Are you ever planning to finish Iron-blooded Orphans?
At this point I'm not sure. I've heard pretty ambiguous things about the show's second half.
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Why do you need Ethernet to play FSN?
Because I'm planning on streaming it, and the last time I tried to stream something on just my wifi, the lag was terrible.
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Eelz
Sunshine Marmot
Another Bystander
I see a lot of series you review on ANN gets a more positive score on your MAl. If that's the case, what is stopping Hanamonogatari from stepping into the 10 area? Are you just placing it at 9 out of comfort? I am seriously wondering this since it feels like a placement out of habit
Is it currently at 9? Hanamonogatari is definitely a 10, I should bump that.
Related users
With your recent Hyouka re-watch, do you think it moved up in your estimation? (this ask may also be a thinly-veiled question about whether it has shifted positions in your top 30)
It's very likely. I'm probably going to do a fair amount of reorganizing the next time I adjust the list.
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Sunshine Marmot
Looking forward to the Heaven's Feel adaptation? Also how's your playthourgh of FSN going?
Eh, I'll watch it, but my expectations are pretty low. And I haven't yet been able to make a giant hole in my floor to filter an ethernet cable through, so progress on FSN has somewhat stalled at the moment.
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Eelz
Re: Rakugo: "I want to care about these characters more than I do, but I just don’t. It’s clearly a very impressive show, but it’s just not one that moves me." You finally nailed why I just couldn't love this show as much as I wanted to! Couldn't put my finger on it for 12 weeks.
Yeah, someone in the comments compared it to the issues with Shinsekai Yori and Yurikuma Arashi. Otherwise great shows can sometimes falter when it comes to the human element.
Is there an anime you really like even though you feel you really shouldn't?
Nope!
So the Idolmaster crew actually do have relationships and interact? From the way some fans talk, it sounded like it was just "P-san deals with Girl-of-the-Week's issues."
Yep! The diversity of the various dynamics between the Idolmaster girls is one of the show's biggest strengths.
https://ask.fm/B0bduh/answers/135269933610?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=answer_own#_=_ Think you can elaborate more on this answer. I'm interested in "serial killer" characters and how they work
I think it takes a whole lot of work to make a serial killer interesting? Serial killers aren't generally the most interesting people - they're generally very warped people for one or another reason, with many stories having explored the various angles you can take on them. You can turn them into a thematic symbol of some kind, like Johan from Monster, explore whatever led to them becoming who they are, or make them a self-consciously charismatic villain, like Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs. But when your show's villain is a serial killer, it's that much more unlikely your show is going to possess much moral complexity, because the actions of serial killers are not reasonable actions under virtually any natural circumstances. That makes me find serial killers kind of inherently boring.
Are any of these recent supposed genre deconstructions (i.e. Konosuba and OPM) actually deconstructions or are they simply parodies (if they are even that)?
Are people actually calling either of those shows deconstructions? Yeesh.
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Sunshine Marmot
what's your opinion on the Ace Attorney series?
Don't have one. I've never played any of the games.
Any thoughts on the fact that FLCL is getting 2 new seasons? Think Toonami might be able to pull it off?
Not really. FLCL was great, but it was lightning in a bottle - a very specific collection of some of anime's best writers, directors, and animators came together for that, and they created a story that's entirely complete and self-contained. I don't doubt Toonami's staff are deeply invested in making this a great project, but I can't say I have much hope it actually will be one.
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DIGITAL@MUGI
Sunshine Marmot
Did you think Kiritsugu was a good character? Personally I thought his backstory was extremely cliched, and I strongly disliked him throughout the show.
I thought it was fine. Made sense of his actions/philosophy, and worked well for the themes of the show.
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Eelz
Another Bystander
How hard will it be for you to resist making trainwreck puns if Koutetsujou no Kabaneri turns out to be bad?
I promise to exercise just as much restraint as Araki if that happens.
What could be done to give Zero a tighter first half?
If you were going to make Zero a great show, you'd have to do some fundamental structural revamping. Keeping Kiritsugu's backstory hidden as a "reveal" for the last act was a huge mistake, one that prevents the show's first half from having any real emotional resonance outside of Waver's story. The show also has a fair number of fights that just end in "I'll get you next time... now, I flee!" Making the show's fights more dramatically consequential would go a long way towards fixing the show's problems.
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Sunshine Marmot
Another Bystander
Fate/Zero is a good show?
It's pretty good. The first half isn't great, but the second half pulls it together relatively well.
Which OPs and EDs of this season (winter 2016) did you like the most?
Favorite OP was Rakugo Shinju, favorite ED was ERASED. Nothing comes very close to either of those two on either front.
What about Oregairu?
I'd consider that less of a harem than Monogatari. It has a love triangle, but that's about it.
Ever seen a *good* harem anime?
Monogatari is cheating, since its goals are very different from an actual harem. I guess the answer would be Monster Musume? It's far from a great show, but it's pretty charming and definitely a classic harem. Lots of unique gags, a very positive mood, and some great animation. If the show didn't have a fair number of "the girl is uncomfortable and that's hot" moments and more consistent animation throughout, I'd say it'd be about as good as a classic harem can be.
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Sunshine Marmot
Any advice for those of us who wish to be a cool ANN reviewer like you?
The best piece of advice I can give is sadly not that useful in a short timeframe, but it's still generally useful: read and write every single day. If you want to become a strong writer, there's no getting around the many, many, many hours you have to put in to get there, where you're not just writing, you're also being mean to your own writing, breaking it down and seeking critique and challenging yourself. Set up a schedule for yourself, and don't hide your work away. Create a platform for yourself, and welcome criticism.
The second piece of advice I'd give is don't be precious with your writing. Proofread harshly, and cut out anything that seems to exist just because you think it reads well, or it expresses your personality very clearly. It's fine to have a style, but many, many writers use "that's just my style" to avoid improving. You gotta sand your work for a long time before you reach anything that's actually fundamental to your voice.
And my third piece of advice is, don't write like a jerk, and also don't /be/ a jerk. Criticism is a conversation, and conversations require mutual respect. If you write or act like you're above other people, you're not only just being a crappy person, you'll also lose your potential audience. Be open to new viewpoints and experiences, and don't shut people down.
Hope those thoughts help!
The second piece of advice I'd give is don't be precious with your writing. Proofread harshly, and cut out anything that seems to exist just because you think it reads well, or it expresses your personality very clearly. It's fine to have a style, but many, many writers use "that's just my style" to avoid improving. You gotta sand your work for a long time before you reach anything that's actually fundamental to your voice.
And my third piece of advice is, don't write like a jerk, and also don't /be/ a jerk. Criticism is a conversation, and conversations require mutual respect. If you write or act like you're above other people, you're not only just being a crappy person, you'll also lose your potential audience. Be open to new viewpoints and experiences, and don't shut people down.
Hope those thoughts help!
How are you taking the sad reality that hero academia has been claimed by funi?
After squinting to try and see Grimgar on their player for a full season, nothing can disappoint me anymore.
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Sunshine Marmot
Eelz
Thaliarchus
Another Bystander
Which Active Raid episodes were the good ones?
The giant robot one, the two that heavily involved Rin (2 and 10, I believe?), and the one focused on the relationship between whatshisface and the lady in the military. The first and third were also pretty okay. In retrospect, that's actually a pretty good ratio!
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ShadowZael
Another Bystander
Has "satire" become the new "deconstruction?"
It seems like they both serve similar purposes in fan dialect - "I don't normally like stuff in this genre but I like this, so it must be different in some fundamental way."
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Rm
Eelz
Sunshine Marmot
I know you were lukewarm on OPM at best, but do you think you'll get anything different out of Mob Psycho 100?
It doesn't seem likely, considering my issues with OPM basically all had to do with the writing/storytelling.
Your opinion about School Days?
A fine demonstration of why deconstructions aren't inherently interesting. It seems to be answering the question "how messed-up would a group of kids have to be for a harem to actually exist," but it's messy, misanthropic show that never really finds something worth saying. Any point School Days attempts is made far, far better in The World God Only Knows, or even Monogatari, for that matter.
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