Animu/Mango General

fourteenwings

A-1 will work, animation-wise, according to their budget for the project. Aside from Shinsekai yori, I've never seen an A-1 work that was attempting to be inherently artistic or similar, it's all about the clean visuals.

The thing is A-1 doesn't have someone on the books who will attempt to elevate a narrative, and I don't believe they want one. When they see a flagging adaptation, they'll set their most obnoxious staff on it to make it really like... enjoyable, but without any merit.

Even my favourite A-1 show, Subete ga F ni Naru, is kind of just an experiment in "what if the MC of an LN was an adult and pretended to solve adult mysteries" and kind of just rests on it's cool factor.

Basically, A-1 will not help your source material if it's bad, and will possibly make it worse. But you'll like it!

Naas_Human

I'd say Fate/Apocrypha isn't too A-1's fault since the LN's writer is directly involved for the anime, but then I remember the terrible OP visuals.

vandro

I really liked Subete ga F ni Naru, but that's because I like Mystery novels. Almost guessed the culprit in that one. Apocrypha's visuals seem to scream to me "LN cash in project"

Naas_Human

vandro wrote: »

Apocrypha's visuals seem to scream to me "LN cash in project"

For some reason, I feel like if that were really the case it would have more closeups.

glennmagusharvey

fourteenwings wrote:

A-1 will work, animation-wise, according to their budget for the project. Aside from Shinsekai yori, I've never seen an A-1 work that was attempting to be inherently artistic or similar, it's all about the clean visuals.

Also, Shelter.

fourteenwings

Shelter was super-clean visuals and a digital landscape that never once veered into artsy (for digital landscapes that are weirdly not, there's GaraKowa).

I feel like if that were really the case it would have more closeups.

It totally does though, everybody has those liney-but-not-too-boxy designs where anybody with significantly big hair just has it flaring out.

Naas_Human

“What were you thinking!? Why would you go out of your way and stop a drug ring? Leave that to the police! You should be going out and helping kids find lost toys or something!”

Kiku didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Uh… Well…”

“How are we supposed to write it into your show? We can’t show drugs to these kids!”

This is some strange backstory/worldbuilding.

glennmagusharvey

fourteenwings wrote: »

Shelter was super-clean visuals and a digital landscape that never once veered into artsy (for digital landscapes that are weirdly not, there's GaraKowa).

Oh, you meant visually experimental, as opposed to just artsy in general.

Naas_Human

“I realize they claimed that I forged my accusations. I shan’t lie on that account, I did forge those accusations. However, everything I’ve done, every forgery, has been in the name of justice.”

“You see, from years of experience as a torturer, I have learnt the invaluable skill of reading people. I know whether someone will bring chaos to the world, or if they’ll bring peace.”

“Even if they have yet to commit any sins today, if they were to fall to villainy later, then it is the responsibility of a lawbringer to cull them, that was all I’ve done. Yet still, the ones I saved dared to create reports that I slaughtered innocent citizens.”

So much edge.

glennmagusharvey

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2017/05/22/anime-style-novel-contest-in-japan-bans-alternate-reality-stories-and-teen-protagonists/

It's like saying "Get back here!" to isekai. heh

My only qualm is limiting the main character to be an adult male specifically, as opposed to any human adult, male or female.

fourteenwings

Oh wow somehow this covers GATE, which is one of the only LN anime in recent memory about an adult male protagonist (it's an isekai story).

I'm starting to feel like Isekai covers less the escapism of an alternate world nowadays. I think like, even though I don't care for it, FLIP FLAPPERS got escapism right on the nose. Now a protagonist barely spends any time in their real world before they shift to the new one, and the new one doesn't really have many benefits over the modern world, which negates a lot of the escapist bits I think.

Maybe Grimgar was better about this. It's the only show I can think of that might have had genuine prestige attached to the isekai concept.

Also I always feel like these kind of things are taken too far. I get Kadokawa wanting to write an LN series for people who are pretending they don't read LNs or whatever, but they would literally collapse if they stopped printing stories about teenage boys.

By the way, I read a review of an LN starring an adult(ish) male just yesterday. Maybe this is secretly the new thing?

fourteenwings

But it was just the brightness, the sun was only made for lighting, it had no emotions. Just like wind blowing or dust flying, its only meaning was to set a stage.

Just finished Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku RESTART.

Naas_Human

“Why’d you pick me?”

“Well… you had potential. You’d need a strong heart, a strong mind, and a general willingness to do something to become a Magical Girl.”

“That’s not what I mean. I mean… Anyone could have that. Why me?”

“Oh. Well… Cause you’re not a goody two-shoes pure hearted maiden.”

“Huh?”

“You’re life sucks, you play dirty cause playing clean will get you hurt, you’re sneaky, you deceive people all the time, and if you see an opportunity, you’d take it in an instant.”

“Wow… You’re not even gonna try and disguise it with a compliment.”

“(spoiler), that is my compliment. I don’t want some idealistic naïve glass-half-full girl as the Magical Girl I’m partnered with. I need someone like you.”

This series is so much fun.

Vorpy

Naas_Human wrote: »

“Why’d you pick me?”

“Well… you had potential. You’d need a strong heart, a strong mind, and a general willingness to do something to become a Magical Girl.”

“That’s not what I mean. I mean… Anyone could have that. Why me?”

“Oh. Well… Cause you’re not a goody two-shoes pure hearted maiden.”

“Huh?”

“You’re life sucks, you play dirty cause playing clean will get you hurt, you’re sneaky, you deceive people all the time, and if you see an opportunity, you’d take it in an instant.”

“Wow… You’re not even gonna try and disguise it with a compliment.”

“(spoiler), that is my compliment. I don’t want some idealistic naïve glass-half-full girl as the Magical Girl I’m partnered with. I need someone like you.”

This series is so much fun.

what series is this

Naas_Human

Magical Girl Raising Project, like all the other stuff I've been putting in big quote boxes the past week or so.

glennmagusharvey

I threw up a couple new blog posts a few days ago. https://myanimelist.net/blog/GlennMagusHarvey

Not sure if they're things you feel like reading about, 14w, but heh.

fourteenwings

Madoka Magica "vs." Yuuki Yuuna
Revisiting Guilty Crown?

GMH whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Naas_Human

The analysis we really need is Symphogear vs. Nogi Wakaba vs. Project Tokyo Dolls.

Naas_Human

Believe in the Magical Girl in you.

Well that was lots of fun.

Naas_Human

All eyes stared on her as she cried and wailed and punched tables.

She looked at everyone with a red face full of tears. Her face quickly turned to anger.

“What are you dipshits lookin’ at!? Isn’t this a funeral or somethin’? I’m fuckin’ sad, okay!? Mind your own damn business!”

(...)

“Someone get her out of here before she gets us all evicted.”

“Who the hell is she calling a dipshit?”

(...)

A group of Magical Girls went over to Marika and restrained her. Marika retaliated by punching and kicking them across the room.

(...)

Other Magical Girls quickly tackled Marika to the ground. Five of them pinned her down, while one of them pummeled her face repeatedly.

When she was properly stunned, they carried her out as she struggled against the grip of multiple Magical Girls.

“LEMME GO, DAMMIT! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME-GAK!”

This is the greatest introduction ever.

fourteenwings

It occurs to me that we (fairly weak collective we, but whatever) read more LNs now than manga.

Not that we ever read manga in the first place.

Things I need to do in anime terms:

• Catch up on DIVE!!
  Yeah, I might drop DIVE!!
• Rewatch the endy bits of Lostorage
  Actually did this!
• Watch more CHRONOS RULER?
  Yeah not happening, ever.

glennmagusharvey

I've still technically read more manga than LNs despite my distaste for manga, because I've read like 2 manga series and read 1 LN series. Unless you count the two extra .hack LNs separately so then it's 3 LN series.

Naas_Human

Two episodes left of Nanoha S1 and beaming people into submission sure looks less satisfying than punching them into it instead.

Naas_Human

The most surprising thing about Nanoha S1 is that it ended with something that eventually made its way into Madoka but not Symphogear.

fourteenwings

Can anybody name a modern magical girl series where:

1. Only the main character has magical powers out of all the good guys (there can be characters whose abilities are above human or in tune with magic, but nothing even near 'can fight a basic magic mook')
2. If a villain with a similar set of powers to the main character later becomes a good guy, they legitimately permanently for real lose their powers

At this point I'll even take a mecha series with similar criteria.

Naas_Human

Most recent thing I can think of with only one magical hero is Re:Cutie Honey.

fourteenwings

I feel like aside from the obvious 'if there are lots of magical girls in this so we can sell lots of different goods' thing, there's a serious like... shunning, possibly, of cool storylines you could have if only the main character had powers.

You could forego the mascot and have one of her friends do the recon/research bits. I mean, you could have people in her life before she becomes a magical girl at all?

This is a dumb example, but Ritsuka from Dance With Devils is the only Grimoire by virtue of like, obviously since an Otome game. If the situation were a bit different though, you could have Ritsuka with the Grimoire inside her, Azuna with her exorcist powers by her side and Lindo, a secret vampire trying his best at being an exorcist.

Naas_Human

Of all the Symphogear things to find having predecessors in Nanoha, I did not expect this:

glennmagusharvey

^^ Suddenly I am reminded of Inspector Gadget. While his niece Penny and their dog Brain do have some "powers" from special items, they themselves are basically muggles, albeit very intelligent ones, while Gadget himself is outfitted with a variety of superpowers but is ironically incompetent with them.

^ What is its analogue in Symphogear?

Also I originally misspelled that as Shmpjogear. lol phone

fourteenwings

Shoot-Em-Up Joker Gear sounds like it might be an actual thing somewhere, but somehow not an anime thing.

What is its analogue in Symphogear?

The IGNITE modules from GX.