But its their last hitter inning with cleanup line-up, its too far to back to cleanup again.. I don't think they setting up drama for Furuya turnaround hit.
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Fall Anime 2014 lOTl Unlimited Tomino Works
- Thread starter Narag
- Start date
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But its their last hitter inning with cleanup line-up, its too far to back to cleanup again.. I don't think they setting up drama for Furuya turnaround hit.
Basileus777
Member
Isn't Furuya 2/2? Hah. The game is actually a lot more compelling than most big sports anime games because I can actually see either team winning it. Though I think Seidou will find a way to lose.
hipsterpants
Member
Uh, please don't respost my posts on /a/. That was pretty weird.
SPT Layzner Series Review
Let me take you back in time, friends, to a time when Sunrise made nonGundam mecha anime that didn't suck. Journey with me to an era before CGI and meaningless terminology were more commonplace than the meat and potatoes of the genre. Turn back the pages and review with me a golden memory of better days.
Normally, Layzner isn't the first word to jump from someone's mouth when asked what one of the best mecha anime of all time is. It isn't, particularly, one of the best known works of the genre. It's something of a forgotten treasure, I think, and I want to do my best to put the word out.
The year is 1985, and author Ryosuke Takahashi had just finished work on that august work, Armored Trooper Votoms. Coming hot off the heels of the tale of a single man's war for peace of mind comes Blue Comet SPT Layzner. In many ways, the two stories share similar ideas. The protagonists resemble one another, there are common themes, and the story telling is distinctive.
Layzner follows the story of Eiji Null Albatro Asuka, a half-Earthling, half-Gradosian on a special mission from his father to warn the people of Earth in the futuristic year of 1996 that Grados intends to invade their world. In his stolen mech, the Layzner, he comes first to Mars, where he makes the acquaintance of the Cosmic Culture Club and enlists their aid in reaching Earth. From there begins a race against time, a battle against human stubbornness, and ultimately a struggle for freedom, coexistence, and mutual understanding.
Perhaps the thing that makes Layzner so compelling to me is the way Takahashi manages to continually stack the odds against his cast without ever making it dull. In "despair" shows, it can often be the case that the viewer is left fatigued by the constant pulling of the rug from beneath the characters. If people wallow and bemoan their fates, its only a matter of time before it all becomes nothing more than "despair noise." Attack on Titan was rife with this problem.
But the ingenious thing about Layzner is that, for as much as hope is constantly, frequently, creatively and systematically snatched away from the cast, it is also continuously springing anew for them. And not just because they're plucky young people, but also because Takahashi is always certain to provide for their needs as he goes. A windfall or two does wonders to ease ten or more episodes of rotten luck.
At its heart, Layzner is much like other mecha anime in that it carries a strong anti-war message. What separates it is the way the show goes about sending that message to viewers. Early on the Cold War is both the act which draws the ire of the Gradosians and the conflict which prevents Earth from being able to respond. At every step that Eiji and his friends try to warn the Americans and the Soviets, they are met with disbelief and resistance, to the point that the viewer cannot help but wonder if humanity is worth so much trouble to save. Even after reaching Earth, when humiliation and scorn are heaped upon these well-meaning children, the question of the worth of humanity to be saved hangs in the air.
For whatever comfort it may be, after the conquest of Grados, the question is expanded to include the Gradosians themselves. Among them are noble souls, like Eiji and his sister, weak ones like Gresco, arrogant ones like his son, and ones more evil than bear explaining in this writing. By the show's ending, the question remains a constant, its resolution squarely in the viewer's hands. One might take the ending to be pessimistic, given the somewhat severe solution, but I believe the overall presentation is such that the ultimate idea is that yes, there is something worth saving in all of us, and that conflict is the truly meaningless pursuit.
A word of warning, to those who wish to view the show: the final episode of the show is extremely rushed, due to the show being unexpectedly cancelled. There exists an OVA which serves to fill in the numerous gaps this episode leaves unfilled, as well as to expound upon the ending, but this OVA lacks one or two helpful scenes from the final episode, and so the order in which you watch these two is something of debate. You must see the OVA, however, or much of the finale will not make sense.
In the end, I find myself extremely satisfied with this show. It was well written, with spectacular pacing and surprisingly fleshed out characters. The battles were engaging, the odds were never too obviously stacked in one direction or the other. The animation is a bit spotty at points, but on the whole I cannot complain. If you're looking for a good 80s action mecha anime, or are a fan of other works of Ryosuke Takashi, I highly recommend this one to you.
Seriously one of the best shows I've ever picked up on a whim.
Let me take you back in time, friends, to a time when Sunrise made nonGundam mecha anime that didn't suck. Journey with me to an era before CGI and meaningless terminology were more commonplace than the meat and potatoes of the genre. Turn back the pages and review with me a golden memory of better days.
Normally, Layzner isn't the first word to jump from someone's mouth when asked what one of the best mecha anime of all time is. It isn't, particularly, one of the best known works of the genre. It's something of a forgotten treasure, I think, and I want to do my best to put the word out.
The year is 1985, and author Ryosuke Takahashi had just finished work on that august work, Armored Trooper Votoms. Coming hot off the heels of the tale of a single man's war for peace of mind comes Blue Comet SPT Layzner. In many ways, the two stories share similar ideas. The protagonists resemble one another, there are common themes, and the story telling is distinctive.
Layzner follows the story of Eiji Null Albatro Asuka, a half-Earthling, half-Gradosian on a special mission from his father to warn the people of Earth in the futuristic year of 1996 that Grados intends to invade their world. In his stolen mech, the Layzner, he comes first to Mars, where he makes the acquaintance of the Cosmic Culture Club and enlists their aid in reaching Earth. From there begins a race against time, a battle against human stubbornness, and ultimately a struggle for freedom, coexistence, and mutual understanding.
Perhaps the thing that makes Layzner so compelling to me is the way Takahashi manages to continually stack the odds against his cast without ever making it dull. In "despair" shows, it can often be the case that the viewer is left fatigued by the constant pulling of the rug from beneath the characters. If people wallow and bemoan their fates, its only a matter of time before it all becomes nothing more than "despair noise." Attack on Titan was rife with this problem.
But the ingenious thing about Layzner is that, for as much as hope is constantly, frequently, creatively and systematically snatched away from the cast, it is also continuously springing anew for them. And not just because they're plucky young people, but also because Takahashi is always certain to provide for their needs as he goes. A windfall or two does wonders to ease ten or more episodes of rotten luck.
At its heart, Layzner is much like other mecha anime in that it carries a strong anti-war message. What separates it is the way the show goes about sending that message to viewers. Early on the Cold War is both the act which draws the ire of the Gradosians and the conflict which prevents Earth from being able to respond. At every step that Eiji and his friends try to warn the Americans and the Soviets, they are met with disbelief and resistance, to the point that the viewer cannot help but wonder if humanity is worth so much trouble to save. Even after reaching Earth, when humiliation and scorn are heaped upon these well-meaning children, the question of the worth of humanity to be saved hangs in the air.
For whatever comfort it may be, after the conquest of Grados, the question is expanded to include the Gradosians themselves. Among them are noble souls, like Eiji and his sister, weak ones like Gresco, arrogant ones like his son, and ones more evil than bear explaining in this writing. By the show's ending, the question remains a constant, its resolution squarely in the viewer's hands. One might take the ending to be pessimistic, given the somewhat severe solution, but I believe the overall presentation is such that the ultimate idea is that yes, there is something worth saving in all of us, and that conflict is the truly meaningless pursuit.
A word of warning, to those who wish to view the show: the final episode of the show is extremely rushed, due to the show being unexpectedly cancelled. There exists an OVA which serves to fill in the numerous gaps this episode leaves unfilled, as well as to expound upon the ending, but this OVA lacks one or two helpful scenes from the final episode, and so the order in which you watch these two is something of debate. You must see the OVA, however, or much of the finale will not make sense.
In the end, I find myself extremely satisfied with this show. It was well written, with spectacular pacing and surprisingly fleshed out characters. The battles were engaging, the odds were never too obviously stacked in one direction or the other. The animation is a bit spotty at points, but on the whole I cannot complain. If you're looking for a good 80s action mecha anime, or are a fan of other works of Ryosuke Takashi, I highly recommend this one to you.
Seriously one of the best shows I've ever picked up on a whim.
These recent sport title find a way for breaking the formula with making the first year played in strong ass team anyway so its more unpredictable they gonna win or not lol
Yowamushi Pedal also even more intense with three-way run, you can had case any of them winning.
I think you can assume Seidou winning and lose in first round of Koshien or something with episode count as barometer.
Basileus777
Member
That depends on how much time they would spend on training and story arcs in between tournaments. There's a lot you can do in 17 episodes.
This show left me pretty speechless the first time around but your image there is very apt. You should move on to the third movie from here (first two are literally the anime series made into movies)and let us know what you think of that direction. This series in general was a true phenomenon both critically and saleswise and was just a perfect storm of elements that struck a chord with many people. Its actually in my all time top 10 list and I doubt it will budge from there. I loved it so much.
Kokoro Connect - 04
"Have Taichi help you with your trauma as well."
It's not even the drama in and of itself that I have an issue at this point. Much more so the portrayal of the characters as figures needing to be "saved" by our main character and the ridiculous amount of success he has in turning around our female character's lives within the span of a 5-10 minute pep talk and/or kick to the balls. One it totally destroys the credibility of Inaba who has known about the problem the 2 other girls were facing before this whole body switching thing even started occurring and two the notion that these are issuesthat could be "solved" as neatly as they are in the time span that they are totally kills the gravity of these situations and the extent to which these people were dealing with them. It's the audacity that the show is presenting that our single Masochist Jesus who has no sort of formal training in dealing with these issues can solve them within a fraction of a single running episode. Strangely enough it's breaking my suspension of disbelief more than anything involving the body switching.attempted rape with girl 1 and domestic abuse with girl 2
Couple this with the frequency in which they just keep passing the buck to the next person that needs to be "saved" contributes to what's, at best, an extremely heavy handed style of storytelling.
Iori's totally fine and dandy after her requisite pep talk from MC aka Masochist Jesus and by the halfway point in the episode he's given his next mission :
"But the person you should really be worrying about is ... -camera points to Inaba-"
Like god dammit. Was prepping myself to be disappointed again by how this would find itself resolved but I felt like this was handled a lot better than the other two were just because of how minor it was in comparison. It's an inherently more relatable problem that's solved in a way that involves everyone else in the group, even if I'm annoyed that it was still solely the MC that instigated the change I can't be as annoyed at the conclusion as I was with everyone else. Why was Inaba fainting though? In any case it feels like the show's finished with "solving" the various issues everyone in the group has, unsurprisingly the show has given no indication that the other male character has an issue that needs to be solved by our lord and savior Masochist Jesus. Guess its only the women that are vulnerable and in need of having their various childhood traumas solved by our MC.
...
Honestly this show is not for everyone. It gets VERY melodramatic and at times downright frustrating and aggravating. However I have to admit that my opinion of it is significantly enhanced by Miyukichi's goddess-tier portrayal of Inaba and her heavenly laugh and demeanor. I love her to death. Zachy would agree. Other than her though, frankly Kokoro Connect is pretty mediocre. But again, Inaban is a goddess and for that reason this show makes me happy.
That also in my prediction range..
Man Furuya would be both Ace pitcher and Clean-up if the story goes to 2nd year right lol. Sawamura would salty as hell..
Tokyo Ravens - Vol 11 - Read this. Nice getting more story beyond the anime climax. have some mixed feelings though. Whilst I did enjoy seeing where Suzuka, Tenma, Kyouko ended up in the fallout from the show climax, I was terribly frustrated by the lack of Harutora. I really would have liked even just a chapter from his POV. Would have liked more of Natsume too. Really want to know more of her condition.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Fate/Stay Night 08
Almost fell asleep watching this.
I kinda wish I actually did.
Log Horizon 2 09
I like the real life Shiro's design. Looks so plain and average, but in a good way.
Maybe the triple raid boss is an enrage timer. But that's some bullshit, dealing with one encounter is hard enough. Thought this was one of the best S2 eps so far.
Almost fell asleep watching this.
I kinda wish I actually did.
Log Horizon 2 09
Someone shop Rei's head in here
I like the real life Shiro's design. Looks so plain and average, but in a good way.
Maybe the triple raid boss is an enrage timer. But that's some bullshit, dealing with one encounter is hard enough. Thought this was one of the best S2 eps so far.
AquaWateria
Member
Tokyo Ghoul Season 2/New Visual Key
Fuck this better not be Touka.
Fuck this better not be Touka.
Seidou has been on defence for so long and there has been way too much build up for the batting side this inning, there's no way Yuki doesn't get contact and at least one or two runs.
Yuki got long hit, debunk the secret of the slider.. its up to Furuya now!
And then he choked
Basileus777
Member
Sawamura pitches the next inning, so he'd have to choke.
phoenix296
Member
SAO has been pretty good these past few episodes without Kirito around.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Cross Ange 09
In this episode Angelise-sama~~~ becomes John Matrix so she can save Nunnally while Hilda gets hit with the apple pie of shame, adding to the food bullying this show keeps doing.
I don't even know what to say with the stuff that happened in this episode.
All that I can say is the last scene made me laugh for like 3 minutes straight.
Next episode looks like some even more hilarious shit
Ok.
In this episode Angelise-sama~~~ becomes John Matrix so she can save Nunnally while Hilda gets hit with the apple pie of shame, adding to the food bullying this show keeps doing.
I don't even know what to say with the stuff that happened in this episode.
All that I can say is the last scene made me laugh for like 3 minutes straight.
Next episode looks like some even more hilarious shit
Mushishi Zoku-shou - 19
And pretty sure you should fucking blame Ginko there for being smart-ass
Worst eps.
Whynotboth.jif
They will sharing the pain.
Oh fucking please you damn manga author, that's fucking cheap. Fuck your fuck.
And pretty sure you should fucking blame Ginko there for being smart-ass
Worst eps.
Whynotboth.jif
They will sharing the pain.
UltraGunner
Banned
Tokyo Ghoul Season 2/New Visual Key
Fuck this better not be Touka.
It's obviously his old innocence that he no longer cherishes
It's Symbolic
i've started getting people at work to watch it. they know of its reputation, but i try not to sell them on it being dark and bleak as a positive, but that it's well-written, interesting to look at, with some memorable music.
my expectation of the show and what it wound up being are so far apart it reminds me of what i thought of avatar before i started watching it. for both shows, i had expected very little, and i based it entirely on their looks and where they came from (anime wanabe on nickelodeon, moe moe japanese show). and good lord was i ever off-base to try and judge a book by its cover in both instances.
Tokyo Ghoul Season 2/New Visual Key
Fuck this better not be Touka.
It's
Tsukiyama.
HxH ED2 (Hunting for your dreams) is just too good. Even the visuals really grew on me, although they're simple. But the panning shot over a bunch of the characters followed by the silhouettes of the Phantom Troupe members is surprisingly cool.
Man, what a good arc. Have finished watching HxH by now and probably gonna write a post about my thoughts on the Chimera act, but even though there are bunch of single good episodes, that arc and Greed Island don't even come close to Phantom Troupe. That one itself has a few issues but still got me legitimately hyped.
Sadly, I can now agree with this past statement of yours
Sorry to hear that.
126 and 131 are probably my favourite episodes of the show but as a whole the arc was disappointing. The pacing, multitude of characters I couldn't give a shit about, power levels going crazy, Gon being a drama queen and even the entire premise of super powerful monsters springing up from nowhere. urghDropped.
It's clearly Jason though.
Wish they stopped spoiling the events that are to come. They did the same with Kaneki's white hair.
SliceSabre
Banned
Cross Ange - 09
I don't think I've ever laughed so hard a police brutality.
I don't think I've ever laughed so hard a police brutality.
Tokyo Ghoul Season 2/New Visual Key
Fuck this better not be Touka.
Nope, its him in that white cloth as well. Because his ''human'' side died at that last ep, therefore its him emerging with a new personality.
Now see him 180 his personality.
Turin Turambar
Member
Edgex2?
I just watched that like 20 minutes ago.. and i still don't know what the fuck i watched. All I know is dat teddyloid da gawd. Gonna start watching Panty and Stocking now.
DiscoShark
Banned
Kokoro Connect - 06
So in this episode our Kung-Fu Plant Aliens have decided to fuck with our teen-aged protagonists, prone to doing rash or impulsive things, by making them ... more prone to doing rash or impulsive things? They've turned our teenagers into SUPER teenagers. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that they've dropped the body switching line as, like I said in the last episode, there's a lot of potential fuel for telling stories with that concept. This feels like a step down in comparison and not even for reasons entirely related to the concept itself. It's mainly because I feel like the mechanics for this one are ... just a bit inconsistent. Like in this instance it feels like the means in which you "stop" the impulsive behavior aren't entirely clear. Blondie fought off a group of middle schoolers and Male Protag 2 fought off a bunch of cops without anything really stopping the engagements until they had already started. Where as Male Protag 1 was about to fight glasses and is stopped by a hand on his chest by Inaba? Hmmm, does have to be something non-related to the thing that started the compulsion? We'll seeeee.
This show is about robot battles and the emotional trauma caused by dessert. This is what I've gathered.
So in this episode our Kung-Fu Plant Aliens have decided to fuck with our teen-aged protagonists, prone to doing rash or impulsive things, by making them ... more prone to doing rash or impulsive things? They've turned our teenagers into SUPER teenagers. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that they've dropped the body switching line as, like I said in the last episode, there's a lot of potential fuel for telling stories with that concept. This feels like a step down in comparison and not even for reasons entirely related to the concept itself. It's mainly because I feel like the mechanics for this one are ... just a bit inconsistent. Like in this instance it feels like the means in which you "stop" the impulsive behavior aren't entirely clear. Blondie fought off a group of middle schoolers and Male Protag 2 fought off a bunch of cops without anything really stopping the engagements until they had already started. Where as Male Protag 1 was about to fight glasses and is stopped by a hand on his chest by Inaba? Hmmm, does have to be something non-related to the thing that started the compulsion? We'll seeeee.
This show is about robot battles and the emotional trauma caused by dessert. This is what I've gathered.
Junketsu no Maria PV is up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP--uJZu3eo
Turin Turambar
Member
Cross Ange 9
Oh noes the suffering!
Ange-Rambo was also cool, in her brutish ways.
(look, it's hard to have modesty when you are falling on her crotch repeated times)
And then...
Oh noes the suffering!
Her dear mom now rejects her!
(look, it's hard to have modesty when you are falling on her crotch repeated times)
And then...
omg the littler Nunnally-like sister attacked her! was it a trap?!!
Why? They already had her and sent her away as a Norma, now did they need her for something?
And that final scene, it so gif worthy. Hilda walking alone in the road, policar cars pass by... then cops appear from behind and beat her
edit:
http://gifyu.com/images/nearest.gif
Why? They already had her and sent her away as a Norma, now did they need her for something?
And that final scene, it so gif worthy. Hilda walking alone in the road, policar cars pass by... then cops appear from behind and beat her
edit:
http://gifyu.com/images/nearest.gif
I started watching Daitoshokan and I'm already in love:
Also THE IDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls PV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u3jqcdrapg
Also THE IDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls PV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u3jqcdrapg
AHHHHHHHH can't unsee.
DiscoShark
Banned
Kokoro Connect*** - 7
A bit of a wash of an episode honestly. We cleared up some of the mechanics for the show's new gimmick but aside from that nothing substantial actually happened here. Though you'd think everyone would be a little bit more understanding of each other's outbursts given what they were told by Ninja Plant Kung-Fu Alien. Can we go back to body switching please? ;-;
This, Cooking with Shaft, and Durarara are the only new shows I'm looking forward to in the Winter. Honestly, its looking like a season people should use to just clear out their backlogs. Kind of the perfect season for championing one's AoTY picks I guess.
A bit of a wash of an episode honestly. We cleared up some of the mechanics for the show's new gimmick but aside from that nothing substantial actually happened here. Though you'd think everyone would be a little bit more understanding of each other's outbursts given what they were told by Ninja Plant Kung-Fu Alien. Can we go back to body switching please? ;-;
This, Cooking with Shaft, and Durarara are the only new shows I'm looking forward to in the Winter. Honestly, its looking like a season people should use to just clear out their backlogs. Kind of the perfect season for championing one's AoTY picks I guess.
R_thanatos
Member
FATE STAY NIGHT UBW - 08
Well , "shinji was acting weird" should have been a red hearing..
You know he was a mage , you knew he was a master yet , you ignored the
cries of the wounded beast that had his pride crushed ? yeah right .
NIce move shirou & rin.
Well , "shinji was acting weird" should have been a red hearing..
You know he was a mage , you knew he was a master yet , you ignored the
pathetic
NIce move shirou & rin.
DiscoShark is so affected by body switching he even switched anime and was unaware of the result!
ShirAhava
Plays with kids toys, in the adult gaming world
Oh good so its not just me then.
DiscoShark
Banned
Hahaha, exposed. This is what I get for staying up all night in IRC.
Looking forward to Junketsu no Maria, based Goro.
Based solely off that PV.... #TeamAnastasia
Rin and Ranko are alright too.
Based solely off that PV.... #TeamAnastasia
Rin and Ranko are alright too.
Turin Turambar
Member
Eh... I checked the first chapters of the manga because I liked Moyashimon and I can't say it was good...
Taniguchi da gawd already confirmed he's adding original elements.
EDIT - Can't believe he hasn't directed an anime series since R2 in 08.... Infinite Ryvius (1999), s-CRY-ed (2001), Planetes (2003), Gun x Sword (2005), Code Geass (2006), Code Geass: R2 (2008), Maria the Virgin Witch (2015).... long time between fucking drinks... I remember a lot of rumors from back when R2 aired about him not being happy with changes he was forced to make... pretty much everything he did for Sunrise (GunXSword was AIC iirc) was a hit (well maybe not Planetes.... think it still did 5k but that might be wishful thinking) and Geass became a juggernaut.... and than he stops directing and doesn't fuck with Sunrise no more? Weird.
#TeamMika 4ever
SliceSabre
Banned
No Sales because "NO -insert idol here- No buy"
First series will reign supreme forever in our hearts. And not I don't mean that shitty mecha one.
PdotMichael
Banned
Well, the only thing I can say is that the new character designs are all way more interesting than the old ones.
Out with the old, in with the new.
Really? I really felt the B-Team looks for most of them, except for Anastasia da gawdess
No Male harem projection in sight so far is good sign tho.
- Status