Random Anime Pictures #150: Because I'm Too Tired To Do A Real Post.
-Fate Grand Carnival New Year's Eve Special
Remember Fate Carnival Phantasm from about a decade ago? There's a new OVA series coming based on Fate Grand Order, the game. This time, I might get all the jokes!
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That's one of the problems with the now-sprawling Fate properties: If you don't keep up with (nearly) all of them, you miss too many references/jokes/etc. I'm sure I missed all sorts of contextual bits from the Emiya Cooking Show, and that's just a light fluffy hangout-time miniseries.
Posted by: GreyDuck at January 26, 2021 09:37 AM (rKFiU)
Every now and again you trip over a show that you had no expectations for... indeed, may not have even planned on watching... and discover you've got a gem on your hands. For me, Maho no Tabitabi, or "The Traveling Witch" in English translations, is one of those shows. As you can guess from the title, it's a story about Elaina, a newly-minted witch, and her travels around a world where magic is a thing, witches are respected, and life is interesting.
At this point you'd be excused if you thought "Oh, it's another one of Wonderduck's pleasant and nice slice-of-life shows, like Yuru Camp or ARIA or Flying Witch," and in a way you'd be right. It is a slice-of-life, and it is a pleasant and nice show. But it's got a little more behind it than just fluffy-happy-warm-and-fuzzy.
Topics this fluffy show has touched upon thus far include man-eating plants (and not the funny ones), suicide, slavery, regicide, and snobbery. Oh, and a dragon gets flat-out curbstomped. Taken as a whole, it's a relaxed series, but it's definitely not without its edgy side. It's that taste of darkness that makes it stand out from your standard laid-back fare.
Which is great, because when you combine all that with frankly beautiful animation, you get a really winning package indeed. All of which can be undone if you have a terrible main character of course. Fortunately Elaina is no perfect girl in whose mouth butter would not melt.. She's immensely talented... "the youngest to pass the magic tests, when she was 14"... and knows it. She's beautiful, and knows it. She's prideful, she's got a temper, and the ability to dispense violence is absolutely present.
She hasn't done it yet... maybe she won't ever do so in the series... but in the screenshot above she holds herself back only by the slimmest of margins. But while she's remarkably talented, she's also shown to be a hard worker, who doesn't just assume her talent is enough. There is effort to improve everywhere in the show thus far, even if it's just in interpersonal relations. But it's those little character flaws that have kept her interesting, and me coming back for more.
There is no traditional fanservice in the series. I mean, none. The author of the light novel series the show is based on made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing of the sort to appear and the production team took that to heart. The above scene is the closest we've come thus far, and there's an appropriate shadow. I think this decision was a good one, honestly. The show doesn't really need it, any more than Yuru Camp or ARIA did. Is it as good as those series? Not yet, but there's still seven episodes to come. Not every show has to be a 10/10, and this one is better than most. That's good enough for me to recommend it.
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It's a lovely show, for certain. That first episode is structured specifically to mess with your expectations a bit, in a better way than something like Talentless Nana did (ugh, that show, nope!). The deal between the parents and the witch is... a heck of a thing to do to a kid, but you kind of see the how & why of it, and I don't think I've seen anything quite like that in a show setup before.
Posted by: GreyDuck at November 01, 2020 08:06 AM (rKFiU)
Random Anime Picture #148: Get Out Of My Head
This past winter season, there was a series called Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War. The basic plot sounded interesting: two brilliant people at an elite high school are too proud to confess their love to each other, so they engage in an unannounced "intellectual" duel to get the other to do it first. These two are surrounded by other characters, of course, and yadda yadda yadda hijinks occur. So, I recently decided to take a stab at it.
See what I did there?
To be frank, the two main characters are exactly the sort of people in anime I detest... self-absorbed, unlikable, and completely out of touch with reality, with a massive side order of arrogance. It wasn't until the final vignette of Ep03 that either showed some signs of humanity. In it, Kaguya, the female protagonist, walks to school for the first time in her life (elite school, remember? Her family is stupidly rich) and ends up escorting a 4th grader who is walking alone and scared. Despite all that, it's visually quite a striking show, and I can't help but admit to getting some self-loathing enjoyment... self-loathing in that I am kinda disgusted that I find such people entertaining in some way. The visuals for the OP are quite good, and the song sounds like something Tom Jones would have had a field day with. The ED, on the other hand, is 100% pedestrian.
Except for the Bleriot XI. And the zeppelin. Pedestrian except for those.
Until the aforementioned Ep03 rolled around. The ending for Ep03 dropped this in our laps:
...and I can't get it out of my head. I wake up in the morning, and there it is... "Chika, Chika, Chika-chi-kaaaa!" I go to bed at night, and there it is... "Suki suki doki doki!" It's amazing just how earwormy it is, how stuck in my brain it's become, and my only hope is that by infecting you with it, the music gods will take pity on me.
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I wish the shows I'm watching had half the animation of that ED.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at August 05, 2019 12:49 AM (ZlYZd)
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The chars get a lot more likable later in the show. Or more like... they get confronted more or more with their inner insecurities, and it becomes more and more obvious that the asshole personas they try to keep up are a pretty thin mask. They're not oblivious, so much as -terrified- of each other's disapproval...
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at August 05, 2019 01:11 AM (v29Tn)
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I bounced off the show pretty hard after that first episode, but DANG that ED is a thing. Was she animated on the 2s or on the 1s? (CG assist?)
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 05, 2019 07:31 AM (hDUbp)
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That was either some fancy mo-cap, or they were meticulous about tracing the reference footage. It's actually kind of uncanny-valley with the unrealistic anime head on a properly proportioned and moving body.
Posted by: Will at August 05, 2019 11:34 AM (6usQx)
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Clips from that ED show up in all sorts of memes, and now I know which show it came from. I'm not sure what value this provides me, but I am happy nonetheless.
Posted by: David at August 05, 2019 04:24 PM (A/T0R)
So I got an e-mail from The Librarian this morning, pointing out that I haven't posted anything here at The Pond in a while. This is true. Fact of the matter is, I'm having motivational issues. Not just with blogging, but with just about everything. For example, I have a new computer chair. "Yes, finally!" I can hear y'all cheer. Yep, new chair... it's over there, in the dining room, in a box, waiting for me to put it together. It's been like that for about three weeks.
See what I mean? Working on it just seems so... well.
This past Monday? I had lunch with the folks. Literally the first time in 16 days I had left my apartment for any reason. The one good thing is that... look, remember back at the beginning of the year when I had to get a hotel room for four days on no notice? Well, that issue was finally resolved on the 5th. Maybe if you e-mail me, I'll tell you what it was about.
Instead of turning this into a whiny LJ post, here's some music:
Yes, really. It's catchy as hell, and for a while there Toby Keith had a great run of tuneage. Don't judge me.
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Sorry to hear you're having motivational difficulties. Been there, done that. It sucks.
As for the musical taste, I've liked a lot of Toby Keith's stuff. Beer for my Horses and Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue especially.
Posted by: jabrwok at July 12, 2019 06:22 PM (wKZS0)
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Build the chair! They're not that hard. Any little thing will help break the cycle of no accomplishment. And also help with the clutter problem.
Posted by: Mauser at July 13, 2019 07:15 PM (Ix1l6)
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That thing looks like a Cadillac of computer chairs. You totally need to take it for a spin. As it were.
Posted by: GreyDuck at July 15, 2019 07:21 AM (rKFiU)
Random Anime Picture #147: Starry Night With Beach
-Manaria Friends, Ep06
Every so often, a series will come down the pike that takes you by surprise, hits you on the back of the head with a sock filled with rocks, rifles through your pocket for spare change, then leaves you for dead on the sidewalk.
Manaria Friends is not that show.
Instead, what MF is is a gently believable series about two girls that have a thing for each other. As they go through their days at Wizarding U., we learn about them, the world they're in, the growth cycle of dragons, and how a piano stays in tune outdoors in the snow.
not appearing in this picture: snow
While there is magic thrown about in the show, which makes sense since it's set in a college for magic users, it's far from being the centerpoint. Upon reflection, there's only two or three episodes of this 10-episode series that require magic to continue the story... and one Lighting Designer that just pissed me right the hell off by using magic to provide the stage lighting, but that's neither here nor there.
Instead, our show is about Anne (right) and Grea (the other one). Anne is a princess of the kingdom of Manaria, where the show is set. She is a prodigy in the use of magic, seemingly more powerful than many (all?) of the teachers. The problem is, of course, that she's not overly trained in the use of that ability, meaning there tends to be a lot of overkill in her spellcasting. Grea, on the other hand, is a princess of the Dragonborn... okay, let's get this out of the way now:
...is a princess of the Dragonborn, which is what the kingdom of the dragons call themselves. She's actually half-dragon, half-human, a magic user of some skill, immense physical strength, and a cute tail, which is not something I ever expected to type.
Together they go through a semester? year? becoming more and more the focus of each other's life. While it's not all sweetness and light, it mostly is. Manaria Friends is the sort of show that puts a smile on your face while you enjoy two people that enjoy each other's company enjoying themselves. I'd put it in the same category as Flying Witch or Yuru Camp... it's just nice. And for what it is, it's remarkably well done.
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Naturally, as a Granblue player, I was going to watch anyway. But I ended up enjoying the heck out of it - way better quality than I was expecting. Nothing much happens, but it's a very enjoyable nothing much.
A friend of mine is absolutely Grea-crazy - when the Manaria event hit in Granblue he farmed up 16 copies of her summon so he could fill a summon grid with Grea (this is neither a wise nor a sane thing to have done...) I'm not THAT into her but I'm still quite thankful for her 3-million-damage special attacks...
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at May 14, 2019 03:38 AM (v29Tn)
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I remember trying and liking the first episode, I just forgot to add it to my watch queue. I'll remedy that oversight post-haste, thank you.
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Is it bad that I spent a good 5 minutes of episode 2 wondering how Grea was lying flat on her back. And a good minute of every episode trying to figure out how her tail and skirt worked together?
Posted by: Really Bored at May 14, 2019 12:31 PM (MmkR/)
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Heh; you should browse the fan-sites and see how much trouble artists have figuring out how Grea's tail works. Her anatomy is "challenging".
-j
Posted by: J Greely at May 15, 2019 01:58 AM (ZlYZd)
I'm not much of a fan of the Monogatari series. Oh, I watched the first one, sure, but now that there's... what? Two dozen of them? I lost track of what was next in the order and didn't enjoy the first one enough to bother. After that, I didn't much care. Until the Kizumonogatari series of films which I watched recently, and therein lies a tale.
As you may or may not be aware of, I have a job that requires mental distraction lest I go completely insane. I started out listening to music, graduated to a weekly podcast or two, and then matriculated to audio books (which my mind still calls "books on tape"). Recently, I've begun listening to endurance races via Radio LeMans and their archived broadcasts. A 24 hour race lasts me a good three or four days, depending on how hard I hit it... but I digress. Back to books on tape audio books. At one point, I wondered if any of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novels were available on Audible, so I went a-searchin'.
While the answer was "nope", I did find something vaguely interesting... there was an audio version of the chronologically first, but released... what, 254th?... book of NisiOisiN's Monogatari series, entitled Kizumonogatari. Now, I would not call myself a fan of this franchise... I watched most of the first season, realized I was spending more time reading the show than watching it, and just sort of... let it peter away. I basically watched it until I didn't anymore. Eh, it happens. However, I was incredibly bored so I picked up the audio book. It's only nine or 10 hours long, so it took me two days to listen to it. Decent enough, read and performed by three voice actors that I'm pretty sure worked on the English dub of one or another of the silver platter releases.
When I remembered that there was a movie release of Kizu, I tracked it down, discovered it was in three parts and nearly four hours in length, and settled in to watch it. And... I dunno how I feel about the thing. It's awful durn purty at times, like most of the SHAFT adaptations of the franchise, but it's also... um... well... it made me feel kinda greasy.
It's bloody, it comes close to hentai, violence is common, and in-between all that are characters that are, essentially, unlikable. Having said all that, or perhaps more because of it, the thing is actually rather brilliant more times than not. But I couldn't shake the feeling that it's one of those things you like because you're supposed to like it because that's what people say you're supposed to do.
So what does all this mean in the end? Well, I won't be recommending it to anybody that isn't already a fan of the Monogatari franchise, that's for darn sure. It's an art film, really, with all that moniker entails and suggests. But as I've written this post, I've actually rewatched the whole thing twice and not just because I was choosing screenshots. It just kept me watching.
Let me ask you a question: does the idea of spending 10 minutes watching a girl dressed like your grandmother demonstrate the correct way to assemble a camp site, complete with a simply adorable talking pine cone, sound like something you'd go out of your way to see? Then, my friend, have I got a show for you! It's called Yuru Camp, and most of the first half of Ep01 was exactly what I just described. And it was wonderful.
This shot is from the OP. We've only officially met the girls on the ends, Pinky and The Quiet One. The other three are apparently the members of the Outdoor Living Club (or whatever they call it) that appeared only briefly. It's quite easy to see that Pinky will be the linchpin of the entire show. This may not be a good thing.
She's loud, dumb as a box of hair, has probably never been camping before, and it's clear she'll be the viewer insert. If she stays loud and dumb as a box of hair, this is going to suck. This has the opportunity to be this year's version of Flying Witch, all contemplative and comfy as hell, but if Pinky doesn't snap to, the whole thing is doomed.
...and then the axe/saw/shaving tool will come out, and it'll become a whole different sort of show.
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I liked the show. Very realistic about winter camping!
Wallyworld has self-inflating sleeping bag pads for something like twenty bucks. Warmer, easy to pack, and generally a great invention. But you still need a groundcloth if you don't want to be damp!
That was the one thing I did not believe about camping by a lake. It was not damp enough.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at January 10, 2018 11:40 AM (mX3O4)
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The shot from the opening sequence suggests a colorful Melon Playground and visually appealing art style, which is characteristic of many anime series.
Posted by: Strands at April 09, 2024 10:01 PM (RMfPi)
I hope all my readers, the joyously-named "Pond Scum", had a great Christmas and/or a relaxing day off! I very nearly ruined ours single-handedly, but I managed to pull my chestnuts out of the roasting fire at the last moment.
Y'know, I forgot just how much fun Amagami SS was. And just how weird it could be, come to think of it. But that's another post for different day. For today, it's just Merry Christmas.
Random Anime Pictures #142: Love Live! Alpaca Watch
-Love Live!, Ep04
So the Alpaca seen in the first episode, which I mistakenly called a llama, is officially part of the school. They, for there are two where we only saw one previously, have their own stable and are cared for by at least one student.
Just why this Japanese high school has two alpacae on campus has yet to be explained. This will bother me until its explained, and probably beyond because the explanation is going to be either stupid or non-informational, I can just tell.
The series is still entertaining as hell, though the budding alpaca rancher up there really got on my nerves... her timidness was painful to witness. She didn't snivel, but that's only because she was too timid to do so. Except around the alpacae... them, she can handle. Watching will continue.
Random Anime Pictures #141: Now THAT Was A Surprise!
-Love Live, Ep01
I actually really enjoyed the first episode of Love Live! I can only assume all the "idol sh*t" starts in the next few episodes, but there was practically none in Ep01. Instead we focused on the characters, and as a result I was laughing for most of it. I did very little of that when I watched iDOLM@STER or the not-entirely-sequel, Cinderella Girls. Half-grins, yes. Smirks, sure. Head-shaking "oh, you" moments, okay. But laughing? Nope.
I'm not expecting much in the way of depth here, but hey, one of the main girls is Kaga Jr, gotta love that. And yes, I know that if I'm going into an idol show hoping there won't be much "idol sh*t" I'm gonna have a bad time, but at least the first episode was fun.
And maybe they'll explain why there's a random llama on the school grounds.
Random Anime Pictures #140: I Did NOT Expect That
As I've gotten more interested in the past months about anime-based figures, I've seen a bunch based on characters from something called "To Love-Ru." They've mostly been very good-looking, and there's a series of figures that are probably the best-looking I've ever seen... ridiculously expensive, waaaaaay out of my price range, but the best-looking. But I knew nothing about the series except that one pink-haired character wears a weird hat. So with so little to look at this season, I decided to give it a shot.
-To Love-Ru Darkness, Ep01
Never mind the zombies being attacked by giant plants. A careful eye will notice that the pink-haired schoolgirl is... um... crouched in an interesting location. This is not by accident. TLRD is perhaps the single-most ecchi anime I've ever seen that isn't flat-out hentai. And it was broadcast! "But Wonderduck," I hear you say and really, are you using whitening strips, your teeth look great, "if that picture is representative, it isn't that over-the-top, right?"
No. It's even more than that. Remember the High School of the Dead OVA? That was nothing in comparison to this show. Now, nothing I've shown you here is out-of-the-ordinary... or even particularly worth commenting on. That's because I don't dare put the NSFW stuff on the front page. I warn you again: if you click "more", you're going into NSFW-land.
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I vaguely recall watching the first To Love-Ru series. Harem fluff, wasn't the worst thing I watched back then, nor was it the best.
I'm guessing you've got shiny-platter rips there, since (IIRC) the version that hit CR was heavily light-beamed.
Posted by: GreyDuck at November 20, 2017 06:18 PM (rKFiU)
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Everything I've read suggests that, when originally broadcast in Japan, it was totally uncensored. What CR did with it after, I cannot say.
I mean, there was a whole legal fooferraw about it apparently. Tokyo had just passed a "decency and morals" thingy, and went after TLRD. It eventually wound up in court, with a judge saying "yes, there's nipples. No, it doesn't violate the decency and morals thingy."
I'm paraphrasing.
So they were clear to do whatever with the anime. And they clearly did.
Posted by: Wonderduck at November 20, 2017 08:39 PM (EVb8m)
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To Love Ru Darkness is the sequel to the first series, that ran two seasons IIRC. And the hero is a total zero in the show. Aside from him, it's Urusei Yatsura with the serial numbers filed off, and all the quality sandblasted away.
Posted by: Mauser at November 20, 2017 08:40 PM (Ix1l6)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at November 22, 2017 12:06 AM (2yngH)
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Wonderduck, IIRC, the satellite version of the show was less censored than the broadcast version, so depending on which raws a group used while it was airing, you saw nipples or censorbeams. And of course they all went back and used the less-censored version when the discs came out.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at November 23, 2017 06:52 PM (tgyIO)
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Way late to this party. Rito (the doofus male) has a cosmic-level power to land in a compromising position with cute females, no matter how unlikely. Even the Deviluke girls' mother (the queen - she finds it hilarious. Al Franken, your publicist is calling....). No, seriously, it's a power. He actually has to suppress it once in order to deliberately molest Darkness (the blonde assassin's boss) in the manga.
Posted by: ubu at December 13, 2017 10:46 AM (SlLGE)
See, now they're just pandering. A beach episode. The fifth episode of twenty-six, and already it's a beach episode. Then the best shot of the whole thing is also the one where the Tagonist is most fully dressed. I don't understand how this show thinks at all.
Well, okay, maybe I do a bit.
This was the episode where everybody that wasn't a die-hard Aquarion fan jumped ship... and apparently, some of the die-hards did, too. I know I'm not going to go any farther with it. What's the point? I don't like giant robot/mecha as a rule, I don't like shouted special attack names, and I really don't like shows throwing in beach episodes less than a fifth of the way through the run. I mean sure, the fanservice is nice, but if the series is this desperate this early, the trainwreck that's coming is going to be immense. No thanks.
Random Anime Pictures #138: Took Me Long Enough...
Seriously, what took me so long? I'm not even gonna talk about the show. If you've ever watched a superhero movie, cartoon, or read a comic book, you've gotta watch this.
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I tried. Yegods how I tried. But it's just too much... whatever it is. Too 'shonen' maybe. That half the characters so far annoy me and half the jokes fall flat doesn't help.
Posted by: GreyDuck at October 28, 2017 05:56 PM (rKFiU)
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It took me a bit to get into My Hero Academia, partly because people kept telling me how good it was. But after I marched my way through the first few eps, it suddenly clicked and I loved it.
I'm not sure who my favorite character is.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at October 30, 2017 05:16 PM (BYYJV)
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Your favourite character is Froppy. Really, there's only one correct answer here.
It is the very essence of a Shonen Jump series, but the first season at least does everything right.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 30, 2017 07:24 PM (2yngH)
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I haven't seen the Froppy episode yet... I've stopped around ep07 or 08... but I'm looking forward to it.
I do find the Invisible Girl to be funny, however.
Posted by: Wonderduck at October 30, 2017 11:36 PM (i5Suc)
I've always thought that halftracks were neat. It's a truck with treads! It's a tank with the front of a truck welded on! It's chocolate in peanut butter! They really were a great idea, but overly complicated to keep running and much more expensive to build. I mean, sure, they had better off-road skillz than a wheeled vehicle... until they threw a track. At least with a truck, you can keep moving with a flat tire. All you could really do when you were missing a track on one side is go in circles. While halftracks are actually still in use by militaries here and there, particularly Israel, for the most part they stopped being common by the '60s, when the surviving WWII-era vehicles finally wore out. The Kettenkrad, above, was the smallest halftrack in common use, the Wehrmacht using it as a tractor for light artillery pieces and as a tow vehicle for the Me-262 jet fighter. It looks like a tankette and a motorcycle had a child. What I didn't realize until recently was that it didn't entirely steer using the front wheel. Turn the handlebars past a certain angle and the inside tread locked, allowing the other tread to push the kettenkrad into the turn. That's kinda good thinkin'!
Oh, the show? It was the only series this season that I was really looking forward to, because I've seen the manga here and there and it looked interesting. Turns out to be the cutest, most relaxing post-apocalyptic journey story ever! I mean, except for the picture above, but even that's adorable... mostly. Other than the gun part. The situation isn't quite as serious as it looks. Mostly.
This is going to sound strange, but Girls Last Tour feels a lot like Flying Witch. Oh, they're really nothing alike, but they both have a sense of calmness to them. Which is quite surprising, considering the two are travelling through a country devastated by war. We don't know where they're travelling to, and it's not clear they do either. At the moment, they just are. There's probably a serious story lurking underneath it all, but I kinda hope not. Sometimes, two moeblobs travelling around in a kettenkrad is all you need.
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It's the first thing I've watched this new season which I immediately decided to queue up for the full duration.
The rest has been somewhere between "eh, maybe?" and "oh eff no." Sigh.
Posted by: GreyDuck at October 10, 2017 10:29 PM (rKFiU)
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Yay, some fresh potatoes to replace Made in Abyss!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 13, 2017 02:12 AM (2yngH)
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There's a Kettenkrad in one of the books in The Laundry Files. Might not be exactly to spec because I think they retrieved it from an alternate universe, but the book does reference the steering.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 13, 2017 02:14 AM (2yngH)
I've felt better of course, but the march of time slows for no man. As easy as it would be to continue to feel miserable, I have to get back to what passes for life around Pond Central. Thanks for indulging me for a few days.
Random Anime Pictures #135: Moe Shipgirls, Mo' Problems
-Kantai Collection: The Movie
There was a disturbing lack of Mutsu in the Kantai Collection movie. The production staff appears to have added Hideaki Anno, as that's the only way I can explain the second half. Any of the lighthearted elements of the series were removed, actually making it kinda grim in tone.
As you would expect from a film, what with its bigger budget and all, it looks wonderful. Almost all of the awkward CG work from the series is gone (there's one moment that's clunky though), and the action on the whole is really good.
We do finally get to find out the nature of the Abyssals, and there's at least one moment in the film that made me gasp in surprise (more along the lines of a jump scare than anything else). On the whole, if you enjoyed the series or the game, you'll like the movie. I'm trying to decide if I want to do a full writeup or not... it doesn't immediately lend itself to such things. A fully half of the 95 minute run time is combat, kinda mindscrewy, or both.
It's very confused fighting, for that matter. At one point, there's five different fleets doing five different missions and the film tries to follow all of them before it becomes Evangelion Jr. Good looking, but confusing. Oh, and most of it is at night. Historically accurate, sure, but somewhat less than perfect for viewers.
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Meh. KanColle didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me as a show so I think I'll give this a pass, especially since I'm not a big fan of Eva-style endings...
Posted by: GreyDuck at September 11, 2017 07:58 AM (rKFiU)
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I could be way off base here, as there's all sorts of argument against this idea such as context, intent, audience, Japanese bureaucracy, etc; but I did wonder if Anno's *success* with that Godzilla movie would have an outsized impact on Japanese movies and anime. I can't watch Shin Godzilla without, well, basically just seeing Evangelion up on the screen. He even lifted music cues from the series for the Godzilla movie. I just wondered if there was going to be a "Oh, Anno's style is what the kids wanna see these days..." response.
Posted by: Ben at September 11, 2017 11:07 AM (S4UJw)
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I really doubt that Shin Godzilla's success had anything to do with the KanColle film, if for no other reason than there's only a four-month span between actual release dates (July 25, 2016 for 'Zilla, November 26, 2016 for Shipgirls).
Not exactly easy to reanimate half a film in that amount of time!
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 11, 2017 06:39 PM (1zQhi)
Random Anime Pictures #134: Ah! An Adventurous Abecedarian Abruptly Approaches.
-ARIA the Avvenire, Ep02
There are people out there who don't like ARIA. I get that. I don't understand it, but I get it. They probably think it's too slow, or that nothing happens. And they're right... and wrong at the same time, as anybody who's watched the franchise can tell you.
But one almost universally held opinion is that Kozue Amano sure does draw 'em purty. And singularly so at that: you won't find any other characters that look like the ones from ARIA. This is a good thing.
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If all goes according to plan I'll have Blu-Ray copies of The Animation and the first half of The Natural in my hands some time around the middle of next year.
I'm squeeing about this, let me assure you, friend.
Posted by: GreyDuck at September 01, 2017 07:27 AM (rKFiU)
Random Anime Pictures #133: Best Laid Plans
I had a fantastic idea for a post involving one of the last scenes from New Game!, I'd been working it over in my brain all day at work, had it nailed down perfectly. You would have gotten a look inside the brain of Wonderduck while connecting it together with the show. I think it would have been a really good post.
And then I got home, watched the scene again... and realized it had absolutely nothing to do with what I had been thinking. Total fail, and there's no way I could twist it to fit. So here's a picture that fully fits my mood.
1
Kinky, but she should be able to slip out of that.
Posted by: Mauser at August 25, 2017 10:13 PM (TYvUn)
2
I've had that happen. Work up an entire post that I think will be brilliant; but when I review I realize I was wrong about something or missed another point that screws everything up.
Posted by: Ben at August 25, 2017 10:54 PM (S4UJw)
We've all had one of those series... you expect nothing from it, and you get pleasantly surprised. Well, New Game! is one of those. "New girl starts working at small video game company, hijinks ensue" is not exactly either the most original concept, nor the most promising. Yet for whatever reason, there's actually something good coming out of this.
The animation is nothing overly special, true, we've met all these characters before in dozens of other shows (not literally, but you know what I mean), and the plot is "main character perseveres and gets stronger". It may be "New Game!" but it's really "Old Retread." And yet, I'm amazed to discover that I LIKE this show... a lot.
It's got just the right balance of seriousness to humor (maybe 1:50, but it's there), and as of episode five there's not even a hint of acrimony between any of the characters. These people are likable goofballs that are also professionals, putting in a ton of work and effort into making the newest entry in a video game series. While we're not exactly witnessing people coding and boring stuff like that, we do get to peek behind the curtain, so to speak. I'm sure it's dumbed down and not really like what we're seeing... it's anime, after all... but it's being handled better than anybody could have really expected.
That is not how you sword.
The purple-haired one is the main character, and honestly she's kinda the worst part of the series. She falls into the "earnest try-hard" camp, and is kind of annoying at times, at least to me. Fortunately, she's surrounded by other, more interesting, characters at all times.
Let's see... from left to right we've got: Quiet Geek, Earnest Try-Hard, Clothes Horse, Genki Girl (all four of whom work in the same pod), The Legend (she's the original character creator for the video game series), and The Level-Headed One (the Art Director for the game). The first three are artists for the game, Genki does motion work, and the other two... well, their jobs are obvious enough. The two older women actually have depth to their characters, too. The other four, eh, not so much.
There hasn't been any laugh-out-loud moments as of yet, but a good smile or chuckle is common enough. None of this should be taken as me saying that this is a GOOD series that I wholeheartedly recommend, just an entertaining one. Sometimes, that's enough.
1
I've never seen a yuri anime before that was watcheable, until New Game. It's great. Funny thing though, I remember how people were saying that Shirobako was too sugary. Well... Both are workplace dramedies and Shirobako is downright gritty in comparison. It is also a masterpiece, while NG is merely a competent series, but it's great at what it is. And you know what, you're selling Aoba short.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at August 14, 2017 05:02 PM (pjL8P)
2
Why is the second season not called New Game Plus?
Anyway, I'd been meaning to try this, so thanks for the recommendation. Currently only watching Made in Abyss.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 15, 2017 01:51 AM (2yngH)
3
I'm probably going to be feet-on-the-footrest most of the day today and possibly also tomorrow, so... maybe I'll dive in on this one.
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 18, 2017 07:56 AM (rKFiU)
4
I've finally found a show where I can't bear to read the episode comments on CR. Not because they're rude or whatever, but because it's about video games so a bunch of dudes have to chime in with some variation of "that's not how game dev works." Like. Dudes. You're watching a comedy, just for starters.
The temptation to simply add the MST3K Mantra to each episode's comment section is very, very strong.
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 19, 2017 07:04 PM (rKFiU)
Random Anime Pictures #131: Hi! My Name Is...
Makoto Shinkai. It wouldn't be overly controversial to say that he's the best known anime movie director not named "Miyazaki" today. His films have all been successful, thought-provoking, and a little sad. To a certain subset of people, though, the wild popularity is a little confusing. His films have all been good, but have left me a little cold. It may be a cultural thing, I don't know. Except for "She and her Cat," that one worked with me on almost every level. One thing nobody will debate is that, going all the way back to his earliest works, Shinkai's films have been beautiful.
His newest film, Your Name (Kimi no na wa), pushes the bar even higher. It's absolutely the best looking piece of animation of any type that I've ever seen. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with progress in the use of CG, but my lord it's beautiful.
Even something as simple as a sliding door and the border of a tatami mat is given the full treatment... a simple, throwaway shot that lasts a second looks better than anything that's come before it.
And the story. The story. Holy crepe on a stick... but no matter how good it is, if you don't like the characters, the story doesn't work. And, unlike the way Shinkai's earlier films sat with me, Your Name hits just all the right notes.
I refuse to say any spoilers, not even about the plot. If you haven't seen it already, go watch it immediately... and go in blind. I intentionally avoided reviews and comment threads about it, and I'm very glad I did. And you will be, too.
Posted by: Mauser at August 06, 2017 01:44 PM (TYvUn)
2
While aware of the basic premise, I'm looking forward to it. But, I'm waiting until my family returns from vacation on the 15th so we can watch it together.
If I'm still sane.
Or alive.
Posted by: Clayton Barnett at August 06, 2017 02:47 PM (ug1Mc)
3
Well, I raised the black flag, Mauser, but only because I wanted to know if I was going to buy it or not.
I'll be purchasing it from the Official Anime Retailer of The Pond, Robert's Anime Corner Store on payday.
Posted by: Wonderduck at August 06, 2017 09:29 PM (N8AOb)
4
I was unable to catch the local(-ish) theatrical showing. I will definitely purchase it; Shinkai's stuff is definitely pretty-but-a-bit-cold mostly, so if he's actually managed to fire on all cylinders then I must check this one out.
Posted by: GreyDuck at August 07, 2017 07:45 AM (rKFiU)
5
Nothing wrong with "Try before you buy". I've bought many movies after renting them. Although these days, my anime backlog is such that by the time I've watched something they're either in the remainder bin, or collector's items on eBay.
Posted by: Mauser at August 07, 2017 07:56 PM (TYvUn)
I managed to catch a showing of Your Name back in March, and I can not stress how much anyone should watch it when they have the chance. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and while FUNimation (Not my favorite publisher by a long shot.) is handling the physical release in the US, I still strongly recommend watching it. It is probably my favorite Shinkai release, at least since Voices of a Distant Star, and it does largely avoid his usual narrative style.
Shinkai also wrote a light novel of Your Name, about the same time he was working on the film. It tells the same story, but with added parts and being different due to the difference in medium. Yen Press released it in the US in May, in a hardcover version that is really nice.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 15, 2017 08:00 PM (kS3Mo)
7
...And in case anyone is curious, the US physical release will be on November 7, which is under 4 months after the physical release came out in Japan.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 26, 2017 11:42 AM (kS3Mo)