Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted January 22 Posted January 22 I am almost finished with Claymore. I am glad it is over. I really did not enjoy it. Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Akemu M.D.: Doctor Detective is only four episodes into its run. It was scraping the bottom of the mystery story barrel two episodes ago. Now it's a good thirty, maybe forty meters down into the bedrock beneath the barrel. They're trying to do an "is it supernatural or isn't it?" sort of "mystery" now, and that kind of story does not work with the series premise of (allegedly) realistic medicine. It's so incredibly dumb that it's impossible to take seriously... so much so that the only thing the writers can think of to build "suspense" is to have the protagonist play the pronoun game to drag out the answer even though the "mystery" is so simple it only takes a minute and a half of in-story time to actually solve. This is, perhaps, made worse by the fact that they then stand around talking about the solution to the mystery with all the energy and enthusiasm normally reserved for discussing income tax paperwork while all three doctors present ignore the slowly dying patient in agony on the floor behind them. Spoiler The mystery? Turns out that going into a freshly opened tomb that'd been sealed in damp conditions for a thousand years and fondling the decaying mummy sealed inside without any kind of PPE is a fantastically bad idea. The story apparently features the only three archaeologists in the world who've never heard of "tomb sickness". Quote
Stampeed Valkyrie Posted January 23 Posted January 23 17 hours ago, Hikaru Ichijo SL said: I am almost finished with Claymore. I am glad it is over. I really did not enjoy it. If this is the same series I am thinking of, the anime was left wanting. Wasn't terrible, but the manga was leaps and bounds better. Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Tried out two more new titles last night... Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf and The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World. Also got caught up on Even Given the Worthless "Appraiser" Class. Even Given the Worthless "Appraiser" Class has finished pivoting from being misery porn to establish how "edgy" and "adult" its world is to being form letter isekai power fantasy of the laziest kind. The protagonist, whose name is apparently "Ein", is an unlikeable doormat of a person who has godlike power foisted upon him by the guardian of the World Tree for no real reason (appparently they just had godlike power sitting around and didn't want it to go to waste? I don't know). Anyway, he gains the power of Super Appraisal, which basically amounts to permanently gaining all the powers of anything he looks at in his inexplicable JRPG-like fantasy world. Also they give him infinite carry capacity hax, a super powerful katana (because Katanas are Just Better in this western fantasy-style world), and install a big-tiddy elf waifu with no personality in his left eye to provide infinite heals and fanservice. The whole thing is so lazy and cynical it would probably have worked far better as a parody than playing it straight. The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World, though... now that's a gem. A fish-out-of-water isekai parody-comedy about a super sentai hero who ends up trapped in a standard western fantasy JRPG isekai world trying to get home. A lot of the humor comes from hanging lampshades on just how corny all the tokusatsu action tropes he depends on are, but it's done so well and so lovingly that it comes off as an affectionate parody of both genres. I had enormous fun watching it and I can hardly wait for the next episode. Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf is another isekai or isekai-adjacent title... this time involving a salaryman who visits a fantasy world in his dreams each night, and is brought to the sharp realization that it was no dream when he accidentally brings his elf companion back to Japan with him on waking. So the two of them start leading a double life of isekai fantasy adventure and daily slow life romance across the boundary of the two worlds. It's cute, it's kinda funny. It's not great but it's eminently watchable. Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted January 23 Posted January 23 The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World is actually getting interesting. I just wonder how he gets the younger girls to flock to him. Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted January 29 Posted January 29 Ameku M.D. is really an amazing series in its own way. Not because it's a good mystery series, no. Because it's an atrociously bad one where the solution to the mystery is either Insane Troll Logic or Dora the Explorer levels of obvious to everyone but the characters. The most recent episode is a murder-by-arson case where the victims are the world's worst archaeologists from the previous case who nearly died from huffing grave mold, and it takes a distressingly long time and multiple firebombings for anyone to suspect that the culprit might be the guy who directly told the victims AND THE INVESTIGATORS they'd die in a fire in the previous episode. Bonus stupidity points for the fact that there aren't even any red herrings here... he is the ONLY CHARACTER in this story who is not either part of the investigation team or a victim. Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted January 29 Posted January 29 Grisaia was good today. I still miss Yuuji and his harem. Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted January 30 Posted January 30 (edited) Even Given the Worthless "Appraiser" Class has reached its final form... which is to say, its story has developed into one of those isekai-adjacent jfantasy stories that relies heavily on isekai tropes like a world that runs on JRPG/MMORPG logic and a loser protagonist who effortlessly gains godlike power, a harem, and fame, just without the part about being reincarnated into another world. For bonus points, the protagonist even has weeb fanfic self-insert traits like superpower-induced heterochromia, super speed bordering on being able to teleport, and using a katana in a setting where everything else is modeled on western fantasy aesthetics. All they're really missing at this point is white hair and a Nomura-esque questionable-at-best understanding of how belts are meant to be worn. As deep as Even Given the Worthless "Appraiser" Class is in bad fan-fiction trope territory, it's actually pretty painful to watch. It's played absolutely straight, but it feels like watching someone's chuunibyou power fantasy delusions play out in their imagination. It's definitely a strong contender for this season's must-skip series! Edited January 30 by Seto Kaiba Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted January 30 Posted January 30 The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World had truly horrible animation today. But the story is ok. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Since the majority of Macross is now on Hulu, I decided to watch Macross II this evening. I own the movie version, and until today, that's all I knew of it. I watched the entire series, and despite the love triangle being more of a suggestion than an actuality, the music and valks were present, and the other mecha designs weren't all that bad either. I know it's a bit of a black sheep among Macross entries, but it felt Macross-y to me, and I enjoyed it. I liked it better than the majority of Macross 7, at any rate. I think Macross Zero will be my next watch; I own a DVD set from years ago, but the subs tend to get worse as it goes along and I'm hoping the ones on the Hulu version are better. Too, my wife hasn't seen most of these, so I'm trying to indoctrinate her. 😁 I also watched Phoenix: Eden 17 tonight. I enjoyed it, but my understanding after reading some reviews is that it departs quite a bit from many of the darker and more profound themes in Osamu Tezuka's original manga. I'm not a manga reader and I was completely ignorant of the significance of both the author and Phoenix, considered his greatest work as well as one of the greatest manga in the history of the genre, but I've gained an appreciation just from what I read on Wikipedia. RIP Tezuka-sensei. Your work lives on. Quote
26662 Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Context: I don't read manga. I hate dubs and only watch in the native language. No spoilers below. I pretty much stick to sci fi and fantasy. Solo Leveling - It has no business being this good Frieren - Just finished watching it through a second time. It started slow but sucked me in. I find myself fighting tears at least once during most episodes Ishura - It seems to be building toward something epic and I can't wait Fire Force - abandoned it months ago after the first episode. Decided to give it another shot after I saw a YouTuber mention that there was a scene involving an OP character who's attack had some unbelievably, ridiculously bad-ass audio. Still looking for the scene. Shangri-La Frontier Tower of God Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Wow, 100 girlfriends was a confusing mess of an episode. It was great as usual. Quote
Big s Posted February 3 Posted February 3 16 hours ago, M'Kyuun said: Since the majority of Macross is now on Hulu, I decided to watch Macross II this evening. I own the movie version, and until today, that's all I knew of it. I watched the entire series, and despite the love triangle being more of a suggestion than an actuality, the music and valks were present, and the other mecha designs weren't all that bad either. I know it's a bit of a black sheep among Macross entries, but it felt Macross-y to me, and I enjoyed it. I liked it better than the majority of Macross 7, at any rate. I think Macross Zero will be my next watch; I own a DVD set from years ago, but the subs tend to get worse as it goes along and I'm hoping the ones on the Hulu version are better. Too, my wife hasn't seen most of these, so I'm trying to indoctrinate her. 😁 Macross II is a little weird for sure, but still fun for what it is. I hadn’t watched in a while since I only had the video tapes. I kinda thought the relationships were kinda strange in that one, especially towards the end. The whole Sylvie, Hibiki thing kinda came out of nowhere and then Ishtar finding them and just oh ok. The action is entertaining, but I kinda would’ve liked more time showing the details of the mecha. To get a good look at everything, it helps to be familiar with the images before watching, cause there are quite a few things that barely get shown more than a few seconds at a time. I really wish the Metal Siren got some more screen time Quote
M'Kyuun Posted February 3 Posted February 3 4 hours ago, Big s said: Macross II is a little weird for sure, but still fun for what it is. I hadn’t watched in a while since I only had the video tapes. I kinda thought the relationships were kinda strange in that one, especially towards the end. The whole Sylvie, Hibiki thing kinda came out of nowhere and then Ishtar finding them and just oh ok. The action is entertaining, but I kinda would’ve liked more time showing the details of the mecha. To get a good look at everything, it helps to be familiar with the images before watching, cause there are quite a few things that barely get shown more than a few seconds at a time. I really wish the Metal Siren got some more screen time Agree on all. Additionally, I thought the production introduced some other interesting concepts like the VC-079 Civilian Valkyrie. It only has a GERWALK, like another M2 mecha, the GERWALKroid, as well as a variable fighter for the Marduk Zentradi (full sized). Being an all-hand-drawn series, a lot of the details were iffy at best on a lot of these, not to mention the brevity of their appearances along with other mecha and ships in the series. But, FWIW, it's not a bad series, tells a coherent story, features likable characters Spoiler I was sorry to see Dennis meet his maker so early in the show, as he imparted some practical and apropos wisdom, and would have served as a good mentor for Hibiki for at least a couple more eps before killing him. I thought the way they killed him off and then just left him was kinda crappy. Hibiki started out as a bit of a douche with a chip on his shoulder, but he matures a bit and becomes more likable as the series progresses, unlike a certain rock singer with a lovely red valk. and, despite a nearly non-existant love triangle, and a barely there and hamhandedly wedged in relationship between Hibiki and Sylvie at the end, it has the overall feel of a Macross series. Kudos to the designers for pretty much inventing most of the mecha throughout and for implementing the aforementioned innovations. I wish Kawamori had carried forward some of those ideas, especially the idea of more civilian ships with GERWALK and full battroid modes, not really for any practical reason, but just b/c the rule of cool dictates. Credit to Macross Mecha Manual for image links. VC-079 GERWALKroid Marduk Variable Zentradi Fighter Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 3 Posted February 3 Wow, Arifureta was awesome today. Today's episodes reminds me why I love Shea so much. Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted February 6 Posted February 6 Ameku M.D. is a trashfire as always... it's on its third episode of trying to make something out of that ridiculous "is it a curse or isn't it?" storyline, and the twist is even dumber than I had expected. Bravo. Has the Spoiler The science in this "medical" murder mystery story is so hilariously bad that it doesn't sound even remotely plausible. I question whether the original author has any idea how matches actually work. This central premise of this "mystery" is matches spontaneously igniting in people's pockets or whatnot. In the writer's mind, spontaneous ignition of a little 10-pack box of strike-on matches like a really old fashioned smoker might carry in place of a lighter is enough to cause immediate full-body immolation and either burn a person completely to ash within seconds or cause an explosion sufficient to set an entire hospital room on fire. The police are just as bad, deciding to question a suspect caught in the act of attempted arson inside the gasoline-soaked building they are actively trying to burn down and without restraining or searching the suspect in any way. Also, motorcycles are magic and act as battering rams instead of flipping over when they hit heavy objects head-on at speed. Imagine my surprise to learn that the author of the original light novel is a board-certified physician... Spoiler ... and subsequent understanding when it was revealed that he was actually never more than a part-time intern working for a clinic his family owned. It's probably for the best that they've stayed out of practicing medicine if this is what their scientific knowledge is like. Possibly the Greatest Alchemist of All Time and Bogus Skill <Fruitmaster> continue to disappoint as expected. There really is no originality left in that genre.😅 Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted February 6 Posted February 6 On 2/3/2025 at 12:11 AM, M'Kyuun said: I wish Kawamori had carried forward some of those ideas, especially the idea of more civilian ships with GERWALK and full battroid modes, not really for any practical reason, but just b/c the rule of cool dictates. He did, kind of... After Macross II: Lovers Again, Kawamori integrated the idea of non-military mecha into Macross in several different ways. Macross 7 introduced the idea of the New UN Forces selling off decommissioned Destroids and Valkyries to private citizens as heavy machinery and/or leisure craft, and also had two new non-military transformable mecha (an armored car and a tiltrotor) used by the City 7 police department for public safety work. Macross Dynamite 7 doubled down on that by showing that the Earth New UN Forces were loaning old model VFs armed with nonlethal weapons to the Zola Patrol's officers for wildlife conservation work AND introduced a dedicated built-for-civilians VF variant (VT-1C). Macross Frontier and its novelization also introduced a dedicated built-for-civilians training version of the VF-1 in the VF-1C, civilian-use Destroids in the Destroid Work, and also the idea of civilian VF air racing including a dedicated News Valkyrie. (Of course, the VC-079 there is part of a design lineage that was developed for use in Department of Natural Resources-type field work and civilian search-and-rescue before also finding a secondary market as a leisure craft.) Quote
M'Kyuun Posted February 6 Posted February 6 3 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said: He did, kind of... After Macross II: Lovers Again, Kawamori integrated the idea of non-military mecha into Macross in several different ways. Macross 7 introduced the idea of the New UN Forces selling off decommissioned Destroids and Valkyries to private citizens as heavy machinery and/or leisure craft, and also had two new non-military transformable mecha (an armored car and a tiltrotor) used by the City 7 police department for public safety work. Macross Dynamite 7 doubled down on that by showing that the Earth New UN Forces were loaning old model VFs armed with nonlethal weapons to the Zola Patrol's officers for wildlife conservation work AND introduced a dedicated built-for-civilians VF variant (VT-1C). Macross Frontier and its novelization also introduced a dedicated built-for-civilians training version of the VF-1 in the VF-1C, civilian-use Destroids in the Destroid Work, and also the idea of civilian VF air racing including a dedicated News Valkyrie. (Of course, the VC-079 there is part of a design lineage that was developed for use in Department of Natural Resources-type field work and civilian search-and-rescue before also finding a secondary market as a leisure craft.) Your knowledge of this stuff is remarkable and much appreciated. Had to do a bit of searching for the tiltrotor you mentioned (The Macross Mecha Manual let me down😟), but I'm glad you mentioned it. It's a pretty cool design that deserves a toy or a model in its own right. I wonder if this served as inspiration for the Oblivion Bubbleship, as there are some parallels. Really neat design. Might have to do something like it with LEGO, as the idea of variable utilitarian vehicles has caught my fancy over the last decade, Think I'd probably modify that tail section to split and make it a quadruped instead. The Octos, though a military mech, is a really cool but nigh forgotten variable mech from Zero. I realize the valks are the big draw, but stuff like this tiltrotor and the Octos are equally forged of cool, IMHO. Bit of animation magic there with those forearms taking on a much deeper curve than when they're deployed. Still a neat design worthy of some form of plasticization. The Octos: Quote
JB0 Posted February 6 Posted February 6 10 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said: old model VFs armed with nonlethal weapons I dunno, that harpoon gunpod looked pretty lethal to me... Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 6 Posted February 6 I started Kaguya-sama love is war. I am enjoying it. Quote
Scyla Posted Sunday at 08:25 PM Posted Sunday at 08:25 PM Today’s episode of 100 Girlfriends was awesome… *sparkling* 🤩 Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted Sunday at 08:34 PM Posted Sunday at 08:34 PM 8 minutes ago, Scyla said: Today’s episode of 100 Girlfriends was awesome… *sparkling* 🤩 It was great, I love them all going super saiya-jin. Shizuka is so precious. Who wouldn't want to protect her. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted yesterday at 05:01 AM Posted yesterday at 05:01 AM At the risk of derailing the current anime conversation, I just finished watching Macross 7 and all but the Frontier crossover eps and having only watched once before with an overall low opinion of it, this time around I found myself enjoying it much more. I'm still not crazy about "Planet Dance", which they play ad nauseum throughout, but the vitriol I felt towards it and some of his other songs has tempered with time and age, I suppose. I found that I enjoyed far more of his songs this time around (I even watched the full 2007 live concert with Fukuyama and Kajiura and came away very much impressed- Fukuyamasan can play some mean guitar! Moreover, they did a set of 20 songs and he sang most of them as lead at the same level as he did in his twenties for the show. Bomba!) As for the show itself, some of the "spiritia" stuff and the extent of "song energy's" power was a bit much, but overall, I enjoyed the show. There are some great humorous moments throughout. The usually reticent Veffidas gave me a good hearty laugh at the end of "Which One Do You Love", part of the Encore series of unaired eps. My wife and I think Mylene should stick with Gamlin and Basara should hook up with Emelia, Mylene's older sister. 😁 Anyway, sometimes it's good to rewatch stuff with older eyes and ears; I'm glad I did. Quote
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted 21 hours ago Posted 21 hours ago Welcome to Japan Ms Elf was so good today. Marie look so good in anything. Glad to see Wridra again. Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted 20 hours ago Posted 20 hours ago Ameku M.D. remains a most epic trashfire... it really is impressive just how consistently bad the writing is. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but I'm having fun tuning in each week to see what kind of braindead nonsense the writers come up with next. The writer's biggest problem is the pretense that the titular Dr. Ameku is a "genius". The writer(s) can't seem to figure out how to actually depict her as a brilliant pathologist, so the story compensates by making everyone else an idiot with no pattern recognition skills or situational awareness so she can appear brilliant by comparison. Spoiler The most recent episode's whole plot depends on the hospital having re-admitted a child patient who was previously hospitalized for several health complications caused by their mother over-medicating them, and never once considering that the child's new mystery malady might also be caused by the mother... especially when she insisted upon bringing in outside food for her child every day despite the hospital providing meals. I May Be a Guild Receptionist wore out its premise and jumped the shark surprisingly quickly. The show's whole premise depended on its parallels to, and commentary on, Japan's toxic work culture... and it collapsed like a failed souffle when the story decided to reveal the protagonist's overtime woes are wholly self-inflicted. She doesn't have to work any of the OT she's working. She's doing it voluntarily (and unnecessarily). The comedy basically vanished as a result and what's left in its wake is an unremarkable isekai-adjacent light fantasy story about a girl who flies into a psychotic rage over any disruption to her day. I'm Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class is still pretty OK, though it seems to be trying to tease a harem situation in a really awkward and unwelcome way. Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms is... well... basically unchanged from the start. It's still a cleaner, more kid-friendly version of B Gata H Kei... which tends to make it a bit one-note. It's still funny, but it lacks variety? Bogus Skill <Fruitmaster> is still absolutely dreadful. It's one of those ones like Isekai Cheat Magician where you kind of wonder how anyone looked at this and said "Yeah, that's good enough to release". I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons is still consistently good. I have a lot of fun with that one every week. Mainly because the characters are so spirited. Leticia has a level of charm that reminds me a lot of Macross Delta's Freyja Wion. She's here for a good time, and she's not going to let anyone or anything get her down and her optimism is infectious that way. Possibly the Greatest Alchemist is still pretty bland. Same as Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf. Kind of the animated equivalent of white noise. Not offensive, but not something that I'd voluntarily tune in to. Blue Exorcist is still mucking about with flashbacks, and the delivery has lost all of its impact. I think a lot of it is just that its plot beats aren't really anything original or particularly well-delivered. The story keeps wanting to re-reveal that Rin really is the literal Son of Satan and have it be a big deal... but considering it was one of the first things we learned about him at the very start of the story, the response it prompts is less "OH MY GOD!" and more "Yes, we know. From all the other times you told us that." Spoiler There's literally a moment where the protagonist has to grapple with the fact that He, the literal Son of literal Satan, was an Evil Demon Baby. Mind you, at this point the protagonist has had multiple conversations with his superpowered evil demon side and the whole reveal is rendered unintentionally comical when the snarling demon baby is not so much delivered as launched from its mother's body at such tremendous speed it flies a good 30-40 feet across the room. Quote
Big s Posted 18 hours ago Posted 18 hours ago 18 hours ago, M'Kyuun said: At the risk of derailing the current anime conversation, I just finished watching Macross 7 and all but the Frontier crossover eps and having only watched once before with an overall low opinion of it, this time around I found myself enjoying it much more. I'm still not crazy about "Planet Dance", which they play ad nauseum throughout, but the vitriol I felt towards it and some of his other songs has tempered with time and age, I suppose. I found that I enjoyed far more of his songs this time around (I even watched the full 2007 live concert with Fukuyama and Kajiura and came away very much impressed- Fukuyamasan can play some mean guitar! Moreover, they did a set of 20 songs and he sang most of them as lead at the same level as he did in his twenties for the show. Bomba!) As for the show itself, some of the "spiritia" stuff and the extent of "song energy's" power was a bit much, but overall, I enjoyed the show. There are some great humorous moments throughout. The usually reticent Veffidas gave me a good hearty laugh at the end of "Which One Do You Love", part of the Encore series of unaired eps. My wife and I think Mylene should stick with Gamlin and Basara should hook up with Emelia, Mylene's older sister. 😁 Anyway, sometimes it's good to rewatch stuff with older eyes and ears; I'm glad I did. I had this plan of really attacking the show and watching a bunch of episodes at a time, but I just don’t feel to excited about it and it’s taking a lot of energy out of me. At episode 9, but still trying to get through it, I’m not gonna give up, but it’s really more of a struggle than I thought it would be Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted 17 hours ago Posted 17 hours ago 18 hours ago, M'Kyuun said: At the risk of derailing the current anime conversation, I just finished watching Macross 7 and all but the Frontier crossover eps and having only watched once before with an overall low opinion of it, this time around I found myself enjoying it much more. I'm still not crazy about "Planet Dance", which they play ad nauseum throughout, but the vitriol I felt towards it and some of his other songs has tempered with time and age, I suppose. Macross 7's early episodes are definitely a struggle due to that lack of musical variety and the main plot not really kicking off until Sound Force is formed around 20 episodes in... once you hit that point though, it really takes off. Quote
kajnrig Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago I'm about half a dozen episodes from the end and I'm largely in agreement with you, @M'Kyuun. The music definitely doesn't do it for me, but whether that's because of the music inherently or just the lack of variety, I don't know. It certainly becomes more tolerable some 30 episodes in, but even then, that goddamn harmonica riff regularly stabs through my ears like a set of rusty scissors. I've liked these same songs and Fukuyama vocals just fine when remixed in Frontier (and Delta?), so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Spoilers just to truncate the post a bit: Spoiler I was quite surprised at some character turns. I think Gamlin especially surprised me; by all indications, he seemed like he would follow the pretty typical serious no-nonsense rule-stickler formula: he would barely tolerate Basara throughout the run of the show, then begrudgingly acknowledge him, etc. But he went ahead and voiced basically exactly my opinion of Basara - "I think he can be obnoxious, but I don't hate him." or something along those lines - and he did so with a smile, and he appreciated Basara for who he was even if he found him incorrigible at times. I see now why everyone likes him. He has really strong main character energy. I'm not sure who is supposed to make up the "triangle" in this show, because Basara is so purely about the music that, even 45+ episodes in, it doesn't really seem like he has much interest in anything else. I know the early episodes try to point towards it being him, Mylene, and Gamlin, but the latter two are more obviously and openly into each other romantically, and only share a mutual platonic affection for him. Arguably he has chemistry with Sivil (super hot, by the way, holy crap I was immediately down bad for her), but... again, I don't feel any romantic tension there. If it was supposed to be Basara, Sivil, and Gigil... I dunno, I feel like there's a Gigil subplot that was axed somewhere along the line. (Which is bizarre, because dear god does the anime move at a frickin' snail's pace and could have used the content.) If it does turn out that indeed the early-series romantic tension hinted at is what's intended, then... it'll certainly feel lopsided, and it'll DEFINITELY feel contrived if Mylene ends up choosing Basara over Gamlin. Max and Milia are tons of fun. I love the direction they went with these two. They really brighten up the show. The bad guys are serviceable. Gigil is almost Basara levels of annoying, but I enjoy the story backing up his annoyingness. Sivil, STILL, 45 EPISODES IN, isn't much beyond a macguffin and phenomenal eye candy, but she's intriguing enough that I want to keep watching. Gepelnitchi, up until that revelation some episodes back, was just The Big Bad. And the new general guy, the Gamlin rival, the twink wearing a onesie and fur trunks, who gets blown up in exactly the same way by Gamlin like five episodes in a row it's hilarious, he's whatever. He's there because the show needs him there, so... cool, I guess. But yeah, I see why people like it. More than anything, it's just a fun show. It doesn't take itself too seriously (though I sometimes wish it would), nor is it just pointless slapstick all the time. One last note: Swear to god, Basara is like a prototype Mikumo Guynemer. He has the weird hyperfixation and social ineptitude she should have had, but she gets the reaction from those around her (at least in the movies) that he should have gotten. To @Big s's point: In the time it took me to get to episode 45, I managed to blitz through DYRL, FB2012 (okay, that's cheating I admit, only like the last five minutes or so is worth watching, and that's included in the DYRL 4K anyway), all of Frontier, its two movies and Labyrinth of Time, and the first episode of Zero. I bet I could get through most of Delta, too, if I wanted--okay, that's a lie, I'm definitely having more fun with 7 than I did with Delta. That being said, I hope my rewatch of Delta leaves a better impression this time around. Maybe 7 will soften me up to it a bit. Quote
Big s Posted 15 hours ago Posted 15 hours ago 2 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said: Macross 7's early episodes are definitely a struggle due to that lack of musical variety and the main plot not really kicking off until Sound Force is formed around 20 episodes in... once you hit that point though, it really takes off. Yeah, I remember it does get better, but it’s still tough in these early ones. I want to get them knocked so I can get to the good stuff and I think it will be much easier to move forward from there. Although I do have to say doing a rewatch of this is still better than my rewatch of Gundam seed and its stupid sequel. I still haven’t watched that seed movie yet. Quote
Seto Kaiba Posted 14 hours ago Posted 14 hours ago 15 minutes ago, Big s said: Yeah, I remember it does get better, but it’s still tough in these early ones. I want to get them knocked so I can get to the good stuff and I think it will be much easier to move forward from there. It's kind of a self-defeating temptation, because the more of Macross 7 you watch in one sitting the less tolerable it becomes. It works great as a one-per-day or one-per-week sort of show, but that first twenty or so episodes is absolute TORTURE if you try to marathon it. That's why I ended up hating the series on my first go. I tried to binge it and the sheer saminess of the pre-Sound Force story just killed me. 15 minutes ago, Big s said: Although I do have to say doing a rewatch of this is still better than my rewatch of Gundam seed and its stupid sequel. I still haven’t watched that seed movie yet. I'd call SEED FREEDOM an eminently skippable Gundam title. It's not... awful... it's just unimaginative and doesn't add anything new or meaningful to the setting. It's basically just Destiny again and worse. And with more incels and more people telling Shinn he sucks. Quote
M'Kyuun Posted 14 hours ago Posted 14 hours ago Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one watching. @kajnrig, I totally agree about Gamlin- at first, he comes off as the stereotypical stiff military stereotype (which always bugs me having been career military- we don't all have sticks up our collective rectums, although there a few 'ate up' folks for whom it superbly applies). It was a refreshing change in character when he begrudgingly, at first, begins to recognize what Basara's about and by the end, fully supports him. Basara's single-mindedness about his music becomes a bit overbearing at times, but there are moments when he does selfless and heroic things for others, so he's not a complete jerk, just mostly. 😄 To see Basara's and Gamlin's camaraderie at the end is cool. As for the love triangle, yeah no. While Mylene may be in a quandary, there's really only one choice, as Basara is oblivious to all but his music, although he did seem to start to get a little cozy with Emilia, which I think is the better match, anyway. Poor Rex has it bad for Basara and he never responds. His fascination for Sivil is odd, but again, I think it's more about getting through to her through his music than any amorous desire. Sivil obviously develops a fondness for Basara, and like Max and Miria in SDF:M, I think it would have been an interesting pairing, but I guess she knew she was too different, and maybe too fearful of involuntarily siphoning off all his spiritia thus rendering him a Basara shaped raisin. Or it was just in the script. I was hoping there'd be an explanation for the flower girl's dogged determination to deliver a bouquet to Basara- I'm sure there's a backstory there, but they chose not to elaborate thus leaving it to the viewer to guess. She's the definition of superfan, though, other than cosplaying Basara while trying to make her deliveries. Perhaps that was a step too close to creepy. 😄 Nonetheless, it's still a bit obsessive, and if the genders were reversed, we'd be more inclined to see it as stalking (even though there are plenty of instances of women stalkers). I watch the ID Channel way too much. The biggest question of all, who the heck is playing that infernal harmonica?!! Man that song irks, not only b/c it kinda sucks, but for how often they play the damned thing. I realize it's a series about a band, and it certainly should have music, but M7 is the definition of overkill. I do like a number of the songs towards the end of the series and into Encore and the OVAs. I've got "Light the Light" playing in my brain constantly now since watching the show. That and "Dakedo Baby!". So punchy and fun with a bit of a 60s vibe! I wasn't thrilled with the Max and Milia separation storyline, but some of the interplay between them was entertaining. I thought Milia was a bit too adversarial and cold towards Max at times, as he didn't seem to harbor the same grudge or what have you. I wonder if Exsedol is sitting on a toilet- the guy never moves from that spot for nearly the entirety of the series. Odd that he doesn't shrink down to Miclone size- seems like it'd be more comfortable than sticking his head up through the floor. 12 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said: It's kind of a self-defeating temptation, because the more of Macross 7 you watch in one sitting the less tolerable it becomes. It works great as a one-per-day or one-per-week sort of show, but that first twenty or so episodes is absolute TORTURE if you try to marathon it. That's why I ended up hating the series on my first go. I tried to binge it and the sheer saminess of the pre-Sound Force story just killed me. Honestly, even after the intro of Sound Force, it's still pretty formulaic with the Protodeviln attacking randomly just about every episode and we get to watch and rewatch recycled footage of battle scenes and the Sound Boosters launching and attaching to the valks. You could cut about tens eps of similar battles out, as they tend to drag the pacing out as well. But I agree, until about the twentieth or so ep, it's fairly monotonous set to an obnoxiously overplayed "Planet Dance' soundtrack. That song, man- gah! Quote
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