Zero Angel Richardson's Blog, page 8
October 23, 2015
Roman Holiday . . . maybe a little late with this one
Roman Holiday is considered one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time. It stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, and as someone that's always been a fan of Audrey Hepburn from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "My Fair Lady", I figured it was past time for me to watch such a seminal movie.
It's hard not to see this as the clunky set-up-the-male-to-be-a-douchebag-so-there's-some-artificial-drama-that-wouldn't-normally-be-an-issue-if-the-characters-acted-reasonably, and yet, it's really not. In hindsight, the character was written to be a specific way, and the interactions between the two caused growth that you don't normally see in rom-coms. The only growth typically seen in rom-coms is caused by the artificial separation introduced somewhere in the 2nd-3rd act, but this growth happened somewhat naturally, albeit rapidly since the movie takes place over the course of three days. Although I wouldn't have held these tropes against such an early film (it's not cliche if it's one of the first times done), it was nice that these were avoided mostly.
There's a slowness to classic films that I find hard to get over; rather, a deliberateness that is mind-numbingly frustrating to watch. You can appreciate the set-up, but it doesn't jive with my ADHD. Some old ones you don't notice it, but then there are others that are a bit too much. This movie took its time in several places, and you can hear the silence of not having a background score during these moments.
Still, I'm glad I watched the film. And the ending was masterful and beautiful. Really, really beautiful.
It's hard not to see this as the clunky set-up-the-male-to-be-a-douchebag-so-there's-some-artificial-drama-that-wouldn't-normally-be-an-issue-if-the-characters-acted-reasonably, and yet, it's really not. In hindsight, the character was written to be a specific way, and the interactions between the two caused growth that you don't normally see in rom-coms. The only growth typically seen in rom-coms is caused by the artificial separation introduced somewhere in the 2nd-3rd act, but this growth happened somewhat naturally, albeit rapidly since the movie takes place over the course of three days. Although I wouldn't have held these tropes against such an early film (it's not cliche if it's one of the first times done), it was nice that these were avoided mostly.
There's a slowness to classic films that I find hard to get over; rather, a deliberateness that is mind-numbingly frustrating to watch. You can appreciate the set-up, but it doesn't jive with my ADHD. Some old ones you don't notice it, but then there are others that are a bit too much. This movie took its time in several places, and you can hear the silence of not having a background score during these moments.
Still, I'm glad I watched the film. And the ending was masterful and beautiful. Really, really beautiful.
October 20, 2015
Star Wars Ep VII: The Force Awakens — The Trailer
The trailer for the upcoming Star Wars trailer came out last night to almost universal appreciation. If you haven't seen it yet, I'll include the embedded video:
WOW!
Let's review the trailer!
The very first shot was completely incredible. Cinematically, scifi-ically, fantastically incredible. At once I felt the sheer amount of epic that can come from this film and felt tones of E.T. and Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli and the most classic sci-fi there is. If I had to compare the first four shots of the trailer to any specific film, it would be Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
The new trio of character each have their own introduction in the trailer. Rey, the scavenger that is possibly denying her past; Finn, the former stormtrooper that is searching for something to believe in and fight for; and Kylo Ren, the fanatical Darth Vader fanboy. This trio of characters is our new Star Wars, and it's fitting that each one is introduced in turn and individually.
Then the destruction starts. This film looks like it could be very heavy. We suspect that Finn leaves the Empire after being forced to take part in the destruction of a village, and we see Captain Phasma stroll through the purported village.
We have Rey and Finn questioning the history of Star Wars and Han freaking Solo confirming it all to be true in the same place where 30 years earlier he claimed that the Force didn't exist.
The action looks like it will be the best action we've ever had in Star Wars, and possible some of the best action we've ever had period. I don't make that claim lightly or solely based on the trailer even, we have the people behind the action in the Raid participating in this film. The vehicle action looks the best it's ever been, and I cannot wait to see the person-to-person action.
I'm completely sold on this new Star Wars film and the trailer has only increased my excitement. If Star Wars ends up being not good, it will be one of the biggest disappointments in my life.
So good job trailer!
What did you think? Are you looking forward to the new film or are you unable to put the prequel trilogy out of your mind? I heard a report saying that Star Wars had 8x more presale tickets last night than Hunger Games did in 24 hours (which previously held the record for most presale tickets in 24 hours) so apparently people are pretty excited.
WOW!
Let's review the trailer!
The very first shot was completely incredible. Cinematically, scifi-ically, fantastically incredible. At once I felt the sheer amount of epic that can come from this film and felt tones of E.T. and Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli and the most classic sci-fi there is. If I had to compare the first four shots of the trailer to any specific film, it would be Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
The new trio of character each have their own introduction in the trailer. Rey, the scavenger that is possibly denying her past; Finn, the former stormtrooper that is searching for something to believe in and fight for; and Kylo Ren, the fanatical Darth Vader fanboy. This trio of characters is our new Star Wars, and it's fitting that each one is introduced in turn and individually.
Then the destruction starts. This film looks like it could be very heavy. We suspect that Finn leaves the Empire after being forced to take part in the destruction of a village, and we see Captain Phasma stroll through the purported village.
We have Rey and Finn questioning the history of Star Wars and Han freaking Solo confirming it all to be true in the same place where 30 years earlier he claimed that the Force didn't exist.
The action looks like it will be the best action we've ever had in Star Wars, and possible some of the best action we've ever had period. I don't make that claim lightly or solely based on the trailer even, we have the people behind the action in the Raid participating in this film. The vehicle action looks the best it's ever been, and I cannot wait to see the person-to-person action.
I'm completely sold on this new Star Wars film and the trailer has only increased my excitement. If Star Wars ends up being not good, it will be one of the biggest disappointments in my life.
So good job trailer!
What did you think? Are you looking forward to the new film or are you unable to put the prequel trilogy out of your mind? I heard a report saying that Star Wars had 8x more presale tickets last night than Hunger Games did in 24 hours (which previously held the record for most presale tickets in 24 hours) so apparently people are pretty excited.
October 19, 2015
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Movie Poster Review
I'm more than a little excited for Star Wars.
Tonight, they're dropping the first full-length theatrical trailer during Monday Night Football. In anticipation, they released the movie poster yesterday.
Above is the wide version of the poster. In it, we see Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca from the original films and a bevy of newbies. From left to right, the ones I know are Kylo Ren, Rey, BB8, R2D2, Poe Dameron, C-3PO, Captain Phasma, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, the Millenium Falcon, and Finn. The Death Star looking thing in the background I've heard is known as the Starkiller Base. This is purportedly an entire planet that's been converted into a weapon capable of destroying star systems.
Here's the movie poster version:
I think this poster is gorgeous. I've heard people say it's too busy with too many characters, but I think this poster holds a lot of the promise of the new film. Epic and large and worthy of a space opera. The parallels of Rey's staff and Kylo Ren's lightsaber and then Finn's lightsaber on the opposite side is perfect. Han and Leia look awesome, and Captain Phasma on the bottom with a legion of storm troopers looks as imposing as anything I've ever seen in Star Wars. There's so much going on, but I want a lot going on. I want the promise of the original trilogy to pay off in this new film.
I don't think I could be more excited for a film, but I thought that yesterday and this poster has made me even more excited.
The trailer drops tonight! What do you think of the poster?
Tonight, they're dropping the first full-length theatrical trailer during Monday Night Football. In anticipation, they released the movie poster yesterday.
Above is the wide version of the poster. In it, we see Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca from the original films and a bevy of newbies. From left to right, the ones I know are Kylo Ren, Rey, BB8, R2D2, Poe Dameron, C-3PO, Captain Phasma, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, the Millenium Falcon, and Finn. The Death Star looking thing in the background I've heard is known as the Starkiller Base. This is purportedly an entire planet that's been converted into a weapon capable of destroying star systems.
Here's the movie poster version:
I think this poster is gorgeous. I've heard people say it's too busy with too many characters, but I think this poster holds a lot of the promise of the new film. Epic and large and worthy of a space opera. The parallels of Rey's staff and Kylo Ren's lightsaber and then Finn's lightsaber on the opposite side is perfect. Han and Leia look awesome, and Captain Phasma on the bottom with a legion of storm troopers looks as imposing as anything I've ever seen in Star Wars. There's so much going on, but I want a lot going on. I want the promise of the original trilogy to pay off in this new film.
I don't think I could be more excited for a film, but I thought that yesterday and this poster has made me even more excited.
The trailer drops tonight! What do you think of the poster?
October 10, 2015
On the Prevalence of Sexual Molestation in Anime — Motivated by Accel World Episode 14
So I just finished watching Episode 14 of Accel World and being thoroughly disgusted, decided to talk about a common portrayal of evil men in anime. This won't be a formal essay so much as a reaction to something I had to sit through just now.
Basically, the stereotypical portrayal of an evil male in anime is one that licks the face of a female character and implies or commits further sexual molestation and rape (and I say further, because licking someone against their will is sexual molestation).
Noumi SeijiNow, I fully agree that this is a "good" representation of "evil", but it is prevalent in all levels of anime and nearly always, the female becomes docile even if she was not a docile character previously. This complete surrendering pisses me off almost more than the molestation. And it's not that I am blaming the female, but rather, I am blaming the supposedly male writers for stripping the female of any agency or power of their own. I understand that different people will react differently to the situation, and someone not fighting back does not give someone the right to continue the abuse, but it seems almost universal; at least to the point that I can't think of a single anime where it resolved itself in a way that I found appropriate. Also, unless the show is about that, it almost always comes out of nowhere and just all of a sudden the girls are victims and the guys are either equally helpless or ignorant until it is time to overcome the bad guy.
There is a cultural aspect to molestation in Japan that is one of the worst aspects of Japanese culture to be honest. It seems as though women almost expect to be molested and are certainly put down even more than they are in America. Is it that in America we pretend that it's not that bad? Or is it an even more egregious sexism in Japan than we have here? I don't know and I'm not particularly qualified to speak as more than an observer.
If you look at the stereotypical classical representation of a Japanese girl in anime, she's nearly always demure, polite, accommodating, whereas American girls are loud, rude, and brash, and not afraid to go after what they want. Yet, both stereotypes become nothing but victims when an evil male chooses them.
Because I have been enjoying Accel World so much, I went on Wikipedia to search for this particular evil male and see how his arc ends. I won't spoil it totally for people, but it appears as though it will be a few episodes of unsettling, horrible behavior and the girl being victimized before being resolved in a somewhat progressive manner. But WTF? What does this storyline do besides make us hate the characters and the episodes they are in?
I'm not going to say it is ineffective writing, because I, as the viewer to this, feel as powerless as I know people feel in these situations (albeit without the futuristic virtual world construct), but with the characters as we know them in Episode 13, there is no reason why they need to have this asshole come in and upturn everything. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer's room went something like,
Basically, the stereotypical portrayal of an evil male in anime is one that licks the face of a female character and implies or commits further sexual molestation and rape (and I say further, because licking someone against their will is sexual molestation).
Noumi SeijiNow, I fully agree that this is a "good" representation of "evil", but it is prevalent in all levels of anime and nearly always, the female becomes docile even if she was not a docile character previously. This complete surrendering pisses me off almost more than the molestation. And it's not that I am blaming the female, but rather, I am blaming the supposedly male writers for stripping the female of any agency or power of their own. I understand that different people will react differently to the situation, and someone not fighting back does not give someone the right to continue the abuse, but it seems almost universal; at least to the point that I can't think of a single anime where it resolved itself in a way that I found appropriate. Also, unless the show is about that, it almost always comes out of nowhere and just all of a sudden the girls are victims and the guys are either equally helpless or ignorant until it is time to overcome the bad guy. There is a cultural aspect to molestation in Japan that is one of the worst aspects of Japanese culture to be honest. It seems as though women almost expect to be molested and are certainly put down even more than they are in America. Is it that in America we pretend that it's not that bad? Or is it an even more egregious sexism in Japan than we have here? I don't know and I'm not particularly qualified to speak as more than an observer.
If you look at the stereotypical classical representation of a Japanese girl in anime, she's nearly always demure, polite, accommodating, whereas American girls are loud, rude, and brash, and not afraid to go after what they want. Yet, both stereotypes become nothing but victims when an evil male chooses them.
Because I have been enjoying Accel World so much, I went on Wikipedia to search for this particular evil male and see how his arc ends. I won't spoil it totally for people, but it appears as though it will be a few episodes of unsettling, horrible behavior and the girl being victimized before being resolved in a somewhat progressive manner. But WTF? What does this storyline do besides make us hate the characters and the episodes they are in?
I'm not going to say it is ineffective writing, because I, as the viewer to this, feel as powerless as I know people feel in these situations (albeit without the futuristic virtual world construct), but with the characters as we know them in Episode 13, there is no reason why they need to have this asshole come in and upturn everything. I wouldn't be surprised if the writer's room went something like,
"Let's have everyone be pathetic and ineffective and make our audience hate our main characters!"
"And then, in the same episode where we have some relatively inoffensive fan service that really highlights how close the characters are more than any sort of sexual undertone, let's have those characters be sexually molested so everyone can feel like a complete creep for having fun with a lighthearted moment of the show."
"Wow, I can't believe how awesome we are at coming up with this!"I'm sure I'll eventually start watching Accel World again, especially since I know how the arc resolves, but why would I want to sit through that arc at all? So far, the second half of the season has been slow as molasses compared to a breakneck first half of the season. Maybe I won't go back to Accel World after all.
October 7, 2015
Accel World - A quick start!
Accel World is an anime that I really didn't need the 3 episode rule for thankfully. It had its hooks into me by the end of the first episode and now that I've seen the first 5 episodes, I'm pretty interested in where it's going. (I couldn't stop after just 3, which is a good sign).
From there on, it accelerates (yes, I know everyone reviewing this will be making that pun).
The story is set in the maybe-not-so-distant future and relies on the technology that everyone has a computer being beamed into their brain. Augmented reality times a million basically. Someone has discovered how to use the technology to effectively freeze time and allow certain users the ability to move about in the virtual world at 1000x speed (so that a single second lasts 16 minutes and 40 seconds for users of the special program).
What is there for these special users to do but battle it out to steal points from other players in order to continue being able to accelerate.
We follow your standard prodigy at video games that is introduced to the world, Haru, who has a pig avatar that is cuter than I feel comfortable admitting. In real life though, he's short, fat, and basically last at everything. Although he clearly fits the mold of the anime character that is the best in the world, his real-life insecurities add some depth to his character and I can imagine a lot of people feeling refreshed that he's not just good at everything.
For some reason, most anime don't have a problem at having characters be just freaking geniuses at everything, so his emotional insecurities based on his real-life physical lack does add a depth to the show.
He's recruited by Kuroyukihime (koo-roh-yoo-kee-hee-may) to accelerate, and her character is quite interesting also, although she does not believe in personal space apparently, as she downright molests Haru's pig avatar in these first few episodes. She's the character on the cover in the image above.
Finally, we have two childhood friends of Haru's that are currently dating, Taku (M) and Chiyuri (F). Their relationship with each other and with Haru is interesting too to be honest.
I'm really looking forward to where things go from here. I'd say the first arc of the show finished in Episode 5, and now a bigger stage is set for the future. It's a 24 episode series, so there's still plenty of time left, but I'm hopeful that it will live up to its title and not have a period of dragging in the middle.
The art is crisp and clean, and the virtual world is very cool also. It seems to have a pretty high budget for the action and I currently have the ending theme stuck in my head. My one gripe is the style of some of the online world accelerated avatars — it's a personal gripe, but the organic mech look isn't my favorite aesthetic.
I should mention that I've had the dub on in the background as I'm working, and the voice actors do not impress. When the action picks up, they do alright, but in the everyday conversations, I really find them kinda' annoying. I'll be trying out the sub when I can give it my full attention and will probably abandon the dub for now.
I'm interested in hearing what you guys think of the show. Please don't post any spoilers past the 5 episode mark in the comments. Thanks!
From there on, it accelerates (yes, I know everyone reviewing this will be making that pun).
The story is set in the maybe-not-so-distant future and relies on the technology that everyone has a computer being beamed into their brain. Augmented reality times a million basically. Someone has discovered how to use the technology to effectively freeze time and allow certain users the ability to move about in the virtual world at 1000x speed (so that a single second lasts 16 minutes and 40 seconds for users of the special program).
What is there for these special users to do but battle it out to steal points from other players in order to continue being able to accelerate.
We follow your standard prodigy at video games that is introduced to the world, Haru, who has a pig avatar that is cuter than I feel comfortable admitting. In real life though, he's short, fat, and basically last at everything. Although he clearly fits the mold of the anime character that is the best in the world, his real-life insecurities add some depth to his character and I can imagine a lot of people feeling refreshed that he's not just good at everything.
For some reason, most anime don't have a problem at having characters be just freaking geniuses at everything, so his emotional insecurities based on his real-life physical lack does add a depth to the show.
He's recruited by Kuroyukihime (koo-roh-yoo-kee-hee-may) to accelerate, and her character is quite interesting also, although she does not believe in personal space apparently, as she downright molests Haru's pig avatar in these first few episodes. She's the character on the cover in the image above.
Finally, we have two childhood friends of Haru's that are currently dating, Taku (M) and Chiyuri (F). Their relationship with each other and with Haru is interesting too to be honest.
I'm really looking forward to where things go from here. I'd say the first arc of the show finished in Episode 5, and now a bigger stage is set for the future. It's a 24 episode series, so there's still plenty of time left, but I'm hopeful that it will live up to its title and not have a period of dragging in the middle.
The art is crisp and clean, and the virtual world is very cool also. It seems to have a pretty high budget for the action and I currently have the ending theme stuck in my head. My one gripe is the style of some of the online world accelerated avatars — it's a personal gripe, but the organic mech look isn't my favorite aesthetic.
I should mention that I've had the dub on in the background as I'm working, and the voice actors do not impress. When the action picks up, they do alright, but in the everyday conversations, I really find them kinda' annoying. I'll be trying out the sub when I can give it my full attention and will probably abandon the dub for now.
I'm interested in hearing what you guys think of the show. Please don't post any spoilers past the 5 episode mark in the comments. Thanks!
Announcement: Reviews
There's a rule of thumb in anime that you should give a series 3 episodes before making a judgement. I'm not sure if this says more about the creators or about the fandom, but I've decided to begin doing this with all of the anime I can get my hands on. After watching a few episodes, I'll let you know my thoughts and if I'll be continuing the series, and after watching the entire series (or first season), I'll post reviews. If any particular episode is especially amazing, I'll also be posting reviews of that. Same thing goes for television series, but instead of "all", I'll amend that to the ones that look interesting.
This is all part of a new direction I'll be taking the blog in (while continuing in the other directions also). I'll add a section to the Apocalypse Designs website to archive old reviews, and will go back and populate it with the few reviews I've done already. Frankly, I don't have any reliable source of anime reviews, so it's something that I wish someone else had done before me. The TV series part will just be another excuse for content I suppose, not to mention something that I've been doing (and one of the most popular parts of the blog to be honest).
And before anyone comments, I realize there are anime reviews out there, and I don't want to offend anyone that has a particular favorite, but those anime reviews that I've encountered are either unreliable or don't post often, and I'm done wading through trying to find anime reviews while avoiding spoilers when it only takes 70-100 minutes to follow the accepted rule of thumb.
I usually try out a few series every week, so I don't think we'll have trouble posting every week.
I'm a subscriber to Crunchyroll and Netflix, so that's where I'll be predominantly populating the reviews from, but if there are anime available elsewhere legally, then I'll try to seek out more anime when I can.
Most of my reviews will focus on subtitled anime (called subs) as the Japanese voice actors are just better actors. I suspect it's a cultural difference. But if I can't find a sub for a particular anime or if I am trying out the anime while doing something else, then I may have comments for the dub as well.
If I start to attract some traffic, I'm interested in doing YouTube reviews also, but I expect those will be a supplementary addition and few and far between. Recording voiceovers and editing video for YouTube is a bit too involved.
So, in summary:
Thank you. Please let me know what you think of the new content!
Oh! And let me know if there are any anime series you'd like me to check out.
This is all part of a new direction I'll be taking the blog in (while continuing in the other directions also). I'll add a section to the Apocalypse Designs website to archive old reviews, and will go back and populate it with the few reviews I've done already. Frankly, I don't have any reliable source of anime reviews, so it's something that I wish someone else had done before me. The TV series part will just be another excuse for content I suppose, not to mention something that I've been doing (and one of the most popular parts of the blog to be honest).
And before anyone comments, I realize there are anime reviews out there, and I don't want to offend anyone that has a particular favorite, but those anime reviews that I've encountered are either unreliable or don't post often, and I'm done wading through trying to find anime reviews while avoiding spoilers when it only takes 70-100 minutes to follow the accepted rule of thumb.
I usually try out a few series every week, so I don't think we'll have trouble posting every week.
I'm a subscriber to Crunchyroll and Netflix, so that's where I'll be predominantly populating the reviews from, but if there are anime available elsewhere legally, then I'll try to seek out more anime when I can.
Most of my reviews will focus on subtitled anime (called subs) as the Japanese voice actors are just better actors. I suspect it's a cultural difference. But if I can't find a sub for a particular anime or if I am trying out the anime while doing something else, then I may have comments for the dub as well.
If I start to attract some traffic, I'm interested in doing YouTube reviews also, but I expect those will be a supplementary addition and few and far between. Recording voiceovers and editing video for YouTube is a bit too involved.
So, in summary:
Reviews of anime and TV are coming, along with the occasional movie, video game or app.I hope you enjoy what's to come. The first series I'll be doing a 3-5 episode rule of thumb on is Accel World. Expect it shortly.
Types of reviews will include episodes, series/season premieres, 3-5 episode rule of thumb judgements (which I really need a better way of saying), and season/series reviews.
I hope you'll also bear with me for the occasional essay/reflection on the pop culture I've been consuming and its themes.
I'll start with content that is "new to me", but I'll periodically take the time to revisit anime that I've previously watched as well.
Thank you. Please let me know what you think of the new content!
Oh! And let me know if there are any anime series you'd like me to check out.
Reviews
There's a rule of thumb in anime that you should give a series 3 episodes before making a judgement. I'm not sure if this says more about the creators or about the fandom, but I've decided to begin doing this with all of the anime I can get my hands on. After watching a few episodes, I'll let you know my thoughts and if I'll be continuing the series, and after watching the entire series (or first season), I'll post reviews. If any particular episode is especially amazing, I'll also be posting reviews of that. Same thing goes for television series, but instead of "all", I'll amend that to the ones that look interesting.
This is all part of a new direction I'll be taking the blog in (while continuing in the other directions also). I'll add a section to the Apocalypse Designs website to archive old reviews, and will go back and populate it with the few reviews I've done already. Frankly, I don't have any reliable source of anime reviews, so it's something that I wish someone else had done before me. The TV series part will just be another excuse for content I suppose, not to mention something that I've been doing (and one of the most popular parts of the blog to be honest).
And before anyone comments, I realize there are anime reviews out there, and I don't want to offend anyone that has a particular favorite, but those anime reviews that I've encountered are either unreliable or don't post often, and I'm done wading through trying to find anime reviews while avoiding spoilers when it only takes 70-100 minutes to follow the accepted rule of thumb.
I usually try out a few series every week, so I don't think we'll have trouble posting every week.
I'm a subscriber to Crunchyroll and Netflix, so that's where I'll be predominantly populating the reviews from, but if there are anime available elsewhere legally, then I'll try to seek out more anime when I can.
Most of my reviews will focus on subtitled anime (called subs) as the Japanese voice actors are just better actors. I suspect it's a cultural difference. But if I can't find a sub for a particular anime or if I am trying out the anime while doing something else, then I may have comments for the dub as well.
If I start to attract some traffic, I'm interested in doing YouTube reviews also, but I expect those will be a supplementary addition and few and far between. Recording voiceovers and editing video for YouTube is a bit too involved.
So, in summary:
Thank you. Please let me know what you think of the new content!
Oh! And let me know if there are any anime series you'd like me to check out.
This is all part of a new direction I'll be taking the blog in (while continuing in the other directions also). I'll add a section to the Apocalypse Designs website to archive old reviews, and will go back and populate it with the few reviews I've done already. Frankly, I don't have any reliable source of anime reviews, so it's something that I wish someone else had done before me. The TV series part will just be another excuse for content I suppose, not to mention something that I've been doing (and one of the most popular parts of the blog to be honest).
And before anyone comments, I realize there are anime reviews out there, and I don't want to offend anyone that has a particular favorite, but those anime reviews that I've encountered are either unreliable or don't post often, and I'm done wading through trying to find anime reviews while avoiding spoilers when it only takes 70-100 minutes to follow the accepted rule of thumb.
I usually try out a few series every week, so I don't think we'll have trouble posting every week.
I'm a subscriber to Crunchyroll and Netflix, so that's where I'll be predominantly populating the reviews from, but if there are anime available elsewhere legally, then I'll try to seek out more anime when I can.
Most of my reviews will focus on subtitled anime (called subs) as the Japanese voice actors are just better actors. I suspect it's a cultural difference. But if I can't find a sub for a particular anime or if I am trying out the anime while doing something else, then I may have comments for the dub as well.
If I start to attract some traffic, I'm interested in doing YouTube reviews also, but I expect those will be a supplementary addition and few and far between. Recording voiceovers and editing video for YouTube is a bit too involved.
So, in summary:
Reviews of anime and TV are coming, along with the occasional movie, video game or app.I hope you enjoy what's to come. The first series I'll be doing a 3-5 episode rule of thumb on is Accel World. Expect it shortly.
Types of reviews will include episodes, series/season premieres, 3-5 episode rule of thumb judgements (which I really need a better way of saying), and season/series reviews.
I hope you'll also bear with me for the occasional essay/reflection on the pop culture I've been consuming and its themes.
I'll start with content that is "new to me", but I'll periodically take the time to revisit anime that I've previously watched as well.
Thank you. Please let me know what you think of the new content!
Oh! And let me know if there are any anime series you'd like me to check out.
October 1, 2015
Announcement: Zero Does Mathematics
Hi everyone,
As I may have implied or said outright, I'm no longer happy with the way Zero's Mathematics is turning out. I've grown so much as an educator and curriculum writer in the last two years that looking back at the first two ZAM are unsettling.
I will eventually return to ZAM and start over, making it bigger and better than ever, but in the meantime, I've been kicking around creating a resource for students that is entirely example problems from a variety of subjects, done the way I would do them, with discussion on problems and strategies on the fly.
Because of the size of these for any particular subject, they'll initially be released per lesson before moving to collections of past releases.
I'm not comfortable with the price at the moment, but these are the most resource-y math curriculum thing I've ever developed, so they're priced at the market value or below it to be honest.
Anyway, since they're going to be short short short, you'll start seeing these pop up under the series title, Zero Does Mathematics. I hope they're a big help!
This semester I'm teaching precalculus and technical calculus 2, so don't be surprised if that's where I start with these.
~Zero
Current Pricing Strategy (subject to change):
Individual lessons released at 0.99 USD.Collected lessons (single chapter) released at 0.99 USD with some lessons moving to free. Collected chapters released at 2.99+ USD.Once book-length collections are available, some chapters may move to 0.99 USD or free.
As I may have implied or said outright, I'm no longer happy with the way Zero's Mathematics is turning out. I've grown so much as an educator and curriculum writer in the last two years that looking back at the first two ZAM are unsettling.
I will eventually return to ZAM and start over, making it bigger and better than ever, but in the meantime, I've been kicking around creating a resource for students that is entirely example problems from a variety of subjects, done the way I would do them, with discussion on problems and strategies on the fly.
Because of the size of these for any particular subject, they'll initially be released per lesson before moving to collections of past releases.
I'm not comfortable with the price at the moment, but these are the most resource-y math curriculum thing I've ever developed, so they're priced at the market value or below it to be honest.
Anyway, since they're going to be short short short, you'll start seeing these pop up under the series title, Zero Does Mathematics. I hope they're a big help!
This semester I'm teaching precalculus and technical calculus 2, so don't be surprised if that's where I start with these.
~Zero
Current Pricing Strategy (subject to change):
Individual lessons released at 0.99 USD.Collected lessons (single chapter) released at 0.99 USD with some lessons moving to free. Collected chapters released at 2.99+ USD.Once book-length collections are available, some chapters may move to 0.99 USD or free.
September 29, 2015
Gate the Anime: C1 Review — Is this the end?
The anime known as "Gate" (by the way, what the eff were the marketers thinking on that one? Let's name our anime after a common everyday object so that we're guaranteed to be buried in any web search) is one whose premise is completely fucking awesome.
A mystical gate opens up in modern day Japan connecting our world to your standard fantasy world. An army of soldiers and monsters is poised to invade. After initial heavy civilian casualties, the JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Force) fights back and counter-invades.
Yes, we're talking modern military, tanks, jets, helicopters, etc against dragons and magic.
We see most of this through the eyes of Itami, a capable, otaku soldier.
It's exceptionally solid.
But then, we pull back a little bit and there's some political workings and you start to realize that the scope of this series is wayyyyyyyyyyy too much for a single cour of an anime. Hell, it's probably too much for 10 cour.
I was completely hooked, but the scope makes you feel like you're going to get a Gecko ending or a non-ending.
OH WAIT, THEY DID A NON-ENDING!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I don't think this is spoiling anything, but the last episode has almost next to nothing but a lot of hope and expectation for a follow-up, I mean, even from the characters of the episode. They're like, "I can't wait to see what happens next!"
According to the Internet, a second cour is coming in January though, so we won't have to wait long at least! Thank God!
If you're like me and can't get enough of the modern meets fantasy when done well, you should go check out Gate now. The first cour is available on Crunchyroll. I don't think it really does anything badly (other than maybe overestimate how many episodes they're going to be given . . . ) and it's definitely worth checking out.
Even though I love the modern meets fantasy, I think the characters are extremely well-developed and interesting and can't wait to see where they go in the second cour.
Unfortunately, the light novels Gate is based on are unavailable and I haven't found a fanlation either.
If you can wait for it, it might be best to pick up the series in January, binging the first cour and following the second as it is available.
Have you seen Gate? What did you think? What would you have named it? I think the tag-line, "And so the JSDF Fought" would have been better.
Watch for spoilers of the first cour in the comments (and no spoilers from the LNs please).
A mystical gate opens up in modern day Japan connecting our world to your standard fantasy world. An army of soldiers and monsters is poised to invade. After initial heavy civilian casualties, the JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Force) fights back and counter-invades.Yes, we're talking modern military, tanks, jets, helicopters, etc against dragons and magic.
We see most of this through the eyes of Itami, a capable, otaku soldier.
It's exceptionally solid.
But then, we pull back a little bit and there's some political workings and you start to realize that the scope of this series is wayyyyyyyyyyy too much for a single cour of an anime. Hell, it's probably too much for 10 cour.
I was completely hooked, but the scope makes you feel like you're going to get a Gecko ending or a non-ending.
OH WAIT, THEY DID A NON-ENDING!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I don't think this is spoiling anything, but the last episode has almost next to nothing but a lot of hope and expectation for a follow-up, I mean, even from the characters of the episode. They're like, "I can't wait to see what happens next!"
According to the Internet, a second cour is coming in January though, so we won't have to wait long at least! Thank God!
If you're like me and can't get enough of the modern meets fantasy when done well, you should go check out Gate now. The first cour is available on Crunchyroll. I don't think it really does anything badly (other than maybe overestimate how many episodes they're going to be given . . . ) and it's definitely worth checking out.
Even though I love the modern meets fantasy, I think the characters are extremely well-developed and interesting and can't wait to see where they go in the second cour.
Unfortunately, the light novels Gate is based on are unavailable and I haven't found a fanlation either.
If you can wait for it, it might be best to pick up the series in January, binging the first cour and following the second as it is available.
Have you seen Gate? What did you think? What would you have named it? I think the tag-line, "And so the JSDF Fought" would have been better.
Watch for spoilers of the first cour in the comments (and no spoilers from the LNs please).
September 27, 2015
Doctor Who: The Witch's Familiar
This episode dovetailed with episode 1 of the series (Magician's Apprentice) and really reinforced my earlier opinion that they should have been a 2-hour premiere.
"The Witch's Familiar" successfully fixed most of the issues from the first episode and didn't suffer from the same pacing issues either.
As I've mentioned many times in these reflections on Doctor Who, I'm not sure if the lack is entirely the writing and direction of the show or if maybe I have become more jaded. Watching old episodes still has an effect on me that the new episodes can't hope to meet.
But this episode felt like it should have had that effect. There was a worthwhile build up, Doctorisms and Davrosisms, and even the Master being delightfully Master-y. And a callback to Clara's first episode even.
I genuinely enjoyed the episode and am looking forward to the remainder of the present series.
So what about you? Have you seen this week's offering? What did you think? Do you think the current series has a lack that Series 1-6 did not or am I just imagining things?
Watch for spoilers in the comments.
"The Witch's Familiar" successfully fixed most of the issues from the first episode and didn't suffer from the same pacing issues either.
As I've mentioned many times in these reflections on Doctor Who, I'm not sure if the lack is entirely the writing and direction of the show or if maybe I have become more jaded. Watching old episodes still has an effect on me that the new episodes can't hope to meet.
But this episode felt like it should have had that effect. There was a worthwhile build up, Doctorisms and Davrosisms, and even the Master being delightfully Master-y. And a callback to Clara's first episode even.
I genuinely enjoyed the episode and am looking forward to the remainder of the present series.
So what about you? Have you seen this week's offering? What did you think? Do you think the current series has a lack that Series 1-6 did not or am I just imagining things?
Watch for spoilers in the comments.
