May 15, 2013
Well This Was Surprising
Surprises:
Attack on Titan has lots of them,. Gargantia on the Verduous Planet has surprises too, but they are usually of an entirely different sort....
more...
Surprises:
Attack on Titan has lots of them,. Gargantia on the Verduous Planet has surprises too, but they are usually of an entirely different sort....
more...
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
01:06 AM
| Comments (8)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1295 words, total size 10 kb.
May 13, 2013
Attack on Titan (Updated)
One day, long ago, the world ended.
Huge giants just showed up and started...eating people. This seems to have coincided with a near complete technological collapse as society is now sporting renaissance era tech.
Society, furthermore now consists of a walled area of Europe that looks to be a bit smaller than Andorra. The walls, over 150 feet high seem impervious to the giants. As a hedge, there have been built two secondary walls protecting progressively smaller areas. For 100 years there have been no breaches and humanity has developed a sort of pleasant if neurotic normalcy within its' prison.
Within this womb of denial reside these three young misfits. Left to right we have...
Armin, a bookish nerd who dreams of seeing the outside world.This heretical notion as well as his socially unacceptable belief that humanity is becoming too complacent about its tenuous hold on existence gets him beat up a lot. Fortunately for his longevity he is friends with...
Erun, an athletic young man, who excels at fisticuffs and hangs out with the wrong sort of people (see above). As a result of this antisocial influence he has read the forbidden geography book Armin has squirreled away and dreams of seeing the ocean. When he gets old enough, he wants to join the Reconnaissance forces and explore the outside world. His parents do not approve, as the recon forces have a horriffic attrition rate. He's something of a hothead with a bit more idealism than sense. fortunately this is often tempered by his close proximity to...
Mikasa, an orphan who is his adopted sister. Her parents were refugees from some mysterious, far away land called "Asia" so naturally, this being anime, she is cool as a cucumber and good at everything. Having suffered through great loss, she does NOT want to loose her adoptive family and she strives to assist in extricating Erun from his many self-inflicted challenges with a fervor that borders on co-dependency.
Well, as you can see from the expressions on our protagonists faces, in the course of the first episode things go downright pear shaped.
Attack on Titan actually has had quite a bit to say about the dangers of complacency, the utter contempt ruling elites can develop for those in the hinterlands, the necessity of freedom in healthy human development and the cancerous rot that results from its absence...and it often says them in the most graphically unsettling ways possible.
This show has has some extraordinarily disturbing visuals. If it were a live action film it might get an NC-17 rating. There is just something nightmarish on a primal level about people being eaten by big, naked, implacable giants that look like otaku.
Actually, nightmarish doesn't begin to describe it.
This is a gut wrenching show and difficult to watch but it is actually pretty interesting.
With a structure, that evolves into something very much like a war story, it successfully captures the horror and dread of going into combat in a way that few shows have. The show is full of surprises and there's already been some decent character development. I do like the fact that Erun, while very much a shonen lead arch-type is NOT possessed of some awesome power and is not really the best at anything...getting by instead on his wits and tenacity.
Be advised that Attack on Titan does not shirk from showing women perishing in combat with all the same gruesomeness as the men. However, the series has several likeable and strong female characters, including Potato Girl here.
One day, long ago, the world ended.
Huge giants just showed up and started...eating people. This seems to have coincided with a near complete technological collapse as society is now sporting renaissance era tech.
Society, furthermore now consists of a walled area of Europe that looks to be a bit smaller than Andorra. The walls, over 150 feet high seem impervious to the giants. As a hedge, there have been built two secondary walls protecting progressively smaller areas. For 100 years there have been no breaches and humanity has developed a sort of pleasant if neurotic normalcy within its' prison.
Within this womb of denial reside these three young misfits. Left to right we have...
Not Pictured: The high-octane-nightmare-fuel they are witnessing.
Armin, a bookish nerd who dreams of seeing the outside world.This heretical notion as well as his socially unacceptable belief that humanity is becoming too complacent about its tenuous hold on existence gets him beat up a lot. Fortunately for his longevity he is friends with...
Erun, an athletic young man, who excels at fisticuffs and hangs out with the wrong sort of people (see above). As a result of this antisocial influence he has read the forbidden geography book Armin has squirreled away and dreams of seeing the ocean. When he gets old enough, he wants to join the Reconnaissance forces and explore the outside world. His parents do not approve, as the recon forces have a horriffic attrition rate. He's something of a hothead with a bit more idealism than sense. fortunately this is often tempered by his close proximity to...
Mikasa, an orphan who is his adopted sister. Her parents were refugees from some mysterious, far away land called "Asia" so naturally, this being anime, she is cool as a cucumber and good at everything. Having suffered through great loss, she does NOT want to loose her adoptive family and she strives to assist in extricating Erun from his many self-inflicted challenges with a fervor that borders on co-dependency.
Well, as you can see from the expressions on our protagonists faces, in the course of the first episode things go downright pear shaped.
Attack on Titan actually has had quite a bit to say about the dangers of complacency, the utter contempt ruling elites can develop for those in the hinterlands, the necessity of freedom in healthy human development and the cancerous rot that results from its absence...and it often says them in the most graphically unsettling ways possible.
This show has has some extraordinarily disturbing visuals. If it were a live action film it might get an NC-17 rating. There is just something nightmarish on a primal level about people being eaten by big, naked, implacable giants that look like otaku.
Actually, nightmarish doesn't begin to describe it.
This is a gut wrenching show and difficult to watch but it is actually pretty interesting.
With a structure, that evolves into something very much like a war story, it successfully captures the horror and dread of going into combat in a way that few shows have. The show is full of surprises and there's already been some decent character development. I do like the fact that Erun, while very much a shonen lead arch-type is NOT possessed of some awesome power and is not really the best at anything...getting by instead on his wits and tenacity.
Be advised that Attack on Titan does not shirk from showing women perishing in combat with all the same gruesomeness as the men. However, the series has several likeable and strong female characters, including Potato Girl here.
"Why yes. My name actually IS Potato Girl. You gotta problem with that?"
5 episodes in the show has really caught my interest and has a lot of potential. I intend to keep watching in the hope it lives up to it. I'm certainly looking forward to episode 6 because episode 5 seems to be taking the show in a very unusual direction.....
.No really...I GOTTA SEE EPISODE SIX!
Unfortunately, as I type this Crunchyroll has announced that...
Ghaa!
UPDATE: Well they finally showed number 6.
That was downright Wheadonesque.
This show is brutal but it is genuinely surprising me. At this point things have progressed so far that a more detailed & spoileriffic summary is really needed to discuss the show.
.No really...I GOTTA SEE EPISODE SIX!
Unfortunately, as I type this Crunchyroll has announced that...
Due to a materials delay, episode 6 will be delayed
Ghaa!
UPDATE: Well they finally showed number 6.
That was downright Wheadonesque.
This show is brutal but it is genuinely surprising me. At this point things have progressed so far that a more detailed & spoileriffic summary is really needed to discuss the show.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
09:12 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 363 words, total size 14 kb.
May 11, 2013
Tankery in the US
Also this fellow who brought an M-5 Stuart to a pumpkin shoot.
Sadly, there were no 37mm pumpkins available, so he lost.
Also this fellow who brought an M-5 Stuart to a pumpkin shoot.
Sadly, there were no 37mm pumpkins available, so he lost.
There's a fellow out past Zuni who has a Stuart that is apparently road (but not highway) legal, though that legality may be dependent on rural exemptions for farm equipment. . There's another Stuart in Crewe in front of the firehouse that at least for a time was hooked up to a radar gun and would train it's 37mm on and track speeding cars.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
05:00 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 90 words, total size 1 kb.
Tankery in the UK
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
04:08 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 4 words, total size 1 kb.
May 09, 2013
Old Meets New
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
01:46 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 3 words, total size 1 kb.
April 22, 2013
Do So Very Much Want
Though I've heard conflicting reports regards their veracity.
Though I've heard conflicting reports regards their veracity.
Still...do want.
UPDATE: OK. After some digging and the rather belated realization that Miyata is an anagram of Tamiya (thanks to Rick in the comments) I've determined that a company called Platz, IS releasing some Girls und Panzer kits.
However, this epic "box art" is unofficial and produced by a PixiV artist who goes by the handle of sdkfz221.
UPDATE: OK. After some digging and the rather belated realization that Miyata is an anagram of Tamiya (thanks to Rick in the comments) I've determined that a company called Platz, IS releasing some Girls und Panzer kits.
However, this epic "box art" is unofficial and produced by a PixiV artist who goes by the handle of sdkfz221.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
09:33 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 72 words, total size 1 kb.
Wonders of the Internet
While perusing the comments at Chisumatic, I recently discovered that this internet thing is even more awesome than I was previously aware.
You see, Pete Zaitcev and others have compiled a surprisingly comprehensive meganekko database.
Image not in the database
You see, Pete Zaitcev and others have compiled a surprisingly comprehensive meganekko database.
Image not in the database
How did I miss this?
Oh well. This is why it's important to scroll through Steven's comments.
Oh well. This is why it's important to scroll through Steven's comments.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
09:26 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 61 words, total size 1 kb.
Starblazers 2199
Via Crunchyroll and Anime News Network comes word that XEBEC has announced that Yamato 2199 is about to be aggressively marketed internationally.
The title of the international version will be Starblazers 2199.
Oh Fabrijous DAY!
This is interesting as Star Blazers was the release name of the show in the US and Canada. Several of the name changes in the US version like renaming the ship itself ARGO were actually done by the Japanese creators. I 've gushed excessively about the old show and the remake several times before but it really is good.
Yamato 2199 has managed to remain quite faithful to the original while adding quite a few surprises for those familiar with the show.
The premise of the show is straightforward enough.
Earth discovers that it is not alone in the universe...8 years later the aggressive interstellar empire Earth encountered has brought humanity to the brink of extinction. The planets surface is rendered uninhabitable by a combination of constant bombardment, radiation and invasive alien plants that have absorbed most of the oceans...and still the aliens attack. At this dark hour, the earth is contacted by another alien race which offers them a device that can restore their planet. Unfortunately, it won't fit on the blockade runner and apparently can't be made from local materials, so instead the aliens sent plans for an FTL drive so the humans can come get the physical device. The humans install the FTL in the hull of a sublight starship ship they were constructing to carry a few survivors off planet. To conceal it's construction, the ship was being built within and below the hulk of the old battleship Yamato which accounts for it's appearance. Now, this jury rigged ship with an FTL drive that the crew barely understands must break through the blockade of the solar system, travel 168,000 light years to the greater Magellanic cloud...and back,...and do it in a year if they are to have any hope of saving Earth....and the aliens will fight them every step of the way.
With such a large cast and sweeping story it might seem unlikely that the show would have much character development, but the writers really have managed the ensemble well thus far. In contrast to the single female crew member in the old show, several women have been added to or re-imagined into the old cast. This has actually added a good deal of depth as they are, for the most part interesting and well written. Yamamoto, for instance is one of the best realized female military officers since Van Dread's Meia Gisbourne from over a decade ago. Several of the enemy characters are quite interesting as well.
While it is not hard sci-fi by any means, the show also throws a good deal of actual science into several stories. The exact physics of their FTL is handwaved (by the fact that the crew really doesn't understand how it works), they work in bits of recent astronomy news and make a real effort to keep their non-FTL techno-babble grounded in actual physics, biology and IT speak.
Despite it's bleak premise, '2199 thus far, has managed to be remarkably optimistic and even inspiring. It has been quite intelligent as well, much more so than most sci-fi TV. Additionally, the show has done a far above average job of conveying a sense of service professionalism and even the ethics of command and leadership.
About halfway in, Yamato 2199 has been superb, I'm crossing my fingers that they don't muck it up in the end.
Assuming they don't, I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing what the US version is going to be like.
Via Crunchyroll and Anime News Network comes word that XEBEC has announced that Yamato 2199 is about to be aggressively marketed internationally.
The title of the international version will be Starblazers 2199.
Oh Fabrijous DAY!
This is interesting as Star Blazers was the release name of the show in the US and Canada. Several of the name changes in the US version like renaming the ship itself ARGO were actually done by the Japanese creators. I 've gushed excessively about the old show and the remake several times before but it really is good.
Yamato 2199 has managed to remain quite faithful to the original while adding quite a few surprises for those familiar with the show.
The premise of the show is straightforward enough.
Earth discovers that it is not alone in the universe...8 years later the aggressive interstellar empire Earth encountered has brought humanity to the brink of extinction. The planets surface is rendered uninhabitable by a combination of constant bombardment, radiation and invasive alien plants that have absorbed most of the oceans...and still the aliens attack. At this dark hour, the earth is contacted by another alien race which offers them a device that can restore their planet. Unfortunately, it won't fit on the blockade runner and apparently can't be made from local materials, so instead the aliens sent plans for an FTL drive so the humans can come get the physical device. The humans install the FTL in the hull of a sublight starship ship they were constructing to carry a few survivors off planet. To conceal it's construction, the ship was being built within and below the hulk of the old battleship Yamato which accounts for it's appearance. Now, this jury rigged ship with an FTL drive that the crew barely understands must break through the blockade of the solar system, travel 168,000 light years to the greater Magellanic cloud...and back,...and do it in a year if they are to have any hope of saving Earth....and the aliens will fight them every step of the way.
With such a large cast and sweeping story it might seem unlikely that the show would have much character development, but the writers really have managed the ensemble well thus far. In contrast to the single female crew member in the old show, several women have been added to or re-imagined into the old cast. This has actually added a good deal of depth as they are, for the most part interesting and well written. Yamamoto, for instance is one of the best realized female military officers since Van Dread's Meia Gisbourne from over a decade ago. Several of the enemy characters are quite interesting as well.
While it is not hard sci-fi by any means, the show also throws a good deal of actual science into several stories. The exact physics of their FTL is handwaved (by the fact that the crew really doesn't understand how it works), they work in bits of recent astronomy news and make a real effort to keep their non-FTL techno-babble grounded in actual physics, biology and IT speak.
Despite it's bleak premise, '2199 thus far, has managed to be remarkably optimistic and even inspiring. It has been quite intelligent as well, much more so than most sci-fi TV. Additionally, the show has done a far above average job of conveying a sense of service professionalism and even the ethics of command and leadership.
About halfway in, Yamato 2199 has been superb, I'm crossing my fingers that they don't muck it up in the end.
Assuming they don't, I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing what the US version is going to be like.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
07:02 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 612 words, total size 5 kb.
April 07, 2013
It Occurs to Me
...that despite the otherwise satisfying ending of the show, we never did get an explanation for this.
So perhaps that is the hook for any Girls und Panzer sequel, the dark truths behind Miho's plushy cabinet.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
10:48 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 40 words, total size 1 kb.
April 04, 2013
Remember Kids. Saftey is Important!
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
04:08 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 5 words, total size 1 kb.
April 03, 2013
Scale!
There. That helps.
I don't know enough to be sure, but I suspect that concealed withing the overall excellence of Girls und Panzer there might have been just a tiny smidgen of political commentary regards the efficacy of Japanese public works boondoggles.
I don't know enough to be sure, but I suspect that concealed withing the overall excellence of Girls und Panzer there might have been just a tiny smidgen of political commentary regards the efficacy of Japanese public works boondoggles.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
01:45 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 43 words, total size 1 kb.
March 29, 2013
Preview clip for the 5th Yamato 2199 Movie.
This is different from the trailer below. It's the first 9 minutes of the 5th film (which translates to episode 15-18 of the series that airs this spring).
Spoilers abound so beware.
Spoilers abound so beware.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
10:46 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 41 words, total size 1 kb.
As they say...ZOMG Sauce
I ran into a couple of intriguing animated .gifs that have defied my attempts to find a source.
Does anyone know what they are from and if said shows are any good?
They're a bit large so they're below the fold.
more...
Does anyone know what they are from and if said shows are any good?
They're a bit large so they're below the fold.
more...
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
10:31 PM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 69 words, total size 1 kb.
Girls und Panzer Ends
I must confess that in spite of everything, I like Kadotani a lot. She's enthusiastic, calm under pressure and has balls of brass. She's a departure from the rest of the cast in that she was developed beyond the trope she represents.
Girls und Panzer is in a lot of ways a collection of tired old tropes and annoying recent ones. There is no new ground here. It's a sports anime with mechs aimed at a demographic that is so insecure that they can't abide male characters in their anime potentially competing for their 'waifus'. The result is that we get the galling notion that the war on boys has been carried to its logical conclusion so that males aren't allowed to compete in the sport at all.
Given this set-up and an overly large cast that seems to have been concieved by 31 die rolls compared against a moe/tsundere stock character generator, the only real question about the show would seem to be "To what depths of squalor will the panty shots descend?" But that is not the question I find myself asking. Instead I find myself grasping to figure out how this collection of mediocrities can have kicked so much ass that one can be forgiven for worrying about a trans-Pacific ass shortage.
What the HELL? How did they do that? This show is not refinement of stale tropes. This was frickking alchemy. It was lead into gold. Oh, and the answer to the unasked question above is "None". I don't think there was a panty shot in the whole show...they get points just for that alone. However, this show is about way more than propriety. Girls und Panzer manages to deal with ethics, sportsmanship and honor in a way few shows have.
The show does this without being preachy. Furthermore, despite what ought to be a completely predictable storyline, it manages to keep the viewers on the edge of their seat. The use of WW2 tanks was inspired and the battles with them were thoroughly entertaining and well thought out. Even the fairly by the numbers characters were well written to the point that one actually cared about them. These girls are smart and make up for their vastly inferior equipment by being clever and audacious.
The few problems with the show did not stem from the writing, or the directing but with a subcontractor who flamed out requiring two 'clips' episodes be inserted and the last two episodes be delayed over three months. After the spectacular surprise hit the show had been nothing could live up to the anticipation the last two episodes engendered.
Despite this handicap the two episode finale is a thoroughly satisfying rollercoaster that still manages to surprise.
I am in awe.
Girls und Panzer is in a lot of ways a collection of tired old tropes and annoying recent ones. There is no new ground here. It's a sports anime with mechs aimed at a demographic that is so insecure that they can't abide male characters in their anime potentially competing for their 'waifus'. The result is that we get the galling notion that the war on boys has been carried to its logical conclusion so that males aren't allowed to compete in the sport at all.
Given this set-up and an overly large cast that seems to have been concieved by 31 die rolls compared against a moe/tsundere stock character generator, the only real question about the show would seem to be "To what depths of squalor will the panty shots descend?" But that is not the question I find myself asking. Instead I find myself grasping to figure out how this collection of mediocrities can have kicked so much ass that one can be forgiven for worrying about a trans-Pacific ass shortage.
What the HELL? How did they do that? This show is not refinement of stale tropes. This was frickking alchemy. It was lead into gold. Oh, and the answer to the unasked question above is "None". I don't think there was a panty shot in the whole show...they get points just for that alone. However, this show is about way more than propriety. Girls und Panzer manages to deal with ethics, sportsmanship and honor in a way few shows have.
The show does this without being preachy. Furthermore, despite what ought to be a completely predictable storyline, it manages to keep the viewers on the edge of their seat. The use of WW2 tanks was inspired and the battles with them were thoroughly entertaining and well thought out. Even the fairly by the numbers characters were well written to the point that one actually cared about them. These girls are smart and make up for their vastly inferior equipment by being clever and audacious.
The few problems with the show did not stem from the writing, or the directing but with a subcontractor who flamed out requiring two 'clips' episodes be inserted and the last two episodes be delayed over three months. After the spectacular surprise hit the show had been nothing could live up to the anticipation the last two episodes engendered.
Despite this handicap the two episode finale is a thoroughly satisfying rollercoaster that still manages to surprise.
I am in awe.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
12:32 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 464 words, total size 4 kb.
March 27, 2013
"...Through all the fire and the smoke, we will never give up hope..."
Here is the extended trailer for the 5th Yamato 2199 Movie. It's about twice as long as the one on the DVDs.
Be advised; there appears to be much spoilage therein.
Golly...Willakers!
Be advised; there appears to be much spoilage therein.
Golly...Willakers!
One of the few bright spots in the upcoming spring season is the fact that they will start broadcasting this superb show on TV. This is about a year earlier than previously announced. I'm not sure if this bodes ill for a second season. However, BR sales seem to have been pretty good.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
09:11 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 99 words, total size 1 kb.
<< Page 1 of 19 >>
80kb generated in 0.1081 seconds; 75 queries returned 259 records.
Powered by Minx 1.1.4-pink.
Powered by Minx 1.1.4-pink.
