Anime Thread #3: You Can (Not) Repost

[Kamaduck]

I’ve seen the first few eps of Coppelion and watched the last ep too to make sure it didn’t suck by doing something really stupid. I’ll be watching it when I get some time.

I might check it out. It’s not top priority, but I might.

Moe can have negative connotations, but that’s because it can be used as a gimmick. But so can explosions. So can violence. So can magic. So can anything else really. What’s so nice about Japan is that they can make serious stories with moe characters, unlike us Westerners who think moe is only for children. However this brings us to stupidity too, because one does not want moe characters to die or get involved in sex. At least I don’t.
And Japanese writers sometimes do put this in.

Yes, I’d agree. But moe seems to be a particularly popular gimmick.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Haven’t watched that one. Does it has fanservice or the strange things that are becoming so common in shows now?

Yeah uh, I doubt it’s to your taste.

Usually I avoid titles based on card games, or toys (exception, Transformers, and similar). Is good?

Not really. The card game is though. I’m a marketer by trade and that’s pretty much the sole reason I watch the show. It’s the only way I’ll know what I’m gonna end up buying a couple months from now. XD

Coppelion looked interesting, but I haven’t heard much about it. I’ll probably look up reviews for things before watching from now on (I usually do anyway). Every time I try to watch a series based on whether the premise looks cool, I end up with shlock or something nasty.

It’s basically just a nuclear waste morality tale with its usual partner of genetic modding. Pretty well done in this case though.

With regard to moe, I’d say it can have some negative connotations. I often hear it used to mean that a series has cute characters but little to no depth. Of course, that’s fine if you’re not looking for depth, but it’s not really my style. I think we just had this conversation a few pages ago, so I’ll refrain from saying anything more.

My definition of Moe is plain simple: Cute round faces. Anime eyes. No lips or even lipstick.

 

[Tenofovir]

Yes, I’d agree. But moe seems to be a particularly popular gimmick.

And thank goodness for that.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

It’s to do with the Japanese fascination with dolls or rather “dorus”.

And here I recommend an old but still a very good anime, Key the Metal Idol.

BTW a premise a bit like Coppelion is what The Dark Brynhldr is based on. It has some nudity in it and a lot of gore.

So far I still recommend The Coffin Princess.

Thanks!

See, if it was based on the ballet, I’d be all over it: something with a light, comedic touch, but serious at heart.

I have less than zero interest in anything based on current events.

 

[CesarAugustus]

It’s to do with the Japanese fascination with dolls or rather “dorus”.

And here I recommend an old but still a very good anime, Key the Metal Idol.

A robot or artificial girl? Anything to be cautious of?

With regard to moe, I’d say it can have some negative connotations. I often hear it used to mean that a series has cute characters but little to no depth. Of course, that’s fine if you’re not looking for depth, but it’s not really my style. I think we just had this conversation a few pages ago, so I’ll refrain from saying anything more.

Having moé characters doesn’t necessarily mean lack of depth, although it has become more or less common since the success of the four cute girls doing cute things formula.

Moe can have negative connotations, but that’s because it can be used as a gimmick. But so can explosions. So can violence. So can magic. So can anything else really. *What’s so nice about Japan is that they can make serious stories with moe characters, unlike us Westerners who think moe is only for children. *However this brings us to stupidity too, because one does not want moe characters to die or get involved in sex. At least I don’t.

And Japanese writers sometimes do put this in.

Yes, I agree.

Yeah uh, I doubt it’s to your taste.

I see. Thanks!

I suggest putting warnings about similar series.

Not really. The card game is though. I’m a marketer by trade and that’s pretty much the sole reason I watch the show. It’s the only way I’ll know what I’m gonna end up buying a couple months from now. XD

Marketer? Do you have a shop or sell, or do you mean that you buy material related to card games?

It’s basically just a nuclear waste morality tale with its usual partner of genetic modding. Pretty well done in this case though.

The art style looks interesting, but sometimes the two color (blue/green) overlay is tiring.

My definition of Moe is plain simple: Cute round faces. Anime eyes. No lips or even lipstick.

Although moé includes the characters being endearing too, the overall look and feel.

 

[Tenofovir]

A robot or artificial girl? Anything to be cautious of?

Is she a real girl or a robot. That’s part of the plot of the anime. Apparently she’ll become fully human if she gets 50,000 fans (or some such number). There is nothing much to be cautious of that I remember. I last watched this show on DVD back in 2003/4.

It’s a very nice anime with intrigue. It has one or two tragic moments they could do away with but they’re not the sort of thing you’ll object too.

 

[Tenofovir]

Thanks!

See, if it was based on the ballet, I’d be all over it: something with a light, comedic touch, but serious at heart.

In episode 2 they mention the original Coppelion.

I have less than zero interest in anything based on current events.

I don’t think it’s based on current events so much. It’s basically the whole “what is it to be human”, self sacrifice, doing what’s right thing even if it may cost you dearly, and so on. It’s a good anime where the main characters are lovable but also decent.

 

[CesarAugustus]

Is she a real girl or a robot. That’s part of the plot of the anime. Apparently she’ll become fully human if she gets 50,000 fans (or some such number). There is nothing much to be cautious of that I remember. I last watched this show on DVD back in 2003/4.

It’s a very nice anime with intrigue. It has one or two tragic moments they could do away with but they’re not the sort of thing you’ll object too.

I just read a bit about the series. The style looks nice, middle 1990’s. It seems to have bathing fanservice, and non-detailed nudity. Tv Tropes (general warning: time-waster site) page hints at yuri, but I guess they are exaggerating.

The plot reminds me of that time were cyborgs and androids were more trendy in anime series. End of the 80’s and beginning of the 90’s, cyberpunk series, etc.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

In episode 2 they mention the original Coppelion.

I don’t think it’s based on current events so much. It’s basically the whole “what is it to be human”, self sacrifice, doing what’s right thing even if it may cost you dearly, and so on. It’s a good anime where the main characters are lovable but also decent.

Hmmmmm…mayyybe when I finish up Space Pirate Mito…

 

[Tenofovir]

Hmmmmm…mayyybe when I finish up Space Pirate Mito…

I don’t think it’s the whole Gaia/save the environment/man is evil 'cos he destroys the world. Japanese anime never goes into that sort of thing. I think while Fukushima/Hiroshima may be important there, they also like to focus on the whole individual and self sacrifice and finding your purpose themes. But it’s also not as individualistic and subjective as the West.

In episode 1, one of the three girls asks if she is human. The other replies something along the lines of … You love the taste of rice balls, would a machine do that? This is an important thing because machines don’t have qualia while minds, do .

Likewise in ep 1 I think one of the girls disobeys an order to save a soldier who has been contaminated by radiation.

 

[Tenofovir]

I just read a bit about the series. The style looks nice, middle 1990’s. It seems to have bathing fanservice, and non-detailed nudity. Tv Tropes (general warning: time-waster site) page hints at yuri, but I guess they are exaggerating.

The plot reminds me of that time were cyborgs and androids were more trendy in anime series. End of the 80’s and beginning of the 90’s, cyberpunk series, etc.

Gosh. There’s no bathing fanservice. It’s nowhere near fanservice you’ll see now. It’s nothing.

And there is no yuri. I think someone wanted to see something there which wasn’t. I think there is a lot of mother-to-daughter love in the show. Sakura looks after Key but she has no lesbian intentions for Key and Key is totally clueless about romantic things.

Honestly this series is good. You’ll enjoy it. It does drag on for a while and 2 of the last few episodes are basically just talking and flashbacks explaining the plot. The story covers a lot of what happened before and you’ll see references to traditional Japanese dolls too beyond the porcelain/ball jointed dolls the main bad guy has in his office. There may be some Shinto references but nothing major. I’ll take Shinto references over modern nihilistic nonsense. The show does not preach however. Things are just there which tie in with Japanese folklore and some aspects of their religion.

 

[CesarAugustus]

Gosh. There’s no bathing fanservice. It’s nowhere near fanservice you’ll see now. It’s nothing.

And there is no yuri. I think someone wanted to see something there which wasn’t. I think there is a lot of mother-to-daughter love in the show. Sakura looks after Key but she has no lesbian intentions for Key and Key is totally clueless about romantic things.

Honestly this series is good. You’ll enjoy it. It does drag on for a while and 2 of the last few episodes are basically just talking and flashbacks explaining the plot. The story covers a lot of what happened before and you’ll see references to traditional Japanese dolls too beyond the porcelain/ball jointed dolls the main bad guy has in his office. There may be some Shinto references but nothing major.

Well, it seems that these folks at Tv Tropes like to exaggerate.

 

[Tenofovir]

Well, it seems that these folks at Tv Tropes like to exaggerate.

Well I dunno. I don’t read that TV Tropes site. I may read a review or two or just read general synopsis on Wiki or spoiler. But there is no yuri - I think Sakura cares about Key because Key is totally not able to look after herself. Where they get yuri, I dunno. There is a male protagonist too who gets a lot of screen time.

If I was in that show, I’d look after Key too and honestly no, I wouldn’t want to sleep with the poor thing. I think some people are a little sick… or maybe it’s just the modern expectation in the West to repay kindness with sex and only dirty motives are possible motives. (This what also makes moe dodgy. People may think one likes moe anime one wants to get dirty with a baby faced character, which is the total opposite of the truth.)

I think some people these days see sexual things where there are none. It’s like, this girl is looking after this other girl, she must want to sleep with her… which is not the case at all, at least in this anime. I think you can watch it, safely.

 

[CesarAugustus]

Well I dunno. I don’t read that TV Tropes site. I may read a review or two or just read general synopsis on Wiki or spoiler. But there is no yuri - I think Sakura cares about Key because Key is totally not able to look after herself. Where they get yuri, I dunno. There is a male protagonist too who gets a lot of screen time.

I think some people these days see sexual things where there are none. It’s like, this girl is looking after this other girl, she must want to sleep with her… which is not the case at all, at least in this anime. I think you can watch it, safely.

I agree. Is the root of the yaoi and yuri fandom, also, that applies to other fans too, since they want highly sexualized interactions between women and men in shows.

 

[Tenofovir]

Well, it seems that these folks at Tv Tropes like to exaggerate.

There are people who have said My Neighbor Totoro has child porn in it because in the end credits or somewhere in the film the father bathes with his daughters. People are crazy.

 

[CesarAugustus]

There are people who have said My Neighbor Totoro has child porn in it because in the end credits or somewhere in the film the father bathes with his daughters. People are crazy.

Although these tend to be people that aren’t part of the “fandom”. One could expect better from the people at that site, since they seem to be so committed to report and catalog some of the ingredients of series, movies, books, etc.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

There are people who have said My Neighbor Totoro has child porn in it because in the end credits or somewhere in the film the father bathes with his daughters. People are crazy.

In the film. It’s a Japaneae tradition, and if Mom was there she’d be taking part, too.

 

[Tenofovir]

In the film. It’s a Japaneae tradition, and if Mom was there she’d be taking part, too.

It’s also not unheard of in Europe. And this also gets me to another thing, nudity per se is not pornography, neither need it be erotic.

But some associate nudity = porn = art. This is also bad IMO because when one has genuine grounds for criticising some nudity which happens to be erotica in a film, it gets diluted with counter arguments that people are too prudish. Often I find that the counterarguments follow the notion that “nude art exists therefore porn is ok” in film/media. But nude art is NOT porn. Nudity can be art, porn or neither, it can be shown as matter of fact and as long as it is not glamorised or shown gratuitously it is OK. The neither category is obviously culturally dependent.

 

[Tenofovir]

Although these tend to be people that aren’t part of the “fandom”. One could expect better from the people at that site, since they seem to be so committed to report and catalog some of the ingredients of series, movies, books, etc.

No. I don’t buy these TV Tropes people. I think it’s just a bunch of self proclaimed anime and TV addicts with too much free time on their hands. I’ve been collecting anime DVDs from 2000-onwards and watching from as early as 1996. I think I have a reasonable opinion on the stuff by now. It may be biased but so are they. I’m sure others of us here are also adequately able to discern what is what from our own extensive experiences of this and other media and basic use of logic and research.

 

[Kamaduck]

No. I don’t buy these TV Tropes people. I think it’s just a bunch of self proclaimed anime and TV addicts with too much free time on their hands. I’ve been collecting anime DVDs from 2000-onwards and watching from as early as 1996. I think I have a reasonable opinion on the stuff by now. It may be biased but so are they. I’m sure others of us here are also adequately able to discern what is what from our own extensive experiences of this and other media and basic use of logic and research.

TV Tropes is hit-or-miss. I’ve seen a bunch of great series thanks to them, but ultimately it’s just a bunch of nerds who like to catalogue and analyze stuff. Anyone can edit it, so the quality is a lot more spotty than relying on an individual reviewer. On the other hand, their information is often more comprehensive than what any single person could put together.

It has its uses, but nothing’s perfect.