I imagine I reply by commenting on your profile? Anyway, I was being sarcastic lol, the thread title didn't give a spoiler warning so it... spoiled me. It's not a problem though. :)
The first season was great, I'll be putting it on temporary hold for now while I finish other things and can't wait to continue it. Just going to finish some visual novels and old anime I left on-hold.
That Momoiro Clover album is fantastic. I've hardly listened to anything else since I found out about it. Yeah, it's a very consistent album and I couldn't really pick a favorite from it. I've checked out their older music and it's nowhere near as good, so hopefully they keep up the direction they seem to be heading. Now I'm really looking forward to what they do for the Sailor Moon remake's OP, but that's been delayed so I'll have to wait a bit longer for that... But yeah, incredible album. I wasn't expecting it to be nearly as good as it ended up being, even though I got a taste of it with the Mouretsu Pirates OP (track 3).
I didn't even know there were three more volumes planned for Punpun. I thought it was close to finishing with the volume before last, but now... And yeah, Punpun's character development is really interesting and subtle. Because of they way that manga follows his whole life, you can really see how all of those deep-seated issues took root. Through all its depressing content, it's actually a very satisfying read.
Well, I've started learning Japanese on an impulse. I'm sick of not being able to read the things I want to read (mostly VNs). So my progress on Dhalgren and most other things have slowed to a halt. I need to learn to manage my time better, but it's difficult to make time for my hobbies when I have way too many of them. Oh well.
I don't have much to add on LoGH. I do agree though, Yang's side of things is a lot more interesting for me because of his perpetual underdog status. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he gets himself out of this situation. That, and I find him to be a more sympathetic character in general. That's not to say Reinhard's side isn't engaging though. All of the political happenings going on behind the scenes has been really well handled. I also really liked how Phezzan's role in the whole thing is slowly unfolding.
That's good to hear. After my Anne review, I've really been working on making things more concise. I'm still not used to this whole "writing" thing, but I think I'm on the right track. I should get around to finishing that Mind Game review, but I'm sure a lot of it would have to be rewritten now.
Before Dark Souls came out, Demon's Souls was easily my favorite game of this console generation. They're both incredible games, but Dark Souls improves on Demon's Souls so much. I wrote this massive mess of a post on it a while back, which I guess I'll paste here:
Dark Souls has quickly become one of my favorite games of all time. It’s easily in the top 10. Actually, the only game I can think of that I like more than Dark Souls is Majora’s Mask. Quite a feat, especially in this lackluster climate that the games industry is in right now. It’s such an engaging, thought provoking, complex, immersive gem of a game that it’s hard to stop thinking about it. Anyway, here’s my many, many thoughts on Dark Souls.
Honestly, I haven’t gotten frustrated with it very much. The only time I was frustrated was after I got my first Fire Keeper Soul. The game has this brilliant little thing called the Estus Flask. Demon’s Souls had healing Items, and since you don’t get back used items when you die (and you die a lot), grinding to buy more healing items was an inevitably. But grinding is never fun nor challenging, so Dark Souls implements a refillable item called the Estus Flask. You can upgrade it throughout the game with a rare items called Fire Keeper Souls. Well, I read “you can use this to upgrade you Estus Flask” in the description upon getting my first one and promptly consumed it, only to find out that that doesn’t work. You have to bring it to a Fire Keeper to have your flask upgraded. And now I’ll never have that Fire Keeper Souls back, which is frustrating because the description was very misleading and the Estus Flask is an vital lifeline in the game. But that’s it. I think my experience with Demon’s Souls prepared me well for Dark Souls, so it hasn’t been very frustrating overall.
The gameplay is nearly flawless. Ostensibly, the combat is super simple. Light and hard attacks with your weapon, blocking and parrying with your shield, and that’s more or less it. But the stratagems that emerge from that simplicity is fucking incredible. The hit-detection is perfect. Battles takes skill and each and every obstacle feels like a great challenge has been overcome. The difficult scales perfectly. This game has some of the greatest bosses I’ve ever seen, striking the perfect balance between fun, difficulty, and the sense of fighting something truly magnificent. The risk/reward ratio is perfect in this game. I also love the passive multiplayer system. It’s like all the the Hollows and Humans are working together to defeat this massive beast that is Dark Souls. The invasions on Humans is a really neat idea too, and a good way of balancing humanity and the undead. I haven’t gotten into Covenants and raiding other people, and I probably won’t until NG+ or with a new character, but I’ve been raided a few times and it’s always nerve wracking/exciting. The only flaws I’ve found in the gameplay both come from an are called Blighttown. There’s a significant drop in frame-rate here, and the tight spaces can lead to the camera becoming a nuisance periodically. But in a game as ambitious and massive as this, those flaws are very negligible ones, and Blighttown isn’t a place that is necessary to return to often.
Each scenario the game puts you in is very cleverly designed to require strategy, but allow for multiple routes to the same solution as well. Demon’s Souls had a lot of situations where there was only one ‘right way’ to solve each problem, and while easing up on that formula may seem like they’ve made the game too easy, the truth is that the leniency allows for more freedom and, in turn, the game designer’s ability to throw more complex challenges at the player. The fact that people can do Soul Level 1 runs through the whole game with every class says a lot about the nuance in game design and customizability of the experience. Having that level late in the game guarantees that each hit you take will kill you instantly, so the fact that such a difficult game can be cleared without taking a hit is a testament to the game’s excellent level and enemy design.
And the amount of unique builds you can have for your character is equally impressive. I’m currently wearing a ring that greatly increases my maximum equip burden by 50%, so I’m able to equip very heavy armor and still manage to stay at medium encumbrance. That’s a valuable ring slot I’m using just for that though. It works well for my Warrior character, but many players might use the ring to stay at light encumbrance for better mobility, or not use the ring at all and stay at high encumbrance with rings that make their spells more powerful while sticking with ranged combat. There’s a different ring I could be using that increases my stamina, HP, and equip burden each by 20%, but it breaks if you ever remove it, yet would be perfect for certain builds. The game accommodates for any play style with a ton of different items, weapons, rings, upgradable stats, yet remains perfectly balanced throughout.
One of the biggest improvements over Demon’s Souls is the world. It’s such and atmospheric, daunting place to immerse yourself into. Dark Souls’ world is massive. It truly succeeds at making the whole thing a unified, believable world too, at least in the context of Dark Souls’ story. Dark Souls has amazing level design. Obstacles and enemies are intelligently placed, and the way everything is connected is very clever. Unlocking shortcuts and reaching new bonfires is immensely satisfying. The soundtrack is fantastic and really contributes to the mood of the game too. I’ve already downloaded the OST, but I don’t want to listen to it until I finish the game. The songs are so essential to the atmosphere of the game that previewing them now would feel like a spoiler to me.
But perhaps the most subtle aspect is the storytelling. The story is always in the background. You’re placed into an enormous, overwhelming world with next to no introduction, and your character is treated as just another part of said world. It’s up to the player to piece together all the scattered bits of lore strewn throughout the world. For instance, once you get to the end of New Londo Ruins, a flooded, dark area with many ghosts, you meet this guy named Ingward. He tells you the tragic story of how he had to stop the Four Kings by flooding all of New Londo, killing many in the process. At that point you realize the ghosts you've been fighting are all remnants of that lost civilization, which is sad enough on its own, but later on, after getting the blessing or Gwynevere in the form of an item called the Lordvessel and upon returning to New Londo, Ingward gives you the key to the floodgates. Once you lower the water and you’re on your way to defeat the Four Kings, you take your first step onto Lower New Londo and hear an indelible ‘squish’ sound and some cracking noises. You then look down and realize that you walking on huge mounds of slimy corpses and skeletons and it’s just the saddest thing. If this was any other game, there probably would have been some big cutscene where the protagonist slowly walks out there, looking both ways, super quick close up of dead bodies (they probably like they’re screaming, too), and the protagonist’s disgusted face with dramatic and scary music playing, but Dark Souls understated storytelling is far more effective. I feel terrible every time I take a step and hear that squishing noise. Some of the bosses even have a tragic backstory and I feel bad about killing them, a feeling I haven’t gotten since Shadow of the Colossus. It’s a truly sad place to immerse yourself in, and every one of the NPC’s contributes something interesting to the story or atmosphere...
But as cool as all these NPCs are, I’m planning on going back and killing each and every one of them just before finishing the game. That should give me some pretty good equipment to tackle NG+ with. I was never able to finish Demon’s Souls’ NG+, but I think I’m better at this game, or just playing it in a more intelligent way. My character’s build is a lot more focused, whereas I tried to be a jack of all trades in Demon’s Souls to poor results.
And each of these things works together in perfect harmony. The story is reenforced consummately by the gameplay and vice versa. The video-gamey death/infinite retries and even the passive multiplayer system are an intrinsic part of the story and gameplay. The storytelling never betrays its universe and rarely encroaches player agency. The sparse soundtrack compliments the atmosphere perfectly. The devastated world reflects the (back)story of Dark Souls extremely well. It’s just an amazing game in every respect. I’m planning on trying to platinum it, but we’ll see how things go. I haven’t really taken a good look at the trophies list yet. In short, this game is amazing. In the ~1500 words here, I’ve only scratched the surface of all the great things about this game.
On the other hand, the more I read about Dark Souls 2, the more worried I get. Between the new director, claims of making it a less overwhelming experience, and an increased focus on relatively trivial things like ‘more realistic character models’... I’m not sure the series is in good hands. From Software have made most of the few games this generation I’d consider favorites - Demon’s Souls, 3D Dot Game Heroes, and Dark Souls have all been fantastic. They claim they understand the appeal of these games, so I guess I’ll take their word for it and hope for the best, but I’m definitely worried...
heh, that was before I started working on being more concise... A lot of that is outdated. I've finished up to NG++++ and have gotten the platinum trophy. (I love this game). And Dark Souls 2 isn't looking nearly as bad as it was at the time. Yeah, you should get back to it. They seem daunting at first, but once you get into the proper mindset, they're some of the greatest games of all time.
Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorites as well. I really should get around to playing ICO. Isn't Planescape: Torment kinda like Baldur's Gate? Maybe I should put that on my massive backlog as well. And yeah, I can't recommend Forest highly enough. It's one of those things that only improves the more you think about it. While seemingly nonsensical at first, it's actually a very tightly constructed story and almost every event carries significance. That being said, it's certainly no Paca Plus. I mean, alpacas playing violin? The fight was over before it started. Seriously, just look at the OP... Visual novels should just give up.
Been meaning to watch both of those so they'll go straight on the list. Might go for Utena for the week after next then actually.
I was thinking of doing that in the form of a podcast with the group from the website we're starting up at the moment. Hadn't thought of doing it as a video, but that may be something I'd eventually like to do independently.
The only thing with that is it'll end up entirely as a "My top 10 favourites" and not a "Top 10 best". So I'd like to have as many videos up beforehand so anyone who views it could get behind why I'm placing them where they are by understanding my opinion if that makes any sense whatsoever~
Thanks dude! Godard as in the French film director? I just made them like that because they're punchy and get the job done. Glad you like them!
I was absolutely planning on doing so at some point, it's just finding the time to do them around what I watch for reviews. Might look into doing a video on them sometime actually, that'd work.
If you ever have other recommendations or review suggestions please do chuck 'em my way, I'm always up for something new~
Sorry this has taken so long. Terrible week, etc. etc.
Wow, I was expecting bad things for poor Punpun, but I wasn't expecting that. Yeah, I'm honestly not sure where it's going from here, but it doesn't appear to be going in a positive direction for Punpun. Still loving the manga though. Can't wait for next volume.
People say 2001 is difficult? The only part of that film that I would even think of calling difficult is the ending. I'm still not sure what that means. I guess there's the mysterious nature of the monoliths too, but that shouldn't be too hard for people to understand... Maybe I'll review Dhalgren on GoodReads, we'll see. It'd be an intimidating subject to talk about, but it's definitely an interesting one.
I know what they were getting at with Yang's superiors, I just felt it was a little too exaggerated to take as seriously as I felt the show wanted me to. It's just in stark contrast with the more subtle characterization and worldbuilding of just about every other aspect of the show. I also find the Rosen Ritters to be a bit silly, but these are all very minor complaints.
Yeah, I wish I had paid more attention in history class... I know I'm missing many of the allusions to real historical events that LoGH is so rich with. They sound interesting and it definitely adds a layer of depth to LoGH already complex narrative. I do check the forums for each episode, so sometimes they'll fill me in on what I might've missed.
I'm looking forward to seeing where LoGH is going, particularly in regards to Yang's future, but I'm taking it pretty slow. It's a show where I really have to be in the perfect mood in order to get the most out of it.
The hard part about reviewing a show like Girls und Panzer is that it's hard to substantiate "This show is really fun, yo!", So I hope that aspect of it came across well...
And yeah, this post might be a little more messy and insubstantial than most… I've had a terrible week/been sick/tired from work, but it's been far too long since I've replied, so I just wanted to get this out there. I didn't even get around to writing about Pure Trance because I just haven't felt up to it. It's currently getting annihilated in the polls. Everyone who's read it has absolutely loathed it. Oh well, I'll eventually write something on it and resurrect it.
Yep, Eraserhead is amazing. I can't believe this hasn't come up yet, but do you play video games? I'm not really invested in modern video games - they're just not really made for people like me anymore - but Dark Souls was a huge exception to that. I love that game. And yeah, Hash brown 4 lyfe.
I kinda miss my April 1st profile already. Jun Maeda is the voice of our generation. At least I kept a link to the alpaca playing the violin. That image is from a visual novel called Paca Plus. It's a pretty typical story of a young couple, only one day… your girlfriend turns into an alpaca. It's just as amazing as it sounds. It also has a really terrible translation, which only enhances its appeal. Highly recommended!
I'm still a whole volume behind in Oyasumi Punpun. It seemed to be heading in a positive direction for poor Punpun, but from what I've heard about the most recent volume, it sounds like that might not be the case. I'm honestly not sure where it's going from here. I'd like to see Punpun become a more well-adjusted person and have a happy life, but that almost seems impossible now.
Yeah, I can see how it would be controversial. Chapter 1 started with a straight sex scene and ended with a gay one. Its bleak 'world' and glacial pacing could make it a tough read for some too. I've heard people ascribe it that "DIFFICULT NOVEL" title, similar to Ulysses or Gravity's Rainbow, but it really isn't that difficult at all, at least not yet. I've flipped through the whole book and it looks like the entire format of it changes near the end, with vaguely anarchic placing of different columns of text. The main difficulty I can see it having is not in its complex prose, but in the ambiguous nature of some of the worldbuilding. It's a very strange book and I'm not sure what to make of it some of the time. It's often unclear what is real or not, and it's even incorporating magical-realism touches into the narrative now, further blurring the lines between reality and... other things... I'm taking my time with it, but I've loved everything about it so far.
Yeah, I notice something new every time I read Gogo Monster, and I've read it at least half a dozen times by now. It's just so rich with detail and nuance. IQ and Yuki being the same person seems to be a common interpretation. I still don't agree with it, but Gogo Monster certainly accommodates for various interpretations of its events.
Yeah, Inferno Cop is great. I especially loved the 10 minutes of credits at the end of the last episode. I'm glad you liked it. It's a pretty polarizing show. It's just unfortunate that Inferno Cop never got a rematch with Real God.
LoGH has been amazing so far. There's such an overwhelming amount of things happening in the show that it's difficult to comment on any specific aspect of it, but just about everything in the show has been exceptional so as of yet. Lohengramm's current strategy almost seems too good. I'm no strategist, but it seems like he's covered every angle. I still find Yang the more sympathetic character, so it's frustrating (in a good way, narrative-wise) that he's basically not permitted to make the proper preparations when he's essentially figured out what Lohengramm's strategy entails. This has been a theme on Yang's side since the beginning, but it's being handled much better now. At the beginning, the show relied on the laughably over-the-top pigheaded stubbornness of Yang's superiors in a way that way almost silly. At one point they even declined one of his plans because it was "too careful" even though it wouldn't have really strained their resources much at all. It's just hard to believe someone like that would be in command, or that they'd survive as long as they have with that mentality. The way it's being handled now is much more believable. Although clearly in the wrong, his superiors have a relatively justifiable and democratic reason to not go all in on Yang's plan, which makes the whole dichotomy of the current battle super interesting and engaging. I'm honestly not sure how Yang's going to get out of this situation - it seems like all odds are against him - but I'm enjoying it immensely.
Oh, and I wrote a review for a fun little show from last season that I really enjoyed called Girls und Panzer. It's a show about girls taking up the 'martial art' of battling WW2 tanks because it helps hone their femininity... Which makes it sound like something Jiro Matsumoto would write, but it's done in a sillier "cute girls doing cute things" way. Good stuff! Panzer Vor! Pure Trance has been nominated at CnC, so that'll probably be the next thing I write about. What made you drop it?
I'm bad at this whole replying quick thing. I think the Gogo Monster spotlight tired me out and I haven't really felt like writing anything the last few days. Anyway, more on that later.
That was my interpretation of Punpun having a human body. He was trying to dress himself up as a well-adjusted person.
Well, that whole "finding his own identity" was a bit of a hasty misnomer on my end. That's just a small part of the story, and the character has now even said that he doesn't care about who he is. But yeah, it's definitely one of them "journey, not the destination". There isn't really a destination at all. But the setting is wonderfully bleak and well-realized. It's very slow paced (I'm 100 pages in and only 1.5 days have passed), but it's incredibly immersive in the way that the world is described in such great detail. It's also very strange and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. I'm enjoying it for now, though.
I've read that Madoka's mom was Gen Urobuchi's favorite character. I'm not sure why though. I'll probably pay closer attention to her family next time I rewatch it. I just thought that was interesting, because she's barely even in the show.
Yeah, I wouldn't go that far. While the non-Madoka/Homura characters aren't anything special (especially Mami), I wouldn't go so far as to call them failures; they're merely average and fairly archetypical. I think we agree otherwise.
Well, I actually haven't read Catcher in the Rye yet, so I can't directly compare them, but adulthood, innocence, and isolation are definitely major themes. I've always felt that the airplanes were more of an expressionistic touch rather than an overtly symbolic one. The closeness in which they fly the their deafening noise are reflective of Yuki's skewed perception of the world. At the end when he has been brought back to the 'real world' by the sound of Makoto's harmonica, the airplanes are flying much higher - Yuki has become well-adjusted.
I think flowers (or flowering) represent maturation. Near the end, just before the whole 5th floor segment, the caretaker is seen carrying around a nearly dead plant, then planting it. The caretaker says with a knowing smile, "I wonder how he'll bloom." A few pages later, a hand is seen growing out of the earth. The flower imagery is also very prevalent during the whole 5th floor segment, when Yuki is reflecting upon himself and becoming a more well-adjusted individual.
I talk about IQ and the rabbits in great detail in the spotlight. A few people think thought IQ and Yuki were the same person, which I don't agree with. You might be interested in reading the spotlight, actually. There was a lot of good discussion, and even a nearly page-by-page commentary. (Just for context, Orion, the guy who wrote that commentary, didn't like Gogo Monster on his first reading of it. A few of us encouraged him to give it another chance, and it ended up becoming his highest rated manga. You might want to check out the club comments for more context, but it's not necessary.) Anyway, here:
I'm still curious what you thoughts are on Gogo Monster, but I finished my review of it for the spotlight and I figured you might be interested in reading it.
It's honestly a really had manga to talk about without alluding to the true nature of Yuki's 'visions', which is something that isn't really apparent until the end, so I'm not sure if the review turned out okay.
Well, Punpun has a few things like the way Punpun himself changes in appearance and stuff with god. Facial expressions and people’s behavior are also sometimes exaggerated to give the reader a glimpse into how Punpun perceives things. Maybe it’s not to the extent of the others though.
Yeah, but as with everything else Nichijou related, it might just be me... I’ve yet to talk to someone else who really agrees with me 100% on Nichijou, so I’m a little uncertain as to whether my appraisal holds much water.
Speaking of books, I dropped Dubliners. Didn’t like it at all. But I picked up Dhalgren, which seems very promising so far. The prose is somewhat Joycean, but not quite. It’s pretty unusual so far, but I hear it gets crazier. The plot kind of reminds me of Casshern Sins. It’s about some guy who doesn’t remember who he is trying to find his identity, and the meat of the story seems to be in the journey, rather than the destination. But I’m less than 50 pages in (it’s close to 800 pages), so I don’t have much to say about it yet.
I think the thing with the soul gems is more of a revelation than a plot twist, but that’s just semantics. I think it was handled well, and as with almost everything else in Madoka’s universe, it has a good reason for being there. mahou shoujo shows tend to make the girls super humans with no explanation as to how, but there’s a more practical reason for it (when looked at from Kyubey’s point of view) in Madoka. Disassociating the girl’s souls from their body allows them to be stronger fighters with a stronger resistance to pain. It’s inhuman, but efficient! The placement of Homura’s episode is to set up the finale. I can’t think of a more affective place to put it.
Madoka has several specific references to mahou shoujo shows. Several of the poses in the OP are borrowed from Sailor Moon. I think there’s even a subtle visual allusion to Utena in the final episode. I don’t think Madoka was intended as some malicious take-down of magical girl shows, but a tribute, in a way. It isn’t mocking the tropes it subverts, it’s validating them. Madoka’s ascension isn’t quite as trite as some believe. It’s actually quite bittersweet. Sure, she lessened the strain and risk of becoming a magical girl, but the problem isn’t solved. Magical Girls are still required for the universe to continue. They also have to work much harder because 'harvesting' witches isn't nearly as efficient as it once was. Also, if she were to ever falter and become discouraged or depressed, those emotions would turn her into the strongest witch in the world - one the current generation of magical girls would be utterly annihilated by. I completely agree about Mami’s final conversation. In general, anything involving Mami wasn’t handled terribly well (except some of those fight scenes). The final scene with Homura and Madoka’s little brother was sweet! I can see how some might find it a little cheesy, but I think it’s the resolution the show needed.
I mostly agree with you about human characters. It would have been nice if Madoka was paced slower and allowed for characterization like that, I don’t think it’s a fatal flaw because the ideas explored were interesting and pulled off well otherwise.
Man, I want to see those movies so bad, if only for the graphical update. Some of those fight scenes (like the silhouette one or that crazy Sayaka orchestra one) must look amazing on the big screen.
And my pace is already ruined. Well, I have an excuse! heh. I’ve been busy trying to write something for the Gogo Monster spotlight, and I’m having a lot of trouble. It came a lot sooner than expected, and I’m trying to rush something together, but I’m unhappy with everything I wrote so far. So, in a shameless grasp for inspiration, what do you think made Gogo Monster so good? And out of curiosity, have you considered coming back to CnC?
