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Various thoughts on a variety of topics.

Various Thoughts

Various thoughts on a variety of topics.

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  • The Huntsman Movies & GRIMM

    Posted on September 6, 2020 2:55 am by Offkorn Comment

    The first Huntsman movie, Snow White and the Huntsman, is as the title would imply more focused on Snow White than the huntsman. The movie features a particularly martial variation on the tale, going pretty heavy on action and gritty medieval atmosphere. It’s a solid enough adaptation visually speaking with the main flaws being the anticlimactic final confrontation and pretty much everything about the evil queen.

    Unfortunately, that queen plays a role in The Huntsman: Winter’s War as well… along with a second queen who’s no better. Not helping matters is that with Snow White gone and her replacement being even more aggressive than the huntsman, the work as a whole becomes overly action-focused. There’s pretty much nothing recommendable about it; if you want to watch Hemsworth in an action role Thor: Ragnarok would likely be a better choice.

    Also fairytale related, the TV series Grimm takes the trappings of a generic police procedural and crosses it with some Buffy-like fantasy elements themed on classic folklore. The ‘adapting ancient stories to modern crimes’ aspect works well enough, the problem is the whole metaplot with the inexplicable werewolf sidekick and transforming the protagonist from relatively normal detective into a supernatural warrior. Maybe the integration works better in later seasons, but after the shakiness of the first I don’t care enough to find out.

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    This entry was posted in Movie & TV Related and tagged Action Comic Relief Drama Fantasy Literary Adaptation Movie Series Televised Urban Fantasy Workplace
  • Joshikousei no Mudazukai & Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume o Minai

    Posted on September 4, 2020 11:59 pm by Offkorn Comment

    A schoolgirl comedy in the vein of Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (with a main character transplant from Nichijou), Joshikousei no Mudazukai‘s main problem is that a good chunk of its cast end up more annoying than entertaining when they go to extremes (there effectively being only half of a straight man to bounce the insanity off of contributes to that issue). So it’s basically as hit/miss as a random comedy would be and your mileage will definitely vary.

    The school life comedy Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume o Minai meanwhile takes its cues from Bakemonogatari and Haruhi, mixing Bake‘s structure with Haruhi‘s sci-fi theme along with character traits from both. What it lacks in action and flashy visuals it makes up for with consistency and an avoidance of potentially offputting extreme behavior. The movie continuation unfortunately doesn’t share those positives, going deep into heavy drama territory as it does, and honestly I suggest skipping it since Shouko remaining a mystery will likely a produce better result than finding out what’s actually going on.

    Oh, and there’s also Ore o Suki Nano wa Omae Dake ka yo (another school life comedy), which sadly doesn’t have anything at all going for it beyond creepy character design and nakedly artificial character behavior.

    Continue reading → Post ID 8499

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    This entry was posted in 2018 - Autumn 2019 - Spring 2019 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Comedy Comic Adaptation Crunchyroll Drama Dramatic Support Finished HiDive Hulu Incomplete Source Movie Novel Adaptation Romance School Life Science Fiction Series Televised
  • Dorohedoro & Kabukichou Sherlock

    Posted on September 3, 2020 8:44 am by Offkorn 1 Comment

    The gory CGI action-comedy Dorohedoro appears to have been the inspiration behind Kekkai Sensen, as they have a remarkable number of similarities between them in terms of atmosphere and character behavior. So I’m not really sure why I ended up so ambivalent about it. There are the obvious problems of course, such as the brain-damaged ecchi child, Hakata Ramen-esque baseball episode, cringey late-series mind-control developments, and both Nikaidou and Noi bearing a curious resemblance to Goku… but in the end I think it may have just been that the style of CGI animation they used disagreed with me.

    Kabukichou Sherlock is another comedy series which would have been better off named ‘Rakugo Sherlock‘. I hate rakugo. While I’ll grant that making Sherlock a rakugo addict rather than a drug addict goes a long way toward making him even more eccentric, I’m not sure there are all that many people out there who can stand that level of eccentricity. Especially when almost every other character in the series besides Watson is neurotic in some manner. And that’s ultimately all this series has going for it; neurosis. If you don’t enjoy laughing at outcasts there won’t really be anything for you here.

    If you happen to be in the mood for a cute parenting-themed traveling show however, you can instead check out Somali to Mori no Kamisama without fear of it developing romantic elements.

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    This entry was posted in 2019 - Autumn 2020 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Anime Original Comedy Comic Adaptation Dramatic Support Dropped Finished Funimation Incomplete Source Mystery Netflix Series Televised Urban Fantasy
  • Kanata no Astra: ASTRA LOST IN SPACE & WATASHI, NOURYOKU wa HEIKINCHI dette Itta yo ne!

    Posted on September 2, 2020 2:59 pm by Offkorn Comment

    A bit of a rarity these days, Kanata no Astra happens to be a completed adaptation of a completed work. And though not quite a mixed genre series (the comedy is absolutely the main focus) it treats its dramatic aspects with all due seriousness without cutting any corners or using any cheap tricks. Really the only thing negative I can say about it is that there’s one plot twist too many; the overarching reasoning behind why they found a ship where they did ends up on just the wrong side of unbelievable… particularly when combined with the habitability of the various planets they visit.

    The pseudo-gag comedy Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! is unfortunately far less well structured. It combines 4th-wall breaking parody, 4th-wall breaking exposition, reaction humor, ecchi humor, serious drama, not-so-serious drama, action of both the sincere and not-so-sincere variety, and (at the very end) battle shounen elements. It is, simply put, a mess. They needed to either drop the dramatic/sincere bits or drop the nanomachine-related commentary and 4th-wall breaks, as the two do not mix well at all. Hell, even just sticking to one or two varieties of comedy might have resulted in something less scattershot.

    Continue reading → Post ID 8499

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    This entry was posted in 2019 - Autumn 2019 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Action Comedy Comic Adaptation Crunchyroll Dramatic Support Fantasy Finished Funimation Mixed Media Project Parody Science Fiction Series Televised
  • Cast In Wisdom & A Killing Frost

    Posted on September 2, 2020 12:43 am by Offkorn Comment

    Back in Cast In Oblivion you may remember that the protagonist finally decided to learn more about how to use her powers. Well, the 15th book (not including Cast In Moonlight) in Michelle Sagara‘s Chronicles of Elantra series take the necessary step of introducing a new location filled with characters who can advance that goal. It ends up one of the better installments (despite a continued lack of weight to the action scenes) thanks to both not getting bogged down in metaphysics and Kaylin’s continuing maturation as a character; for those saying she never changes you really need to read the first book (Cast In Shadow) again and then realize that less than 2 years have passed since then.

    Seanan McGuire’s A Killing Frost, the 14th October Daye entry, also advances its goal… far more than I thought it would after the meandering prequel. Not only is the titular ‘Search for Simon’ subplot resolved, but one of the series’ major overarching plotlines gets spontaneously resolved as well. Perhaps a bit too spontaneously. Presumably that event will be examined in more detail in the future, put aside here as it was in favor of wrapping up Simon’s arc, and I hope the author can come up with a believable enough justification for it.

    As for the bonus novella included within: It’s a perfectly fine prequel focusing on the Lordens’ relationship with Simon, which adds some useful context to Killing Frost‘s developments.

    Related posts:

    1. Recent Books Normally I do these three at a time… but, well…...
    2. WHEN SORROWS COME & That Time I Got Reincarnated as a SLIME #12 Seanan McGuire‘s fifteenth October Daye novel is completely centered on...
    3. Cast In Oblivion & Guild Hunter #6-11 The fourteenth entry in Michelle Sagara‘s Elantra series resolves the...
    4. Over the Woodward Wall & CAST IN CONFLICT I’m unsure why Over the Woodward Wall, written under the...
    5. Sparrow Hill Road & Laughter at the Academy The first of Seanan McGuire’s Ghost Roads novels is a...

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    This entry was posted in Book Related and tagged Chronicles of Elantra Fantasy Michelle Sagara October Daye Paranormal Romance Seanan McGuire Urban Fantasy
  • Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo. & HACHI-NANTTE, Sore wa Nai Deshou!

    Posted on September 1, 2020 7:08 am by Offkorn Comment

    As Kuzu no Honkai is a sex-focused romantic drama with comedic elements, Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo is a sex-focused romantic comedy with dramatic elements. The comedy style here is quite manic, which compliments the various emotional breakdowns surprisingly well. The melodramatic plot developments though… not so much. The club-disbandment, creepy theater troupe leader, and puritanical school officials subplots were all completely unnecessary.

    Hachi-nantte, Sore wa Nai Deshou! could also be considered unnecessary, as it doesn’t really do anything that hasn’t been done before. That said, I think it should get credit for taking the trappings of an overpowered MC harem show and subverting them somewhat. Although the protagonist is strong, he can’t just steamroll his opposition and often finds himself tangled up in political obligations, and though the show is ~technically~ a harem only one of the girls is a love interest (the others are just there for the security the position brings) and there’s only one brief ecchi-related scene (used for comedy).

    I also attempted to watch Kono Oto Tomare! and Hi Score Girl: The club room being occupied by delinquents was too much to deal with in the former, while in the case of the latter Ono’s home situation proved the deal-killer.

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    This entry was posted in 2019 - Summer 2020 - Spring Anime Related and tagged Action Comedy Comic Adaptation Coming of Age Crunchyroll Dramatic Support Fantasy Finished HiDive Incomplete Source Novel Adaptation Romance School Life Series Televised
  • Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken & Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka II: FAMILIA MYTH

    Posted on August 31, 2020 8:53 am by Offkorn Comment

    A fairly standard overpowered protagonist show, Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken’s defining feature is that almost everyone’s either extremely nice/reasonable or becomes so after being defeated in some manner (whether it be through force, conversation, or trickery). It’s very much a ‘sit back and enjoy yourself’ kind of production without much in the way of nuance or depth to get bogged down on; even the ecchi elements are practically wholesome when compared to what you normally find in harem series.

    DanMachi’s second season on the other hand is very much not a ‘sit back and enjoy’ type of show, infested as it is with manufactured drama and asshole antagonists. A large number of storytellers get stuck between crafting the start of their story and concluding it, generally either because they get lost/sidetracked along the way or get greedy with early success and want to drag things out as long as possible. This appears to be a case of the latter.

    None of these three arcs advance the various plot threads introduced by the prequel, and each features new antagonists whose only apparent purpose is to be defeated in random ways (likely to never be seen again). Not helping matters is that the action scenes are notably lacking… something. I’m not sure what exactly, just that they don’t match up favorably to earlier ones. Much like this season as a whole.

    Continue reading → Post ID 8499

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    This entry was posted in 2018 - Autumn 2019 - Summer 2019 - Winter 2021 - Summer 2021 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Comedy Comic Adaptation Crunchyroll DanMachi Drama Dramatic Support Ecchi Fantasy Funimation Harem Hulu Incomplete Source LN Adaptation Series Televised TenSura
  • Carole & Tuesday & Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator

    Posted on August 30, 2020 7:29 pm by Offkorn Comment

    For the most part, Carole & Tuesday is a variation on the classic A Star is Born sort of story; you have two amateur musicians from vastly different backgrounds connecting to overcome early adversity and make music that moves the masses. The characters are mostly fun, but the core problem here is that much of the music the show features is pretty generic (particularly the songs in the first half or so) and doesn’t match the characters who are supposed to be singing them. Listened to on their own without the visuals some of the songs are surprisingly good, but almost none of them work within the context of the show.

    It also has a number of other things going on as subplots, such as anti-immigration politics and corrupt businessmen, an obsessive stalker, fame-based breakdowns, a conniving manager, parental abandonment, and advanced AI supplanting humanity. All of these end up more engaging than the main story… which is more damning than praiseworthy.

    As for the Index Accelerator spinoff, it appears to take place sometime before Index III and mostly features a bunch of new characters who don’t really have much going for them. Accelerator himself is a pretty annoying/one-note character (albeit not as bad as Touma), so its weird anyone would make a series nominally centered around him to begin with. Another oddity is the rather large amount of situational ecchi; girls wandering around and/or fighting in their underwear is quite common.

    Speaking of ecchi: Don’t watch Plunderer unless you’re fond of sexual-assault level harassment guised as cartoonish comedy.

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    This entry was posted in 2019 - Spring 2019 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Action Anime Original Comic Adaptation Comic Relief Drama Ecchi Finished Funimation Music Netflix Partial Adaptation Science Fiction Series Televised Toaru Urban Fantasy
  • Venom & SPIDER-MAN: Far From Home

    Posted on August 29, 2020 8:46 pm by Offkorn Comment

    The 2018 Venom movie is a reboot of the character which draws inspiration from the Planet of the Symbiotes comic plotline, which makes it a little strange that people were surprised it came across like a love story; it was a love story. Overall I think this focuses a little too much on being goofy and would’ve been better if Brock had more agency instead of basically being piloted by the symbiote for much of the runtime. The visual effects are solid though and I’m now cautiously optimistic for the upcoming Maximum Carnage adaptation.

    The second of the Marvel co-produced Spider-Man films, Far From Home, acts as a postscript to Endgame (which is mainly why I watched it, having been ambivalent about Homecoming) in addition to advancing its own ongoing relationship plotline. It has pretty much all the same pros/cons as its prequel (impressive visuals; Parker’s still in school) and will probably end up better if you aren’t familiar with the featured villain ahead of time.

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    This entry was posted in Movie & TV Related and tagged Action Comedy Comic Adaptation Dramatic Support Marvel Comics Movie Paranormal Romance School Life Science Fiction
  • Cannon busters & Arifureta SHOKUGYOU de SEKAISAIKYOU

    Posted on August 29, 2020 1:57 pm by Offkorn Comment

    Cannon Busters is a bit of an odd series (which I suppose should be expected since it’s an adaptation of a western comic); there’s a notable contrast between the cartoonish animation and often dark/violent event developments that doesn’t always work. The comedic interplay between the protagonist’s mercenary exasperation and the two robots’ more innocent personalities on the other hand remains consistently entertaining throughout. The action scenes are so-so.

    Its greatest flaw in the end is that it’s unfinished, much like the source material, and the point where it ends does not engender much enthusiasm for a continuation.

    The Arifureta adaptation had a troubled production history, to the point that my expectations going in were rock bottom… which is a good place to be if you want to be pleasantly surprised. Which I was… to an extent. The setup and development here resembles Tate no Yuusha‘s, but the beginning is much too drawn out, the protagonist’s abilities don’t feel in any way natural, and the action scenes heavily feature some pretty awful CGI.

    The reaction and harem-related comedy is intermittently amusing, but the action is so bad and drama so generic that it’s barely worth bothering with even if you don’t mind skipping through large swathes of runtime to seek out the good bits.

    Also a quick note about two series I had a viscerally negative reaction to: Everything about Okaasan Online just screamed ‘turn it off!’ while the 2018 production of GeGeGe no Kitarou gave the impression it was made for elementary/middle schoolers.

    Continue reading → Post ID 8499

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    This entry was posted in 2019 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Action Adventure Arifureta Comedy Comic Adaptation Drama Ecchi Fantasy Finished Funimation Harem Incomplete Source LN Adaptation Netflix Paranormal Romance Science Fiction Series Televised

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