• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Summer Anime 2017 |OT| More streaming services than shows to watch

Status
Not open for further replies.

BluWacky

Member
Can't think of a better place to "brag" about this:

gcse.jpg

A* in GCSE is equivalent to around JLPT N4, so basically virtually nothing, particularly given that I first learnt kana over ten years ago...

It also means that although I can write, give and answer questions on a speech on my feelings about human cloning in Japanese, I still can't actually understand very much of anything anyone writes or says unless it's said very slowly and is about police boxes and/or vending machines. Still, progress!

(the A is in the writing paper - one mark off an A*! I suspect I was somewhat out of my grammatical depth trying to write a film review of the live action Beauty and the Beast and talking about heroines with agency in my pidgin Japanese - I wrote something like 古いディズニーの姫さんはあまり上手じゃありませんが、今のはとても面白いだと思います...)
 

Jintor

Member
Can't think of a better place to "brag" about this:



A* in GCSE is equivalent to around JLPT N4, so basically virtually nothing, particularly given that I first learnt kana over ten years ago...

It also means that although I can write, give and answer questions on a speech on my feelings about human cloning in Japanese, I still can't actually understand very much of anything anyone writes or says unless it's said very slowly and is about police boxes and/or vending machines. Still, progress!

(the A is in the writing paper - one mark off an A*! I suspect I was somewhat out of my grammatical depth trying to write a film review of the live action Beauty and the Beast and talking about heroines with agency in my pidgin Japanese - I wrote something like 古いディズニーの姫さんはあまり上手じゃありませんが、今のはとても面白いだと思います...)

ブルさん、おめでとう。本当に上手になりましたね。

だけど、練習は絶対に必要です。頑張ります!
 

blurr

Member
Can't think of a better place to "brag" about this:



A* in GCSE is equivalent to around JLPT N4, so basically virtually nothing, particularly given that I first learnt kana over ten years ago...

It also means that although I can write, give and answer questions on a speech on my feelings about human cloning in Japanese, I still can't actually understand very much of anything anyone writes or says unless it's said very slowly and is about police boxes and/or vending machines. Still, progress!

(the A is in the writing paper - one mark off an A*! I suspect I was somewhat out of my grammatical depth trying to write a film review of the live action Beauty and the Beast and talking about heroines with agency in my pidgin Japanese - I wrote something like 古いディズニーの姫さんはあまり上手じゃありませんが、今のはとても面白いだと思います...)

おめでとう!
私もこの間書いたJLPT N3の結果が出て合格したと知りました。
 

Cornbread78

Member
Dragonauts ep4-5
I guess this will be our new antagonist going forward. Her boob physics are out of control and she is already annoying af.

Also, the CG with the moon dragon fight was horrible. I mean, I saw hints in the last battle, but here is was glaring and just bad/distracting all the way around....
 

Jintor

Member
crossposting

I finally got around to wrapping Vallhalla just then after taking it a day at a time for a while. Man, what a game! Or I should say more like a visual novel, I'm still unclear as to whether I was really making many choices or not, but also it kinda doesn't matter.

header.jpg


If you don't know what it is, well, I'm not really here to sell you on the game... but suffice to say it's mainly just talking with people and occasionally mixing drinks. Fun!

The cast was really amazing, I ended up liking almost every single character. They're so well written and the game hits this really fine line of constant memery and Tumblr/Twitter style humour (kinda Undertalish in its way) vs genuinely emotional and affecting moments, even if somewhat mundane by the usual VN standards. Nonetheless, as a somewhat directionless feeling 26-27, a lot of the themes really hit me really well. Jill in particular has quickly become one of my favourite PCs in modern memory, mainly because it's very easy to identify with her and her cynical but still hopeful attitude. Her friends - Alma, Dorothy - all brilliant, layered characters, Dorothy in particular with the very matter-of-fact and casual attitude towards what could easily be made gross and creepy. But again, pretty much every character never failed to bring a smile to my face somehow.

maxresdefault.jpg

I cracked up every time Streaming-Chan showed up.

From a aesthetic perspective I absolutely adored the game. The pixelart style and UI which reminds me kind of old DOS boxes, the simplified /u/ and news structures, the wonderful character portraits... and the occasional unexpected shift in menus etc... frankly amazing. The music, of course, is its own special breed of heavy chippy droning I didn't even know I wanted. The only real criticism I have is having to load up the jukebox individually - sometimes the music completely didn't fit the scene, and I would have really prefered a more authored experience with leitmotifs and stuff (I noticed Streaming-chan gets her own, which is pretty great)

va-11-hall-a-cyberpunk-bartender-action-0018.jpg

Amazingly this dog is not skeezy.

I was really surprised when the 'story', such as it is, finally crept up on me, but it was still really carthartic and felt real to the character, which I think is really impressive considering what would be considered 'main stories' in other games are relegated to background material for this one because, well, they don't actually matter that much to the PC. Instead it's this very personal tale that was still really effective even though the rest of the game has talking dogs, melancholy assassins and some fuckboy who might be some kind of HK riot operative or some shit? I dunno, there's still a lot of mysteries here for me to unpack. maybe I missed the true ending because I failed to pay rent on like the very last day? I unno! I might poke around a bit. I've still got the prologue and demo to have a gander at.

Anyway, yeah, I recommend this video game. And remember:

va-11-hall-a-cyberpunk-bartender-action-0015.jpg

You tell 'em, Jill.
 

Jintor

Member
yeah i actually sat on va11halla for about a year cos i played the first two days, said 'this is rad' and then went and did other stuff for a while instead.

i finally got around to finishing it up and it was one of the best decisions i've made this week.
 

blurr

Member
crossposting

I finally got around to wrapping Vallhalla just then after taking it a day at a time for a while. Man, what a game! Or I should say more like a visual novel, I'm still unclear as to whether I was really making many choices or not, but also it kinda doesn't matter.

header.jpg

Vallhalla is a fantastic VN, got around to finish it relatively recently and likewise, started off some time last year and had been on and off. I've seen it as more of a game that I'd play after a hard day at work much like how the characters of the game do and not something I'd binge so your approach isn't off the mark from what I'd expect. There's a lot that needs to sink in every day.

Like you mentioned, it is similar to Undertale, in that it actively encourages players to utilize empathy to get the characters the right drinks, sometimes it's about remembering qualities/descritptions of drinks of course. Every single character is likeable and the protagonist Jill, oh Jill, is such a great and well written character.

Don't even get me started on the sound track, oh my god.


Be sure to play the Prologue and Epiologue shorts that they added to the game for free! (replay the short prologue until you unlock the epilogue)
 

Pachael

Member
Who wants that sausage festival? Where is ML?

Play Theater Days - the commus are fun and the graphics and lives are great too

This is why people should play Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage. A surprisingly generous game. I have loads of SSRs despite not spending a penny on it.

Lots of goodies for the 2nd anniversary too. Wonder if they're moving or renovating the room (the girls seem to be packing stuff)

Aniplex has a Madoka Grand Order game now......lol.

Everyone wants to get in on the Fate gatcha train.

This also just had a 2nd anniversary last month. Can't find Nirolak's quote, but he was saying (I think about PUBG) that it'd take publishers 1-2 years to copy and reuse the successful model. In FGO and Love Live/Starlight Stage case, the copies are rolling in about 2 years later. There's a whole bunch of new idol rhythm games that have come out or are coming out (SideM, Schoolgirl Strikers, Macross and there's probably a few others)

Hundreds of common randoms no one will care about and several different versions of the girls like Love Live?

Although I'm not sure if School Idol Festival is a successful gacha

It's pretty successful, it's been ranking pretty good since... 2013!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=178384475&postcount=21

And they have an English version too which is raking in the cash.

Love Live has at least 18 (9 Muse 9 Aquors) then 3 from A-RISE if they wanted that. Thats like triple what Madoka has got, although they could make 100 billion Homura timeline variants

One timeline, but bunch of new characters. BangDream has 25 (5 bands x 5) and there's a lot of variants there so I expect MagiReco to have a number of variants at some stage.
 

Hamst3r

Member
Patlabor: WXIII - This and Movie 2 are the kind of Patlabor I like. I wish they'd just kept making Patlabor like this. Gonna start the TV series soon, but from the video thumbnails it looks like a return to the style of the original OVAs.

Three Leaves, Three Colors - Not bad. I think I liked the supporting cast more than the main cast. I also quite enjoy the butler-that's-basically-a-ninja trope.
 

DNAbro

Member
Gamers! 7

That was actually adorable. I'm pretty sure the word "adorkable" was invented for people like Amano and Tendou.
 

Ascheroth

Member
Appmon 28

Offmon is too cute.
Lmao, they just turned the power level displays into a joke.
And man Yuujin is the best friend. I have however a terrible feeling that the Appli Drive Duo has some strings attached.
And yoo, that ending scene opens quite a few new questions.
 

blurr

Member
Tsurezure Children 08

I actually saw how the football gag would end because I saw so many screencaps but it still managed to surprise me.
 

Cornbread78

Member
Gamers ep.7
No way, relationship development! This was actually a pretty cute episode with these two hanging out for a bit. Still a LOT of misunderstandings to sort out over the final few episodes, but this was a cute step in the right direction. The whole Momo thing is sure to throw a wrench in the mix later though!
 

Erheller

Member
crossposting

I finally got around to wrapping Vallhalla just then after taking it a day at a time for a while. Man, what a game! Or I should say more like a visual novel, I'm still unclear as to whether I was really making many choices or not, but also it kinda doesn't matter.

header.jpg


If you don't know what it is, well, I'm not really here to sell you on the game... but suffice to say it's mainly just talking with people and occasionally mixing drinks. Fun!

The cast was really amazing, I ended up liking almost every single character. They're so well written and the game hits this really fine line of constant memery and Tumblr/Twitter style humour (kinda Undertalish in its way) vs genuinely emotional and affecting moments, even if somewhat mundane by the usual VN standards. Nonetheless, as a somewhat directionless feeling 26-27, a lot of the themes really hit me really well. Jill in particular has quickly become one of my favourite PCs in modern memory, mainly because it's very easy to identify with her and her cynical but still hopeful attitude. Her friends - Alma, Dorothy - all brilliant, layered characters, Dorothy in particular with the very matter-of-fact and casual attitude towards what could easily be made gross and creepy. But again, pretty much every character never failed to bring a smile to my face somehow.



From a aesthetic perspective I absolutely adored the game. The pixelart style and UI which reminds me kind of old DOS boxes, the simplified /u/ and news structures, the wonderful character portraits... and the occasional unexpected shift in menus etc... frankly amazing. The music, of course, is its own special breed of heavy chippy droning I didn't even know I wanted. The only real criticism I have is having to load up the jukebox individually - sometimes the music completely didn't fit the scene, and I would have really prefered a more authored experience with leitmotifs and stuff (I noticed Streaming-chan gets her own, which is pretty great)



I was really surprised when the 'story', such as it is, finally crept up on me, but it was still really carthartic and felt real to the character, which I think is really impressive considering what would be considered 'main stories' in other games are relegated to background material for this one because, well, they don't actually matter that much to the PC. Instead it's this very personal tale that was still really effective even though the rest of the game has talking dogs, melancholy assassins and some fuckboy who might be some kind of HK riot operative or some shit? I dunno, there's still a lot of mysteries here for me to unpack. maybe I missed the true ending because I failed to pay rent on like the very last day? I unno! I might poke around a bit. I've still got the prologue and demo to have a gander at.

Anyway, yeah, I recommend this video game. And remember:

Valhalla is good.

The characters are the best part. They all have quirks that seem to define their character, but dig a little deeper and you'll find that there's some real depth. The gameplay loop really works well for the game - talk to the person when they're not drunk, get them drunk, talk to the person when they're drunk and get a different perspective. The game also plays with it, too, like
if you choose to not serve the underage girl, or when Alma serves Jill (Can I just mention that that was one of the best scenes in the game? Jill's story has so many good scenes it's not fair)

And I really liked the game's overall themes. It really nails the feeling of being 20-something and not knowing what to do. Jill just feels like she's floating along. She never wanted to become a bartender; she kind of just stumbles into it and went along. And yet the game is pretty optimistic about it.
By the end, Jill's in a much better position: she's made peace with her past, and she finds value in her job. It's not all rosy (The bar's shutting down, and she gets evicted if she doesn't pay her rent),
but those are temporary setbacks, and the game pretty clearly believes in her ability to overcome them.
 

sonicmj1

Member
crossposting

I finally got around to wrapping Vallhalla just then after taking it a day at a time for a while. Man, what a game! Or I should say more like a visual novel, I'm still unclear as to whether I was really making many choices or not, but also it kinda doesn't matter.

Meanwhile I started up World End Economica a few days ago (since I'd backed it on Kickstarter ages ago), and man, that is not a good visual novel. Mediocre translation, weak art, and a kind of terrible protagonist.


Hard to believe this came from the Spice and Wolf guy, were it not for all the detail about day-trading stocks.
 

BluWacky

Member
*Sounds the Geneijin Horn*

She is, but in TV.

In a particularly Escaflowne-esque vein at present, in fact - note the opening theme for Naotora, the Lady Warlord, this year's taiga drama on NHK.

She also did the score a couple of years ago for the live-action version of the manga of Umimachi Diary, for which she was nominated for the Japan Academy Award for Best Music (losing out to the band Sakanaction, whom I love so I can't even be THAT angry).
 

Ascheroth

Member
Meanwhile I started up World End Economica a few days ago (since I'd backed it on Kickstarter ages ago), and man, that is not a good visual novel. Mediocre translation, weak art, and a kind of terrible protagonist.



Hard to believe this came from the Spice and Wolf guy, were it not for all the detail about day-trading stocks.
Stick with it, the end of Episode 1 and Episode 2 and 3 are worth it. (each episode also has much better production values than the ones before it for some reason..)
I have some impressions here.
Reading back, I was quite generous with the evaluation of the first episode, lol. Well, the ending made me overlook a few things.
 

Jarmel

Banned
In a particularly Escaflowne-esque vein at present, in fact - note the opening theme for Naotora, the Lady Warlord, this year's taiga drama on NHK.

She also did the score a couple of years ago for the live-action version of the manga of Umimachi Diary, for which she was nominated for the Japan Academy Award for Best Music (losing out to the band Sakanaction, whom I love so I can't even be THAT angry).
I was just thinking the other day that she slowed down but I guess she went into live action.
 
Dive!! Episode 8
tumblr_ov7gm3SJcz1qg9t1lo1_500.gif


Dive!! bringing the good content. Though I dont know why the writer keeps forcing girlfriends upon the characters, we already saw what happened with Tomo and his "girlfriend". And yoichi should be team Tomo, even this episode.

Loved the fun boys sleep over stuff, it was amazing.
 

Line_HTX

Member
It did fairly well at the box office, however there were a ton of mixed reviews. Sounds like this was not Shaft's best effort and was kind of a mess.
 

TUSR

Banned

So Shaft's adaptation of Shunji Iwai's Fireworks film just came out in Japan, and impressions are that it's a total disaster. The animation is really unpolished, totally below the level of what is expected from theatrical features, the voice acting is bad, and thus it completely fails to sell any of its emotional character drama. The credits are really messy (25 assistant ADs and a big portion of the film outsourced to Lay-duce), and there have been rumblings from animators on Twitter about a messy movie project, so it looks like the film was super-rushed - not a surprise coming from Shaft, but still a shame. Director Nobuyuki Takeuchi has a lot of talent, so it's a shame Shaft's mismanagement dropped the ball so hard on what should have been a major mainstream movie.

.
 
Meanwhile I started up World End Economica a few days ago (since I'd backed it on Kickstarter ages ago), and man, that is not a good visual novel. Mediocre translation, weak art, and a kind of terrible protagonist.

Yikes, I've often heard the "terrible protagonist" criticism but always thought "how bad could it be?" Like, he'd probably get character growth and if I could survive the early Okabe, I must have built some immunity. But that's kind of irredeemable.
 

Cornbread78

Member
I've Always Liked You
That was pretty cute, (Ok, the final confession scene was really really cute) but the ending felt very anti-climactic. Why did they just decide to skip all the other ships going on when they had been following them the entire time up to that point....
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Tsurezure Children 8

Don't hold your breath for Chiaki to ever become even sort of competent, guys.

And Love Master is garbage.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
pretty great and hilarious yet heartwarming, I cant wait for more.

I mean, they straight deleted the part that would have led into the rest of it so I don't know how they would even fix that if they made more given that it's legitimately the impetus for the plot continuing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom