Do you consider the Chimera Ant arc from Hunter x Hunter as one of the best things anime has brought to us ? Like let's say Evangelion or Masaaki Yuasa's shows.
Yep. Definitely on that level.
Ask @B0bduh
Previous
I guess you don't have the time anymore to dissect Alderamin's subtext like you did Mahouka do you Bob?
I'm not really sure how Alderamin would reward a close read in the way Mahouka did.
Do you think Gon/Killua will show up for the Dark Continent arc? What do you think of the decision not to (possibly) include them?
I think it'd be a fine idea for the arc to largely leave them out. Gon and Killua's individual growth and combined relationship came to something of a peak in Chimera Ant, where Gon was basically consumed by his single-mindedness while Killua triumphed by embracing the emotional lessons Gon had taught him. That arc was the climax to an entire series' worth of emotional development, and it seems like a fine idea to cut away from them for a while as they each deal with that in their own way.
Liked by:
GJ Corban
Student no.0
Eelz
Another Bystander
Yogshi
Related users
Are there any bands that you used to love, but no longer even like? If so, which ones and why?
There are songs that I used to like before I was really engaged with music at all, but I'm not sure those count. I was big into indie rock even back in high school, so most of my favorites from then hold up very well. I don't really listen to Built to Spill or early Weezer much anymore, but those are still good stuff.
Liked by:
Reka Gatz
Do you go to bars often?
Basically never. They don't appeal to me at all - I'd rather drink more affordably with friends in the comfort of my own home.
Liked by:
Eelz
Another Bystander
Hey Bob--do you have a favorite Modest Mouse album?
It's probably Long Drive. I think Moon and Antarctica is probably a more impressive and diverse collection of songs, but I just absolutely love how Long Drive builds as a concept album. And Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset into Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds feels like the most succinct summation of Modest Mouse's early concerns imaginable. Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds in particular is one of my absolute favorite songs - after an entire album of lamenting the strip mall slayer of the west, one last country song is literally consumed by the wordless, mechanical lament of a capitalist death rattle. It's such a powerful image and so clear in sound - like a tide of metal is sweeping over the tundra, and now even the birds can only sing in electric noise.
Liked by:
Robert Hopper
Eelz
Do you already know which show you will be covering for the Weekly Review or are you still waiting for Mob Psycho for it be decided? In any cases, which shows do you know you will be watching (please say ReLife)?
That won't be decided until after the reader poll goes up. Personally, I'm probably sticking with Thunderbolt Fantasy, sweetness & lightning, Love Live, Orange, Planetarian, and ReLIFE, and probably giving another couple episodes to 91 Days and maybe Regalia. Battery and Mob Psycho 100 also haven't premiered yet, and I expect the two of them to fall into those two categories respectively.
Liked by:
Aluido
GJ Corban
Caramichael
Why do you think Urobuchi is such a polarizing writer?
Because he's well-known, has a distinctive authorial voice, and has contributed to several famous shows. That's pretty much all it takes for a creator to inspire strong feelings in a variety of directions - a given creator's specific qualities are less relevant to this phenomenon than their level of exposure.
What do you think of Buchi's intense puppet action theater hour?
Really enjoyed it. I think the JoJo comparison is pretty apt, in that it has the same kind of action energy veering into camp that characterized Phantom Blood.
Liked by:
Eelz
GJ Corban
Another Bystander
What did you think of the first episode of Amanchu?
I wrote it up for the preview guide:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2016/summer/amanchu/.104089
Overall I felt it was a fine version of what it's trying to do, but not really my thing.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2016/summer/amanchu/.104089
Overall I felt it was a fine version of what it's trying to do, but not really my thing.
Liked by:
GJ Corban
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJSXEsoT-ZI Have you seen yet? Thoughts about confirmation that it'll adapt the entire manga via the scenes it shows? Thoughts about anything and everything shown and not shown in this trailer? Early 2017 JP BD release can't come fast enough....
It looks gorgeous. As I've said before, I think there's easily enough skippable material in the manga that it could be adapted into a single film very gracefully, and if anyone can do that, Yamada can. I really liked the music here, and the film has definitely captured the appealing looseness of the manga's character designs. Everything looks wonderful so far, and I'm really, really, reaaaally hoping this one somehow gets a limited theatrical screening over here.
Liked by:
GJ Corban
I've been watching im@s CG S2 and it has been a lot more interesting than S1, a lot of subtleties added to the character behaviors in response to the situations and strong messages on overcoming them, how does the original series fare in this regard?
The original im@s is a bit less focused on ongoing and very personal character dramas - it's more of a collection of individual episodic sketches, with a shorter central arc at the end. But those episodic sketches are generally very high quality, so it's also compelling in its own way.
Why do you have to hold a pity party here every time the ANN forums disagree with you? Not everyone will agree with you all the time, and sometimes they'll think your arguments don't hold up and explain why. It's not always "mean" or indicative of them "not getting what criticism is."
I responded to two supportive comments. I really appreciate hearing supportive thoughts from readers, and can get pretty exhausted by deeply personal/insulting comments. I try to respond to nice comments where I can, because they are one of the best parts of this job (and if I haven't responded to your comment, please be assured I have read it and do appreciate it). If any of that is frustrating to you, you don't have to follow me on whatever platform you find frustrating.
Liked by:
Eelz
Robert Hopper
Amin Fozi
Colton King
Rm
GJ Corban
Xythar
"It is a whole lot easier to assume everyone who disagrees with you is stupid, monstrous, or faking than it is to accept you only possess one perspective among many potentially valid ones" I like your stuff Nick, but can't help but notice the irony here, given the nature of your more political posts
Believe me, no one is more confident I'm wrong about lots of stuff than I am. Life is a process of being wrong about progressively more exciting things.
Is there a certain point where something stops being a story where justice and righteousness prevails and becomes one where the main characters always succeed because the writers or whomever need it to be that way? Or is there a lot of overlap due to the way things are?
I think the relevant dramatic question here is "do the ultimate triumphs of the heroes feel earned/satisfying?" And that's a question that incorporates overall themes and dramatic stakes along with the internal variables and execution of many individual scenes. There's no specific line to be crossed here, but there are many angles from which to discuss why a story feels dramatically/thematically satisfying or not.
Liked by:
Cody Russell
Eelz
Shahzeb Mangi
Another Bystander
Senpai, why do you think Love Live is so much hated among the anime community ?
Is it? I don't actually see that much of that, but I don't hang around on random forums or whatnot. But I guess as a representative of "moe anime" in general, it's probably hated because people have a silly tendency to blame shows they're not interested in for stealing "potential anime slots" from the shows they like.
In light of stupid ANN forum jerks being stupid and jerks, I just wanted to say that your writing is consistently insightful and has helped mold the way I think about stories. You're great, keep it up. Oh right this is supposed to be a question, um um what's your favorite ice cream
Thank you! Honestly, the forum reaction actually ended up being mostly positive - it's really just the first responders who got angry, and that's not surprising, since implying someone "didn't get" something is one of the quickest ways to make them mad. But at this point, many of the commenters are actually discussing how the show's comedy interacted with its narrative, and whether it was successful in having it both ways, which is a much more relevant and interesting conversation. "Loving versus searing satire" could be a whole article topic unto itself.
And chocolate chip, to answer your question.
And chocolate chip, to answer your question.
Wow Nick, you've got people in the ANN forums calling you a "hipster" who "plays the elitist" by pretending to have "a sharper eye" than the rest of us. Do these people even read what you write?!
They read what they want to read. It is a whole lot easier to assume everyone who disagrees with you is stupid, monstrous, or faking than it is to accept you only possess one perspective among many potentially valid ones.
Liked by:
Eelz
Nathan Raatz
DIGITAL@MUGI
GJ Corban
Another Bystander
Do you listen to Radiohead?
Yep. Haven't checked out their newest album yet, though. I've been bad about picking up new music recently.
are there any more obscure Mountain Goats songs that you really love (by which I mean songs not on their primary album releases)?
I assume by "any more" you mean beyond You Were Cool, which is the obvious answer. Here's another of my favorite of his smaller songs:
https://youtu.be/NGjSDLkm87s
https://youtu.be/NGjSDLkm87s
why bobduh?,as in the name, what does it mean?
It doesn't mean anything. I came up with it when I was twelve. I just kept using it as my handle in games and forums and then suddenly I was an internet person.
Liked by:
Robert Hopper
GJ Corban
Read your Mayoiga article. Great job! Would you agree that Mayoiga was THE comedy of last season, or did Sakamoto top it? (Not sure if you watched it)
I just watched the first episode of Sakamoto, which was reasonable at what it does, but not really my thing. I actually can't think of another anime comedy I've enjoyed as consistently as Mayoiga, so it definitely gets the pick from me.
I just finished binging ReLife, and can confirm it's good, in a very "you" kind of way. I hope ANN does weeklies of it and assigns them to you! Also, can you believe it's been a whole year since MonMusu?!
Yeah, I was actually kinda sad to see it all go up at once, since I think that means we won't be covering it weekly. And MomMusu will always be with us as long as we keep it in our hearts.
Liked by:
Rose Bridges
Another Bystander
GJ Corban
Eelz
Ignisalge
have or are you going to be watching any of SGDQ this year?
I haven't yet, but I definitely will. I generally catch up on the games I meant to watch afterwards.
excellent article about mayoiga. absolutely unrelated (well maybe not) question ; do you have any favorite discworld novels or characters ?
Glad you enjoyed it! I think my favorite discworld novels are The Truth and Thief of Time. Not sure I have a favorite character, though I really enjoyed the Moist books overall. Vetinari is also great.
Next