Showing my sister Madoka. We should get to episode 10... around Christmas Eve. I am going to break her, and it is going to be hilarious.
On a side note, watching the show a second time is practically a necessity for full enjoyment, especially since it gives you an excuse to enjoy the incredible soundtrack.
On a side note, watching the show a second time is practically a necessity for full enjoyment, especially since it gives you an excuse to enjoy the incredible soundtrack.
I quite enjoyed talking to my TV during this. Must be real fun with more than 1 person.
Watched "The place promised in our early days" yesterday and it was a really good movie. The animation was stunning, but the story plot devices were kind of hard to chew through.
Also started watching Mirai Nikki a.k.a. Future Diary yesterday. You know, because it's Christmas and all. Seriously, that show is fucked up.
By god, I just watch "The Place Promised in our Early Days" just a moment ago on Netflix, and that has to be one of the best movies I have ever watched. It is definitively the best romance story I have seen, but then again, I haven't watched very many of those. To me, everything about this movie is just so perfect, striking the right cords in me!
By god, I just watch "The Place Promised in our Early Days" just a moment ago on Netflix, and that has to be one of the best movies I have ever watched. It is definitively the best romance story I have seen, but then again, I haven't watched very many of those. To me, everything about this movie is just so perfect, striking the right cords in me!
It's either the happiest sad ending, or the saddest happy ending, I've ever seen.
Speaking of Ikuhara, we got the Black Rose Saga box set for Christmas (other seasons are on their way) and read what he said in the interview:
This is just between you and me, but when I was fourteen, I confessed to the girl I'd loved for a long time and she turned me down. I couldn't give up. I secretly followed her after she left school. But as I did so, a UFO telepathically transmitted this message to me: "Stop acting like a stalker." St-stalker? What's that? Is it some hip slang from the future? "Live your life heroically. Live it with style. If you live heroically and with style.." If I live heroically and with style what? "When you grow up, you will direct an anime about girls revolutionizing various things." Surely you jest. "You must not tell anyone about me. If you ever do..." What will happen to me? "People will call you a sketchy guy."
The thing about the Utena movie is that it's exactly what you'd expect an Utena movie to be, up until...
the Car Wash scene
...And then all bets are off. It's an amazing and enjoyable movie, but it can throw you off balance a little. It also contains one of my favorite lines in anime.
Literally. As in, in the most direct, non-metaphorical, I am so not kidding sense.
There is a car wash. There are cars. These cars are naked. They are the focus of the entire end of the movie. They somehow become more naked, reaching maximum nakedness at the climax. Cue ending credits.
No one has ever been prepared for, in any real sense, the naked cars after our warnings. Without fail, they return to us, broken men, stating only that "those indeed were naked cars, the likes of which I never could have anticipated."
And they go on, to warn others, but the cycle repeats.
You, dear friend, might wonder at just what we could possibly mean by "naked" cars. How naked? Aren't all cars naked? Perhaps cars with bras or protectors, to then be removed?
Your musings will tread so far from the path your eyes are destined to take in watching this movie that you, despite all preparation, will be taken aback, remarking almost unconsciously that what you are seeing is indeed, and could only have been, what one calls a naked car.
No one has ever been prepared for, in any real sense, the naked cars after our warnings. Without fail, they return to us, broken men, stating only that "those indeed were naked cars, the likes of which I never could have anticipated."
Perhaps there is something terribly wrong with me, but these words only make me more glad than ever that I will soon be viewing this film.
Perhaps there is something terribly wrong with me, but these words only make me more glad than ever that I will soon be viewing this film.
You do an entire panel on movies so horrendously awful that one remembers them (well, we, but that's besides the point.) I'm surprised you didn't torrent it so that you wouldn't have to wait until now to watch it.
I could not have been prepared for, in any real sense, the naked cars even after your warnings. I return to you a broken woman, stating only that "those indeed were naked cars, the likes of which I never could have anticipated."
So we watched it... um... yeah. I actually really liked the first hour of it. It could be kinda stupid, but it was still fun. The whole "there is no prince thing" was a fun thesis, and while there were some problems with execution (Akio's whole "oh no, you were awake when I was raping you so now I find key that I stab you with, I'll step out for some fresh death" scene was kind of a mess) but I liked it... that is, until naked cars. Here's my notes: [spoiler]Prince. Akio? no. Juri! White Rose? They must be painted Promise to go to the planetarium? "You cannot duel without a sword, so now I kiss you!" I hate this Anthy. She's like a Sailor Moon Barbie doll. Shoir's "childhood friend" saved by prince? Did Juri indirectly kill Juri? Ikuhara loves legs. He conceals everything above the waist, but pants are a commodity ROSE PRINCE? MOB STORM? oh, nvrmnd Touga's giving Shiori a MAKEOVER (please read as Little Kuriboh's Pegasus voice)! Blue haired incest? What's with all the sheets in Touga's room? Juri's locket is known? Shiori is Mega-Rei? Shiori is a butterfly? Why is it that whenever people walk, their hair spreads out like a cape with too much starch? Translation is awful. Fansubs are better. Not only is the animation expensive, but what they're drawing is expensive. "You wasn't it?" again, the translation is awful And now we're dancing... great WAIT, WE'RE ONLY 30 MIN IN? That seemed like the end. Naked Utena what? NAKED HIMEMIYA WHAT?!? Ikuhara was sure to leave in a cameo for Akio-Anthy incest. Chu? Cow Nanami? ELEPHANTS? CARS! Akio's a bishi boy, complete with lacey duds. They even made the car-flip look bi-curious. And now Utena v Juri. Because. Wait, Juri got her sword from Shiori... should Touga be... ARGH!!! Eternity castle, now with direct flights on United. Juri doesn't see that Utena is Dios? They just killed Akio, well then... Cannae has green hair... Shiori's blaming Anthy So Akio had been raping Anthy in her sleep, but she was awake, so he stabbed her and fell out a window... and someone taped all this. So Touga is Bruce Willis a la 6th Sense IT'S THE CAR WASH! UTENA IS BEING SUCKED INTO A CAR WASH So Utena is a car... and rusting... And now I'm watching Redline Shiori's a car... great. So the fencing club is still people and they're towing Utena Friendship saved the day, where's Tea? The Castle is now also a car DIOS? WHAT? Apparently "Revolutionizing the World" means propelling yourself Redline style butt naked with strategically placed carborators Final scene left a bad taste in my mouth.[/spoilers]
Finished watching Ben-To. Overall it was okay. I mean there is only so much you can do with a series about fighting for 1/2 off bento boxes. Series would have done better without the typical fan-service bull. Finale episode had 1/2 off fresh grilled eels bento boxes as the prize for the Ben-to fighters. Yum.
Just finished BECK Mongolian Chop Squad. It was good and very much liked it. The music was great and the story was decent. There are a couple of problems though. One is that the animation quality drops at times severely, probably for budget reasons. A similar symptom seems to be the fact that the pace of the anime drops occasionally, with scenes like people walking across rooms, or still shots of some things, without any dialog or simply extending a song that's already been in the show a couple of times.
The other problem is the severe engrish in the dialog and songs. It's kind of hot cold there, as some characters speak pretty decent english for which native speakers have been cast apparently, but then at times the dialogue of other people was messed up severely. In some characters this is intended to show the difference between native speakers and people who lack proficiency in the language, but that makes the obvious mistakes that have been made even more egregious to me. The worst offender is without a doubt a newspaper that read "Life on the Load". Well, I can see past it still.
Final verdict, it was a solid B anime and if you like music you will without a doubt like this anime. Had a lot of fun with it.
Comments
On a side note, watching the show a second time is practically a necessity for full enjoyment, especially since it gives you an excuse to enjoy the incredible soundtrack.
Also started watching Mirai Nikki a.k.a. Future Diary yesterday. You know, because it's Christmas and all. Seriously, that show is fucked up.
Also finally got around to ordering Giant Robo and the (horrible but I must watch it) Utena movie.
Plus more Penguindrum episodes came out while I was distracted. Must catch up.
The Utena movie is beautiful. Odd and full of Ikuhara, to be sure, but still beautiful to behold.
the Car Wash scene
There is a car wash. There are cars. These cars are naked. They are the focus of the entire end of the movie. They somehow become more naked, reaching maximum nakedness at the climax. Cue ending credits.
No one has ever been prepared for, in any real sense, the naked cars after our warnings. Without fail, they return to us, broken men, stating only that "those indeed were naked cars, the likes of which I never could have anticipated."
And they go on, to warn others, but the cycle repeats.
You, dear friend, might wonder at just what we could possibly mean by "naked" cars. How naked? Aren't all cars naked? Perhaps cars with bras or protectors, to then be removed?
Your musings will tread so far from the path your eyes are destined to take in watching this movie that you, despite all preparation, will be taken aback, remarking almost unconsciously that what you are seeing is indeed, and could only have been, what one calls a naked car.
Anyway, the Utena movie arrived today, so we'll watch that tonight after JTVH's parents give us way too many perishables.
[spoiler]Prince. Akio? no. Juri!
White Rose? They must be painted
Promise to go to the planetarium?
"You cannot duel without a sword, so now I kiss you!"
I hate this Anthy. She's like a Sailor Moon Barbie doll.
Shoir's "childhood friend" saved by prince? Did Juri indirectly kill Juri?
Ikuhara loves legs. He conceals everything above the waist, but pants are a commodity
ROSE PRINCE?
MOB STORM?
oh, nvrmnd
Touga's giving Shiori a MAKEOVER (please read as Little Kuriboh's Pegasus voice)!
Blue haired incest?
What's with all the sheets in Touga's room?
Juri's locket is known?
Shiori is Mega-Rei?
Shiori is a butterfly?
Why is it that whenever people walk, their hair spreads out like a cape with too much starch?
Translation is awful. Fansubs are better.
Not only is the animation expensive, but what they're drawing is expensive.
"You wasn't it?" again, the translation is awful
And now we're dancing... great
WAIT, WE'RE ONLY 30 MIN IN? That seemed like the end.
Naked Utena what?
NAKED HIMEMIYA WHAT?!?
Ikuhara was sure to leave in a cameo for Akio-Anthy incest.
Chu? Cow Nanami? ELEPHANTS?
CARS!
Akio's a bishi boy, complete with lacey duds. They even made the car-flip look bi-curious.
And now Utena v Juri. Because.
Wait, Juri got her sword from Shiori... should Touga be... ARGH!!!
Eternity castle, now with direct flights on United.
Juri doesn't see that Utena is Dios?
They just killed Akio, well then...
Cannae has green hair...
Shiori's blaming Anthy
So Akio had been raping Anthy in her sleep, but she was awake, so he stabbed her and fell out a window... and someone taped all this.
So Touga is Bruce Willis a la 6th Sense
IT'S THE CAR WASH!
UTENA IS BEING SUCKED INTO A CAR WASH
So Utena is a car... and rusting...
And now I'm watching Redline
Shiori's a car... great.
So the fencing club is still people and they're towing Utena
Friendship saved the day, where's Tea?
The Castle is now also a car
DIOS? WHAT?
Apparently "Revolutionizing the World" means propelling yourself Redline style butt naked with strategically placed carborators
Final scene left a bad taste in my mouth.[/spoilers]
The other problem is the severe engrish in the dialog and songs. It's kind of hot cold there, as some characters speak pretty decent english for which native speakers have been cast apparently, but then at times the dialogue of other people was messed up severely. In some characters this is intended to show the difference between native speakers and people who lack proficiency in the language, but that makes the obvious mistakes that have been made even more egregious to me. The worst offender is without a doubt a newspaper that read "Life on the Load". Well, I can see past it still.
Final verdict, it was a solid B anime and if you like music you will without a doubt like this anime. Had a lot of fun with it.