The Anime Thread

[Monoriu]

Psycho Pass the Movie.  In the distant future, Japan is ruled by the Sybil system that assigns a psycho pass rating to every resident.  The rating is based on tendency to commit crimes, psychological balance, stress levels etc.  Those who are considered too dangerous to society are sent to correctional facilities.  As a result, society is now largely crime-free, and everybody gets jobs assigned by the system.  The protagonists are the police enforcers, who are authorised to kill potential criminals on sight.  The movie is a sequel to season 2.  Japan now begins to export the Sybil system to a South-east Asian country embroiled in a civil war between the government and guerilla rebels.  Japanese police are sent to investigate when there are suspicions that the rebels send terrorists to Japan. 

The good:

This is a big budget production done right.  It is visually stunning, right there with the best in Japanese animation.  The fight scenes are breath-taking.

The story and the execution are good.  I was glued to the monitor for two hours.  Gen Urobuchi once again delivers an interesting and thought-provoking tale.  The two TV seasons are about rebellions against the Sybil system.  This is about what happens when the system falls into the wrong hands. 

[spoiler]Kogami, the badass inspector from season 1, makes a return after his season 2 absence. [/spoiler]

The not-so-good:

It is a standalone movie, meaning nothing in the movie has long-term implications on the entire setting, unlike the two TV seasons.  In the end, there is a straight-forward solution to a straight-forward problem.  The most fundamental conflict in the show is not really explored and any resolution is once again postponed.  The flip side is that further sequels are likely. 

The villains are not as deep or memorable as their TV season counterparts.

Overall, it is a highly enjoyable work that is a valuable addition to the franchise. 

[Monoriu]

Mistakes in anime are, unfortunately, not that uncommon.  Tight deadlines, insufficient budget, frequent changes in the storyboards, irresponsible subcontractors, overworked staff, concentration of resources on important episodes (opening, conclusion, major fights, plot twist episodes) at the expense of fillers etc all contribute to the problem.  Some mistakes are innocent, like drawing six fingers on a hand.  Many are not mistakes per se, but simply horrible quality.  Some are downright wrong, like incorrect proportions.  I've seen an aired screenshot of Naruto missing his head.  That's why it is usually preferable to watch the BDrips instead of the TVrips, as these mistakes are often corrected subsequently.

Here is a video showing some of the mistakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KYqUsIP7to

[Ideologue]

Mistakes in anime are, unfortunately, not that uncommon.  Tight deadlines, insufficient budget, frequent changes in the storyboards, irresponsible subcontractors, overworked staff, concentration of resources on important episodes (opening, conclusion, major fights, plot twist episodes) at the expense of fillers etc all contribute to the problem.  Some mistakes are innocent, like drawing six fingers on a hand.  Many are not mistakes per se, but simply horrible quality.  Some are downright wrong, like incorrect proportions.  I've seen an aired screenshot of Naruto missing his head.  That's why it is usually preferable to watch the BDrips instead of the TVrips, as these mistakes are often corrected subsequently.

Here is a video showing some of the mistakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KYqUsIP7to

Well that was fun and terrifying.

[Syt]

I thought about posting this in the games forum, but I find it's a better fit here.

Supercharged Robot VULKAISER is a bog standard bullet hell shmup, but where it shines is its presentation: it's styled like a 1970s giant robot anime, and each level is an episode.

Promo trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlGceWI695s
Gameplay trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nnF9TrnNQ0

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oRPz7z_c24

Similarities iwth Voltron and the likes is purely incidental, I think.

[Savonarola]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica:  Rebellion

All the girls are back in what (like the series) starts off as a typical magical girl story.  Then things start getting weird and then there's exposition, a lot of exposition. Even with all the exposition I think this would be incredibly confusing for someone who wasn't familiar with the series.  Having seen the series I thought it was way too much talk, way too little rock.  The ending is twisted; but it's not worth the effort to get there.

[Monoriu]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica:  Rebellion

All the girls are back in what (like the series) starts off as a typical magical girl story.  Then things start getting weird and then there's exposition, a lot of exposition. Even with all the exposition I think this would be incredibly confusing for someone who wasn't familiar with the series.  Having seen the series I thought it was way too much talk, way too little rock.  The ending is twisted; but it's not worth the effort to get there.

I watched the original series at least 5 times, but I needed to watch the movie twice to get what's going on.  It is difficult to understand.  There should be huge warning signs somewhere that this movie should not be viewed by someone who has not seen the TV series or the previous two movies. 

I have a major complaint with the movie.  I consider what Homura did an ass pull, nothing more, nothing less.  Fans have come up with 10-step complex theories on the how.  But I don't buy them.  The movie failed to suspend disbelief on that point. 

But other than that I am very happy with the movie myself.  I thought it would be hard for Shaft to come up with a worthy sequel for the series, but they did it.  It had similar levels of impact as the series.  It dared to go somewhere new and unexpected. 

[Monoriu]

Noragami, literally, stray god.  This is a world where all Japanese gods exist and all myths are true.  The strength of a god depends on the number of worshippers, so the god that supposedly grants good grades is one of the richest and most powerful gods.  Yato is a penniless deity who dreams of building a great shrine for himself, but in reality is reduced to writing his mobile phone number in toilets to sell his services of doing odd jobs (like finding stray cats) for five yen.  The mental picture of a destitute deity working his way to material wealth five yen at a time is extremely enticing to me



(that only happens in a dream)

This is a reasonably good action adventure with an interesting setting.  The tone flip-flops between light and comedic to dark and serious at the drop of a hat.  There is obviously a rich world of interesting characters and backstories.  Each god is supposed to have at least one shinki that is part follower, part weapon.  The shinkis have personalities of their own and may even leave their masters if they feel they can get better pay elsewhere.  Yato's dark past keeps catching up to him.  Even though he is mostly doing honest work, different gods with their own shinki often appear out of no where to mess with him.

12 episodes plus 2 OVA episodes are no where near enough screen time to build the story.  The show is a good start, but there is a feeling that it has yet to reach the meat of the real story.  Thankfully, a second season is in the works, and is scheduled for broadcast in October 2015. 

[Josquius]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica:  Rebellion

All the girls are back in what (like the series) starts off as a typical magical girl story.  Then things start getting weird and then there's exposition, a lot of exposition. Even with all the exposition I think this would be incredibly confusing for someone who wasn't familiar with the series.  Having seen the series I thought it was way too much talk, way too little rock.  The ending is twisted; but it's not worth the effort to get there.

I just watched it. And yes. Agreed.
That film sucked.

[Malthus]

Heh Mono I was thinking of you when I saw the movie Leon: The Professional.

Not Anime, but it contains a bizzare, difficult to describe, messed-up relationship between a 12 year old girl (Natalie Portman in her first role) and an aging hitman that definitely pushes the boundaries of what would be acceptable to portray in North America. So much so that some 25 minutes were originally cut from the movie for the US release! (See the longer 'international' version). One of the cut scenes is perhaps one of the best scenes I have seen using a child actress - 'I win Love or Death'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxEVIpoue0E

Artistically, it is done very well, I thought. Well worth seeing.

[Monoriu]

Heh Mono I was thinking of you when I saw the movie Leon: The Professional.

Not Anime, but it contains a bizzare, difficult to describe, messed-up relationship between a 12 year old girl (Natalie Portman in her first role) and an aging hitman that definitely pushes the boundaries of what would be acceptable to portray in North America. So much so that some 25 minutes were originally cut from the movie for the US release! (See the longer 'international' version). One of the cut scenes is perhaps one of the best scenes I have seen using a child actress - 'I win Love or Death'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxEVIpoue0E

Artistically, it is done very well, I thought. Well worth seeing.

Thanks for the recommendation but, why did you think of me when you watched it? 

[Monoriu]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica:  Rebellion

All the girls are back in what (like the series) starts off as a typical magical girl story.  Then things start getting weird and then there's exposition, a lot of exposition. Even with all the exposition I think this would be incredibly confusing for someone who wasn't familiar with the series.  Having seen the series I thought it was way too much talk, way too little rock.  The ending is twisted; but it's not worth the effort to get there.

I just watched it. And yes. Agreed.
That film sucked.

Too bad you didn't like it though.  I bought two tickets for the movie.  First time I saw it I was a little bit confused and wasn't entirely happy with the turns and twists.  The second viewing cleared it up for me and I thought it was one of the best anime movies ever.  The BD release changed a lot of scenes and made it even more visually impressive (no changes to the dialogue or plot). 

But that's all there is to see under the Madoka franchise.  Despite the billions they are earning in merchandising revenue, there is no hint for any further sequels.  Shaft is busy with the Monogatari series and Nisekoi.  Gen Urobuchi has said that he has run out of ideas, and the producers need to bring in new writers if there is a sequel. 

[Malthus]

Thanks for the recommendation but, why did you think of me when you watched it? 

Because we debated this very issue - what is acceptable to portray in North America re: sexualization of young girls.

In this movie, the girl is very young (the actress was 12 or so) and throughout the whole movie, she's clearly portrayed as being 'in love' with her adult hitman friend, much to his dismay at times.

In the "international release", she outright propositions him for sex (he turns her down). This was cut from the NA release. Though in this case, though, I thought in the context of the movie the relationship made sense & was not intended to be purient - I would recommend seeing the uncut version. So in a sense, I am conceding to you a point. 

Anyway, it is well worth seeing, as it is a very good movie, transcending the usual action genre. 

[Lettow77]

 
Little Princess Sara



Based on the novel The Little Princess, this is part of the masterpiece theatre series, and one of the better ones. It is a far more faithful adaptation than the American film, and is a good drama. It is a bit long at 45 episodes, but takes the story on in a thorough and relaxing way.

Crucially, Sara and Becky come off as much cuter than their literary counterparts, especially Becky, who benefits doubly from a pleasant conception of a maid's uniform and a much stronger grasp on grammar and speech. Ram Dass and the exotic orientalism in general take a hit compared to the book, as Japanese lack the tone for a pleasingly obsequetious and mysterious Sahib'ing manservant. Ram Dass even has a bit of a racelift, looking an sounding like all the other characters save for a minor an and a turban on his head.

It is unfortunate we can't have the best of both worlds, with more proper and adorable little girls as well as proper and adorable colonial manservants, but on the balance the first is probably more important. 

[Monoriu]

I watched Tom Sawyer's Adventures of the World Masterpiece Theatre as a kid, and absolutely loved it.  I haven't tried, but I imagine that these old anime series will be difficult to get.  Would love to be proven wrong though.

[Syt]

Their Heidi was hugely popular when I was little. It's generally considered one of the best adaptations of the book. I've watched a few other shows of the series (Polyanna, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, A Dog of Flanders, Rascal the Raccoon, ...) and they were all pretty enjoyable. A good way to introduce kids to literature classics if they can't be bothered to read old books. I'm sure a fair few of them run on kids' channels these days.

Not part of the series, but Nils Holgersson was also a favorite of mine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Adventures_of_Nils_(anime)