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Shelf Life - FIFA Drift


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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1685
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 11:13 pm Reply with quote
Huh. I woulda thought Bamboo was more cynical than to rate Speed Grapher so highly, but different strokes, I guess.

Geneon seems to be scoring some pretty good stuff lately in the "Those Crazy Japanese" category. I gotta check some of those out.

Whee. Happy new column.
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Fuhrer



Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 11:31 pm Reply with quote
Finally someone shows some love for Speed Grapher. It really doesnt deserve all the negative reviews that it has been getting lately.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 11:34 pm Reply with quote
A review is an opinion. Zac's review of it wasn't "wrong", he just saw it in a different light.

But I agree that it is nice to see it get some positive press.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6230
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:04 am Reply with quote
Speed Grapher a buy, and Konomini Perishable item... what an interesting turn of events.
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Josh7289



Joined: 27 Aug 2005
Posts: 1252
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:13 am Reply with quote
v1cious wrote:
Speed Grapher a buy, and Konomini Perishable item... what an interesting turn of events.


That's what I was thinking, but only because This Ugly Yet Beautiful World is from Gainax, while Speed Grapher has not been getting stellar reviews.

As Bamboo stated, however, Speed Grapher requires the right atmosphere, so that may be the reason for the ratings from other reviews. As for This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, I was only hoping it would be good because of Gainax, but it seems like anything but Evangelion, FLCL, etc. from them is garbage...maybe?

I haven't seen either of these two reviewed anime, though, so everything I said just now was basically based on conjecture. Wink
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DemonEyesLeo



Joined: 20 Feb 2005
Posts: 844
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:53 am Reply with quote
I weep with you BD. It seems like every time I open the paper and turn to the sports page I see yet another player from my beloved Avalanche jumping ship to another team; be it in the form of a trade or free-agency. Curse the salary cap (not really, it did bring the NHL out of the lockout).

On a lighter note; I saw the first few episodes of Speed Grapher long ago and thought it was a decent show. I may just have to pick up the DVDs. If nothing else it could be good for a laugh at its wierdness.
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:10 am Reply with quote
DemonEyesLeo wrote:
I weep with you BD. It seems like every time I open the paper and turn to the sports page I see yet another player from my beloved Avalanche jumping ship to another team; be it in the form of a trade or free-agency. Curse the salary cap (not really, it did bring the NHL out of the lockout).
For someone who went to every game for the Mighty Ducks whom have now become the Ducks and are sporting some ugly jersery I feel your pain. The Avalanche did have some amazing teams, it a little sad. But at least Joey agree to stay an another year.

Bamboo Dong wrote:
Close the door. Turn off the lights. Turn the sound up. Remove yourself from any and all distractions. If you’re in the right mood, Speed Grapher will blow your mind. This is a series that will either have you intrigued, horrified, and spellbound—or scoffing under your breath, depending on your mindset,


First hockey and then spot on for Speed Grapher, I dare say you'll be hoisting Lord Stanley Cup if you keep this up. Anyways I think that this is really a great way to look at Speed Grapher, I know that there were a lot of people who were upset over Zac review, but everyone has an opinion and should voice it. So as they remember not flame, and to be fair to the author at hand.

One thing that is interesting in that volume of Speed Grapher is how the first episode has so much sex, violence, and language it can turn people off from the show. The sex scene made my GF upset because she thought it was Hentai, but after watching the rest of volume she think's a cool idea. Hell we started talking about what power we would have.

Anyhow lots of folks have told me to see tactics since it is an interesting show, but one part in particular makes me also want to just add it to my netflix instead of a purchase.

Bamboo Dong wrote:
instead, each episode begins with droll slapstick comedy; not only is there super-deformation galore, but also unnecessary comic side relief characters.


That kinda turns me off, but is comedy like FMA how ED might get mad and hit someone and then it back to the story. Or better yet does the comedy disappear in later episodes?
Great article Bamboo Dong it's good to see Shelf Life back.
Till next time,

Delta Kiral
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Zalis116
Moderator


Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6902
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 1:51 am Reply with quote
Hmm, the only series I've seen out of this list landed in the perishable bin, sadly enough. I don't rent anime, but if I did, I'd say that This Ugly yet Beautiful World is at least worth a rental. You can see facets of numerous Gainax series within TUBW, including Mahoromatic, Evangelion, and bits and pieces of Abenobashi and FLCL. Gainax seems to be playing to the well-versed otaku who catch all these references, and of course the girls are designed to be cute, moe, and marketable. Maybe I just like going into emo mode, but I didn't mind the mix of depressing content and ecchi fun. I think many people (and I'm not singling out the reviewer here) expected it to be another SaiKano. It's not, but there were enough interesting things in This Ugly yet Beautiful World to keep me watching. Then again, I'm partially basing this on material from beyond the first volume Wink Wink Wink , so any opinions based purely on those four episodes are valid. Even so, any 12-13 episode series on 3 discs automatically scores bonus points and makes me more likely to collect it; the disc extras for V1 are also rather nice.
The winks are facetious, see this post.
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Reikijenosaido



Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 39
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:57 am Reply with quote
Having watched the entirety of Speed Grapher during it's japanese run I was very eager to see how the dub would be handled. I came away from v1 pleased with how the voices came out but annoyed with the change in opening music. The show's feel seemed completely different to me with the new opening.

I thought that it might be one of those shows that's just not as good the second time through, but that didn't seem likely. So I dug out my R2 of v1 and compared. In the R2 the show seemed like it had much more energy, while the R1 seemed more somber and depressing. Now I know why they call the opening theme the mood setter.
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Ranma824



Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 456
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 5:16 am Reply with quote
I came to the conclusion that Speed Grapher was a must buy, and konomini was trash a LONG time ago. But what was interesting was how I couldn't find anyone else with the same opinion for a while. And in most cases, be in a place where konomini was hailed as the better show.

After a couple of early reviews of Speed Grapher and konomimi I read, it started to seem like I was going crazy (w/konomini getting the better grade). Did I miss something in Ugly that I'm just not seeing?

I Almost doubted my own tastes. But after Shelf life, and Chris's review of both shows at AoD, it's good to know that my own sixth sense about anime is still intact.
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biliano



Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 956
Location: Cleveland, OH
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 6:57 am Reply with quote
Like I said in the other forum, I can tolerate poor writing and storytelling as long as the characters are enjoyable enough for me to watch on multiple occasions, and that's what I'm experiencing in Kono Minikuku. However, I think that the writing in Kono Minikuku is pretty good for the type of show that it is, along the lines of what Theron wrote in his review of Volume 1. Plus, Akari's too damn cute to be thrown in the trash! Wink

Bamboo, what's your take on Stephen Foster asking the English VAs to use pseudonyms for Kono Minikuku? Do you think that he should have done this, or was it unnecessary?


Last edited by biliano on Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:18 am; edited 1 time in total
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Serge



Joined: 29 Mar 2005
Posts: 162
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:17 am Reply with quote
DemonEyesLeo wrote:
On a lighter note; I saw the first few episodes of Speed Grapher long ago and thought it was a decent show. I may just have to pick up the DVDs. If nothing else it could be good for a laugh at its wierdness.


Remember, the FUNimation Speed Grapher DVD's are Edited, Hence what you saw on Fansub, will be different to the Region 1 DVD's.
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biliano



Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 956
Location: Cleveland, OH
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:26 am Reply with quote
Ranma824 wrote:
I Almost doubted my own tastes. But after Shelf life, and Chris's review of both shows at AoD, it's good to know that my own sixth sense about anime is still intact.


You should never doubt your own tastes. Reviews are merely one person's opinion, only written in a more professional tone.

To be frank, I though Chris's review of Kono Minikuku wasn't as negative as most people thought. He only gave it a "C" grade, and to me he treated it the same way he treated Sister Princess when he basically gave "C" grades to SisPri.
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chloes_fork



Joined: 08 Jun 2004
Posts: 58
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:21 am Reply with quote
Serge wrote:
Remember, the FUNimation Speed Grapher DVD's are Edited, Hence what you saw on Fansub, will be different to the Region 1 DVD's.

My understanding is the FUNimation release is the Japanese home video version of the show, which contains more graphic content than the TV/fansub version -- pretty much the opposite of the usual implication of "edited." The only other change I'm aware of is the alteration of the OP music due to licensing issues. Or have you heard something I haven't?
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Ranma824



Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 456
PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:31 am Reply with quote
biliano wrote:
Ranma824 wrote:
I Almost doubted my own tastes. But after Shelf life, and Chris's review of both shows at AoD, it's good to know that my own sixth sense about anime is still intact.


You should never doubt your own tastes. Reviews are merely one person's opinion, only written in a more professional tone.

To be frank, I though Chris's review of Kono Minikuku wasn't as negative as most people thought. He only gave it a "C" grade, and to me he treated it the same way he treated Sister Princess when he basically gave "C" grades to SisPri.


Yeah I know, but there's only so much positive glow I can take before I rethink what I saw and perhaps give it another chance. I'm just glad that I read something of what I thought in the first place.

Yeah, "C" isn't to negative; like his Green Green review, C is basically a "your mileage may vary" type of show.
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