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Fall 2010 Anime Thread: Reboots, Retreads, and Rediscovery

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Halycon said:
Does Irresponsible Captain Tylor count as Sci-fi? The sci-fi bits are pretty unnecessary.

Not to mention it has crazy spirits from the afterlife looking for revenge.
 
Jexhius said:
That's most arguments start!

Anyway, all this 'real' sci-fi talk has forced me to compile a list :

Sci-Fi Elitists list of real Sci-Fi Anime

Memories - Debatable, I guess
Roujin Z
Ghost in the Shell [all of them] - you can't get more 'real' then cyberpunk
Dennou Coil - Although sometimes it's very similar to magic
Planetes
Gunbuster (only because of time dilation)
2001 Nights
Akikan
Nausicaa
Origins a.k.a Nausicaa but not very good
Future Boy Conan
Robot Carnival
....of the Stars
Macross
Serial Experiments Lain
Casshern Sins
Ergo Proxy
Eureka Seven
Kaiba
Metropolis
The Animatrix
Toward The Terra
Megazone 23
Akira - Frankly, it's more concerned about adolescents than about sci-fi
Voices of a Distant Star
They were Eleven
Wings of Honneamise
Paprika
Infinite Ryvius
Time of Eve
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Ctrl-f "Pale Cocoon" "Twin Spica" "Moonlight Mile"
*insert extreme look of disapproval*
 
JKTrix said:
I wish to draw additional attention to this objection. Akikan wat?
I have to check that people are reading thoroughly.
Kite said:
Ctrl-f "Pale Cocoon" "Twin Spica" "Moonlight Mile"
*insert extreme look of disapproval*
Never seen them.
 
I can forgive not seeing the other 2 since they're kinda niche, but Pale Cocoon was made by the same studio as Time of Eve. Go watch it nao if you liked Eve no Jikan, especially since it is only 23 min long :o
 
Kite said:
I can forgive not seeing the other 2 since they're kinda niche, but Pale Cocoon was made by the same studio as Time of Eve. Go watch it nao if you liked Eve no Jikan, especially since it is only 23 min long :o

Isn't Moonlight Mile basically Planetes but with more misogyny?
 
icecream said:
You're so kind, Infi-kun!
That's why the others don't deserve you.

UXbfhl.jpg
 
firehawk12 said:
Isn't Moonlight Mile basically Planetes but with more misogyny?
Moonlight Mile isn't that similiar to PLANETES other then both being more realistic-ish scifi. The first episode is Gungrav-ish for being misleading, then it is kinda like Twin Spica in the main characters wanting to be astronauts, then it turns kinda Wings of Honneamise-ish but not as good. And it ends up with some wierd conspiracy investigation arc. And indeed the women in this show are mostly sluts who can't keep their pants zipped, thank you Japan~ :D
 
Just finished Unlimited Blade Works, and I'll have to second InfiniteNine's advice. Get a little familiar with the F/SN universe because it really, really moves as fast as Dresden says. It's definitely made with only the fans in mind and doesn't really attempt to inform newcomers. So if you're not the least bit familiar, a lot will pass through you. Unless you like pretty action scenes, then by all means enjoy it just for that.
 
Aim for the Ace is pretty good. The characters are like cut and paste from Oniisama e except they mixed Kaouru and Nanako to get Hiromi. It's pretty crazy how similar they are for two different stories made by two different people, but I guess these were the standard shoujo characters back in the day.

Do sports manga use real high schools? I think I remember Nishi High from a Mitsuru Adachi manga.

Oh and Star Driver subs are out.
 
Kite said:
Moonlight Mile isn't that similiar to PLANETES other then both being more realistic-ish scifi. The first episode is Gungrav-ish for being misleading, then it is kinda like Twin Spica in the main characters wanting to be astronauts, then it turns kinda Wings of Honneamise-ish but not as good. And it ends up with some wierd conspiracy investigation arc. And indeed the women in this show are mostly sluts who can't keep their pants zipped, thank you Japan~ :D


i decided to check out the manga for this since its quicker to find and holy shit :lol

Got to check the anime now.
 
flawfuls said:
Do sports manga use real high schools? I think I remember Nishi High from a Mitsuru Adachi manga.
Yeah, a lot of the authors pretty much admit to using their own schools as inspiration, if not just random schools they think look interesting.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
Frankly, all good science fiction possesses themes and motifs that it's more concerned about than technobabble nonsense.

Scratch that, all good fiction, period.
True, and all the works I selected also had those as well (I was just trying to think of the harshest possible list).

Also "technobabble" isn't necessairly a bad thing, it's often vital to laying down rules in an unfamiliar setting. Fantasy does it as well.

SHAFT OP's continue to be ridiculously extravagant : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGAzuDP2bDE&

Although frankly it's no Arakawa Under the Bridge 1 OP, which was one of the best OP's I've seen.
 
7Th said:
Top Tier: people that loved BOTH Panty & Stocking and Star Driver
Mediocre Tier: people that loved Panty & Stocking or Star Driver
Shit Tier: people that disliked both

Discuss
I haven't seen star driver but i'm probably part of 'TOP TIER".
 
Lafiel said:
I haven't seen star driver but i'm probably part of 'TOP TIER".
And why haven't you seen it? Outrageous.

Now that I've seen both I realise that I'm in the best tier : I enjoyed P&S Part Two and Star Driver.
 
Jexhius said:
And why haven't you seen it? Outrageous.
Just woke up.

Jexhius said:
That's most arguments start!

Anyway, all this 'real' sci-fi talk has forced me to compile a list :

Sci-Fi Elitists list of real Sci-Fi Anime

Memories - Debatable, I guess
Roujin Z

Ghost in the Shell [all of them] - you can't get more 'real' then cyberpunk
Dennou Coil - Although sometimes it's very similar to magic
Planetes
Gunbuster (only because of time dilation)
2001 Nights
Akikan

Nausicaa
Origins a.k.a Nausicaa but not very good
Future Boy Conan
Robot Carnival
....of the Stars
Macross
Serial Experiments Lain
Casshern Sins
Ergo Proxy
Eureka Seven
Kaiba
Metropolis
The Animatrix
Toward The Terra
Megazone 23

Akira - Frankly, it's more concerned about adolescents than about sci-fi
Voices of a Distant Star
They were Eleven
Wings of Honneamise
Paprika
Infinite Ryvius
Time of Eve
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Bolded the ones i haven't seen. As we at animu-gaf love to bold things we haven't seen!
 
Halycon said:
/firehawk
Boom!

Jexhius said:
Also "technobabble" isn't necessairly a bad thing, it's often vital to laying down rules in an unfamiliar setting. Fantasy does it as well.
Exposition is usually poorly done though. It's very hard to make explaining fictional things interesting.
 
firehawk12 said:
Exposition is usually poorly done though. It's very hard to make explaining fictional things interesting.
Well...yes? Good writing is generally hard irregardless of the genre. That's the challenge for any work not set in reality. Hell, it's even tricky to explain real things in an interesting way.
 
Reknoc said:
Ack Star Driver talk, I'm out.
Don't tell me you're hating on Star Driver.

firehawk12 said:
Exposition is usually poorly done though. It's very hard to make explaining fictional things interesting.
Agreed. But it's anime.

It also feels like I've stumbled into a high school specfic club.
 
I think we can infer a lot about Star Drivers universe and tone from the fact that no-one questions this kind of thing, or even mentions it :

maid.jpg
 
Reknoc said:
I wish I could tell you anything but I haven't seen it yet :(

Wait... I don't get how this being out thing works apparently.


means subs are up so go watch it?

can also indicate that the thread will have posts about it really soon.

at least imo
 
Jexhius said:
Well...yes? Good writing is generally hard irregardless of the genre. That's the challenge for any work not set in reality. Hell, it's even tricky to explain real things in an interesting way.
Which is why the best writers don't bother... so you have people like David Simon who refuse to "write down" to the lowest common denominator because cops, soldiers, jazz musicians explaining things to each other doesn't much make sense in any "real" context.

---

Oh wow, Danny Choo is doing some TV project and went to a high school for his first episode. Geez. :lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyQiKi87CX4&feature=player_embedded
 
Jexhius said:
I think we can infer a lot about Star Drivers universe and tone from the fact that no-one questions this kind of thing, or even mentions it :

http://i835.photobucket.com/albums/zz278/Jexhius/maid.jpg
Obviously, it's due to the influence of anime on future culture.

Has there been any other series besides Genshiken which featured another (fictional) anime inside the main story? You know, "yo dawg" and all that?
 
Halycon said:
Obviously, it's due to the influence of anime on future culture.

Has there been any other series besides Genshiken which featured another (fictional) anime inside the main story? You know, "yo dawg" and all that?


Nadessico - Genkigangar III
Bamboo Blade - Blade Braver
 
Halycon said:
Obviously, it's due to the influence of anime on future culture.

Has there been any other series besides Genshiken which featured another (fictional) anime inside the main story? You know, "yo dawg" and all that?

Depends if passing references count - last season, Seitokai Yakuindomo went as far as to show bits of a fictional anime and the fictional seiyuus winning an award.
 
Jexhius said:
I think we can infer a lot about Star Drivers universe and tone from the fact that no-one questions this kind of thing, or even mentions it :

maid.jpg

I know, I mean his elbows on the fucking table. Don't anyone in this show have proper manners.
 
firehawk12 said:
Which is why the best writers don't bother... so you have people like David Simon who refuse to "write down" to the lowest common denominator because cops, soldiers, jazz musicians explaining things to each other doesn't much make sense in any "real" context.
And yet he has a whole scene where complicated legal/police stuff is explained in season 1!

And certain people would explain things to each other in real life as well - such was when you're in training for a job. Believing otherwise is to hold a weird world view. Exposition actually exists in real life, it's just boring.

"Not bothering" is not what the best writers do, it's what some writers do. Certain journalists, such as those in the fields of science and business, display their writing prowess through making complicated, real world material digestible and understandable.

To be clear, most anime shows don't handle that kind of explanation with the same clarity. They instead go through some kind of "training" scene. But that's no reason for them not to attempt it.

Some works just wouldn't hold together if someone didn't explain the rules.
 
Jexhius said:
=Numerous works just wouldn't hold together if someone didn't explain the rules.
*coughcoughLOGHcoughcough*

Kidding. Well they explained it later kind of.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
Oniisama e... is so OTT and ridiculous. I mean, it's entertaining to a point, but sometimes it's just too much because it takes itself so seriously. Riyoko Ikeda must have had bad experiences at an all girls high school. Your mom used to be a cocktail waitress!
I think it had more to do that her mother was a home wrecker and that waitress is a euphemism for "whore". :lol

Yes. Exposition is best when it's disguised or weaved into real dialogue and doesn't draw attention to itself. Even when it's done well, it's just window dressing for more important aspects of writing and storytelling like characters and themes.

Worldbuilding is a little bit different, because creating cultures with their own rituals and technologies can definitely be interesting and enhance a fictional universe, but it doesn't need to be explained in any great depth. (Like, I don't really care how the FTL drive works. It works. I'm down with that.)

World building can get a bit up its own ass as well though - see the Matrix sequels.
Anyway, all of this is why every SF author suggests having a main character who is an outsider. This gives you the opportunity to have characters explain things to that character that they would otherwise take for granted. It's just rather lazy though.

Jexhius said:
And yet he has a whole scene where complicated legal/police stuff is explained in season 1!

"Not bothering" is not what the best writers do, it's what some writers do. Certain journalists, such as those in the fields of science and business, display their writing prowess through making complicated, real world material digestible and understandable.

To be clear, most anime shows don't handle that kind of explanation with the same clarity. They instead go through some kind of "training" scene. But that's no reason for them not to attempt it.

Numerous works just wouldn't hold together if someone didn't explain the rules.
Well, The Wire is old news! :lol

Of course, journalism is different from fiction writing though. You read or watch a news report for information, which I suppose is pure exposition. That's typically not what I'm looking for in fiction.

It's a problem of all genre fiction, regardless of medium and culture. People tend to fall in love with whatever reality they've created and want to show it off. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when you're dealing with a visual medium like tv/film/animation/games, there's better ways to do it than to have people talk about the rules of the world.
 
Well it's like a tutorial in a video game. You can either create a tutorial section explicitly or drop hints bit by bit as the player goes.

No one likes being left in the dark about whatever world they're in.
 
firehawk12 said:
That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when you're dealing with a visual medium like tv/film/animation/games, there's better ways to do it than to have people talk about the rules of the world.
You're starting to sound dangerously close to another poster, in that you seem to be implying some kind of rule. "Because it's a visual medium, things should only be explained visually", but this isn't always possible (even if it should be attempted).

That, and it's far trickier (and occasionally impossible).
 
Halycon said:
Well it's like a tutorial in a video game. You can either create a tutorial section explicitly or drop hints bit by bit as the player goes.

No one likes being left in the dark about whatever world they're in.
I feel like a tutorial is different because that's a matter of "readability". It would be like an anime teaching you Japanese before you could watch it.

I would say exposition in games usually comes down to cutscenes or audio logs.

Jexhius said:
You're starting to sound dangerously close to another poster, in that you seem to be implying some kind of rule. "Because it's a visual medium, things should only be explained visually", but this isn't always possible (even if it should be attempted).

That, and it's far trickier (and occasionally impossible).
Well, I'm more of a fan of "show, don't tell". It's just that tv et al have the advantage of the visual and the aural.
 
Some stuff needs to be explicitly explained, some stuff implicitly, some in passing, and some not at all. The real skill is determining the appropriate method.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
That doesn't explain why everyone on this show is such a bitch, though. (Except for, I guess, bland and naive shoujo protagonist Nanako and childhood friend Tomoko.)
Because it makes everything amazing. As soon as they start to turn it down, my heart will sink!
icarus-daedelus said:
In some places, it's rude to put your elbows on the dinner table.
Kind of an old-fasioned rule, though.
We got manners 'round here.
 
Bakuman episode disappointed me.
Bad character design
They fucked up takagi's hair
They went with with Obata's current style
Looks like no anime for me this season unless there's something awesome coming up soon.
 
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