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[iavi]

Better get used to that fast.

Oh I am. And I enjoy these character-centric episodes a ton too. It doesn't make for much discussion though. It's kind of like "Oh, ok, so she's like that. hot."

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Oh I am. And I enjoy these character-centric episodes a ton too. It doesn't make for much discussion though. It's kind of like "Oh, ok, so she's like that. hot."

Utena is incredibly hot.

I'm just saying.

 

[Izayoi]

Ao no Exorcist 13 - We get to see lots of manface-sensei this episode. Action was short and not all that great. Oh well. I dig the new OP, though.

 

[NewFresh]

Wut? That spanish dub was pretty well done bro.

I should have responded sooner but how can you stand Akane's voice in spanish? It is done by Rossy Aquirre, who's voice destroys my ears.

 

[tiff]

Nichijou 16 - Was already spoiled on the most gif-worthy moments, but a good episode regardless. It almost feels like a whole different show than the first 13 or so episodes. You still have your contextless gag segments but now they throw in ones that feel like they're building towards something. I've enjoyed the whole run of the show so far but I can't help but wonder if the show would have been better off had they decided to actually introduce a plot a bit quicker.

 

[Instro]

Blood C 2
Pretty much the same formula as the 1st ep. That one guy is so mysterious, I bet he's actually a childhood friend that made a promise with Saya. The fight scenes are well done, so I'll probably continue to watch for that at least. Saya walking around singing is pretty great stuff.

 

[-Minsc-]

Gintama 28

It is a pretty dangerous and difficult thing to mix the serious with the comedic, as it's rather easy for one of those things to overpower the other, ruining the mood you're trying to set. So when an episode pulls it off on a pretty consistent basis I have to tip my hat to it.

The Kondo and Matsudaira episode? Did you happen to catch all the anime parodies?

 

[tiff]

Ro-Kyu-Bu! 3 THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! LOLIS PLAYING BASKETBALL! YEAH!

Spoiler

I love how they got around Airi's height complex by making her small forward, ahahaha.

 

[Lafiel]

Hanasaku iroha 16 - This episode had a clear focus on what i love about the show (unlike the last two episodes) but it wasn't particularly a outstanding episode either, it was fairly middle-of-the-road in terms of quality, I'm definitely on-board for the next episode at least!

 

[trejo]

I should have responded sooner but how can you stand Akane's voice in spanish? It is done by Rossy Aquirre, who's voice destroys my ears.

I like her voice since it's pretty distinctive. I also liked her as Krillin and Buttercup.

 

[Crash Station]

Gintama 44

Coughing up blood because you dropped some curry. Impressive.

The minute or so of one on one fights were actually really really cool. Wish there was a bigger focus on them.

 

[Dresden]

Also how gorgeous is this shot:

100% harlot

 

[Unknown Soldier]

100% harlot

HAWT

Utena 8:

The Nanami slapstick comedy episodes are the best. The whole thing completely changes it's tone when Nanami does funny shit.

 

[iavi]

Ao no Exorcist 14

And we're back to the usual grind. More needless dicking around, with an eventual outcome that's all too predictable. Rin's realization of friendship in the beginning of the episode was nice, but it's not as if it's expanded upon in any way, so it only ends up being a complete flag for what's to come in the next. That feeling is going to come crashing down on him so hard.

And as usual, everything on the production side of the coin, besides the ost, has been passing at best. In fact, now that I think on it, I've already got this thing's absolutely amazing OST in my itunes library, and I thank the people responsible for that, but I'm about ready to: just head over to the manga, read it with the ost playing in the back, and call it a day on this adaptation.

 

[7Th]

Truly the most accurate picture the Internet has ever seen.

 

[Izayoi]

100% harlot

Yep. Good to see that Ohana is just as slutty as ever.

 

[Hitokage]

Utena 8:

The Nanami slapstick comedy episodes are the best. The whole thing completely changes it's tone when Nanami does funny shit.

You know the score. Nanami is one of the best characters of the show.

 

[DrForester]

I don't know, being punished by teh list creators for being in ponygaf maybe? Maybe not, I don't know. I only sort of understand how people end up where they do on that list.

Would have thought that alone would put me higher

 

[DrForester]

You know the score. Nanami is one of the best characters of the show.

Pft, not until episode

Spoiler

39

. Till then she sucks.

 

[Izayoi]

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! 2 - Boy, can't wait for all of the fanart that comes out of this one. A slow episode. Light on the humor and it kind of plodded. Ah well.

 

[firehawk12]

Croisee 3: So, another cultural exchange episode with more WALMART IS FUCKING EVIL plot development and the introduction of snotty rich girl who may or may not be an antagonist for the show (I'm still not sure if this show is entering Nadja territory or not). The only real difference is that you get French people laughing at how weird Japan is to them, so I dunno, Japanese audiences can laugh at how silly French people think they are or something.

Meanwhile, they are still doing that annoying thing where they'll use random English words to fill in for French. I guess the point is that Japanese people know some basic English vocabulary, but "bleu" isn't exactly the hardest French word in the world. I mean, you have sexy French-man narrate the beginning and end of your episodes, so why not just throw in some French in the middle of the show?

Ah well, looking forward to the next episode, if only to see if this goes straight for the conflict or if it stays as a calm slice of life show.

 

[Articalys]

Iroha 16
Every time that one woman says something in English I want to slap her.
Otherwise it's an okay setup for this storyline focused on Enishi; can't really judge it until we get the conclusion next week though.

 

[Hitokage]

Croisee 3: So, another cultural exchange episode with more WALMART IS FUCKING EVIL plot development...

"Because it's easier to shop there."

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Utena 9:

Oh hey, shit's gettin' real now. Utena's origin story is now told for the first time from the perspective of somebody other than Utena and her insufferable and constantly reused opening sequence. Of course I'm being trolled here, the show all but tells me that

Spoiler

young Touga is young Utena's fabled prince who gives her the ring, which obviously means that he isn't! For one thing, he obviously still has his own ring! Also, he notes at the end that her prince is 'a guy like me', all but telling her in so many words that it wasn't actually him! Which makes me wonder whose ring it was that Touga didn't give her...

You know the score. Nanami is one of the best characters of the show.

They're going to

Spoiler

kill her

, aren't they? Fucking Ikuhara. /shakes fist

 

[firehawk12]

Iroha 16
Every time that one woman says something in English I want to slap her.
Otherwise it's an okay setup for this storyline focused on Enishi; can't really judge it until we get the conclusion next week though.

I still think she's an awesome parody of the business person who learns something foreign and decides to incorporate that into their own lives. The Chinese word for danger = crisis + opportunity, didn't you know?

"Because it's easier to shop there."

But they're destroying families and businesses! In France and Japan!

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Ao no Exorcist 14

And we're back to the usual grind. More needless dicking around, with an eventual outcome that's all too predictable. Rin's realization of friendship in the beginning of the episode was nice, but it's not as if it's expanded upon in any way, so it only ends up being a complete flag for what's to come in the next. That feeling is going to come crashing down on him so hard.

And as usual, everything on the production side of the coin, besides the ost, has been passing at best. In fact, now that I think on it, I've already got this thing's absolutely amazing OST in my itunes library, and I thank the people responsible for that, but I'm about ready to: just head over to the manga, read it with the ost playing in the back, and call it a day on this adaptation.

I had already jumped to the manga (last week, chp 26), but I wish it was farther ahead...the arc isnt even resolved which makes me even wonder how far the anime will cover.

 

[iavi]

I wish it was farther ahead...the arc isnt even resolved which makes me even wonder how far the anime will cover.

I've actually heard something to that effect. Abysmal. Straight abysmal, son.

 

[Hitokage]

But they're destroying families and businesses! In France and Japan!

To be fair, you actually can feel the sin when you walk inside one.

 

[A Black Falcon]

Nichijou 14 - Yes indeed, this was one of the best episodes of the show so far wasn't it. I liked the first half of the show a lot, unlike many of you, but I will agree that it's getting even better now. Sure, it does stick with the Yukko trolling, but even so it's so, so funny in almost every skit...

Bakatest Ni! 1 - Eh, it was okay. Fairly generic Bakatest stuff, except this time as a beach fanservice episode. Is his sister going to be a more important character this season? I hope not, but ep. 1 sure suggests that she will be. They think it needs more incest I guess. Ugh. Some stuff in this episode was funny, though, like the girls punishing Akihisa and the other guy for trying to hit on other girls (and failing miserably)... but overall it was just okay.

Would have thought that alone would put me higher

What, My Little Pony is a monocle show now?

http://i.imgur.com/Fn4Qh.jpg

Right side is clearly the superior side.

Three characters I like on the right, two on the left... I guess the right wins.

Angel Beats 1-2: Erm... I don't get it. At all. I think I'm missing something, like a prerequisite game that I needed to play before watching. Is this based on something? Because if it is I get the distinct impression they're expecting me to already be familiar with the source material. :/

No, it's a stand-alone story, and it's well thought out too. It should make more sense as you continue through the series.

There is some side material (stories, manga), but it's all spun off of the TV series, the TV series came first.

When I think about this show and how deep it is and how...shallow...my anime taste can get, it probably makes people wonder why I love this series so much but it's kind of hard to put into words. It makes me FEEL something. It's a calming, relaxing show, like comfort food.

Comfort food? Really? Haibane Renmei isn't really comfort food, it's a serious show with more depth than almost anything, and it gets pretty depressing as well!

I mean it is amazing, one of the greatest animes ever made, but comfort food sounds like the wrong term for it for sure.

Kino's Journey 10-13

"The world is not beautiful, therefore it is."
I sure can see why they use that as the key phrase of the series.
Another set of some one-off stores and really messed-up villages, but man, that last episode was some powerful stuff. They couldn't have possibly made the

Spoiler

parallels as a "good"/reformed alternate version of Kino's hometown any more obvious, including the hints towards Kino's original name

, and the ending...
And the original author is still writing the novels! Impressive.
A great series overall, if somewhat dark at times. Glad I finally got around to watching it.

I presume the movies aren't worth the effort to track them down?

Kino's Journey is amazing, isn't it? It does remind me a lot of Lain (and somewhat Haibane Renmei), probably because of the staff similarities even if ABe himself didn't work on Kino, but they did a great, great job. It is an entirely episodic show though of course, but that's the point so it's okay.

And yeah, Kino's hometown was pretty messed up, wasn't it...

The movies are basically just extra episodes, so they're worth it in that context.

Yeah. They're not movie length either, just episode length. They aren't all as good as the better episodes of the series, honestly, but even so they are worth watching for sure if you liked the series at all, which you seem to have.

Hold up, which series are we talking about here? I was just making a general statement. Spoiler-tag your answer and mark it for Izayoi-only if need be.

I did have something in mind, but I also meant it as a general statement, absolutely -- if something has incest in it, I'm much less likely to like it, or want to watch it at all.

If all of their shows were like Tiger and Bunny, they would deserve it. But they aren't. ;_;

True, but they get that budget anyway whether you like it or not.

Tell that to Tiger and Bunny.

I haven't watched that show, and you two seem to disagree on how much budget it has if I'm reading that right... so does it have budget, or not?

The show makes me want to see Despera! NOW. I am going to look into the mythos behind the show a bit more, but like you said the fact that that absence of information exists means I have already made up a whole lot of possibilities in my head.

I agree, we need Despera! Now! Please...

As for Haibane speculation, once you look at some of it, I wonder which theory for what that world is you think makes the most sense...

 

[Unknown Soldier]

To be fair, you actually can feel the sin when you walk inside one.

Whenever I walk inside a Walmart, all I can think of is this.

 

[DrForester]

What, My Little Pony is a monocle show now?

Kino's Journey is amazing, isn't it? It does remind me a lot of Lain (and somewhat Haibane Renmei), probably because of the staff similarities even if ABe himself didn't work on Kino, but they did a great, great job. It is an entirely episodic show though of course, but that's the point so it's okay.

And yeah, Kino's hometown was pretty messed up, wasn't it...

I agree, we need Despera! Now! Please...

As for Haibane speculation, once you look at some of it, I wonder which theory for what that world is you think makes the most sense...

One of the things I liked most about Kino and Haibane is that you're along the ride. The show feels no obligation to explain the world to you, you just watch the story of the characters within that world. While it didn't have as much depth to it as Kino or Haibane, it's also one of the (many) things I like about Spice and Wolf, is that they don't tell you much about the world, it's just the backdrop for the characters and you need to deal with it.

As for Haibane world speculation.

Spoiler

The purgatory explanation, with the Haibane being suicide victims always made the most sense to me, especially given, though i sometimes think maybe it's just for children who die young, and the suicides are ones like Rakka and Reki with much darker dreams.

I still hold out hope for Despera

 

[Izayoi]

Blood-C 2 - Well this is pretty terrible. It was almost an exact carbon-copy of the first episode. I guess it's going to be a monster of the week, which wouldn't be so bad if the awful school stuff wasn't so horribly boring. Saya is not cute, nor funny. Trying to fill 75% of an episode with it is awful. Struggling through that just to get to the fight scene was a chore. Even the fight scene though, with the same exact pause before the fight, and the same exact trick used again to defeat the monster, was like watching the first episode all over again. Come on guys.

 

[firehawk12]

To be fair, you actually can feel the sin when you walk inside one.

Those door greeters are actually satan's minions.

 

[Hitokage]

Those door greeters are actually satan's minions.

And Chris.

 

[Articalys]

Ikoku 3

Claude has the best imagination. Also Oscar gave pretty much the worst/best description of sumo wrestling I've ever heard.

That was pretty neat how he used the "sound" kanji as inspiration for the sign. Also looks like we'll have the Japanophile girl making her full entrance next week as well.

Looks like someone used that screencap from episode 1 over in the Women's World Cup thread as well.

 

[Izayoi]

Double-J 3 - Still worth it for the ED alone. I guess it's kind of funny how low budget it is. They don't even bother to put a photoshop filter over the photos they use backgrounds or anything. Truly, a work of art.

 

[Haly]

"Because it's easier to shop there."

 

[Jintor]

Truly the most accurate picture the Internet has ever seen.

assume i am an idiot and explain this to me

 

[Hitokage]

assume i am an idiot and explain this to me

The examples on the right are not deconstructions because they're not in article or book form. Simple!

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Utena 10:

Hey, cool. Nanami's got one hell of a dark side because of her unrequited brocon. I think they should re-institute the death penalty for people who are cruel to animals.

Spoiler

Sending the kitten to it's death over the waterfall for distracting her brother from paying attention to her

might have been a bit excessive. Utena's too nice for this show, she could easily have

Spoiler

put the Sword of Dios between Nanami's ribs for trying to kill her after the fight was over

judging from their comparative levels of skill.

The examples on the right are not deconstructions because they're not in article or book form. Simple!

They still don't qualify unless the reader of said article or book holds his pinky aloft while reading it!

 

[Haly]

Lol Kaworu perving on Shinji.

 

[7Th]

assume i am an idiot and explain this to me

On the left you can see a book that dedicates itself to point out the logical inconsistencies in Marx's social theories; on the right you can see Japanese cartoons that feature a relatively, depending on who you ask, dark tone.

:>

 

[Jintor]

...that sounds more like the difference between a deconstruction in theory and a deconstruction in practice.

 

[7Th]

...that sounds more like the difference between a deconstruction in theory and a deconstruction in practice.

No, it just means that the ones on the right aren't works that dedicate themselves to determine the "building points" of theories or premises in order to point out their point out the logical inconsistencies in them.

 

[Crash Station]

Mayo Chiki 2

Must be fun to have a pro wrestler for a mom.

 

[Jintor]

No, it just means that the ones on the right aren't works that dedicate themselves to take out the "building points" of theories or premises in order to point out their point out the logical inconsistencies in them.

Sure, because they're also stories. The books or theoretical essays don't have that handicap. That said, it doesn't stop the stories being deconstructions, it merely decreases their effectiveness.

 

[7Th]

Sure, because they're also stories. The books or theoretical essays don't have that handicap. That said, it doesn't stop the stories being deconstructions, it merely decreases their effectiveness.

The stories in the right aren't pointing out the logical inconsistencies in the foundation of any argument or theory, that's the reason they aren't deconstructions.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Lol Kaworu perving on Shinji.

For such short screen time in the series, I'm surprised he even has fan art.

 

[Hitokage]

The stories in the right aren't pointing out the logical inconsistencies in the foundation of any argument or theory, that's the reason they aren't deconstructions.

They deconstruct the conventions of a genre by showing them to be ultimately hollow or representing something entirely different when taken to their logical conclusion. This is not the same as a subversion which is merely going against the grain.

 

[Haly]

For such short screen time in the series, I'm surprised he even has fan art.

That's the power of yaoibait!