Anime Club - Heaven Society

[BashZeStampeedo]

On 10/8/2016 at 11:09 PM, Charger said:

they are making something else... money

That's certainly debatable, but I guess they have to at least be breaking even if they're still making anime.

[Charger]

17 minutes ago, BashZeStampeedo said:

That's certainly debatable, but I guess they have to at least be breaking even if they're still making anime.

someone has to be making money off of it lol

[BashZeStampeedo]

Just now, Charger said:

someone has to be making money off of it lol

Well, only Hollywood complains that they only made a few hundred million off something instead of a Carl Sagan Billion, so I'm guessing that just breaking even is considered a godsend by today's anime industry.

[Tr3vor]

Finished watching serial experiments lain last night, that show has a fuck ton of things going on. Pretty good stuff.

[Thunderpup]

On 10/8/2016 at 1:14 AM, That_Random_Guy said:

My recently finished project, well mostly finished minus the writing on the sword. Saber's Excalibur. Started out as skyrim mod then converted into a printable stl and sliced into about 14ish parts and 3d printed. They were assembled and then primed and sanded and painted. Also most of the origional files were edited to match the actual anime sword a bit better. All in all about 30ish hours including printing. Maybe about $15 in filament. Turned out pretty decent though could have been better if i had the proper sanding tools.

 

Avalon will be coming soon.

 

 

Looks good.

If you haven't you should check out man at arm's video where they made a replica sword in their forge.
They also have done other stuff from Anime/movies/video games. 

 

 

 

[Vitalius]

Neat.

FYI, we game on the weekends and randomly weekday afternoons on the Discord chat. Come join if you want to be involved with that. 

Games we play include:

• Left 4 Dead 2
• Call of Duty 4
• Battlefield 4
• Rocket League
• Payday 2
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• 7 Days to Die
• Grand Theft Auto Online

https://discord.gg/0l79kqWcHsZh4Qjn

[BashZeStampeedo]

It's been forever since I had some time to catch up a little on manga and anime, so I might as well post my impressions here. Hopefully I'll have time to watch more soon, now that I think my long job-hunt is over. I'll spoiler-tag the lot, since it's probably going to be obnoxiously lengthy...

 

Some of this season's anime:

Spoiler

WWW.Working (1). mediocre.
I can see why this wasn't the material they went with for the first anime series; the phrase "scraping the bottom of the barrel" fits this to a T. Of course the first anime hardly had a great start, but at least it felt like they were slowly building up a cast of quirky characters, not just flooding the screen with a bunch of one-note rejects in the hopes that I didn't notice how uninteresting, unfunny, or unsympathetic they all were. That sort of approach never inspires confidence in the material, especially when the comedy and characterization are weaker than the coffee they're serving their customers.

 

Ancient Magus Bride (1). fine.
The in-medias-res opening here got my hopes up a bit, as it gave me the impression that they wanted to get to the interesting stuff in the manga right away, while keeping the lesser elements in the background. Unfortunately they spent most of the episode on the least interesting part of the manga: the lead's backstory. So rather than getting Natsume's Book of Friends meets Snow White with the Red Hair, we have just another misery-porn anime, with yet another meek Japanese kid who's tortured by spirit monsters. How disappointing... I can just watch Natsume's sequel if I want more of that same premise. I really wanted this anime to stand out more.

 

Izetta the Last Witch (1). good.
It's always nice to see anime trying harder than expected (and mostly succeeding), but damn does nothing ever pull you out the mood of a story like this faster than unnecessary yuri overtones and gratuitous shower scenes. Still, I'm always game to give any anime with half-decent writing a shot, and this one passes my basic competence test for now. It demonstrates that they have an eye for the details and the broader picture (also at least some reasonable level of characterization of protagonists and antagonists), but it remains to be seen if they can assemble a decent story from it, or if it will just be a rambling mess of faux-WWII tropes serving as window dressing for a typical modern anime wank-fest.

 

Ninja Girl & Samurai Master (1). fine.
There's usually not much to say for an anime short comedy, but this one could certainly have been a lot worse; in fact it's kinda charming in its self-aware childishness. It's not the wittiest writing, and the jokes are typically corny, but they more or less work. It's certainly fun enough to spend 3.5 minutes on every week.

 

Matoi the Sacred Slayer (1). fine.
That intro was so terrible I think it gave me cancer. The rest of the episode, though? Honestly pretty darn solid. The pacing was snappy and it flowed well, the character work was (generally) likable, and the direction managed to be inventive enough to cover for an unimpressive budget. But nothing could really cover for that wince-worthy "horn-dog" humor or cringe worthy intro sequence. Plus, this doesn't have the chops or ambition to be anything but a staple genre show. All tension is destroyed when you see how easily the monsters in these shows are beaten, so all that solid build up feels like wasted effort.

 

To be Hero (1). fine.
A bit of a parody of One Punch Man, but also of toilet humor itself. I'm in. This isn't great, but it's cathartic in that over-the-top Inferno Cop way. You can tell that everyone from the writers to the animators to the voice actors are having a blast with this one, and that's infectious. Plus, it's not overly lengthy at half-length episodes, so it shouldn't have to feel practically barren for half an episode.

 

Yuri on ICE (1). passable.
Overrated. The writing here is cheap and manipulative, choppily dragging the protagonist around to fulfill the needs of its plot. The drama pounds at your heartstrings, only to whimper away with awkward cuts to nonmedy or shounen-grade overreaction shots. There is even lazy fourth wall breakage to explain what could have easily been seamlessly explained in the episodes' setpiece. The only thing that saves this is that it seems to be apologetically self-conscious about how lazy it is, dipping into moments that could almost pass as self-parody (like the aforementioned set-piece where the lead suddenly sucks in his gut and magically churns out a superstar grade performance for his beloved childhood friend, all hand-waved away as him having practiced it for years instead of just fucking skating professionally all that time, undermining the whole premise of the show and making the lead quite unsympathetic).

 

Cheating Craft (1). fine.
I'm impressed by the effort that went into this half-length episode. Much like Kill la Kill the music makes a huge impact, though their over-use of a boring narrator drags it back down to earth. There were some fun bits, and the only dramatic moment in this season that I kind of liked (the cheater crying over abandoning his friend). Still, this felt like a decent attempt at a bombastic intro for a rather trite and childish show, not the full-blown parody of series like Kill la Kill and Death Note that I was hoping for. I can't say that anything past this first episode will be of note in a series with this set up, but I'm game to find out.

 

Manga I'm following:

Spoiler

Fudatsuki no Kyoko-chan (c13-16.5). fine.
As a genre piece, this is working out pretty well. The lead's personality and circumstances are a nice change of pace, though the comedy's still a bit weak compared to the premise. It could really use a bit more of My Monster Secret's creativity, because I fear that it'll get stale if it remains this restrained (and really I just hope they don't get too dramatic for their own good).

 

Teasing Master Takagi (c28-36.5). fine.
I'm still a bit of a sucker for this one, but it's starting to get stale even for me. The less the comedic and nostalgic aspects shine through, the more the creepy wish-fulfillment aspects do, and that's never a good thing for a series involving young kids. It's nice that they're at least hinting that there is ultimately relationship progress, but we're still stuck in limbo here with barely any progress.

 

Kaguya Wants to be Confessed to (c19-38). good.
Three romcom manga in and this one probably holds up the best. It's just found the best balance of use for its cast, and has a solid approach for taking the piss out of its genre's tropes. It's tough to find a good class-based comedy, let alone one that successfully rides the line so it feels as though it has actual relationship progression. Plus, some of the jokes are pretty hilarious, not just cute (chapter 30 especially).

 

Monthly Girls' Nozaki (c77-81). good.
Nozaki keeps chugging along, being the same as always (including the chuckles). It's a rare manga that can get away with what should be repetitive just by adequately changing the circumstances around the jokes to put new spins on them. I also highly appreciate that the manga doesn't point out all of the character-derived jokes, trusting you to get it (like Nozaki being unable to draw well, etc).

 

Ancient Magus Bride (c28-32). good.
It seems like they're slowly (finally) getting into some sort of plot that will involve Chise being "the new generation" and Elias probably becoming more sinister and "evil" out of jealousy. Not that I mind, because that kind of story is ripe for fascinating character studies, assuming they don't abuse Chise's power and properly motivate everything. I can't say that I'm psyched about every plot point they've introduced (including a highschool/academy), but we'll see soon enough whether they screw this delicate balancing game up or manage to raise it to the next level.

 

Rising of the Shield Hero (c23-27). passable.
Still a rambling, barely-coherent mess of shounen tropes and lazy appeals to teenager emotions; it takes itself far too seriously given the author's lack of storytelling ability. There's only so much flitting from one inane scenery chewing bit-villain to the next that one can take, so this is fast deflating into just another average take on its genre, rather than something with a soul of its own.

 

Yumekuri (c33-39). passable.
The unnecessary cheesecake and triteness of the situations is making Yumekuri more of a slog than I remember earlier. Sure, it's nice to see them trying to put their goddess through her emotional paces, but everything has that blobby, sappy quality to it that doesn't really scream sincerity. The end of the fortune cat arc just felt dragged out and unfulfilling, even for a silly support harem manga lamely riffing on the Ah My Goddess formula.

 

Tomo Is a Girl! (c326-443). fine.
Tomo's doing a bit better than some of the earlier bits that had me concerned, but at this point it's really Carol and Misuzu that are keeping the show going for me. Tomo and Jun are fun in small doses, but they're too static as characters to entertain much, let alone carry a joke that feels fresh. Even Jun's backstory amounted to a heck of a lot of nothing so far, despite them teasing that there's actual relationship progress happening.

 

Maiden Spirit Zakuro (c55-69). passable.
I've come to realize that while this manga can be very endearing when it's just faffing about, I haven't actually come to care about much that's going on here. That's a sad thing when you're this far into a story. Thankfully I can usually count on Riken and Susukihotaru to keep me mildly invested, but they so rarely get any moments, and after two lackluster arcs I worry that this one involving their characters will also be anticlimactic. It's probably my own fault for wishing this manga was better, but damn if it doesn't come so close that I wish it could cross that asymptote.

 

My Monster Secret (c125-145). great.
This is probably my favorite romcom manga of the last few years (even counting contenders like Nozaki). Every time I think it's faltering, they quickly manage to steer it right again. There are some great payoffs, and they manage to keep me guessing as to which way they'll go. The silly reaction shots are still just a goofy as always, and they have an uncanny ability to repeat the same joke over and over while raising it to the next level to keep it funny. Plus they're not shy about being a solid little genre story that's parodying the hell out of the genre. It's just fun all around, even while it's mocking itself.

 

[Belgarionbg]

Hey guys, have a look what I have found

 

 

its like full blown hentai worthy bed. So amazing!  *_*

[TetraSky]

4 hours ago, Belgarionbg said:

Hey guys, have a look what I have found

 

 

its like full blown hentai worthy bed. So amazing!  *_*

Slime? That just look like glue to me, that ain't "slime".

[wolfgang]

7 hours ago, Belgarionbg said:

Hey guys, have a look what I have found

 

its like full blown hentai worthy bed. So amazing!  *_*

Thats called a tar pit. It killed dinosaurs originally.

[Railgun]

So has anyone else here seen Kiznaiver? I thought it was pretty good.

[TetraSky]

52 minutes ago, Railgun said:

So has anyone else here seen Kiznaiver? I thought it was pretty good.

I've seen it, thought it was pretty ordinary and nothing to write home about. The opening song was pretty good though.

[brownninja97]

I never though this day would come but i got a Crunchyroll subscription. 

 

Now i need to do the second this i never thought id do, watch Hyouka. 

[SeraphicWings]

Thought I wouldn't get any good anime this Fall, but WWW.Working!! happens

 

Just 3 episodes and the casts left such a great impression on me already

[BashZeStampeedo]

3 minutes ago, SeraphicWings said:

Thought I wouldn't get any good anime this Fall, but WWW.Working!! happens

 

Just 3 episodes and the casts left such a great impression on me already

 

Not to be a downer or jerk, but what earns it that level of praise exactly? And what other anime are you watching that don't measure up?

[SeraphicWings]

3 minutes ago, BashZeStampeedo said:

 

Not to be a downer or jerk, but what earns it that level of praise exactly? And what other anime are you watching that don't measure up?

Since I really enjoyed the original Working I just feel like going back to what I liked before though, different cast but the same awkward and funny interactions, plus romantic development 

 

And I haven't watch any anime other than WWW.Working!! because I'm focusing on reading light novels at the moment

[BashZeStampeedo]

Just now, SeraphicWings said:

Since I've been watching the original Working I just feel like going back to what I liked before though, different cast but the same awkward and funny interactions, plus romantic development 

 

And I haven't watch any anime other than WWW.Working!! because I'm focusing on reading light novels at the moment

Ah, ok, so different standards to mine. I can see why it might feel "good" if that's where you're coming from, not that I'm saying that to be snarky or anything. Hopefully you'll find something even better soon.

 

[SeraphicWings]

Just now, BashZeStampeedo said:

Ah, ok, so different standards to mine. I can see why it might feel "good" if that's where you're coming from, not that I'm saying that to be snarky or anything. Hopefully you'll find something even better soon.

 

Well, everyone has different opinions on their taste though

[Charger]

All of our tastes are shit and that's fine

[BashZeStampeedo]

2 minutes ago, SeraphicWings said:

Well, everyone has different opinions on their taste though

Yeah, but I did mean something you personally like. I'm someone who hopes people will broaden their horizons and tastes, even if they don't match mine.

[SeraphicWings]

Just now, BashZeStampeedo said:

Yeah, but I did mean something you personally like. I'm someone who hopes people will broaden their horizons and tastes, even if they don't match mine.

I do try though, but currently I'm into LNs reading so I'd say my personal preference would be comedies, dramas, romance, also a bit action and adventure works for me as well (those are both my anime and LN's type of genre that I enjoy the most)

[BashZeStampeedo]

1 minute ago, SeraphicWings said:

I do try though, but currently I'm into LNs reading so I'd say my personal preference would be comedies, dramas, romance, also a bit action and adventure works for me as well (those are both my anime and LN's type of genre that I enjoy the most)

Plenty of that stuff is airing, so I'm sure you'll find one once you peek up past your LNs again

[Railgun]

29 minutes ago, brownninja97 said:

I never though this day would come but i got a Crunchyroll subscription. 

 

Now i need to do the second this i never thought id do, watch Hyouka. 

your profile picture gives me PTSD

[SeraphicWings]

3 minutes ago, BashZeStampeedo said:

Plenty of that stuff is airing, so I'm sure you'll find one once you peek up past your LNs

I would watch it later when it has Blu-ray release though, the thought of suffering from cliffhangers (especially on dramas), scares the shit out of me

 

For example, If I watched White Album 2 while it was airing, I would have cardiac arrest at the 3 last episodes

[BashZeStampeedo]

4 hours ago, SeraphicWings said:

I would watch it later when it has Blu-ray release though, the thought of suffering from cliffhangers (especially on dramas), scares the shit out of me

 

For example, If I watched White Album 2 while it was airing, I would have cardiac arrest at the 3 last episodes

You should really develop some more tolerance to that sort of thing