the only titles that are eligible to be one this list are shows i watched in 2013 (i'm going to try and avoid adding rewatches)
Lets start with the bad... cause i don't want to end on a rant.
10. Free!
I think Free is silly harmless fun and the only reason it is here is cause it has done a few things i'm not happy with. I'm not thrilled that thanks to it we are getting this wave of crappy fanservice bait without plot... sorry but you can have all the pretty boys and i wont give a shit if i don't like them as characters. we also got a lot of copycats on the horizon which will hope to cash in on Free!'s success while completely missing what made free work. as much as the show irritated me i couldn't put it any higher on the list cause there were MUCH worse things this year.
9. Sunday without God
There are some things this show tries to do well, i think the world is interesting and the art... while kinda bland is still very pretty. i don't like how the show ended and i really don't like how disjointed it felt. it hasn't even been that long and I barely remember what some of the plots were about.
it's not terrible... but it's one of the worst shows i watched this year.
8. Log Horizon
another show i don't hate... it was just really boring... i was hoping for a better sword art (cause sword art was terrible and i'm kinda bummed i can't put it on this list cause i reviewed it in 2012... but it would probably be number 1 or 2) but it was just... bland... and boring... and the art wasn't good... and the music was nothing special... and there were no stakes... and i kinda just stopped watching...
7. Hakenden
Bored.... pointless... pretty stupid too... i just couldn't get into this show... granted i'm not a fan of the "shota" undertones that have entered a lot of show in general but this one was too much monster of the week and after one season i deemed that i didn't care enough to give it anymore time.
6. Oreshura
this show was good till it became a harem. now it doesn't hide the fact that it's a harem show but since it just starts off with the two girls wanting him adding the 3rd and 4th really just throws the balance and in the end i coudn't even finish the show cause the characters were so annoying.
5. I couldn't become the hero so i reluctantly decided to get a job.
i saw.... maybe 5 or 10 minutes of this show before i gave up.... in my first impresssions it's actualyl one of my longer rants... it was just blatant fanservice and the part that made me quit was when a girl was gropped but it's okay cause it was by a customer.
no japan... just no.
that is not okay or funny, you want to have a fanservice show? thats fine but that doesn't change the fact that it was one of the most unpleasent shows i tried to sit through this year.
4. Beyond the Boundary
after the first episode i essentially said "wow that was really boring, i know nothing about this world other then that crap you spewed which makes no sense cause i am lacking in context"
my friend informed me that i can't make that decision just based on one episode.
so 6 episodes later i was still bored as hell and annoyed cause NOTHING had happened... something tried to happen but then it was followed up by moe moe idol time and i just quit.
this show could have been good... just cut out all the moe filler, make the characters interesting and show us their motivation instead of telling us and all would have been good..
but no...
3. Kinmoza
the fact that this show is on the list makes me sad
the fact that it's number 3? ugh... so sad
this is the biggest case of Bait and Switch i have EVER seen
the first episode is so damn sweet, it does a great job of dealing with two languages and is just so utterly adorable i think i got a cavity just from watching it.
then it becomes moe moe school time and just... loses all it's heart and charm and dropping it was the saddest thing i had to do... but i'm so glad i did cause it doesn't get better. (i watched a chunk of the final episode so i know this)
i would say watch the first episode if you have a chance to cause it's really good
but do not watch any more.
2. Meganebu
i was worried about this show.
I really like guys with glasses.
so a show that was blatant pandering to that niche was.... well i was worried cause i gave free a really hard time.
then the first episode was terrible
terrible art
horrible characters
crappy music and plot
not a single redeemable quality.
maybe it got better? i seriously doubt it.
and the number one worst show i watched this year was~
1. Amnesia
I have a four letter world that perfectly describes how i feel about this show... but even though i swear quite profusly in real life i do try to avoid it here.
but seriously... this show broke me for a long time... i don't think i'm over it and it's been a long time. even though i love the intro song Zeotrope every time i hear it i get a moment of rage.... i HATE this show.
it gets everything wrong
it's idea of romance is just completely messed up.
and worst of all it rewards some pretty atrocious behavior.
but i've already ranted about it here so.... yeah
i hate this show
i hate that it is as well liked as it is
it's rigth up there with school days and Sword art online and K-on for my most hated shows of all time...
just... no...
OKAY
Positive time~
when i made my short list i ended up with 15 titiles.... here are the five that i just couldn't justify in the top ten.
In no particular order
My teen romantic comedy SNAFU
The title of this show made me think i would hate it... i ended up with a really cute and sweet story about someone who has chosen to deal with social situations in a way that makes him a loner.
it's funny, it's sweet but honestly it's not that memorable so i couldn't justify it being in the top ten
but i really enjoyed it... stupid title aside
Devil survivor 2
It hurts me that this isn't on the list... i love it... it's like if natsume and matoba actually confronted each other. but unfortunately a lot of my enjoyment was from the voice actors... some part of the season drag and if you don;t know anything about SMT games then some things may be lost... granted have the time i was saying "must be nice having Mazio or maziodyne right off the bat" which got an odd look from my friend.
good show, but yeah... couldn't rank it higher then my top ten
Nagi no asakura
I love the world of this show, it's just so neat... it's a show i hope NISA licenses cause it seems like it would fit in with their other titles. but other then the pretty art and really neat world i still couldn't say it's in my top ten... which hurts cause yeah i've really liked it.
Genshiken season 2
I wasn't expecting much from this show... i enjoyed the 'first' season of Genshiken but it never really stuck with me... it was cute but i didn't even think about it... this 'second' season on the other hand had some really nice moments and dealt a lot with the female anime fan... granted they focused on the yoai fangirls which is fine but i don't identify with that... still it was well done and i hope they do another season sometime.
Toradora
It's an older show... so even though it was my first time watching it i felt odd if i put it in the top ten. i know i said in no real order but this would easily be #11 in my list. it's cute, it's funny, it's heartbreaking and it's the only reason i'm watching Golden time (same creator). i wasn't always a fan of the art but everything else is so well done...
OK.... onto the real list...
10. Shin Sekai Yori
this was my "what am i watching" show for a while but even with the content being a bit... uncomfortable at times... i still really enjoyed the world and the story... and those ending songs were just so pretty. I would call this an art show through and through but it's also a social commentary. I may or may not understand everything it was trying to get across but even after all this time i still remember it from time to time.
9. The Unlimited Hyobu Kyosuke
I love this show, it was a lot of fun and though it had a few moments of me going "really" (sure andy... just casually run up the side of the ship... it's cool)
i love the characters and the visuals and the music and my only complaint is length...
now i know it's a spin off to another show and i haven't watched/read the other show but i wanted more of andy's story and from what i understand he's not in the other series.
still really really good show and i'm starting ro realize how hard putting this list together is going to be.
8. Macross Plus
it's old... so... i don't want to put it higher... but seriously this series is probably part of the reason i'm such a fan of anime... despite never having watched it till just this past year.
When you have been humming voices to yourself your entire life and you didn't even know what it's from that moment of "thats the song" hits like a ton of bricks.
i probably saw it with my father when i was little but i don't remember it... i just remember the music.
the show is really good too... though short... and doesn't really have much to do with macross... but i don't care... this show, or at least it's music, helped shape my taste when i was too young to realize it... and thast crazy looking back.
7. Blast of Tempest
When aniplex announced they licensed this here i had a little cry... their standard edition 13 episode half a season deal was about 80 bucks...
and it came with not much... unlike NISA who gets a lovely box/artbook/freebies and is only around 50 bucks.
still... thanks to rightstuff i'm getting it for a little cheaper which is nice cause i want to own it.... but yeah... i wish Aniplex would stop licensing stuff here... i don't care that it was theirs to begin with... 80-100 bucks for half a season is too much.
70-120 bucks for 4 episodes (PMMM) is too much
i love this show... even the middle bit which is a bit slow... i don't know why but this show just made me smile at every turn and even made me cry occasionally.
i'm surprised it's only at number 7 but looking at the rest of my list... yeah i'm not that surprised.luckily it went on sale with aniplex' 12 days of christmas sale so i was able to get it for 50ish... but still. so much money
6. Yowapeda
I hate bikes... i also am not a fan of sports anime... btu this show is wonderful. the CG is a bit awkward but i just love seeing the main character stuggle against all odds. I also like that this is the first show where i was able to pinpoint Junichiro Suwabe.
he's the voice of Matoba from Natsume yuujinchou and he's in everything... and i can never tell... for whatever reason i'm voice blind to him yet i can find other voice actors about before they even say anything. so when i saw the older bro character and went. "sounds like matoba" and then thougth a moment to let that click... i was so happy.
i still can't figure him out in other shows but 2 shows is a start.
the other great thing about this show is that show is that not all the characters are pretty and there is a large variety of shapes and silhouettes... thats pretty rare for anime so gotta give credit where credits due.
5. Chihayafuru 2
this show is great, i do wish they had covered more content in the season but thats okay what we did get was just more awesome to add onto the first season. also the art is probably the prettiest of all the shows i wtached this year. but yeah i want more chihayafuru.... just gotta wait for it...
AH this is getting hard to pick
4. Gargantia
this would be higher if not for the silly fanservice but honestly this show made me so happy. it was like if a zentradi soldier made his way back to earth and was stranded and just the amount of culture shock. also the use of colour where the soldiers all have thi kind of monochromatic look and earth by sontrast is filled with every colour imaginable.
I'm happy Viz licensed it and i plan to pick it up as soon as i see it posted for sale somewhere.
i do wish it was longer... but yeah it had me sobbign at a certain point so good job show.
3. Samurai Flamenco
I expected to loath this show.
it looks so dumb from the previews
but i was watching an episode of every show this fall season.
and then when i watched it... it was like Kickass but so much better cause it was still grounded in reality.
we are getting more episodes in winter so thats great cause i would be sad to see it end already. still because it's not technically over i can't put it any higher.
2. The Eccentric family.
True story: one day i was checking my emails and i saw there was one from NISA... they didn't have anything i wanted coming out soon but i figured i should at least look at it cause they may license more.
and i scroll through and suddenly i gasp.
now... i was really sick so the fuzzy part of my brain goes. "why did i gasp... did i see something?" and i scroll back up and there it was... eccentric family licensed by NISA.
i let out something like a squee and then i quickly checked another source to make sure i wasn't reading the email wrong... cause if i had i was going to cry. again i love NISA box sets so to be able to own another one of my favorite shows from them made me really really happy.
I am surprised this isn't number 1.... but i'm not considering what number 1 is.
and my favorite show in 2013 is *drumroll*
1. Kuroko's Basketball 2
again.... i'm not a fan of sport anime but i love this show... every week i look forward to it and i yell at my computer when it ends (i hate cliffhangers).
i hope it starts picking up the pace soon... and i know we'll be getting more in winter but yeah... this show is great.... someone (NISA? though that's unlikely cause it's not really like anything in their catalog.... hm... Viz? i think it's technically shonen jump so it would make sense...)
Kuroko is great, i love everything about his character.
Kagami is great, i love his anger and how Kuroko always manages to put him in his place.
i love the generation of miracles cause even though they are grossly overpowered they all have real talents and real weaknesses.
Also this is a show i can recommend to anyone.
my friend: what should i watch?
me: Kuroko's basketball is really good
her: i hate sports anime
me: me too... and it;s my fav this season... give it 3 episodes.
her -the next day- : i wtached it all.. .that was great.
me: good *evil grin* i'm glad.
and i've done this at least 4 times so far.
best show this season
best show of the year (in my opinion of course)
but honestly this has been a great year for anime and thanks to sites like Crunchyroll, Hulu (which i don't get cause canadian but i hear it's good), Netflix and funimation we can enjoy it pretty much at the same time as japan and it's legal... it's a great time to be a fan.
next i'll probbaly do games or music... we'll see.... for now i think i have some shows to watch~
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Goodbye 2013
I know a lot of people are really happy to see this year end, i'm fairly indifferent.
On the surface not much happened to me this year but i learned a lot about myself so i always consider that a win.
I am sad that no falcom calendar for the new year... they had a Legend of heroes/trails based one but i like Ys more so... only a big Natsume's book of friends calendar... which is currently hanging up behind my current Natsume's book of friends calendar so that it can uncurl a little.
The one this that has kinda sucked about this past year is i have gotten really sick... i swear all through november i would go through this rotation of having a cold, being find for a day, new cold... all month long.
now in december i have this 2-3 week long monster cold that has run through my family and i'm just so done with being sick. I can't draw much when i'm sick.... and when i can't draw i'm miserable.
But otherwise it's been fairly productive... i accomplished thing i never thought possible, things i thought were too scary but i just needed that extra little push.
Though if i'm going to do resolutions for new years... the number one thing has to be getting help with my anxiety, it didn't used to be this bad and it didn't used to get in the way of daily life... now that everyone is bugging me to drive that has changed... i wasn't worried about it much before but i am getting tired of being afraid of every little thing.
Number two is Travel... North America is nice and all but i really do wanna see more of the world... even if it means i have to fly there.
Number three is less dealing with one sided convos.
yeah... i'm really sick of dealing with people who are essentially just talking to hear the sound of their voice, they don't care or want your input or opinion and constantly try to find ways to put you down when you try to give them input or opinions anyways.
yeah... screw that, not dealing with it anymore.
Number four is more talking to people.
I always worry that i'm being a nuisance or bothering someone when i talk to them... especially on things like twitter, i need to be confident that i can say things and that i'm not annoying. and i need to stop being afraid of talking once the group gets bigger then 3... so yeah... more confidence *nods*
Number five is more art, now i actually did a lot this year.
92 finished pictures in 2013 compainred to the 42 in 2012.... but still.. this past month i'm only finished one piece and thats not good enough for me...
yes it's cause i'm sick but still.. no excuse! more art!
and other then that... just more time spent with friends and family...
I hope everyone has a happy new year, i hope 2014 is great for everyone and i have a few year end top tens lined up for the next few days.
On the surface not much happened to me this year but i learned a lot about myself so i always consider that a win.
I am sad that no falcom calendar for the new year... they had a Legend of heroes/trails based one but i like Ys more so... only a big Natsume's book of friends calendar... which is currently hanging up behind my current Natsume's book of friends calendar so that it can uncurl a little.
The one this that has kinda sucked about this past year is i have gotten really sick... i swear all through november i would go through this rotation of having a cold, being find for a day, new cold... all month long.
now in december i have this 2-3 week long monster cold that has run through my family and i'm just so done with being sick. I can't draw much when i'm sick.... and when i can't draw i'm miserable.
But otherwise it's been fairly productive... i accomplished thing i never thought possible, things i thought were too scary but i just needed that extra little push.
Though if i'm going to do resolutions for new years... the number one thing has to be getting help with my anxiety, it didn't used to be this bad and it didn't used to get in the way of daily life... now that everyone is bugging me to drive that has changed... i wasn't worried about it much before but i am getting tired of being afraid of every little thing.
Number two is Travel... North America is nice and all but i really do wanna see more of the world... even if it means i have to fly there.
Number three is less dealing with one sided convos.
yeah... i'm really sick of dealing with people who are essentially just talking to hear the sound of their voice, they don't care or want your input or opinion and constantly try to find ways to put you down when you try to give them input or opinions anyways.
yeah... screw that, not dealing with it anymore.
Number four is more talking to people.
I always worry that i'm being a nuisance or bothering someone when i talk to them... especially on things like twitter, i need to be confident that i can say things and that i'm not annoying. and i need to stop being afraid of talking once the group gets bigger then 3... so yeah... more confidence *nods*
Number five is more art, now i actually did a lot this year.
92 finished pictures in 2013 compainred to the 42 in 2012.... but still.. this past month i'm only finished one piece and thats not good enough for me...
yes it's cause i'm sick but still.. no excuse! more art!
and other then that... just more time spent with friends and family...
I hope everyone has a happy new year, i hope 2014 is great for everyone and i have a few year end top tens lined up for the next few days.
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Completed: Little Busters! ~Refrain~
The sequel to Little Busters!
Okay... time to put my biases out there.
I am a fan of most Key/Visual arts titles.
Clannad and Kanon are amoung my favorite shows.
However when the first season of this show aired i was not impressed.
In my review I pretty much said that the show couldn't have any potential for thought provoking story lines cause everything is solved so easily... a problem arises and it is solved with barely any effort or even worse with something akin to magic (i dubbed it Magical Narcolepsy)
Then i did comparisons of moe characters from this vs moe characters from Key titles i enjoy and all i was pretty much saying is that those characters had arcs and interesting personalities where as LB characters are more like plot devices then anything else.
And then i Bitch for a few paragraphs about how none of the characters have to work for anything.
Knowing what i know after watching this season that doesn't bug me as much.... but this show still isn't very good.
Now... i'm about to spoil the hell out of both seasons so...
Short review -
This is not as good as Clannad or Kanon and if you have seen Angel beats some things may feel a little familiar (though not really cause the two titles are very different) but if you can make it through the terribly predictable boring first season the second season is minorly better... it at least does some interesting ideas even if they aren't fully realized by the end.
Longer spoiler filled review.
Okay i don't know how long this will actually be but the reason why everything in season 1 is so damn easy is cause everything is 'technically' a dream.
see there's a situation where a lot of students are in an accident and now they are living out an endless summer in another world to help the only two survivors be stronger in the real world.
however the one controlling the other world is running out of time in the real world and season two is pretty much the last time he'll be able to try and help them grow before it's too late.
So in one sense i forgive the easiness of it all a tiny bit BUT it's still really lazy and some of the things that happen in the final attempt are stupid and just scream of weak writing/writing yourself into a corner.
The best part of the whole season is the first half of the final episode... if the entire series had been dealing with the theme brought up in the final episode this may have been my fav Key/Visual art anime. and yes it technically deals with the idea of it in the background but it never confronts it.
Instead it's too busy saying "don't run away" and them turning aroudn and saying "okay run now" and then going back to "don't run away"
it's frustrating.
maybe i'm just wishing for the impossible... maybe a theme as dark as the one presented is just a little too heavy for a moe show but i think if anyone could do it... it would be Key/Visual arts...
also the second half of the final episode really bugged me
seriously... i'm spoiling the end... okay... continue on i guess..
so as they have pulled all the near dead students off the crashed bus they go to get Kyosuke who is blocking the broken gas line with his back. after just a few stes the bus explodes and commecial break.
then they skip to fall and everyone is out of the hospital except kyosuke cause he had the worse wounds.
okay well that's fine cause the others would have been no where near the explosion...
but then they talk baout how they can't figure out what to do without him...
um... wasn't the show about riki trying to learn how to step up and come up with things to do?
and then he... uh... attaches a rope to somewhere, is standing outside the window and sayign lets all go on a field trip.
um.... what happened to comatose.
did they actually die in that explosion? cause... that makes more sense then this.
also.... why are you getting back in a car? Kyosuke are you even old enough to drive?
WTF is going on....
i'm sorry but no... if kyosuke woke up from his coma i find it hard to believe that the hospital or his parents wouldn't contact his sister. also theres extra testing to make sure there isn't lasting damage... rehab... he was out for a few months at least... not to mention he would probably have burns... i just don't understand.
bringing too much logic to anime? yeah probably but it really annoys me that after all that... after that speck of something interesting and a little dark we once again get the "but then the day was saved cause of reasons and everyone is happy" once again. even after all that 'effort' there is NO EFFORT at the very end.
SPOILERS OVER
The good:
. . . what did i say in my other review...
hm the intro and ending songs aren't as good as the first season but they are still quite pretty and the intro song did grow on me over time.
wow i didn't have much to say about the good traits of this show... hm... well the second season is a bit better then the first... mostly cause half the cost are never heard from again. it is quite a bit darker even if the ending is the sappiest happy end i have ever seen
The not so good:
Magical Narcolepsy is still a thing that happens though not as much luckily...
problems are solves easily with little to no effort and the problems come up in ways that make little to no sense.
Characters are still place holders for character traits but when half the cast gets pushed aside the story and characterization does improve.
The bad:
The animation... as much as i am not impressed with Kyo-ani this would have looked a lot better had they done it instead of the people who i think did it (JC Staff?) i just... the animation feels really lazy, intro and ending songs look great but the show itself just look static and flat.
so Moe.... so very very moe....
The surprising:
The show never made me cry.
not once
I cry at the drop of a hat, you can mentions things in passing that have made me cry in the past and i may tear up or find it hard to speak... i am possibly the biggest cry baby ever... but no... for this... nothing.
When the really dark theme i refuse to spoil was brought up i nearly cried... mostly cause it hit too close to home... but then it was back to happy and no work for all the reward and those watery eyes dried up quickly.
I didn't care about the characters enough to get invested in it. in 38 episodes this show couldn't get to care.... thats a bit of a problem.
I know i sound like a i hated this show... but i think it's more complicated then that.
Do i begrudge watching it all? not really
will i watch it again? no
will i recommend it to people? probably not... unless they wanna laugh about magical narcolepsy
The first season is painful but if you can sit through it the second one isn't that bad... but if you want more interesting stories about life and the hardships in it then watch Kanon (2006) or Clannad. Both are infinitely better.
I still think had it been a story about childhood friends with little in common now that they are older it would have been way more interesting but hey... what do i know.
Okay... time to put my biases out there.
I am a fan of most Key/Visual arts titles.
Clannad and Kanon are amoung my favorite shows.
However when the first season of this show aired i was not impressed.
In my review I pretty much said that the show couldn't have any potential for thought provoking story lines cause everything is solved so easily... a problem arises and it is solved with barely any effort or even worse with something akin to magic (i dubbed it Magical Narcolepsy)
Then i did comparisons of moe characters from this vs moe characters from Key titles i enjoy and all i was pretty much saying is that those characters had arcs and interesting personalities where as LB characters are more like plot devices then anything else.
And then i Bitch for a few paragraphs about how none of the characters have to work for anything.
Knowing what i know after watching this season that doesn't bug me as much.... but this show still isn't very good.
Now... i'm about to spoil the hell out of both seasons so...
Short review -
This is not as good as Clannad or Kanon and if you have seen Angel beats some things may feel a little familiar (though not really cause the two titles are very different) but if you can make it through the terribly predictable boring first season the second season is minorly better... it at least does some interesting ideas even if they aren't fully realized by the end.
Longer spoiler filled review.
Okay i don't know how long this will actually be but the reason why everything in season 1 is so damn easy is cause everything is 'technically' a dream.
see there's a situation where a lot of students are in an accident and now they are living out an endless summer in another world to help the only two survivors be stronger in the real world.
however the one controlling the other world is running out of time in the real world and season two is pretty much the last time he'll be able to try and help them grow before it's too late.
So in one sense i forgive the easiness of it all a tiny bit BUT it's still really lazy and some of the things that happen in the final attempt are stupid and just scream of weak writing/writing yourself into a corner.
The best part of the whole season is the first half of the final episode... if the entire series had been dealing with the theme brought up in the final episode this may have been my fav Key/Visual art anime. and yes it technically deals with the idea of it in the background but it never confronts it.
Instead it's too busy saying "don't run away" and them turning aroudn and saying "okay run now" and then going back to "don't run away"
it's frustrating.
maybe i'm just wishing for the impossible... maybe a theme as dark as the one presented is just a little too heavy for a moe show but i think if anyone could do it... it would be Key/Visual arts...
also the second half of the final episode really bugged me
seriously... i'm spoiling the end... okay... continue on i guess..
so as they have pulled all the near dead students off the crashed bus they go to get Kyosuke who is blocking the broken gas line with his back. after just a few stes the bus explodes and commecial break.
then they skip to fall and everyone is out of the hospital except kyosuke cause he had the worse wounds.
okay well that's fine cause the others would have been no where near the explosion...
but then they talk baout how they can't figure out what to do without him...
um... wasn't the show about riki trying to learn how to step up and come up with things to do?
and then he... uh... attaches a rope to somewhere, is standing outside the window and sayign lets all go on a field trip.
um.... what happened to comatose.
did they actually die in that explosion? cause... that makes more sense then this.
also.... why are you getting back in a car? Kyosuke are you even old enough to drive?
WTF is going on....
i'm sorry but no... if kyosuke woke up from his coma i find it hard to believe that the hospital or his parents wouldn't contact his sister. also theres extra testing to make sure there isn't lasting damage... rehab... he was out for a few months at least... not to mention he would probably have burns... i just don't understand.
bringing too much logic to anime? yeah probably but it really annoys me that after all that... after that speck of something interesting and a little dark we once again get the "but then the day was saved cause of reasons and everyone is happy" once again. even after all that 'effort' there is NO EFFORT at the very end.
SPOILERS OVER
The good:
. . . what did i say in my other review...
hm the intro and ending songs aren't as good as the first season but they are still quite pretty and the intro song did grow on me over time.
wow i didn't have much to say about the good traits of this show... hm... well the second season is a bit better then the first... mostly cause half the cost are never heard from again. it is quite a bit darker even if the ending is the sappiest happy end i have ever seen
The not so good:
Magical Narcolepsy is still a thing that happens though not as much luckily...
problems are solves easily with little to no effort and the problems come up in ways that make little to no sense.
Characters are still place holders for character traits but when half the cast gets pushed aside the story and characterization does improve.
The bad:
The animation... as much as i am not impressed with Kyo-ani this would have looked a lot better had they done it instead of the people who i think did it (JC Staff?) i just... the animation feels really lazy, intro and ending songs look great but the show itself just look static and flat.
so Moe.... so very very moe....
The surprising:
The show never made me cry.
not once
I cry at the drop of a hat, you can mentions things in passing that have made me cry in the past and i may tear up or find it hard to speak... i am possibly the biggest cry baby ever... but no... for this... nothing.
When the really dark theme i refuse to spoil was brought up i nearly cried... mostly cause it hit too close to home... but then it was back to happy and no work for all the reward and those watery eyes dried up quickly.
I didn't care about the characters enough to get invested in it. in 38 episodes this show couldn't get to care.... thats a bit of a problem.
I know i sound like a i hated this show... but i think it's more complicated then that.
Do i begrudge watching it all? not really
will i watch it again? no
will i recommend it to people? probably not... unless they wanna laugh about magical narcolepsy
The first season is painful but if you can sit through it the second one isn't that bad... but if you want more interesting stories about life and the hardships in it then watch Kanon (2006) or Clannad. Both are infinitely better.
I still think had it been a story about childhood friends with little in common now that they are older it would have been way more interesting but hey... what do i know.
Thursday, 26 December 2013
Completed: Gingitsune: Meesanger of the Fox Gods
Aka Silver Fox
So in my first impressions i mentioned that i hoped it would be good.
*sighs*
it's not bad... it's just kinda... there.
i've mentioned it before but sometimes i feel like they make shows about something that isn't a cool or interesting in hopes of making it more interesting.
thats what this feels like, it feels like it is more focused on teaching people how to properly do things at a shrine then instead of having a plot.
i mean it's cute and has some sweet moments but there's not much in the way of character arcs or plot or reason, i haven't given a synopsis cause i can't say much more then "girls daily life in a shrine where she can see the spirit who lives there"
i don't mind slice of life, but there still needs to be a point to it.
maybe theres another season of this in the works where something happens? maybe theres a manga that continues on and get really interesting but going off My Anime List this is all that's there is (anime wise) for now and based off that i have to say take a pass.
Unless you like slow shows where practically nothing happens... then you may really like it... i don't.
Granted, i'm not feeling well so i could just be grumpy cause of that but it really just felt like "here are some cute moments and now it's over... so come visit the shrine if you want we'll be waiting! and now you know how to do everything properly cause we taught you! wasn't that kind and considerate of us?"
so yeah... um.
The good
well acted, the character designs are all diverse enough that i know who everyone is... the animation is decent as well.
Not so good:
Character motivations make little to no sense in some situations, not character growth or development and we never learn what happened to Kintaro who was Gintaro's partner until they suddenly vanished.
The bad:
Nothing happens, nothing is resolved, no plot thread is tied off and no one seems to care.
also not a fan of the music... they have these saxophone sounding bits and it just doesn't fit the mood at all and makes it sound like it was made in the late 80s
But yeah, the show isn't terrible. it's just not as good or interesting as i was hoping and that makes me a little sad.
So in my first impressions i mentioned that i hoped it would be good.
*sighs*
it's not bad... it's just kinda... there.
i've mentioned it before but sometimes i feel like they make shows about something that isn't a cool or interesting in hopes of making it more interesting.
thats what this feels like, it feels like it is more focused on teaching people how to properly do things at a shrine then instead of having a plot.
i mean it's cute and has some sweet moments but there's not much in the way of character arcs or plot or reason, i haven't given a synopsis cause i can't say much more then "girls daily life in a shrine where she can see the spirit who lives there"
i don't mind slice of life, but there still needs to be a point to it.
maybe theres another season of this in the works where something happens? maybe theres a manga that continues on and get really interesting but going off My Anime List this is all that's there is (anime wise) for now and based off that i have to say take a pass.
Unless you like slow shows where practically nothing happens... then you may really like it... i don't.
Granted, i'm not feeling well so i could just be grumpy cause of that but it really just felt like "here are some cute moments and now it's over... so come visit the shrine if you want we'll be waiting! and now you know how to do everything properly cause we taught you! wasn't that kind and considerate of us?"
so yeah... um.
The good
well acted, the character designs are all diverse enough that i know who everyone is... the animation is decent as well.
Not so good:
Character motivations make little to no sense in some situations, not character growth or development and we never learn what happened to Kintaro who was Gintaro's partner until they suddenly vanished.
The bad:
Nothing happens, nothing is resolved, no plot thread is tied off and no one seems to care.
also not a fan of the music... they have these saxophone sounding bits and it just doesn't fit the mood at all and makes it sound like it was made in the late 80s
But yeah, the show isn't terrible. it's just not as good or interesting as i was hoping and that makes me a little sad.
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
Completed: Persona 4 Golden
Yes i spent much of christmas eve beating this game... in the end i don't care lol
So.... even though no one cares it's STORY TIME. (also spoilers cause... i can't talk about much without spoiling key plot points)
Dec 8/ 08
I get a phone call...
"Hello it's you local game store and we are getting in Persona 4 tomorrow, we only have a few of the preorder artbooks so if you want it come early."
Dec 9/08
I get the game and the preorder bonus and look through it... and immediately get spoiled on the ending...
well..... damn.
Still.... i continue to play it.
until i get to Kanji's Dungeon and a few floors up i remember encountering the one thing i LOATH about this series.
Protagonist (who i'm going to call Yu from now on cause it's what the anime called him) was Hama-ed
Hama is one of two series of attack that insta kill a character, the other one being Mudo.
if Yu dies, it's game over...
even if you have a character with Recarm series spell (revives)... even if you have items that revive... it does not matter... if yu dies it's game over.
The ONLY exception is if you have a homunculous which will take the fatal hit for you.
i didn't have a homunculous and lost a chunk of progress.
this pissed me off so much i put the game down for a long time.
I did eventually get back to it but certain things kept happening.
I would either get another game and play it for a while cause Persona games are LONG.
or
my ps2 would outright threaten to die... it's still alive but even now it's a finicky little creature.
I got to the 'Hospital part' just before the 'deciding which ending you get' section.... so... pretty far.
then i think i ended up unplugging it for some reason and almost never plugged it back in... there are quite a few ps2 games i would love to finish (this was technically one of them) but i honestly think my system will blow up if i try... i'm surprised it played Ys 6 with little fuss.
anyways YEARS passed... occasionally i'd think i would love beat that game... but ps2 hates me and i don't own a vita.
Then Celceta came out...
bought a vita.... then thanks to a gift card and sale i managed to get this game for 5 dollars.
And now... on 24th 2013 i have completed this 5 year struggle.
BUT STORY TIME MUST CONTINUE.
My first time hearing about the persona series was in highschool, all my friends were complaining that they couldn't play girl characters and date akihiko.... hearing this from both my male and female friends made me interested.
"What Game?"
"Persona 3, you should get it but FES comes out in a few days... get that version instead"
"persona 3 Fes?" i was confused.... did i need to play 1 and 2? i had never heard of the series before.
then my friend nodded. " come over to my place and i'll let you play a little so you can see what it's like... i think you'll enjoy it... but it is long.
so i give it a try and pretty quickly, despite the gimmick of shooting yourself in the head, find it really fun and interesting.
"you said it was long.... why?"
"well you play out an entire in game year.... the box says it's 80 hours but i think i'll end up way past that...."
80 hours?!
i hadn't heard of a jrpg being that long before.... most would average 40....
"really? wow... i mean... i tend to beat games in half the recommended time but still... thats really long...." i honestly didn't believe it.
so FES came out, i bought it and over time and exactly 85 hours later i beat it.
and yeah... i loved it...
even at the hospital scene i think i was well over 80 hours....
so yeah... STORY TIME OVER..... for now...
onto what i thought.
Dec 8/13
Hey my package came early... this wasn't supposed to arrive till the 10th...
Dec 24/13
After playing a ton but also speeding through it cause technically this is a second play through. you finally get to do what everyone seems to have to do...
pull up a guild to figure out how to get the true ending.
yeah... i will admit... i used a guild for a few things... this, for me, falls into a guild dang it! trope because most of the stuff it HEAVILY based in japanese culture and while i know quite a bit... i do not know enough for this game.
So yeah... how i played was For the School quizzes, i mentally pick the one i think/know is right and then i would look up the right answer... until my classmate social links were maxed and same with my intelligence.... cause after that it really doesn't matter.
Also... the cooking... same thing, i would pick the one i thought was right and then look up the correct answer in order to get closer to my friends.
but thats not all.
I did the hospital section without a guild and got bad end 2.... i'll probably check out bad end 1 and 3 later... btu yeah i had to look up a guild for that cause it takes a long time to get to that part... and i didn't wanna screw it up again... plus i never would have gotten the final answer correct.
Finally - i looked up the requirements for true end cause i was NOT playing this game a third time (except to check out some new game plus.) and to be fair... the game tries to trick you into taking regular end so.... yeah...
so yeah... lots of help from the internet... but i'm 99.9% sure i'm not the only one who needed help.
As i mentioned before you play out a full in game year, there are a few time skips but very few large ones (if you beat the december dungeon early it can create a time skip thats rather large and kinda detrimental if you want true end)
You are Yu Narakami (aka protagonist/you pick his name) and your mother has dumped you on your uncle for the year cause of reasons.
he has a daughter named nanako who is very shy but quickly warms up to you... but otherwise it's a quiet town where nothing happens.
that is until a reporter is found hanging upside-down dead from unknown causes from a telephone wire...
and then a few days later the first person to find her is found in a similar state.
Odd things styart happening, this program called the midnight channel is supposed to show you your soul mate but instead seems to show the next victim... and this time it's someone from class...
oh... and yo just happen to be able to pass through a television... cause... uh.... why not...
so you think the tv and the victems are connected and you with the help of friends have to go in there and save the poor victims so their wont be any more murders.
you also have to figure out how/why this is all happening... and you have yo do it before march 20th.
BUT THATS NOT ALL
cause aisde from being a murder mystery dungeon crawler this game is also a life sim.
you get to join school clubs, have part time jobs... make lots of friends and all in the hopes of making you social bonds stronger so you can summon stronger persona's to fight the evil shadows.
It may sound like a lot to cram into one game but honestly the persona series does a perfect job of it.
and persona 4 golden, the vita version, crams even more stuff... added events, more cut scenes and a crap load of costumes... cause who doesn't wanna have them fight in power ranger type outfits?
but honestly... who cares about any of that...
the second i found out the gimmick for this game was that all the characters had to wear glasses i was way happier then i should have been. can't help what i like.
so yeah... before i get to the good and bad i wanna mention the ending.
it is completely worth the effort and 2 extra dungeons to get the true ending... apparently theres something about a secret boss that can only be beaten on playthrough 2 but yeah... no...
but i just loved seeing what they did and it was all just so sweet
ok
The good
so much content and unlike the end of three it doesn't get as stale especially with the two final 'secret' dungeons... the penultimate one probably being my favorite.
the characters are all very diverse and very real feeling... most of these are problems we can all relate to... well not entirely but aspects about them.
the combat is a lot of fun and even though when i first played a person game i had no idea how i would remember what Agi, Bufu, Garu and Zio were but now i know they are fire, ice, wind and electricity.
you can pick your difficulty and it wont punish you... i may or may not have mentioned this before... SMT type games tend to be brutally hard and i'm always stupid enough to try them on hard... screw that... easy mode from here on with atlus games... i play for the story... not the challenge.
Speaking of the story it's really really good and i can't think of a moment where it drags it's feet except for the points where you are prepairing for the next case and honestly most of the times you have exams or social links to complete... there is always something to do.
The not so good.
Chie.... her voice... i didn't remember it bugging me this much before and thats cause apparently they changed it... i got used to it near the end but i felt like she was shouting all the time. now to be fair... i never liked chie as a character but yeah... she really rubbed me the wrong way.
back when i first played the game Kanji and naoto's story lines were like nothing i had ever seen in a game before and it was really
being 5 years older i realize WOW did they ever cheap out on both of those.
well kinda... Kanji's they do kinda deal with in his social link (i mean they focus more on it's okay to like cute things despite your gender which is a good message) but still it really feels like someone wanted him to be a certain way and someone said "no you can't do that"
I am of course talking about if Kanji is or is not Gay.
my opinion? i always assumed he was more pansexual since gender doesn't seem to matter to him... he just likes who he likes. but considering the most canon ship from the series is him with naoto i can see why people argue that he's not gay. in the end, it doesn't matter... he in Kanji and thats all that matters....
But speaking of naoto, a woman wanting to be in a male driven job so badly that she actually acts, talks and dresses like a man is a very interesting concept since she does look like a very pretty boy until the twist... but man did they chicken out... not only do they completely throw aside the fact that she doesn't feel like she was born in the right skin they never really address it again... not even in her social link which is essentially "being a detective is fun"... i just would have liked to see her overcome the gender stereotypes that would stop people from taking her seriously at work and show that you can be a girl in a boys world and still be heard... that is a much more important message in my mind. and they kinda touch on it... but she comes so late into the story that i get why they dont develop her more.
The bad
It's over...
when something has been around unfinished for 5 years.... beating it was a little sad.
i'm happy i did it, but still... i wish their was more... a persona 4 2 perhaps?
oh well in the end i'm just happy that persona 5 is a thing that is happening
even though i have found that handhelds are the best way to play these long jrpgs
now to wait for disgaea 3 to arrive...
and for now cause i spent too long writing this.
Dec 25/13
Merry Christmas, i hope your day is full of cheer.
also which do i like more? 3 or 4?
i like how 3 had people randomly not show up to the midnight hour and the stamina system and i wish 4 had something like that cause i just eneded up using Yukiko, yosuke and Kanji the entire time... i alos though 3's final boss while very long was truly well done.
but overall... i like 4 more, it felt more like a cohesive tale and the reason for the end date makes a lot more sense.
but yeah bot hare good... now to see if i can wrap my head around 1 or 2 (which i have on handheld)... ugh maybe some other time.
night everyone!
Also cause i forgot to mention my play time for this was 66 hours and 10 minutes but it was only that short cause i was trying really hard to catch up to where i was. if you take your time I can see this EASILY being a 100 hour game.
So.... even though no one cares it's STORY TIME. (also spoilers cause... i can't talk about much without spoiling key plot points)
Dec 8/ 08
I get a phone call...
"Hello it's you local game store and we are getting in Persona 4 tomorrow, we only have a few of the preorder artbooks so if you want it come early."
Dec 9/08
I get the game and the preorder bonus and look through it... and immediately get spoiled on the ending...
well..... damn.
Still.... i continue to play it.
until i get to Kanji's Dungeon and a few floors up i remember encountering the one thing i LOATH about this series.
Protagonist (who i'm going to call Yu from now on cause it's what the anime called him) was Hama-ed
Hama is one of two series of attack that insta kill a character, the other one being Mudo.
if Yu dies, it's game over...
even if you have a character with Recarm series spell (revives)... even if you have items that revive... it does not matter... if yu dies it's game over.
The ONLY exception is if you have a homunculous which will take the fatal hit for you.
i didn't have a homunculous and lost a chunk of progress.
this pissed me off so much i put the game down for a long time.
I did eventually get back to it but certain things kept happening.
I would either get another game and play it for a while cause Persona games are LONG.
or
my ps2 would outright threaten to die... it's still alive but even now it's a finicky little creature.
I got to the 'Hospital part' just before the 'deciding which ending you get' section.... so... pretty far.
then i think i ended up unplugging it for some reason and almost never plugged it back in... there are quite a few ps2 games i would love to finish (this was technically one of them) but i honestly think my system will blow up if i try... i'm surprised it played Ys 6 with little fuss.
anyways YEARS passed... occasionally i'd think i would love beat that game... but ps2 hates me and i don't own a vita.
Then Celceta came out...
bought a vita.... then thanks to a gift card and sale i managed to get this game for 5 dollars.
And now... on 24th 2013 i have completed this 5 year struggle.
BUT STORY TIME MUST CONTINUE.
My first time hearing about the persona series was in highschool, all my friends were complaining that they couldn't play girl characters and date akihiko.... hearing this from both my male and female friends made me interested.
"What Game?"
"Persona 3, you should get it but FES comes out in a few days... get that version instead"
"persona 3 Fes?" i was confused.... did i need to play 1 and 2? i had never heard of the series before.
then my friend nodded. " come over to my place and i'll let you play a little so you can see what it's like... i think you'll enjoy it... but it is long.
so i give it a try and pretty quickly, despite the gimmick of shooting yourself in the head, find it really fun and interesting.
"you said it was long.... why?"
"well you play out an entire in game year.... the box says it's 80 hours but i think i'll end up way past that...."
80 hours?!
i hadn't heard of a jrpg being that long before.... most would average 40....
"really? wow... i mean... i tend to beat games in half the recommended time but still... thats really long...." i honestly didn't believe it.
so FES came out, i bought it and over time and exactly 85 hours later i beat it.
and yeah... i loved it...
even at the hospital scene i think i was well over 80 hours....
so yeah... STORY TIME OVER..... for now...
onto what i thought.
Dec 8/13
Hey my package came early... this wasn't supposed to arrive till the 10th...
Dec 24/13
After playing a ton but also speeding through it cause technically this is a second play through. you finally get to do what everyone seems to have to do...
pull up a guild to figure out how to get the true ending.
yeah... i will admit... i used a guild for a few things... this, for me, falls into a guild dang it! trope because most of the stuff it HEAVILY based in japanese culture and while i know quite a bit... i do not know enough for this game.
So yeah... how i played was For the School quizzes, i mentally pick the one i think/know is right and then i would look up the right answer... until my classmate social links were maxed and same with my intelligence.... cause after that it really doesn't matter.
Also... the cooking... same thing, i would pick the one i thought was right and then look up the correct answer in order to get closer to my friends.
but thats not all.
I did the hospital section without a guild and got bad end 2.... i'll probably check out bad end 1 and 3 later... btu yeah i had to look up a guild for that cause it takes a long time to get to that part... and i didn't wanna screw it up again... plus i never would have gotten the final answer correct.
Finally - i looked up the requirements for true end cause i was NOT playing this game a third time (except to check out some new game plus.) and to be fair... the game tries to trick you into taking regular end so.... yeah...
so yeah... lots of help from the internet... but i'm 99.9% sure i'm not the only one who needed help.
As i mentioned before you play out a full in game year, there are a few time skips but very few large ones (if you beat the december dungeon early it can create a time skip thats rather large and kinda detrimental if you want true end)
You are Yu Narakami (aka protagonist/you pick his name) and your mother has dumped you on your uncle for the year cause of reasons.
he has a daughter named nanako who is very shy but quickly warms up to you... but otherwise it's a quiet town where nothing happens.
that is until a reporter is found hanging upside-down dead from unknown causes from a telephone wire...
and then a few days later the first person to find her is found in a similar state.
Odd things styart happening, this program called the midnight channel is supposed to show you your soul mate but instead seems to show the next victim... and this time it's someone from class...
oh... and yo just happen to be able to pass through a television... cause... uh.... why not...
so you think the tv and the victems are connected and you with the help of friends have to go in there and save the poor victims so their wont be any more murders.
you also have to figure out how/why this is all happening... and you have yo do it before march 20th.
BUT THATS NOT ALL
cause aisde from being a murder mystery dungeon crawler this game is also a life sim.
you get to join school clubs, have part time jobs... make lots of friends and all in the hopes of making you social bonds stronger so you can summon stronger persona's to fight the evil shadows.
It may sound like a lot to cram into one game but honestly the persona series does a perfect job of it.
and persona 4 golden, the vita version, crams even more stuff... added events, more cut scenes and a crap load of costumes... cause who doesn't wanna have them fight in power ranger type outfits?
but honestly... who cares about any of that...
the second i found out the gimmick for this game was that all the characters had to wear glasses i was way happier then i should have been. can't help what i like.
so yeah... before i get to the good and bad i wanna mention the ending.
it is completely worth the effort and 2 extra dungeons to get the true ending... apparently theres something about a secret boss that can only be beaten on playthrough 2 but yeah... no...
but i just loved seeing what they did and it was all just so sweet
ok
The good
so much content and unlike the end of three it doesn't get as stale especially with the two final 'secret' dungeons... the penultimate one probably being my favorite.
the characters are all very diverse and very real feeling... most of these are problems we can all relate to... well not entirely but aspects about them.
the combat is a lot of fun and even though when i first played a person game i had no idea how i would remember what Agi, Bufu, Garu and Zio were but now i know they are fire, ice, wind and electricity.
you can pick your difficulty and it wont punish you... i may or may not have mentioned this before... SMT type games tend to be brutally hard and i'm always stupid enough to try them on hard... screw that... easy mode from here on with atlus games... i play for the story... not the challenge.
Speaking of the story it's really really good and i can't think of a moment where it drags it's feet except for the points where you are prepairing for the next case and honestly most of the times you have exams or social links to complete... there is always something to do.
The not so good.
Chie.... her voice... i didn't remember it bugging me this much before and thats cause apparently they changed it... i got used to it near the end but i felt like she was shouting all the time. now to be fair... i never liked chie as a character but yeah... she really rubbed me the wrong way.
back when i first played the game Kanji and naoto's story lines were like nothing i had ever seen in a game before and it was really
being 5 years older i realize WOW did they ever cheap out on both of those.
well kinda... Kanji's they do kinda deal with in his social link (i mean they focus more on it's okay to like cute things despite your gender which is a good message) but still it really feels like someone wanted him to be a certain way and someone said "no you can't do that"
I am of course talking about if Kanji is or is not Gay.
my opinion? i always assumed he was more pansexual since gender doesn't seem to matter to him... he just likes who he likes. but considering the most canon ship from the series is him with naoto i can see why people argue that he's not gay. in the end, it doesn't matter... he in Kanji and thats all that matters....
But speaking of naoto, a woman wanting to be in a male driven job so badly that she actually acts, talks and dresses like a man is a very interesting concept since she does look like a very pretty boy until the twist... but man did they chicken out... not only do they completely throw aside the fact that she doesn't feel like she was born in the right skin they never really address it again... not even in her social link which is essentially "being a detective is fun"... i just would have liked to see her overcome the gender stereotypes that would stop people from taking her seriously at work and show that you can be a girl in a boys world and still be heard... that is a much more important message in my mind. and they kinda touch on it... but she comes so late into the story that i get why they dont develop her more.
The bad
It's over...
when something has been around unfinished for 5 years.... beating it was a little sad.
i'm happy i did it, but still... i wish their was more... a persona 4 2 perhaps?
oh well in the end i'm just happy that persona 5 is a thing that is happening
even though i have found that handhelds are the best way to play these long jrpgs
now to wait for disgaea 3 to arrive...
and for now cause i spent too long writing this.
Dec 25/13
Merry Christmas, i hope your day is full of cheer.
also which do i like more? 3 or 4?
i like how 3 had people randomly not show up to the midnight hour and the stamina system and i wish 4 had something like that cause i just eneded up using Yukiko, yosuke and Kanji the entire time... i alos though 3's final boss while very long was truly well done.
but overall... i like 4 more, it felt more like a cohesive tale and the reason for the end date makes a lot more sense.
but yeah bot hare good... now to see if i can wrap my head around 1 or 2 (which i have on handheld)... ugh maybe some other time.
night everyone!
Also cause i forgot to mention my play time for this was 66 hours and 10 minutes but it was only that short cause i was trying really hard to catch up to where i was. if you take your time I can see this EASILY being a 100 hour game.
Monday, 23 December 2013
My Christmas Movie List
Above everything else the thing i look forward to the most about christmas is getting together as a family and watching some festive movies.
But as i've gotten older i have found the films that I deem as holiday differ from everyone i know.
I mean.. .don't get me wrong, miracle on 34th street is super cute and charming and a christmas story has a lot of nostalgia for a lot of people... not for me...
i like the more.... non-tradtional films.
well not completely... have to have some classics in there.
So here is a list (in no real order) of films i enjoy over the holiday season.
First the obvious ones.
It's a Wonderful life and A Christmas Carol.
while i think both are pretty corny i don't mind watching them at this time of year.
but ONLY this time of year... no other time.
About a boy.
lots of christmas in the film and the way the parallel stories are told is very sweet.... also the characters dad wrote a christmas song.
The Holiday
Another parallel story film with an amazing score, also everyone is adorable and i just want to hug them all
Love actually
Lots of stories in this one showing how inter connected the world can be and that love atually is everywhere
Okay for some less 'traditional' films...
Trading Places.
well... it has a very drunk santa scene so... thats christmassy right?
Die Hard
yes, i consider it a christmas movie cause it takes place at a christmas party.
oh there blood, gore, violence and swearing? oh... okay... that doesn't change that it's a christmas film... besides it's a lot of over the top goofyness and it's just a lot of fun.
Lethal weapon
Again, like it or not it IS a christmas film... though not one of my favs.. .we do tend to have it on around the day though.
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
it takes place just before Christmas and the titular character is planning a celebration amoung other things so yes... i call it a Christmas movie despite it having absolutely nothing to do with the holiday... I will just use any excuse i can to watch that wonderful 3 hour movie.
Jesus Christ Superstar
okay.... not a christmas movie.... totally and easter movie... but you know what? it has really good music so i don't care...
The entire season of kanon 2006
cause... it takes place over winter... so thats good enough
AND FINALLY
the one film i watch every year without fail
The Ref
Imagine the most dysfunctional family ever, over christmas and they essentially get hijacked in there home by a robber on the loose
and it is HILARIOUS
i'd call it a dark comedy and some scenes may offend (apparently this one line aimed at the grandmother gets a reaction.... i never though it was that bad but yeah...) but it is such a well done film and i love the arc everyone goes through.
and again.... really funny
so thats my list of holiday films~ it's a little odd but so am i... so it works out.
But as i've gotten older i have found the films that I deem as holiday differ from everyone i know.
I mean.. .don't get me wrong, miracle on 34th street is super cute and charming and a christmas story has a lot of nostalgia for a lot of people... not for me...
i like the more.... non-tradtional films.
well not completely... have to have some classics in there.
So here is a list (in no real order) of films i enjoy over the holiday season.
First the obvious ones.
It's a Wonderful life and A Christmas Carol.
while i think both are pretty corny i don't mind watching them at this time of year.
but ONLY this time of year... no other time.
About a boy.
lots of christmas in the film and the way the parallel stories are told is very sweet.... also the characters dad wrote a christmas song.
The Holiday
Another parallel story film with an amazing score, also everyone is adorable and i just want to hug them all
Love actually
Lots of stories in this one showing how inter connected the world can be and that love atually is everywhere
Okay for some less 'traditional' films...
Trading Places.
well... it has a very drunk santa scene so... thats christmassy right?
Die Hard
yes, i consider it a christmas movie cause it takes place at a christmas party.
oh there blood, gore, violence and swearing? oh... okay... that doesn't change that it's a christmas film... besides it's a lot of over the top goofyness and it's just a lot of fun.
Lethal weapon
Again, like it or not it IS a christmas film... though not one of my favs.. .we do tend to have it on around the day though.
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
it takes place just before Christmas and the titular character is planning a celebration amoung other things so yes... i call it a Christmas movie despite it having absolutely nothing to do with the holiday... I will just use any excuse i can to watch that wonderful 3 hour movie.
Jesus Christ Superstar
okay.... not a christmas movie.... totally and easter movie... but you know what? it has really good music so i don't care...
The entire season of kanon 2006
cause... it takes place over winter... so thats good enough
AND FINALLY
the one film i watch every year without fail
The Ref
Imagine the most dysfunctional family ever, over christmas and they essentially get hijacked in there home by a robber on the loose
and it is HILARIOUS
i'd call it a dark comedy and some scenes may offend (apparently this one line aimed at the grandmother gets a reaction.... i never though it was that bad but yeah...) but it is such a well done film and i love the arc everyone goes through.
and again.... really funny
so thats my list of holiday films~ it's a little odd but so am i... so it works out.
Friday, 20 December 2013
Mid Point: Golden time
I don't tend to do halfway through reviews but.... ugh i need to get some stuff off my chest.
I will be spoiling some things that have happened in the show but i'll try to not spoil any plot twists.
So.... Big spoiler out of the way but it's not really a spoiler if you have seen the intro song.
Kago Koko and Tada Banri are going out.
So... let me tell you why this isn't cute.
at all
it's actually really creepy.
This a woman who has already written out the script to her life... she just needs to act it out.
At first it was by making up fantasies about her and her childhood friend but when he makes it quite clear he doesn't like her stalking batshit crazy tendencies (i mean she figured out what school he's going to and enrolls in the same program not cause it's what she wants but because it means they will be together)
but then when the other boy shows sings of liking him she starts to shift.
but then when he asks her out she turns him down and then asks him out the next day since in the story she's playing out she had to be the one to ask him out...
um... i have nothing against girls asking boys out... i do have an issue with one person trying to control every aspect of another person.
he wants to get a job so he can have money to buy things/trips for her.... nope he can't cause that would mean she can't spend more time with him.
He can't be around another woman cause being around another female when the girlfriend is not around is essentially cheating.... ignorin the fact that he was friends with them before she ever came into the picture and for most of them there is no romantic feelings involved.
so when he collapses and is taken care of first by his neighbor and then a friend both he and the neighbor know she gets psychotic and i think even slaps her... how dare she take care of him even though she called her immediately.
then there was todays episode.
well yesterday... i wasn't feeling well enough to watch stuff... anyways... episode 12
he disobeys kaga koko, gets a job as a cross dressing waiter at an event, lies to her saying he was busy with school work and they could hang out another time and that he probably couldn't answer her calls or texts... and then proceeds to earn a little money.
she responds to this by texting him 63 times in the span of a few hours
she calls hime a few times and goes around to any place he may including his house and wonders why he isn't there.
this is crazy.
the kid is allowed to live his own life... thats part of growing up and yeah... she claims she was worried about him but this sounds more like stalking then it does being in love.
then when she finds him he's with the one character part of him has feelings for and she loses her shit.
yes what they were doing was inappropriate but i'm sorry... he is essentially being stalked and had she just said "i think a job would be fun, can i work too" that situation would have never happened.
but no.... she has to take control of every part of his life.
and i really hope he ends up with the other girl cause he actually seems to like her... they have chemestry and it's not just "i'm sorry i'm so crazy, i'll try to be less crazy but i still may have bouts of crazy"
i'm sorry but someone as mentally unstable as her needs help and she's not going to get it if everyone enables her to continue being this crazy. you cannot control someone elses life like this.
you cannot tell a person what they are allowed to do
or where thye are allowed to work
or who they are allowed to see
or to stop remembering the past cause that interferes with the present.
these things are not okay... and the fact that the show is playing it up as cute and endearing makes my skin crawl. She is only interested in writing her perfect life... most of the time it doesn't even seem like she cares about him and this is more about getting the first guys attention. if she actualyl cared for him... i may not mind if she was slightly obsessive but it's just too contorlling.
so why am i still watching?
i dunno... it's by the person who did toradora and that was utterly sincere and adorable and i wanna know how they went from that to this?
am i just over reacting? is my biased aversion to controlling personalities showing? or am i right in thinking that this relationship is more then a little toxic?
I will be spoiling some things that have happened in the show but i'll try to not spoil any plot twists.
So.... Big spoiler out of the way but it's not really a spoiler if you have seen the intro song.
Kago Koko and Tada Banri are going out.
So... let me tell you why this isn't cute.
at all
it's actually really creepy.
This a woman who has already written out the script to her life... she just needs to act it out.
At first it was by making up fantasies about her and her childhood friend but when he makes it quite clear he doesn't like her stalking batshit crazy tendencies (i mean she figured out what school he's going to and enrolls in the same program not cause it's what she wants but because it means they will be together)
but then when the other boy shows sings of liking him she starts to shift.
but then when he asks her out she turns him down and then asks him out the next day since in the story she's playing out she had to be the one to ask him out...
um... i have nothing against girls asking boys out... i do have an issue with one person trying to control every aspect of another person.
he wants to get a job so he can have money to buy things/trips for her.... nope he can't cause that would mean she can't spend more time with him.
He can't be around another woman cause being around another female when the girlfriend is not around is essentially cheating.... ignorin the fact that he was friends with them before she ever came into the picture and for most of them there is no romantic feelings involved.
so when he collapses and is taken care of first by his neighbor and then a friend both he and the neighbor know she gets psychotic and i think even slaps her... how dare she take care of him even though she called her immediately.
then there was todays episode.
well yesterday... i wasn't feeling well enough to watch stuff... anyways... episode 12
he disobeys kaga koko, gets a job as a cross dressing waiter at an event, lies to her saying he was busy with school work and they could hang out another time and that he probably couldn't answer her calls or texts... and then proceeds to earn a little money.
she responds to this by texting him 63 times in the span of a few hours
she calls hime a few times and goes around to any place he may including his house and wonders why he isn't there.
this is crazy.
the kid is allowed to live his own life... thats part of growing up and yeah... she claims she was worried about him but this sounds more like stalking then it does being in love.
then when she finds him he's with the one character part of him has feelings for and she loses her shit.
yes what they were doing was inappropriate but i'm sorry... he is essentially being stalked and had she just said "i think a job would be fun, can i work too" that situation would have never happened.
but no.... she has to take control of every part of his life.
and i really hope he ends up with the other girl cause he actually seems to like her... they have chemestry and it's not just "i'm sorry i'm so crazy, i'll try to be less crazy but i still may have bouts of crazy"
i'm sorry but someone as mentally unstable as her needs help and she's not going to get it if everyone enables her to continue being this crazy. you cannot control someone elses life like this.
you cannot tell a person what they are allowed to do
or where thye are allowed to work
or who they are allowed to see
or to stop remembering the past cause that interferes with the present.
these things are not okay... and the fact that the show is playing it up as cute and endearing makes my skin crawl. She is only interested in writing her perfect life... most of the time it doesn't even seem like she cares about him and this is more about getting the first guys attention. if she actualyl cared for him... i may not mind if she was slightly obsessive but it's just too contorlling.
so why am i still watching?
i dunno... it's by the person who did toradora and that was utterly sincere and adorable and i wanna know how they went from that to this?
am i just over reacting? is my biased aversion to controlling personalities showing? or am i right in thinking that this relationship is more then a little toxic?
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