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Bottom left is a Virgo
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Oct 8, 2014 15:13
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BlitzBlast posted:I've been kind of down on Rinko ever since a friend who is an actual housewife who runs a gunpla store pointed out how incredibly dumb it was to be running a shop for several years and not know anything about it. I always got the impression that the whole "Sei is literally always around and is an irrepressible sperglord" thing sort of precluded Rinko having to do anything but work a cash register at the store. Plus nobody ever went there anyway.
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Oct 16, 2014 18:00
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ImpAtom posted:Sei and Reiji got wrecked by Yuuki in both their first and second matches against him, to be fair. The second fight was after-credits iirc which is why I don't think it registers the same way, plus the way cuts from action/after-action really draws the impact away. I actually didn't even see that scene until my second run at the series.
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Oct 21, 2014 19:04
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Raxivace posted:The whole "Using the gunpla of a dead relative in their memory" actually the kind of thing I wish Build Fighters would do more of. It's dark, but not dark in a way that is completely unnatural to the setting of what is essentially a sports show. Sorry, GBF Try is a romantic comedy.
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Oct 30, 2014 21:13
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I think some of the uneasiness around Hoshino switching to the SD has been around since the first reveal, it's clearly a girl machine for a series that has stuck to traditional gender roles in a lot of ways. For us watching it as (mostly) adults we tend to carry a lot of baggage into our reading of subtext, but this is ultimately a kids show in execution. Kids don't carry all that baggage, they take their cues from what characters say to each other and how other characters react to them. It's important not to overlook what people are actually saying in the show on our way to drawing conclusions about the subtext. When the SD kits are introduced in the show they're presented as a reasonable option from a man to a boy. Two of the kids present when Sekai battles with SDs are boys. Nobody genders the machines, nobody says "why don't you use a real Gundam  " Sakai doesn't belittle Sekai for not using a Banshee Norn or whatever. Lots of shows would acknowledge the perception of SDs as being for girls, or lame, and add that stuff in. GBF is consciously looking past that.Additionally, we've already (finally) established Hoshino's deep knowledge of the setting and all kinds of Gunpla, it's established that she's a skilled and competent battler. When she watches the fight between Sekai and Sakai she approaches it critically and seriously. At no point does she ever let out a  Kawaiiiiiiiii or any other indication that SDs aren't serious, instead coming to a logical conclusion that the models with literal superpowers might help her escape from the rigid confines of standard Gundam building.Ultimately the fact that she's a girl absolutely plays into the writers choosing that machine for her, but the show (so far) isn't portraying that as a weakness or as specifically a girly thing to do, which is just as interesting as giving her a "masculine" machine and calling it a day.
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Oct 31, 2014 19:34
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Yeah, not really feeling the supporting cast this episode. It's weird that they're doing so many cuts to rando antagonists without actually giving them anything to do or say of any import.
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Nov 6, 2014 01:27
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This season hasn't been as focused or consistent as S1, but I still prefer it to watching most other shows in that it's inclusive and positive in it's messaging and doesn't involve overwrought arcs about resisting the call, mystery boxes, or whining as character development. They're really having a hard time with focus. Too many people introduced at once, not enough screen time. Feels like they're pulling a lot of general anime tropes/references out of the bag for this too in a way that's distracting. I actually had fun with the battle, though calling what Sekai/Yuuma did "working together" is a huge reach. Use of tactics was A+ but I wish each Ez-8 variation had a little more time to show differences.
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Nov 12, 2014 20:49
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Srice posted:That latter part is really what's keeping me down, they lean too heavily on fighting generic dudes. Too many generic mooks that get hyped up as a threat is a bad thing when they have zero personality and are immediately forgotten after the battle, but at least we're finally getting a new character introduced next episode so hey, that could be progress there. Hopefully they don't take him too seriously, we could really use another funny character like Gyanko but I'd settle for someone that's less serious than Sakai. I feel like we're missing the Melee which did a good job characterizing a lot of the supporting cast while allowing them to chump scrubs. They establish Nils' practicality, Yuuki's conflict with his responsibilities as Meijin, Aila dismissively destroying everyone, Fellini's good-guy honour BS, all of that without taking any good players out of the game. So far, with the exception of Gyanko, the teams just make smug comments and then explode. They've cut to Mega-Shiki team for like 3 episodes straight and I still don't even know their names. Nor do I care. Hopefully once the playing field narrows they'll find the space to show off more.
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Nov 12, 2014 21:10
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nuru posted:Ral's new voice isn't working for me. First episode of the switch was bad, not just the transition but delivery too. I think he's getting more comfortable and I haven't minded as much lately but we're still lacking the range and intensity of old Ral.
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Nov 13, 2014 21:21
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It would be nice if Yuuma's performance anxiety was a thing that came up when relevant during difficult battles against supposed favourites. It might even develop his character arc and allow us to build empathy with one of the main cast. Maybe.
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Nov 14, 2014 19:41
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Cao Ni Ma posted:And its not like people haven't made fun of his motivations right now. Sakai was basically "Ooooh how dark and mysterious, mind if I use it as a pick up line?" People have, but you wouldn't know it was ever an issue by the way Yuuma behaves in battles. A moment of hesitation on the field, him taking a stray grazing shot and freaking out, even just acting rattled before a match would be the little moments of characterization that would make him easier to empathize with. Like, BF1 had Reiji going "but Sei we'll damage the Build Strike/show our secret plavsky power/whatever" at various moments to reinforce that there's some subtext as to how or why these people fight. Yuuma has probably the clearest backstory and reason for motivation/hesitation but it's isolated to little scenes outside of battles, which is one of the reasons why I think people are saying the fights are boring thus far. In the first season the battles were more an extension of the two fighters' viewpoints meeting.
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Nov 14, 2014 20:48
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Build Burning gets wrecked, Yuuma offers to rebuild it, all four of its limbs are replaced by sniper rifles.
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Nov 14, 2014 22:53
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Ok, so it was a giant cliche but, we finally met a team other than Try Fighters with actual motivation that added subtext to a battle! And although it still felt rushed and they're still having issues with the size of the battles it was pretty rad. Also fewer random cutaways to other people that don't have anything to say. I like this episode, and hopefully the series is finding it's stride.
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Nov 19, 2014 15:47
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ImpAtom posted:I'm a bit torn on how I feel about the opening. On one hand it's a little disappointing. On the other hand it's goddamn hilarious. My thought on that one was that those guys had an awful lot of setup just to be some pre-opening punch line. Like, would that joke have been less funny if we'd never seen that team before it cuts to them in their swim suits in this episode? Probably not. Maybe it would have actually been funnier that way.
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Nov 20, 2014 03:10
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Yeah, I'm a fighter now! was corny as heck but it's exactly the kind of hammy seriousness that made last season great.
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Dec 3, 2014 18:02
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I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking that her hair doesn't look attached to her head at all.
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Dec 3, 2014 23:48
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3 posted:Going back through the episode to see what caused the cut on Sekai's cheek (it was one of the G-Bomber's missiles) reminded me that we've already seen an instance of Plavsky Particles directly affecting people: the Dark Matter Exia fight. I fully support this theory.
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Dec 4, 2014 02:42
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ImpAtom posted:It's entirely possible they could subvert expectations! Sekai is a Naruto, didn't Naruto end with his second-choice girlfriend or something? I already feel bad for responding but like ten years ago when I was watching the first season of Naruto it was pretty clear to me who he was telegraphed to end up with. Flash forward into adulthood after dropping the series during the first filler arc, I pick up the last few manga releases when I hear it's ending and not a single bit of characterization or relationship dynamic had changed from how I remembered it. I honestly hope no one ends up with anyone as the relationship dynamics in this season are just awkward bordering on creepy. The China/Sei and Aida/Reiji dynamics in S1 were easier to handle because the children involved weren't so overtly sexualized and actually took the time to get to know each other.
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Dec 4, 2014 05:45
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BF S1 had fights where the opponents actually had motivations and backstory outside of "wanting to win and kind of being jerks about how good they think they are" which made for more memorable/interesting fights. The clash of background and ideology informed the tactics of the battle. In Try all the fights revolve around "Shoot/punch someone as hard as you can" and it's a lot more limiting. The only times we're given a window into an antagonist's mindset have been the snap-build fight, the admission by Mega-Shiki guy about his pride, and the race with Creepy Womanizer. And hey, those were some of the better combat sequences in the series. It's not a coincidence that someone called the "cross counter!" in the Destiny fight, or that people were so gleeful about Mirai's "cockpit uppercut," because those episodes set the stage for those scenes pre-battle to make those wrinkles possible and resonant.
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Dec 21, 2014 20:28
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KoB posted:I think we can all agree that the best part of the episode was Meijin yelling "GO!" when he drove off. Yuuki lives the life I want to live.
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Jan 8, 2015 18:35
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God drat this series got fun all of a sudden. I enjoyed the transition from Team Wrong Fictional Setting to the ridiculous Team Ninjutsu complete with log substitution double fake out.
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Jan 28, 2015 16:22
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Yuuma just had his "I'm being too conservative" revelation the same way that Sei had his, and we've seen the resulting upgrade in action all of once thus far. We haven't seen all of Fumina's new gimmicks yet, it's not impossible that the Lightning Fb has something up it's sleeve as well. I'm not saying the series will definitely justify Yuuma's reputation, but it's too early to tell yet.
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Jan 28, 2015 16:52
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Man I just could not bring myself to care about the Junya bits at all, it was all unearned and repetitive. The first time in either season I've ever been compelled to just skip forward through the yelling. Really hoping the series is done pretending Sekai has individual agency and we can go back to him being the straight man to other people projecting at him, but I know the Academy battle is just going to be full of this bullshit as well.
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Feb 26, 2015 17:56
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ImpAtom posted:I can't even see how that can happen. Sekai and Wilfried are in complete agreement and want to fight without any bad emotions between them. They've already done it and love being each other's rivals. They don't have anything else to communicate. I don't think the nature of this specific fight was the issue, it's making Sekai the focus when his characterization is a flat stereotype and he has no motivation worth empathizing with. I don't see how that won't be yet another solo duel where he and another character fight a "who's strongest" battle with nothing underlying, cliche dialogue with a bunch of shounen-style heart of the gunpla nonsense, and asspull finishers. I hope it's not, but the show isn't doing a great job here.
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Feb 26, 2015 18:59
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Oh wow, turns out that if a character's whole motivation can be summed up with "they're bored" they end up boring. Yeah, this season was pretty much doomed from the start if that's what they're running with.
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Mar 5, 2015 06:57
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Minato has no friends, he seeks validation through competition because that's the only way he knows how to get it. His line in the last episode shows that's still his mindset, despite all their talk about winning to spend more time battling together he hasn't figured out that the value is in the experience. He hasn't become friends with his team, at least not yet, and he thinks that he has to be the best for them to keep accepting him. His character is engaging because he's really just lonely and acting out, his rivalry with Yuuma is so one-sided because Yuuma has friends and doesn't get it. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with Minato's arc next episode.
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Mar 5, 2015 20:30
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Monaghan posted:yeah I kind of like this. He doesn't think of his teammates as very useful and I think that's what's going to lead to him losing next episode. I think more like his relationships with people outside the Try Fighters are very transactional. He basically cut a deal with those guys, so his status within the group is conditional on winning. He needs to realize that he's looking in the wrong direction, he doesn't need to beat Yuuma to get the acceptance he's looking for.
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Mar 5, 2015 21:45
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ImpAtom posted:Having the mountain to climb is a pretty effective thing to do with a strong rival team. It emphasizes how far the protagonists have to go and makes it more impressive when they actually win. It just tends to work better when the strong rivals have a strong personality. There's still the issue that having a tough battle for its own sake is conflating the motivations of the characters with the actions they're taking. Sei wasn't a gunpla sperg because he loves gundam, that's the same as saying "I like to fight because I like fighting." (Looking at you, Sekai and Junya) Sei loves Gundam because he's living in the shadow of his absentee dad, Gundam is his only method of measuring himself against his father. Sei isn't just climbing the mountain because it's there, if he had no reason to fight there'd be no tension no matter how difficult it seemed. The accomplishment of winning is the fulfilment of a character's reason to participate in the first place. If we want to demonstrate how far the main characters have to go, we first need to know "Why bother? What's at stake?" and the answer right now is nothing.
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Mar 6, 2015 17:49
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ImpAtom posted:You can do "I want to be the strongest" as a motivation in sports anime. It helps to have other motivations but there are several classics which are basically just about a guy trying to be the best. It is just that they're carried by strong personalities and unusual and interesting opponents. Like... well, BF S1. Lots of shows do it, doesn't mean it's very compelling, and yeah it works best with like one person, not the entire cast. And even then if you drill down a lot of the time those characters have actual internal motivations to be driven, even if they don't state them explicitly.
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Mar 6, 2015 18:04
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BlitzBlast posted:Incidentally, I like how the coolest thing Yuuma's done all season is shoot off his own arm. Prior to that his best moment was impaling himself on the Mega Shiki. At least he's consistent.
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Mar 11, 2015 21:50
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