[Arthur Dayne]

I've been meaning to catch up with Iron Blooded Orphans. Kinda forgot it was out there. Guess that's on my to do list now. Hope it's not quite as ridiculous as the SEED series. I really liked the tone of Stargazer even if it was short, and hopefully it'll keep that going.

[LinearPhilosopher]

Arthur Dayne, on 12 January 2016 - 02:13 PM, said:

I've been meaning to catch up with Iron Blooded Orphans. Kinda forgot it was out there. Guess that's on my to do list now. Hope it's not quite as ridiculous as the SEED series. I really liked the tone of Stargazer even if it was short, and hopefully it'll keep that going.

IBO is pretty good so far. Its set within its own timeline so i dont need to have watched a ton of gundam to get it. I didn't mind seed, it was actually my gateway anime. Seed destiny though...

[Dolmen 2.0]

So I watched Amagi Brilliant Park first episode. Watched it with Mrs Dolmen as we're trying to watch Anime together now. Its an interesting process.

My wife described it like this: 20 minutes of epic funny with a pinch of surprise butt.

Its really really good. I like the style, possibly by the same people that produced Charlotte?

I will be watching this, Parasyte and Noragami Season 2 for the next few weeks. Will pace it out to accommodate the wife.

[D'rek]

I take it she has not watched very much anime before? Sounds like Amagi was a good pick!

Dolmen 2.0, on 13 January 2016 - 05:36 AM, said:

Its really really good. I like the style, possibly by the same people that produced Charlotte?

Nope. AmagiBP is by KyoAni studio, and IIRC it's the same director as the Haruhi Suzumiya series. Charlotte was produced by PA Works/Aniplex and it is one of many visual novels from a company called Key Visual Arts (where Clannad, Angel Beats, etc also come from). I don't think there's any major staff that worked on both.

[D'rek]

Also, Noragami Aragoto episode 9 is rage-inducing. WHAT AN ASSSSS!

[Arthur Dayne]

Well, caught up with Gundam IBO... Yeah, Mikazuki is an effin boss... and that show is probably the most dark Gundam ever created. Really enjoying most of it. I have to say though, whoever thought of the names Cookie, Cracker and Biscuit (my favorite one) should probably be shot. Or given a medal. Not sure yet.

This post has been edited by Arthur Dayne: 13 January 2016 - 09:12 PM

[D'rek]

2nd episode of AssClass 2 was fantastic. Everything that makes that show great blended together into one big delicious pudding.

[LinearPhilosopher]

D, on 15 January 2016 - 07:00 PM, said:

2nd episode of AssClass 2 was fantastic. Everything that makes that show great blended together into one big delicious pudding.

indeed

@dayne

Which gundams have you seen?

As for those names, could very well be they had awful parents.

[LinearPhilosopher]

D, on 13 January 2016 - 08:34 PM, said:

Also, Noragami Aragoto episode 9 is rage-inducing. WHAT AN ASSSSS!

Is that the episode where near the end he

Spoiler

goes back to his old ways. I enjoyed the twist personally.

[D'rek]

LinearPhilosopher, on 15 January 2016 - 07:49 PM, said:

D, on 13 January 2016 - 08:34 PM, said:

Also, Noragami Aragoto episode 9 is rage-inducing. WHAT AN ASSSSS!

Is that the episode where near the end he

Spoiler

goes back to his old ways. I enjoyed the twist personally.

No, it's the one where...

Spoiler

...that stupid teenage boy sees Hiyori in distress and decides NOW is a good fucking time to kiss her out of the blue. Even without the whole "this is going to make her forget Yato even more" aspect of it would still be an absolutely atrocious thing to do. AAAASSSSSS!!!

[LinearPhilosopher]

so this is an interesting perspective on aldnoah

[Arthur Dayne]

LinearPhilosopher, on 15 January 2016 - 07:48 PM, said:

@dayne
Which gundams have you seen?
As for those names, could very well be they had awful parents.

I've seen alot of the series in one format or another either subbed or eventual dubs. Man I wish I could just speak Japanese... It's surprising how many there are if you look them up. I know they've been known to have some names that are really out there but naming a main character biscuit and his sisters cookie and cracker is pretty impressive by any standard. His parents either hated kids but were "every sperm is sacred" people or they just really loved desserts.

[LinearPhilosopher]

This is gona sound weird.

Nudity in anime, is it ever done... normally? In western media nudity happens quite frequently, game of thrones is a good example, theres usually a pair of knockers in every episode. Not im not getting into a value judgement of this, but i think we can all agree you don't watch game of thrones for the nudity, you watch it for the plot and the action. Point is, western media companies like HBO can incorporate nudity without it detracting from the main series or being weird.

Does anime have anything similar? Or is it just h-games, ecchi and hentai stuff. Take the FSN series, apparently theres full on sex scenes as the characters can use sex to replenish their mana ( ). Aside from that i can't think of anything, just tons of T/A shots and physics defying breast movements/sizes.

[Arthur Dayne]

Aren't there laws against showing pubic hair in Anime? Sounds like a bit of a cultural stretch to me.

[LinearPhilosopher]

Arthur Dayne, on 19 January 2016 - 03:17 PM, said:

Aren't there laws against showing pubic hair in Anime? Sounds like a bit of a cultural stretch to me.

there could very well be cultural reasons for this phenomena.

[D'rek]

LinearPhilosopher, on 19 January 2016 - 02:58 PM, said:

This is gona sound weird.

Nudity in anime, is it ever done... normally? In western media nudity happens quite frequently, game of thrones is a good example, theres usually a pair of knockers in every episode. Not im not getting into a value judgement of this, but i think we can all agree you don't watch game of thrones for the nudity, you watch it for the plot and the action. Point is, western media companies like HBO can incorporate nudity without it detracting from the main series or being weird.

Does anime have anything similar? Or is it just h-games, ecchi and hentai stuff. Take the FSN series, apparently theres full on sex scenes as the characters can use sex to replenish their mana ( ). Aside from that i can't think of anything, just tons of T/A shots and physics defying breast movements/sizes.

Is Game of Thrones really a good comparison point for "normal" nudity? Doesn't it have all sorts of scenes where, say, Master Whatshisface is banging a prostitute during his exposition, when he could have been doing anything else and that scene would have been just as plot-relevant? That sounds a lot like the kind of extraneous shower scenes and sexual pandering that anime is known for...

Anyways, sure there's lots of anime out there with "normal" nudity, often only in an episode or two where character go to a bathhouse (whether it actually fits the plot/rest of the show for them to go there in the first place is another matter)... and if the show isn't a high school harem there's a good chance the characters won't even get all creepy or weird about the situation, either.

As an example, Gurren Lagann has an episode where the bathhouse turns out to be a trap and the characters basically all spend the episode mostly nude, but the episode is still focused 99% on running, fighting and discussions between characters.

There are also romance shows that do actually present reasonable, realistic romances (or lack thereof), including actual naked/sex scenes that are built up to and done fairly maturely, e.g. Kemonozume or Yosuga no Sora.

There's lots of tasteful - or at least more mature - stuff out there, it's just that there is also a plethora of tropey LN/VN adaptations that are "high school boy gets magic powers and all the women, has cliche ecchi author power-fantasy". There's also plenty of hilariously-stupid-animated-softcore-porn shows, too (though I really don't understand why).

Sadly, the huge success of so many of these ecchi LN adaptation shows and the smallness of the late-night-anime market does tend to influence other shows into inserting bits of spontaneous nudity/ecchi into shows that never needed it in the first place (e.g. Code Geass), but that's a whole other discussion.

[LinearPhilosopher]

D, on 02 November 2015 - 02:50 PM, said:

LinearPhilosopher, on 02 November 2015 - 08:27 AM, said:

valvrave girl. Just go with it abd remember,Don't ask questions!

Yeah, I have heard of its bananapants-crazy reputation and am prepared to just blaze through it embracing the insanity.

But I actually ended up starting Shirobako over the weekend (and its soooo good!) so Valvrave may have to wait until it is done. Valvrave doesn't seem like the kind of show I want to be stopping every 2 episodes to watch a couple episodes of something else!

LinearPhilosopher, on 02 November 2015 - 08:27 AM, said:

u also forgot to mention durarara's continuation

...and the Mozart-robots show, Akagami no Shirayuki-hime S2, Sword Guy...

...and whatever the hell Sekkou Boys is, because that... thing (can it even be called a show?)... is strangely intriguing and absolutely terrifying.

LinearPhilosopher, on 02 November 2015 - 08:27 AM, said:

also looking forward to Schwarzesmarken as it's based off a VN i'd read ages ago I'd really goten into years ago

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
iving, isn't easy.
When Haruhito awakens, he's in the dark.
He doesn't know where he is, why is he here, and where he came from.
Around him there are several men and women who have the same circumstances.
Together, they advance forward away from the darkness, and a world they've never seen before called "Grimgar" spreads out before them.
Memories, money, special powers — This is the reality we who have none of those things have obtained.

Schwarzesmarken sounds so campy "look-how-gritty-and-dark-we-are" though, naming everything german things, numbering the unit 666, finding wordy acronyms for everything ("we must assault the BETA!"). We'll see... I've mostly liked Liden Studio's stuff so far, but a lot of that is from the source material itself as their actual animation and directing quality are only so-so.

I wouldn't get any hopes up for Grimgar. It's yet another people-trapped-in-a-MMORPG LN adaptation. Even if it does something different and superior to the HS/SAO/LH/IIWTPUGIAD/OL predecessors, it will probably still just be a 13-episode advertisement for the LN and not really have any pay-off plot-wise.

FOUND IT! was kinda buried but i know we talked about the new season briefly.

So d'rek what are you watching in the new season. I had to go looking for this to know what i'd be watching.

[LinearPhilosopher]

D, on 20 January 2016 - 03:30 PM, said:

LinearPhilosopher, on 19 January 2016 - 02:58 PM, said:

This is gona sound weird.

Nudity in anime, is it ever done... normally? In western media nudity happens quite frequently, game of thrones is a good example, theres usually a pair of knockers in every episode. Not im not getting into a value judgement of this, but i think we can all agree you don't watch game of thrones for the nudity, you watch it for the plot and the action. Point is, western media companies like HBO can incorporate nudity without it detracting from the main series or being weird.

Does anime have anything similar? Or is it just h-games, ecchi and hentai stuff. Take the FSN series, apparently theres full on sex scenes as the characters can use sex to replenish their mana ( ). Aside from that i can't think of anything, just tons of T/A shots and physics defying breast movements/sizes.

Is Game of Thrones really a good comparison point for "normal" nudity? Doesn't it have all sorts of scenes where, say, Master Whatshisface is banging a prostitute during his exposition, when he could have been doing anything else and that scene would have been just as plot-relevant? That sounds a lot like the kind of extraneous shower scenes and sexual pandering that anime is known for...

Anyways, sure there's lots of anime out there with "normal" nudity, often only in an episode or two where character go to a bathhouse (whether it actually fits the plot/rest of the show for them to go there in the first place is another matter)... and if the show isn't a high school harem there's a good chance the characters won't even get all creepy or weird about the situation, either.

As an example, Gurren Lagann has an episode where the bathhouse turns out to be a trap and the characters basically all spend the episode mostly nude, but the episode is still focused 99% on running, fighting and discussions between characters.

There are also romance shows that do actually present reasonable, realistic romances (or lack thereof), including actual naked/sex scenes that are built up to and done fairly maturely, e.g. Kemonozume or Yosuga no Sora.

There's lots of tasteful - or at least more mature - stuff out there, it's just that there is also a plethora of tropey LN/VN adaptations that are "high school boy gets magic powers and all the women, has cliche ecchi author power-fantasy". There's also plenty of hilariously-stupid-animated-softcore-porn shows, too (though I really don't understand why).

Sadly, the huge success of so many of these ecchi LN adaptation shows and the smallness of the late-night-anime market does tend to influence other shows into inserting bits of spontaneous nudity/ecchi into shows that never needed it in the first place (e.g. Code Geass), but that's a whole other discussion.

Yes In GOT there is that one scene, theres also several other scenes were they are just there hanging out for the scene and it's just there. There was also a scene in one of the newer romero movies where a girl gets attacked by a zombie and she looses a bit of clothing but it's not like theres a full on camera shot of it. Thanks for the response though it does clear up a few things.

[QuickTidal]

Most nudity in shows or movies on both sides of the pond is done for the same reason. Titillation of the audience. GOT or Anime...same reason. Titillation. Even, like D'rek said, Bathhouse scenes (since bathhouses are pretty common daily activities in Japan and the nudity just goes hand in hand with that).

I mean I don't think in, say GoT, that when we see a character undress, that we needed to SEE it as the audience for any other reason that titillation.

I'll use a recent western show for example. THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES. In the pilot, we get a scene where the male lead (Wil) is being swindled out of his elfstones by a female lead (Eretria) and the scene has him in a bathtub nude to the waist above the water while she drugs him with a glass of wine or water (not sure which) so he falls asleep and she steals the stones, and his horse. Does the scene NEED to have him nude in a tub? Nah, they could have scripted it another way...but the titillation of the the cut nude guy for the audience demographic works on that level. The same is true later when Wil is sent to find the other female lead (Amberle) at the waterfall, and comes upon her bathing nude...and slips and falls as a result of the stunning sight and then is awkward while she brashly talks to him still nude. Again, this scene of them meeting doesn't HAVE to have been written as having her nude and bathing in a waterfall...but again it's done for titillation. Neither of these are particularly sexual activities (like the bathhouse scenes in an Anime) but if they are inserted into the show in sequences that don't really require them to be set up that way...they have been done to titillate the audience for sure. Is that normal? I'd say that yeah it is. On both sides of the pond in most television.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 21 January 2016 - 03:22 PM

[D'rek]

LinearPhilosopher, on 21 January 2016 - 02:47 PM, said:

So d'rek what are you watching in the new season. I had to go looking for this to know what i'd be watching.

There's way too many interesting shows, I haven't been able to check them all out yet. So far I've caught the first one or two episodes of:

Durarara x2 Ketsu - same old Durarara, all things looking good so far

Akagami Shirayuki / Redhead Snow White, part 2 - still really pretty and cute, but the first episode kind of seems like things haven't moved forward at all from part 1. I really expected the two leads to more obviously have progressed in their relationship, even a little bit, but... nope. We'll see.

Ansatsu Kyoshitsu / Assassination Classroom, season 2 - Great continuation of the first season so far, hasn't lost its charm.


Dimension W - The premise is basically Darker than Black, but I'm actually enjoying it so far. The setup seemed like it would be very bad-guy-of-the-week for at least the first half of the season, but they actually dove straight into the main plot in episode 2, as well as having some really intriguing visual phenomena that I won't spoil.

Schwarzesmarken - Only caught the first episode of this so far, but it's painful. There's just so much "look how edgy we are" in it... it feels like it was drafted by a 12-year old. The 3D doesn't blend with the animation at all, either. I'm going to try and hold out to episode 3, but definitely anticipating I will drop this one.

Nurse Witch Komugi - Saw one episode. Really, really bad. Can't decide if it wants to be satirical or be a real magic-girl show, and thus it fails at both.

Luck & Logic - This is my so-bad-its-good and/or action-harem-cliche drinking game show for the season. It's like Irregular at Magic High School, if you remember that one from a couple years ago (which Silencer liked talking a lot about here at the time).

Sekkou Boys (short) - So stupid (and it knows it) that it's amazing.

Sushi Police (short, 3D) - Also rather stupid, and not quite as amazing but it has a bit of charm to it.

Teekyuu (short) - This is something like the seventh season. I'm in this far and its super short, might as well keep watching. Honestly though, I think Teekyuu has lost a lot of its charm... maybe because its gone on for so long or maybe because it really just isn't as creatively written anymore.


The ones I haven't gotten to checking out yet are (in no particular order):

Musaigen no Phantom World
Haruchika
Norn9
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi
Koukaku no Pandora
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
Ajin
Grimgar