The last thing we watched, cartoon/animu edition

BrawlMan

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Animaniacs 2020

Really funny but I got tired of the political humor pretty quickly. It was burnout more than a matter of principle. As an adult I'm sick to my stomach of politics and the news in ways that I couldn't possibly be watching as a kid in 1998. And not only is it hard enough to lampoon walking caricatures like Trump and Fox News, but I've been exposed to that particular sport longer than the show's been in production. So I don't find it particularly clever or funny to attest to Trump's narcissism for the billionth time. My point being: watching the Animaniacs catch up to the current sociopolitical scene isn't as funny as being ahead of their time. Which at least that's how they felt in '98.

The other thing is that for a variety show there's a sore lack of variety. If you were rebooting Animaniacs in 2020 the first characters you'd secure would be the Warner Brothers (and Warner sister) and Pinky & Brain. Check. But is that it? Where's the other 70% of the cast (cameos aside)?
I know voice actress for Rita the Cat, charges a huge fortune. The Goodfeather, Chicken Boo, and Button & Mindy get way too repetitive (I remember disliking these segments more and more as I got older). Them dumping Slappy and Skippy was dumb move. Minerva.....too fucking lazy and scared to be more riske in that regard.
 

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Infinity Train. Holy fuck that is a great series. I'm really annoyed that I don't think we will get a season 5.
 
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Xprimentyl

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I enjoyed the first season, but I also don't particularly care about watching the second season. It's fun, but I'd also say kind of just Rick and Morty Lite.
Who doesn't like a month-late response, right?

Rather than "Rick and Morty Lite," I'd say it feels more like "Deep Fried Rick and Morty." They go for a laugh-a-minute style of comedy with its crudeness and pacing that R&M does better (or at least more honestly being the show that was original for it's time,) a weird amalgamation of low and high brow comedy. It IS too similar to R&M to merit its existence, though; you can just feel how they attempt to capture the same lightning in a bottle in that every character, situation and bit is analogous to something in R&M. Not that it's a bad thing; it's still quite funny, but I'd much rather the producers' efforts went into making more R&M and not something almost exactly like R&M.
 
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Piscian

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Who doesn't like a month-late response, right?

Rather than "Rick and Morty Lite," I'd say it feels more like "Deep Fried Rick and Morty." They go for a laugh-a-minute style of comedy with its crudeness and pacing that R&M does better (or at least more honestly being the show that was original for it's time,) a weird amalgamation of low and high brow comedy. It IS too similar to R&M to merit its existence, though; you can just feel how they attempt to capture the same lightning in a bottle in that every character, situation and bit is analogous to something in R&M. Not that it's a bad thing; it's still quite funny, but I'd much rather the producers' efforts went into making more R&M and not something almost exactly like R&M.
Assuming we're talking Solar Opposites, personally I love it.

I think the whole issue is that Rick & Morty is the evolved peak of the current animated comedy zeitgeist. You already have stuff like Lower Decks spun off it, but you could argue that even Rick & Morty is informed by Family Guy.

Solar Opposites is another show spun off by writers and animators from Rick & Morty so of course it's gonna be similar. I tend to be an icing guy. If a show is a lot like a show I already like, then thats just bacon on my donut. I can see how others might get put off by that. My Dad is a huge Rick & Morty fan, refused to sit through a whole episode of Solar Opposites largely for that reason.

However my dad was also not a fan of the rapid fire comedy. Solar Opposites is kind of like Rick & Morty if all the writers and animators were chugging jolt cola 24/7. The show is also kind of nonsensical. Where as Rick & Morty is more edgy & morbid, Solar Opposites doesn't seem to have time to have a message. You pretty much 50ns to get the pun before they've moved on. Often I find myself not getting some random joke until the end of the episode or I gotta go back and rewatch it.
 
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Xprimentyl

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Assuming we're talking Solar Opposites, personally I love it.

I think the whole issue is that Rick & Morty is the evolved peak of the current animated comedy zeitgeist. You already have stuff like Lower Decks spun off it, but you could argue that even Rick & Morty is informed by Family Guy.

Solar Opposites is another show spun off by writers and animators from Rick & Morty so of course it's gonna be similar. I tend to be an icing guy. If a show is a lot like a show I already like, then thats just bacon on my donut. I can see how others might get put off by that. My Dad is a huge Rick & Morty, refused to sit through a whole episode of Solar Opposites largely for that reason.
I don't dislike Solar Opposites; as a fan of Rick and Morty, in good faith, I basically CAN'T dislike it; it's almost the same thing. My only gripe is that for anyone to have spun off from R&M only to do "R&M adjacent"... why? Use your creative talents to do something new, not more of the same. It's like my favorite steakhouse opening another steakhouse next door with a different name, but same menu. Just feels lazy. It's still funny, but too same-y. Could easily be a concurrent story line with recurring characters within the R&M universe.

However my dad was also not a fan of the rapid fire comedy. Solar Opposites is kind of like Rick & Morty if all the writers and animators were chugging jolt cola 24/7. The show is also kind of nonsensical. Where as Rick & Morty is more edgy & morbid, Solar Opposites does seem to have time to have a message. You pretty much 50ns to get the pun before they've moved on. Often I find myself not getting some random joke until the end of the episode or I gotta go back and rewatch it
Solar opposites is quick with their wit, but often too crude to actually be clever, and maybe that's what they're going for? They appear to not have the time for R&M's style of philosophical and existential leanings deferring to "use foul language and sex jokes to net a laugh now before the next one 15 seconds from now." Again, not a bad thing, just a trifle too similar in tone and style to merit it being a "different show."
 

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Working my way through Card Captor Sakura.

Good, fun and cute stuff, but there some WTF elements.

In a good way, you have the plot of one episode being that the mascot character gets into a huff, eats an entire box of chocolate liqueurs, and wanders off in a drunken haze.

And then you have the bad.. like the romantic subplot about a ten year old crushing on her adult teacher, and him reciprocating, Sakura's mom and dad being student and teacher, and them marrying when she was 16, and said mom having a female cousin who has a HUGE crush on her...

Just an edge of 'ew, WTF?!' to all the cute wholesome stuff.

Really not helped by the previous two shows I watched ALSO having romantic subplots about teenage girls being really into middle aged dudes.
 
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meiam

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Working my way through Card Captor Sakura.

Good, fun and cute stuff, but there some WTF elements.

In a good way, you have the plot of one episode being that the mascot character gets into a huff, eats an entire box of chocolate liqueurs, and wanders off in a drunken haze.

And then you have the bad.. like the romantic subplot about a ten year old crushing on her adult teacher, and him reciprocating, Sakura's mom and dad being student and teacher, and them marrying when she was 16, and said mom having a female cousin who has a HUGE crush on her...
In the sequel that came out last year every school kid all go to the same high school except that girl with a huge crush on her teacher, she's briefly mentioned and then never again. I'd say it was a different time, but it wasn't that long ago and even on release it was a bit weird...
 

Gordon_4

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Working my way through Card Captor Sakura.

Good, fun and cute stuff, but there some WTF elements.

In a good way, you have the plot of one episode being that the mascot character gets into a huff, eats an entire box of chocolate liqueurs, and wanders off in a drunken haze.

And then you have the bad.. like the romantic subplot about a ten year old crushing on her adult teacher, and him reciprocating, Sakura's mom and dad being student and teacher, and them marrying when she was 16, and said mom having a female cousin who has a HUGE crush on her...

Just an edge of 'ew, WTF?!' to all the cute wholesome stuff.

Really not helped by the previous two shows I watched ALSO having romantic subplots about teenage girls being really into middle aged dudes.
In the sequel that came out last year every school kid all go to the same high school except that girl with a huge crush on her teacher, she's briefly mentioned and then never again. I'd say it was a different time, but it wasn't that long ago and even on release it was a bit weird...
I thought it was just CLAMP’s thing. I’m reliably told similar things show up in a fair few of their work.
 
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WindKnight

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I thought it was just CLAMP’s thing. I’m reliably told similar things show up in a fair few of their work.
Unfortunately, no.

Like I said, the previous two shows I watched had subplots where teenaged girls (one explicitly a schoolgirl) crushed on/fall in love with men in their 30’s st the youngest, and in maison ikkoku one of the main characters is a young widow who married her dead husband (her teacher) right out of high school.

‘Get em married as soon as possible’ is a thing in Japan, where in some cases a young woman getting a job is seen as her just doing it to find a husband whereupon she’s supposed to retire
 

Asita

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Unfortunately, no.

Like I said, the previous two shows I watched had subplots where teenaged girls (one explicitly a schoolgirl) crushed on/fall in love with men in their 30’s st the youngest, and in maison ikkoku one of the main characters is a young widow who married her dead husband (her teacher) right out of high school.

‘Get em married as soon as possible’ is a thing in Japan, where in some cases a young woman getting a job is seen as her just doing it to find a husband whereupon she’s supposed to retire
I believe the intent was more "CLAMP's into that sort of thing" rather than "it's mostly limited to CLAMP". Arguably the most recurring theme in their body of works is that love transcends the concept of boundaries, particularly those we simply take for granted like gender, nature, and age. ...And that of course runs the gamut from sweet or tragic, passes through philosophical, and goes all the way to "I'm sorry, WHAT???" depending on the subject matter. Eg, the student teacher romance is still iffy but more defensible when the student is prepping for college, but is extremely - as you said - "WTF" when the student is in elementary school.
 
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Gordon_4

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Unfortunately, no.

Like I said, the previous two shows I watched had subplots where teenaged girls (one explicitly a schoolgirl) crushed on/fall in love with men in their 30’s st the youngest, and in maison ikkoku one of the main characters is a young widow who married her dead husband (her teacher) right out of high school.

‘Get em married as soon as possible’ is a thing in Japan, where in some cases a young woman getting a job is seen as her just doing it to find a husband whereupon she’s supposed to retire
I believe the intent was more "CLAMP's into that sort of thing" rather than "it's mostly limited to CLAMP". Arguably the most recurring theme in their body of works is that love transcends the concept of boundaries, particularly those we simply take for granted like gender, nature, and age. ...And that of course runs the gamut from sweet or tragic, passes through philosophical, and goes all the way to "I'm sorry, WHAT???" depending on the subject matter. Eg, the student teacher romance is still iffy but more defensible when the student is prepping for college, but is extremely - as you said - "WTF" when the student is in elementary school.
Yes, that is what I meant. It’s not uncommon in anime/manga because it’s an old and ingrained cultural thing in Japan, and other parts of Asia, but CLAMP themselves seem to treat it as a central theme that they hang their stories on to the point that it’s noticeable in their case.
 
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TheMysteriousGX

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So, just went back and finished up The Great Pretender, and Netflix anime about a group of cons fleecing assholes and I gotta say:
Just Stick With The First Season
So it starts off fine: Edamura gets a real job in Japan, but Surprise! it turns out it's a front for some shady stuff that Laurent tricked him into getting involved with. It's fucking human trafficking, so that's heavy, but it's going fine.

And then it fucking derails. Why must anime hurt me so? I figured the Leverage-esc comedy would be safe from Shit Ending Syndrome. I'm not going to spoil the major twists, but in the last episode you find out that the first three assholes they swindled? Doing fine. Retroactively makes the rest of the series worse.
 
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Xprimentyl

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10 minutes of Q-Force: Something / Great

A graduating military cadet comes out as gay during his effectively "valedictorian" speech shortly after "don't ask, don't tell" had been repealed, and his honor is immediately rescinded and gifted to another, heterosexual man under the pretense of "an error." He's then stationed in an overtly homosexual town where he ostensibly assembles a team of gay agents.

That's all I can say because that's as far as I got before turning it off. I imagine the myriad gay jokes and gags that most likely carry the show at the expense of homosexual people wouldn't keep my attention. If someone else wants to watch it and tell me I'm wrong, I'm down to give it another shot.
 

Piscian

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10 minutes of Q-Force: Something / Great

A graduating military cadet comes out as gay during his effectively "valedictorian" speech shortly after "don't ask, don't tell" had been repealed, and his honor is immediately rescinded and gifted to another, heterosexual man under the pretense of "an error." He's then stationed in an overtly homosexual town where he ostensibly assembles a team of gay agents.

That's all I can say because that's as far as I got before turning it off. I imagine the myriad gay jokes and gags that most likely carry the show at the expense of homosexual people wouldn't keep my attention. If someone else wants to watch it and tell me I'm wrong, I'm down to give it another shot.
I gave it 5-10 minutes. The best way I could describe it is that it's not "clever". It just blasted me with gay ...idk.. digs? It reminds me of the Black Falcon Key & Peel skit, except that skit didn't wear out its welcome. Like I wonder how creative they can really get with a show that dedicated to Gay life memes?

I don't know. I've started to notice there seems to be at least two factions in the LGBTQ+ community in modern society. People who happen to live an alternative lifestyle and people who are explicitly invested in living the "gay" life style. I guess if i were mean I'd describe some people as having an identity that resolves around being "out". This show seems like its more written for the latter group. Lotta vapid gay jokes and references. Who knows, maybe I'm not giving the show a chance.
 
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Xprimentyl

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I gave it 5-10 minutes. The best way I could describe it is that it's not "clever". It just blasted me with gay ...idk.. digs? It reminds me of the Black Falcon Key & Peel skit, except that skit didn't wear out its welcome. Like I wonder how creative they can really get with a show that dedicated to Gay life memes?

I don't know. I've started to notice there seems to be at least two factions in the LGBTQ+ community in modern society. People who happen to live an alternative lifestyle and people who are explicitly invested in living the "gay" life style. I guess if i were mean I'd describe some people as having an identity that resolves around being "out". This show seems like its more written for the latter group. Lotta vapid gay jokes and references. Who knows, maybe I'm not giving the show a chance.
My sentiments exactly.

I don't plan on watching anymore of the show, but I guess it's only fair? I mean, as a black man, I was able to appreciate shows like The Boondocks which caricaturized stereotypical "black" experiences, so was able to relate and laugh at "myself." Perhaps Q-Force is meant to be something similar for the LGBTQ community? I dunno, as a heterosexual man, I can't really relate to it or find it funny unless I'm on the likely wrong end of the joke (i.e.: making fun of the LGBTQ community,) and I wouldn't be comfortable with that.
 

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Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms - It's what Annihilation should have been. Sequel to 2020's Scorpion's Revenge, BoR picks up immedately after it. The movie is basically a combination of MK games 2, 3, & 4. Yes, Shinnok is in the movie and vital to the story. While most of the cast are dealing with the tournament; Scorpion and Sub-Zero II (Kuai Liang) are dealing with their feuding sub-plot. Their story-lines do intersect and are an important factor. Despite these elements that's seem over crowded, the people behind this project knew what they were doing, unlike the 1997 disaster.

The action scenes are even better and the animation has gotten subtle improvements. I think this movie gonna be the best MK movie now. After seeing this, I have nearly no desire to see the sequel to the live action 2021 film. Even if they get rid of stale, milk toast, Cole. BoR has everything you love about the MK franchise. There are few other surprises, but I'll let you see for yourselves.

@hanselthecaretaker, see this movie, if you have not already.
 
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Piscian

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Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms - It's what Annihilation should have been. Sequel to 2020's Scorpion's Revenge, BoR picks up immedately after it. The movie is basically a combination of MK games 2, 3, & 4. Yes, Shinnok is in the movie and vital to the story. While most of the cast are dealing with the tournament; Scorpion and Sub-Zero II (Kuai Liang) are dealing with their feuding sub-plot. Their story-lines do intersect and are an important factor. Despite these elements that's seem over crowded, the people behind this project knew what they were doing, unlike the 1997 disaster.

The action scenes are even better and the animation has gotten subtle improvements. I think this movie gonna be the best MK movie now. After seeing this, I have nearly no desire to see the sequel to the live action 2021 film. Even if they get rid of stale, milk toast, Cole. BoR has everything you love about the MK franchise. There are few other surprises, but I'll let you see for yourselves.

@hanselthecaretaker, see this movie, if you have not already.
I watch about half of it last night. It's ok. I got excited with the scorpion animation in the intro being pretty slick, but I couldn't help but notice where they cut corners on animation. In animation you usually have around 24 frames per second. You can cut corners by doubling and tripling frames so you end up only doing 16 frames of unique cell per sec, however the more you do it the more stilted animation looks. Its as though the figures pause a tiny bit when they move. In some scenes, especially the combat ones they animated more unique frames so it looks fast, high budget anime like. Then others its kind of herky jerky. Theres also corners cut on general animation. Theres a scene where Jaxs arms transform and his body doesn't move the whole time so it looks more cheap saturday morning cartoon than say big budget animation like the EVA rebuild movies. Its middle of the spectrum animation wise. Not terrible, not amazing. I think what I'm arguing is that for something like Mortal Kombat I think animation fluidity is more important than they gave it credit for. Unique cells cost money though.

What I really don't like is the story. It's Mortal Kombat, fight to the death. Theres an inherent flaw imo about writing a story around fights to the death in which you're not only supposed to be attached to characters, but that you have to root for one side. I've always felt Mortal Kombat should be a tad more simplistic. One winner, everyone else dies. That winner gets the macguffin. In game Johnny cage might murder Sonya, but because story that technically can't happen. This story inevitably causes things like Johnny Cages first fight which irritated the fuck out of me. This is not me saying the movie is bad because of it, its me saying the concept of Mortal Kombat having a wonky storyline irritates me.
 
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Decided to re-watch Spawn after not seeing it in a long while. Good series, that sadly never finished unless you read the comics. It's main flaw was in the 3rd season when they had too many plot lines waiting (and one filler episode you can skip and you would miss nothing important). With only one out of the three solved by the final episode. The voice acting is top notch, and animation is smooth and slick. Done by Mad House; though are a couple of animation goofs and some obvious reuse of stock footage. Thankfully, it's minor and mostly unnoticeable. I don't care for the live action segments from douchey McFarlane, and are a waste of time. HBO could have afforded another season years down the line by the mid 2000s, but they just did not want to do it at that point.
 
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