WARNING: This probably doesn’t work.
I’m currently marathoning Twin Peaks (disc 4) and Princess Tutu (disc 3), switching one show for the other whenever I finish a DVD. I got them both at the same time and it’s a surprisingly good combination so why not?
Unless you meant what I’m watching this season. That’d be Muromi-san, Attack on Titan, Yuyushiki, Maou-sama, Kamen Rider Wizard, Akibaranger season two, Doki, Azazel, whatever the newest season of GARO is called, and uh Kyoryuger. I’ve been recommended Gargantia and Valvrave but I’m just so lazy.
Unless you meant from my backlog. Sorry, I have way too much shit in that to even bother listing.
Unless you meant what I’m watching right now. In which case it’s Tokyo Pig episode one because Shenaniganza linked me a clip from a random episode that was really good so I downloaded all 61 episodes of it.
I’m super interesting.
http://wtf.animeblogger.net/?p=140#more-140 Here’s a good article from 2007 about Kazuki Nakashima’s underrated writing in Gurren Lagann. Not a PERFECT article, no - initially I linked this on Twitter with the disclaimer of “the paragraph about FLCL is awful”, but Crobdan just pointed out some other silly parts to me, like the one about the 90s popularizing ‘dark themes’ in mecha (which is obviously wrong in a world where Zambot and Ideon exist). He also didn’t mention the Getter manga’s influence in particular, so the guy doesn’t understand anime/manga history that well.
But aside from these flaws, he understands the narrative and themes of Gurren Lagann very well. One thing he could have elaborated on is the focus on individuality - the robots with FACES vs the FACELESS anti-spiral mechs, the very important way in which individuality and spiral power are linked, and how individuality in the show is not portrayed as a “FUCK THE POLICE, DO WHAT YOU WANT” thing but as something you achieve by letting others influence you (Simon’s final philosophy being his very own unique melting pot of the views of Kamina, Nia and the Anti-Spiral along with his own personal outlook), or by mixing existing things in your own way. Note how the characters STEAL mechs from others only to fuse them together into their OWN mechs, and how the first thing Kamina did whenever they acquired a new mech was to give it a NAME. “GIVE ME BACK MY GANMEN” “Ganmen? What a crappy name… this is MY Gurren!” (episode 3). Coupled with his speech about ‘piercing the heavens with your drill, which is your >SOUL<’, it is clear that, in his own simple-minded manchild way, Kamina grasped the very core of the show’s themes, the barest simplest essence of “spiral power”, before any of the other protagonists.
This idea of individuality actually ties in brilliantly to the claims of Gurren Lagann’s plot pints being a shameless ripoff of other things - which is still arguable and perhaps subjective, I say, but it’s hard to deny that its execution - characterization, subtle delivery of themes through seemingly inconsequential dialogue and visual symbolism - is different from that of its influences. Getter Robo never quite did anything like Simon’s speech about “weaving together the will of the fallen and the wishes of those that follow into a double helix”. Say what you will about the story itself but the DELIVERY has more in common with FLCL than the shows that it is is normally compared with. And of course another often-forgotten influence is Osamu Dezaki - Imaishi and Nakashima set out to make a “manly anime like Ashita no Joe and Treasure Island”.
Why is this nearly 6 year old article relevant NOW? Because Kazuki Nakashima, the writer of Gurren Lagann, is back together with Imaishi, and he’ll be writing Kill-La-Kill - practically the new Gurren Lagann. I want to enforce that people should probably pay attention to KLK’s writing and not JUST the animation, music and surface-level ‘badassitude’. If the script DOES turn out similar to Gurren Lagann’s, I don’t want it to end up being so under-appreciated. Gurren might not have been “deep”, but man, was it CLEVER.
The The Beginning and The End; or “Why the Ending matches the theme of the series rather than the promises of the Beginning.” part is particularly good, if only because I STILL see people getting bothered by it.
HIROYUKI IMAISHI NEW SHOW OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED: KILLER KILL
DIRECTOR: HIROYUKI IMAISHI (GURREN-LAGANN, PANTY & STOCKING)
WRITER: KAZUKI NAKASHIMA (GURREN-LAGANN, KAMEN RIDER FOURZE)
CHARACTER DESIGNER: SUSHIO
FUCK YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh god it’s HAPPENING
Toilet Paper-San is my bishie.
Shenaniganza told me he had to think of a way to Tumblr this without making it look like he was only doing it for the candy girl.
I’m not sure WHY.
It’s a shame the number one thing people remember about Kemonozume is that scene at the beginning of episode eight where the guy eats his girlfriend.
So somehow or another I got into a conversation about Kemonozume and how in episode 12 the character… well it’s kind of a spoiler so I won’t say his name. Anyway I love his character design and how he’s animated so I decided to do the sane thing and screencap every scene he’s in for the episode.
Every god damn face he makes is WONDERFUL.
So I finally found some subbed Shin Chan episodes and they’re…
They’re…
The quality isn’t that great… for…
Any of them…
…
My journey continues…
Bonus stupidity: [7:57:15 PM] busterbeam .: maybe we should bother everyone
[7:57:27 PM] busterbeam .: until someone starts subbing everything shin chan
[7:58:21 PM] crobdan: maybe Shin Chan fan Aaron Long can make a fester fish video about it
[7:59:09 PM] crobdan: Fester Fish: Okay, I know you are all waiting for an update, but I have something very important to ask. Ahem. Please sub shin chan. Okay thank you.
[7:59:29 PM] crobdan: Aaron: Why are so many people unsubscribing from my youtube channel?
