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Lagrangian
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I have no issues with reading different types of foreign comics.
I judge the works I read on an individual basis. Noting trends is only really useful from a historical perspective IMO.
 

kuwisdelu

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What does it say about my power level when I don't really like southern accents, but I find a girl speaking kansai-ben irresistibly adorable? Mild Eva Q spoiler: Touji's imouto, name revealed to be Suzuhara Sakura, is in Q and has become quite kawaii and speaks adorable kansai-ben.
 

Dawnstorm

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Anyone ever heard of an anime called Fantastic Children? I haven't. I'm watching it now and it's... fantastic. I'm just now starting episode 6 and I'm still not sure what's going on. There's a girl who gets reborn every 100 years and paints the place she wants to go to. There are white haired children who get reborn, too, who look for her (in at least two faction). They get born as normal humans, then their hair turns white and they leave. (Or not. One refuses, and chooses to be Röntgen instead. This is bad, apparently, since he discovers the X-Ray. *Shrug*) There's an insect like robot in the opening. I have no idea what's going on. The character design is a bit childish, and sometimes they overdo the pathos. They've quoted Hermann Hesse. It's a great watch so far.
 

Camilla Delvalle

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"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy it be granted glory."

There was much to like about Princess Tutu. Like the music or how the characters were changing. The ending was magnificient, and very much how I had hoped it to be. On the other hand I was disappointed in myself because I hadn't foreseen certain twists that would have been possible to guess at an early stage.

My favourite episode is number five when Tutu goes down into the cellar under the library. All of that was perfect in every way. Episode four was nice too. In the first half of the second season the story lost momentum and became repetetive, but it went strong again during the second half of that season.

This was a pleasant and exciting experience.
 

EMaree

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Watching "Soul Eater", on to season 4 I think. I'm really enjoying the character designs, personalities, and the relationship dynamics between all the cast. The plot itself isn't anything to write home about and there's a lot of recap, but I'm having a lot of fun watching it.
 

Camilla Delvalle

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This time of year I'm enjoying Shinsekai Yori. One never knows what will happen in the next episode, and the white slugs are so cute!

The beginning of episode 6, oh my! It's so crazy I can watch it over and over.

Though earlier for a while when they were underground it was like the artists had to save money or time, because there were very few details and inhabitants.

Then in a later episode when the kids were back in town, the animation of their body movements suddenly got much more realistic, as if to show that they had gotten older. I really liked how they moved in that episode.

I wonder what will happen next. Something over the top probably.
 
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Dawnstorm

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In the first half of the second season the story lost momentum and became repetetive, but it went strong again during the second half of that season.

I felt the same. The show had me worried for a few episodes, but it came back really strong and the ending was just great. Ugly Duckling meets Swan Lake meets various fairy tales in a metafictional setting. Heh.

This time of year I'm enjoying Shinsekai Yori.

It's my favourite of the season.

Also good:

Tonari no Kaibutsu Kun: Both the male and female lead subvert the stereotype they're based on. The male lead is actually dangersous, but it takes someone of his extreme to break the female lead's shell. Likable support cast. My second favourite this term.

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo: Mari Okada is responsible for a rom-com light novel adaption under J.C. Staff. The last time this happened we got Toradora. It's no Toradora, but it's still fun enough to watch.

Robotics;Notes: Not as good as Steins;Gate, but way better than Chaos;Head, and has very good narrative control. I like the characters, and the plot is picking up, too. Nice.

My interest in Psycho Pass is declining. It's still a good watch, but it feels a bit too heavy-handed.
 

kuwisdelu

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My Eva Q desperation has reached maximum levels. I've listened to the audio-rip while reading the translation. Still no camrip. I don't know how much longer I can last.

Then in a later episode when the kids were back in town, the animation of their body movements suddenly got much more realistic, as if to show that they had gotten older.

They did get older.

Two years pass between episodes 7 and 8.

Episode 10 was awesome.
 

kuwisdelu

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TFW your friend is describing the plot of an Eva doujinshi and you realize it's an H doujinshi you've "enjoyed" too and it's currently on your hard drive in your porn folder.
 

kuwisdelu

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Shite, just found out today the second run of the Madoka movies are playing at a theater in Indy this weekend. Asked my father to come pick me up for tomorrow's showing.
 

Dawnstorm

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Shite, just found out today the second run of the Madoka movies are playing at a theater in Indy this weekend. Asked my father to come pick me up for tomorrow's showing.

If you manage to see them, tell us what's different to the TV series. :) (They're not showing anywhere near me in the foreseeable furture.)
 

Kyra Wright

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If wikipedia is to be believed, the first two films are compilations of the television series, while the third film is going to be a new story. I'm curious to know how the first two compare to the series (and unfortunately, none of the cities they're being shown in are anywhere near me).
 

kuwisdelu

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Seconded! From what I've seen so far it seems nearly identical.

If wikipedia is to be believed, the first two films are compilations of the television series, while the third film is going to be a new story. I'm curious to know how the first two compare to the series (and unfortunately, none of the cities they're being shown in are anywhere near me).

I haven't seen it yet, but from what I know, the first two movies basically follow the series, but are newly animated with new voice acting, and some different scenes here and there. I'll let you know more tonight. I wish I had time to rewatch the series before. Tons of animation was changed just from the TV to Blu-ray release of the series, so I probably won't notice some of the more subtle changes.
 

kuwisdelu

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Back from the movies. The vast majority of the scenes are mostly the same, with some changes in angles and the background now and then. For example, the outside of the school roof looks different (it's like a cathedral now). I'm not sure how much of the changes are additions from the Blu-ray version and how many are additions to the Blu-ray version from the TV version that I don't remember. There are only a couple new scenes. The scene where Homura talks to QB after Sayaka's death is now in a cemetery during a dramatically-red sunset. Some of the dialogue in the old scenes are changed a bit from the TV and Blu-ray versions. I think all the dialogue was re-recorded, as I mentioned.

Overall, it was definitely worth it to see it on the big screen. The series works quite well as movies, and in many ways I think it improved it to see it that way. I think Madoka's character is better developed, even though the changes are only subtle. I'm pretty sure one of her conversations with QB was extended, and he actually discusses the possibility of her becoming a god specifically (I don't remember that from the series, but I could be wrong). Lots of other scenes have subtle differences, despite looking mostly the same.

All of the girls got totally new transformation sequences that were awesome. Mami's especially got turned up to 11, and she gets two different new ones. Her death is made subtly more cruel, with slightly different animation and new sound effects. And speaking of sound, the score is great. Lots of familiar music returns, of course, but Yuki Kajiura gives us totally new orchestrations of everything. There's a new opening song by ClariS and new opening animation. The old OP returns at the end of Homura's flashback.

My father tagged along, and he thought it was interesting. (He was definitely glad it didn't continue the same way it opened — the prologue of Madoka's dream from the previous timeline isn't there anymore, so it seems like a straight-up mahou shoujo show until Inu-Curry world takes over and Mami's death.)

About a third of the theater-goers were in cosplay and another third had QB hats. We had two Madokas (one male), a Mami, and a Sayaka. There were only a couple dozen of us there tonight. Apparently it was sold out the previous night, though. As fun as it is watching anime with other people, I wish American otaku didn't talk so much during the movies.

The only thing I'm really disappointed about was that they didn't show us the preview of the 3rd movie. Just like when I saw Eva 2.0, the Japanese distributor just sends Blu-rays rather than film reels, so they play the the movies from disc. They showed the preview the previous two nights, so I guess whoever was running it tonight just hated us.

...however I've located a camrip of the preview on the nethers of the internet, so if you want to see it, and you're not interested in digging through /a/ archives yourself, PM me.
 
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Dawnstorm

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Aww, I wish I could have seen it. Even the TV-version would have been worth it on a movie screen!

Maybe I'll see them one day. :)
 

EMaree

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It doesn't seem like they're screening it in the UK at all, which is a shame. :( The new transformation scenes sound awesome. I'm not so keen on them taking away the Prologue scene, though -- I thought it worked well as a hook and showcased the action, animation changes and music very nicely.
 

SomethingOrOther

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What movies and shows have made y'all cry recently? I have only cried like once in the past month, while watching Elfen Lied, and that wasn't even a full-blown cheek-drencher; it was just a silent little trickle. It's frustrating.
 

Kyra Wright

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Back from the movies. The vast majority of the scenes are mostly the same, with some changes in angles and the background now and then. For example, the outside of the school roof looks different (it's like a cathedral now). I'm not sure how much of the changes are additions from the Blu-ray version and how many are additions to the Blu-ray version from the TV version that I don't remember. There are only a couple new scenes. The scene where Homura talks to QB after Sayaka's death is now in a cemetery during a dramatically-red sunset. Some of the dialogue in the old scenes are changed a bit from the TV and Blu-ray versions. I think all the dialogue was re-recorded, as I mentioned.

Overall, it was definitely worth it to see it on the big screen. The series works quite well as movies, and in many ways I think it improved it to see it that way. I think Madoka's character is better developed, even though the changes are only subtle. I'm pretty sure one of her conversations with QB was extended, and he actually discusses the possibility of her becoming a god specifically (I don't remember that from the series, but I could be wrong). Lots of other scenes have subtle differences, despite looking mostly the same.

All of the girls got totally new transformation sequences that were awesome. Mami's especially got turned up to 11, and she gets two different new ones. Her death is made subtly more cruel, with slightly different animation and new sound effects. And speaking of sound, the score is great. Lots of familiar music returns, of course, but Yuki Kajiura gives us totally new orchestrations of everything. There's a new opening song by ClariS and new opening animation. The old OP returns at the end of Homura's flashback.
I'm keeping an eye on the US release schedule. I doubt the movies will be shown in my area, but if they are, I'm definitely getting tickets. The changes sound pretty good, and as always, more AMV footage! I'm also looking forward to (hopefully) being able to get a hold of the movies for a reasonable price. I still have yet to buy the Blu-rays or DVDs of the series because I've been holding out for a box set.

Thanks for all the information.
 

kuwisdelu

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What movies and shows have made y'all cry recently? I have only cried like once in the past month, while watching Elfen Lied, and that wasn't even a full-blown cheek-drencher; it was just a silent little trickle. It's frustrating.

For me, re-watching End of Evangelion always works. Especially if I've been drinking.

I had to bite my tongue at the end of the Madoka movies to hold back. It would have bit embarrassing with my father there.

Recent releases or old? I haven't cried to much recently-aired stuff that I can recall, but I can think of what's gotten to me in the past.

I'm keeping an eye on the US release schedule. I doubt the movies will be shown in my area, but if they are, I'm definitely getting tickets. The changes sound pretty good, and as always, more AMV footage! I'm also looking forward to (hopefully) being able to get a hold of the movies for a reasonable price. I still have yet to buy the Blu-rays or DVDs of the series because I've been holding out for a box set.

Thanks for all the information.

It's interesting with all of these movie adaptations of series coming out how they go about mixing things up.

A few years ago, we had the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann movies, which were basically glorified clip shows for something like 90% of the movies, but which turned it up to over 9000 with their final battles, totally outdoing the counterpart fights in the series, but worth seeing pretty much only for that reason.

A little while back, we had the Macross Frontier movies which followed along roughly with some of the events of the series, but also changed almost everything, becoming a totally alternate canon to the series. These were pretty much an entirely new experience from the series, but with roughly the same plot.

Recently, we have the Madoka movies which keep things almost identical to the series for first two movies, and are planning wholly new material for third movie. On whole, I'd say these work better as standalone movies independent of the series than the Gurren Lagann movies, but they mostly don't give us any extremely noticeable and vast improvements to any single part, but opt for more subtle changes. When introducing someone to Madoka in future, I'd probably just go straight for the movies, since the story works so well in this format, I think. Third movie gives us, essentially, a "sequel," unlike Macross Frontier movies, which are more of an alternate continuity.

Yet to be released, we also have the Star Driver and Steins;Gate movies. Steins;Gate appears to be offering the equivalent of the third Madoka movie, giving us a sequel set after the events of the series, but without re-adapting the series events. Star Driver seems to be taking a similar approach to Macross Frontier, offering an alternate continuity re-telling of the series, but it's also promising to give us a segment revealing the characters' fates after the end of the series (which I'm hoping is a major part of the story rather than just an epilogue). Both are due for Spring 2013 releases. (But who knows when we'll see them...)

And of course, we lastly have Evangelion New Theatrical Edition, or Rebuild of Evangelion as the Western fandom likes to call it. Eva has a totally different set of circumstances, naturally, as Anno is adapting a decade-and-a-half old series into a new set of movies. The puzzle here is no one knows what Anno's real plan was when he started, and if the first movie and initial press releases are anything to go by, Rebuild was supposed to follow the same plan as the Madoka movies, directly adapting the original series while giving a new ending in the fourth movie. We all know that went out the window with the second movie, and the series has gone even more off-the-rails with Q. And the kicker is we still don't know if it's an entirely separate canon or direct sequel with Kaworu timeloop hijinks. Anno, master troll.

What approaches do ya'll like best?
 
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Kyra Wright

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I like the general approach of the Madoka movies; streamlining the story of the original series while adding more after the end. While the cynic in me sees the (mostly) new proliferation of anime movie adaptations as an excuse to further flog the fan bases for more money, I also enjoy having more ways to try to get people hooked on a series. That worked for me with the Berserk movies; my best friend has been hesitant to jump into the manga or original series, but was very willing to watch the first movie, and now she's hooked. In the end, I think that having more options is a good thing.
 

Dawnstorm

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All in all, I think, I prefer the alternate continuity concept of movies. For example, I'm sort of ambivalent about both the last Madoka film and the Steins;Gate film, mostly because I like the endings the way they are and they're a hard act to follow. It's different for more open-ended series. So, for example, I'm actually more looking forward to the Star Driver film than to the Seitns;Gate film, even though I prefer Steins;Gate by far.

(Madoka is special; I'll watch anything. Though I must admit that, rather than a series re-cap and sequel, I'd have preferred some of the side story manga adaptions - or an original with a complete new cast in the same universe. Or maybe prequels; say Kyouko's story, or Mami's story.)

***

As for sad anime, I'd say Grave of Fireflies. Although that movie might push me beyond tears into a sort of depressed stupor. It's a pretty harrowing and uncompromising film. I've heard many people say the equivalent of "I love the film, but I'm not going to watch it again." I understand.
 

kuwisdelu

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All in all, I think, I prefer the alternate continuity concept of movies.

I think I'm with you on that. I'm of the "epilogues ruin endings" camp, so I tend to get more excited about alternate continuity re-tellings. I like my endings being endings.

What else I think is interesting in looking at the movie adaptations is you can tell a lot about the different approaches to writing the directors and writers have.

Madoka translates extremely well from the series straight to movie format. The entire scenario was written in advance, and very little changed from the first draft to the final episode. As a result, it's very tightly written, and little needed to change for the pacing to work well for the movies.

In contrast, the prologue of Gurren Lagann, which was constantly being written and rewritten as it aired by Gainax, only loosely resembles its final episodes it was supposed to foreshadow. The staff even retconned the prologue to be an alternate continuity on its own. This might impact why I don't think it holds together as movies as well, apart from having ridiculously awesome endings.

And Anno, being one of the founders of Gainax, is also a notorious pantser, totally rewriting and changing direction of Neon Genesis Evangelion whenever he felt like it. This ends up being reflected in the Rebuild movies as well, because the movies are being written the exact same way, with all evidence pointing to Q not even remotely resembling whatever Anno had originally planned for the third movie (apart from knowing it would somehow involve Kaworu, lots of homolust, and Space Pirate Asuka). Not being constrained by the original, however, means each movie still works very well as a movie.