For the history montage, I thought it was funny that they showed the ending of the original Little Mermaid story -- Ariel dissolving into sea foam and Ursala winning.
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The Disney version is an aberration, really, and best viewed as "loosely based on". The mermaid was never named, nor was the witch. The witch wasn't "winning"; she just fulfilled the mermaid's wish, and took some sort of pleasure in the inevitable misery the wish would create. But she was fair all the way through and told her about every single unpleasentness. She probably took no interest in the mermaid after that one encounter; in any case, she never showed up again.
The story doesn't actually end with the mermaid turning into foam: she graduates from mermaid to "wind spirit", with the option of acquiring an "immortal soul" through "good deeds". It's all about suffering in the here and now for a better after life.
Talking about the "Little Mermaid" story reminds me of Nagi no Asakura, the current PA Works show. It's fairly good, actually. It's a story about sea people and land people living together; about biological and cultural differences. It will probably take the form of a love triangle. Since it's Mari Okada writing this, I expect this to focus more on character than setting or social issues, and I expect some melodrama later on. It feels a bit like Ano Hana in that respect; but it's also got the complex brooding emotion of True Tears.
So, what - apart from the obvious sea people stuff - does this have to do with "Little Mermaid"? If you, as seafolk, choose to live on land, you can't go back. You can't change your mind.
If you chose to watch the show, you'll have to live with Sponge Bob physics for the sea village, though. I didn't know about the sea village when starting episode one, and I wondered why there were fish floating in the air. I even considered that they filmed the scene through an aquarium for some strange reason. Took me a while to realise what's going on. Water when it's convenient (for floating to a balcony, for example), but air as default (why's there a balcony in the first place? Or a multy-story building with a door on the ground?).
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Hopefully it'll age better, though. I re-watched .hack//SIGN last year and was disappointed.
The food's a problem, too.
I suspect the ruined buildings in the game-location were modeled after real-life locations, including Akihabara, so it kinda-sorta-maybe-almost might be true both ways.
Anyway, I'm sure they'll tell us what's going on sooner or later.
Yeah, Lost Universe originally aired (according to Wikipedia) in 1998. It sticks in my memory as an example of bad 3D because the 2D/3D transitions were so jarring—they weren't even trying to hide the divide. And I didn't bother with Blue Submarine No. 6—if I recall correctly, it didn't sound like it had anything going for it except the 3D, which has never been a selling point for me either.
The thing about sprites is that each pose is a new piece of artwork. With a 3D model, all you have to do is shift the bones around. So really, it depends on how many characters you're dealing with, and how many poses/facial expressions/etc. you need for each. Lots of characters with only a few poses? Sprites will be easier. Few characters, but lots of versions of each? Models will be easier.
In terms of engine programming . . . 2D would be easier except that modern hardware comes with frameworks and instruction sets designed to facilitate 3D. So it's become a toss-up.
Of course, if you're like me and 3D can make you motion-sick in addition to being unaesthetic, you're not likely to give a damn about the tradeoffs.
Gack. Thanks for warning me. Most game dubs are really horrible, IMNSHO.
With the PS2 RPGs, I think it was the studio that determined whether or not the original voice track was included. All Nippon Ichi games and all Studio Gust games always included the Japanese voices, but I don't think anyone else's ever did.
Well, a Yuki Kajiura soundtrack is a good excuse for watching just about anything.
Anyway, I'm sure they'll tell us what's going on sooner or later.
I'm not. With adaptions, you never know how far they get. I don't know if this is a standalone light novel, or a series. Standalones are rare...
Back then, I'd watch any anime as long as it aired on TV. TV and cinema were my only sources. The biggest culture shock: Agent Aika - a weapon of mass panty exposure, and really not very good. I'd never seen ecchi fanservice before (those sort of shows either don't air on TV, or get cencorsed), and this is my first? (I heard the show holds some sort of panty shot record.) It was... fascinating. I'd heard about it before and never imagined it was that bad. ... It wasn't.
I'm lucky not to suffer too much from this. I'm susceptible to motion sickness, too. (Some action scenes in Hollywood movies have proven too much for me.) In some 3-D based game I can't run, and in older games resolution was sometimes a problem. But generally I'm fine.
The .hack games from Bandai had the Japanese track as an unlockable feature. The atmosphere is good, but sadly the gameplay sucks. I still liked them, but no way would I recommend them to someone with motion sickness. As I said, I'm generally fine, but I couldn't play these for too long. They're real time anyway (I prefer turnbased).
On the PS3, the Japanese track has become some sort of default, so that when Tales of Graces f came out, even mainstream magazines listed the missing Japanese track as a minor flaw. (That one had a pretty good dub, though, in comparison.)
On the PS2, I was grateful for the option. On the PS3, I'm disappointed with the lack.
God, the stuff I've watched for the soundtrack. Elemental Gelade...Well, a Yuki Kajiura soundtrack is a good excuse for watching just about anything.
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I was completely unaware of Kyousogiga until this season. I may go all the way back, watch the OVAs, then catch up with the current episodes, if I find the time.
I'm afraid 3D will probably become an even stronger trend, specially for lower budget shows. Kyo-Ani can justify painstakingly drawing every detail in Mirai's sweater as she slices a youmu in half, but for smaller productions, the difference in time and manpower is too large.
On Gallilei Donna, my main beef is that it feels shallow, starting from the setting. The Italy it tries to present is a fake, "cultural fair" Italy; instead of proper research, it fills the gaps by making it an alternate Earth, but the SF elements aren't properly thought through either.
It still works as a "family anime", with a fast pace, good action sequences, and most of the violence implied rather than shown; but it could have been a lot better.
I decided I like Tokyo Ravens. You know a story is good when events completely catch you off-guard, and yet make perfect sense in retrospect.
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My bet is still that they'll lay out at least some of what's going on over the course of the series. They may not bother resolving the situation, though.
Ah. I'd already graduated to blowing several hundred a month at the local comic shop by that time, so I had a wider selection available to me (although I had to pay more for it). Nor have I actually seen Agent Aika, other than a few previews on old VHS tapes, but I don't think it would have been possible to be a fan back then and not have heard of it.
I can't play anything 3D for more than 20-30 minutes without feeling very ill unless the camera is fixed in place, in which case my hindbrain seems to reduce it to 2D with inferior graphics. Sometimes I can fake it out (I played Suikoden IV by promoting the mini-map to full screen whenever the characters had to go somewhere on foot, and focusing on that rather than the movement in the background), but that's rare. Movies have never caused me a problem, though—it seems to be specific to the type of camera movement you see in games that insist on following the player's avatar rather than providing an overview (well, okay, and to ground vehicles in meatspace). No FPSs for me, even if I were interested in playing them.
I'm not sure having the Japanese audio track as an unlockable feature counts as quite the same thing—the Gust and Nippon Ichi games all offer it from the outset.
I'm not very big on real-time games either. I can handle them if the "combat" is mostly just setting an AI and then mashing the same button, but I'd much rather have a turn-based system. I'm still not quite sure how I managed to finish Star Ocean: Until the End of Time.
The OVAs cover the same ground as the TV series. I suspect that the TV series will go beyond the OVAs. One of my favourite episodes (floating garbage) hasn't yet been used in the TV series; I wonder if they will incorporate it?
Watching both in short succession can feel a bit redundant, but experiencing the OVA first might still be a good idea, since it's... a unique sort of scatter shot madness. You just know they know what they're doing, but you never quite grasp the whole picture. The TV series is more accessible (after episode 0 finishes).
The show's timing is interesting, too. Last season, my favourite anime was Uchouten Kazoku, tanuki in Kyouto. This is set in "Mirror Kyouto". Both are, IMO, master pieces. It's a good year for magical Kyouto.
I'm fine with low framerates and all that stuff that people constantly criticise. I'm not fine with 3-D (unless it's really well done, in which case I probably don't notice it). But, yes, it's probably here to stay.
Pretty good way to put it. Low priority show for me.
I certainly didn't expect that. Tokyo Ravens is quite entertaining.
Probably. Thing is, if they don't I won't be disappointed. I'm not even all that curious. Log Horizon is good, entertaining fluff, as far as I'm concerned. So far, it feels more cosy than suspenseful.
For a long time, I didn't even have a VHS recorder to watch them on. I didn't really start buying stuff until I got my PS2, and that was near the end of the console's cycle. Before that I could have played Dvds on the computer I guess, but it didn't occur to me. Never had a DVD player either.
I knew very few comic shops, and those I did know only had VHS tapes directly imported from Japan (with no subtitles).
I'm always a bit/a lot behind on the techno curve...
Oy, that sucks. I know vaguely what that feels like, but it's nothing so bad for me, luckily. But, yes, when I read in a review under the negatives: no controllable camera angles, I always cheer a little inside.
It's definitely not the same thing, but it's... odd. You'd unlock it in the first game, and then you'd carry the unlock over to the next game with your save file.
Very few of those games were available in Europe, anyway. Or so I think.
For me, real-time rpgs usually means more grinding to make up for lack of skill. Star Ocean: Until the End of Time was actually pretty good at giving you strategy options, as far as I remember. I never felt too outclassed. Same goes for Tales of Graces f on the PS3.
Btw, the Star Ocean game on the PS3, as good as it is, was unplayable for me on the motion sickness front. It suffered from "grainy colour syndrome", if you know what I mean. It was very colourful, but the colours didn't blend well, and when it moved, it was what I suspect a bad acid trip must feel like. Kaleidoscope Nightmare is what I call it.
I finished a series from earlier in the year called Chitose Get You, following the lives of a group of eleven year olds, their teacher, and the adult that Chitose has fallen in love with. For what it was - cute, funny, mindless fluff designed just to make you smile - it's pretty good. One character in particular, Hinako, was adorable and stole the show. Also, the episodes are only three minutes long, including the ending the theme. A good series if you have ten minutes to kill and just want to watch something happy.
Heh. That episode was really her breakout one. My favorite moment from her is in episode 15. "Please don't cheer her on. I'll die." http://youtu.be/qiwKSsDehLY?t=1m20s
I think it's just nagging at me because of my insatiable desire to find out how things tick.
So far, though, the episodes have indeed been been less about "Help! We're trapped in a game! How can I get out!" and more about, "Oh, we're trapped in a game—what are the likely consequences of that?" I still have (and use) my original DVD player, which I think turned twelve this spring. It's older than my PS2 and my first computer DVD drive.
Comic shops are the sort of thing that only appear in large cities, in my experience. I was lucky enough to live near a couple that had decent anime selections for a while. Thankfully, on-line ordering has come of age since I had to move away, and the distributors that used to charge 150% of the US price here in Canada don't seem to be in business any longer.
Just goes to show that one person's negative may be another's positive. (Also: why you can't capture the entire market with a single product, ever, which is something entertainment companies need to learn.)
Well, at least you wouldn't have to put up with playing the second game in crappy dub, then—assuming that you got through the first one.
One advantage of being in Canada is that we get the US releases . . . so long as they're on physical media. In terms of downloadables and streaming, we're no better off than Europe. Annoying as hell.
I can't remember much in detail about playing Star Ocean: UtEoT, so I guess I must not have felt too outclassed either. I'm a moderate completist, though, so I would have effectively ended up doing some amount of grinding while filling in area maps and stuff like that.
Currently, I'm working my way through Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. Not quite a fixed camera, but it doesn't do the pseudo-first-person thing with the PC's avatar either, so I've been okay so far.
Thank you Fairy Tail for reminding me why I love shonen. It's not about the fighting, or even about the multiple layers of interwoven plot. It's about the friendships that develop and the lengths characters are willing to go for each other. Less than half way in and I'm loving it, hilarious at times, heart-breaking at others. Almost makes me want to pick up Naruto again to see how that one is going. Maybe even the Hunter X Hunter revamp. Oh good shonen, how I've missed you.
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For me, you could switch in One Piece and that would describe it well. My best friend keeps telling me that I need to start watching Fairy Tail, because it's similar to OP in that it takes the common shonen tropes and does them really well. She has yet to steer me wrong when it comes to anime, so her recommendation along with what's been said about FT in this thread has put it at the top of my to-watch list.
I'm curious about One Piece too, though the length is holding me back. It's still going right? I can't even imagining watching something that long...
As for Fairy Tail, it starts like a typical shonen: lots of fighting, quirky, over the top characters, humor, etc. But the plot does get surprisingly complex later on. And the characters, even the most over the top ones, have complicated and often tragic past histories. I do wonder how much the writer/artist planned ahead on the story, because sometimes even minor things you don't notice from earlier episodes actually mean something important later on.
Plus, it has amazing music.
The world premiere of Space Dandy will be on Toonami:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...ndy-to-air-on-toonami-before-it-airs-in-japan
It makes sense due to the director's previous works - Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo - being more popular in the US than Japan.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...ndy-to-air-on-toonami-before-it-airs-in-japan
It makes sense due to the director's previous works - Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo - being more popular in the US than Japan.
You guys are selling Fairy Tale. I remember seeing it on Crunchyroll, will have to check it out.
Finally got round to catching up on a few new releases.
Kill La Kill: God, a lot happens in episode 1. It's messy, but I like it. The art is super fun and it really reminds me of how much I enjoyed P&SW/G, Gurren Lagan and FLCL.
Beyond the Boundary: This is dorky and cute and I love it. Even if the guy character designs look straight out of Iwatobi Swim Club.
Log Horizon: Yessss hello I love you and I love your ridiculous Engrish intro song. Only problem is it has some real issues with it's gender ratio: all the girls are moe as hell, and they all seem to be super subservient or stereotypical (in episode 1: Ninja girl 'serving' the Strategist, little girl needing saved by a cat-dude, and end-credit girl who lets her partner carry all her stuff). Seriously, girl gamers are not a new thing anymore. I just want some NORMAL GIRL GAMERS who behave EXACTLY LIKE GUY GAMERS.
Still going to keep watching it though with the hope that it improves, because MMO animes are my weakness.
Finally got round to catching up on a few new releases.
Kill La Kill: God, a lot happens in episode 1. It's messy, but I like it. The art is super fun and it really reminds me of how much I enjoyed P&SW/G, Gurren Lagan and FLCL.
Beyond the Boundary: This is dorky and cute and I love it. Even if the guy character designs look straight out of Iwatobi Swim Club.
Log Horizon: Yessss hello I love you and I love your ridiculous Engrish intro song. Only problem is it has some real issues with it's gender ratio: all the girls are moe as hell, and they all seem to be super subservient or stereotypical (in episode 1: Ninja girl 'serving' the Strategist, little girl needing saved by a cat-dude, and end-credit girl who lets her partner carry all her stuff). Seriously, girl gamers are not a new thing anymore. I just want some NORMAL GIRL GAMERS who behave EXACTLY LIKE GUY GAMERS.
Still going to keep watching it though with the hope that it improves, because MMO animes are my weakness.
I'm not sure it gets better; didn't so far. Akatsuki (ninja girl) doesn't bother me, though. Not sure why; seems like a tongue-in-cheek role playing issue to me (e.g. asking whether she can kick the pervert in the face after she's done it). She is quite obviously a moe design, though. No contest. But if you'd change her gender, the changes (so far) to the story would be minimal. Her crush would take a different form ("otouto moe"), and so on, but her role would pretty much still work with a gender shift.
That's not to downplay the issue at hand: I doubt her gender is a coincidence. And the other two examples you mention... let's say it doesn't get better in the next two episodes.
But the vibes I get are... complacent patriarchy, rather than the pubescent wish-fulfillment of SAO. But precicely because those are the vibes I get, I don't expect things to change. (SAO can change to the extent that the author matures; this one seems more settled down - less objectionable, but the stuff that is objectioanble is probably more ingrained).
Not sure if I'm making sense.
Is Beyond the Boundary what they call Kyoukai no Kanata? Haven't heard that title before.
You're making complete sense, I get it. I definitely don't get the biased feel of SAO from this anime, and I definitely could turn my awareness down and still enjoy Log Horizon. It's just a shame that it seems self-aware of a lot of gaming culture and perversion, but not aware of it's own lack of gender balance. You were so close, Log Horizon. So close.
That's the one indeed. Crunchyroll has a habit of using literal translations for its show titles.
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It is still going. A couple years ago, Eiichiro Oda said that OP is past the half way mark (around chapter 575). He also says he's had the ending planned out from the beginning, and it's clear that he's been setting things up for years to get there. Still, it's quite a few chapters/episodes to wade through. I've been watching, and skipping the filler arcs.
It kinda sucks that I can't afford a payed account on Crunchyroll, so I'm always a week behind. Strike the Blood is killing me with these cliffhanger endings, and it's like, the next episode is there... but I can't watch it. Side note on the Strike the Blood episode 3 ending, anyone else get Hellsing flashbacks?
Anyways, I got around to episode two of Noucome (which seems to be the common shorthand for My Mental Choices are Ruining My School Romantic Comedy). This episode was better than than the first, but I wish they would have done a bit more with female Kanade. Still, it was very cool of them to give a glimpse at what would of happened if she stayed a girl.
Anyways, I got around to episode two of Noucome (which seems to be the common shorthand for My Mental Choices are Ruining My School Romantic Comedy). This episode was better than than the first, but I wish they would have done a bit more with female Kanade. Still, it was very cool of them to give a glimpse at what would of happened if she stayed a girl.
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I'm curious about One Piece too, though the length is holding me back. It's still going right? I can't even imagining watching something that long...
As for Fairy Tail, it starts like a typical shonen: lots of fighting, quirky, over the top characters, humor, etc. But the plot does get surprisingly complex later on. And the characters, even the most over the top ones, have complicated and often tragic past histories. I do wonder how much the writer/artist planned ahead on the story, because sometimes even minor things you don't notice from earlier episodes actually mean something important later on.
Plus, it has amazing music.
Look at the lenght of One Piece this way: If you do like it, the more the merrier. But I stopped watching it, around episode 490. The reason is that a few tens of episodes before after i caught up to the anime, I started reading the manga. Saw no reason to watch anymore. Also, the qulality of the animaton and look dropped. Also, everything startes to drag a lot more. Long reaction shots etc. Might be better now.
But overall its fantastic. My favorite manga and anime. The opening and closing songs are so nostalgic for me. I will say this, though. The story starts small, and the designs more cartoonish. Around episode 50 a bigger world opens, and the art starts to evolve. It becomes about more than a quest for One Piece. Theres racism, supression of the people and a questionable government. Oda planned this manga in a way that is astounding. Crushes Fairy Tail in every way. The attention to detail is astounding.
Fairy Tail ... well I stopped watching that as well sue to the manga, which I keep reading despite my dislike for it. There are np consequenses. No development. Dont know how dar the anime is but ... ugh. Look up chapter 355 for fun, look through all the pages and tell me what you think.
How do I know which are the filler episodes? I have a bad attention span, so if I can cut down on the number of episodes it might help.
I'm at the Edolas arc right now, definitely not my favorite so far, though still interesting because they even gave Happy a sad backstory.
As for consequences, I think there are consequences, but they don't always effect the main characters directly, and most of the "damage" they take is more internal/emotional than external/physical. Erza seems to be getting the worst of it. My favorite episode so far is the one with the line "Of course... the color of your hair..." I mean, I assume that guy will be back, but still, it was painful to watch that, and immediately followed up by the revelation of Wendy's guild...
So yeah, I guess I'm loving it so far mostly because of the emotions.
But I see your point about development and consequences. It's one of the reason I don't take very long animes well, there usually comes a point where things... stop happening. Or severely slow down. I'm not there yet, so hopefully I can still enjoy some more Fairy Tail.
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How do I know which are the filler episodes? I have a bad attention span, so if I can cut down on the number of episodes it might help.
I use this:
http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Filler_Arcs
Each filler arc's individual page gives the exact episode numbers.
I wish there was a website that would take the names of anime and TV shows and let me know which ones were filler.
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I'm at the Edolas arc right now, definitely not my favorite so far, though still interesting because they even gave Happy a sad backstory.
As for consequences, I think there are consequences, but they don't always effect the main characters directly, and most of the "damage" they take is more internal/emotional than external/physical. Erza seems to be getting the worst of it. My favorite episode so far is the one with the line "Of course... the color of your hair..." I mean, I assume that guy will be back, but still, it was painful to watch that, and immediately followed up by the revelation of Wendy's guild...
So yeah, I guess I'm loving it so far mostly because of the emotions.
Right, well, since you enjoy it, I'll probably come off as a douche if I start listing all I don't like. To be fair I wouldn't say that One Piece has development in the tv-series type of way either. But the characters mature. They become self-aware, and strive to improve. And their relationships evolve.
I really got annoyed at the anime when, in the manga, there's a point when a dude gets half his face blow away (punched away). And the dude kept fighting, that's the kind of badass he is. In the anime it was just a hole to the stomach or chest. I understand why they did it, but the impact just wasn't the same.
Oh, and the reason I suggested looking up chapter 355 is that it was the moment I realized that the mangaka really wants to draw hentai. I had my suspicions before, like showing Lucy's ass instead of her face every chance he gets. I know it's japanese culture but damn, overkill much.
Compared to something like Naruto and Bleach there's surprisingly little filler. There may be like one or two episodes of filler here and there, like when they entered Logue Town. You wouldn't even notice it was filler.
At the time I didn't know G8 arc was filler. I really enjoyed that one.
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