So you didn't like the Wheel of Time?
Not really, no. I started off enjoying it well enough, but it was never great, and it got really bad as it went along.
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What are your thoughts on Cave Story?
One of my favorite games! The core gameplay is simple but endlessly engaging ("Mario simple," basically), and the visual aesthetic, soundtrack, and story all work perfectly together. It's a wonderful little thing.
And man, that hell level is merciless.
And man, that hell level is merciless.
"Interactive media has the potential to create tremendously powerful art experiences - the fact that the medium hasn't /yet/ realized all its potential doesn't mean that potential isn't there." Says the guy who deemed gamers to be psychopaths.
I know, right?
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Do you recommend shows you dislike/hate to friends you know might like them?
If I strongly dislike a show, that generally means I think it fails at whatever it's trying to do, but I'll definitely recommend shows that aren't my kind of thing to people who'd be more interested in them.
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Rose Bridges
Am I the only one who thinks Mari is the best Evangelion girl ?
Yes.
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Rose Bridges
In regards to video games being art, this guy had different way of thinking about it that I thought was interesting. http://ask.fm/tamerlane420/answer/115856228830
That is an incredibly, incredibly limited view of what videogames can do! That's basically just "videogames should be like sports, videogames that attempt to leverage the medium for emotional gain are doing it wrong." Interactive media has the potential to create tremendously powerful art experiences - the fact that the medium hasn't /yet/ realized all its potential doesn't mean that potential isn't there.
"You can probably guess which of those I think carries more weight." I guess it is: "I can understand what would lead this character to these actions, therefore I sympathize with them". If it is, why do you think it carries more weight?
Because that's how you build a character that connects to people in a broad, universal way. Like, say, Naota from FLCL - many of his actions are petty and "frustrating" from a "that's not a good thing to do" perspective, but they all come from a clearly definable human place. He is understandable as a person all by himself, thus people who don't necessarily agree with his overt actions can still sympathize with him.
In contrast, a character who has no defined fundamental humanity will pretty much only strongly appeal to people who both agree with that character's overt actions and don't care about that lack of character depth. If a character is well-written, you can sympathize with them even if you disagree with them - if they're poorly written, you can only really sympathize with them if you agree with them, and even then only if you don't mind that they're a shallow character.
Also, the contrast I set up was even more extreme - judging whether a character is a good /character/ or not based on whether they adhere to your idea of "right action" is nonsense. Many of the best characters perform terrible actions that are still reflective of their understandable human nature.
In contrast, a character who has no defined fundamental humanity will pretty much only strongly appeal to people who both agree with that character's overt actions and don't care about that lack of character depth. If a character is well-written, you can sympathize with them even if you disagree with them - if they're poorly written, you can only really sympathize with them if you agree with them, and even then only if you don't mind that they're a shallow character.
Also, the contrast I set up was even more extreme - judging whether a character is a good /character/ or not based on whether they adhere to your idea of "right action" is nonsense. Many of the best characters perform terrible actions that are still reflective of their understandable human nature.
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Rose Bridges
Is MGS the SAO of video games?
No, SAO is the videogames of anime.
Do you think video games can be art?
Yes. I mean, they already are. I don't think many of them are particularly /good/ art, but they're art nonetheless.
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Rose Bridges
One thing I see a lot of people do is that they judge characters only based on 1) How much they contribute to the plot 2) How strong they are as people 3) How easy it is to sympathize with them. What do you think of this?
These all seem like kinda different cases - the first one makes me think of someone who's only parsing a show on a plot level trying to be critical, the second one is often how people looking for escapism/power fantasies tend to evaluate shows, and the third can stretch from "this character's a jerk, therefore a bad character" to "I can understand what would lead this character to these actions, therefore I sympathize with them." You can probably guess which of those I think carries more weight.
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Rose Bridges
Even though I completely agree about Kojima's lack of subtlety, do you have utter doubt in his ability as a creator to do anything other than Metal Gear? He seems to be pretty good at general craft stuff and he's frequently said he wants to get away from the franchise. Maybe hes got some more ideas?
Maybe, but I disagree on the "general craft stuff," and MGS is so friggin' indulgent that I imagine anything else he touches would seem kinda reminiscent of MGS.
Will you check out Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete next season? Looks like the script writer did/helped with the script for Kino's Journey and Cowboy Bebop and series comp for Natsume's Book of Friends and Knights of Sidonia.
I had no previous interest in it and the premise looks the opposite of interesting, but that is certainly a strong resume. Maybe I'll check out the first episode.
As an anime blogger, you (generally) claim a position of authority about anime. What are areas of anime that you feel you are still learning about?
All of them.
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Why Nanami over Utena?
Because Nanami's less strong, I guess? Utena's actually so confident in herself that she's kind of oblivious to the awful games everyone around her feels like they have to play - Nanami is the absolute opposite, and can only feel strong in the context of her mastery of society's games. She feels like only her ability to win socially keeps her on equal footing with other characters who seem to just shine without effort - she's essentially a side character who's clawed her way into main character status through will alone. I really empathize with Nanami.
There's actually a section all about Nanami within my larger Utena essay:
http://wrongeverytime.com/2014/02/17/performance-identity-eternity-revolutionary-girl-utena/
There's actually a section all about Nanami within my larger Utena essay:
http://wrongeverytime.com/2014/02/17/performance-identity-eternity-revolutionary-girl-utena/
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Mel
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Regulus Tera
Best books about anime that you've read?
The only books about anime I've read are two of Clements' books - Schoolgirl Milky Crisis and Anime: A History. Along with Manga: A Complete Guide, I guess. Of those, Anime: A History is kind of the best by default, and a very interesting read in general.
Bobduh, I just want to let you know that I'll keep reading your thoughts on anime even when the robot takeover makes us all worthless. :D
I appreciate that, inefficient human friend.
Most difficult book you read for school?
If by "difficult" you mean "impenetrable," then it'd probably just be T. S. Elliot's The Wasteland, which is nearly meaningless if you haven't read exactly all the books and poems Elliot has. I also read a bunch of Old English books for various classes, which weren't the easiest.
So... did you ever get around to Haibane Renmei?
Once I finish FMA! Only 15.5 episodes to go.
Will you watch Berserk? You've mentioned that you love the ideas of human compassion in a cruel world and broken people unintentionally hurting each other, and despite it's ultra violence Berserk is all about those.
It's on my list, so yeah, at some point. Ultraviolence is honestly a pretty serious turnoff for me, but it's certainly an acclaimed show.
How would you try to appeal to Dio's humanity?
Hahahaha.
Is there a way to search your answers to see if you've already answered a question?
No. Ask.fm has a horrible, horrible interface.
Thoughts on Hunter x Hunter 2011 being replaced by Parasyte?
What? Do you mean because HxH's about to go on hiatus and Parasyte will be the Madhouse property following it?
It's sad, because I love HxH, but Parasyte's a good manga and Madhouse is the best studio. I'm looking forward to that, and I just gotta hope that eventually there's another full HxH arc to animate and Madhouse is still interested in animating it.
It's sad, because I love HxH, but Parasyte's a good manga and Madhouse is the best studio. I'm looking forward to that, and I just gotta hope that eventually there's another full HxH arc to animate and Madhouse is still interested in animating it.
Can you make the U with your tongue?
Yep.
What so special about anime?
Anime is often very personal and auteur-ish compared to most television, and it's a medium that combines narrative, visuals, and music where you have absolute control over all those elements. It also has a variety of distinctive hangups and thematic obsessions, and a bunch of common style tics. Series generally occupy a very specific, limited timeframe, allowing for coherent and fully-articulated stories that don't just keep being produced for their own sake. This also allows artists/directors/writers to create a significant body of varied work, as opposed to being identified with one or two successful, long-term properties.
Those are a few anime-specific things, but there are plenty more.
Those are a few anime-specific things, but there are plenty more.
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ＳＮちゃん
Thoughts on the new Silent Hills game coming out soon by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro?
Hideo Kojima only makes stories about Hideo Kojima - the most distinctive thing about MGS is that it's one dude's entire head that somehow got turned into a AAA game production. Not really sure how that's going to apply to a preexisting franchise - I'd generally prefer someone with less ego becoming the creative lead, especially since subtlety is completely beyond Kojima. But Silent Hill's been a living corpse for years now, so I guess it's worth a shot either way.
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