I know. I am le slow. Anyway, here's some backlog for y'all.
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sos_brigadeNov. 6th, 2007
Still nothing happening.
Seishirou's sword is cool, though.
There was a grand total of one new piece of information revealed, and it was of the eyeroll-inducing Oh, really?! variety. Spoiler: Tomoyo-hime and Ashura-ou were communicating in their dreams. Knowing this adds nothing to the story (except for giving Tomoyo an excuse to eloquently eulogize Ashura-ou for a few words bubbles), but adds a lot to the pile of this-is-really-stretching-my-suspension-of-disbelief "coincidences" that seem to flooding the series of late.
Hmmm, why do these pacing problems feel so familiar? Oh, right.
I'm still annoyed that Sakura has been completely written out of the story, just when she was actually starting to be awesome.
I'm still very annoyed that Yuuko's omnipotent powers are being used as a deus ex machina to solve almost every single problem in the manga. Stop that. The "but they have to pay a price!" gimmick doesn't make it any less of a deus ex machina. The characters still aren't solving any problems for themselves. Paying a witch to solve all of their problems for them is not the same thing. For the past forty chapters, almost every single possible source of dramatic tension in the series has been solved when Yuuko intervenes. That's some real cheap-ass storytelling right there.
Well, the good news is: Only eight days until Tokyo Revelations.
The annoying news is: Shounen Magazine made a big deal out of rolling out some character designs for TR II at the end of this week's chapter. And they *happen* to look exactly like the character designs for the first installment of Tokyo Revelations. Gee!
Seishirou's sword is cool, though.
There was a grand total of one new piece of information revealed, and it was of the eyeroll-inducing Oh, really?! variety. Spoiler: Tomoyo-hime and Ashura-ou were communicating in their dreams. Knowing this adds nothing to the story (except for giving Tomoyo an excuse to eloquently eulogize Ashura-ou for a few words bubbles), but adds a lot to the pile of this-is-really-stretching-my-suspension-of-disbelief "coincidences" that seem to flooding the series of late.
Hmmm, why do these pacing problems feel so familiar? Oh, right.
I'm still annoyed that Sakura has been completely written out of the story, just when she was actually starting to be awesome.
I'm still very annoyed that Yuuko's omnipotent powers are being used as a deus ex machina to solve almost every single problem in the manga. Stop that. The "but they have to pay a price!" gimmick doesn't make it any less of a deus ex machina. The characters still aren't solving any problems for themselves. Paying a witch to solve all of their problems for them is not the same thing. For the past forty chapters, almost every single possible source of dramatic tension in the series has been solved when Yuuko intervenes. That's some real cheap-ass storytelling right there.
Well, the good news is: Only eight days until Tokyo Revelations.
The annoying news is: Shounen Magazine made a big deal out of rolling out some character designs for TR II at the end of this week's chapter. And they *happen* to look exactly like the character designs for the first installment of Tokyo Revelations. Gee!
More anime ramblings.
Nov. 6th, 2007 05:40 pmShakugan no Shana II -
What HAPPENED to you? No, seriously, what? You're going all Sorezore no Tsubasa on me, and that is not. cool.
Take a deep breath and repeat after me:
1. Yoshida is not a cowardly wimp. She wasn't afraid to take on Shana herself. I have no idea why you decided that she would suddenly turn into an emo helpless wimp when faced with Konoe.
2. Shana is not an emo crybaby. She should be kicking Konoe's ass, not curling up in a fetal position (yes, really!) and sobbing.
3. Wilhelmina is hardcore. Remember her behavior last season? She was willing to kill Yuuji just to keep Reiji Maigo out of Bal Masqué's hands. And now all of a sudden she's more concerned about learning how to cook a hot meal for Shana rather than, I dunno, kicking Konoe's ass? Who is this person, and what have you done with my Wilhelmina?
Next, Baccano.
I hate you and I love you.
I love you because you saw fit to depict the most grisly, graphic, and gruesome five seconds of ultraviolence that I have ever seen committed to animated film, and yes I've seen all of the Hellsing anime and Gantz. I love you because you sandwidched this scene between a slapstick comedy bit featuring two different characters, and a schmoopy romantic scene featuring two other characters, and somehow this worked *perfectly*. I love you because I'm finally starting to see the payoff regarding your decision to tell the story out-of-order, which frustrated me at first, although now I'm starting to warm to the idea. And I love you because you let Chane beat up Ladd, and that was kind of awesome.
I still hate you because I just can't take a series with such horrible Engrish names seriously. I feel like I want Jacuzzi Splot to be my favorite character, but I can't because his name is Jacuzzi Splot. Likewise with Firo, Maiza, Szilard, and all of the other wretched names of supposedly Anglo characters in the series. And a train named "The Flying Pussyfoot." Good god people, would it kill you to do a little research?
Plus, racist depiction of black characters is still racist. :(
What HAPPENED to you? No, seriously, what? You're going all Sorezore no Tsubasa on me, and that is not. cool.
Take a deep breath and repeat after me:
1. Yoshida is not a cowardly wimp. She wasn't afraid to take on Shana herself. I have no idea why you decided that she would suddenly turn into an emo helpless wimp when faced with Konoe.
2. Shana is not an emo crybaby. She should be kicking Konoe's ass, not curling up in a fetal position (yes, really!) and sobbing.
3. Wilhelmina is hardcore. Remember her behavior last season? She was willing to kill Yuuji just to keep Reiji Maigo out of Bal Masqué's hands. And now all of a sudden she's more concerned about learning how to cook a hot meal for Shana rather than, I dunno, kicking Konoe's ass? Who is this person, and what have you done with my Wilhelmina?
Next, Baccano.
I hate you and I love you.
I love you because you saw fit to depict the most grisly, graphic, and gruesome five seconds of ultraviolence that I have ever seen committed to animated film, and yes I've seen all of the Hellsing anime and Gantz. I love you because you sandwidched this scene between a slapstick comedy bit featuring two different characters, and a schmoopy romantic scene featuring two other characters, and somehow this worked *perfectly*. I love you because I'm finally starting to see the payoff regarding your decision to tell the story out-of-order, which frustrated me at first, although now I'm starting to warm to the idea. And I love you because you let Chane beat up Ladd, and that was kind of awesome.
I still hate you because I just can't take a series with such horrible Engrish names seriously. I feel like I want Jacuzzi Splot to be my favorite character, but I can't because his name is Jacuzzi Splot. Likewise with Firo, Maiza, Szilard, and all of the other wretched names of supposedly Anglo characters in the series. And a train named "The Flying Pussyfoot." Good god people, would it kill you to do a little research?
Plus, racist depiction of black characters is still racist. :(
My kids are awesome.
Nov. 6th, 2007 11:53 pmSo, remember this project that I begged all of you for help with mentioned previously?
My students are starting to hand in their finished superheroes this week.
One male student handed me a female superhero who was wearing a (traced, obviously) Spidergirl costume and carrying a mop. Her name was Super Clean and her power was Magic Mop. (*sigh*) And this, my friends, is how future Frank Millers are born.
On the other hand, today I had a female student hand me a male superhero who was wearing fishnet tights, high heels, a neon green cup, and nothing else. His power was "magic." Also, this particular student had added a huge package to the otherwise castrated male figure outline that I'd given her to work with.
This, my friends, is how future awesome is born.
Unfortunately, I had to hand the hero back to her because he wasn't finished yet. She hadn't given her hero a name yet, and she was supposed to have colored in more than just his protective cup.
My students are starting to hand in their finished superheroes this week.
One male student handed me a female superhero who was wearing a (traced, obviously) Spidergirl costume and carrying a mop. Her name was Super Clean and her power was Magic Mop. (*sigh*) And this, my friends, is how future Frank Millers are born.
On the other hand, today I had a female student hand me a male superhero who was wearing fishnet tights, high heels, a neon green cup, and nothing else. His power was "magic." Also, this particular student had added a huge package to the otherwise castrated male figure outline that I'd given her to work with.
This, my friends, is how future awesome is born.
Unfortunately, I had to hand the hero back to her because he wasn't finished yet. She hadn't given her hero a name yet, and she was supposed to have colored in more than just his protective cup.