Discuss and Rate the Last Thing You Watched (non-movies)

[Casual Shinji]

Uh, she flat out kicks him in the face that one time they were crawling through the vents because he was behind her and MIGHT have been looking up her dress. But since she was the leader(because of course she had to be) and thus HAD to go first, she put shinji in a position where he was forced to be behind her and then subject to physical assualt because HOW DARE LOOK AT HER BUTT when he literally has one direction he can look in a tiny narrow vent shaft.

That's abusive.

I'm seriously not trying of make light of physical abuse, but again this falls under the trope that a lot of anime had at the time. The 'oh no, guy lands on my boobs/sees me while I'm changing. *slap slap*' It's an annoying trope and it seems to have faded away in recent years, but it's more played for comedy than drama. Whether it's good comedy is obviously very questionable. It has less to do with her as a character and more with 'she's an anime girl so that's what she do.' I can't say it coloured my perception of her when I first saw the show back in 2000, and honestly it still doesn't. Eventhough rationally speaking, yeah, you're right.

 

[Gordon_4]

Eh, he kinda does. And you could make the reversed gender argument with Misato with similar increminating results. And sure, Asuka slaps him once, but so does Rei, and Misato decks Ritsuko at one point. It's an anime trope, and not really indicative of Asuka being physically abusive. It's a bad trope and certainly through todays lense you could see it as physically abusive, but that would make Asuka no more physically abusive than Rei or Misato. And when you look back that slap that Rei gives him leaves much more of an emotional impact.

The thing is, the narrative treats Rei slapping Shinji as dramatic. If they were going for the standard accidental pervert comedy angle then the time for it was three minutes prior when he fell on top of her when she was naked. But Rei does not react at all beyond asking him to move once it’s obvious his brain has short circuited. However when Shinji (not unreasonably) gets angry at her expectation that he trust Gendo, then she slaps him. And she looks angry doing it.

As for Misato slapping Ritsuko; again that was a moment of actual drama - in fact I’m sure this is where the rift in their friendship becomes irreversible - because Misato likewise is reacting angrily to Ritsuko’s cold assertion that Shinji’s life is irrelevant in the face of defeating the 12th Angel and in Ritsuko’s defence she’s kind of right. That doesn’t mean Misato is gonna like it, and like anyone who’s hurting to the degree she is and that hurt being treated indifferently she lashes out.

Most of Asuka’s acts of physical assault on Shinji - of which the frequency is exaggerated in terms of on camera occurances and is mostit fans extrapolating - are just her being a ***** without a clear cut reason. They’re still character insights, but as you say: early 2000s tsundere archetype. And don’t forget Asuka and Shinji are equally self-absorbed in their own fairly substantial personal problems. It’s just Shinji tends to draw more sympathy because he’s inwardly focused and becomes withdrawn, where Asuka is outwardly focused and acts like an arrogant braggart by putting others down and flaunting herself in any way that draws admiration.

I think way too much about this show >.>

 

[BrawlMan]

Most of Asuka’s acts of physical assault on Shinji - of which the frequency is exaggerated in terms of on camera occurances and is mostit fans extrapolating - are just her being a ***** without a clear cut reason. They’re still character insights, but as you say: early 2000s tsundere archetype. And don’t forget Asuka and Shinji are equally self-absorbed in their own fairly substantial personal problems. It’s just Shinji tends to draw more sympathy because he’s inwardly focused and becomes withdrawn, where Asuka is outwardly focused and acts like an arrogant braggart by putting others down and flaunting herself in any way that draws admiration.

I think way too much about this show >.>

You doing just fine. Better than me when it cane to that trash show.

I'm seriously not trying of make light of physical abuse, but again this falls under the trope that a lot of anime had at the time. The 'oh no, guy lands on my boobs/sees me while I'm changing. *slap slap*' It's an annoying trope and it seems to have faded away in recent years, but it's more played for comedy than drama. Whether it's good comedy is obviously very questionable. It has less to do with her as a character and more with 'she's an anime girl so that's what she do.' I can't say it coloured my perception of her when I first saw the show back in 2000, and honestly it still doesn't. Eventhough rationally speaking, yeah, you're right.

This is why I preferred Tenchi. Despite being a harem series, none of the shows did that stupid trope. Not even the original OVA series, which had the most nudity and sexual humor (though way tame by today's standards).

 

[Casual Shinji]

The thing is, the narrative treats Rei slapping Shinji as dramatic. If they were going for the standard accidental pervert comedy angle then the time for it was three minutes prior when he fell on top of her when she was naked. But Rei does not react at all beyond asking him to move once it’s obvious his brain has short circuited. However when Shinji (not unreasonably) gets angry at her expectation that he trust Gendo, then she slaps him. And she looks angry doing it.

Yeah, that moment really has aged looking back on it. The whole thing is that Rei is treated as being really abnormal for not shrieking and dealing the typical anime girl punch when Shinji lands on her boob, because that's what anime has always done back then. When in actuality it's a totally normal response for her calmly demand 'Could you please move.'

I think way too much about this show >.>

Don't worry, you're not the only one.

This is why I preferred Tenchi. Despite being a harem series, none of the shows did that stupid trope. Not even the original OVA series, which had the most nudity and sexual humor (though way tame by today's standards).

Yeah, but then that show had everyone being in love with Tenchi, which like, why!? Also, Tenchi totally slaps Ryoko in one of the movies (the one where he presumeably has a daughter) just because she's trying to explain to him that this daughter character is up to no good, which is true. Disrespecting best girl while she's trying to protect you? Eat shit Tenchi.

And yes, I do realize how hypocritical that is of me.

 

[BrawlMan]

Yeah, but then that show had everyone being in love with Tenchi, which like, why!?

Because Tenchi is kind, caring, and respectful. To a fault, but that is the point. Yeah, he's kind of a pushover at times (The Universe version suffer the most from this in the TV Series at least, though movies fix this issue) and dork, but he is likeable and surrounded by a good cast of characters.

Tenchi totally slaps Ryoko in one of the movies (the one where he presumeably has a daughter) just because she's trying to explain to him that this daughter character is up to no good, which is true. Disrespecting best girl while she's trying to protect you? Eat shit Tenchi.

1. Ryoko is known for causing mischief and does have a jealous streak like Ayeka, and you kinda understand from Tenchi's point of view. Does not excuse it, but it was meant to be a dramatic moment. It shows one of the rare times that Tenchi gets really angry. He at least talks to Ryoko and later apologizes.

2. Daughter of Darkness sucks and is non-canon. That movie in particular is based off a different continuity of Tenchi novels that is like a combination of the original OVAs and Universe. DoD is based off of novel # 11, if I remember correctly, and was a project the fans in Japan voted for.

3. Agreed. Ryoko is best girl.

 

[BrawlMan]

@Casual Shinji Also Kiyone is not a love interest. The exception is Tenchi in Tokyo, but that is a different universe too.

EDIT: For some reason the web site won't let me edit my post again. Why does this keep happening.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Because Tenchi is kind, caring, and respectful. To fault, but that is the point. Yeah, be kinda pushover at times(The Universe version suffer the most from this in the TV Series at least, though movies fix this issue) and dork, but he is likeable and surrounded by a good cast of characters.

Tenchi Muyo is a franchise where I love everything about it except the main character. I love the supporting cast, I love the visual design, I love the weird mystical space magic with spaceships made out of trees. But Tenchi himself? Ugh.

 

[BrawlMan]

Tenchi Muyo is a franchise where I love everything about it except the main character. I love the supporting cast, I love the visual design, I love the weird mystical space magic with spaceships made out of trees. But Tenchi himself? Ugh.

I like Tenchi, so no big deal. He's basically a male princess peach. He is definitely better than other harem male protagonists I know.

 

[happyninja42]

Let's see, last non-movie thing I watched.....hmm...it's been a while. I guess...Rising of the Shield Hero? Yeah that was probably the last thing I watched that is non-movie. I'm usually a few years behind on anything media related, mostly because I just don't engage with much of it, or find it interesting from first glance. But damn I really enjoyed that show up through what was on Crunchroll at the time. Not sure if more episodes have dropped, but what I saw was really good.

It hit a lot of points that I've always found annoying in entertainment, and they even make a point to subvert them. How the main hero CAN"T fight, and that isn't his strength. And the classic hero, who runs around killing things isn't actually helping things, and is just making it worse. How they decry violence, and those who inflict it casually, and applaud those who provide shelter, aid, and compassion to those around them. Sure the Shield Hero CAN fight, but to tap into that part of him, is clearly coded as a VERY BAD THING. He is his most heroic, and most useful, when he is in the role of defender. And how they emphasize that he can't do it alone, and needs allies, starting with Raphtalia, who literally has to be his sword, to fight for him, because he cannot.

I also loved how they subverted some of the more annoying tropes with Raph and the princess, where everyone is turning against SH, and she just comes in and ***** slaps the Spear Hero, and just goes OFF on him for being a complete asshole and creep, and calls out everyone else for being complicit. Which was so satisfying to see instead of the typical way that goes down in most anime I've bothered to watch.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is similar to this style too. Where the protagonist doesn't want to run around slaughtering things, he wants to be chill, and for everyone else to be chill, and get along, and just....like...enjoy life man. And how he is happiest when he's got everyone NOT fighting, and just hanging out in his village, eating/drinking, and being happy. He even comments about it, and it's just really fun to watch.

Basically I'm tired of the "everything is decided by violence, and thus violence is good" that is prevalent in media, and I REALLY appreciate that these 2 anime make a point to emphasize the other, more important aspects of human nature and life, namely all the other shit we do, that isn't trying to kill each other.

 

[BrawlMan]

Let's see, last non-movie thing I watched.....hmm...it's been a while. I guess...Rising of the Shield Hero? Yeah that was probably the last thing I watched that is non-movie. I'm usually a few years behind on anything media related, mostly because I just don't engage with much of it, or find it interesting from first glance. But damn I really enjoyed that show up through what was on Crunchroll at the time. Not sure if more episodes have dropped, but what I saw was really good.

It hit a lot of points that I've always found annoying in entertainment, and they even make a point to subvert them. How the main hero CAN"T fight, and that isn't his strength. And the classic hero, who runs around killing things isn't actually helping things, and is just making it worse. How they decry violence, and those who inflict it casually, and applaud those who provide shelter, aid, and compassion to those around them. Sure the Shield Hero CAN fight, but to tap into that part of him, is clearly coded as a VERY BAD THING. He is his most heroic, and most useful, when he is in the role of defender. And how they emphasize that he can't do it alone, and needs allies, starting with Raphtalia, who literally has to be his sword, to fight for him, because he cannot.

I also loved how they subverted some of the more annoying tropes with Raph and the princess, where everyone is turning against SH, and she just comes in and ***** slaps the Spear Hero, and just goes OFF on him for being a complete asshole and creep, and calls out everyone else for being complicit. Which was so satisfying to see instead of the typical way that goes down in most anime I've bothered to watch.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is similar to this style too. Where the protagonist doesn't want to run around slaughtering things, he wants to be chill, and for everyone else to be chill, and get along, and just....like...enjoy life man. And how he is happiest when he's got everyone NOT fighting, and just hanging out in his village, eating/drinking, and being happy. He even comments about it, and it's just really fun to watch.

Basically I'm tired of the "everything is decided by violence, and thus violence is good" that is prevalent in media, and I REALLY appreciate that these 2 anime make a point to emphasize the other, more important aspects of human nature and life, namely all the other shit we do, that isn't trying to kill each other.

Because of your post, I'm now interested in these two. Especially the slime show

 

[happyninja42]

Because of your post, I'm now interested in these two. Especially the slime show

I really enjoy them, as someone who isn't what I would call an "anime fan", they are really fun. They don't dip too heavily into a lot of the cringy cliches from anime, though there are some that are there. And there is definitely violence, it's not like 100% pacifist or anything. They still use conflict and battle as a story element. But the motivation for it, is where I think they angle differently than a lot of anime that I've seen. Which, admittedly is limited, it's not my favorite medium, but that's mainly because of all the cliche tropes that these 2 anime are less guilty of.

And yeah, the slime one is incredibly funny. I'd say it leans more towards a comedy anime than anything else, but it's got some really good drama in it too. One character and their relationship to the slime is really amazingly done. I always kind of envision the slime as a Japanese version of The Dude from The Big Lebowski. He doesn't SOUND like The Dude, as far as his voice, but, his manner and goals in life, feel very similar to The Dude and his chill nature.

Highly recommend them. They genuinely had scenes that had me tearing up with what I call Awesome Tears. Not because of something sad, but because of something so moving, or re-affirming about humanity, that it overwhelmed me.
So yeah, they're good. I don't think my opinion is a very novel one, as a lot of people seem to love them too, as they are quite popular. But they are definitely well made anime.

Also, I watched the subtitled versions, so I can't speak to the quality of the dubbed versions voice acting, if you prefer that method of watching anime. the subtitled version is very good though.

 

[BrawlMan]

I really enjoy them, as someone who isn't what I would call an "anime fan", they are really fun. They don't dip too heavily into a lot of the cringy cliches from anime, though there are some that are there. And there is definitely violence, it's not like 100% pacifist or anything. They still use conflict and battle as a story element. But the motivation for it, is where I think they angle differently than a lot of anime that I've seen. Which, admittedly is limited, it's not my favorite medium, but that's mainly because of all the cliche tropes that these 2 anime are less guilty of.

And yeah, the slime one is incredibly funny. I'd say it leans more towards a comedy anime than anything else, but it's got some really good drama in it too. One character and their relationship to the slime is really amazingly done. I always kind of envision the slime as a Japanese version of The Dude from The Big Lebowski. He doesn't SOUND like The Dude, as far as his voice, but, his manner and goals in life, feel very similar to The Dude and his chill nature.

Highly recommend them. They genuinely had scenes that had me tearing up with what I call Awesome Tears. Not because of something sad, but because of something so moving, or re-affirming about humanity, that it overwhelmed me.
So yeah, they're good. I don't think my opinion is a very novel one, as a lot of people seem to love them too, as they are quite popular. But they are definitely well made anime.

Also, I watched the subtitled versions, so I can't speak to the quality of the dubbed versions voice acting, if you prefer that method of watching anime. the subtitled version is very good though.

I usually prefer dubs. And from what I heard, both shows have great dub quality. Bad dubs are a rare thing in anime nowadays, for English speaking countries anyway. I don't have the patience for subs anymore, aside from a few exceptions.

 

[happyninja42]

I usually prefer dubs. And from what I heard, both shows have great dub quality. Bad dubs are a rare thing in anime nowadays, for English speaking countries anyway. I don't have the patience for subs anymore, aside from a few exceptions.

Fair enough, I dunno, I just, always find something....off, about dubs versus the actual Japanese voices. I think it's usually in the emotional inflections, the Japanese actors just seem to have vocal inflections that better fit the scenes for me.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm watching David Lynch and his weather reports every day.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Neon Genesis Evagelion.

It was incredible. You could literally see the money run out! Things were going along good, mysteries were being resolved, giant aliens were getting their faces punched off, then suddenly they spend like 2 minutes of the 3rd to last episode holding a still frame while playing classical music. After that the last 2 episodes become suddenly and completely divorced from the plot thus far and consist almost entirely of still frames with voice overs broken up with black screens with text. The animation literally degrades to still images of rough sketches. It finally resolves itself by resolving a minor plot point I didn't even know was important and having every character congratulate the main character over it.

With an ending like that, it's amazing the show has the fanbase and legacy that it does. I seriously don't know that I've ever seen a worse ending in a television show.

 

[Gordon_4]

Neon Genesis Evagelion.

It was incredible. You could literally see the money run out! Things were going along good, mysteries were being resolved, giant aliens were getting their faces punched off, then suddenly they spend like 2 minutes of the 3rd to last episode holding a still frame while playing classical music. After that the last 2 episodes become suddenly and completely divorced from the plot thus far and consist almost entirely of still frames with voice overs broken up with black screens with text. The animation literally degrades to still images of rough sketches. It finally resolves itself by resolving a minor plot point I didn't even know was important and having every character congratulate the main character over it.

With an ending like that, it's amazing the show has the fanbase and legacy that it does. I seriously don't know that I've ever seen a worse ending in a television show.

Watch End of Evangelion and then get back to us.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Watch End of Evangelion and then get back to us.

After those last 2 episodes I don't even know if I want to. It was torture getting through them. I had to check how much was left around once a minute. Is End of Evangelion better?

 

[Gordon_4]

After those last 2 episodes I don't even know if I want to. It was torture getting through them. I had to check how much was left around once a minute. Is End of Evangelion better?

It’s nothing like the last two episodes. I can promise you that much. It was a theatrical movie and is ergo budgeted and structured like one.

 

[SupahEwok]

After those last 2 episodes I don't even know if I want to. It was torture getting through them. I had to check how much was left around once a minute. Is End of Evangelion better?

EoE is the last two episodes but made with a budget once the money made from merchandising from the series started coming in to finance it.

 

[Dalisclock]

After those last 2 episodes I don't even know if I want to. It was torture getting through them. I had to check how much was left around once a minute. Is End of Evangelion better?

EoE brings an actual sense of closure to the whole thing. You get a better idea of what SEELE's/Gendo's scheming was leading to and also what happened to the other Evas briefly mentioned to be in production during the series(They don't show up in the show, but they make an appearance in a big way in the film). It's also closer to Micheal Bay meets David Lynch then the "Student film" vibe ep 25 and 26 has.

Now, whether or not that makes it Better is up to you. Most people tend to prefer one vastly more then the other. There is some evidence that both EoE and the last two episodes both happen at the same time, or more specifically.....EP25/26 happen right around the time Kom Susser Todd is playing while Third Impact is going on and EP25/26 can be interpreted as everyone going through a sort of introspective hell because all of humanity is sharing souls/consciousness because of Third Impact merging everyone into a sort of mega-being/god somehow coordinated by REI/Lilith. Are you confused yet?

It doesn't really make it a lot more comprehensible though as some of the scenes just make everything even wierder. I'm not gonna spoil it by saying when shit starts getting really fucking wierd because you'll know it when it happens.