weyrbunny

I usually start with The Nihon Review and then move on to My Anime List (aka MAL) or Anime News Network (aka ANN) for a broader spectrum of opinions. FYI, the Behind the Nihon Review blog has reviews of shows currently airing in Japan, as do MAL and ANN. There are a couple other blogs I like for reviews, but they have more eccentric anime tastes (like me). Mecha-Guignol, for example.

This was a smart episode that effectively accomplished what it needed to, but it also felt a bit perfunctory and enervated. (To match Korra’s mindset, I suppose.) I actually missed Korra since no other characters stepped up to provide her former verve. My thought as well. I got a you-work-for-me-now vibe from the train tracks scene. I too am hoping Kuvira is motivated by a goal like quickly uniting the Earth Kingdom rather than personal vanity or megalomania. Every Korra Book seems to play out the corruption of a good idea, and unification by force would fit under that theme. Oh, and I’m compelled to gripe about Nick.com’s buggy video player. They’re a TV channel in the video business, so watching TV on any of their platforms should be effortless!! Instead, the video locks up, goes black after an ad or even jumps over scenes, PLUS there’s some script on the video page that sporadically causes an error message in Firefox. (No, it’s not my Internet connection or my browser settings. I tested an HD video on another site—it worked perfectly.) If it’s like this for every episode, I’m gonna watch Korra by other means just to spite them.

Always happy to try a recommended show. Looking back at what I wrote, my criticisms of Young Justice were fairly picky. There’s a lot I liked about it that I just didn’t delve into: a wealth of characters, relationships, themes and plots. (Superboy/Beefcake was eventually a nuanced, sympathetic character and I actually resented it when he faded into the background in season 2, for example.) YJ’s emotional complexity really was stellar, as were some individual episodes. I just think the show was more interested in the forest than the trees, and that made the execution seem sloppy. Toonami Tumblr says: on Oct. 4, Space Dandy begins re-airing at 3am, with Naruto: Shippuden moving into Dandy’s 12:30am slot followed by the other shows moving up a 1/2 hour. No new shows…grumble. Oh, but Korra Book 4 begins on Oct. 3!

We’ve zipped through Young Justice. I respect it, but my appraisal of the show is decidedly mixed. Season 2 lived up to the hype. Season 1…well, it’s like they were still figuring out how to make a TV show. I appreciate Green Lantern's consistent quality even more now, especially its storytelling. It took a long time for the storytelling to click in Young Justice's S1, and frankly, we snark-watched most of it because of this. After about the 5th time that Superboy lost his shirt in a fight, we dubbed him Beefcake and the snickering took over. One of my relatives thought the villain names in particular were hysterical. (She laughed so hard at Queen Bee and Sportsmaster, she had to sit down on the rug.) It was all a symptom of our not being engaged by the story, of course. Because the storytelling was…problematic seems like too strong a word, but there were definitely problems. Like continuity basics. I can’t think of another show where I actually had to pause it and make sure I hadn’t skipped an episode, because the show handled continuity so poorly. I’m not talking about YJ’s episodes that began in medias res and then flashed back to the beginning, nor am I talking about the episodes with time jumps. Those worked fine ultimately and were part of the show’s storytelling style. There was just an awkwardness to some episodes, a lack of context that Green Lantern, for example, didn’t have a moment of. I also didn’t care for YJ’s pattern of letting important, seemingly more interesting events occur off-screen, and then info-dumping about those events rather than exploring them. (Example: Red Arrow’s story in both seasons.) It struck me that the show just wanted to skip to the fight scene, or to jump to the plot twist for shock value, but it didn’t want or know how to put the effort into getting there. Oh, and the recapping thing. I still can’t fathom why YJ would often overexplain events that occurred in the prior episode, or heck, even 10 minutes before, but then it would stupidly fail to recap the relevant events from 20 episodes ago. Shouldn’t that be a storytelling basic they have figured out?!? Fortunately, Young Justice excelled at two things: emotional complexity and plot ambition. This saved it. And, season 2’s storytelling was more consistent than season 1 (IMO), with better execution and less repetitive fight scenes, for example. The show’s emotional depth was impressive from start to finish though, even when it was really teen-angsty. And for this, I respect the show. It had a lot of good ideas, complex ideas, and it knew how to go for the pain. Speaking of…Nightwing had better be using his sabbatical to bring back . I don’t care if resurrection after being zapped by energy didn’t go well for Buffy. Yes, it did. Because it had 7,000 subplots and characters that needed attention. OK, I exaggerate. But only by about 6,000. PS. I just read that this weekend (Sept 27, 2014) marks the end of Beware the Batman—yet another DC Comics show seemingly abused by Cartoon Network and then cancelled after one season. Will they never learn? PPS. Hello Kitty isn't a cat, but is anything really anything anymore, man?

Aya and Razer really were the best thing in Green Lantern. Both total archetypes, but both still emotionally believable and endearing. (They’re funny, too, which I loved.) And it answers a couple of my questions to learn they were created for the TV show. They seemed more modern than the other characters—Razer literally sits around and broods, for example. I thought maybe the show was trying to balance some of its old-fashioned-ness or appeal to multiple audiences, but I guess it’s as simple as the characters being created in different eras. I wasn’t that interested in Larfleeze, having no nostalgia for him, but I did really enjoy St. Walker and his smart-ass lines. BTW, the funniest moment in the show (IMO) was when Razer, being without his powers, silently throws a severed Manhunter head at the alien in “Babel” aka “the episode on the Galaxy Quest planet,” as I think of it. I’m still snickering over that. And I’ll look for Young Justice—thanks! I vaguely remember watching an episode or two when it was airing, because the word-of-mouth was so strong. PS. I agree with much of IGN’s Green Lantern Season 1 review. (And you were right about the lack of actions figures, though I stand by my impression that the character design looks plastic.)

Speak of the devil…or DC Comics: I’ve been watching Green Lantern: The Animated Series. I normally ignore kid’s shows like this, but I’m visiting relatives who have no cable and the slowest DSL possible, so I’m digging through library shelves out of desperation. It’s a solid show, even though I can’t help but be cynical that the entire thing was designed to sell action figures. The character design, the design of everything, is so conveniently plastic! The animation quality is top notch, at least, and many of the space scenes are striking. The storytelling is also really tight. Even the episodes that seem like silly filler have details that end up being used later. It’s still a kid’s show, so there’s plenty to roll your eyes at, and some of the writing seems shorthanded and lazy—don’t get me started on the number of times that . But there are two episodes near the end—“Loss” and “Cold Fury”— that are truly outstanding. Damn...they're gut-punches. Maybe it’s the moment of cyberpunk body horror that’s handled with more emotional brutality than most anime can muster in the same situation. It’s just too bad that the rest of the season doesn’t quite live up to those two episodes, and in some ways undermines them. There are just too many misogynistic female hysteria tropes, ultimately. When male characters try to apply logic without emotion it’s called pride or evil, for example. When female characters do the same thing, it’s called instability and literally, “madness”—really poor word choice, show. The story’s still compelling to the end. But I wish they had come up with a less-dated, more original way to resolve it. I’m glad I ventured outside my comfort/genre zone for once though and do recommend Green Lantern. It turned out to be a fast and engaging watch.

For a couple years now, I’ve been intrigued by the glimpses of Blue Submarine No. 6 that I’ve seen on Toonami. I finally sought it out online… I like it a lot. I like it enough to wish that it were more than just OVAs or even that there were a remake (shocking, for me). The show’s plot, themes, even characters are nothing new, certainly—hell, they were well-used when this thing came out in the late 90s. (There are shades of Nausicaa’s environmental themes, Bubblegum Crisis’ monster battles and a lot more borrowed from The Island of Dr. Moreau.) But the style and storytelling are kinda great. When the story is still and quiet, it’s mesmerizing…the apocalypse is beautiful. It uses visual storytelling well, too. I was reminded of Gungrave’s sophisticated flashbacks and montages a few times, though that came out 5 years after. There are also various stylistic similarities to Cowboy Bebop, and not just the jazz. I also really liked the character design because…um, yeah, I’m realizing I have a type. Hayami, the main character, has Spike’s indolent cool, Hei’s physique (collarbones) and Ichise’s detached taciturnity. (From Cowboy Bebop, Darker than Black and Texhnolyze, respectively.) There’s barely any character development, but the archetypes are at least well-executed. BTW, a couple years ago I mocked the mecha space crab in VanDread. Turns out mecha sea creatures can be something other than a joke after all—the detailed designs here are intriguing. And speaking of sea creatures, this has to be the only time ever a mutant whale delivers an epic death speech worthy of Roy Batty in Blade Runner. There are flaws of course in Blue Submarine No. 6, one of them being the endlessly repetitive CGI explosions. I gather that CGI was a new toy at the time and, like kids, they didn’t know when to leave it alone. You know, I always appreciate it when you recommend Darker than Black--thanks! And I wanted to add: Yoko Kanno's music is mostly featured in season 1 of DTB, but season 2's soundtrack by Yasushi Ishii is excellent too. (He's known for the soundtrack on Hellsing, if you're following the music.)

FYI, I'm watching these on DVD and they weren't released by season, they were organized into volumes based on theme, so The Dancing Princesses appears on the 'Princess Tales' DVD for example, and the other episodes are elsewhere. I'll guess that you can find the show by season online, on Hulu or somewhere. Anyway, I'm here to talk about The Dancing Princesses, because it's my favorite episode so far. There's a wry wit and the actors manage to sell even the most cliched dialogue. Zelda Rubinstein ("that lady from Sixteen Candles" as I will always know her) as the witch/fairy has great line delivery. Peter Weller is really charming, too. I can't remember the last time I saw him in a comedy...he should do more. Roy Dotrice was also well-cast as the father, and the daughters....well, they're mostly comic relief, but each one gets a moment or two and none of them are cringe-worthy. I also got a kick out of the fact that the princesses all look 30 yrs old. This might be the fault of their costumes, though: puffy, cotillion-esque dresses.

Peter Medak is the MVP here, IMO. His episodes seem less hammy, better put together, and there's a noticeable improvement to the acting when he's directing too. (Well, okay, there's still occasional overacting, but less than with other directors, it seems.) For years I knew Medak as the director of Romeo is Bleeding (ultra-violent hard noir) and then Homicide: Life on the Street (gritty cop show), so I experienced cognitive dissonance when I realized that he also directed a batch of these fairy tales. I'm still less surprised that he's directing Hannibal these days, for example. FYI, Medak directed Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Snow Queen, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Dancing Princesses.

So...I am watching Faerie Tale Theatre after discovering the DVDs at the library. I had watched some of them on PBS when I was a little kid, and I remembered loving them because they had that 'fractured fairy tale' aspect and were kinda strange. But, criminy, looking at them now as an adult, I realize that some episodes are nuts! And crackers! And other snack-food-related euphemisms! Some of it can be attributed to 80's TV being less politically correct about race and sex, but other times...at other times Vanessa Redgrave's wicked stepmother in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is talking to the prince, she says something about spending time together, and then leans over, opens her legs and strokes her thigh. That's crossing over from subtext to text. I doubt most kids would notice the innuendo, and it's a fleeting image, but moments like that are all over the series. And I've only watched half of it so far. (Exhibit B: The prince sucking pearls off Bernadette Peter's chest in Sleeping Beauty.) The biggest WTF in Snow White is actually the stepmother's giant, bushy nose-hair, though--seriously, I had to rewind just to make sure that I hadn't imagined it. And now it's an image I wish I could scrub out of my brain.

Mocking Wolverine's anime preferences--I'm pretty sure this is exactly why the Internet was invented. I can't stop picturing him watching Sailor Moon after reading that. Is Big Windup! the one with the encyclopedic explanation of pitching? If so, my reaction was the same as yours: I ignore sports animes, but it was so surprisingly mature and even educational--attempting to "coach" adolescents towards emotional intelligence--that I was impressed. And, wow, thanks for the news about a new Shinichiro Watanabe/Yoko Kanno series. From Terror in Resonance's description, I'm getting shades of Eden of the East and Serial Experiments Lain--both absolute favorites.

I didn't, though I never doubted that Eren was alive. And I've been calling the titan "8-Pack" after his abs. Interesting that the artwork was influenced by Goya's paintings.

I finally caught up on what's aired on Toonami--the first eight episodes. Unfortunately, I'm just not engaged by it so far. I keep thinking I should like Attack on Titan more, because in terms of themes and despair event horizons, it's solidly in my wheelhouse. I can objectively appreciate a lot about the show: the plot moves quickly--fine! The characters actually age--great! There are consequences and death--outstanding! I'm just...unmoved by the sobbing teenagers, even if its a symptom of survivor's guilt or the horrors of war. I expect I'll marathon another batch of episodes further down the line, because so far it doesn't hold my interest enough to watch weekly.

Saint Young Men sounds like it's right up my alley, so I'm adding it to my list of shows to look for. Thanks! Also a PTV how-to: Show Forums by Genre is in the works and there is an animation category. As of June 11, here's what's listed: Adventure Time | American Dad | Archer | Attack on Titan | Axe Cop | Batman: The Animated Series | Black Dynamite | Black Lagoon | Blue Exorcist | Bob's Burgers | The Boondocks | Chozen | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | Family Guy | The Flintstones | Futurama | Jem | Justice League | King Of The Hill | The Legend of Korra | Looney Tunes | Metalocalypse | Naruto: Shippuden | One Piece | Regular Show | Rick and Morty | Robot Chicken | Sailor Moon | The Simpsons | South Park | Star Trek: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | The Tom and Jerry Show | Total Drama | Triptank | The Venture Brothers | X-Men You can "follow" Show Forums by Genre and it'll be listed under your My Shows where it says "topics" . At least until PTV fully integrates the genre-sorting functionality. Hope this helps. Because I'm watching Black Lagoon currently, my first thought at this was " Well, they were probably afraid the bar would be destroyed in the gunfight between antiheroes".

On Friday: Wolf Children is outstanding. It's by the team that made The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars and is mature, philosophical and beautifully touching. Genre-wise, it's mostly a modern drama with a few supernatural details. Over the years, people have also recommended Space Adventure Cobra, Redline and Paranoia Agent to me. That AnimeNext has all 3 at once is kind've impressive. I wish I was going to the "Light, Spike, and Alucard Walk Into A Bar... How the Anti-Hero Works" panel, just 'cause I gravitate towards the noir bad boys.

This is a sequel to the Comparative Toons & Anime: What Are You Watching? thread on TWOP. I'm recreating it here, because the thread was invaluable for show recommendations, advance word on new cartoons or anime and comparative analysis. And because it was one of my favorite topics. So...here's a place to discuss the plethora of anime and toons available on DVD, streaming online, on demand, airing in Japan, showing on NickToons or Disney XD...you name it. Plus manga, cons, and Cartoon Network or Toonami news as it relates. When an anime is picked up by Toonami in 2-6 years after the DVD release, it can of course get its own forum. In the interim, let's consolidate the conversation here. I'll start. ------- I've been watching A Certain Magical Index on Funimation, and as of episode 14, I wouldn't recommend it. Initially I liked the characters and science vs. magic premise--it had me at "nun that bites"--but the execution is increasingly poor. There's so much exposition that I frequently just want characters to stop talking! There's so much exposition that hallways are exponentially longer on the way out of the building than on the way in, because characters need to infodump while running down the hallway. There's so much exposition...you get my point. I'm only still watching because I've heard that the sequel, A Certain Magical Scientific Railgun, is much better. I'm also watching Black Lagoon on Toonami, and I'm thinking of re-watching Hellsing when I get a moment. I've seen both before, and both are favorites.