Finished Scott Pilgrim, and I am still quite lukewarm on it. From what I can tell, the show is completely different from the original comic or even the movie. I see what they were trying to do and I respect the attempt, but I just found it impossible to care about anyone in the show.
The last thing we watched, cartoon/animu edition
- Thread starter TheMysteriousGX
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Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners (2022)
The anime based on the action RPG based on the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2077, produced by Studio Trigger.
Boy, did I not enjoy that one. Having started another playthrough of the game after its expansion came out I felt now would be a pretty good time to check out the anime. And having done so I can say quite confidently that while it does a commendable job adapting the the visuals of the game, it otherwise fails to capture anything I like about it.
Stop me if you've heard this one before: The protagonist lives in a rundown apartment in a megabuilding in the futuristic metropolis Night City. Following the devastating death of a person close to them, they end up with an experimental cybernetic implant that not only poses the threat of making them lose their mind in the long term, it also make them the target of various criminals as well as the powerful Arasaka corporation. They become mercenaries and start associating with a variety of shady figures who might help or oppose them in their predicament.
I'm not trying to be cheeky here, but Edgerunners' plot not only parallels but practically retraces the entire basic outline of the games story. And If I had a lot of good will I'd say there might have been a deliberate creative choice to use an almost identical premise to explore it from a different angle. However, I don't, so here's what I've been thinking: Edgerunners' writing team was given some early rough draft of the games plot, and instead of finding an original story to tell in that setting they opted to just change some of the details and called it a day.
So, what exactly is my beef with Edgerunners? Well, here's the thing. Cyberpunk 2077 is definitely closer to the pulpy, tongue in cheek style of cyberpunk media, say that of a Paul Verhoeven movie, than to the more contemplative, cerebral one like Blade Runner or similar material. The games despiction of Night City and its denizens paints it as violent and seedy, but overall lively and vibrant. Edgerunners takes something that's already heavy on action, sex and genre pastiche and adapts it into 10 episodes of mind numbing macho nonsense with near constant gunfights, explosions and nudity, loosely held together by some of the flimsiest characterizations and most cliche narrative beats I've seen since Michael Bay stopped making Transformers movies.
It's always tempting to go into minute detail about everything that rubs you the wrong way about something you don't like. Accordingly, I could go on some long winded rant about how I found most of the cinematography and editing unpleasant to look at, about how the majority of the supporting cast was left with minimal characterization, about how the protagonist and his love interest had zero chemistry, about how it doesn't have nearly enough episodes to remotely do justice to all the stuff that happens.
Long story short, though: it's a familiar story, told worse. Where the game had a relatively good sense of building up and paying off its plot beats and dedicating enough time to the thoughts and feelings of its main characters, Edgerunners uses the spectacle of action and its constant escalation as a substitute for any serious exploration of its themes, people or setting. To its credit, I guess it accomplished it's goal as a piece of spinoff media in that it made me appreciate the game a lot more.
The anime based on the action RPG based on the tabletop RPG Cyberpunk 2077, produced by Studio Trigger.
Boy, did I not enjoy that one. Having started another playthrough of the game after its expansion came out I felt now would be a pretty good time to check out the anime. And having done so I can say quite confidently that while it does a commendable job adapting the the visuals of the game, it otherwise fails to capture anything I like about it.
Stop me if you've heard this one before: The protagonist lives in a rundown apartment in a megabuilding in the futuristic metropolis Night City. Following the devastating death of a person close to them, they end up with an experimental cybernetic implant that not only poses the threat of making them lose their mind in the long term, it also make them the target of various criminals as well as the powerful Arasaka corporation. They become mercenaries and start associating with a variety of shady figures who might help or oppose them in their predicament.
I'm not trying to be cheeky here, but Edgerunners' plot not only parallels but practically retraces the entire basic outline of the games story. And If I had a lot of good will I'd say there might have been a deliberate creative choice to use an almost identical premise to explore it from a different angle. However, I don't, so here's what I've been thinking: Edgerunners' writing team was given some early rough draft of the games plot, and instead of finding an original story to tell in that setting they opted to just change some of the details and called it a day.
So, what exactly is my beef with Edgerunners? Well, here's the thing. Cyberpunk 2077 is definitely closer to the pulpy, tongue in cheek style of cyberpunk media, say that of a Paul Verhoeven movie, than to the more contemplative, cerebral one like Blade Runner or similar material. The games despiction of Night City and its denizens paints it as violent and seedy, but overall lively and vibrant. Edgerunners takes something that's already heavy on action, sex and genre pastiche and adapts it into 10 episodes of mind numbing macho nonsense with near constant gunfights, explosions and nudity, loosely held together by some of the flimsiest characterizations and most cliche narrative beats I've seen since Michael Bay stopped making Transformers movies.
It's always tempting to go into minute detail about everything that rubs you the wrong way about something you don't like. Accordingly, I could go on some long winded rant about how I found most of the cinematography and editing unpleasant to look at, about how the majority of the supporting cast was left with minimal characterization, about how the protagonist and his love interest had zero chemistry, about how it doesn't have nearly enough episodes to remotely do justice to all the stuff that happens.
Long story short, though: it's a familiar story, told worse. Where the game had a relatively good sense of building up and paying off its plot beats and dedicating enough time to the thoughts and feelings of its main characters, Edgerunners uses the spectacle of action and its constant escalation as a substitute for any serious exploration of its themes, people or setting. To its credit, I guess it accomplished it's goal as a piece of spinoff media in that it made me appreciate the game a lot more.
She is, she just doesn't comprehend the extent of her powers yet.
The game hints a lot about cyberpsychosis, which Silverhand often waxes poetic about going out with a bang or living in the shade of the corpos. David is mentioned a few times and has an explicit quest in game. I think the anime serves as an excellent companion piece to the game visualizing the extremes of Night City that aren't explored enough in the game.
The anime reminds me a lot of films like requiem for a dream where the filmmakers initially trick the audience into empathy for the protagonist and then force them to watch the protagonist literally tear their own lives apart.
I started rewatching the anime recently and man it was such a realistic heartbreaker to watch David walk around with that Urn simply because he couldn't afford a proper burial let alone health insurance. Really struck a cord and made it all the more painful to watch him fall into the same trap so often warned of in the game.
At the end of the day those the anime rides on whether or not you feel any sympathy or empathy of David. Personally I did and enjoyed the anime more than I did the game.
Can't really disagree more. In the game, the protagonist is forced to connect with the Shard to finish the job because the coolant compartment is degrading. Much of the games storyline plays as though the protagonist is an innocent bystander forced along by the whims of fate, in some respects taking away their agency, which is amajor complaint in reviews of the game. In the show David Martinez, awash in his anger and grief takes a combat enhancement implant to get revenge on a world which abandoned him. As the story moves along David is given constant warnings and chances to evade the addictive highs of implants and eventual cyberpsychosis. David never got over his moms death or his feelings of impotency in the world of Night City. It was ulimately his downfall.
The game hints a lot about cyberpsychosis, which Silverhand often waxes poetic about going out with a bang or living in the shade of the corpos. David is mentioned a few times and has an explicit quest in game. I think the anime serves as an excellent companion piece to the game visualizing the extremes of Night City that aren't explored enough in the game.
The anime reminds me a lot of films like requiem for a dream where the filmmakers initially trick the audience into empathy for the protagonist and then force them to watch the protagonist literally tear their own lives apart.
I started rewatching the anime recently and man it was such a realistic heartbreaker to watch David walk around with that Urn simply because he couldn't afford a proper burial let alone health insurance. Really struck a cord and made it all the more painful to watch him fall into the same trap so often warned of in the game.
At the end of the day those the anime rides on whether or not you feel any sympathy or empathy of David. Personally I did and enjoyed the anime more than I did the game.
I don't think the primary quest of the game with the Shard takes away player agency; its merely the ticking clock. The Reapers in Mass Effect provide a similar motivation. Sure, V could just sit at home, jerking off to xBDs while resolutely ignoring Johnny by taking the pills to shut him up and just ride out their impending death as comfortably as possible. But they don't, because Night City punishes that kind of complacency brutally (and obviously there'd be no game). So, V fights back. Keeps on going, taking the jobs to get money, influence and connections to try and save themselves or die spectacularly while trying.
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Trigger is a very love it or hate it studio. They have some strong fan base out there, but imo they can't tell a story to save their life and the visual is the only redeeming quality they have.
I don't like nor am I interested in all of Triggers works, but they can write a good story. Edge Runners I actually considered their best when it comes to to storytelling in there it has aspire slip ups, but they actually stay focused with this one. I will say that the main issue with the studio is that they either keep pulling from Gurren Laggan or Kill La Kill with specific plot twists or reveals. There is almost always some outside magical or alien species that comes in half way into a series or near the end. Each reason for them becoming less justified for the respective story. Here's hoping when the next season of Panty And Stocking comes out, they don't pull any alternate dimension bull crap. Nor bring up some new faction that have nothing to do with the angels or demons.
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The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, lit. 'How Do You Live?') - Excellent. A great slow burn movie, and a beautiful 2D animated movie. I am getting this on Blu-Ray when it releases. The film is about loss, acceptance, and appreciating the family you do have. Some twists you might see coming, but they're done and executed so well, that it is a non-issue.
Two episodes into the second season of Invincible and I'm super lost. From the start the show already had that wild Rick and Morty improv cadence, where every episode starts with a random sci-fi conceit and then pushes it to the extreme; but where we usually forget about it by the next episode, Invincible is ready to call back to absolutely any random throwaway gag or side character or B plot and run with it for another season. Even the recap that introduces each new episode has me wondering what the hell am I looking at, when did this happen and was that supposed to be a big deal?
Still enjoying the show and all but man it's a confusing experience.
Still enjoying the show and all but man it's a confusing experience.
Just about to finish the vacation cruise part, and I'm loving this season. Yes, that one ("camping" I guess) episode was a chore to get through. But the cruise arc has been exactly what I want out of this show. The focus switches to Yor, who was ridiculously shortchanged in season 1 and therefore the character I was wanting to see so much more from. Anya is relegated to an occasional sidekick, a perfect place for her character to inject needed comedy. I'd like to have seen Twilight play a more supportive role, but until they get past the character reveal there isn't much place for that sort of thing to happen. But we got enough Yor and even some character growth, that I'd say SxF in quality anyway is back to the level it had in the first several episodes before they got bogged down in the focus on Anya and the school characters.
Also I watched Psycho-Pass: Providence. Interesting. Way better than Psycho-Pass' second season. And I really didn't like the third season all that much... until now that I have seen Providence. It has kind of made me see season 3 (and its movie) in a new light and I have re-appraised their value. None of Psycho-Pass has ever gotten as good as the first half of season 1. But Providence is better than anything else since.
Episode one of Delicious in Dungeon is out and if Studio Trigger can keep up this level of quality than I will forgive them of their past sins
It's phenomenal. The gags are preserved perfectly, the animation is spot on in the Trigger Pretty style instead of the Trigger Frantic style, they have a dedicated Food Director (and it shows), and the voice work is absolutely spot on in at least two languages.
Special shout out to Emily Rudd as English Marcille, probably my favorite voice in the series, effortlessly going from Soggy Wet Dog to very funny shouting and Kentaro Kumagai as Japanese Laios for subtle work as a guy who's *really* into weird stuff
It's phenomenal. The gags are preserved perfectly, the animation is spot on in the Trigger Pretty style instead of the Trigger Frantic style, they have a dedicated Food Director (and it shows), and the voice work is absolutely spot on in at least two languages.
Special shout out to Emily Rudd as English Marcille, probably my favorite voice in the series, effortlessly going from Soggy Wet Dog to very funny shouting and Kentaro Kumagai as Japanese Laios for subtle work as a guy who's *really* into weird stuff
What past sins ? They made a few mediocre anime. Not exactly sinful . I don't defend, nor see all of their works, but they've been doing pretty good for the most part. If it's about Darling, that one wasn't completely their fault. They were working with Studio A, and Trigger got tired of their shit, then left after the production of the 15th episode. Brand New Animal they screwed up though. That was all of them.
I'm mainly forever salty about the ending of Gurren Lagann and am being comedicaly hyperbolic about not vibing with the zany side of the studio
Really? Gurren Laggan? Don't get me wrong, I hate the ending just as much as a majority of other fans, but that was before they even formed Trigger. You're talking about a project when they were still that at Gainax. KLK, was sort of an apology and they even made a cheeky reference to the type of endings that usually did in one of their on the next episode of transitions of the show.
Trigger has some good work and then they have some mediocre work. And there are others where I'm not invested in either. Cyberpunk was pretty good and I considered their best work so far. KLK it's a great start for the company and Elise has a satisfying conclusion that wraps everything up. I never seen Little Witch Academia, I know most fans prefer the OVA series to the TV series. The TV series is an alternate universe and silver's a similar problem at the halfway or lake point where they're just stealing from the Gurren Laggan well again. From what I heard. Mainly because most fans like it as a slice of life so and not turning into an action show or turning up the stakes late in the show's run. There's two Star Wars shorts from Visions is also pretty good too.
Watched Apothecary Diaries on Netflix.
Why is this even called Diaries now that I think about it? Anyway, it's about a young Chinese apothecary who gets tangled up in the political intrigue of the Emperor's concubines. She uses her Sherlock-level bullshit apothecary powers to solve mysteries and rise through the ranks.
The way she solves mysteries she are a mix of believable and outright dumb. However, what I think makes the show special is the motivations behind these mysteries and how they have all been woven together into one overarching plot.
It's a fun anime, although I do have to say I'm not sure what makes it the supposedly second best anime of the fall season.
Why is this even called Diaries now that I think about it? Anyway, it's about a young Chinese apothecary who gets tangled up in the political intrigue of the Emperor's concubines. She uses her Sherlock-level bullshit apothecary powers to solve mysteries and rise through the ranks.
The way she solves mysteries she are a mix of believable and outright dumb. However, what I think makes the show special is the motivations behind these mysteries and how they have all been woven together into one overarching plot.
It's a fun anime, although I do have to say I'm not sure what makes it the supposedly second best anime of the fall season.
Well last season was really poor, so it wasn't really hard to be among the best of it...
I'm about half way trough, its decent if unremarkable outside the pretty good production value. But yeah, it has the same issue most show that go the Sherlock Holmes route where the main character is constantly making deduction whose only explanation is that she had a copy of the script. She also casually invent a bunch of stuff much earlier, to the point that it really stretch disbelief, and it has a much too high opinion of traditional medicine, which is really mostly BS that doesn't work.
What did annoy me was the over reliance on silverware to detect poisons. I mean, not only did we not actually get to see if detect any poison, but we know that it only works for arsenic poisoning.
Also, apparently the Japanese title translates more accurately into Apothecary Soliloquy/Monologue. Which makes sense, given she goes on overly long inner monologues all the time.
I was given a...ummm... "special" vape by a friend of mine the other day. I spent 4 hours last night watching a Beavis and Butthead playlist on Youtube. I hadn't seen much before, apart from the 1st film and maybe about 6-10 episodes on VHS. It was time well spent. I think I will be watching the new film when I can.
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