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Admiral Valerian wrote: I'm taking a break from Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Don't get me wrong, Reinhard is awesome, but one can only take so much 'Just As Planned' before mind-splode happens, so I'm going to be watching Spice and Wolf for a while.
You're taking a break from an epic space opera (still envious you can watch it, btw) by watching an anime devoted to Medieval economics?
I salute you and you're superior mental capacity!
Nanana's Buried Treasure is certainly getting interesting (and Tensai is adorable). I should start keeping track of the genre's it uses.
It got me thinking though, are there any anime where the main male lead falls for the trap and pursues them romantically even knowing it's a guy? Because I feel like that needs to be done now.
"A guy who don't know the fearsomeness of money shouldn't be offering up opinions about society." -Kaneo Takarada, Kill la Kill
Big Mek Sparkz and his Band of Sparky Ting Huntas: 4,000 points
Our Lady of the Generous Heart: 2,000 points
Thousand Sons: One unbuilt Daemon Prince
Overlord Thraka wrote: Decided to skip all the filler episodes and go straight to Shuppuden. So much for my hope of them giving the characters more 'teenager voices'
Best decision you could have done. Those fillers made me quit anime for years. I literally just said "Enough of this gak" and quitted, only watching some stuff once in a while.
Well, I love when an anime makes me burst laughing while I'm killing myself with a gym machine. It means it's awesome
That rice bowl was funny, but the single flash amongst the crowd was fantastic it just tickled me funny bone
"Fear is freedom! Subjugation is liberation! Contradiction is truth! These are the truths of this world! Surrender to these truths, you pigs in human clothing!" - Satsuki Kiryuin, Kill la Kill
Admiral Valerian wrote: I'm taking a break from Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Don't get me wrong, Reinhard is awesome, but one can only take so much 'Just As Planned' before mind-splode happens, so I'm going to be watching Spice and Wolf for a while.
You're taking a break from an epic space opera (still envious you can watch it, btw) by watching an anime devoted to Medieval economics?
I salute you and you're superior mental capacity!
Ha ha
"In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same"
So finally have a gripe about Kindaichi, not much variation in the female character designs. Seriously there's only so many slender brunettes with mid length hair I can keep track of.
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
So, I've determined that The Irregular at Magic High School is pretty good, excellent action, some fun characters, but the male and female lead's constant game of incest chicken is kinda... disconcerting, especially when it's clear the little sister ISN'T playing incest chicken, and if she is she's playing to win...
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
Got a question for all you SAO haters out there- how far did you end up watching it? Because, aside from a couple pacing issues (honestly, this is one anime that could actually use a couple slice-of-life filler episodes, just to help show 'time passes' at points) I'm liking it. You can't look at it as a Fantasy Adventure show- it's more Hard Sci-fi/Psychological, with the 'fantasy games' as a medium to deliver the social commentary.
Spoiler:
The whole thing with Kirito's sister/cousin unkowingly/knowingly falling in love/lust with him is getting a bit odd, though.
GENERATION 8: The first time you see this, copy and paste it into your sig and add 1 to the number after generation. Consider it a social experiment.
If yer an Ork, why dont ya WAAAGH!!
M.A.V.- if you liked ChromeHounds, drop by the site and give it a go. Or check out my M.A.V. Oneshots videos on YouTube!
KalashnikovMarine wrote: So, I've determined that The Irregular at Magic High School is pretty good, excellent action, some fun characters, but the male and female lead's constant game of incest chicken is kinda... disconcerting, especially when it's clear the little sister ISN'T playing incest chicken, and if she is she's playing to win...
Have to agree, watched the first 5 episodes yesterday, overall it's pretty good, but the whole incest thing just makes everything else look dumb.
KalashnikovMarine wrote: So, I've determined that The Irregular at Magic High School is pretty good, excellent action, some fun characters, but the male and female lead's constant game of incest chicken is kinda... disconcerting, especially when it's clear the little sister ISN'T playing incest chicken, and if she is she's playing to win...
I was not aware chickens could perform incest. I knew Naked Mole rats do, but not chickens.
What I have
~4100
~1660
Westwood lives in death!
Peace through power!
A longbeard when it comes to Necrons and WHFB. Grumble Grumble
I think theoretically anything that reproduces sexually can commit incest.
For our foreign readers the term "incest chicken" is a play on the game "chicken" in which two people do increasingly stupid or dangerous things until one of them chickens out. Standing in front of a train, driving head on at other vehicles. It's really goddamn dumb. This spawned the spin off gay chicken in which two allegedly straight individuals do gay things till one of them gets grossed out. Incest chicken would be similar in the vein of siblings doing or saying romantic things till one of them "chickens out" but considering it's clear the younger sister in Irregular just wants her brother to shut up and kiss her already it's not quite chicken...
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
Anvildude wrote: Got a question for all you SAO haters out there- how far did you end up watching it? Because, aside from a couple pacing issues (honestly, this is one anime that could actually use a couple slice-of-life filler episodes, just to help show 'time passes' at points) I'm liking it. You can't look at it as a Fantasy Adventure show- it's more Hard Sci-fi/Psychological, with the 'fantasy games' as a medium to deliver the social commentary.
Spoiler:
The whole thing with Kirito's sister/cousin unkowingly/knowingly falling in love/lust with him is getting a bit odd, though.
Spoiler:
Until the end of the first arc. GG, boss destroyed, he rescued the princess, they lived happily ever after. (After the start of the next arc I pretty much said: "Oh, hell no").
Yeah, Mahouka is pretty good so far, but at the same time a lot of stuff makes me go "uh?!"
Spoiler:
Like the incident he interrupted. Seriously? Use a spell against another high-school student that transforms your kendo sword into a power sword? Well, that escalated quickly.
The whole sister affair. By now I kinda want she just says it for real so he either says yes or "Oh hell no". That'd be a more interesting char development than the constant jokes.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/05/04 15:53:06
"Fear is freedom! Subjugation is liberation! Contradiction is truth! These are the truths of this world! Surrender to these truths, you pigs in human clothing!" - Satsuki Kiryuin, Kill la Kill
Anvildude wrote: Got a question for all you SAO haters out there- how far did you end up watching it? Because, aside from a couple pacing issues (honestly, this is one anime that could actually use a couple slice-of-life filler episodes, just to help show 'time passes' at points) I'm liking it. You can't look at it as a Fantasy Adventure show- it's more Hard Sci-fi/Psychological, with the 'fantasy games' as a medium to deliver the social commentary.
Spoiler:
The whole thing with Kirito's sister/cousin unkowingly/knowingly falling in love/lust with him is getting a bit odd, though.
Spoiler:
Until the end of the first arc. GG, boss destroyed, he rescued the princess, they lived happily ever after. (After the start of the next arc I pretty much said: "Oh, hell no").
Same.
Spoiler:
Generally I refuse to admit that SAO went past one season
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
Anvildude wrote: Got a question for all you SAO haters out there- how far did you end up watching it? Because, aside from a couple pacing issues (honestly, this is one anime that could actually use a couple slice-of-life filler episodes, just to help show 'time passes' at points) I'm liking it. You can't look at it as a Fantasy Adventure show- it's more Hard Sci-fi/Psychological, with the 'fantasy games' as a medium to deliver the social commentary.
Spoiler:
The whole thing with Kirito's sister/cousin unkowingly/knowingly falling in love/lust with him is getting a bit odd, though.
Spoiler:
Until the end of the first arc. GG, boss destroyed, he rescued the princess, they lived happily ever after. (After the start of the next arc I pretty much said: "Oh, hell no").
Same.
Spoiler:
Generally I refuse to admit that SAO went past one season
Heh, sounds like me and Black Butler
Seriously, the second season suuuucked.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/05/04 18:40:23
What I have
~4100
~1660
Westwood lives in death!
Peace through power!
A longbeard when it comes to Necrons and WHFB. Grumble Grumble
Is anyone watching Brynhildr in the Darkness? I have to say I'm loving that anime immensely, the intro is awesome, so awesome that I want someone to release the extended version just so I can stick it on repeat! The anime itself is really well paced in my opinion and the characters are all pretty good, which I am thankful for, because at least the main character isn't a complete plank as with other harem animes... The episodes do leave you on a cliffhanger, especially the latest one, that aired today.
I agree with the above that they should have left SAO as it was at the end of part one, but
Spoiler:
Part two had possibly my most hated villain in an anime, he was utterly horrible, I don't think I've ever been angry at a character more for what he did to Asuna.
Anvildude wrote: Got a question for all you SAO haters out there- how far did you end up watching it? Because, aside from a couple pacing issues (honestly, this is one anime that could actually use a couple slice-of-life filler episodes, just to help show 'time passes' at points) I'm liking it. You can't look at it as a Fantasy Adventure show- it's more Hard Sci-fi/Psychological, with the 'fantasy games' as a medium to deliver the social commentary.
Spoiler:
The whole thing with Kirito's sister/cousin unkowingly/knowingly falling in love/lust with him is getting a bit odd, though.
I watched the whole show. I'm not like these other guys they hate SAO and didn't even watch the second half. I watched the whole dam thing, They're right. It was terrible. If you have ever heard of a thing called Netorare (no don't google it), it is an utterly terrible fetish in Japan involving being forced to watched the people you love get it off without you. Yup. Messed up. This show love that gak. Their is a reason everyone hates the bad guy. He might just be the worst guy on the planet.
I really liked the first half. The second half/fairy arc was not near as good, but I don't think it was Terrible. Still looking forward to the second season here later this year.
Tyranid Horde wrote: Is anyone watching Brynhildr in the Darkness? I have to say I'm loving that anime immensely, the intro is awesome, so awesome that I want someone to release the extended version just so I can stick it on repeat! The anime itself is really well paced in my opinion and the characters are all pretty good, which I am thankful for, because at least the main character isn't a complete plank as with other harem animes... The episodes do leave you on a cliffhanger, especially the latest one, that aired today.
I haaaaaaate it's cliffhanger tendencies, but it's pretty damn good so far. Second your note on the intro. Do want full length.
I beg of you sarge let me lead the charge when the battle lines are drawn
Lemme at least leave a good hoof beat they'll remember loud and long
Man. I'm gonna have to watch Log Horizon now, to see what you guys consider "Good" VR game anime. I thoroughly enjoyed SAO, and am looking forward to the second season.
Yeah, the show wasn't really an Action/Shounen sword-fest. But it had a lot of ethos and pathos in it, a lot of deep themes that were explored, perhaps not to their fullest, but more subtle-ly and, dare I say, realistically than a lot of other shows that I've seen.
Spoiler:
For example- the idea that, having been trapped for two years in a game world, the 'survivors' of SAO are having trouble re-adjusting to the real world. That they meet up to sort of support each other, but it's not an instant thing, and it didn't end on a "Everyone has a party and fulfills all their promises made as soon as they 'succeed'! Yay!" thing at the end of Season 1. The S1 villain was insane, but he wasn't the traditional "Raving Lunatic" (they saved that for Season 2, and boy, did they do a good job of it) - rather, he was a man who didn't know what he was doing, or why he was doing it. It made the loss of life a little sadder, and the final victory a little less sweet than it otherwise would have been.
Heck, even the incest themes were done with a little more decorum. Instead of the "You're the sexiest thing on two legs, I must have you" stereotype, it was emotional attraction and confusion about who they were to each other, exacerbated by the SAO incedent, and it was resolved through discussion and admission without being "Ding! Solved!" or Deus Ex Machina'd away.
Even the Deus Ex Machinas made sense. There was never a "Surpass the limits of the program through sheer willpower and the power of the Human Spirit!" moment- each time Kirito 'broke' the game, it was due to having formed a bond with someone who had administrator priveleges (or possibly just a bug). He didn't just 'gain immortality, go on epic beatdown' either. There was still self-sacrifice involved.
It was a mental and emotional anime, rather than fuelled by adrenaline.
I, for one, will look forward to a second season, to see what effects such widespread distribution of 'virtual godhood' will cause.
And now on to Log Horizon, to see if it's any good.
GENERATION 8: The first time you see this, copy and paste it into your sig and add 1 to the number after generation. Consider it a social experiment.
If yer an Ork, why dont ya WAAAGH!!
M.A.V.- if you liked ChromeHounds, drop by the site and give it a go. Or check out my M.A.V. Oneshots videos on YouTube!
I've been trawling through the anime on Netflix which I'm willing to watch.
Anvildude, I think we are in fairly strong agreement about SAO. I really liked it, the first arc may well be one of my favorite things. If you are interested in what happens in the second season, it'll probably follow the books which I think ran four total arcs.
arcs 3+4, discussion of first season
Spoiler:
I think arc 3 has to do with a shooter/gun game, and the fourth arc seemed a bit more surreal with time flowing differently and professional players in it to make real world cash. If they continue to follow the books. Arc 2 was not as awesome, some of the things that were good about arc 1 kind of backslid in arc 2. You really start to get more of a harem vibe from it that will probably only continue to grow in the second season, they changed the badass female lead into a damsel in distress, and so on. At the end, they even went so far as to make the relationship between Kirito and Asuna rather more ambiguous while openly having the sister along (which is either cruel or creepy, either he'll be inadvertently leading her on or he's into it). Still, I liked it overall. The first villain was one of those 'I wish he wasn't a bad-guy, he's almost redeemable (minus the second degree murder of thousands of innocents...) and the second guy was flying rodent gak insane and much creepy. I'll definitely watch the second season whenever it becomes conviniently available to me, but I'm going to do so while crossing my fingers and readying a cringe.
Chaoshead; was uhh, interesting. I liked the way it started, but I was kind of glad it was just the 12 episodes.
Attack on Titan. Ehh, it gets a pass, but definitely not on my top 10.
Spoiler:
The whole 3D movement thing... suspension of disbelief... failure. I mean it looks cool, but... I dunno its kind of steampunkish and I just couldn't like it. Plus it's depressing to watch people get eaten. I was about to drop the show around episode 5-6, then the main character got eaten. That got my attention, was this like the Blob? But then only a couple of episodes later he's back, physically unharmed. I guess I'm somewhat curious to see what's in that friggen basement, but I would have liked the show better if it had somehow been a single season. I was kind of expecting single season due to the attrition rate, but not as much. I guess the show was ok, but not my favorite. Watching Mikasa and Captain... crap already dumped the name, cutting things up *was* pretty fun though.
It's been awhile, but Ghost Hunt was neat.
Spoiler:
I kind of wish bleach had developed a little more like I imagine this would (if it were longer than the one season) have with more time. Maintaining the horror aspect while the characters slowly grow in power, rather than take the DBZ route. It was also fun to watch a show like those ghost hunter reality shows, that actually had ghosts
I think I'm nearly out of fun shows to watch on Netflix, and It doesn't seem like amazon prime includes any anime (could be wrong). Too lazy to get the others working on my TV for what little time I spend, so perhaps a hiatus.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/05/04 23:46:50
I do agree that Asuna had a bit of a 'backslide' as you put it- however, that was, I think, meant to showcase the 'you are stuck in a game, and that game has rules you can't break' aspect of things- in the first arc, everyone was paralyzed in the real world, and active and free in the VR world. In the second arc, almost everybody was free in the real world, and limited in the VR world- but two people broke those molds- Insane-o-man, who had no oversight or limiters in either world, and Asuna, who was 'paralyzed' in both worlds- the end broke both.
Honestly, I think the people making SAO understand the story they want to tell, and respect the characters a lot more than many other shows- I'm not too worried about Asuna being pushed aside, and I think Recon, introduced as an alternate love interest for (dang can't remember her real-life name) Leafa, will help cut that down.
I don't know if this goes against the written stuff, but I think the Incest sub-plot was meant more to be taken as a sort of confusion about emotion rather than true romantic attraction. There may have been some legitimate romantic attraction in the VR world, but note that Sugu, when she realized who it was, didn't go all "Well, I'll take advantage of this virtual reality and seduce him!", but rather logged out immediately and prepared to break ties. She's the one attempting to refuse the affection out of sibling love- Kirigaya never showed anything but brotherly affection for her. So I'm not actually worried about that, either.
Shooting game, though, huh? That'll be interesting. Like I said, I don't think SAO should be considered as a Fantasy Anime- it's Sci-Fi, using the 'game world' to showcase themes with more freedom than you could have in a 'realistic' world setting. Leaving the pure fantasy genre even in the games will reinforce that. Unless it's a Magic Shooter. Which would be weird.
.
GENERATION 8: The first time you see this, copy and paste it into your sig and add 1 to the number after generation. Consider it a social experiment.
If yer an Ork, why dont ya WAAAGH!!
M.A.V.- if you liked ChromeHounds, drop by the site and give it a go. Or check out my M.A.V. Oneshots videos on YouTube!
About the showing brotherly love, except for I think a little while leading up to the onset of SAO launching. At some point he figured out they weren't related and got depressed/antisocial which was possibly part of why he was into mmos. But no, he never showed attraction back.
SAO is as much of a fantasy anime as assassin's creed is a game about a long dead assassin. It is, but only on one level, and there are frequent graphical/thematic cues to remind you of it. In AC it was the interface with reloading when you die or misbehave, etc. In SAO it was the various item menus and so on, it feels like a fantasy show, but you know it isn't at the same time. Even the characters know it isn't.
I have to say, I think the concept of SAO would be a totally awesome theme/setting for a D&D (or similar) campaign. The real players play d20 modern style characters playing D&D style characters in a VR MMO and they get similarly trapped. Or maybe they even don't, but anyway that's off topic
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/05/05 00:35:33
It would almost work as a Shadowrun style game- with VR power being something you could potentially get real-world results from, so you might be a 'decker' dedicating all your assets to increasing your ability in that world within a world.
Yeah, could definitely be cool.
GENERATION 8: The first time you see this, copy and paste it into your sig and add 1 to the number after generation. Consider it a social experiment.
If yer an Ork, why dont ya WAAAGH!!
M.A.V.- if you liked ChromeHounds, drop by the site and give it a go. Or check out my M.A.V. Oneshots videos on YouTube!
Anvildude wrote: Got a question for all you SAO haters out there- how far did you end up watching it? Because, aside from a couple pacing issues (honestly, this is one anime that could actually use a couple slice-of-life filler episodes, just to help show 'time passes' at points) I'm liking it. You can't look at it as a Fantasy Adventure show- it's more Hard Sci-fi/Psychological, with the 'fantasy games' as a medium to deliver the social commentary.
Spoiler:
The whole thing with Kirito's sister/cousin unkowingly/knowingly falling in love/lust with him is getting a bit odd, though.
I watched season one to the end. Then I watched .hack//sign again. And then I watched .hack//roots. And then I looked back at SAO and said "LOL nope...not even close..."
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/05/05 04:22:26
"In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same"
) by watching an anime devoted to Medieval economics?
Big Mek Sparkz and his Band of Sparky Ting Huntas: 4,000 points
Our Lady of the Generous Heart: 2,000 points
Thousand Sons: One unbuilt Daemon Prince 
~4100
