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Shelf Life - Convenience Store Boy Friends




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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:06 am Reply with quote
Quote:
I'm just hoping this doesn't make life more complicated for next season's Preview Guide.


I suspect that this change will leave us all pining for the "Good Old Days".

Mark Gosdin
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DigitalScratch





PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:36 am Reply with quote
I actually watched Convenience Store Boy Friends from beginning to end when it was airing and the review was pretty much right on the money. It’s completely forgettable and I went through every episode feeling nothing. Characters are bland, the animation and style isn’t note worthy, and the romance isn’t fun to watch. I’m not even sure why I kept up with it. Probably because it made good background noise.

What made me roll my eyes the most was spoiler[when it was revealed that one girl had a dead identical twin and it was the twin the main boy met in his childhood, not her.] Like wow, the anime really went there. The plot and romance played itself way too safe and vanilla to warrant a twist like that.


Last edited by DigitalScratch on Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:37 am; edited 1 time in total
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rahzel rose
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Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Posts: 834
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:37 am Reply with quote
I just watched CSB for the second time last week because I wanted something cute and lighthearted. I enjoyed it just as much as the first time, although it’s definitely just fluff. I wish we had gotten more on all the other couples, but I can understand why they only went with two.

This show is so true to life, though, with regards to convenience stores. I used to live a block away from a 7-11, and I was in there all the time. Those were good days.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4161
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:52 am Reply with quote
Convenience Store Boyfriends was completely forgettable and I liked it that way. I didn't regret watching it, I'll put it that way and for sake of comparison, there's Glasslip which, even with its PA Works pedigree of real quality animation, do regret watching.

I've seen enough anime at this point that I'll take something immediately forgettable than forever regrettable.
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Takkun4343



Joined: 19 Jul 2007
Posts: 1591
Location: Englewood, Ohio
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:30 am Reply with quote
I saw the series and while I did like it, I knew right away that it was going to get a Perishable rating without even having to click on the actual article. Just like Shining Hearts before it.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:52 am Reply with quote
Let's see...

Endride, Made in Abyss (this would have been awesome on Toonami), and Witch Hunter Robin are all going on my to buy list.

Takkun4343 wrote:
Just like Shining Hearts before it.


A sad reminder of how abominably low the Shining series has sunk, if Resonance wasn't enough of an indication at this point.
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Merxamers



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 720
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:58 pm Reply with quote
Releases like CSB really makes me wonder about the localization process here in the US. Are licenses package deals, like the Japanese company made them take a few terrible series like this, along with another better one? I just don't see who would buy this one, along with other recent head scratchers like XechS and Ange Vierge. I watched the first episode of CSB with my watch group while it was current, and my impressions match the review; forgettably bland.
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DerekL1963
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Joined: 14 Jan 2015
Posts: 1122
Location: Puget Sound
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 1:36 pm Reply with quote
Merxamers wrote:
Releases like CSB really makes me wonder about the localization process here in the US. Are licenses package deals, like the Japanese company made them take a few terrible series like this, along with another better one?


I watched Kombeni Kareshi because the PV looked good... Presumably the license was picked up on the same basis.

Hindsight is always 20/20.
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LightningCount



Joined: 04 Mar 2018
Posts: 238
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:05 pm Reply with quote
Woah, Witch Hunter Robin is being re-released? Like, tomorrow? I remember it was license-rescued years ago, but then there was radio silence about it. I'm surprised this has popped up without any sort of serious fanfare or advertising. I mean, I'm a fan and keep up with releases, but even I didn't hear this was coming so soon.

Psycho Pass was basically Witch Hunter Robin meets Naoki Urasawa's Monster meets Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex. If you liked any of those three series, you should give this one a look. Witch Hunter Robin got some buzz when it first came out--it even inspired Western producers to pursue making a live-action TV series (which never came into being). While it's a little uneven and reuses too much animation here and there, it's grown on me over the years and is now one of my favorite series for how human its character interactions are, how great its story twists are, and how natural yet intriguing and atmospheric its world is. Even though it deals with supernatural stuff, I personally found it a better experience, and with better art direction, than the more popular Psycho Pass, which, again, unintentionally or not, borrowed A LOT of things from Witch Hunter Robin.

I'm not really digging the cover art here; pretty plain. And apparently this is DVD and digital-only, which isn't devastating, but makes me think it might be pretty similar to the Bandai release I already have...and seemingly stripped of all the special features to boot. It does say it's 4 DVDs now instead of 6--which could be good or bad depending on compression, and I see different sources saying widescreen and others saying 4:3...and the trailer looks like the old release, 4:3. I wish there was clearer marketing on this, as in the post-Cowboy Bebop pantheon of the early 2000s, this was kind of a big deal, with an Adult Swim airing.

This was a series that was one of those digi-paint transition series, but it's really artistically directed by the same fellow who went on to do Ergo Proxy and Genocidal Organ. The dub and music are excellent, too--we're talking top-notch. The designs go off model depending on the episode, but the designs themselves are some of the best I've seen if you're into a more realistic style that still has some anime quirks. It may be somewhat rough around the edges, but this show is one of those experimental anime gems we'll probably never quite see the likes of again.

ANN editorial director Zac Bertschy's first reaction back in 2003 in the review that was referenced in this article stated in conclusion: "One of the best anime series of all time, certainly the best one this year."
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3450
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:53 pm Reply with quote
Witch hunter robin was indeed very good, but it suffered from a weak second portion so I think that's why it's not as fondly remembered. Some of the visual also are a bit dated now.

But its definitely a style that doesn't exist anymore, both visually and storytelling, it's weird how those disappeared after the huge success that was stand alone complex.
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GeorgeC



Joined: 22 Nov 2008
Posts: 795
PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:52 am Reply with quote
I'm surprised Witch Hunter Robin wasn't remastered for Blu ray... They might have sold some copies. I've got the old Bandai (or is it Geneon?) release so I'm not double-dipping.

Other than that, pretty mediocre week of home video releases.
It's going to get insane next month, though...
They're (Eastern Star/Discotek) are finally re-releasing The Legend of the Gold of Babylon on Blu ray. I can remember when both Animeigo and Discotek announced DVDs but didn't release the film on DVD in the end. I think Animeigo literally released a few films (Baoh, Lupin: Fuma Conspiracy, and the second release of the Oh My Goddess OVAs) a month before their licenses expired. Hope that doesn't happen with Babylon of Blu ray but I'm getting. Once they announced the dub and the fact that the film was restored, they pushed me from my reluctance to get it. It's not the best-looking Lupin III feature but it's not a bad story,either, and there's some great action sequences in it.

September and October this year, though? Pretty bleh...
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asilenttree



Joined: 28 Mar 2018
Posts: 32
Location: California
PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:48 am Reply with quote
Convenience Store Boyfriends was so boring--I couldn't make myself get through it, even while I was doing errands when streaming. I normally love the spoiler[nerdy girl + cool guy] trope, but Mami was freaking terrible to spoiler[the poor guy, and only started showing interest when he was over her crappy attitude and started to ignore her.] It's a pretty forgettable series, and even the characters themselves seemed bored most of the time.
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RegSuzaku



Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 273
Location: Ikebukuro
PostPosted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 11:26 am Reply with quote
. . . . . . . . . . fffff after paying Japan prices for some things, I feel guilty for getting all of TsukiAni for that cheap.

I mean. It's not great, and it probably is worth literally 1/8 the price of one of the stage plays on bluray.

It does look awful and I do cringe when I see the visuals from it sometimes.

(and it doesn't come with the ending song CDs which were exclusive to the blurays in Japan, which might be the only reason some people bought the discs but...)

After throwing obscene amounts of yen at my fandom almost daily, I shouldn't feel guilty for getting 13 episodes for 1/3 the price of 2 episode here, but...

still....

(I still maintain that it's better than anything U** no P****** or I******# have ever made, though)
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