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johnfw50 posted:Rap Critic's Top Nine Rap Songs is up. I mostly just listen to the hit parade, so I feel like I only catch the worst of the "drank, clubs, n' hoes" rap singles that circulate, but I do like Kendrick Lamar a lot, so Rap Critic's #1 pick, (one of only two songs in the list I had heard before,) made me happy. That song and last year's "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" were sooooo loving good and weren't on the charts anywhere near long enough. I even went out of my way to hear him perform it live on SNL, despite their horrible acoustics and the idea of having to voluntarily watch SNL. Anyway, great list, some stuff for me to check out as the charts settle into ennui yet again...
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Jan 16, 2015 01:46
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Cubey posted:I didn't pay any attention to pop at all this year, holy god at those DJ Mustard songs. I've never heard a producer who makes such samey-sounding songs ever. The only nice thing about Mustard is that you can avoid his songs quickly because they all begin with this weird 2-second ID that sounds like "WAZZITUNNABE,HO" Sorry if that sounds odd, there's no other way to describe it. You can hear it in the first ten seconds or so of all his songs, though. Kinda like the "J-J-J-J-JR" at the top of J.R. Rotem stuff. It's like a handy warning! Testekill posted:His songs also have this stupid trademark at the start which just sounds loving horrible. EDIT: Yes, this. Funny we posted that at the same time. 
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Jan 19, 2015 00:58
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Gyges posted:I understand that the real guy this is based on is a lovely dude, but it's not like they made him look all that good in the movie. Tragic is the best you're going to come out of this thinking. You may also come away from the film with "what a boring slushpile of barely-directed nothing," but you know, Clint Eastwood movie. Politically it definitely has a cornfed down-home "god bless america" vibe to it, though. It's not creepy or anything, the movie's mostly just dull, but it's definitely aimed more at jerking off the red states than it is actually analyzing war traumas. More "these poor good old boys" with a heavy side of "what brown people? poor veterans." Which yeah, definitely poor veterans, but not at the expense of the issue's complexity, which the movie definitely um..."expends" in favor of old-white-dude-pleasing-filmmaking. Jay O fucked around with this message at 23:48 on Jan 21, 2015 |
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Jan 21, 2015 23:44
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DStecks posted:JayO, I'm telling you this cuz you're my postin pal and fellow Correct-Opinion-on-FMAB- Haver, you could not possibly come off as more of an arrogant blowhard in this post if you signed it Of SCIENCE!!! Hey, I discuss movies and TV for a living, what do you want from me?  (Okay I discuss Japanese cartoons for a living, but I try to keep myself rounded by ingesting all kinds of cinematic media.) On a more positive note, I just watched Transparent. It's really good! I also watched Obvious Child. It's super-simple and cute, but also very good! I don't just hate on things and dismiss things all the time. I like things and hate things with equal fervor, and am "meh" on things pretty frequently too, it's just less fun to talk about them because the emotion of "meh" is not a fun one.If "arrogant blowhard" means "confident in their opinions and explains them at length," I'll take it. If you mean I'm pretentious, don't seem to know what I'm talking about, and my arguments don't make any sense and have no basis in reality, then sure, I'd have a bone to pick with that. But I don't think that's what you mean, so it's whatever. I know my own tastes and I don't mince words when I talk about media. I never demand or even expect people to agree with me, but I think discussion is better when people are brutally honest about their feelings and opinions. I think that's a-okay. I literally don't understand what you mean by the "Of SCIENCE" thing, though. I don't associate that with pretentious blowhards, I associate that with 15-year old nerds shouting memes at conventions. Jay O fucked around with this message at 03:55 on Jan 22, 2015 |
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Jan 22, 2015 03:53
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Cyron posted:i am done with this thread for a bit, i am going to a place where people are nicer to you for not agreeing with them like North Koria where i am sure the only thing close to gamergate is making a gate into a sport. 
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Jan 31, 2015 03:58
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Oh no, I didn't mean it, I thought my sarcasm was so clear.  EDIT: Cyron posted:i bet that what nash said after you hosed him over. Hahahahahaha holy poo poo. Hahahahahahaha. No sir, you sure don't have issues with women at all.
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Jan 31, 2015 04:02
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Cyron posted:Becuase not liking you mean i am sexist. didn't you make fun of the mentally ill? No, I never have made fun of the mentally ill and I never did screw over this Nash person, and I never did all the other tired lies the LK Mafia likes to sling around about me, but I can't tell you what a relief it is to have your respect. Really had me worried there for a while, edge of my seat wondering what you thought of all the hilariously untrue rumors you could only have heard about me through one of the filthiest cesspools of an internet community in existence. Cyron posted:bad post ignore me. It's cool. Might as well edit all of your past posts with this too tbf. Jay O fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Jan 31, 2015 |
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Jan 31, 2015 04:52
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Todd's year-end list was cool, and this is actually the most it's ever overlapped with mine. (8/10 same entries, slightly different spots. Was genuinely surprised to see Birthday and Ain't it Fun on there, but in hindsight I shouldn't be because WHAT ELSE WAS THERE THIS YEAR.) The similarity between lists is not a good thing, though. Usually there's enough good stuff in the year that it's more like 4 or 5 out of 10, because there's enough good stuff to split across our fairly different tastes as pop nerds. This year there was so little that was really listenable at all that it's pretty much all the same stuff.  At least it was a nice year for movies.  But a bad year for animated movies.  2014 is best left in the past as far as internet and pop culture goes, truth be told.Also fourth-ing or fifth-ing that Ke$ha is awesome.
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Feb 1, 2015 22:17
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OldTennisCourt posted:I'll honestly say that Birthday is easily Katy Perry's absolute best song. The lyrics are dumb as all hell but, again, it's such an absolutely FUN song. I really wish she'd stick with that stuff and stop with ~inspirational~ songs or whatever the hell Dark Horse was. Oh yeah, I realized that due to my poor phrasing it probably looked like those were the two songs I disagreed with. They weren't. They were two songs I didn't think Todd would have on his list, but were on mine. I wouldn't call Birthday her best song, but it's definitely the only good one on that entire album. Legendary Lovers is kind of okay for a couple plays, but then wears out its welcome real fast. The chorus is overproduced and thudding, like someone slapping you on the back with a dead fish. So, Birthday it is. The two songs I wouldn't have on mine are actually Happy and Sing. Both perfectly good songs, they just don't do anything for me personally.
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Feb 1, 2015 22:30
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See also acoustic version of Die Young. She doesn't use autotune because she can't sing. It's a deliberate style choice. She has a very pretty voice. Not Idol or Broadway pipe-strong, but that does not a good pop star make anyway. Lots of personality and color, which is what matters imo. Anyway, I've always liked Ke$ha. But starting with Warrior, I decided I really liked her, because unlike her previous albums, it wasn't riddled with bad songs, and the good ones were better.
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Feb 2, 2015 10:14
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Metal Loaf posted:I think Ke$ha is a better singer than Katy Perry, in any case, but that's probably not an entirely fair judgment. I'm sure Perry can sing well but personally, I've never been able to get past her terrible, terrible live covers of "Don't Stop Me Now". Blegh. Look them up on YouTube if you don't know what I'm talking about. Having listened to an obscene amount of Katy Perry both auto-tuned and non, I can say with absolute certainty that she cannot loving sing. She can't sing so goddamn hard that it's sorta impossible to karaoke Firework on key. Try it. You have no idea what note to sing, because it doesn't even sound like Katy is hitting hers. "Baby you're a FIIiiiIIIIiiirrrrrreWORK!!!" Eeeeeek.
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Feb 2, 2015 11:22
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Arcsquad12 posted:Apart from The Lego Movie, which I loved, I can't even remember much about the animated films that came out last year. Was anything else actually worth watching? I saw pretty much all of them and NOPE. Big sad nope. The Lego Movie was good. That is literally the only one. (And "boo it didn't get nom'd for an Oscar," I guess, but even though it was the best animated movie to come out in 2014, I don't think I'd call it "Oscar-good." It's a pure family comedy start to finish that just so happens to be genuinely funny, but for Best Animated Feature, I tend to expect something more than "A good comedy despite its marketing-built premise, and due entirely to the presence of our Lord & Miller, saviors of stillborn movie premises.") We didn't get anything like that this year. Jimbot posted:I heard good things about How to Train Your Dragon 2 but I've not seen it. Really loved the first one, though. It's a really pretty movie. They're pushing some of that CG technology to its limits in that film. But the script is joyless, overwritten fanfiction that takes itself way too seriously and is riddled with enormous story problems. Anyway, run-down of the American-made toon movies this year, because I need to purge the feelings: Big Hero 6: A good babysitter for your little boy who is not quite old enough for the Marvel movies, like 10 and under I guess, offers nothing else to older audiences or anyone expecting elements less paint-by-numbers than a Ben 10 or Teen Titans movie. It's not "bad," exactly, but even from bad Disney movies, I don't expect this level of marketing-fueled babysitter, kids movie for Small Children Only. Disappointing. The Book of Life: Good premise mangled by painful and just plain weird execution. The aesthetic is nifty in theory, but in animation it's mostly cheap and ugly, and once again, too much of the movie seems to be playing to very small children, complete with "grouchy kids hear story about culture in a museum and become filled with the love of learning by the end" framing device. Mostly, it's really lame and embarrassing and skews too young for adults in its tone and humor but too complicated and weird for kids in its plot and aesthetic. Oh, and it's a jukebox musical for some godforsaken reason. The Boxtrolls: How the gently caress did this movie get made? Unappealing to look at, horribly boring story, bizarre and uninvolving conflict, just bad-bad-bad from the first moment to the last. I liked Coraline. I liked the last third of Paranorman. I like that stop-motion movies can still get made with Laika pushing themselves to do it. But this was just a solid turd, easily one of the worst animated movies this year. Seemed like a movie designed to punish naughty British children. "Shut it Winston or we'll make you watch The Boxtrolls!" How to Train Your Dragon 2: If I had to pick one of the nom'd movies to win the Oscar this year, I guess it would be this one, because it was the highest combination of quality and effort, but for the most part, this is a sequel that didn't need to exist, caked with unfunny jokes, ridiculous fanfic worldbuilding and contrived drama, horribly dark protracted twists that sour the memory of the original and the film doesn't earn them at all either...so aside from the pretty visuals, it's mostly unpleasant. All the problems are at the script level, so that's a step up from many other animated films this year, but the script has a TON of problems. Legend of Oz: Dorothy's Return: Yes, I saw this. No, it is exactly as bad as that trailer looks. Mr. Peabody and Sherman: I thought this movie was just going to be dull and shruggy. It's actually painfully bad, jam-packed with a ton of lazy cynical showbiz jokes, weird pointless casual sexism, and a meandering hole-riddled plot that both assumes children are stupid and also seems to hate their very existence. I think there was one funny joke in the marketing for the movie that gave me some slight hope about it (the Da Vinci builds a little boy gag) and it's not even funny in the movie itself...and they keep repeating it. Anyway, it's basically the definition of "horrible kids' movie" on the level of like a Shark Tale or Bee Movie. Baaaaad stuff. The Nut Job: I don't think I have to say anything about this one. Rio 2: Only saw part of this one, but the part I saw sure was a Blue Sky movie. Have they made anything not-bad since the first Ice Age? The answer is no. (This is assuming you can get past how ugly Ice Age looks, and make it through to "an okay movie." But "okay" is better than literally everything they made after that, so...) I did not see Penguins of Madagascar or Planes: Fire and Rescue, but I'm gonna take a wild guess that they are "direct to video babysitters that somehow got pushed to theaters." Anyway. The best (American) animated movie I saw this year was also the only one I actually liked: The Lego Movie. That makes me kind of sad. Jay O fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Feb 2, 2015 |
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Feb 2, 2015 20:46
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Mr. Fowl posted:Just one question: What possessed you to see The Nut Job? Completionism. I saw most of these rental after the fact, not in theaters. Saw BH6, HTTYD, and Lego Movie in theaters, but not much else. Woof, what a weak year. And yeah, if we expand it to non- American animated movies, The Wind Rises was a good note for Miyazaki to go out on. It's not one of his best, but it's a good movie, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more firmly established THIS IS MY LAST FILM statement by an artist, choosing to end his career exactly how he wanted to end it. Haven't seen Kaguya yet. Missed it while it was in theaters, whoops. Not a fan of Takahata, though. Grave of the Fireflies is a masterpiece. After that, eeeeeeeeeeeeeh not a fan. ...Actually, my favorite animated film this year on a story level was Expelled from Paradise. It's a Japanese cel-shaded CG movie so it kinda looks like butt, but it looks less like butt than all the movies in that style that have preceded it. (It was advertised as them pushing that technology to its limit FWIW.) Ignoring the Japanese CG part though, the script was really strong, a nifty little unique sci fi movie with strong ideas and execution, like Edge of Tomorrow or Looper or the like, except instead of being HIGH STAKES and VIOLENT, it was sort of a WALL-E for adults. And it was written by Gen Urobuchi (Madoka) and directed by Seiji Mizushima (Fullmetal Alchemist), so yeah. Little film but a good film. Anyway, I don't tend to count non-American animated movies when I talk about best animated films both because they're a horse of a different color and uh, if it's not Ghibli, nobody wants to talk about them.  (There's like one European animated movie a year it seems like, and I always see it way too late and come away like "eh it was pretty and mellow." I am weeb trash for the most part. Best animated stuff on a script level still comes from Japan.)
Jay O fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Feb 2, 2015 |
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Feb 2, 2015 21:20
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Jsor posted:I think Grave of the Fireflies is one of the greatest arguments for death of the author. "Yeah, I know what the author thinks the message is but gently caress that guy" Uh, I think the author's message in Grave of the Fireflies is very valuable, actually. The interpretation I'm reading above (didn't see Sage's review, but I've heard it from the horse's mouth, so I didn't have to,) is really reductive to the actual issues the movie is addressing. You have to understand, this was a movie produced during Japan's economic bubble, a peak of both financial prosperity and generational divide for Japan, and during that time, there was absolutely a Youth Problem. (There was an Old People of Japan problem too, but you know, life has nuances.) This wasn't "hey you kids didn't grow up during the war, so shut up and eat your vegetables." It was waaaay more serious than that. There was a ton of delinquent manga around this time both idolizing and criticizing the growing "gently caress this dead earth" youth culture. Kids didn't get jobs because they didn't have to, but the freedom didn't make them happy either, because they felt misunderstood and mistrusted, (not entirely without good reason.) Akira was written largely about this gap between lovely youth and lovely old nationalists (who hadn't lived through the war or else were very small during it) with the actual survivors of this massive tragedy still lingering on and making up a rapidly ignored segment of the population in light of Japan's rising prosperity. There were a TON of really lovely rich kids living off their parents' money by day and going out at night to take out their ennui and frustrations on the homeless in the streets. (A number of homeless that would only increase post-bubble, see Tokyo Godfathers, which also addresses the routine delinquent harassment and murder of the homeless.) It was A Major Thing. Takahata did not make Grave of the Fireflies to tell whippersnappers to listen to their elders. He made it to tell a generation who had not lived through the war that the youth of that time were not so different from them in their misconceptions of what their future would be like, thinking they had Japan's future and their place in it all figured out. Despite all the evidence around him to the contrary, Seita is so sure that Japan is going to win the war, and seems to have no idea that they are the instigators in a horrible conflict, seeing it instead as this immature and ill-defined "for glory and prestige" pursuit against some great unknown oppressor, like a parental figure or something. Hence also his decision to leave behind the (miserable) safety of his aunt's house and live on his own, a fatal decision. The fireflies' lives are temporary, and so are the city lights of economic boom Japan that the film ends on. It's not "listen to your parents," it's "the easy life you were born into will not last much longer, soon you'll have to build a life for yourself, and you just might not know how." It's a sympathetic movie, not a derogatory one. There's not a drop of hate in it for the youth of the 80s just like there's not a drop of hate in the film toward Seita. What do you know, Takahata was loving right. Bubbles burst. Only two years passed before the short-sightedness he was cautioning against began affecting everyone youth and old alike, and it would continue to affect everyone for years to come. Jay O fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Feb 2, 2015 |
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Feb 2, 2015 23:28
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Hey guys, guess what? I'm doing videos again!  Specifically, I'm doing anime and video game music countdowns, bi-monthly, on Anime News Network, as a video column. Very excited about it, had to keep it mum for about a month while it was getting prepared. First column went up today! It's the Top Ten Anime Opening Theme Songs of 2014!
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Feb 3, 2015 19:52
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Alacron posted:Pretty sure CA only paid their non-Doug talent with "exposure". Everything the content makers got came from ad revenue, which was why Linkara made that one video asking people to not use adblock on his videos. Yeah, no one is directly employed by CA. You could call them independent contractors, kinda sorta. Except they're not paid by the company that publishes their work, but a different company.
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Feb 15, 2015 05:41
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Vicas posted:I never said it was, but it's still important to recognize that he's an important figure in the growth of the format as a whole and shouldn't really be written off as "some gimmicky reviewer" even if that's basically what his videos amount to these days. If anything, it's hard to understand many of the conventions that have become the norm in the field without looking at Doug, and understanding why they did/didn't work for him is important for deciding if you want to include or leave out those elements, or even as a viewer for deciding if this other reviewer is just aping him badly or if the entire idea just doesn't seem to work Kind of? I get this in a "watching the origin" thing, I don't personally understand it in a "I continue to watch his stuff weekly even now" thing. Kinda like watching The Simpsons regularly now, but solely because of its relevance to the existence of animated comedies. Why not just watch Rick and Morty at that point? Or watch old episodes of The Simpsons you may have missed, on their own? The metaphor is stretched, but you get what I mean, I hope. You don't watch things for cultural relevance purposes for that long, the purpose wears out long before then, and then it's just hundreds of episodes of wasted time. You either find NC to be funny or you don't, and watch based on that, I would think. ...If you're watching NC because you find him to be insightful, I don't really even. If you're just being introduced to the idea of media criticism sure, but if not, and you claim to be interested in the discipline, it's time to level up and read some more insightful critics whose goal is actual criticism and not entertainment of 13-year olds first. Jay O fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Feb 20, 2015 |
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Feb 20, 2015 22:46
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Here is a fascinating article on the subject that also addresses the changing perception of the word "tranny" and the shifting views of the gender binary even within the LGBT community! http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/06/25/3449462/drag-queens-trans-women/ The times they are a-changin', and not everyone catches up at the same rate. The best thing you can do is be respectful about these terms and raise awareness yourself without burning the ignorant (most of the population at this point still,) at the stake. Now let's all be nice to one another. PresidentBeard posted:You were banned for defending child porn, morality might not be your forte. Hey WickedHate, there is a new short anime airing this season that you might appreciate.  
Jay O fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Feb 21, 2015 |
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Feb 21, 2015 20:52
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WickedHate posted:That's all I'm saying. Everyone should just be nice and not use words like that. It works out better for everyone and I don't wish to tolerate it just because someone claims to not know any better. They should make efforts to improve. Okay, so by your own logic, you would also deserve to be crucified for being insensitive on the issue of child pornography. You said something incredibly offensive about it, and then, like a person who accidentally and perhaps even innocently dropped a slur, went "Whaaaaaaaaaaat, I didnt mean it like thaaaaaaaaaaat". It's a hard row to hoe. Double-edged sword. So on and so forth. Mercy is cool, yo.
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Feb 21, 2015 21:11
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PresidentBeard posted:Tumbrinas being rape/pedophilia apologists a distressing amount of the time. It's because they're so morbidly sexually frustrated!  But no seriously, I actually believe that's most of the cause. 
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Feb 21, 2015 21:33
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Mraagvpeine posted:So to move away from this "topic", I found this person who looks at current anime. Unfortunately I haven't had the time to read much and can't guarantee if he's good or not. Screencap culture blog with one short paragraph of plot summary and one of "opinion" except kind of they're both the same, followed by twenty million screencaps? I can answer that question for you! Also, that poor soul is still watching Cross Ange.  Positive content: Here's a good anime blog that follows recent anime, with an essay on "Your Taste is Bad and So Are You" (Except not really.) You don't have to be an anime fan to get it, it's for nerd critics of all stripes, and talks about some really important stuff about "taste," and who it should matter most to: not other people, but yourself! And yes, we poached this guy for Anime News Network. Nick Creamer. He's a good writer. He still writes tons of cool things on his personal blog, though. And has a Patreon.
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Feb 21, 2015 21:40
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The Finer Arts > Rapidly Going Deaf > Internet Critic Discussion Thread 3.0: I Can't Believe It's Not GBS
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Feb 23, 2015 23:28
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quakster posted:Move GBS into the internet critic discussion thread, in my opinion. You fool, we can't handle that capacity of goon!
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Feb 24, 2015 01:44
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Cyron posted:I did nothing wrong for a month. i don't want to be bullied for talking about internet critics on the internet critics Thread. The 31st of January is significantly less than a month ago. Being probated is not being "bullied." That's moderation enforcing rules. You were probated specifically for harassing others. Or "bullying," if you prefer. GAR- BAGE DICK
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Feb 24, 2015 19:56
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Cyron posted:just stop dog pileing on me. Sure, man. Just get it through your head that Freedom of Speech =/= Freedom from Response. And if you consider that dogpiling, you and every other insanely sensitive poo poo-slinging nerd boy who pulls this dumb stuff do not have 1/16th the balls needed to be a woman on the internet. But we all knew that. Anyway, this thread's currently on its way to gasville, so it probably doesn't matter too much what you say at this point.
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Feb 24, 2015 20:05
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Love is an open (closet) door!
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Feb 26, 2015 00:28
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Arcsquad12 posted:Sage finishes off Ninja month. Ye olde standard dub substitution for "KONO YARO~~~~~!" which is itself an overused exclamation of hatred. Literally translated it's just a third-person way of referring to a guy, but it's the harshness and informality that basically makes it like swearing at someone. If I recall. Jay O fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Feb 28, 2015 |
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Feb 28, 2015 07:12
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New musical countdown for any Bebop fans: Top 10 Musical Moments in Cowboy Bebop! This one was a lot of fun to make. 
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Mar 4, 2015 07:39
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Mischalaniouse posted:That's also a fantastic musical moment. I guess there are so many in Cowboy Bebop it's hard to fit them all on to a top ten. Yeah, I definitely considered the boat chase set to "Elm," but it was a little too similar to both the #10 and #9 spots for different reasons, (ironic use of a mellow tune + Jet-focused piece) so it didn't quite make it. It's Bebop, I could have made a Top 30+ without stretching for content.
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Mar 5, 2015 04:36
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Darth Walrus posted:On the written criticism side of things, anyone else been following Anime News Network's Episode Review section? Any thoughts on the review team and their work? I like Nick Creamer, Hope Chapman, and Gabriella Ekens - they all have a good eye for detail and do fun, informative, and often educational work. Rose Bridges seems decent too, but I haven't followed up many of her columns or the shows she's assigned to. On the other hand, Theron Martin has a severely miscalibrated/nonexistent creepometer and a tendency to miss out on/ignore important elements of a show, while Lauren Orsini's writeups have all the depth of a puddle. Any thoughts from anyone else? Since I'm assistant editor on this feature, thought I would put up an organized list of all the reviewers on the project and the shows they've covered since we launched last fall, if anyone's hungering for an organized list of detailed freshly-airing anime review content. I've organized them by reviewer first, since personal voice is everything, and everyone's review style and tastes are different. The feature is also good for finding new airing shows worth checking out, since we have links to all the legal streaming pages for the shows covered. So you can do a watch-along-read-along thing if you find a reviewer (or show) you really like! We work really hard on these reviews and they seem to be doing well for ANN. * denotes shows still currently airing Amy McNulty Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!* Gugure! Kokkuri-san Kamisama Kiss 2* Magimoji Rurumo Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun Naruto Shippuden* Wolf Girl and Black Prince Gabriella Ekens DRAMAtical Murder Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works GARO THE ANIMATION* Maria the Virgin Witch* Sailor Moon Crystal* (handed off to Rebecca Silverman at episode 14) Terror in Resonance World Trigger (show's still running, but review coverage discontinued because it SUCKED THAT BAD) Yurikuma Arashi* Hope Chapman (yours truly) Durarara!!×2* Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc* Lord Marksman and Vanadis Mushishi: The Next Chapter Psycho-Pass 2 Rail Wars! Tokyo Ghoul Tokyo Ghoul √A* Lauren Orsini Bakumatsu Rock DENKI-GAI Free! Eternal Summer Gundam Build Fighters Try* Kuroko's Basketball season 3* Nobunaga Concerto Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road* Nick Creamer Barakamon Log Horizon 2* Parasyte -the maxim-* The Rolling Girls* Shōnen Hollywood - Holly Stage for 49 Sword Art Online II Paul Jensen Assassination Classroom* Bladedance of Elementalers Chaika - The Coffin Princess AVENGING BATTLE Gourmet Girl Graffiti* Invaders of the Rokujyōma!? KanColle* Sabegebu! - Survival Game Club! Terraformars When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace Rebecca Silverman Blue Spring Ride Celestial Method The Fruit of Grisaia The Idol M@ster Cinderella Girls* Locodol Love Stage!! Sailor Moon Crystal* (picked up from Gabriella Ekens at episode 14) The Testament of Sister New Devil* Yona of the Dawn* Rose Bridges Black Butler: Book of Circus Rage of Bahamut Genesis Shirobako* Yatterman Night* Your lie in April* Theron Martin Akame ga KILL! (picked up at episode 11 from temporary reviewer Matt Packard) Aldnoah.Zero* CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon* Hanayamata Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend* Tokyo ESP Trinity Seven Yuki Yuna is a Hero Zac Bertschy Death Parade* There Is Too Much Anime. But we do what we can!
Jay O fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Mar 8, 2015 |
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Mar 8, 2015 00:03
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Was looking back through some of the older streaming reviews and found a treasure. Somehow I forgot how completely bugfuck insane Dramatical Murder was. Rest in pieces, you weird stillborn girl-porn anime. (I feel like I should clarify that the first paragraph of that review is 120% irony. Gabriella is the furthest thing from a fujoshi that I know, but she enjoys poking fun at the stuff and its extremely horny audience.) Jay O fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Mar 8, 2015 |
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Mar 8, 2015 00:44
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The Vosgian Beast posted:So as an avid anime-watcher and critic, what shows would you recommend to follow along with these reviews? Hmmmm. The ten best quality anime on that list above, just in my personal opinion, are... Barakamon (comedy/character drama) Death Parade (sci fi serial drama) Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (action/fantasy) (2nd season airing this spring) Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (action/INSANITY) (2nd season currently airing) Maria the Virgin Witch (fantasy/character drama) Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (comedy) Mushishi: The Next Chapter (fantasy serial drama) (start watching with season 1 tho, this is season 2) Shirobako (office dramedy about how anime is actually made, painfully accurate and honest while being lighthearted) Tokyo Ghoul (horror/character drama) (2nd season currently airing) Yurikuma Arashi (postmodern surrealist fantasy about LGBT issues, specifically the L part, but also broad human nature poo poo and stuff) So, check out one of those, I guess! Those are all consistently good. There's other good stuff beyond those ten too, but I'd say those are the most top-notch in terms of artistry, storytelling, or accessibility, those achieve the best balance and keep the entertainment level the highest. Jay O fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Mar 8, 2015 |
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Mar 8, 2015 01:10
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Dunno if I ever brought this up, but one of the things I've wanted to say for many many many years is that the "TGWTG people are playing a character" thing is complete and utter horseshit and always has been. It's not even about acting, or them claiming to be actors, which is ludicrous in and of itself. It's that the excuse has been used to deflect so much transparent garbage that TGWTG personalities have said, it's hilarious to me. It was used to deflect the Mara Wilson thing, which is completely heinous, because that was harassment of an actual person, and Doug's focus probably shouldn't have been on "no but you can't be upset at what I said about you, that wasn't really me," as if THAT was the real problem. It's not a loving character. It's not anything that complex, it's just Doug, Noah, whoever, etc., sharing their opinions, sometimes in a significantly more heightened fashion than normal (and sometimes not, Doug genuinely sounds like Critic in person a lot too,) and occasionally making self-deprecatory or morbidly offensive jokes about the material. In lieu of, you know, actual criticism. Their focus is on entertainment, but their opinions are very much their own, and that means their personas are pretty chained to their actual selves as well. Every time someone asked me what separated the "character of JesuOtaku" from me, I groaned inwardly hard enough to split the earth in half. Ugggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh. The only glaring example I can think of where a TGWTG person is playing a character that truly is different from who they are on a major level is Brad's Cinema Snob. That said, the fake opinions and fake personality he plays for comedy there are so laced with facetious irony that you can tell immediately that he's just horsing around, doesn't genuinely believe the "snobby opinions" that he gives on things, and you can tell what his real opinions are underneath the joke. So that's a character, but it's also a character you're meant to see through immediately and be able to tell how he really feels about the media which is usually somewhere in the neighborhood of "lol look at this bullshit." Ah~ that feels better. Jay O fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Mar 8, 2015 |
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Mar 8, 2015 02:05
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WickedHate posted:Like The Colbert Report! Pretty much! I like Brad, he's a swell dude. Unlike many TGWTG bros, he does not take himself seriously. Self-aware, chill guy.
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Mar 8, 2015 02:27
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Hbomberguy posted:I hate to break it to you but no-one of any level of intelligence ever thought they were just characters being played by actors. Oooooooh yes they did! Plenty of perfectly normal, usually rational people that got involved in the TGWTG fandom, including some perfectly intelligent producers themselves, bought into that stuff hard. Intelligence has nothing to do with it. Also I find your "misogyny is ~fascinating~ and watching the gradual devolution of an actual clinically depressed person is beard-strokingly interesting" above-it-all-smelling-my-farts faux-intellectual thing really lame, and so does everyone else, so you can reel back the tryhard by about three notches. I promise you no one will mind.
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Mar 8, 2015 03:21
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Hbomberguy posted:I get the logic of what you're trying to say - you watched the show and had this 'feeling' that the creator really had something to say, and that elevates its quality for you. This is a common feeling in anime - people see all the crosses in Evangelion and think Art, when plenty of Gainax' other shows have similar themes and images and simply execute them in a less pretentious way. TTGL has more to say than Eva by a long shot, and KLK (Trigger but they are basically Gainax come on) more still. Woof. This is what I mean by the smelling of the farts thing. This is what you do. You take a normal common thing anyone can observe (art is made by creators, usually with the intent of communicating ideas and feelings,) and go "oh but you don't understand what you're really saying" to anyone who says the very simple honest thing they feel. You then rephrase said thing in a way that is meant to imply you've arrived at this revelatory SECRET meaning that no one else was expressing and it's just...baffling nonsense. And it's usually baffling nonsense with the pretense of enlightenment, revolving around "seeing the truth" of some really terrible thing like Cross Ange or Revenge of the Fallen. It's funny and all at first, but it's less funny when you talk down to people through it, which is all you've done with it in the past several pages. I wasn't telling you that you shouldn't do it by the way. Express whatever opinions you want to express. You just gotta deal with me or others giving you poo poo for it when you start freewheeling them wackadoo ideas about social issues like "this horribly racist or misogynist pile o' narrative poo should be treated respectfully if you want to be a real critic." It's the constant patronization of other people's opinions that's so bizarre. I think you've talked down to three separate people inside of one thread page, and it's always like "why...?" For instance! quote:What you're really saying is you saw something that 'felt deep', and that led you to feel it is. There are plenty of good shows that slip through the radar because they don't have the more easy signifiers of 'depth', like overt religious imagery or long stills on a character looking sad. I've ragged on this before but plenty of people seem to think Madoka was this amazing rumination on blah blah blah because has some arty shots and girls looking sad, when plenty of shows made for actual little girls have more to say on the same subjects, but simply say it in a more accessible, less deep-feeling, way. Huh? The poster didn't even bring up this show. They were talking about Eureka Seven. But your response just goes straight into "Oh sure you FELT like that was deep, because so many peons feel like deep things are deep, but you know what's REALLY deep is shows for small children and--" just, nose straight into the bunghole, no provocation. How about just have your own opinion instead of talking about how wrong and pedestrian everyone else's opinions are all the time? Half of your rants revolve around not an opinion you hold, but how an opinion everyone else holds is wrong, and that's what I meant by your schtick getting tired and lame. Constantly telling everyone how wrong they are about how they look at art is incredibly lame, and I wouldn't really harp on it if you didn't extend your ~fabulous enlightenment~ to things like race and gender where it suddenly becomes not funny anymore because not only are you out of touch with reality, but the reality you do live in gets all creepy and insensitive. So yeah, it's a freedom of speech = freedom of response thing. You say a looooootta painful poo poo. Sometimes it gets so stinky I just feel compelled to call you out on it, because surely you're better than that. For instance again! quote:The point of art, as best I can tell there is one, is to convey information. I mean to a certain extent you have to enjoy the show in order to continue watching it, but the act of Reading it is what makes it entertaining in the first place - you're sort of waiting for something to 'prove' to you it's worth enjoying on this level before you try. If you skip that step you'll have more fun! Is this weird Hbomberguy speak for "just turn your brain off" or is this weird Hbomberguy speak for "only things the masses say aren't deep are truly worthy of analysis"? Either way, the post you're responding to doesn't merit either weird patronizing response. Read the room a little, dog. I'm saying you're a weird rear end in a top hat most of the time, and maybe you could just be weird without the rear end in a top hat part if you tried. Jay O fucked around with this message at 13:15 on Mar 8, 2015 |
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Mar 8, 2015 13:08
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Tracula posted:He wanted to be done with the NC but basically got forced into continuing it. Not really...? Not to hear him tell it. I was told that he fell out of love with Demo Reel hard about midway through and was inspired to resume the NC stuff after seeing that Timothy Green movie and really wanting to review it, and that was all related to me three or four months after his return, still completely stoked to be doing the NC stuff again, said he was just burned out before from putting too many rules and boxes around what he reviewed. This came up because I confronted him about being pressured into resuming the NC stuff (and not telling anyone else about it, which was lovely,) and he was extremely adamant about his feelings. He wasn't bullshitting me, that was definitely how he felt, and Rob backed it up convincingly as well. Dunno if that's come up in here in the past or not, but there you go. tl;dr From the horse's mouth, he was really enthusiastic about resuming the NC stuff when he did. He was super burnt-out leading into the 4th year, but after Demo Reel I guess that changed. Just for whatever that's worth. Jay O fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Mar 13, 2015 |
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Mar 13, 2015 00:59
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Hbomberguy posted:Stuff people do for fun, and not for a schedule, is more entertaining to watch and has more to say, at least in my experience. It's done for a sheer desire to say what the creator wants to say, and doesn't care about an audience or appeal or money. It's that exact sort of freedom that lead to the creation of the things people later want money to keep doing. When something becomes a job, because they want to get paid for it now because they're doing it full time, the content's quality (and often its speed of output) tends to drop. The knowledge that one now has to Make Art, indefinitely, or starve, weighs hard a person. Why wouldn't it? That sounds horrifying. "Be funny, for ever, or literally die." Goddamn you do not know absolutely anything about working artists or creative professionals or balancing passion with obligations and making a living off creative expression. Jesus christ. Everything in this entire post is hilariously wrong. For most working artists, their art is a conversation, and they relish its evolution in the hands of collaborators and outside influences, so long as their vision is supported and nurtured through the process. Successful artists always do MORE work than what they are paid, (at the very least in the leadup to establishing themselves,) because they want to do it every second of their lives and getting paid for it just means that they can do that, without starving. If they wanted to stop they could and often do, because almost any other job is more secure, pays better, and is less emotionally and intellectually exhausting than trying to be a creative professional. "Continuing art for the money" is a rare position that very few people end up in, and they'd slap the poo poo out of you at the suggestion that they feel that way, even in the rare cases where there is a grain of truth to it. At this point, saying "Hbomberguy is really arrogant about being horribly wrong about everything" is just broken record territory, but this takes the fuckin' cake for "what planet are you from" so far. Also, the whole "TRUE artists don't take a paycheck" line of thinking is toxic garbage that needs to stop like yesterday. Jay O fucked around with this message at 12:11 on Mar 13, 2015 |
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Mar 13, 2015 12:02
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Hbomberguy posted:Is this the conversation you were saying artists relish having? Wow. It's possible to have a discussion without being massively rude just because someone doesn't talk like you. Sorry, you're right, I should stop engaging you. I just find you incredibly infuriating. Your opinions on just about everything betray a beep-boop worldview that I find extremely uncomfortable, I guess you could say. For every 10 "UGGGGH" things you post, I feel like I respond to 1, just by virtue of having filled up on UGH. But I really should quit it. I'm not going to get over how you discuss most aspects of life or art anytime soon, and all I'm doing at this point is just throwing shade. Jay O fucked around with this message at 12:29 on Mar 13, 2015 |
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Mar 13, 2015 12:26
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Hbomberguy posted:I am intensely autocritical - just give me something substantive to consider. Think: You could, right now, force my posting to improve, and it'd be all thanks to you. That sounds great, doesn't it? 
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Mar 13, 2015 13:26
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