Fall Season Re-preview

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Ubu Roi

So, over a month ago, I posted a little bit on the upcoming shows for Fall — though I had very little to go on, and so it was more snark than information. Well, we’ve gotten a lot closer to the Fall season, and the regular websites are preparing their big posts (Arodouc should post his this weekend). As luck would have it, I’ve picked up a bit more information myself, and I’m cautiously optimistic that there might be some decent shows. I saw the combined previews, which help a little bit. Unfortunately, they weren’t subbed, and as I don’t read moon-script, sometimes I can’t tell which show they’re advertising. As I have nothing better to do than write about it, here goes my update.

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Things are Looking Up

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Ubu Roi

Well after a couple of seasons of mediocre anime, I’m starting to enjoy it again. One of the reasons is that Dr. Heinous finally convinced me to go watch Steins;Gate. I had intended to do that when it started back in Spring, but I got a bit lazy and was then disconcerted when I heard there was a trap in it. Traps are generally a turn-off for me, so I let the series slide. Now that it’s complete, I’m mainlining it on Crunchyroll, and I’m finding that he’s such a minor character (so far) it’s not a real problem. This show is turning out to be pretty good, exactly as the Doctor said. I’m not going to do a review of it, or anything, but imagine Dai Gaigoji of Martian Successor Nadesico, only he’s really crazy. Yeah, hard to imagine, I know. Now add “it’s not paranoia if they’re really after you …” And then add a conspiracy by CERN, er, “SERN” to take over the world, using the Large Hadron Collider to create black holes and manipulate time. All of the characters are delightfully eccentric, but the story is gradually turning darker as Our Heroes peel the onion to discover the truth.

But even better than that, was two pieces of good news I missed on Friday, both involving the Bakemonogatari franchise. ANN relayed an announcement from the Japanese website, reporting that Nisimonogatari (the sequel involving Araragi’s sisters) will broadcast starting in January 2012. Second, the first Kizumonogatari (prequel movie) trailer was now online. Both are Shaft efforts, so I scooted over there for a look. Well, all I can say is, if you hated Shaft’s style in the first series, this isn’t for you. If you liked it, you’ll get more of the same.

As for the preview itself… I can only say one thing: “Inappropriate music.” Which had me laughing out loud earlier today, and still smiling a bit even now.

Oh, and somehow, I failed to notice that Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya was released a few days ago.

Time for an order!

Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Dirty Pair TV (gave the others to the Stainless Steel Brat (now the Stainless Steel College Student. Excuse me while I feel old)
Irresponsible Captain Tylor Enh, I needed some silliness.

And now, just to reward you for reading my drivel, this bit of beauty — Slightly NSFW:

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Stupidity is Forever

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Ubu Roi

A few years ago, when Pixy started Mee.nu, I signed up for a blog there. Not because I needed a third blog, but it was a requirement if I wanted to comment on blogs hosted with his service. (Mostly Steven’s, but others too.

I haven’t really done much with it, which is a shame, given that I think it’s one of my better efforts at titles and taglines, but tonight I’ve made only my third-ever post there. It just didn’t fit either here or at Houblog. If you’ve got an interest in aviation, deadly air crashes, or just failure in general, you might want to check it out. It’s rather lengthy, but fascinating — in my biased opinion.

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Angst in Animé

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Ubu Roi

One of the subjects you’ll see come up for discussion from time to time is angst. Some viewers claim to hate it, and others revel in it. But what is angst? Why do people disagree over it in animé? Obviously, some of it has to come from difference in tastes, but as I read back-and-forth arguments, it often seems to me that no two people are working from the same definition. So let’s get our terminology out of the way, first thing.

Angst: The sense of inner conflict and often, inadequacy, suffered by a person who is faced with a situation they find overwhelming, or an inability to decide between options, or sometimes, both.

Some people demand that there be no angst in a show, but I suspect that’s not what they mean. The reason being, angst is internal conflict. Granted, movies and literature are replete with characters who feel no angst. Often they are villains — and rather poor ones. Gauron of Full Metal Panic wouldn’t know angst if it bit him on the ass. Made him rather one-dimensional and boring. (It’s a trait he shares with most of the FMP villians, sadly.) Sometimes, the hero doesn’t know angst. James Bond, up through the Roger Moore years, anyway. Most of the characters in Those Who Hunt Elves are ignorant of angst. Well, and just plain ignorant, but I’m not going to start a rant on that show. (My favorite character? The tank! Frackafrissenstupidcharactersmumblemumble….)

Assuming we’re talking about a drama of some sort, a character that has zero angst has nothing to make them interesting. The only thing that can be done is to “gimmick” them with snappy dialogue or give them gadgets, or a bevy of beautiful women to distract the viewer; something of that sort.

Wait, I think I just described James Bond again.

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Post Weirdness

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Ubu Roi

A post I wrote months ago never appeared on the site. I updated it for this week, but it refused to appear again. Now that I’ve finally released it from durance vile, it appears on the originally planned post date, not the current one. http://bridgebunnies.com/?p=2399

Thinking back, I believe what happened was that I accidentally posted it in mid write, then made it private, so I could finish it. So it showed up as a draft, and refused to appear in the list when I tried to re-publish it yesterday. Well, whatever. It’s there now.

Edit: SHIMATA! It happened twice, and to this all-important post as well!

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Yosuga no Sora, the…. computer?

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Ubu Roi

Damn, I’m on a posting binge today. Also spotted over at Crunchyroll: An anime-themed laptop

That’s right, show your taste by carting around a $3k laptop advertising a porno game/anime about a girl who seduced her own brother and then led them into a suicide pact. I have to say that the wallpapers bundled with it are remarkably tame, but damn, that shipping box is a work of art.

Nice boat. Er, computer.

Too pretty to recycle

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Saving Grace? (updated)

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Ubu Roi

…of this season may be the one thing I didn’t expect, not that it’s a TV anime. I’d been wondering the other day, what happened to the Negima OVA’s. I didn’t see how it could have lacked the popularity to continue. Well, worry no more, it turns out that they were to busy doing a Negima movie. Somehow, I missed that. And what’s more — it comes out TODAY!!! I really missed that!

Well, way to make my day. It doesn’t look like the raw in on the net just at the moment, but I’m hoping for a decent sub to be out by the end of next week. Per the manga, it’s supposed to be the “final” Negima, and will have a different ending (I think written by Akamatsu) from the anime. It’s explicitly stated that the manga will diverge. I assume, based on that, and the subject of the last two years of OVA’s, that it will contain the end of the Magic World arc. Frankly, it’s too epic to fit in it’s entirety, but I’m still hoping for a good show.

Update: ok, now I’m confused. The manga itself says its coming out on the 27th, but Crunchyroll says Spring 2012. So did the translators botch it, and what it says is that the announcement would be made on the 27th? If so, that’s confusing because if you’ve announced that you’re going to make an announcement of XYZ, then you’ve announced it by making the announcement of the announcement.

Marketing makes my head hurt.

And reading further into the article solves the issue. Hayate and Negima weren’t released on DVD, they were theatrical releases as a double bill. And each of them announced that the DVD would be released with a future copy of the manga, in 2012. So the only way I’m going to see it earlier is if there’s another godawful camrip, like with Melancholy. Save me, Oharuih!

But hey, that means there will be a Hayate movie available around the same time. Not bad compensation for my disappointment.

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