Oreimo and the “Negative ‘AHA!’ Moment”

One thing that I’ve been noticing recently about reading comments and posts on Ore no Imouto ga Konna Ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai (yes yes, “why would I do that in the first place?”) is that I’m not liking them. And one such example is in regards to that scene from episode 4 that many, many other people have commented on. In terms of my impression of the “cliché male accidently falling on female while groping her in an always perfect state of undress for others to see scene” (which make me facepalm), it was unexpected, and an unnecessary distraction. Especially because of the epic dodge by Kyousuke that came before it, since the result sucks worse for him, one could say. Since it came from the source material, I could say that I thought that moment was a bad and silly decision on the author’s part to use that scene as a transition for Kirino and co. to go to Comiket. But I can’t say that it wasn’t an interesting way to somehow get Kirino to go. And I still have a thought in my mind that the point of that scene was mainly to provide a small bite to those who hope beyond all hope that There’s A Way Kyousuke’s Little Sister Can Fall In Love With Him. But I digress.

 

I can't help but think that guy in the background is somehow representing us, making a big deal about something not so much.

Wake me next season?

by dm00, doing an impression of the Anti-TBN

 

Hikari is not impressed (from Hoshi no negai wo - Cold body X warm heart)

 

In a place I hang out, I’ve seen this season called outstanding by a couple of people, but I’m not seeing it. For me, a season that includes Tatami Galaxy and House of Five Leaves is outstanding, this season doesn’t promise anything like that.

Feh:

• Sounds like it’s a creepy little sister incest show. Sorry, I’m done with the whole otaku-wish-fulfillment premise, at least until Genshiken II gets animated.
• A certain Biribiri-deprived index. None of the previous incarnations of this world have measured up, though Mikoto and her incarnations tried really hard.
• Cirno-of-the-sea.  Futakoi Alternative did the whole squid-invasion thing much better, if somewhat inconclusively. Puke pasta did make me smile, though. (Made my mouth water, too. (Ugh.))
• The save-point God only knows. The otaku-centric premise strikes again.
• NieA Under Bridge. This series had already grown tedious halfway through the first season. Why does this get an almost immediate sequel when Bakemonogatari still has mono to gatari? My Shaft-credulity only stretches so far.

Clannad considered harmful

by dm00

Vaseline lens flare

or, “How I learned to appreciate Angel Beats“.

I finished Clannad After Story last night, plunging through the six episodes on the last disk in one sitting (which I suspect is an easier, though perhaps not better, way to see it than in a series of week-long cliffhangers).

Oh, hey, sad girl buried in snow.

Nomad’s Super Awesome Manga Review Part The Nth: Buckaroo Banzai

By Nomad(There! Evil PURE AND SIMPLE by way of the Eighth Dimension!)Otto

I have a series of papers to write to justify my continued suckling of the public teat. They are due very soon. They require data which I have not yet fully collected/analyzed. They are very important and need to be super awesome in order that I might avoid teaching in the future. This means that my room and desk at the office have been made very clean, a great deal of boozahol has been consumed, many sci-fi/gangster  movies have been watched and a great many used book and record stores have been visited. Moreover, it means that some of the manga that’s been sitting around unread is being/has been read.  This is a review, or, rather a series of reviews. I would have more words, but they are currently being pressed into the service of SCIENCE! and my future conquest of both my own sanity and the pitiful nations of man. The pictures have been stolen by pixel elves, and I have no time or desire to travel to their kingdom to get them back. Now, Son of Jor-El: KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!

I may have seen this movie a couple of times, yes.

Jim Morrison, John Paul II, and….. er… Zange-chan

By Nomad(The damn weather needs to pick something and stick with it)Otto

Jim Morrison (of the Doors) had a famous bit in which he he shouted, “When I was back in seminary school, there was someone who put forth the proposition that you could petition the lord with prayer…… YOU CANNOT PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER!” John Paul II (who, in addition to being a pretty good pope, is one of my favorite philosophers in the field of Labor Economics ), on the other hand, had a belief in the efficacy of prayer, but, at the same time, didn’t believe that prayer was “God’s telephone.” Zange-chan, of course, not only has a cell-phone, but does her best to answer the prayers of the masses, and listens directly to the confession of sins for the cost of 100 yen.  The reason for this could be that Morrison was a drugged-out musician, JP was the Pope, and Zange is a fictional character, and additional analysis is stupid. On the other hand, I’m writing this post, so I obviously think there’s something more going on, namely, that we interact with things on a human basis, and, moreover, that interaction makes us humanize things that obviously aren’t, from Godzilla to God. More after the jump.

Symbol of the follies of mankind or your new best friend?

Initial Impressions on Kurogane no Linebarrels: A Different Kind of Dislike or Early Thoughts on Kouichi Hayami

By TheBigN

Sometimes, hate is all you need… to an extent. In the case of Kurogane no Linebarrels, it looks like one of the main reasons for people to watch the show. Three episodes in, the story hasn’t been compelling enough for me, with the brief information that we’ve gotten about the grand scheme of things. The character designs coupled with the animation, both hand-drawn (AFAIK :V) and CG, are among some of the more QUALITY offerings that we’ve had this season, especially when comparing it to some of the more well done works like Kannagi and Mouryou no Hako in that regard (which isn’t fair, when you think about it). And while the music of the series is something that I enjoy (a fun job by Corniche), it’s subdued by everything else. So while all of this turned off a lot of people, even excluding the GONZO factor and all, some people including myself are watching to see Kouichi, the show’s protagonist, get Bright-slapped a couple of times (well for me, that and Kana Ueda :3). Pride goeth before a fall on our side, or something like that.

If only that smirk could be wiped off his face quickly.

How Should I Feel…

When I see all of these posts by people talking about just starting school now or in the last week or so, considering that I’ve been in my second year med school since late July (without a break from working during the summer at that)? Or when considering the amount of others that are currently working now or have had early starts of school as well? :3

It’s nothing too serious, but looking at it form my perspective, these are lucky people. Don’t worry so much, since with time management, you can fit anything into what you want. Or so I keep telling myself this. 😛

And yet I feel like I should be more jealous/angry than I am. Shikieiki can do that for me. The anger I mean.

By TheBigN

Money and Art

By Nomad(TWIST AWAY THE GATES OF STEEL)Otto

There’s art, and then there’s the buisness of art. Art is about truth, beauty and associated Bull. Buisness is about making as much money as possible. There’s a fundamental tension between the two ends, and it’s this tension, which exists in the commercial arts, like hollywood film or romance novels, which causes many people to consider them to be a step below the fine arts, like painting. In fact, some people feel that commericial arts aren’t really art at all, but this group of people probably aren’t going to read this blog. A lot of people feel that the commercial aspect of art is in competition with the creative aspect, and that until art is free from commercial concerns, we’ll never have the quality of art that we could have otherwise. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but what I do know is that if there’s an art form which is not commercially successful, it doesn’t tend to get a lot of exposure. Therefore, it’s in everyone’s interest (or, at least, everyone who wants more folks to know about some artform) to ensure that art is successful. Today, I’m going to talk about visual novels, which have a sizable market overseas, and no market here in the states. After that, Otakon!

Get to the Goddamn Point already!