used that time to go a little deeper into the other girls. Many Gainax series should have ended a few episodes earlier than they actually did (one could argue that, in the case of Kare Kano and Evangelion, they actually did). Then of course Eiken would have been so much better if it had two fewer episodes.
There are even a few series that I wish had more episodes: Azumanga Daioh, for example. Of course, that's just because I'd like to know what happened to the girls after high school. The ARIA franchise could go on forever and I'd be happy... but that's because I like the setting and the characters and want to spend more time there.
But Angel Beats is one of the very few shows that I've seen that screams for more episodes. Thirteen just wasn't enough for a story that was potentially deep, and as a result it came across as... well, shallow. There was so much left unexplained by the rushed ending that it was intensely, horribly frustrating. Example? Take a look at this picture:
This is the main cast for Angel Beats (minus the "angel" of the title), yet in the end we only learn anything about five or six of them, the rest are just there for window dressing. I mean, just why does TK speak English when everybody else is speaking Japanese? Why does the computer geek want to be known as "Christ", other than being a geek? The one standing on the shinai... how did she get so ninjalicious? And that's just the cast list... what about the plot? They're all dead, in purgatory, trying to get reborn, but they have to accept themselves first, and... and... and... frustrating.
There was so much potential there, and so much of it was flat-out wasted. What we did get, however was soooooo tantalizing! One of the tantalizing bits was the band, Girls Dead Monster (GirlDeMo).
Let's face it, the two concert scenes in Angel Beats out-K-On!!'s K-On!!, without breaking a sweat. Think about that for a second: it does a rock band better than the anime about a rock band. Yet we know nothing about three of the people up on that stage; only the lead singer gets any backstory, and that's just before she reincarnates and disappears (both literally and figuratively) from the series. Frustrating! (A note about the music: this show has the best BGM I've ever heard, and the OP is fantastic. If you can get your hands on a copy of the soundtrack, do it!)
In the end, though, I really did enjoy the series. In fact, for the first time in a long while I haunted TokyoTosho waiting for new episodes to appear. When the final ep finished downloading, though, I couldn't bring myself to watch it for a few days, because I knew it was going to be rushed, and because I suspected it was going to be a trainwreck. I was right on both counts.
So, as much as I enjoyed Angel Beats, I'm afraid that I cannot, in good conscious, recommend the show.
Sorry, Yurippe. Now about that inevitable 24-episode remake...
And then there's Angel Beats.
Wonderduck's One Word Review: Frustrating.
Wonderduck's Many Word Review: There have been many anime series that would have been improved by having fewer episodes. DBZ, for example, could have had half the series cut out and it would have been a tighter, more interesting show (and I gather that the "new" DBZ Kai is doing just that). One of my favorite shows, Kanon '06, could have cut out a few of the Makoto eps and I would have been perfectly fine with it, particularly if they used that time to go a little deeper into the other girls. Many Gainax series should have ended a few episodes earlier than they actually did (one could argue that, in the case of Kare Kano and Evangelion, they actually did). Then of course Eiken would have been so much better if it had two fewer episodes.
There are even a few series that I wish had more episodes: Azumanga Daioh, for example. Of course, that's just because I'd like to know what happened to the girls after high school. The ARIA franchise could go on forever and I'd be happy... but that's because I like the setting and the characters and want to spend more time there.
But Angel Beats is one of the very few shows that I've seen that screams for more episodes. Thirteen just wasn't enough for a story that was potentially deep, and as a result it came across as... well, shallow. There was so much left unexplained by the rushed ending that it was intensely, horribly frustrating. Example? Take a look at this picture:
This is the main cast for Angel Beats (minus the "angel" of the title), yet in the end we only learn anything about five or six of them, the rest are just there for window dressing. I mean, just why does TK speak English when everybody else is speaking Japanese? Why does the computer geek want to be known as "Christ", other than being a geek? The one standing on the shinai... how did she get so ninjalicious? And that's just the cast list... what about the plot? They're all dead, in purgatory, trying to get reborn, but they have to accept themselves first, and... and... and... frustrating.
There was so much potential there, and so much of it was flat-out wasted. What we did get, however was soooooo tantalizing! One of the tantalizing bits was the band, Girls Dead Monster (GirlDeMo).
Let's face it, the two concert scenes in Angel Beats out-K-On!!'s K-On!!, without breaking a sweat. Think about that for a second: it does a rock band better than the anime about a rock band. Yet we know nothing about three of the people up on that stage; only the lead singer gets any backstory, and that's just before she reincarnates and disappears (both literally and figuratively) from the series. Frustrating! (A note about the music: this show has the best BGM I've ever heard, and the OP is fantastic. If you can get your hands on a copy of the soundtrack, do it!)
In the end, though, I really did enjoy the series. In fact, for the first time in a long while I haunted TokyoTosho waiting for new episodes to appear. When the final ep finished downloading, though, I couldn't bring myself to watch it for a few days, because I knew it was going to be rushed, and because I suspected it was going to be a trainwreck. I was right on both counts.
So, as much as I enjoyed Angel Beats, I'm afraid that I cannot, in good conscious, recommend the show.
Sorry, Yurippe. Now about that inevitable 24-episode remake...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:37 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 678 words, total size 5 kb.
May 05, 2010
Chekhov's Tank
Over at TVtropes.org
(warning: not safe for those without a lot of time), there's an entry
entitled "Chekhov's
Gun." It gets its name from a famous law of playwriting by Anton
Chekhov, which states "If you say in the first chapter that there is a
rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely
must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging
there." This is an admonition against unnecessary things in a story, and works very, very well. So when we first see the giant spider tank in Sora no Woto, it's immediately clear that, even though it's in pieces, it WILL be used some time in the series.
...at which point, I closed ZoomPlayer and said "no thanks, no longer interested."
Until last weekend. Either caught up or bored with everything else I've been watching recently (K-On!!, Angel Beats, a few others), I restarted the show again... and wondered just what the hell was wrong with me the first time. I blitzed the 12-episode series in two days, enjoying myself the entire time. Okay, sure, it's a show about Japanese girls wearing German uniforms exploring a Japanese music school in a Spanish town full of French people celebrating Chinese New Years in Switzerland, shooting South African owls while piloting multi-legged, talking, demon slaying, Amazing Grace-singing, 500mm coil gun firing "son of the god of fire" supertanks from the future, but I'll be darned if it isn't really, really good.
It's NOT "K-On! Goes To War" as people described it when it first debuted. Music plays a small part in the show (the aforementioned Amazing Grace ties the characters together in a way the series explains quite well), other than the main character being a military bugler. It's certainly a better looking series than K-On!, without a doubt.
Which is amazing, considering that only a couple of years ago, Kyoto Animation (who does K-On!) was considered the preeminent studio for "pretty shows."
Having said all that, Sora no Woto isn't a great series, but it is good. It's entertaining, has a pretty good story behind it, and characters that you get interested in. The show's downfall is that it's too short. I think it needed another three or four episodes, as the final story arc changes the tone of the show abruptly from rather light-hearted to a dark war story. If that arc was extended it would have done the story a world of good... but I don't think it'd support a 24-episode series. And yes, Chekov's Tank does get used.
If you haven't seen the show, give it a look... you won't regret it.
...at which point, I closed ZoomPlayer and said "no thanks, no longer interested."
Until last weekend. Either caught up or bored with everything else I've been watching recently (K-On!!, Angel Beats, a few others), I restarted the show again... and wondered just what the hell was wrong with me the first time. I blitzed the 12-episode series in two days, enjoying myself the entire time. Okay, sure, it's a show about Japanese girls wearing German uniforms exploring a Japanese music school in a Spanish town full of French people celebrating Chinese New Years in Switzerland, shooting South African owls while piloting multi-legged, talking, demon slaying, Amazing Grace-singing, 500mm coil gun firing "son of the god of fire" supertanks from the future, but I'll be darned if it isn't really, really good.
It's NOT "K-On! Goes To War" as people described it when it first debuted. Music plays a small part in the show (the aforementioned Amazing Grace ties the characters together in a way the series explains quite well), other than the main character being a military bugler. It's certainly a better looking series than K-On!, without a doubt.
Which is amazing, considering that only a couple of years ago, Kyoto Animation (who does K-On!) was considered the preeminent studio for "pretty shows."
Having said all that, Sora no Woto isn't a great series, but it is good. It's entertaining, has a pretty good story behind it, and characters that you get interested in. The show's downfall is that it's too short. I think it needed another three or four episodes, as the final story arc changes the tone of the show abruptly from rather light-hearted to a dark war story. If that arc was extended it would have done the story a world of good... but I don't think it'd support a 24-episode series. And yes, Chekov's Tank does get used.
If you haven't seen the show, give it a look... you won't regret it.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:35 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 447 words, total size 4 kb.
April 23, 2010
Gundam Cafe
There's a report over at Gizmodo that Bandai has opened up a Gundam cafe in Akihabara. It's filled with Gundam-related merchandise, everybody wears
Gundam-inspired uniforms, etc etc etc... Seems logical to me, I guess I'm more surprised that it took so long.
Over at Fark's Geek tab, however, the masses are having fun with the whole concept, suggesting some other show-themed cafes... and some that you really don't want to see (the Grave of the Fireflies-based cafe, for example).
My favorite concept has to be the Ranma 1/2 Cafe. Your dark-haired waiter takes your order and comes back a few minutes later as a hot (but damp) red-headed waitress, you don't want to order ANYTHING made with pork, there's a giant panda cooking in the kitchen, another waiter sometimes gets lost on the way to your table and winds up serving someone at a McDonalds in Belgrade, and so forth.
So I'm trying to think of others. Maybe a Saikano cafe wouldn't go over very well... you go in happy, and come out wanting to slit your wrists. A School Days cafe would pretty much have to be on a cruise liner, and do not wear any clothing you'd mind ruining. Someone else suggested an Elfen Lied theme; come for the backrubs, but don't be surprised if there's a leg in your soup. I'm surprised there isn't a Strike Witches cafe already (none of the waitresses would wear pants). The Kanon cafe would carry nothing but jam, beef bowls and taiyaki.
Got any other ideas?
Over at Fark's Geek tab, however, the masses are having fun with the whole concept, suggesting some other show-themed cafes... and some that you really don't want to see (the Grave of the Fireflies-based cafe, for example).
My favorite concept has to be the Ranma 1/2 Cafe. Your dark-haired waiter takes your order and comes back a few minutes later as a hot (but damp) red-headed waitress, you don't want to order ANYTHING made with pork, there's a giant panda cooking in the kitchen, another waiter sometimes gets lost on the way to your table and winds up serving someone at a McDonalds in Belgrade, and so forth.
So I'm trying to think of others. Maybe a Saikano cafe wouldn't go over very well... you go in happy, and come out wanting to slit your wrists. A School Days cafe would pretty much have to be on a cruise liner, and do not wear any clothing you'd mind ruining. Someone else suggested an Elfen Lied theme; come for the backrubs, but don't be surprised if there's a leg in your soup. I'm surprised there isn't a Strike Witches cafe already (none of the waitresses would wear pants). The Kanon cafe would carry nothing but jam, beef bowls and taiyaki.
Got any other ideas?
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:18 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 257 words, total size 2 kb.
April 09, 2010
Nozomi Gets A Thumbs-Up!
Okay, I'm agog. It's pretty clear that the people over at Nozomi/TRSI like the ARIA franchise, but they also appear to like the fans who like ARIA, too. How do I know this?
The box set for ARIA the Origination has not only the OVA, ~Arietta~, and the DVD-only episode, Navigation 5.5, but it also has...
...the picture dramas. Nozomi even licensed the picture dramas! I had no idea those were going to be on the discs... and I've got an ear-to-ear grin because of it.
THAT'S how I know Nozomi likes us.
The box set for ARIA the Origination has not only the OVA, ~Arietta~, and the DVD-only episode, Navigation 5.5, but it also has...
...the picture dramas. Nozomi even licensed the picture dramas! I had no idea those were going to be on the discs... and I've got an ear-to-ear grin because of it.
THAT'S how I know Nozomi likes us.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:04 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 97 words, total size 1 kb.
April 06, 2010
Creepy Girl, Oh My Little Creepy Girl*
The main female character in the Denpa Teki na Kanojo OVA is named Ame Ochibana. She's a quiet, intelligent, and resourceful girl with an agile mind. She also believes that she and the show's protagonist, Juu Juuzawa, were linked in a prior lifetime, he as a king, with her as his loyal subject. She swears fealty to him early on in the show, which is set in current times. Her vow to protect him from all who would harm him seems laughable on the face of it, as he's considered their school's main delinquent, with a talent for brawling. He, of course, considers her a wacked-out stalker who has a penchant for breaking and entering, usually into his apartment... a creepy girl, if you will.
This being anime, of course there's more to it than that. Ame is probably the most sane female character in this show... most of whom want to cause rather severe physical harm to Juu, and usually manage to do so. Until Ame shows up, at which point things rapidly go south for those hurting Juu. She's skilled with a taser, is able to talk logic rings around just about anyone, and even occasionally works in a maid cafe. But with her almost expressionless manner of speech, her penchant for wearing her hair in front of her eyes, and her physical stillness (which is a silly way to describe an anime character, few of whom have much in the way of fidgets, I know... but the animators still manage to make her seem very still, even when she's in motion), she really does seem kinda creepy. The occasional glimpse of her eyes that we get just make matters worse, for some reason.
But the most disturbing part of Ame's character is her voice. It's quiet, breathy, mature but still that of a young girl... and almost, but not quite, sinister. She very rarely puts emotion behind her words, which makes it even more creepy when she's talking to one of the really crazy girls in the show, the one who lives in a small, filthy, low-rent apartment with her dead mother and believes that if she "steals happiness points" from other people, her mother will come back to life.
It's Ame's voice that truly completes the character, and it's one that I knew I recognized, but couldn't immediately place. It wasn't until about halfway through the first episode that I figured it out, at which point I was amazed... a character more opposite to Ame it would be difficult to find, in a show diametrically opposed to Denpa Teki na Kanojo.
Who?
Hard to believe.
*with apologies to Tom Servo.
The main female character in the Denpa Teki na Kanojo OVA is named Ame Ochibana. She's a quiet, intelligent, and resourceful girl with an agile mind. She also believes that she and the show's protagonist, Juu Juuzawa, were linked in a prior lifetime, he as a king, with her as his loyal subject. She swears fealty to him early on in the show, which is set in current times. Her vow to protect him from all who would harm him seems laughable on the face of it, as he's considered their school's main delinquent, with a talent for brawling. He, of course, considers her a wacked-out stalker who has a penchant for breaking and entering, usually into his apartment... a creepy girl, if you will.
This being anime, of course there's more to it than that. Ame is probably the most sane female character in this show... most of whom want to cause rather severe physical harm to Juu, and usually manage to do so. Until Ame shows up, at which point things rapidly go south for those hurting Juu. She's skilled with a taser, is able to talk logic rings around just about anyone, and even occasionally works in a maid cafe. But with her almost expressionless manner of speech, her penchant for wearing her hair in front of her eyes, and her physical stillness (which is a silly way to describe an anime character, few of whom have much in the way of fidgets, I know... but the animators still manage to make her seem very still, even when she's in motion), she really does seem kinda creepy. The occasional glimpse of her eyes that we get just make matters worse, for some reason.
But the most disturbing part of Ame's character is her voice. It's quiet, breathy, mature but still that of a young girl... and almost, but not quite, sinister. She very rarely puts emotion behind her words, which makes it even more creepy when she's talking to one of the really crazy girls in the show, the one who lives in a small, filthy, low-rent apartment with her dead mother and believes that if she "steals happiness points" from other people, her mother will come back to life.
It's Ame's voice that truly completes the character, and it's one that I knew I recognized, but couldn't immediately place. It wasn't until about halfway through the first episode that I figured it out, at which point I was amazed... a character more opposite to Ame it would be difficult to find, in a show diametrically opposed to Denpa Teki na Kanojo.
Who?
Hard to believe.
*with apologies to Tom Servo.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:53 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 452 words, total size 4 kb.
March 22, 2010
Ga-Rei Zero, Episode 12
Last episode, the Schoolgirl In Black took on The Agency... and won, killing KDad, The Boss, Motive Power Kiri, one of the Nabuus, the HMMWV and a gazillion grunts, turned Mr Laser Weasel into a bowl of pudding, and scarring Isayama along the way. It looks bad for the Tokyo, and by extension the entire world. But don't forget that the Schoolgirl in White, Kagura, has taken up the mantel of Byakuei's Master. It's time for a showdown!
But first, it's time for some red-hot paperwork action! Actually, Kagura returned to the office, only to find a note from Mr Laser Weasel. We never get to see what it says, but "I quit" seems to be a good guess. Maybe "I'm running in abject terror" would work, too. Isayama, quite sensibly, says that it's better that way; no use in him getting killed because he can't actually bring himself to hurt his former fiancee. What's left of the Disposal Team is going after the Schoolgirl In Black, even though she just kicked their butts all the way 'round Tokyo, across the Kanto plain and nearly to Hokkaido.
"Take me with you. Take me...
...to Yomi." Okay, now it's time for a showdown!
more...
But first, it's time for some red-hot paperwork action! Actually, Kagura returned to the office, only to find a note from Mr Laser Weasel. We never get to see what it says, but "I quit" seems to be a good guess. Maybe "I'm running in abject terror" would work, too. Isayama, quite sensibly, says that it's better that way; no use in him getting killed because he can't actually bring himself to hurt his former fiancee. What's left of the Disposal Team is going after the Schoolgirl In Black, even though she just kicked their butts all the way 'round Tokyo, across the Kanto plain and nearly to Hokkaido.
"Take me with you. Take me...
...to Yomi." Okay, now it's time for a showdown!
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:46 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 2863 words, total size 28 kb.
March 20, 2010
Computers, HidaSketch Style
Things like this never fail to amuse me endlessly. One of the two new characters in Hidamari Sketch Hoshimittsu, Nori-chan, has a computer in her apartment, something none of the other girls has.
As an aside, I've completely changed my opinion of Nori as a character in the show. Before, I didn't like either of the two new girls. While I still dislike Nazuna, who behaves like a scared puppy (minus the carpet wetting, at least on-screen), Nori has shown herself to be just as interesting and charming as the Original Four. But I digress.
Nori has a computer, and you know that if there's a computer in a slice-of-life show, it's gonna be used sooner or later (Chekhov's Keyboard?), and like as not, we're going to see it booting up.
So do we all, Shaft, so do we all... on a tangental note, HidaSketch might be the first show by Shaft that I've really liked, though they did split credit on G-On Riders!, so that's arguable. Anywhodles, the boot screen makes me wonder about Nori-chan's uncle, the builder of her computer...
"I've got a Computer Acronyms For Dummies book here, let's just choose some at random."
Though you've got to like the BIOS name and version...
As an aside, I've completely changed my opinion of Nori as a character in the show. Before, I didn't like either of the two new girls. While I still dislike Nazuna, who behaves like a scared puppy (minus the carpet wetting, at least on-screen), Nori has shown herself to be just as interesting and charming as the Original Four. But I digress.
Nori has a computer, and you know that if there's a computer in a slice-of-life show, it's gonna be used sooner or later (Chekhov's Keyboard?), and like as not, we're going to see it booting up.
So do we all, Shaft, so do we all... on a tangental note, HidaSketch might be the first show by Shaft that I've really liked, though they did split credit on G-On Riders!, so that's arguable. Anywhodles, the boot screen makes me wonder about Nori-chan's uncle, the builder of her computer...
"I've got a Computer Acronyms For Dummies book here, let's just choose some at random."
Though you've got to like the BIOS name and version...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:33 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 210 words, total size 2 kb.
March 11, 2010
Ga-Rei Zero, Episode 11
If my memory serves me correctly, last episode saw the show catch back up to Episode 02, and the Schoolgirl in Black (formerly known as Yomi) kill off half the cast. Again. However, she only got one member of the Disposal Team, Kazuki. At the very end, Kagura's father (KDad) appeared in the nick of time, saving his daughter from joining the ranks of the corpses... and setting up a massive showdown between the two strongest Spirit Beasts, Ranguren and Byakuei. So who's power reigns supreme? We are set... let's get it on!
Cue two different staredowns and posturing. Of course. It's an anime fight scene, there has to be a staredown.
And if that wasn't enough, throw in some trash talking by the Schoolgirl in Black. If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was a pro wrestling match. Instead of, y'know, a fight that will likely end with the death of one of the two of them... and the destruction of half of the city of Tokyo.
Ga-Rei Zero, Episode 11: The Awesoming!
more...
Cue two different staredowns and posturing. Of course. It's an anime fight scene, there has to be a staredown.
And if that wasn't enough, throw in some trash talking by the Schoolgirl in Black. If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was a pro wrestling match. Instead of, y'know, a fight that will likely end with the death of one of the two of them... and the destruction of half of the city of Tokyo.
*bonk*
Bang a gong, we are on! Ga-Rei Zero, Episode 11: The Awesoming!
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
01:07 AM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 3047 words, total size 28 kb.
March 07, 2010
What Have I Gotten Myself Into?
I just finished rewatching Episode 11 of Ga-Rei Zero, screencapping as I went. Epic, epic episode. How epic?
Dear god in heaven, I got 172 screencaps in 24 minutes!
I need to eliminate at least half. Fortunately, there's quite a few repeats-- different facial expressions in the same scene, three pictures where the only difference is the number of speed lines, that sort of thing-- but it still might be difficult to get it down that far without much screaming and tears.
Still: a helluva episode! It'll be up sometime either Tuesday or Wednesday... Monday, Friday and Saturday are already reserved for F1 coverage, after all.
(damn but that's a lot of pictures to sort through... eep)
UPDATE 343am: Two-and-a-half hours later I'm down to 108, and if I don't go to bed, I'm going to fall asleep at my desk. Goodnight.
Dear god in heaven, I got 172 screencaps in 24 minutes!
I need to eliminate at least half. Fortunately, there's quite a few repeats-- different facial expressions in the same scene, three pictures where the only difference is the number of speed lines, that sort of thing-- but it still might be difficult to get it down that far without much screaming and tears.
Still: a helluva episode! It'll be up sometime either Tuesday or Wednesday... Monday, Friday and Saturday are already reserved for F1 coverage, after all.
(damn but that's a lot of pictures to sort through... eep)
UPDATE 343am: Two-and-a-half hours later I'm down to 108, and if I don't go to bed, I'm going to fall asleep at my desk. Goodnight.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
01:16 AM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 148 words, total size 1 kb.
129kb generated in CPU 0.0703, elapsed 0.1875 seconds.
62 queries taking 0.1581 seconds, 352 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
62 queries taking 0.1581 seconds, 352 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
