What anime are you watching right now? Summer 2014

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What anime are you watching right now? Summer 2014

Postby Mr. Tines » Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:16 am

Time to reboot for the new season.

View Original PostGiji Shinka wrote:Aldnoah.Zero Ep. 1

^

Tokyo ghoul Ep. 1
SPOILER: Show
I got immediately hooked after seeing the (Well directed) scene, where the main protagonist starts to eat (And vomit) food and tries to prove himself, that he hasn't turned into a ghoul.
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Re: What anime are you watching right now? Summer 2014

Postby robersora » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:24 am

View Original PostMr. Tines wrote:Time to reboot for the new season.



Not quite, let me just quickly post about the recently wrapped up Spring season.

Mushi-shi Zoku Shou 1st cour a.k.a. Welcome to dreamy destination
SPOILER: Show
Just... look at it.
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Ended gorgeously with one of the best Episodes so far. And since the quality of the individual Episodes are very high generally, this means something. The whole series, but especially the last Episode managed to utilise the moody, yet so often bordering to the creepy atmosphere which Mushishi is so great at crafting each Episode perfectly. And now I’m feeling the void.
I'm really looking forward to its special in August and it's eventual continuation in Fall.
All in all this season was even more fabulous than the first mainly due to the updated art, but also because most of the stories were among the best of the franchise. Also, hands down, best opening of the season.
I want this team to adapt xxxholic.

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Selector infected WIXOSS a.k.a. my guilty pleasure
I love the art and character designs, except for everything that has to to with the actual game, that just looks generic an bland. As much I love how they brought the RL to life with that strange white-washing and kawaii girls, so much I hate how the games are set up and how the LRIGs look. While the art is all in all gorgeous, you can see that they focused on clean animation instead of good one. But it’s far from bad, so that’s ok. I love the sound design, it just gives me plenty of oomph, sometimes they overdo it, though. The story itself drags a bit, every time I think, we finally have reached the tipping point, it meanders for a little longer. Then again, it’s amazing how they managed to let the mood simmer just beneath the boiling point for that long. The biggest obstacle in enjoying this series is, that it takes itself too seriously. Sometimes I’m totally immersed, but on other occasions, especially early on I often rolled my eyes or lol’d because the sound design went too overboard or the character acted a little bit too derply kawaii. But as I learned to appreciate the campiness I really started to enjoy this series. Also I’m impressed how well they handled the incest.
Overall, it’s impressive what they managed to do with this premise, albeit it has its shortcomings. If you’re in for a often campy drama with high production values, this is the place to go. All in all it’s amazing how much they managed to accomplish with this premise. This production team could have handled Mekakku City Actors so much better.
SPOILER: Show
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a wild Hachikuji appeared!

As for the Madoka-comparisons… I guess this series would have looked a whole lot different, if not the success of Madoka’s cute girls in dire situations. But I think this series does enough things differently to let it stand on its own feet. But that’s just my opinion, you may disagree.
SPOILER: Show
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Thank you, I'd like to know too; unfortunately the only one with answers didn't learn to communicate non-crypticly. But she's a generic mixture between .hack//'s Aura, Harry Potter's Luna Lovegood and Eva's Kaworu, so I'm okay with it.


Will I be in for the second season, though? If the sound design stays as awesome, I might.

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Mekaku City Actors a.k.a Boogiepop Phantom on Acid and MDMA
I hated Boogiepop Phantom
SPOILER: Show
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This is one of the rarely used non-sloppy animation. Enjoy.

Needlessly convoluted ultimately hollow version of Bakemonogatari which also failed on the style [/size]department. It’s sad, because it could have had the potential to become great. But it was too busy trying to be stylish, the last Episodes were intended to be all emotional and stuff, but most of the time I was just indifferent (or laughed at the sloppy execution). The whole series was just… sloppy. It seems this series was put together in a rush. The music was pretty dope, though. Fun Fact: Kano’s character came the real me (or my perception of myself) eerily close. But that won’t redeem this series either, which is sad, because it would have had the potential to be good, if just more care went into it.
SPOILER: Show
Sometimes, when the Shitty Actors committed fully to the slideshow it actually was, we got some awesome illustrations though.
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Ping Pong a.k.a. is Anime saved yet?
I’m not interested in Ping Pong, and loved the crap out of this series.
Do I need to say more?
SPOILER: Show
Then just look at those pictures, bitches.
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That Last Episode was, Whow, just perfect. The music especially deserves praise. And Bahi JD worked on this of course. Sad that it’s over, I hope Space Dandy and Terror in Resonance can fill the void.
SPOILER: Show
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fabulous

There could not have been a better match than Masaki Yuasa and Taiyo Matsumoto. They both are incredibly talented and emit such a raw style, it’s hard to not get swept away by it. The animation is gorgeous, and it’s nice to have a break from the usual animation style. Just watching the opening made me happy. So much beauty. I also liked the excessive use of split-screen and visual metaphors. The characters come to life and especially later on I rooted for everyone. The story itself is nothing special, but due to its excellent execution and amazing characters that doesn’t matter. It's just immensely entertaining with an awesome emotional payoff. Everyone who hasn't watched it, should do so immediately.
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Postby Fireball » Tue Jul 08, 2014 12:49 pm

Watching JoJo: Stardust Crusaders, Free!: Eternal Summer, Sailor Moon: Crystal and 1/4 through Macross 7 - which isn't as bad I expected, but if I hear Planet Dance one more time I'm going to break a baby.
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Postby pwhodges » Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:33 pm

Currently watching Nisekoi. So far it seems to be harmless fun, quite nicely done; not sure that it will amount to more than that, but frankly that's what I need a bit of right now!
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Postby Mr. Tines » Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:16 pm

I'm still keeping pretty much up to date with JoJo -- it's my dose of Saturday morning cartoons to fit in around breakfast. Mushishi and Gatchaman Crowds are de facto on hold for the summer (at least until it stops being light enough to be out doing stuff in the garden until after 9pm) as they're joint viewing. Just past the halfway mark, Gravedigger Girl has gone full lolwut in the most desperate shoehorning in of a highschool setting I've ever seen; and Saki : the Nationals has started out by tastelessly overdoing the fanservice (in the same sort of way that Strike Witches S2 did).

In the backlog, Hozuki no Reitetsu seems to have passed the "/a/ never talks about good anime" test.

As for the current season, nothing leaps out, so it will wait for word of mouth.
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Postby Ornette » Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:47 pm

Current watching list:

SPOILER: Show
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and also includes the new Space Dandy

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Postby Ray » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:03 pm

Psycho-Pass:

Image

I could just say that this is, "Minority Report The Anime." But that wouldn't even begin to do it justice. This is a dark dystopian future of Anime that is Equal parts Orwell, Ridley Scott, Sprinkled with a copious amount of Ghost In The Shell and Philip K Dick.

This anime above all else, makes you think. It's not often a Tv Show or movie makes you empathize with an Orwellian governments enforcers, while at the same time explicitly showing the evils and problems each one of these people have with that Orwellian government. But its not only that, the characters are likeable and at least somewhat empathetic (Even the Villains). It has some of best Cinematography in Recent Anime History, and without giving any spoilers away, there are some genuine 'HOLY SHIT" Moments in this anime that subvert any expectations you would have for the Genre. The whole time I was watching it, I was expecting it to go one way, it subverted my expectations in an excellent way.Highly recomended.

9/10

Macross Plus:

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I watched this purely because it was co-directed by Cowboy Bebops Watanabe, and it introduced me into the whole Macross Franchise (which I am now a big fan of). Its got a lot of Watanabe's signatures in it, strong but tortured antagonists with troubled pasts, the use of Music to set the mood or create Emotional dissonance in a scene (Yoko Kanno broke new ground with her music and soundtrack skills in this anime), and badass Dog Fights that rival anything out of Top Gun.

If I do have one complaint its that the ending is a bit abrupt and unsatisfactory. . . which is to be expected I suppose. Considering its essentially an action movie OVA.

8/10

Also does anyone think Watanbe reused Myungs design for Faye Valentine?

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Postby Squigsquasher » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:45 pm

So I want to join superior Macross fan master race, but I have no idea where to actually find the series. I'm looking to properly buy the original series on DVD and watch it, but did they ever actually release the original series in the UK? And I'm not talking about shitty Robotech release either- I'm talking actual Super Dimension Fortress Macross with the Japanese dub (found whole Macross Saga of Robotech in a store but it was just Robotech, no Japanese dub or anything). Is it on Amazon or anything? Or am I fucked, and I'll just have to watch it on a streaming site or torrent it or something?
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Postby Giji Shinka » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:55 pm

Jin-roh
Really loved the symbolism + The ending song was perfect way to end this story.

8/10

Kaze tachinu
Became my second favorite Miyazaki film.

8/10
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Postby Mr. Tines » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:07 pm

@Squigsquasher
The licensing situation with Macross is completely screwed up by the Robotech thing -- you'll need to hoist the Jolly Roger. And there are other hazards...
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Postby Bagheera » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:14 pm

View Original PostMr. Tines wrote:@Squigsquasher
The licensing situation with Macross is completely screwed up by the Robotech thing -- you'll need to hoist the Jolly Roger. And there are other hazards...


Well, not quite. The ideal way to go is to track down the AnimEigo releases, and those can be had on eBay for as low as ten bucks apiece. This is the path I recommend, as that was an excellent release and you can hardly go wrong buying a piece of anime history for this cheap. Be careful, though, as some sellers will ask for quite a bit more. The only seller I could find offering the entire series wanted around $275 for it, which is too much. But if you're happy with three three disk sets there are some available.

Edit: Holy shit, This guy's offering all three box sets for $5.50. That's a freakin' steal, man.
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Postby pwhodges » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:22 pm

Well, that's the current auction price - and there could be a reserve.
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Postby Bagheera » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:25 pm

True. But those are still two good opportunities for someone wanting to get into Macross. There are options, is all I'm saying.
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Postby BrikHaus » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:42 pm

Watching Durarara for the first time. It's...weird.
Awesomely Shitty
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Postby Ray » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:58 pm

Macross Frontier:

What I love best about Macross is the way they can blend drama, comedy, romance, Sci-Fi, action and music together and make it feel seamless and effortless.

Image

I'm about halfway through this. Frontier isn't as good as Plus in my opinion, but that's not because its worse that Plus, its just its stronger in some aspects to other incarnations of Macross and a LOT weaker than others.

Case in point, some of the dogfight and space battles in Frontier are bogged down by Cheap CGI that wasn't a problem in Plus, but the concert scenes with Ranko and Sheryl are easily some of my favorite parts from any anime I've ever seen. Still . . .all in all it pretty good for a TV budget

But What I love best about this anime, what makes this anime worth watching for me is the relationship between Ranka and Sheryl, and their development as characters throughout the series. Easily the best part of the series is seeing Ranka go from Shy girl with a dream to a respected musician on par with her idol, even as the world falls apart in the background because of the war she proves that music can encourage even in the darkest of circumstances.

I still don't really like Alto however, and not because he's necessarily 'unlikable'. He's just plain boring, he's the animated Keanu Reeves! I couldn't really bring myself to care for him, even as he develops as a character. Yeah he's a badass pilot, he's even got a decent back story as the son of an actor, but he's just. . . boring! That wouldn't really be a problem, if he wasn't THE MAIN CHARACTER! I don't know why, but at least so far I can't really empathize with him and find him likable. Hoping something happens before the end to make me care.

With Plus, I cared for both the romantic subplot and the main plot. But in Frontier, the subplot is so much stronger than the main plot. But it is still enjoyable on its own merits. . . and at least so far it delivers on the feel good tone it appears to be going for. and the soundtrack is still as beautiful as it is sugary.

So far. . . 7.7/10

I'll revise my judgements once I get to the end.

and Also. . . .I LOVE RANKA LEE! Shes so cute! She's so talented! Shes so tragic! I love her!
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Postby Sailor Star Dust » Tue Jul 08, 2014 8:04 pm

View Original PostRay wrote:I LOVE RANKA LEE! Shes so cute! She's so talented! Shes so tragic! I love her!


She's Xard's! :tongue:
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Postby EvangelionFan » Tue Jul 08, 2014 8:30 pm

Two different Macross posts on one page? Does this mean we'll finally get a Xardpost to end the drought?
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Postby Xard » Wed Jul 09, 2014 12:27 am

View Original PostEvangelionFan wrote:Two different Macross posts on one page? Does this mean we'll finally get a Xardpost to end the drought?


Well I really wasn't going to and I doubt this counts as proper Xardpost sans lenght, but consider this a "gift" for you. :devil:

Replying couple of Nacks's comments on Clannad:

View Original PostGuy Nacks wrote:
SPOILER: Show
Nagisa's recurring illness in the show is left largely unexplained, one can assume that her whole immune system was weakened following the episode with trying to go out in the snow while she was younger, but even then, it's one of those "mysterious illnesses" which modern medical science can't seem to diagnose beyond a shrug. Still, virtually every story element involving the repercussions of her illness is very, very moving and effective drama and it doesn't become an issue for me until her daughter gets the same "mysterious illness" after 5 years of no incident whatsoever. Is Tomoya, like, a walking carcinogen or something?


SPOILER: Show
It's actually completely magical in origin, so it's not just "mysterious illness" per se, it's supernatural illness that went from mother to daughter in quite clear terms.

As for narrative motivation for dealing such harsh hand for botn Nagisa and Ukio there's the core theme of the series as far as main character is considered. Tomoya is kind of dude that has kept others at distance for most part and isolated himself because of his traumatic family background and resulting fear of intimate relationships. In the end, does he have the strenght to embrace these relationships and reach out to others no matter the pain involved?

Nagisa and Ukio dying is the ultimate test for him in this respect - will he fall to bitterness or still, knowing how it would end, go for it despite the pain potentially (and actually in this case) involved?

As for 5 years with no incidents, that certainly isn't case with Nagisa. As for Ukio not every real health hazard is apparent at birth after all. It's convenient for sure, but it's kind of narrative convenience I think is quite easy to excuse.

Now perhaps surprisingly I completely agree on comparable case in Gone with the Wind though - that was utter overkill and didn't really serve thematic end the way "double death" in Clannad does IMO.


View Original PostGuy Nacks wrote:
SPOILER: Show

But the biggest problem I had was with the whole "Reset Button" ending of the show. I can accept these kinds of endings if there is some lesson that had to be learned that the characters are still cognizant of after the ending is over, but this ending really only seemed to serve one purpose: To give a forced deus ex machina of a happy ending after piling on a bunch of depressing episodes. I have a problem with this because it really doesn't teach the audience some kind of overall big lesson on how to deal with problems like this in the real world. It doesn't make the relationship worth pursuing in the first place if we know how badly it's gonna end in the future, with Tomoya basically resigning himself to suicide in the end. And they're all saved by "magic." What a useful message to have.


SPOILER: Show

In light of above I guess it isn't surprising I don't think is is the case. The climax is the thematically replayed scene with Tomoya and Nagisa going up the hill - and what's important here and ultimately for the whole series is whether or not Tomoya will go for Nagisa "now" despite knowing what's to come. It's his Instrumentality choice so to speak.

What's more all of this is reached *before* the miracle so it doesn't nullify the themes or struggles in any sense. Now if the illness had been natural etc. I would've been more critical of the solution but it was just magic nullifying magic, both of which existed in the first place for thematic and character development reasons. So it isn't really cop out in any meaningful sense if you ask me.

There are other considerations about ending and themes I could make (and why they end it so peculiarly with climax two eps before the "final episode") but one thing that I also want to mention is that while miracle ending is the real, absolute ending of Clannad narrative it's pretty much impossible to execute it in linear anime adaptation as convincingly as in the game. You see, normally you end with death in the snow even after Tomoya's symbolic "yes" to life and its hardships in the replayed hill scene. However, the true, happy ending depicted in anime comes as a result of countless good deeds Tomoya does in different alternative universes/routes that together build up good karma/the needed spiritual energy. This is the identity of all those light balls in the "other world". They are what Ukio and Tomoya have been gathering god knows how long.

Now in game achieving this good end takes enormous effort but obviously you don't get the same effect in anime that is linear adaptation. They did flesh out this element in gamey fashion a bit with those alternative continuity OVAs adapting routes incompatible with main Clannad narrative. If you pay close attention such light balls are released in both OVAs as result of Tomoya's good actions. Still, they're pretty easy to miss and it's easy to think they have no connection to the main Clannad/AS anime...

So no, I don't think AS ending can be justly described as magical, forced deus ex machina with no reason or motivation for it. ALL other world clips since first episode of Clannad have been gradual build up for the ending so it doesn't really come out of nowhere either.


View Original PostMonk Ed wrote:I'd be a broken record by now if I just kept repeating how much this series thrills me. However, I do have one change of tune: It feels like the series has hit a definite status quo. The constant state of flux that the series maintained for an impressive 12 to 16 episodes feels like it has finally settled into a state where the relationships have been sufficiently defined. This is neither good nor bad, just an observation.

I have heard that the infamous Island Arc is coming up soon (episode 23 or so). My anime-watching friends and I (or at least the other one of us who hasn't already seen the series) have decided to watch everything, so I'm waiting with just a little bit of anticipation to see if it will really be that bad or if this is going to wind up like Magma Diver all over again (meaning, episode(s) that countless others seem to hate that I actually love or at least consider to be okay).


I've ment to comment on your Nadia posts for a while but then again I haven't commented in the topic at all so...but yeah, Nadia just is that damn good show. It would be hard to find any notable flaws from it if it wasn't for that cancerous bloat known as "Island Arc" (never mind there're more than one island and Africa episodes are the truly horrendous, unforgivable ones) and its strenghts are varied and numerous. As for Magma Diver comparison it's not really apt. Magma Diver would be good MotW episode in show like Nadia (in fact it resembles ep 14 of Nadia in quite few respects) but it's somewhat underwhelming in context of Eva. It isn't terrible or anything per se - Island Arc though is spawn of broadcasting Satan and far more damaging to the whole.

This all said, it's a bit funny you're saying Nadia has stabilized into status quo just on verge of the thunderous mix-series climax... :lol:

View Original PostSquigsquasher wrote:So I want to join superior Macross fan master race, but I have no idea where to actually find the series. I'm looking to properly buy the original series on DVD and watch it, but did they ever actually release the original series in the UK? And I'm not talking about shitty Robotech release either- I'm talking actual Super Dimension Fortress Macross with the Japanese dub (found whole Macross Saga of Robotech in a store but it was just Robotech, no Japanese dub or anything). Is it on Amazon or anything? Or am I fucked, and I'll just have to watch it on a streaming site or torrent it or something?


Anime Eigo DVDs are pretty much the only option and I considered getting them once. However comparing Anime Eigo footage to Japanese restored DVD quality not to speak of the recent high quality Japanese BDs just make the purchase completely worthless investment IMO. Just get the BD rips from baka and if you dig it and are crazy enough to put out money for Japanese release buy the BD box.

Besides, you can't really appreciate just awful SDF Macross QUALITY is if you don't see it in best possible, uhh, quality.

View Original PostRay wrote:I watched this purely because it was co-directed by Cowboy Bebops Watanabe, and it introduced me into the whole Macross Franchise (which I am now a big fan of). Its got a lot of Watanabe's signatures in it, strong but tortured antagonists with troubled pasts, the use of Music to set the mood or create Emotional dissonance in a scene (Yoko Kanno broke new ground with her music and soundtrack skills in this anime), and badass Dog Fights that rival anything out of Top Gun.


While Watanabe was integral part of Macross Plus project as co-storyboarder and director (Kawamori prefers getting "Chief Director" tag and thus avoiding all the grunt production running) and his influence can be seen in e.g. portrayal of Isamu that is Bebopish it has at least as much to do with Keiko Nobumoto's script - and the particular elements you identify here all come from Shoji Kawamori in this case.

Kawamori, who hogged the credits for Original Work, Mechanical Design, Storyboards and the top "Chief Director" position held rather tight leash on all key creative decisions and much of execution. His working relationship with Watanabe was to decide on the basics and then draw and oversee storyboards and layouts together with Watanabe, then leave running production to him and come back full force at sound, music and editing (Kawamori's forte) stage. In case he and Watanabe had creative disagreement of any kind Kawamori always had the final world as Chief Director and the general franchise overseer.

The reason I mention this is that ever since 21st Century came and Kawamori went off the deep end in terms of being somewhat insane and obviously not giving much shits about anything outside the circus inside his head you often see assumptions that he was very hands off on Plus and it was Watanabe at helm for most part. Now this is understandable given how stylistically and in tone Plus resembles Bebop far more than it resembles, say, Aquarion but actually things are backwards here. The reason why Macross Plus comes off so "western" and live action-like in its dramaturgy is because Kawamori wanted to create what was essentially big budget, serious western science fiction film in animated form. To do this he got this young nobody (Watanabe) with atypical tastes for anime industry member as his henchman and woman screenwriter who had already made name for herself in live action drama but who had never written anime before. So even the fact Nobumoto and Watanabe were hired on the project had more to do with Kawamori's vision of Plus than those two radically shaping it so different from "natural" style of the franchise. Of course the characters, story and themes of Plus are also something that really go back to Kawamori (rough draft of what would become Plus can be traced back to 1985 as is) as its largerly derived from his experiences post-Macross in late 80s just like Escaflowne.

As for use of music in Plus it's very much in Kawamori branch established in SDF Macross episode 27 Love Drifts Away and especially Macross: Do You Remember Love? rather than Watanabe's Bebop idiom. Dogfights and whole mecha aspect of the series of course is traced back to combo of Kawamori and Itano who pretty much established this style of mecha action scenes in original Macross by marrying Kawamori's groundbreaking Valkyrie designs with Itano's famous and truly original "Itano Circus" animation style.

View Original PostRay wrote:If I do have one complaint its that the ending is a bit abrupt and unsatisfactory. . . which is to be expected I suppose. Considering its essentially an action movie OVA.


This is one of the reasons I might at the end of the day prefer film version of Plus story over OVA one. It has the "full" ending with expanded final scene which deals with the relative abruptness of OVA's final scene.

View Original PostRay wrote:Also does anyone think Watanbe reused Myungs design for Faye Valentine?


Nahh, not really. The only similarity is at hair style and character designers are different (in fact Plus had designs by Eva luminary Masayuki of all people!). Cowboy Bebop *does* in general trace its origins to Macross Plus as this was the production that brought together the major talents Watanabe, Nobumoto and Kanno who'd pretty much form the core crew of Bebop enterprise. (Kawamori was involved with settei creation and designs too to a degree though he wasn't main mechanical designer of Bebop).

View Original PostRay wrote:Case in point, some of the dogfight and space battles in Frontier are bogged down by Cheap CGI that wasn't a problem in Plus, but the concert scenes with Ranka and Sheryl are easily some of my favorite parts from any anime I've ever seen. Still . . .all in all it pretty good for a TV budget


Cheap CGI? That rustles my jimmies pretty bad because for one it isn't cheap at all, it meshes well and the massive gains it gives in terms of action choreography and camerawork are overwhelming for action style that characterizes the franchise. I have quite strong 2D mecha sakuga chauvinist streak and I hold Macross Plus to be the pinnacle of traditionally animated dogfights and mecha action but even then Plus has absolutely nothing on Zero or Frontier in terms of sheer craft. As well animated as Plus is the frames themselves are for most part static and feel "fixed" - the sort of bewildering camera movements and complex shots Zero and Frontier pull off casually are simply unachievable in anything but CGI as even concessions of late Unicorn episodes also show.

You don't find mecha CG better than Frontier in TV anime prior to it* and the ones that have since surpassed it in sheer technical quality tend to be newer Satelight/Kawamori productions like Aquarion Evol that are just refining tech used on Frontier (which in turn were refined from original Aquarion).

*2nd Gig tachikomas are perhaps of comparable strenght but they're never used as extensively and in as technically challenging ways as Frontier's often massive action set pieces.


View Original PostRay wrote:But What I love best about this anime, what makes this anime worth watching for me is the relationship between Ranka and Sheryl, and their development as characters throughout the series. Easily the best part of the series is seeing Ranka go from Shy girl with a dream to a respected musician on par with her idol, even as the world falls apart in the background because of the war she proves that music can encourage even in the darkest of circumstances.


Yeah, that's pretty much the biggest draw in first half of the series if we exclude giant carrots, great j-pop and action setpieces befitting massively budgeted space opera. The dynamic Ranka and Sheryl have as characters is very interesting and stands pretty much unique among all "love triangle rivals" I can think of.

Alto is well-written but sorta unlikeable dick but who watches anime for characters that have dicks anyway.

View Original PostRay wrote:With Plus, I cared for both the romantic subplot and the main plot. But in Frontier, the subplot is so much stronger than the main plot. But it is still enjoyable on its own merits. . . and at least so far it delivers on the feel good tone it appears to be going for. and the soundtrack is still as beautiful as it is sugary.

So far. . . 7.7/10

I'll revise my judgements once I get to the end.


Like Eva Macross Frontier "gets real" in its second half and that's where its weight as science fiction, space opera narrative really lies - the first half is focused on establishing the world, characters and their relationships first and foremost. I think you'll have good time with what's to come (though I'm sure one detail of ending might troll you pretty hard) and it's the second cour that pushed Frontier from unexpectedly good and fun show to one of my favourites.

After series I recommend you watch the two-film cinematic retelling of Frontier as it presents what I think is the definitive take on the storyline with kinks ironed out and every aspect of what makes the franchise great amped up. So the relationship between series and films is basically the one shared by SDF Macross and DYRL. The films also have the definitive take on all three main characters, even Alto is quite likeable in the filmverse while Ranka is simply splendid there.


...sorry about all this I guess, I have hard time controlling my besserwisser tendencies especially with this franchise. While Gunbuster might have the strongest drive and emotional punch and Legend of the Galactic Heroes has unrivalled scale and a lot of the best written dialogue around on the whole Macross Plus is closest anything released in OVA format has got to sheer perfection - or anime in general, maybe.

View Original PostRay wrote:and Also. . . .I LOVE RANKA LEE! Shes so cute! She's so talented! Shes so tragic! I love her!


Image


Well ain't those words of a fine chap indeed.

movieartman
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Postby movieartman » Wed Jul 09, 2014 5:21 am

Watched the 3 vampire twin episodes of black lagoon....
SPOILER: Show
I thought I had known GRIMDARK at the hands of evangelion, fuck that kind of bleed out as I have sense found the light in the dark in almost all of the darkest parts of eva.
There is no light in the darkness of the twins story, nothing.
I have never been so happy to see a character or characters be put out of there misery In my life.
The scene with the 'sister' and rock is touching yet horrifying beyond belief!

When the 'brother' goes out it so fucking brutal and pathetic, I think we all expected to have another unstoppable maid situation on our hands, but when he came out of the jungle and said that he had not actually managed to kill any of the troops the entire night, It fully Dawns on you that he is truly just a delusional kid and he never had a fucking chance.

OMG i love Balalaika! So many layers to her, she is the definitive professional, as wrathful as she is she has a strong sense of honor. Like her interaction with chang.
I think at this time she and Misato are my absolute top favorite female anime characters.

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Postby Lavinius » Wed Jul 09, 2014 11:04 am

I'm sorry I didn't like Macross Plus I mean it was alright and fairly unique but I couldn't see any point to it and it was never emotionally engaging.
I do really like the Sharon Apple music though.
~ibi cubávit Lamia, et invénit sibi reiquiem~


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