Starting to watch more Kill la Kill. They're starting to explain more about Satsuki and her company's backstory, which interests me quite a bit. Kind of a Turks love developing there.
Oh how I love when they insert this theme into scenes.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
I haven't been keeping up that much with what's new this season, but I'm looking forward to Ping Pong (airing April 10th). Normally, I wouldn't be that interested in the premise, but it's directed by Masaaki Yuasa and adapted from a manga by Taiyo Matsumoto, and from the trailer it's looks like it'll be as stylish as you'd expect:
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
You guys....you guys.....
I saw the Rurouni Kenshin live action movie the other day.
I'm going to watch it again before doing a breakdown/review. I was so excited after I first saw it that I wanted to rush over here and review it but I really need to see it again. Let me just say that I can't wait to watch it again....and again....and again.
FYI, I watched it [URL=''http://www.soul-anime.net/Video1/Watch-rurouni-kenshin-movie-live-action-English-Subbed.html]HERE[/URL].
I'm not sure if the subtitles were done by a fan so I won't be able to comment on that. It seems legitimate enough and the information contained within the subtitles was so closely related to the original content of the anime/manga.
I hope this is released in north America soon so I can buy it. Eeeeemediately.
Edit: my isn't working. The website is called Soul-anime.net.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
I thought she'd be some sort of genuinely brilliant puppet-master but nope
Just some goofy evil overlord who wears the derpiest dresses
edit: Finished Kill La Kill.
Episode was alright. I guess I'm a little spoilt by the quality of animation this season but the final fights were not all that... interesting, to be honest. imo the recycled footage really, really hurt the impact of the show, and what could have been a genuinely epic episode with great emotional impact was just merely good. I guess they didn't have the time to actually animate the fights, which is a shame because it would have been great to see something more than bright Sunrise light trails clashing against each other.
There was also a fair degree of typical shonen-fight last-minute ass-pulling, which I was a little disappointed by, but it was offset somewhat by the very last gambit which was well-foreshadowed. And I guess that's my main issue with the finale of KLK - most of the CRAZY TWEESTS were foreshadowed well before they actually happened, and people who were sharp/clever enough could see it coming. I used to wave it off as predictable but now I consider it a point in favour of the show.
But episode 24 kind of pulls a number of things out of nowhere, and there's also a lot of mad cackling and explaining to the protagonist how exactly their evil plan works. Which is also another disappointment. I guess the finale would have never held up to the hype and the superb build-up that the 3-4 episodes before that did (and to be honest I put myself off watching the episode for quite some time even though I downloaded it a while ago for that very reason)
In hindsight, watching the characters develop have been the show's highlights, as opposed to the action itself, which is good but is ramped up to eleven the whole way and kind of hits its limit a few episodes in before the finale.
I found myself more entertained by Mako's antics and Gamagoori's hamminess (which for me was the highlight of Episode 24, especially when he overcomes the SUPREME LIFE FIBER OVERRIDE by sheer force of will badassery, and later 'dies' with Mako bawling over him like the biggest babby). I saw a more complicated 'villain' in Satsuki than Ragyo could ever have been, and finally seeing a similar paradigm between Ryuuko with the Mankanshoku family/Nudist Beach, and Satsuki with her Elite Four was heartwarming. Senketsu was a pleasant supporting character throughout the entire show, even though his death seemed a liiittle bit rushed it was still somewhat emotional.
The character development hasn't been spectacular for the whole way - I stand by my opinion that the whole 'dark nihilistic Ryuuko' was a weak arc - but on the whole I don't think Kill La Kill would have had the legs that it did if all the show's characters were boring.
All this said, it's still enjoyable and the show as a whole has been very good. I personally think anyone who considers this shit deep is a little silly, but at the very least I think Kill La Kill has elevated itself above the average anime by sheer force of will and a lot of spirit. The overall problem I still have with it is its fanservice - it was mostly tolerable for me and I get that a core motif of the show is about getting as naked as possible even when wearing clothes or whatever, but when things occasionally verge on what would normally be considered sexual abuse and the tone of the scene takes on this sort of perverse glee, it really dampens my mood about the whole show.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
Sato told the eager audience at Anime Boston that Space Dandy, the much-touted reunion production of the creative team behind Bebop and Champloo, began as just that: a wish to get the gang back together. Watanabe told Sato he wanted to make a comedy, as part of a desire to break away from his association with drama. The project was planned with a simultaneous worldwide release in mind: This was done not only as a way to ward off fansubbing and piracy, but more importantly because it would also give more fans an opportunity to connect and enjoy the show across international lines through the medium of social media.
Sato talked extensively about the influence of the moe movement on recent anime series. Moe, or "cute" culture, examines ideas about art, feminity, and thematic complexity vs aesthetic and design. Space Dandy draws influence from the energy and debate around moe culture, and the idea that "maybe you don't even need a story" to have a story.
"We thought of Space Dandy as a kind of counter-approach to this overall trend," Sato said, citing the popular Puella Madoka Magica as an example of a moe-inspired anime that went deeper but was "kinda heavy."
I think I feel sort of the same way about the ending. It was good but not great/super memorable.
Gamagoori was totally the best part of the episode. I didn't really have any problem with the animation, but Ryuuko yelling into a microphone instead of an epic fight kind of threw me off. I feel like there were some Japanese puns that were going over my head or something there? I was also pretty disappointed there turned out to be nothing to Hououmaru's character - and then Nui just ended up being a power-up for Ragyo in the end, too.
As for the show in general, the plot twists weren't really terribly surprising, but the way they were delivered was pretty great, which is really what matters, IMO.
The overall problem I still have with it is its fanservice - it was mostly tolerable for me and I get that a core motif of the show is about getting as naked as possible even when wearing clothes or whatever, but when things occasionally verge on what would normally be considered sexual abuse and the tone of the scene takes on this sort of perverse glee, it really dampens my mood about the whole show.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
Yeah I didn't have a huge issue with Houhoumaru because she came off as a complete non-character either way, kind of like Satsuki's butler or whatever, but Nui
got the most boring send-off as a character. I was expecting a good fight against Nui where they curb stomp the shit out of her, but I was also fairly receptive to the whole 'sacrifice any semblance of humanity to become random superweapon'. But it was just, Nui disintegrates. Now she's a giant Life Fiber monstrosity. Deal with it,
The problem was that the actual sequence was far too short and far too matter-of-fact (especially for a show as well-dramatized as Kill La Kill) for it to have any lingering impact.
Also in general, the whole, overarching Life Fiber plot in general just isn't... very exciting? That's just me though. The journey itself is definitely way more interesting than the destination, imo
Because I'm seriously getting sick of all the stupid, lazy incest that's been forced into anime as of late. I'm not so weak willed that incest will immediately send me running for the hills (ala Game of Thrones or Penguindrum), but now it's neither deconstructed or well written, it's a harem kink and I hope this trend dies.
Satsu, BRIAN BLESSED, MIGHTY AND WISE Junpei Iori: Ace Detective, Maccaffrickstonson von Lichtenstafford Frabenschnaben, Polite Krogan, Robert Baratheon
Because I'm seriously getting sick of all the stupid, lazy incest that's been forced into anime as of late. I'm not so weak willed that incest will immediately send me running for the hills (ala Game of Thrones or Penguindrum), but now it's neither deconstructed or well written, it's a harem kink and I hope this trend dies.
Welp this is as good as a time as any for me to mention a show that I've been catching up on!
but seriously what the fuck
Over the years I've found myself inexplicably enjoying various animoo of... particular varieties. I like to think of myself as fairly open-minded, but there are times when I'm asking myself why I'm watching stupid shit. I was going to segue into the Persona series, but that isn't polite to Atlus because for all the narm/cheese it's pretty great. Likewise, I was also going to give a mention to Black Rock Shooter, which personally I think deserves the association a little more (seriously how many fucking character development cliffhangers do they need to sit on before transitioning into a fine and dandy opening the next episode, fuck off).
Nonetheless, I find both series pleasant to some degree, and it occurred to me while ploughing through Nisemonogatari that for some reason I've carved a niche in my preferences for 'school children with deep-rooted psychological issues that would probably be equally served simply going to see a counsellor'... anime.
Bakemonogatari is an excellent, excellent show that I highly recommend because of my bias, but the wordplay makes it a little opaque and might not be for everyone to wrap their heads around (and, of course, makes it impossible for a proper dub to ever exist).
I don't want to talk about Nisemonogatari, either, though, to me that shit was a hot mess. It's still similarly popular on par with Bakemonogatari (to the best of my very shitty knowledge), but for me parts of it turned me waaaaaay off.
I deeply enjoyed Bakemonogatari - it felt sharp, well-paced, constantly tongue-twistingly awesome and felt like a perfect fit for Shaft's usual trickery. Stupid, perverted shit was always in the background of the series but in Bakemonogatari I don't think it detracted too much from the main plot simply out of sheer focus on driving the mystery and plot forward. The tone was always a bit risqué and silly, but par for the course when it comes to seinen-type anime, right?
NISEMONOGATARI THREW ALL THAT SHIT OUT AND DECIDED TO DEDICATE SCREEN TIME TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLER PANTY SHOTS AND A WHOLE EPISODE INVOLVING INCESTUAL DENTAL MASTURBATION. FUCK OFF.
Nekomonogatari: Kuro was pretty good, though!
(I can't find the OP, copyright holders for the song seem to have gone apeshit on YouTube)
Nekomonogatari follows as a sort-of prequel to Bakemonogatari, fully detailing student Hanekawa Tsubasa's possession by an Oddity (ie. random demon spirit quite common to the world but particularly powerful in her case) called the Cursed Cat, during a Golden Week (fucking Golden Week. Always fucking Golden Week.), and how the series' harem protagonist, then-newly-minted vampire/human hybrid and close friend Koyomi Araragi, dealt with the problem. Those who watched Bakemonogatari already kind of know how the whole thing is resolved
it isn't, of course, not entirely
.
Nekomonogatari retains a great deal of plot focus since staple Bakemonogatari characters like Senjougahara, Suruga, Hachikuji, etc. etc. haven't been properly met at the time, and at the same time viewers get to see more Meme Oshino hijinks (the obligatory wise demon-hunting master/infodump of the original show). And who doesn't like watching some demon-hunter punk-dude in a Hawaiian shirt?
Gratutitous fanservice is still there but it moves back into the background and the mystery of Black Hanekawa comes to the fore (which surprised me for a bit seeing as Hanekawa was always ripe for excessively gratuitous fanservice - that, and they still had the foot on the derp-pedal for the first episode until it all suddenly stopped). Personally I'm not a huge fan of Hanekawa Tsubasa, but she has an interesting story arc and it was good to get a little more clarity from backstory that was only summarily covered in bits and pieces from the original show.
But Monogatari Series: Second Season is where it's at, yo. Goddamn excellent, and back to outstanding form with the Monogatari series. (But we all know that Shaft is fine, we got Nisekoi this season after all )
For being a little bit retro, a touch parodic - very intentional given the context of the story arc - and being very fucking baller.)
The show wraps up Hanekawa's story, seemingly for good: A new Oddity appears in town, mysteriously burning buildings down. It then explores some much-needed backstory behind Araragi's vampire (or ex-vampire/weakened vampire state, shit's complicated and they still haven't fleshed out that arc from the novels) charge, Shinobu Oshino - with a surprisingly intriguing and solid take (but not like, scientifically solid lel) on time travel involving the destiny of the resident loli of the show, Mayoi Hachikuji.
The show then transitions into a very strange, dark story arc with one of the sideshow characters from Bakemonogatari, a formerly-snake-possessed middle-schooler called Sengoku Nadeko, and her encounter with a new snake-god-like entity. Just as that story arc comes to a horrible, horrible climax, the show sidesteps back into the previous arc, extending it by throwing in a odd, Lost-like Random Dark Smoke Monster that seems to be targeting Shinobu
OR EEZ EEET????? DUN DUN DUUUUN
.
The final story of the 26 episodes takes an interesting turn by being explored in the point of view by the main villain of Nisemonogatari - an old, old nemesis of Hitagi Senjougahara (who by now is firmly Araragi's main squeeze), paid to confront and defeat the terrible danger that sprouted at the end of Nadeko's story arc via unconventional means.
Throughout all this, some omniscient Oddity hunter comes to town, acting as an infodump in exchange for vague IOUs, with a half-vampire in tow.
Also, some suspicious-ass girl with dead-as-fuck eyes claiming to be Meme Oshino's niece (the dude never had any living relatives) shows up in school, going around giving what sounds like sage advice to relevant characters in the cast.
This season has, I think, by far the most character development - actual meaningful character development, not the insipid "I began to doubt myself because of some earth shattering revelation from my childhood but THEN I'M OKAY" shit I've exposed myself to more recently. Even in context of Monogatari in general, which always moves and shakes its characters up, Second Season turned things on their heads, dug in and explored parts of characters that were sorta-kinda there but never really were a big deal until now. So par for the course, I guess, but just more extreme. That said, by the end of the first few episodes I was starting to actually tire of Hanekawa's story arcs - even in context of the light novels I think Nisio Isin stretched the concept (which, in all honesty, has been one single concept) as far as it could be stretched, and off the top of my head Hanekawa's story has gotten about 14 or something episodes - where the story is pretty much focused on her only. But for me it didn't entirely outstay its welcome and the emotional wrap-up and resolution was nicely done.
This season is also probably the best visually out of all the Monogatari productions by Shaft, though honestly at this point that was to be expected, what with the hype of a full-fledged, no-bullshit follow-up to where the story left off last time. There are 2 summary episodes, but unfortunately they don't cover nearly enough to be effective and don't really do the original 2 seasons justice (as the main character narrating points out - it's more than 30 episodes, and that shit's impossible to summarise. Y'all just gotta watch it
Out of those who drastically changed, Hitagi Senjougahara is probably one of my favourite characters. A blend of tsundere and yandere, she's a magnificent troll character with an always-brilliant, utterly deadpan line delivery by the impeccable Chiwa Saito. The things she says has a habit of being a little bit left-field and (to me) is often just plain funny.
Though in this case, apart from some (oddly-sweet) verbal sparring with Hanekawa in the early episodes of Second Season, Senjougahara seems to have developed the most out of the whole cast. Her dialogue is still (mostly) deadpan, the biting humor and trollish behaviour is still there, but the character is suddenly capable of genuinely emoting affection at the right times, and even with her more muted moments manages to convey a whole bunch of emotions through the excellent dialogue. To make things even better, the return of the best thing Nisemonogatari had (its primary antagonist) in the most unexpected fashion made the last third of the show a forest of barbed tongues, which is always fun to watch.
Eight anthropomorphized personality flaws out of a possible bajillion puns. It really isn't for everyone, and some people may not have the patience to demystify and mull over the meanings. Dem personality flaws, though. Gosh.
Here are all the OPs for the season - I'm not a fan of all of them, but I've always appreciated this show at the very least for having OPs always loaded with visual and lyrical significance to the characters and the character arcs involved at the time (often hinting a different, sometimes-darker side to the characters and their stories, despite the bubbly/bright music and colors). meg rock has always done right by the series, and I have run out of anything bad to say about Satoru Kosaki - at this point he's a master veteran composer and I can't really dispute his range after all these years.
