Forum › Posts by Gudetamago
^ I did watch a bit of Thunderbolt Fantasy when it came out. Wasn't fond of the stop-action puppets, so I dropped it, but the story wasn't bad. Kinda grew up watching a lot of Wuxia so I didn't particularly feel like I was missing out on a unique story. But I did see some praises surrounding, so maybe I'll pick it back up eventually. Thanks for the recommendation though!
Caught up with Garo. Charming cast & just an exciting action series. Rlly enjoying it. Although the production did drop from the opening eps, it is still one of the few shows this season that did not end up disappointing me.
Speaking of disappointment, Kujira no Kora ended & what a waste of potential that series is. Gorgeous visuals & OST with an intriguing setting, only to be let down by the blandest cast of characters, the stupid pink clown, dreadful pacing, zero plot progression, & god awful melodrama ("literally who" characters die, everyone cries, rinse & repeat).
Also finished Inuyashiki, the writing is full of plot holes & is frustrating at times, but it's one of those dumb fun shows. I got more enjoyment from it than I expected, considering I almost dropped it after the first 2 eps.
last edited at Dec 26, 2017 4:07PM
There won't be 13th ep, but I think HnK has a good chance of getting a second season. It's pretty well received in Japan. While the ending is definitely not all that climatic or thematically conclusive, I still think it does a decent job reflecting on some of the important plot points throughout the show, specifically highlighting Phos' development while paralleling the first ep. It gives that sense of "this is a start of a new chapter in Phos' PTSD trip." I'm kinda ok with that.
SSR did a pretty good job trying to wrap up its final ep & make it as thematically satisfying as possible, staying true to the the manga while adding some original content here & there like that whole montage showing how their world was brought to ruin. I prefer the somber tone of the chaps adapted in this ep in the original manga better, but it wouldn't have made for a conclusive ending. It'll probably never gonna happen, but I do hope for a sequel OVA series adapting the rest of the manga so I can experience the depression in full.
Anyway, this is, undoubtedly, my AOTY. Great subtle world-building, beautifully directed, 10/10 sound design, Enya-tier music, amazing atmosphere, charming & wholesome character interactions, contemplative & poignant philosophical musings that never came off as preachy, nostalgic & bleak, but strangely comfy as a whole. Just a really special lil' show.
Eh, there's a lot of killing game stories written by teenage edgelords that're about as original and well-thought-out as you'd expect. Pointing to a single one as the worst is a bit difficult
This. Stories in this genre are meant to be enjoyed as comedy most of the time.
last edited at Dec 21, 2017 7:12PM
Ousama Game ends with generic "The game isn't over yet & more will be victims of it. To be continued."
Juuni Taisen ends with the winner basically wishing to forget the show's existence.
That meta ending makes Juuni Taisen the clear winner for comedy of the season.
I'm just happy we didn't get a MadeInAbyss twist in the latest chapters
By latest chapters, you mean the fan-translated ones or the Japanese serialization (there are 42 chaps out as of now)? Either way, yeah, I don't think this series will ever pull a Made in Abyss twist, they're two very different stories in terms of tones and themes. SSR is comfy depression & will subtly get more depressing down the line rather than gory. Even if the potatoes are to die at the end, it'll be a silent death rather than anything showy, IMO.
This week, local potatoes set the world on fire.
It all ends next week. I don't want this show to end. I want to see the rest of the manga animated, damn it ;_;
Hakumei & Mikochi - Potatoes and gorgeous backgrounds V3. Only yuri if you squint, but good
I welcome this new trend of potatoes in beautiful backgrounds. I'm guessing this is the first pure comfy potatoes without any gore or depression. These potatoes also look slightly chubbier than the other potatoes we've been having. Also very smol.
Dunno if those anime eyes are necessary. I guess they kinda make her look like a martian so that's fitting? Though I doubt they'll touch on her backstory at all in the movie considering it'll probably only cover as much as the OVAs.
I was hoping for Juuni Taisen to be the dumb fun show of the season, but it's just another AnR & Ikusei. Welp, into the dumpster fire it goes.
On the positive side, I think it may be good, because if you really think about it, having Touko act extremely stubborn and unwilling to listen to everybody until the play happens and she magically changes her mind after it would be even much more unrealistic (specially since she has already read the new end, the play is just her performing the lines). For me, the ideal deal would be Touko having a progressive change (just like rl, people don't change all of a sudden) with Yuu's help /and Sayaka's/.
I agree. I'm not one to hope for Touko's stubbornness to drag on to the next volume. I want it to be resolved this volume since like you, I do want Yuu & Touko's relationship to take prominent stage again. What gives me mixed feeling about this chap's resolution is how it was resolved. Just having her somehow opens up to Yuu's logic without much back and forth kinda goes against her characterization up to this point, considering both ch 10 & 22 as well as Nakatani's comment on how her character is driven purely by emotions rather than logic. This same confrontation can have a bit more tension & even act as the climax if Touko's stubbornness causes Yuu to resort to emotional appeal, maybe unintentionally. Like, having Touko tries to dismiss/argue against Yuu's plea which causes Yuu to have the most hurt expression (similar to the one in ch 22) or have a mini breakdown before Touko while giving out the same speech. That alone acts as an emotional trigger to help Touko reconsider her actions because she sees how her stubbornness hurts the one(s) she cares about. This then leads her to self-reflect, admitting she's wrong, and choosing to follow the changed script. Maybe not for her own sake yet (since you're right, Touko coming to the conclusion to live for her own sake now would be a bit rushed considering how deep-seated her self-hatred is), but at least for the sake of those she cares about. Anyway, it all boils down to me wanting something more resemblance of a climax, more emotionally intense like ch 10 & 22, before the story wraps up. I was thinking that this was going to be that chapter, but it's not and how it is resolved makes it hard to imagine how this story is gonna have another opportunity to create that climax. But these are just my thoughts after this chap, I'm open to the fact that Nakatani might blow my mind away next vol tho.
Your new ava is gr8, btw.
Maybe her fantasy work will be like her Touhou stuff: "I-It's not yuri at all, there are girls kissing and fucking but the main plot is fantasy not yuri!"
That's what I hope, too. Her subtexts are basically just texts, so unless her next work is het, we will get our yuri fill some way or another.
You make a plausible case, but I think the above may be rather overstated--we all seem to be taking Yuu's development for granted, but she still hasn't overtly said, even to herself (almost), that what she feels for Touko is romantic love.
True. Honestly, I might have used the wrong wordings to phrase my thoughts a bit there. Instead of the only real conflict, it's probably more accurate to say that Touko's internal turmoil is the only real stake in the story. I'm very much looking forward to Yuu's development and eventual confession, it'll be a glorious chapter. Just not sure how emotionally tense this whole situation can get when the stake is seemingly dealt with. Maybe it'll be so tender, it'll make me forget I care about steaks in general.
Sure, it looks to us like we're just one confession away from moonlight and roses (etc.), but even if that's where the story is heading, given the rather tangled emotional/psychological knots involved in the Touko/Yuu relationship, getting our pair to a steamy sleepover while someone's family is out of town may be considerably more complicated than we (and I do include myself in that group) have been assuming lately.
Everyone should start headcanoning how this will play out ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
This volume as a whole is rather weak, especially as a follow up on last vol. I was hoping this chap will justify the writing of ch 25 & 27, especially 27, by showing some thematic connection and resulting developments that clarify how those chaps are appropriate build-ups within the volume. Maybe later vol(s) will justify them, but with how well structured the other vols are, especially 3 & 4, vol 5 just comes off really incohesive with those two seemingly filler-y chapters disrupting the flow of the main focus of the vol--Touko's development.
The confrontation on the rooftop was great though. Yuu proves to us once again why she is best girl. However, I'm a bit unsure about how this chap is resolved. Touko obediently listens is very unexpected & it almost makes it seem like the story is about to wrap up soon. But if the series is wrapping up on this note, it'll just feel really anti-climatic. Touko's internal turmoil is the only real conflict that drives the series, so with her now being open to change, I have a hard time imagining how this series is going to stir up any sort of climax at all (& by climax, I don't mean people yelling and crying and running away from each other, something around the same level of intensity as ch 10 would be perfect). For a series that has been building up a lot of tension, ending on "everything works out smoothly" does not seem to be the best fit, IMO. Basically, I'm a bit unsure how future developments will play out after this chap, which can be a good thing or bad thing.
I'm happy for Touko's development though. Being put back on the right track & having a whole new world of possibilities opened up before her--poor girl deserves it. The one thing that the story can still expand on with Touko's development is in that last line "I still think I'm empty, but I'll believe in Yuu for now." She's still unable to make decisions of her own yet & I think her coming to point where she can say "I'm choosing to live this way for my own sake" is when she can finally start freeing herself from self-hatred (I honestly was hoping that the confrontation in this chap would lead to Touko self-reflecting and coming to this very conclusion just before the play, but I guess not). While I'm a bit unsure how things will play out from here on out (aside from the inevitable confession from Yuu), I look forward to future developments, waiting for Nakatani to surprise me.
Nakatani is the the furthest from yuri baiting or plot twister that you can get.
She does do plot twists, just not asspull ones.
I realized this a while ago, but something I love about YagaKimi is that it makes yuri deeper than it usually is. Not that pure fluff, etc. stories are bad, they're my guilty pleasure, but this grand scale yuri just isn't usually done.
This. This is why YagaKimi is my fav yuri manga right now. Too bad Nakatani won't be making anymore yuri-centric manga after it. I was really hoping for a yuri fantasy from her. Let's just hope she'll throw in her doujin-level "subtexts" in her next work at least.
Nakatani stating she can't draw Touko and Yuu being lovey dovey yet gives me hope that she'll eventually show it later in the story after the main problem is resolved.
She said in a recent interview that YagaKimi is everything she wants to write in a yuri. So let's hope GBS is part of it :^)
Gotta believe in Yuu, who believes in me.
Believe in Yuu who believes in Touko who believes in Yuu who believes in Nakatani who believes in us who believe in that anime adaptation this series -Kamina
last edited at Dec 3, 2017 3:35PM
hope there will be some yuri....
https://myanimelist.net/anime/36873/Back_Street_Girls?q=back%20street
Anime of the century. I'm calling it.
Latest ep of SSR went all Nier:Automata. Every week, I love this series more & more.
little witch academy failed at world building, failed at adventure,failed at slice of life, failed at magic, failed at CGDCT, failed at yuri, failed at character development....
too episodic and very lacking in plot!!...
It's funny how you can keep all of these criticisms except switching up LWA with PriPri & magic with war/politics & they will still very much apply lol Although PriPri definitely delivers in the yuri department way more than LWA. They're both equally disappointing shows in the end tho.
last edited at Nov 28, 2017 6:08AM
Do I like Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou the best or Houseki no Kuni? Decisions
Potatocalypse is my AOTY.
Not sure if I should reply to that gigantic post since school is still killing me, but hair colors make good stories is now my favorite new meme.
Meanwhile the potatoes still aren't making out no matter how much I want them to
Potatoes are not for lewd!
This week SSR's dancing drunken potatoes segment was incredibly sweet & low-key very gay.
Also, "Hey Yuu. One day, let's go really really high up and go to the moon" made me cry. I don't know why.
last edited at Nov 24, 2017 1:54PM
I hope the author isn't going to go super dramatic now and stays with how the mood of the manga has been up till now.
A smooth - though slow - realisation that she is loved and that to the people around her she is actually a pretty amazing person, and that it's good to be that person and that she makes people happy being that person through conversation and interaction and self-reflection would be best i think and would be most in line with what went before.
Touko's development so far has never been about her "slowly realizing she's loved." Yuu even points out that alternative to her back in ch 10 and she refuses it. So ever since vol 2, it has been established that Touko is deeply fucked up--that she is too stubborn to realize others' love for her and that she can't come to that realization on her own (& this is what killing who she is). So all the recent developments with her becoming more and more emo & possibly suicidal are just reasonable extensions of everything that has been established and leading up to them. The story is definitely getting more intense/dramatic with Touko's emotional problem spilling over the surface, & you're free to dislike the direction, but it's in no way contrived or out of touch with how the story has been building up so far. Her being an emotional mess has always been an undecurrent throughout the story--every monologue (ch 10, 12, & 17) & certain tense post-ch 10 interactions she has with Yuu (ch 13 & 19) have pointed to the fact that Touko has very misguided way of thinking. The characters who are aware of how fucked up she is, namely Yuu & Sayaka, have been ignoring this problem in favor of maintaining the status quo and only now that the truth about her sister's identity is revealed and with Yuu and Sayaka teaming up against her unhealthy situation that Touko's emotional problem is laid out in bare.
What we got here is a girl who feels like she has no identity and whose only goal in life is to become her sister.
Oh and Yuu isn't allowed to fall in love with her because she doesn't want her to put pressure on her.
Only she is the one who is putting that pressure on herself. Not the people who love her.
And she hates herself. If that hatred was there because she feels guilty over her sisters' death that would be understandable.
All of these are indeed her problems, but they're more connected and not as fragmented as how they are listed here. Connecting the dots is important to help us understand her as a character. Basically, Touko is a girl with a low self-esteem ever since she was young (ch 5). Triggered by the guilt over the death of her own sister as well as by the hurtful words of her relatives, that low self-esteerm turns into self-hatred (ch 10 & 17). She hates who she is so she denounces her own identity & starts forcing herself to live in the shadow of her own version of her sister's identity (ch 10, 19, & 22). This causes Touko to lose sight of who she is as a person (ch 17 & 22). & since people only love her for her sister's identity & since she hates her own identity so much that she doesn't want anyone to come to love that side of her, she also ends up putting up a barrier and denounces being loved (ch 10 & 22). However, it is stressful just faking it all the time, so when she met Yuu, she found an outlet for emotional relief (ch 5, 10, 19, & 24). Basically, a coping mechanism to keep her sane. However, her eyes are still fixed on trying to live her life as her sister and that's why she also needs Sayaka around--the fact that she's also a perfect role model & that she does not pry into her personal bubble help Touko keep up her perfect facade (ch 12). Since she is so fixated upon becoming her sister & on carrying out the play for her sister's sake, once the truth hits her about how everything she has been living for up to that point is a lie (according to her) and very much meaningless, she comes to realize that she has nowhere to go once the play is over & this is the start of her suicidal thoughts (ch 23). To make things worse, the two supports she has to help her keep up her ideal (but unhealthy) way of living decide to turn against her--and she indeed perceives this as a personal attack (ch 26). With everything hitting her all at once, it makes sense why she becomes reclusive & passive-agressive this recent chapter. The problem with Touko is that she is way too stubborn to admit she has any problems and that she is in the wrong (ch 10, 22, & 27). Something has to happen to slap some sense into her and get her to face her problems--so the undoing and healing process can actually begin (& with Touko, I think this will be a life-long process). I'm sure that trigger will be something intense & I expect some tears to be shed, but melodrama? I doubt this series will ever get there.
Touko is a flawed character & I can see why some are put off by her & her recent developments, but I honestly don't think she's one-dimensional or contrivedly-written in any way. One heavy baggage for sure, but not an irredeemable one.
last edited at Nov 23, 2017 11:19PM
I started watching Ousama Game...
Am I the only one that burst out laughing almost every 5 minutes of each episode?
Comedy Of The Season.
I've heard great things about it from other people, too. In the mood for QUALITY comedy. Will probably try it out & confirm.
"Titus"?
At first it was a meme due to Amazon's mistranslation or something. & then it became official.
I think those situation are most positive than the alternative. They aren't living for the sake of a bigger idea, they're living because they want to. To me there's a bigger value in that.
Well, I think nihilism doesn't have much value on its own. It's neither negative or positive (tho it carries a more negative connotation). The same ideas that "life has no purpose", "we're all gonna die anyway", "it's all but hopeless", "there is nothing to live for", & "no gods can save us" can just lead to a suicidefest with Punpun-level of depression. But that's not this show (the depression is more subtle here). The characters' more carefree outlook & accepting attitude towards these same nihilistic ideas are what make them positive. For example, despite the fact that the girls don't believe in a bigger meaning to life and that there is no god, the show makes it clear that they see one another as their reason for living & that they are one another's god. It's a very positive & wholesome twist.
last edited at Nov 12, 2017 5:12PM