Coming Down

[six_demon_bag]

Well, I'm returned from ACen and, for the first time since I was a little kid, I'm not happy to be back after being away from home for a day or longer. It was a great time and I'm very much looking forward to ACen 2012. I'll try to share details and pics later and now I've got to get some sleep. Here's a little something that's hitting the spot

Comments

[six_demon_bag]

Haha exactly. I don't mind some panty shots and big, jiggling breasts in anime IF the story is entertaining and the humor doesn't rely on it. There's no arguing that fan service is part of anime in general, but there's still such a thing as too much. Like one film I rented several years ago, Labyrinth of Flames. It looked entertaining, but there was so much fan service, that the anything worthwhile was completely lost. It seemed that every action was made simply to result in more fan service.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about Miyazaki films. I really do like his films in general and I LOVE a couple of them, but the theme gets repetitive. I'm glad Porco Rosso at least didn't fall into that category.

I've only seen a few random episodes of Bleach, so I can't REALLY judge it first hand, but my anime loving friend, Kris, has seen much more and says it doesn't get any better. I love some anime series which focus on a completely a bad ass character the likes of which young boys would dream of being like, but there has to be something else to hold my interest. It reminds me of a commercial I saw for a fighting video game a year or two ago, in which one character being choked from behind by another until he stuck his own sword through his side into the choker. I couldn't help rolling my eyes because I saw it coming and it didn't seem very creative. ANYWAY. /rant

Hahahaha Haruhi Suzumiya is one of my very, very favorite animes. No joke. I recommend it to a lot of people. It might even very well be my FAVORITE. Annoying as her character can be -- some of the obnoxious and self centered things she does seriously make me grind my teeth -- I still found it amusing and creative all in all. I love the story and the way it jumps around in non-chronological order if you watch it in the order it was aired in Japan (the American release changed the order for some stupid reason). It's one of the most unique series I've seen. But, from what you said, it sounds like that wouldn't have changed the way you feel about it anyway. So the only anime you hate is one of my very favorites. Haha I'm okay with that and I'll keep this in mind when recommending things to you in the future. : )

Speaking of which, have you seen Kino's Journey? I think I might have mentioned it to you at some point in the past, but I'm not sure. Kino is traveling across the fantastical world with the intent of spending enough time in each weird little country to get a feel for their culture and whatnot. It's really interesting and strange, but also a little slow, so I'm not sure how much you'd like it. The main character isn't a selfish bitch though, so it at least has that going for it. : )

[daylight_broke]

LOL, I'm laughing at the strange coincidence that my least favorite anime series, Haruhi, is one of your favorites. I've only seen the first 7 episodes of the first season in non-chronological order, so my opinion of the series may change after watching all the first season episodes + the second season which includes the notorious "Endless Eight" episodes.

I forgot to mention in my earlier comment that I did see the movie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, and I did like that movie. Since the movie required knowledge of the events in seasons one and two of the anime series, I went ahead and read a spoiler summary of the anime series before watching the movie. I think one of the reasons I liked that movie was because I wasn't busy yelling, "Dammit! Suzumiya, STOP MOLESTING ASAHINA'S BREASTS!" Yeah, I remember yelling that a lot in annoyance while watching the series which put me in a bad mood.

Now I'm curious to see Labyrinth of Flames because I want to compare the level of fan service in that movie versus the extreme, ridiculous level in Highschool of the Dead.

Getting stabbed by a sword-toting person you're choking is an example of the trope "Too Dumb to Live." I agree with your rant.

Nope, I've never seen Kino's Journey. This is the first time you've mentioned the title to me. LOL, describing a show with no selfish bitch as the main character is an automatic win. I'll watch it this week! :D

[six_demon_bag]

Haha yeah, the "Endless Eight" is something you only need to watch all the way through once. I know what you mean about getting sick of yelling at Haruhi to stop molesting Asahina's breasts. What I think made it tolerable for me in the end was that it was in a very obviously non sexual manner and simply part of Haruhi's utter shamelessness, which I came to find entertaining and respect. She'll do what she has to do and use any dirty trick in the book to get what she wants (dressing herself and Asahina up in sexy bunny outfits to draw attention to their club, blackmail photos with the computer president guy, etc) and I find it amusing how she does so without the slightest weight on her conscience.

I have no idea how Labyrinth of Flames will stack up to High School of the Dead and, since it was years ago, it may not be as fan service-y as I'm remembering it, but I'm still sure it's a little overboard.

Haha Awesome! I thought I'd keep the description of Kino's Journey short and put it into terms I thought you could appreciate. : ) Hmmm...any recommendations for me?

[daylight_broke]

Hmmm ... anime series to recommend to you. Ah, if you're in the mood to see something experimental and playful, you may possibly enjoy the series The Tatami Galaxy. There's only 11 episodes; I'm currently watching episode 7. And so far, I love it because it amuses me.

This series reminds me of the movie Groundhog Dog (1993) with Bill Murray. Each episode repeats the same pattern of events: A university student joins a campus club and unexpected things happen. At the end of each episode, the events you just saw in the episode rewind backward in time to the beginning to start all over again in the next episode. To keep myself sane while watching The Tatami Galaxy, it's helpful for me to pretend the episodes exist in alternate universes with the same cast of characters and almost-the-same dialogue.

I've been watching the episodes over at Hulu.

But if you're curious about seeing the first episode, here's a youtube link (sorry, embedding's disabled): The Tatami Galaxy - Episode 1 (Duration: 23 mins)

PS. Please don't feel like you must see all the episodes. If you like it, that's cool. If you don't like it, that's cool too. There's no pressure coming from me.

[six_demon_bag]

Excellent! I've never heard of that show and I'm very much looking forward to checking it out. And I love Groundhog Day! (speaking of that, the aforementioned "Endless Eight" in Haruhi Season 2 is a bit of a play on that concept as well). : )

[daylight_broke]

I remember reading a random youtube comment about how a Haruhi fan wanted to rip his own dick off in frustration and anger after seeing the "Endless Eight" episodes. I don't know why, but that comment made me laugh so hard. I'm guessing a lot of fans felt the same way about the "Endless Eight" episodes.

[six_demon_bag]

Hahaha I'm not surprised someone would feel that way and I'm sure plenty of fans do. I have to admire the writer/director for having the balls to inflict the "Endless Eight" upon their fans.

Did you ever watch Space Ghost Coast to Coast? It reminds me of an episode of that show in which Space Ghost sees an ant crawling across his studio floor right at the beginning and spends the entire episode quietly following the ant to see where it goes. Again, it was a bit torturous, but I have to admire them for going for it. : )

[daylight_broke]

Haha, when you say the words "inflict ... upon their fans," it sounds like a bad thing.

Nah, mi amigo, I've never seen Space Ghost Coast to Coast. LOL WUT, an episode entirely dedicated to watching an ant crawling from one spot to another?! That sounds crazy. Remember that episode of Cromartie High School when the boys spent the entire episode humming some random song and trying to figure out the title of the song? That episode made me LOL and say WTF. I love absurd humor.

[six_demon_bag]

Haha it kind of is a bad thing, in that it's something you only need to see once all the way through -- after that, you're perfectly fine just watching the first and last episode of the "Endless Eight". And there is a story to it, so it's not completely without purpose.

Aaah, Space Ghost was funny stuff. It was around before Cartoon Network's Adult Swim was born, but it was part of Adult Swim in its early days.

YES! The humming episode of Cromartie High is another great example!

[daylight_broke]

Looks like I'll have to check out Space Ghost in the future! Thank you for the rec! :D

[six_demon_bag]

Welcome! I have the first season on DVD and I'd totally let you borrow it. Just swing on by and pick it up. ; ) For real, it does have some weak episodes like any series, but there's some seriously classic stuff, too. I think you'd enjoy it.