Ambient Irony

What is that?
It's a duck pond.
Why aren't there any ducks?
I don't know. There's never any ducks.
Then how do you know it's a duck pond?

Monday, July 24

Another Victim

Of the demon that is Azumanga Daioh.

~~P.S. Pictures are borked.~~

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 09:20 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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1 I told him, "Steven, you'll love this show," and he was all like "Kimura blah blah blah," and I'm like "believe me, you'll love this show despite him." For months. So I'm getting a real kick out of the fact that he does, in fact, seem to be loving Azumanga Daioh. Color me proud.

Posted by: Wonderduck at Monday, July 24 2006 12:14 PM (zBXYv)

2 Well, I was hopeful too, but apparently Steven wasn't enlightened yet. Osaka grates? Please. But I remember seeing a review once for some manga.ru place or such, where the reviewer yawned on the job until episode 23 where he saw the light. So it may yet click. Or not. I was going to wait a few more days for the summary, and then a few more days for history_xxx.html file to appear.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Monday, July 24 2006 09:03 PM (9imyF)

3 I don't disagree with Steven at all about Osaka and Tomo. They're easily my least favorite of the bunch. "Oh, but Osaka's so spacy and funny and..." She's not funny. She's dumb. "Oh, but Osaka's..." She's dull. There are two or three bits of her that I like: the soap gag, the 'magic talisman' gag, and the ponytail gag. Everything else, I can take a miss on. And Tomo is just annoying.

Posted by: Wonderduck at Monday, July 24 2006 09:19 PM (7+BNY)

4 I suppose I have to explain the Zen here, as much as it can be explained.

Tomo is my least favourte character, because she is obnoxious, good for nothing, loud, tactless, stupid, selfish jerk. I can't stand people like that and the type is sadly far from rare.

However, in the anime, she is a part of the carefuly crafted ensemble and has to be taken as such. Ditto Osaka, who may be more sympathetic to some or many viewers. It is not a question of her being dull (in your deeply personal opinion, anyway).

The cast is designed with many considerations. In particular, I noticed that every viewer picks a favourite for their special reasons, the one who speaks to them in an intimate way. Steven zoomed onto Sakaki very quickly, and why? Because she's the only character who transforms (or "develops"). A reason not worse any other. My favourite is Yomi, because she's sane (and a host of other secret reasons which I'm not going to commit to blog comments).

But conversely, someone has to fall out the bottom. It's just the way it is.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Monday, July 24 2006 11:16 PM (9imyF)

5 I agree, it's an ensemble show that should be taken as a whole. Please note, Azumanga Daioh is my favorite anime of recent vintage, and might be my favorite of all-time. But I could still do with much less Osaka and Tomo, ensemble or no. And, for what it's worth, Yomi is #2 on my favorites list, just behind Kagura.

Posted by: Wonderduck at Tuesday, July 25 2006 12:46 AM (7+BNY)

6 Needs more Kaorin.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Tuesday, July 25 2006 12:52 AM (FRalS)

7 Osaka forever! Her attempt to wake up Yukari on the last trip - perfect!

Sakaki, Osaka, Chiyo, and Yomi for me.

But rather than conduct the intra-factional squabbles here about what is best in AD (A:to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women... wait. No.) let us celebrate the convert of another to our (sometimes) ecumenical cult. There is room for Osakites, Yomites, and even Tomites here.

And Wonderduck, boy howdy do I know how you feel.

Months.

Posted by: HC at Thursday, July 27 2006 11:22 PM (HmhM4)

8 I think we ought to be cautious with the triumphalism, for several reasons.
#1. It seems to me that Steven is not ready to accept the gospel, or whatever is the appropriate religious metaphor is. Even if he does, it's going to be victory of Messiers Azuma, Wada, and Nishikiori and not ours.
#2. He visits these pages as well and his contrarian spirit may be reawaken. I certainly start biting on the bridle when I see every blogger praising Haruhi Suzumiya - and their posts aren't even directed at me personally.
#3. People gloating now are going to look very silly when things do not turn out as they expect and the 4.5 stars aren't assigned.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Friday, July 28 2006 05:19 PM (9imyF)

9 I quite liked Haruhi Suzumiya. But if someone doesn't like it, I can understand that; it's quite possible for two intelligent, decent people to have differing opinions on the subject.

But if they don't like Kamichu!, it's war.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Saturday, July 29 2006 12:44 AM (FRalS)

10 My Kamichu! credentials are impeccable. I watch it on R2 DVDs.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Saturday, July 29 2006 01:08 AM (9imyF)

11 http://denbeste.nu/Chizumatic/reviews/Kamichu.shtml

So, the review is up. Is this war?

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Tuesday, September 12 2006 02:02 AM (9imyF)

12 WAR!!!

Well, he didn't say he didn't like it. In fact, he said the first three episodes are "superb" and "amazingly good". Episode four is weird. And I've only seen up to episode six, so I can't really address whether the rest of it is disappointing.

One thing - Steven was expecting (or at least hoping for) a strong overall plot; I wasn't. I assumed it was a slice-of-life story, so I might not be disappointed the way he was.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Tuesday, September 12 2006 04:15 AM (FRalS)

13 The bad news is, Fuujin Monogatari pulls exactly the same stunt. They start with a story and then just switch tracks into the slice thing completely. However, they left no hooks, the show actually ends.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Tuesday, September 12 2006 05:33 PM (9imyF)

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Monday, July 03

Episode What?!

I just kicked off the download for Keroro Gunso episode 27. I'd thought it was a standard 26-episode series.

Apparently not.

52 then? Um...

Would you believe 114 and counting?

Don't know how good it is beyond the first few episodes, though. (I did quite enjoy the first few episodes, but then the fansubs stopped. They've started up again - from a different group, and at a rapid pace - but I haven't gotten back to it yet.)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 07:26 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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