Forum - View topicANNCast - Staff Infection
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The Count
 Posts: 303 Location: Milwaukee,WI |
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Haven't listened yet but let me be the first to say this is the best episode title.
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Seljuk
 Posts: 139 |
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I'll be listening to the first part, at least. I just want to say that I'm so excited for the Scott Pilgrim adaptation. Also, waiting for that final volume (July 20th!). That series just has so much condensed awesome.
Plus, Wallace is olev. "Smell that? It's BACON. Everything does NOT suck." |
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_V_
 Posts: 619 |
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Well now I'm cowering in my basement, barricaded behind a door, clutching a shotgun.
I have to say that I agree...Verbatim, with Zac's position. The first 2 seasons...well as Zac put it, season 2 of BSG was one of the best seasons of "television" ever made. But then a lot of writers left for Terminator: SCC, and it got lazy; gradually we realized that *there was never an actual master plan and they were making it plots as they went along*. The kind of thing people accused Lost of. So instead it just relied on as Zac puts it, "Cylon melodrama"...lots of maudlin melodrama. You see, many people try to defend it by saying "but even when it wasn't great it was still the best show on TV!"....no. compared to itself it had lots of problems. Basically, what was carrying the show was that the actors were A-list movie-quality people: Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff could read Dr. Seuss and make it sound like lines from Hunt for Red October. But the plotlines they got were increasingly nonsensical, and filled with retcons. The point was raised that "the ending" as in specifically the last episode wasn't "shocking" because all of the reveals in the last season were leading up to that. well that's not what people mean when they say "the ending": ...what happened was that I got increasingly upset with what was happening to the show in season 3, then by the season 3 finale's "big reveal"....well, that was just a bunch of shameless retcons for shock value rather than actual plot logic. So by that point I personally had lost faith and like many people, was watching "out of a warped sense of obligation". (Though I must say it was nice to see Nana Visitor show up in one episode) But a lot of people I know, everyone that stuck with it....were shocked by the ending because they seriously expected the final episode to "answer questions" like "why did you bother to kill off Starbuck?" (the real answer was: it was shocking and manipulated our audience) or 'what was The Plan?" (there never was one, but they acted like there was for years) So I think the real disgust at the finale wasn't the "human drama" - to be honest, that's more or less how I expected Galactica to end with Earth and everything. It was the disgust at "dear god, you were just making this up as you went along" Contrast this with Dollhouse season 1's finale, where, say what you will of Joss Whedon...they had a big reveal about a major character, and if you went back and watched all of season one, you realized he'd been dropping hints about it the entire time. That's what a "shocking revelation" is - something that conceivably could happen. Not "pulling rabbits out of a hat and calling it clever writing" but I digress.... The point is, that Edward James Olmos chewing scenery might be enough to carry an hour of television in BSG seasons 3 and 4, but the show had really lost steam. Many people kept watching thinking that "wait, no, these writers are geniuses, they'll tie it all together in the finale!"...and then they didn't. So they reduced what was indeed, as Zac put it, by season 2 "one of the best seasons of TV ever made"....into merely "a very good series, which like Farscape or Firefly we will mention fondly but its not "great" anymore" BSG seasons 3 and 4 were like Heroes post-season one. |
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sirkoala13
 Posts: 134 Location: Muscle Tower, U.S. |
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Aw, Indian Summer, still can't believe Youtube recommended it to me. You don't have to review DBZ, Erin, I usually skip over it anyway.
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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You guys really summed up the issues with recent creepy anime trends well, and what the real issues with them are. I appreciate the responsible stance that ANN staff takes on those shows, and the real world repercussions related to them, that have turned me off of other anime forums. I'm really appreciating the conversation, and hope you do another ANN Staff podcast again.
Last edited by Paploo on Fri May 14, 2010 10:14 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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_V_
Posts: 619 |
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Rebuild of Evangelion is not comparable to the Gurren Lagann movies or the Gundam movies.
No, Rebuild of Evangelion is not a "compilation" Yes, the first movie was largely a close retelling of the first 6 episodes...because fans would have revolted if they started changing everything all at once. And you know what I think is ironic? In other posts, you guys have said "haha, Eva isn't that popular anymore, at a convention panel we asked a 200 person crowd to raise their hands if they'd seen Eva and only have saw it"...."stupid noobs who didn't watch the show in the late 1990's" etc. Well, I would posit that quite a few fans saw Evangelion *after* 2000, many off Adult Swim, etc. Or simply centered around the DVD releases! Think about it: people who are 21 today were 11 in 2000....would 11 year olds be watching Evangelion?! So they HAD to make the first movie similar to the original....because MOST "general anime fans" these days, particularly of the younger generation, haven't actually seen the series. despite concerted attempts to basically ignore Rebuild of Eva, it keeps getting more and more buzz. |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6229 Location: Houston, TX |
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I can understand not liking the Gurren Lagann movie, but I have to wonder about people saying it was a rehash. aside from the first half, the film was completely brand new material.
BTW, Erin has gained my respect for her comment on Lolicon. Last edited by v1cious on Fri May 14, 2010 10:56 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8501 Location: Penguinopolis |
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I liked Iron Man 2 quite a bit and remember a lot of it. I'll end up seeing Robin Hood, but I'll pass on The Human Centipede.
Zac, the thing is, you can't really skip the opening portion of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, because even though it covers a lot of the material the first series did, the subtle differences end up adding up later on. I had an issue with them speeding through that part of it, actually. If you keep at it, I can almost guarantee you will not regret it. Dragon Ball Kai may be more than 99 episodes, in fact. They're in the fifties now and only in the beginning of the Androids and Cell arc, and the Buu arc is the longest. Even if it's condensed, it will take more than 99 episodes to wrap things up. It will still be much shorter than Z, mind you, which was 291 episodes. I've never checked out The Ninja Consultants before. Now I have a new podcast to follow. And they've even done a 20th Century Boys movies review! Awesome. My favorite movie is probably The Shawshank Redemption. Firefly was awesome. :p Last edited by penguintruth on Fri May 14, 2010 11:26 pm; edited 4 times in total |
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braves
 Posts: 2309 Location: Puerto Rico (but living in Texas) |
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Wow, nice to see another long podcast.
I've been looking forward to buying Birdy on Blu-ray due to the animators involved (Norio Matsumoto, Shingo Yamashita, etc.). The story does seem to be standard fare, but if the characters are interesting enough, I'm sure I'll like it. Brotherhood was actually animated at 540p and Eva 1.0 wasn't actually done at full 1080p. It was done at 720p. And it takes Brotherhood 14 episodes for the story to change; I would have to agree that the first 13 episodes are dreadful (I really don't know how I got through them), but the rest is well worth it. Though, I am surprised that such disgusting stuff would happen in Twilight, of all series. Yuck. Time to listen to the rest. |
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Youkai Warrior
 Posts: 505 Location: Sarayashiki |
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Zac, do you actually like Twilight? By the way, that f***ed up stuff that supposedly happens in the 4th book sound downright gross! How is it that crap got so much attention.
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Rakkan
Posts: 16 |
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hahaha
A Buttlord GT reference. Brian Hanson, I like the cut of your jib. |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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...wait, hold on, you complain about the fourth Indiana Jones movie because the character didn't grow and learn? What did he grow and learn in any of the first three? Like I said, there are many gripes to be had against number 4, but this one makes me go "huh?" Indeed, one of my friends' biggest complaints was that it actually tried to make the character grow rather than just letting him "be" the way the others did.
Human Centipede: 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ebert (not that he's infallible by any means, see: Knowing) declared it un-starrable. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood... read the manga instead. I wasn't that crazy about the "more faithful" adaptation, the same way I wasn't about the Hellsing one. In both, I saw the first anime series first, then read the manga, then watched the remakes. With both, I recognized the superiority of the manga to the first anime... but then didn't like the remake. I know exactly my complaints with the Hellsing OVAs, but with FMA, I think I'd just internally animated it, with my own voice cast, shot exactly how I wanted it, and the second series just wasn't living up to it. I think the closer you stay to the original, the more I notice every little difference, and if I don't like the difference, it will bug me like nuts. Gee, you were burned out, Zac? Nobody could guess!  Seriously, I never liked you as the Answerman, but yeah, maybe you just weren't the right pick. Your skills seem better suited for swooping in and smacking down our idiocy.
... I want this spreadsheet! I mean, I don't intend to watch any, but I have this intense need to know random stuff. I want to know ratios, data! ...what is wrong with me? 
Oooh, so that's what you sound like, Erin! These podcasts are so surreal. I just realized that I imagined you sounding exactly like Bamboo. Which I guess makes sense in a way, since I knew what she sounded like and you filled her spot. You know, I think I'll read Dragonball to get my final exposure to it. I tried to start DBZ, but after seven episodes, it was just... wow, so little happened. I know the manga is long, but I can read really fast. I figure I could cover the whole thing in a week this summer, compared to what, like, weeks for all the series (even ignoring GT). GAH! STOP REMINDING ME THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN TOTORO YET! I'LL GET TO IT! I'LL GET TO IT! "Nobody really uses it as a product guide." Well, I do...sometimes. More now than I used to. Probably way more with manga than with anime. But seriously, if you think we're bad, don't ever look at Rotten Tomatoes' forums. I mean... we've at least generally watched what we're arguing about. They're turning into rabid fans yelling at reviewers over movies they've never even seen. There are hundred-long comment threads left on reviews of shows that have yet to actually premiere. And they get downright nasty. Apparently there is no "Zac" there to swoop in and smite the first person who says "f**k you, f*g, you suck!" I dunno, setting aside the lolicon overlap, most of the moe fans I've met in RL in America are into it for the melodrama more than the masturbation. They're convinced these shows are the DEEPEST MOST MOVING SHOWS on the planet. Some seem oblivious to the other side of it, that many of these shows come from erotic video games, that the character merchandise is... ugh. Point is, not all moe fans are the same, just like not all furries are furry fetishists. Noah, I want you to write a column! Your opinions sound vaguely similar to mine, and as we now all know (I guess), that's the second best thing to an orgasm. Isn't TTGL an intentional rehash of a dozen different series? I saw it as an attempt to resurrect an entire way of doing super robots, trying to remedy the angstification that its GAINAX predecessor had induced. If I could go back to school again... I still wouldn't take film classes. Sorry! I'd rather just develop taste the way I have via my father's tutelage, which is to just expose me to quality movies in mass since the age of 11. We made lists, and he'd bring home movies for me to watch. I wound up having the strangest tastes in movies among my friends during middle school and high school as a result; they'd ask me what my favorite movie was, and 14-year old me would say "Lawrence of Arabia! David Lean is awesome! *skipskippityskipskip* DEAR GOTT IN HIMMEL, Theron, you sound nothing like I imagined. *shakes her head* This is so weird... Where's the accent from? Yeah, I'd call Theron less "mannered" and "careful" and more "lenient." Yeah, I just take your reviews with a grain of salt. I picked up a few shows at your suggestion on Funimation's page and was just so underwhelmed, you're not the best reviewer for me. *shrug* Not that I mind, I think you're good for a lot of people. I like there being a big wide range of reviewers (hence why I go to Rotten Tomatoes in spite of the vile forums).
Gyah, Brighter than the Dawning Blue sure seems derivative, looking at its summary. I look forward to seeing a review of it. Are you guys seriously going to do a summer preview guide? I mean, I've found some midseason introductions in recent years to be some of the best (Baccano!, Kaiba), but I know they've got to kill you for keeping up with the sheer bulk. Maybe you could limit yourself to legal streams for the summer and winter versions? And may I repeat, Koi Kaze has every last line be "just right"? Even his last line, "I love you"? Because that prompted a "NO YOU DON'T, IF YOU DID, YOU WOULDN'T BE DOING THIS, YOU STATUTORY RAPIST!" Geh, I'll comment on the rest later, if I must. Let's see how many comments have gone up since I've started listening and writing. Edit: wow, not many! Adds Battlestar Gallactica to her viewing list...Seriously, Zac, you gave The Wire such a stunning recommendation, and I am loving it so much, if you say BSG is awesome, I will find it and watch it. *gasp!* But you don't like Firefly, so maybe we shall not agree, I suppose. I'm not a total Joss idolator. I didn't think much of Buffy seasons 4, 6 and 7, or Angel season 4. Dollhouse was miserable. The studio didn't undermine him on that one, he undermined himself. It was boring and bad. And lastly... I think this is my longest post ever. So I apologize, and blame the wine (it's my birthday). |
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_V_
Posts: 619 |
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"Eva 1.0" the cruddy DVD release, and "Eva 1.11" the god-like 1080p Blu-ray release, are two separate things. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Happy birthday! |
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Charred Knight
 Posts: 3085 |
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I can't imagine anyone liking both Fullmetal Alchemist series, just because they have two completely different styles.
The first Fullmetal Alchemist is for people who like slow pace series where people talk endlessly about the exact same thing. If you played a drinking game where you drink everytime Equivalent Exchange is mentioned than you would be dead within the hour. On the other hand the manga/Brotherhood is much more fast paced, with a lot more action, and more emphasis on being over the top. Knowing Zac, than I can safely say that FMA Brotherhood is not for him, nothing he has ever reviewed has led me to believe that he would like it. |
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