Forum - View topicThe Mike Toole Show - Irrational Treasures
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jtron
 Posts: 185 Location: Chicago |
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Here's the song from Cromartie episode 3, BTW
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2680 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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This is such a specific concept that I wasn't sure if I could think of one "irrational treasure", but then I suddenly remembered one: Episode 3 of AWOL -Absent WithOut Leave-, "The Return of Fuga".
First & foremost, AWOL is an absolutely terrible anime, & that's primarily because it feels like a short OVA series, likely no more than four or five episodes, was forced into becoming a 12-episode TV series. This results in the first two episodes literally doing nothing more than establishing that the villains did something evil (in this case, stealing some ballistic missile), & seeing an initial task force fail in stopping the villains; this could all be explained within a single episode. Not just that, but the "main character" isn't properly introduced in these first two episodes, and you don't even find out his name (unless you looked at the end credits) until the very end of Episode 2. No, the proper introduction for the hero is in Episode 3, which is easily the best episode of the entire series. It shows the hero in action, detailing how he leads a team to rescue a hostage, only to find out that the hostage is in fact working with the terrorists, and how he silently refuses to wear the badge of honor he got for it, because of how tainted the mission was. Unfortunately, nothing in this episode has any relevance to the main plot of the story whatsoever; even the terrorists shown here have nothing to do with the main villains! In fact, when Japan was given a recut OVA version of AWOL for its home video release (that country never got the TV version on home video), the entirety of Episode 3 was cut out, even though nothing else in the anime even comes close to how good this episode was. Another pick would have to be Episode 39 of Champion Joe 2, "Two Wild Animals in the Jungle". Throughout the entire Ashita no Joe story, even from the very beginning, the boxing was handled is a realistic, if highly dramatized, fashion, but right before the final fight with José Mendoza, Joe Yabuki has to fight Harimau, a Malaysian tribal warrior who was found by a British anthropologist & taught how to box. The entire point of this fight is to re-ignite Joe's "fighting spirit", as he sort-of-lover Yoko Shiraki feels that he's become too much of a focused boxer to fight the World Champion, and that Joe needs to regain the animalistic drive that he used to fight with. In turn, Harimau is not your standard boxer, and for the only time in Ashita no Joe, we have a boxing match that's more like the over-the-top spectacle that shonen action series would become more known for. Hariumau jumps all over the ring to avoid punches, jumps off of the ring ropes for aerial assaults, and can even do multiple spins in mid-air before delivering a rotationally-powered uppercut. Without a doubt, Street Fighter's Blanka had to have heavily influenced by Harimau, especially the spinning that they both do, and the way Joe has to defeat Harimau is nothing close to the way a boxing match would normally end. Still, the Joe/Harimau fight is super intense, wild, & instantly memorable. 
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Blatch
 Thread Killer Posts: 348 Location: Northeast U.S. |
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I'm not sure if it's an "irrational" pick, but the anime episode I absolutely adore is Episode 20 of the 2011 IDOLM@STER sersies. For a guy who's pretty cynical about most of the entertainment industry, seeing the end of spoiler[Chihaya's arc about her dead brother] and the subsequent performance won me over about idols. If the performers themselves are able to overcome such tragedy like that, I guess none of us normal folk have an excuse. It was awesome, and considering that the real dramatic climax of the show was much weaker, this probably should've been at the end.
Some other picks I have are: the premiere of Mr. Osomatsu and Episode 10 of Anime-Gataris (which, admittedly, I haven't seen), both for being meta as hell; the hilarious Episode 14 of Space Dandy; and S1E5 of Squid Girl, as its last segment manages to pack in more emotion than some shows have in their entire runs. |
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Darkabomination
Posts: 89 |
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Episode 12 of Dennou Coil, which starts with the show's silliest concept, with digital mustaches ending up on people's faces, spreading like viruses, even the girls. Then a civilization of mustache people develop and co-exist on each face until they discover the concept of inter-facial war. It's an episode that's a fantastic piece of stand-alone science fiction starting hilariously, and ending a somber note about war and the human conditionA F.
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KyokoBestMeguca
Posts: 24 |
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I think it was episode 29 of the original Gundam. Amuro goes to an island and ends up murdering the guy who runs an orphanage. Nothing happens to Amuro because of it and nobody ever mentions it again.
The Sucy in Wonderland episode from Little Witch Academia. It's pretty much perfect in my eyes because it turns the cute whimsy up to 11 and doesn't really bother with the main plot at all. Whichever episode of Heavy Object has the eight minute faservice scene of the MCs' commanding officer lifting weights. It's not something I've seen anywhere else and it's a kind of fanservice we definitely need more of. Episode 7? of Hinamatsuri. The desert island episode which is recent enough don't think I need to describe it. All the episodes of Mushishi are one-offs so I'm not sure this counts, but the Voice of Rust episode from the first season is one of the most disconcerting things I've ever seen animated. |
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Netero
Posts: 172 |
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Sora no Woto episode 7 for me. It was CGDCT up to then, but that episode changed things dramatically.
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Triltaison
 Posts: 796 |
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Chargeman Ken's "Dynamite in the Brain" is a world treasure.
Speed Racer's "The Car Hater" features a man on horseback whipping cars as revenge for the death of his wife. This episode is fantastic. Although, to be fair, most Speed Racer episodes are great for this category. Excel Saga's "Animation USA" is probably my favorite from the series because of the underground market of child slave labor making obsolete animation cels for the mob in the digital era. Excel's Sailor Moon speech by Mitsuishi is quite a treat, too. Runner up is the bowling episode, and that lovely background lady bowling in every shot. Speaking of Sailor Moon, I love the episode where everyone is chasing an obese cat named Rhett Butler in the sewers and Zoisite keeps getting attacked by literal waves of rats. Utena's curry episode still amuses me with how completely superfluous it is. Early seasons of Pokémon have some totally inconsequential and equally unforgettable episodes. Metapod vs. Metapod in "Challenge of the Samurai" is still a great moment. I also love "Holy Matrimony," for James' insane parents and its Dog of Flanders parody. And for the ludicrous, there's "The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis" (featuring giant Pokémon out to kill us all) and "Clefairy Tales" (featuring alien Clefairy kleptomaniacs powering their spaceship with junk from the town near their crash site). Special mention to "Holiday Hi-jynx," which includes a Jynx ruining Jessie's Christmas and a visit from Santa Claus. One last one! I really love the episode of PLANETES where the smoking machine is broken and Fee goes a little bonkers. |
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harminia
 Posts: 2055 Location: australia |
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Okay, first off, my favourite arc in Dragon Ball Z is the Great Saiyaman arc. I know a lot of people hate it but I watched it over and over again. Gohan's school life adventures are dear to me.
I don't really watch Naruto but I have seen an assortment of episodes and the fillers are my favourite. There's the 2-part Mecha Naruto series, where Naruto and friends fight a robot Naruto who wants to steal his chakra, and culminates in Naruto and Mecha Naruto joining forces to become some sort of Iron Man like being. I also love the episode where Naruto is on a bot with his shadow clones, and they all have different personalities and start teaming up on him and try to kill him. Then there's the episode where Sakura loses her memory and everyone has to try and get it back by acting the way she thinks they are, which is the opposite of what they're really like (ROAD TO SAKURA). Similarly was the episode of Ten Ten's tsukuyomi dream where people have different personalities and Sasuke is a total play boy. On a serious appreciation note, I really enjoyed the Itachi's Story of Light & Darkness arc. It was well animated and kept me engrossed, even though I'm not a Naruto fan. I'm also not a fan of Fairy Tail but the filler episode Fairy Tail of the Dead MEEEEENNNNN is the best episode. Everyone starts turning into Ichiya zombies, and it takes riffs directly from classic zombie movies. On another serious appreciation note, my favourite show is Shiki, and the OVA about Motoko is one of my favourite episodes. Her panic and mental breakdown were portrayed well. She was more scared of humans in general than vampires. Well, anyway, in short, I love fillers. I feel like the only person who, when faced with a long running show like Naruto etc, I'd only watch the fillers and not the actual storyline (though Jiraiya's book arc is a bit too much for me). You know those lists of "What episodes of Naruto to watch and what to skip"? I'd watch all the "Skip" ones. Last edited by harminia on Sun Aug 05, 2018 6:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Lactobacillus yogurti
 Posts: 852 Location: Latin America |
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What about the Bleach episodes where spoiler[they basically make a parody of Gatchaman with Kon in Ichigo's body as the leader?]
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Takkun4343
 Posts: 1579 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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Every time Lord Geo talks about AWOL is a treasure, even if him complaining about how its slow pace sinks it as a whole makes it a double-edged sword.
My favorite anime episode most people wouldn't understand is episode 14 of Akame ga KILL!, "Kill the Giant Dangerous Beast". It's a whole half-hour of Tatsumi/Esdeath shipping, which is enough to sate my waifuism, but what makes truly great is that it explains away Esdeath's murder-happiness in a way that actually seems plausible given all the stupid B.S. that show gets away with, and that said explanation firmly convinces Tatsumi to stop hoping to convert her to the more righteous side of solving all your problems with murder. Bonus points for the visual novel gag harkening back to the early stages of the property's production history, when it was planned to be yet another one of Takahiro's eroge for MinatoSoft. Other picks include episode 5 of Shining Hearts, "As If Melting", for featuring best girl (Amil) prominently and being cute and relaxing compared to the plot-heavier episodes; episode 5 of Magical Girl Ore, "Magical Girl - On Vacation", because I love it when anime gets super meta in regards to the industry (and that super-subtle end gag with spoiler[the American army picking up Saki and Sakuyo from their Okinawa vacation to defeat the monster of the week]); and episode 2 of Oreimo 2, "The Onii-san I Trusted and Sent Off Can't Get This Hooked On Portable Bishoujo Games and Start Sexually Harassing Me", for somehow making me enjoy worst girl (Ayase), no doubt in part due to painting her as yandere crazy. 
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Triltaison
Posts: 796 |
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Oo! You reminded me of one of the Slayers series (I think Next or Try) that had Amelia encounter a village full of ninja people with '70s anime aesthetics. They all have big cowlicks covering one eye and like to stereotypically stare at sunsets and the like. Only, they're all elderly now but still act and look the same (only with grey hair and a few wrinkles). |
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horseradish
 SubscriberPosts: 574 Location: Bay Area |
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Ergo Proxy had some strange episodes in the middle that were atypical compared to the relatively straightforward cyberpunk style in the beginning. One bizarre episode in particular spoiler[ abruptly took place in a reality game show that revealed some trivia and backstory for the series] while another spoiler[featured a Walt Disney homage].
Casshern Sins also had the surreal episode spoiler[with Lyuze's dream sequence cut with black-and-white live-action shots of a woman who appeared to be dancing]. |
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Merxamers
 Posts: 720 |
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Trying to keep my list small, but there are many episodes that have stuck in my mind over the years;
Edit: sorry, didn't realize the prompt was "oddball" episodes and i just ended up listing my most memorable ones. A few of them count as oddball though i think Claymore - ep 8 - "Awakening" - The heaviest of what may be the best arc of my favorite series. Teresa finding her humanity again with the young Clare, her battle against the number 2-5 warriors, and her extended battle against the increasingly unstable and insane Priscilla; it's all fantastic stuff. I heavily suggest watching this episode with the english dub, Brina Palencia's performance as Priscilla in this episode still gives me chills. Beyond the Boundary - ep 6 - "Shocking Pink" - the best "filler" episode i've ever seen. It's hilarious to see how fully committed the group becomes to performing a great musical act by the end of the episode. Blood Blockade Battlefront - ep 3 - "A Game Between Two Worlds" - this episode, in my opinion, best expresses the unique art sensibilities of the director, Rie Matsumoto. The visuals have to be seen to be believed, like the insane chess match Klaus plays with an eldritch being in a surreal pocket dimension, while the game board and pieces keep expanding the longer the game lasts. Re:Zero - ep 13 - "Self-Proclaimed Knight Natsuki Subaru" - the most difficult-to-watch episode of anime i've ever seen. This is where Re:Zero's deconstruction of the otaku self-insert fantasy reaches its climax, and it is like nothing else i've ever seen. Maoyu - ep 1 - "-You will be mine, Hero. - I refuse!" - You ever thought you'd love an episode that is just two characters talking? Me neither, but this episode is what got me hooked on this overlooked gem. Lots of stories "subvert" classic fantasy tropes, but there's still something refreshing in how the "demon lord" explains to the hero why their countries are economically and politically dependent on indefinite war, and how they can change that. Princess Principal - ep 10 - "Case 22 Comfort Comrade" - This is the episode of this fantastic series that stuck with me the most. As Dorothy and Beatrice chase a double agent, we eventually learn that what we thought was a rivalry between two characters was something very different, and it has an ending that is so simultaneously dark, touching, and shocking, that only a series this good was able to pull it off without seeming exploitative. |
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John Thacker
Posts: 1009 |
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The twist at the end of Ga Rei Zero episode 1 was definitely crazy and divisive when it first came out, and the subject of a long disinformation campaign by the production team. Start with the fact that the prequel Ga Rei Zero is much more serious than the Ga Rei manga, and that the first episode is in medias res before a flashback to even earlier, but the truly divisive part is that the first episode spoiler[introduces an entirely new team only to kill them all in the last couple of minutes with basically no warning (other than some butterflies), setting the stage for the real team, which includes familiar characters from the original manga, in contradiction to all the promotional material, which focused on the people killed off in the first episode. Some of the dead show up in later flashback episodes as an almost Easter Egg.] There was an outcry when it first aired.
Also, I know that Mike Toole joins me in having an irrational appreciation of all of Ninja Slayer. Another ridiculous episode is in Katanagatari's fourth episode, where a particular battle (hyped up in the previous episodes and in the preview) takes place entirely offscreen (with comments at the end about how epic it was) while it shows entirely different action involving the main character's sister. |
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John Thacker
Posts: 1009 |
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That's in Try. It's part of the four episode filler arc featuring "Lina in a dress and experiences very weird things, it turns out to be a theme park," "the Gang must solve a Scooby type ghost mystery," "a fish-girl and the human who love each other, and end up both switching forms," and that one. A really fantastic set of filler episodes. Next's best filler episode is that absurd idol singing treasure one. |
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