Thoughts on Medaka Box?
Haven't seen it.
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What shows spring to mind when you think of shows that are sexist towards men?
Nothing really springs to mind.
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Have you seen Kokoro Connect? It seems like it would be up your alley, in its efforts if not its results. It's also literally and explicitly about the author throwing 5 characters into different situations to see how they bounce off each other.
I watched the first two episodes a couple weeks ago. I enjoyed them, but I haven't gotten around to continuing it. Not enough time.
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How do you measure writing quality? i can' seem to quite grasp what's a good writing or not
This is basically like asking "how do you build a spaceship" or "what's the history of the human race." Most of the pieces on my blog are poking at small elements of all that encompasses "good writing" - it's not one single variable, it's a collection of millions of variables that add up to an expressive art form.
Out of the four main characters of Hunter x Hunter, who do you like most?
Killua. Outside of the "family of assassins" thing, I can relate to a lot of Killua's character issues.
Was there ever a show where you liked the first season but found the second season to be so bad to the point of dropping it?
I probably /should/ have dropped Chuunibyou S2 before it could hurt me anymore, but I got through it. Can't think of another example.
The sympathetic villain pairing is mad of of teenaged japanese terrorists so...
Oh, fuck no. There's no happy ending coming for those guys.
Is there a reason psycho pass isn't higher on your list? (Besides the obvious "I think other anime are better") In other words, what do you think it could improve?
The first half's procedural drama stuff was kind of uneven and sometimes just generically thriller-y, and I don't think it came together as elegantly as it could have. There was also just some graceless exposition scattered throughout.
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When do you expect to begin previewing the upcoming Fall shows?
Around week nine, I'm guessing.
What about Hanayamata?
Does not seem like my sort of thing in the slightest.
Would you rather be a cowboy, a samurai, a musician, a spaceman, or a sympathetic villain pair?
Musician, though sympathetic villain pairing intrigues me.
Did you try Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun?
Yep! Watched the first couple episodes. A couple jokes made me laugh, but not enough to keep me watching.
Blue Spring Ride (Ao Haru Ride) has some really striking visuals, but the plot is standard shojo romance fare and the characters are disposable archetypes. It's completely skippable.
Yeah, it kinda looked that way.
I really like how you've been giving credit where credit is due with SAO despite disliking it rather than totally giving up on it and going on rants with non-criticisms. As someone who gets quite a few questions that ridicule SAO, how do you feel about the insane animosity that surrounds it?
It's just a target because it's popular and popular to hate. I wouldn't call the animosity around it "insane" - most of the people I talk to are kind of joking in their dislike of it (it's fun to rag on stuff), and the people who /really/ hate it would just find another target if SAO didn't exist. The important thing for them is not that SAO is bad, it is that they are far above appreciation of some popular series.
SAO isn't /actually/ that bad, as far as shows like it go - it's poorly written and has some gross elements, but so do a lot of anime. I mean, Prism Ilya just had a sexual assault scene between children that was framed as pure titillation. That's clearly grosser than anything SAO did, but it's fashionable to hate SAO.
That's not to say "why are you mad about this thing, this other thing's much worse" - that's a fake argument. I'm just saying SAO isn't particularly unique in its failings, but it /is/ unique in its popularity, and I think that disparity is key to understanding its reputation.
SAO isn't /actually/ that bad, as far as shows like it go - it's poorly written and has some gross elements, but so do a lot of anime. I mean, Prism Ilya just had a sexual assault scene between children that was framed as pure titillation. That's clearly grosser than anything SAO did, but it's fashionable to hate SAO.
That's not to say "why are you mad about this thing, this other thing's much worse" - that's a fake argument. I'm just saying SAO isn't particularly unique in its failings, but it /is/ unique in its popularity, and I think that disparity is key to understanding its reputation.
According to your writeups, SAO looks like it's really getting somewhere! How far would it have to go to become the Monogatari Series Second Season of SAO, what’s your ideal arc for truly examining the first season’s problems? Or is it already there?
It's not gonna get there. Monogatari was smart and creative from episode one, it was just also flawed and uneven and indulgent. SAO's ceiling is a lot lower.
You know, I'm a little surprised you liked Lisa (I'm assuming the one from Zankyou no Terror.) I've heard nothing but criticism for her role in the story, seeming to work solely as a mirror and hangers-on to Sphinx, while having little impact on the story. What do you like about her so much
She's basically the most grounded, relatable representation of everything the show is about. And she also feels like a person. This doesn't make her a /great/ character, but I haven't really run into any /great/ characters this season - there's no Ping Pong this time.
Incidentally, I would advise against judging characters strictly by how much their actions advance the overt plot.
Incidentally, I would advise against judging characters strictly by how much their actions advance the overt plot.
I don't think I "get" shows like Sekai Seifuku and Kyousogiga; and writeups on blogs make me feel dumb. Should I stick to more mainstream shows or could anime be not for me?
1. Everybody is ignorant of a million things. That's fine, and shouldn't make you feel dumb. People who spend a lot of time thinking about media often unsurprisingly have a lot of things to say about that media, and art is /really complicated/. This stuff doesn't come immediately, and you shouldn't feel bad for not instinctively knowing or seeing a thing.
2. Everybody engages with shows in different ways, and seeks different things in their media. If you don't enjoy certain shows, just watch other things - what really matters is what you /want/ out of your media.
3. If you actually do want to engage with themes and craft and whatnot, then the first thing you need to do is basically embrace your ignorance. Read those blog posts. Does what they're saying seem to make sense? Can you see their thoughts reflected back in the show they're talking about? Read other people, people who disagree with the first people. What are /their/ arguments? Watch shows and think "why would the show make this choice" as often as you can - don't make it a passive experience, engage with what you're watching. Art is a conversation.
4. If none of this sounds fun, then don't do it! Just enjoy media how you want to.
5. This isn't really an anime thing, it's just a media/art thing.
2. Everybody engages with shows in different ways, and seeks different things in their media. If you don't enjoy certain shows, just watch other things - what really matters is what you /want/ out of your media.
3. If you actually do want to engage with themes and craft and whatnot, then the first thing you need to do is basically embrace your ignorance. Read those blog posts. Does what they're saying seem to make sense? Can you see their thoughts reflected back in the show they're talking about? Read other people, people who disagree with the first people. What are /their/ arguments? Watch shows and think "why would the show make this choice" as often as you can - don't make it a passive experience, engage with what you're watching. Art is a conversation.
4. If none of this sounds fun, then don't do it! Just enjoy media how you want to.
5. This isn't really an anime thing, it's just a media/art thing.
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Better JoJo antagonist in you're opinion: Dio or the Pillar Men?
It should be Dio, but now that he's spent a season and a half sitting in a room and giggling to himself, I'm not quite so enamored as I once was.
Have you ever seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, or do you ever plan to?
Maybe at some point.
Have you checked out Ao Haru Ride yet?
Nope. Its buzz seems to have disappeared.
The articles you have written tell me that you like Hunter x Hunter. They also tell me that you dislike super power minutia. Taking both of these in mind, what are your thoughts on Nen?
I like it a lot because it's a simplified system of rules that allows for great creativity while also imposing specific limits on powers. I've talked a few times about "grounded conflict," and how a viewer needs to understand the stakes and parameters of a fight for it to have tension for its own sake - Hunter x Hunter is /extremely/ good at doing that, and thus its fights are actually enjoyable as pure entertainment.
Opinions on the works of Cormac McCarthy?
I've only read Blood Meridian. That had gorgeous prose, but I had absolutely no interest in its "the tragedy of manly men's manly masculinity" narrative. I'd probably like books by him about other things more.
Is it true that Shinbou doesn't actually direct most of his shows?
Apparently Shaft pretty much sticks his name on everything at this point, regardless of the extent of his involvement.
I read an article about how Redline was actually incredibly sexist. Thoughts on that perspective?
It's certainly not a particularly progressive film! It's got the kind of casual sexism of, like, an 80s hair metal music video.
What are your quick thoughts on the movie Redline?
Gorgeous obviously, but also just really well-constructed in general. It moves well, efficiently establishes a vivid cast of characters, and has all sorts of distinctive setpieces. Pretty much perfect at what it does.
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