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Various thoughts on a variety of topics.

Various Thoughts

Various thoughts on a variety of topics.

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  • Tag Archives Romance
  • Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shite shimatta… & Lapis Re:LiGHTs

    Posted on November 3, 2020 2:28 am by Offkorn 1 Comment

    The show with the excessively long title (which can be more sensibly shorted to HameFura if you’re so inclined) is a slightly unconventional isekai variant in which the protagonist doesn’t actually have any notable abilities. Her lack of notable skill is, in fact, apparently the very reason all the other characters like her so much (well, that and the way she unconsciously steals all the character-specific romance events for herself). This presents a problem; there’s not much of a reason to root for someone who continually fails into success after all.

    A slightly more conventional ‘magical academy’ series, Lapis Re:Lights starts out featuring some pretty generic character behavior and event developments. Unilaterally forcing Tiara into Rosetta’s group at the beginning was completely unnecessary and leaves a bad taste, while the eventual idol reveal in the second episode (which almost completely invalidates the setting’s premise) is just soul-crushingly banal. I couldn’t bring myself to go any further.

    Then there’s also Honzuki no Gekokujou, another reincarnation-based fantasy isekai with an unpowered protagonist, which I long suspected wouldn’t appeal to me based on said protagonist being a child. A suspicion that turned out to be completely accurate.

    Continue reading → Post ID 8660

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    This entry was posted in 2020 - Spring 2020 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Comedy Dramatic Support Dropped Fantasy Finished Harem Idol Incomplete Source LN Adaptation Mixed Media Project Music Romance School Life Series Televised
  • Sundry Anime Movies

    Posted on October 11, 2020 3:19 am by Offkorn 1 Comment
      Gekijouban: FAIRY TAIL – DRAGON CRY
      The improved animation (compared to the parent series) is offset by the worse character artwork and massive pacing hit watching it where it supposedly takes place (post-episode 285) causes. Content-wise it’s effectively a generic battle shounen filler movie.
      Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Fine
      The franchise‘s conclusion begins by almost entirely sidelining the harem aspects to focus on Megumi and how her comments regarding the game mirror her real-life relationship with Aki… only to have the entire thing derailed by a completely unrelated dramatic development about a third of the way through which inexplicably reintroduces the harem elements. They had a natural ending right there only to go and water down and delay it via contrived drama. Why?
      Goblin Slayer -Goblin’s crowN-
      It starts out with a 25-minute recap of the first season (focusing on the violence and rape; which is an odd choice considering the initial reaction to that season was mostly split between ‘the first episode is nothing like the rest of the series’ and ‘the series is nothing but rape’). Such baffling production decisions. As for the new content, the quality level ends up slightly worse the prequel… assuming you go in expecting a double-length TV episode rather than a movie. If you go in actually expecting a movie it will probably end up mostly disappointing.
      HUMAN LOST
      While inspired by No Longer Human and including some of its major plot points, this movie changes far too much to be considered an adaptation (so best to just forget about that if you haven’t already). It’s an action-drama now and a gorgeous work of desolation and futility… though I feel the giant monster and final fight in the ‘void’ were overkill.
      BURN ✠HE WITCH
      Taking place in the same universe as Bleach, being set in a completely different location (one with more of a Harry Potter vibe to it), this movie focuses entirely on the franchise’s magic system rather than item-based or physical combat. It starts off well enough with crisp artwork, fluid combat animation, and mostly decent characters. The problem is with one particular character: Balgo. He’s awful and has no reason to exist beyond being awful and causing some of the most contrived plot developments I’ve recently had the misfortune of being exposed to.
      Sora no Aosa o Shiru Hito yo
      While the movie works decently enough as a music-themed relationship drama for about 3/4ths of its runtime (leavened by ample comic relief), the vaguely Anohana-like supernatural elements don’t really add anything. It doesn’t have much of an ending either, with events being resolved in the most arbitrary manner possible and an epilogue taking the form of still images embedded in the credit roll.

    Related posts:

    1. Miku Hatsune Concerts Doremi has been releasing some of them subbed, and while...

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    This entry was posted in 2017 - Spring 2019 - Autumn 2020 - Autumn 2020 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Anime Original Battle Shounen Comedy Comic Adaptation Comic Relief Crunchyroll Drama Fairy Tail Fantasy Funimation Goblin Slayer Harem Incomplete Source LN Adaptation Movie Music Romance Saekano Science Fiction Urban Fantasy
  • The Way of Kings & Words of Radiance

    Posted on October 3, 2020 10:32 am by Offkorn Comment

    The first novel in Brandon Sanderson‘s Stormlight Archive series reminds me of R. Scott Bakker’s Aspect-Emperor series. Mostly in structure and length, but also slightly in content (it’s nowhere near as dark/gritty or philosophy-laden though… which could go either way depending on your personal tastes).

    It starts out pretty boring while laying the groundwork, picks up markedly by the halfway point, and becomes downright exciting toward the end. Aside from the questionable beginning, the only real issue I had with it were Kaladin and Shallan both acting pretty stupid much of the time. With a book the size of this one you wouldn’t think a mere two characters’ actions could drag it down, but they both end up central to the story it wants to tell. The intermittent flashbacks to Kaladin’s past aren’t particularly interesting either.

    The second novel, Words of Radiance, pretty much entirely redeems Shallan… but Kaladin relapses for a while. I’m also still not fond of the flashback segments (this time focusing on Shallan) and the random character resurrection at the end seems, well, random and ill thought out. That said, overall it’s notably more consistent than the prequel and I’m definitely invested in seeing how the story develops from here.

    Related posts:

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    2. Hidden Legacy: Books 1-5 When I first saw this series announced, I pretty much...
    3. OATHBRINGER & RHYTHM of WAR The third of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive novels benefits greatly...
    4. Recent Books Normally I do these three at a time… but, well…...
    5. Housekeeping Mage from Another World #1-3 & The White Cat’s Revenge The Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu series (English subtitle: Making...

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    This entry was posted in Book Related and tagged Brandon Sanderson Cosmere Fantasy Romance Stormlight Archive
  • Sword Art Online: Alicization & War of Underworld

    Posted on September 23, 2020 5:37 am by Offkorn 1 Comment

    There are a great many problems with the three part sequel to the SAO Ordinal Scale movie.

    The central one is the ill-conceived fusion of the sci-fi modern day plotline and Underworld’s essentially stand-alone fantasy plotline. The two never had any reason to mix. Assassin’s Creed does something similar, and the criticisms about the way that franchise mixes its past/present settings hold doubly true here since Underworld is effectively self-contained as opposed to being a reflection. The author could have easily wrote Alice and Eugeo’s story as its own thing with no association whatsoever to Kirito’s group and ended up with a far more consistent and immersive product.

    Pretty much all of the remaining issues can be tied back to Kirito’s involvement with the story; spontaneous power-ups, random cameo appearances, last minute saves, questionable character motivation, harem elements, and bizarre plot twists all. Really, the only flaw that can truly be called its own is the re-occurring theme of using psychosexual megalomaniacs as main villains.

    Vaguely related to all of that in a ‘you can probably watch this if you’re a fan of the genre’ sense are the series Runway de Warrette and Princess Connect! ReDive. The first of which is a fashion industry-focused Cinderella story overloaded with assholes who magically become nice while the latter is a conventional fantasy action-comedy whose protagonist has the personality of a particularly dull puppy.

    Continue reading → Post ID 8660

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    This entry was posted in 2018 - Autumn 2019 - Autumn 2019 - Winter 2020 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Action Battle Shounen Comic Relief Crunchyroll Drama Fantasy Finished Hulu LN Adaptation Romance SAO Science Fiction Series Televised Virtual World
  • 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 8660

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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
  • 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
  • I⊃:INVΛ⊃≡⊃ & Inception

    Posted on August 26, 2020 10:21 am by Offkorn Comment

    ID: Invaded is a series in the vein of Psycho-Pass if Psycho-Pass readings resembled Inception‘s dream-diving. It’s far more of a mystery-thriller than an action series however and unfortunately gets weird in a manner similar to King of Thorn toward the end (the Akane stand-in being made even smaller is another oddity).

    Speaking of Inception, that happens to be a movie I’ve referenced a time or two in the past in relation to newer works… yet, I never actually saw the whole thing. I had only seen the trailer and read the Wikipedia summary.

    Having now watched it, it doesn’t appear I was missing much. It’s not as mind-bendy as you would think (Doctor Strange gets weirder than it does) and in effect just ends up a variation on the standard heist movie formula popularized by movies like Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job. Which doesn’t make it not worth watching… just that the description evokes something more innovative than the reality.

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    This entry was posted in 2020 - Winter Anime Related Movie & TV Related and tagged Anime Original Funimation Movie Mystery Romance Science Fiction Series Televised Thriller Workplace
  • Tejina Senpai & ITAI no wa IYA nano de BOUGYORYOKU ni KYOKUFURI Shitai to OMOIMASU.

    Posted on August 23, 2020 4:19 pm by Offkorn 1 Comment

    The half-length episode series Tejina Senpai starts out as an amusing enough version of Ueno-san, only to run out of steam partway through and lean ever more heavily on lewdness as a crutch. The joke variety is also lacking and the additional two members that eventually get added to the club don’t really help much in that department (unless you’re a fan of inexplicable pseudo-incest).

    Also a comedy, Bofuri takes the virtual fantasy land action-adventure aspects of Sword Art Online and combines them with a somewhat random style of reaction humor focusing on Mary Sue parody. Before the guild gets formed most of the amusement comes from the sharp contrast between Maple’s appearance/personality and fondness for unintentional brutality… and this part of the show works fantastically. Eventually however it leans too far into the ‘overpowered main character’ shtick to the point event developments become tiresome. Remarkably high-quality action scenes throughout though.

    That’s the danger of parody: You run the risk of becoming the very thing you’re trying to laugh at.

    Continue reading → Post ID 8660

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    This entry was posted in 2019 - Summer 2020 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Adventure Comedy Comic Adaptation Crunchyroll Ecchi Fantasy Finished Funimation Incomplete Source Novel Adaptation Parody Romance School Life Science Fiction Series Televised Virtual World
  • LEGIⓧN & THE ALIENIST

    Posted on August 21, 2020 11:35 am by Offkorn Comment

    Based off of a Marvel Comics’ character, the 3-season television series Legion is a study in high-concept insanity. It takes guts to make something so deliberately incoherent, to essentially thread together one concept episode after another until you have a consistently inconsistent schizophrenic tapestry… that I can’t deny. Doesn’t mean it’s worth watching though.

    The Alienist is something quite a bit different. A Victorian era thriller with police procedural elements set in New York City, its first season mainly busies itself with highlighting police corruption and reminding people that prostitution is a gender-neutral profession. I’m not at all surprised that it had a middling reception (though I liked the first half or so), especially since the narrative basically falls apart once the focus shifts to ‘the west’.

    The second season, subtitled Angel of Darkness, puts a greater focus on Sara and women’s suffrage in general with the murder victims being babies this time rather than adolescents. The corruption elements here come across as excessive/overwhelming and the work as a whole almost feels less like a thriller and more like soapbox preaching. Meaning I can’t really recommend watching this series either.

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    This entry was posted in Movie & TV Related and tagged Action Comic Adaptation Drama History Marvel Comics Mystery Novel Adaptation Paranormal Romance Romance Series Televised Thriller Urban Fantasy
  • WITCHBLADE & HOMELAND

    Posted on August 6, 2020 1:42 pm by Offkorn Comment

    The turn of the century TV adaptation of the comicbook series Witchblade begins with a movie. Being almost entirely an action-drama (there’s some supernatural mystery in there as well), it suffers rather severely from the fact that the action scenes are mostly ridiculous. More than anything they bring to mind a super sentai series… making it prohibitively difficult to take the drama seriously.

    Homeland is also a TV series, one which thankfully doesn’t appear to suffer from unintentional comedy (just frontloaded gratuitous nudity). The first season is a combination of thriller and familial drama which comes across something like “Hex: The Early Years”. On the face of things that shouldn’t have been much of a problem, but the early ‘fuck people’s privacy!’ theme is taken to Stalker-ish extremes and almost ends up a deal-killer.

    The second season is a continuation of the first, following a timeskip, which slows things down with more of a focus on secret-agenty behavior and personal trauma. The third picks up shortly after and amps up the personal drama quite a bit. At this juncture the re-occurring psychiatric issues subplot (and accompanying mental institution committals) becomes actively aggravating. It also happens to be the point the series starts focusing a hell of a lot more on Saul than Carrie.

    Season 4 is something of a soft reboot which makes the odd choice to replace the adultery-related drama with childcare drama only to almost immediately drop the topic completely, while also going well out of its way to shoehorn in more psychiatric issues. Seriously… what the fuck? And if that weren’t bad enough, the 5th season (picking up two years after S4’s conclusion) goes completely off the rails.

    It’s strange… the show makes so many odd choices and sends so many conflicting signals that it’s tough to get a read on it. The early seasons are both good and bad. Regardless, if you do decide to give it a chance, you should definitely stop watching at the end of S4 (if you can make it that far). Maybe go watch Jormungand after for the Hex/Bookman parallels.

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    This entry was posted in Movie & TV Related and tagged Action Comic Adaptation Drama Movie Mystery Romance Series Televised Thriller Urban Fantasy Workplace

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