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GeekNights 091028 - Pax Romana

edited October 2009 in GeekNights
Tonight on GeekNights we review the comic Pax Romana by Jonathan Hickman. No news, but we geekbyte Birdy The Mighty: Decode and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. Also, Connecticon 2010 panel registrations are open.

Scott's Thing - Anti-US USSR Propaganda
Rym's Thing - Anvil Shooting

Comments

  • Wow. Scott's voice sounds cool on Skype. He sounds like Randal from Clerks.
  • edited October 2009
    Claymore is alright, however the ending feels rushed compared to the fact that the manga is still being released. It's like Fruits Basket manga vs anime. You knew there was more they could tell, but they didn't and just stopped left you wanting to see what happens next. I really didn't care for Raki. He annoyed the ever fuck out of me. I always hoped someone would stab him.

    Ergo Proxy is decent, it's worth watching the entire series.
    Post edited by Rochelle on
  • Claymore is alright
    The English dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever heard. It really needs to be experienced to be appreciated.
  • The English dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever heard. It really needs to be experienced to be appreciated.
    I was convinced to watch it dubbed because Jeremy prefers dubbed, plus I was cross-stitching while watching. I will agree that Raki's voice was extremely annoying. Most of the Claymore voices were alright.
  • edited October 2009
    The English dub is one of the worst dubs I've ever heard. It really needs to be experienced to be appreciated.
    I was convinced to watch it dubbed because Jeremy prefers dubbed, plus I was cross-stitching while watching. I will agree that Raki's voice was extremely annoying. Most of the Claymore voices were alright.
    Not just the voices, the script. I only watched the first episode, but "Let's tell eachother our names!" pretty much covers it. We got kicked out of the theater at Anime Expo for laughing at it too much.

    Mostly all of us had read at least some of the manga before though, so the flaws of the anime version really stood out. The manga is a lot better, imo.
    Post edited by Sail on
  • Not just the voices, the script. I only watched the first episode, but "Let's tell eachother our names!" pretty much covers it. We got kicked out of the theater at Anime Expo for laughing at it too much.
    Yeah, I forgot about that. I'm not sure if that's what was said in the manga because I didn't read it.
  • If Emily does actually buy a Fit, we Fit drivers can form a posse on the forum.
  • Ergo Proxy is decent, it's worth watching the entire series.
    I thought Dave and Joel remarked that eventually it just stopped making sense and devolved into incomprehensible Booty&Shotgun; insanity?
  • I thought Dave and Joel remarked that eventually it just stopped making sense and devolved into incomprehensible Booty&Shotgun; insanity?
    Yeah, it pretty much did that. I forget a few other reviews about it. I do know that Daryl Surat did a review about it in an Otaku USA magazine and it wasn't too shabby.

    One of my more favorite episodes was the one where Pino goes to Smile Land.
  • Birdy the Mighty: Decode is fun. It's a full reset from the old OVA (which is also fun, with humanoid robots), which is if I recall correctly the same thing that happened to the manga. The mangaka started drawing, then started over. Decode 2 is QUALITY. I don't remember if they fixed that on the DVDs. Some awesome things: getting gangsters to do honest work by jumping on their car is awesome, and Gomez.

    Just realized I have yet to finish either Claymore or Ergo Proxy.
  • edited November 2009
    Best to not finish the Claymore anime, as far as I'm concerned. It's a pretty faithful adaptation of the manga up until the War in Pieta, at which point the story starts to diverge more and more until it builds to a completely bullshit last couple of episodes that are far too reminiscent of a DBZ fight for my liking. >< My recommendation, if you're that set on watching the anime (just read the manga!), would be to 1) as suggested, watch it subbed, and 2) stop just after the third or fourth DVD, then switch over to the corresponding manga chapters from there. I still have some qualms with the most recent part of the manga, but not nearly as many as I have with those last several episodes of the anime. Good god.
    Post edited by Eryn on
  • edited November 2009
    Apparently first issue is readable on publisher's site.
    Edit: Also, holy shit, Pax Romana is awesome.
    Post edited by bugmenot on
  • Holy shitting fuck. That first issue was awesome.
  • I thought Dave and Joel remarked that eventually it just stopped making sense and devolved into incomprehensible Booty&Shotgun; insanity?
    It tried to be philosophical. Remember when anime used to do that all the time and you wished they had normal endings? Fuck that shit, normal endings are boring!
  • Also, holy shit, Pax Romana is awesome.
    Well it is pretty good (at least compared to most of the other comics I see on the market), and it does have a very unique graphic style (again, from what I've seen, which admittedly isn't much). However I was kind of surprised about how it ended.
    Caution, massive spoilers (select to view):

    The theme of the first 90% of the books was that Man is corruptible: First we see the church, which is composed of non-fanatical, rational men, as we can gather from their bios, decide to send back a private a army to change history. Basically to broaden their power base (which is silly in itself- none of them would be born...). Then they destroy the technology, because they know how men are all basically evil and will use it for no good.
    Once in the past, Chase kills cardinal Pele, and takes over the operation to shape the world how he sees fit (for the good of humankind, no less). As the romans are shown we are once again reminded that people in power will betray and kill their friends in relatives for more power. This happens to romans in our timeline, and it happens to the military high command in this timeline. Karembeu and her nukes, Rossi ordering a hit on Chase, Mfede taking over Africa...
    And then the author just hand-waves it away and says "but then they all made up and lived happily ever after" (except for a few "inconveniences").
    The final line of the book is also very cheesy. It might impress the reader, but it would hardly be very surprising to the character himself, who was born and lived all his (short?) life in the new timeline. Not to mention the fact that he seems to be using our chronology (as does the author), however there wasn't any point in switching (as Christ no longer has as much significance) and the emperor should be using AUC calendar
  • a1s, how many issues are out now?
  • err... 4? As far as I know that's the whole story. The author alludes to there being more in the same universe (timeline or series if you will) , but to my knowledge they are not out yet.
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