Anime: food for the soul. No, really.
The (possible) first episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya made me laugh until actual tears came out. It's so insightful that it's almost realistic, but also really damn strange, and the effect was to throw the entire audience into a gaping-mouthed, baffled cycle of hilarity. If anyone wants to watch it, though, it's best to watch at least the so-called second and third episodes first (the entire series is purposefully out of order), or you're likely to think you took some of the bad crack.
Bless the little cotton socks of the Anime Club. First week of term was made a bit better by that - or maybe I'm thinking so because it's over. Weekend!
On a related note, I need to babble about YGO's Doom Arc, because I keep seeing people complain about Mai's characterisation, and I keep thinking it makes sense.
One of my problems with mangaverse YGO is the disappearance of Mai. She was more a part of the gang than, say, Kaijiki or Haga, because she had that bond with Jounouchi and spent time with all of them in Duellist Kingdom. During Battle City she spent days experiencing psychological torture and afterward appeared to be fine (which strikes me as unlikely at the least), even playing a joke on Jounouchi. Then she essentially goes poof.
Sometimes I think Takahashi intended to show that Mai would act flippant and leave serious problems behind/deal with them by herself. Since the manga is about friendship and I think he likes to show all kinds of friendships, it could be said that he wanted to show that you can have a good friend, but sometimes they refuse to let you in. When I'm feeling less charitable, I think he didn't have the patience to do more with her. Egypt Arc was looming. :P
I'm glad that the anime shows Mai as screwed up by what Marik's dark side did to her, because it means she's not only the Battle City damsel in distress, but a character in her own right. Besides, she's mixed up with the Orichalcos - the thing that brings out whatever darkness is within people. It's logical that she goes that step from somewhat disturbed to special!crazy.
And I love her new voice actor. The voice sounds a little weird, but there's nuanced acting there - she sounds like she's wavering dangerously between staying tough and breaking down, especially during the episode where she talks to Valon and he proves he's cool by beating Duke and Rebecca. (Valon, by the by, is a bit of an obsessive loser and I like him so. ♥ He and Mai slept together at least once. This is the canon in my head.)
Aside from all that ... I'd like it if this arc could be like normal YGO and stay endearingly ridiculous. Most of the time it's plain stupid.
Bless the little cotton socks of the Anime Club. First week of term was made a bit better by that - or maybe I'm thinking so because it's over. Weekend!
On a related note, I need to babble about YGO's Doom Arc, because I keep seeing people complain about Mai's characterisation, and I keep thinking it makes sense.
One of my problems with mangaverse YGO is the disappearance of Mai. She was more a part of the gang than, say, Kaijiki or Haga, because she had that bond with Jounouchi and spent time with all of them in Duellist Kingdom. During Battle City she spent days experiencing psychological torture and afterward appeared to be fine (which strikes me as unlikely at the least), even playing a joke on Jounouchi. Then she essentially goes poof.
Sometimes I think Takahashi intended to show that Mai would act flippant and leave serious problems behind/deal with them by herself. Since the manga is about friendship and I think he likes to show all kinds of friendships, it could be said that he wanted to show that you can have a good friend, but sometimes they refuse to let you in. When I'm feeling less charitable, I think he didn't have the patience to do more with her. Egypt Arc was looming. :P
I'm glad that the anime shows Mai as screwed up by what Marik's dark side did to her, because it means she's not only the Battle City damsel in distress, but a character in her own right. Besides, she's mixed up with the Orichalcos - the thing that brings out whatever darkness is within people. It's logical that she goes that step from somewhat disturbed to special!crazy.
And I love her new voice actor. The voice sounds a little weird, but there's nuanced acting there - she sounds like she's wavering dangerously between staying tough and breaking down, especially during the episode where she talks to Valon and he proves he's cool by beating Duke and Rebecca. (Valon, by the by, is a bit of an obsessive loser and I like him so. ♥ He and Mai slept together at least once. This is the canon in my head.)
Aside from all that ... I'd like it if this arc could be like normal YGO and stay endearingly ridiculous. Most of the time it's plain stupid.