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Join us in the [Anime] thread to end all [Anime] threads

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Posts

  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    cj iwakura wrote: »
    cj iwakura wrote: »
    If you havent already seen it, Suzume is now on crunchyroll. It's really fucking good,and i highly recommend it. Go! Go! Stop talking to me, go watch it!

    Has one of the most despicable cats in cinematic history, and that's saying something.

    Eh, i'm not sure that's fair? accurate?
    Daijin is a shit, but also mostly wanted to experience the world and didn't really seem to fully comprehend the issues with it's actions. Once it realizes everything going down, and the potential ramifications, it takes up it's role willingly again.

    Eitherway, i don't think despicable is the right word choice.

    I do, I spent the whole film loathing that creature.
    It's not a malicious entity, more like a sociopathic child that has no regard for any of the suffering it causes, but still. I wanted it thrown off a cliff.

    You and I experience media very differently is all I can say there.

    Anzekay on
    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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  • silence1186silence1186 Character shields down! As a wingmanRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    Frieren episode 11:
    There is a moment in this episode that I think encapsulates this series' style perfectly.

    Kraft and Frieren are discussing the Goddess and belief. Kraft says if Frieren doesn't believe in the Goddess, then he will remember Frieren's story and praise her instead. Frieren's mouth opens every so slightly, as she remembers a time when Heiter said the same thing to her. Normally when people have profound realizations, their jaws literally drop in an exaggerated fashion. In this case it's just a small mouth agape, but it communicates the same impact as a huge jaw drop.

    Anzekay on
  • italianranmaitalianranma Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    I actually want to talk about Mushoku Tensei a.k.a. Jobless Reincarnation, which was very different from what my expectations were (at least based on what I'd gathered from this board).

    MV5BMGM2MzA5YzYtODc0Ni00ZjU4LWI4ZmUtZGJjNGU0ODY1MGJkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzgxODM4NjM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg

    Regarding the recent discussion on spoilers, you'll find my synopsis for MT behind this one. Light spoilers for the first few episodes just to set up the premise:
    Mushoku Tensei largely follows Rudeus, the titular "jobless" hikomori who died at 40 and was reincarnated as a baby in a fantasy world. He retains all his memories and level of maturity (or lack thereof) and essentially gets to live a whole second life. As this is a fantasy world, complete with various forms of magic one can learn through study and practice, Rudeus' ability to focus with the patience and experience of an adult coupled with a youth's innate ability to learn act as the "cheat skill" element native to the genre. Rudeus is considered a genius insofar as there is no one else of his age he compares to, at least initially.

    While Rudy is able to display more emotional maturity than even his parents (who are mentally 15+ years younger than him) as a former hikomori he has some serious deficiencies. A healthy dose of agoraphobia, a consequence of extreme bullying in his former life, is the first hurdle he must overcome and also the easiest. The more difficult emotional challenges he faces are all related to his views on friendship, family, and women born from his previous incel lifestyle.

    While I'm still working through season 1, I think I've watched enough to form some opinions on this, and I think there's a lot of substance to talk about. If you haven't heard anything else about this anime, you may have heard that its protagonist is awful: an unsympathetic misogynist, sex offender, and a pedophile. And in many ways those are all true statements. I realize that for a lot of people that's already a hard "No!" and I wouldn't blame you for taking that stance. I nope'd out of it following a scene of explicit sexual assault against a minor, and wouldn't have returned if not for the continued urgings of a few different people whom I trust telling me to just let the scene play out. That's also a spoiler, but I think it's necessary to establish what this series is about and why it may have value despite (or even because of) its transgressive nature. Also, devoid of the context in which this scene happens I doubt I'll ruin anyone's watching experience.

    The isekai genre by and large has a strong theme of wish fulfillment; usually as a result of becoming an exceptional person in the new world. The Main Character often has some sort of cheat skill or access to some form of power that allows them to break the rules of the world, sometimes literally. Even if they don't, often their very nature as mild-mannered, communally focused, rational actors (i.e. their Japanese-ness) allows them to subvert the existing social hierarchies and revolutionize the world. In either case they tend to gain power exponentially while facing a linear progression of challenges. In my experience, this tends to rob the narrative of any sense of danger and tension once the MC reaches some critical threshold.

    This is not the case with Mushoku Tensei. Again, light spoilers from the early episodes follow:
    The MC is exceptional only in his maturity, allowing him to start studying magic as a 3-year-old, and as a byproduct of his independent study is able to cast magic without using the verbal component (to borrow a D&D term). While that's certainly an advantage, it's not in and of itself enough to make him an extraordinary mage, rather his dedication and growth-oriented mindset are what propel him to the "Saint-rank" of magic (something many adults can't achieve). In all other aspects Rudeus is no different from any other child his age; struggling with swordplay and not having any exceptional physical qualities. In other words, he's like a baby koi mistakenly put in a goldfish bowl; he'll quickly outgrow it but once he's dumped into the koi pond he's not going to be the biggest fish anymore. Moreover, in this world being a spellcaster doesn't necessarily make you the most powerful person in the room; swords-masters can do equally incredible feats. A Sword-Saint is roughly on par with Saintly Mage for raw fighting power. Even a sufficiently experienced but lower ranking Advanced practitioner of one of the three sword styles is capable of defeating Rudeus who both lacks combat experience and is reluctant to engage in violence.
    Mushoku Tensei may eventually reach that same critical threshold that other isekai do where Rudeus' abilities outstrip the setting's ability to challenge him, but it's not giving any indication of that yet.

    Where MT does show its isekai colors is in the reincarnation aspect. The very premise of reliving one's life over again replete with the knowledge and experience hard won through the years satisfies that theme of wish-fulfillment in a way that I believe requires no explanation. However, that satisfaction can come at the cost of character growth: if the main character is leveraging their experience to solve problems, they're not encountering anything that challenges their way of thinking. Works that do challenge the fantasy of being young again are typically built on building empathy between generations (Freaky Friday) or on understanding problems that transcend age (Prelude to a Kiss), but I haven't really seen anything like that in an Isekai, and that's not the approach MT takes. Instead it sidesteps the issue by giving Rudeus lots of room to grow. And boy does he have room to grow. Spoilers below giving examples of his lecherous behavior:
    From his birth, Rudeus views women (even his own mother!) as sex objects. While breastfeeding he's happy to cop a feel; as a toddler he ogles the maid as she changes clothes, and he uses his status as a child to get away with stealing his tutor's underwear. He's not immediately punished for it either. The camera takes on his gaze, decidedly the Male Gaze, when he's looking at attractive women, any women, even girls his own "age."
    As we all know this isn't uncommon in anime of any genre, but how it's handled can distinguish shows of real substance from the garbage. Mushoku Tensei takes a decidedly neutral tone on how it displays this. It seems to say (at least initially), "This is a fantasy world with a (social) power imbalance between men and women, where 'boys will be boys'." That is until it doesn't. In this world, women can be just as powerful physically, magically, or socially as men. That Rudeus fails to understand this is as much a product of own prejudice as it is his choice of role models. That being said, Rudeus has yet to learn his lesson on this. As of episode 19, he still engages in a bit of "harmless" lechery, despite having inklings that it isn't. And this brings us to the explicit sexual assault on a minor, heavy spoilers on the plot follow:
    In Episode 8 of Season 1 Rudeus has gained the trust and respect of both Eris, the 12-year-old noble's daughter he tutors, and of her family. So much so that they offer him (currently a 10-year-old) her hand in marriage in order to bind him to the family and initiate some power moves on the other nobility. Rudeus refuses, not wanting to be involved with either the danger or work of politics, but the family still sends Eris to his room with orders to consummate the arrangement. Given carte-blanche to indulge in his sexual desires (Eris says she's ok with this but is showing every non-verbal sign that she isn't), he immediately pushes Eris on the bed and starts running for 3rd base. Eris is unable to tolerate this any longer and kicks him off of her, slaps him silly, then stomps on his junk. She storms out of the room, and for seemingly the first time Rudeus considers the feelings of his potential love interest in addition to his own. He goes to apologize to her and begs forgiveness which she immediately grants.
    As I said before, I took a break part way through this scene before returning to it. Then I took another and had to process what I saw. There's an open ended question here: is this an forgivable act? The narrative explicitly says, "Yes, see? She forgives him! And they'll just wait a few years until they're at this fantasy world's legal age of consent and everything will be fine!" And then it moves on to the next act, if you're still willing to follow it. And if you aren't, I wouldn't blame you. But if you are willing to continue, I think the show does something profound later on.

    Ultimately, Mushoku Tensei delivers on the isekai promise of wish fulfillment by being a show about how the incremental improvement of a growth-oriented mindset delivers large dividends over time, and that there is no sin that is beyond forgiveness. It's a slow burn where the main character becomes powerful through persistence, and thereby achieves catharsis. He acts as a catalyst to those around him not by changing the framework of society, but by changing their outlook on their own destinies. Beyond that, it's got some very good animation (especially in its fight scenes), some great voice direction, and an interesting setting that we've just started to explore. I think that we on this board specifically trend towards works where morality is portrayed in stark contrasts, and having a protagonist with such large flaws isn't generally tolerable. Or at least it's not tolerable in a setting that doesn't explicitly frame it as being intolerable. I don't know if MT will address Rudeus' misogyny fully; the narrative follows him closely, and speaks with the voice of its POV character in any given frame. This fantasy world is one where evil things can and do happen, and there isn't some karmic force to balance that out, unless one of the characters takes it upon themselves to do so. That being said I also wouldn't be surprised if the series ultimately ends up addressing each of Rudeus' faults in exacting detail until he can fully forgive himself. That could be the direction it's headed, but it's pretty early (at least in the anime). I don't know. What gives me faith is what happens in Episode 16 & 17. Heavy spoilers below:
    Following the events of episode 8, Rudeus and Eris are teleported to the daemon continent; a land of incredible danger. There they meet a singularly powerful yet tragically misunderstood character willing to shepherd them through the danger and back to their homeland. To repay this stranger, Rudeus develops a plan to help clear his name while simultaneously earning the traveling funds they'll need. They form an adventuring group, gaining fame and fortune as they make their way south. Though there are some troubles along the way, Rudeus and co are able to turn this potentially deadly situation into an opportunity for personal growth and enjoy themselves along the way. After a year and a half of adventuring, Rudeus somewhat serendipitously runs into his father who has been searching the northern continent for the other victims of the town who were teleported to random parts of the world. Rather than giving praise, his father is livid that Rudeus has been so selfish and lackadaisical with his time. Despite only being 11 at this point, Rudeus' father knows that he's worldly well beyond his years, even more worldly than his old man. If Rudeus had simply thought critically about his circumstances, he would have realized that there were others in danger, in need. By not trying his hardest, Rudeus is culpable for their deaths. While Rudeus is initially resistant to this argument, he quickly realizes that he agrees. He had the opportunity to help others and he didn’t.
    As spoken by the urban philosopher Uncle Ben, "With great power comes great responsibility." It’s a pretty exacting philosophy, especially if you don’t choose it for yourself. And it’s certainly not what you’d expect from a main character as explicitly selfish as this one. Only, by this point his outlook has changed. There wasn’t a singular event or a conscious choice to take on a more Utilitarian worldview; it’s just something that happens as a byproduct of being around righteous people. I may not be doing it justice, but this development totally floored me. It was so unexpected and deep that I again had to take a small break and process it.

    The show takes its time with this; this is a much larger revelation than “women have feelings too.” That being said, the conflict resolves itself, again through the power of forgiveness, and moves on. This isn’t a show about singular events, but how people change gradually. It happens so slowly we often don’t notice. It often takes an outsider’s perspective to bring it to our attention.

    I’m a sucker for these themes, especially as I grow older. I’m sure we’ve all looked back on aspects of our lives and felt shame at our misdeeds, whether through mistake, malaise, or maliciousness. I also think that forgiveness is a tough thing to find, or even define in our modern world with its global reach and interconnectivity. As we collectively become more aware of the full extent of how our actions and attitudes affect everyone else it becomes more and more difficult to be a “good” person. Getting a second chance at life in a world where forgiveness is readily accessible is a very attractive form of escapism. MT isn’t the only provider of that fantasy, but I’d argue that it does a much better job of engaging with those themes than most alternatives while also maintaining high production values.

    In closing, Mushoku Tensei has the potential to be a truly profound anime. It remains to be seen whether it delivers on that because of its transgressive nature rather than despite it. In the meantime I’m going to continue watching it, free of embarrassment… at least in the privacy of my own home.

    Anzekay on
    飛べねぇ豚はただの豚だ。
  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Those sure are a lot of words to try to rationalize why it's actually fine to watch the pedophile molester show.

    Anzekay on
    uyvfOQy.png
  • ArcTangentArcTangent Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Reynolds wrote: »
    Those sure are a lot of words to try to rationalize why it's actually fine to watch the pedophile molester show.

    Yeaaaah. It always strikes me the lengths people go to in order to defend that show, and how weak the scraps rationalizing it are. Oh, the forty year old dude learned after 8 episodes that it's bad to rape 12 year olds, that's real growth and should it ever happen again, he'll think twice. At the same time, he'll continue stealing their underwear to make a perverse shrine, rating their chests, spying on them in the bath, groping them, etc. And it's all great because he's the main character and they all love the attention, as all women obviously do. As if that one particularly gross and egregious thing wasn't preceded and followed by ten thousand other gross things that are lauded. Neutral tone on men acting like this? Hardly.

    Anzekay on
    ztrEPtD.gif
  • MorninglordMorninglord I'm tired of being Batman, so today I'll be Owl.Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    .
    Frieren episode 11:
    There is a moment in this episode that I think encapsulates this series' style perfectly.

    Kraft and Frieren are discussing the Goddess and belief. Kraft says if Frieren doesn't believe in the Goddess, then he will remember Frieren's story and praise her instead. Frieren's mouth opens every so slightly, as she remembers a time when Heiter said the same thing to her. Normally when people have profound realizations, their jaws literally drop in an exaggerated fashion. In this case it's just a small mouth agape, but it communicates the same impact as a huge jaw drop.
    I read that as her being about to say something and deciding against it, personally.

    Anzekay on
    (PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    Yeah, that wall-o'-text makes it sound like a hard nope for me.

    Anzekay on
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  • MadicanMadican No face Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Rudy grows and changes so much that he

    *checks notes*

    buys a child slave whose sole purpose will be to carve anime figurines for his friend, and at no point does he even think this or even the institution of slavery is something wrong.

    Anzekay on
  • LasbrookLasbrook It takes a lot to make a stew When it comes to me and youRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    https://youtu.be/yMYEyoTRSbE?si=-eC7ZJFl_f9xg8Cv

    Gurren Lagann movies coming to US theaters in january, tickets on sale dec 8th. Excited to finally see these.

    Anzekay on
  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    The movies are wild. I think, overall, i prefer the series more, but the movies certainly Do Some Shit.

    Anzekay on
    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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  • TNTrooperTNTrooper Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    ArcTangent wrote: »
    Reynolds wrote: »
    Those sure are a lot of words to try to rationalize why it's actually fine to watch the pedophile molester show.

    Yeaaaah. It always strikes me the lengths people go to in order to defend that show, and how weak the scraps rationalizing it are. Oh, the forty year old dude learned after 8 episodes that it's bad to rape 12 year olds, that's real growth and should it ever happen again, he'll think twice. At the same time, he'll continue stealing their underwear to make a perverse shrine, rating their chests, spying on them in the bath, groping them, etc. And it's all great because he's the main character and they all love the attention, as all women obviously do. As if that one particularly gross and egregious thing wasn't preceded and followed by ten thousand other gross things that are lauded. Neutral tone on men acting like this? Hardly.

    The lesson he learned from failing to rape a 12 year old and getting his ass kicked is tie them up before molesting them.

    Anzekay on
    steam_sig.png
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    The movies are wild. I think, overall, i prefer the series more, but the movies certainly Do Some Shit.

    You'd need IMAX for the full scale of the ending.

    Anzekay on
    z48g7weaopj2.png
  • italianranmaitalianranma Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    ArcTangent wrote: »
    Reynolds wrote: »
    Those sure are a lot of words to try to rationalize why it's actually fine to watch the pedophile molester show.

    Yeaaaah. It always strikes me the lengths people go to in order to defend that show, and how weak the scraps rationalizing it are. Oh, the forty year old dude learned after 8 episodes that it's bad to rape 12 year olds, that's real growth and should it ever happen again, he'll think twice. At the same time, he'll continue stealing their underwear to make a perverse shrine, rating their chests, spying on them in the bath, groping them, etc. And it's all great because he's the main character and they all love the attention, as all women obviously do. As if that one particularly gross and egregious thing wasn't preceded and followed by ten thousand other gross things that are lauded. Neutral tone on men acting like this? Hardly.
    Look, if I just wanted to watch a pervy anime, I'd do it without taking the time to write and edit a 2500 word essay on a forum I knew would be hostile to it. The themes of the show are about growth and forgiveness, and if that's not appealing, or you feel that there's a moral event horizon that can't ever be crossed, then yeah you're never going to enjoy MT. But also, don't spread hyperbole or otherwise be so reductive about a work you haven't seen just because what you've heard about it has made you mad. That's how you end up with people passing on Kill La Kill for 10 years before public opinion gradually, and quietly, changes on it.

    I'll clarify one thing though: when I talk about the setting having a neutral tone, what I mean is that the framing and the narrative generally follow the MC's point of view rather than a particular theme from the author. When it doesn't, usually giving some context to events happening elsewhere in the story, the framing is typically level-wide shot and absent of any particular tone (such as the male gaze).

    TNTrooper wrote: »
    The lesson he learned from failing to rape a 12 year old and getting his ass kicked is tie them up before molesting them.

    I honestly don't know what you're talking about here. I'm at Season 2 Episode 3 now, but I don't remember this.

    Madican wrote: »
    Rudy grows and changes so much that he

    *checks notes*

    buys a child slave whose sole purpose will be to carve anime figurines for his friend, and at no point does he even think this or even the institution of slavery is something wrong.

    I read about this before I started watching. I haven't gotten there yet, so I'll have to see where the author goes with it. But I think the authors going to have something to say about it.

    Bottom line: I'm not going to defend Rudeus' actions or rationalize them. He does these things; the amount or degree to which he does them doesn't change the fact that he commits serious, transgressive acts. The series asks, "Is this kind of person, the dregs of society, deserving of a second chance and/or forgiveness? What might that look like?" I think that's a pretty interesting premise, and also thus far the series has delivered on it with some really good emotional and narrative payoffs. I also recognize that a lot of people don't want to engage in these kinds of themes in their stories, and that's fine: there's no judgement here, at least not from me. Honestly, I wasn't going to reply to any of these except that I noticed I had a few more reactions earlier today before these replies, and that tells me that people may have been scared off by them. I'll say this; if based on these comments you're expecting something more heinous than Goblin Slayer, don't. The series isn't nearly that graphic. Also, I don't want to hype it up too much either: I'm not expecting it to be as amazing as Kill La Kill. I want to be clear here: I've never committed sexual assault. But I have let down friends, felt sorry for myself following the end of a relationship, and felt shame at not living up to my own standards. This series has resonated with me and some of my experiences of isolation and rejection in a way I haven't felt before. And I think that's pretty neat and maybe worth giving a watch.

    Anzekay on
    飛べねぇ豚はただの豚だ。
  • ReynoldsReynolds Gone Fishin'Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    ArcTangent wrote: »
    Reynolds wrote: »
    Those sure are a lot of words to try to rationalize why it's actually fine to watch the pedophile molester show.

    Yeaaaah. It always strikes me the lengths people go to in order to defend that show, and how weak the scraps rationalizing it are. Oh, the forty year old dude learned after 8 episodes that it's bad to rape 12 year olds, that's real growth and should it ever happen again, he'll think twice. At the same time, he'll continue stealing their underwear to make a perverse shrine, rating their chests, spying on them in the bath, groping them, etc. And it's all great because he's the main character and they all love the attention, as all women obviously do. As if that one particularly gross and egregious thing wasn't preceded and followed by ten thousand other gross things that are lauded. Neutral tone on men acting like this? Hardly.

    Look, if I just wanted to watch a pervy anime, I'd do it without taking the time to write and edit a 2500 word essay on a forum I knew would be hostile to it.

    I'm going to stop you there, as my entire point is you should've stopped there, yes.

    I watch all sorts of unrecommendable trash, my AniList is public, I don't give a shit. I'm also not going to discuss it here, or spend thousands of words desperately attempting to convince myself and my peers that it's totally cool to watch Onimai, and in fact everyone that didn't watch it is missing out.

    You can watch and enjoy the underage rape slave anime as much as you want, you can buy the new Kenshin, you can lament the cancellation of Act-Age. If you want to bare your soul here and preach for new converts, I'm going to give it the response it deserves, which is to dunk that opinion in the garbage.

    Anzekay on
    uyvfOQy.png
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] regular
    edited April 13
    The user and all related content has been deleted.

    Anzekay on
  • neverreallyneverreally Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    GR_Zombie wrote: »
    We actually don’t need to ask whether or not the sin of an adult attempting to have sex with a child can be forgiven.
    The answer is no, and insinuating that it’s even a question is the exact type of disgusting crap that got anime talk banned around here the first time.

    It's like you're TRYING to start a debate hahahah

    Anzekay on
  • ArcTangentArcTangent Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    You say it's a story about redemption, but he does virtually nothing to deserve it. He doesn't change. The society/setting that he's in changes. It's not just with great power comes great responsibility. It's with power comes responsibility. Opportunity demands restraint. Just because he CAN do something, doesn't mean he's fucking allowed to or should. His power isn't just that he has super magic or whatever. It's that people think he's a child. He is given every opportunity to be a disgusting shitbag under the excuse that they think he's a child, and even though we as an audience know that he's not, he takes them and indulges in his worst desires at every turn. He was given a second chance, and used it to be as horrible and predatory as he could get away with. But this time, the setting the author built for him is a utopia that embraces and rewards people acting like that.

    And what's the actual message being given here? If instead of being disgusted by and casting out people who act like this, you give them a chance to explore their sociopathic urges, they'll find the 'correct' boundaries on their own? After a mere ten years? And the people who they assault can and should forgive them along the way? After all, some probably even like the attention! Think not of him but of his victims and what this is saying to them. Being assaulted isn't so bad. So please, spare a thought for the sexually abusive predators. They're just 40 year old kids trying to figure things out. He did some heroics, so he's earned a little sexual assault.

    Anzekay on
    ztrEPtD.gif
  • MadicanMadican No face Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Madican wrote: »
    Rudy grows and changes so much that he

    *checks notes*

    buys a child slave whose sole purpose will be to carve anime figurines for his friend, and at no point does he even think this or even the institution of slavery is something wrong.

    I read about this before I started watching. I haven't gotten there yet, so I'll have to see where the author goes with it. But I think the authors going to have something to say about it.

    Oh he certainly did. From an interview with the author:

    "Series author Rifujin na Magonote commented on slavery in his series on X (Twitter) on Sunday. Rifujin na Magonote wrote: "About Rudeus: He doesn't really have any feelings of hatred for slavery. He feels like, it's not necessarily the case that all slaves are universally unhappier as slaves than they were before becoming slaves. So while kidnapping is evil, he can't say with certainty that slavery itself is evil and doesn't want to impose his own sense of justice upon a culture he is unfamiliar with."

    Anzekay on
  • LarsLars Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    If Gurren Lagann movies are getting a US theatrical release, is there any hope for Gridman Universe?

    I know Gurren Lagann was technically before Trigger was a thing, but didn't Trigger recently get the rights to it or something? Though I suppose this theatrical run may be somehow separate from that.

    Anzekay on
  • MorninglordMorninglord I'm tired of being Batman, so today I'll be Owl.Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    I have a vain hope those movies might make it to Sydney but nahhhhhhh. Dreaming.

    Anzekay on
    (PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] regular
    edited April 13
    The user and all related content has been deleted.

    Anzekay on
  • TNTrooperTNTrooper Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    TNTrooper wrote: »
    The lesson he learned from failing to rape a 12 year old and getting his ass kicked is tie them up before molesting them.

    I honestly don't know what you're talking about here. I'm at Season 2 Episode 3 now, but I don't remember this.

    Season 2 Episode 7 title is "The Kidnapping and Confinement of Beast Girls" where he kidnaps the beast girls takes them back to his room ties them up and gropes one.

    Anzekay on
    steam_sig.png
  • LasbrookLasbrook It takes a lot to make a stew When it comes to me and youRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    So how about that Dragonball Z huh?

    Piccolo, they’re pretty cool.

    Anzekay on
  • PLAPLA The process.Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    I can't remember if Time Detective Flint was good or not. I think I liked some of the time-shifter designs, though.

    Anzekay on
  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Lasbrook wrote: »
    So how about that Dragonball Z huh?

    Piccolo, they’re pretty cool.

    Not good at hitting your vital organs

    Anzekay on
  • miscellaneousinsanitymiscellaneousinsanity grass grows, birds fly, sun shines, and brother, i hurt peopleRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    ok i also watched scott pilgrim in basically one sitting with friends and holy shit science saru knocked it out of the fucking park

    if you're a fan watch it asap

    Anzekay on
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  • Moth 13Moth 13 Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    One of the first things I heard about Jobless Reincarnation was that

    (LN spoilers)
    He marries all three of his love interests

    which does not give me the impression that it is beating the wish-fulfillment allegations.

    Anzekay on
  • italianranmaitalianranma Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Gonna break this up into two parts
    ArcTangent wrote: »
    You say it's a story about redemption, but he does virtually nothing to deserve it. He doesn't change. The society/setting that he's in changes. It's not just with great power comes great responsibility. It's with power comes responsibility. Opportunity demands restraint. Just because he CAN do something, doesn't mean he's fucking allowed to or should. His power isn't just that he has super magic or whatever. It's that people think he's a child. He is given every opportunity to be a disgusting shitbag under the excuse that they think he's a child, and even though we as an audience know that he's not, he takes them and indulges in his worst desires at every turn. He was given a second chance, and used it to be as horrible and predatory as he could get away with. But this time, the setting the author built for him is a utopia that embraces and rewards people acting like that.

    Well, spoilers, but he does change.
    Like I said it's slow and gradual but by the end of season 1 he's change a lot. From a selfish man willing to take advantage of his status as a child to get away with being a pervert into an idealistic teen who's willing to risk his life for the downtrodden, and hard on himself for not maximizing his ability to help others. As far as society/the setting changing, in the first half of the series he's part of a noble family where those in power indulge in their vices, so yeah the setting rewards, or at least doesn't punish him for being pervy. By the end he no longer has either that protection or peoples' misconceptions regarding his youth to hide behind, so the setting no longer allows his behavior to go unchecked. But also, he realizes that his voyeurism (which is pretty much the only behavior he continues in past episode 8) is harmful to the ones he spies on, and he stops that too. That's the character arc. And I didn't make a mistake saying he transitions into being a teen (again). By coming out of his shell he's started engaging with society in a way that he hadn't since shutting himself away. He may be an adult, but in many real ways he's lacking the knowledge and experience of one, making him more akin to a teenager, at least in some emotional lanes.
    So, to me it sounds like you either stopped watching it early, or didn't watch it at all, and think the series continues at a flat trajectory. Which it doesn't.
    And what's the actual message being given here? If instead of being disgusted by and casting out people who act like this, you give them a chance to explore their sociopathic urges, they'll find the 'correct' boundaries on their own? After a mere ten years? And the people who they assault can and should forgive them along the way? After all, some probably even like the attention! Think not of him but of his victims and what this is saying to them. Being assaulted isn't so bad. So please, spare a thought for the sexually abusive predators. They're just 40 year old kids trying to figure things out. He did some heroics, so he's earned a little sexual assault.

    Well, I think the message is that people hurt each other in profound ways, often unintentionally, and that this trauma can take a long time to heal from. Moreover, this trauma can arrest one's mental and emotional growth, or cause that growth to happen in a negative way. Before being reborn, Rudeus is completely isolated for something like 20 years: that's going to cause a lot of mental health issues. That doesn't excuse his behavior in any way, but it does help explain it. I think that's part of the set up here: it's one thing to have a protagonist like Slime-san and have a couple of regrets regarding missed opportunities, then immediately become a paragon of rational thought and near bodhisattvas of virtue. It's a whole different narrative to start as a selfish, manipulative, misogynistic coward and work your way up to being a hero. Rudeus is rewarded fiscally for his heroics, and also socially via building a reputation for good deeds, and finally emotionally from the reliance he finds in himself and others. He's not rewarded with a free pass to do as he wishes sexually. Spoilers for episode 22:
    wherein there's a repeat of the scene from episode 8, except there's been a total role-reversal. Eris is the one with both the social power now, as well as the physical. She's incredibly distraught at the news regarding the loss of her family and the prospect of having to marry someone else to get the financial aid her devastated town requires to rebuild. She goes to Rudeus intent on consummating some kind of relationship. Rudeus is hesitant; he knows she's distraught and doesn't want to take advantage of her emotional distress, but she insistently pushes him down on the bed regardless of his protests, and eventually he gives in.

    The difference between this scene and what happened back in episode 8 is twofold: firstly that back then Eris was just an object of desire while now he's interested in her as a romantic partner. Secondly, because he is punished for it. Despite being a (fantasy world) legal adult of 15 years, Eris is still a teenager and lacks both communication skills and emotional maturity. She runs away before he wakes up the next morning, leaving a note saying "We're not well matched right now," and that she's going away. What she means by this is that she wants to become someone she feels is worthy of him (she specifically admires his dedication to developing himself as a mage and also his general intelligence), but he takes is as she's saying goodbye forever because of something he lacks. Who knows what would have happened had he abstained; maybe Eris would have delayed her departure until they could talk out their feelings calmly, maybe she wouldn't have, but in either case he wouldn't have re-inflicted this new trauma on himself.

    And I'm going to highlight one last thing you said here:
    If instead of being disgusted by and casting out people who act like this, you give them a chance to explore their sociopathic urges, they'll find the 'correct' boundaries on their own?
    I want to be clear about what kind of people we're talking about. Rudeus (in his former life) is a recluse and an incel, radicalized by isolation, bullying, and whatever vices he escaped into. The correct thing to do is de-radicalize them of their views, not ostracize them further. And that is kinda what happens to Rudeus. As the people he admires show empathy and care for him and others, giving him an example of what an alternate path through life might look like, he slowly overcomes the trauma that got him to that sociopathic mindset in the first place, or at least he's on that path by the end of season 1.
    Madican wrote: »
    Madican wrote: »
    Rudy grows and changes so much that he

    *checks notes*

    buys a child slave whose sole purpose will be to carve anime figurines for his friend, and at no point does he even think this or even the institution of slavery is something wrong.

    I read about this before I started watching. I haven't gotten there yet, so I'll have to see where the author goes with it. But I think the authors going to have something to say about it.

    Oh he certainly did. From an interview with the author:

    "Series author Rifujin na Magonote commented on slavery in his series on X (Twitter) on Sunday. Rifujin na Magonote wrote: "About Rudeus: He doesn't really have any feelings of hatred for slavery. He feels like, it's not necessarily the case that all slaves are universally unhappier as slaves than they were before becoming slaves. So while kidnapping is evil, he can't say with certainty that slavery itself is evil and doesn't want to impose his own sense of justice upon a culture he is unfamiliar with."
    That's the author commenting on the character's views on slavery. It's like saying that G.R.R. Martin thinks incest and rape and murder is okay because his characters do.
    TNTrooper wrote: »
    TNTrooper wrote: »
    The lesson he learned from failing to rape a 12 year old and getting his ass kicked is tie them up before molesting them.

    I honestly don't know what you're talking about here. I'm at Season 2 Episode 3 now, but I don't remember this.

    Season 2 Episode 7 title is "The Kidnapping and Confinement of Beast Girls" where he kidnaps the beast girls takes them back to his room ties them up and gropes one.

    This sounds heinous, and also like a huge break in character considering what happened in season 1! At the end of S2E3 Rudeus is pretty depressed and potentially heading down a dark path. I'm going to trust that I've read the theme of this work correctly and continue along with it to see how this turns out. Something similar happened in Re:Zero didn't it, where there was a season 2 meltdown?
    GR_Zombie wrote: »
    We actually don’t need to ask whether or not the sin of an adult attempting to have sex with a child can be forgiven.
    The answer is no, and insinuating that it’s even a question is the exact type of disgusting crap that got anime talk banned around here the first time.

    I wasn't on the forums in the before days, and people still talk about what actually happened in hushed whispers. I thought it was Kill La Kill that got the anime threads banned back in the day, and our views on that have certainly changed. Of course if a mod tells me this is inappropriate I'll apologize and never bring it up again.

    Regardless, I can read the room, and I'll take a break after this.

    Anzekay on
    飛べねぇ豚はただの豚だ。
  • LasbrookLasbrook It takes a lot to make a stew When it comes to me and youRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    Lasbrook wrote: »
    So how about that Dragonball Z huh?

    Piccolo, they’re pretty cool.

    Not good at hitting your vital organs

    Not everyone can fight like android 18.

    Anzekay on
  • neverreallyneverreally Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    I finished Pluto.

    We were talking about how Urasawa doesn't stick the landing BUT THIS STUCK THE LANDING!!!!

    The first episode is still my fav but I loved every single episode. Ya'll. Go watch. 8 episodes and done. Best adult anime I've seen in a long time.

    Anzekay on
  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited April 13
    I certainly haven't come around on KLK for what it's worth, I still have no desire to ever watch it again.

    Anzekay on
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] regular
    edited April 13
    The user and all related content has been deleted.

    Anzekay on
  • ArcTangentArcTangent Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    It's pretty hard to square the circle between he grows up and becomes a better person from a serial sexual assaulter to an unrepentant molester slaver polygamist with a harem of child wives and a shrine of stolen underwear. But it's okay, because in the setting, slavery is fine, and 15 is an adult.

    Anzekay on
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  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    the selling pitch for Jobless Reincarnation oddly reminds me of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, which is a series I dropped right after the protagonist engaged in violent sexual assault also

    Anzekay on
  • MorninglordMorninglord I'm tired of being Batman, so today I'll be Owl.Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Can we stop talking about this? Like he's said he's going to stop. So can the rest of us just not post about it at all? Even your responses? Even your very important responses? Can you delete the ones you are thinking of making and we just don't?

    Cos this fucking sucks. It's extremely unpleasant that this has been the conversation topic for a full page and I'd like it to stop if we possibly could?

    Anzekay on
    (PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] regular
    edited April 13
    The user and all related content has been deleted.

    Anzekay on
  • LanzLanz ...Za?Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    TANUKI OF CONVERSATION PURIFICATION

    cccffp6imzj5.png


    2sifjtvo5m9o.png


    vj4ub0u1irp2.png

    Anzekay on
  • SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Lanz wrote: »
    TANUKI OF CONVERSATION PURIFICATION

    I have something for that.

    Gp911DO.jpg

    Anzekay on
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  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus Registered User regular
    edited April 13
    Man it's wild how much stuff I want to watch lately. Tonight I watched Spy x Family episode 7, Apothecary Diaries episode 7, Scott Pilgrim episode 3, and started the first episode of Blue Eye Samurai.

    Anzekay on
  • AnzekayAnzekay Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited April 13
    I love both Gurren Lagann films. They're so much fun

    Anzekay on
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