I’m out. This was as vile as episode 5. No plot, just mindless panty and crotch shots. And I’m having download issues again. If I can get the download to work this time, I’ll put the first scene up. Behind a spoiler tag, as it’s NSFW.
Update: Never mind, Steven posted exactly the same shot I was going to.
I rarely watch them any more; the whole thing just bores me — and I’m definitely not watching these Commielympics. I generally don’t talk about the Olympics anymore either. However, I’m not surprised at much of anything that’s happened so far. At least thanks to Georgia and Russia, the Olympics got knocked off the top spot in the news for a few days. Something tells me that Xan-ti Claus is going to be putting lumps of coal in little Vladmir and Mikheil’s stockings this year, just for that.
Regarding the loli-nastics, I’m not really surprised that the IOC is steering clear of the issue. I mean, if the government’s involved in actively lying about their age, there will be no evidence the IOC can access to disprove the girls’ ages anyway. Who’s going to speak up and get sent to the re-education camps to make bootleg anime CD’s for stupid westerners? I thnk the Chinese are just feeling inferior at the Japanese ability to save the world with 16-year-olds. “Ha! Let stupid Japs save world. We take medals with 12-year-olds!”
Steven linked to a Daily Mail (UK newspaper) article on the horrific injuries sustained by a Hungarian weightlifter. One of the first two comments was from a lady protesting such endevors: “I just don’t see what sense there is in abusing one’s body beyond its limits that way,” was roughly what she said. (Comments are no longer available, so I can’t link or re-check).
“And that,” I said, “is why you no longer have an empire.”
Best comment I’ve seen so far:
I think that this must be the first non-defection Olympics since the 50s. You know things must be bad in China when even the Cubans and North Koreans decide to stay put.
Back to Middle Asia a moment: despite stiff competition from an American faimly in the Great Smokies, the gold medal in Bear Baiting went to the country of Georgia. The bronze goes to the presidents of five eastern European countries that flew to Tiblisi in the middle of the Russo-Georgian war. Also-ran George Bush complained that if they’d been able to reveal just how many “going home presents” and “party favors” ended up on the transports taking Georgian peacekeepers home, they’d have made a better showing, but this was dismissed as sour grapes by the IOC.
(“Bear Baiting: the Olympic event where you’re only disqualified if you don’t survive!”)
I for one, want to know if the Ukraine gets hinky over the fallout, are they going to commit the 1687th?
The new force in anime distribution? Maybe. CR announced at Otakacon:
…that it will add new titles from the Gonzo anime studio’s GDH corporate parent — including Kaleido Star and Peace Maker Kurogane (pictured at right) — 12 titles from ADV Films, and several titles from Media Blasters this month.
The only ADV stuff I was interested in was Nadescio: POD and possibly Angelic Layer.
Media Blasters: Ramen Fighter Miki, perhaps. Girls High, no way.
Gonzo: uninterested in their offerings.
Full list here.
Other short notes, as I catch up with the world:
Otome wa Boku is getting a second season. Sheesh. I still refuse to believe there’s a penis on that. None. Not after all that estrogen, anyway.
Rosario + Vampire is getting a second season. I may have been more disappointed in a series somewhere….
The rumors continue that Melancholy of Haruhi Suzamiya will have a second season in 2008. No way there’s a sequel of this. None. I refuse to believe it.
Screencaps, the man sez. The bill for my counseling is in the mail. By the time I got through taking ninety-odd screencaps and culling them, I was a broken man. This show’s beginning to look good to me. Pervy, but good.
At least I am a broken heterosexual man, as opposed the readers of Derailed by Darry, who (aided by reader Sixten) aren’t even sure of their own sex any more, let alone their sexuality.
And then, just to really screw me, PSP decided to barf, and start saving the random pictures, usually the same one, no matter which one I was actually on. And of course, most of what I uploaded were the repeats. Sigh. Mostly fixed, this is all I’m posting, and now I don’t have time for the commentary to go with them.
Less FFN than I recalled, almost none really, and only a couple of real topless scenes. Still, too many of these are emphatically NSFW, so they’re going below the fold. No spoiler tags so beware.
You know, of all the shows I would expect to be total dreck, this one should have been at the top of the list. “Birdy the Mighty Decode.” What in hell kind of name is that? A guy and a girl end up sharing the same body? Oh please, cue the bathroom jokes and bad transgender humor. (Edit: I think “Decode” is more in the nature of a subtitle, so it really should be “Birdy the Mighty: Decode“)
Well, much to my surprise, there hasn’t been one such joke, and no transgender humor that I can see. What I am seeing is a pretty decent story about a high-school boy that suddenly finds himself sharing a body with a female alien policewoman. And he’s really not happy about it, either.
The set-up is thus, per ANN: Federation investigator Birdy chases the space criminal Geega through space to Earth, where he hides in the entertainment industry under a human disguise. Birdy goes undercover herself, posing as famous model “Arita Shion†that often uses a ‘space girl’ look. A male student, Senkawa, stumbles upon a fight between the two one night in an abandoned building…
Geega and his brother Bacillus are both very, very dangerous, and they are involved with a macguffin that’s even more dangerous, and which they either brought or created here. They think Birdy has it; Birdy has no idea what it is, who has it, or what a snake pit she’s just stepped into. Earth is a backwards class 6 planet in the boonies, but it’s just high-tech enough that there’s apparently a lot of aliens hiding out here, and as you might expect, most aren’t interested in becoming upright citizens of any terrestrial country. They’re criminals, and they’re working with our criminal elements. And in the first episode, Geega tricks Birdy into killing Senkawa with extreme prejudice. It’s fixable…. barely. But it’s going to take her ship months to regenerate his body, and in the meantime his mind and soul have to be kept somewhere.
And the only “where” thats available, is in Birdy. Fortunately, she can shapeshift to physically mimic him, during which time he’s in control of their body. He’s a little shocked — make that really badly upset — to find out what’s happened. With a setup like this, it could go anywhere from horror to comedy, and much to my surprise, it’s threading the needle between them. There have been none of the obvious bathroom jokes, not even an embarrassing first trip to the toilet. Birdy takes a bath, and Senkawa doesn’t make a single comment about her appearance — which, despite being Altairan, passes quite well for “pretty human female.” The humor, when present, is much more gentle than that. And there’s horror, based on the really icky aliens and their powers (one literally absorbs the knowledge of whomever he eats…and he’s always hungry.) In fact, it puts me in mind of Full Metal Panic, if the author had been good enough to balance it right, instead of swing wildly from one extreme to the other.
One reason for this oddity is Birdy’s pedigree. It’s a remake of an older series, and they’re staying fairly true to the flavor I guess (edit: either a 4 or 6 episode OVA, accounts differ). The original show didn’t go off into sexual humor, so the new one doesn’t either. The new series is expected to run 13 episodes, and I have no idea if it will be a self-contained story or set up for a longer run. As of episode 3, there’s been a couple of minor twists, an interfering mysterious third party, one major plot development I didn’t expect, and even a hint of high-school romance. Though there’s also some pathos, and a chance for more. The series set-up appears to be Birdy and Senkawa trying to discover the macguffin and deal with it, while coming to grips with their shared experience… and trying to keep it from everyone around Senkawa. Which, for spoilerish reasons that I’m not even going to put under tag, is going to be much more difficult than either of them suspects.
I’m not as gung-ho about this series as I have been about others; I look forward to the next episode of Strike Witches far more. But that’s because it’s cheesy, mindless fun. Birdy is not thought provoking, but it aspires to, and achieves, a higher level. If I had to give an example, it’s like the difference between watching a colorful graffiti artist at work, versus a professional and talented house-painter. One might be entertaining and expressive, but ultimately useless (we’ll assume for the sake of argument, the graffiti artist has permission), but the other is creating something of value. And there’s something to be said for watching a master at work (cough, Shingu Though I’m not saying this is of that level, yet).
Or in a complete non-sequitor, as Cassanova Frankenstein said, “That! Is a truly excellent Harvey Wallbanger!”
(Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I didn’t think it was going to be worth downloading; watched it streamed.)
Update: Looked at the discussion threads over at AnimeSuki this morning, and it’s getting good reviews. Not the “OMGWTFBBQ teh aw3s0/\/\3!!!” kind either. Mainly from long-time anime fans who remember the original, or are fans of the creative team behind this. Apparently they have a reputation for finding classic “lost” anime with potential and doing remakes of it. Doesn’t hurt that there’s been a new Birdy manga since 2003. Birdy’s voice is done by the same seiyuu as Dokuro-chan and Nina the lesbian table rapist. And finally, one thing that’s getting good marks, and I completely forgot to mention (as in, I meant to, and left it out, not “I failed to notice”), is the art. It’s not earth-shattering, but it is good and the fight scenes are well animated. You get a good sense from it why and how Birdy ended up killing Senkawa.
Update 2: Japanese speaking fans indicate that it loses it’s way after ep 3, and #6 was particularly pointless and boring. Hope they’re wrong, but we’ll see, once it’s subbed. If it’s subbed. Mindless entertainment, five groups. Funny or good anime, we’re lucky if one does it.
Update 3: I disagree after viewing #4. I can’t speak for #6, but it’s switching gears from the action-packed first three episodes to intrigue. We find out exactly what stakes they’re playing for, and what the Riunka is.
It is apparently a planet-killer. And it’s loose on Earth.
Birdy is likeable, but cocky, arrogant, loves a fight, and has the nickname of “Beserker Killer.” She’s in over her head, and Senkawa’s role in this story is not that of hapless comic relief. He’s going to have to step up and be Birdy’s friend, confidante, and balance wheel. And we’re seeing signs that he’s growing into that role, as when he insists on speaking up, in a trial that was ostensibly of one of Geega’s subordinates, but became an inquisition of Birdy’s actions in killing Senkawa.
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Not. A. Trap.
By the way, is anyone else having trouble downloading? I’m watching the stream, but the file download keeps ending prematurely. Given last week’s issues, this is really bothersome.
Edit: Miyafuji has given up groping for this episode, and is acting normal, despite the base having a sauna and private outdoor nude swimming area. She also gets sent on her first real missions, night patrols with Sanya and Elia.
Wilcke and Sakamoto are speculating that there may be more to the Neuroi than they know… but the high command might. There were a couple of offhand lines that make me think this is going to develop along philosophical lines similar to Gundam. A sort of ‘Wars are fought because the military has to have something to do’ philosophy. And I don’t really care for that strain of thought being introduced into my cheesy mindless entertainment.
Another thing, watching the stream, CR hard-encoded popup ads on the screen. Ads that cover the subbing. Bad. Really, really bad, especially given the download issues (which I sent them an email on.) CR, are you trying to drive me back to piracy?
Update: And Author bails.
Update: Whereas Steven returns. Will be interesting to see what he thinks. I’m putting SW on the bubble; if CR keeps frustrating me with bad downloads and/or popup ads over the subtitles, or the show dives off the Stratos 4 cliff, I will just go watch Sekirei for my mindless fanservice with zest.
Update: And I forgot to note, episode 5 also blew out Don. At this point, I’m all for declaring episode 5 non-canon and moving on….
Update: There were a few asides about the potential uses of the Strike Witches in the comments at Chizumatic, but given that I already have four five comments on that thread, I decided it was time to give it a rest.
We found out in “non-canon” episode 5, that the Striker units can be tuned for offense, defense, or speed. Yeager has hers tuned for speed, but apparently kept a fair amount of defense, given
Bishop appears to be tuned for offense/accuracy, Sanya for offense/power. The weapons they carry are expressive of these traits. Sanya’s seems to be exceptionally tuned to offense, given that she’s never deployed a shield that I recall. (Maybe in ep.1 or 2? And meta-story, I’m sure the weapons came first and the traits later, but we’ll ignore that for now.)
Miyafuji may or may not have had hers tuned to push her defensive power, but I know if I were Wilcke, I’d want the demonstrated healer behind the most powerful defense possible. What are the other girls’ tuned for? My guesses:
Note that I’ve been getting Eila and Barkhorn reversed since my comment about episode 7 previews.
Yay! It’s coming to DVD in the US! Finally, since the fansubbers let us all down. (EDIT: ARRRGH!! I misread. No, it’s just a Japanese manga/DVD bundle. /cry.) Given that the show had nipples in broadcast, I have to wonder what the DVD-only episode’s going to be like. (Do we FINALLY get to see Fubuki nude? Please!!)
A few months ago I started and shelved a comparison of the four fanservice shows then airing. This is what I had to say about KnMG:
Kamen no Maid Guy. To summarize:
Watched: 6 episodes and damn, there’s only how many left? Hey, would someone start fansubbing this show again?
Fanservice level: Middling to occasionally high.
Art & Animation: Overall, average. Maybe above average for a fanservice show, though the usual shortcuts are present.
Humor: Over the top, and very high. “No, no, you’re just a big-breasted kendo girl; your panties would only be worth Y70,000!” Also, I have to hand it to her brother; he’s always saying what I’m thinking about Fubuki. Except when he’s being stupider than usual.
Male Lead: Kogarashi, the Maid Guy, although it’s not that kind of show.
Female Lead(s): Big-breasted, athletic, and mathematically challenged. Also violent, when provoked. Probably the best lead of the lot.
Secondary Characters: Best. Maid. EVER. And no, I don’t mean the guy. Fubuki rocks. Think Siesta crossed with Najica. A sweet, short-tempered Najica. A sweet, short-tempered, big-breasted Najica. Longer skirt, though, dammit…
Plot: Lurking in the background; probably will get left there. Naeka is six months from inheriting the huge family fortune, but someone’s been killing off the rest of the family. Grandpa arranges meido bodyguards, one of whom is a “Maid Guy.” Think Souske Sagara with most of Superman’s powers, plus some new ones tossed in. And less sense.
Storytelling: I haven’t stopped laughing long enough to notice. There really isn’t much of a story here; the inheritance and threat are more for the setup than for the plot. I do think it’s a bit odd that Naeka and her brother haven’t noticed their lack of cousins…
More: Make that “more, please.” This show also depends on zaniness, only it’s much more original. It’s not a maid show; it’s a parody of maid shows. A typical episode involves Kogarashi coming up against a pseudo-threat and over-reacting in his own hilarious way. It’s not as brain-dead a reaction as Souské Sagara’s; it just lacks… perspective. Like the time he determined that a female threat to Naeka could be identified only by her green polka-dot panties. He contrived to steal the panties off every girl in the school–while they were being worn. “Bah, saw that in Inukami,” right? Wrong. That guy was so slow, the women knew they’d been plundered. Not the subjects of Maid Guy’s investigation! “Stupid girls have no awareness! Kukukukukukuku!” In retaliation, Fubuki, as his keeper (of sorts) promptly detonates the bomb she put in his phone. Then there was the epic battle against the ninja meido twins. The older sister is scary, but I give the younger one points for ‘best use of an innocent bystander.’ “Maid Guy does not harm civilians!” As for the differently-aged twins…. “Yeah, I heard something… her expiration date passing!” Oh, did I mention that Naeka’s boobs have their own fan club? And of course there’s a lesbian stalker chick!
I really don’t see how or where they can find a VA to do justice to Kogarashi and his madcap laugh. “Kukukukukukukukukuku!” There was no attempt to tell a real story here, but that was very much a “who cares?” item. They have a thin premise as to why Naeka and her brother are being guarded by two hyper-competent lethal maids (one of whom is male) and they pretty much ignore it once the situation is set.
Oh, and if you want pics, look here. Edit: even better set here. This was one of the better fanservice episodes, but sadly, not one of the two (that I saw) that involved toplessness with nipples.
