Comments for Continuing World

Comment on Anime I Watched in 2012 #12: City Hunter by Asashii Fustazi

Asashii Fustazi — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:04:21 +0000

formula for all 140 episodes, Ryo fondles girls, Ryo gets case from women and tries to fondle them, Ryo saves them and tries to fondle them some more-end of episode. now rinse and repeat and you have a going no where constant the same each episode fan service for kids who think seeing animated panties and boobs is cool because they will be lucky to ever see the real thing!!!!

Comment on A Different Reading on Hataraku Maou-sama by lalunafelis

lalunafelis — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 11:26:56 +0000

Well, it’s that those people can’t stomach Maou’s simple “….I’m sorry, it’s just that I don’t understand humans then..”. The reaction they’re probably expecting(or ordering) him to have is to either stay silent or go all angsty/melodramatic “MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE!!! Q_Q” to drive home the point. They even looked forward to Emi going berserk on him, because that’s what they say is what they want to do to him, too bad for them Hataraku is not that kind of show.

Sure, he talks about climbing the corporate ladder and taking over capitalist Earth, but considering what he’s been showing so far, I doubt if he’ll really go far with the “ruling” thing.(Maybe become a benevolent ruler/tycoon/CEO/president, at least?)So what makes it even more annoying is that when Maou was talking about taking responsibility for whatever his underlings did and his new attitude towards humans in general, instead of taking it as a “bad guy learning to be good” thing, those people insist that he’s only viewing things as the overlord that he is and he only views humans as another race to subjugate instead of being his equal.

I know, my views will be dismissed simply because I’ll admit, I’m a big fan of Maou himself, but largely because when he learned “right” from “wrong”, he chose to do the right things. And above all, is NOT a douche.

Forgive the ranting. The hive mind seems to be getting to me. And you’re welcome.

Comment on A Different Reading on Hataraku Maou-sama by schneider

schneider — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 14:45:14 +0000

I am morbidly amazed that people would read Maou the way you brought up. I thought it would be difficult to paint him that way, considering the show’s tone. It is anything but callous.

I agree with you that Hataraku Maou-sama often transcends its stature. There’s a lot more layers to it than most people would think. Thanks for commenting!

Comment on A Different Reading on Hataraku Maou-sama by lalunafelis

lalunafelis — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:30:32 +0000

What’s funny is that you’re the among the few ones besides me to read that confrontation between Maou and Emi in Episode 4 in that manner. Majority of comments I’ve read are people taking offense on what they deem as casually dismissive apology on his part (WHAAAAAAT sorry for the genocide?! I’ll KILL him if he said that to me that Hitler/Nazi!!!), and even TV Tropes listed the not so flattering “But For Me, It Was Tuesday” trope under his name. They apparently missed the point that he only recently gained a human conscience and naturally, has no idea on how to go about this situation properly. But the guilt is certainly there, if they look closely at his eye and body language. He’s definitely NOT being casually dismissive; he’s just overwhelmed by this new thing called guilt from a human conscience.

On the other hand, there are those who rag on Emi’s continued aggressive antagonism towards Maou (especially in Episode 7 where she kicked and punched him after he caught her from falling down the stairs), completely forgetting the fact that she has every right to act that way since he, or his forces at least, took away her loved ones and destroyed her life.

It amazes me that a seemingly absurd and mindless comedy actually has more depth and meaningful commentaries on human nature(not to mention an interesting test of the audience’s perspective, or lack of it) more than any heavy-handed, angst ridden shows that dominate today’s anime landscape. Maybe it helps that this show is not down on its knees begging me to take it seriously because it trusts me that I am smart enough to find its hidden serious elements on my own.

Comment on A few words on The Garden of Words by omo

omo — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:24:40 +0000

Thanks for sharing. Your insight is helpful but at the same time the whole “working at love” theme is relatively common in anime and Japanese culture in general, once the story focuses on a longer term perspective (and sometimes, a more male-centric perspective).

I’m still struggling to really put everything about the movie together, but maybe it’s not so complicated, as you seem to point it out.

Comment on A few words on The Garden of Words by zzeroparticle

zzeroparticle — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:07:57 +0000

Definitely much stronger of a work than anything he’s done previously. The only part I had an issue with was the climax, mostly because the outburst seemed like an odd reaction. But I suppose I’m not the type to express myself in that way; my tendency is to emotionally check out (which creates its own set of problems, so there’s that).

Now, a work that focuses on a relationship post-marriage and all the problems that generates and all the work involved in staying together… that’s something that anime (and most other forms of media) don’t do enough of.

Comment on A few words on The Garden of Words by schneider

schneider — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:40:40 +0000

Thanks! I can’t really describe the distinction fully but I caught myself almost writing “romance” then I changed it to “love” instead. I guess “romancing” someone is different from “loving” them.

Comment on A few words on The Garden of Words by froggykun

froggykun — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:24:22 +0000

Your post has made me think about the difference between “romance” stories and “love” stories. The distinction is subtle but it is definitely there. I think Shinkai has always been a master of the love story. His works have always felt more poetic, abstracted and somehow “truer” when it comes to dealing with love.

Comment on Stop Using the Word “Trainwreck” by Cho

Cho — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 02:39:31 +0000

Great post. I agree that the word “trainwreck” is thrown around way too much.
My opinion on Valvrave is that the show knows what it’s doing, and is simply willing to have fun being a crazy, unpredictable story. As such, I’m hesitant to term the show “so stupid it’s awesome,” or anything along those lines. The story is definitely utilizing anime-style theatrics for extreme dramatic effect, but I don’t think that makes it *stupid*. Are there plot elements that don’t make perfect sense upon thorough scrutiny? Sure, but most the time the plot elements people are analyzing are utterly insignificant in the context of what Valvrave is actually going for. Complaints about a cell phone working in outer space, for example, feel absolutely ridiculous to me when this is a story starring a body-hopping space vampire who pilots a mecha with a final smash activated via hari-kiri.
On a different note, I’m also a bit tired of Valvrave being compared to Code Geass so constantly. I suppose that is primarily because I did not enjoy Code Geass, but I do feel the two shows are quite different in what they are aiming for. People need to look at Valvrave for its own merits–I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much foreshadowing there has been of recent events, for example.

Comment on Stop Using the Word “Trainwreck” by OtakuAnthony

OtakuAnthony — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:04:33 +0000

Trainwreck like pandering and a few other terms have gotten to the point where they have just become “buzz words” and don’t mean much anymore. I dropped Valvrave because it wasn’t doing anything for me.