Blatch Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 2... ~Simple Twist of Fate~ ~main review~ The episode begins with another flashback, and this time Birdy fights a monster. Cut to the present time when Birdy-as-Shion is with Nataru. They both talk, and want to be closer as they were as Altan children, but Nataru doesn't want to talk about it. He adopted a new last name of two-thirds of a Touhou character, Shinmyou. Notable tidbits we learn about him are that he's treating a patient named Shogo who recognizes Birdy, and she is bound in a wheelchair after an incident which also killed her brother. She is also too jealous of Birdy. But enough gawk, because Nataru, just another one of those pesky Altans living on Earth, wants to be left alone. Birdy meets up with Megius again to learn more about the current conflict. What the prisoners use to disguise themselves as humans is called a Mimesis Chip. Birdy took the one from Lino after his death yesterday night. Meanwhile, back at school, Tsutomu is with... whatever club, and the students find notable intelligence on a message board dedicated to locating aliens. It mentions the incident at the hotel where a girl went missing, which is Shion in all likelihood. It's also something Tsutomu gets panky about. So now Birdy is back at home with her caretaker Irma (the old lady), and now, shockingly, Capella, with her name being said for the first time in the show, either season. She's now the servant of Birdy's household. She mainly serves as comic relief, in a departure from her double-crossing antics with Shyamalan and being known as the "Goddess of Death". But Irma, in exchange for confirming an appointment where Shion will dress as a monkey, tells her to go into town and look for the criminal named Agrazume. So she complies almost instantly. The finding the dude part, not with the monkey. She rides and finds the dude, instigating an intense battle! The two go skyward and toss each other around, into the Ryunka'd ruins of the urban area. But only now does a mysterious assailant—as in, Nataru—come forth, targeting Agrazume with an evil glare in his eyes. He subsequently mauls them, tearing sharp wounds and ripping the poor guy's arm off, and ending with his disintegration to a wall, with blood stained on the concrete. Through flashbacks, we see him at a dining event on a planet where the Ryunka was activated. Whether or not it was Earth or somewhere else is unknown, though considering he survived whatever conspired up there, it was probably where the Ryunka didn't destroy the whole planet. And yeah, this is Nataru, so the event killed his brother. I guess he was mourned at a Buddhist cemetery (Note: my only such experience with the culture in anime is from the last episode of the dreaded Deadman Wonderland). But with this now done and dusted, he has five more people to go. For what purpose? To dispose of the Ryunka, probably! Now, critical opinion: Great fucking episode. And yet it was one where I said "Whaaaaa?" about a dozen times. I feel like I can trust this show to give me the answers eventually, because it can do so in subtle ways. Seeing Capella now at Shion's place was pretty weird at first, but she managed to justify a reason without it seeming like "LOL, we're doing this now" through a conversation to Irma. Maybe the OVA would have gone over this in better detail, but the show itself already shows the work, so I have no need. Also, the stuff with Nataru is being handled very tastefully, even though I don't know if the implied romance would happen with him or another person. Maybe there isn't one happening and I'm just reading too hard into this. But also, some great animation in this one for sure. I loved the cuts in Birdy and Agrazume's battle scene, but it was also some more subtle moments such as various reaction faces by Shion that really made this one look pretty. For a show which premiered in early 2009 (before I registered my current Neopets account, so it's ancient), it looks really good, yo. Oh, and Nataru. I really want to know what's up with the guy. ~stray observations~ Oh yeah, so I forgot to mention... there's an OVA. It's actually listed as Episode 26 on the Funi release. It connects the two seasons, but I have no idea if it'd be worth watching as a gap or to put it off until the end for fear of being spoiled, since it did come out after the series proper finished. Either way, I'm already two episodes in, so I might as well take the wait. Though it will likely be exaggerated for comedy if shown, I'd like to point out that you can make a monkey girl look work if it's subtle enough. I should know because I tiered for the card. On the credits... the characters are now listed by their full names (so, "Birdy Cephon Altera" instead of just Birdy, and Birdy now does the preview of the next episode as a younger version of herself, and not Shion. I like these changes, although their names are always in order, so it removes who got top billing in the episodes. Also, there are now drop shadows for the text. Dub thoughts: Eric Vale is a pretty good Nataru. And at this point, Luci Christian has gotten really good at hitting Birdy's rather smarmy attitude towards Tsutomu and her caretakers. Perhaps a romance would be good since it'd finally let Sanji take it all out on a strong woman. What's on Blatch's iPod? Soundshock! Three entire albums with Sega Genesis-inspired funk chiptunes. And it's got a lot of names I've talked about already: Virt, Zabutom, Shabanulah, and all the rest are great people who just want to get pleasure out of rhythms. I've listened to all three albums in a row before, and while it does get a fair bit same-y towards the end, it's some great music on the whole. ~the content rating is TV-MAV~ ..and now you're getting out of hand. You can probably guess what particular act brought this on. Of course, there was already dollops of intense violence (Birdy's fighting here, some spare dead bodies there), but the graphic arm removal of Agrazume was an activist. And the fact that he lost a whole gallon of blood from just one limb was what pushed it over the top. I can't think of anything from Re:Zero to compare it to aside from maybe Rem giving Subaru a really graphic arm slash. But even then, I didn't see anything come apart. Pro, and... I guess it's another pro. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 3... ~Somewhere in Time~ ~main review~ This one is basically Refugees: The Episode. The Journalism Club is there past the ruins of Roppongi to check in on the people who survived the attack. They meet two kids named Marina (oh) and Takumi who love each other very much, and want to run away to into the ruins to "live forever". As it turns out, I think an abandoned and rundown bus is a shitty place to live in, but they don't care. All that's needed is for Takumi to get a job. Sadly, he can't pay to make the goons hiding in the ruins go away and Birdy has to beat them up, along with Nataru, who's working at the camp in-between sessions of being a drug addict. That's the main plot of the episode, but there is more: We learn about Violin, Birdy's robot mom who was with her when she was young, as she ate about a million Japari Buns. Prior to this, she was only seen in flashbacks way back early in the first season, and not in a good context. So yeah, that's a thing. I really don't have much to say about this episode, but I liked it. Stuff is just happening for many different people and they're all going about it well. The Ryunka is still very much in play, even if it's locked up wherever Nechla wanted, so it's just a matter of... okay, go get it. And provide a narrative climax so all the starving animators can go home. Seriously, why did they put so much effort into Marina glomping Sudou? One of them had a death wish, but maybe they're still alive. ~stray observations~ Well, 'least I'm an orange. Sudou was actually the resident butt monkey for this episode. In addition to that, he was actually punched by Marina and got a nosebleed, and then she wanted to take his money as payment for getting a tour of the refugee camp and beyond. Maybe things would have swung his way if he'd just went out sightseeing in the ruins with Masakubo. I guess things aren't looking good for Nataru right now. And he doesn't even know about Tsutomu and Birdy being the exact same. ~the content rating is TV-14V~ A flashback to Nataru when he made the guy disintegrate in a wall was already a 14 set, but then he got hit by a wrench while in the present day by those goons. He was bloodied, but not particularly gored. Of course, in lieu of upgrading her Sentry, Birdy appeared to wreck shit the fuck up. And now my post is rated higher than this episode, so I guess that's a win. By my standards, almost perfectly between a 14 straight and a 14V, but some violent blood splatters on the windows of the bus pushed it over the top. Now, to counteract against contemplation of the shortness, here's sex, and money. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 4... ~Tears are Not Enough~ ~main review~ Continuing with the trend of opening flashbacks, this episode starts with less than 16 seconds of Birdy being amused at a magical bunny/cat toy. And then it goes to neither bunny- nor catgirls, but a swimsuit competition. Many girls (including Shion, the guest of honor) are flaunting bikinis in a large indoor pool complex, but it's disappointing since we don't actually see any of them swim in the pool. It's like that episode of Family Guy where Stewie took steroids so he could beat people up but it only happened for about two scenes, and this time the surrounding show is actually good so I don't have to complain about it. Apparently getting the job has given Birdy another lead. She heads to the bar with a feminine-tilted androgynous person and makes them beg for mercy. Even as Shion, she can be very bloodthirsty. The Berserker Killer still lives! Maybe! Meanwhile, Nataru is with his dad over at the private bookstore he owns. His name is Dusk. His services are mostly for his son and Muroto as well. He was a member of Isdalta, who carried out a terrorist attack on Oriotera's Central Tower. Even though he's clearly sorry, at least when Nataru hears about it, he also helped free the Ryunka prisoners and manufactured the Mimesis Chips for so they could disguise themselves, which puts him in a very sticky position with his son and Birdy, who is a good policewoman who actually persecutes people for their crimes. Dusk leaves the shop but soon finds his evil comrades again, who think he's a dangerous man and a snitch. He's interrogated and then quickly killed, which makes Nataru sad. I guess he just wanted his father to be reformed into a decent person. That's an overarching theme for this series that's easy to miss. I mean, Birdy probably has one too (at least if flashbacks are any indication), but she has become a very solid force for good and Tsutomu is always there to help show her the way. And even Nataru, for as prone to violence as he has been in this arc, couldn't even muster a warning shot against his dad. I'm a person who doesn't think everyone can be saved, but I guess if that's what makes Nataru happy, he should go for it. But now he wants revenge, and the end of the episode sees him hunting down one of the frog children, Faroid... and brutally ripping their arms off. And then he kills him with a giant brick. Causing blunt trauma seems to be his default method of execution. Overall, a good episode, but it needs more of Tsutomu's friends to be effective. ~stray observations~ What's on Blatch's iPod? The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Rick Wakeman. Very lovely synth-prog. Also, see if you can find Tales from Topographic Oceans's hidden riff. Who knew Masakubo was so into ladies? I thought he was just some crazy guy who went on urban adventures to please his peen? I don't know what was up with that person, but between them and Muroto crossdressing as an old lady earlier on, this show is... a little interesting when it comes to inclusion. File this one under "Sitcom tropes": Birdy-as-Shion and Muroto just barely miss each other, with the latter wanting to know more. And, somewhat related: The comedic relief mercenaries show up after Birdy-as-Shion punches a wall. Man, I love those guys. ~the content rating is TV-MAV~ Dusk's death came first, as one of the criminals made him cough several gallons of blood. Before dying, they ripped one of his robotic arms out. And then it was Nataru's turn to do the same against one of the frogs. The fact that it was not only pretty damn brutal, with them screaming in agony, but it was done to a child (or at least they're implied to be one), which is very much a no-no and I think that's a good enough reason to take it to the top. Another notable content: Mild cleavage in wild amounts; Shion's boobs gyrating; uses of "pissed", "bastard" (twice), and "suck"; and the depicted explosion of the Central Tower. Repetitive joke, and Dusk gets the short end of the stick. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 5... ~Before It's Too Late~ ~main review~ Big and eventful episode coming up, so stay with me. Nataru is at the hospital getting drugs and tending to the girl in the wheelchair who knows Birdy. According to him, they're not in love... maybe. Not right now, at least. The remaining criminals want to kill Birdy. To do this, they set a trap: kidnap Irma. It works... well enough. She has to go there, and while Irma escapes all nicely (and with Capella's help) despite Birdy having their death wish, she gets overpowered, ARROW'd with super technology blasts, and thwonk'd into the Roppongi pavement. She goes through the magic portal to get back home. The second half is really weird, and it's better I don't spoil it for you because its uniqueness makes it so great. But here's the gist of it: Mind fusion is finally taking place between Birdy and Tsutomu (but I thought it was because they were spending too much time together?) and now Tsutomu is a kid in Birdy's memories. But, more distressingly, Tsutomu now has Birdy's body with his voice (they occasionally sync up). And now Tsutomu is... reverse-crossdressing. He can't bear the shame of going to school looking like that, since the faculty would almost certainly call the police and get some specialists on the line. The Nakasugi incident was weird enough. You don't want that happening in this town again. So instead, the gig is to do "Tsutomu-as-Birdy-as-Shion" until Megius can figure out a way to fix things. He goes to gigs and meets a crazed Masakubo along the way. And also... very Girls High-ian humor. It comes with the stupid and leaves a professional to do it for you. Because of coarse Tsutomu has to get the most embarrassing gigs on this particular day. He even has to eat a plate of dried bugs. Why. ...I'll just leave things off there. You don't need to hear anything else. ~stray observation~ I will say that it's shocking for this long to go by without maid fanservice showing up. Did Shion ever do that originally? ~the content rating is TV-14~ One use of "bastard", a "suck" word and I think "pissed", so it's the same as last time. The violence was tricky: No bloodshed, but it was pretty intense on the whole with mid-air combat featuring Birdy taking a lot of punches. Also, Tsutomu's first flashback involved him as a child seeing blood, and there was a surprising blood-red skull pop-up. Finally, Tustomu(-as-Birdy-as-Shion) looking through a door of panties--and seemingly wanting to feel his own breasts--are about as lewd even out of context as you'd want them to be. I can't feel... no sense of measure. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Get the sensation... again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 6... ~A Prisoner of the Past~ ~main review~ This episode now available from the Discount Flashback Warehouse for $20.11.01. That's twenty dollars and eleven point zero one cents dollars. Negius arranges for the errata'd Tsutomu to go into his own mind and find out what's making Birdy be not-Birdy. He goes in and first witnesses the young Birdy's first day at school. Being an Altan, she is subjected to harassment from one of the students. She gets the jump on him with a punch. Talk about a nice first impression! After a while, she leaves regular school to go into child military training. Skeletso arranges the holodeck to show a fight simulation, which Birdy passes very easily. Later on, she meets the young Nataru, and the two become friends very quickly. He gains enough of her trust to bring her to his own house, with a younger Dusk among the dudes she finds. Of course, they'll be bombing the Central Tower soon, which means Birdy is a perfect weapon for them to... uh, use. The only non-flashback scene after they start is of Nataru going crazy with drug withdrawals. So I'm guessing not a lot of time has passed since this experience began. 'tis all this time. ~the content rating is TV-PGV~ The worst violence was when hecklers knocked Nataru onto the ground and made his forehead bleed; not the first time I've seen that. Prior, Birdy instigated violence against... well, he's a dog alien. Now, the next episode preview featured shots of violence at the (C/c)entral (T/t)ower, including a guard getting cut in half at the waist. But I'll assume nothing in these previews counts towards the rating, much like the OP rule. Not to mention, it'd be fun to see people assume I rated it wrong. "Dumbass" was the only swear, which I guess is more acceptable than "asshole"? Just guessing. And yeah, next week's post should be a bit better. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 (edited) ---> State of the Blatch: 07/16/2017 Basically, I went quick on the last one because of my summer Calculus retake. Everything should be okay going forward, especially since I just finished a crucial test. As for what my next show is... I haven't forgotten about Nichijou. All I need to do is buy the physical release, but it is expensive, which is why I haven't done so yet. So yeah, unless it suddenly returns to Crunchyroll, coverage may not be happening for a while. I probably won't announce the next show until I make the first post for it. It'll be a total surprise, but you'll like it anyway. Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 7... ~We Will Meet Again~ ~main review~ Birdy is being taken care of by Violin only in her memories. As it turns out, the actual version of her was not a very kind parent, and would frequently ignore her requests to have fun. This likely did a number on her mental health. Soon after this, we get the flashback from the first episode of 02, where Nataru saves Birdy after she falls into a ravine. Of course, as an Altan, she wasn't hurt. And Tuto shows up again, which is very cool. It's been two years since the last terrorist attack on Oriotera, which makes it a very good day for the terrorists to commit the bombing on the Central Tower. And yes, Birdy gets a front row seat to it all, which is quite unfortunate. The attackers planned this out very well: There's a swarm of robots coming in from the lower tunnels, and they shred through every foot soldier guarding the place. Skeletso tells the young Birdy to escape from the Central Tower as quickly as she can. It is here that the episode gets weird... but not for the reasons you'd think. Violin follows her into the tunnels under the tower, and she proves to be adept at fighting robots. There are some great animation cuts here, but they sacrifice animation detail for fluidity. This screenshot should give an idea of what it's like. Also, some parts look choppy. This mostly happens while Violin defeats the mook robots and subsequently goes for the big guy, which kills her. Goddamn. Birdy then goes up to it and beats its shit out ten ways to the other side of the universe. It's solemn, heart-wrenching, epic... all the superlatives. Birdy almost dies herself trying to destroy the beast before a mysterious man comes in and brings her out of the tunnels before the tower explosion. He looks like Nataru, albeit when powered up, but this is still rooted in the past. But regardless, now that the experience is over, Tsutomu talks to Birdy and helps her regain self-worth, and the episode ends with her (as Shion) looking upon the Roppongi ruins. And so here comes the final disc with everything back to normal, although Nataru is still out there and committing child homicides. God, this was a great episode. All I don't know is what happened in-between Birdy getting carried out of the tunnels and her coming back home and meeting the spirit Tsutomu. I also have no idea how the heck he found Birdy to begin with, unless that was just a natural outcome of the process. Either way, this does not count as a good example of overcoming PTSD. ~stray observations~ Interestingly, while the ED plays as normal (but maybe it wasn't like that in the original version, since the Funi release still doesn't have them clean), perhaps as a triumphant reprise following Birdy being back to normal, the next episode preview has no accompanying footage, and the music is a solemn piano riff. I guess the young Birdy just wasn't into things this week. Unless you count Negius looking in on the flashbacks as IRL material, this one had none of it until the end. Quite a ballsy move, but clearly all for the better. I guess the show could've done a better job with Violin. She never really did anything evil as had been somewhat implied, and her most notable act was actually saving Birdy from the giant robot. That deserves some applause. And that was how Birdy became "the berserker killer", or at least when the seeds were planted for it. Maybe there's still some backstory to tell. Apparently behind the Central Tower bombing was an individual named... Christella Revi. I'm just putting this on the record for obvious reasons. ~the content rating is TV-MAV~ For additional insight, let me walk you through this episode's levels of violence: TV-PG - Well... it requires the bare minimum of threat. I guess a terrorist bombing applies in this instance. TV-PGV - Skeletso got bloodied in the face, his eye looking like it was about to come loose. Also, every single explosion. TV-14 - Increased tension from the terrorist bombing. TV-14V - This is where the violence gets more prevalent: Violin getting brutally beaten by the robot, with blood coming from her eyes (I could've made a joke about that, but it'd date this post pretty badly) was the primary offender. TV-MA - The slaughter of the government forces was just too much. For instance, the poor soul who got sliced in half... TV-MAV - ...and there were many more just like that. Violent blood splatters abound. I've mentioned before that bodily harm will get this top rating more than sheer blood (with some exceptions), and this delivered on both fronts. This is the third such rating for the show. It's gonna have to start hauling ass if it wants to beat Re:Zero's record of seven, but at least I now know why Funi gave it an MA straight on the box. Also notable? Skeletso saying "bastard" twice. And now, the images: Violin's backside showing during a scene of destruction, and the good old "wave o' babies" maneuver, only with fully-formed robots. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 8... ~Falling in Love with Love~ ~main review~ Just so you know right away, this is another cooldown episode. It's actually pretty funny, too. Birdy is back in her own fake body, and back on her bullshit. She gets interviewed by Muroto (who looks a bit off model in this episode) about who she really is, and she gives an honest reply. So that's a... thing. I don't know why he'd conduct the interview in a crowded office space except unless they would normally think he'd be lying, but this incident goes along without incident. And then she meets up with Nataru again at the hospital. Of course, that damn Shoko has the hots for him still. She takes the two hugging together as an insult, and later taking the piss out on him, telling Nataru to enjoy his awesome life with stupid Shion Arita. The rest of the episode consists of Birdy-as-Shion trying to hunt her down, with Nataru in tow. This would be easier if it weren't for a bunch of fangirls excited for the release of Shion's first CD, as well as those hilariously ineffective goons who now drive taxis. Later on, there's an infodump about Shoko and how Nataru used to know her. She was taken in by Nataru's big brother later on. Before he died, they were inseparable. Also, Shoko has apparently healed enough to walk again without a wheelchair or crutches, so at the end of the episode, she gets to go back home with her family, who I guess are not terrorists. Everything seems to be going according to plan, as Birdy and Nataru can now actually do romance together without any dissenters. But at the very end of the episode, Nataru goes home... and who do you know but one the terrorists is there, with a gun in her hand which subsequently shoots him. Aside from whatever the hell that was, this one was down to Earth and very enjoyable. Well, I enjoyed the shooting, but in a different way. Even though it packed a PG straight for most of the episode (see below), I knew something had to happen by the end of the episode, and this show loves to pull out last-second twist endings. ~stray observations~ Dub thoughts: Honestly, out of all the characters in this show, Shoko's dub VA (Maxey Whitehead) is the only one I'm not 100% on. She just doesn't sound like a kid, and parts of her performance sound forced, as if to obey the bratty half-pint type. Though I guess she's done other such characters before or since, so I would hope for improvements. Shion Arita's dad is part-Russian and married a Japanese man, and both of 'em live in Moscow now. That's a smoking gun. Just make sure to say hi to Mr. Plisetsky for me before the health care push. At the mall where Birdy fought fanboys were Natsumi (who somehow showed up at the hospital earlier; I don't know if she has a job there) and Sudou, but amazingly NOT Masakubo, despite him being a bigger fan of her than anybody. I mean, the laws of average should a coincidental appearance of two characters is already probable, so why not add him in as well? No, Hitler didn't sing on an original CD, because the medium didn't exist back then. Norio Tsukudani sure as hell did, however. Continuing the preview-ings from last episode, now the adult Birdy does them, and they're more serious than before. Nice job about the seamless transition, guys. This episode had some good animation from a purely technical standpoint, including a tracking perspective shot when Shoko comes up on Birdy and Nataru, and for her reaction, the sides of the image curve a bit. To me, it feels like the opposite of a fish-eye lens. A scene with Muroto getting mad and punching the desk was also well-animated. His hot coffee went SPLOOSH. Oh hey, so I finally fixed screenshot 7B for the first season. Look at it here. ~the content rating is TV-14~ PG sets would include Shoko thinking Shion wanted to kidnap her, some mild innuendo, and Shion wearing a skimpy outfit in a display for the CD... but I ultimately considered the gunshot on Nataru to be worthy of a higher rating. And now, here's him as a baby, and just a few random diners on the roof. Edited January 21, 2018 by Blatch Even if I corrected the Nakasugis, this was still a weird mistake. => Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Alright, so it's clearly been a while since I actually posted in this thread whose concept I am to thank for, and when it comes down to it, the prospect of watching more To Love-Ru is a little too painful for me to actually go through with it. I'll finish it eventually, don't worry. Just not now, and maybe not here. Instead, I will work my ratings magic on an entirely new series; one that I won't get super into like this is my blog, but will comment on here in regards to ratings. The actual commentary goes in the anime-watching thread, specific ratings concerns go in here. As for what series it is, I'll leave that for you to figure out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 9... ~Space, Time, and You~ ~main review~ Nataru has been shot by Moss, one of the few members of the terrorist group still alive. But, he actually has the unique ability to distort spacetime. The problem is that it causes him immense pain, necessitating all those pills. He goes back in time to prevent the ambush by Moss, which does leave him shaken. After spending a night knocked out on his apartment porch, he returns to work, because a good doctor is always a hot commodity. However, Moss isn't done yet: She has a follow up plan to masquerade as a patient with an injured arm, visit the hospital, and go all Ted Bundy on Nataru's ass. And does it work? Well, if Nataru wasn't able to control his powers, it would have. Nataru then tumbles through the continuum, going back to when he got attacked (again), and then to when he met with Birdy-as-Shion in the last episode, followed by when Dusk was still alive and he wanted the guy to run away as far as he could from the apartment. And then he went all the way back to his childhood, with his older accomplice... his name is now known to be Yuichi Kagami. Of course, future Nataru still has the bomb Moss threw at him, so he tosses it in a pond, so it explodes, creating a scene the younger Nataru is mesmerized by. And then future Nataru goes all the way back to the present. This would be fine if his eyes weren't red and sometimes bleeding. He then calls Birdy, in the middle of an idol shoot, to go get him some medicine. It's at his former home, to which he's decided not to return out of fear he'll be attacked again. He actually lives at Muroto's place now. The pills help him cope from whenever he makes a time jump. So she obliges; getting the medicine and bringing them out to him while he's in a car. But Birdy-as-Shion notices the bad shape he's in, and asks for answers... which she won't get, since he drives away soon after, defiant. And as far as the preview is concerned, Capella actually shows up in it and she seems to be fighting back based on the footage. Considering how far back in the game she's been this entire season, I'll be pumped if she does something. Though, if she ends up becoming a villain again, she better not displace the terrorists... Three episodes left, dudes. It's exciting. ~the content rating is TV-14V~ There's a lot to go about here: Nataru getting shot, then shot again, followed by his adventures in spacetime which cause bleeding. And Moss's explosive disk that 'sploded in a dreamtime. Also, two uses of "sucks" and an ass-word. Furthermore, this episode's version of the gunfight was bloodier, and there was a visible hole in Nataru's jacket, with blood coming out. Screenshots here include Nataru getting into his former apartment and a rare instance of the characters looking at you, rather than the bug. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 7, 2017 Author Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 10... ~It Never Entered My Mind~ ~main review~ I'll start with Capella's scene. Sadly, it doesn't amount to much. She gets taken into custody by the Federation, which I guess is an excuse to excommunicate her from the story. At least Irma will be a character witness and there's a chance she could be spared. As for the main plot, it starts with Tsutomu's school having a culture festival, because virtually every anime needs to have at least one scene featuring one, regardless of how much sense it makes. Now, when I finally get to writing something, I'll give my personal opinions on them... but all he does is work for the Journalism Club (they made posters about the Roppongi refugees) and talks to Birdy, who is silently moping. Nataru could never be such a bloodthirsty monster... right? This is a good use of dramatic irony, and it sets the scene for the rest of the episode. Meanwhile, the remaining criminals are busy intercepting a nuclear warhead from an American(!) warship. It's implied that a weapon of such force is what's needed to kill freaks of nature like Nataru, which is not a good sign. There's an explosion onboard, but they seem to get out of it unharmed. While looking at pictures of Roppongi, Birdy sees something through Tsutomu. It looks like Nataru's kilk. She travels to the ruins at lightning speed and finds this to be true. So this implies to her that Nataru really did commit a murder in the area at some point. Later on, Nataru notices a picture of Tasera, the other young frog alien, among those in Muroto's picture gallery, which makes him want to kill her as well... even if she actually disconnected from the other alien criminals, favoring peace. You can probably guess what'll soon happen. It ain't pretty. It's a heartbreaking episode, and it probably pushes Nataru over the moral event horizon more than anything else. Killing one child in cold blood is already an awful offense, but you just can't come back from killing his sister as well. Barely anything is left of him... only revenge. His cold-hearted silence upon finding Birdy just a minute after killing Tesera really drives it home. And now Birdy herself is mad because she still felt something for Nataru and opted not to prosecute him. So now she's in doubt of her authority as part of the (F/f)ederation. Fucking ouch. Maybe tune in here for two more episodes (three in all) to see how it all goes down. ~stray observations~ Well, to demonstrate comic relief... that nun did not look like a woman at all. Maybe Muroto has a secret twin? Crazy Masakubo is the best. And Sudou really got into it as well. This is the earliest dub I've seen Ian Sinclair have a role in. I previously thought he was new to Funi at around the time Space Dandy's dub recorded, so it's nice to see how he goes back. When Aniplex steals the license to your favorite anime and you can't stream it anymore. Alternatively, anything about Anime Strike. "Genuinely crazy people with nukes"? "No launch codes required"? I am 100% responsible for what happened a few days after this post, and I'm sorry for it. ~the content rating is TV-MAV~ I think we've reached terminal gore with this one. Moss chopping the heads off of brainwashed American soldiers was already enough for the top rating, but then we got a (morbidly sentimental) montage of Nataru's greatest kills, followed by the Tasera decapitation. There's just no doubting this. Now... young Birdy going for a ride (we're not done with flashbacks yet!) and that kilk within the ruins of Roppongi. What secrets might lie in the darkest secret of men? Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Bad Blatch. Now's not the time to make me panic again. Bad. Also, Ian Sinclair's been around FUNi at least as far back as when they dubbed Baccano!. Dallas Genoard was the first role I ever remember hearing him in. Also, I remember him showing up in episode 1 of Black Cat's dub as a minor baddie with a sweet-ass visor and giant boomerang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 7, 2017 Author Share Posted August 7, 2017 What, the sardonic joke about armageddon? There wasn't any agenda behind it, if you were wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Yeah. Though I'm certain you meant no harm by it, and I'm certain nothing drastic will come of the real-life tensions that fueled them, I'm just not in the mood for jokes relating to that sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 8, 2017 Author Share Posted August 8, 2017 Yeah, I'd rather try to stop World War III from happening than make a blunt joke about it. And there are too many people out there (even those on this very forum) who don't realize what they can do to prevent the situation, even if it's small. I look at the blowback towards things like health care repeal (and calls for a single-payer system) and wonder why there isn't an adjacent movement for peace. But enough of that crap. The warhead isn't even mentioned in this next episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 (edited) Okay, spoiler-marked panic aside, I'm finally ready to announce what series will be replacing To Love-Ru in this thread until such time that I'm ready to start watching it again. It's this piece (of junk). Ironic, isn't it? Normally I wouldn't bother with a show bearing both the fantasy setting and the harem element, but because Chaps, a.k.a. one of the only three decent people from CSW, only covered three episodes on Random Curiosity, and because there's a relevant staff member somewhere in the middle that I'm utilizing for that personal writing project you heard me talking about in the Anime Watching thread, I thought I'd give it a little look-see. It should be interesting doing one of these for a LN adaptation, as their consistency of ratings is unpredictable when it's obvious fanservice isn't the primary focus/purpose. And it's FUNi's simuldub too, so I may also throw in some entertaining profanity usage if it was felt this series was worth it over in Flower Mound. Ah, one thing's for sure: TV-PGL minimum based on the show title alone. Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 11... ~Both Sides Now~ ~main review~ Nataru, despite being one of those "junk" Ixiorans, was powerful enough to survive the activation of the Ryunka. It destroyed Yuichi and everyone else around him. Ever since then, he's wanted to take revenge on those who senselessly destroyed Roppongi... even though said man was killed by it himself. This is not good irony. But now, back to the culture festival. Tsutomu and friends are putting the final touches on their project about the Roppongi refugees. They go to get fortunes from a couple of friendly miko. He gets "very good luck" and a promise that he'll soon have a reunion with someone he once loved very much. It's Nakasugi, if you couldn't guess. Though he interprets it for being about Birdy and Nataru, even if she no longer wants him because he's a murderer now. Later on, Nataru goes back for another attempt on Moss and Gatol. He significantly injures the latter, but he does get away. Back at their headquarters, Moss laments Gatol for being a stupid old man and murders him. So now it's just down to her and Valic. Nataru goes back to his room to chill. Muroto, with Birdy-as-Shion in tow, goes in to check on him, and she finds him as a sniveling wreck on the floor. She teleports to Lailalo to get him repaired, leaving before Muroto can figure out what happened. After getting the help, he rants at Birdy about how he's a failed prototype and him, nor any of the other Ixiorans, should've never been created. He then teleports out. She goes back home, where Valic is there... and he wants to turn himself in. How swell. And after hiding for a bit, Moss is well enough to do the final battle with Nataru. Oh man... this could be epic. Also, Nakasugi shows up. Because definitely. The end is nigh, my friends... one more episode to go. I'll announce my next show then. But it's not really over until we do the OVA, of course. ~stray observations~ Good luck to Poke on the show with the bastard magic instructor. I've heard it has a blatant instance of... the hero doing something egregious (no spoilage) to make him seem more powerful, so for that and probably other particular reasons, I couldn't watch it nor want to critique it seriously. But we all have different tolerances and styles, so this will be cool for me either way. Also, I already have WorldEnd on standby if I ever need a stupid LN adaptation to fall back on. What's on Blatch's iPod? This video game soundtrack. Just listen to it, okay? But don't panic, because while the namesake game does tackle the apocalypse, it's apparently awesome no matter how you look at it. HIGHLIGHT OF THE CULTURE FESTIVAL: Masakubo's... weird conspiracy story animated on still frames. The children think it's funny, which I have to assume he just went with afterward. ~the content rating is TV-MA~ No V this time because there was a relative lack of gore. Even Gatol's eye scream didn't show the actual organ, and Moss' reverse-stabbing that killed him just produced a pool of blood. Other notables? Well, anything lower than a TV-14 is trivial to mention, but a suck-word and "pissed" were present. For images, here is a hauntingly beautiful scene of Yuichi being killed by the Ryunka, and here is a non-referential elevator scene between Birdy-as-Shion and Muroto. It's not very tense, but it does seem uncomfortable. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 17, 2017 Author Share Posted August 17, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 | Cipher 12... ~Before Long~ ~main review~ Yes, it's on Wednesday. Don't think of me as gorging on the show to get to the finish line faster... if I needed to actually enjoy it, I'd watch these episodes as many times as I'd want to. The episode starts with a prologue: Violin tells Birdy that being in love is a special feeling unlike any other, which parlays into her current struggle with Nataru. But before seeing him, she questions Valic what he knows about the Central Tower bombing and Nataru. He couldn't think less of the latter, one of those "failed Ixiorans". Meanwhile, Moss is preparing to fight Nataru in the climactic battle. It begins with utter FURY. They knock each other around quite a bit, with getting smashed through buildings as the primary feature. It gets bad enough that Moss loses one of her arms, though it's apparently robotic. Birdy then arrives on scene to take Moss out of the fight (and into custody later on), thus setting up the final battle. And it is lucid. This entire episode, much like 02 #6, has some rather off model (but very fluid!) animation... it might be a stylistic choice, but it might not. There's one cut where any sense of outlines gets removed and the action looks like a chalk drawing. It's the complete opposite of Space Dandy's finale. Animators are doing their thing, but possibly because of constraints on budget and/or time, it doesn't look good, at least in the traditional sense. Honestly, I am a fan of this type of animation, but I'd rather not see it in the climactic episode of the story. Birdy finds herself massively overpowered by Nataru, and eventually it gets to the point where she doesn't think she can beat him. The fight goes deep into Roppongi, where Nataru tosses Birdy into a building's decrepit ruins which slowly collapse. Right as a large plank is about to fall on her, Tsutomu takes control. Nataru comes to the bottom of the wreckage to find his body writhing on the floor. And he's surprised, since this is the first time anyone has known about Tsutomu and Birdy sharing the same body outside of the Federation. He then gets snapped out of his omnicidal rage... because apparently, being an Ixioran means you can do a lot more than take revenge on those who wronged you. He's still a person, after all. He thought Birdy was being used by the Federation government as a killing machine, but then he saw how she made friends with this rando Japanese kid and things turned out for the better. And so Nataru finally turns face, even if he'll have to live with the guilt of having killed children (albeit those with the terrorists, but still) for the rest of his life. That should be fun to revisit if the story ever gets there. Meanwhile, with Moss calmly watching the fight, Valic flashes back to when he was at the Central Tower during the bombing, but opted not to die from it. He apparently does a heel-face turn of his own, spitefully walking away and cursing Moss' actions. She's taken into custody by Birdy, finally doing the job of dissembling the criminal force. At around the same time, Nataru finds himself thrusted back in time, all the way back to the Central Tower bombing. He then finds Birdy stuck on a machine's corpse and about to be shot dead by those still alive. He diffuses the situation, takes Birdy away, and into the arms of the young Nataru, whom he also tells to not participate in terrorist activities, instead taking care of Birdy. And that puts the icing on the stable time loop. The episode shifts to apparently a few months later, during the winter, and at Dusk's grave, and Shoko is there. Birdy-as-Shion does the tough talk with her about Nataru. Even if Birdy develops an actual relationship with him, Shoko can still visit and give both of them some respect whenever she wants. She also gives Shoko the Kilk that used to be Nataru's, if the rivalry couldn't be diffused enough. And Birdy gets an envelope in return, with cute pictures of her and Nataru having fun at the photo booth. Aww. I also should mention the subplot of the Journalism Club finally showing their presentation on refugees. It's powerful, and scary relevant in light of pretty much everything happening recently. In fact, the entire episode is relevant; for one thing, Nataru gaslights Birdy into thinking the government was lying to her the whole time; meanwhile, the nuclear warhead subplot got discarded in favor of having Moss fight Nataru one-on-one, and then Birdy did the same. Also, Capella's lack of presence has yet to be explained, though considering how sudden her departure was, I wouldn't be surprised if the director found out she wouldn't be doing anything in the rest of the manga to be adapted, so they had her surgically removed. So that almost wraps things up, but... the OVA has Shion Arita in a starring role (idol concert, baby!), so that should be interesting to tackle. And hey, it's going to make for a perfect segue into my next series! To copy Poke's schtick, here it is in picture form: Yup. ~the content rating is TV-14V~ This last episode had tons of violence, but not much was bloody. There was some non-detailed flesh coming out of Moss' arm wound. Seeing it as a robot arm rather than a real one is making me cut the scene a little slack. Also, its removal wasn't detailed. And Moss and Nataru got bloodied up in general. Also, in a Valic flashback, he saw a guy's bloodied corpse, and another blow himself up. He opted not to do the suicide bombing after that, instead turning to Nataru, who didn't want it either. He also was responsible for this episode's most egregious swearing... "bastard" in regards to Nataru. We're on the final four (images). So here's that prologue and the Roppongi clip show. And yeah, the finale comes on Sunday. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Okay, now that that "no launch codes necessary" comment was confirmed to be directed towards in-show events, I might as well move on from the Korea panic that's been swamping me this past month in place of my headaches and instead take care of what really needs to be taken care of in a thread such as this. Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #1 The Unmotivated Bastard Normally, generic light novel harem adaptations that take place at academies for the magical/technological arts don't catch my interest. But when you've forced yourself through season 2 of Infinite Stratos, two scenes from which forced me to leave the room and silently vent my frustrations against the wall, pretty much anything else is less painful. And based on its first episode, Akashic Records passes what I call the "Ichika measures his female classmates' measurements with his eyes closed and gets beaten up for it" test. Which means yes, no holes were punched into the wall this time. The first thing I can say about this show is in regards to its dub, in which Josh Grelle once again solidifies his range and acting ability. The way in which he delivered the lines written in the dub script for the titular bastard Glenn Radars, on top of the dub script itself, gave him a sense of endearment that one watching this dub-only would assume was lacking from the original Japanese. Sure, his disinterest in doing anything productive and dickish attitude towards his students make him unsympathetic, but the humorous asides coming from his mouth - from departing his class with a "Later, nerds!" to giving main female MC Sistine the nickname "Punchy" (more on that later) - on top of Grelle's performance of them make it hard to truly dislike him. And, of course, there was him walking in on a bunch of his half-naked students. His doing so for good reason (why change all your clothes for alchemy lab, anyways?) and his passionate response to being told to avert his gaze were different enough from another series' take for me to consider it "generic". Not to mention Sistine punching him out of the room could also be alternately interpreted as him "burning the image into his mind" so hard he reacted as one would to the Sexy Jutsu pre-Shippuden: flying back while leaving behind a trailing nosebleed. Now that I've gotten Glenn out of the way, how about the other characters? I don't really feel much of anything for Sistine, but her friend Rumia is cute and very pleasant; she was the only girl not to react in anger at Glenn's aforementioned spiel, after all. Can't say much about the other students, but the bespectacled one that actually called Glenn a bastard had a certain air about him that reminded me of myself. The school headmaster (a.k.a. HEADMASTER RIIIIIIIIIICK) seems like a pretty chill guy, and his assistant's spazzing out over Glenn being hired to begin with is bound to put Christopher Wehkamp in my mental book of FUNi voice actors to remember. And if only because of Sera's voice, the blonde mage who got Glenn hired in the first place is both attractive and cool, showing no qualms in threatening those she cares about with her powers. My only disappointment with her is that after narrowly missing Glen after firing off a fire spell, she didn't say "Next time I'll aim for the wall and hit you!" [sigh] Anime dubbers could really learn a lot from Dale Gribble's many quotes. Well, at least he's getting his foot in the door. In short, just as I thought, it wasn't as bad as I feared it'd be. And from what I hear, the series improves from the first episode forward. So maybe watching this will be a better ordeal than with To Love-Ru after all! RATED: TV-14 Only one scene really needs to be mentioned here (but I'll throw out a few others), and it's the scene from the start of the second act, where Sistine somewhat randomly gropes Rumia, much to the varying reaction of their female peers. A breast grope normally warrants a TV-PGS - as proven on [as] by Fullmetal Alchemist 10 and Sword Art Online 8 - but this was a little too fanservicey for that, considering the heavy yuribaiting and Rumia getting all blushy and sweaty from being teased like that. However, it's not like Sistine did it for pure molestation purposes; she claimed it was her way of "healing" in order to rid herself of any negative thoughts about Glenn and his apathetic teaching behavior. That and it was a light grope, no fingers digging into the flesh or nipple outlines or anything. So while it was risque enough to propel past PG standards, it didn't go too overboard to warrant a 14S. PROFANITY TALLY: two uses of "bastard", and one each of "sucks" and "crap". HONORABLE MENTIONS: Barring the nosebleed from earlier, the violence Glenn suffered amounted to five TV-Y7FV level acts: two blasts into the air during his pre-class run-in with Sistine, and three magical lightning strikes during their end-of-episode duel. Also, as my PG set of the moment, an older man accidentally cut open his finger (which Rumia later healed with her own magic) while trying to light his cigarette by banging two rocks together. Two in one, and humorous in hindsight to boot. SCREENCAPS: For the first act, young Glenn reading a tale from a storybook from his youth. For the second, a fanservice shot to keep things interesting. Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) Yeah... I had no idea of the "fire and fury" comment and subsequent Twitter fatalistically shitting its collective pants to come. So in the end, I apologize for that joke. But, to actually talk about the review, I liked it. Though I'm surprised you didn't mention the strange school uniforms for the show. The ANN reviewers shared mild disgust at them, but my response was more towards quizzical confusion. After all, nobody seems to like Shimakaze that much. She was always the n00b bait character for as much as I saw the fandom. And we all have our different examples of shows we enjoy even if they're from generally disliked genres. That's why I wanted to get into Knight's & Magic to begin with. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 (edited) Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 OVA... ~Between You and Me~ ~main review~ Welcome to the end. Now, the cold opening talks about the Ryunka explosion as if it had just happened, and then Capella is homeless, sleeping in a box before Irma decides to rescue her, so this is a bridge between the two seasons. Now Tsutomu is guilty over letting the Ryunka destroy Roppongi, but Birdy consoles him. The people who are really at fault are whoever brought it to Earth to begin with. But enough talk, because her Shion Arita personality is really taking off. Well, she only got the headliner as an idol singer at this concert because nobody else wanted to travel to Kobe in light of the terrorist attack, but hey, at least it's good for her brand. And because Nakasugi also lives in Kobe now, Tsutomu might get one more chance to see her. What follows is a very typical anime plotline focusing on tourism, and this time it's in the countryside. Birdy-as-Shion (okay, maybe just Shion) does stuff like ride a gondola up the mountain, mock wildlife, and take in the general rural sights and sounds. And then she heads for Nakasug's house, because what good would this episode do if we didn't see her personal struggle? Because she works on a farm now, it's taking a toll on her physically, but this comes after she basically had her memory wiped like a fucking Etch-A-Sketch. The Ryunka shook it so hard she has no idea what to even believe anymore. Shion meets her, and tries to make her feel better about the current situation, reminiscing about when she had a guy she sort-of didn't know save her ass and give her the strength to move on. Unfortunately, a Marionette (I missed those) soon arrives to break up the party. It wants Nakasugi, but Birdy won't let her have it... her. They get away into the city, and the battle scenes return for a climactic curtain call. And they're pretty well-animated this time. At least the animators had good lead time on this; the preview for the 02 finale showed some slick-looking rough cuts. Eventually, Birdy is cornered on a building, and she tells Tsutomu to charge forth and be not Birdy so Birdy's movement doesn't kill Nakasugi. Birdy comes through, but gets knocked around a lot, and the Marionette almost kills her, but then Nechla disables it just in time. It turns out that all the robot wanted was to see if Nakasugi had trace amounts of the Ryunka still in her, since apparently it's powerful enough to cause huge damage in even the tiniest of doses. They didn't want to risk it, even if it meant sending the robot out and putting Birdy in the unfortunate role of a decoy. So Nakasugi is brought back home, and she thinks she sees Tsutomu on the way there. The episode ends with some more foreshadowing, with Nataru and Shoko appearing in the flesh (which implies their rivalries with Birdy in 02), and then the Shion idol concert. And what do we have here... dubbed singing! Luci Christian is pretty good with the song, even if it's not very original, nor listenable. I wanted to hear the Kemono Friends OP again after that. Gimme the good J-Pop. That or Aqours. Later, Birdy. ~stray observations~ You know, with some tweaks, the episode could have served as a denouement for Season 2. They were already upfront with Nataru having saved the young Birdy from the future, so it works as both foreshadowing and a pleasant recap. They could've replaced the Capella scenes with her being dealt with by the Federation government. So all that really doesn't work here are the scenes where the Journalism Club talks about the Ryunka explosion and wanting to do something about it, which sets up the subplot with the refugees. So instead of that, add some foreshadowing for the Season 3 that will never happen, probably. :painfap: It does end with another "To be continued", which hurts a little bit considering all the plotlines they left open. Though at least it's not as painful as Arisu chiding me over at the end of the Drifters of the Dead OVA. Birdy actually breaks the formatting of Tsutomu's mind in order to get him to charge at the Marionette. It's a hilarious stylistic choice I wonder why the show didn't do more with. More trailers here, since it's the last disc. The most attention I gave to one was the trailer for Corpse Princess, which the trailer seems to do a fantastic job of probably making it seem edgier than it is. Also, Comic Party Revolution looks like a very fun show. I guess it has that almost-stupid sense of humor and lewdness I crave, but now featuring a talking penguin who smokes cigars. Wow. What's on Blatch's iPod? Here, have one more: Redux34 by Zabutom. Way back in the days of Bakuon!!, I mentioned this one, so now you're going to listen to it by force... just like Crunchyroll is forcing me to watch particular simulcasts. ~the content rating is TV-PGLSV~ How fitting is it that we end with something funky. Let's do it backwards: The violence subrating should be very obvious; the sexual content comes from the Marionette having its clothes stripped off, though the only notable feature on it was a buttcrack. I feel like this is another edge case, because it did have boobs, even if they weren't well defined. Also, there wasn't any clothing damage from the scene; it all just happened instantly, so the implications are more innocent. One could chalk it up as a fanservice scene, however. And the language was just one usage of "suck". I'm only giving it an L to be consistent with S1E8. I've only done a TV-PGL on that level with any other ratings once before, for Squid Girl S2E5, but I didn't agree with it then and not now. In my household, "suck" has never been considered a curse word, and neither have "freaking" and "frigging". The heaviest you can go to earn discretion for has always been "ass". So when I start rating iM@S next month, I'll probably lower my standards regarding language. The subrating will only be considered if it has multiple of these words. It helps that the show is going to be pretty tame, at least in the early going. And this is a rare rating overall (probably number two behind DSV for the same): The only [as] shows to have ever received it are two episodes of Bob's Burgers, the premiere of Lupin the Third: Part IV, which happened recently, and a DBZ Kai: The Final Chapters episode which just premiered yesterday. Also, this show's OVA almost has the same rating as the one for Girl's High. From the looks of it, I've now rated every combination of PG ratings except for DV... and DLV. That one, I'm shocked to not have. For the final two: The arrival of tanks ringing in Japanese martial law, and Nakasugi in another classroom with enough girls from somewhere else to fill an entirely different anime. ~ratings summary~ Things got really topsy-turvy with this one: Nine different ratings, and three of them tied for the most popular: TV-PGLV, TV-14V, and TV-MAV. The second half was definitely much bloodier and gorier than the first, which already had some intense episodes (S1E5 being the most notable). Sexual moments were only designated twice. And there were no dialogue ratings for the entire series, which sounds like a pretty rare occurrence, but I also had that happen to KanColle and Re:ZERO. ~screenshot character tally~ This is a trivial stat even for me, so I'm not putting much effort into it now. But for the analytics' sake: Tsutomu was the most popular, with ten appearances. Birdy has nine, assuming you combine her different personas (child/adult/adult with Shion disguise). I actually count 2-6A as having both Birdy and Tsutomu considering the unusual circumstances behind it. Fifteen images did not have any main characters in them, and ten had no people nor aliens at all. There were no big losers aside from maybe Capella, but even the story itself seems to not know what to do with her, so it's justified... maybe. Birdy the Mighty Final Thoughts: This was an utterly great show. It had excellent characters, and they developed very nicely. Tsutomu in particular became an actual guy over the course of both seasons, culminating (sort of) in the event described up top. The animation was... not really that great, but I enjoyed it for being very expressive and willing to change styles at a moment's notice, especially in the last few. And I also really liked the dub. Eric Vale did a really good job of Nataru in the second half, as did the other VAs with their own characters. Now, the show has ended up peeving me in regards to the sheer amount of stuff left behind at the end. For one thing, we never found out who Christella Revi is (I guess she's part of the terrorists; maybe from the same paw as Kinzel?), nor what the hell Capella is doing right now, nor if those two bumbling evil guys ever had a purpose besides being fun. And also, while minor, the Ryunka is still out there. I suppose the Federation keeping it around in case there's a good enough opportunity to actually use its powers, which is horrifying in itself. I don't think true justice can exist as long as this thing is around... hint hint. Some cursory glances at TVTropes and a site tracking anime sales imply it wasn't successful at all. It sold about 1.3K units over both volumes, which is awful for 2009, let alone the modern day, although it would be ahead of a few more liked shows... Dimension W, for one, and Animegataris. Of course, you can't even buy this one anymore in America due to the license kerfuffle. But they don't matter much in the end, except if you want a continuation to it. Now, there is actually an OVA that consists of a much older take on the same story (the original manga started in the 80's; Decode is based off a remake that ran from 2002 to a few weeks before the start of the second season in '09), and it apparently has a hilariously bad dub. I might have to check that out some day. But yeah, another show down. And now... The iDOLM@STER Preview: First thing's first: No Xenoglassia here. I'm starting with the 2011 anime, and that's final. And since you won't be asking about it, I do plan on watching and rating the entire franchise. I actually decided on this one partially due to the upcoming Side-M anime in '18. I have certain carnal desires in common that one. For one thing... think Astolfo, but he's not really a main character. The first episode drops around Labor Day. For now, I'm on break. So I got all of that done, and I can now break free of these archaic text blocks. See you people soon enough, and in the meantime, let's all never stop striving for a better world. [and I'll be joining you there] Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 (edited) On 8/18/2017 at 3:34 PM, Blatch said: Though I'm surprised you didn't mention the strange school uniforms for the show. The ANN reviewers shared mild disgust at them, but my response was more towards quizzical confusion. When you've seen as much anime as I have, school uniforms as prone to skin exposure as those for the Alzerno Magic Academy have elicited no heavy reaction from me. Maybe if there was exposed underboob, I'd give a damn, but as they're just focused on exposing the midriff, that's no problem, as far as I can tell. Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #2 Just the Slightest Bit of Motivation Well, now. Compared to the premiere, the second episode really blew it out of the water, primarily by granting Glenn the character development he needed. In my rumination over the events of the first episode, I penned Glenn as a wannabe "cool sub": a substitute teacher who would rather just watch over the students he's supposed to be teaching than actually teaching them. The shit luck of being assigned to a school where the students actually give a damn about their education, combined with his apathetic attitude towards the subject matter they're here to study, is what pens him as a wannabe, as opposed to someone actually cool. His rant about how magic's only unique tangible purpose is to murder people doesn't really help matters. You'd think he'd stay like this for a good chunk of the series like most MCs, but surprisingly enough, he takes a different path. All it takes is an after-hours conversation with best girl Rumia about how magic actually can be used for good for him to put a little more effort into his teachings. But instead of going by the book like his students expect him to, he instead shows them that true mastery of the magical arts lies not in memorization, but in experimentation. He manages to win over most of the class - save for the ever-tsundere Sistine and the glasses guy responsible for the titular "bastard" title - with this out-of-the-box teaching method, and proceeds to give lectures that even students from other classes sit in to listen to. Not a bad change of pace, if I do say so myself. Of course, character development isn't the only thing this episode has to offer; underlying plot threads start to make their way to the surface as well. For starters, there's Sistine's connection to the castle in the sky above Alzerno: it's a mystical mecca her late grandfather hoped to make a pilgrimage to before he died, a goal she took up in his stead after his passing. There's also the fact that Rumia was apparently banished from her homeland prior to moving in with Sistine and her family, and how her desire to learn magic came from her being saved by a mysterious "mage of justice". (Wouldn't be surprised if it was Glenn.) This exile apparently has something to do with the fact that she's actually a princess who most of the known world assumes is dead. This makes her the target of a group of magical terrorists, who infiltrate Alzerno to kidnap her. (She winds up going along willingly, to keep them from killing their classmates.) Some of their buddies went out to stop Glenn from helping out by killing him, but wound up failing, which allowed him enough time to go in and save Sistine from being assaulted by one of the rapier terrorists of the bunch. From there, the episode ends on one of the most entertaining moments to come out of the series yet: Glenn showing off his inner badass against said rapey terrorist. Simply put, he activates a magic spell of his own creation in which a tarot card symbolizing the Fool produces magical barriers that block all attacks within his range. The only drawback is, his attacks won't work either, but he doesn't need magical attacks because he's good at hand-to-hand combat in his own right. He kicks the terrorist's ass thoroughly, finishing off with a "Magical Punch" that turns out to be a roundhouse kick. MISDIRECTION, FUCK YEAH. RATED: TV-14DS Yeah, remember when I said the terrorist who's ass Glenn kicked was kind of rapey? Well, that's the main reason this episode got a little bump up in the ratings department. In contrast to most of the episode before it having just PG sets and mild profanity - the one exception being Celica teasing Glenn for insinuating he was attracted to her womanly charms, followed by him complaining that she's the dirty one for rubbing her breasts against him - his main scene was pretty damn intense. Even though he and his terrorist buddies just came to kidnap Rumia (and maybe kill some of her classmates to force her to give in, Sistine's assertive personality pissed him off enough that he takes her to an empty classroom and prepares to molest her thoroughly. Her arms are tied behind her head, he drops some suggestive comments to what he's about to do to her ("It'd be a waste not to enjoy you" and "I enjoy breaking girls like you most of all"), and eventually just opens her top and lifts up her undershirt to reveal her bra. No groping is performed, thanks to Glenn entering the room before anything else could be done, but the intent was strong enough that I felt leaving out an S subrating would be kind of weird. Oh, there was also Glenn kicking said terrorist's ass as I mentioned earlier, but save for a bloody nose, there wasn't much worth mentioning content-wise. HONORABLE MENTION: The terrorist who jumps Glenn on his way to the Academy winds up getting tied up and stripped naked, with a sign over his crotch saying "It's a Small". SCREENCAPS: For act 1, Glenn's going to teach you about female anatomy, and for act 2, Celica chatting up Headmaster Rick during a class break. [morty's gonna freak] Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted September 15, 2017 Author Share Posted September 15, 2017 (edited) Surprise! I mean, yeah, I was supposed to post this thing a lot earlier, but after being forced to do a clean install of Windows and not having access to Paint.NET for a while (no major offense to the GIMP fanboys, but I couldn't use the software for the life of me... grumble grumble), here is the glimpse into alternate history our fathers never promised. Birdy the Mighty: Original Series Review This is the original unadulterated Birdy the Mighty, based off of the 80's manga. The changes are wide-reaching and rather insane, so I'll start by talking about what is included. To start off, the cast is downsized rather dramatically. First of all, you have Birdy, who looks more liberal than in the future series. I just call her "Original Birdy" to ignore the platitudes. And then there's Tsutomu... oh, I'm sorry, his name is actually Stomu, because that's how the English dub mangles his name (more on that later). He's a different character entirely, one that is rather dim-witted (the first OVA has him going on for an entrance exam... one that is implied he wouldn't have passed had it not been for Original Birdy taking control of his hand, and he isn't really in school for any of these episodes), gets scared easily, and generally doesn't have a spine, though he grows one over time. Other than these two, the only notable heroic characters in this show are Hayamiya (a.k.a. Natsumi, though she looks a little like Audrey from Gundam Unicorn) and Megius (whose pincers move, at least for the first three episodes). Instead, we're treated to Tsutomu's family, who contribute almost nothing to the story. In fact, his dad ends up forgetting where his glasses are while he's wearing them on his forehead. So yeah, they ain't worth it. Also not featured is Shion Arita, which also knocks Irma out of the picture. Though she already had her time as a hurricane. As for the villains... well, this is going to sound like a shock, but Christella Revi is front and center here, a.k.a. the woman who only got a small passing cameo in the last few episodes of Decode 02. I only mentioned her then out of habit. Original Birdy wants revenge on this woman because she dispatched the Berserkers that killed Violin (which is even shown in a flashback here, though no blood is shown; she seems to leak pale yellow fluid from having her head bashed in). Her right hand man is Gomez, who also appeared in Decode, mostly in the first season, where he politely asked Shyamalan not to release the Ryunka. But the main plot of this work involves a man named Hikawa who wants to create mutant super soldiers using a special serum. In the final episode, he decides to release a bunch of it into Tokyo's water supply, so he can have his own army of millions to probably take over the world or some shit, but Birdy stops him. No other notable villains appear, though Geega is still present to kickstart the story, and Ondine also makes an appearance, albeit probably controlled by Christella. This version generally treats the Original Birdy-Stomu relationship as two people at war with themselves in one body, rather than a mutually beneficial relationship as Decode portrayed most of the time. Also, the way Stomu gets assimilated into Original Birdy is different: He's electrocuted to death, rather than chopped in half. Another notable difference is that Birdy doesn't automatically gain her policewoman uniform when she transforms. She needs a special gizmo on her arm to do that. And there's also an angle where an unnamed security guard on Earth confuses Stomu and Original Birdy, and he wonders if they're the same person. Also, Hayamiya actually sees Stomu transform into Original Birdy! Unfortunately, the story ends before a resolution comes to this issue, but it makes her think strangely of Stomu, and it's something I wish Decode would at least flirt with. Maybe the redone manga did so. I think you get the point now. So with all of this advanced knowledge brought to light, how is the OVA series? Well... it's not really that good. The first episode has this problem with... pacing... that makes some scenes last for a few seconds longer than they need to. But this happens multiple times so it gets annoying fast. This one is forty minutes as opposed to the other three, which are about an even half-hour. At least those don't feel like the director just OD'd on melatonin. The composition consists of boring talking and not many fight scenes. The first OVA has a cool one where Birdy fights some robots, and then a sludge monster made from chemical runoff, and then the destroyed robots fuse with the sickly goo into a mechanical spider that Birdy almost gets asphyxiated by. That was cool. And then she fights a mutated human who took Hikawa's serum. It wasn't finished yet at the time (second OVA), and it still isn't by the time the work ends. Also, there's a good fight with Ondine in an amusement park (third) that doesn't hold a candle to its Decode counterpart, but it's still pretty fun. Original Birdy being ambushed by the robot coming down from the top of a Merry-Go-Round was a nice touch. But much of the plot is spent explaining the aspirations of Hikawa and his pet project to unleash mutant super soldiers. At least the Ryunka could pretty much exist with minimal exposition required. After all, it destroys stuff. Massively. I don't need to say anything else. And the English dub... yeah. It's 90's. Original Birdy sounds somewhat accurate compared to Luci Christian's performance in Decode, which ain't bad for an actor who went on to star in The Real Housewives of New York. I can't say the same about anyone else, though. Stomu is insanely dorky, his family sound dumb in general, Hayamiya I originally thought was voiced by a man, Gomez is a stoner, Megius is a weirdo Asian-sounding guy who pronounces "Senkawwah" awkwardly, and most of them phone in their lines. Here's the audio sample I shared during the first episode, with Hayamiya and Stomu. I would share another clip, but I have no permanent way of hosting the audio, at least for right now. That one will go away after a while if nobody views it. Overall, Decode is definitely the ideal Birdy experience. I wouldn't call this series superior in any category except for the art, because we have to give the 90's cel-animated works some love. It's still kinda fun, however. I would like to see this officially released for the 2010's on Blu-ray. Discotek Media would be a good fit, methinks. It has good fights, but a lot of boring material, and the character relationships don't go anywhere. While the newer anime opts to do something entirely different, it's much better overall. In fact, Decode is actually based off of Volume 8 onward of the manga (after a time skip), while the OVAs cover the material of the original manga which was re-adapted into the first seven volumes. So this arc could theoretically be re-animated to fit with Decode's nomenclature as a prequel arc of sorts. It helps that he was already a high school student then while the post-skip arc of the redone Birdy manga sees him moving into college even though Decode and both versions of the original work have him firmly in high school. But now this has become confusing, so let's get to the good stuff! OVA 1: "2 Hearts are better than in 1 Body): TV-MAS / TV-14S (censored) | First / Second OVA 2: "Double Trouble": TV-MAS / TV-PGSV (censored) | First / Second OVA 3: "Triangle Trial": TV-PGV | First / Second OVA 4: "Final Force": TV-MA / TV-14V (censored) | First / Second Blanket ratings: TV-MAS / TV-14SV (censored) The reason for having two different ones is because, this being an OVA, there are porn magazines everywhere. This show takes a much more cavalier approach to the denizens of Stomu's school, portraying them as lecherous lowlifes who only seem to exist for consuming porn. You can easily erase an MA rating from the show by blurring the boobies, though there's one particularly provocative pose on the first OVA plus Birdy getting out of the bath and showing quite a bit of skin to still get a flag for sexuality. Also, the final OVA is the only one to show any notable gore: Gomez is shot several times (but doesn't die), a flashback to experiments with the serum leads to a deformed human's head bursting open with blood, and Hikawa's final moments involve him becoming mutated beyond even what he wanted, with oozing flesh covering his head and some bleeding. Though it did feature a cover of a naughty video, there was a nipple exposed only at the edge. So for this one, I came up with a compromise: I let the nipple slide, but this episode gets an uncensored TV-MA for being pretty graphic in general. There's no S because the entire nipple doesn't show, and only half the areola does. Basically, pretend I was too mad about capitalism to notice this. I'd say that's enough. Next week, new show. I'll leave the starting time for that as another surprise. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 (edited) Welp, Korea's in the news again, so you know what that means. Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #3 The Fool and Death Back when I watched the first episode, one of my "stray observations" was that the professor Glenn replaced was named "Huey". So I jokingly commented that he gave up teaching to get into political terrorism, like Huey P. Newton and Huey Freeman before him. I did not expect that harmless jab to be as on the nose as it turned out to be. You see, those terrorists that took over the school and kidnapped Rumia last episode? They're members of an evil mage organization called "Research for Divine Wisdom", and Huey is one of their members. It's never explained if he joined up with them during his teaching career, or if he was already with them when he accepted the job, but the fact of the matter is, it's because of his ties to the academy that the terrorists were able to get past security so easily. Additionally, their kidnapping of Rumia (real name Princess Ermiana) is part some ulterior motive that I didn't quite catch, but their ultimate goal was transporting her to their main base using the school's transportation circle using Huey as the willing sacrifice to make it possible, and taking out the rest of the school along with it. Lucky for us, though, Glenn managed to kick ass and save the day, the way in which he does that I'll mention down below. You'd think he'd quit his job after having to use all the badass skills he's been trying to avoid using (because being a mage of justice isn't as glamorous as it looks) one last time, but he decides to stick around and continue teaching at the academy, because he now cares enough about his students (Sistine and Rumia, in particular) to see how they develop their skills. I normally don't do the three-episode test, but this show managed to pass it, and it looks like it's gonna do better on the four-episode test than To Love-Ru did. No doubt because even at his bastardliest, Glenn's still better than Rito. RATED: TV-14V And the asskicking was intense. As soon as one of the bone golems summoned to the academy killed the terrorist who tried to rape Sistine last episode, I had a feeling the best rating was gonna come into play. The episode did not disappoint with how bloody it got. This one evil mage's flying swords managed to attack Glenn a few times, one slashing his back and four more piercing his shoulder, arm, and sides. After Sistine de-powered them, Glenn used one of them to run the mage through, which in itself was pretty badass. And while not nearly as action-y, my favorite "intense violence" moment was when Glenn bit open his own wrist and used the ensuing blood to write out a bunch of runic spells to free Rumia from the magic binds she was trapped in. HARD. CORE. Oh, and he also coughed up some blood twice. PROFANITY COUNT: Five uses of "damn", one of "dammit", two of "bastard" (one in the show title), and one of "son of a bitch". SCREENCAPS: For act 1, Sistine being a cute, and for act 2, a showdown shot that makes Glenn look a little grey. [he's just ashy] Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 (edited) Man, that joke gets more prophetic every week. I won't do something like it again. shithead I'm not sure I could gel with a show that constantly tries to pimp Glenn with his responses to tragedy. and seediness Obviously, SAO did the whole "rape savior" thing first, but this didn't sound like an improvement. I'd rather see someone earn the hero status just from being nice to people and helping out against more banal crimes. Knight's & Magic was great in this regard. But now, it's time for something I'm sure two people have been waiting for... The iDOLM@STER Episode 1: "The Idols Start Here" Finally, am I right? I'll be toying with a slightly different format for this one. If this gels with you, feel free to steal it at any point. Before it's possible to know what this show is, you need to understand what an idol does. Except, you probably already do. But this episode goes through the motions anyway. ⟶ Cold opening: My second white-text-on-black screenshot. Fairly humble idol Haruka Amami is making her long commute to her workplace. She's not really notable for much except being middle of the road and lacking personality. At a convenience store, she meets fellow partner Makoto Kikuchi, who's fairly boyish, but inviting (her dad made her that way, apparently). And then it's off to the workplace... 765 Production. You can remember it easily because all the numbers are in a row. And they have the name written out in post-its on their window looking out to the road. Also, it's not plural. It quickly degenerates into chaos with the help of the twin idols Ami and Mami Futami. They're basically addicted to video games and stuff. But they were actually looking for the pet hamster of Hibiki Ganaha, who just loves animals in general. She even owns a pet crocodile, and we see it in a still picture. Elsewhere in the studio are Yayoi Takatsuki, a girl from a poor family of quite many siblings, and Iori Minase, the token rich girl from some family that does stuff. No matter who the character is, it's never explained. Though, maybe they make those panels that make your vehicle cool when it goes over one. And then there's Yukiho Hagiwara, who... isn't comfortable around men. Yeah. Don't worry, because she'll get better. There are four more: Chihaya Kisaragi makes up for it with a love for singing in general, and she has the purplest hair of anyone in this business... assuming you consider Azusa Miura's hair as more of a blue color. Danbooru seems to agree. Shijou Takane has the most hair, and the most secret personality (seriously, it's not good form to leave people guessing... I should know). And finally, there's Miki Hoshii, that obligatory character who always refers to herself in the third person, and sleeps a lot... and has a massive rack. For a middle school girl even. So that's twelve idols in 765, and by proxy, virtually everyone you need to know. Well, there's Ritsuko Akizuki and Kotori Otonashi, the staff members you wrong to right. And, finally, The Producer, who needs no last name ultimatum. ⟶ Act break: Kotori (the other one) helps organize the schedule. The search for Hibiki's hamster leads to a sleepy Miki and her boobs. After that, the episode features the idols going out for various activities, including a rock band that Chihaya opens for (a rather strange combination, but it's better than a stand-up comedian doing so), Matoko making a pretty deranged face when asked what she wants to do in life (and Yukiho getting flustered yet again), Hibiki herself and and Takane go to... I guess it's an audition for some anime (should've stuck with Cinderella, heh) and, finally, the idols get together to sing their first song of the show. This is gonna be a thing going forward; one brand new closing song in every episode. I'll talk about them as they come. As you might know yet I hope you don't, the first episode packs a shockingly savvy twist at the very end, as it's been staged as a documentary about the idols... but it turns out the guy who filmed everyone (he was a camera) is actually The Producer, or the new one, rather. This entire setup was pretty smart in its own right. You have twelve individual idols to start with, and you'd want to go over them all right away. Proper development, even in small amounts, is pretty much required if you want the show to be character-centric, as this show's monologuing shows. It's about their dreams, after all. The best idol unit has many stories to tell, and not just the one up front. Stray observations: Okay, so this took a while. But I did enjoy the extended break that allowed me to settle into my new college classes. Also, just so you know, my Akame ga Kill! ratings series is currently on hiatus. Basically, I've become bored, and the amount of graphic violence in the show has made it not much more exciting than the [adult swim] run. So I'm replacing it with a brand new show. It will start about a week from now, and there is a reason for that. Do you want to know what it is? Well, here's the only hint (well, one of two) I'm giving: It has a character with the same name as one from Sword Art Online, but this time, they aren't really a villain. Let that one simmer for a bit. Referring to every idol by their last names is definitely excessive, but the actual show does it, and I typically do anyway. There was a shot of Makoto looking at magazines which almost perfectly mirrored when Subaru did it in my first Re:Zero cap. Also, I originally thought the show was going to have her look at porn, but it was just rather banal idol magazines. Both girls and boys included, thankfully. The opening text references thirteen girls being idols, even though Ritsuko mentions she only manages twelve. This is pretty much a walking spoiler, so I'll just abort talk of it up front. Also, she recently got a driver's license... which the show censors. The close-ups of each idol always show 'em at their most overblown. Virtually everyone is either yelling or exasperatedly reacting to the incident involving Hamzou. I like it, since anime is a medium which enforces wild takes. Song showcase: "The world is all one!!"; end of the episode. There are rehearsal dancing scenes... but they're not in CG. Because of that, they're a little dodgy, but it's just impressive in general considering the circumstances. Expect this to change in the coming episodes, however. As for the actual song, it's good enough. I just wish the Crunchyroll subs had translated lyrics. Rating: TV-PGD Just so you know, this show is pretty light on offensive stuff, at least for the first half (which I've already seen), so there're gonna be a lot of PG sets in this section. But, as luck would have it, this one is a little bit higher. I counted two moments involving boobs. The first one came when the idols found out Hamzou had decided to hide in Miki's shirt while she was sleeping. And then she woke up, said something, went back to sleep... but did it again to mention her endowment. There was also a close-up shot of Azusa's tats during her individual interview. She's both the oldest idol in 765pro, and she's the bustiest. In regards to other content, swearing only came down to Makoto saying "what the hell", which is in the PG, and there was some slapstick violence. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) And here's another one. I really want to get these up every Friday, but we'll see what happens with my studies. The iDOLM@STER Episode 2: "The Idols Prepare Themselves" The first episode established that 765 Production... well, it kind of sucks, but at least they're fun to work for. Just don't count on getting a paycheck every week. But now it's time for The Producer to assist in getting these idols work. ⟶ Cold opening: I originally did one for the same scene back on the NodeBB boards as a proof of concept; it lacked the D and was at the very end of this shot. Much of this episode is about Ami and Mami, Yayoi, and Iori. They're trying to get better promotional photos. It's generously paced, offering lots of insight into what people expect of an idol. For one thing, it's not for them to be dressed up as monkeys. And the twins don't make it any better, offering to dress up as bears who eat tempura fried rice and steak (Yayoi is better than this, come on!). This doesn't get very far, but mostly by proxy of them not being able to find a steak costume. They do, however, take a star turn as obnoxiously girly gyaru-likes. It would have worked only if they hadn't overdone it on the makeup. ⟶ Act break: Smug Yayoi is cool. Also, the logo comes up during the transition between acts, like Hunter X Hunter. In the end, they opt to be themselves and take normal pictures, and also ones in their idol outfits, which 765 was just barely able to afford. Despite moving pretty slow at times, I enjoyed the episode. But it's partially because I know what happens next and can't wait to relive some of the more memorable episodes. I will say I can respect any show with one eye fixated on the Girl's High playbook (the girls wanted their skirts to be this short). And, not to mention, the off-putting shojo parody involving Makoto (butch) and Yukiho (princess).. The only real down part of this episode is that it has such a simple moral... be yourself. Yeah, no kidding. Why even bother if you're doing an idol show? Stray observations: And now, a bit of dialogue: "765 is all set to take off! We'll get tons of work.""Ricchan, that sounds like the end of a cancelled manga."Don't say stuff people might take seriously!" Yeah... that one kind of hurt. I was kind of enjoying Heroine Voice prior to end of reading the whole thing for TVTropes. I would talk about how The Producer reminds me of a character from another show, but knowing something happening later would actually make this seem awkward. So that's another incentive for you to keep reading... if you just stumbled upon this and don't know what to do. =) (now, to be fair, this does have to do with the recent Side-M anime, which aired a prequel episode just this weekend) Song showcase: "READY!!"; opening. Yeah... this song kinda enforces my neurotic tendencies whenever I hear it in the show. It's not really bad (mostly because of the epic mondegreen where the girls are actually saying "lady"), but I can't come up with enough goodness about it. Song showcase: "I'm an Idol!"; when Yayoi and the rest are discussing costume choices. All of them sing it. It's too techno for me. Though this doesn't explain why I'm okay with "Cutie Panther". Song showcase: "Positive!"; ending. Iori and Yayoi only do this one. And yes, the show has a unique ED theme for every episode, but to compensate, they've got virtually no animation. It's just still pictures, but I like how they're used to tell a story. In this case, pertaining to her pet bunny, which is apparently named Charles... last name Donatello. It's cute, and I also like seeing her try to fix it. Also, the stock sound of cheering kids should be annoying, but like Masakubo, I enjoy it too much because of how unfitting it seems. My middle name is Charles. Someone told my mom I could be a politician someday, albeit only with a name like that. Rating: TV-PGDS The four girls got the idea cross round the track as Azusa came out with her endowment. So they consulted some sultry magazines on how to get sex appeal. Thankfully, there wasn't much other than mild cleavage shown. We even saw Yayoi stuff her bra with tennis balls having a passing resemblance to butts. Also, a little bit of suggestive breast movements, even if they were fake. This one could go either way, but I'm not letting the implements water it one down. [don't buy a Jupiter Jack] Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Almost there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 (edited) Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #4 The Magic Competition As far as motivations go, I like to think of Glenn's as somewhat complex in nature. He's still teaching at the Academy so he can see his students' education through, and he appears to have cast aside most of his slackership to play an active part in ensuring they reach their fullest potential. Case in point: the titular inter-class magic competition. He knows enough about his students' abilities to assign them to the numerous competitions based on their specific strengths and even follows the lead of the other teachers in training them to do their best. All well and good, and proof that he's matured as a teacher. Of course, his primary motivation for making sure his class wins the competition is money: he has none, his begging request for an advance payment of his salary was shot down, and the cash prize for the winning class's teacher in the competition is his only way to get money he can use to fill his stomach for another day. Somewhat bastardly on the surface, but reasonable enough to keep it from being too self-centered. I mean, we all gotta eat, right? ::]:: Of course, he almost considers the glasses kid's suggestion to just use the top students for all competitions, but ultimately winds up sticking to his initial guns, especially when rival teacher Hadley ("That's Halley!") claims that his whole "including everyone" approach (originally Sistine and Rumia's idea) is useless. But then there's the foolish bet they make on the winner getting the others' next three months of salary if the former's class beats the latter's... Still, all the more reason for Glenn to take this seriously, the end results being what really matters. [glenn radars: bastard with a heart of gold] His dedication to prepping his students for the competition for both experience for them and money for him winds up paying off when the competition arrives. At this point, his class 2 is still below Hadley's class 1, but his class does better than they thought they would. Competitions are won at best and placed third at worst, which is still awesome as far as they're concerned. The most interesting competition of the bunch, though, is "Mental Defense", where Rumia goes up against this huge dark-skinned but not exactly black thuggish looking guy who's really good at mental defense. The professor casting the spells to be defended (more on him later) manages to knock Rumia down in the end, and Glenn, seeing that her nerves of practical steel still allowed her to get this far (plus the big guy isn't in Hadley's class), requests she forfeit. Still, she wins anyways, as the other guy got knocked unconscious by the last spell. Your average critic would call it cheap, but hey, being a good sport in the face of a defeat that's overturned is damn good character. Oh, also, Rumia's birth mother - the queen of the country she originally came from - is attending the competition as a guest of honor. That's pretty important, I guess. As are the two random mages keeping a close eye on Glenn from the shadows; judging from the OP, I can just tell that they'll be important. RATED: TV-14 This episode almost got away with a TV-PGL. Aside from the suggestive school uniforms which I'm already too used to in other anime to count, it was all language here. The strongest curse came from Glenn revealing via his inner thoughts that he only made the bet against Hadley because he was "pissing [him] off", followed by one use each of "hell", "crap", and "ass". Amusingly enough, "bastard" wasn't used once, not even in the preview omake! (That was instead reserved for a little skit where Celica had our three main characters participate in a speed-chanting competition; Rumia won, Sistine failed instantly, and Glenn got it wrong but was praised anyways for good effort.) But then things got real objectionable real fast with the antics of Count Zest, the aforementioned professor proctoring the Mental Defense round. At first, his demeanor appears normal and professional, but with each spell cast (at least, until the end), that serious facade starts to slip, revealing his increasingly perverted desire to see how deeply his spells can "corrupt" Rumia, complete with disturbing tongue motions (and saliva), spells targeting the male competitors he insists he's not into, and the appropriately grossed-out reactions from the rest of the student body. (Headmaster Rick's dour "We should fire his ass." was my personal favorite. ) Even the student commentator got in on the action, firing off comments and phrases such as "at least try to hide your lechery!", "the pervy Count", and "creeper levels are maxing out". By that point, I'd have thought the final spell in the competition, "Mind Break", was thrown in on purpose. Even if it wasn't, Zest and his comedically portrayed perversion isn't exactly the type of thing you want your kids to see and possibly mimick. Hence, 14 straight. SCREENCAPS: For act 1, Rumia's queen-mother gazing out the window of her upstairs parlor, and for act 2, her looking at the contents of her locket. Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 (edited) Well, I actually managed to deliver on the promise. It is egregiously late, but I guess nobody would ever mind. The iDOLM@STER Episode 3: "Everything Stems from the Courage to Take the First Step" ⟶ Cold opening: Just Ami and Mami playing video games. Also, a rare instance of two subtitle lines at the same time. I originally said Yukiho's main fear is of men. That's what this one is about, and honestly, it feels so hackneyed and coming out of nowhere that I can't believe it. And no reason is ever given for this, either. She's so afraid of them she'll rather dig a hole to bury herself than go up onstage. Now, for the record, I'm not necessarily against any trope; but the Compressed Vice (for lack of a better term; this one was set up beforehand) is pretty hard to use effectively. And then Yukipyon (cute nickname) manages to get over her fear of men just in time for her grand performance... but then it's revealed she has another fear, this time of dogs. This comes so far out of right field (though they did telegraph it earlier without me knowing) and is a blatant attempt to extend the episode that I just have to accept it and move on for things to make any sense. It's actually hilarious. The Producer soon barges in and helps Yukiho overcome this fear by revealing he is also afraid of dogs (and this time, there's a reason: He was bit by one as a child). He isn't afraid to mime a dog with his hand, though, and it helps Yukipyon get over it, as well as his promise to personally keep the dog in the audience at bay if it gets too frisky. So, armed with a extremely punk outfit made of leather, ribbons, and ugly face paint, Yukiho rocks the entire village's world upside-down. ⟶ Act break: It's like a school idol festival, but without the school. This episode is primarily about Furusato Village, which the idol unit goes to, and these parts of the episode are really good. You already know how I feel about anime which emulate a trip into the wilderness, especially if it reminds me of New Hampshire's own mountain area and the small towns surrounding it. The people living here are really cool, and they worship a specific fruit called the loquat. Pickled loquats are apparently amazing, and The Producer gets some as the payoff to a brick joke. The village itself is pretty homely and rural, and it doesn't go well for... uh, 756 Productions. Even though their name was misspelled on the hotel sign, and they had to make do without their normal idol outfits and pretty shabby equipment, they ended up having a pretty good time. Such is the story of all our lives. Next week, things get much weirder. It's an episode I liked on the first try, and I can't wait for the talking. Stray-er than thou observations: By the way... about my herring, I did buy the Bakuon!! Blu-ray and watched it to the end. Still a fun show. I gave it an 8/10 the first time, and that's still accurate to within a half-point. The Sentai sub was different, but not notably. The infamous scene with the three S-bombs had them neutered into "crap", but instead we got Saruyama calling her former boyfriend an asshole as she drove into the ocean. I guess this still counts for a TV-14L? I feel like it wouldn't unless it were said more than once, like "bastard" and other similar strength words. Oh, great... now I'm the madman talking about various unrelated things. Thanks a lot, OwlChemist. There was a joke involving old audio equipment which I thought would end with Takane getting a blast of sound in her face. Man, my autism can't handle it. Information overload... story of my life, heh. Classic cartoon sound effects... nice. Song showcase: "ALRIGHT*", which is spelled like that. Yukiho is the lead, and Haruka and Makoto sing along, but I guess they're not in the audio track. The song is just so generic, which isn't an indicator of quality, but there's only so much generic optimism idol songs I can take before I want something more sophisticated. Song showcase: "First Stage", Yukiho and Matoko. Shockingly, it's trance. I like that genre. There must be more trance chiptune songs lying around here. Rating: TV-PG There really isn't a lot to go off of in this episode. Yukiho's general fear of men is tame enough to border a G, so I considered The Producer's memory of being bit by a dog as the requisite PG set. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 (edited) 10 minutes before the deadline. Excellent work. Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #5 The Queen and the Princess I'm gonna get this out of the way. Best moment this episode: Glenn as Rumia, and the events following. There were a number of things I liked about this whole chain of events, starting with the setup to it. It's always nice to see Glenn helping out his students - in this case, convincing a student to partake in the transmutation competition she has cold feet about competing in - even if he's just a little hypocritical in the process. ("Competition's all about having fun", says the guy who has three months' salary riding on their class's victory. ) Him using illusion magic to look and sound like Rumia as an example of the magic said student will be performing was fun too, partly because of hearing Glenn's personality come out of Rumia's mouth, and the good show of Monica Rial's range. Seriously, here, "Rumia"'s voice sounds less like Hyatt and the Head Teacher, and more like Tsubaki or Houki on a good day. And then it served as an actually somewhat clever setup for the misunderstanding of the episode: Sistine mistaking Rumia!Glenn for the real article and offering her some lunch she made. Glenn, who's been subsisting off a twig he's been chewing on for the past several days, can hardly pass up the chance at a free meal in spite of knowing how wrong it'd be to take advantage, and ultimately decides on the only slightly scumbaggy move of taking just one sandwich. Everything falls flat, though, when the real Rumia shows up, prompting Glenn (turned back to normal by a now-suspect Sistine) to get out before things get worse. Naturally, Sistine being Sistine, she blasts him off into the sky/nearby forest with that same spell from episode 1, all while assuming he just disguised himself as Rumia to steal her food, proclaiming said meal as ruined. She almost trashes it, but Rumia instead decides to take the "ruined" sandwiches to Glenn as a sort of apology (whether or not Sistine was in on it is up for debate), thus giving him the meal he's been waiting for. Nice start, nice finish, some typical in-betweening, but overall one of those moments that justify my giving the series a 9/10 on MAL, where I am the IGN. B} And then there's the rest of the episode. Class II is doing good in the competition, moving past Class I on the good majority of individual competitions. Rumia's mother, Queen Alicia VII, sneaks away from her bodyguard detail to meet with her daughter (and Glenn, who just so happened to be there), but Rumia, still a bit sour over being left for dead by her own parent, pretends not to know her to avoid the emotional turmoil associated with their three-year reunion. After learning she hasn't come back yet, and at Sistine's insistence on making sure she's okay (and after teasingly thanking her for the sandwiches whilst pretending not to know it was her), Glenn sits down with Rumia and gives her some teacherly advice: tell her to meet with her mother and let her know how she feels so she can move on from her emotional guilt. Of course, she doesn't get to do that, because the Queen's guard, who are apparently moles with their own agenda, confront Rumia and claim that the Queen claimed she planned on assassinating her, deciding to execute her on the spot. Smart enough to know the Queen, if she were that resentful of Rumia, wouldn't make a decision like that without a trial first, Glenn steps in to save Rumia from her second near-death experience in the show and decides to prove that the guards were lying sacks of shit. Of course, he doesn't know the whole story of what's going on, thanks to Celica being too surrounded by guards to say anything important, so he's left to figure it out on his own. And it only gets worse when the two mages from last episode - former co-workers of his sent to observe the mole situation but pissed enough at Glenn to consider confronting him at some point - show up and attack him in the alley where he and Rumia were hiding. All of this happening unbeknownst to the rest of the class. To Love-Ru was a mistake; this is the better show for the thread by far, and boy am I lucky that I'm enjoying it as much as I do. RATED: TV-PGLV That's right, our first PG of the series! Violence was a nice mix between direct but bloodless - Glenn getting knocked out by the butt end of a guard's sword, and returning the favor with some flashbang-aided knock-out moves - and bloody but after-the-fact - Glenn once more flashing back to him questioning his life choices among bloody enemy mage corpses. Language levels were appropriate enough to avoid higher warranty - the highest profane phrases were "a total bastard move", "a suck-fest like that", and "sword hilts are a bitch". And as an added bonus, the preview short had the phrase "long-haired pervy weirdo" - used by Glenn in reference to the male half of his former co-workers, who was spying on Sistine and Rumia, or rather the box of kittens they randomly came across. SCREENCAPS: For act 1, the Queen and head teachers checking out the competition from their VIP box, and the head mole showing his rating awareness. Or is he? [dun dun duuuuuuun] Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 (edited) Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #6 The Evil Being And now, for a little something I like to call, "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird". THE GOOD: The episode itself, as far as my skewed means of watching stuff is concerned. The series' second three-episode arc wrapped up nicely, between Class 2 winning the magic competition and the underlying plot wrapping itself up. I was legitimately surprised by Glenn and Rumia switching places with the mages from last episode - Glenn's former comrades from his time in the Imperial Army - to trick the guards chasing after the former and get close to Queen Alicia so things could be resolved. (It was also an excellent pay-off of the transmutation-illusion magic covered last episode. ;D) Alicia lying about having never loved Rumia was predictable in comparison, though I liked how the question wasn't so much "what?" but "why?". Conditional curses are a real bitch. And that goes without mentioning that Alicia's maid Eleanor was the real mole inside her inner circle, a member of the Researchers of Divine Wisdom seeking to finish what the previous researchers failed to by killing Rumia and using the Queen's life to get her bodyguard detail to comply with her mission. That itself goes without mentioning the fact that Rumia's being targeted apparently has more to do with the titular "Akashic Records" than her being an "Amplifier" capable of recharging others' magic with a single touch. I'm not expecting much to be made on this in the remaining half of the adaptation, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if it does. Also, Rumia remains the best. THE BAD: Sistine and a bunch of her classmates drunkenly blowing Glenn's cash prize and salary earnings from Hadley on their victory party. Not exactly mean-spirited, but it sucks to see Glenn back at square one finance-wise. :frank: But enough joking, the main problem was in regards to the watching experience. It could've been related to Crunchyroll's temporary hack, it might not have, but my attempts to watch the episode via the usual channels were squashed by two sudden abortions of the network connection and a video ad that the page kept jumping to no matter how frantically I scrolled. After figuring that out, the main problem laid with the dreaded "audio/video" lag that sometimes comes with watching stuff. The dialogue came a full second before the corresponding video from about five to six minute in onward, and while not nearly as bad as that time the audio and subtitles failed to match up in this fansub of Michiko and Hatchin episode 5 that I watched back in 2012, it was still awkward to deal with. I'm glad I didn't chimp out like I would've back in the days of editing Berserk to SyFy standards. Also, two bits of dialogue from Rumia were missing for some reason, but that problem only popped up in the cold opening. [sigh] To think in 2017, anime watches can still be somewhat hellish. THE WEIRD: This episode was the main reason I chose to watch this show, outside of poor first impressions on ANN and Chaps having blogged a couple episodes himself. This specific episode's unit director, Hiroshi Tamada, was selected as the unit director for the third episode of my current non-NIBAI MUGENDAI fictional anime idea I'm writing up, and as this was the most recent work he was involved in at the time (since then he's shown up to direct UQ Holder! episode 3), I decided to watch it so I could get a better feel for his means of direction. It was nothing super-special like what Toshiyuki Tsuru or even Toshiaki Kidokoro are capable of doing, but the appropriate use of lighting and shading with respect to location and time of day is the kind of thing I approve of, as is the dramatic bent. So I guess I can finally knock that third episode out, be it before or after I send the first two episodes to whoever's interesting in seeing how I would approach a written adaptation of this dude's art without making it outright hentai. RATED: TV-PGV With "bastard" sometimes failing to get even a moderate language warning, I don't think there's any harm in letting that subrating go missing for one PG episode. The worst moment of moderate violence this episode was Glenn getting stabbed in the hand by the chief bodyguard's sword, producing a minor blood splash and a couple of complaints from Glenn in regards to that being the most he was good for outside of sealing the magic in the conditional curse crystal. The worst profanity was the use of "fricking", which I learned probably no longer counts as moderate language (this was before Roger came up with the "you can say "ass" a certain amount of times before tipping the scale" rule). SCREENCAPS: Act 1, Celica is now ratings-aware, and for act 2, my self-insert sealing his enemies away with some help from our good friend Portland cement. Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 (edited) I should've had this done on Sunday, but nobody even wants to invent reasons to care, so I'm good with... whatever time in the weekend. Even if it's technically Tuesday. :pumpkin: Say hello to my 900th post. This playlist ⟶ Cold opening: Your shoot is almost ready, ma'am. Haruka, Chihaya, Hibiki, and Takane are all going to be on this "cooking battle" TV show themed to frogs, because you know how much the Japanese love that concept... err, both of them. And because this show is somehow begging for you lump it under "Weird Japan", they wear frog mascot costumes in a promo. But don't worry, because for the actual show, they wear either typical chef outfits or maid uniforms. I wonder why Makoto didn't travel along on an excuse to wear more girly outfits. And Hamzou somehow made their way into the studio, which is a major health hazard (they even get thrown in boiling water!), but since my willing suspension of disbelief was destroyed in the last episode, I'm rolling with it. And these are awesome gags. However, this show is a little skeezy. For one thing, it's hosted by a frog hand puppet wearing a top hat controlled by a guy in black. Also, they cut out the singing part Chihaya was going here for. And when it comes time to cook, there's one brief physical challenge before the cooking begins and the show's staff try to make the girls fall over and show them off in suggestive poses. This enrages Chihaya so much that she nearly ragequits out of the show halfway through (they were interrupting it to show a soap opera, apparently), and never return to being an idol. But, as I'm sure you already guessed, she gets better. No one in this show ever gives up. Knowing that all of them are going to go through something like this and eventually improve themselves actually makes it comfy to watch. It's like a brutal hugbox in here. ⟶ Act break: A quick look at this episode's low-key comedy. Now, I won't say who won the competition. The show, as usual, makes the assumption that you're going to have fun anyway. But despite Chihaya having passed the mission statement, the show still ends on a down note as she heads back home on her own... to be alone, and unloved. She apparently hurt her fingers either through cooking or domestic abuse, but I'm guessing it's the former. The show never concisely explained that, which surprised me. At least she has a whole lot people ready to work with her at 765pro. =) It's all short, but sweet. A little more effort wouldn't hurt, I suppose. Still, in solidarity with The A.V. Club being too cynical for its own good, here is a shortened back section. Song showcase: "Young Lady Aim High!!", Haruka solo, break low. Its presence does make me wonder why I do this so often, because you only hear about fifteen seconds of the song. I don't know... video game-like? But I'm mostly thinking casual platformers with some extra spice. Besides, this is not what you're here for. "Bluebird", the very emotional Chihaya solo. It's good. Ballads are good like that. Rating: TV-PG Another episode where I have not much to talk about, but it did have the aforementioned attempts at getting panty shots. That's a banal PG set, but it works. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 (edited) The iDOLM@STEREpisode 5: "Vacation with Everyone" If you couldn't guess within ten seconds of seeing the title, it's a beach episode. And the set-up, the air conditioner in the 765pro offices breaking, is at this point so common it might as well be a trope unto itself. ⟶ Cold opening: Another day at the office, giving JumpStart all sorts of ideas. It's a pretty well distributed affair. Everyone gets their shots in, which is how it should be. Iori is too busy telling scary stories throughout the trip, Ami and Mami have some screwball fun (including burial of The Producer up to his neck), and Chihaya wants to be really low key. And there are beach scenes, and... hot spring scenes, with pretty mild mudity. ⟶ Act break: Somebody had the bright idea to build a knock-off Trump Tower. The girls did not stay there for the night. Towards the end, the girls all share their feelings for the future. Iori is the one who isn't very optimistic, and thinks the agency would close rather than actually showcase talent and become successful. But little do they know that Ritsuko was already pulling some strings alongside Kotori (who's left at home) behind the scenes. And the episode begins with the reveal of a brand new idol unit... Ryuugu Komachi. It's one-half the convenience of not being and school, and the other is another Touhou reference. But who cares! It's all cool for these idol cuties. Stray observations: Of all the idols wearing swimsuits, they're about as skimpy as you'd expect for the corresponding characters. Of course Azusa's have to show off her bust, and Yayoi wears a school swimsuit for some reason. I assume it's because she's rather poor. ON THE POINT OF REACTION FACES: This show really knows how to make them pop. Case in point, this wild take. 'twas what I thought Bakuon!! definitely lacked. You know, I've heard the hardcore animation community really likes smears, so why not throw some of those in to make things even more profile picture-able. Yeah, poor Kotori... she really hasn't done much in the show to start with, but then she gets left all by her lonesome. And the office was so hot! I hope she relished in the coolness of that good night. Hamzou gets their own wooden tub to float in... complete with The Producer's preferred view! The best ever. I'm so jealous. Song showcase: is deprecated, as of this post. I just couldn't come up with anything interesting to say, and it made writing these less fun. As a compromise, I highly suggest reading posts like this one with any sort of audio. This playlist should help get you started. Rating: TV-PG Now look at what we have here... actual PG sets. First of all, alcohol consumption. One thing this show gets points for is having idol characters of drinking age to go along with everyone else. It was Asuza who had it the worst, if you're curious. Also, Ami and Mami said they wanted to peek into the woman's bath, which seemingly requires you to make that connotation. As for the bath scenes, they tried to make them as tasteful as possible. Very little boob, in under- and over- varieties. Therefore, no advance for this episode. Edited January 14, 2018 by Blatch Cool. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 (edited) Okay, let's give this a try. So I'm going to do it and another episode on Friday. It'll make up for a possible break on the first weekend of December. I mean, I want to do something special... finally wrapping up loose ends and all, but it'll depend on whether or not the box set is in by then. The iDOLM@STER Episode 6: "The Decision to Move Forward" I do it for everyone... well, partially out of hedonistic tendencies. But I can't seem to discern what is genuinely fun anymore from what isn't. So Ryuguu Komachi is this idol unit, as they say, comprised of Asuza, Ami, and Iori. I guess because they all have some sort of reference to water in their names, but it comes off as not being genuine when there actually is one named Umi. I don't know, but this probably seemed like a good idea at the time. So Ritsuko managed to book an entire week's worth of activities for the new group, which is rather surprising considering that nobody knows how they sound. And now it's the Producer's turn to start booking gigs for the other idols. Honestly, just from reading that, you can probably guess how this episode is going to play out. And if you can't, let me just say that it goes poorly. But they were good, and imagined themselves having a phony Trump Tower of their own! How could it all collapse so fast? ⟶ Cold opening: Another look at the big board of idols, with all of Ryuguu Komachi's stuff in the focus. Also, I'm sorry, but that is not Astolfo. He ends up overworking himself when it comes to booking, which leads to overbooking. Also, he just hands the executives copies of whatever music the idols have made that sounds good. If I were just given a copy of "Bluebird" and asked to listen to it, that would dilute the song's message a bit. You already know how much I hate anime that try to force sob stories, so why would it be any worse when meta? Also, the booking extends to odd jobs that don't match up with the idols at all, including Yayoi being a stunt double for a movie where she falls from a great height... even though she's agoraphobic. And Yukipyon dug another hole for some reason. ⟶ Act break: Say hello to crippling overconfidence. What I find strange about this episode is that it does try to universally portray The Producer's actions as sound. In fact, the manager of one event chastises him as well as Miki, who arrived late to compensate for a double-booking, for poor logistics. But then Miki aces the performance as learned from Makoto, and all is forgiven. In the end, I'm not sure what the intended lesson of the episode was, but it definitely wasn't to practice quantity over quality. He'll get better over time, which is rather misguided considering that a person becomes better at what they do with discipline. But hey, I still liked the episode. It's just that this one was a little undercooked, and we're getting into my favorite part of the run from when I originally watched. Also, something funny I noticed was this apparent JoJo's reference. I mean, it can't not be, considering the art style. And Kotori apparently segued from that thought (this was her flashback) into something about anti-aging, which is a coded message towards Araki, I'm sure. Content rating: TV-PG Number four in a row. But I'll keep this pretty short... 'twas only The Producer saying "damn" and "hell", which are the lightest PG sets imaginable. Edited December 29, 2017 by Blatch Was testing for another thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted November 24, 2017 Share Posted November 24, 2017 (edited) Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #7 The Sea of Falling Stars Seeing how Rumia's been targeted by the Researchers of Divine Wisdom on no less than two separate occasions - one of which also put the national leadership in danger - the Imperial bigwigs saw fit to give her a bodyguard to make sure they don't get her as easily as before. The soldier they assigned? Re-L Rayford, one of the two mages Glenn used to work with introduced last episode. However, as this assignment is top-secret, she's sent in under the guise of a new student in Glenn's class. While her class introduction (which almost blew her cover) and use of military-grade magic during a training exercise make the majority of class view her as weird and dangerous, they manage to come around to her without much trouble. It helps that Sistine and Rumia were so willing to be good friends with her right from the offset. The opportunities for the normally reclusive Re-L to socialize and bond with her classmates only increase during the class field trip to Simeria (sp?) Island, a place known for its alchemy labs and sandy beaches, the latter providing many an opportunity for swimsuit fanservice. On that note, allow me to talk about another thing that makes Glenn such a likeable protagonist for me. Unlike many MCs, who have the tendency to be huge perverts, those tendencies of Glenn's are more restrained, if not nonexistent. And when they do show, they show in two different manners. The first manner is through convenience; that is, the fanservice coming to the character instead of the character going to the fanservice. As seen in the first episode with his refusal to avert his eyes from his female students in undress, he chose to look partly because it was mere happenstance. With the field trip to the beach and the opportunity to see girls in swimsuits, this manner of convenience shows up again. And even then, Glenn's pleased reactions are much subdued; no nosebleeds, no boner jokes, no wacky expressions, just pleased grins and teasing comments that are well-meaning enough to avoid being pegged as sexual harassment, at least in Japan and Alzerno. The second manner is through enabling those who have better reason/excuse to be perverted. Knowing his class and the psyche of a teenage boy well enough to know how much they love swimsuits and bare breasts, plus the fact that porn isn't easy to come by in this world of fantasy, Glenn used the opportunity to give the guys a chance to check out their classmates in swimsuits as justification for the field trip. (Rumia, on the other hand, prefers to believe that it's so they're out of the way of any military involvement.) Not to mention he suggests a better way of going about their plans to peep on the girls' hotel rooms, even though he nixes them anyways because they broke curfew. Anime main characters may be pervs, but Glenn's inherent tendencies are subdued enough to keep him from being uncomfortable to be around, and that's plenty to score him points in my book for all his bastardliness. Back to plot-relevant stuff, Glenn finds out just before he and the class leave for Simeria that Re-L's just a decoy bodyguard, and that Albert - the other mage co-worker - is the one who's actually been tasked with protecting Rumia. He also lets Glenn know that Re-L is dangerous and that he should be careful around her. At first glance, it seemed like old news, considering Re-L greeted Glenn by almost attacking him with a sword (something even Sistine, the obligatory violent tsundere, thinks is a little overboard), but really, that "danger" appears to tie more into Re-L's time with Glenn in the Mage Corps, plus her own personal problems. Her brother dying under circumstances mysterious to the audience, Glenn being her sole reason for living, his departure from the Mage Corps making her lose that will to live (happily), her deep-seated jealousy and hatred of Sistine and Rumia for "stealing" Glenn away from her... Girl's a powder keg of psychological issues, and who knows how dangerous that'll be when things get even more serious? Considering Eleanor (the Divine Wisdom maid) and an acquaintance of hers are on the island plotting another scheme to kidnap/murder Rumia, we may see that excess danger soon enough. RATED: TV-14 By the way, this episode opened up with Glenn teaching Sistine hand-to-hand combat (with intent to later add military magic to the curriculum) so she could help protect Rumia without having to wait for professionals to get involved. The introduction leading up to that reveal, however, follows one of the most ever-present tropes in anime adaptations with even a slight hint of fanservice: suggestive dialogue hinting at something a little more sexual than what's really going on. I mean, check out these lines the scriptwriters at FUNimation thought up for the cold open: "I'm so sore...", "The more we do this, the better you'll get", "Being hard on you is my job...", "We could both get hurt if you're too tight"... If not for the obvious fact that they weren't having rough sex in the local greenspace at 5 in the morning, one could assume that they were. That was enough to seal the deal on the rating, but I also logged down five profanity uses (three of "hell", two of "crappy", and two of "damn"), a flashback to more literal blood on Glenn's hands during his military days, and one of the male students protesting against Glenn keeping them from their peeping marathon by telling him they'll "do whatever it takes to stop [him] so we can see boobs". SCREENCAPS: For act 1, Sistine recovering from early morning practice (if you know what I mean), and for act 2, her looking out at Simeria's local scenery. [good afternoon, good evening, and good night] Edited December 22, 2017 by PokeNirvash Fixed a couple things following a rewatch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted November 27, 2017 Author Share Posted November 27, 2017 This one's called the "Chicago shuffle"... The iDOLM@STER Episode 7: "Things I Love, Things That Are Important to Me" This episode does an interesting pump fake. You'd think it's Iori-centric, considering that a news crew is at her mansion for some reason, and she introduces herself and essentially gives Ryuguu Komachi some free publicity. Woman, she managed out outmaneuver that bumbling The Producer without any effort. ⟶ Cold opening: Livability meets frugality meets the biggest space for an anime collection ever possible. And now that you know what the intro is like, it's easy to guess... that this is the Yayoi episode. She has five other siblings, in fact, so we'll most of them in this one. Iori and Hibiki are along for the ride. The first stop is Super Lucky Mart, where Yayoi knows everything in regards to produce, especially when to get cheap bean sprouts. Then she hurries home to help us through the cooking, and is followed by the insert song for the episode. It is the most saccharine thing featured on the show yet, pushed over the top by having "I love myself" as one of the lyrics, but that's Yayoi for you. She might actually be my favorite girl of the show. As in, just an endless beacon of positivity and kindness, which is a lot more than I ever will be. I mean, I try to do my best, but I guess being put into that situation makes it easier for her than anyone else. The optimism quotient seems to scale with pain endured, meaning that her only other option is probably solitary confinement for several years. So yeah, she's better off. ⟶ Act break: It's a bean sprout party, oh yeah. The oldest sibling of her family, Chousuke-niichan, hits his baby brother, after they tried to snitch on his bean sprouts. Then Chousuke runs away, and there's your proprietary conflict for the episode. It's at least nice to see a family keep the faith even when one of them is in a foul mood, keeping with the positivist themes and such. Also, The Producer ends up joining them to help find Chousuke, but it's of no use. Iori actually finds him, to bring this full circle. He was in the garage, mad that Yayoi got to do fun idol stuff without helping him in the process, when he never realized that he could actually be his own role model, and start helping out others for a change. That's a pretty nice message, I'll admit.. Stray observations: No, I still don't know what Iori's family business does. But that's never the point. And now it's time for the best out of context image EVER of all time in the ever. And it's even kind of sexy. I find it interesting that the theme around Yayoi's house is frogs. This show definitely seems to like them, between this, the earlier crazy guy in an episode, and it comes back in the fold for a character in Side-M. But I'll leave us in suspense about that for just a while longer... The ending credits depict some strange cartoon show shown at Yayoi's house earlier on. It's apparently also a Hero Show, and the weirdest one I've seen to date. Seriously, why would we even bother with saving these absurdist cartoon blobs? Content rating: TV-G Ladies and mentlegen, the game has been fucking changed around here! Which is pretty ironic considering what I just did. Now, because this is a first, here's my general mindset on G ratings... I consider them as more "nothing offensive" than "really banal stuff that would be laughed out of anywhere but PBS". Therefore, if a show is aimed at all audiences and has content that would fit a Y or Y7-rated show more commonly, I'd consider it worthy of a G. It doesn't have to literally have not even any Y7-worthy content in it, such as slapstick violence. This episode had no sex, no suggestive dialogue, and not even the absolute minimum of swearing. All I could really see that might be considered offensive to someone is Yakiniku-man, the absurdist cartoon hero everyone loves, calling his attack of a bravery punch. But we never see him hit anyone, since the power goes off (in Yayoi's house) before we see the outcome. I've seen worse in Y7-rated TV shows and even G-rated movies, so merely saying that you'll punch someone isn't that bad. The only other thing that happened was, yes, Chousuke punching his baby brother, but that only amounted to a mild hit on the back. I feel like Poke would disagree with this, as it's not really on par with Tomorrow from there from when he rated those shorts, but I'm probably not getting something this banal for a big while longer at least outside of this very series, so I'm going for it. First ever G, here we go. And also, before this finishes out, I'd like to give the lovely shout of out to Blend S for accomplishing the most stupendous and seemingly impossible of feats: a TV-PGDSV and PGLSV, the two rarest ratings in normal play excepting G, in episodes #6 and #7. Yup, they went back-to-back. Those cunning bastards... especially whoever thought it'd be funny to have Dino nosebleed and bash his head against the wall to bleed enough for the V subrating. This show is the chosen one, even before it's introduced a crossdressing male character. I'll be watching all of Hideri's scenes twice to make up for Skirt no Naka being a rather strong disappointment as well as bad pornography. But I'll respect your opinion of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 (edited) Don't mind me, just replying to Blatch on a few things. 1. Good job on getting your first TV-G. I only started giving those out when I started actually giving attention to actual PG sets, so there may have been a few episodes I rated before then that could've earned it. (Here's looking at you, Moshidora.) Small aside, back in the days when G4 was a thing, I used to look at the individual episode guides they set up for the shows they aired on Anime Unleashed, and I remember seeing at least one TV-G for Gad Guard. So yeah, I thought that was a neat thing to notice. 2. Dang, I don't think I have a series bearing that feat myself. In fact, nested in this spoiler are the only episodes to have either rating, based on my records. TV-PGDSV: Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy #10 (personal, dub), Black Rock Shooter TV #3 (personal, sub), Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi #11 (personal, dub), Mawaru Penguindrum #17 (personal, sub), Naruto #157 (Toonami broadcast), Paprika (personal, dub, SyFy-edit style) TV-PGLSV: Blue Submarine No. 6 #1 (personal, dub), Descendants of Darkness #7 (SyFy broadcast), Dragonball Z Kai #129 (Toonami broadcast), Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu! #12 (personal, dub), Gurren Lagann #7 (SyFy broadcast), Lupin the 3rd: The Italian Adventure #1 (Toonami broadcast), Read or Die (SyFy broadcast), Strait Jacket (SyFy broadcast), Yu Yu Hakusho #2 (personal, dub) No overlap. But seriously, the rarest PG-and-up rating I have so far is TV-PGS. The [as] broadcasts of Kikaider #12 and Neon Genesis Evangelion #13, and my personal ratings for Ping Pong the Animation #2 and Neo Ranga #9. Even counting your rating of Ancient Magus' Bride #1, that's still only five compared to PGDSV's six. 3. I will always regret not telling you beforehand that Skirt no Naka wa was porn-lite. Still, for all its flaws and awkwardness, I liked it enough to give it a higher 7/10 on MAL than I gave Infinite Stratos 2. Plus I feel it was worth it, making it my first Magic Bus anime before Mad Bull 34, Sexy Commando Gaiden, or even Beast Fighter: The Apocalypse. Edited January 20, 2018 by PokeNirvash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 Presumably no one was in this thread to figure it out, but my previous comment referred to finally finishing up Squid Girl. I ordered the premium box set and it would've shipped out today... but they delayed it until December 26th for quality control reasons. It does suck, especially since it's not the first such delay to happen recently. Sentai pushed a PBS of Haikyu!! back two months for similar reasons, as well as I think one other big product, but I don't remember what it is. Even if I know they care, it's demoralizing to hear. I just hope this isn't an issue of not having everything planned out well enough. Now for some responses: For TV-PGS, I've got: Kantai Collection #2, Birdy the Mighty: Decode #11, Princess Princess #3, the upcoming Off the Air episode "Paradise", and actually Blend S itself for #1 and #3; I'm not sure about either case, however. The former's only distinction comes from cat testicles, for which I have no standards about, and for the other, the presence of a BDSM doujin makes it an edge case between that and a naked 14. I have every PG rating in the books at least once; in fact, I do have Squid Girl to thank for most of them. PGLS is my rarest, with only the Girl's High OVA to account for, and that's just a series of three coherently linked but independent shorts put together, so I'm not even sure if it's legitimate. And the only PGDV I have is Log Horizon #1... which I think is long overdue for a complete rewatch for the purposes of fun and ratings-ness. Finally, I think my own naivete was to blame for not seeing the crossdresser porn show as such. But Crunchyroll not streaming it was another factor, and now that I've had time to think about it, I'm glad they never did. It would've got nothing but scorn from most who saw it, effectively amplifying the flame wars ANN had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted December 2, 2017 Author Share Posted December 2, 2017 The iDOLM@STER Episode 8: "Detour to Happiness" Season seven, time for a wedding. Only this time it's just a photo shoot, but who cares. And it's somebody's fetish, so I'll take it. Miki, Makoto, and Azusa are the participants here, with the latter being the focus. Now let me just follow up on this by saying that the episode really doesn't have any moral or anything for the characters to learn, but I really like it. ⟶ Opening: Just a pretty shot of Azusa. I chose this one because her face wasn't so obscured by the imaginary camera frame. So the plot is that some other woman is getting married to a oil baron from the Middle East, but she runs into Azusa and subsequently loses the wedding ring. And then Azusa is taken by the employees arranging the marriage (yeah, since the bride has never met this guy in her life), only to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere once they figure it out and are embarrassed over the mistake. I genuinely can't imagine how incompetent you have to be to mess all of this up within one minute, but this episode is all about the journey, and it gets even crazier from here. Azusa somehow manages to make everyone and everything smile no matter where she goes, from inspiring a humble street artist to making some circus animals in disparate conditions go crazy and rush from their barricaded areas. And at the same time out of all this, Makoto somehow needs to fight the dudes leading the bride around, which leads to an insane series of fight scenes that, combined with all the random people Azusa meets around time plus her brief stint as a fortune teller, crescendos into Makoto leading every single person from the episode in rushing to the bride as she's near the port, and re-uniting with her the new guy plus her wedding ring. And it ends exactly the way you think it would, with no pessimism to be found. ⟶ Act break: Fun fact... I actually did a different shot from this scene as an actual ratings thing a long while ago... basically, a test for my own amusement. It was when I was doing the Girl's High posts. The switch was due to Miki being viewed from the back, and I try to give all the idols a chance to be beautiful at some point. I knew I liked this episode a lot on the original run, and I think the reason why is obvious now. There's a strong argument to be made that this show is at its best when it's just piling craziness on top of madness and having tons of fun while doing so. In fact, I've heard that about other idol shows, including the currently-airing Love Live! Sunshine!!'s second season. Apparently, you have to be a really wacky sitcom to get ahead in the genre. But this isn't to take away from the show's more character-driven and low-key episodes, because a show that can balance itself is probably going to attract a wider audience. But so it goes. I'm just glad to be along to hijack the ride. Strays: Yes, that guy did remind me of the Wind of Africa. In keeping with a theme of tolerance, I can respect the show's existence for as long as it encourages people to do good and gives them sweet dreams. Makoto ended up wearing a tuxedo to the shoot because the idol group didn't have any boys... well, on the performance side. I think they missed a golden opportunity for some The Producer fanservice on that one. The climactic scene of the circus animals and everyone else rushing to the bride ended up making the magazine very popular and boosted Ryuguu Komachi's popularity, even thought it was a complete accident. This really isn't making The Producer look any less right than he was. The oil baron, who never got a name, paid for the damages to Yokohama Chinatown as a result of Makoto's fight. In fact, the bride never got a name either (unless she was Tomomi from a conversation on Azusa's phone at the end of the episode), and yet I feel like I both know and care more about her than any of the main characters from a mediocre idol show. I don't even know why, but this show can really do it to it. It's a good thing I don't do the song showcase anymore, because this episode had five of them! And it goes to seven if you count the OP and one notable instrumental I felt should have been something bigger. And two were during Makoto's fighting scenes, so any attempt to talk about them would just devolve into something else. Still, the music in this episode definitely enhanced the experience. Rating: TV-PGV Obviously a step up from the G. This came from the aforementioned Makoto fight(s), which some thought was staged for a movie, but even I don't know how it ultimately came about. Still, it featured her beating up one of the goons' asses while they were hanging from a horizontal ladder, as well as a fight involving large meat shanks. 'twas not portrayed as slapstick in the slightest. So yeah, as of this one, I think I'm finally back on track. Look for more good-ass posts, some miscellaneous surprises, insane pop culture allegories, and so much more... all in the coming weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted December 9, 2017 Author Share Posted December 9, 2017 Okay, so Squid Girl actually shipped this week, and it should be here for the next. You'll know what to come here for. But now, the normal idol show rag... The iDOLM@STER Episode 9: "What the Two of Us Can Do" Watch out... increased insanity coming up once again. ⟶ Opening: Have a little atmosphere to open this up. Ryuguu Komachi is starring on a one-off detective drama for some reason, and it's good. For one thing, they end up cornering the killer by wearing maid outfits, since he apparently killed the one working in the mansion. It's a shallow attempt at fanservice but it by no means damages the premise. After shooting the final scene, they go back to 765pro to rest before a radio interview about the program. But this when the real mystery begins... as in, who ate Iori's Gorgeous Celebrity Pudding. It ends up mirroring the drama show too well. Ami even blurts out the coincidences during the interview. For one thing, Yukiho fell on the floor for unknown reasons and it was implied Hibiki did it. But actually, she just uttered "hibi", which means "crack", as in, in the wall, where there was a cockroach. What a nice continuity nod. But this turns out to not be related to the puddings at all. So Ami and Mami have to use their detective skills of ridiculousness to make an elaborate trap that will expose the last idols they haven't checked regarding the desert. ⟶ Act break: I hope Mami knows what's righteous. Now, while the culprit ends up being Miki, who cheerfully admits that she took the pudding, she only did so because Ami ate the Awesome Fancy Jelly she had purchased. But even then, in a post-episode stinger, Azusa is revealed to have eaten from a whole box of puddings in an abortion of her diet. Talk about twisty! This episode had a whole different vibe which I liked, which included tons of drearier-than-usual outside scenes, and much of it lacked vibrant colors, which reminded me of some Birdy the Mighty episodes. They really took the whole mystery theme seriously, and considering this show is the best when it's doing radically different things, I can appreciate it. This also shows that iM@S can be really strong even when no singing whatsoever is involved. There wasn't a single insert song in this episode, which is a rather dramatic reversal from the last. But you always have to handicap yourself once in a while, because that's how the best shows separate from the pack. A.V. Club Improvement Project: I'm starting to get the opinion that you can almost universally judge a show based on its reaction faces. There were some good ones, with the scene involving Haruka being scared shitless by some GCJ costumes having the best. So expressive, and so extreme. The ED for this episode is literally surreal. Ami and Mami go riding dinosaurs, witness optical illusions, and ultimately go into space. No, "Awesome Fancy Jelly" is not a Neopets reference. But maybe if it was half-eaten, yes... or gigantic. Rating: TV-14V There was a maid who got killed and bled out of a bathtub, an alleged lawyer who was stabbed, and then Asuza went after the killer with this awesome diving lunge, took his knife away, and stabbed him with the killing blow. But even then, the man laid dying there with almost no blood spilled. Only a little bit drooled out of his mouth. However, we did see a mid-range shot of the knife plunged in his body, as well as a close-up of Asuza's bloodied hand. What trips me up about this episode is the lack of violence in motion. This is quite tame compared to a lot of 14V and higher shows I've rated. However, it had a decent amount of blood, which has enticed me to rate shows higher in the past; Birdy Decode: E2E9 is a good example, and I actually think this one had more. Also, the tension was so high you could cut things with a miscellaneous sharp edge. While I could just as easily rate it a 14 straight, I've done enough of those intermediate ratings lately, so I'll lay off on tact and appease the masses with my original choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted December 17, 2017 Author Share Posted December 17, 2017 And so it's come to this... here's one more of the squiddy show like it never even stopped. Squid Girl OVA 3"I Th-ink We Need a Helper?" "How Squid You Find Out?" "Squid I Break The Law?" (no) I'd rather not be sentimental, but I've been waiting four whole years (more than two since the first rating) to be able to buy the other half of this series. And now I've got it all on Blu-ray, so that's that. In the first segment, the Lemon Beach House (though the Sentai version uses a slightly different translation) is short on staff, so they decide to turn to who else but the gravely Southern Winds guy. And he has a brand new fake Squid Girl as a partner; like last time, it's only a robotic head. On top of this, the guy has a strange intuition where he knows what the customer wants to eat (as in, ingredients) and can please them without even trying. Eiko is non-plussed at all of this, but Squid Girl is willing to ignore the awkwardness. And they get a lot done... but then Squiddy tries to turn on the TV, but uses what is actually the robot's remote, and the power button blows it up. Hooray. In a follow-up scene, Squid Girl is encountered by dogs, and a new Fake Squid Girl robot tries to sic them out, only for them to dodge its robotic tentacles. In this case, the self-destruct actually comes in handy, for purposes of narrative and random-events humor. I can't say I dislike it. Break choice #1: One more normal shot of the Lemon interior. In number two, Kiyomi and Squid Girl go to Sanae's house, where she has amassed an insane collection of squid merchandise, including a dakimakura, tons of plushies and assorted dolls, even a cosplay of her iconic outfit, and another maid uniform. She hides everything while Squiddy is there, but is caught in the act after Kiyomi unexpectedly goes back to get her bag. At this point, she kind of loses it and starts showing her stalker love as a point of pride, even giving Kiyomi spare merchandise (yes, she has copies) to flaunt. She is also perfectly okay with this, surprisingly. It's episodes such as this where I like the aesop that it's okay to be yourself, even if other people may not be able to stand it. Yeah, Sanae isn't the perfect model for this, but then again, I wouldn't mind owning more Squid Girl merchandise myself. Break choice #2: New season of the anime coming... never, sadly. The final segment takes "last episode, new character" to a bigger extreme, introducing a police woman named Keiko. Her name isn't actually said, but you can see it plainly on police badge. There are a lot of conniving characters at the Lemon, but Squiddy takes her by surprise the most. She even tries to take the lech into custody. Thankfully, Squid Girl knows all about what could happen in the instance of arrest. Of course, the guillotine is typically reserved for villainous characters, but I digress. The situation diffuses when Keiko notices the Three Stooges and Cindy turning a watermelon into jelly and chases after them, since creating an entire gelatinous world is just too bizarre to comprehend. Squid Girl gets an official police badge out of it, and I guess it's better for the show to stop right here. After all, she's become corrupted! Many stray observations: The Squid Girl PBS from Sentai Filmworks is pretty awesome. I should know, because I'm stuck with paying it off over the next few months. It has both seasons and all three OVAs. The two shorts with Hisako Kanemoto plus the anti-piracy message are missing (that is, before I decided to change things), but the set retains everything else and also has even more extras. The S1 episodes do include the Media Blasters dub. As for the new one, my opinion is complex and can't be summed up simply, but I do think Sentai did an admirable job. There are some voices I don't like... in particular, Kira-Vincent Davis sounds a little off as Eiko. In fact, I actually think Cindy's VA, Shelley Calene-Black, actually sounds more like Eiko than Eiko herself. It helps that I had her pegged down for Eiko in my original cast list. But on the other hand, I actually think Luci Christian is a better choice for Chizuru overall. It's due to personal tastes; I like her as a VA and it's just the voice I think is more likely to come out of the character; weirdly authoritative, but cute in certain ways. And Christine Marie Cabanos as Squid Girl is still great, but you aleady knew this. The Blu-rays look great. On the other hand, the DVDs are kind of bad. They're blurry and washed out. The footage is reminiscent of Kill la Kill, although in this case it's not supposed to look like that. You saw the end result in those ratings screencaps. Of course, Sentai is preparing to phase out DVDs over the next few months, save for future seasons of shows which came out on DVD originally and non-HD programs. This is one of the last shows to be released in the deprecated way, so maybe they've done it as intentional sabotage? I mean, those Blu-ray players already sold themselves! The dub completely changed the premise of S2E4's first segment, since it would be impossible to do normally in English. Instead, believe it or not, the dude is now British, which does absolutely nothing to explain why he sounds Australian, like the TF2 Sniper. But the segment is now about Squid Girl and friends trying to speak British, though I can't be the only one disappointed they don't say "bloody". The altered segment is cool and they handled it about as faithfully as was possible, though the original version is a little funnier if only because of how bizarrely great everyone's English is. There is a clean version of the segment as subbed, but I compared it with the regular episode's cut and have no idea what the difference is supposed to be. On squid puns: Squiddy will get an allowance for going to the store; "Oh, I love fetching inkin' groceries!" Ending theme: There is a different one for the finale, surprisingly. It features a sort-of first person Squid Girl look as she delivers food throughout the Lemon. It also contains one of the show's more noteworthy uses of CGI assistance. As well, the OP's got new footage. Now, since when has the Lemon ever had a large TV? Maybe it's the same one Squid Girl got for winning the beach volleyball competition? The second segment has a rare use of everyone being chibi, even Squid Girl. Mini Squid Girl is typically used as a stand-in whenever such is needed, but I like this one's gigantic eyes better than the usual pinholes Mini Squiddy has. For some inexplicable reason, Squid Girl is passing around photorealistic food. I have no idea why the show would do this intentionally, and I hope it's not due to budget issues. Apparently, past this point, the manga introduces a lot more characters. Keiko is just scratching the surface... there's also a beach nurse that gets introduced. Hopefully, Masahiro Anbe added them because he thought he used up all the potential in the current ones, rather than as a cheap gimmick. Still, I wouldn't want the Squid Girl world to get too large. So even after all of these images, I still don't have one featuring Goro. Yeah... maybe someday, if I have a BD player able to hook up to my computer and can do it all in HD, I'll reach back into the well and do a shot of him as a little test. Rating: TV-PGSV Keiko was asked to strip down into a bathing suit in order to make her look more presentable, but she was unable to actually police this way. And her boobs bounced up and down, which is a nice change from the usual rear nudity. And for the other descriptor, the FSG robot blew up and send people running away from the beach house, and it was used as a stand-in for Squiddy's head as she met the guillotine's blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.M. Matthews Posted December 17, 2017 Share Posted December 17, 2017 Aw what the hell, you only live once. I'll read some of this. If it's juicy enough like I think it is, I'll keep reading....lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 (edited) Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #8 The Fool and the Star Well this episode was definitely a swift punch to the gut, and not in the most comforting of ways. (As if a punch in the gut would be comforting to begin with... ) It started out alright, with Glenn's class visiting the alchemy lab housed in Simeria (sp?) Island's mountains, learning about white magic, Zoanoid research, and how inconvenient raising the dead really is, with Re-L shunting off any further social interaction with her new classmates being the worst of it. But then it all went to hell in a handbasket the moment the Researchers of Divine Wisdom made their move. Eleanor confronting Albert and fighting him with a bunch of naked zombies was expected enough to avoid coming off as a major swerve, but Re-L reuniting with her supposedly-dead-but-not-really brother (who's probably Eleanor's acquaintance in disguise) and being convinced by him to join the Researchers was what really set things off. By the end of it all, Glenn's only barely alive, Rumia's been kidnapped again, and Sistine is trying to deal with both situations without breaking out into tears larger than the anime's budget will allow. Oh well, at least some clever riffs and Glenn's comment about Re-L being as emotionally mature as a kid who eats paint were amusing enough to keep things from being a complete downer. RATED: TV-14V That's right, best rating strikes yet again, but with a more dramatic bent than the awesome one that episode 3 had. The two big bloody moments this episode were both Re-L's fault. The mortal but not immediately fatal would she gave Glenn? Impalement via giant sword, with blood coating the blade and a huge spray at the pull-out. Her kidnapping Rumia? It involved her knocking the girl out hard enough that there was a decently sized blood splatter across the back end of the room by the time Sistine came upon it. There were also some monochrome flashbacks Sistine had to episode 3 where only the blood was colored, that same aesthetic popping up when she imagined Glenn and Sistine's metaphorical corpses being covered with tarps like they were part of a crime scene intercut between flashbacks. I'd say that pushed it over. Honorable mentions include the obligatory profanity count - one use each of "hell" and "pissed" - and Eleanor treating her fight with Albert like a fuck session, to the point where his strength started "driving her crazy". Thankfully, it was subtle enough to avoid being obviously sexual. SCREENCAPS: For act 1, Glenn's class going on a tiring hike in the mountains, and for act 2, Albert showing rating awareness that I bestowed upon him (for once). Edited December 22, 2017 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 Well, if whoever's in here likes what they see, they can easily jump in and do a show of their own. And it's by no means a committal thing. You can take however long or little as you want, and do it in any style desired... as I'm sure this contrast between posts will dictate. The iDOLM@STER Episode 10: "Inching Forward with Everyone" In this episode, 765pro, headed by Ryuguu Komachi, heads to a track meet slash general idol festival to compete for the title of best group. One of their rivals, Shinkan Shoujo, is very arrogant, and calls Yayoi names which make her sad. Quite frankly, I wish she wouldn't get so emotional considering that there are eleven other kind and compassionate girls in her idol group, and they all care about her. But so what, there's your plot for the episode. The idols do good in some events but tank in others, and even get disqualified sometimes. For instance, Asuza finishes in last for her event, the weirdly-named bread-eating contest (it has more running than eating), but she gets the audience's approval after nomming a donut filled with red bean paste. It comes down to the last event, the relay race with every single idol in each group competing. Just by me saying this, you can guess how it ends. Makoto wins the whole event for 765pro by a literal single hair, after video review. It's the most predictable and trite result you can get... and yet it still manages to be pretty cool. ⟶ Opening: Just a lot of people. In between all of this are a brief snippet of Jupiter, the male idol group which somehow features two MMORPG protagonists within, which is why I held off on making a joke with The Producer having the same basic character model as Shiroe... why do this when he's already in this show, and somehow friends with a beater? And besides, that's a sense of humor I do not accept. Also appearing is 781 Productions, with the idol Ryo(u) Akizuki... who is a boy. No, the episode does not tell you this; that must be the point. As well, he's a direct cousin of Ritsuko. I have no idea if these are spoilers for a future episode, but I'll say it here regardless because otoko no ko characters are good, and he goes back quite a while, predating even my preferred series. But, on the other hand, I'd say he looks good while dressed as either gender. ⟶ Act break: And here's all eleven idols at once, just in case I ultimately forget one of them. But at least none of them will share Goro's fate. This episode is a fun ride overall, but it does feel hollow. The "villains" don't have enough time to be fleshed out; if this were a multi-episode saga, probably, but in all likelihood the plot would be stretched out then. Also, one of the higher-ups at the event wanted to rig the even in Shinkan Shoujo's favor, but The Producer wouldn't have it. It's a fun little tangent even if it doesn't amount to anything. Or at least it didn't because Iori, whose family's megacorp owns a stake in this company running things, talked smack to the unwitting pawn. Less melodrama, more crazy... is how I like it. No stray observations for this one. So let's head right to... Rating: TV-PGLS Azusa's breasts did it for this episode. She came on down, and they stepped on up... and back down again, of course. There's also light innuendo regarding those mammaries: "I guess she's already ahead, in a sense." The language comes from Shinkan Shoujo's almost-nameless members, saying that 765pro's performance really pissed them off, and also that Yayoi sucks a big one. Next week is the last episode I'm rewatching (though, strangely, not all of it), and it also marks the end of 2017. I have no idea what'll happen in the new year, though I may start rating a brand new show and/or start to speed up on this one. It helps that I really want to start watching iM@S Cinderella Girls soon; it's on Crunchyroll as of last week after a few weeks in streaming purgatory. But really, who knows what'll happen. I don't care as to specifics. Goddamnit, Touma... why are you so competent, let alone pretty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted December 30, 2017 Author Share Posted December 30, 2017 The iDOLM@STER Episode 11: "Hope, Anxiety, and Omen" Basically, 765pro will have a big concert at some place, and while Ryuuguu[?] Komachi is headlining it, all eleven idols will perform. Therefore, everyone needs to work their best in order to put on a great show, and get noticed as idols! Of course, the aforementioned idol sub-unit is way ahead of everyone else; how far Ami, Iori, and Azusa have come is going to be their guide. ⟶ Opening: Yes, Haruka does go to school. Yayoi and Yukiho in particular are struggling. The latter has gotten over her fear of men, but is still affected by stage fright to a degree. The former as well as Haruka also have academics to deal with. They'll only get to perform if they pass all their tests. It's a groundbreaking plot point, coming long before anyone had the audacity to make an entire multimedia franchise out of school idols. Of course, they also need to do work in the studio. Haruka actually misses her train home because of this and needs Chihaya to provide room and board for the right. At home, they reminisce about Ribbit Ribbit Kitchen and how Chihaya is genuinely invested in cooking now. It helps that she lives alone after a messy parental divorce and needs to fend for herself. There's also a zoom-in at a picture of her up-to-now unseen little brother, almost as if the show took its death flags out of mothballs and is just saying to you, "Notice this! Please." ⟶ Act break: It's everyone minus the sub-unit. In the end, all the idols manage to get the dancing practice run perfected, and they're doing well on singing the songs for the concert. The only point of this episode is to show how far everyone has come over the series, and there are enough flashbacks, reminiscing, and miscellaneous references for this to almost qualify as a clip show. At this point, I have enough trust in the show to take it slow for a couple, so I didn't mind this one. Stray-er things: Miki's continual demands to join Ryuguu Komachi is a funny subplot, even if it doesn't amount to anything. Apparently she just assumed out of thin air The Producer would let her join, and then yelled at him when Ritsuko said nay. Though, with the way her text was handled, it seems to be slightly more of a joke. Speaking of Love Live!, how would you feel upon knowing that these shows have an identical character? Because they basically do, so now you have to come up with an opinion out of nowhere. That's never fun. What really helps is Haruka singing an excerpt from "Bluebird" earlier on. It's nice when the idols just do random things in their daily lives meant to empower one another. This is just a casual pop, but if you do want to watch Girl's High without buying the DVDs, you don't have much time left... it leaves Crunchyroll on the 9th of January. Also, two Godzilla movies are going as well, so that's an idea for the curious. Rating: TV-G Number two in the hood. The worst content in this episode was of Haruka hurting her ankle, and it was blisteringly tame; not even a molecule of blood was spilled. Aside it being unsuitable for younger children simply because it's something they don't understand, I don't think it's worth raising a stink over. And why not end the year on another rarity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 (edited) Ah, what the hell, I can afford to finish the year off with one more. Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #9 The Reason to Live Okay, so reveals. Two of them, in particular. For starters, we finally know what the Researchers of Divine Wisdom are after. They're after the ritual spell necessary to bring someone back to life, the purpose of the "Revive Life" project performed at the White Alchemy Lab mentioned last episode. Because the original spellcaster is deceased, they needed another means of obtaining the spell itself; namely, an Amplifier. Hence why they've been after Rumia all season. What's more, the head researcher at the White Alchemy Lab was actually collaborating with the Researchers, received hefty funds from them, transformed himself into a human-form chimera because he's insane like that, and also hates the Imperial Family for reasons that I predict are more dastardly than the "ruining your country by forbidding all combat" policy that diminished the Kouka Kingdom's credibility until Su-won slayed the cowardly king and made his nation great again. There's not much to be said there besides that, even after Glenn and Albert busted in, killed a bunch of chimeras, saved Rumia and convinced Re-L to give life a legitimate chance... Eleanor still got away with obtaining the all-important spell, which I'm certain will set up the conflict for the final three episodes. But then there's the big reveal, concerning this mysterious "truth" about Re-L that Glenn and Albert were talking about all episode; that truth being that Re-L is actually a clone. Named after the shorthand for the Revive Life project, Re-L is the clone of this redheaded girl named Illutia (sp?), who participated in the project with her brother Sione (sp?) and their friend Reiner. However, Sione thought Revive Life was immoral - I can understand why, considering all the necessary fatalities - and blew the whistle on the project to the Court Mages Corps, Glenn in particular. After letting this slip to Reiner, Sione got fatally stabbed, as did Illutia. By the time Glenn got to them (after realizing things weren't going as scheduled), Sione was dead and Illutia had lost too much blood to be revived. (It was definitely more than what Glenn lost last episode.) With two of the project managers dead and the third gone rogue, Glenn took it upon himself to take care of Illutia's blue-haired clone, who then viewed him as her sole reason for living now that her (original's) brother was dead. And when Glenn left the Mage Corps, she lost that reason, as if she couldn't find a new one. Luckily, Glenn told her not to worry about the particulars of existence and instead focus on finding someone to care for. Considering how emotionally vulnerable she's been throughout the entire episode, this reassurance of Glenn is what finally gets to Re-L and allows her to move past a good chunk of those personal issues. Of course, that doesn't explain what the deal was with that guy who claimed to be her brother. I would assume it was Reiner in a disguise, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Revive Life clone of Sione, considering he has the same blue hair Re-L does. And then there's everything in-between. Albert punching Glenn to release his pent-up aggression towards him abandoning the rest of the Mage Corps, Glenn punching Fake!Sione in the face after tricking him into thinking he'd shoot him point-blank with a magically reloading six-shooter that ran out at just the right moment, the rest of Glenn's class debating whether or not to help him look for Rumia and Re-L, and a whole lot of witty and amusing script rewrites from FUNimation that merely spice up the original dialogue. Because I'm the kind of audience who prefers "What's hangin'? And that's a pun I immediately regret." to "Book day's been canceled, you guys. Another win for you SJW millennials." RATED: TV-14DLV Speaking of spiced-up dialogue, in what's quite possibly the best dub-original quote from this show (based on my relevant interests, of course) was when Glenn was wondering why Rumia was magically tied up the way she was. As said by the man himself, "I'm not sayin' I have a bondage fetish, but if I did, that would be distracting." This already borderline piece of dialogue was followed not long after by Glenn calling Fake!Sione a "chode". As Google Search defines chode as a penis, I'm counting it. But more importantly, there's the violence. The amount of blood spilled this episode was, in quantity, lesser than last time. The most rightfully intense act by far was the flashback to Reiner shanking Sione in the gut, which had actual blood spillage. More on the bloody side was Glenn's battle with three emotionless clones of Re-L dressed in bondage gear - who Fake!Sione refers to as his puppets/dolls - where one slashed his upper thigh with her sword, producing a notable blood spray. And while the act was off-screen, the representative blood splash and the after-the-fact presence of it accompanying Re-L's slaughter of the puppet-dolls was also worthy of note. On the strictly ATF side, there was the blood splatter in the hotel room from last episode, and the shot of Illutia's body in the snow by the time Glenn found her. The strongest profanity was the first implementation of this show's special "three-bastard rule", meaning yes, there were three uses of "bastard" this time. Accompanying that are two each of "ass", "damn", "dammit", and "hell", one of "crap", and Glenn calling the Researchers of Divine Wisdom the "Researchers of Divine Wise-Assery". Josh Grelle is a gift to the anime dubbing world, it's a shame he allegedly came this close to transitioning. SCREENCAPS: For act 1, a somber Re-L, and for act 2, a CGI-adjacent Glenn. [all hail our new 3D overlords] Edited December 31, 2017 by PokeNirvash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 And to follow that up, a little announcement for Blatch and all you lookey-loos out there. Next year, I will be participating in the 2018 MyAnimeList Anime Watching Challenge, which if this year's challenge is any indication, will involve watching several different anime based on different conditions, the goal being to finish a pre-selected amount by the deadline, which should be Christmas Eve again. Assuming this next challenge uses the same bingo card assignment system as this most recent one, I will be going for the 37-anime cloverleaf pattern, which will involve 36 conditional anime and a free slot. The 36 conditionals will be split into four "blocks", one for each season. Of the 9 series in each block, 3 will receive rating screencaps that will be displayed on my Imgur as they have in the past. Of those three, two will have their screencaps unveiled in the Anime Watching thread, while one will be accompanied by a quick rundown for each episode in this very thread. Basically, that means four series for this thread next year. I don't know which ones they'll be, but once I know, I'll be sure to announce them in kind. Either way, several of the series will have to do with the staff I've assigned for my Kinky Kunoichi writing project (halfway through episode 4!), so expect references to that in the usual places. And yes, I'll wait until I finish Akashic Records to start on the next one. It's not like I'm gonna pull a To Love-Ru with it, not when there's only three episodes left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Here's me doing an early post. The reason why will be obvious if you open the spoiler. The iDOLM@STER Episode 12: "One-way Road to the Goal" So that comment Miki made about wanting to join Ryuuguu Komachi (the preferred spelling, so I've realized) was completely serious, and now she's in a state of dejection upon last episode's news, even going so far as to quit 765pro entirely. It's up to The Producer to turn her life back around. This episode extremely follows the formula I mentioned earlier. Each idol has problems, and they will be dealt with at some point. For Miki, it's basically just teenage girl stuff: anxiety, disillusion, and hormones. If nothing else, this one was fun for the low-key character interactions, as well as occasional references to past episodes. I liked how they showed that wedding magazine (with Miki on it) before her good feelings are swept away by Ryuuguu Komachi being right behind it. Also, the episode had some cute ducks. My goodness... there used to be a white one some family kept as a pet on my home street, but I haven't seen it since early in the fall. Maybe they got rid of it because it wasn't an efficient animal to keep around? In case you're wondering, I'll still try to do my usual post for Friday. Rating: TV-PGD One sentence about Haruka not having large breasts, and The Producer said "damn" for a PG set, just to pad things out. Yawn. I really don't have much to say about this one in general. Here are your two images: one, and likewise. Now, say... do you think Umi would be able to join Ryuuguu Komachi? Her name is even more fitting than anyone in the group right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor #10 Gold Digger?! I had a feeling the show was going to ship our two main leads - Glenn and Sistine, for those of you not keeping track - together before long, and in the spirit of the show, it was neither lawlharemy nor overly contrived. (Re-L randomly attacking Glenn in the library, on the other hand... ) It also came in two flavors: tangential and direct. First, direct. Being a FUNimation dub, it was only a matter of time before we finally got to meet our obligatory Ian Sinclair character in the form of Leos Kleitos (again, sp?), distinguished professor at his family's magic academy, guest instructor at Alzerno Imperial, and Sistine's fiance. On top of that, he's another addition to the list of individuals utilizing Sinclair's more polite acting style (joining such characters as Prince Salva, Whis, Gija, and the tsukkomi clerk from Konbini Kareshi), which I've come to enjoy just as much, if not more, than his laidback Dandy voice. His first lecture at the academy manages to wow Glenn's students and even Glenn himself with how he's able to make difficult concepts easily understandable and accessible, though Glenn and Rumia agree that it'd be better with recognition of the existence of a moral compass in regards to using such dangerous magic. Also, about his engagement to Sistine; that actually stemmed from a promise he made with her as a kid that he took seriously into adulthood (usually it's the girl that makes a big deal about it, or maybe that's just Domina no Do) and since it's the first time he's seen Sistine in forever, he takes the opportunity to straight-up propose to her. However, there's one condition Sistine has to abide by as Leos's wife: she must give up her dream of researching and trying to unravel the mystery behind the sky castle whose name I can never remember or bother to spell, and instead focus on his military magic-focused research. Sistine rejects, since she's dedicated to continuing her grandfather's mission to figure out what's up with it, but it's only when Leos tries to convince her otherwise that Glenn steps in and tells Sistine to never doubt herself and walk along that path that he (and by inadvertent proxy Celica) thinks she should want to take. And that's where the Glenn/Sistine shipping comes in. After Leos protests that his and Sistine's engagement is none of his business, Sistine cooks up an on-the-fly scheme: she claims that Glenn is her secret fiance, making Leos's proposal null and void and allowing Glenn to still vouch for her. Of course, that puts a lot of ideas in Glenn's head. Mostly, it's the idea of actually marrying Sistine and using that as an excuse to live the rest of this life without having to work (or wear pants), but it also prompts him to challenge Leos to a duel, as Blonde Monocle Dandy will not let this go. It's a battle of teaching ability, so it'll involve a lot of cram schooling for his class, though what that has to do with anything is yet to be seen. As is what the deal is with Leos's real reason for coming to the academy, considering he's in league with Eleanor's glasses-wearing associate, whose eyes are set on Glenn this time more than they are Rumia as they've been for the past three arcs. And then there's the tangential shipping. From the first episode and the OP, there have been plenty of visual references to a girl Glenn used to know that looks at lot like Sistine. Apparently this girl, Sara, was Glenn's friend/love interest from back when he was in the military, and she died at some point. And according to Albert, her death was tied to a mind-destroying drug called "Angel's Dust" and the destruction of the means for creating it, a case that he and Glenn were involved in back in their Mage Corps days. (Personally, I believe that case and Sara's death were what inspired Glenn to go AWOL in the first place.) Now, more Angel's Dust is being made in spite of the assumed destruction of its creation resource, and some of it was smuggled into town too, bringing into question how successful their mission was. By the way, Albert's taking this one alone, though I wouldn't be surprised if Glenn managed to stumble his way into that plot during the duel. Even taking everything else into account - from the seemingly major like Eleanor's meeting with the formless Grandmaster of Divine Wisdom to the amusingly minor like Sistine's scatterbrained parents - I feel like the show recognizing that Glenn and Sistine are an inevitable main pairing in both those direct and tangential ways, and doing so without driving it into lawlharem territory, was my biggest takeaway. RATED: TV-14DL The dialogue this time is honestly more on the PG side. You had the cold-open recap of Glenn saying volleyball has a "very high bounce factor" for swimsuit fanservice, him reacting to Sistine's engagement to Leos as showing "there's a weirdo for every type of fetish" (though I liked his assumption that she'd be a lifelong spinster better), and him playing up his fake engagement to Sistine by saying she "just fell into my bed last night". That was pretty much the skinny of it. However, it got an honorary 14D thanks to what made this episode 14 in the first place: Glenn calling Leos a "shitbag". It came out of nowhere so fast, that it was actually kind of awesome. (Other profanities included one use each of "son of a bitch", "frickin'", "damn", "hell", and "crap".) There was also a brief flashback to Glenn's bloodstained shirt as Sistine was giving him mouth-to-mouth CPR in episode 8 (something I skipped for sake of convenience) and the drug references involving Angel's Dust, but they're inconsequential in comparison to Josh Grelle delivering on what FUNi's non-political scriptwriters have to give him. If only Jamie Marchi was so lucky, then we wouldn't have to hear her cheerfully complaining about "pesky patriarchal norms". SCREENCAPS: For act 1, I feel Albert's getting too attached to the rating bugs, and for act 2, Leos explaining the math behind his dandy voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokeNirvash Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) By the way... It turns out this year's MAL challenge is different from what I was anticipating. Instead of a bingo card, the contest will instead be running off a tiered system of conditions based on difficulty. Of the six tiers, I decided to go for the third tier of Marquess (of Queensbury), which requires watching 40 anime as opposed to my planned 37. And let me tell you, some of those conditions are pretty difficult. (Do they know how hard it is to find an anime that's based off a book? Not a novel, but a book!?) For now, I'm just sticking with the easy ones first; I'll start worrying about the mind-benders come April. I will also be picking out my series in chunks of 4, meaning 10 chunks in all. Inversely, I'll still be doing the "four blocks" deal I mentioned with 10 series for each season. By luck, I've already selected my first four. The three I'll get out of the way first will be Inuyashiki (noitaminA series), which is one of the three this season I'll do screencaps for; Pop Team Epic (based off a 4-koma), which I'm trying my hardest not to spoil myself on; and Evil or Live (scored 6.00 or lower), which I'm still gonna watch at Gina Szanboti's suggestion, even after she herself claimed that it blew its twist load too early and shitted itself down to third-to-last place in its season. The fourth is one I'll also do screencaps for, and the one that will replace Akashic Records as my series for this thread. And what series from between 2010 and 2014 could possibly replace a series as pleasantly surprising as the Adventures of Professor Josh Grelle, you might ask? It's Freezing. I'm watching this one for two main reasons. The first goes all the way back to when I used to browse this anime blog comprised of all these users from ASMB's Other Anime board, some of which you might know from here. (Hiya, Chaps.) This guy named FayeWorshipper69 or FayeCowboy or something involving the name Faye was tasked with blogging Freezing for the winter 2011 season. From what I remember, he thought the first two episodes were okay, hated the bullying (seen above) in the third, wrote it off as watered-down hentai by the fourth, and something in the fifth pissed him off so badly that he just ragequit in the middle of it and started telling people that it was a horrible show and that they should not watch it. Of course, being the Black Dynamite-loving free spirit I am, I decided to watch it because he told me not to watch it. Because when a Faye-worshipping 69er cowboy tells PokeNirvash not to watch something, he watches it, jack. The second reason is much more mundane and autistic: I think it would be a nice counterbalance for Initial D: Fourth Stage, which I'm one Eurobeat-saturated montage away from starting. As both were animated by A.C.G.T., producers of Kino's Journey and Dies Irae, I feel this pairing is more appropriate than the Freezing/High School DxD power hour JMan and Daos keep lobbying for. The fun starts sometime in late January. Early February if grad school's just as much of a dom as it was last semester. Edited January 7, 2018 by PokeNirvash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 All of that sounds good to me. I'd rather catch up on all the iconic anime I haven't seen through the years... a different approach, but it should still be fun. The iDOLM@STER Episode 13: "And the Girls Head Toward the Shining Stage" Yup, it's time for the 765 Productions 1st Live! Of course, it won't be an anime episode if there isn't drama adjacent. Ryuuguu Komachi provides it, by means of being stuck in a typhoon. It's not bad enough that they can't drive, but traffic on the roads on top of awful conditions means that... well, the driving comes hard. And thus, the other nine idols of the company need to step up and give it their all in order to please the fans. Even so, things are still tough. For one thing, they've managed to poorly manage pretty much everything. The set list is janky and needs on-the-fly adjustments; sudden spills and ripped clothing lead to wardrobe mishaps, and some people are too nervous to put on a good show (Yukiho, mainly). But, as time goes on, the idols get warmed up. The crowd slowly but surely warms up to them, helped by short excerpts from some of the more memorable idol songs from the first cour. ⟶ Opening: Give me some of that... future style. This episode also pretty much closes out Miki's character arc. For one thing, she's tasked with singing a song from Ryuuguu Komachi, to make up for them being late, which ties nicely into her wanting to be in the group, if not something bigger. And later on in the show, she's tasked with doing back-to-back songs, the first one being a solo. She aces both of them, even if it uses up almost all of her energy. It really makes you think... like, I've seen rock bands give it their all over two and a half hours, sometimes even longer, but it takes an idol approximately eight minutes to tire out? Come on. I know those who play the instruments don't dance, but for at least some of them, it requires just as much physical stamina. It definitely took Bill Bruford more than those 480 seconds to get utterly wasted. On the other hand, this stuff makes for exactly the kind of drama I like. By the time the chosen nine go on for their final song, "Rest@rt Yourself", the crowd is fucking electric, grunting along to the music unashamedly. It's the kind of special moment that reminds why you follow the medium to begin with. And the song itself is pretty fun! Ryuuguu Komachi arrive just in the nick of time to begin their set... which we don't see any of. Granted, they had only performed one song in the anime ("Smoky Thrill"), and we didn't need to see it again. But actually, we didn't need to see anything else. It just cuts to them going into the dressing room, where the others in 765pro are oh so tired. It's a fitting exclamation point for the episode and the cour. ⟶ Act break: The bureaucracy. Also, for a climactic episode with tons of singing and dancing, this didn't have any CG to speak of! And the dancing cuts are actually pretty well done, but you know they couldn't keep things at this level for such a long while. I know that Love Live! has spoiled us in regards to having tons of idol sequences (I averaged it out... for the first series, there's one in every other episode), but in times like this where the performances are special events, it can be just as meaningful, as well as pretty to look at, since the CG style isn't everyone's forte. Rating: TV-PG Just one "damn" from The Producer, and from the rapid-fire clip show to recap the first cour in the credits sequence, Makoto (from Episode 8) kicked that guy's ass. Say, I wonder if any new albums are starting up soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatch Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 The post times have been erratic, and now that I'm back in school, they're probably going to stay that way. I need a work ethic and to be genuinely serious about studying, you know. The iDOLM@STER Episode 14: "Their World Begins to Change!" Welcome to a new frontier, at least for me. ⟶ Opening: The seasons change, but the idols stay the same... well, sometimes. So now that the girls have performed, they're now well-loved by Japan's populace. The individual idols have been getting dedicated jobs. For one, Yayoi now has a cooking show on TV (she's assisted by a pig mascot for some reason) and Yukipyon's going to be in a play. Life is simple, and they're all happy doing this, but as I said last episode, there has to be drama in some capacity. And who better to produce some than the boys of Jupiter? Basically, they stole a magazine cover that 765 Production was supposed to be on. I guess this is everyone were dressed in fruit-themed costumes (don't worry, they're not this ridiculous). And this goes further than a rivalry of mere contrasts: 961 Production is Jupiter's agency, and it's lead by a guy named Kuroi who is apparently very hard on the idols he trains, and edges towards outright evil. He almost reminds me of some irredeemable person from another show. Meanwhile, "Yoshizawa-san" was his rival in idol producing, and he just so happened to help The Producer and friends write a magazine story about 765pro's big event. Needless to say, he's the exposition man for this episode. ⟶ Act break: From left to right... Hokuto, Touma, Shouta. And while I'm not a fan of covering up faces with the box, Hokuto's seiyuu was never an isekai show protagonist, so I'll give it a pass. Everyone in the production is mad, nude, and disoriented about 961pro. They have different ideas about what to do, but they eventually settle on one: just being the best idols they can. It's good to preach love and peace (oh, love and peace), and they need to show the world that they really are this talented as well as not willing to stoop so low as Mr. Kuroi. After all, they sing to make people happy, and not much else. They also don't want to use enough elaborate prose so that their performances read like a bad CounterPunch article. This is a new era of 765pro coming up. It's filled with personal triumphs as well as moments of sadness, perhaps best represented by another glimpse of Chihaya's little brother. I hope the show doesn't fuck it up. Stray observations: Also, Ritsuko will be performing as an idol. The OP blatantly spoils this, so I'll just say it now. From the "strange anime foresight" department: I watched an episode of Hacka Doll not too long before this one that showed how real-life voice actors and idols get tangible gifts, while this one spends a few minutes showing what 765pro has gotten! It's pretty cool. There's some bad artwork, a stuffed toy for Yayoi that's either a cat or a bear (cue the taco commercial), as well as a photo of some fan that gives Chihaya the unfortunate reminder. Crunchyroll recently added the PUCHiM@S spin-off series, in case you want to watch chibi-fied versions of these characters get into a lot of crazy antics. It should make for a nice palate cleanser after watching any heavy series. I'll probably try it after watching the Made in Abyss finale. Rating: TV-PG There was more innuendo in this episode. Mami wondered if Azusa was really turning into a grapefruit, in that she had some for breasts, not using the word. Ami thought they were more like watermelons. This is covert enough for me to let it slip by, but it's an easy PG set. There was also Kuroi saying "I'll show you just how deep hell is", and somehow not capitalizing the word in the process. Brief explanation: So I went through this thread and completely rejiggered the old posts. For one thing, you can actually read them again without highlighting over the text. I also removed some outdated references and such, but probably about 90% of the post content remains the same as when I first typed it. Poke is free to do the same with what he's written. And speaking of which, to answer the question: I'm not doing Nichijou anymore. The show is just too sublime and beautiful to be marred with white boxes. I also feel like talking about it in depth won't accomplish much. Right now, I have four shows in mind... well, three new ones, and the Cinderella Girls anime. Don't think I'm abandoning this franchise just yet. In fact, I actually want to speed up on this one so I can watch the new hotness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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