Dec 9, 2012 2:14 PM
Anime Discovery 2012 Review: The Anime I’ve Seen (that I didn’t already review) - "From worst to meh"
Anime Relations:
Juubee Ninpuuchou: Ryuuhougyoku-hen, Witchblade, Kite Liberator, Kanokon, Kanokon Specials, K-On!, Asobi ni Iku yo!, Angel Beats!, K-On!!, B-gata H-kei, Angel Beats! Specials, Asobi ni Iku yo!: Asobi ni Oide, Euphoria, Eureka Seven AO
Well, for those around in Planet Tyro, Spill.com, and other websites that might see this, it’s that time of the year again where we reminisce about what we watch, heard, and/or read and recall what we love, liked, find to be ‘meh’, questionable, hate or loathe but here is where things get different from there. For one, this is a list of the anime that I watched this year but I didn’t have the time to review either because I had too much on my plate and even though I’ve said most of my thoughts on these shows in the message board, those weren’t exactly my full thoughts on them. Another thing is…this is the list of anime that I watched and never seen before on my free time, this isn’t the list of the newest anime to come out (either dubbed or subbed) but some of those are included in the list although I might plan to watch some new “straight from Japan” anime in 2013. It could happen, especially with the review list I’m making for next year. Anyway, there are 20 anime properties (16 anime series, 2 OVAs and 2 anime movies), so I divided them to be a top and bottom 10 lists. Please note this is my list and if you got any disagreements with it, just comment below and don’t act a fool.
First, I’ll get the bottom 10 list out of the way, but before I do, I would like to say that not all these anime are bad but some of them you should watch with caution and most of them you shouldn’t tell your friends about or anyone in your family as a matter of fact. I know I didn’t…..as far as you know. But let’s get this out of the way and start with lowest of the low, the scum of the anime world, that first piece of bread you skip because no one wants that end piece……okay, I’ll stop.
And now can you tell by the quotes, what anime is being described?:
“It's the pathetic tale of a desperate 400 year old horny virgin” & “Bitches have skin that just looks nasty and unkempt and shiny like raw pork in a supermarket”
“They get the most airy, softspoken voice actress to voice a boy so pathetic he could get curb stomped by Elijah Wood and Jason Biggs”
“There's a ton of reasons for why a teenaged boy would not want to have sex, but they don't bother to explain it”
“Also, the male lead was only two inches shorter than the girl and not a damn midget”
"Art Style is fucking atrocious and probably every bad Japanese anime stereotype, with all characters having big eyes, shiny skin, and NO NOSES"
"It's The Brickleberry of Anime."– and the answer is.....
KANOKON / animation by XEBEC / distributed by MEDIA BLASTERS
How did I really hear about this show? Well, in actuality, I heard about it in one of MasakoX’s (of Team FourStar) Anifile reviews on That Guy with the Glasses and he really tore a new one into that show and I decided to check this out for myself. I actually thought it would be a fun romantic romp with some fan service thrown in but unfortunately, it got awfully annoying real fast and quick, especially with the main character Kota, who is that stereotype of a weenie teenaged boy who is too much of a wimp to stand up for himself. Chizuru is one girl that definitely wants to have that boy in her pants and yet and the same can be said for the other girl Nozomu……Y U NO HAPPENS IN RL…or better yet MY RL? Actually, nothing like this happens in real life (unless you know someone like that), no matter how you want it to happen and it’s just fan service fodder, which is no problem for me, sometimes I like a little fan service but the problem of it is plain and simple. It’s not funny, endearing, or even enjoyable. There's a ton of reasons for why a teenaged boy would not want to have sex, but they don't bother to explain it. Also the side characters are not that prominent, very useless and annoying and mostly they are a one-joke character, like Asahina, whose only joke that she’s a prude and loathe dirty thoughts. I fucking get it!! It’s like beating a live horse, shoot it dead, beat it some more over and over, and then doing the money shot on it. Did I mention the people who were in charge of the dub also did Eiken? I don’t mean Media Blasters, the company that licensed it and is slowly dying right now; it’s a company called Arvintel Media Productions and most of the stuff I watched from them so far is horrid and weak. I have no beef with Mona Marshall but this is one of her worst voice-acting roles and she’s got pretty of them (She has good ones, too, but here, it gets too annoying too fast) It’s that bad and just horrible. I even heard that the novel or manga based off was less fan service-riddled than the anime.
SECOND EDIT: I actually did watch it for a second time because I do want to give it a fair chance but this time I just follow the plotline in episode 7 with the long lost sister and yet, it gives no proper or even an closing ending. It’s mostly a read the manga ending leaving questions that I’m pretty sure I don’t care to answer since this pretty much bothered me…..even if I laughed once (only once when her breasts disappeared, that’s it.) The animation is nothing special with the same style you expected from an anime, so hey, nothing new to look at. So just after watching Love Hina and this before, I really don't want to revisit this again.
FINAL SCORE: 1.5/10 – Clownshoes
NINJA SCROLL: THE SERIES / animation by MADHOUSE / distributed by URBANWORLD (now out of stock)
Wow, what a failure this show was and this has been talked out on an episode of DREAMcast episode 16, which feature the debut of yours today and you should watch it (the DREAMcast episode, not the series)…..RIGHT NOW…..or after reading this!! Anyway, the plot and fighting scenes are very monotonous, the characters are forgetful and bland especially Jubei, who I’ve already said looks like a Ninja Aladdin; the music is terrible at all levels and worst of all, has no continuation or even the shine of the original movie. By all means, forget this TV series; pick up the anime movie, which has been re-licensed by Sentai Filmworks and you’ll be fine and my final words for this show is “burn in hell, Ninja Scroll TV series, and burn in hell you will”.
FINAL SCORE: 2/10 – Clownshoes
KITE: LIBERATOR / animation by ARMS / distributed by MEDIA BLASTERS
So this year, I watched the original OVA “Kite” and for me, it was a decent effort by Studio ARMS (and me not hating them for once) but not that great then watched the superior “Mezzo Forte” done by the same studio and after that, “Mezzo DSA” which was a major disappointment to the previous installment and I thought I would never find anything else more as a disappointment to the original……until I watched this. Originally, I was going to review this in 2013 but I had to watch it due to the fact that I actually recommended the first Kite OVA (also Mezzo) to Angel and she also reviewed Liberator and according to her, it was a disaster (the movie, not the review) and I can see why. The plot’s a coherent mess; long gone the main character of Sawa and this new girl doesn’t really sound threatening or believable as a femme fatale, there is a less Hentai feel of this but it’s still worse and that motherfucking ending….what was the point of that? Clearly, Mezzo DSA is looking good compared to this. I’m glad that I saw this earlier because this is no way in hell I’m watching this again. In other words, this should also burn in hell.
FINAL SCORE: 1/10 – Clownshoes
EUPHORIA / animation by MAGIN / distributed by R U KIDDING ME
And speaking of things that should burn in hell………WHY!?!?!?!? Why did I have to watch this? My psyche is forever scarred by these OVA and yes, I know it’s a Hentai. I have seen plenty of Hentai series but not that kind that does that. It’s mostly torture porn mixed with actual porn and the result was violently disgusting. If there are people that liked this, I can’t judge you but don’t recommend this to me. I had enough of that for a 2-episode Hentai.
And the reason I put a screenshot instead of the cover, well, the cover isn't exactly Spill-safe and I don't want a warning....again.
FINAL SCORE: 0/10 – Clownshoes
And now for the stuff that wasn’t that bad but I would say you should stream it first before buying…..if it fits your taste, which is...
WITCHBLADE / animation by GONZO / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
GIVE ME YOUR ECSTASY!!! Mainly because it would certainly be more entertaining than Witchblade the anime. Most of the time, I can get into the plot but I can tell fans of the American comic will be pissed off at this and I stopped only at 16 episodes because it had gotten to be dreary, monotonous, and you just don’t give a damn anyone. Plus, the mother-daughter relationship is more than just unreal at best, I mean, the mother being more of a child than her 6-year-old daughter? Well, the good thing about this is the first opening theme and I do admire the acting style of Jamie Marchi, especially after the dub of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. As for Witchblade, this series is nothing more than just a first glance then you’ll forget about it.
FINAL SCORE: 3/10 – Not Feeling This
CAT PLANET CUTIES / animation by AIC PLUS / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
Originally, I had this show rated lower after watching it but I had some second thoughts about it, mostly after watching Kanokon and it wasn’t that bad after all. It’s still pretty bad in some areas like humor and the fact the main character Kyo is sort of a wimp but he isn’t unlikable at top levels, he can be reasonable but I wouldn’t say relatable. Plus, the fan service gets shoved in too much although it never bothered me….that much but I really hate the cliché tropes such as “what girl will he choose at the end?” because you’ll know that won’t get resolved but you won’t give a shit. I’ll say it’s a guilty pleasure as some levels with the main female characters/love interests of Kyo and the voice acting was an okay effort from FUNimation. Who knew that the kid that was in Full Metal Alchemist would get so much pu—(sound of a slap). Ow!
FINAL SCORE: 4/10 – HIGH Not Feeling This / LOW An Acquired Taste
K-ON! (Both seasons) / Animation by KYOTO ANIMATION / distributed by BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT (season 1)/SENTAI FILMWORKS (season 2)
Every time I hear about this series, I keep thinking about that review of Gigguk of the Anime Zone when he pointed out all they do in that club was “eat cake and drink motherfuckin’ tea!!” and I can see why because for two seasons, totaling up to 40+ episodes, they only slack off most of the time although two members needed to try more to convince the others to get off their lazy asses and practice. But for the music that was added in there, it was very decent for J-Pop music, which I don’t rate that high in the first place. The dub done by Bang Zoom! Entertainment for both seasons (yes, Steven Foster wasn’t involved in this, so, WOOHOO!!) was both alright but irritable at some parts. I noticed that Stephanie Sheh was in this dub and I happen to like her as a voice actress and her past work (mostly Eureka Seven and others not worth mentioning) but she just had to be casted in the most annoying role in the show and if you can’t handle her high-pitched voice than usual, you should avoid. Also, I noticed three other voice actresses that were in a better anime, which I’ll mentioned here later, but they did what they could but thankfully, they’re in better roles now. HINT: Those three actresses’ first names begin with a C. Yeah; K-On is a show that should be watched once and maybe if you’re into this, you probably love it.
FINAL SCORE: 5/10 – An Acquired Taste
EUREKA SEVEN AO: ASTRAL OCEAN / animation by BONES / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
Dammit, people were right on the money about this anime and how disappointing it is and the worst thing about it that I quit after watching 9 episodes and notice how dull and uninteresting this turns out to be. I could say it’s not like the original series but that would be too redundant to say but saying that would be redundant, too. What would be better to say what’s wrong with this is that it didn’t hook me like the original series did. I didn’t give a damn about Eureka’s son Ao because his story is mostly nobody likes him because something happened that was so terrible and blah blah bullshit and la-de-da. Yeah, I can’t really say much about this but this was a letdown sequel to a perfectly great series, although that movie was shit, too.
FINAL SCORE: 5.5/10 – HIGH An Acquired Taste/ LOW Vanilla
B GATA H KEI (YAMADA’S FIRST TIME) / animation by HAL FILM MAKER / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
So, originally, I thought this title was going to be some fan service bullshit that’s going to sound dumb as hell but when I watched all 12 episodes, it was a fair and okay series but I wouldn’t show this to anyone who first getting into anime and no, it’s not because the plot involves a girl wanting to get laid by 100 guys. It would’ve still been stupid if the situation was vice-versa (and if the character were have been a douchebag and/or bitch). The character Yamada can be obnoxious to an umpteenth level but never did I feel like I hated her but the main male interest is such a bore, I honestly forgot about his name. No, really, what was his name? All the other characters play their archetypes and did it well but did I give a fuck about that? Maybe….you have the best friend who has more sense than you, the girl who’s been a best friend to your male character and obviously has a crush on him, not to mention she has big breasts so all the guys will drool all over her and the girl who is deemed to be Ms. Perfect but secretly she’s in love……with her brother. In short, this was okay.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10 – Vanilla
ANGEL BEATS! / Animation by P.A. WORKS / distributed by SENTAI FILMWORKS
Was this meant to be taken seriously? No, really, it’s a slice of life show about dead high school students that are stuck in limbo (I think) who all have died under the consequences that at some point they fucked up either by a purpose or accident. The plot of that was all confusing as hell as either a comedic, action-packed, or dramatic series with some characters you like either leaving early in the series or some prolonging their arc for no reason at all. But the good things about this show is the animation done by the growing company P.A. Works and it is actually tastefully and beautifully done with little to no hiccups and the same goes to the music, especially the opening theme, “My Soul, Your Beats”, a gorgeous piece of work which sticks to my head a lot during watching this. The dub was……pretty off and terrible. It’s not High School of the Dead horrible but hey, it is a dub from Sentai Filmworks and we all know about their dubs, right?
FINAL SCORE: 6.5/10 – LOW Watchable
First, I’ll get the bottom 10 list out of the way, but before I do, I would like to say that not all these anime are bad but some of them you should watch with caution and most of them you shouldn’t tell your friends about or anyone in your family as a matter of fact. I know I didn’t…..as far as you know. But let’s get this out of the way and start with lowest of the low, the scum of the anime world, that first piece of bread you skip because no one wants that end piece……okay, I’ll stop.
And now can you tell by the quotes, what anime is being described?:
“It's the pathetic tale of a desperate 400 year old horny virgin” & “Bitches have skin that just looks nasty and unkempt and shiny like raw pork in a supermarket”
“They get the most airy, softspoken voice actress to voice a boy so pathetic he could get curb stomped by Elijah Wood and Jason Biggs”
“There's a ton of reasons for why a teenaged boy would not want to have sex, but they don't bother to explain it”
“Also, the male lead was only two inches shorter than the girl and not a damn midget”
"Art Style is fucking atrocious and probably every bad Japanese anime stereotype, with all characters having big eyes, shiny skin, and NO NOSES"
"It's The Brickleberry of Anime."– and the answer is.....
KANOKON / animation by XEBEC / distributed by MEDIA BLASTERS
How did I really hear about this show? Well, in actuality, I heard about it in one of MasakoX’s (of Team FourStar) Anifile reviews on That Guy with the Glasses and he really tore a new one into that show and I decided to check this out for myself. I actually thought it would be a fun romantic romp with some fan service thrown in but unfortunately, it got awfully annoying real fast and quick, especially with the main character Kota, who is that stereotype of a weenie teenaged boy who is too much of a wimp to stand up for himself. Chizuru is one girl that definitely wants to have that boy in her pants and yet and the same can be said for the other girl Nozomu……Y U NO HAPPENS IN RL…or better yet MY RL? Actually, nothing like this happens in real life (unless you know someone like that), no matter how you want it to happen and it’s just fan service fodder, which is no problem for me, sometimes I like a little fan service but the problem of it is plain and simple. It’s not funny, endearing, or even enjoyable. There's a ton of reasons for why a teenaged boy would not want to have sex, but they don't bother to explain it. Also the side characters are not that prominent, very useless and annoying and mostly they are a one-joke character, like Asahina, whose only joke that she’s a prude and loathe dirty thoughts. I fucking get it!! It’s like beating a live horse, shoot it dead, beat it some more over and over, and then doing the money shot on it. Did I mention the people who were in charge of the dub also did Eiken? I don’t mean Media Blasters, the company that licensed it and is slowly dying right now; it’s a company called Arvintel Media Productions and most of the stuff I watched from them so far is horrid and weak. I have no beef with Mona Marshall but this is one of her worst voice-acting roles and she’s got pretty of them (She has good ones, too, but here, it gets too annoying too fast) It’s that bad and just horrible. I even heard that the novel or manga based off was less fan service-riddled than the anime.
SECOND EDIT: I actually did watch it for a second time because I do want to give it a fair chance but this time I just follow the plotline in episode 7 with the long lost sister and yet, it gives no proper or even an closing ending. It’s mostly a read the manga ending leaving questions that I’m pretty sure I don’t care to answer since this pretty much bothered me…..even if I laughed once (only once when her breasts disappeared, that’s it.) The animation is nothing special with the same style you expected from an anime, so hey, nothing new to look at. So just after watching Love Hina and this before, I really don't want to revisit this again.
FINAL SCORE: 1.5/10 – Clownshoes
NINJA SCROLL: THE SERIES / animation by MADHOUSE / distributed by URBANWORLD (now out of stock)
Wow, what a failure this show was and this has been talked out on an episode of DREAMcast episode 16, which feature the debut of yours today and you should watch it (the DREAMcast episode, not the series)…..RIGHT NOW…..or after reading this!! Anyway, the plot and fighting scenes are very monotonous, the characters are forgetful and bland especially Jubei, who I’ve already said looks like a Ninja Aladdin; the music is terrible at all levels and worst of all, has no continuation or even the shine of the original movie. By all means, forget this TV series; pick up the anime movie, which has been re-licensed by Sentai Filmworks and you’ll be fine and my final words for this show is “burn in hell, Ninja Scroll TV series, and burn in hell you will”.
FINAL SCORE: 2/10 – Clownshoes
KITE: LIBERATOR / animation by ARMS / distributed by MEDIA BLASTERS
So this year, I watched the original OVA “Kite” and for me, it was a decent effort by Studio ARMS (and me not hating them for once) but not that great then watched the superior “Mezzo Forte” done by the same studio and after that, “Mezzo DSA” which was a major disappointment to the previous installment and I thought I would never find anything else more as a disappointment to the original……until I watched this. Originally, I was going to review this in 2013 but I had to watch it due to the fact that I actually recommended the first Kite OVA (also Mezzo) to Angel and she also reviewed Liberator and according to her, it was a disaster (the movie, not the review) and I can see why. The plot’s a coherent mess; long gone the main character of Sawa and this new girl doesn’t really sound threatening or believable as a femme fatale, there is a less Hentai feel of this but it’s still worse and that motherfucking ending….what was the point of that? Clearly, Mezzo DSA is looking good compared to this. I’m glad that I saw this earlier because this is no way in hell I’m watching this again. In other words, this should also burn in hell.
FINAL SCORE: 1/10 – Clownshoes
EUPHORIA / animation by MAGIN / distributed by R U KIDDING ME
And speaking of things that should burn in hell………WHY!?!?!?!? Why did I have to watch this? My psyche is forever scarred by these OVA and yes, I know it’s a Hentai. I have seen plenty of Hentai series but not that kind that does that. It’s mostly torture porn mixed with actual porn and the result was violently disgusting. If there are people that liked this, I can’t judge you but don’t recommend this to me. I had enough of that for a 2-episode Hentai.
And the reason I put a screenshot instead of the cover, well, the cover isn't exactly Spill-safe and I don't want a warning....again.
FINAL SCORE: 0/10 – Clownshoes
And now for the stuff that wasn’t that bad but I would say you should stream it first before buying…..if it fits your taste, which is...
WITCHBLADE / animation by GONZO / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
GIVE ME YOUR ECSTASY!!! Mainly because it would certainly be more entertaining than Witchblade the anime. Most of the time, I can get into the plot but I can tell fans of the American comic will be pissed off at this and I stopped only at 16 episodes because it had gotten to be dreary, monotonous, and you just don’t give a damn anyone. Plus, the mother-daughter relationship is more than just unreal at best, I mean, the mother being more of a child than her 6-year-old daughter? Well, the good thing about this is the first opening theme and I do admire the acting style of Jamie Marchi, especially after the dub of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. As for Witchblade, this series is nothing more than just a first glance then you’ll forget about it.
FINAL SCORE: 3/10 – Not Feeling This
CAT PLANET CUTIES / animation by AIC PLUS / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
Originally, I had this show rated lower after watching it but I had some second thoughts about it, mostly after watching Kanokon and it wasn’t that bad after all. It’s still pretty bad in some areas like humor and the fact the main character Kyo is sort of a wimp but he isn’t unlikable at top levels, he can be reasonable but I wouldn’t say relatable. Plus, the fan service gets shoved in too much although it never bothered me….that much but I really hate the cliché tropes such as “what girl will he choose at the end?” because you’ll know that won’t get resolved but you won’t give a shit. I’ll say it’s a guilty pleasure as some levels with the main female characters/love interests of Kyo and the voice acting was an okay effort from FUNimation. Who knew that the kid that was in Full Metal Alchemist would get so much pu—(sound of a slap). Ow!
FINAL SCORE: 4/10 – HIGH Not Feeling This / LOW An Acquired Taste
K-ON! (Both seasons) / Animation by KYOTO ANIMATION / distributed by BANDAI ENTERTAINMENT (season 1)/SENTAI FILMWORKS (season 2)
Every time I hear about this series, I keep thinking about that review of Gigguk of the Anime Zone when he pointed out all they do in that club was “eat cake and drink motherfuckin’ tea!!” and I can see why because for two seasons, totaling up to 40+ episodes, they only slack off most of the time although two members needed to try more to convince the others to get off their lazy asses and practice. But for the music that was added in there, it was very decent for J-Pop music, which I don’t rate that high in the first place. The dub done by Bang Zoom! Entertainment for both seasons (yes, Steven Foster wasn’t involved in this, so, WOOHOO!!) was both alright but irritable at some parts. I noticed that Stephanie Sheh was in this dub and I happen to like her as a voice actress and her past work (mostly Eureka Seven and others not worth mentioning) but she just had to be casted in the most annoying role in the show and if you can’t handle her high-pitched voice than usual, you should avoid. Also, I noticed three other voice actresses that were in a better anime, which I’ll mentioned here later, but they did what they could but thankfully, they’re in better roles now. HINT: Those three actresses’ first names begin with a C. Yeah; K-On is a show that should be watched once and maybe if you’re into this, you probably love it.
FINAL SCORE: 5/10 – An Acquired Taste
EUREKA SEVEN AO: ASTRAL OCEAN / animation by BONES / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
Dammit, people were right on the money about this anime and how disappointing it is and the worst thing about it that I quit after watching 9 episodes and notice how dull and uninteresting this turns out to be. I could say it’s not like the original series but that would be too redundant to say but saying that would be redundant, too. What would be better to say what’s wrong with this is that it didn’t hook me like the original series did. I didn’t give a damn about Eureka’s son Ao because his story is mostly nobody likes him because something happened that was so terrible and blah blah bullshit and la-de-da. Yeah, I can’t really say much about this but this was a letdown sequel to a perfectly great series, although that movie was shit, too.
FINAL SCORE: 5.5/10 – HIGH An Acquired Taste/ LOW Vanilla
B GATA H KEI (YAMADA’S FIRST TIME) / animation by HAL FILM MAKER / distributed by FUNimation ENTERTAINMENT
So, originally, I thought this title was going to be some fan service bullshit that’s going to sound dumb as hell but when I watched all 12 episodes, it was a fair and okay series but I wouldn’t show this to anyone who first getting into anime and no, it’s not because the plot involves a girl wanting to get laid by 100 guys. It would’ve still been stupid if the situation was vice-versa (and if the character were have been a douchebag and/or bitch). The character Yamada can be obnoxious to an umpteenth level but never did I feel like I hated her but the main male interest is such a bore, I honestly forgot about his name. No, really, what was his name? All the other characters play their archetypes and did it well but did I give a fuck about that? Maybe….you have the best friend who has more sense than you, the girl who’s been a best friend to your male character and obviously has a crush on him, not to mention she has big breasts so all the guys will drool all over her and the girl who is deemed to be Ms. Perfect but secretly she’s in love……with her brother. In short, this was okay.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10 – Vanilla
ANGEL BEATS! / Animation by P.A. WORKS / distributed by SENTAI FILMWORKS
Was this meant to be taken seriously? No, really, it’s a slice of life show about dead high school students that are stuck in limbo (I think) who all have died under the consequences that at some point they fucked up either by a purpose or accident. The plot of that was all confusing as hell as either a comedic, action-packed, or dramatic series with some characters you like either leaving early in the series or some prolonging their arc for no reason at all. But the good things about this show is the animation done by the growing company P.A. Works and it is actually tastefully and beautifully done with little to no hiccups and the same goes to the music, especially the opening theme, “My Soul, Your Beats”, a gorgeous piece of work which sticks to my head a lot during watching this. The dub was……pretty off and terrible. It’s not High School of the Dead horrible but hey, it is a dub from Sentai Filmworks and we all know about their dubs, right?
FINAL SCORE: 6.5/10 – LOW Watchable
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| Dec 9, 2012 2:14 PM |
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