We had a good run in the first half, so what can we improve?
Let's include some near-rape tentacle scene with a 17yo! Just felt wrong and in your face.
Took quite a bit of enjoyment from the rest of the episode.loading replies
@flex Considering what gets "canceled" today I find it quite funny that SAO got so much mainstream backing back in the day. Hardly anyone who proclaimed the show to be glorious still watches it though :wink: (on trakt 25k people watched the S1 finale and recent episodes are a measly 4k). At least you can consider this progressive writing since it was a woman doing the deed this time around and she could actually defend herself (unlike Asuna who had to be saved by Klein (WTF)).
And yeah, antagonists are not his forté. The first one is still the worst imho. His motivations for trapping people in a death game were reeeeeaallllyyy dumb ("I just wanted to have friends/adventure" (or something along this line - forgot)).
We had a good run in the first half, so what can we improve?
Let's include some near-rape tentacle scene with a 17yo! Just felt wrong and in your face.
Took quite a bit of enjoyment from the rest of the episode.loading replies
@flex Seems like classic SAO... the loli with the blue dragon thingy was raped by plants early on, Asuna at the end of the Alfheim (twice) and since this arc is slower paced it just took them longer to get here. But yes, this instance was particularly dumb given that she was just "waiting" to see who the bad guy was while the lady doubled down on the rape with two prolonged "insert" scenes...
Interesting events start this episode.
I don’t think gulls would do that unless they were starving... The thing with the water bottle isn’t possible lol. I’m skeptical about the accuracy of her volcanic ash statements, as concerns of water supply contamination don’t usually include rainfall and the dangers ash causes on water usually subsides fairly quickly. Once they find out which way is North (by wasting a flare) they decide to head NE when Japan has supposedly completely sunk (so towards the open Pacific instead of the mainland. On top of that, they point NW to go NE :person_facepalming_tone2::male_sign:... Hmmm... how about waiting for the patch of sunlight or rowing over there to charge up the battery some before diving? Even though you already said the batteries were all charged up earlier. doesn’t it make more sense to go to the end of the rope first? And then use to rope to ascend faster? Also, don’t leave the raft behind!!! Tie it to the boat!
Interesting, but needlessly contrived for audience effect, events ending this episode. Pretty good overall.
loading replies
@allthingsanthony Yeah I also tried to find evidence of such behavior but this seems to be utter bull. Not only was this (like a lot of stuff in this show) immersion breaking but even drawn into ridiculousness by following up with a shark grabbing the corpse right after - I had a laugh attack! Same about all the other stuff you listed.
I also found it terribly hard to understand just where the hell they were/floating to. The episode before they have a massive landmark in the water but they let themselves drift further away? Did they forget they had a paddle? They pass by a huge ship at one point (apparently mauled by gulls too despite still looking unharmed and floating) and there is also lots of debris visible towards the end. Just sitting on that almost sinking gummy boat is just not very efficient...
Shout by Gotrek Felix
Uhm where is the hot spring investigation arc? They really left it out?
loading replies
@felixgotrek It was "adapted" in the ED sequence of the last episode of the previous season.
I cannot help but think this episode was made to bait people into start/continue watching if it were perceived positively because this is not the format for it nor should something like this be made this early into a show.
While I liked the first 10 minutes and the duo of Cristin Milioti and Jake Johnson it just quickly turned into "cringe" as there was a major disconnect between what they wanted to tell and how they went about it in a video game context....
A good point to drop this show tho.loading replies
@w3j I'll take this as a compliment or do you want to tell me why this episode was good? Was it the cute goth gf or because you can relate to vidya gaems?
A game changer for the Anime industry.
loading replies
@abeeb12342 Lol... how so :confused:?
I found the main actress very weak, like she didn't belong in there, the immersion wasn't present. And the clichés about white people doing stupid things in thriller/horrors movies are true in the show, it's disappointing
loading replies
@orphan Wait, this is a cliché? Sounds very Twitter...
"How does it feel to be in a womans body?" Idk dude, just pick her yourself next round
loading replies
@arkam_ no, no, no! Please don't focus on what the technology could do. It's clearly only some random gimmick for vidya gaems.
Shout by Joel Barthel
A one-sided piece of propaganda. Truly disturbing in what it wants to convey.
loading replies
@joelbar I found some of the comparisons to behavior in the animal world quite interesting the penis glans supposedly being shaped like that to remove sperm of others seems like a load of bull tho... but then it progressed the typical VOX route of throwing charts at you without basis and unnuanced propaganda indeed.
Lot's of lazy at display here and quite a shitty battle... this is SAO alright.
loading replies
@deanzel They are a bit above loli imho :/...
How does one manage to make "action" scenes boring? Adapt a light-novel about a FPS apparently. And as it should be for SAO the seemingly incompetent girl is famous and a Mary Sue.
loading replies
@maniacb This was penned by Kino's author? Consider me shocked ~.~
3Hz is certainly good from a production standpoint but what I've seen from them is not enough to trust them, esp. Celestial Method turned quite bad towards the end (same director).
As for the show so far; Episode 2 was certainly better for having actual "character" interactions and being the actual starting point of the story but it still has the issue from the first episode in it for me... she can hardly grasp the game mechanics but still manages to make herself a name as the "PK" king of that zone against multiple enemies which one would expect to be better than her (even if it just was the level or equipement).
I did not see many negative comments on Episode 1 when I checked but some ANN staff seemed to look past their pocket money:
The biggest issue with this premiere is the same one that plagues so many light novel adaptations, where the script is obsessed with relaying technical minutiae and the finer points of tactics, but nowhere near focused enough on telling a compelling story. In fact, if you ignore the backstory that comes with the mainline SAO series, the plot of this episode can be described in a single sentence: LLEN is a tiny pink girl, M is a large burly man, and together they shoot some guys in an online game. Outside of getting LLEN and M from Point A to Point B, the entirety of this episode is devoted to M breaking down the mechanics of squad formations, avoiding sniper vantage points, picking out the sounds of different ammo types in a fire fight, and so on. This kind of details-obsessed focus on guns and gunplay is meant for a very specific audience that I don't belong to, because I found a vast majority of this episode pretty boring.
(still a 3/5)
I'd recommend to wait a bit longer if you can and don't want to get burned. Since this is SAO I'm prepared to hate watch anyways.
how can people often rate a whole series at just one Episode or before it's even aired? stupid
loading replies
@ruegnueg Well, 3 votes are pretty much none tbh...
Trump bashing is getting old.
loading replies
@mrmindway If only it were just that. This season is painful to get through...
Somethings in this epsode felt in poor taste to me. It's like the writers didn't want to invoke neo-nazi imagery so instead they softened the mob to be low-IQ hicks. It's an easy target and the show is basically saying "Hah! You're not smart enough for the jobs we have and the jobs you used to work now have all been shipped off to China and India!" Sure. That's kind of the problem isn't it? Nothing insightful or funny about that. In fact it's kind of horrifying, given that low IQ people who have no job prospects historically lead to uprisings. South Park can often be cruel and find humor in that cruelness but not usually when doing social commentary. It also just wasn't funny. Dumb hicks are tired humor. There was nothing risky or all that original. There were some good bits with Seri and the parody of home repair shows. Last season had a weak opener so I hope it will pick-up (but also not devolve as the later episodes of the previous season did.)
loading replies
@lonelypanda Totally agree... the "South Park rednecks" were the wrong pick for the subject matter (with which they did nothing). It just came of as insulting... Did not chuckle once.
Well that was a cute and enjoyable series ultimately. Probably not particularly memorable in the long-term but it looked pretty nice and had some fun characters and endearing moments.
I suppose if you had come into this expecting something like "Everyday Life with Monster Girls", you may be disappointed since was more of a slice-of-life comedy rather than a raunchy harem comedy.loading replies
@maniacb True dat but I can't can't help to be a little creeped out by the way the relationships with the teacher is portrayed at times... as innocent this might appear.
Orgasmic. I always looooooved the character design from the manga and feel. seems to be doing a solid job. The sheer variety of Mizuki faces in the first episode already made my day. With, of course, the best moment (and face) of the episode at the end...
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/pgqBhnBEzm2WeDVck6Csp2SmuZy.jpgThe only thing that would make it better was if they had used Gumi's vocaloid song as an OP/ED...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVb5IqmWdSEloading replies
April's Fool "Big Guy" dub incoming when?
I'm not against harems but this felt really bottom barrel. Bland visuals, unfunny jokes, and a mindless waifu already. /dropped
loading repliesYou can't be dropping this already?!?!?! Who else will watch/suffer through this show with me :(
loading replies
@deanzel I can make it through lots of crap but this had really nothing going on except for the twist that they're all girls. Given that his waifu is just annoying and that reveal played nothing into it I cannot phantom how this is going to roll for 12 episodes. What they showed from inside the game did also not look great.
Sorry but you will have to cope without me :)..! Hundred is another option for a harem though (but I'm slightly scared)?
Ehhh.. really, killing of the cat like that? Seems like a jerk move placed at an unbelievable moment.
loading replies
@ManiacB Looks like I never replied :). It was a possibility that the cat died, it's just a bit of a stretch to do so at the specific moment.
I have no hesitation in saying this has been the worst KyoAni show I have seen. People were harsh on Tamako Market but that was Citizen Kane compared to this. Thank god it's over now and we can look forward to the likes of Hibike S2 etc.
loading replies
@ManiacB Personally I felt this episode was really awful :)... The mother/Enigma story wasn't anything well built up on pretty much rushed. Feels like they just needed a battle to end the series with.
I'm bad at putting numbers down but whenever I look at my ratings I realize that I either need to up my median by one or be meaner to the "meh" shows in my ratings :D...
I have no hesitation in saying this has been the worst KyoAni show I have seen. People were harsh on Tamako Market but that was Citizen Kane compared to this. Thank god it's over now and we can look forward to the likes of Hibike S2 etc.
loading replies
The rating is still nice tho?
Ehhh.. really, killing of the cat like that? Seems like a jerk move placed at an unbelievable moment.
loading repliesIs it really that surprising though? The narration previously kept saying he was sleeping longer and longer. It was very clear to me pretty much straight away the series would end when he died of old age.
loading replies
@ManiacB It's more the way the did it... it was just too convenient as I could have believed it.
Damn. While the teacher was super obvious as the killer, I was hoping that the creators were throwing us off on purpose with a blatant red herring. Other than that flaw, this was a fantastic episode with a "mini-showdown" between Satoru and sensei. With only two more episodes to go, it's f'n game time.
loading replies
@humpadumpa So, did you get those answers (seeing you already rated it as a 10)? There was no motive at all, just lots of reinstating that he is evil. The killer is giving up his clean slate and planning to be seen leaving with him and to do what, try to drown him (why even order bentos there)? Also Satoru can't leave the car because it was previously mentioned as a sticky belt... did he poor in super glue or what? And the next step in the master plan? Leave town, how unsuspicious.
This show has nothing on Monster and and they shouldn't be compared. The killer here was never a real antagonist and did very little so far where as Johann left his trail.
Satoru has only been trying to "save" people instead of getting any clues together so yeah, not really a great mystery either way.
Wow. Gotta give props to Studio DEEN with the "boob physics" in this episode. Well done. Boing/10.
And how can this masterpiece only have 10 episodes this season?!?!?! That is a crime against humanity.
loading replies
This was the worst episode though... And now you ruined it by telling me that it's already finishing next week ;(.
Shout by ManiacB
VIPOG12Not sure I fully bought the second half of this episode. I have no problem with him skipping forward again (judging by who's in the opening It was only a matter of time), but for the whole second half things felt a bit awkward and oddly paced to me.
Hopefully just a minor blip in the series. Maybe I just need to get used to the "future" characters again? It just felt a bit jarring after several episodes in the past that seemed a lot better paced and directed.
loading replies
Considering that they announced that the manga is ending and the show getting the same resolution it isn't surprising at all. I don't think that the "present" scenes are much worse though. The "I want to change the future"-stories have had their fair share of iterrations and a guy like Kenya is just as on the nose as the manager was in the second half. The foxes were also about as cringy as the father having his life ruined by getting accused of stealing a chocolate bar...
The one thing that really rubbed me the wrong way however was Airi being so happy-go-lucky when confronting him. Not a hint of compassion for his dead mother, blushing and making jokes??
Ugh, this episode sucked. I'm really not enjoying this series so far. The pseudo-science about memories in this one was way too unbelievable and badly handled. It's also one of those episodes that only thinks to start foreshadowing something just before it happens (e.g. Mai's flashback to when she was a kid, just before she happens to meet them again). Even KyoAni's normally above-average direction and visual prowess aren't enough to make this one engaging, it seems. If this was done by any run-of-the-mill studio nobody would bother watching it.
It doesn't help that thus far, none of the characters have been particularly likable or show any level of character depth. Really, the only thing this series has going for it is the fanservice and that's not really enough. One more dud episode and I think this one is dropped.
loading replies
I really hope the loli ends up killing the main cast (or at least Reina) to spice things up \o/. From what is around from the second book (http://vipper.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/news4vip/1453370361/) I highly doubt that they're going to get an elegant turn to a "proper" story.
This was really uninspired; be it comedy, fanservice or action (break, break... tune, tune, tune... bleh, bleh HHaaAAAaaA). No idea why they wanted to publish and adapt a work they themselves saw as subpar... Here is hoping that the computer device brings a decent story along with it.
loading replies
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-04-27/no-grand-prizes-given-for-4th-kyoto-animation-award
The official website of the anime studio Kyoto Animation announced the results of the fourth Kyoto Animation Award program on April 5. However, the studio awarded no grand prizes in any category, and no honorable mentions in the scenario or manga categories.
The judges committee thanked creators for submitting their works but said they could select no winning works in those categories after reviewing the submissions. Kyoto Animation offered 1 million-yen (about US$10,000) grand prizes and 100,000-yen (US$1,000) honorable mention prizes in this year's awards.
Novel Category
Grand Prize
No winnersHonorable Mention
Phantom World by Sōichirō Hatano
Manzai Sen ka! by Aji Miyaku
Yatara Uro Uro Mettara Doki Doki by Kōji Dōgu
That pretty much says that they weren't impressed by it (despite later then publishing it inhouse). Subpar might be a rather liberal interpretation but seeing that they don't see it as a winner is not exactly a sign of trust.
Looks like there is another solid show at start. The cast looks interesting and the manga's reception hasn't been bad either. The rakugo parts were done quite well with the seiyuu's getting their time to shine. It's a Josei so it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
This first episode is a merge of the two OVAs clocking at 45 minutes (OVA1 being 45 minutes, OVA2 being 35 minutes).
loading replies
I think you probably should.
It seems that hard sci-fi series are back in the game. Besides Black Matter and the Killjoys we have now the Expanse. Comparing the three pilot episodes, this one was the best. They did a decent job in building a large universe with clear rules and relationship (in Black Matter we know next to nothing about the bigger picture of the universe and in the Killjoys it is too complicated and bad explained). They had nice ideas with G-forces and general orbital mechanics, but in the end the whole physics in this episode is bogus. If they refine their character and really use their sci-fi setting it has the potential to become a really cool series. The risk is to do a story which could be told in any setting without science fiction, often caused by lazy writing.
loading replies
How are Dark Matter and Killjoys "hard sci-fi"? If that applied to them they wouldn't exist in the first place.
Anyways, I hope it's better than both those shows, the first one being bad and the other blandly milking GotG.
wait for season 2, I want to see what 3 new bitches do with 5 guys
loading replies
Actually, most of the boys are free - it's the USC that is thrown in prison.
This is probably the series I've watched the most passively this season. There was some humour to be gleamed from the first season but this one has just been so boring. Maybe the novelty of the setting has just worn off but it just felt like watching a whole load of nothing.
Can't believe there will be another season...
loading replies
Too much focus on idol stuff rather than comedy :(.