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Akukame
Joined: 09 Nov 2005
Posts: 117
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:27 am
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Panty and Stocking is such a polarizing show. I think it can pretty much broken down into 2 groups. Those that watched passed episode 2, and those that didn't. I actually think that there are a lot of people that didn't give the show a chance after the first 2 episodes, and they're really missing out on not just some great animation, but some really entertaining stories. The one thing you didn't mention about it though, that I think is also a strong selling point, is the amazing soundtrack by Taku Takahashi of M-Flo fame, with the lyrical songs written by Lisa (Former M-flo member) and Emyli (who often works with M-flo). Its a horribly dirty soundtrack, as dirty as the show, but its one of the most solid soundtracks to come out of any series in the past decade.
Fractale I think is similar though. The first couple episodes are rather bland and uneventful. But the show is such a conventional sci-fi show that I think it has definate appeal to non-anime fans. The whole style and feel of it is also very "old school" to me, and almost feels out of place with the anime that has been released in the past 2 or 3 years. It feels more like something out of the 80s or 90s, and I mean that in the best possible way.
Though, every time I hear Nessa scream "Uwaaaaaaa" (which is often) I can't help but associate the VA with Tsukimi from Kuragehime. It just has frustrated me with how many delays have been involved in the simulcast, due to it being pulled from hulu for a while, then the blizzard postponing it. I can't say its the series that has me most intrigued this season (that would have to go to Wandering Son or Madoka), but its something I always try to work into my schedule, which is has been hard.
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Fronzel
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:40 am
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Akukame wrote: | Panty and Stocking is such a polarizing show. I think it can pretty much broken down into 2 groups. Those that watched passed episode 2, and those that didn't. |
Akukame wrote: | ...those that didn't. |
How interesting; that describes me exactly.
Aside from less than a handful of good jokes, I had a dreary time watching those two episodes. Everything just seems to be "Panty had sex lol", especially the second story of the second episode. The interestingly atypical art-style can't rescue bad humor.
I never actually decided to ditch it, just stopped watching out of lack of interest. I guess I'll have to finally give it another try. I was certainly more disappointed than usual with a bad comedy; for something this daring and experimental not to produce anything worthwhile would be a real shame.
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Kenotic
Joined: 02 Mar 2007
Posts: 167
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:46 am
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Is there a 5th Fractale episode out already? I didn't see one posted at Hulu -- but maybe I'm just blind...
I watched two episodes of Panty and Stocking and gave up, so maybe I'll go back to it for a little while. I'm not a big fan of gross-out, and even Ren and Stimpy seemed to devolve into gross moments and characters just screaming after awhile. I'll give it a chance, just maybe not so quick after supper this time
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Emerje
Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7411
Location: Maine
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:19 am
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Kenotic wrote: | Is there a 5th Fractale episode out already? I didn't see one posted at Hulu -- but maybe I'm just blind... |
Nope, you are not mistaken, there was no episode in Japan this week, episode 5 airs next week.
Emerje
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enurtsol
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14889
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:28 am
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If the anime industry doesn't watch out, they would turn into like the American comic industry.
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Penguin_Factory
Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 732
Location: Ireland
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:31 am
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My dislike for Panty and Stocking has nothing to do with the designs and everything to do wit the fact that it's juvenile and idiotic. I'd love to see other, better series being produced with a similar aesthetic.
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Charred Knight
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:00 am
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I watched a few of the later episodes, and I am a huge fan of western anime and I simply didn't like Panty and Stocking. The final battle was fairly random, and only had the occasional joke, the ending was full on shocking swerve that didn't amount to anything. The only really great scene was the part where they ripped off Romeo + Juliet.
I have to ask you the question: would you refer to the cast of Queen's Blade or Seikon no Quaser free spirits? Would you refer to Lindsay Lohan as a free spirit? I mean calling Panty a free spirit is like calling me big boned.
Panty and Stocking just lacks any real variety, and is full of lazy writing. It's just a bunch of running gags strung together into a script.
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swienke
Joined: 18 May 2009
Posts: 245
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:16 am
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Eh? Erin's doing the Tsubasa OVA's next week?
Yay!
I happen to love those things like there's no tomorrow. They're just soooooooo darn pretty, and the music is suitably epic.
I have to wonder though, have you read the manga? Because if you haven't there's going to be a lot of "WTF?! What is going on?" moments in store for you. Just a warning.
And I am terribly sad that they animated the Nihon arc, but not the Infinity and Celes arcs. They're the two best arcs in the manga, and they get skipped.
As for Fractale, I only watched the first episode and then got kind of bored (and the simulcast fiasco with poor Funimation kind of put me off of it), but your review has encouraged me to pick it back up again. It certainly had potential, but I really wasn't sure if it would run with it or get stuck in magical-girl/harem-land.
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maaya
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:21 am
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Fractale has been really disappointing so far. Maybe I was expecting too much from the noitamina slot, but I wanted some nice science-fiction, maybe deep, but I'm fine with slice of life, if it's done well. Most of all, I wanted a show aimed at a mature audience, that can be taken seriously.
Instead I get the most standard "girl falls on main guy and has to get nacked" stuff, that I really, really didn't want to see here >.> Then the series adds this annoying little monster called Nessa and really stupid comedy-fanservice stuff. And if that isn't enough the "bad guys" (first Team Rocket, then the Temple's priest) are retarded ... maybe they are supposed to be funny, but either way, impossible to take them seriously. And we already got the first plot holes after only 4 episodes (yea, they might still be explained. I really want to know what Phryne was trying to do when she jumped off her plane down a cliff ... suicide? For sure, it wasn't just to make it look cool and like Nausicaa ...).
Fractale really feels like a children's anime so far ><
Quote: | It makes me happy that Azuma said he wanted Fractale to appeal to foreigners and not just Japanese otaku, |
I don't think he said that, for sure not in the referenced article, which isn't even about Azuma, but the director Yamamoto. But even he doesn't really say that Fractale is supposed to appeal to foreigners. Rather a mainstream, non-otaku audience in general.
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Emerje
Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7411
Location: Maine
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:39 am
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maaya wrote: | ...but I'm fine with slice of life, if it's done well. Most of all, I wanted a show aimed at a mature audience, that can be taken seriously.
...
Fractale really feels like a children's anime so far >< |
Um, did you even watch past the first episode? The show is far from being slice of life, is pretty mature, and I can't remember the last time I watched a kids show where there was a terrorist shoot-out with civilians (men, women, and CHILDREN) getting killed in the crossfire. It's quite the change, you go from two and a half episodes of moe frolicking and wide-eyed exploration to a blood bath at the end of the third episode, and these terrorists are supposed to be the good guys.
Emerje
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v1cious
Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6229
Location: Houston, TX
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:27 am
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Meh, haters gonna hate. I personally enjoyed Panty & Stocking a lot. May be my favorite show out of the fall season (Star Driver is a huge disappointment so far). I liked how Gainax experimented with so many different styles. I mean come on, they had a whole entire episode where they just sit on the couch. The soundtrack and animation were also great. I challenge you to find another show out of fall that had such awesome action sequences.
Last edited by v1cious on Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:43 am; edited 4 times in total
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Brack
Joined: 15 Oct 2005
Posts: 291
Location: UK
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:27 am
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Charred Knight wrote: |
Panty and Stocking just lacks any real variety |
Well this is demonstrably not true.
You've got Vomiting Point with Osamu Kobayashi piling on his realist styling.
You've got Chuck to the Future's short films.
You've got the single shot Nothing to Room.
That's not to mention individual sequences within episodes like the Saving Private Ryan parody of Pulp Addiction or the run through the history of the world in Once Upon A Time In Garterbelt.
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Charred Knight
Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:32 am
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Brack wrote: |
Charred Knight wrote: |
Panty and Stocking just lacks any real variety |
Well this is demonstrably not true.
You've got Vomiting Point with Osamu Kobayashi piling on his realist styling.
You've got Chuck to the Future's short films.
You've got the single shot Nothing to Room.
That's not to mention individual sequences within episodes like the Saving Private Ryan parody of Pulp Addiction or the run through the history of the world in Once Upon A Time In Garterbelt. |
Fine there was a little variety.
For a series with as many short episodes as Panty and Stocking had their was simply too many episodes where some bodily function was the main source of humor.
v1cious wrote: | Meh, haters gonna hate. I personally enjoyed Panty & Stocking a lot. May be my favorite show out of the fall season (Star Driver is a huge disappointment so far. I liked how Gainax experimented with so different styles. I mean come on, they had a whole entire episode where they just sit on the couch. The soundtrack and animation were also great. I challenge you to find another show out of fall that had such awesome action sequences. |
I like several series, I just didn't like Panty and Stocking. I never defend a series I like by claiming that a person is a troll. Even if you limit to new series in one season then I would still say that SRW Inspectors had better action scenes.
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maaya
Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 976
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:47 am
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Emerje wrote: | Um, did you even watch past the first episode? |
Sure, else I wouldn't despise Nessa >.>
But yea, the end of episode 3 actually got my hopes up (but maybe you should add some spoiler tags in your post), just for episode 4 to let me down again. It looked like finally they were going to get serious, just to introduce some retarded villain doing quiz shows waiting for his suicidal prey to escape and apparently not very intelligent we-knew-about-you-all-along-and-still-didn't-put-any-good-security-around-our-festival-brain-washing-temple =/
But having no security seems to be kinda common sense in this world, since half-kidnapped Clain gets to run around freely and can just walk into really-and-very-easily-kidnapped-after-she-somehow-beamed-herself-into-the-middle-of-the-festival Phryne's room.
Of course, the fanservice makes it clear that this isn't for children ... but it still feels like it most of the time v.v Oh well, there are still half of the episodes left ... maybe Fractale will actually pull itself together and get better. I definitely hope so.
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Swissman
Joined: 11 May 2006
Posts: 796
Location: Switzerland
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:21 am
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maaya wrote: | Of course, the fanservice makes it clear that this isn't for children ... but it still feels like it most of the time v.v Oh well, there are still half of the episodes left ... maybe Fractale will actually pull itself together and get better. I definitely hope so. |
Have you ever seen Nadia - The Secret of Blue Water? Because Fractale, as an adventure show with a science fiction background, is quite similar in mood and character to Nadia.
Nadia was supposed to be a show for young audiences, an early evening show full of adventures with some good sidekick characters like King or the Grandis Trio; that however didn't stop Gainax to fill some episodes with fanservice and frequently insert some dark moments in the plot (Nemo shooting an enemy trooper in front of Nadia, anyone?)
I'd say, if you have never seen Nadia, give this classic a chance. Then you'll understand why Fractale alternates between silly scenes which seems for kids and more serious stuff like the end of episode 3.
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