WCT Oct 26-30

[Jeff7]

By the third panel, I saw the 4th panel coming.

And it was as good as expected.

Do I even see cargo pants? 




(Well, almost as good as expected. I mean, there's always that whole ROTJ Princess Leia outfit...  )

[fineout]

meh the only anime to me worth watching is initial D..but to each his/her own

[Tunahead]

In my opinion, Evangelion is not worth the time spent to watch it. It's regarded as a standard by many, but the characters are very shallow and the plot never seems to advance.

Evangelion isn't highly regarded by many because of the story or character development. It's because it was something completely new at the time it was made: A deconstruction of the super robot anime.

In a traditional super robot anime when the teenage protagonist has a look of determination on his face and gets in his mecha, he's going to beat the bad guys. When the same happens in Evangelion, it means Shinji is just going to fail extra hard. In a traditional super robot anime, the female lead aggressively scorning the male lead means they are obviously going to get together at some point. (Which is REALLY stupid.) In Evangelion, it means Asuka has horrible psychological issues and the whole thing just ends in strangulation and bedside jerk-offs. It's like the anime is telling its nerdy fans: "If a woman who has done nothing but indicated she hates you, it doesn't mean she wants to make the babies with you, YOU IDIOT."

To me Shinji's creepy behavior towards Asuka is maybe one of the most authentic things in Evangelion, because the show treats him as a person. We're shown that sometimes we're not supposed to root for someone because everyone who is a jerk is making his life miserable. In narrative structures this is obviously a good guy, but in the real world people who get consistently shat on just become horrible people themselves. I always saw Shinji as growing up to be a serial killer, or maybe a child molester.

The super robot action in Evangelion? It's okay, but nothing special. The symbolism? Well it's just symbolism. It doesn't really even symbolize anything in particular. Hell, most of the time the symbolism just seems to symbolize symbolism itself, if that makes sense. The plot? Oh just get out. The plot is horrible. It's so intentionally vague and mired in obscure religious references that you might as well be watching the final episode of The Prisoner and pretending it makes sense.

Really at this point in time Evangelion has completely lost its relevance. When it was made it was amazing because it did nothing you expected and kicked the viewer in the fork at every given opportunity. It pretty much kicked off the super robot anime equivalent of the Dark Age Of Comics (which was the worst thing ever), where every cliche was turned on its head so often that things like "male lead believes in courage, so OF COURSE HE'LL FAIL HORRIBLY" became cliches themselves.

Fortunately GaoGaiGar, and later TTGL reconstructed the super robot anime, and those were pretty amusing shows. Gainax's TTGL was even kind of a subversion despite being a complete homage to the history of super robot shows. Suprisingly few people I know have liked the ending where Simon gives up spiral power, but really I think it was appropriate because the opening scene of the first episode was pretty obviously an alternate bad end where spiral power just makes people keep fighting until they grind the universe to dust, and is pretty much the sort of thing the anti-spirals were trying to stop.

I sure am glad I'm not a nerd at all

[Mr. Doctor]

Should I have a look at that? I kinda like One Piece, but I got bored of everything else so far.

It's a love/hate anime with not a lot of feelings in between... I agree with the first half of Tunahead's comment about the anime but I don't agree at all with the second half but that's just me, as I see what his point is and understand it to the point of *almost* agree but I can't because it was one of the very first animes I saw so I kinda have feelings for it.

I always thought the super-robot action wasn't important at all, I just liked the plot and the way the character's personalities are shown to the viewer. And I really liked the movie as well. Kinda disturbing at some points.

I never really cared of Anime and mangas anyway... There are just 5 series I really like [probably less than that though] so I don't really have experiencie with others series and I don't really care about it.

Sorry if my english is quiet bad btw  

[Blackjoker]

I tend to like Deathnote, I also liked Berserk(manga) pre-eclipse....post eclipse it's reaching a point I don't even want to pick it up because of how squicky/disturbing it's getting. Though the Berserk anime is pretty good.

[Theriandros]

...Is there some reason Killbot hasn't been banned?  I figured Jeph's "fuck you" messages (and his locking last week's thread) signalled a ban, but...

Please, Jeph?  For the Good of the Forum!   

Just wanted to confirm that he was a troll, which I'm 99% certain he is. I can't imagine anybody that rabidly ignorant and homophobic would actually read my comic. He's banned as of 30 seconds from now.

I dunno. I'm "homophobic" (the word itself is inappropriate for the situation, given the Greek meaning, but I'll ignore that for now)/relatively conservative and I've been reading since somewhere in the #700's. I just recognize that all people are pretty screwed up (myself being no exception, to be honest) and stoning "teh gayz" is as ridiculous an idea rounding up the adulterers.

[Kugai]

Dawww  Their first date.      



I think Nerd-Con has no idea what's gonna hit it - Poor sods.   

[jonarus_drakus]

Black Lagoon and Ghost in the Shell (both the 'movies' and SAC 'series'). Besides which, i play warhammer (inc 40k and necromunda). I think i have the "nerd" pretty much down 

[Theriandros]

Anyone have thoughts on Paranoia Agent? I quite liked the mild psychological horror, black comedy, and what appeared to be some satire of Japanese culture.

[Kugai]

Gasaraki
BGC:2040
Cowboy Bebop

The three that got me hooked on Anime.

[Nightson]

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

If you haven't seen it then you should change that.

[Zombiedude]

I haven't seen it and I have felt no urge go do so.

WHAT'CHA GONNA DO BOUT IT

[the_shankmaster]

Spirted Away!  <3  Howl's Moving Castle is pretty epic, too.  If you want something short and bloody, then Ga-Rei Zero is amazing, though I have a curse I won't tell you about until after you watch it.  >.>  I hate Death Note.  And Code Geass.  Seto No Hanayome is a great crack anime.


New comic!  I don't want to read Pintsize's work.  

[Ferc Eater]

Sayonara, Zetsubo Sensei:  Best thing since butter.  Ga-Rei Zero is amazing, but you need to watch out if you can't get all of it at once.  I would tear my eyes out.

[syrupykeyboard]

I haven't seen it and I have felt no urge go do so.

WHAT'CHA GONNA DO BOUT IT

Nightson is going to cover up your murder by acting like it was medical malpractice.
When Shankmaster finds out, his friendship for Nightson will prevent him from tattling, and he'll become an accomplice.

[Nightson]

I haven't seen it and I have felt no urge go do so.

WHAT'CHA GONNA DO BOUT IT

Nightson is going to cover up your murder by acting like it was medical malpractice.
When Shankmaster finds out, his friendship for Nightson will prevent him from tattling, and he'll become an accomplice.

Lets hope nobody compares cholesterol levels. 

[the_shankmaster]

I haven't seen it and I have felt no urge go do so.

WHAT'CHA GONNA DO BOUT IT

Nightson is going to cover up your murder by acting like it was medical malpractice.
When Shankmaster finds out, his friendship for Nightson will prevent him from tattling, and he'll become an accomplice.

Dude, I'm a lady.  And why am I even part of this?

[Theriandros]

I haven't seen it and I have felt no urge go do so.

WHAT'CHA GONNA DO BOUT IT

Nightson is going to cover up your murder by acting like it was medical malpractice.
When Shankmaster finds out, his friendship for Nightson will prevent him from tattling, and he'll become an accomplice.

Lets hope nobody compares cholesterol levels. 

You made me lol for the first time today.

Thank you.

[syrupykeyboard]

Dude, I'm a lady.  And why am I even part of this?

Sorry, should have used gender-neutral pronouns.
I don't know. Just needed a couple names, picked yours.

Lets hope nobody compares cholesterol levels. 

= 0

[syrupykeyboard]

So, were volumes I - XVII also about tentacle monsters and schoolgirls?

[jonarus_drakus]

Hanners playing orks in 40k, heh, the irony would be so sweet it would replace sugar in my tea...

[the_shankmaster]

Sorry, should have used gender-neutral pronouns.

I'm just gonna assume that you didn't notice my avatar/ didn't realize it was me, rather than figured it was me and still thought I was a boy, because it's better for my self-esteem.

[NeverQuiteGoth]

New comic!  I don't want to read Pintsize's work.  

  I do! Schoolgirls need to rape more tentacle monsters!   

lol

[scarred]

I'm just gonna assume that you didn't notice my avatar/ didn't realize it was me, rather than figured it was me and still thought I was a boy, because it's better for my self-esteem.

[Thaes]

So, were volumes I - XVII also about tentacle monsters and schoolgirls?

My guess is that volumes I - IX were standard "tentacle monsters molesting schoolgirls" stuff, but in volume X, the schoolgirls gained spectacular powers and the tables were turned.

In volume XX, there will be a major plot twist, as both the monsters and the schoolgirls will be molested by giant robots... FROM SPACE!

[Mr_Rose]

All of whom will look like Giga-Pintsize?

(secret twist ending only available in the limited edition hardcover - one of them is Giga-Pintsize, back from the dead!)


Also, I am beginning to agree with some of the others here; Dora and Marted do look much more creepily adorable when they have the same plumage.

[Border Reiver]

So, I was wrong - really disturbing thing was brought about in Marten's apartment...

What are we going to see at Nerdcon?

Hanners screaming "WAAAAAAAGH!" at the 40K or WFB tables  8 (17.8%)
Aubry running her LARP with the Nerdrotica girls  7 (15.6%)
Jeph judging the cosplayers  9 (20%)
Mike trying to be responsible  1 (2.2%)
Something so disturbing that we need to forget it....  20 (44.4%)
 
Total Voters: 45

And as one of the terminially unhip - what is the big deal about anime/hentai?  From what I've seen the story lines are rather standard and the artwork just doesn't impress me.  

Give me a Godzilla movie anyday.

[snubnose]

Weird stuff happening in this thread.

[Border Reiver]

No wierder than last week.  And this discussion is much more likely to remain civil.

[Mr_Rose]

And as one of the terminially unhip - what is the big deal about animae/hentai?  From what I've seen the story lines are rather standard and the artwork just doesn't impress me. 

Give me a Godzilla movie anyday.

I'm pretty sure that an awful lot of the hippishness around anime is to do with it being Jaanese, combined with an almost fetishistic desire for all things Japanese in sertain segments of western culture, specifically the video-game-playing segments, possibly because Japan is the Land of Video Games.
At least, that's what it was originally; memetic mutation has turned it into something else; a new, independent, species of nerdery.

Also, the bit about godzilla is possibly terribly ironic, depending.

[the_shankmaster]

And as one of the terminially unhip - what is the big deal about animae/hentai?  From what I've seen the story lines are rather standard and the artwork just doesn't impress me. 

Give me a Godzilla movie anyday.

I have no interest in hentai and am continually caught off guard by the Japanese capacity for perversion.

[Theriandros]

And as one of the terminially unhip - what is the big deal about animae/hentai?  From what I've seen the story lines are rather standard and the artwork just doesn't impress me. 

Give me a Godzilla movie anyday.

First off, learn some basic terms. The standard romanization is spelled anime, not animae (I'm assuming that this wasn't a mistake, as you did it in the poll as well). Hentai is not on par with anime. It's a pornographic subset.

Second: Dear lord, what have you been watching? Granted, a lot of standard tropes are thrown around in a number of series, but so far as I can tell, there's some good and original stuff out there, just like any other group of entertainment products. I understand being unimpressed by the artwork, I guess. My own experience is mostly that I'm impressed when people do novel things with the animation. Case in point: Paranoia Agent has a main character that's a policeman. He's tired by the odd case that he's working on and wishes for a simpler time, when policework consisted of chasing robbers and such. This eventually develops into him being transported into a world that resembles his wish, but every object other than him is rendered essentially as two-dimensional wooden boards.

Also, on the topic of the same anime: I have yet to see a scene that has the main characters of the episode chasing a serial killer, begging him/it to kill them. (This is actually more interesting and better developed than it sounds).

[SigPig]

I couldn't get into Anime due to it wasn't readily available when I was growing up.  Most of my friends and I were tech geeks.

[Border Reiver]

Fixed my spelling mistakes.  And if my ignorance of terms used in a form of entertainment that I generally find unappealing/uninteresting is incorrect educate me in a manner that is a wee bit more respectful - you don't come accross badly that way. 

[Mad Cat]

Shankmaster: In Syrup's defense, lots of dudes use girls in their avvies. It's the collective male unconscious desire to be cute and perky... and play with dolls.

Incidentally, your avvie is cute and perky. The hat makes me wonder what you would look like in a full and proper sailor fuku.

My taste in Japanese manga/anime definitely runs more toward the techno-fetishism as opposed to the fetish-fetishism. GitS, DeathNote, Appleseed, Full Metal Alchemist, even Steel Angel Kurumi, and Chobits.

[Monkey Says Yes]

Heh.  When I first read panel one, I thought Marten was actually Dora, and vice versa.  Yay, androgyny!

[Mad Cat]

Martin's tits aren't that big.

[Tunahead]

Full Metal Alchemist

I could never get into that show.

And now, in completely unrelated news, a thinking excercise:

Imagine if you will, that some guy outlined the basic plot of a Japanese cartoon about two alchemist brothers in a world very much like World War II era Europe. Then he went to two people and asked them to write a more detailed script for the plot. One of those people is a complete sociopath, such as Charles Manson. The other is a horribly unfunny comedian, such as Carlos Mencia. Although at this point you undoubtedly don't want to, try and imagine what kind of show they would make together.

If you answered "Full Metal Alchemist", you are probably correct. The show suffers from probably the worst mood whiplash I've ever seen in ANYTHING. The whole thing basically alternates between scenes of Ed having a wacky chibi meltdown stemming from his Napoleon complex and scenes of rape, slaughter and the consequences of using a form of magic that has highly questionable ethics built in.

Although I guess it's unfair to criticize Full Metal Alchemist for its horrible comedy when the comedy in question is only as awful as most of all other anime. Those facefaults, sweatdrops, "I talk very fast in non-sequiturs" archetypes (I hate Onsokumaru and you should too, you are not morally obligated to like an anime character just because he's voiced by Norio Wakamoto) and people getting nosebleed from seeing panties are hilarious, amirite guys.


Well this sure is a lovely wall of text I built entirely out of bile

[Theriandros]

Fixed my spelling mistakes.  And if my ignorance of terms used in a form of entertainment that I generally find unappealing/uninteresting is incorrect educate me in a manner that is a wee bit more respectful - you don't come accross badly that way. 

I generally expect people to know the meanings of the words they're using.

[maddness]

Although I guess it's unfair to criticize Full Metal Alchemist for its horrible comedy when the comedy in question is only as awful as most of all other anime. Those facefaults, sweatdrops, "I talk very fast in non-sequiturs" archetypes (I hate Onsokumaru and you should too, you are not morally obligated to like an anime character just because he's voiced by Norio Wakamoto) and people getting nosebleed from seeing panties are hilarious, amirite guys.

It would be hilarious if guys actually walked around spontaneously bleeding from the nose at the sight of ladies intimates. You can just imagine the pools in front of lingerie stores.

It might make getting laid tricky though.

[Zemyla]

There's a missing option on your poll - "Stuff where the guy and the girl/two guys/two girls actually love each other."

Seriously, there is hentai like that.

[Random832]

It would be hilarious if guys actually walked around spontaneously bleeding from the nose at the sight of ladies intimates. You can just imagine the pools in front of lingerie stores.

It might make getting laid tricky though.

No, you see, what it is is a special ability that anime males have - they can, by conscious choice, prevent certain physical symptoms of their arousal by redirecting the blood to their nose.

Though why they don't just hold a notebook in front of it... 

[Ferc Eater]

Because if it's hentai, a notebook wouldn't be big enough, if you know what I mean.

[Theriandros]

Of course, with the right fans, any anime can be hentai.

[Akima]

Of course, with the right fans, any anime can be hentai.

According to Rule 34, anything can be hentai.

Despite being a professional nerd, I'm not into really into manga at all. Usually I find the stories confusing, hard to follow, and often incredibly slow-moving (Kind of like baseball, there's a lot of flailing about, but the score rarely advances). I'm not usually an anime fan either, but there are two exceptions, and I'm not sure why:

• Planetes: I even enjoyed the anime enough to get the original manga too.
• Ghost In The Shell: I really liked all the anime variations, but never got into the manga.

I play go (though we usually call the game weiqi ) so I tried to get into Hiraku No Go. It's OK, but the loutish male-chauvinism left a nasty taste in my mouth. To be fair, I suppose I'm outside the target demographic of a shonen work.

[kraemandrummer]

Hey guys

How about we move this anime discussion to an area that isn't the QC discussion???

don't get me wrong, I like some as much as the next guy
but come on.

[bunny_of_doom]

so, this might seem out of place with all the anime talk and I'm sure it's been covered before, but why is Dora's hair all black again? An attempt at looking nice for Marten's dad or just a plain ol' error?

[syrupykeyboard]

Sorry, should have used gender-neutral pronouns.

I'm just gonna assume that you didn't notice my avatar/ didn't realize it was me, rather than figured it was me and still thought I was a boy, because it's better for my self-esteem.

Your assumptions are correct.

[giant_bug]

My reading of Dora's character is that she doesn't feel like she knows how to be a Blonde.
So in times of stress you go with what you know.

[The Duke]

Plus it looks better.

(in my opinion)