Damn. That really, really sucks.
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Damn. That really, really sucks.
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The same thing has happened in gaming. I think that is why there has been such a focus on great graphics and interactive movie-type gameplay with lots of tutorials versus the figure it out as you go and less forgiving gameplay of previous generations.
Ahh yeah, I've seen that as well. I think a lot of that has to do with the growth and saturation of the market, though. People don't have time to sit down and learn to play a game only to get stuck for a week. There are so many other games out there that they'll just pick up another game.
I'm hoping with anime, it'll lead to a better range of options for your casual watcher... ...that's the problem I have with a lot of anime right now. It's very niche stuff. There are a lot of shows that target very specific interests that only select groups really care about. That niche market has been considered the bread and butter of countless studios and that is something that I think has been limiting the variety of shows coming out for a long time.
So I'm hoping it'll go a little better than it did for gaming. Rather than dumbing it down, I'm hoping it will sort of level the playing field and make things more diverse. Shows that may not have been seen as viable in the past might have a better chance now.
There's a 100 episode OVA called Legend of Galactic Heroes that may or may not be what you're looking for.
Naw, more just doesn't go far enough, it gets cut off. If they got the funding to continue it could have been great. It's what got me to watch the Anime which again left me with a cliffhanger. I simply haven't had enough time/energy lately to pursue all my free time interests but I want to read the manga for sure.
As for gaming, yes it's sad a lot of companies have abandoned what made their games great to seek out over budgeted graphics. There have been some counters to this lately though. Hotline Miami 1/2 come to mind, pretty interesting games, fun to play, simple design but done very well. Another that simply awed me was Hyper light Drifter. They placed quality design over the graphical detail. In both games though especially HLD they did more with less than many games on the market. Solid audio tracks to keep you company but the color combinations and detail is there even in the simplistic design.
Anyways, with Anime, yes, I agree. I wish they would have continued Berserk because I think it could have been something that opened up a lot of people to Anime. I know many friends that shun anime would have latched onto that IF they didn't end it with that weird cliffhanger of dude on dude. They'd have gotten over that easily, but I can't recommend it when it ends like that...
Anime is certainly a weird genre, but it spans a lot of different topics. Everytime I mention it to friends though (always prompted by at least one other friend talking about it, because anime has that stigma I'd rather not get involved with) most of them simply think DBZ which most guys my age watched. We all know it gets far more intense than that and is a legitimate genre worth watching.
So far the best success I've had with opening up people to Anime is with recommending Studio Ghibli stuff, but that's kind of on the fringe of Anime and more heartwarming emotional cartoon. I've gotten a few friends to watch Madoka Magika and movies like Redline, but then I tell them to check out Kill La Kill and they think it's weird and even Anime Fan friends try and watch Food Wars and can't make it through the first episode of psuedo tentacle rape, but if they would just give them a chance I'm sure they'd enjoy both. That's the one "problem" with anime is that it can get weird, but if you brush that off and look at it as a whole there's a lot of excellence out there.
Absolutely, but that being what it is, I think that you have to be predisposed to that mindset of being like "Woah, this is WEIRD. What's that all about?" You kind of already have to be a person who doesn't shock easily and has a certain affinity for things that baffle the mind. It's hard to recommend anime to people. The types who wind up enjoying it tend to be the ones who seek it out on their own.
I'm possibly a bit biased by my own experiences, though. I got into anime in the first place because it was just so beyond any frame of reference I could access. It's like going from rural America to metropolitan Japan. So many strange sights and interactions. It's whimsical, overwhelming, somewhat unsettling, and exciting... ...like visiting an alien planet.
It takes a certain breed of person to want to have their gears turning like that, you know? Most people would call culture shock a bad thing, but then there are those who completely embrace that sense of fundamentally not understanding and not having a place in an entire culture and choose to immerse themselves in it simply because it's stimulating and interesting.
Eh, I used to be like that back when I used to care about what people thought of what I liked. Now I bring it up whenever I want to. I'm finding that the stigma isn't quite what people make it out to be. The typical reaction is more that of neutral ignorance at worst, ime. They either tend to have sort of a casual interest in anime, but haven't seen much or they just don't even know what DBZ is.
Now that I think about it, I meet people who have at least some interest in anime all of the time. I have conversations about it with strangers fairly often. Like I was saying before, it's not this weird, obscure thing anymore. Over the course of the past generation or two, it's become okay to like anime.
I wouldn't call anime a genre. Technically the medium is "animation" but anime is sort of a sub-medium of animation in that it has its own distinctive genres and approach. There are clear components that separate it from other forms of animation. Perhaps it's better to call it a format, like feature-length movies versus serialized TV shows.
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lordmage
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this thread is in good hands.
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Thanks, maybe I'l look it up. A hundred episodes is a lot for me right now though.
You're absolutely right, that was my late night drunken ramblings
. And, it's not so much of a caring what they think as much as not wasting my time on something they're going to roll their eyes at and ignore the second it's brought up. It's much like vaping, the word 'anime' or "vape" people will roll their eyes or say something snarky when they hear it. Not worth my time even bothering, no need to talk about it with those not interested. I'll just enjoy it myself and discuss if the topic is brought up.
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To be honest, I used to watch it when I was a kid, but adults jacking off to that is just screwed up to me. No offense to anyone here that might like it.
http://sidearc.com/new-berserk-series-trailer-is-here/
Thought I'd be mean and make some other people drool in anticipation too.
Thought I'd be mean and make some other people drool in anticipation too.
If you'll excuse me I need to change my pants. And clean my computer. And the wall behind it....
I really hope that animation style isn't indicative of whatever they're making. It was cool in the new Jojo's Bizarre Adventure OP and all but...
...I'm sorry, trying really hard not to join team hype over here.
I used to watch anime often back in highschool, but that was over 11 years ago. From time to time I'll watch some dbz, but if I had to pick a favorite it's Ghost in the Shell. I know they have that new dbz series out, but the first few episodes started very slow and lost interest in it, although I may give it a look now that there's more out. Bleached used to be one of my favorites up until the stuff with the vampires, then I completely dropped it after that. Naruto, I honestly haven't gave that too much time, but what I did watch was pretty good.
New DBZ? Are you talking about "Kai"? I thought that was just an abridged version of DBZ in that they cut out a lot of the 15 minutes of screaming.
Agree with Ghost in the Shell though, just watched a bunch of the movies the other day, apparently there were a few I hadn't watched.
Agree with Ghost in the Shell though, just watched a bunch of the movies the other day, apparently there were a few I hadn't watched.
There's a new series called dbz super. It goes with the newest movie that came out early last year . There's a website that has the new ones to watch. I'll pm it to you when I get a chance (my pc is off n I'm too lazy to get up, so I'm using my phone lol). I believe toriyama is working on this one unlike dbgt
So, I noticed there are lots of GITS fans here. What do you guys think about the newest run of OVA's and the movie?
Also, anybody else looking forward to Under the Dog, the kickstarter anime that a bunch of industry vets are workin' on? I think it'll be interesting. Apparently it was conceived in the late 90's, but discarded for being nonviable - they thought it would bore the young otaku market.... ...nobody wanted to drop a serious show among the likes of all of the kiddy shounens and wish-fulfillment harems that were doing so well. I'm curious to see what people with proven talent will do with an anime that they wanted to make, but didn't think would fly. It's supposed to be a serious sci-fi action thriller.
I think they realized "Hey, the west seem to like the heavy, light-on-fan-service stuff. Maybe they'll fund this..."
And fund it we did. Now if they can just get their shit together and make it, this might be something that changes the way that anime is funded and marketed. This our chance to show those closed-in fuckers in the anime industry that our money talks. Maybe this will help make them realize that there's a huge non-otaku market out there that will pay good money for shows and films with more adult themes and less of the staple anime tropes...
Trailer looks legit as fuck. I really, really want this to be a thing that exists. How cool would it be to have a sci-fi anime that was conceived in the 90's be made as a modern show?! It has the potential to be pretty fuckin rad... ...in a way that anime has not been rad in a very long time. Like, imagine that Ghost in the Shell never existed. Now pretend that Ghost in the Shell is just now coming out this year.
Also, anybody else looking forward to Under the Dog, the kickstarter anime that a bunch of industry vets are workin' on? I think it'll be interesting. Apparently it was conceived in the late 90's, but discarded for being nonviable - they thought it would bore the young otaku market.... ...nobody wanted to drop a serious show among the likes of all of the kiddy shounens and wish-fulfillment harems that were doing so well. I'm curious to see what people with proven talent will do with an anime that they wanted to make, but didn't think would fly. It's supposed to be a serious sci-fi action thriller.
I think they realized "Hey, the west seem to like the heavy, light-on-fan-service stuff. Maybe they'll fund this..."
And fund it we did. Now if they can just get their shit together and make it, this might be something that changes the way that anime is funded and marketed. This our chance to show those closed-in fuckers in the anime industry that our money talks. Maybe this will help make them realize that there's a huge non-otaku market out there that will pay good money for shows and films with more adult themes and less of the staple anime tropes...
Trailer looks legit as fuck. I really, really want this to be a thing that exists. How cool would it be to have a sci-fi anime that was conceived in the 90's be made as a modern show?! It has the potential to be pretty fuckin rad... ...in a way that anime has not been rad in a very long time. Like, imagine that Ghost in the Shell never existed. Now pretend that Ghost in the Shell is just now coming out this year.
I have the ovas but i only watched one of them and that's when it first came out and i honestly don't remember what it was about either, but i do remember liking it. I'll have to watch the rest of them when I get a chance.
It's easy to gloss over them. I personally really like the character designs, animation, and overall feel of them. The world-building is at least as good as SaC. The story just falls flat at times. Makes it hard to get immersed in what is an otherwise super-amazing production. I think there's still a lot to like about it, but I feel that some of the things I enjoyed about the OVAs' predecessors just aren't quite there.
I'd recommend trying the new movie first. I think it's the strongest installment. Nice and easy to commit to a movie, too.
I finally caved and watched One Punch Man. I always make it a point to be late in watching hyped shows. I try to forget about them until I'm bored with everything else and just don't care if what I watch is really any good. I always go into them with this brick in my heart. I tell myself that it can't be as good as people make it out to be. I'm still a little shaken by SAO, which to me, turned out to be equally as terrible as it has been popular and successful.
I actually really enjoyed it, not enough to get excited about it... ...but I nonetheless had a lot of fun with it. I liked the main gag a lot. Just the idea that the best superhero ever to exist also happens to be a normal dude who lives a normal life, is a superhero as a hobby, and is completely bored and unsatisfied with it was interesting. And they did a lot of entertaining things with that premise. While it didn't really deviate from the typical shounen format (actually, it was by the books, though it's not immediately apparent,) it did present a fresh take on that approach. It played out like a typical shounen... ...it just didn't feel like one.
Madhouse came in swinging with the animation, too. The majority of the show is just a joy to look at... ...really sucks you in. I know Madhouse productions very well, but its always refreshing to see them at their best. It always stands out from whatever else is airing.
I didn't really like what they did with the main plot in the second half, though. I felt like that idea it was based around wasn't interesting enough to carry several episodes. I would have preferred to see them explore those ideas in one or two episodes. I wanted to see them do more with the premise. It would have been great as an old-school, episodic show with a loose overarching plot line, a-la Cowboy Bebop. I would've enjoyed a cour or two of that format.
I also sat down and re-watched Humanity Has Declined. At the risk of being acused of having shit taste, I will just say that it is one of my favorite comedy anime. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It's a very strange social commentary comedy. It's as blatantly stupid as it is witty and funny. It hasn't been very popular, but I'd highly recommend it. It is the best kind of weird shit show. There is absolutely nothing like it. When people say that anime is fucking weird, I think of this show and say "Yeeeeah... ...it really is." This scene encapsulates the nature of the show pretty well.
I really liked the GitS OVAs, though I was a little perturbed by some of the new background on The Major. I think you're right about the story sometimes lacking, but at the same time I kind of like them because they seem to have some gaps, leaving room for interpretation and discussion. It makes it a little fun when talking about them, but yes overall the characters and premise of the show are what makes that series so special more than the individual stories told.
One Punch Man is exactly what it says it's going to be. It's simply a parody on all the DBZ type animes or really any super hero in general. He can't be beat, not only that he can beat anything with a single punch! It's silly but fun. While I in general love myself a deeper/darker anime, the light fun of this one is great, and I think that's why it's gained popularity. I'll always enjoy a parody of the Superman type characters, the unbeatables (seriously don't get me started on Superman movies, just get stabbed with a shard of kryptonite in the kidneys then lift and island infused with the stuff... w t f). So yes it's a bit of a spin on the classics but I don't know if I'd use that word as much as parody.
SAO, god I've never hated an Anime more...
Anyways thanks for another new Anime, always down for some silly stuff. Bobobo bo bo bobo will always have s special place in my heart.
One Punch Man is exactly what it says it's going to be. It's simply a parody on all the DBZ type animes or really any super hero in general. He can't be beat, not only that he can beat anything with a single punch! It's silly but fun. While I in general love myself a deeper/darker anime, the light fun of this one is great, and I think that's why it's gained popularity. I'll always enjoy a parody of the Superman type characters, the unbeatables (seriously don't get me started on Superman movies, just get stabbed with a shard of kryptonite in the kidneys then lift and island infused with the stuff... w t f). So yes it's a bit of a spin on the classics but I don't know if I'd use that word as much as parody.
SAO, god I've never hated an Anime more...
Anyways thanks for another new Anime, always down for some silly stuff. Bobobo bo bo bobo will always have s special place in my heart.
Just got done watching samurai champloo, it wasn't half bad. Compared to GITS movies and code geauss it was a nice break and alot lighter than I was expecting until the end.
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Well said, man. That is probably what I liked most about the earlier installments. The world is so very detailed and the characters so deep, but they always keep you contemplating. A lot the takeaway is in your head. It really puts you there and forces you to figure it out, yet it never seems pretentious because it truly does give you all that you need to do so.
My real gripe with the story is that they made it more of a focal point than it was in the past. I just felt that it couldn't carry the reduction in sci-fi whimsy on its own. They played it too straight for me. There was a lot more action and not as much between the lines for you to sink your teeth into. The dialogue wasn't as multifaceted. The series as a whole just did not have that charm of ambivalence that the older ones played so heavily on... ...the sense that there was something bigger going on - that elegant gestalt... ...so simple, yet so elusive.
When I discovered the older stuff, I kid you not... ...I spent a year thinking about the characters and the setting. I'm not getting that pull nearly as much with the new installments.
Don't get me wrong. I still consider it a favorite that's a big step above most other current anime and many older ones, but it's not exactly my favorite GITS installment. But then again, I'm hard to please because GITS is my favorite franchise.
I feel you on the darker stuff. That's what drew me in and that's what keeps me there. That and arthouse animation porn (not hentai lol... ...high-concept animation for the sake of animation.) Lighter shows can be refreshing. Watching too many shows that take themselves seriously, no matter how well they pull it off, can make you start taking ALL shows too seriously and suck all of the enjoyment out them.
Yeah, don't get me started. I've actually seen it all just to make sure I understand what makes me hate it so much. I still don't even know where to start. It's just such an easy franchise to pick away at.
Cheers! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I think you'll appreciate how dark it is. I love bobobo bo bo bobo, too. When it comes to goofiness, it's right up there with Nisekoi for me.
Champloo is great. You can't help but like the characters and empathize with their situations. Some really brilliant choreography in there, too. I like that they didn't take the whole alternate history thing seriously at all... ...they pretty much shit on the whole approach that serious shows have taken with alternate history and I loved every moment of it - they really showed how ridiculous of a concept it is to base an entire story on.
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Totally on the GitS comments. What I liked about the OVAs is it continued character development in that it gave a lot of backstory. Though again what shook me is some comments on The Major
it was nice seeing more of the connections between the characters. I still want to see more on Batou though.
Either way it was a nice bit of entertainment but yes not as good as what hooked me on the series.
And exactly on the dark vs silly stuff. Some days I want to go to bed with my brain twirling. Sometimes I want something silly in hopes of actually falling asleep quickly (never happens). Different day, different mood, different preferences.
Lastly +1 for dark humor, surely going to check out that show next chance I get. I have a terrible sense of humor It gets me in trouble. "Sure we can watch your kid, he can hang out and drink some whiskey with us" didn't get the best response from my brother's sister in law .
that contradicted some hinted backstory in the Stand Alone Complex that was probably my favorite episode
Either way it was a nice bit of entertainment but yes not as good as what hooked me on the series.
And exactly on the dark vs silly stuff. Some days I want to go to bed with my brain twirling. Sometimes I want something silly in hopes of actually falling asleep quickly (never happens). Different day, different mood, different preferences.
Lastly +1 for dark humor, surely going to check out that show next chance I get. I have a terrible sense of humor
It gets me in trouble. "Sure we can watch your kid, he can hang out and drink some whiskey with us" didn't get the best response from my brother's sister in law .
I haven't watched champloo in a good while, it was one of my favorites and i completely forgot about it haha. I of course got into watching it simply because it's the alternate cowboy bebop (another one of my favorites). Speaking of which, I really wish they would make a new movie, even if it comes out pretty much non-cannon, sort of like the dbz movies (pre-ssjgod movies that is).
Hahaha, yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. Weirdly enough, I didn't have a huge problem with it.
I expected the whole thing to be sort of a retelling. I expected them to re-envision all of the main characters. There were as many parallels as there were discrepancies. I think it was pretty compelling. It wasn't quite what I hoped for, but I really did enjoy The Major's backstory. I think it suits her characterization throughout the series. Besides, this is the Major we are talking about. How many different incarnations of her are we up to now?
I get it though. Before then, her character was more a manifestation of the increasingly blurring lines between where one's own consciousness ends and where the network it's so deeply rooted to begins. The nature of her very existence begged the question of what was real and what was not. I suppose they deviated from that in completely changing her backstory. Before, she was a like a new kind of human... ...perhaps not even a human at all in that she was capable of completely becoming somebody else... ...she's always been sort of this amorphous being attached to an unidentifiable data entity. But they never played it like her past went a different way when she changed. It just wasn't connected to who she was in the present.
I get it though. Before then, her character was more a manifestation of the increasingly blurring lines between where one's own consciousness ends and where the network it's so deeply rooted to begins. The nature of her very existence begged the question of what was real and what was not. I suppose they deviated from that in completely changing her backstory. Before, she was a like a new kind of human... ...perhaps not even a human at all in that she was capable of completely becoming somebody else... ...she's always been sort of this amorphous being attached to an unidentifiable data entity. But they never played it like her past went a different way when she changed. It just wasn't connected to who she was in the present.
Yepyep. I can usually tell by how much is going on up there. If I'm feeling analytical, I feed it. But that can be draining. Some days, I'd rather turn my brain off and recharge with something dumb and not worth analyzing (though sometimes I will analyze it anyway, heh.)
LMAO, now I'm absolutely convinced that you will like it. It's got that exact playful, sarcastic tone about it. The sarcasm in the show's overtones is seething. Everything about the things that happen is heavy and terrible, even though they play it off in such a casual, carefree way.Lastly +1 for dark humor, surely going to check out that show next chance I get. I have a terrible sense of humor
I wouldn't mind some more Bebop. Bebop is pretty flexible. The only things I'd hope they wouldn't change are the characters. They are really the driving force behind the franchise. The whole thing was essentially just a big character study.
Oooo, you know what I'd really like out of a new Bebop movie? Spike's backstory... ...like, back from his time with Vicious, Julia, and The Syndicate. Like, why are his eyes two different colors? What was the deal with that flashback in the bar? Maybe part of the appeal of Spike lies in the mystique of his past... ...my takeaway from the TV series was that it was a portrayal of characters stuck in their pasts and yet, they were ignoring it. The whole idea was that it was supposed be unclear where they came from or how they got to where they did. It wasn't about who they were, but rather what who they were becoming said about who they were before.
But there was plenty of closure to that. It would be awesome if they would open that can of worms since the original story is over and done with. Maybe instead of a single movie, they could do a short series of OVA's featuring each main character.
I also want to say that I saw the movie again recently and it hasn't aged a day, unlike the original series, which looks incredibly dated. It really does look as good as it did when it came out... ...better than a lot of what is coming out now, over a decade later, even.
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Just finished Humanity in Decline, excellent. Spot on with the description. So far you're 2 for 2 with your recommendations, I'd be very interested if you had any more suggestions for more obscure (as in things I might not have already seen) anime's.
Haha, glad to be of service. I might have some things. I used to keep MAL and hummingbird lists wayyy back in the day, when I would just browse forums and google shit until I had a big ole list of anime to go pretty much blindly into. I found some things that not too many people probably know about, but are good... ...the kind of stuff you'll probably never find if you're just going by what people like/talk about. I just can't remember. I'll have to break into those old accounts.
What have you seen that you would say is more on the fringes?
Honestly not much, I usually go off recommendations. I've killed my list of Anime to watch though so I dove back into rewatching Star Trek: Next Generation which has kept me busy for the last couple months in between random movies or a few anime suggestions.
Thought of this thread yesterday when my wife got Redline. Watched it last night.
We hardly ever buy movies anymore, except she'll get anime when they're on her wish list and the price goes down.
Example: Tokyo Godfathers was over $60 and it went down to... I think she said $15.
So over the last year she got those two, Paprika and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. And maybe 3 or 4 more Miyazakis (losing track).
Please note this isn't coming from a big anime fan:
The interesting thing about Redline was that it was like two movies. The animation and dialog seemed to change once the big race started. Faster cuts and a lot of swearing. Overall, some pretty good one-liners scattered around. And there were boobs.
We hardly ever buy movies anymore, except she'll get anime when they're on her wish list and the price goes down.
Example: Tokyo Godfathers was over $60 and it went down to... I think she said $15.
So over the last year she got those two, Paprika and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. And maybe 3 or 4 more Miyazakis (losing track).
Please note this isn't coming from a big anime fan:
The interesting thing about Redline was that it was like two movies. The animation and dialog seemed to change once the big race started. Faster cuts and a lot of swearing. Overall, some pretty good one-liners scattered around. And there were boobs.
Watched Redline last Monday, easily one of my favorite movies. The ending is weak, but... well how do you end that much awesomeness? It kind of has to just end abruptly. It's like slow up and down until the race which is like 30 minutes of "OMG!" then a small dip after Funky Boy, and then "OMG OMG OMG!" and boom it's over.
From a couple recent posts, you need to get a top 10 list from your wife, there might be something I haven't seen that she likes and she tends to like a lot of similar movies! Help me! I'm running low on new stuff! (trying to build a collection for a marathon day Saturday).
As a kid I was into Japanese Anime and didnt know it; Kimba the white lion, Gigantor etc.
When my sons were born and got interested in movies, comics, reading books, these movies really got me back into it, and have never stopped for any of us.
When my sons were born and got interested in movies, comics, reading books, these movies really got me back into it, and have never stopped for any of us.
My personal favorite anime series of all time is Chobits. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth the time. Voltron was a childhood fave as well. Ah My Goddess too. The movie was more serious while the series was more comical in nature. Just a few off the top of my head to start. Oh and don't forget Fist of the North Star.
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.
Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to watch fist of the north star, I've been rounding out my 90's greatest hits animes and that fell off the list.
I do! I've even been known to Cosplay ^.~Seeing how I am enjoying a lazy Sunday relaxing watching some on my favorite site I just wanted to see who of my fellow Vapers here watch any Anime.
(Yes I am a 34 yr old father of 3 with a very professional career and I still watch cartoons lmao)
Post your suggestions or your favorites, and no bullshit arguing about SUB VS DUB plz.
